Chamber breakfast addresses small businesses’ most pressing needs

BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected]  Around 15 business leaders from the Starke-Keystone Heights-Lake Butler area attended a quarterly breakfast organized by the North Florida Regional Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 30, to discuss their top challenges in operating a small business. Chamber President Pam Whittle led the discussion. North Florida Economic Development Corporation partner Amber … Read more

Phone call prompts Putnam school lockdowns

BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said staff at Melrose Elementary School received a threatening phone call around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 29. In response to the threat, the school initiated a lockdown, and the school district locked down other West Putnam schools, including those in Interlocken. “At the same time,” … Read more

Semi-truck overturns near Keystone Beach Park- State Road 21 closed, city property damaged

BY JENN SAMSEL Special to the Monitor  A semi-truck overturned in Keystone Heights on South Lawrence Boulevard Saturday morning, causing significant damage to a city fence and spilling cases of bottled water. The incident resulted in several hours of road closures. The April 19 traffic crash occurred at 5:45 a.m. According to the Clay County … Read more

DOH Bradford issues Blue Green Algae Health Alert for Lake Sampson-Rowell and Sampson Canal

The Florida Department of Health in Bradford County has issued a health alert for the presence of harmful blue-green algae toxins in Lake Sampson-Rowell and Sampson Canal. The alert is in response to a water sample taken on April 9, 2025. The public should exercise caution in and around Lake Sampson-Rowell and Sampson Canal.  Residents … Read more

Water filter, AI model, and microplastics analysis win at Union science fair

BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected]  Peyton Kilgore’s water filtering system won the overall prize for the Union County Science Fair on Friday, January 17, and took first place in the Environmental Engineering category. The Union County High School junior calls himself a big agriculture buff and decided on his project after discovering that water waste is … Read more