Samuel Allison Sr. Samuel “Sam” Allard Allison Sr., 70, of Starke, died Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Newberry. Survivors are his children, Samuel (Jolene) Allison Jr., Tanya Royal and Ayden Allison; four brothers; three sisters; and many extended family members and friends. A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, June 17, at 12 p.m.…
Relocating won’t affect services, the majority of which are still provided for women in crisis BY CLIFF SMELLEY Telegraph Staff Writer Answers Health and Resource Facility has been a fixture at 115 N.E. Commercial Circle in Keystone Heights for 10 years, but will be seeking a new location from which to provide its services as…
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Telegraph Staff Writer KEYSTONE HEIGHTS—Clay County School Board members adopted a policy during its June 1 meeting requiring students to use restrooms, locker rooms, and dressing rooms according to each student’s biological sex. “An individual student’s ‘biological sex’ is defined as the sex assigned to that student at birth, hereinafter, ‘birthsex’,” the…
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Telegraph Staff Writer KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— Clay County’s Emergency Management Director announced his retirement, and the county said his deputy will move into the top job. John Ward said in an email that it is time to move on. “It is with both excitement and sadness that I would like to announce that…
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Telegraph Staff Writer KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— Clay County Property Appraiser Tracy Drake said the 2023 taxable value of all properties in the county is estimated at approximately $16.5 billion – an annual increase of more than $1.9 billion, or 13% from the 2022 assessment roll. “The statutory date for the 2023 assessment roll…
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Telegraph Staff Writer KEYSTONE HEIGHTS—The city council approved a $3 million bridge loan with Capital City Bank to assist the airport with improvements to the facility’s taxiways, lighting, and signs. Federal Aviation Administration and Florida Department of Transportation grants are funding the improvements. Airport board chair David Kirkland told the council that…
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Telegraph Staff Writer KEYSTONE HEIGHTS—Florida TaxWatch said a $1 million state appropriation for a regional sports complex in Clay County is a budget turkey. The watchdog group said the park, under construction now near Camp Blanding, is one of 30 housing and community development projects totaling $41 million that should not have…
BY DAN HILDEBRAN Telegraph Staff Writer KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— Keystone Beach hosted its second watersports tournament of the year, with the Pro Watercross Liqui Moly National Tour making a two-day stop in the Lake Region on June 3-4. City Manager Lynn Rutkowski said the event was seamless, with no traffic snarls or unexpected snafus. The tour…
Johanne Artman Johanne Irene Sheboy Artman, 81, born Oct. 4, 1941, in Cleveland, Ohio passed away on Monday, May 29, 2023 at her home in Starke with Marvin Wayne Artman, her husband of 59 years, by her side. She was a disabled veteran, having served in the US Air Force. She met her husband…
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS—The Lake Region Kiwanis Community Band will present a free concert at noon on Saturday, June 10, inside the restored and air-conditioned Keystone Beach Pavilion. The 20-piece all-volunteer band has musicians from high school students to senior citizens. It features a full brass and woodwind section along with bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, four vocalists,…
