By Bryant Thigpen Riverbend News With the 2020-21 school year underway, the Suwannee County School District (SCSD) hosted a “Back-to-School Trunk Bash,” which helped over 300 students prepare for the new year…
Fostering: The Mathews’
Ramsey Sullivan Riverbend News In the United States alone, there are nearly 437,000 children in foster care. Roughly 30,000 of these foster youth age out of the system each year, without having…
Jasper coming to life with First Saturday Market Days
By Bryant Thigpen Riverbend News The community is invited to come out on Saturday, Sept. 5, to Central Avenue on the first Saturday of each month for Jasper’s First Saturday Market Days…
Save a life: Donate blood
Rick Patrick Riverbend News Every two seconds of every day, someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion. Maybe it’s a patient undergoing heart surgery. Maybe it’s a young child who…
Kristy Brumley Valencia
Kristy Brumley Valencia, 39, of Mayo, Fla., passed away on Friday, July 31, 2020 at Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, Fla., following a battle with metastatic breast cancer. Kristy was born Sept….
Gerald Wayne Law, Sr. Feb. 2, 1949 – Aug. 5, 2020
Gerald Wayne Law, Sr., age 71, of Live Oak, Fla., passed away surrounded by his loving family on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020 at the Suwannee Valley Care Center in Lake City, Fla.,…
Mary Elizabeth Howes Feb. 10, 1926 – Aug. 5, 2020
Mary Elizabeth Howes, age 94, of Live Oak, Fla., passed away Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020, surrounded by the love of her family. She was born in Elba, Ala., on Feb. 10, 1926…
Letters to the Editor: Get the facts, folks
Dear Editor: An old friend called me the other day. She and I both used to read a big city paper when it was available in our area. We didn’t always agree…
Letters to the Editor: Who is steering the ship?
It is not “We the People,” for less than a third of vote. We elect the federal and state politicians to steer the ship, but they don’t steer. The reason they don’t…
I hear voices
There’s a country song named “Voices” that explains how he (the singer) walks around hearing voices in his mind. The voices are from his parents and grandparents and the lessons that they…
Ethics complaint against SOE Williams dismissed
By Bryant Thigpen Riverbend News The State of Florida Commission on Ethics (FCOE) has dismissed an ethics complaint that was brought against Suwannee County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) Glenda Williams. In a…
Chauncey recovering after line-of-duty shooting
By John Willoughby Riverbend News A Lake City law enforcement officer is recovering in Madison County after being shot in the line of duty on Tuesday, July 28. Officer Remington “Cody” Chauncey,…
Walter Edward Henderson Jr.
On July 26, 2020, Heaven gained an exceptional, generous gardener and a remarkable Grandaddy, Daddy, husband, uncle, son, and friend. Edward Henderson was born Nov. 25, 1924, in the Airline community of…
The Dance Shop hosts 36th annual recital
Ramsey Sullivan Riverbend News Thursday, July 2, girls and boys ages two and up took to the stage to showcase the ballet, tap, jazz, pointe and hip-hop skills they learned during their…
Pastor Spotlight: Andy Schiltz
By Bryant Thigpen Riverbend News Andy Schiltz was born in 1951 to Ray and Mary Schiltz in LaCrosse, Wis. Shortly after graduating from high school, Schiltz joined the U.S. Marine Corp and…
FCA holds summer cheerleading camp at Lafayette High School
By Bryant Thigpen Riverbend News The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) held their summer cheerleading camp at Lafayette High School (LHS) in Mayo. The camp was held from July 20-22, and was…
Stephen Foster, the Suwannee River and the Erasure of Americana
By Cole Davis Riverbend News The tune is as popular as the river is travelled. Stephen Foster’s 1851 “Old Folks at Home” or “Suwannee River” (as it is more colloquially known today)…