LEVY, GILCHRIST, DIXIE COUNTIES
UPDATED FRIDAY (MAY 18) at 11:47 p.m.
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Friday Lunch
Members of the Bronson Youth Crime Watch line up for hamburgers, hot dogs and all the fixin's as part of their Prom Promise activities on Friday. The students in green and yellow shirts produced the whole event, under the guidance of School Resource Officer Donna Roe. For more on this, including the story, photos and video, please go to the LIFE PAGE.
Photo by Jeff M. Hardison

BBQ!
Newberry is among the stops for barbecue in the North Florida region. Excellent barbecue can be found in Levy, Gilchrist, Dixie, Alachua, Citrus, Marion, Columbia and Suwannee counties. Please view another shot of this barbecue icon on the CALENDAR PAGE, and please see a gathering in Newberry at a business on the BUSINESS PAGE.
Photo by Jeff M. Hardison

Public Safety
Gilchrist County Commissioner Tommy Langford on Friday says that if the new signs for slower speeds at five dangerous and congested parts of the Santa Fe River saves one life, then the long effort it took to create the zones was worth it. Please see the whole story and photos on the LEISURE PAGE.
Video by Jeff M. Hardison, ll copyrights reserved

Candidates’ forum set for Tuesday
Cedar Key Lions provide opportunity
in supervisor of elections and county judge races
By Jeff M. Hardison, © May 16, 2012
and Rory Brennan
     CEDAR KEY -- The Cedar Key Lions Club is providing a "meet the candidates" evening on Tuesday (May 22) at 7 p.m. in the Cedar Key Community Center.
     Four candidates for two offices are scheduled to meet voters.
     The evening will give voters a chance to meet and greet candidates for two offices – Levy County Judge and Levy County Supervisor of Elections.
     Currently, the race for Levy County Judge will be decided by the Aug. 14 primary election with no further selection in the general election in November.
     The two final candidates for Levy County Judge are Judge James T. (Tim) Browning and Cyndee Munkittrick.
     The two current candidates for Levy County Supervisor of Elections are Tammy Jones and Brooke Ward.
     The caveat as to whether the Levy County Supervisor of Elections race is decided is that a candidate may still pay the fee to qualify, rather than to use the cards signed by people to circumvent paying that qualifying fee.
     The fee to run as a party affiliated candidate for supervisor of elections in Levy County is estimated at $4,980.24. The qualifying fee to run for that office as a No Party Affiliate is $3,320.16.
     The fee is decided by a percentage of the annual salary of the office sought. It is 6 percent for a party candidate or 4 percent for a No Party Affiliation candidate.
     The qualifying period by signed cards was May 7. Therefore, everyone else who wants to run must pay the fee by the end of qualifying, which is June 8 at noon. Qualifying starts on June 4 at noon.
     Two candidates in Levy County who did not complete their signature card requirement by May 7 are Jack Schofield (No Party) of Yankeetown and Michael Andrew “Drew” White (Rep.) of Inglis. They can still qualify between June 4 at noon and June 8 at noon.
     Payment of the qualifying fee must be from a campaign account check. It cannot be paid by cash or by personal check. People who are waiting to the last minute to qualify may want to take care to be sure everything can be completed by the deadline.
     Schofield and White are among the current candidates in the race for Levy County Commissioner, District 3. The other current candidates in that race are Joseph Cino Jr. (Rep.) of Inglis, Mike Joyner of Morriston and Al Macri (Dem) of Morriston.
     The four candidates who are scheduled for the event on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Cedar Key Community Center will each be given 10 minutes to tell the audience why they should be elected, and then questions from the public can be asked of all candidates. The Forum is open to the public.

FOLLOWING ARE THE OTHER RACES WHERE PEOPLE HAVE MET REQUIREMENTS AND ARE LISTED ON THE WEBSITES OF SUPERVISORS OF ELECTION IN LEVY, GILCHRIST AND DIXIE COUNTIES AS OF 11:20 A.M. ON MAY 16.

LEVY COUNTY
CLERK OF COURT
Wilbur F. Dean (Rep.), Danny Shipp (Dem.)
COUNTY COMMISSION DIST. 1
Jamie Griffin (Dem.), Jason Kennedy (Rep.) John Meeks (Rep.)
COUNTY COMMISSION DIST. 3
Joseph Cino Jr. (Rep.), Mike Joyner (Rep.), Al Macri (Dem), Jack Schofield (No Party), Michael Andrew White (Rep.)
COUNTY COMMISSION DIST. 5
Danny Stevens (Dem.)
COUNTY JUDGE
James T. Browning, Cyndee Munkittrick
PROPERTY APPRAISER
Osborn Barker (Rep.)
SCHOOL BOARD, DIST. 2
Avery Baker, Christopher Cowart, Marissa DeHaven, Billy Hinote, Kyle Quincey, Sandra Worthington-Hodge
SCHOOL BOARD, DIST. 4
Paige Brookins
SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT
Robert Hastings (Rep.), Cindy Roach (Dem.) 
SHERIFF
Noel Desmond (Rep.), Bobby McCallum (Rep.), Evan Sullivan (Rep.), Lee Sullivan (No Party Affiliation)
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
Tammy Jones (Rep.), Brooke Ward (Rep.)
TAX COLLECTOR
Linda Fugate (Dem.)

GILCHRIST COUNTY
CLERK OF COURT
Randy Durden (Rep.), Crystal Thornton Jones (Rep.), Todd Newton (Rep.), Susan P. Owens (Dem.), Tracey Downing Wilkerson (Dem),Verna Mae Eady-Wilson (Dem.)
COUNTY JUDGE
Sheree H. Lancaster, David Miller (Duke) Lang
COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DIST. 1
Sharon Akins Langford (Dem.), Rosemary McDaniel (NPA)
COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DIST. 3
Rodney Wayne Brown (NPA), Todd Gray (Rep.), Horace Hart (Rep.), Joseph (Daniel) Hart (Rep.), James A. Shepherd (Dem.), William (Bill) Wolford (Rep.)
COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DIST. 4
Marion C Poitevint (Rep.), John Rance Thomas (Dem.)
COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DIST. 5
Kenrick D. Thomas (Rep.), James E. (Buddy) Vickers (Rep.)
PROPERTY APPRAISER
Damon C. Leggett (Dem.)
SCHOOL BOARD, DIST. 2
Robert B. Clemons, Lana Cherie Hastings, Matthew Rexroat
SCHOOL BOARD, DIST.
3 Dermot Burke, V.C. Cannon, Michelle Walker-Crawford
SCHOOL BOARD, DIST. 4
Julie Thomas
SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT
Ronda Adkins (Dem.), Emory Philman (Dem.), Robert G. Rankin (Rep.)
SHERIFF Leonard Knuckles (Rep.), Scott Gabriel Martin (Rep.), Charles Risk Jr. (Dem.), Robert Roux Jr. (Rep.), Bobby Schultz III (Dem.)
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTION
Connie D. Sanchez (Rep.)
TAX COLLECTOR
Mitchell Gentry (Rep.), Tommy Langford (Rep.), Barbara Merritt (Dem.)

DIXIE COUNTY
COUNTY COMMISSION, DIST.1
Adam Barden (NPA), Susanne Kay Thornton (DEM)
COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DIST. 3
Mark Hatch (Dem.)
COUNTY COMMISSION, DIST. 5
Nancy Benita Corbin (Rep.), Ronnie Edmonds (NPA), James Valentine (NPA)
SCHOOL BOARD, DIST. 1
Cheryl Pridgeon
SCHOOL BOARD, DIST. 4
Timothy Alexander
SHERIFF Thomas Galloway (NPA), Dewey Hatcher Sr. (NPA)
PROPERTY APPRAISER
Robert (Robbie) Lee (NPA)
CLERK OF COURT Dana D. Johnson (Dem.)
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS Starlett E. Cannon (Rep.)
TAX COLLECTOR Michelle Cannon  (Dem.)

Bronson Chamber of Commerce
schedules political rally and dinner
     BRONSON – The Greater Bronson Area Chamber of Commerce has scheduled a political rally for Levy County and state candidates who represent Levy County.
     The event is on July 13 (a Friday) at Bronson Speedway. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. and the candidate introductions start at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $7 for dinner, which includes a choice of fried mullet or barbecue chicken, and coleslaw, baked beans, hushpuppies or rolls, and tea.
     The rally will be in the area next to the grandstands of Bronson Speedway. Political candidates may rent a 10X10 booth space along the grandstands for $25. This is where they can meet and greet rally attendees and pass out campaign materials.
     Tickets may be purchase in advance at Bronson Ace Hardware, Bronson Lube, Chantilly Place, GT Grill, Nanna’s Place Academy, Shear Expressions or at Bronson Town Hall. For more information please call 352-213-2088.

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