The Legend of Tom's Place
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SUNDAY, JUNE 10, 2012 | YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1874 | $1.00 Lake City Reporter LAKECITYREPORTER.COM Rookie qualifier Summer adventures, SUNDAY EDITION action continues courtesy Columbia at Southside. 1B County 4-H. 1D County balks at water rules years that I have been on to support it. Period.” once per week. Car washing and pressure Refuses to back this board that my mind Attending citizens applauded Williams’ cleaning is also limited as well as outside has been made up, but statement. and inside aesthetic water uses. SRWMD plan to read my lips: My mind is The SRWMD order, issued May 29, will The county had been asked by SRWMD made up,” Commissioner restrict water usage for residential, agri- to schedule a public hearing and pass an restrict usage. Ron Williams said at cultural, commercial and industrial users ordinance implementing the new rules. Thursday’s meeting. “I within the district. Counties affected by However, the issue died on lack of a By HANNAH O. BROWN am not supporting any Williams the ordinance include Columbia, Dixie, motion. [email protected] ordinance governing Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Under the ordinance the county com- what and when a county resident can Suwannee, Taylor and Union counties mission had been asked to adopt, the pen- The county commission has taken a do what they want to with their water. as well as portions of Alachua, Baker, alties were as follows: a verbal warning for stand against the Suwannee River Water SRWMD has the authority to do that them- Bradford, Jefferson, Levy and Putnam. the first offense, a written warning for the Management District’s recent push to selves. Here again, it goes to back to they Under the new rules, which take effect second, a $25 fine for the third and a $50 restrict water usage. want to conserve our water so that we can Wednesday, citizens within the district will “There haven’t been one or two over the be sucked dry by JEA and I am not going be limited to watering their lawns only WATER continued on 7A Porter picks up The legend of Tom’s Place where she Lounge, a landmark since the 50s, is razed to make left off room for a Family Dollar. By TONY BRITT Unopposed, she [email protected] can focus efforts Never a cover charge, live entertainment and an establishment that featured a painting on water issues. of cartoon cat — Tom’s Place was a local lounge that literally became a hometown By HANNAH O. BROWN legend. [email protected] What started out as Ivey’s Lounge in the 1950s became Tom’s Place, then Tom and With no one running against Jerry’s and, finally, Legends, a local bar and her, District 10 state Rep. Elizabeth lounge with a package shop and live enter- Porter has been assured another tainment. The establishment had two floors term in Tallahassee. With the and housed pool tables and video games weight of campaigning off her upstairs. shoulders, she’s ready to dive into Constructed in 1956 as a nightclub/bar, the the fight for water in the area. establishment was originally built as Ivey’s “That's my big push, that's my Lounge. Last week crews began demolition real concern for this area,” Porter work on the former bar site to make way for a said. “Because Family Dollar store. if we don't have Thomas Stinson, former general manag- that, we don't er and vice president of Aero Corp. (now JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter have agricultural, Timco), purchased the lounge from Ivey Thomas Stinson looks through hundred of photographs of staff, patrons and celebrities that vis- to include live- Swilley and his wife in 1972. Stinson said ited his lounge/bar/nightclub. The establishment, which was torn down Wednesday, has been a stock, we don't when he bought Ivey’s Lounge it was a 40 x town favorite since its initial run as Ivey’s Lounge, to Tom’s Place, to Tom and Jerrys and finally to have dairies, we 40 block construction lounge and package Legends. don't have eco- store with a trailer park in the back that had Porter tourism, which 12 mobile homes. The lounge was operated in is a huge issue that configuration until 1981. for this area and at some point Stinson, who recently celebrated his 76th we won't even have consumption, birthday, said he spent many 15-16 hour days and we will have restrictions.” working at the lounge. Porter said her job as state In 1991 he first expanded the lounge representative is to make connec- and increased the size of the establishment tions and advance legislation on and through other later expansion projects, the issues. However, a great deal increased the amount of parking spaces, the of education on complexities of size of the lounge and later built a second water management has also been floor. necessary for her position. “Early to bed and early to rise, work like She spent several days last week hell and advertise,” was his mantra for close touring local waterways with offi- to three decades, he said. cials from the Suwannee River Stinson fondly remembers the days he Water Management District. operated Tom’s Place, when he had a live Porter says she plans to refile band called “The Tom Cats” play regularly, her bill to consolidate the research but also managed to attract many up-and-com- conducted by the water manage- ing country music artists who had performed JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter ment districts in the state in the at the Grand Ole Opry. A Lake City landmark for years, Tom’s Place, more recently known as Legends, has been bulldozed PORTER continued on 3A TOM’S continued on 7A to make way for a new Family Dollar Store. Qualifying ends; field now set for fall elections By HANNAH O. BROWN Ronnie Brannon will Mike Millikin, will not run er. [email protected] run unopposed for Tax in the upcoming election. City qualifiers have also Collector. Looking to take his seat been announced. The stage is set for the 2012 primary District 1 County are Kenneth Burt, Sr., Running unopposed election. Qualified candidates have been Commission has several Terry Huddleston, Glenn for Mayor of Lake City is announced by both the city, county and qualified candidates vying Hunter and Grady “Sam” incumbent Stephen Witt. state election officials. for the office including Markham. Incumbent Jake Hill, Jr. The field is expansive for the county this incumbent Ron Williams, Horne The School Board Brannon and Zack Paulk are look- Crews year with multiple candidates running in Oni Allen, Randal Thomas District 2 seat is empty ing to occupy the City several positions. and Clarence Tucker. with Charles Maxwell foregoing the race Council District 12 seat. Clerk of Court P. Dewitt Cason will run Incumbent Jody DuPree will run against this year. Dana Brady, Cedric Davis and City Council District 13 will be con- unopposed. William Aldridge, Mike Gordon, Dennis Debra Robarts are now looking to fill the tested between incumbent Melinda Moses Property Appraiser J. Doyle Crews will Morse and Slyvester “Bucky” Nash for seat. and Ricky Jernigan. run unopposed. District 3 County Commission. William Hudson will run unopposed for Qualified State candidates are included Qualified candidates for Sheriff include The District 5 County Commission seat School Board District 4. below. incumbent Mark Hunter, Rudolph Davis, will be pursued by incumbent Scarlett The seat for School Board District 5 Blair Payne will run unopposed Third Sr., and Carl Hodson. Frisina, Michael Christie, Jason Futch and will be contested by Stephanie Finnell, Circuit Public Defender. Elizabeth Horne is the single candidate Tim Murphy. Bill Gootee and Gordon Summers. Glenn running for Supervisor of Elections. The current Superintendent of Schools, Hunter served as the previous seat hold- CANDIDATES continued on 7A Vol. 138, No. 98 Opinion . 4A CALL US: TODAY IN COMING (386) 752-1293 Business . 1C5A 9192 6471 Obituaries . 5A PEOPLE TUESDAY SUBSCRIBE TO ChanceT-Storm of Chance T-storms Obituaries . 6A THE REPORTER: Advice.Advice & . .Comics . .. 5D8B Lindsey Lohan Local news Voice: 755-5445 Puzzles . 5B Fax: 752-9400 WEATHER, 2A8A Puzzles . 2B at it again. roundup. 2A 2A LAKE CITY REPORTER SUNDAY REPORT SUNDAY, JUNE 10, 2012 Page Editor: Rick Burnham, 754-0424 Friday: Friday: Saturday: Saturday: Saturday: Saturday: 2-5-9-34 6 2-24-27-29-30 Afternoon: 1-9-7 Afternoon: 7-1-1-2 N/A N/A Evening: 4-4-0 Evening: 5-8-4-8 AROUND FLORIDA Funeral held for Miami face chewer MIAMI — Mourners arrested Wednesday while paper claims. statues, arched doorways are gathering to remember visiting her at an Orlando Two men, 54-year-old and an open air courtyard. the man police say chewed hospital. Scott Weiss and 52-year- The home at 1116 Ocean off the face of a homeless Police say the girl found old Mitchell Friedman, Drive received national man on a busy Miami a handgun on May 12 and pleaded guilty this week attention in 1997, when highway. shot herself in the chest to wire fraud conspiracy. Versace was fatally shot in A funeral was held while her parents were The third man, 46-year-old front of the property. He Saturday for 31-year-old in another room. Doctors Richard Chiat, pleaded had purchased the home Rudy Eugene. Police brought her out of a guilty earlier this month. in 1992 and spent about shot and killed Eugene medically induced coma All face maximum five-year $33 million expanding it.