BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Brian Kramer recently appeared in two separate meetings before Union County commissioners and City of Lake Butler officials. The chief prosecutor for the six-county region stretching from the Georgia line to the Gulf of Mexico gave his business card to Lake Butler city commissioners during their … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] Union County Coordinator Jimmy Williams reported to the board of county commissioners on June 2 that he had secured additional funding to resurface Southwest 92ndStreet. The two-lane street links State Road 121 in the Union County Riding Club area to Southwest 146th Lane. Last month, Williams told commissioners that the sole … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] Union County’s Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to hire Brent Allen as their new emergency medical services director, replacing retiring director Toby Witt. The board followed the recommendation of a committee chaired by Sheriff Brad Whitehead. Witt, former EMS Director Allen Parrish, County Coordinator Jimmy Williams, Board of County Commissioners … Read more
BY DAN HILDEBRAN [email protected] At press time, the City of Lake Butler said a contractor would begin work on the municipality’s water storage ground tank on June 3. The city was initially awarded a $875,000 state grant to replace its current tank. However, three bids to replace the structure were each over $1 million. Lake … Read more
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is asking Florida residents and visitors to report all sightings of wild turkeys between now and Aug. 31. This includes hens, poults (newly hatched wild turkeys) and gobblers. Florida’s annual summer wild turkey survey is part of a broader multi-state initiative aimed at better understanding the reproductive success … Read more
BY AMBER J. CRAFT Special to the Times After nearly five decades of service to the Union County School District, Eugene Dukes is stepping away from full-time work in education, but not from the community he has called home his entire life. From walking the halls as a student to leading the district as superintendent, … Read more
BY CLIFF SMELLEY [email protected] College of Central Florida sophomore softball player Leah Clark earned first-team All-Citrus Conference honors after again being one of the top offensive players for the Ocala junior college. Clark, a 2023 Union County High School graduate who was also a first-team all-conference selection her freshman season, led the Patriots in hits … Read more
BY CLIFF SMELLEY [email protected] Andrew Thomas released a statement via his Facebook account on May 31 regarding being fired as the head football coach and athletic director at Union County High School, highlighting the success of the program during his five years at the helm and expressing his thanks to those who supported the program … Read more
BY CLIFF SMELLEY [email protected] Union County Superintendent of Schools Mike Ripplinger understands that people won’t understand the decision he made in firing Andrew Thomas as the Union County High School head football coach, but stressed the decision was one that he felt was best for the program and one that he didn’t take lightly. Ripplinger … Read more
BY CLIFF SMELLEY [email protected] Union County Superintendent of Schools Mike Ripplinger announced that Andrew Thomas would no longer be head football coach at Union County High School, ending a five-year stint that saw the Tigers win 77 percent of their games. Ripplinger, in a statement emailed to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor on May 29, said, “In the … Read more
