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Local News

  • Election Day looms: Two city commission seats and one water district seat at stake

    Cedar Key will go to the polls Tuesday, May 6 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. City Hall, located at Second and C Streets, will be the polling location. The Cedar Key Beacon asked candidates to respond to the questions below so that voters and citizens may gain a more complete view of the commission.

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  • Why race: Looking LARC in the face

    Paul Roesch used to work at McDonald's in Williston, but he struggled there. Going out to tidy up in the dining room, he wasn't sure when to stop wiping one table so he could move on to the next.

    James O'Sullivan wants to work at Hitchcock's, bagging groceries and rounding up carts. So far, though, the only shift that's open is in the evening, and he and his mother prefer that he work during the day.

    David Estep has a talent for folding clothes perfectly.

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  • Next level: Beckham headed to GHS

    Bronson Eagles’ head basketball coach Kelly Beckham announced Thursday that he will leave Bronson Middle-High School, where he has been for nearly 25 years and more than 500 wins, for Gainesville High School.

    Beckham will finish out the school year at Bronson, and start at GHS in the new school year.

    His academic duties at GHS will be largely similar to those at Bronson — he will be a Dean of Students. What will change the most is the basketball. 5A GHS has about 2,000 students; Bronson, in class 2A, has 453 or fewer.

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  • Sunny smiles for Arts Festival

    The 44th Annual Old Florida Celebration of the Arts in Cedar Key got a break from the weather and welcomed delighted crowds once again.

    Anecdotal reports had crowd counts slightly below last year's monster turnout, but given the conflicts of UF spring football, the threat of inclement weather and the trying economy, attendance was very good.

    Food vendors in City Park reported sellout or near-sellout sales, as visitors elbowed their way down 2nd Street toward the grassy play area.

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  • Arts Festival weekend: Letitia Lee's art shows electric life

    "There was never a time when I wasn't making art."

    Letitia Lee says she's been doing art professionally for five years, but she's been an artist "since my mom first fed me applesauce."

    The Hampton, Va. Native says she drew, sketched or painted at every opportunity growing up, using whatever tools were available with her family's limited budget. That method hasn't changed - in fact, Lee says she often lets her mood dictate the medium and theme of her work.

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  • Arts Festival weekend: Palm flowers make Jean Yao's art bloom

    "First you should find something you really like to do. Then later you should work to refine your technique."

    Fiber weaving artist Jean Yao tells young artists that the most important thing they can do is find a form or expression they love to work with. Once they find something they love, they'll find a way to get good at the execution.

    Yao, born in Taiwan and trained in Japan in the art of ikebana - flower arranging - says she came to her present media of weaving palm fiber baskets out of the necessity of finding a medium she could work in.

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  • Wild Hog coming, racers and sponsors needed

    Whatever the economy, some needs never go away.

    The 31st Annual Wild Hog Canoe and Kayak race is mere weeks away, but organizers - Bronson's AmVets Post 88 - say they are far behind needed numbers of both racers and sponsors.

    They don't mind so much for the race and themselves, but Levy County's venerable river adventure race benefits Levy Association for Retarded Citizens. Budget cuts and a falling economy have LARC headed for hard times, according to Executive Director Betty Walker.

    Not that they've ever been easy.

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  • Clean Marina a feather in city's cap

    The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), together with the Clean Boating Partnership, today recognized Cedar Key Marina as a designated member of the Florida Clean Marina Program. The facility is the 149th in the state to become a member of the Florida Clean Marina Program.

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  • Only a test: Fire department gets alarms

    Cedar Key Fire Department Assistant Chief Robert Robinson said the department recently got three alarm sirens and control panels, donated by Progress Energy Florida through the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Robinson said the fire department would begin testing its three new sirens at various locations throughout Cedar Key to determine the best permanent locations for them.

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  • Budget cuts hit Levy Schools

    BRONSON - The storm clouds that were on the horizon are now here for the School Board of Levy County.

    Financial officer Robert Clemons believes that with proper precautions, Levy will be able to survive the spring state budget cut storm.

    The 2008-09 school year is another story.

    With additional state funding cuts estimated at more than a half million dollars, Levy is preparing to make moves that could shave a big chunk of money.

    These moves revealed at Tuesday's school board meeting would hopefully prevent faculty and other staff casualties.

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