BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] Union County residents lined Southwest Sixth Street in front of Lake Butler Middle School to welcome home Florida’s Teacher of the Year, Mark Harrison, on Saturday morning. The Union County High School economics and American Government instructor won the statewide competition in Orlando the previous Thursday. Harrison was greeted in Lake … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] Union County Commissioners put off a decision to allow a Lake Butler funeral home to build a crematory near Worthington Springs. Three months ago, commissioners, acting as their own planning and zoning board, approved rezoning the nine-acre parcel that would make possible the construction of the crematorium. However, Archer-Milton Funeral Home … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] Hundreds of Union County students gathered to pick up school backpacks and supplies during a community-wide event at Lake Butler Middle School on Saturday. Event organizer Tina Lloyd said this is the third year her original group of seven friends, now 14, have put together the giveaway, which has grown each … Read more
Harper Blizzard made her mark in a large field of fellow players as she was selected for the USSSA Softball Southeast Region All-American Team. Blizzard, a 9-year-old who’s going into the fourth grade at Lake Butler Elementary School, was one of more than 2,000 players from throughout the U.S. who attended tryouts. The daughter of … Read more
BY CLIFF SMELLEY [email protected] A pair of Union County youth made quite the showing at the July 8-12 AAU National Club Track and Field Championship as Dae Mabrey and Zoey Marshall both earned wins. Mabrey, competing as a member of East Butler Athletics, won the 9-year-old girls shot put at the Jacksonville event with a … Read more
The following individuals were arrested recently by local law enforcement officers in Bradford, Union, or Clay (Keystone Heights-area) counties. All defendants are considered innocent until convicted in a court or until pleading guilty or no contest. Information in this report is from law enforcement agencies and court documents, which are public records. Bradford Jennifer Bass, … Read more
In a world where only one in five small businesses make it to the 20-year mark, Kelly Christie Dance Academy has not only stood the test of time in Union County — it’s flourished, grown and reimagined itself. Having recently celebrated its 20th anniversary season, the beloved studio has rebranded as KCDA School of Musical … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] Lake Butler Elementary School, Lake Butler Middle School, and Union County High School all recorded advances in the state’s Spring assessments. Students in grades 3 through 10 took the state FAST reading assessment, while children in grades 3 through 8 took the math assessment. In addition, middle and high school students … Read more
