2023 Year in Review

From the ongoing war in Ukraine to the Israel-Hamas war, the world experienced many horrific events in 2023. The political dysfunction in America raged on, suggesting more of the same for this 2024 election year. Many are asking themselves if these are the end times – the end times of Biblical proportions.

Locally, however, many positive events took place. Let’s take a look.

JANUARY

COVID 19 PROTECTIONS

Governor Ron DeSantis proposed legislation to make COVID-19 freedoms permanent in Florida. Included in the proposal were first amendment rights for medical professionals ensuring no one loses their job or medical license for voicing their professional opinions in Florida. The legislation would safeguard medical professionals from discrimination based on their personal religious views.

Also, it would permanently protect Floridians from losing their jobs due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, protects parents’ rights, and institutes additional protections that prevent discrimination based on COVID-19 vaccine status.

The legislation was divided into four bills and signed by the Governor on May 11, 2023. The bills were SB 252, HB 1387, SB 1580 and SB 238.

Ellianos

Since their first shop that opened in Lake City in 2002, Ellianos Coffee was ranked among the top 500 franchises by Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500® in January of 2023 for outstanding performance in areas including unit growth, financial strength and stability, and brand power.

FEBRUARY

Constitutional Carry

Rep. Chuck Brannon introduced legislation that would allow law abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms without a license. HB 543 was signed by DeSantis April 3, 2023.

Local barrel racer wins $80K

Jamey Hunt of McAlpin was featured in this newspaper February 15 and featured in the APHA News and Barrel Racing Report for his $80,000 win from Legends Of The South, at the Rob & Teresa Stopanio Memorial Barrel Race, December 28-January 1, 2023, in Ocala. He was riding his wife, Ashley’s solid Paint gelding, Gripe Gut Juice.

Jamey Hunt riding Gripe Gut Juice - Photo Submitted

MARCH

Better Cancer Treatments

Radiation Oncology of North Florida announced image-guided cancer treatments now in Lake City. With the addition of the Halcyon™, an image-guided radiotherapy system, patients will no longer need to travel outside of the Lake City area for highly-precise and advanced radiation treatment.

The Halcyon Radiation Therapy System allows for accurate high-dose delivery of radiotherapy to tumors with minimal exposure of normal tissue. The Halcyon system treats multiple tumor sites including skin, brain, head and neck, lung, breast, liver, pancreas, gastric, rectum, bladder, and prostate.

Madison’s Camp Cherry Lake aims for accreditation.

The University of Florida announced that 4-H Camp Cherry Lake in Madison is aiming for accreditation. They are in the process of renovation and at the end, intend to become accredited, which has been a goal of Florida 4-H camps for many years.

Photo: Submitted

School Choice

Regardless of income

Governor Ron DeSantis signed Education CS/HB 1, on March 27, parents in the state of Florida, are now in full control of their children’s education, regardless of income. The bill became effective July 1, 2023.

APRIL

Broadband to expand locally

Live Oak, Madison, Lee and Perry are among eight Florida communities that were awarded broadband expansion funds on April 10, 2023. Live Oak, Madison and Perry seemed to have been awarded the lion’s share, receiving $5,000,000 each of the $22M project.

Death Penalty

In the wake of the verdict from the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by parents of the victims of the Parkland mass murder to sign a new death penalty bill, SB 450, on April 20, 2023. The bill reduced the number of jurors needed to administer capital punishment from unanimous to a supermajority of eight out of twelve.

MAY

Boris brothers named Save a Lot’s retail partner of the year

Local Save A Lot owners, Mike and Mark Boris, were named retail partners of the year by the Save A Lot grocery chain during an annual meeting and food show for store owners and operators in St. Charles, Missouri.

The Boris brothers have been known for years at the Lake City and Live Oak stores for their hands-on, friendly approach to running their stores.

Black Gold Farms Recognized for Environmental Stewardship Efforts

On May 2, Black Gold Farms in Suwannee County was recognized by the Florida Farm Bureau Federation at the 22nd Annual Suwannee CARES celebration for exceptional environmental stewardship efforts on their farm. Thomas Ransom, farm manager, accepted the award on behalf of the farm.

Black Gold Farms grows and harvests over two thousand acres of potatoes, peanuts, corn and soybeans.

PHOTO: Black Gold Farms receives a CARES designation at the 22nd Annual Suwannee CARES Celebration on May 2, 2023. (L to R) Wilton Simpson (Commissioner of Agriculture), Dr. Andra Johnson (Dean of UF/IFAS Extension) and Director of the Florida Cooperative Extension), Thomas Ransom and Cody Darling (Black Gold Farms), Hugh Thomas (Executive Director of the Suwannee River Water Management District) and Jeb S. Smith (Florida Farm Bureau Federation President. - Photo: Florida Farm Bureau

Protecting Florida’s kids

Governor DeSantis signed five bills into law on May 17, calling it the “Let Kids Be Kids” bill package to protect the innocence of Florida’s kids. 1. SB 254 – Outlawing Permanent Mutilation Of Minors. 2. HB 1069 – Removing Pronoun Politics And Expanding Parental Rights In Education. 3. HB 1438 – Protecting Children’s Innocence. 4. HB 1521 – Ensuring Women’s Safety, this bill requires educational institutions, detention facilities, correctional institutions, juvenile correctional facilities and public buildings with a restroom, locker room, or changing facility to have separate facilities for men and women based on biological sex. 5. HB 225 – Expanding Access To Youth Sports

JUNE

NFC holds grand opening for new Perry location

-NFC Photo

The North Florida College’s new location officially opened at 319 N Byron Butler Parkway on Thursday, June 1 and the grand opening celebration was held July 13. NFC courses offered in Perry include Emergency Medical Technician I, Freshman English I, Introductory College Statistics, Human Growth and Development, Introduction to Humanities, Fundamentals of Speech.

More rural infrastructure funds for Suwannee County — $9.6M

and $1.17M for Macclenny

Suwannee County was awarded $9,600,000 to construct a wastewater treatment plant and install collection lines to create more than 260 jobs.

City of Macclenny $1,173,000 – to complete critical improvements and upgrades to the City of Macclenny’s deteriorating water treatment plant at Northeast Florida State Hospital to create 40 new jobs and $22 million in capital investments.

Corey Simon and Jason Shoaf open satellite offices in Live Oak

D-3 Florida Senator Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee)

D-7 State Rep. Jason Shoaf (R-Port St. Joe)

District 3 Florida Senator Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee) along with District 7 State Representative Jason Shoaf (R-Port St. Joe) opened satellite offices in Live Oak and said they are both looking forward to getting to know the people better.

Manhattan Film Festival selects local film

A local documentary film Hero Horse: A Magical True Story, with our very own Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horse Magic in the staring role, was chosen by the Manhattan Film Festival.

The film is an official selection of the Manhattan Film Festival and was presented on June 18th at the Cinema Village Theater in New York.

PHOTO: Magic getting out of her limo at her film’s premiere. -Photo: Submitted

JULY

Suwannee Valley teens tour Washington, D.C.

Elijah Dockery (Columbia High School), Ella Hancock (Lafayette High School), and Sarah Welch (Hamilton County High School) represented Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Youth Tour. For over 50 years, teens from the Suwannee Valley have been going to Washington, D.C. on the “trip of a lifetime,” courtesy of SVEC. While in our nation’s capital, these delegates joined roughly 2,000 other youth from across rural America on tours of some of the finest museums in the world and visits to America’s most historic monuments.

PHOTO: L-R: Sarah Welch, Ella Hancock and Elijah Dockery snap a photo in front of the Capital Building in Washington D.C. -Courtesy Photo

Farmers Insurance pulls out of Florida

State Farm stays

Farmers Insurance announced they were pulling out of Florida and discontinuing new coverage of auto, home and umbrella policies.

State Farm Insurance rose up just days after Farmers announced it was pulling out and told news sources they aren’t going anywhere. They are sticking with Florida.

AUGUST

RIVEROAK receives $4M for healthcare expansion

RIVEROAK Technical College, of Live Oak, received $4M in August from the State of Florida for expansion on their healthcare programs, projecting to triple their enrollment. Although they had an abundance of help, Senator Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee) and State Representative Jason Shoaf (R-Port St. Joe) were largely responsible for carrying this endeavor to its final completion.

PHOTO: RIVEROAK Principal and Director Mary Keen. -SVT Photo

PHOTO: Suwannee County Superintendent of Schools Ted Roush. -SVT Photo

K9 units receive boost

K9s United receives $400,000 in state funding to aid Florida’s canine crime fighters.

The Grant allows the Jacksonville nonprofit to provide vital equipment and paws-on training for Florida’s K-9s.

The funding will allow for in-depth seminars to be held in Madison County, among others.

PHOTO: Sen. Tom Wright presents K-9s United board members with a $400,000 state grant, along with St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick and deputies, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office (with K-9 Patriot) and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office K-9 units. -Photo: Submitted

SEPTEMBER

Hurricane Idalia - Recovery

The National Guard, Red Cross and other disaster response teams and volunteers pushed their way into Florida in the wake of Hurricane Idalia. Some would say they had to “cut” their way in to Florida as nearly every roadway had downed power lines and countless trees blocking their path from Madison, Taylor, Dixie, Suwannee, Columbia and Hamilton Counties before the hurricane headed into Georgia.

Idalia made landfall as a category 3 hurricane near Keaton Beach, on August 30, at 7:45 a.m., with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. It was moving around 20 mph when it made landfall, which didn’t give the massive storm time to slow down before it tore its way through Florida, maintaining a maximum sustained wind of 90 mph by the time it hit Georgia. It left unprecedented damage in the wake of its path for this northern rural area of Florida, which is known for its huge Live Oaks and large forests, which were devastated, along with many homes and farm buildings.

Clean up and repairs are ongoing even into 2024.

PHOTO: Dowling Park was reported as being the worst area hit in Suwannee County by Hurricane Idalia. -Photo: Lee McGauley

Florida takes action against four Florida schools with ties to Chinese Communist Party

~ Department of Education suspends schools from school choice scholarship program ~

DeSantis directed the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) to suspend the availability of school choice scholarships to four schools that have direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Through a thorough investigation, FDOE has determined that Lower and Upper Sagemont Preparatory Schools in Weston, Parke House Academy in Winter Park, and Park Maitland School in Winter Park have direct ties to the CCP and their connections constitute an imminent threat to the health, safety, and welfare of these school’s students and the public.

OCTOBER

Mayo and High Springs awarded more than $1.3M

Mayo and High Springs were part of seven other rural Florida communities that were awarded more than $8.7 million through the Florida Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for housing and community development activities.

The Town of Mayo was awarded $650,000 – to rehabilitate or replace up to nine homes inhabited by low to moderate-income persons.

The City of High Springs, $700,000 – to conduct stormwater and drainage improvements to include the new construction of drainage swales, the installation of culvert pipes and a new pump station with six-inch stormwater force main piping.

NOVEMBER

Advocates Say Fentanyl Deaths Are Preventable

The overwhelming majority of opioid overdose deaths are due to illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Physicians at the American Medical Association (AMA) want you to know preparation saves lives: Consider having naloxone or another overdose reversal medication on hand in case you witness someone overdosing. If you come across someone slumped over and showing signs of possible overdose, an overdose reversal medication is as easy to use as inserting it into the person’s nose and depressing the plunger. Don’t hesitate -- whether they’ve taken fentanyl or not, there’s no downside to giving naloxone when an overdose is suspected.

Young people are dying: Among 14-18-year-olds, overdose deaths increased 94% from 2019 to 2020 and 20% from 2020 to 2021, according to the CDC.

DECEMBER

Jerry Bullard appointed to Lake Shore Hospital Authority

Bullard, of Lake City, is a Property Developer at GSMS Developers. He is the former President of the Stephen Foster State Park Citizen’s Support Organization and previously served as a Statewide Director for the Florida Department of Transportation. Bullard earned his associate degree in criminal justice from Florida Gateway College.