SRWMD advises residents to exercise caution ahead of Hurricane Ian

Out of an abundance of caution, the Suwannee River Water Management District is advising all residents in Northeast Florida to prepare now for potential weather impacts from Hurricane Ian. According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Ian’s current trek has it affecting the counties within the District later this week, with possible impacts beginning as … Read more

Prepare for Ian. Sandbags available now.

Prepare now: www.floridadisaster.org/hazards/hurricanes. Bradford County will begin distributing pre-made sandbags today at 1 p.m. and will continue until further notice this evening. Distribution will resume tomorrow at 10 a.m. Sandbags will be distributed from the Bradford County Public Works Yard located on West Market Road. There is a 10-bag limit at this site. (Scan code below … Read more

Prosperity partners hear about hospital’s growth

BY DAN HILDEBRAN Monitor Editor KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital’s Vice president of Operations Tina Pugh gave the Lake Region Prosperity Partners an overview of the hospital’s activities and its plans for growth, during the Clay Chamber group’s Thursday, Sept. 22 meeting at the Keystone Beach pavilion. Pugh highlighted the hospital’s two current … Read more

KH man dared deputies to shoot

BY DAN HILDEBRAN Monitor Editor KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— A Lake Region man prohibited by court order from stepping foot on a Keystone Heights-area property did so anyway and was tased by three deputies after daring the lawmen to shoot him. Travis Allen Wright, 37, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, cyberstalking, burglary, petit … Read more

Union County nonprofits land Clay Electric grants

The Clay Electric Foundation said it awarded two grants totaling $30,000 to organizations focused on helping Union County residents. The Fellowship Baptist Food Pantry received $10,000. The Raiford-based church will use the money to add cooling units and shelves to its food bank. The Foundation for Rural Educational Excellence, which serves Putnam and Alachua counties, … Read more

Mission changes for regional council

Eric Anderson, the emergency preparedness manager for the Northeast Florida Regional Council, told the Keystone Heights Rotary Club during its Sept. 21 meeting that when Florida’s 10 regional planning councils were first established in the 1970s, their mission was to manage growth within the state through regional planning. Anderson added that now, growth management is … Read more