BY DAN HILDEBRAN Monitor Editor STARKE— A 26-year-old Waldo man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for cutting a woman’s throat at the Whiskey River Saloon on Aug. 15. Robert Opperman pleaded no contest to attempted murder at his arraignment on Nov. 10. In addition to the prison term, Judge James M. Colaw also … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Monitor Editor STARKE— The State Attorney’s Office dropped three worthless check cases against a Starke man. Joseph Stefan Wheeler, 53 was charged for the Jan. 5 offense of issuing a $5,000 bad check to a Starke building supply business. He was also charged for issuing three worthless checks to a Starke convenience … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Monitor Editor LAKE BUTLER— Union deputies arrested a 32-year-old Lake Butler man after saying they had probable cause that the defendant choked his girlfriend, and then blamed her neck injuries on a cat. Zachery Richard McMillen was arrested on Nov. 12 for misdemeanor domestic battery, felony domestic battery by strangulation, and intimidating … Read more
Oct. 30 through Nov. 5 The following individuals were arrested recently by local law enforcement officers in Bradford, Union or Clay (Keystone Heights-area) counties. All defendants are considered innocent until convicted in a court or until pleading guilty or no contest. Information in this report is from law enforcement agencies and court documents, which are … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Monitor Editor STARKE— A 39-year-old Starke woman was arrested after Bradford deputies viewed a video of her lunging at one of her neighbors with a butcher knife. Dorothy Diane Griffin was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on Wednesday, Nov. 3. According to an arrest report, deputies responded to a … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Monitor Editor KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— City and county officials dedicated a marker memorializing the Keystone Inn during a Nov. 5 ceremony. Vice mayor Steve Hart said the city’s Heritage Commission was formed because of the inn’s demolition. “I remember driving through town in 1995, and there it sat, and I remember thinking: what … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Monitor Editor KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— Padl LLC has installed a paddleboard rental kiosk at Keystone Beach. Users can rent the boards hourly by using a smart phone app. Users may also purchase monthly subscriptions which entitle them to two hours of time each month. Padl LLC also operates rental stations at Lake Butler’s Lakeside … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Monitor Editor STARKE— FHP troopers arrested a 20-year-old North Carolina man for driving a car that resembled an FHP patrol vehicle. Alexander Robert Thompson was arrested for fraud-impersonation on Oct. 30. According to an arrest report, the Jacksonville Regional Communication Center issued a be-on-the-lookout for an unmarked black and tan FHP vehicle … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Monitor Editor KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— Trinity Baptist Church held a shoebox dedication service for Operation Christmas Child during the church’s Nov. 7 morning services. Operation Christmas Child is a worldwide ministry originating in 1993 when Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham delivered 28,000 shoeboxes filled with Christmas gifts to children in war-torn Bosnia. Since … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Monitor Editor KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— The city council approved a $167,236 budget to rebuild the stage area at Keystone Beach, another $258,774 to improve the restrooms at the lakeside park and $3,900 for a cost analysis to upgrade the parking lot at the facility. The city has already remodeled the facility’s pavilion, and … Read more
