Missing Escrow Funds Called

1A SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 | YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1874 | $1.00 Lake City Reporter LAKECITYREPORTER.COM Major cattle Couple’s prison SUNDAY EDITION sale coming ministry at LCCF to Columbia. 1C is recognized. 1D Event to honor memory of student Inaugural Unity Day resulting in the birth of “Unity County school resource officers and initiated the Unity Day meet- signs of bullying and educating Day” — an event to address bul- met at the police station where ing. children on how to handle bully- will address issues lying as well as honor the mem- residents and officials worked to Terry said Smith’s moth- ing situations. related to bullying. ory of Smith, who died just days coordinate the community event. er, Charita Johnson, believes “I heard about the story and it before he would have entered The inaugural Unity Day Davion’s death was the result broke my heart,” Terry said. “I eighth grade. event will take place 5-7 p.m. of bullying. Neither police nor have two children about to enter By TONY BRITT Friday, representatives from Wednesday Oct. 10 in the Lake school officials have released the Columbia County school sys- [email protected] the Lake City Police Department, City Mall, center court. information on the circumstances tem and the story touched me.” MOMS Club of Lake City, Girl “We’ll have a few activities out- surrounding Smith’s August 21 Preliminary Unity Day event The unexpected death of a Scouts of Columbia County, Party side the mall as well, but the main death. activities include an opening cer- Richardson Middle School stu- Down 4 Less, Fiesta Creations activities will take place inside,” Terry said she and the others emony and a moment of silence dent, Davion Markhel Smith, has Event Planning, Columbia County said Genovese Terry, Genovese planned the Unity Day event as a sparked a community reaction School Board and Columbia Terry, a parent who organized way of educating parents on the BULLYING continued on 3A Johnson, Missing escrow funds Hill still called ‘horrible mess’ at odds Negative evaluation of city manager nixed by council. By TONY BRITT [email protected] By a 4-1 vote, the city council disqualified Councilman Jake Hill’s personnel evaluation for City Manager Wendell Johnson after Hill gave Johnson the lowest pos- sible score on each criterion, with- out listing a reason for the scores. Council members were tasked with giving Johnson evaluation scores in two areas: General Performance Evaluation and Supervisory Performance Evaluation. The reporting period for the evaluation was from July 6, 2011- July 5, 2012. Councilman Jake Hill’s scores evaluating Johnson’s performance during the past year were disqualified and tossed away, by a council vote of 4-1 at the Sept. 17 city council meeting, with Hill casting the dissenting vote. Hill gave Johnson a score of “1.2” on all General Performance areas, CITY continued on 3A Another JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter The office Sierra Title, LLC of Lake City has been closed since Aug. 17 after it was discovered that about $190,000 was missing from the compa- look at ny’s escrow accounts, according to court records. A sign posted on the door instructs those with claims to contact, via email, [email protected]. $190K said gone from title company’s accounts life in the By ROBERT BRIDGES Civil War [email protected] By TONY BRITT A Lake City-based title company [email protected] could face legal trouble over funds allegedly missing from its escrow OLUSTEE — Civilian life and a accounts, according to court papers look into life at a Civil War military filed in Jacksonville. encampment were key features About $190,000 is missing from of Saturday’s Olustee Civil War the accounts of Sierra Title, LLC, Expo. of Lake City, plaintiff Chicago Title The Olustee Civil War Expo Insurance alleges. Sierra Title, was held at the Olustee Battlefield which formerly had an office in Historic State Park in Baker County Jacksonville, was a policy-issuing and drew more than 200 people agent for Chicago Title. from around the area. Money in the account was from Tents were set up where exhibi- third-party depositors for the pur- tors showed weapons from the era, chase of real estate or in connec- military uniforms and where mer- tion with real estate closing trans- chants also showed goods used actions, and may include payments from the period. for title insurance, Chicago Title In addition, a group of men prac- says. ticed military drills and living his- “It’s a horrible mess,” said Kristy torians gave demonstrations show- Harrington, an Orlando attorney casing how daily tasks were done representing the Lake City Board in the 1860s. of Realtors. She said she knows of “The Expo helps promote aware- 20-25 area transactions that may ness and to get people excited have been comromised. about the Olustee Re-Enactment Harrington said she is aware Battle that we’re going to have in of at least three cases throughout February,” said Andrea Thomas, JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter FUNDS continued on 3A Sierra Title is seen at the Branford Crossing shopping plaza. EXPO continued on 3A Vol. 138, No. 170 Opinion . 4A CALL US: TODAY IN COMING (386) 752-1293 Business . 1C5A 9190 6460 Obituaries . 5A PEOPLE TUESDAY SUBSCRIBE TO T-StormPartly cloudyChance Obituaries . 6A THE REPORTER: Advice.Advice & . .Comics . .. 5D8B Ryan in Local news Voice: 755-5445 Puzzles . 5B Fax: 752-9400 WEATHER, 2A8A Puzzles . 2B Orlando. roundup. 2A 2A LAKE CITY REPORTER SUNDAY REPORT SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 Page Editor: Robert Bridges, 754-0428 Friday: Friday: Saturday: Saturday: Saturday: Saturday: xx-xx-xx-xx xx xx-xx-xx-xx-xx Afternoon: x-x-x Afternoon: x-x-x-x xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx Evening: x-x-x Evening: x-x-x-x AROUND FLORIDA Ryan condemns contraception requirement ORLANDO — Miami earlier Saturday, Republican vice presi- Ryan courted Cuban- dential candidate Paul American voters with Ryan on Saturday derided promises that a Romney President Obama’s space administration would program and called his support pro-democ- administration’s require- racy groups in Cuba ment that hospitals and and “clamp down” on universities, including the island’s communist, Catholic ones, be required Castro-led government to offer contraception an with tougher policies “assault on religious lib- than President Barack erty.” Obama has followed. Ryan promised at a town Florida is the biggest hall meeting in Orlando up-for-grabs state in the that GOP presidential November election, and nominee Mitt Romney Ryan’s promises come would reverse the con- just days after two polls traception mandate on of likely Florida voters, “Day 1” if he is elected one by Fox News and one president. The mandate by NBC, showed Obama requiring all insurance leading 49 percent to 44 plans to include access to percent. Such promises contraception was part of play well among Miami’s Obama’s health care over- older, Cuban-American haul. voters who can have an Ryan’s comments came impact in competitive in a response to a woman’s races. question about whether he Obama has eased would ask Vice President restrictions to allow Joe Biden in a debate how Americans to travel he reconciles his views to Cuba and Cuban- as a Roman Catholic with Americans to send money the Democratic Party plat- to family on the island. form. But the president has Both Ryan and Biden stopped well short of are Catholic. discussing lifting the “It will be gone. I can ASSOCIATED PRESS 50-year-old economic guarantee you that,” Ryan Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan greets people at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland on Friday. embargo, which is widely told the crowd of 2,200 viewed in Latin America supporters in an arena at as a failure and has the University of Central end of the space shuttle back to the Moon and tion as the unequivocal “In the past, Mitt complicated U.S. rela- Florida. program last year. eventually on to Mars. leader in space,” Ryan Romney has criticized tionships in the region. Ryan answered a series Obama in 2010 can- Obama’s space initiatives said. Washington politicians Obama’s call for demo- of questions from sup- celled the Constellation emphasize cooperation The Obama campaign in for pandering to Florida cratic change in Cuba porters at the town hall program, which was with private companies in Florida fired back immedi- voters by making empty during April’s Summit of meeting. He derided the launched under President sending supplies and astro- ately, sending out a state- promises about space,” the the Americas in Colombia Obama administration’s Bush’s administration as nauts to the international ment just minutes after statement said. “After his drew criticism from the space program, a sensitive a successor to the shuttle space station and beyond. Ryan’s speech ended that event today, it’s probably Castro government. subject in central Florida program. The goal of the “He has put the space accused Ryan of repeat- time for Romney to have a where thousands of jobs Constellation program had program on a path where edly voting against NASA talk with Paul Ryan.” have been lost since the been to send astronauts we’re conceding our posi- funding. At a campaign stop in ■ Associated Press PEOPLE IN THE NEWS Daily Scripture “Accept one another, then, just Beav’s brother Tony Dow now an artist as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I TOPANGA, Calif.

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