BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] The National Transportation Safety Board said the pilot of an aerobatics plane that crashed on November 8 at the Keystone Heights Airport was attempting a controlled inverted spin when he lost control of his EA-330. The federal agency said in a preliminary report that Warren Chillers flew from his hometown of … Read more
BY JENN SAMSEL AND DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] Zaxby’s franchisee BSBC opened its 13th location in Keystone Heights, marking the event with a ribbon-cutting on Monday, December 15. That followed a friends-and-family soft opening the previous Saturday. BSBC is named after the franchisees’s partners: Boris Ochsenius, Shaun Morris, Blake Fletcher and Cotton Fletcher. Morris said the … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] Starke residents got a taste of something new this month when Papa John’s Pizza opened its doors right in front of Walmart, and if the town’s reaction to the franchise’s parade entry was any indication, the community was more than ready. “I couldn’t believe the people. The way we were received … Read more
BY MARK J. CRAWFORD [email protected] A $500,000 state appropriation is being put to work in the design and engineering of upgrades to the Bradford County Courthouse. The county requested $2 million to modernize and better secure the courthouse, particularly the first-level clerk’s office. Legislators allocated $500,000 to start alongside other awards, including nearly $1 million … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] The Florida Highway Patrol said a 25-year-old Starke woman was killed in a traffic crash near Hampton on Friday, December 5. Troopers said the driver hit a pipe on Southeast 109th Street just before midnight. After the collision, the vehicle went airborne and hit a tree and a fence. The driver … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] A director for the St. Johns River Water Management District said the district is now pumping water into Alligator Creek from the Black Creek Water Resource Development Project. Dale Jenkins, the district’s director of infrastructure and land resources, said during the district’s December 9 meeting that rain over the weekend of … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] A Santa Fe Lake resident has been named Florida’s 2026 Superintendent of the Year. Lake County School District Superintendent Diane Kornegay was selected as Florida’s 2026 Superintendent of the Year by the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. Kornegay was formally recognized on Wednesday, December 3, in Tampa during the Florida … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] The Clay County School Board will tackle a comprehensive review of its student code of conduct starting in February, beginning with bullying policies, officials said during a recent workshop. Board member Michele Hanson proposed dividing the district’s lengthy student handbook into separate elementary and secondary versions, similar to what other Florida … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] The Keystone Heights Planning and Zoning Board adjusted its comprehensive plan update timeline after learning it had received a $60,000 planning grant from Florida Commerce, officials said during their November 24 meeting. The grant will offset city staff costs for the comprehensive plan revision, required by state statute every seven years. … Read more
