A3 + PLUS >> 5 factors that weaken your immune system, Health/3A PREP FOOTBALL ELECTION Columbia turns to DeSantis, Florida GOP Peterson at QB declare Trump win See Page 9A See Page 3A WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 | YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1874 | $1.00 Lake City Reporter LAKECITYREPORTER.COM ELECTION 2020 ELECTION RESULTS Voters Keen, Sampson, against Unofficial results TAX COLLECTOR Kyle Keen 25,763 unified Davie Parrish 5,447 COUNTY COMM., DIST. 3 Robby Hollingsworth 3,981 local Bucky Nash (I) 3,292 CITY COUNCIL, DIST. 13 Hollingsworth win gov’t James Crenshaw 602 Todd Sampson 639 FORT WHITE MAYOR Consolidation straw poll fails; voters OK tax Ronnie Frazier 177 breaks for businesses. James Richardson 133 COUNTY ORDINANCE 2020-12 By JAMIE WACHTER [email protected] For 21,402 Against 9,238 Columbia County voters have COUNTY ORDINANCE 2020-13 spoken and they don’t want a con- solidated government. For 13,117 In a non-binding straw poll ref- Against 17,072 erendum on Tuesday’s ballot, vot- COUNTY ORDINANCE 2020-14 ers were against the proposition appearing on a future ballot by a For 14,131 56.55-43.45% outcome. Against 15,877 David Kraus, the interim coun- COUNTY ORDINANCE 2020-15 ty manager, said he could see why some county residents wouldn’t For 26,951 be in favor of consolidation, fear- Against 3,386 ing that Lake City would receive COUNTY ORDINANCE 2020-16 the lion’s share of the services. “If you were in a very rural For 25,284 area, you may feel like you won’t Against 4,723 get your roads paved because all COUNTY ORDINANCE 2020-17 the road paving might be in the TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter city,” Kraus said. “It’s typically a For 25,507 Emilee Southwell (from left), Robby Hollingsworth and Zach Hollingsworth take a break from much more urbanized area that Against 4,692 an election victory dinner Tuesday night after Robby Hollingsworth was elected the Columbia goes for consolidation.” CITY AMENDMENT 1 County Commission District 3 representative. Precincts in the outlying areas of the county did indeed over- For 3,457 Council, BOCC get new members in close votes whelming vote against that idea. Against 843 Kraus added that even without By JAMIE WACHTER 51.49% of the vote of the 1,241 Countywide, voters over- worrying about a unified govern- CITY AMENDMENT 2 [email protected] votes cast in that race. whelmingly elected Republican ment body, there is plenty of work For 3,408 Sampson will replace Melinda Kyle Keen to be its new tax to keep county staff occupied Against 883 Both the Lake City Council Moses, who did not seek re-elec- collector. Keen received 25,763 moving forward. and the Columbia County Board tion. votes to outdistance Libertarian Among those tasks is boosting CITY AMENDMENT 3 of County Commissioners will Also new to a local gov- candidate Davie Parrish, who economic development by attract- For 3,510 have new representation follow- erning board will be Robby received 5,447 votes. ing new business. ing Tuesday’s election. Hollingsworth, who outlasted Keen will take over from Voters gave the county a help- Against 748 The city’s District 13 voters incumbent Bucky Nash by just Ronnie Brannon, who did not ing hand in that regard Tuesday CITY AMENDMENT 4 elected C. Todd Sampson to shy of 700 votes. Hollingsworth run for re-election. as well by passing an ordinance the council by 37 votes ahead was chosen by 4,003 voters from For 3,393 of James Crenshaw, garnering District 3 to Nash’s 3,313 votes. CLOSE continued on 13A UNIFIED continued on 13A Against 841 CITY AMENDMENT 5 For 3,066 Against 1,207 Hollingsworth knocks Sampson edges CITY AMENDMENT 6 For 2,545 off incumbent Nash Crenshaw in Against 1,649 Hard work credited for Hollingsworth collected 4,003 votes, CITY AMENDMENT 7 roughly 54.72% of the vote to unseat city’s District 13 win of 700 votes in first Nash who tallied 3,313 votes, roughly For 3,112 political undertaking. 45.28%, of the vote. Council race to a 37-vote margin, claiming Against 1,128 “It’s a humbling experience,” replace Moses 51.49% of the vote against CITY AMENDMENT 8 By TONY BRITT Hollingsworth said of winning the decided by 37 votes. James Crenshaw. Sampson [email protected] District 3 county commission seat. won the District 13 race 639- For 3,301 “It’s something I’ve never, never done By TODD WILSON 602. Against 954 Political upstart Robby before and the people of Columbia [email protected] Sampson will take office in Hollingsworth pulled off an upset County were so encouraging and good December and will replace U.S. PRESIDENT * Tuesday night by defeating incum- to me that it kept me going. I could tell Todd Sampson was elect- retiring City Councilwoman Joe Biden 8,900 bent Sylvester “Bucky” Nash to earn they wanted a change and I just want- ed to Lake Melinda Moses. the Columbia County Commission ed to make sure I earned their vote.” City Council Ten phone calls to Donald Trump (I) 23,819 District 3 seat. Hollingsworth said the win means Tuesday Sampson seeking a winner’s *Columbia County totals only After months of campaigning, nei- that he’s fixing to have to go to work. night in the comment on Tuesday night MORE INSIDE, PAGE 13A ther Hollingsworth nor Nash were “… Doing the things I said I wanted closest race were not returned. able to capture a majority of the votes to do, working on economic devel- of any on Sampson won the race in during the August election. Tuesday opment and working on veteran ser- the ballot. the absentee mail-in ballot night Hollingsworth was able to Sampson Sampson emerge victorious in the runoff. COUNTY continued on 13A won the District 13 seat by CITY continued on 13A Vol. 146, No. 164 Obituaries . 2A CALL US: TODAY’S WEATHER (386) 752-1293 Health. 3A Opinion . 4A SUBSCRIBE TO 75 59 THE REPORTER: Advice & Comics . 5A Voice: 755-5445 Fax: 752-9400 Sunny, 2A Classifieds . 6-7A 2A WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2020 LOCAL LAKE CITY REPORTER QUICK HITS Scripture of the Day “Let every soul be subject unto the higher pow- ers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” — Romans 13:1 (KJV) Thought for Today A life spent making mistakes is not only more honor- able, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. — George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish dramatist Winning Lottery Numbers TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter Columbia City Elementary students James Thomas (from left), Reese Wilson, Brantley Robinson, Olivia Pick 3: (Monday p.m.) 5-3-1 Medeiros, Hunter West and Luke Jordan show off food donations collected with Vickie Tuell, CCE guidance Pick 4: (Monday p.m.) 4-4-1-2 counselor, and Jonathan Jordan, CCE principal. Fantasy 5: (Monday) 1-8-11-12-30 See an error? The Lake City Reporter corrects errors of fact in news CCE students collect food items. If you have a concern, question, or suggestion, please call the editor. Corrections and clarifications will run in this space. Thanks for reading. for Thanksgiving donation Submissions By TONY BRITT the food collection drive to stored. also versed daily to listen, The Lake City Reporter accepts photographs and caption [email protected] teach our students about Tuell said the food love and learn and the information to run at the discretion of the editor. If you would giving and helping those collection drive benefits tremendous outpouring of like to see your organization in the newspaper, send the picture Columbia City in need, who may be less students as well as the food donations and information to the editor: [email protected]. Elementary School students fortunate at this particu- community. “If you see all these put forth a championship lar time, that’s the most “It helps them (students) cans, that tells me they effort to help those less for- important part of it,” said to understand empathy and really love their neighbor, tunate this holiday season. Jonathan Jordan, Columbia to put themselves in other in a sense. That’s the most Lake City Reporter The school’s students City Elementary School people’s shoes to know important thing to me,” he HOW TO REACH US ADVERTISING recently participated in principal. what it was like to not have said. “These kinds of skills Main number .......(386) 752-1293 Director Chris Ratliff a food collection where Fax number ............ 752-9400 (386) 754-0417 Representatives from and they wanted to make and activities, to me, are Circulation............. 755-5445 ([email protected]) the food will be donated Online ....www.lakecityreporter.com Catholic Charities are sure kids have,” she said. just as important if not way CLASSIFIED to Catholic Charities for The Lake City Reporter, an affiliate scheduled to gather the Jordan said his daily more important, than the of Community Newspapers Inc., Kym Harrison Thanksgiving. food from the school this message at the school is to books and academic pieces, is published Tuesday through (386) 755-5440 The food collection drive Saturday/Sunday at 180 E. Duval (classifi[email protected]) week. keep reminding students because this is those life St., Lake City, FL 32055. Periodical began Oct. 1 and continued “They will take the food to come to school and be skills that are so important.” postage paid at Lake City, Florida, BUSINESS OFFICE until Oct. 30. Columbia City Member of The Associated Press Vickie Busscher and make baskets for our a champion at everything Tuell added: “It kind of and the Florida Press Association.