By WILLIAM SNOWDEN
Editor

State Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, credits the controversy a couple of years ago over a gas station that planned to locate over a recently mapped underground cave with water that flowed to Wakulla Springs as a catalyst.

County officials were saying the problem was that there were no specific meets-and-bounds description of the cave that would allow it to require a setback – no red flags in the ground, as it were, to mark above ground where the edge of the cave is 200 or 300 feet below ground.
Shoaf said he charged his staff to come up with a solution – and they came back touting the abilities of the Sunfish, an underwater drone that is outfitted with GIS to map the caves.
(The controversy of the gas station was eventually settled with a land swap that moved the gas station across the road and purchased the property with the underground cave system as conservation land.)
At an expo on Friday, July 10 at Wakulla Environmental Institute hosted by the Friends of Wakulla Springs, Shoaf was credited with finding $2.5 million in state funding for the Sunfish’s exlorations, and he told the more than100 attendees that he envisions a future with drones that can provide state of the art water quality monitoring.
In an example told to the Sun, Shoaf said what if somebody in the backwoods is dumping car batteries. The drones would find the pollution as it reached the water, and state regulators could pinpoint where the violation had occured and clean it up.
Scientists gave reports on their latest studies: Chris Werner, geologist and director of the Wakulla Karst Plain Project, on mapping the caves, and a study that indicated conductance spikes are not saltwater intrusion but due to rainwater and perhaps deep aquifer.
Joel Trexler of the FSU Marine Lab has been tracing water going to Wakulla Springs using bacterial DNA in the water.
Patricia Spellman of USF noted the use of Sunfish to look at contaminants in underground water with an eye to land use regulation.
The star of the day was the Sunfish and news that a second generation drone is in the works, smaller and with more power.
The Sunfish, which is tethered, can only travel about a half-mile per use, but the new drone will be untethered and able to travel 3.7 miles and get in smaller spaces and stronger water flows.

By WILLIAM SNOWDEN
Editor

A former Wakulla High School diesel mechanic instructor is facing four first-degree felony charges for allegedly whipping students in his class with a bungee cord.
Eric Kasheta, who was fired as an instructor in March 2025 after the allegations came to light, was initially charged with four counts of misdemeanor battery, punishable by up to a year in jail. The state attorney’s office dropped those charges and refiled in August as felonies, each of which is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

In a motion hearing on Thursday, July 9, before Wakulla Circuit Judge Layne Smith, defense attorney Ray Curtis of Perry who argued for the case to be dimissed saying there’s no grievous injury or disfigurement. The students, at most, suffered a red welt or bruise as a result of the classroom punishment.
Wakulla Chief Prosecutor Andrew Deneen responded that “There’s a huge difference between punishment and hitting students with a rubber strap in the genitals.”
There was discussion of the meaning of “malacious” – and suggestion that it referred to going beyond what a reasonable parent would do in a similar situation.
Judge Smith denied the defense’s motion to dismiss and said the question of whether it was a malacious act was for a jury to determine.
Kasheta, who was actually an employee of Lively Vocational who taught diesel mechanics at Wakulla High School, would allegedly give students who acted up in class the option of a disciplinary referral or corporal punishment. According to some students in the class, interviewed by sheriff’s deputies investigating the allegations, Kasheta started off at the beginning of the year with a rubber tube that hurt but didn’t leave a mark.
Later, he allegedly started using a bungee cord that he had removed the metal hooks from – which was more painful.
The defense indicated the students who were alleged victims in the case have yet to have their depositions taken.

By LEE MARSH
Special to The Sun

Greetings, residents of Wakulla County. I am Judge Lee Marsh, and I am running for re-election as one of your circuit judges for the Second Judicial Circuit.
As a retired United States Navy Officer, I have dedicated my life to public service and to my community. I was born and raised just up the road in Tallahassee and graduated as Leon High School’s valedictorian. It was there that I met my wife of over 30 years, Karin.
After graduating with distinction from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Karin and I married and started our Navy adventure where I served on submarines. The Navy then sent me to law school where I got my law degree and became a career Navy judge advocate.

Throughout my legal career, both in the navy and afterward, I concentrated my practice on trial work. I have represented both the state as a prosecutor, and individuals as a defense attorney. I have practiced in military, state, and federal courts, to include my time working for the Florida Office of the Attorney General.
It was my love of the law and for public service that led me to the bench. For the last 8 years as your circuit judge, I have presided over the family, criminal, and civil divisions. I have tried over 110 jury trials, including first degree murders. I have the experience of doing this job. I also have the commitment to fairness and justice needed for everyone that appears in the courtroom. I love the people of our community.
As a member of our local community, I have committed myself to serve. I am a church elder, a Rotarian, and a proud chorus dad. My family has been here for generations, and we are proud to call it home.
If you want to know more about me, please check out keepjudgemarsh.com. I ask for your vote on August 18th! Thank you.

A three-car crash on U.S. Highway 319 near Songbird Avenue resulted in only minor injuries, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

On Thursday, July 9, around 6 a.m., a Jeep Compass driven by a 29-year-old Tallahassee woman crossed into the northbound lane and hit a Mitsubishi Eclipse, driven by a 49-year-old Crawfordville woman. The Jeep then hit a Toyota Camry driven by a 31-year-old Crawfordville man, according to FHP.
The Mitsubishi spun 180 degrees in the roadway and the Toyota ended up in a ditch. The Jeep stopped on the grass shoulder facing south.

By WILLIAM SNOWDEN
Editor

Keep Wakulla County Beautiful held its annual awards ceremony last week to honor volunteers, businesses and civic groups that support the organization’s mission.

KWCB President Lesley Cushman was MC for the event, held Tuesday, July 7 at the community center.
The Adopt-a-Road of the Year Award went to the Apalachee Bay community and was accepted by Quincee Messersmith.
Business or Neighborhood Community Pride Award went to Heather Rybak and Ryback Realty. Other nominees were Sopchoppy Feed, Forward Wellnes, Capital City Bank, and Niraj Patel.
“Community Roots” Civic Organization Partnership Award went to Sarracenia Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society and accepted by numerous members of the group. Other nominees were Rotary Club of Wakulla and the Wakulla 4-H Association Board.
Eco-Friendly Classroom Award went to UF IFAS Extension Wakulla County.
Green Trailblazer Youth Award went to John Alex Edwards. Other nominees were Hiroshi Yokiosha and Riley Shaefer.
“Heart of Service” Public Service Award went to Marquetta Cowley. Other nominees were Jason Smith, Cody Solbury, and Ryan Warner.
Wakulla “Eco-Excellence” Award went to Gabrielle Gabrielli.
“Waste Wise” Waste Reduction Award went to Trident Restaurant.
Volunteer of the Year “Golden Vest” Award was presented to Ashlee Barton.
The Don Henderson Award was presented to JoAnn Palmer, who served as KWCB’s executive director for more than 8 years.
And the KWCB 2026 scholarship recipient was Griffin Colson.

Cast and crew of the new film short ‘Invasion of the G-Nats’ – a 1950s sci-fi comedy-horror by filmmakers Stacy Brown and Joey Badia – got underway at the Palaver Tree Theater on Friday night.

It’s planned as a 9-minute film to be entered in the Tallahassee Film Festival’s short film competition. On Saturday, there was some on-location shooting being done in Sopchoppy, at right.

A donation of $4,000 was made to the UF Foundation from St Marks Powder to help support the travel costs of Wakulla 4-H members Emiliano Cadena and Parker Smith and their parents to attend and participate in the National Shooting Sports Championships in Grand Island, Nebraska.

General Manager Brandon Conrad is in the photo with them. Funds donated by local businesses and community members were used to offset hotel and car rental costs for the trip for youth and parents for the week-long competition. (Photo submitted)

The Wakulla Sun will host a candidate forum for the two Republican candidates for the county commission seat – incumbent Quincee Messersmith and challenger Carrie Hughes – on July 28 at the public library beginning at 6 p.m.
Additionally, the Sun is inviting the candidates for Congress, Republicans and Democrats, to appear at the forum to introduce themselves and speak on their views.
The Sun will livestream the forum on our YouTube page.
The primary election day is Aug. 18.

By SAM HAND
FAMU Extension

Many, many years ago, Ben Franklin proved lightning was electricity. Franklin and his son flew a kite into a violent storm with a key attached to the kite’s string while he held on.
Luckily only the key was charged by the high voltage strike. Today we know a lightning strike’s temperature is hotter than the sun’s surface. It is no wonder Franklin’s key glowed in the aftermath of the storm.
Keep that thought in mind as we answer my wife’s question asked after an unusually loud thunderclap. “What is that and what causes thunder? Is it dangerous?”

Well, we know that electricity can be dangerous, but it can also be used for good, like Thomas Edison’s light bulb. Without electricity, we might still be reading by coal oil lamps after the sun went down.
Lightning also helps the plants.
The heat from a 30,000-degree Fahrenheit lightning strike causes nitrogen in the air to change from an inert gas to soil nitrate, NO3, which plants can use like fertilizer.
However, lightning bolts misdirected and uncontrolled can do all kinds of damage. It can start forest fires, damage buildings or property, or kill trees, animals and even people.
That is why we put lighting rods on buildings and in trees, to protect them by providing another path to ground for the electrical discharge so it is disposed of safely.
But what about thunder? Is it dangerous? No, not really.
It can really surprise and scare people and animals, but it is sort of like blowing up a paper bag and smashing it. You get a loud bang.
Thunder is somewhat similar, only without the sack. When lightning strikes, it super heats the air it passes through and causes the air to expand like in a hot air balloon.
As the air cools, it rushes back together and it creates a loud roaring sound wave called thunder as the molecules in the air collide with each other rushing back together. If there were no air, and the lightning strike occurred in a vacuum, there would be no sound produced for anyone to hear.
So, to sum up, you do not need to be afraid of the thunder, just the lightning, and there are things we can do to help protect us from the lightning.
As the old saying goes you will never hear the thunder from the lightning bolt that strikes you, only thunder from the one that missed you.
So do not let the thunder scare you next time we have a thunderstorm.
Instead, take the sound of thunder as a warning shot and get to a safe location until the storm has passed.

Sam Hand is FAMU Extension Associate Professor and Director of Industry Credentialing Training Programs, FAMU Cooperative Extension.