4:11

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Friday Edition — April 11, 2014 50 CENTS Suwannee Democrat www.suwanneedemocrat.com SEE SHS, PAGE 2A 129th YEAR, NO. 54 | 2 SECTIONS, 22 PAGES Serving Suwannee County since 1884, including Live Oak, Wellborn, Dowling Park, Branford, McAlpin and O’Brien No Purchase Necessary Must Present Coupon Limit 1 Per Person 856965 For Kids 12 & Under Staff An unknown black male wearing a knitted hat, dark jacket, boots a fake beard, mustache and wig robbed two Live Oak banks Wednesday by passing a note to a teller. According to officials, the suspect, believed to be a middle aged, medi- um complexioned, very slender black male, walked into TD Bank at the corner of South Ohio Avenue and Helvenston Street around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, passed a note to a teller and demanded money. The note stated “Give me all the 20s, 50s and 100s and no one will get hurt.” The teller com- plied, giving the suspect an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect wrapped the cash in a packet of paper and walked out. As the teller was handing over the cash, she activated the alarm. According to Live Oak Police Sgt. Justin Bates, once the robber walked outside one of two dye packs went off. However, Bates said since the mon- ey was wrapped and the suspect later ditched his clothing, chances of any red dye getting on him was probably very mini- mal. “The way he was hold- ing it and how he got rid Local banks robbed Suspect strikes twice The suspect is seen here in this still image taken from a surveillance cam- era at TD Bank. - Courtesy photo TD Bank, then First Federal South Branch hit. Perp still at large. Believed to be involved in other bank robberies in Perry, Tallahassee. Officials are asking for your help. You are asked to call the Live Oak Police Department at 386- 362-7463, or dispatch at 386- 362-2222, if you have any information on the robberies or the identity or whereabouts of the suspect. Live Oak Police Sgt. Jusin Bates said they do not believe the suspect is a local person, but they are not ruling out any possibility. Live Oak Police, Suwannee County Sheriff's Office and Department of Corrections on scene near First Federal Bank of Florida and KFC. - Photo: Andrew McGee NEED YOUR HELP SEE LOCAL, PAGE 2A By Joyce Marie Taylor joycemarie.taylor@ gaflnews.com Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) spokesperson Karen Parker offered an update on the New York couple whose bodies were found floating in the Suwannee River last month and preliminary findings from the med- ical examiner’s office, she said, show the cause of death to be drowning. The bodies of James and Grace Maynard were found floating on the Suwannee River over the weekend of March 21-23. Their bodies were discovered at two different loca- tions along the river in Dowling Park and Mayo, and a floating cooler offered informa- tion on their identities. The Maynard’s truck was later located at Gib- son Park boat ramp in Hamilton County where they apparently launched a small boat into the river. “According to the medical examiner (ME), the preliminary cause of death for both subjects is drowning,” said Park- er. “We are still waiting on the complete report from the ME but that may take another 8 to 12 weeks.” The boat, Parker said, has not yet been found. This is what the boat looks like from the side. River deaths ruled a drowning SEE RIVER, PAGE 3A LIVE OAK CITY COUNCIL ROUND-UP. Coming next week By Bryant Thigpen [email protected] The Live Oak City Council vot- ed 4-1 Tuesday night to approve a land use change from commercial to educational that will allow the expansion of Suwannee-Hamilton Technical Center. Councilor Jacob Grantham vot- ed against. This move by the council al- lows the Suwannee County School District (SCSD) to pur- chase the Radio Shack building and property, located at 305 Pinewood Dr., adjacent to SHTC. The building, which sits on a one-acre lot, is currently owned by Russell and Roylyn Johnson. “We have increased our programs, especially in the field of health sciences, to the degree of we are out of room at our technical center.” - School Board member Julie Ulmer School district seeks Radio Shack building Expansion sought for SHTC City council approves land use change By Andrew McGee [email protected] The Suwannee High School Junior- Senior Prom will be held in the SHS gymnasium on Saturday from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. The theme is “The Great Gats- by” based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel that explores themes of decadence and excess in 1922 during America’s jazz age. “Our theme is ‘The Great Gatsby’ and our color scheme is going to be done all in black and white,” said SHS Adminis- trative Secretary to Student Activities SHS prom goes ‘Gatsby’ The Old Dog says “Don’t drink and drive.” SEE SCHOOL, PAGE 3A

description

Local banks robbed.

Transcript of 4:11

Friday Edition — April 11, 2014 50 CENTS

Suwannee Democrat

w w w . s u w a n n e e d e m o c r a t . c o m

SEE SHS, PAGE 2A

129th YEAR, NO. 54 | 2 SECTIONS, 22 PAGES

Serving Suwannee County since 1884, including Live Oak, Wellborn, Dowling Park, Branford, McAlpin and O’Brien

No Purchase Necessary Must Present Coupon

Limit 1 Per Person 8569

65

For Kids 12 & Under

StaffAn unknown black

male wearing a knittedhat, dark jacket, boots afake beard, mustache andwig robbed two Live Oakbanks Wednesday bypassing a note to a teller.According to officials,

the suspect, believed tobe a middle aged, medi-um complexioned, veryslender black male,walked into TD Bank atthe corner of South OhioAvenue and HelvenstonStreet around 10:30 a.m.Wednesday, passed a noteto a teller and demandedmoney. The note stated“Give me all the 20s, 50sand 100s and no one will

get hurt.” The teller com-plied, giving the suspectan undisclosed amount ofcash. The suspectwrapped the cash in apacket of paper andwalked out. As the tellerwas handing over thecash, she activated thealarm. According to Live Oak

Police Sgt. Justin Bates,once the robber walkedoutside one of two dyepacks went off. However,Bates said since the mon-ey was wrapped and thesuspect later ditched hisclothing, chances of anyred dye getting on himwas probably very mini-mal.

“The way he was hold-ing it and how he got rid

Local banks robbed Suspect strikes twice

The suspect is seen here in this still image taken from a surveillance cam-era at TD Bank. - Courtesy photo

TD Bank, then First Federal South Branch hit.

Perp still at large. Believed to be involved inother bank robberies in Perry, Tallahassee. Officials are asking

for your help. Youare asked to call theLive Oak PoliceDepartment at 386-362-7463, ordispatch at 386-362-2222, if youhave anyinformation on therobberies or theidentity orwhereabouts of thesuspect. Live OakPolice Sgt. JusinBates said they donot believe thesuspect is a localperson, but they arenot ruling out anypossibility.

Live Oak Police, Suwannee County Sheriff's Office and Department of Corrections onscene near First Federal Bank of Florida and KFC. - Photo: Andrew McGee

NEED YOURHELP

SEE LOCAL, PAGE 2A

By Joyce Marie Taylor

joycemarie.taylor@

gaflnews.com

Florida Fish andWildlife Commission(FWC) spokespersonKaren Parker offered anupdate on the New Yorkcouple whose bodieswere found floating inthe Suwannee River lastmonth and preliminaryfindings from the med-ical examiner’s office,she said, show the causeof death to be drowning.The bodies of James

and Grace Maynardwere found floating onthe Suwannee Riverover the weekend ofMarch 21-23. Theirbodies were discoveredat two different loca-

tions along the river inDowling Park andMayo, and a floatingcooler offered informa-tion on their identities. The Maynard’s truck

was later located at Gib-son Park boat ramp inHamilton County wherethey apparentlylaunched a small boatinto the river. “According to the

medical examiner (ME),the preliminary cause ofdeath for both subjectsis drowning,” said Park-er. “We are still waitingon the complete reportfrom the ME but thatmay take another 8 to 12weeks.”The boat, Parker said,

has not yet been found.

This is what the boat looks like from the side.

River deathsruled a drowning

SEE RIVER, PAGE 3A

LIVE OAK CITYCOUNCIL ROUND-UP.

Coming next week

By Bryant Thigpen [email protected]

The Live Oak City Council vot-ed 4-1 Tuesday night to approve aland use change from commercialto educational that will allow theexpansion of Suwannee-Hamilton

Technical Center.Councilor Jacob Grantham vot-

ed against. This move by the council al-

lows the Suwannee CountySchool District (SCSD) to pur-chase the Radio Shack buildingand property, located at 305Pinewood Dr., adjacent to SHTC. The building, which sits on a

one-acre lot, is currently ownedby Russell and Roylyn Johnson.

“We have increased ourprograms, especially in thefield of health sciences, tothe degree of we are out ofroom at our technicalcenter.”

- School Board member Julie Ulmer

School district seeksRadio Shack building• Expansion sought

for SHTC• City council approves

land use change

By Andrew [email protected]

The Suwannee High School Junior-Senior Prom will be held in the SHSgymnasium on Saturday from 8 p.m. to12 a.m. The theme is “The Great Gats-by” based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925novel that explores themes of decadenceand excess in 1922 during America’sjazz age.“Our theme is ‘The Great Gatsby’ and

our color scheme is going to be done allin black and white,” said SHS Adminis-trative Secretary to Student Activities

SHS promgoes ‘Gatsby’

The OldDogsays“Don’t drinkand drive.”

SEE SCHOOL, PAGE 3A

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014� SUWANNEE DEMOCRAT/LIVE OAKPAGE 2A

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SuwanneeCounty Part of “The Original Florida”

Suwannee Democratprints the entire arrestrecord each week. If yourname appears here and youare later found not guilty orthe charges are dropped, wewill be happy to make noteof this in the newspaperwhen judicial proof is pre-sented to us by you or theauthorities.The following abbrevia-

tions are used below:SCSO-Suwannee County

Sheriff’s OfficeLOPD-Live Oak Police

DepartmentFDLE-Florida Depart-

ment of Law EnforcementFHP-Florida Highway

PatrolFWC-Florida Wildlife

CommissionDOT-Department of

TransportationOALE-Office of Agricul-

tural Law EnforcementP & P-Probation and Pa-

roleUSMS-US Marshals Ser-

viceATF-Department of Al-

cohol, Tobacco andFirearmsDOC-Department of

Corrections Apr 8, John Dillon Bellu-

so, 21, Railroad Ave, LiveOak, FL, Orange Co VOPO/C Petit Theft Bond:SCSO- J. WoloszynApr 8, Daren Leonard

Coglon, 42, 15063 29th Rd,Wellborn, FL, Poss

Methamphetamine, ManMethamphetamine, PossPrecursor Chemicals,Maintain a Place for Use ofContr Subst, Poss -20GCannabis, Poss Drug Para-phernalia: SCSO- J.Smith/D. BrownApr 8, Clyde Eugene

Courtney, 45, 15063 29thRd, Wellborn, FL, PossMethamphetamine, ManuMethamphetamine, PossPrecursor Chemicals, IntroContraband into Correc-tional Facility: SCSO- J.Smith/ D. BrownApr 8, Tina Michelle

Register, 43, 15063 29thRd, Wellborn, FL, PossMethamphetamine, ManuMethamphetamine, PossPrecursor Chemicals:SCSO- D. Brown/ J. SmithApr 8, Julius Joseph

Reinke, 43, 3505 CR 250,Wellborn, FL, Sentenced to30 Days C.J.: SCSO- T.SmithApr 8, Dustin Ray Perry,

27, 5734 US 90, Lee, FL,Burg of a Dwelling, Burgof a Dwelling, Petit Theft,Dealing in Stolen Property(Trafficking): SCSO- Cpl.A. SuttonApr 8, Michael David

Eady, 45, 19121 76th St,Live Oak, FL, Taylor CoWrt VOP O/C False Reportto LEO, Cash Bond, 1stapp PD Appt Per WFW:

Local banks robbed of the clothing, it’s hard totell if he got any on him,”said Bates. The robber is then be-

lieved to have fled onfoot in an unknown direc-

tion.Local resident Wayne

Jones said he was in theSullivan Agency parkinglot shortly after the rob-bery, next to the bank,when he found a “lot” ofcash on the ground with

Continued From Page 1A the demand note. He alsostated there was a dyepack found. The evidencewas turned over to author-ities. Later, around 2 p.m., the

robber struck the SouthOhio branch of First Fed-eral Bank of Florida, lo-cated at the corner ofSouth Ohio Avenue and11th Street, across fromKFC and Dairy Queen. The suspect demanded

cash and walked out withan undisclosed amount,wearing the same clothing,hat and fake accessories. A passerby said her

daughter saw the suspectenter the FFBF branch af-ter she identified him froma surveillance photo pub-lished online by the Demo-crat. The passerby said thesuspect casually walkedinto the bank shortly be-fore it was robbed.Following the robbery,

the suspect fled on footand ran behind KFC,ditching a large trash bagthat was later recoveredcontaining the fake beard,mustache and wig, cloth-ing and the knitted hat. The Suwannee and

Hamilton K-9 teams werecalled in to help search forthe suspect. “They found several

trails in Sherwood Forestand the wooded area be-hind Wee Kare Academy(next to the Sub Shop),”said Bates. However, offi-cials believe that after therobber ditched the bag ofclothing and accessories,he may have gotten into avehicle and fled the area. No weapon was dis-

played during either rob-bery and no injuries werereported.Bates said they were

Susan Brown.Brown said she was the

overseer of the event, but isonly there as a guide toSHS social studies teacherDominique Faison-Harris.Prior to interview and

unbeknownst to Brown,the Branford High Schoolprom theme is also “TheGreat Gatsby”. Brownthought the kids picked itbecause it was an Englishclass reading assignmentand also because of thepopularity of last year’s2013 film, “The GreatGatsby” starring LeonardoDiCaprio. Actor and direc-tor Robert Redford starredin the 1974 film version.Brown said they began

setting up and decoratingthis week.“It’s basically some sets

with staircases, possiblysome silhouettes and somefencing and so forth,” saidBrown. She said it was undecid-

ed about the details on themusic, as of this writing,but that they would mostlikely use the services of aDJ and it would all be con-temporary music.“They (the kids) want

this upbeat music so theycan dance to it,” saidBrown, smiling. “I’m notsure the music from backthen would appeal to them.Probably not.”Brown said for refresh-

ments, they will have afountain with a mixture ofjuices and ginger ale. They

will also have bottled wa-ters available and fruit andcheese trays.“We used to do cakes

years ago, but the kids real-ly didn’t like the sugar,”said Brown. “We’ve goneto some simple cookiesmade by our culinary (stu-dents) sometimes.”Kids have been coming

to her asking for advice onwhat to wear. She knowsmany students are goingonline and many girls aresearching fervently for the“right” dress. She said theschool normally runs afashion show, but weren’table to this year. The kidswould get their ideas fromthat year’s new looks infashion for both dressesand tuxedos. She believesmost of the boys will favorthe more traditional tuxedoin keeping with the colortheme of black and white,but has been told by some,the girls may be wearinglong gowns opposed todresses.“I think a lot of the girls

will go for color,” saidBrown. “They’ll be thecolor in the prom thisyear.”She said putting on a

prom takes a lot of hardwork. She said they havebeen working all week pri-or to prom from the timethey get out of school untilabout 9 p.m. and lastminute touchups will takeplace Saturday morning.“We’re excited and hope

they have a good time,”said Brown.

SHS prom goes ‘Gatsby’Continued From Page 1A

able to lift some prints atboth banks and officialsshould be able to lift DNAfrom the discarded cloth-ing and other items. Bates said the perp is

the same suspect that inFebruary robbed a bank inPerry and one in Tallahas-see before that. “It appears he is running

along the I-10 corridor orpossibly U.S. 90,” saidBates. Bates said all but a

small amount of moneyfrom the TD Bank robberywas recovered, but nonewas recovered from FFBF.All public schools and

some daycares in the LiveOak area were placed onlock-in status Wednesdayfor the majority of theschool day, due to the sus-pect being at large. Banks in the county and

surrounding counties werenotified of the robberies

and were put on alert. The Suwannee County

Sheriff’s Office has beenhelping in the investiga-tion. Bates said the FBIand FDLE have beencalled in to help.

False alarmsBates said an alarm

sounded at the North Ohiobranch of FFBF whilethey were on the scene atthe South branch. He saidthe bank was not robbedand they are still workingwith bank security to de-termine why that alarmwent off. A tip that led law en-

forcement to converge onWalmart Wednesdayevening turned out to be afalse lead. Bates said theyreceived word the suspectmay have been at Wal-mart. However, thatturned out to not be thecase.

SEE ARREST, PAGE 3A

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014 � SUWANNEE DEMOCRAT/LIVE OAK PAGE 3A

862112

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF LIVE OAK

406 WEBB DRIVE, N.E. LIVE OAK, FLORIDA 32064

SCOTT STEPHENS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

PHONE: (386) 362-2123 FAX: (386) 364-8364 E-MAIL: [email protected]

**LAWN SERVICE**

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF LIVE OAK (LOHA), Live Oak, Florida, will receive bids up to 10:00 a.m. April 16th, 2014. Bids will be opened immediately after in the Board Room at 406 Webb Drive Northeast, Live Oak, Florida 32064 for the award of a 6 month contract for lawn service.

Bids must be accompanied by a proof of Liability Insurance and Contractor’s Occupational License and be able to do business in the County of Suwannee. A copy of each is to be submitted with the bid.

There will be a pre-bid conference held consisting of review of the areas at 2:00 p.m. April 9th, 2014 in the Board Room at 406 Webb Drive Northeast, Live Oak, Florida 32064. At this time the Owner’s representatives will discuss the project requirements and procedures. Contractors are strongly encouraged to attend. Failure to attend does not relieve the bidder from the responsibility to carry out the work in the manner discussed at the conference. This pre-bid conference does not relieve the bidders of the on-site inspection of the project requirements.

The Live Oak Housing Authority is an equal opportunity agency, which does not discriminate against any person because of race, color, age, religion, sex, national origin, handicap and/or familial status. The Live Oak Housing Authority solicits and encourages Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), Woman Business Enterprises (WBE) and Section 3 Business participation in all of its contracts.

LOHA reserves the right to waive minor informalities in the bidding if said waiver is in the Housing Authority’s best interest.

19 March 2014

859211

School Board memberJulie Ulmer, District 3, saidthe purchase of the proper-ty was contingent on thecouncil approving a landuse change for the proper-ty. Prior to public com-

ments and due to the com-plexity of the matter,Council President AdamPrins asked the board toconsider extending thecomment time from threeto five minutes. CouncilorKeith Mixon made the mo-tion and it passed 5-0.

The request/letter of intent

On Feb. 27, Mark Carv-er, director of facilities forSCSD, submitted a letter ofintent with the applicationfor the land use change. “It is the intent of the

Suwannee County SchoolBoard to use the propertylocated at 305 PinewoodDrive SW, Live Oak, FL32064 for the future edu-cational needs of our stu-dents,” Carver wrote.“Presently, the SchoolBoard has not determinedthe exact educational pro-grams that will be locatedat this facility. Improve-ments will be made oncethe programs are deter-mined and funding isavailable.”

Ordinance 1357 According to Live Oak

Development ManagerGeorge Curtis, any landuse change that would af-fect a map previouslyadopted by ordinance,would have to be changedin the same manner. Since the land use

change is considered asmall scale amendment(10 acres or less), only onepublic reading was neces-sary for the ordinance topass. However, those af-fected by Ordinance 1357have 30 days to appeal thecouncil’s decision to theDivision of AdministrativeHearings. If there are noobjections, the ordinancebecomes effective imme-diately following the 30-day period.

The CRA’s responsePrior to the meeting,

Curtis provided his find-ings to the council regard-ing the land use change ofthe property in question.CRA Director TimWilliams also released astatement addressed toCurtis regarding the likeli-hood and potential impactsof the land use changewithin the CRA district.Curtis noted there was

lots of new informationpresented that staff wasunaware of prior to themeeting. “Without the submittal

of relevant, accurate andsubstantiated data andanalysis to justify and sup-port their application,staff’s analysis, includingthat of the CRA and my-self, was based on the in-formation which is known,and that which was includ-ed in the packet – whichwas solely the letter stat-ing they had no immediateplans or funding to makeuse of the property,” Curtis

said. Williams asked the

council to add a conditionto the approval of land usechange that would requirethe school district to giveproperty that would beused as a connector roadfrom Pinewood Drive,near Radio Shack, to U.S.129, near Dollar General.Williams stated there isadjacent property which isapproved for and beingconsidered for multi-fami-ly development. That road was not part

of the passed motion. Williams said the land

use change would “mostlikely” remove the RadioShack property from thetax rolls and reduce CRAdistrict income.

School district response Ulmer spoke on behalf

of the school district. Ul-mer is also a member ofthe Suwannee-HamiltonTechnical Center’s Advi-sory Committee. “I’ll be honest, when I

read the CRA analysis andlooked at some emails thatwere sent back and forthtrying to advocate the de-nial of the school district’srequest for zoning, I washighly offended,” Ulmersaid. “I wanted to comehere tonight and enlightenyou on why our school dis-trict desperately needs thisproperty.”“When the Johnsons

came to us, it really an-swered some lingeringquestions that we did notknow how to solve,” shesaid. “One of which is theexpansion of the programsat Suwannee-HamiltonTechnical Center. Now,Mr. Curtis said we havenot experienced growth,but that’s absolutely nottrue. We continue to ex-pand our vocational andtechnical programs. True,economic development isdriven by our citizen’sability to earn a good liv-ing.”Ulmer said at the techni-

cal center, they have pro-duced many business own-ers in this community andare contributing to the eco-nomic development effortsby providing a quality edu-cation to the citizens. “We have increased our

programs, especially in thefield of health sciences, tothe degree of we are out ofroom at our technical cen-ter,” Ulmer said. “It hasbeen in the five year planfor the advisory councilfor the last 10 years to tryto come up with a way tolocate all of our health sci-ence programs, but build-ing is cost prohibited.”Ulmer stated the loca-

tion of the building wouldbest fit the needs of theschool since it would ad-join with the existing cam-pus and is within walkingdistance of the highschool. Ulmer also noted the

technical center is thetraining site for KlausnerLumber One LLC. Justthis past weekend, theschool had over 500 in at-tendance at a job fair forthe company.“We work with Work-

force Development to bethe training site for any

School district seeks Radio Shack buildingContinued From Page 1A

“High water river condi-tions can make the vesselharder to find,” said Parker.The boat is a 13-foot

Gheenoe-type boat and atwo and a half horse pow-ered engine. According tofamily members of the de-ceased, the boat is eitherlight brown or olive drabgreen.

“This vessel would havea New York registrationnumber displayed on it,”Parker said. “If anyone hasseen the boat, they can callWildlife Alert at 888-404-3922 to report it.”With the river being so

high right now, the publicis not being asked to go outsearching for the boat asconditions could be dan-gerous.

River deaths ruleda drowning

Continued From Page 1A

new business wishing tolocate in the city of LiveOak or in Suwannee Coun-ty,” Ulmer said. “We needthis room desperately.” Ulmer responded to a

comment made regardingthe school district owning alot of land.“A lot of the land is actu-

ally designated to watermanagement or retention(ponds). I will remind thecouncil that the school dis-trict actually gave a largeportion of land at Suwan-nee High School to im-prove the retention andhelp alleviate the floodingin that area,” she said.Ulmer said the school

board has always beengood neighbors, and theyalways worked togetherwith the city council. “But I’m appalled by the

Community Redevelop-ment Agency’s opinion tostop our vision of econom-ic development and what isright for our students,” shesaid. “We need your sup-port on this because we arelooking at economic devel-opment and what is rightfor this community.”

Public commentsGeorge Blake, a city res-

ident, was the first tospeak, asking the board toconsider approving thezoning change for theschool system.“I served here 16 years,

and I know what you’regoing through,” Blakesaid. “But in those 16years, I never recall usoverruling the zoningboard. These people servewithout pay, they do agood job. I would encour-age you to support them.They made a decision toapprove it.”Secondly, Blake asked

the council to “mind yourown business.”“The school board and

the superintendent havemade a decision to buy thisproperty. They think it’s agood deal. You would notlike them interfering inyour council business. Youwould not like the countycoming down here and in-terfering in your business.So, I don’t want to be smartin saying this, but justmind your own businessand let the school board dotheir job,” Blake said.Mike Mitchell, a local

resident who serves on theplanning and zoning board,said the decision to ap-prove the school district’srequest was not unani-mous. “I am on the planning

and zoning board, and itwas not a unanimous deci-sion,” Mitchell said. “I be-lieve that we should not betaking money off the tax

rolls. The board of educa-tion has plenty of land thatthey can build a buildingon.”Debra Johnson, the

daughter of the RadioShack property owners,asked the council to ap-prove the request of theschool district. “As far as the road that

you have in your packetthat goes through there (be-side Radio Shack), if you’lllook very closely, that roadis going through the middleof a pond,” Johnson said.“That’s going to be prob-lematic.”“There are also wetlands

behind Radio Shack. Ithink your comprehensiveplan talks about environ-mental impacts. You mightrun into that, too, with thiswhole project,” she said. Bruce Lawson, who

owns the property adjacentto the Radio Shack build-ing, said he supports theschool board’s efforts, butalso supports the construc-tion of the proposed road. Lawson said the first

time he had seen the pro-posed road was in the staffreport. “We haven’t had input in

that process at all,” Law-son said. Lawson also supported

holding a workshop on thematter.“We’re not against this,

but what we want to do ismake sure everyone has asay in making this the bestpossible plan, he said.”

DiscussionCouncilor Jacob

Grantham asked Ulmerwhat her estimation is torenovate the building.“It would be less expen-

sive for us than to constructa new building,” Ulmerreplied. “I don’t have anexact dollar figure for you,but we could afford to dothis. We cannot afford tobuild.”Councilor Keith Mixon

asked Ulmer what wouldhappen if the board decid-ed not to approve the zonechange.“We would continue to

be in a holding pattern,”she said. “This is an urgentneed for us.”Grantham asked Ulmer

why the school board is op-posed to the city construct-ing a road from PinewoodDrive to US 129. “We already have con-

cerns with the crosswalkon Pine Avenue. Thiswould provide another full-sized street they wouldhave to walk across again,”she said. “The U.S. Supreme

Court actually had a deci-sion on this when theycalled these contingent

things, ‘We’ll give you anOK as long as you give usyour piece of property,’ it’slikely legalized extortion,”Ulmer said. “You’re askingus to give up property (thatis not tied to this project) toexpand our facility.”Grantham noted that if

this property is taken offthe tax roll, the CRA wouldlose approximately$75,000 over the next 25years. “Are you doing what’s

right for the CRA, or areyou doing what’s right forthe citizens of this commu-nity?” Ulmer asked.Following a lengthy dis-

cussion and in light of newinformation presented,Grantham offered to tablethe agenda item and send itto a workshop before com-ing back before the coun-cil. “I’m not trying to stop

what the school board istrying to do by anymeans,” Grantham said. “Iwould like to table thisand have a workshop onthis.”After consulting with

school board members andSuperintendent of SchoolsJerry Scarborough, Ulmertold the council they werenot prepared to set a datefor a workshop. Prins then asked the

council if they could pro-ceed with a vote, and theyagreed.With a 4-1 vote, the

board agreed to allow theland use change that wouldallow the school district tomove forward with the pur-chase of the property. The School Board will

now have to seek requestsfor proposals for financ-ing the purchase (pur-chase price of $395,000)and environmental andbuilding condition studieswould have to be per-formed before the finalpurchase of the propertyand building.

After the meeting Following the meeting,

Williams said, “I see theCRA as a partner forprogress with theSchool Board and was sur-prised by Mrs. Ulmer’s in-terpretation of my com-ments. The CRA is taskedwith creating and imple-menting strategies...to pre-serve and enhance both val-ue and opportunity for pri-vate enterprise and withonly the School Board ap-plication to review, therewas no way the Planningand Zoning Board or theCity Council could have ap-proved their request and itnot be overturned on ap-peal. The request simplyfailed to meet the requiredfindings test.”He continued, “Julie Ul-

mer provided new and im-portant information at thehearing clearly linking thisland use change as a “mis-sion critical component” forcontinued workforce train-ing and development.While I’m disappointed wecouldn’t solve congestionand safety issues while si-multaneously preservingopportunities for private in-vestment within the CRAdistrict, I’m happy theJohnsons and the SchoolBoard can move forwardwith this important additionto the school board com-plex.”Scarborough said, “We

are deeply appreciative ofthe Live Oak City Council'sdecision to approve the zon-ing change, which will al-low the Suwannee CountySchool Board to continue tomove forward with the pur-chase of the R.M. John-son/Radio Shack property.We are looking forward toworking with the Live OakCity Council and other gov-ernmental agencies to en-hance economic develop-ment through the servicesoffered by our Suwannee-Hamilton Technical Center.”

SCSO- S. St. JohnApr 9, Donnie J. Gilbert,

58, Transient, Live Oak,FL, Criminal Mischief,Trespass Structure: SCSO-T. MeeksApr 9, George Anthony

Cason, 55, 660 NW SophieDrive, White Springs, FL,VOP O/C Trafficking in 20Or More Grams Cocaine:SCSO- L. Land

Ap 9, Liana MarieWhite, 33, Lowell CI,Ocala, FL, Return forCourt: SCSO- A. SuttonApr 9, Alfred Frank

Godfrey, 54, 609 HighviewCircle S, Brandon, FL,Sentenced 1 Year CJ:SCSO- A. SuttonApr 9, Shannon Adam

Stewart, 22, 16207 221stRoad, Live Oak, FL, VOP(Poss Paraphernalia), CashOnly: SCSO- A. Prins

Arrest RecordContinued From Page 2A