INSIDE Wellborn Blueberry Festival: Recap, photos, 9A. Fort White FFA chapters take top honors, 6A. SUNDAY, JUNE 8, 2014 | YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1874 | $1.50 Lake Cityy Reporter LAKECITYREPORTER.COM ‘Jersey Boys’ heading Kvistad, Underwood SUNDAY to the big screen. record-setters at EDITION See See Parade, inside. Columbia High. 1B ballot, 7A. Sidewalk sidelined JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter Project manager Craig Walters and retired Judge Vernon Douglas are seen in front of a Vietnam War- era Navy A-7 Corsair in a field alongside I-75. Fighter jet Project’s dragged on for seven months. will stay put No end in sight, area residents fear. along I-75 By EMILY STANTON By SARAH LOFTUS [email protected] [email protected] Neighborhood residents The fate of a Vietnam War-era Navy fighter jet aren’t the only ones frus- that sits on the northbound side of Interstate 75 in trated with a sidewalk con- Lake City has been decided -- the plane will stay struction project that has right where it is. dragged on for seven months In May, the coun- along McFarlane Avenue ‘In a couple ty was considering and Grandview Street. So is phone calls, returning or mov- the Florida Department of EMILY STANTON/Lake City Reporter ing the decommis- Residents are forced to take detours due to sidewalk construction along McFarlane Avenue we had the Transportation. problem sioned A-7E Corsair According to FDOT and Grandview Street. II because of trou- records, the job was supposed solved.’ ble accessing the to have been completed by Driving back from work — Retired Judge Vernon Douglas land the plane sits May 29. As of May 30, the one day in March, she on. That kept the contractor, Core Construction was shocked to discover county from doing of Jacksonville, has been the driveway of her home necessary maintenance such as cleaning and fined $966 per day by FDOT. of four years — 1221 SW painting it. The fines will continue until McFarlane Ave. — had Retired Circuit Judge Vernon Douglas, a mem- the work is completed. been dug up. ber of the Lake City Air Show, was instrumental In addition, FDOT has A month later the in bringing the plane to Lake City. The county issued 15 “deficiency letters” neighboring road, obtained the aircraft in 1988 as a way to promote to Core for problems with con- Summerbreeze Place, was the air show and struck a deal with then-landown- struction during the project. closed. Now she has to take er Ray Sessions to keep the plane on his property Deficiency letters are issued a side road to get home. alongside I-75. to contractors for “continual “It’s frustrating,” But in October 2013, Ray Sessions passed away, performance concerns and Breeden said. “I don’t think and his son, Austin Sessions, took control of the issues” and “blatant violations there’s anything we can do land. County Manager Dale Williams said trouble JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter or non-compliances,” accord- to make them speed up.” accessing the land began soon after, and county Core Construction of Jacksonville sites existing wet condi- ing to the agency’s website. George Upshaw was also officials discussed giving the plane back to the tions as part of the delay in construction. One or two such letters forced to take an alternate National Museum of Naval Aviation in Penscola, isn’t all that rare, but 15 is route to his home locat- from where it’s on loan. “unheard of,” said Bubba ed at 829 Summerbreeze When Douglas heard that about three weeks Norton, owner of CurbWorx, Place. It’s been a struggle ago, he took matters into his own hands to make a Lake City-based subcontrac- getting his truck and trail- sure the plane would stay right where it is. He tor on the project. er through narrow back drafted a perpetual easement, which gives the roads. county continued access to the land, he said. ‘A mess’ Upshaw didn’t see a Douglas will be in charge of maintenance, and the Summers Elementary kin- need for a sidewalk when county and Austin Sessions have both signed off dergarten teacher Keryn one is on the other side of on the agreement. Breeden says the construc- the street. “In a couple phone calls, we had the problem tion has been a major head- “There’s a lot more JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter solved,” Douglas said. ache for her family and the The contractors expect to finish construction by the end of neighborhood. SIDEWALK continued on 8A June although FDOT says mid-July is more likely. JET continued on 8A Bishop Road will be closed to through traffic as of Monday Schools make progress on FCAT By MEGAN REEVES “We are in the beginning By SARAH LOFTUS MORE INSIDE 48 percent. The state passing rate is [email protected] processes of converting [email protected] n See school scores, 8A. 57 percent. a dirt grated road into a The passing rate in seventh-grade Bishop Road will be Columbia County schools made paved section of infrastruc- state average in a number of areas. reading rose three points over 2013, restricted to local traffic big gains in fifth-grade science and ture,” he said. “It will be However, Huddleston said this to 56 percent this year, just under the only for approximately one eighth-grade math, and showed more a brand new paved road year’s gains make him optimistic statewide passing rate of 57 percent. month starting Monday, modest progress nearly across the about the future. Sixth grade reading remained at 61 eventually, but the first step according to Columbia board, according to results of the “I fully believe we are poised to percent this year, one point above the is to obtain a 60-foot right- County Public Works Florida Comprehensive Assessment show some dramatic improvement state average. Director Kevin Kirby. of-way.” Test released Friday. next year,” he said. Fourth- and fifth-grade passing The partial closure will Once the organic materi- “I’m pleased that we’ve held our rates improved as well -- by one point span from Columbia City al is removed, construction own and improved in a number of Reading each. Elementary to King Road. will be continued under full areas with the major changes in The tenth-grade passing rate in Fourth-grade scores rose to 61 instructional delivery throughout the “There will be access traffic, according to Kirby. reading rose by four points over 2013, percent, equal to the state average, district,” said Supt. Terry Huddleston. to homes, but no through Message boards will be to 50 percent this year districtwide. and fifth-grade scores went up to 62 The changes involve new lesson traffic,” Kirby said. “We will placed along the roadway The statewide passing rate is 55 per- percent, one point above the state plan formulation and, more impor- notify the public when we Monday to notify the public cent. average. tantly, he said, mini-assessments to complete the clearing oper- of these changes. The passing rate in ninth-grade The statewide average in fourth- determine subject-matter mastery. ation.” Lake City Emergency reading remained at 49 percent, sixth and eighth-grade reading rose Students needing help are given Kirby said that the rea- Management Services unchanged from 2013, but still below one percent from 2013, while the sev- attention in small groups or one-on- son for the restriction is to and the Lake City Fire the statewide average of 53 percent. enth-grade average was unchanged. one with tutors. Eighth-grade scores fell from 49 to clear a right-of-way before Department have been County schools remain below the paving. notified, Kirby said. FCAT continued on 8A Vol. 140, No. 90 Opinion . 4A CALL US: TODAY’S WEATHER LOCAL SPORTS (386) 752-1293 Local . 6A Obituaries . 5A Thousands flock California SUBSCRIBE TO THE REPORTER: 88 68 Advice & Comics . 3D to Blueberry Chrome falls Voice: 755-5445 Puzzles . 4B Festival, 9A. short, 1B. Fax: 752-9400 Storm chance, 10A 2A LAKE CITY REPORTER DAILY BRIEFING SUNDAY, JUNE 8, 2014 Page Editor: Emily Lawson, 754-0424 Scripture of the Day “Lord, You have been our dwelling place[a] in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. You turn man to destruction, And say, ‘Return, O children of men.’ For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night. You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down and withers.” — Psalm 90:1-6 Thought for Today Neither a wise man or a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. — Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States (1890-1969) COURTESY Habitat inducts board members Winning Lottery Numbers Cash 3: (Saturday) 6-6-9 Habitat for Humanity of Lake City/Columbia County, Inc. recently inducted their 2014-2015 board members. They are (front Play 4: (Saturday) 6-1-8-6 row, from left) Patricia Stuart, Treasurer; James Montgomery; Paul LeClair; Johnathan Warren; (second row, from left) Sheila Burnham; Sally Huggins, Secretary; Brenda Combs; Lindsay Lee; Vanessa George; (back row, from left) George Fantasy 5: (Friday) 5-7-21-23-25 Burnham, Vice President; Robert Jordan; T.D.