Ballot Questions Continue Hospital Number, 4,430 Voters Cast Ballots in Lake “We Went Back and We Looked Over Now 140 Instances City and 763 Voted in Fort White
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1A SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012 | YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1874 | $1.00 Lake City Reporter LAKECITYREPORTER.COM Tigers prep Water awareness SUNDAY EDITION for upcoming meeting planned competition. 1B for region. 1D Ballot questions continue Hospital number, 4,430 voters cast ballots in Lake “We went back and we looked over Now 140 instances City and 763 voted in Fort White. them and we found those and that’s all I Authority Early voting totals were released when can tell you,” Supervisor of Elections Liz of non-matching the polls closed at 7 p.m., Saturday. Horne said. On Friday, 22 additional instances The mismatched ballots were identi- ballots discovered. where voter addresses did not match the fied for Dist. 1 and Dist. 5 in the county may jump By HANNAH O. BROWN appropriate voting district were identified commission race as well as Dist. 2 and [email protected] by county officials since the initial 118 sur- Dist. 5 in the school board race. faced on Thursday. Of the new instances Horne called an emergency meeting tax bill to A total of 5,193 voters cast ballots in the found, three voters cast incorrect ballots. Thursday afternoon to discuss the issue county during the eight days of early vot- All totaled, 140 voter addresses were with candidates affected by the discrepan- ing for the primary election, according to categorized in the wrong district and 21 the Supervisor of Elections office. Of this ballots were cast incorrectly. BALLOTS continued on 6A 1.5 mills Millage rate proposed to be restored after 2-year rollback and spending from reserves. By TONY BRITT School bell tolls [email protected] Columbia County property owners will notice two proposed millage rate increases on their 2012 TRIM (Truth In Millage) notices. TRIM notices are only proposed millage rates for the upcoming fiscal year. One, officials say, is a formality, but another may require property owners to cough up much more in taxes for one of the county’s taxing authorities. The Lake Shore Hospital Authority is propos- ing to raise its property tax millage rate from 0.962 in 2011 to 1.500 in 2012. The increase would actually restore the Hospital Authority’s millage rate to its normal operating level of 1.5 mills that it has had for years. The authority rolled back its millage in 2010 to 0.962 to give relief to county taxpayers, according to LSHA Executive Director Jack Berry. If the millage rate is restored to 1.5 mills, after computations, property owners in Columbia County will pay the increase on the Lake Shore Hospital Authority line item of their tax bill. Berry said during the two years of the millage rollback, the Hospital Authority spent $1 million annually from its reserve account to maintain indigent care expense. The authority’s reserves can’t handle any more drain, he said. “I think that our reserves are down now to around $5 million, which I think is as low as we need to go,” he said. “If something should happen where we had to take over the hospital JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter again that would give us enough funds to run Chris Culpepper (left) and his brother, Brad Culpepper, both of Athletic Resources, slip a piece of wood under a scissor-lock the hospital for about six months until we found design as they work on the floor of the Columbia High School gymnasium Thursday. The school will be getting about 1,200 somebody to come in and run it. We’re not square feet of new flooring after flood waters from Tropical Storm Debby ruined the old floor. The project is slated to be borrowing money. We’ve already collected the completed a few weeks into the school year. money, we need to hang on to this and go back to the 1.5 mill (levy), which our contract with the hospital requires us to do and move for- Improvements, new look launch new year ward. That’s my recommendation to the board. “Everybody loved it when we rolled that Teachers start Monday, The first day of classes is Aug. 20, started than nervous.” millage back. Now it’s time to put it back to its but throughout the summer district original level. We’ve got to stop dipping into our students return to administrators and staff have worked Building improvements piggy bank.” classes on Aug. 20. to fill open positions and prep buildings Although Berry has made the proposal to and classrooms for the new year. The school district worked on sev- the Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board, the By LAURA HAMPSON About 700 teachers return to their eral building projects over the sum- proposal has not been approved by board mem- [email protected] classrooms Monday for preplanning, mer, most of which have just been bers. The board is slated to have a budget work- but many worked last week to get completed or are nearing completion, shop following its 5:15 p.m. meeting Monday. Teachers return to work tomorrow, ready for their new students. Superintendent Mike Millikin said. “All of the money collected from this mill- but a week from Monday, the halls and “I have your typical first day of school Outside Melrose Elementary age goes to pay for indigent care in Columbia classrooms of the Columbia County nerves,” said Lauri Thomas, teacher School there are new sidewalks, fresh County — about $3 million a year,” Berry said. School District will be bustling with at Niblack Elementary School, while signs, newly painted crosswalks and If the millage rate is restored to 1.5 mills, prop- students ready to start a new school cleaning and organizing her classroom year. Thursday. “I’m more anxious to get SCHOOL continued on 6A TAXES continued on 6A Mitt picks Ryan, but who is this guy? proposals. gressman’s endorsement of Romney Will Wisconsin VP Ryan’s climb reached new heights came at a critical stage of the GOP choice be party bridge Saturday when Republican presiden- primaries, giving him a boost in the tial nominee Mitt Romney announced Wisconsin race that effectively bur- or easy political target? him as his running mate. ied Romney’s final threat. But it also “Mitt’s Choice for VP is Paul Ryan,” meant Romney was embracing the By BRIAN BAKST and TODD RICHMOND said a phone app Romney’s team cre- Ryan-sponsored budget proposal that Associated Press ated to spread the word to support- Democrats fiercely target as painful ers. to the poor and elderly. JANESVILLE, Wis. — Even As the chairman of the House Still, the square-jawed congress- before Wisconsin sent Paul Ryan to Budget Committee, Ryan gives man is viewed as a bridge between Congress, he was meticulously carv- Romney a link to Capitol Hill lead- the buttoned-up GOP establishment ing a path that seemed to point only ership and underscores Romney’s and the riled-up tea party movement. upward. effort to make the election a ref- At 42, Ryan has spent almost half As a young Capitol Hill staffer, erendum on the nation’s economic of his life in the Washington fold, ASSOCIATED PRESS he impressed Republican lawmak- course. Romney also could see his the last 14 representing a southern Republican Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney (left) and his ers with his hustle and intellectual standing improve in Wisconsin, a Wisconsin district that runs from the running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. wave to the crowd as curiosity. He blended quickly with an state President Barack Obama won shores of Lake Michigan through they arrive for a rally at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, elite crop of conservative thinkers. handily four years ago but that could farm country south of Madison. Va. Ryan is considered to be a bridge between the buttoned- By his 30s, he was a congressman be much tighter this November. Ryan grew up in Janesville and still up establishment and the rifled-up tea party movement. on his way to becoming a GOP name Even so, Ryan has been a double- brand with his push-the-edge budget edged sword for Romney. The con- VP continued on 6A Vol. 138, No. 143 Opinion . 4A CALL US: TODAY IN COMING (386) 752-1293 Business . 1C5A 9193 6471 Obituaries . 5A PEOPLE TUESDAY SUBSCRIBE TO ChanceT-Storm of Chance T-Storms Obituaries . 6A THE REPORTER: Advice.Advice & . .Comics . .. 5D8B Return of the Local news Voice: 755-5445 Puzzles . 5B Fax: 752-9400 WEATHER, 2A8A Puzzles . 2B Spice Girls. roundup. 2A 2A LAKE CITY REPORTER SUNDAY REPORT SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2012 Page Editor: Rick Burnham, 754-0424 Friday: Friday: Saturday: Saturday: Saturday: Saturday: 9-17-29-41 8 2-6-32-33-34 Afternoon: 5-9-6 Afternoon: 7-6-7-0 N/A N/A Evening: N/A Evening: N/A AROUND FLORIDA Artist completes 8-mile lighthouse swim ISLAMORADA — A Florida Keys artist has completed an eight-mile Deputy hits, kills pedestrian Atlantic Ocean swim to raise aware- responding to call ness for preserving six aging light- ORLANDO — Authorities say a houses off the island chain. pedestrian in central Florida is dead Larry Herlth’s roundtrip swim to after being struck by a deputy sheriff Alligator Reef Lighthouse Saturday on her way to a call. took the 52-year-old five hours and 11 Officials report two deputies were minutes. He was escorted by several responding to a report of four suspects boats and paddle boarders. fleeing in a stolen vehicle. One of the Known locally as “Lighthouse suspects was armed. Larry” for his detailed, scale metal The Orange County Sheriff’s Office reproductions of Keys lighthouses, deputies were in two separate cars, one Herlth is passionate about the need to traveling behind the other.