News Archive

By David Ryman

Herbert Hurst presided over a feisty meeting of council members Harden, Dawson, Gooding and Locklear. In attendance were Attorney Greg Beauchamp, City Clerk, Manager, and Superintendent, the Police and Fire Chiefs, and an audience of five residents. Cross City Council’s lectern has gone hi-tech, now sporting a microphone, amplifier and speaker, so the voice of the people can be better heard.

The Shired Island ( County) Park will be closed from Friday May 2nd thru Sunday May 4th and will be available only for the annual Handicapped Fishing Event participants and workers . This action is necessary due to the limited space in the park and the number of participants expected. Only those actively registered and involved with the event will be admitted. We ask that you please observe this and allow our handicapped citizens a weekend to enjoy what most of us take for granted.Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. The Park will reopen for everyone on the afternoon of the 4th (Sunday) after 4 PM.

by Kathy Here’s a tip: if a guy called Stan Meeks ever calls you and asks you to go on a boat ride, take him up on it.  He’s the “Manatee guy” who spends his days canoeing the river, protecting the gentle giants who drift there.  He’s something of a local celebrity.  He’s been on National Geographic and he was featured in the Orlando Sentinel.  A rugged Vietnam vet with a khaki FWC shirt and intense eyes, he came to his calling after five years of living homeless on the river after “his life imploded.”

Kathy McKinney
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m scared these days.  I’m a voracious reader, particularly of news sites online, and what I’ve been reading does not make for restful nights.  
Did you know that in Haiti, people are eating dirt? Yes, dirt.  Vendors are selling butter and salt flavored dirt to starving people.  When I was a kid, Mary Elizabeth Cravey (now Shehane) and I used to eat dirt in the back yard with gigantic spoons we’d steal from her mama’s kitchen, so I can say, I’m something of an expert.  You have to be darned hungry to eat dirt. 

During a 14 month period, beginning in March of 2007, the Dixie County Sheriff’s Department, along with the Levy County Sheriff’s Office, the Chiefland Police Department’s Drug Task Force, as well as the FDLE, DEA, and United States Attorney’s Office, launched an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating in Levy and Dixie Counties. The investigations, dubbed “Operation Gill Net” (Dixie) and “Operation Yellow Fever” (Levy), led to the seizure of 5 kilograms of powder cocaine and 50 kilograms of crack cocaine. Seven defendants received federal indictments.