Today's News

The lawsuit filed against Levy County by American Atheists, Inc., claiming a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, was dismissed by in the U.S. District Court in Gainesville.

The suit stems from the denial by the county of a local atheist group’s application to install a monument at the Levy County Courthouse, claiming it failed to meet guidelines. The county established guidelines in 2009 for the placing of monuments by local citizens and groups at the site.

In 2010, a granite monument detailing the Ten Commandments, submitted by the Tri-County Pregnancy Center of Williston, was granted permission.

Levy County, represented by Liberty Counsel, first filed a motion requesting a summary judgement over the summer, seeking a dismissal without trial.

A clear pattern emerged in the girls’ basketball game between Chiefland and Cedar Key Nov. 30.

The Lady Indians established leads in every quarter, only to see the Lady Sharks wipe away, or nearly erase, those advantages.

CMHS finally solved its district and county rival for good with some clutch shooting at the free throw line, along with a key offensive rebound by junior Courtney Hayes in the final minute, as the Lady Indians secured a 39-31 win at home in its district opener.

The Lady Sharks, who trailed almost the entire game, but led briefly in the early third quarter after after a Makalynn Bowling layup, trailed just 30-29 past the midway point of the fourth.

CMHS junior Colby Reed then banked a long 2-pointer to make it 32-29, before eighth-grade point guard J’Mia McNeil, the most inexperienced player on the court, sunk four of her five final free throws for Chiefland to help milk away the game.

Chiefland finished at 50 percent on 20 foul shot attempts, while CKS converted just four of its 16 attempts (25 percent).

The Chiefland boys’ basketball team is young this year.

It has just one returning varsity starter to begin the season, and just one senior on the roster.

But most of the roster has had a least a taste of varsity ball, and the potential depth is impressive, which bodes well for the team eventually running the kind of pressure defense that sixth-year head man Adam Boyd ultimately prefers.

Boyd says he worked the offensive side of the ball harder early on than usual, anticipating the squad could struggle in that department with a lack of top shooters, and coming off a season when points came at a premium. To improve in that area, the Indians have focused on moving without the ball to put more pressure on defenses, and it appears to have paid off in some early scrimmages.

“I knew the offense would be a challenge to get everyone in sync, so we spent more time on it than we would’ve in the past,” Boyd said. “Normally, I spend more time on defense at the beginning of the year. But seeing how the summer went, I thought, ‘Well we can’t be a turnover machine.’

Levy County Animal Services euthanizes around half of the feral cats that are brought in.

After department officials recently met with animal rescue groups at a no-kill summit in Gainesville, the county may have a solution that could help tackle the high rate of cat euthanasias.

With extensive backing from Gainesville Pet Rescue, Alachua County Humane Society and at least one major donor, Animal Services is introducing trial program for free spay and neuters for “community cats,” which are cats that are cared for but don’t necessarily have a home.

The Board of County Commissioners approved the program unanimously at its meeting Nov. 22.

The plans for the program were presented to the Board by Darlene Esler, DVM, who was representing Animal Services. She was joined by Chelsea Bower, the associate director of Gainesville Pet Rescue.