Democrat enters
Levy County Commission District 2 race
Levy County shows
historic three-party race
By Jeff M. Hardison © May 29, 2026 at 6 a.m.
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     TRI-COUNTY AREA – The Aug. 18 Primary Election for one race is not going to be the end-all for deciding who wins the seat being vacated by Commissioner Russell S. “Rock” Meeks Jr. (Dist. 2), although most of the other elections for county offices in the Tri-County Area will be finished after that August election and not have to go to the Nov. 3 General Election.

      Not only will Emily Casey, a registered member of the Ecology Party, win the Aug. 18 Primary Election for the Levy County Commission District 2 Race, if all facts remain as they exist as of May 28, but Lincoln Cannon, a registered member of the Florida Democratic Party, will also win the Aug. 18 Primary Election. Other Levy County residents who are registered members of the Ecology Party and the Florida Democratic Party may give Casey and Cannon a run for their money to compete in the Primary Election if they qualify before the deadline and run for that office, and there may be more Republican Party of Florida candidates qualifying to potentially win that primary election, too. And there could be some other minor party candidate or a No Party Affiliation candidate qualifying in that primary race to create an even more interesting contest.
     The two Republicans running for the Levy County Commission District 2 election so far are Wesley Langston and Matt Lemery, according to records.
     County Commissioner Meeks previously announced his plan to not seek reelection for this coming four-year term in office. Meeks is among the people who are known to say what they mean and to do as they say they will do.
     Given the current status of people who are noted to plan to qualify to run for office, as of May 28, the competition between individuals seeking to serve the residents and visitors of Levy County as a public servant and as a politician include three different political parties in that race for Levy County Commission District 2.
     All four of those individuals are announced as intending to be candidates, and they will become qualified candidates given they meet the deadline during the qualifying period in June. All four of those individuals are politicians. Being a politician does not mean they are liars, although there are some elected officials who are liars, where the word “liar” is defined as “an individual who knowingly utters a falsehood, making a statement they know to be untrue with the specific intent to deceive someone else.”
     The word “politician” is defined as “an individual actively involved in government, policymaking, or party politics.” Not every person seeking public office via appointment of election is “a manipulator who engages in politics strictly for self-interest or personal gain,” as some few politicians have done before, are doing now and will do in the future.
     As for the Aug. 18 Primary Election in the Tri-County Area, almost every race will be decided before the Nov.3 General Election because there is such a predominance of Republican that in most races, everyone will get to choose between which Republican wins.
     In the Levy County Commission District 2 Primary Election on Aug. 18, however, only Republicans will be able to vote for Langston or Lemery. Casey and Cannon have won their primary election, given no other Ecology Party or Florida Democratic Party member qualifies to run against either or both of them in the Auf. 18 Primary Election.
     In the Nov. 3 General Election, either Langston or Lemery, will face Casey and Cannon in that three-way contest to replace Meeks -- because Florida is a closed primary state.
     According to the Florida Constitution and Florida Statutes, only voters who are registered members of political parties may vote for respective party candidates or nominees for an office in a primary election including a presidential preference primary election.
     A person can register with a party or change his or her party affiliation at any time; however, to be a qualified voter for a party candidate in an upcoming primary election, the person must register with that party or change his or her party by the registration deadline for that primary election.
     State law requires that party changes must be made at least 29 days prior to a partisan primary election in order to be valid for that voter to cast a ballot in that election.
     There are times -- as is often the case in the Tri-County Area -- when all registered voters can vote in a primary election, regardless of which major or minor political party in which they are registered -- or even if they are registered as No Party Affiliation.
     If all the candidates for an office have the same party affiliation -- like Republican Party of Florida in the Tri-County Area races -- and the winner of the primary election will not face any opposition in the general election, then all registered voters can vote for any of the candidates for that office in the primary election.
     If races for nonpartisan positions -- such as for judicial and school board offices, as well as nonpartisan special districts or local referendum questions -- are on the primary election ballot, then all registered voters, including those without party affiliation are entitled to vote those races on the ballot, according to Florida law.
     At a general election in Florida, all registered voters receive the same ballot and may vote for any candidate or question on the ballot. For instance, in the three-way race potentially happening in Levy County, members of any party or of the No Party Affiliate designation can vote for any of the three contenders – the Ecology Party candidate, the Florida Democratic Party candidate or the Republican Party of Florida candidate.
     If there are write-in candidates who have qualified for a particular office, a space will be left open on the ballot where their name can be written.
     In Levy County, according to the Florida Secretary of State Division of Elections Office, as of April 30, there were 29,682 registered voters.
     The members of political parties from that group are in the following groupings: Republican Party of Florida - 18,420; Florida Democratic Party - 6,049; Minor Party - 1,169; and No Party Affiliation - 4,044.
     In Gilchrist County, according to the Florida Secretary of State Division of Elections Office, as of April 30, there were 12,724 registered voters.
     The members of political parties from that group are in the following groupings: Republican Party of Florida - 9,006; Florida Democratic Party - 1,700; Minor Party - 490; and No Party Affiliation - 1,528. 
     In Dixie County, according to the Florida Secretary of State Division of Elections Office, as of April 30, there were 9,916 registered voters.
     The members of political parties from that group are in the following groupings: Republican Party of Florida - 6,728; Florida Democratic Party - 1,616; Minor Party - 241 and No Party Affiliation - 1,331    .
    According to information on the websites of Levy County Supervisor Of Elections Tammy Jones, Gilchrist County Supervisor of Elections and Dixie County Supervisor of Elections Darbi Chaires, as of May 28, the following local candidates are going to run for office.

Levy County
County Court Judge
● Luis Bustamante (NP)
● Darla Whistler (NP)

County Commissioner, District 2
● Emily Casey (ECO)
● Lincoln Cannon (DEM)
● Wesley Langston (REP)
● Matt Lemery (REP)

County Commissioner, District 4
● Tim Hodge (REP)
● David Sharpe (REP)

School Board, District 1
● Cameron Asbell (NP)

School Board, District 3
● Jaime Handlin (NP)
● Tricia Horvath (NP)

School Board, District 5
● Devin Whitehurst (NP)

Dixie County
County Court Judge
● Natasha Munkittrick Allen (NP)
● Jennifer Johnson (NP)

County Commissioner - District 2
● John Mash Jr. (REP)
● Keith Tuten (REP)
● Daniel Wood III (REP)

County Commissioner - District 4
● Jamie Storey (REP)

School Board Member - District 2
● Amanda Mills NesSmith (NP)
● Claude Sidney Smith Jr (NP)

School Board Member - District 3
● John Duane Driggers Jr. (NP)

School Board Member - District 5
● Lucas Jackson Rollison (NP)

Gilchrist County
County Commissioner District 2
● Bill Martin (REP)
● Cody NesSmith (REP)

County Commissioner District 4
● Tommy Langford (REP)

School Board District 1
● David Biddles (NP)
● Tammy Sudigala (NP)

School Board District 3
● Raymond Robbins (NP)
● Roy Smith (NP)

School Board District 5
● Charlotte Kearney (NP)
● D. Deen Lancaster (NP)
 

Murder suspect uses
‘stand your ground defense’
Judge to rule on motion
to dismiss murder charge

The Honorable Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Susanne Wilson Bullard opens the hearing Wednesday afternoon (May 27) of a motion to dismiss a second-degree murder charge because the defendant allegedly was ‘standing his ground’ when he killed the other man at Ginnie Springs Outdoors, a privately owned park in Gilchrist County, on May 25, 2024.

Story, Photos & Video By Jeff M. Hardison © May 28, 2026 at 10:45 a.m.
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    TRENTON – A four-hour hearing Wednesday afternoon (May 27) promises a decision may be presented during the June 10 pre-trial conference on whether a second-degree murder case will be dismissed on the grounds of the death being justifiable under Florida’s “stand your ground” law.
     One side of the issue says this is a murder case. The other side says the man who shot the gun and killed the other man thought the other man, who was unarmed and wearing only a bathing suit and flip-flops, was going to commit a felony such as burglary, according to records.
     If the defense wins its motion for dismissal, then the suspected murderer will be free from that charge. If the judge rules for the prosecution, then that pre-trial conference will be to schedule a murder trial to happen in July.
     The Honorable Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Brian Kramer sent Assistant State Attorney Daniel Owen and Assistant State Attorney Shawn Patrick Thompson to confer with Eighth Judicial Circuit Assistant State Attorney Ray E. Thomas Jr. Assistant State Attorney is the prosecutor based in Gilchrist County and he is the lead prosector of the case of the State of Florida versus Fisher Dalton Watts. Assistant State Attorney Owen is the Levy County Division Chief of the Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office. Assistant State Attorney Thompson is among the staff of prosecuting attorneys serving the people of Florida through State Attorney Kramer’s Office.
     The Honorable Eighth Judicial Circuit Public Defender Stacy Scott sent Eighth Judicial Circuit Assistant Public Defender Alexis Giannasoli to serve as lead counsel to defend the accused killer who already has admittedly firing two .40 caliber rounds into Koty Edward Stewart (June 26, 1989-May 25, 2024) of Jacksonville in the early morning hours of May 25, 2024 at Ginnie Springs in Gilchrist County. Stewart was 34 years old when he died quickly from injuries suffered as one bullet went through his heart and another slug went through his thigh, according to records.


Fisher Dalton Watts, suspected of second-degree murder, enters the courtroom in Trenton on Wednesday afternoon (May 27). Even though he is in the Gilchrist County Jail awaiting trial as a suspected murderer, like all Americans charged with crimes in Florida, he is presumed innocent and will remain so unless the state government proves beyond and to the exclusion of reasonable doubt that he killed a man without just cause.


Some of the courthouse security team members from the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office are seen here during the hearing on Wednesday afternoon. These law enforcement officers perform other duties as well; however, for this environment on that day, the level of force shows a best practice being utilized.


(from left) Assistant State Attorney Daniel Owen, Assistant State Attorney Ray Thomas Jr. and Assistant State Attorney Shawn Thompson confer with one another before Thomas presents a statement before the Honorable Circuit Court Judge Susanne Wilson Bullard during the hearing.


Eighth Judicial Circuit Assistant Public Defender Alexis Giannasoli (left), defendant Fisher Dalton Watts and Eighth Judicial Circuit Assistant Public Defender Canaan Goldman confer as Florida Department of Corrections inmate Dallas Watts, Fisher’s older brother, sits in the witness stand in the background on the left side of this picture.

     During the hearing and through evidence already presented, it is clear that Fisher Dalton Watts, who was 18 years old when he killed Stewart two years ago, had come to Ginnie Springs to drink alcohol and party with his brother and others. As noted by the prosecution, Fisher Watts was violating the law that requires a person to be 21 years old in Florida to possess alcohol, as well as to drink it. Dallas Watts cannot possess a firearm in Florida due to a previous conviction, according to record.
     Fisher Watts older brother Dallas Watts has already pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and resisting an officer. On Dec. 10, 2025, the Honorable Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge David P. Kreider sentenced Dallas Watts to five years in prison.
     The Honorable Circuit Court Judge Wilson Bullard opened the hearing on May 27 by explaining what was happening.
     This was a hearing to determine if there was a prima facia case to show whether justifiable use of deadly force, or the threat of deadly force, was practiced by Fisher Watts. This hearing results from a motion to dismiss the murder charge that is levied against Fisher Watts of Saint Mary, Georgia, the judge said.
     In this instance, according to the Florida rules of criminal procedure, the trial court is to sit and determine all facts that are true.
     Judge Wilson Bullard, who is the decider of facts in this instance, now will weigh what was presented through sworn testimony, and was presented in photographs and videos related to this case. One witness has provided a few different versions of what he saw that fateful night.
     In this hearing, the burden shifts to the state to prove the self-defense claim is not factual, and that this is a murder case rather than an instance of justifiable homicide as defined by Florida law.
     Assistant State Attorney Thomas made it clear to anyone listening that day that the State of Florida’s Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office believes this is a case of murder – not of self-defense. 
     Assistant Public Defender Giannasoli made it clear to listeners that she believes her client was in fear for his life from a Jacksonville man who the gunman somehow perceived was intent on committing a felony while that Georgia man was sitting in a Chevy Silverado, using that truck as an overnight camping residence, as well as having used the truck as a passenger when his brother drove that conveyance from Georgia to have some recreational fun at one of the many freshwater springs in Gilchrist County.


Florida District Six Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jon R. Thogmartin, M.D. raises his right hand, as seen on the screen in the courtroom via Zoom, as he promises to tell the truth as he testifies. He ruled that death was from gunshot wounds and that it was homicide. The shot to the heart was fatal, and the shot to the thigh may have been survived if medical care had occurred soon enough after that traumatic injury, according to Dr. Thogmartin's testimony on May 27.


GCSO Det. Sgt. Christopher Keel testifies. Sgt. Keel who has investigated suicides and murders, and attempted murders, which included those by gunshots during his almost 30-year career as a law enforcement professional told what he saw and uncovered during his investigation at the scene soon after it was reported to the GCSO a bit after midnight on May 25, 2024.


GCSO Det. Sgt. Christopher Keel watches as Assistant State Attorney Ray Thomas Jr. prepares to start one of the videos shown during the hearing. The state showed a few videos, including from two fights that happened before the fatal shooting.


Hana Boatright of Eulee testifies.


Dallas Watts testifies. He was very soft spoken, as were others who testified or who addressed The Court that afternoon. The acoustics in this Gilchrist County Courtroom, however, were better than in several cases tried in Levy County and Dixie County during the past 16 years.


 

Two of the pictures of the Chevrolet Silverado owned by Dallas Watts are seen here with tape measures showing the height of different points on the truck, which is central to the killing zone of the man who was shot to death two years ago. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is among the agencies that assisted the GCSO in finding facts and evidence related to what appears to be murder or justifiable homicide as an act of self-defense.



The Honorable Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Susanne Wilson Bullard tells people that she will have a decision regarding whether the defense or the prosecution wins in regard to a motion to dismiss a second-degree murder charge. This is from a hearing on May 27, regarding a shooting death in Gilchrist County that happened on May 15, 2024. Click on the PHOTO to see and hear the video.
Video By Jeff M. Hardison - All Rights Reserved

     After a few minutes beyond the four hours scheduled for this hearing in the Levy County Courthouse, Circuit Court Judge Wilson Bullard said she intends to have a written order within a week. A week from the hearing will be June 3. Given that all goes as planned as of May 27, there will be a pre-trial conference on June 10 for the Fisher Watts case, and the man will either be free from this second-degree murder charge, or he will be scheduled for a jury trial in July.
     Thomas opened the prosecution’s side of the hearing. Thomas called Florida District Six Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jon R. Thogmartin, M.D., as the first witness for the state. District Six of the Florida Medical Office serves Pinellas and Pasco counties, but this was the office apparently seen as best to serve the people of Florida to perform this autopsy two years ago.
     Thomas also brought Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office Det. Sgt. Christopher Keel to testify under oath, as well as Hana Boatright of Eulee, a witness who was close to the shooting scene; Dallas Watts, the older brother of Fisher Watts, a convicted felon who is currently residing in a Florida prison and who was in the pickup truck asleep until he was awakened by the sound of .40 caliber bullets being fired by his brother at and into the man who died at the scene.
     Witnesses on the defense side included Vanzant Brand, a witness who had different versions of what he saw regarding if Stewart opened the pickup truck door the rest of the way before the fatal shots were fired – although he was consistent in that it was partially open before those moments; and Lucretia Westcott (also known as Lucretia Sukhan K. Westcott) a senior crime laboratory analyst for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), who testified about DNA samples taken from the scene.
     Both the prosecution side and the defense side provided closing statements for the judge to consider as she performs her duty as the decider of facts, which ultimately will lead to the release of Fisher Watts from this murder charge or will lead to the subsequent felony criminal trial or plea-negotiated agreement from this incident that happened two years and resulted in the death of one man.
     If this goes to a jury to decide facts at trial, that event will last days rather than the hours taken when the assistant public defender intimated her client committed justifiable homicide rather than murder.
     Giannasoli had filed the motion to dismiss on Feb. 9, according to records.
     In that motion, she noted Watts shot and killed Stewart when they were both at Ginnie Springs Campground on May 25, 2024, according to records.
     The Honorable Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge David P. Kreider has presided over every aspect of this case since it began in the summer of 2024, according to records. Before Judge Wilson Bullard began presiding over this case there were at least 15 case management conferences for this case, where Judge Kreider presided.
     This is not an extraordinary number of hearings for this type of defendant.
     In her Feb. 9 motion to dismiss, Assistant Public Defender Giannasoli noted several points as “facts.”
     Assistant State Attorney Thomas argued on May 27 that not all of those assertions listed in the Feb. 9 motion are accurate. Thomas clearly contends the facts and evidence presented at this hearing -- were accurately presented for the judge to rule upon – and show that Fisher Watts is to be tried for second-degree murder, rather than to release him from jail as if he had committed justifiable homicide as defined in Florida law.
     In her motion, Giannasoli noted Florida law provides that a person who is in a dwelling or residence in which the person has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and use or threaten to use deadly force -- if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force as necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself, herself or another person or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.
     “Fisher Watts was in an occupied vehicle where he was sleeping overnight,” Giannasoli noted in her motion. “He had the right to be in that vehicle, and he was not engaged in any criminal activity. Koty Stewart had no legal right to enter Watts’ vehicle, and Koty Stewart struck Fisher before Fisher could react to stop Koty Stewart from entering. Thus, there is a presumption that Fisher Watts had a fear of imminent death or great bodily harm.”
     A person who defends himself with deadly force, such as Fisher Watts defended himself against Coty Stewart’s “attack,” Giannasoli contends is justified in using deadly force and is immune from prosecution if he reasonably believed it was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or others, the assistant public defender stated in her motion to dismiss this charge.
     As noted, if the Jude Wilson Bullard agrees with Giannasoli that there is no prima facie case of guilt, and that the facts presented by the defense counsel are undisputed and do not constitute a crime, then the judge can dismiss the charge.
     Judge Wilson Bullard may deny Giannasoli’s motion. If the judge believes, as the decider of facts, that the prosecution provided sufficient evidence to support the charges beyond the argument noted in the motion to dismiss, the judge may deny the motion and allow the case to proceed to trial.
     As noted, in the meantime, Fisher Watts maintains his presumption of innocence unless he is proved to be guilty beyond and to the exclusion of reasonable doubt, according to current laws in the United States of America, and Florida.
    To see the May 28, 2024 story and photos under the headline “One dead, three wounded in Ginnie Springs shootings; Two suspects jailed; One on the loose, click HERE.
     To see and hear the video of a small part of that press conference in May of 2024, click HERE.
 

Levy County burn ban expires
By Jeff M. Hardison © May 27, 2026 at 7:15 a.m.
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     BRONSON -- The Levy County Board of County Commissioners declared a local state of emergency on Feb. 12 due to drought conditions and an increased risk of wildfire.
    Thanks to enough rain falling within a short enough time on the county, the ban was not extended, according to records.
    The Levy County Board of Cou7nty Commissioners on advice from professionals involved with fire prevention extended the burn ban in Levy County through May 26 -- with the potential for more seven-day continuances being possible as provided by law.
     As of yesterday, the day the extension expired, there was no added extension noted for the press or the public, according to a thorough search of available records on Wednesday morning. Therefore, according to law, the burn ban in Levy County has ended.
     One of the municipal fire departments in Levy County announced on a social media platform yesterday (May 26) that the ban was lifted. 
 

Tri-County Area upholds
traditional Memorial Day activities

Taken from the story and photos of an event held in a cemetery in Bronson for Memorial Day 2013, this photo shows members of the 2013 VFW Rebel Post 5625 Honor Guard. Since then, some of them have passed away. Here, they are seen standing at ease for a photo opportunity – 13 years ago. Seen here are (from left) Kary Colson, Jacob Wynn, Roy Grimes, Joe Elko, Dennis ‘Ace’ McIntire and Roe Goldsmith.

Story and Photo By Jeff M. Hardison © May 25, 2026 at 9:30 a.m.
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     TRI-COUNTY AREA – The residents and visitors of Tri-County Area of Levy County, Dixie County and Gilchrist County have honored what became named as Memorial Day for several decades now.
     Levy County was officially established on March 10, 1845 by the Florida Legislature from lands formerly part of Alachua and Hillsborough counties, according to records.
     Dixie County was established on April 25, 1921 by the Florida Legislature from lands formerly part of Lafayette County.
     Gilchrist County was formed on Dec. 4, 1925, by the Florida Legislature. It is the last county organized in Florida, and it was created from a portion of Alachua County
     The nonprofit group CK Vets noted its plan to host what has become a traditional Memorial Day ceremony at the Cedar Key Cemetery in Cedar Key in Levy County.
     The Dixie County Chamber of Commerce again is honoring veterans on Memorial Day, by lining the west side of U.S. Highway 19 in Cross City in its Hero Marker and Flags program. The Dixie County Chamber of Commerce first placed the flags and crosses along U.S. 19 in Cross City, on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016, to honor veterans for the 2016 upcoming Veterans Day. This chamber of commerce has been placing the flags, thanks to volunteers, a week before, during and after, each Veterans Day and Memorial Day since then.
     The Gilchrist County Board of County Commissioners traditionally conducts Memorial Day ceremony at the Gilchrist County Memorial Courtyard and that was noted to start at 10 a.m. today.
     There are other celebrations today in the Tri-County Area, including in Bell, Willison and other communities.
     The national holiday emerged in the years following the Civil War (April 12, 1861, to May 26, 1865) as communities across the country independently began holding springtime tributes to fallen soldiers. On May 5, 1868, Gen. John A. Logan, leader of the Grand Army of the Republic (an organization of Union veterans), proclaimed May 30 as a nationwide day of remembrance. 
     During the Civil War, the nation suffered from the deaths of more than 620,000 Union and Confederate military deaths, which was roughly 2 percent of the total population of the nation at that time, according to records.
     The date was first chosen because spring flowers were in full bloom across the country. The first large national observance was held that year (1868) at Arlington National Cemetery, as noted by the National Cemetery Association,
     After the United States entered World War I and suffered massive casualties, the holiday was expanded to commemorate American service members who died in all wars -- according to the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. A total of 116,516 United States soldiers died during World War I, according to the American Veterans Center. There were 53,402 American soldiers who died in battle during that year, according to records. There were more American soldiers who died in WWI from disease and accidents than from battles -- 63,114, according to records, and a large portion of which was caused by the “1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.”
     A total of 405,399 United States military personnel died during World War II, including 291,557 battle deaths and 113,842 other deaths in service, according to records.
     Excluding the Civil War, WWI, and WWII, approximately 134,000 soldiers from the United States of America have died in other major historical and modern conflicts. The vast majority of these other casualties occurred during the Korean and Vietnam wars, according to records. The United States’ involvement in the Korean War spanned from June 27, 1950, to July 27, 1953, according to records. The United States engaged in the Vietnam War from Nov. 1, 1955, to March 29, 1973, according to records.
     The federal government adopted the name “Memorial Day” in 1967, during the Vietnam War, according to the Veterans Affairs (formerly named the Veterans Administration).
     {The Veterans Administration officially became the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on March 15, 1989, when it was elevated to a Presidential Cabinet-level executive department. The transition unfolded in two key steps. The first step was on Oct. 25, 1988, when President Ronald Reagan signed the Department of Veterans Affairs Act into law, which officially abolished the 58-year-old Veterans Administration. On March 15, 1989, The law went into effect.}
     In 1968, The United States Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which aimed to create three-day weekends for federal employees by moving several holidays to Mondays. This law specifically shifted Memorial Day from May 30 to the last Monday in May, standardizing the observance across the United States.
     President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the act on June 28, 1968, and the change officially took effect on Jan. 1, 1971, according to legalclarity.org.
Since then, Memorial Day has been celebrated on a Monday, marking the “unofficial start of summer” and allowing for extended weekend observances. 
     This change not only provided a consistent long weekend for workers, but it also maintained the holiday’s purpose of honoring fallen military personnel through ceremonies, parades, and visits to cemeteries nationwide.
     The most recent United States military deaths in a combat theater, according to information available to the press as of 7:47 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on May 25, 2026, occurred in the spring of 2026, during the United States of America versus Iran (Operation Epic Fury). Through mid-May of 2026, 13 United States service members lost their lives in the region. Seven Americans in military service died in hostile actions and six died in non-hostile crashes, according to the federal government.
     Veterans Day is not a date that has changed over the years. It is on Nov. 11, and people celebrate the service of all active and former United States military veterans.
     To see the May 25, 2025 photo montage under the headline -- Memorial honors continue in Dixie County, click HERE.
     To see the May 29, 2024 story, photos and video under the headline -- Memorial Day ceremony at Cedar Key Cemetery Honors fallen soldiers, click HERE.
     To see the May 30, 2023 story and photos under the headline -- CKVets provide memorable Memorial Day service, click HERE.
     To see the May 24, 2022 photo montage under the headline -- American Flags Fly In Cross City, click HERE.
     To see the May 30, 2021 story, photos and video under the headline -- Memorial wall dedicated, which includes a picture of Alice Monyei and the recently passed Chris Jones of Chiefland, click HERE. (This was the ceremony delayed for a year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.)
     To see the May 20, 2020 story and photos under the headlines -- EXCLUSIVE First On HardisonInk.com; Memorial wall unveiled at Eddie Buie Park; Ernest A. Haile Jr. (a WWII veteran) Memorialized, click HERE.
     To see the May 28, 2019 story, photos and video under the headlines -- Soldiers killed in wars remembered; Gilchrist County adds WWI monument to Veterans’ Memorial Courtyard, click HERE.
     To see the May 30, 2018 photo and caption under the headline -- Church Thanks Memorial Kitchen Builders (In Loving Memory of Thelma McCain), click HERE.
     To see the May 30, 2016 story and photos under the headline Fallen soldiers honored, click HERE.
 

Chiefland loses liaison
to Vision Committee and much more
City Commissioner Chris Jones dies

In this archived photo, then Chiefland Vice Mayor Chris Jones is seen driving a Chiefland fire engine during the 2017 Chiefland Watermelon Festival Parade. The whole story and other photos from that year’s festival can be seen by clicking HERE.

Story, Photos and Video By Jeff M. Hardison © May 22, 2026 at 11 a.m.
* Updated May 23, 2026 at 7 a.m. (bottom of story)
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     CHIEFLAND -- City Commissioner John Christopher “Chris” Jones (Group 1) (June 5, 1971-May 18, 2026) died Monday (May 18) at the age of 54.
     He began his public service in the Chiefland City Commission in 2013, as noted in the following republished story announcing that victory.

Chris Jones wins City Commission seat
By Jeff M. Hardison © Aug. 23, 2013
     CHIEFLAND – Since no other person qualified for the previously planned special election, Chris Jones won the Group 1 Seat for Chiefland City Commission.
     Betty Walker won the Group 5 Seat for Chiefland City Commission in the regular election.
     City Commissioner Rollin Hudson was reelected to his Group 3 Seat for Chiefland City Commission because no other candidate qualified during the regular election for that position.
     The other two members of the Chiefland City Commission are Mayor Teal Pomeroy and Vice Mayor Teresa Barron.
     Bobby Dees was appointed to temporarily hold the Group 1 Seat until the special election, which has now been cancelled. Barron, Hudson and current City Commissioner Sammy Cason (Group 5) voted to have Dees hold the position, rather than appointing Jones, to avoid any appearance of favoritism and to avoid influencing any other possible candidate from choosing not to run.
     The special election slated for Jones and any other candidate who would have qualified resulted after the death of former City Commissioner Frank Buie, who had qualified for reelection in the Group 1 race.
     Former City Commissioner Frank Buie was Jones’ uncle. Buie, who also passed away in active service as a member of the Chiefland City Commission as he helped the residents and visitors of Chiefland since his election in 2007, also served the people of the United States of America in the military during WWII. Buie was the vice president of the Chiefland Men's Club during his membership with that club, too.
     City Commissioner Jones served as mayor for several years during his 13-year tour of duty on the Chiefland City Commission, including during years when the late former Chiefland Mayor Betty Stockton Walker (April 17, 1946-Feb. 25, 2019) and the late former Chiefland Mayor Mathew Teal Pomeroy (1974-Aug. 19, 2016) passed away tragically at the age of 42 during a solo diving trip in the Suwannee River.
     Walker, Pomeroy and Jones were all on the Chiefland City Commission at one point, as reflected by the story and photos under the Nov. 24, 2015 headline titled, Hospital coming to Chiefland, which is archived above the May 12, 2015 story titled Chiefland hospital completion predicted in 2017. Those two stories and photos can be seen by clicking HERE.
     The stories of a hospital coming to Chiefland were first noted in extensive coverage of the process to obtain a certificate of need from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration from 2006 to 2008, back when the Chiefland Citizen was owned by Landmark Publications and there was a journalist covering news.
     Jones in his earlier years served as a firefighter and was active in working with Chiefland Fire Rescue later, too, during many of his years on the City Commission.
     Jones was known for his successful career as a motorcycle racer and was renowned for his work at his motorcycle repair shop. He was a musician, and he played guitar with a band. As a City Commission member, Jones was among the leaders who brought a stage and bandshell to be constructed in the city park on the west side of Main Street (aka U.S. Highway 19), across from the Historic Chiefland Train Depot.
     As for the late City Commissioner Jones, in the last conversation he had with Publisher Jeff M. Hardison, Jones spoke about his plans to confer with members of the Chiefland Vision Committee.
     As noted in the April 29, 2026 story headlined Chiefland city manager passes W3C question to Vision Committee, which can be seen by clicking HERE, Jones had wanted to have the city communicate with the Waccasassa Water and Wastewater Cooperative (W3C) about a possibility in the future for Chiefland to connect with the W3C’s potential wastewater treatment facility.
     Now there is no Chiefland City Commission member serving as liaison between the City Commission and its advisory group named the Chiefland Vision Committee, because he has passed away.
     The vacant seat created by former Mayor Jones’ passing will be filled by methods outlined in the Chiefland City Charter as well be administered by City Clerk Laura Jones who also serves as the ex-officio city clerk of Chiefland. This can range from the four remaining commissioners appointing a person from those who apply to having a special election.  
     *  (UPDATE) In a conversation with Stoney Smith on Friday afternoon (May 23), one of the leaders in the Chiefland Vision Committee, he provided his perspective of Jones.
     Smith said he admired Jones for being “a free thinker.” Smith said that he felt Jones would have liked to have more Vision Committee meetings than the group were able to conduct over the years.
     Jones was “good for the city,” Smith said and he was a hard worker who was a friend of Smtih’s. Jones cared extremely about the City of Chiefland, Smith said, and he had the heart and soul of a man who cared about the residents and visitors of Chiefland, as well as the infrastructure and business interests and every aspect of this municipality.
     Smtih said he Jones was a man who really cared about the whole Chiefland community, the city and beyond.
 

Watermelon Season 2026 is here

Seen at a famous watermelon stand in Levy County on May 20 are Heather Tillis, Grayson Tillis, Kelsi Morgan, Lainey Morgan, Anniston Tillis, 2, Bricen Clemons, 13, Cason Tillis, 4, Emmy Morgan, 5, and the matriarch of the family Melba Tillis, 87. (Also present but not pictured is Maurice Corbin.)

Story and Photo By Jeff M. Hardison © May 20, 2026 at 11:30 p.m.
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     LEVY COUNTY – It’s spring and the watermelons are being harvested.
     It’s watermelon harvesting time in the Tri-County Area of Levy, Dixie and Gilchrist counties.
     And there are traditions that go with this seasonal crop. For instance, there is a famous watermelon stand in Levy County, which started its service to the public this year about a week ago now. It’s been an active watermelon stand for ages and ages now. Hence, it is traditional for many people to buy their watermelons there.
     Bricen Clemons, 13, is helping Maurice Corbin again as the teenager continues at the stand, where he has helped for at least six years now. He goes there after school at Chiefland Middle High School, and soon the school year ends for Levy County students, on May 29.
     This year, a roving reporter happened to be passing by, at an opportune time for a photo, a watermelon stand he has visited for about 20 years now. That late Wednesday afternoon, it was a balmy 91 degrees Fahrenheit with a mild breeze.
     By the way, at this stand, not only are there seedless and seeded watermelons selling for $5 each, but there are cantaloupes for $3 each or two of those delicious cantaloupes for $5. And on Wednesday (May 20), there was squash going for $1 each. Freshly picked that day, there were green bell peppers that people could buy -- two for $1. Some other vegetables, including cucumbers, eggplant and sweet corn may be available for sale there this season, too, because they have appeared there in past seasons. The best way to find out is to drop by and check it out. One sure bet is watermelons.
     This covered stand is on U.S. Alt. 27 -- between Bronson and Levyville – and it is near to Levy County Road 124.
     Melba Tillis, 87, and her family sell the delicious, fresh watermelons grown by Murray Tillis and Terry Tillis -- Melba’s sons. All of the watermelons are grown in Levy County, and they are delicious, sweet and juicy; and the cantaloupes are homegrown, too. Again, the cantaloupes are two for $5 or one for $3.
     Yes, Watermelon Season 2026 is going strong, having started “festival-wise” with the Newberry Watermelon Festival in Alachua County last Saturday (May 16).
     For the Tri-County Area of Levy County, Gilchrist County and Dixie County, the 72^nd Annual Chiefland Watermelon Festival, hosted by the Chiefland Woman’s Club, is scheduled to be June 6 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 23 S.E. Second Ave., in Chiefland. That is right across the street from the Historic Chiefland Train Depot on Main Street (aka U.S. Highway 29). The depot is on the west side of the street and big grassy park is on the east side of Main Street.
     The 2026 Chiefland Watermelon Pageant is Saturday (May 23), beginning at 9 a.m., in the Chiefland Middle High School Auditorium, 808 N. Main St., Chiefland. Pageant Director Maddie Chewning is in charge of the event.
     The 2026 Tour de Melon cycling event, which continues yearly now after the Rotary Club of Suwannee Valley (based in Chiefland) started it years ago, is also set for June 6. The starting time is set at 7 a.m. and the bicycle ride is scheduled to happen rain or shine. Motorists in the Tri-County Area are asked to be on the lookout for bicyclists on June 6 because this is a big draw for cyclists.
     The registration fee on the date of the event, according to CAAM Events Cycling Series, is $70 per cyclist. That bicycle ride starts at the College of Central Florida Jack Wilkinson Levy Campus, according to CAAM Events Cycling Series. That campus is on the west side of U.S. 19, just south of the City of Fanning Springs.
     The 2026 Chiefland Watermelon Parade will begin promptly at 11 a.m., according to the Chiefland Woman’s Club. The traditional route has been from Chiefland High School, now known as the merged Chiefland Middle High School, and the participants go southbound on U.S. 19 until they reach the Historic Chiefland Train Depot, more or less.
     Traditionally, there is competition among watermelon growers to see who grew the biggest melons as of the festival. Then, there is an auction of the heavy melons with the proceeds going to the Chiefland Woman’s Club.
     Chiefland, not too many years ago, built a small stage and bandshell that has provided a relatively good point for musicians to entertain listeners at event since it was built. There is probably a potential of that happening, and the melon weighing and auctioning may be centered there again this year. 
     To see the June 3, 2025 story and photos under the title Watermelon Time 2025 arrives - Click HERE
      To see the May 31, 2024 story and photos under the title Watermelon Time - Click HERE.
     To see the May 24, 2023 story and photos under the title Watermelon Time 2023 - Click HERE.
     To see the June 2, 2022 story and photos under the title Watermelons Sold - Click HERE.
     To see the June 12, 2021 story and photos under the title Watermelons Sold - Click HERE.
     To see the May 20, 2021 story and photos and, see and hear the video under the title First day of watermelon harvest - Click HERE.
     To see the May 28, 2020 story and photos under then title Watermelon Time - Click HERE.
     There are many watermelon harvesting, melon-oriented bicycle rides and festival stories in the HardisonInk.com archives. One classic story, photos and video is under the headline titled Watermelon harvesting continues. It was published three years ago – on May 20, 2023. It can be seen (and heard, for the video) by clicking HERE.

Levy County Government Center
Stage’s Base Gets Logo And Lettering

The beautification and improved functionality of the Levy County Government Center continues. People attending or watching on video the May 19 meeting of the Levy County Board of County Commissioners may have noticed the new letters as well as the new logo for Levy County in the Auditorium. The base of the stage, upon which the dais exists, is now well marked. Seen here shortly before the start of the meeting, at the dais on that stage are (from left) County Commissioner Desiree Mills, Commission Chairman Tim Hodge and Vice Chairman Charlie Kennedy. Commissioners Johny Hiers and Rock Meeks were in the area but out of camera shot at this one-sixtieth of one-second.
Photo By Jeff M. Hardison © May 19, 2026 at 7:45 p.m.
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198^th Performance

This is CFEC Chief Information Officer and Fiber By Central Florida Chief Operating Officer George Buckner III singing the HardisonInk.com Jingle on May 2, 2026, at the Annual Central Florida Electric Cooperative Meeting in the City of Fanning Springs (Levy County, Florida).  Jeff M. Hardison asks people to sing the jingle, and some of them agree to sing it. (Thanks people!) CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE TO SEE AND HEAR THE VIDEO ON YouTube.com. The very first person to sing the jingle was Danesh “Danny” Patel of Danny’s Food Mart in Chiefland in March of 2013. HardisonInk.com started as a daily news website on Feb. 1, 2011.
Photo and Video by Jeff M. Hardison © May 2, 2026 at 9 p.m.
All Rights Reserved - Do Not Copy And Paste Anywhere Else