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Today's News

  • CMHS quintet snatch wins in Monticello

    Five different Chiefland athletes combined for eight individual wins while the Indians collected an additional 18 top-3 finishes at the Jefferson County Tri Meet March 22 in Monticello.

    Reagan Hudson led the charge for CMHS with three first-place finishes – Girls 100 Hurdles (20.57 seconds); Girls 300 Hurdles (1:00.75) and Girls Discus Throw (75 feet, 9 inches) – and a second place (Girls High Jump, 4-04.0).

    Lady Indians junior Courtney Hayes prevailed in the Girls High Jump at 4-08.0.

    Sophomore Luke Stockman led the Indian boys with a first-place finish in the Boys 1600 meter run (5 minutes, 24.61 seconds) and the 3200 (2 mile) at 12:03.16. Senior Tramaine Brown collected first in the Boys Long Jump (17-02.0) for CMHS.

    For the Lady Indians, eighth-grader Lauren Jones took first in the Girls 1600 (5:48.43) and won unopposed in the 3200 (12:29.08).

    Senior Quay Brodus nearly added another win for Chiefland, as he tied for first in the Boys High Jump at 36-04.0, but was marked at second on the tiebreaker. Brodus added a No. 3 finished in the shot put (17-03.5).

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  • CMHS track to honor past coaches

    Chiefland Middle High School track and field is hosting the first-ever C. Doyle McCall and Wendell Corbin Honorary Invitational Track Meet Thursday, April 5, in honor of two coaches who built the foundation of the program.

    McCall, best known as a legendary football coach for the Indians, founded the track program in 1953, and Corbin helped take it to new heights as a longtime coach. A special presentation will be held at 3:15 p.m. before the meet to honor the two coaches. McCall is unable to attend due to health reasons, so a member of one of his first track teams, Jolyn Corbin, will accept the honor on his former coach’s behalf.

    With six schools slated to participate, including Bronson, Williston, Mayo-Lafayette and Jefferson County, the meet will be as large or larger than any meet in recent years hosted at CMHS.

    The meet will start at 3:30 p.m., beginning with the 4x800 relay, followed by the field events, and then the remaining running events.

    The CMHS Running Sports Booster Club is putting on the meet with award sponsorships from Bar-B-Q Bill’s and Chiefland Farm Supply.

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  • CMHS alumni return for busy career day

    Chiefland Middle High School’s career day on March 22 wasn’t exclusive to the school’s alumni, but their impressive representation among the professionals presenting at the event made for a good example for current students.

    Around half of the 31 career representatives – from companies, government organizations and colleges – previously attended the school. Those reps, of course, detailed and demonstrated the work of their fields, but also offered general advice to the future graduates.

    Denny George, of Duke Energy, one of 10 classroom presenters, advised current students to remain open and well-rounded when it comes to their studies, as their minds are likely to change about their career paths before they’re finished with school.

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  • Easter Bunny lays 40,000 eggs

    By Lori Prevatt, Citizen Correspondent

    Forward Church covered the ground at Strickland Park with 40,000 candy-filled plastic Easter eggs Sunday, March 25.

    The annual hunt included many fun things for children to do.

    First responders were present to give children a close up look inside the back of a Levy County Ambulance or inside a Chiefland fire truck. The Levy County Sheriff’s Office brought its airboat and allowed kids to pose for pictures on the boat. A state trooper was also present and Chiefland police officer Kyle Schultz and his K9 partner, Blitz, met boys and girls. Kids posed for pictures with the first responders, talked to them about safety and were given safety pamphlets.

    Children also had the opportunities to play on bouncy houses and to have their faces painted.

    Mini Angels Rescue Petting Zoo also had many animals for children to hold and pet. They had a large tortoise, a small pig, goats, guinea pigs, rabbits and more.

    Shandscaire also landed their helicopter and allowed children and parents to explore the inside of the helicopter.

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  • Fire claims Bronson man

    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.

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  • Haven on care center: ‘That’s the model we want to continue to support.’

    Last November, Haven Hospice closed its on site care center in Chiefland, causing some concern around The community about the institution’s viability in the area.

    But spokespersons for the hospice, which has recently shortened its name to Haven, said they expected it to be a temporary move while the caregiver reconsiders the financial model for keeping open a care facility on campus.

    Haven Chiefland administrator Patrick Allen provided an update to the plans for the center at the Chiefland Chamber of Commerce meeting March 23 at the Haven Hospice Meeting Room, and said the care provider still plans to reopen the care center by the end of the year.

    “We don’t have a date set to reopen, (but) we believe we can reopen it this year,” Allen said. “That’s our goal. We are still struggling with the volumes right now, but we believe with education, we can get it back open.

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  • Compromise now or lose later

    We don’t use datelines at the Citizen because we are a hyperlocal newspaper because, as a general rule, we do not publish anything that is not related to Levy County. If we did, then the rule is that a dateline should tell the reader the basic information for the story was obtained in the datelined city. There are 30 American cities that stand alone without state names. All of those cities have a global identity for one reason or another. I could argue that Columbine, Newtown and Parkland could be added to the list because those three cities have a global identity.

    I am not advocating for the government to come and take someone’s gun and neither am I advocating for someone with a gun to take away someone’s child.

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  • CK Open nabs over $5.5K for Fire Rescue

    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.

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  • Lady hoops standouts recognized at banquet

    The Chiefland Middle High School girls’ basketball program has promising talent coming up through its ranks, and lose just one senior starter next season.

    To realize its tantalizing potential, however, its young student-athletes will have to put in the gym time in the offseason.

    At the Lady Indians’ end-of-the-season banquet at Hardeetown Baptist Church March 12, the girls were honored for their contributions and impressive improvements throughout the year. It was also a chance for coaches Buddy Vicker and Jason Whistler – and CMHS Principal Dennis Webber – to paint of picture of what is required to be great going forward.

    Webber, in his introduction, unofficially introduced the theme of the evening in quoting women’s basketball coaching legend Pat Summitt, citing her claim that the competitor needs to “continually raise the bar.”

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  • The wonderment of technological advances

    I used to think how wonderful it must have been for someone born in the 1890s, like my grandpa and lived through the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, two world wars, the Ford assembly line, airplanes, space travel, the telegraph, telephone, radio, television — everything we use all the time and don’t give a second thought — my grandpa saw in its very beginning.

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