News

Paving projects to begin soon

February 3, 2012

A series of paving projects will begin soon following the award of a $875,872.70 contract to North Florida Construction of Clarksville by the Bristol City Council last week. The company will pave the remaining city-owned dirt roads in Bristol, which total one and a quarter mile. The contract also calls for resurfacing the roads in Neal Subdivision. Michaux Road, which has a number of cuts where sewer pipes were previously installed, will also be resurfaced.

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Hosford fire

February 3, 2012
Hosford fire

A large shed behind a Burlington Road home in Hosford burned Saturday after a car parked under it caught fire. The blaze began shortly after Jackelene Pullam drove home. The car, shown below left, along with a boat, a Gator utility vehicle, a riding lawn mower and some logging equipment was destroyed in the fire. Hosford-Telogia VFD Assistant Chief Laryus Brown, shown below right, is hosing down the scene. The Bristol Fire Department assisted.

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Gingrich leads in local Presidential Primary

February 3, 2012

Newt Gingrich led the pack of presidential hopefuls among Liberty County’s 474 registered Republicans in Tuesday’s Presidential Preference Primary with just over 43% of the vote. Gingrich received 74 votes, followed by Mitt Romney with 43 and Rick Santorum with 39. Ron Paul garnered just over eight percent of the vote with 14 ballots. A single ballot each was also cast for Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann, who have already withdrawn from the race. Gingrich took just over 41% of the Calhoun County vote with 286 ballots. Romney followed with 180 votes, Santorum had 153 and Ron Paul pulled...

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Man injured after driving bicycle into path of van

February 3, 2012

A Marianna man was airlifted to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital with critical injuries Monday after his bike collided with a van on CR 167 near Walter Potts Road in Calhoun County. Mark F. Long, 48, was riding a bicycle north on CR 167, just ahead of a van around 5:58 p.m. The driver of the van, Rajesh G. Patel, 55, of Vidalia, GA, pulled out to go around the bicyclist on the left but Long suddenly changed course, moving from the outside of the lane toward the center. The right front of Patel’s 1999 Chrysler van collided with the rear...

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Florida’s Dec. unemployment rate lowest since April 2009; Liberty Co. 2nd in state

January 27, 2012

Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December 2011 was 9.9 percent, the lowest since April 2009 when the rate was 9.7 percent. This represented 913,000 jobless out of a labor force of 9,233,000. The state’s unemployment rate was down 0.1 percentage point from November 2011 and was 2.1 percentage points lower that the December 2010 rate of 12.0 percent. The US unemployment rate was 835 percent in December. Florida’s seasonally adjusted total nonagricultural employment in December 2011 was 7,291,500 and increase of 7,300 jobs from November 2011. The number of jobs in the state was up 113,900 over the...

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ID sought for pedestrian killed in collision with truck in Quincy

January 20, 2012

The Florida Highway Patrol is seeking help in identifying a man killed in Quincy Monday night when he was hit by a truck. William Larimore, 30, of Carrabelle, was eastbound on US 90 at 10:05 p.m., approaching Ben Bostick Road, when his 2000 Ford F-150 collided with a Hispanic male pedestrian in the inside lane. The impact left the unidentified man in the center of the road. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Larimore pulled off the road after the collision. Neither he nor his 15-year-old passenger were injured. The pedestrian is approximately 5 feet tall, 110 pounds...

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Company planning to build five solar farms in Liberty County

January 20, 2012
Company planning to build five solar farms in Liberty County

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor Liberty County’s economic future just got a little brighter with the news that a Melbourne-based company plans to build five 200-acre solar farms here. National Solar Power CEO James Scrivener made the announcement at Monday night’s Liberty County Chamber of Commerce annual meeting and banquet in Bristol. Scrivener said the plan outlined for Liberty County would create 140 construction jobs for a 2 1/2 to three year period and then establish 20 to 25 full time positions. “We consider ourselves farmers of a sort,” he told chamber members. “We’re going to build these assets...

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Lake Mystic trailer destroyed in blaze

January 13, 2012

An electrical fire is said to be the cause of an early morning blaze that destroyed a 1979 singlewide mobile home at Lake Mystic Saturday. Firefighters who were dispatched to 1142 Lake Mystic Road at 6:27 a.m. arrived to find the residence engulfed in flames. The blaze is believed to have started when a curtain next to an electrical outlet caught fire, according to a report from the Bristol Fire Department. The home’s occupant, Hope Peacock, suffered a second degree burn on her arm when she attempted to put out the fire. The residence is owned by Danny Ryals....

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Bristol City Council begins new year with a new mayor

January 13, 2012
Bristol City Council begins new year with a new mayor

New mayor Paul Kern, City Clerk Robin Hatcher and three returning board members were sworn in for a new term at Monday night’s regular meeting of the Bristol City Council. Councilman Mitch Willis was elected chairman and Councilman Steve Cutshaw was elected vice-chairman for the new year. Cutshaw was also appointed as the City’s representative on the Apalachee Regional Planning Council, with Councilman Brigham Shuler selected as alternate. Attorney David House told the board that he is working with Buddy Shelley of Florida Public Utilities to create an acceptable 5-year Electric Franchise Agreement for presentation to the council at...

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Driver injured when log truck overturns on way to mill

January 13, 2012
Driver injured when log truck overturns on way to mill

BRISTOL – A Blountstown man was transported to a hospital by emergency helicopter after he suffered head injuries when the log truck he was driving overturned. Robert Lambeth was about two miles south of his destination – the pole mill on CR 12 in Bristol – when he ran off the eastbound shoulder of the road just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to FHP Trooper David Cox. Lambeth overcorrected when he tried to bring the truck and trailer, which was loaded with logs, back into his lane. “Once he overcorrected, his load shifted and the truck overturned on its...

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