.....Advertisement.....
.....Advertisement.....

Today's News

  • Look Christmas lights! Oh wait, that's police cars

    Ah, the holidays. the food, the family. the friends, the fighting. Wait. What?

    I went to the Toys R Us in Gainesville this past Thursday as their sales started at midnight, thinking that I would rather stay up late than get up early.

    I left the house around 10 p.m. and arrived at about 10:30. I was actually shocked by the line that was already there. I was standing about 100 yards from the entrance to the store, and within about 10 minutes there were about 20 people added behind me.

    Click here to read more...
  • Community Happenings

    Saturday, Dec. 5

    5K Cancer Awareness Race/Walk

    The Chiefland Woman’s Club will host its Second Annual 5K Cancer Awareness Race/Walk Saturday, Dec. 5 at the Trailhead Park in Chiefland. 

    The race/walk will be the opening activity for the Chiefland Chamber Christmas Festival.  The entry fee for the race/walk is $20 and proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society. 

    Contact Melanie King Hutchison for an entry form or more information at 352-493-7593 or melliek71@hotmail.com.

    Click here to read more...
  • Sheriff's Reports

    The Levy County Sheriff’s Office reports the following arrests:

    Jeremiah Anthony Tisdale, 27, of Bronson was charged Nov. 24 with grand theft after he allegedly stole a 2003 Honda four-wheeler valued at $6,000. He was released on his own recognizance.

    Francisco Mijares, 26, of Bronson was charged Oct. 24 with Violation of Probation (VOP) scheming to defraud. No bond.

    Chad Daniel Cochran, 33, of Perry was arrested Nov. 24 and charged with Failure to Appear (FTA) driving while license suspended or revoked (DWLSR) knowingly. Bond was $5,000.

    Click here to read more...
  • Guilty on all counts

        Levy County Commissioners William Samuel "Sammy" Yearty and Robert Anthony "Tony" Parker were unanimously found guilty by a jury of conspiring and accepting a $10,000 bribe to pay for a trip to New York City in December 2007 in return for favorable treatment of a project proposed by an FBI agent posing as a developer.

        Yearty was also found guilty on a third charge — lying to a federal agent — for denying in an interview that he had accepted a lunch, dinner or gift from anyone.

    Click here to read more...
  • Give the people what they want

    Someone once said that you can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time, and a newspaper pretty much lives by that phrase.

    With three months under my belt here at the Pioneer, I am still seeking ways, ideas and suggestions on how to make the paper reader-friendly and filled with a little something for everyone.

    Click here to read more...
  • Discharges don’t stop these vets from working

    He is frail, yet strong. The weariness of life hangs over him but he continues to work for the cause that he has never abandoned. The commitment to his belief will linger long after he is gone.

    He is the voice of thousands of Americans who will celebrate next week as Veterans Day salutes the men and women who served this country in our nation’s armed forces.

    Click here to read more...
  • Seasonal flu vaccine comes up short

    Southeastern Primary Care ordered 5,000 seasonal flu vaccines for its Williston and Gainesville offices.

    It never received them.

    “That impacts us, it impacts the patients. Now they have to scramble to try to find a flu shot,” said Heather Festo, a medical assistant at Southeastern Primary Care.

    Click here to read more...
  • Pioneer moving

    The Williston Pioneer will be closed next Friday, Nov. 20 as the newspaper and staff moves into its new location at 37 South Main St., Suite F, near the Williston Police Department.

    We will be open in our new home Monday, Nov. 23.

    Click here to read more...
  • City finance director resigns

    Mark Schiefer, the city’s finance director for more than six years, has tendered his resignation effective the end of December.

    Council president Debra Jones announced Schiefer’s resignation at the city council meeting on Tuesday night.

    Schiefer has made many improvements to the city’s handling of its finances and brought order to a formerly chaotic budget process.

    Click here to read more...
  • Williston lays off six

    The city of Williston announced Monday that it will lay off six employees on Nov. 30, in order to maintain a balanced budget.

    The sticking point, according to city council president Debra Jones, is the employees’ union, AFSCME, insisting on the retention of a “Cadillac” insurance plan whose rates have escalated to the point at which the city can no longer afford to keep its current staff and pay the insurance premiums for them.

    Click here to read more...