Genetics Was the Key Old Furniture, Tires, Mattresses and More Into the Scrubtown Sinkhole
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A3 SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2018 | YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1874 | $2 Lake City Reporter LAKECITYREPORTER.COM SUNDAY + PLUS >> Tigers 1B Just what WHOLE we’ve been roll LOTTA waiting for over BULL 1D Opinion/4A Bolles TASTE BUDDIES See 6C COMMUNITY CLEANUP TOP BANANA MODERN VERSION OF THE FRUIT OWES ITS EXISTENCE TO THIS LAKE CITY MAN Photos by TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter A volunteer drags a garbage can loaded with debris from the sinkhole on Scrubtown Road Saturday. Around 20 volunteers pitched in to help. SCRUBTOWN SCRUB DOWN Photos by CARL MCKINNEY/Lake City Reporter Furniture, mattresses, Nader Vakili holds up two hands of bananas, which are commonly misidentified more pulled from pit. as bunches. Vakili’s work as a plant geneticist-pathologist was used to breed modern bananas found in grocery stores. By TONY BRITT [email protected] FORT WHITE — For gen- erations people threw garbage, Genetics was the key old furniture, tires, mattresses and more into the Scrubtown sinkhole. Nader Vakili figured Saturday, around 20 volun- out how to breed a teers and members of various sterile ‘mutant’ plant. environmental groups gathered at the sinkhole to clean the By CARL MCKINNEY debris from the area. Less than [email protected] three hours in, they had nearly filled a 30-cubic-yard trash bin. A piece of Nader Vakili The group plans to return next is in the bananas sold in Saturday. grocery stores throughout “We’re holding a cleanup for the world. this sinkhole on Scrubtown Eric Wise struggles to keep his footing Vakili explained the Saturday. Volunteers will return to finish the technique he developed CLEANUP continued on 2A job on Nov. 10, next Saturday. that is now used to breed the modern version of the fruit. “The banana we eat today is a strange crea- Vakili examines a wild banana plant in his Lake City Early vote turnout a record ture,” Vakili said. yard. At least one specimen is the direct descendant The 91-year-old retired of a sample he brought back from Vietnam. By TONY BRITT election, which saw 24.25 percent. plant geneticist-pathologist tbritt@lakecityreporter Saturday was the final day of the early “Diseases were really carried in stores today. discussed the scientific raising havoc with the Cavendish bananas are voting period with a total of 1,401 votes basis of the challenges company,” Vakili said. sterile “mutants,” Vakili Columbia County set a record for cast on the final day — 1,110 in Lake City faced by the United Fruit Until the 1950s, most said. early voter turnout in a midterm elec- and 291 in Fort White. Company in the mid-20th bananas cultivated and “And consequently, it tion, with 15,613 local voters casting During the week of early voting, 8,375 century. sold commercially were of is difficult to handle,” he ballots through early voting at precincts votes were cast in person in Lake City “It’s too technical,” Gros Michel variety, nick- said. “To breed.” or voting by mail. Roughly 38.37 percent and 2,189 were cast in Fort White. Vakili said. named “Big Mike.” Vakili, after earning The bottom line, he of the county’s 40,375 registered voters The first day of early voting was one of Panama Disease wiped a Ph.D. from Purdue said, was the multi-nation- have already cast ballots, besting the the busier days during the early voting out vast tracts of planta- University in Indiana, was al business was bleeding tions, forcing a switch to 2014 election, which saw an early voter period, with 1,750 voters casting ballots. money. turnout of 28.01 percent, and the 2010 Election Day is Tuesday. the Cavendish banana BANANAS continued on 7A Vol. 144, No. 156 Opinion . 4A CALL US: TODAY’S WEATHER (386) 752-1293 Obituaries . 5A Puzzles . 2-3B FORT WHITE ROYALTY SUBSCRIBE TO THE REPORTER: 77 63 Business . 1C Homecoming king, queen crowned, 3A Voice: 755-5445 Life . 1D Fax: 752-9400 Chance of storms, 2A 2A SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2018 LOCAL LAKE CITY REPORTER QUICK HITS Michael survivor recounts fear Scripture of the Day Former resident “I thought they were “So we were lucky in that who were less fortunate “And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, crazy and all going to die,” extent,” Stewart said. after the storm hit. according to the vision that I saw in the plain.” still has family in Stewart said. It was easy to get lost in “We have a friend in — Ezekiel 8:4 (KJV) Columbia County. Stewart moved in to her own neighborhood after Mexico Beach — her house her friend’s home in Lynn the storm, she said. Houses is gone,” she said. By CARL MCKINNEY Haven, north of Panama and land- Stewart’s family moved to Thought for Today [email protected] City, after becoming a marks that Lake City in time for her to It’s not what you pay a man, but what he costs widow several years ago. used to be attend and graduate from you that counts. — Will Rogers, 1879-1935, Stuffed in the closet with The two were previously there were what is now Florida Gateway three dogs, Cynthia Stewart housemates in the ’70s and gone, and College. Her parents, American actor and humorist thought for sure she heard ’80s, before each got mar- the street Warren and Evone Capell, the Reaper knocking. ried. had a line stayed here after she moved. Winning Lottery Numbers It sounded like a train, When Stewart emerged Stewart of sight to They’re deceased now, said the 70-year-old woman from the closet to scout the homes that Stewart said, but their Pick 3: (Friday p.m.) 6-3-8 with family in Lake City. damage to the home, the used to not be visible, mess- home is occupied by her Pick 4: (Friday p.m.) 7-1-0-3 “It was a scary few impact was mercifully min- ing with her sense of direc- niece, Emali Childs. Fantasy 5: (Friday) 7-15-18-27-30 hours,” Stewart said. imal. tion, Stewart said. Stewart’s uncles, Robert When she sought shelter Trees outside were miss- “It was very hard to get and Wood Moreland in the closet from Hurricane ing, the garage doors were your bearings,” she said. (“Moley”) Capell, owned See an error? Michael, her housemate mangled and there was Last week, Stewart Capell’s Shoe Store in The Lake City Reporter corrects errors of fact in news and their three guests were water and roof damage was staying at a motel in downtown Lake City. items. If you have a concern, question or suggestion, trying to hold shut the two — but the house was still Pensacola, saying she was “Lake City was my home please call the editor. Corrections and clarifications will glass doors in the back. standing, she said. thinking about the people base,” Stewart said. run in this space. Thanks for reading. Submissions The Lake City Reporter accepts photographs and caption information to run at the discretion of the editor. If you would like to see your organization in the newspaper, send the picture and information to Robert Bridges at [email protected]. Lake City Reporter HOW TO REACH US BUSINESS.............. 754-0419 Main number ........ 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ADVERTISING ......... 752-1293 Mail rates TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter ([email protected]) 12 Weeks................... $41.40 Megan Black, executive director of Current Problems, the group organizing the cleanup effort at the CLASSIFIED 24 Weeks................... $82.80 Scrubtown sinkhole Saturday, carries two bucket loads of debris to a 30-cubic-yard dumpster as two men drag To place a classified ad...... 755-5440 52 Weeks.................. $179.40 a mattress to the same location. from the area. ATV and rope to drag some CLEANUP “There’s just about every of the bigger items to the Continued From 1A kind of thing you can find road. THE WEATHER in the entire world in this Wayne Kinard, who has Road that has been a sink hole,” she said. participated in other clean- 4SUN 05MON 06TUE 07WED 08 THU dumping ground for many, Lawrence Buttson, who up projects in the region, owns the property, said it’s spent a few hours Saturday Slight Slight Slight Slight Slight many years,” said Megan chance chance chance chance chance Black, executive director great to see.