Tag Archives: Gilchrist County

Bruce Roberts, 42, helps Kaleb Roberts, 3, light a candle to honor the memories of the slain family. To remember Sarah Spirit and her six children who were killed by her father, Don Spirit, before he killed himself, the town of Bell will plant seven oak trees at Bell Elementary …

Bell residents wake up to tragedy in wake of shooting. Don Spirit, 51, killed his daughter, six grandchildren and himself on Thursday around 4 p.m.

Before Don Spirit shot and killed his daughter, six children and himself on Sept. 18, he acquired an extensive criminal background. Spirit's prior crimes occurred in several counties in Florida.

Gov. Rick Scott spoke today in response to the Bell shootings. Don Spirit shot his daughter and her six children in the town of Bell on Thursday.

Gov. Rick Scott will visit Bell, Fla. Today in the wake of a shooting that left six children and two adults dead on Thursday Sept. 18.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement releases the 2013 Annual Unified Crime Report, which indicates a drop in crime in many North Central Florida counties.

Not all counties are complying with a recent Florida law that requires animal shelter adoption, intake and euthanasia information to be accessible to the public. Under the current law, there are no penalties for not making the information public.

As Florida's No. 1 source of water continues to be depleted because of overuse, recently proposed legislation may offer permanent solutions to Florida's water needs.

Florida officials are still being fined for not disclosing their financial information as part of a 2013 state ethics overhaul. Marion County's supervisor of elections said, “Unfortunately, I think a lot of people don’t take the fining process seriously."

This year's Florida ethics reform has provided the public unique and easy access to its civil servants' financial holdings. Citizens no longer need to request the information from state and county agencies; they can click and scroll through the information online.