Newberry

Joel Searby, the former leading advocate for converting Newberry public schools to charter schools, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday for various child sex crimes.

Track Line Rail LLC, a Texas-based company that grinds old railroad ties into a mulch used as fuel for cement kilns, moved into Newberry in January. It began operating immediately, Newberry staff said, and without city, county or state permits. Neighbors worry about its environmental and health impacts.

Donald Long won the City of Newberry commission seat four, filling a vacant seat left by Tim Marden, who left his seat open to run for mayor.

Mailers and ads from outside Newberry’s borders criticizing mayoral candidate Tim Marden have led to mud-slinging both Marden and his opponent say they don’t want any part of.

Newberry residents will head to the ballot box in April and decide whether they want their small town to continue growing at a breakneck pace, or if they want to place checks on the city’s growth.

It only took two weeks for Newberry commissioners to decide who should fill the outgoing city manager’s seat, and they didn’t have to look far.

Dawn Beachy, 70, a Gainesville native, spearheaded the project in hopes of educating people about the history of racial terror in Alachua County.

The Alachua County Commission plans to vote Tuesday on a final budget to fund a new community park on the former West End Golf Course property.

Newberry residents are passionate about many community issues. But no topic has been quite as contentious as the ongoing conversion of Newberry Elementary School into a charter school.

The owner of a local tree service is trying to calm concerns from a neighbor over what he plans to do with 85 acres in western Alachua County.