A Grand Opening
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A4 + PLUS >> A few horses shy of women in the brainpower department, Opinion/4A UF HOOPS CHS HOOPS Johnson shines Regional title on against LSU the line tonight See Page 1B See Page 1B FRIDAY EDITION FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2020 | YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1874 | $1.00 Lake City Reporter LAKECITYREPORTER.COM BLANCHE HOTEL Shands A grand opening Live Oak sold, will become Today Historians gather ER only The 60th Annual Florida Conference of Historians will take Shands Starke too; place 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. today on parent company of Pine Square at Florida Gateway LCMC is the buyer. College. By CARL MCKINNEY [email protected] Today, Saturday The parent company of Baseball tourney Lake City Medical Center has Nearly 1,000 youth base- bought out Shands Live Oak ball players will converge upon and Shands Columbia County over the week- Starke and end to compete in the USSSA will sell off North Florida Super NIT youth most of the baseball tournament. The two- hospitals’ day event will draw more than assets. Both facilities will 100 teams, consisting of players provide emer- from 9 to 13 years of age, from as Naegler gency care far away as Atlanta and West Palm only once Beach. Teams will compete at the transaction is complete, the Southside Sports Complex in Shands officials said. Photos by TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter Lake City and the South Columbia Lake City Medical Center Sports Complex in Fort White CEO Rick Naegler confirmed over the course of the weekend. the purchase Thursday Baseball action begins Saturday morning. Lake City Medical Downtown dream realized Center, along with North at 8am. Daily admission is $10 per adult, children 12 and under free. Florida Regional Medical Center in Gainesville, are The Southside Sports Complex More than 300 attend is located at 1963 SW Bascom invitation-only event. HOSPITALS continued on 3A Norris Drive in Lake City. The South Columbia Sports Complex By TONY BRITT is located at 17579 SW SR 47 in [email protected] Fort White. Champagne and the happy chat- Counties ter of 350 invited guests filled the newly-renovated Blanche Hotel would be Saturday Thursday. ‘Gershwin on Broadway’ The hotel, which originally graded by America’s longtime love opened in the early 1900s, was affair with the music of George the recipient of a two-year facelift new bill Gershwin, one of this country’s by Valdosta-based developer IDP favorite composers, will celebrat- Properties. By CARL MCKINNEY Thursday afternoon, guests ed in high style at Norman L [email protected] attended a ribbon cutting in the Choice Performing Arts Center renovated structure, celebrating its Tallahassee is considering at Columbia High School 7:30 a plan to issue letter grades legacy in town as well as the prom- TOP: City officials and pm Saturday, Feb 29. Three of ise of a new beginning. to Florida’s counties and cit- its best performers will present The invitation-only event gave representatives of IDP ies on a variety of economic a sparkling program of Gershwin the crowd its first glimpse into the Properties cut the rib- and non-economic criteria, classics, such as Fascinatin’ building’s second act, with tours of bon during a ceremony but the vagueness of the Rhythm, Lady Be Good & Strike the common areas, office spaces Thursday afternoon at the proposal has a top local offi- Up the Band. Tickets are avail- and rentable spaces. Blanche’s main staircase. cial concerned about how able at Gateway Art Gallery, 168 Nearly an hour after the ABOVE: A crowd of about the initiative would affect the community’s efforts to N Marion Ave. in Lake City, also event began, Dennille Decker, 350 invited guests looked Operations Manager for the attract new businesses and on-line at www.communitycon- on. LEFT: An exterior shot Blanche and IDP Properties residents. certs.info, and at the door one of the newly renovated Marketing Director, addressed the Blanche Hotel. Florida House Bill 7069, hour before show time - $20/ audience from the building’s main sponsored by state Rep. adult or $10/student K-12. Call Martha at 386 365-8488 for more. BLANCHE continued on 6A GRADES continued on 3A Even our regular includes a premium. GW HUNTER 1130 WEST US 90 386-752-5890 VISIT YOUR LOCAL CHEVRON STATION Vol. 145, No. 251 CALL US: TODAY’S WEATHER Obituaries . 3A (386) 752-1293 Opinion . 4A SUBSCRIBE TO Sports . 1B THE REPORTER: 60 39 Advice & Comics . 3B-4B Voice: 755-5445 Fax: 752-9400 Sunny, 2A Classifieds. 5B-6B 2A FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2020 LOCAL LAKE CITY REPORTER HAMILTON CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION QUICK HITS Scripture of the Day “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the Prison guard jailed door of my lips.” — Psalm 141:3 (KJV) and receiving payment for ous other prisoners who states. By CARL MCKINNEY her services via Cash App. did business with Gill, Vargas’ sister denied any [email protected] Prison officials announced according to the affidavit. knowledge of the transfers. Gill’s arrest Monday. A subpoena was issued The investigator Thought for Today A guard at Hamilton In September, the inves- to Square Inc, the company searched prison records Correctional Institution tigator interviewed an that operates Cash App. and learned Vargas did get Never get a mime talking. He won’t stop. was arrested earlier this inmate, The results of the sub- in trouble for possessing — Marcel Marceau, 1923-2007, French mime week on suspicion of smug- who tes- poena were returned Feb. a contraband phone in gling contraband into the tified to 7, showing Gill had been March 2019, according to facility in exchange for seeing Gill using the name “Sara Jane” the affidavit. Gill was sus- money transferred via a provide on the app to receive large pected of smuggling the smartphone app. cigarettes sums of money from vari- device into the facility. Winning Lottery Numbers Carrie S. Gill faces two and other ous sources, the affidavit After analyzing the Pick 3: (Wednesday p.m.) 8-7-5 counts of unlawful com- prohibited states. phone, correction officials Pick 4: (Wednesday p.m.) 6-7-5-8 pensation, two counts of items to Identifying the inmates found evidence of exchang- Fantasy 5: (Wednesday) 2-7-10-16-26 money laundering and a Gill inmates involved in all the trans- es on Facebook instant count of introducing con- who worked for her on her actions proved difficult, messenger between Gill traband into a correctional internal grounds squad, but two of the transfers and Vargas, the affidavit facility after an investigator See an error? according to a probable were confirmed to have states. with the state Department The Lake City Reporter corrects errors of fact in news cause affidavit. been made by the sister Gill worked weekends of Corrections Office of items. If you have a concern, question, or suggestion, Cash App uses screen of inmate Dennis Vargas, and had opportunities Inspector General launched please call the editor. Corrections and clarifications will names, concealing the according to the affidavit. to come and go without a probe into Gill amid alle- run in this space. Thanks for reading. identity of the sender and Vargas wired $850 to Gill passing through security gations she was introduc- payee. in January 2019 across two checkpoints, according to ing contraband into HCI An inmate named numer- transactions, the affidavit the affidavit. Submissions The Lake City Reporter accepts photographs and caption information to run at the discretion of the editor. If you would like to see your organization in the newspaper, send the picture and information to Robert Bridges at rbridges@ ‘Gershwin on Broadway’ here Saturday lakecityreporter.com. America’s longtime love performers will present Gershwin’s music has Jasbo Brown Blues/ I Got affair with the music of a sparkling program of become standard reper- Plenty o’ Nuttin’, I’d Rather Lake City Reporter George Gershwin, one of Gershwin classics, such as toire for musicians across Charleston, A Woman Is A HOW TO REACH US ADVERTISING this coun- Fascinatin’ Rhythm, Lady the country and around Sometime Thing, Someone Main number ....... (386) 752-1293 Director Chris Ratliff Fax number ............ 752-9400 (386) 754-0417 try’s favorite Be Good & Strike Up the the world. In the spirit of to Watch over Me, Lady Be Circulation............. 755-5445 ([email protected]) composers, Band. Tickets are available the celebration, pianist Good, Our Love is Here Online .... www.lakecityreporter.com will cele- at Gateway Art Gallery, Joseph Joubert, baritone to Stay, Embraceable You, The Lake City Reporter, an affiliate CLASSIFIED of Community Newspapers Inc., Kym Harrison brated in 168 N Marion Ave. in Lake Robert Sims, and soprano Soon, Let’s Call the Whole is published Tuesday through (386) 755-5440 high style City, also on-line at www. Louise Toppin will present Thing Off, But Not For Me/ Saturday/Sunday at 180 E. Duval ([email protected]) St., Lake City, FL 32055. Periodical at Norman communityconcerts.info, a delightful program of the The Man I Love, They Can’t postage paid at Lake City, Florida, BUSINESS OFFICE L Choice and at the door one hour vocal and piano music of Take That Away From Me, Member of The Associated Press Vickie Busscher Toppin and the Florida Press Association. (386) 754-0419 Performing before show time - $20/ Gershwin on Saturday. By Strauss, Swanee, Bess ([email protected]) Arts Center at Columbia adult or $10/student K-12. Here is a playlist of You is My Woman, Now, All material herein is property of the Lake City Reporter. No part of CIRCULATION High School 7:30 p.m.