County Tax-Cut Scheme Junked
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A3 SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2019 | YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1874 | $2 Lake City Reporter LAKECITYREPORTER.COM >> SUNDAY + PLUS Preseason 1D ‘Clear the Phish Shelters’ Classic to at local Tales Humane Colquitt Society at 20 Travel Tales See 6A SPORTS/1B See 1C High Springs 50-year anniversary fest MUCH-HYPED PLAN IS DEAD A wet Woodstock — just County tax-cut the way they remember it scheme Three friends meet to relive the weekend of August 15-18, 1969. junked By CARL MCKINNEY [email protected] BOCC won’t be slashing Festival organizers said ad valorem rates after all. it would go on through rain or ‘shine. They kept to their By CARL MCKINNEY word and pressed on with [email protected] the Woodstock revival, ‘It was just A heavily hyped plan to cut coun- which drew a ty property tax rates over a two-year peace, love small-but-ded- and music window has been thrown out the win- icated crowd dow. Faced with the choice of slashing — that’s that toughed property what it was out the bad OUR OPINION taxes or all about. I weather at the n Spouting off for short- don’t think High Springs term political gain, 4A. having a it could Lions Club on dedicated ever hap- Saturday. source of funding for roadwork, the pen again.’ For Dori Columbia County Commission is going Steele, a little with the second option for the coming drizzle was budget cycle — abandoning a proposal nothing compared to what she that was front-and-center in multiple put up with for several days in discussions at public meetings earlier 1969. And it was worth it, by this year. the way, she said. The county has approved a floor bud- “It was crazy, but it was a CARL MCKINNEY/Lake City Reporter good crazy,” Steele said. “It get for the next fiscal year that keeps was incredible that we could ABOVE: Ilene property taxes at the same rate of 8.015 all get together like that. It Whitesman, left, mills, or $8.015 for every $1,000 of a was just peace, love and music Dori Steele, center, property’s taxable value. — that’s what it was all about. and Ava Roeder The county is expecting a roughly I don’t think it could ever hap- take a trip down $2.2 million increase in revenue just pen again.” memory lane in from new construction and higher Twenty-five years old and High Springs on property values, plus an additional $2 living in Manhattan at the Saturday morning. million in sales and gas tax revenue. time, Steele and her husband Officials say they wanted to pass on heard the original Woodstock The trio gathered the prosperity in the form of a half-mill advertised on local radio sta- for Woodstock tions. Revisited, paying cut in property taxes, but the math “So I said, ‘let’s pack up a tribute to the origi- BOCC continued on 7A tent and go,’” she said. nal event they also They didn’t make it all the attended in 1969. way. Roeder is holding “My Volkswagon bus engine her tickets for the blew up somewhere on the real Woodstock Shooting highway. It was a goner,” from five decades Steele said. “But fortunately, ago. LEFT: The we were picked up by other people. three are also pic- claims life A decent-sized crowd was tured somewhere already assembled at the festi- in the crowd of val grounds when they arrived 500,000 or so at of LC teen on a Friday, and it would only the original get bigger as the weekend festival. See photo, 5A. A shooting at Windsong Apartments 500,000 continued on 3A AP Photo took the life of an 18-year-old man Saturday afternoon, police said. Lake City Police officers and CCSO deputies arrived at 2580 SW Windsong Circle at 2:52 p.m., three minutes after That’s why it’s called Alligator Lake receiving the call, to find the victim with a gunshot wound to the head. By CARL MCKINNEY He was breathing and officers con- [email protected] ducted CPR but died shortly after the It didn’t get named Alligator Lake for nothing. arrival of EMTs, according to an LCPD An unidentified man fished a small gator out of press release. the lake around 11:45 a.m. Friday, but promptly FDLE and the Third Circuit State released the reptile and left the scene for fear Attorney’s office are assisting LCPD in he’d land in hot water with game officials, said the investigation. The victim’s identity Deanna Abernathy, who captured the moment in has not been released pending notifica- a photo that made the rounds on social media. tion of next of kin. “He hurried up and left the area after he let “This senseless act of violence will it go,” Abernathy told the Lake City Reporter. not be tolerated,” LCPD Chief Argatha “Even though he did nothing wrong.” Gilmore said in the release. “We are Abernathy said the man did not wish to have his name put out on the web, but did give her currently following several leads and permission to post the photos. hope to bring swift justice to who- Abernathy said she was just hanging out in the Photos by DEANNA ABERNATHY/Special to the Reporter ever committed this murder. In the area on her lunch break. An unidentified angler (right) accidentally meantime, we ask that sympathy and “I love going out and taking pictures,” she caught an alligator at the lake Friday. The little thoughts go to the victim’s family.” said. guy is still on the hook in the photo above. — From staff reports Vol. 145, No. 112 CALL US: TODAY’S WEATHER Opinion . 4A (386) 752-1293 Obituaries . 7A FOOTBALL SUBSCRIBE TO Sports . 1B Fort White fit to be tied, 1B THE REPORTER: 86 71 Voice: 755-5445 Classified . 5B Fax: 752-9400 Showers likely, 2A 2A SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2019 LOCAL LAKE CITY REPORTER App sends location to dispatcher QUICK HITS Scripture of the Day 911 gives cell users a boost “Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.” — Psalm 84:9 (KJV) Free service will said. “But pretty much in save lives, county the near future, it’s going to start expanding a lot Thought for Today officials believe. more, to the point where By TONY BRITT we can get a little bit more May you live all the days of your life. [email protected] information,” such as — Jonathan Swift, 1667-1745, British writer telematics data, voice and The Columbia County video. 911 Communications The RapidSOS system, Center has a new way to which is currently available Winning Lottery Numbers collect location data from through a web-based appli- 911 callers using their cell- cation, was installed near Pick 3: (Friday p.m.) 2-4-5 phones. the end of May and went Pick 4: (Friday p.m.) 8-8-9-9 The agency is partnering into operation on June 4. Fantasy 5: (Friday) 1-2-3-16-23 with RapidSOS to get more Rosenfeld said all the com- accurate location informa- munication center dispatch- tion from the 911 callers. ers were familiar with the See an error? “RapidSOS is a different technology and minimal The Lake City Reporter corrects errors of fact in news way to obtain location infor- training was needed. items. If you have a concern, question, or suggestion, mation than the traditional The communication please call the editor. Corrections and clarifications will way,” said Jason Rosenfeld, center is expected to get an run in this space. Thanks for reading. Columbia County 911 upgrade at the end of the Communications Center year, which should include quality assurance and access to the RapidSOS Submissions training coordinator. “It information automatically. The Lake City Reporter accepts photographs and caption calls itself a clearinghouse “We decided to go with information to run at the discretion of the editor. If you would of information from the the RapidSOS because we like to see your organization in the newspaper, send the picture Internet of Things (smart wanted to stay modern — and information to [email protected]. phones, connected cars, as modern as possible,” and wearables such as Rosenfeld said.”There is no fitbits and Apple watches) other way to get this.” Lake City Reporter and connected homes.” RapidSOS has also HOW TO REACH US BUSINESS ........... 754-0419 RapidSOS, which is developed a tool called Main number ....... (386) 752-1293 device-based, accesses CIRCULATION SOS Beacon, an app Fax number ............ 752-9400 Global Positioning Systems Circulation............. 755-5445 Home delivery of the Lake City Reporter that can be installed on (GPS) built into cellphones’ Online .... www.lakecityreporter.com should be completed by 6:30 a.m. any smartphone. Once operating systems and The Lake City Reporter, an affiliate Tuesday through Friday, and by 7:30 installed, it activates itself of Community Newspapers Inc., is a.m. on Sunday. provides accurate location automatically in the back- published Tuesday through Friday and Please call 386-755-5445 to report any information to the 911 Sunday at 180 E. Duval St., Lake City, ground when 911 is dialed problems with your delivery service. operator. FL 32055. Periodical postage paid at for an emergency. After Lake City, FL, Member Audit Bureau of In Columbia County, customers should Rosenfeld described COURTESY Circulation and The Associated Press. call before 10:30 a.m. to report a installing SOS Beacon, RapidSOS as a new tech- The welcome screen of the SOS Beacon app is seen.