VOLUME 4 ISSUE 15
April is water conservation month
APRIL 14 - APRIL 20, 2023
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Humane Society expands footprint
After 60 years of serving homeless and neglected animals, the nonprofit organization is opening a new clinic with low-cost veterinary services to the general public. By Susan Smiley-Height susan@magnoliamediaco.com
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he Humane Society of Marion County (HSMC), is expanding its footprint to offer low-cost veterinarian services such as vaccines and spay and neuter to the public. The organization’s new 5,700-square-foot clinic was primarily paid for by donations. The building includes a spacious lobby, intake and treatment rooms, a pre-op room, surgical suite, ICU unit, offices, a kitchen for staffers and a multipurpose room. The new building will house all of the shelter felines that are not available for adoption as well as those that are hospitalized, waiting on surgery or recovering from surgery. The clinic at the main shelter facility will “pretty much see to the needs of all the adoptable cats in the shelter and then all of the dogs we intake,” said Clinic Practice Manager Kim Bice. See Humane, page A2
Kim Bice, the clinic practice manager, left, and Austin Burnett, the shelter operations manager, right, talk about some of the features in a pre-op area inside the new 5,700 square-foot clinic at the Humane Society of Marion County in Ocala on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. The new clinic, which will fill a void for low-cost veterinary care in Marion County, is expected to open to the public in June. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.
The outspoken write-in candidate for the State House calls out local corruption, and a broken judicial system—particularly when it comes to addressing those lacking mental capacity.
“D
owntown Julie Brown!” shouts Robert “Foxy” Fox when the “Gazette” called him to discuss his candidacy for the Florida House of Representatives. The nickname assigned to this journalist, who has the same first name as a bubbly MTV personality from the late ’80s, instantly pegs Fox as a Gen-Xer, and one could argue that his irreverent approach to the political establishment does too. Fox, a Republican, is running for the State House-District 24 seat in a special election to be held on May 16 to replace former Rep. Joe Harding, who resigned in December after he was indicted for numerous counts of fraud. The candidate doesn’t fit neatly into one box. He does things his way while
holding fast to the traditions of God and family. Fox compared himself to most American voters, the non-extremists. He’s running for the State House because he would lose his license as a bail bondsman if he runs for local office; he’s only permitted to run for state or federal office. In conversation, the owner of the infamously pink Foxy Bail Bonds, private investigator and certified process server meanders from his main points and orates with preacher-like inflections, though he might resemble a colorful character in a Carl Hiaasen novel or a midwestern Danny McBride. “If I win, I will make history,” Fox proclaimed, saying that he would be the first write-in candidate to win an election. An everyman who wears a Guy Harvey T-shirt instead of a suit, Fox stresses the importance of bipartisan discourse and said more than once that he would refuse to toe the party line if an idea doesn’t make
Reporting on a 12-yearold’s murder confession
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods speaks about the arrest of two juveniles for the murders of three teenagers in the Ocala National Forest during a press conference at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Ocala on Friday, April 7, 2023.
By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com
Will Foxy make history? By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com
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sense, causes harm to others, or comes from corrupt intentions and “kickbacks.” “I am a Republican, but I am a person for all people,” Fox said. “I don’t care what your denomination is, if you’re an Independent or if you’re a Democrat. When you go and take office, you have to be almost like a judge, nonpartisan, you tackle the gray areas. The world isn’t black and white, but politics is a dirty game. This is why I want judicial reform. You don’t run for office to get rich. You run for office to make your community a better place.”
His backstory
Fox was born in Marysville, Ohio, in 1972, the son of the state’s aviation director. He said his family was fairly affluent, but he worked hard to prove himself to his parents and claimed that he held down several jobs at a time since the age of 14. The youngest of three, one of his brothers called him “Mr. Goody Two See Special, page A2
F
ollowing the horrific murder days before of two teenage girls and one teenage boy, all white, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods announced the arrest and confessions of two Black males, ages 12 and 17, and a manhunt for another Black male suspect during a press conference he held on April 7. The third suspect, age 17, was apprehended by federal marshals two days later in Lake County. During the press conference, photos of the suspects, their names and redacted arrest affidavits were supplied to the media in attendance and to the public watching the conference on the sheriff ’s Facebook page. Woods’ press conference made national headlines, not only for the teen tragedy but also for the sheriff ’s at-times emotional commentary on the Second Amendment, “stupid” media who just want to “minimize” juvenile crime, and for placing the blame for the uptick in violent juvenile crime at the feet of another agency: the school district. On the MCSO Facebook page, community reaction spanned a See Teen, page A5
Clean Up Marion! kickoff event set for April 21 The Marion County Litter Task Force will report on its program successes, with a guest appearance by Rubbish the Raccoon. By Belea T. Keeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com
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f you’ve ever wanted to see a raccoon dance to a rap song, here’s your chance. Rubbish the Raccoon, a mascot developed for the Marion County Litter Task Force, will be making a special guest appearance at the Clean Up Marion! kickoff event on Friday, April 21. The press conference begins at 8:30 a.m., and speakers will talk about the issues and successes Marion County has had recently in tackling the county’s litter problem. The celebration is a nod to Earth Day and includes guest
speakers Sheriff Billy Woods; Litter Task Force Chair Beth McCall; Board of County Commissioners Chair Craig Curry; Robby Creech from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission; State Attorney Bill Gladson; Supervisor of Elections Wesley Wilcox; Greg Harrell, Clerk of the Court; Marion County Public Schools staffers; and the team from the Solid Waste Department. “Rubbish will definitely be there dancing to the ‘Throw it Away’ rap song,” stated Bobbie Perez, Marion County Public Relations Director, via email. The first 100 people to attend will receive a No Horsin’ Around
T-shirt. After the main speakers are done, and Rubbish shakes his booty, Adopt-A-Road groups will break out and go to assigned roadways to clean up litter. You don’t have to be a member of a group to join in the clean-up; all are welcome to help out.
Trash Means Dollars and Cents
The numbers say a lot about litter in Marion County—1.4 million pounds of litter collected in 2022; $900,000 spent collecting litter; 54,800 hours spent collecting litter; and 120,000 pounds of litter collected monthly. That’s a lot of litter. And time and money.
For Marion County Board of County Commissioner Chair, litter is a personal issue. “This is my home. I was born and raised here,” Curry said in his soft Southern drawl. “When I ran for office, [litter] was one of the platforms I ran on. Beautification of the area, but particularly [getting rid of ] the garbage.” Being a lifelong resident and native made Curry eager to take up the reins of the Litter Task Force, a multi-department and multi-jurisdictional effort. The task force is comprised of employees of the sheriff ’s office, solid waste, public schools, judicial court, the city police departments in Marion County
(Belleview, Dunnellon and Ocala), the state Fish & Wildlife team, plus the state attorney’s office. The task force worked together on its mission: to create a plan to “educate and change the mindset of those negatively impacting our community.” Their work was multi-faceted, encompassing enforcement, deterrence, marketing and education. Education is key, Curry said. By preventing litter in the first place, the county and taxpayers save money. Marion County spends more than $900,000 annually dealing See Litter, page A3
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DeSantis.......................................... A4 Teen Deaths................................... A5 Meet Your Neighbor..................... B3 Bird of the Week............................ B4 Calendar......................................... B5
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