A3 SATURDAY/SUNDAY, MARCH 7/8, 2020 | YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1874 | $2 WEEKEND EDITION Lake City Reporter LAKECITYREPORTER.COM >> TASTE Spring ahead an hour tonight SUNDAY + PLUS LKQ: A new legacy BUDDIES Tax breaks Another for CHS hoops Going option down only for job for auto memory 1D creation repair lane Sean of the South Opinion/4A BIZ/1D SPORTS/1B LIFE/1D DST STARTS Paying homage Columbia to fallen 2A trooper Bank sold Sgt. George A. Brown III is honored with a stretch of interstate highway. The whole ball of ... tape By TONY BRITT [email protected] For more than 20 years, Sgt. George “Andy” Brown III patrolled the state’s roadways as a Florida Highway Patrol trooper. Even after retir- ing, he returned to the agency and was the Troop B pilot, often patrolling a por- Brown tion of Interstate 75. Friday, a five-mile stretch of the interstate in Columbia County, from mile marker 418- 423, was named in his honor. FHP and the Florida Department of Transportation held a roadway dedication cer- emony for Brown at the DOT facility with representatives from local law enforcement agencies in attendance, as well as many of Brown’s friends and co-workers. Ken Edmonds, a retired FHP trooper, said Brown was like a brother to him and it meant a lot to him to see Andy honored in TROOPER continued on 5A Minor bus Photos by TONY BRITT/Lake City Reporter crash wrecks World record field trip for try continues 2nd-graders this morning By CARL MCKINNEY By TONY BRITT [email protected] [email protected] A minor collision between two You’ve got to have some charter buses Friday morning stick-to-itiveness to break a resulted in no injuries but much world record — especially disappointment for about 100 when you’re trying to make Fort White Elementary students, the world’s biggest ball of who had to take a rain check tape. on a much-anticipated field trip, Eastside Elementary stu- school officials say. dents and faculty believe With the school’s entire they’ve got what it takes to second-grade class in tow, the make the Guinness Book of TOP: Pamela Hartopp, the Eastside Elementary parapro- buses were headed to the town World Records, though they of Marineland, a community in didn’t reach their goal on fessional who spearheaded the effort, poses for a picture Flagler and St. Johns counties Friday. They plan to continue with a 1,310 lb. ball of tape. That’s 690 pounds short of that has been described as an the effort this morning at the the current world record, so they’ll get back at it today. oceanfront playground. While school. ABOVE: Eastside Elementary School students add pieces of duct tape while trying to set a new world record for BUSES continued on 5A TAPE continued on 2A the biggest tape ball. Lake City Reporter Candidates Forum has new venue, new format Newspaper has rented from the studios of Florida contract with FGC to rent forum is a political event our live on our social media plat- FGC television studios Gateway College this fall with the studios in advance of community expects and has form. This year, by renting for this year’s events. a new format, Publisher Todd the August primary and the counted on for decades and the FGC television studios, Wilson announced. November general election. it is our job to bring it to the we will be able to produce From staff reports The event will be televised The Lake City Reporter is people of Columbia County,” and broadcast this communi- The Lake City Reporter on Comcast Channel 8 and sole producer of the forums Wilson said. “When others ty event live on public access Candidates Forum, which live-streamed on the internet and broadcast and is solely pulled out of the forum two TV Channel 8, as well as our was streamed live from the and social media platforms for responsible for their con- years ago, we went forward web and social media plat- FILE newspaper’s downtown those without cable. tent. and provided a general elec- Bridges is seen at office in 2018, will broadcast The newspaper signed a “This televised candidate tion forum that we broadcast FORUM continued on 5A a previous forum. Vol. 145, No. 257 Opinion . 4A CALL US: TODAY’S WEATHER (386) 752-1293 Obituaries . 5A SUBSCRIBE TO Sports . 1B THE REPORTER: 62 36 Classifieds . 4-5B Voice: 755-5445 Fax: 752-9400 Sunny, 2A Business . 1C WWWWW 2A SATURDAY/SUNdaY, MARCH 7/8, 2020 LOCAL LAKE CITY REPORTER Name will change to Millennium QUICK HITS Scripture of the Day “Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Columbia Bank sold Jehovah is everlasting strength:” — Isaiah 26:4 (KJV) By CARL MCKINNEY CEO of Millennium. $400 million in total assets chain because they want [email protected] The deal is on track to be and about $317 million in quality service with a per- finalized in June, Haskew deposits, Haskew said. sonal touch, Haskew said. Thought for Today After more than a cen- said. “So it gives us the ability “Those things are not Bigamy is the only crime where two rites make a tury, the name Columbia Haskew said he respects as a larger financial institu- going to change,” he said. wrong. Bank will soon be no more the long tradition behind tion to do bigger loans for “Those are core values — Bob Hope, 1903-2003, U.S. actor, comedian due to a looming buyout. the Columbia Bank name, customers, to help the local and core attitudes, and we Columbia Bank, a long- but the decision rebrand is economy,” Haskew said. want to assure everyone standing community insti- standard for an acquisition Haskew declined to com- that their experience with Winning Lottery Numbers tution founded in 1912, such as this. ment on how the deal might Millennium Bank Pick 3: (Thursday p.m.) 7-9-4 is being purchased by “It’s just part of the impact Columbia Bank’s Columbia and Millennium Pick 4: (Thursday p.m.) 4-7-4-7 Millennium Bank, head- process, and we like the management structure and banks share a common fac- Fantasy 5: (Thursday) 20-21-25-26-28 quartered in Chattanooga, Millennium Bank name, staffing numbers. tor. They have the same Tennessee. the Millenium Bank logo,” “Everything is being eval- majority shareholder -- The five Columbia Banks he said. “And it just goes uated as far as the process- Tennessee businessman See an error? — three in Lake City, one hand-in-hand with what you es and procedures, where P. Byron DeFoor, who The Lake City Reporter corrects errors of fact in news in Gainesville and another see in mergers and acquisi- we can achieve economies purchased 4.3 million-plus items. If you have a concern, question, or suggestion, in Ocala — will bear the tions.” of scale,” he said. shares of stock in Columbia please call the editor. Corrections and clarifications will Millennium name after the Millennium is roughly Millennium understands Bank from the estate of the run in this space. Thanks for reading. acquisition takes effect. the same size as Columbia that Columbia Bank’s cus- late Lester Scaff in 2018. “We will be one bank in Bank, with five branches in tomers prefer to deal with “We feel like there is a Submissions two markets,” said Mike its service area. Combined, a smaller, community-based very good marriage here,” The Lake City Reporter accepts photographs and caption Haskew, president and the two will have more than institution over a larger Haskew said. 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 [email protected]. World record try continues at 9 am today Lake City Reporter Hartopp put the appli- were brought to the school for the record today. HOW TO REACH US ADVERTISING cation in with Guinness on Friday. They are just 690 pounds Main number ....... (386) 752-1293 Director Chris Ratliff TAPE Fax number ............ 752-9400 (386) 754-0417 in August, and in January “We even had people short. Circulation............. 755-5445 ([email protected]) Continued From 1A Online .... www.lakecityreporter.com got the OK to make the from Jacksonville come There is no time require- CLASSIFIED attempt. bringing their donation of ment on setting the record, The Lake City Reporter, an affiliate Students and staff of Community Newspapers Inc., Kym Harrison The run at the record some duct tape,” Hartopp as long as the entire video is published Tuesday through (386) 755-5440 spent six hours trying to began at 8 a.m. Friday and said. “It started out as stream of the process is Saturday/Sunday at 180 E. Duval ([email protected]) set a new record and fell St., Lake City, FL 32055. Periodical continued until well after something for the school, uninterrupted. postage paid at Lake City, Florida, BUSINESS OFFICE about 700 pounds short 7 p.m. when the tape ball but then Lake City jumped “We don’t want to just Member of The Associated Press Vickie Busscher when Eastside’s tape and the Florida Press Association. (386) 754-0419 was weighed at Evachek’s in on it and has been help- barely beat it, we want ([email protected]) ball weighed in at 1,310 All material herein is property of Tree Sources on a certified ing out. We had people that to crush the record, so the Lake City Reporter.