Features

As farmers busily harvest the Watermelon fields, many are also keeping a close watch on another crop. Levy County has approximately 12,000 acres of peanuts. The crops were planted in April and May and take 135-150 days to harvest depending on the variety. The first couple months are fairly undemanding, said Anthony Barbaglia, Levy County University of Florida/IFAS Extension Agent for Agriculture.  “The peanuts just kind of hang out there for the first 50 days.

Young contestants in the watermelon eating contest dive in mouth first Saturday during the 2010 Chiefland Watermelon Festival.

The annual Chiefland Rotary Fishing Tournament at Cedar Key, where $7,500 in cash and prizes is on the line, is still on for Saturday.

While most folks do not want to mention the four million gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico and the fishing tournament in the same sentence, Bob Wolk, chairman of the club's biggest fund-raising event, said on Tuesday the tournament is still on for Saturday at 7 a.m.

Flashlight beams revealed the interior walls of the Old Gilchrist County Jail in Trenton to be alive with decay.  Layers of lead paint flaked from their surface, giving them the appearance of matted fur, occasionally punctuated by the bodies and spindly legs of spiders. If the walls could have spoken, they would have whispered the words: Get out.

In one of the dark cells on the second floor of the building, three women gathered on the floor around small electronic devices, hoping to see them light up in response to questions they were asking.  

   Hello, I am Casper, a rescued Lab. I can relax and sleep well, knowing that the Dixie County Humane Society rescue volunteers are working hard to take care of me. They feed me, house me, and pay my vet bills until I find my new home

   Come meet Casper, a 10-month-old male, who is full of love and play ,gets along with all other dogs and kids,

   Call Pam at 352-542-1081, visit our site at www.petfiner.com for many of our other animals awaiting adoption or  visit our shop in Old Town for adoptions on Fridays.

Paddlers from around the area gathered last Saturday for the 33rd Annual Wild Hog Canoe and Kayak Race.

The annual event, held  along the Waccasassa River near Otter Creek, raises money each year for the Levy Association for Retarded Citizens. AMVETS Post No. 88, based out of Bronson, also helped organize the event.

Though final numbers for this year weren’t available, last year’s race raised more than $10,000 for LARC, making the race one of the groups largest fundraisers of the year.

It was about this time of year when Juan Ponce de Leon first landed in Florida  almost 500 years ago. A profusion of greenery and flowers inspired him to call the area Pascua Florida—roughly translated as “ flowery Easter”. The plants were native varieties, blooming without the help of fertilizers, pesticides or water from sprinkler systems and garden hoses, all of which have become an issue affecting Florida’s fragile ecology. Much of the pesticide and fertilizer ends up in Florida’s streams, rivers and springs.

If spring is here, can the Wild Hog Canoe & Kayak Race be far behind?  Not likely. The Bronson AmVets Post #88 and the Levy Association for Retarded Citizens (LARC)  are gearing up for the 33rd running of this fun paddle to benefit charity.

At 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 17, paddlers from near and far will gather at the river to participate in one of the six canoe classes or one of the two kayak classes that range from amateur to experienced. Prizes of miniature paddles are awarded to first, second, and third place winners in each category.

LIVE OAK--Film students at American University in Washington, D.C., exchanged fun in the big city to camp in the wilds of Florida for a week over spring break. Classroom in the Wild – an alternative spring break program – gave about a dozen students an opportunity to explore life on the banks of the Suwannee River while learning to film nature.

The students camped at Adams tract river camp, owned by the Suwannee River Water Management District (District), March 6-12. During their stay, they toured the Steinhatchee River Basin and other District lands.