The Civil Air Patrol was onsite at Hitchcock’s Market Saturday for a Memorial Day celebration to raise money for troops serving overseas.

ALACHUA – People gathered last weekend to eat barbecue and play games, all while supporting a cause.

Last Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Hitchcock's Markets in Alachua held a Memorial Day celebration in its parking lot to raise money for the Military Support Group of Alachua, which sends care packages to soldiers overseas. Last year, they raised over $3,000.

“People don't realize everything isn't supplied,” said Tamara Spear, member of the Military Support Group of Alachua, when talking about service members. Her organization sends soldiers everything from toothpaste to socks and games.

This year, about 500 people showed up at the celebration, which included inexpensive food, music, a dunking booth, and an ice slide and bouncy castle for the kids, said Candi Kish, human resources director for Hitchcock's.

“We thought this was a good way to support local military,” Kish said. One of Hitchcock's employees even served in Afghanistan, she added, making the event more meaningful.

The festivities started wrapping up at about 2:30 p.m. when the Gainesville Color Guard held a flag ceremony.

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ALACHUA – Fraud and grand theft charges have been filed after an Alachua homeowners’ association alleges money was embezzled from its bank account. Meadowglen neighborhood, located on County Road 235A in Alachua appears to be the victim of theft.

The news came as Meadowglen Property Owners' Association board members recently found its bank account had been drained. The board was tipped off after learning of other alleged victims who also used Gainesville’s SunLu Properties to manage their homeowners’ associations.

After the Alachua County Sherriff's Office (ACSO) and the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) started looking into embezzlement allegations aimed at an employee of SunLu last month, the investigation is still ongoing.

Sally Wilson, 53, was accused by her coworkers of writing checks to landscapers and other employees so they could cash them for her.

SunLu manages several homeowner associations in Alachua County, and so far, evidence indicates that at least four, including Meadowglen, have had money taken from them.

The total amount of embezzled money taken from the various homeowner associations SunLu manages is about $150,000, according to Ben Tobias, spokesman for the Gainesville Police Department. The GPD is working with the Alachua County Sheriff's Office on the case, and is still uncertain how many homeowner associations have been affected. GPD knows of at least four in their jurisdiction, Tobias said, including the Meadowglen Property Owners' Association in Alachua. The president of the Meadowglen homeowners association, Kevin Hamill, declined to comment.

The investigating officers have run into a few snags while working out the details of the case, said Todd Kelly, spokesman for the Alachua County Sheriff's Office.

“Right now, they’re kind of at a standstill,” he said. Law enforcement officers tried to get records from the PNC Bank where the checks were cashed last month, but the bank required a search warrant before cooperating. The warrant was executed on April 24, but the findings haven't been submitted to the ACSO or GPD reporting systems, Kelly said. Officers might still be sifting through all the evidence.

A SunLu employee who did not name herself said the charges against Wilson were “not true.”

“Our office was broken into, checks were stolen,” she said, indicating that Wilson's name had been forged. The employee later indicated she was Patricia Wilson, owner of SunLu and mother of Sally Wilson.

The original case was first brought to the attention of the authorities by John Hartwell, of the University Terrace Gainesville Condominium Association, Tobias said. By the time the ACSO started looking into it earlier this month, the GPD already had three open cases on the matter.

Terri Warrington, treasurer of the Meadowglen Property Owners' Association, first noticed her organization was about $8,000 short after reviewing bank statements she received on April 8, according to records from Meadowglen. On April 10, Meadowglen cancelled their contract with SunLu. Warrington went to City of Alachua police officer Danny Chalker, who referred the case to the GPD since the alleged crimes were committed in Gainesville. She told him $7,424 worth of fraudulent checks were made out to Sally Wilson, Kenneth Grundmann, John Rivers and Danielle Novak, according to a police report from the GPD.

From the dates of May 10, 2012 to Oct. 15, 2012, there were five checks made out to Wilson totaling $1,126 from Meadowglen. Warrington said the checks were not authorized. From May 2012 to last March, 13 other checks were written to Grundmann, Rivers and Novak. Grundmann admitted Wilson wrote the checks and he cashed them. Grundmann and Rivers were both maintenance workers for SunLu, said Warrington. She did not know Novak.

Wilson, Grundmann and Rivers are all suspects in the embezzlement of money from multiple homeowners' associations. Wilson is being charged with three counts of grand theft and one count of fraud, said Tobias.

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Demolition crews are onsite at the former Huddle House property on U.S. Highway 441 in Alachua. The buildings will be completely demolished, making way for a Zaxby’s restaurant.

ALACHUA – What many passersby have called an “eyesore” for many years is finally being demolished as crews began on Monday tearing down the former Huddle House Restaurant on U.S. Highway 441 in Alachua. Replacing the dilapidated structures currently on the property will be a Zaxby’s restaurant.

Along with the Huddle House restaurant, a smaller building, formerly Dairy Queen, is also being demolished.

“We’re taking out the buildings, the pavement, the slabs, everything,” said Darrell Hooks of Georgia-based Pacesetter Construction. “We’re hoping to have the entire site cleaned off by Saturday.”

After the site has been leveled, crews are expected to begin the construction phase. “We have 101 days from [May 20] to have this project complete,” said Hooks, who remained optimistic they would finish earlier. He described the Alachua location as being built to one of Zaxby’s newest formats although details were not provided.

Chasing Chicken 2, Inc. is the franchisee developing the Zaxby’s restaurant located here. The owner of that company owns others in Lake City and Tallahassee.

The project was approved by the Alachua Planning and Zoning Board Feb. 12, 2013.

The request for consideration of a site plan filed in November 2012 showed the restaurant at approximately 3,800 square-feet with a drive-through and associated drainage, paving, grading and infrastructure improvements.

Located at 16062 NW U.S. Highway 441 at the junction of I-75, the buildings have been vacant for nearly all of the last decade. The site has been regarded as an eyesore by some residents and Alachua officials. It garnered even more attention when one company briefly opened an adult novelty store at the location. It was promptly shut down by the City of Alachua after having been opened for just a few hours.

The property was owned by Sally Franklin, of Alachua Enterprises, Inc., but the Huddle House held a long-term lease on it, even after it ceased operations there.

Construction could be complete by late August.

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The contestants in this race consisted of bright yellow floating ducks making their way along Camp Kulaqua’s lazy river to the finish line at the 5th Annual High Springs Rotary Duck Race.

HIGH SPRINGS – The 5th Annual High Springs Rotary Duck Race held at Camp Kulaqua on Sunday, May 5, started off with a chilling splash. After a daring and mighty plunge down the slide of the Lazy River and just shy of two laps, the bobbing ducks rounded the final bend. The first three quackers plucked from the crystal clear water by Club President Valorie Cason, Past President Heather Clarich and new club member Laurie Roder were the winners.

The $300 first place prize went to Jerry Kiernan; the $100 second place prize went to Dave Moxley of Gainesville and the $50 third place prize went to George Rafferty, also of Gainesville.

The duck race was a community event, with area youngsters purchasing and decorating white ducks, club members helping conduct the race, the Santa Fe High School Interact Club participating, and Camp Kulaqua hosting the event.

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