A3 + PLUS >> The time machines in our heads, Opinion/4A LOCAL SPORTS Fun at Tennis the park camp See below See Page 1B WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2019 | YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1874 | $1.00 Lake City Reporter LAKECITYREPORTER.COM LEGAL DRUGS Death, alleged sexual abuse 3A of autistic teen leads to arrest TNS DOUBLE DOME Opioid influx a deluge here 27 million pills — 12th highest per capita in state — circulated in Columbia from 2006-2012. By CARL MCKINNEY [email protected] ERIN DRISKELL/Special to the Reporter Erin Driskell captured this perfect double rainbow over Lake DeSoto Saturday evening. Billions of prescription pain pills flooded the state between 2006 and 2012, and Columbia County had the 12th largest stockpile per capi- SUSPECTS FROM O’BRIEN, McALPIN, LIVE OAK ta, according to newly revealed data from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Columbia County received nearly 27.5 million of the more than 5.5 bil- g lion opioid pills legally distributed in 3rd arrest in strin of Florida during that Columbia Co. six-year window. received nearly That’s enough for Suwannee break-ins 27.5 million of every county resi- Goike Chalkley Hightower the more than dent to consume 58 5.5 billion opi- pills per year, with a By CARL MCKINNEY alleged accomplices in jail. other suspects believed to have partic- oid pills legally little extra to spare. [email protected] Donald Hapgood Goike, 18, of ipated in burglaries with Goike — Karl distributed in Those figures O’Brien, was booked in Suwannee Christopher Chalkley, 19, of McAlpin, Florida during don’t reflect black An 18-year-old O’Brien man has land- County jail Monday on four counts of and Haleigh Cheyenne Hightower, 18, that six-year market distribution. ed behind bars in connection with a burglary, four counts of grand theft and of Live Oak. window. The data was string of Suwannee County home and a count of petty theft. compiled by the vehicle burglaries from May, joining two In late May, deputies nabbed two ARREST continued on 2A DEA but placed in a searchable database by the Washington Post, which provided an interactive county-by-county map. The Lake City Reporter looked at Bad luck Fun at Youngs Park the Post’s data for every Florida coun- ty and ranked them by opioid supply. for drug Baker County placed first with enough for each resident there to consume 78 suspect pills per year. Between 2006 and 2012, roughly one By TONY BRITT out of every 200 pills legally distributed [email protected] in Florida were supplied to Columbia County. As of the 2010 census, a little Seven might not be the more than one out of every 300 Florida luckiest number for deal- residents lived in Columbia County. ers and users who oper- About 130 Americans die from an ate out of an internet cafe opioid overdose every day, according cops say to the Centers for Disease Control and is known Prevention. That includes both legal for crimi- and illicit opioids. nal activ- Photos by TONY BRITT/LCR Nationwide, the opioid crisis claimed ity. more than 700,000 lives between 1999 A and 2017, the agency reported. homeless The number of opioid overdoses Owens man was continues to climb every year at a sta- arrested Monday eve- tistically significant rate, according to ning when his attempt the CDC. to hide narcotics did not ABOVE: Laveah Gibbs, 8, smiles as she and Health officials from state and fed- go unnoticed by a local Nahkirah Gibbs, 7, prepare to ride the slides at eral agencies throughout the country law enforcement officer, Youngs Park Tuesday afternoon. TOP RIGHT: have acknowledged the opioid crisis according to a CCSO Mar’qiece Gibbs, 5, finishes up with the jungle gym. as not only the largest drug epidemic arrest report. RIGHT: Zontrel Gibbs, 3, hangs off a piece of play- in American history, but one of the top public health concerns overall. DRUGS continued on 3A ground equipment at Youngs Park Tuesday. Vol. 145, No. 94 CALL US: TODAY’S WEATHER Obituaries . 3A (386) 752-1293 Opinion . 4A DEAR PHARMACIST SUBSCRIBE TO Advice & Comics . 3B THE REPORTER: 82 70 MRI contrast dye accumulates in brain, 6A. Voice: 755-5445 Puzzles . 4B Fax: 752-9400 Showers likely, 2A 2A WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2019 LOCAL LAKE CITY REPORTER QUICK HITS Scripture of the Day “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 19:14 (KJV) Thought for Today Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted. — Aldous Huxley, 1894-1963, English writer Winning Lottery Numbers Pick 3: (Monday p.m.) 8-4-4 Pick 4: (Monday p.m.) 5-7-1-6 Fantasy 5: (Monday ) 2-5-11-18-34 See an error? The Lake City Reporter corrects errors of fact in news items. If you have a concern, question, or suggestion, please call the editor. 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Periodical postage paid at NEFEC Literacy Initiative coming to CHS Lake City, FL, Member Audit Bureau of In Columbia County, customers should Circulation and The Associated Press. call before 10:30 a.m. to report a The North East Florida fluency and stamina with ed to attend one of the three Columbia County’s dedica- All material herein is property of the service error for same day re-delivery. Educational Consortium’s complex text, standards seminars. tion to providing profession- Lake City Reporter. Reproduction in After 10:30 a.m., next day re-delivery whole or in part is forbidden without or service related credits will be issued. Literacy Initiative, a semi- aligned writing, text mean- Columbia County School al learning opportunities for the permission of the publisher. In all other counties where home delivery U.S. Postal Service No. 310-880. nar for teachers to improve ing across content areas, District Superintendent Lex educators. We are grateful is available, next day re-delivery or POSTMASTER: Send address changes service related credits will be issued. reading for low-performing and small group instruc- Carswell was pleased to for all the groups which to Lake City Reporter, P.O. Box 1709, students, will be held at tion. The event at CHS will hear CHS was chosen as a came together to make this Lake City, FL 32056. Circulation............. 755-5445 ([email protected]) Columbia High School from be the third one held this site for the program. happen.” Publisher Todd Wilson ... 754-0418 ([email protected]) July 29-August 1. summer. Previous institutes “We are pleased to The Literary Initiative Home delivery rates (Tuesday–Friday and Sunday) The NEFEC Literacy were held at Matanzas High host the NEFEC Literacy was made possible by NEWS 4 Weeks . $10.70 Initiative is a four-day insti- School in Flagler County Initiative academy here in a $50,000 grant from Editor Robert Bridges ... 754-0428 12 Weeks . $31.67 ([email protected]) 24 Weeks . .$54.14 tute that focuses on pro- and Trenton High School in Columbia County,” he said. the Dollar General 52 Weeks . .$88.81 ADVERTISING fessional development for Gilchrist County. More than “This is an excellent oppor- Literary Foundation to Rates include 7% sales tax. teachers and administra- 500 teachers from Baker, tunity for teachers to focus the Foundation for Rural Ad. Dir. Chris Ratliff ..... 754-0417 ([email protected]) Mail rates tors in the areas of building Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, on literacy skills and set- Education Excellence and 12 Weeks . $41.40 vocabulary and academic Putnam, Suwannee and ting high expectations for NEFEC. CLASSIFIED 24 Weeks . .$82.80 To place a classified ad ... 755-5440 52 Weeks . .$179.40 language, text complexity, Union counties are expect- all students and supports — From staff reports THE WEATHER ARREST recovered. cash, according to a report. Goike and the co-defen- Hightower drove the 24 Wed 25 Thu 26 Fri 27 Sat 28 Sun Continued From 1A dants said some of the guns other two to the Sugar Around 6:47 a.m. May 3, were sold for cash in Lake Hill Farms neighborhood, Showers Few Scattered Scattered Isolated Goike and the others target- City, while others were trad- dropped them off at an inter- Likely Showers T-⁠storms T-⁠storms T-⁠storms ed a home on 92nd Street ed for drugs, according to section and drove around in Live Oak, according to a the report.