Winning bass earns nearly $1,000 a pound

  • July 4, 2026
  • Dan Hildebran

It took just a 1.07-pound bass to claim the $1,000 top prize at the Tommy Spires Annual Bass Fishing Tournament on Saturday, July 4, where engaged couple Blake Harrell and Zoie Whitlock of Lake Butler…

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Lake Butler women take top spots in July 4 race

  • July 4, 2026
  • Dan Hildebran

Emma Jeffers, 21, of Lake Butler was the first woman across the line, finishing fourth overall in 21:54 in the Stars & Strides 5K. Jeffers, who ran track at Union County High School before the sch…

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Lake City, Tallahassee men win Lake Butler race

  • July 4, 2026
  • Dan Hildebran

Joshua Thompson, 19, of Lake City won the race outright in 16 minutes, 54 seconds, a 5:27-per-mile pace. Thompson, a Columbia High School graduate who now runs track and cross country at Florida Gatew…

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Seventy-seven runners trek Lake Butler streets

  • July 4, 2026
  • Dan Hildebran

A pair of Florida Gateway College cross country teammates claimed the men’s and women’s titles Saturday at the Stars & Strides 5K, where 77 runners marked the Fourth of July by racing through Lake…

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‘One of the prettiest cars out there’

  • July 4, 2026
  • Dan Hildebran

The Starke resident who placed second in the Lake Butler Rotary Club's  Stars, Stripes and Chrome Car Show credited his long-standing love for Camaros, particularly models from 1967 to 1969, as his in…

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2-pound trash fish nets $100

  • July 4, 2026
  • Dan Hildebran

It took just a 1.07-pound bass to claim the $1,000 top prize at the Tommy Spires Annual Bass Fishing Tournament on Saturday, July 4, where engaged couple Blake Harrell and Zoie Whitlock of Lake Butler…

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Threatened county worker with knife

  • July 3, 2026
  • Dan Hildebran

Charles Leroy Rhoden, 47, of Brooker, was arrested by Bradford deputies on July 1 for aggravated assault with a weapon and trespassing. According to the report, the county employee said Rhoden approac…

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