Local News

By Lt. Scott Tummond, LCSO PIO

The Levy County Sheriff’s Office and Levy County Department of Public Safety along with multiple fire units responded March 24 at about 11:15 p.m. to 11830 NE 81 Terrace, in Bronson, to multiple 911 calls about a structure fire.

Fire and law enforcement officials arrived to find a singlewide mobile home fully engulfed in flames. Witnesses on scene told responding units there was still someone inside the home.

Felix Shackelford, 79, was unable to escape and succumbed to the fire.

Witnesses reported Shackelford had been working on a propane space heater earlier in the day and when he lit it, it exploded. Shackelford attempted to extinguish the flames and was trapped inside the home. His wife, Margaret, was able to escape. Their son, Author Carroza, had been working on a vehicle in the yard and had taken the vehicle on a test run when the fire started. He attempted to gain entry into the home after the fire started, but was not able to locate his father inside due to the extreme heat.

The momentum continues to grow for the annual Cedar Key Open Golf Tournament.

On March 7, the charity event set a new mark for itself in its third edition, raising $5,513 for the Cedar Key Volunteer Fire and Rescue.

In three years, it’s raised $13,139 for local causes. Last year’s funds went toward the Cedar Key Library.

With 88 competitors and 22 teams, participation also saw an uptick for the Open.

The event is truly a collaborative effort, both in support and locations. It’s held at the Chiefland Golf and Country Club, and then continues at Big Deck Bar and Grill in Cedar Key, where a low country boil dinner is served courtesy of Ricky Cook. The Big Deck sponsors the CK Open.

There was a new foursome champion this year in the scramble tournament (teammates play best ball). The team of Milt Gillis, Joe Brinkman, Skipper Henderson and Alden Davis combined to fire a tournament-best 16-under par 56.

By Fred Hiers, Reporter, Citrus County Chronicle

When weather permits, 78-year-old Jodie Roberts sits on her deck on the Withlacoochee River a mile downstream from the Lake Rousseau dam and watches the water’s flow and enjoys the wildlife. She wants to keep it that way.

To try and do that she was one of about 20 people who attended the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s kickoff meeting this week that began the process of establishing minimum flows and levels (MFL) for the middle and upper portion of the river.

“I think it’s important we keep the river like it is,” she said after the water agency’s presentation about the fundamentals of setting MFLs. The meeting was at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Inverness.

“That’s my concern. If they don’t get the numbers right, the water and the quality will go down,” she said.

MFLs are important because, once established, the water district uses them to determine whether to grant groundwater or surface water withdrawal permits.

The Nature Coast Business Development Council discussed generating its own income source, industrial development sites and an offer from Williston to locate in the new city hall in the fall at its March 8 meeting in the College of Central Florida Jack Wilkinson Campus.

Memberships is an avenue of raising money beyond the amount provided by the county.

The reason for an additional revenue stream is to give the council more flexibility and while the idea has been discussed for a time, the membership drive was finally kicked off earlier in the year.

Councilmembers discussed the governor’s Economic Development Fund. The governor included $85 million in the fund for the next fiscal year just as he did in the current fiscal year. Of that amount, only about $35 million have been allocated for grants in this fiscal year so there is still money available. Some communities are gearing up to submit additional applications. It was suggested that NCBDC members think about what the organization can submit to help Levy County and communities to become more competitive to attract jobs and help businesses grow.