Today's News

I love spring.

The other seasons are OK, but spring is — as Muhammad Ali described himself — the greatest.

I like the boiling heat of summer. We always joked in Oklahoma and Texas that it was so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk, but I’ll bet in Florida that you could boil an egg in the Gulf. I wish the Watermelon Festival was in a cooler month. I guess it would be if melons were a winter crop.

I couldn’t tell much difference between summer and fall during my one full year here in the Sunshine State. I didn’t like winter too much. It was much colder than I thought it would be, but it wasn’t as rainy as I imagined. Also, deer come out during the wintertime and stand alongside roads; staring, daring. At night, they’re hard to see with flat dull coats; they give me the creeps; ghosts with big eyes glowing red in my lights. Deer along the roadside instill fear in me until I pass it by. Then, dread starts to build again and I pray I’ll see the next one in my headlights.

I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now, but never seemed to get around to writing anything about it. But, while going through the police reports, I was reminded again that it takes someone unlike me to be a police officer.

Police officers see good people at their absolute worst and — they also see bad people at their absolute worst. Fortunately, most bad people who commit criminal acts are either really dumb or careless and get caught sooner than later.

To help those who have a propensity to break the law, I have come up with a few tips that might help you stay out of trouble.

First tip: Anyone who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs should always perform a complete vehicle inspection before driving through Chiefland.

Second: Highway 19 is wide and there is absolutely no reason to cross a yellow line into oncoming traffic unless you’re high.

Third: You’re still high if you think you can speed through Chiefland.

Led by L.J. Jenkins, who took second in the 400 meter dash and third in high hurdles, the Chiefland boys’ track and field team collect six top-three finishes in a five-school home meet Feb. 27.

The Indians finished third overall, beating out Trenton and Williston, while Live Oak Suwannee and Jefferson County dominated to place first and second, respectively.

CMHS senior Tramaine Brown finished third in long jump at 18 feet, 2 inches. Jalen Rutledge notched third in the triple jump for Chiefland with a mark of 34-11.5. Deshamar Shepherd also secured a third-place finish for the Indians, as he came up third in the 300 meter high hurdles with a time of 48.57 seconds. Luke Stockman rounded out CMHS’ top-three finishes by taking third in the 2-mile run with a mark of 12:08.22.

The boys were narrowly defeated by Branford on March 1, 69-63, as Jenkins, Brown, Rutledge and Stockman boasted individual top finishes in events.

Stockman brought home wins in the 1 mile, at 5:20.03, and again in the 2 mile, with an improved time of 11:54. Chiefland’s Gavin McLelland placed third in the latter event.

The Chiefland softball team has been far from perfect to start the season, just ask first-year head coach Jimmy Anderson.

But its record heading into the March 6 meeting was flawless, at least, and the team’s three returning starters – ace pitcher Kensley Durrance, shortstop Erika Gilliam and first-base slugger Macie Thomas – have been the most consistent factor behind the success.

During their latest stretch, the Lady Indians completed a season sweep of Class 8A Buchholz with a 6-1 win March 5 in Gainesville; came from behind at Class 5A North Marion March 2 to defeat the Lady Colts 10-7; and got past district foe Branford 4-1 on March 1.

The March 5 win improved the team’s mark to 9-0 overall; the Lady Indians are 3-0 in District 1A-7 play.

Meanwhile, Trenton cruised past its first pair of district opponents and boasted a 6-1 record heading into its March 6 meeting with Bronson. The Lady Tigers’ only blemish was a 4-2 loss at Class 5A Keystone Heights, whose only defeat was a 3-2 loss to reigning state champion Union County in its season opener.