Ocala Gazette | May 20 - May 26, 2022

VOLUME 3 ISSUE 20

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MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022

State responds to county on WEC Jockey Club plans

Pages B10 & B11

The pressing impact of population growth on Marion County schools

By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com

A

Ocala Jockey Club on May 13, 2022.

By Rosemarie Dowell rosemarie@ocalagazette.com

T

he site of the proposed WEC Jockey Club development could be home to federally or state-protected or threatened species and may contain human remains and artifacts related to Fort Drane, a Second Seminole Indian War

fort dating back to the mid-1830s.

Those details and more are contained in letters from state agencies tasked with reviewing and approving Marion County’s proposed amendments to its Comprehensive Plan, which would allow the construction of a 200-room hotel, 100site RV park, 94 homes, polo fields, a 9,000-seat stadium and more on the

1,000-plus acre property.

None of the nearly dozen reviewing agencies objected to the proposed changes, including the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), which means Marion’s County Commissioners can now set a final hearing and vote on the amendments See Marion, page A2

Judge issues final order in fire fee case

By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com

I

n follow up to the final hearing held on May 10, Marion County Circuit Judge Robert W. Hodges entered an order that outlines how the city must pay out almost $80 million in refunds to past and present City of Ocala utility customers.

The case stems from a long-running class-action suit that was filed in 2014 over the approximately $15 a month that more than 89,000 Ocala residents and businesses paid for fire services as an add on to their Ocala utility bills. During the trial, the city’s attorney explained Ocala implemented the tax in 2006 to spread the cost of fire services across a broad group of citizens who wouldn’t usually be paying them because they didn’t own real property or were taxexempt. An appellate court found the fees constituted an illegal tax, and in October,

Hodges ordered the city to establish a common fund to refund the fees.

Due to the 5th District Court of Appeal’s ruling, the refunds equal the amount of money received in fire fees by the city from residents and businesses via city utility bills from 2010 until the beginning of 2021, when the city stopped charging it.

In the May 16 order, which can be read in its entirety here, the judge awards the plaintiffs who lead the class action suit, Discount Sleep of Ocala, LLC and Dale W. Birch, $50,000 each as compensation for services they provided the class bringing the class action suit.

All utility customers who paid the fees should be receiving up to 91% in refunds of the money they paid in illegal taxes by check through the mail at the same address they received their notice of final hearing within 60 days.

For those that received

Judge Robert Hodges during the $80 million City of Ocala Fire Fee lawsuit hearing on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

the notice of hearing by mail, there is no additional claims process to navigate.

However, if one of the 89,000 class member’s notices of the May 10 hearing was

returned “undeliverable” to the city because the claimant had moved or was deceased, then class members or an

report being presented in an administrative work session to the school board on Thursday projects the looming overcapacity of schools, and the data is much more dire than ever before.

The current enrollment utilization across the entire county is 93%, with 42,087 students enrolled across all grade levels and a maximum seat capacity of 45,347, according to Marion County Public Schools. That leaves only 3,260 seats available — about the size of Forest High School’s football stadium.

Board Member Allison Campbell said this data is unprecedented, and far outnumbers the data that the school board was expecting to see. Campbell has been initiating conversations about school capacity and requesting this information prior to this report, and said she is glad to see this pressing issue addressed.

“I’m grateful that all the questions I’ve had are starting to be validated by numbers,” Campbell said. “We’re starting to see really concrete evidence.”

Out of that 93% total utilization, high schools are by far the most overcrowded, and sit at 98% utilization with 12,636 seats out of the 12,891-seat capacity filled, according to MCPS. “The previous board conversations we have had have always told us that we were under 90% utilization,” Campbell said.

Marion County is growing fast, and according to the 2021 US Census the population has increased by 10,007 in two years, 1,334 of which are school aged children. The trouble is that schools just don’t have the space, and many are reaching close to capacity much quicker than the school board and commissioners expected.

“Growth has accelerated almost exponentially,” said Board Member Nancy Thrower. “We have a different segment of the age groups in our population that are moving into Ocala.

It seems to be a younger demographic.”

The most troubling data lies in the southwest area of Marion County, where the schools have now reached 99% capacity. West Port High School has faced the most overcrowding in this area, and is now at 112% capacity, according to MCPS. “It’s clear that we have localized overcrowding, especially in our southern end of the county,” Thrower said. “While portables are not optimal, they certainly have gotten the job done over the years.

But we truly need a shift in how capacity is calculated by the state and to be able to build new schools.”

‘Portables’ are just one of several short-term facility planning efforts

See The order, page A8

See Growth, page A2

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Sadie’s Column.............................. A3 Pay Increases................................. A4 State News...................................... A9 West Port Band Director............. B2 Calendar......................................... B5

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A2

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Growth projected to outpace school capacity

The Marion County Public School Board meets at the MTI auditorium in Ocala on April 26. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Continued from page A1 being implemented in the county to lessen the strain of capacity in classrooms, by hosting classes in these portable modular classroom buildings.

Marion County has 70 documented portable classrooms in comparison to its 2,355 permanent classrooms, according to the Florida Inventory of School Houses data collected in Dec. 2021. That number documented could differ based on a number of factors, according to Campbell.

“I don’t know if that’s the actual number, or if it’s only the numbers that are showing up

on the report,” Campbell said.

“We do have the land…and planning cannot come soon “After 20 years, the portable perhaps with these numbers if in enough, because MCPS’ future is essentially considered fact we’re able to validate it with projections only show that the decommissioned. It comes off the state of Florida that might open population of Ocala will continue the report, but we may still use up some funding opportunities for to grow. By 2032 the district that portable.” us,” Campbell said. enrollment is forecasted to reach Campbell said that there Funding for long-term facility 50,715, with a utilization of up to needs to be a stress 120% in some areas. placed on long-term “We’ll do “We’ll do whatever we’re able solutions, and that whatever we’re the only way for able to do to relieve to do to relieve the localized schools to keep up the localized overcrowding in the near term. In with the growing overcrowding in the population of schoolnear term. In the the long term there’s definitely a aged children is to long term there’s need for new schools.” build new schools, definitely a need which is a time and for new schools,” Nancy Thrower Thrower said. monetarily intensive Marion County Public School Board Member “On paper it looks undertaking.

like we have capacity, but no one thinks that it’s a good idea or sensible to bus kids or ask families to drive kids from the south end of the county to the north end of the county where we do have capacity.”

Dunnellon Middle School and Fort McCoy School are 45 miles apart—the commute between the two would take longer than an hour for any parent or school bus driver to travel.

“There’s definitely some systems change that needs to happen in terms of calculations for school attendance,” Thrower said. “That’s only going to happen with all of us working together.”

Marion County hears from State Continued from page A1 as well as vote on the developer’s Planned United Development (PUD) application, likely sometime in June.

“I’m disappointed of course,” said Jerome Feaster, founder of the non-profit group, Save Our Rural Lands (SORA), which strongly opposes the plans.

“I would think there would be more concern about the project from the state.”

“I’m especially concerned about the impact of 94 homes and all the wastewater the development will create,” he said.

The former Ocala Jockey Club was purchased in August for $10.5 million

by Golden Ocala Equestrian LLC, owners of the World Equestrian Center, which soon announced plans for further development of the site.

In a 4 to 1 vote March 1, Commissioners approved sending the proposed amendments to the state agencies for the review and comment, despite the WEC Jockey Club project being inside the county’s Farmland Preservation Area (FPA) and outside the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB).

The property is located on rural-two lane West County Road 318, about a mile west of I-75 in the community of Irvine in north Marion County.

The Comprehensive Plan Amendment 2022-L01 proposes the new land use designation on the future land use map while Amendment 2022-L02 is the associated text amendment, enabling the property’s designation to be changed from Rural to WEC. “They are wanting to turn the Jockey Club into a housing development,” said Feaster.

County staff were against the developer’s application, but the Planning

and Zoning Commission in a meeting prior to the commission meeting narrowly recommended approval to the County Commission by a 3-2 vote.

County Commissioner Craig Curry, who cast the dissenting vote March 1 said he couldn’t comment on the agency reviews or the project outside of an official meeting but said he made his position clear during the meeting.

Although none of the agencies objected to the Large-Scale Future Land Use Map (FLUM) amendment to Marion’s Comprehensive Plan, several of them did provide comments and recommendations for the development.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission noted the site is found near, within, or adjacent to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Consultation Area for the federally threatened Sand Skink.

It also noted the site is a potential habitat for federally and state-listed species including the Eastern Indigo snake, Southeastern American Kestrel, Florida Sandhill Crane, Florida Burrowing Owl, Gopher Tortoise, and the Florida Pine Snake.

FWC recommended surveys of species’ habitats before construction, while advising the developer to follow permitting guidelines for each of the species, if discovered on the property.

“We (SORA) know the species are there,” said Gail Stern, a member of SORA. “I would hope an independent survey would be conducted from someone outside Golden Ocala.”

In its review, the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, noted the recording of many cultural resources in the general vicinity of the site, as well as multiple attempts to locate Fort Drane in the immediate

area, which is thought to contain human remains, protected under Florida law.

In addition, it said, a cultural resource assessment survey had not been conducted to determine if unrecorded historic resources are present and said development should be “sensitive,” to locating, assessing, and avoiding potential adverse impacts to any resources.

SORA’s Stern said: “Let’s sit down and figure out who’s on that land and what’s on that land.”

Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, in its April 8 response, wrote the site is within the Rainbow Spring Group and Rainbow River Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP), and the spring shed boundaries of the Group, and activities associated with the proposed project have the potential to impact water quality.

Swiftmud wrote the amendment does not identify an adequate water supply source for determining water supply availability and noted the developer did not address efforts to be taken for securing water supply for the amendment. All plan amendments are required to address water supply availability, including the potential water source or raw water, it said.

During the March planning and zoning meeting, citizens, and nearby residents of the property, along with the Ocala Horse Alliance and members of SORA, spoke out against the project, citing traffic concerns, wastewater, harm to the environment and urban sprawl.

“That county staff that I respect a lot, have raised objections in the past,” said Stern, noting SORA filed detailed objections to the PUD with the state.

“That staff can sit down with people that know this area and make guidelines that

“I’m disappointed of course. I would think there would be more concern about the project from the state.”

Jerome Feaster

Founder of Save Our Rural Lands (SORA)

will benefit 318 instead of harm it.”

I would like to see reduced density on the WEC site,” she said. “A lot of people have great suggestions, and the county should listen to them.”

However, some citizens, along with the non-profit Horse Farms Forever, founded to preserve the county’s extensive horse farms, spoke in support of the project because the WEC Jockey Club will preserve the farm as an equestrian facility.

During the March meeting, County Commissioner Carl Zalak III, who is also the board’s chair, said he supported the project.

“The biggest concern…is going to be traffic and making sure that we phased the development correctly, and don’t let it get ahead of the traffic improvements that need to be done. If we do that well, I think it’ll be a successful project,” Zalak III said after the meeting.

In its approval letter, the Florida DEO said if the County does not resolve reviewing agency comments, the comments could form the basis for a challenge to the amendment after adoption.

“I hope the commissioners vote to have the project drastically reduced and put some stringent guidelines on it,” said Stern.

A3

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

COMMENTARY

Puckering up for a purpose Editor’s Note:

Sadie Fitzpatrick uses this space to explore the character and quirks that make Ocala uniquely wonderful and occasionally irksome.

By Sadie Fitzpatrick sadie@ocalagazette.com

I

have a confession to make: I am a native of Ocala, the Horse Capital of the World—and I’ve never ridden a horse.

I will get to kiss one, though, if I’m crowned the winner of the “Kiss the Horse” fundraising campaign to benefit the Marion County Literacy Council.

Through my column, I’ve had the opportunity to meet both individuals and members of organizations who are doing phenomenal philanthropic work in Marion County. From providing housing for the developmentally disabled to developing vital resources for foster parents, so many organizations are working to solve the issues that plague our county’s residents.

It is always my goal to use this column to bring awareness to issues, individuals, and organizations in Marion County.

The Marion County Literacy Council is one of the organizations that made a lasting impact on me. When R.J. Jenkins, Board President of the Marion County Literacy Council, reached out to me about participating in this year’s “Kiss the Horse” event, I immediately said yes.

The candidate who raises the most money will be crowned the champion at the Kiss the Horse Winner’s Circle event on Thursday, May 26, which will culminate 10 days of community fundraising that began on Monday, May 16.

Admittedly, this week’s

column is steeped in shameless selfpromotion (for a worthy cause) as I vie against seven other community leaders to raise much-needed funds for this amazing organization.

The premise is simple: Individuals and teams engage in diverse efforts to raise money for, and awareness of, the Marion County Literacy Council. This event is the Literacy Council’s largest annual fundraiser, successfully raising between $20,000-$30,000 each year. Every dollar raised goes directly to the Literacy Council to continue its mission of providing adult literacy support services.

The Literacy Council provides each of its clients with the foundational building blocks that will aid them in finding better jobs and higher education through earning their GED degree, learning to read with confidence through their Adult Basic Education courses or learning English through their English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program.

What started with a few students learning to read in founder Barbara Woodson’s garage in 1999 has swelled to a program that reached close to 200 students during the 2021-2022 year. This transformational work is done by just two paid staff members and a dedicated team of volunteer tutors.

The hallmark of the Marion County Literacy Council’s program is its oneon-one tutoring model. Each student is tested to determine their level of learning and then placed with the appropriate tutor who

specializes in their area of study. Students have twice-weekly sessions, 1.5 hours long.

According to the Marion County Literacy Council’s 2021-2022 Annual Report, it costs roughly $400 to provide tutoring to a student per year with approximately 120 hours of tutoring provided for each student. The funds raised by myself and my fellow contestants will go directly toward educating these students, many of whom come to the Literacy Council with a fourth-grade reading level.

This “Kiss the Horse” event began 12 years ago as a unique and innovative way to raise awareness of the Marion County Literacy Council’s mission while connecting to our town’s rich equine culture. Past winners of the fundraising campaign have smooched both real horses and the Marion Cultural Alliance’s famed Horse Fever horse statues.

The winner of Kiss the Horse 2022 will have the honor of kissing Wesley, the

Make Your Old Kitchen Look New with

Marion Therapeutic Riding Association’s 2022 Horse of the Year. Wesley is a Quarter Horse Gelding who worked on a ranch for many years, and is a retired roping horse. He and the other equines at the Marion Therapeutic Riding Association provide therapeutic horseback riding for children and adults living with physical, emotional, and cognitive challenges in Ocala.

The French novelist Gustave Flaubert said, “Read in order to live.” The Marion County Literacy Council provides the tools for adult learners to learn to read in order for them to not only live, but to thrive.

He or she can now apply for a better-paying job, communicate more effectively with their employer or children’s teachers, or fill out the forms needed to find better housing for themselves and their families.

I am, by no means, a competitive person. Game nights make me anxious, and sports make me sweaty, so I’m always keen to be on the sidelines cheering others on. When it comes to raising money for an organization about which I am passionate, however, I will be competitive.

After all, the real winner will be the Marion County Literacy Council as they use these funds to continue impacting adult learners in our area.

If you feel so inclined, please donate to my campaign by visiting this link: https://bit.ly/3a2Ske1.

To learn more about the Marion County Literacy Council, visit https://marionliteracy.org.

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MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

MCBOCC passes pay grade, job title changes and salary adjustments for county employees

Carl Zalak III, the chair of the Marion County Commission, on March 21, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

By James Blevins james@ocalagazette.com

T

he Marion County Board of County Commissioners (MCBOCC) voted unanimously to approve a series of pay grade changes, job title changes and salary adjustments for county employees during its regular meeting on May 3.

In 2021, according to county documents, the MCBOCC contracted with Evergreen Solutions, LLC, to conduct a “Classification and Compensation Study” for Marion County. The purpose of this study was to analyze the county’s classification and compensation system and make

recommendations to improve its competitive position in the labor market.

The study involved analyzing the internal and external equity of the county’s compensation system and making recommendations in response to those findings.

Commission chair Carl Zalak III called the journey arriving at these adjustments a long one, with many “endless hours trying to put people in the right places.”

“We’ve had a consultant come on board to try to make sure we fit the right pay for the right people in the right positions and pay them for their work to the best of our ability,” said Zalak during the May 3 regular meeting, adding that the county commission has continued to put aside money to try and prepare for the rise in minimum wage, as well, scheduled to reach $15 an hour by 2026.

A workshop was held on April 29, 2022, where Evergreen consultants and county senior staff presented the findings of the study and made recommendations to the board.

The recommendations included new pay grades, job title changes and salary adjustments to current employees based on methodology using range penetration capped at the midpoint with a lower end adjustment as well as adjusting for the minimum wage requirements.

Evergreen will continue to work on a salary study for the rank and file unit of Marion County Fire Rescue, according to county documents, and those results will be presented to the board at a later date.

“We are continuing to try and make a large investment in our employees, to make sure they know, first of all, we care about them, and, second of all, we want them to stay.

We want them to be in a competitive marketplace and pay them for all the services that they do for Marion County,” said Zalak.

The recommended changes would have a loaded cost of $5.9 million across all funds and a loaded cost of $3.11 million in the General Fund.

Now that it is approved, the salary adjustments to

current employees will have an effective date of May 21, 2022, and all other changes to the county’s systems will be effective on or before July 31, 2022.

County Administrator Mounir Bouyounes informed the commissioners that he hoped the county would have all the changes in the system executed as quickly as possible, but didn’t want to raise the expectations of employees.

“We told you during the workshop that employees will see this adjustment in the first paycheck in June. After further conversation with staff and with clerk staff, we need more time,” said Bouyounes. “We are dealing with a lot of data with a lot of people from both sides, from the Clerk and the county side, to make sure we do that transition. So it most likely will be the second paycheck in June. But I need some leniency. Worst case, it will be the first paycheck in July.”

According to Stacie Causey, senior public relations specialist for Marion County, the county currently has more than 50 positions open as of May 11.

Of those more than 50 positions, Causey identified 10 “hard-to-fill” positions that the county is currently struggling to find employees: • Animal center veterinarian (Animal Services) • Utilities field technicians • Utilities lift station technicians • Inspector plans examiners (Building Safety) • Paramedics • Librarians • Maintenance technician operators, Rainbow Lakes Estates • Litter crew leader • Purchasing inventory assistant (Fleet Management) • Recreation leader, seasonal (Parks and Recreation) For more specific information on the pay grade changes, job title changes and salary adjustments, visit https://marionfl.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.

DeLuca donates $250K to Reilly Arts Center

By Ocala Gazette Staff

F [Supplied]

rank DeLuca, president and owner of DeLuca Toyota in Ocala, formally presented a donation of $250,000 to the Reilly Arts Center (RAC) on Thursday, May 12.

The Reilly Arts Center recently completed a 15,590-square-foot expansion that includes the Frank DeLuca Grand Lobby and the NOMA Black Box Theatre, as well as studio spaces designed to enhance the Ocala Symphony Orchestra Community Music Conservatory.

The new Frank DeLuca Grand

Lobby is a focal point of the largescale expansion, according to RAC officials.

“This space is the heartbeat when people come in, it’s the first thing they see, and it sets the tone for the entire experience,” said Pamela Calero Wardell, executive director of the RAC. “This gift was significant, helping us complete this part of the Reilly Arts Center expansion.”

Matt Wardell, CEO and artistic director at the RAC, said, “To have this space has been impactful as an organization and community. Now this space feels complete. We are thankful for Mr.

DeLuca’s generosity and welcome him as a part of the Reilly Arts Center family.”

DeLuca and Deluca Toyota have donated over $11 million to community outreach, charities and organizations over the past 45 years, according a press release. He founded his Ocala dealership in 1978.

“Giving back, not only does it feel good, but it’s the right thing to do,” said DeLuca. “I’m proud and honored to support the arts and be a part of this great addition to the Ocala community.”

Mackey-Barnes announces candidacy for Marion County judge seat, joins Ruse, Thompson in race

By James Blevins james@ocalagazette.com

L

eAnn Mackey-Barnes has declared her intention to run for county judge during the 2022 election cycle, according to documents filed with the Marion County Supervisor of Elections office. The county judge seat will be open January 1, 2023, when the Honorable James McCune retires.

The decision to run in 2022 wasn’t any easy one for Mackey-Barnes to make, she admitted, after losing a primary for the Marion County Court 10 years ago against Thomas Thompson. She said she had chosen to run in that race after the passing of her father in a tragic car accident.

“I just told myself, life is too short to wait for something if you want it,” MackeyBarnes said.

She would ultimately lose her primary bid in 2012 after receiving 40.7% of the vote.

Tragedy would once again inform Mackey-Barnes’ decision to run in 2022 after the passing of her brother to COVID-19 during the early months of the pandemic.

“I had kind of thrown in the towel at that point,” she said. “My focus was on my mom, having lost her husband and her firstborn, but she encouraged me that if this was something that I wanted, then she wanted it for me too.”

Born and raised in Marion County,

the wife and mother of two said her family’s legacy goes back 200 years in the community.

Mackey-Barnes is a graduate of the University of Florida, Fredric G. Levin College of Law, graduating in 2002 and joining the Florida Bar that same year.

Mackey-Barnes has over 20 years of courtroom experience and is licensed to practice in both state and federal court.

She has handled felony, misdemeanor and juvenile criminal cases, truancy and domestic relation injunction contempt cases, as well as Baker Act and Marchman Act civil cases.

Currently, she is the chief attorney at the law office of Michael A. Graves, Public Defender, supervising all attorneys and staff. Additionally, Mackey-Barnes said she has trained and supervised over 100 attorneys in the practice of law.

“I’ve always had a deep passion for the law,” Mackey-Barnes said. “And I feel that I have the experience and know-how to handle the job, having had the opportunity to practice in front of almost every single judge in Marion County.”

Mackey-Barnes helped to initiate Marion County’s Veterans Treatment Court, Mental Health Court and Juvenile Expungement programs—something she said she was especially proud of as someone who cares deeply for vulnerable people who come through the system.

She has assisted in the training of law

enforcement officers and hospital staff in the areas of Baker and Marchman acts.

She has also been a board member of Pace Center for Girls and Kiwanis Club of Ocala for 10 years.

She was the 2015 recipient of the Richard D. Custureri Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award, the 2015 Diamond Hearts Community Service Award and has been recognized by the Florida Supreme Court for her pro bono work as well.

If elected, Mackey-Barnes said she wants the community to feel that in her they have someone they can actually talk to and is willing to listen.

“The majority of the cases that come before a judge may not have an attorney.

They are not going to have the experience of both being in a courtroom and knowing the evidentiary rules or basically just what to do in that situation and what happens next,” she said. “The majority of people just want to be heard, and I’m willing to bring that to a courtroom and just make sure the courtroom continues to move forward in a positive direction.”

Assistant State Attorney Danielle Bordelon Ruse has also declared her intention to run for McCune’s seat, as has Renee Thompson, a civil attorney and mediator.

As of May 18, Mackey-Barnes had $6,500 in monetary contributions with total expenditures and distributions of $6,294.04.

On the same date, Ruse had

LeAnn Mackey-Barnes [Supplied]

$28,200 in contributions, $651.57 in in-kind contributions and $8,445 in total expenditures and distributions. Thompson had $18,5000 in contributions, $670 in in-kind contributions and $6,990.55 in total expenditures and distributions.

For more information, visit www.votemarion.gov.

A5

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

OPINION

The honor system and the difference between disclosure and wavier

By Ocala Gazette Editorial Board

B

ack in January, the Ocala City Council met to vote on annexing 88 acres into the city. At that meeting, city attorney Jimmy Gooding disclosed to the board that developer John Rudnianyn, the owner of the property, was one of his firm’s largest clients. But on this night, Gooding said, he was only representing the city council.

The council agreed to the annexation. Fast forward to May 2 when the council met to consider approving a land use designation that would allow Rudnianyn to build nearly 1,200 units on the annexed land in a proposed development called Lake Louise. The designation would allow him to build many more units than would have been allowed had the property remained subject to Marion County’s rules.

Before they voted, Robert Batsel, Jr., who works with Gooding in the firm that represents the city, felt the need to give a much longer disclosure statement. The Gazette, which has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest for the firm, offers Batsel’s comments in full for readers: “I’m going to go ahead and disclose, obviously, as it’s been raised tonight, that my firm has done work for Mr. Rudnianyn, the applicant, in the past.

This goes against everything I typically counsel my clients to do, but I’m going to give a little explanation, not that it’s going to do any good, but just to hope in an attempt to settle any concerns on this front.

Long before I started practicing law, my firm was a firm in a small town that was very proud to represent the City of Ocala. We’re a small enough community and legal community that being the city attorney is wonderful, but you can’t sustain a practice being the city attorney.

So, it has long been the case that we have had both the city as a client and private clients who do business in Marion County, and, from time to time, have issues with the city or need to be what we would call adverse to the city. Whether it’s a developer with an application pending in the city, a business in a bid dispute, whatever the case may be. It happens.

Conflicts and conflict checks are part of practicing law. And it’s long been understood that when those things arise: A) every one of our private clients absolutely knows and has a clause in their contract that says we represent the City of Ocala to the extent that you have anything adverse to the City of Ocala, not only can we not represent you but that we are going to represent the City of Ocala against you. B) City council and city staff have always understood this dynamic and understood that if we’re dealing with city staff on a project, and, for example, the applicant was Mr. Rudnianyn, typically we don’t have much involvement at the staff level unless things arise to being legal in nature. But when we do, if we’re asked to intervene and weigh in, they understand and are reminded, if they don’t already know, which in almost all cases they already know, because we’ve been through it a million times, but we remind them that we represent Mr. Rudnianyn in other matters, but in this case, we’re only representing the City of Ocala.

Then, in a public hearing, if it comes up and we’re asked to weigh in, we once again remind city council, like I’m doing now, although usually much more briefly, that we represent the applicant in other matters that have not been involved in this matter. Or if we have been involved, we tell you that we have. That’s long been accepted. It’s in our contract. It’s obviously recently been a big issue that some portray as a wrongdoing on our part. That’s been pretty difficult for me because as attorneys, we stake our reputation on our integrity and our character. And I know that I’ve never violated the code that I live by, much less the Florida Bar rules of ethics.

Just because someone has an opinion or the ability

City Attorney Robert Batsel on May 3. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

to write something online…We are in an era where we have an obligation to police ourselves and understand that while 150 years ago we may have been in a situation in society where I’ve used…I’ve heard this metaphor before…one of the predominant problems in society may have been a lack of food, now we’ve got a bunch of people who are obese or have Type 2 diabetes and food is no longer in short supply.

Information is similar in nature. Twenty years ago, we probably all didn’t have enough information at our disposal. And now, it’s great that we have all sorts of different “media outlets” in the world that will give us all the information we want to consume. But I am here to tell you that is false.

I represent John Rudnianyn in other matters. The case before you tonight, I have not represented the city. I rendered an opinion concerning the annexation, but I’ve been in no way involved in this land use matter.

I’ll back away from what you can tell is me being a little bit miffed about the way things have been misrepresented publicly but just tell you that in relation to this matter, that’s where we stand.

With all of that said, if you all have a problem with our current situation and how we address conflicts, as I’ve just described, please tell me. We’ll talk to city management and we will go about it a different way. Every time this arises, we hire outside counsel if it’s an issue.

Finally, I want to remind you that this was not an issue since 1992, and only recently became an issue when I affirmatively came to the city and told you that due to the growth in Ocala, and due to some changing circumstances, I was not going to reapply this coming fall. So, it was me coming to you to say I need to pick a lane and I feel that I need to take my practice in another direction despite my love for the city and the people that I work with. And apparently, now I’m the one with a stain on my hands. So, that’s enough; I’ll never address it again. I shouldn’t have done it in the first place. Couldn’t stand the people shouting at me. And I failed to accept the advice that I’ve given most of you in the past, but I had to say it.”

It’s fair to assume that while Batsel was speaking to the council, he was directing his ire toward this newspaper.

So, allow us to respond in a similar public forum.

First, let’s address why the public absolutely has a legitimate interest in knowing about Batsel’s law firm’s financial connections to developers doing business with the city. When the law firm that has represented the city for 30 years says it makes twice as much an hour from its developer clients than it does from the city, it’s fair to wonder if both clients are receiving the same level of

advocacy when their interests don’t align.

We also question Batsel’s assertion that Ocala, which pays his firm $1 million a year, has no choice but to accept potential conflicts of interest because his is a small law firm that needs other clients to survive. Since the city’s legal services have not been up for bid in 30 years, there is no open market challenge to the firm’s claim that they can’t survive without conflicting clients.

But regardless, the rules of ethics for law firms don’t bend based on how well a firm can support itself. In fact, the rules of ethics remain the same even if the firm makes no money from a client while serving them pro bono.

Next, let’s get into the legal weeds a bit by considering the difference between the words disclosure and waiver.

Disclosure is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “the action of making new or secret information known.”

Batsel said he has disclosed potential conflicts between the city and other clients for years. But it was only in October 2020, after 28 years of being the city attorneys, that the firm added a conflict waiver clause to its contract with the city. The clause says, in short, that the city attorney had advised the city, and the city is aware that the firm also represents “private persons and entities” that include “developers or contractors” who “have relationships with, or seek approvals from, [the] city.”

Not one council member or city staffer was told about the new clause and everyone was quite surprised by it a year later when asked by the Gazette.

Since there have been no memos in the public records detailing any specific conflicts over the past 30 years, it appears this disclosure arrangement has been entirely on the honor system. In other words, any potential conflicts have been Batsel’s secret to disclose.

However, disclosure alone would not cure any conflict of interest between the city and developers because it doesn’t include waiver with “informed consent” by the client, the City of Ocala.

Rule 4-1.7 of the Florida Bar Rules & Standards, related to professional conduct of lawyers, states: A lawyer must not represent a client if the representation of one client will be directly adverse to another client, or if there is a substantial risk that the representation of one or more clients will be materially limited by the lawyer’s responsibilities to another client, a former client or a third person, or by a personal interest of the lawyer.

The exception to that rule is if the lawyer “reasonably believes that the lawyer will be able to provide competent and diligent representation to each affected client” and “each affected client gives informed consent, confirmed in writing or clearly stated on the record at a hearing.”

According to the rules, “informed consent” denotes the agreement by a person to a proposed course of conduct after the lawyer has communicated adequate information and explanation about the material risks of and reasonably available alternatives to the proposed course of conduct.

We’d also like to address Batsel’s assertion that what the Gazette has reported is “false.” The newspaper has repeatedly asked the firm to detail any inaccuracies so the Gazette could have the opportunity to print a correction, if warranted. Merely stating that a report is false does not make it so.

We recognize this situation may be difficult for some city council members. After all, the city has had a relationship with this firm for decades and raising concerns about ethics may appear unseemly. Here’s a suggestion: Reach out to an independent law firm for a legal opinion. The council, and the taxpayers, deserve to have an arm’s-length assessment of the risks the city may be facing.

Not seeking an outside opinion or not instructing the city’s auditor to look into the arrangement fuels questions in the community. Chief among them are, why not? What are you afraid of finding?

NEW! Same Day Dispensary Service!

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A6

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Rally for Rights “The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.”

- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) Publisher Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com Bruce Ackerman, Photography Editor bruce@ocalagazette.com James Blevins, Reporter james@ocalagazette.com Caroline Brauchler, Reporter caroline@ocalagazette.com Rosemarie Donell, Reporter rosemarie@ocalagazette.com Sadie Fitzpatrick, Columnist sadie@ocalagazette.com Greg Hamilton, Editor greg@magnoliamediaco.com Amy Harbert, Graphic Designer amy@magnoliamediaco.com Susan Smiley-Height, Editor susan@magnoliamediaco.com Zoe Albert, 12, right, and a girl who only wanted to be identified as Coralyn, 7, left, hold signs as they protest with hundreds of other Pro-Choice protestors in downtown Ocala about the possible Supreme Court overturning of the Roe v Wade ruling on Saturday, May 14.

Lisa Maliff, Graphic Designer lisa.maliff@magnoliamediaco.com

Photos By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

Director of Sales and Marketing Andrew Hinkle andrew@magnoliamediaco.com

Marion County gathers together in support of women.

Account Executives Evelyn Anderson evelyn@magnoliamediaco.com

Distribution Inquiries info@ocalagazette.com

Follow us @ocalagazette

By Sandy Poucher Correspondent

N

early 200 people gathered in downtown Ocala Saturday afternoon to demonstrate their support of women’s reproduction rights in the wake of a recently leaked draft Supreme Court opinion that would strike down Roe v.

Wade’s protection of a woman’s right to have an abortion.

The Bans Off Our Bodies rally at the corners of Pine Street and Silver Springs Boulevard and Pine Street and 10th Street/State Road 200 was part of a series of similar rallies nationwide Saturday aimed at pushing back against efforts to overturn the Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 decision.

The local rally was led by Pam Escarcega of the National Organization for Women (NOW) of Greater Marion County and Francine Julius Edwards, regional chair of the Democratic Women’s Club of Florida.

Ms. Julius Edwards explained that while this was a successful rally, many of the women involved had over the years fought for the ERA, for women’s rights and Roe v. Wade and “are not happy to have to rally again because it is not ‘settled law.’”

The crowd included both women and men of all ages. Many of the participants voiced concerns about what impact the court ruling, if it goes forward, would have on a woman’s right to determine the most appropriate outcome for her pregnancy.

“I’m here for my daughters,” said one woman holding a placard reading: Bans off my daughter’s bodies. Two younger women said the leaked opinion disturbed them so much that, “Even us introverts came out in support (of women’s right to choose).”

Many passing motorists expressed their views with vigorous horn honking, motor revving and flashing thumbs up.

Three counterprotesters stood nearby, facing away from the rally and waving their own placards.

Reactions to the draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito have exploded across the country following its release by the news site Politico earlier this month. The court’s final ruling is expected to be released within the next two months.

Joel Morris and his wife, Autumn, right, hold signs as they protest.

Our mission is to inform and uplift our readers by reporting on the events, issues and stories that shape Ocala with accuracy, fairness and passion. We also strive to serve as a forum where all voices can be heard and to chronicle our community’s history.

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Ivy Lonnen, center, lets her son, Jameson Tingley, 4, wear her hat to try and keep him cool.

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A7

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Development plans for Winding Oaks farm firm up

By Ocala Gazette Staff

D

uring the May 17 city council meeting, the council unanimously took another step forward finalizing their agreement with Cradle Holdings, Inc. to develop Winding Oaks farm.

The 1008-acre farm was annexed into the city in 2017.

The project’s development includes the following uses and intensities: 590,000 square feet of commercial retail space 60,000 square feet of automobile dealership 416,000 square feet of general office space 2,068 single family units 1,080 multi-family units A Super Convenience Market/Gas Station– 20 vehicle fueling station

Winding Oaks Farms is the last remaining horse farm on State Road 200. At the corner of State Road 200 and SW 66th Street, it is surrounded by development. It was originally Mockingbird Farm, who along with Tartan, Bonnie Heath, and Dudley farm made up the foundation of Marion County thoroughbred industry along State Road 200. [Alan Youngblood/Special to Ocala Gazette]

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A8

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

The order is in Continued from page A1 estate representative may file a claim form during the claim period that runs from July 1, 2022 through July 1, 2023.

After the one-year claim period passes, any remaining funds unclaimed will be subject to a “second distribution to those class members who have cashed their refund checks as part of the first distribution.”

This second distribution, depending on how much money is unclaimed, translates to class members getting refunded more than the initial 91% anticipated by the Court’s order.

The judge also awarded $6,393,188.37 (approximately 8.06% of total refunds) to the firm Bowen|Schroth in attorney’s fees.

In the order, the judge outlines the factors considered in determining reasonable attorneys fees to include amongst other things “novelty and difficulty of the question involved.”

And novel it was because the issue had not previously been considered or decided by a higher court.

A case of first impression

In 2006, the city began exploring how to fund an estimated $5 to $8 million budget shortfall to fund fire services.

At the time, city council was made up of Daniel Owen, Mary Sue Rich, Kent Guinn, Kyle Kay, Charles Ruse, Jr., and Randall Ewers was mayor.

The city manager was Paul K. Nugent, and the city attorney was Patrick G. Gilligan.

The council commissioned a fire service fee study from Burton & Associates to explore funding fire services through fire service fees and fire service impact fees, rather than the customary way of ad valorem taxes or special assessments.

Included in the study, dated January 8, 2007, was a legal opinion from Terry E. Lewis of the firm of Lewis, Longman, & Walker.

Lewis tested the validity of the city’s fire service fees against eight factors established by the Florida Supreme Court to determine whether a specific charge was a “user fee” or a “special assessment.”

While many of the factors were met, his report cautioned that two of the eight factors were problematic: namely “whether the charge is for a traditional utility, and whether the charge is statutorily authorized as a fee.”

As to whether fire fees could be charged as traditional utilities, Lewis explained, “The term, ‘traditional utility,’ is usually defined by examples [such] as the provision of electricity, natural gas, water, trash disposal, and sewer services, and [an] argument may be made that fire protection falls within the category of municipal services.”

As to whether statutes gave the city authority to impose a fee, he found “no

specific grant of statutory authority to the city to impose a fee for fire protection services. The city must rely on its general constitutional grant of home rule powers and Section 166.201, Florida Statutes (which is a broad, general grant of authority, which doesn’t mention fire service fees), to adopt the fee.”

Lewis expressed concern that the charge could be considered an assessment, or a tax, based on whether it was considered a voluntary charge or not. Lewis plainly cautioned, “The fire service fee proposed by the city appears to be mandatory.”

In Lewis’s opinion, the firm interpreted the city’s proposed fire fee “a valid user fee”; however, “we have found no case law specifically validating such a scheme by a municipality or county. The fire service fee can be challenged with a claim [that] it is actually a special assessment or tax, which must be adopted by the city through the procedures outlined in Chapter 197, Florida Statutes, or by referendum approval. While we believe the analysis above and case law support a favorable result for the city, if a legal challenge arises, we reiterate that no Florida court has directly addressed this issue of whether a fee may be charged or provide municipal fire services, and such a case would be one of first impression.”

The city’s attorney, Patrick G. Gilligan, issued an opinion on the fire protection service user fee on July 14, 2006, to then-city manager, Paul Nugent, echoing agreement with Lewis for the most part, but taking one exception to his “analysis of the mandatory nature of the fee.”

Gilligan felt the concern was mitigated by how caselaw defined the word “mandatory.”

He explained, “Property owners can avoid the fee either by not developing the property or renting out the propertymaking the fee arguably voluntary.”

There were a few changes to the ordinance through the years, but in December 2013, Gilligan received a letter from Schroth’s firm, notifying the city of their representation of Discount Sleep of Ocala, LLC, d/b/a Mattress Warehouse, and all other City of Ocala water utility customers. The letter requested city records and demanded the city “rescind the ordinance, and any amendments thereto, and refund all fire user fees paid by the putative class within 45 days.”

The letter from Schroth offered to work out the dispute in pre-suit mediation “in an effort to avoid the time and expense of litigation.”

On February 2, 2014, Schroth filed a lawsuit against the City of Ocala for a declaratory judgment, challenging the basis for the city’s home rule authority to collect the mandatory fire fees and asking for a common fund to be established for paying refunds and attorney’s fees.

At the time the litigation was filed, John

McLeod, Jay Musleh, James Hilty, Brent Malever, and Mary Sue Rich made up the council, and Kent Guinn had transitioned to his role as mayor.

The city manager was Matthew Brower, and Gilligan was still the city’s attorney.

Charles Ruse, the only attorney to sit on the council since the ordinance was enacted, testified during deposition on July 17, 2018 that he expressed concerns to the city attorneys at the time- but not publicly.

The reasons for passing the ordinance, according to Ruse’s testimony was increased need for fire services due to the annexation of property into the city limits, and need to find money in the budget to meet those service needs.

During the deposition, city attorney Patrick Gilligan asked about Ruse’s concerns, “You said you had a concern about the City maybe being sued in class action. Was the concern actually getting sued, not necessarily the underlying validity of whether the user fee was legal, or not?

“My concern was that if — it was a risk.

They could get sued. If they lost it would be $40, $50 billion, plus tax, tag and title.

And that would have been more than they have in the coffers out there. I didn’t think it was an appropriate risk to take.”

To which Gilligan responded, “Okay.

But given the fact you actually voted in favor of the user fee, is it fair to assume that you weighed that risk at that time and thought that it was a risk worth taking?

“I don’t recall why we voted for it. It seemed as if it was something that was a large gorilla in the room that didn’t get spoken about. And I don’t remember back then.”

Pressed, later on in the deposition, Ruse gave more clarification about what didn’t sit right with him about the ordinance, “Paul Nugent initially brought it to my attention, I don’t know if I was pro tem, at the time, or ex tem, at the time, or whatever. But somehow he pigeonholed me in his office. And he said the purpose of the fire fee was to get money from entities that normally — or that aren’t paying enough.

And one of the things he used to talk about is the Sears, or the big boxes, and stuff like this, people from around town that don’t vote, that use fire services.”

“The other thing is he talked about people who don’t pay property taxes because of homestead exemption, or otherwise. And that was my opposition to the fire fee. I thought based on what Paul was telling me was going on, that it was improper to do that to people that the State of Florida had determined to be financially under the radar, they couldn’t pay, they had homestead exemption under — anything, the constitution or the law, 222, or whatever it is of the Florida statute. You know, I just — that was a problem I had. And probably part in parcel with what Kyle was saying out there. Let’s have enough intestinal

fortitude to look the horse in the mouth, as opposed to go beat around the bush. And that’s what we were doing, in my opinion, in this stuff. So that was my big concern with that,” testified Ruse.

As to why Ruse didn’t voice these concerns at the time during public meetings on the ordinance, he said under oath, “Well, there are two. The paramount, or the overarching thing is I didn’t want to state in public my concerns because I feared: Sub A, some not so bright, if I put the — if we put the dots closer together, a not-so-bright attorney could connect them.

If we spread the dots out a little further they would be harder to connect. Sub B, we were subjecting ourselves at substantial risk for a class-action suit, like this. And if it were successful it could have a potential for bankrupting the City.”

In the end

In June 2020, after six years of litigation, the initial concern was that the fire fee did not qualify as a “user fee,” and thus, an invalid tax was confirmed by the appellate court.

The court found that the fee was mandatory since “the only options to avoid payment were to forgo the city’s water, sewer, and electric services-all unrelated to fire service-or to move outside of the city.

Neither presents a real choice.”

The appellate court remanded the case back to the circuit court and Hodges was newly assigned to the case with direction to handle the issues contemplated in today’s order.

Attempts to settle the case were unsuccessful.

Even after the mandate from the appellate court, for more than a year the attorneys for the city maintained that they were entitled to another trial to present evidence in support of their set-off defense, which would reduce how much they had to refund citizens. The set-off defense argues the city should get a credit to set-off the damages the court awarded if the fund was used for services of value to citizens.

Hodges rejected that argument in his ruling on Oct. 11, 2021.

“I do agree that the 5th DCA’s mandate was the final judgment in this case,” he noted in his ruling. “I think you start from the idea that [the] government can’t raise money from people other than from a constitutional tax. [I]f that tax is unconstitutional, then the government doesn’t have a right to that money and has to return it. That is the law in Florida, and, of course, I am bound to follow the law in Florida.”

“I am also bound to follow the mandate of the 5th DCA. I simply have no choice in the matter,” he added. “The 5th DCA found that the tax was unconstitutional, and essentially, found that the city did not have the right to take that tax in the manner that they did, so they had no right to the money. Thus, it must be returned.”

Q & A WITH DALE BIRCH How long have you lived in Ocala?

Dale: I’ve lived in Ocala my entire life. My mother’s family goes all the way back to before the civil war here in Marion County.

I live in the same house my parents bought when I was five years old.

worthless information was a letter that the city’s own attorney had sent the city questioning the legality of what they were doing. They knew it was wrong, their attorney knew it was wrong, and yet they continued to do it.

What do you think the citizens of Ocala Eight years is a long time to litigate. need to know about what happened in Did you ever want to give up?

Dale: We survived 3 appeals. I know that’s the eight years of litigation?

Attorney Derek Schroth, left, and other members of the plaintiffs team, listen during the $80 million City of Ocala Fire Fee lawsuit hearing at the Marion County Judicial Center in Ocala on May 10. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Dale: Well, it was crazy because when I got started with this and Derek Schroth subpoenaed all the paperwork from those city- they sent us like 75 boxes of stuff that included everything from water reports to you name it, lame stuff. They were just trying to bury us in paperwork. And he [Schroth] had a whole team of people to go through that. And in those boxes of

unheard of. But the answer is- no I didn’t.

Derek worked so hard on this. And I applaud him. He was actually paid less than 10% of the proceeds. Lawyers usually take 30%- but Derek did not.

I’m proud of what we did. I think it was good for all of Ocala.

A9

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

State Judge Lifts Stay on Redistricting Ruling

By Jim Saunders Florida News Service

A

fter issuing a temporary injunction last week against a congressional redistricting plan pushed through the Legislature

by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Leon County circuit judge Monday ordered that the ruling remain in effect while the state pursues an appeal.

The state on Friday appealed Judge Layne Smith’s temporary-injunction ruling to the 1st District Court of Appeal. That triggered an automatic stay, which put the ruling on hold. But Smith held a hearing Monday and sided with voting-rights groups that requested he lift the stay.

With elections supervisors preparing for the Aug. 23 primary elections, Smith pointed to the possibility that an appeal would not be resolved quickly. If the stay were not vacated, that could result in supervisors using the DeSantis-backed map that Smith said violated part of the state Constitution.

“It’s crunch time now, and this involves fundamental constitutional rights,” Smith said Monday.

The state plans to ask the 1st District Court of Appeal to reimpose the stay Tuesday, Mohammad Jazil, an attorney for the secretary of state, said.

Voting-rights groups and other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit April 22 after the Republican-dominated Legislature passed a redistricting plan that would boost the number of GOP representatives in Florida’s congressional delegation.

The plaintiffs also asked for a temporary injunction, focusing on an overhaul of North Florida’s Congressional District 5. That district in recent years has stretched from Jacksonville to west of Tallahassee and was designed to help elect a Black member of Congress. It is held by U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat.

The DeSantis-backed plan condensed the district in the Jacksonville area, reducing the chances of electing a Black representative.

Smith granted the temporary

COVID-19 INPATIENTS TOP 1,800

By Florida News Service

T

he number of Florida hospital inpatients with COVID-19 continues to climb. Data posted Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed 1,846 inpatients had COVID-19, up from 1,560 in a Friday count. Also, the data

showed that 166 patients with COVID-19 were in intensive-care units, up from 131 on Friday.

Florida in recent weeks has seen steady increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, though the numbers remain far lower than early in the year, when the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus swept across the state.

injunction Thursday and ordered the use of a map that would largely keep intact the sprawling east-west shape of the district.

He agreed with the plaintiffs that the plan passed during the special session violated a 2010 state constitutional amendment — known as the Fair Districts amendment — that set standards for redistricting.

Part of that amendment bars diminishing the ability of minority voters to “elect representatives of their choice.”

Monday’s decision to lift the stay could lead to supervisors beginning to use the map that Smith ordered.

John Devaney, an attorney for the plaintiffs, pointed during Monday’s hearing to “compelling circumstances” to lift the stay.

“Irreparable harm will occur if the stay remains in place,” Devaney said.

DeSantis has contended that keeping the sprawling east-west shape of the district would involve racial gerrymandering and violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

In a court document filed last week,

the state’s attorneys wrote that the Equal Protection Clause bars “race-based sorting of voters” without a “compelling interest” and a “narrowly tailored” means to achieve that interest.

It is unclear how long it will take for a decision in the state’s appeal of Smith’s temporary-injunction ruling. Briefs had not been filed as of early Monday evening, according to a 1st District Court of Appeal docket.

Also, the plaintiffs filed a motion Friday requesting that the case be put on a fast track to the Florida Supreme Court. That would essentially lead to bypassing the Tallahassee-based appeals court, a move known as seeking “certification” to the Supreme Court.

The attorneys for voting-rights groups and other plaintiffs wrote that time remains to move forward with a “remedial” redistricting plan before the 2022 elections, but “that window will likely close within a few weeks.” The candidatequalifying period for this year’s elections will be held in mid-June

STATE SEEKS ‘BEAR RESPONSE’ WORKERS

FRIED SAYS FOOD PRICES WON’T INTERRUPT MEAL PROGRAM

By Florida News Service

A

s food costs rise amid broader inflation, state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said Tuesday she does not expect an interruption to summer nutrition programs at schools.

The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services administers the federally funded Summer BreakSpot program, which provides free meals to children 18 and younger at schools and locations such as parks and libraries.

“Once our summer BreakSpots start back up, we are getting the money from the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture). The food programs are going to be in place,” Fried, a Democratic candidate for governor, said during a news conference in Tallahassee.

Fried acknowledged the higherthan-usual cost of food and told

reporters that she is in talks with the federal government about ways to mitigate costs for the agriculture industry. “We are also monitoring some of the underlying issues of what is going into the increased cost of food. So, we are seeing a significant increase in the cost of fertilizer. So, we have been on the calls with USDA, with my counterparts across the country with our ag (agricultural) commodities growers here in the state, figuring out how much longer this is,” Fried said.

Rising gasoline prices also have affected the cost of food production.

The federal and state governments this month relaxed rules related to fuel blends that include a type of ethanol, in an effort to bolster the supply of gasoline. But Fried on Tuesday said her department is “looking at other options” for how to bring down fuel costs.

File photo: Florida black bear

By Florida News Service

T

he Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is seeking people to help with efforts to reduce interactions between humans and bears.

Applicants are expected to have flexible work schedules and vehicles that can tow small trailers because disposing of bear carcasses is among the job requirements.

“Bear response contractors will be trained to assist with various bear conservation efforts, including but not limited to helping residents and businesses avoid conflicts with bears, collecting information from and disposing of dead bears and setting and monitoring bear traps,” the agency said in a news release. People

hired for the efforts would respond to humanbear conflicts in Bay, Escambia, Gulf, Highlands, Lake, Marion, Okaloosa, Orange, Santa Rosa, Seminole, Volusia and Walton counties.

They would be paid based on the activities, rather than hourly, and would be required to have their own general liability insurance.

The state estimates Florida has more than 4,000 black bears. It held a hunt in 2015 that resulted in 304 bears killed over a two-day period. That came after the number of bearrelated calls had increased from 3,340 in 2009 and 4,196 in 2010 to 6,734 in 2013 and 6,688 in 2014.

Over the past five years, the state has averaged 5,719 bear calls a year, with 5,726 calls in 2021.

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A10

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

FEBRUARY TRIAL SCHEDULED IN EDUCATION FIGHT

GAY STUDENT SAYS SCHOOL STOPPING RUN FOR STUDENT LEADERSHIP

Rep. Joe Harding sponsored the controversial Parental Rights in Education bill.

Florida News Service

A

federal judge has scheduled a February trial in a legal battle over a new state law that restricts teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida schools. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor issued an order Friday that would lead to the trial being held during a two-week period that begins Feb. 13.

Before then, plaintiffs challenging the law are expected to pursue a preliminary injunction, while the state likely will seek dismissal of the case.

The law, which passed during this year’s legislative session and has drawn heavy national attention, will take effect July 1. It bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third-grade and

requires that such instruction in older grades be “ageappropriate … in accordance with state academic standards.”

Republican lawmakers titled the measure the “Parental Rights in Education” bill.

But opponents dubbed it the “don’t say gay” bill. Groups such as the LGBTQ-advocacy organization Equality Florida, parents, students and a teacher filed a federal lawsuit March 31 challenging the measure.

The 80-page complaint alleged that the law violates constitutional free-speech and equal-protection rights.

Also, it contended that the law violates due-process rights because of “vagueness.”

The plaintiffs are expected to file a revised complaint by May 25, according to court documents.

DESANTIS FUNNELS MONEY TO OKALOOSA WORK

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the Parental Rights in Education bill at Classical Preparatory school, March 28, 2022 in Shady Hills. Hundreds of students at a central Florida high school were told they won’t get their yearbooks until they’re censored. The principal at Lyman High School says one page is out of compliance with school board policy. It shows images of students holding rainbow flags and a “love is love” sign during a protest of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, otherwise known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. [Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP]

By The Associated Press

A

17-year-old gay student who was suspended for leading protests at his high school against Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay legislation says school administrators are now stopping him from running for senior class president.

Because of the disciplinary infractions he received for leading the protests at Flagler Palm Coast High School in March, school administrators are preventing him for running for the elected student body office, Jack Petocz said in a letter posted on Twitter on Tuesday. The school is located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Daytona Beach.

“I am continuing to be punished for standing up for my identity and against widespread hatred,” Petocz wrote. “We shouldn’t be subject to abuse both in Tallahassee and at-home.”

In an email, school district spokesman Jason Wheeler said Flagler Schools was not permitted to speak about individual students’ disciplinary records. Requirements for individual on-campus clubs or organizations are set by the schools or clubs themselves, he said.

“The district has no say in setting those requirements or in how those requirements are

enforced,” Wheeler said.

Petocz is being honored next week with an award at the 2022 PEN America Literary Gala for organizing students to protest the Florida legislation and fighting book bans. PEN America is a New York-based nonprofit that advocates for free speech and is made up of novelists, journalists and other writers.

“Jack Petocz is leading his generation in fighting back against book bans and legislative efforts to police how individual identities can be discussed in schools,” PEN America said in a news release announcing that the Florida student would be receiving an award.

The Florida legislation, signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in March, bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

More than 500 Flagler Palm Coast High School students walked out in protest of the legislation in early March, as well as thousands of other students around Florida. Petocz says he defied school officials’ orders not to distribute 300 rainbow pride flags he had purchased for the protest. He was suspended for four days afterward, he said.

By Florida News Service

G

ov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday dipped into the state’s “Job Growth Grant Fund” to provide $3.2 million to Okaloosa County for infrastructure improvements.

The money will go toward road, rail, water, sewer and broadband infrastructure at the Shoal River Ranch, a 10,500-acre site straddling Interstate 10 that has about 2,043 acres ready for industrial development. DeSantis said the work is expected to create opportunities for up to 11,000 new jobs in Okaloosa County.

“We believe that this will include 4,000 new jobs in manufacturing, with an economic impact of almost $50 million by next decade,” DeSantis said.

“Right now, there are 2,900 manufacturing jobs in all of Okaloosa County. And so, this project will more than double manufacturing jobs in this area. So, this is big.”

DeSantis has discretion about how to use money from the Job Growth Grant Fund for infrastructure and workforce-training projects. The fund was created in 2017 after a battle between lawmakers and then-Gov. Rick Scott about business incentives. It received $50 million in the current fiscal year.

OFFICIALS: 3 FLORIDA PANTHERS STRUCK AND KILLED BY VEHICLES

By The Associated Press

T

hree endangered Florida panthers have died after being struck by vehicles over the past week.

They’re the 12th, 13th and 14th panther deaths attributed to fatal collisions, out of 14 total deaths this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The remains of a 2-year-old male panther were found Monday on a rural road near Alva in Lee County, wildlife officials said. The

Deerwood

Paddock

remains of a 10-month-old female panther were found Saturday on a divided highway near the Southwest Florida International Airport in Lee County. The remains of a 2-year-old female panther were found last Tuesday near Fish Eating Creek Wildlife Management Area in Glades County.

Florida panthers once roamed the entire Southeast, but now their habitat mostly is confined to a small region of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. Up to 230 Florida panthers remain in the wild.

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DeSantis criticizes Biden over Cuba changes

Gov. Ron DeSantis

By Jim Turner Florida News Service

G

ov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday criticized the Biden administration for reversing some restrictions on Cuba, saying the move hinders efforts by Cubans struggling for freedom.

During an appearance at the University of Miami Health System’s Don Soffer Clinical Research Center, DeSantis said the changes will “increase the amount of money that’s going to the dictatorship.”

“I think people, particularly down in South Florida, understand, the minute you’re sending more of this to the island, that’s going right into the pocket of the Cuban dictatorship, that

is not going to help the people of Cuba realize freedom,” DeSantis said.

Changing restrictions imposed by former President Donald Trump, the Biden administration on Monday made a series of changes. That included approving flights to Cuban airports besides Havana; restarting a family reunification program; expanding a cap on family remittances, which had been set at $1,000 per quarter, and allowing them to go to non-family members; and taking steps to help Cuban entrepreneurs.

With Cuban politics and the communist regime always a key issue in South Florida politics, the Biden administration decisions don’t fully return to the U.S.-Cuba engagement efforts

pushed by former President Barack Obama.

The Biden changes also don’t remove entities from a Cuba Restricted List by the U.S. State Department. That list bars Cuban government- and military-aligned companies from doing business with U.S. firms and citizens.

“With these actions, we aim to support Cubans’ aspirations for freedom and for greater economic opportunities so that they can lead successful lives at home,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a prepared statement.

“We continue to call on the Cuban government to immediately release political prisoners, to respect the Cuban people’s fundamental freedoms and to allow the Cuban people to determine their own futures,” Price added.

Price said in a news release authorization for U.S. travelers would be to “engage with the Cuban people, attend meetings and conduct research.”

After Obama tried to increase engagement, Trump slashed the visa process, cut remittances and reimposed hurdles on trips to the island nation for people without family connections.

In a Twitter post, DeSantis pointed to any increase in travel to Cuba lining the pockets of Cuban leaders rather than the Cuban people.

“Biden’s plan to prop up the Cuban dictatorship represents yet another failure when it comes to standing for freedom in our

hemisphere,” DeSantis tweeted Tuesday morning. “Money from ‘tourism’ will go into the pockets of the Cuban regime --- and will help fortify the government against those seeking freedom in Cuba.”

This isn’t the first time DeSantis and Biden have differed on the approach to Cuba, which has been a thorn to U.S. administrations for more than six decades, as well as other Latin American countries such as Venezuela.

Last summer, DeSantis told young members of Cuba’s military to “live in the history books” by overthrowing communist leaders. He also pushed Biden to bring wi-fi access to people protesting on the island amid a deepening economic crisis.

The State Department statement said part of the new policy is an encouragement of the “growth of Cuba’s private sector by supporting greater access to U.S. Internet services, applications, and e-commerce platforms.”

“We will support new avenues for electronic payments and for U.S. business activities with independent Cuban entrepreneurs, including through increased access to microfinance and training,” Price said in the statement.

But the comments by DeSantis, who is widely mentioned as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, reflected the positions of other Republicans.

A group including U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott issued a statement saying, “the White House is resurrecting President Obama’s failed policy of unilateral concessions to the Castro/Díaz-Canel criminal dictatorship.”

The Florida GOP lawmakers’ statement added that the policy change “undercuts America’s support for Cuba’s democratic opposition.”

Democrats, while more supportive, didn’t all go along with the change.

Congresswoman Val Demings, an Orlando Democrat running for U.S. Senate, issued a statement that said the U.S. “must maintain a strong economic embargo and make Cuba’s Communist regime pay for its human rights abuses.”

“I am encouraged by policies that will reunite families and raise the cap on family remittances, but allowing investments in the Cuban private sector and easing travel restrictions will only serve to fund the corrupt dictatorship,” Demings said.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat running for governor, said both sides need to work on solutions, as the “U.S. government cannot be in the business of separating families,” but at the same time “there are political prisoners that are sitting in Cuban prisons as we speak.

We’ve got to be focusing on how to get them out.”

House Democrats could tap Driskell as leader

Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, could become House Democratic leader in November. [Florida House]

By Ryan Dailey Florida News Service

F

lorida House Democrats are poised to select a new incoming leader on Tuesday, after a wouldbe leader dropped his re-election bid amid a controversy involving

sexual harassment allegations.

House Democrats will meet to make their selection when lawmakers are at the Capitol for a special legislative session on property insurance.

As of Wednesday, Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, was the only candidate for the

Join the

leadership post, according to a spokesman for the House Democrats. Under Democratic caucus rules, potential candidates must submit letters of intent to the House clerk.

“No one else has sent that message in, so we have seen no other people file,” House Minority Office spokesman Jackson Peel said.

Driskell, an attorney who was first elected to the House in 2018, was slated to become leader of the Democratic caucus after the 2024 elections. But that timeframe could move up because of the announcement last week by Rep. Ramon Alexander, D-Tallahassee, that he would not seek re-election to his House seat in November.

Alexander had been slated to succeed outgoing Leader Evan Jenne, a Dania Beach Democrat who faces term limits, after the November elections.

But Alexander will leave the Legislature after a report by the

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in House District 67 because of boundary changes that resulted from the once-a-decade reapportionment process.

Driskell announced Tuesday that she qualified by petition to run in District 67.

Driskell is the third House Democrat, after Alexander and Rep. Ben Diamond, D-St. Petersburg, to be considered as a successor to Jenne.

Diamond initially was in line to become leader in November before pivoting to run for Congress instead of seeking another term in the state House.

Diamond last week suspended his campaign for a Tampa Bay-area congressional seat.

Alexander’s district includes Gadsden County and part of Leon County. After his announcement, five Democratic candidates have jumped into the District 8 race: Hubert Ross Brown, Trish Brown, Gallop Franklin, Delaitre Hollinger, and Marie Rattigan.

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Tallahassee Democrat newspaper detailed accusations against him by a former employee of Florida A&M University.

The complaints, filed with the Florida Commission on Human Relations by Michael Johnson, Jr., included allegations that Alexander groped him and sent sexually explicit text messages.

Alexander contended that the relationship with Johnson was consensual, which Johnson denied.

If Driskell is chosen to succeed Jenne for a two-year term, she would become the first Black woman to hold the position.

She also will lead a Democratic caucus that is badly outnumbered

by Republicans, who have chosen Rep. Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, to become House speaker this fall.

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MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

People, Places & Things Artist profile: Tasha Strigle

Tasha Strigle [Supplied]

This mixed media piece, Follow The Sign, was specifically inspired by The Orange Shop in Citra Florida. In my mind roadside orange shops have always been a quintessential piece of Florida history and travel. As the numbers of these shops dwindle, their nostalgic value increases. I pass this shop regularly when traveling or visiting my friend who lives in Citra. This landmark is etched in my mind as a local icon, especially the sign. Using re-purposed materials and acrylic media, I recreated my interpretation of the sign from a photo I took in passing. (below)

Follow The Sign Mixed Media 42” x 25” x 2”

Ocala art teacher Tasha Strigle instructs by example, continuing the learning process required to evolve as an artist.

By Julie Garisto Correspondent

R

ecognizing art in everyday minutiae is one of Tasha Strigle’s superpowers. Whether she’s gathering middle school students to create a masterpiece with milk caps or capturing an icon in the cherished pantheon of Florida roadside attractions, Strigle seeks out subjects and materials that tether us to one another either sentimentally, psychologically or culturally; things we’d otherwise take for granted.

For the “Landmarks” show currently up at the Marion Cultural Alliance’s Brick City Center for the Arts, Strigle re-created a mixed-media tribute to a beloved shop on U.S. 301 in Citra, The Orange Shop.

“I was gonna do like a space theme based on the (Kennedy) Space Center but had driven up to my friend’s house in Citra. She was really close to that orange shop, and I have always loved their sign and just the whole roadside orange shopFlorida tradition,” she said.

The Kennedy Space Center, coincidentally, is not too far from Strigle’s world, either. It’s where her father worked, and she lived on the Space Coast from age 10 until she attended college in Pennsylvania.

Don’t ask her about dates, though.

Time tends to be a little more abstract for Strigle.

She had to pause a moment when asked

her age. “Oh, man, we were just talking them more and kind of watch them about this the other day,” she said with a develop,” she said of her students. laugh. “I always forget. I think I am 42.”

Also, the schedule and fewer When asked when she and her husband, challenges presented by high school-age Joshton Strigle, moved back to the Ocala artists (as opposed to pre-teens in middle area: “Around, maybe 2007-ish, 2008.” school) has freed up Strigle’s time to Strigle always created art. As a child, create her own art. she was really into animals.

“We always do FAFO (Fine Arts For “The second thing I might have Ocala) and then I have two students doing become would’ve the emerging artist probably been a exhibit coming up,” veterinarian, but I Strigle shared. “I became a teacher think I had like three instead,’’ she said. “I students send stuff would draw my pets to the Congressional and animal cartoon Art Competition and characters. In middle I have a student who school, I drew a lot has a piece going into of Looney Tunes and a surrealism show all the Disney movie at the Dali Museum. characters.”

Plus, I have another Tasha Strigle She studied art at student showing in the Messiah University CF (College of Central in Pennsylvania, Florida) senior show.” with concentrations in photography and When she was teaching North Marion textiles. After college, she started teaching Middle School around eight years ago, her art at a public elementary school and students worked with Michelle Stitzlein, has continued to teach at various levels, an artist known for creating stunning including summer art camps at The mixed media art with recycled materials, Appleton Museum of Art. Currently, she on landscape created from milk caps. The teaches 2D studio art at Vanguard High work, “Uncapped Beauty” is still hanging School. in The Appleton Museum of Art. Teaching, like art, brings Strigle “It was the coolest experience,” Strigle gratification despite its many challenges. said. “We got to meet this artist whose “I like that they can have my class multiple work I had seen and I was like, ‘Wow, I years in a row so I can really get to know love her work!’ You think, ‘Oh, you’ll never

“It was the coolest experience. We got to meet this artist whose work I had seen...”

get to meet the artist. They live far away or whatever. ‘And then the Appleton team called and asked, ‘Hey, do you wanna do this bottle cap thing with this lady?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, OK, sure. That sounds great.’

‘Cause I would do recycle work with the kids and myself because a lot of my work involves cardboard and recycled things. I opened the artist’s webpage, and it turned out to be the artist who I really liked.”

When she’s not teaching, textile has been her favorite material to work with lately, but she also works in photography and other media.

“When the pandemic hit, I just started making art more often for myself,” Strigle explained. “It’s like really become more of a thing for me because before it was all more work-related or I would do visual journaling, not a lot of big art projects. So when I had a lot more time to just do it, I found it to be a kind of stress relief.”

“I started going to art walks and things and meeting some of the artists,” she said.

Her first show was the Monochromatic March exhibit last year at the Brick. She’s also created work with her mother. “I think I have always been the one wanting to make stuff and she does it with me,” Strigle said.

And per her artist statement for “Landmarks”: “I also prefer to incorporate materials that would usually be discarded,’’ she said. “Resourcefulness has been part of my creative process since I was a child.”

Swimmer Katarina Antonov “I am very excited. This is a cool opportunity. I love to meet new people and see other countries.”

Katarina Antonov

By Eadie Sickler Correspondent

O

cala seems to have no shortage of athletes in our midst, and 18-yearold swimmer Katarina Antonov’s accomplishments in the swimming arena reinforces that fact.

This week, Katarina, accompanied by her mother, is in Normandy, France, representing the United States in swimming competitions for the American Athletic Union (AAU) in France through the International School Sport Federation (ISF), in the 19th Gymnasiade-School

Summer Games.

It is expected there will be 3,500 students from 70 countries at the event competing in 17 different sports and three para-sports.

The American team is made up of 16 boys and girls from across the country.

Katarina said she will be competing in seven swimming events scheduled over a three-day period: the 100 free style, 400 free style, 200 breast stroke, 400 free style relay medley, 200 free relay, 400 medley relay and 50 butterfly. She will be in France for 10 days, until the end of the games.

“I am very excited. This

is a cool opportunity,” Katarina said. “I love to meet new people and see other countries.”

She and her mother plan to do some sightseeing, visiting Paris and Normandy Beach while in France.

The now 18-year-old has been swimming since she was two years old, she related, and on a swim team by the time she was four. She swam with the Central Florida Marlins at the YMCA (YCF) for 10 years. This group was disbanded due to the COVID epidemic. She then joined the Tekmasters Swim Club See Vanguard, page B2

Katarina Antonov [Supplied]

B2

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Vanguard swimmer competes in France Continued from page B1 (TMSC) and is representing this group, too, in France.

Usually, Katarina trains six days a week.

Her local coach is Tarn Thompson. The club practices year-round at the Jervey Gantt Aquatic Center in Ocala.

Among her credits, she posted several top eight finishes while competing in a Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) state championship swim meet in Houston, TX, last summer. She

competed for Vanguard High School, finishing her season with a medal in the 200 free style.

The AAU is a multi-sport organization in the United States, dedicated to promoting development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. More than 700,000 members are enrolled nationwide.

FHSAA’s purpose is to organize sports competitions for high schools in Florida.

For her accomplishments in the pool and in the classroom, Katarina was selected to represent the United States

in China for the AAU. However, due to present geopolitical circumstances with China, that trip was cancelled.

The senior high school student qualified for the AAU Junior Olympic meet in Greensboro, NC, too, at the end of July, but has declined the opportunity because her family may be traveling to Europe, this time to Moldova, which is next to Ukraine, to visit family there. It has been about four years since they have seen the family there, she said.

Katarina is scheduled to graduate June

3 with honors from Vanguard. She has completed dual enrollment courses at the College of Central Florida while attending Vanguard. Several colleges and universities across the country have shown interest in her as both a swimmer and a student.

Katarina has ultimately decided, though, to pursue a nursing career and has been accepted for enrollment at the University of South Florida in Tampa. That school does not have a swimming program.

Website for the Tekmasters Swim Club (TMSC) is www.TMSC352.com.

All that Jazz!

West Port High’s jazz bands have consistently ranked superior in state competitions under the direction of Rodney “Scotty’’ Vance.

Rodney “Scotty” Vance conducts his students in the West Port Band in the band room during a class at West Port High School in Ocala on May 17.

[Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

By Julie Garisto Correspondent

R

odney “Scotty” Vance, band director at West Port High School, has helped jazz up the prestige of his school’s music department.

A trumpet player himself, he has molded young musicians into some of the best in Marion County and the state of Florida, teaching them tonal structures, modes and harmonic progressions. But, if it weren’t for a twist of fate, Vance may have never taught at West Port.

After he graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in music education, Vance and his wife, Holly, moved to Ocala. Holly had graduated the same year and wanted to move to Gainesville to teach veterinary medicine, but Vance got his first teaching job in Wildwood. Ocala was the ideal in-between spot.

His second job scored him a coveted position in one of only four university research

developmental schools in the state. He almost didn’t leave.

“My wife saw in the paper in early 2000 that they were building a new school right next to where we lived,” Vance recalled. “We lived around five miles away, and she said, ‘You should interview there.’ I was, like, ‘Well, I love teaching at P.K. Yonge.’” (P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School is affiliated with the University of Florida in Gainesville).

After much thought, the father of three decided to interview at West Port, and he’s been there ever since.

Now, in his 29th year of teaching, Vance leads the Symphonic Band, two jazz bands, the visual ensemble (aka color guard) and the school’s marching band.

He sees retirement on the horizon, but his Marion County Public Schools bio says he’s “graduating in 2027.” Just what does he mean by graduating?

“I’m just retiring then, really, but I call it graduating,” Vance responded matter-of-factly but with a hint of a laugh.

“I’ve told every principal who’s been here that I want

an honorary West Port High School diploma when I graduate from teaching,” he added with sly humor. “I think I will be the longest and the oldest teacher here. I started when the school opened in 2000.”

Under Vance’s direction, West Port jazz bands have consistently rated Superior in state competitions every year since the school opened.

The West Port High School Jazz Combo recently performed a spring concert and scored a spot in the Levitt AMP Ocala Music Series to much acclaim. They will perform at the school’s graduation concert on Saturday, May 21, at the World Equestrian Center.

Vance’s recipe for success?

It’s simple: “Listen to great jazz bands, and then have your kids play great music.”

Well, in practice, there’s much more involved.

“I’m a part of the Florida Bandmasters Association, and I think it’s just vitally important that we put our students in front of professional adjudicators,” the bandleader explained.

Vance said the judges give extensive feedback and, because they’re also band directors themselves and score exceptionally good ratings for their schools, they know what they’re talking about.

“When the adjudicators give feedback, we follow up by listening to the pieces referenced in class,’’ Vance said. “We play the music on a big surround sound system and then the students have to write notes.

We take those notes and we use those to make our band better. It’s a constant cycle of improvement with feedback.”

When the Cocoa, Florida,

“I think I will be the longest and the oldest teacher here. I started when the school opened in 2000.”

Rodney “Scotty’’ Vance

The West Port Jazz Band performs during the kickoff of the Levitt AMP Concert Series on Webb Field at the Martin Luther King Recreation Complex in Ocala on April 22. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

native receives freshmen and new students, he indoctrinates them into the canon of jazz greats, immersing them in a range of styles, from big band to bebop. He lists some of his all-time favorite musicians as Count Basie, Woody Herman and Buddy Rich.

“I asked my high school band director for role models,” Vance reminisced. “He had mentioned those that I talked about, but the last one he mentioned was Maynard Ferguson. So, being young, I looked up Maynard Ferguson at the record store, and I put in this cassette tape. The first song, “Primal Scream,” just blew me away. I was really inspired.”

Vance shares musical insights after school hours with his students via social media.

He admits that his humor leans toward the sarcastic side with his students, and with characteristically deadpan humor, he explained his nickname.

“My official name is Rodney Scott Vance, but my mom wanted to call me Scotty,” he explained. “So, all my friends call me Scotty. So, if someone calls me on the phone and says, ‘Is Rodney Vance there?’ I’m like, ‘Nope.’”

The band director also emphasized that public school bands across Marion County exhibit excellence thanks to the cooperation and support the educators share with one another. It’s a camaraderie unlike anywhere he’s visited, Vance said.

“I love teaching here in Marion County,” Vance effused.

“I think we just have a wonderful relationship. We band directors do a lot of in-service (training) together, and we’re always supporting each other and motivating each other to try to get to the next level. We have such a nice relationship … camaraderie and support. We do an all-county band together and students from every single high school get together. And there’s also the middle school version of that too. I feel so blessed to be in a county where we all cherish the music together.”

B3

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Marion Audubon Society’s native plant giveaway: a valuable gift that keeps on giving

By Marion Audubon Society

N

ative plants are a valuable resource; particularly with the increasing use of pesticides and non-native plant species that are often hybridized, and often invasive.

The biggest benefit from a native plant environment is the presence of multiple species of bugs. A common reaction is “Oh no! Not bugs!” but that is because you and I don’t depend on bugs for our survival.

Actually, we do, but we fail to realize it.

Doug Tallamy, PHD, Professor of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology tells us that “if there are no bugs, there are no birds. If there are no birds, this is no us.”

The non-native species do not provide what birds need to thrive and survive in an environment of diminishing habitat and a changing climate.

National Audubon Society, Audubon Florida, and local Audubon chapters nationwide, are dedicated to providing the birds with the plants and the bugs they need to survive. Thanks to a generous grant from National Audubon Society,

Marion Audubon Society’s Native Plant Giveaway took place on May 14th at the Ocala Wetland Recharge Park. Eighteen members met the requirements. These included watching Dr. Tallamy’s YouTube video “Restoring the Little Things That Run the World” and submitting a description of how the plants would be used on their property. Each member then received four different native plant species and instructions on the planting, care, maintenance and propagation of each plant.

The photo, taken by J-P Leemans, at the Wetland Park during the event, perfectly illustrates how providing native plants for birds works. Surrounded by the native plants that thrive at the Park, this Eastern Bluebird has found what it needs to feed itself and its young.

For more information on adding native plants to your landscape, visit www. audubon.org/native-plants. To join Marion Audubon Society and participate in our birding events, please see our website: www.marionaudubon.org.

Taken at the Ocala Wetland Recharge Park during the Marion Audubon Society native plant giveaway. [Jean-Pierre Leemans (J-P)]

20 years since Navy ship sunk for artificial reef in Keys

In this Sunday, May 15, 2022, photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, divers swim near the bow of the retired Naval Landing Ship Dock Spiegel Grove, sunk 20 years earlier, six miles off Key Largo, Fla., to become an artificial reef. The vessel’s storied past is to be celebrated May 17, 2022, the 20th anniversary of the sinking, with an event at a local cultural center that features key individuals reminiscing about the project. [Frazier Nivens/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP]

By The Associated Press The 20th anniversary of the storied intentional sinking of a former Naval ship to become an artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is being celebrated Tuesday in Key Largo.

The 510-foot-long (155-meter-long) Spiegel Grove earned international notoriety when it sank prematurely May 17, 2002, and landed with its upside-down bow protruding above the ocean’s surface about 6 miles (10 kilometers) off Key Largo. A massive remediation effort began, resulting in the former Landing Ship Dock being fully sunk on its starboard side June 10, 2002.

Three years later, strong currents and waves generated from Hurricane Dennis when it was east of Cuba pushed the ship into the intended upright position on the ocean bottom about 130 feet (40 meters) below the surface.

“Ultimately, the Spiegel Grove is a story that Hollywood would never have been able to script in a million years,” said Rob Bleser, a Key Largo dive operator and the vessel’s sinking project manager.

Bleser and other key individuals are gathering Tuesday evening at a local cultural center for a reception and panel discussion on the fascinating events surrounding the ship.

On Sunday, divers affixed a commemorative plaque to the Spiegel Grove, sponsored by a group of Navy veterans

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who had served on it, that recognized the multimilliondollar project’s supporters as, well as military personnel who were stationed on the ship commissioned in 1956.

South Carolina resident Karen Berrios trained specifically as an advanced diver to experience the former military vessel on which both her late father, William Py, and uncle, Joseph Py, served during the 1980s Cold War era. She helped install the plaque that bears her family members’ names.

“So, when I went down, I was just trying to imagine myself kinda in my dad’s footsteps looking around,” Berrios said. “Did he step here at one point of time, just like I am right today?”

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B4

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

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MAY 20

Sudoku is played on a grid of 9 x 9 spaces. Within the rows and columns are 9 “squares” (made up of 3 x 3 spaces). Each row, column and square (9 spaces each) needs to be filled out with the numbers 1-9, without repeating any numbers within the same row, column or square.

MAY 26

Prime Time

The Town Square at Circle Square Commons 8405 SW 80th St., Ocala 7-10pm Free and open to the public. Visit circlesquarecommons. com for details.

MAY 20

TJ Brown

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm Dinner, drinks and entertainment. For details, visit worldequestriancenter.com

MAY 26

Humans in Disguise

Centerlane

Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm Live music. Also, karaoke Wed.-Sat.

Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 6pm Live music. Also, karaoke Wed.-Sat.

MAY 20

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm Dinner, drinks and entertainment. For details, visit worldequestriancenter.com

Retro Express

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm Dinner, drinks and entertainment. For details, visit worldequestriancenter.com

The Town Square at Circle Square Commons 8405 SW 80th St., Ocala 7-10pm Free and open to the public. Visit circlesquarecommons. com for details.

MAY 21

REL

Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm Live music. Also, karaoke Wed.-Sat.

Trip to the country Solution: 22 Letters

MAY 27

Greg Warren Band

The Town Square at Circle Square Commons 8405 SW 80th St., Ocala 7-10pm Free and open to the public. Visit circlesquarecommons. com for details.

© 2022 Australian Word Games Dist. by Creators Syndicate Inc.

MAY 21

Moccasin Slough

This is a theme puzzle with the subject stated below. Find the listed words in the grid. (They may run in an always in a straight line. Some letters are used more than once.) Ring each word as you find it and when pleted the puzzle, there will be 22 letters left over. They spell out the alternative theme of the puzzle.

MAY 27

Justin Lee Partin

WORD FIND

MAY 27

Sidepiece

MAY 21

Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm Live music. Also, karaoke Wed.-Sat.

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm Dinner, drinks and entertainment. For details, visit worldequestriancenter.com

MAY 28

MAY 22

Doug Adams

Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 2pm Live music. Also, karaoke Wed.-Sat.

Grass Campers

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm Dinner, drinks and entertainment. For details, visit worldequestriancenter.com

MAY 28

Billy Buchanan & His Rock n’ Soul Revue

MAY 25

Houston Keen

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm Dinner, drinks and entertainment. For details, visit worldequestriancenter.com

The Town Square at Circle Square Commons 8405 SW 80th St., Ocala 7-10pm Free and open to the public. Visit circlesquarecommons. com for details.

MAY 28

West 27

Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm Live music. Also, karaoke Wed.-Sat.

MAY 29

Doug Adams

Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 2pm Live music. Also, karaoke Wed.-Sat.

The Yellow Pony

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ANSWERS TO PUZZLES ON PAGE B7

Date: 5/20/

B5

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

LOCAL CALENDAR LISTINGS

community MAY 20 & 27

Marion County Friday Market

McPherson Government Campus Field, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala 9am-2pm Shop locally fresh fruits and veggies, baked goods, jerky, freeze-dried treats, olive oils, seafood and more; recurs every Friday.

MAY 20-21

MAY 21

Evergreen Cemetery Volunteer Clean-up

300 NW Eighth St., Ocala 8am The city of Ocala welcomes volunteers to help with the upkeep and cleanup of this historic cemetery.

Help city staff with raking, weeding and cleaning headstones. For more info, contact Tom Casey with the Public Works Department at (352) 351-6723.

MAY 21 & 28

Sunflower Festival

Coon Hollo Farm, 22480 N Highway 441, just north of McIntosh 9am-2pm The last weekend for Coon Hollo’s Sunflower Festival. Take a hayride to feed the cows, browse through Nana’s Country Store for goodies and farm fresh delights. Vendor booths, farm animals and, of course, lots and lots of sunflowers, those cheery faces of the plant world. This farm is a fifthgeneration endeavor and offers tons of photos opportunities and a chance to see how a real family farm works and plays. Visit coonhollo.com.

MAY 20-22

Florida Cutting Horse Association Show

Florida Horse Park, 11008 South Highway 475, Ocala All day See some of Florida’s top cutting horses put their hooves down and run cattle. Held under the covered arena at the Florida Horse Park, check out the vendors, food trucks and enjoy a great day outdoors.

For more info, floridacuttinghorseassociation.com or flhorsepark.com

MAY 20

Leaf Series: Mindful Music

Sholom Park, 7110 SW 80th Ave., Ocala 10:30am Mellow out with this unique experience in the peaceful setting of Sholom Park. Kellyan Binkowski is a musician, Reiki practitioner, mediation and mindfulness teacher. She uses the power of music, sound and vibration with flutes, chakra toning and mantras. Advance registration required, $5, at sholompark.org

Yoga in the Park

Sholom Park: 7110 SW 80th Ave., Ocala 9am Snake into your cobra pose and get your downward dog going. Stretch out by the Sholom Park stage; recurs every Saturday morning. Visit sholompark.org for details.

MAY 21 & 28

Ocala Downtown Market

310 SE Third St., Ocala 9am-2pm A variety of vendors offer local fruits and vegetables, meats and seafood, fresh pasta, honey and arts and crafts. Check out some local food trucks and the occasional guest entertainer.

Rain or shine; recurs every Saturday. Visit ocaladowntownmarket.com for more information.

MAY 21 & 28

Farmers Swap Meet

Rural King, 2999 NW 10th St., Ocala 9am-2pm A true farmers swap meet where chickens, goats, turkeys, rabbits and sometimes even ponies are available along with horse tack, home-grown plants, produce and hand-crafted items. Booth types vary with occasional meat vendors, food trucks and other goods. Saturdays, weather permitting.

MAY 21

Festival Latino

Ocala Citizens’ Circle, 151 SE Osceola Ave., Ocala 2-9pm This multi-cultural family event is a free festival that celebrates Latin culture, food, music and more.

Entertainers, crafts, vendors and live music. For more info, check out Eventbrite.com/e/festivallatino-downtown-ocala-tickets-238777539047

government MAY 23

Marion County Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting, First Hearing McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala 5:30pm

arts MAY 20

Levitt AMP Ocala Music Series

Webb Field at Martin Luther King Recreation Complex, 1510 NW 4th St, Ocala 7-9pm Free music concerts sponsored by the City of Ocala and the Marion Cultural Alliance. A variety of music genres will get your toes tapping, your feet dancing and your heart pumping along with the rhythm.

May 20 is The Drifters Greatest Hits Show. For more info, ocalafl.org or facebook.com/levittampocala

MAY 21

5th Annual Windy Tang Charity Tournament

Boulevard Billiards, 3741 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 10am- signups start This annual charity event will help benefit a local family whose daughter was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. There is a 64 player max.

Calcutta betting on the winners starts at 11am, then the 9-Ball Double Elimination tournaments begins. Raffles and food available; $50 tournament entry fee, spectators welcome. See facebook.com/ boulevardbilliardsocala for more info.

MAY 21

MAY 25-28

Paso Fino Extravaganza International

World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 8am-8pm Paso Finos are elegant, high-stepping horses with a unique gait that entertains all. Classes include youth, trail, costume and even trot/gallop classes.

Free and open to the public. WEC also offers fast casual dining options and retail shops. See worldequestriancenter.com or pasofinoocala.com for more info.

MAY 26

Rocking the Square

Downtown Square, 1 SE Broadway St., Ocala 5pm A different kind of rock group rocks the square by placing custom painted rocks all around the area and letting people find and enjoy their unique work. Ocala Rock Art lets people see and feel their rock art, with the added fun of finding these treasures in store windows, in trees and bushes, on benches and more. All ages welcome. To learn more, find the group on Facebook.

MAY 24

Master Gardener Presentation: Let’s Talk Bugs Grumbles House Antiques & Garden Shop, 20799 Walnut St., Dunnellon 10:30am-12pm Master Gardener and garden expert Linda Johnson talks about bugs. Learn to recognize the good from the bad and how to make your garden and environment friendly to the right critters to benefit your plants. Free. For more info, dunnellonfloridaantiques.com

MAY 25

UF Veterinary Hospital at WEC Grand Opening

World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1156 NW 81st Terrace Road, Ocala 10am The ribbon cutting for the new 40,000-squarefoot animal hospital takes place. The latest and greatest for horses, dogs and cats, UF invites you to walk through this state-of-the-science facility. See worldequestriancenter.com for more info.

Farmers Market

The Town Square at Circle Square Commons, 8405 SW 80th St., Ocala 9am-1pm Large selection of fresh seasonal produce from local growers as well as baked goods, plants, handmade soaps and more; recurs every Thursday.

Visit circlesquarecommons.com for more info.

MAY 28

Replant day at West Ocala Wellness Community Garden

2200 W Highway 40 8:30am Planting season is on! Now is the time to freshen up vegetable beds, do some weeding, solarize garden beds and prep your plot for cool season plants to come. This is the perfect time of year to plant seeds, herbs and more. To rent a plot for only $10 per year, visit ocalafl.org/garden

THROUGH JUNE 18

Horsin’ Around at the Discovery Center

701 NE Sanchez Ave., Ocala Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm The Discovery Center, Ocala’s hands-on children’s museum, hands it over to the horsey set with an opportunity to explore the world of horses. Kids can figure how tall they are in horse hands, visit with an equine vet, see a day in the life of a jockey and try out a hobby horse dressage and jump course.

Admission fee of $8 includes the regular exhibits and interactive hallway. Visit mydiscovery.org.

MAY 25

City of Belleview Site Plan Committee Meeting 5343 SE Abshier Blvd., Belleview 9am

MAY 22

Opera Tampa

Circle Square Cultural Center, 8395 SW 80th St., Ocala 1pm The resident company at the Straz Center for Performing Arts in Tampa, this group of talented singers will perform a selection of arias from many of your favorite operas along with popular Broadway songs. Free tickets are available at the Circle Square Cultural Center box office or you can purchase tickets from csculturalcenter.com or visit: StrazCenter.org/OperaTampa/About-Opera-Tampa

THROUGH MAY 26

Horsemanship by Walter Israel

City of Ocala Recreation and Parks Administration, 828 NE Eighth Ave., Ocala Mon-Fri 8am-5pm Longtime horseman and artist Walter Israel exhibits his charcoal portraits of horses and their people. He uses light and dark to complement and express his passion for animals. Free to the public.

More info at ocalafl.org

MAY 24

MAY 21

Zechariah: The Lord Remembers Ballet Performance

Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE 9th St., Ocala 2pm; 7pm The Dance Divine School of Ballet presents the student recital, Zechariah: The Lord Remembers. The annual performance showcases the school’s Christian-based purpose. Admission is free and seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more info, dancedivinieocala.com

Student and Emerging Artist Competition Gallery Reception City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave., Ocala 5:30-7pm The City of Ocala is offering a reception for the “Spectrum of Creativity” Emerging Artist Competition, and the gallery will display the artists’ works for perusal. Live music provided by percussionist Sean Thomas.

An awards ceremony follows at 6pm. Prizes include scholarships to the College of Central Florida, an Artist Affiliate membership to the Magnolia Art Xchange and memberships to the Appleton Museum of Art. Refreshments provided. For more info, ocalafl.org

THROUGH JULY 31

A Strange and Picturesque Country: Etchings by Earl H. Reed

Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala Tue-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm Prints from the permanent collection by Earl Howell Reed. Although a largely self-taught artist, Reed’s work can be viewed in the collections of the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. Visit appletonmuseum.org for details.

VISIT OUR EVENTS CALENDAR ONLINE OCALAGAZETTE.COM/EVENTS

B6

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Creative Fundraising

The Arnette House, Inc., is doing a Red, White & $10,000 Cash Giveaway.

If you give away $10,000, what will the other $20,000 be used for?

By Susan Smiley-Height susan@magnoliamediaco.com

T

here’s more than one way to raise money to support programming that helps youth and families in the community.

Arnette House, Inc., which provides an emergency youth shelter, family counseling services and foster care group homes in Marion, Lake, Sumter, Citrus and Hernando counties, has not been able to host its annual fundraising event due to the pandemic. So, they came up with a different approach this year—the Red, White & $10,000 Cash Giveaway.

Three-hundred tickets, at $100 each, will be sold for the giveaway. The winning ticket will be drawn live on Facebook at noon on May 31 at the Ocala/Marion County Veterans Memorial Park. You do not have to be present to win.

To learn more about the endeavor, we did a question and answer session with Community Outreach & Development Coordinator Cindy Moore.

How did you come up with this concept for a fundraiser?

A friend of mine in South Georgia used this idea to raise money for the city recreation department and she said it worked really well for them so we thought we would give it a try, especially since we have not done our benefit and auction event for the last three years with COVID-19. And this allows us to raise much needed funds without a large in-person event.

All of the funds will go to kids’ programs at Arnette House. These include the emergency youth shelter, a group home for girls and a group home for boys, nonresidential counseling, the SNAP (Stop Now & Plan) program, spring break camps and summer camps.

Do you think the winner might donate back the $10,000?

We sure would be ecstatic if they did, but we will also be happy that someone will be $10,000 richer and never forget where it came from and how they won it.

How many tickets are still available?

We have fewer than 100 tickets available and we are only selling a total of 300, so the odds are better than the Florida Lottery.

Who can buy tickets?

Anyone over 18 years old, other nonprofits that might need some funds, businesses and individuals. We have some local community clubs that purchased tickets to donate to charities they support. Some people are getting groups together to buy a ticket and share the winnings. Of course, only one name can go on the ticket. It’s a definite win-win situation.

Is the $100 tax deductible?

Yes, it is, but you will have to pay taxes on the $10,000 if you are the winner.

GAINESVILLE’S CADE MUSEUM LAUNCHES INTO SPACE THIS SUMMER

What are some of the “stats” for Arnette House for the last year?

Last year we had almost 300 children who needed our shelter services, we had 12 teens in our group homes and almost 750 kids who received counseling individually, in schools and through our SNAP Program. All of our services are offered free of charge.

We are currently in our 41st year providing services to families.

What are other ways people can support your mission?

On our website, www.arnettehouse.org, we have a list of needed products that we update every few months. We need hygiene products such as deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and toothpaste. We are always in need of towels and washcloths.

We are doing tours of our facility again and we love for people to come and see what Arnette House is all about and doing these days. People can call me at (352) 622-6135, ext. 239, to set up a tour or find out about current donation needs.

Tickets for the Red, White & $10,000 Cash Giveaway can be purchased at Arnette House offices at 2310 NE 24th St., Ocala, or at www.arnettehouse.org (hit the Donate Now button at the top of the homepage and put “Cash Giveaway Ticket” in the description).

For more information, call (352) 622-6135.

FWC SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON SHOREBIRD CONSERVATION

[Courtesy Cade Museum]

By Ocala Gazette Staff

T

he Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville, Florida, has announced its latest summer theme, “Wandering the Milky Way: A Tour of the Solar System,” starting Thursday, June 2, and running through January 2023.

With immersive experiences and hands-on discoveries, “Wandering the Milky Way” offers the “perfect escape from Florida’s sweltering summer heat,” according to museum officials.

“The Cade Museum offers a learning experience that you won’t find anywhere else,” said Cade Museum CEO Stephanie Bailes.

The new museum-wide theme will feature exhibit panels, interactive space-themed activities and much more.

The featured exhibit, “Voyages: A Trip through Time an Space,” allows guests to learn about Voyagers 1 and 2 and how they are still broadcasting back to Earth as they travel farther

into space than any other manmade object ever constructed.

Families will also learn about Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), an American aerospace engineer, test pilot and astronaut who flew on the Apollo missions and was the first human to set foot on the moon.

To get a sense of what it was like to take that famous lunar step, one activity invites kids, and kids-at-heart, to make an impression in a pile of moon sand.

“We take a non-traditional, multidisciplinary approach to teaching science,” said Bailes. “We teach STEM concepts with art, creativity and play—and, most importantly, through the lens of invention.”

For more information about the Cade Museum, located at 904 S. Main St., Gainesville, call (352) 371-8001 or visit the museum’s website at www.cademuseum.org.

[Courtesy Cade Museum]

[Courtesy FWC]

By Ocala Gazette Staff

T

he Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announced on May 13 that it is seeking input on draft “Species Conservation Measures and Permitting Guidelines” for four species included in “Florida’s Imperiled Species Management Plan.”

These four species include American oystercatchers, snowy plovers, least terns and black skimmers, according to the press release.

Species Conservation Measures and Permitting Guidelines are intended to provide information on rule requirements as they relate to permitting. They also provide information on species range, survey methodology and voluntary practices that can benefit the species.

Draft guidelines will be available now through May 27 for review and public comment addressing all four species, collectively known as imperiled beach-nesting birds.

Key information included in the guidelines will be presented at two public webinars, where participants will also have the opportunity to ask questions. Each webinar will offer the same information and participation will require access to a computer or access to a telephone for audio-only access.

Webinars are scheduled for the following dates: • Monday, May 23, 2 p.m.-3 p.m.

• Tuesday, May 24, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Those who are unable to attend the webinars can access a PDF copy of the presentation at www.MyFWC.com/SpeciesGuidelines.

Information on how to join the webinars is available at www.

MyFWC.com/media/29347/ibnb-webinar.pdf.

Email all comments to Imperiled@MyFWC.com.

[Courtesy FWC]

B7

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Green options transforming a wedding industry prone to waste

By Leanne Italie Associated Press

T

he wedding industry remains fraught with waste, but a growing contingent of brides and grooms is pushing for more sustainable changes, from the way they invite guests to the food they serve and the clothes they wear.

The wedding resource The Knot estimates that more than two-thirds of about 15,000 site users did or planned to incorporate eco-conscious touches, including secondhand decor, minimizing food waste and avoiding one-time use products. Nearly 1 in 3 said vendors should be more proactive in leading the way.

After two chaotic years for the wedding industry, searches on Pinterest for thrifted weddings have tripled, and they’ve doubled for reuse wedding dress ideas, according to the site’s 2022 wedding trends report. The online resale giant Poshmark said demand for secondhand wedding dresses is at an all-time high, especially for those costing $500 or more.

Lauren Kay, executive editor of The Knot, said more venues, caterers and other vendors are taking notice.

“A lot of vendors are really educating themselves on ways to be more sustainable in an effort to meet the demand,” she said. “We’re seeing across the board much more interest and recognition around sustainability.”

For example, Something Borrowed Blooms offers silk florals rather than fresh cut flowers, which often travel long distances and are arranged using non-recyclable foam. Nova by Enaura rents bridal veils. VerTerra sells bowls and compostable plates made of fallen palm leaves, while Pollyn, a plant shop in Brooklyn, uses biodegradable nursery pots as more couples turn to plants in place of cut flowers.

If paper goods are a must, Paper Culture makes invitations, save the dates and reception cards using 100% post-consumer recycled paper. The company offsets its manufacturing and transportation carbon footprint through credits that put resources

back into the planet, and it plants a tree with every order.

For 28-year-old Anna Masiello, getting it right for her May 28 wedding is an extension of a more climate-friendly lifestyle she embraced several years ago after moving from her native Italy to Portugal to earn a master’s degree in environmental sustainability.

“I really started to learn about climate change and the real impacts of it. We hear so much about it but sometimes it’s so overwhelming that we decide not to learn more or to understand it,” she said. “I just said, OK, it’s time to act.”

She took her journey to social media, using the handle hero_to_0, in reference to zero waste, and has amassed more than 70,000 followers on TikTok and nearly 40,000 on Instagram for her regular updates on her life and wedding planning.

Masiello’s naturally dyed lavender wedding outfit of a long skirt and matching top is made of deadstock linen (material that factories or stores weren’t able to use or sell). The trousers and shirt her fiance will wear are secondhand. The rings they’ll exchange belonged to two of their grandparents.

Her fiance carved her engagement ring out of wood from a tree her parents planted when she was born. Her video about it has been viewed more than 12 million times.

The couple’s 50 guests at the outdoor ceremony in an uncle’s yard will throw confetti punched out of fallen leaves, and the decor will include wood, used glass jars, and plants from the garden. In place of paper goods, they went digital. And no

favors will be handed out. To help take the carbon sting out of some guests’ plane travel, the couple plans to plant trees.

Not all of Masiello’s feedback on social media has been positive. Some have mocked her efforts. But she has embraced that conversation.

“When I started sharing and I saw that it was impacting so many people, and also so many people were having a very negative reaction, I was like, OK, this is really stirring people’s emotions. I have to talk more about it, and I’m very glad I’m doing it,” she said.

In Los Angeles, 31-year-old Lena Kazer has thought about it, too, for her May 21 wedding in her backyard with 38 guests.

“Both of us are a little disgusted by the extravagance of the wedding industry,” she said. “We agreed we would use the resources that we have and avoid buying anything that we won’t continue to use.”

They are using compostable or recyclable utensils, cups and plates.

They’re batching cocktails to reduce waste, and are using their own furniture for seating. Kazer’s bouquet will be made of real flowers, but she has kept flower purchases to a minimum.

“We’re buying almost all decorations at thrift stores, and I’m wearing my sister’s wedding dress and my mom’s veil,” she said. “We told everyone they could wear whatever they wanted after hearing about people spending thousands of dollars on new outfits for weddings.”

Other ideas for green weddings include using seed paper, which can be planted by recipients, and serving organic, seasonal, farm-to-table food,

“A lot of vendors are really educating themselves on ways to be more sustainable in an effort to meet the demand. We’re seeing across the board much more interest and recognition around sustainability.”

Lauren Kay

Executive editor of The Knot

with leftovers donated.

Kat Warner, whose T. Warner Artists provides entertainment for weddings along the East Coast, offers options ranging from solar-powered lighting to full solar receptions. She also uses carbon offsets, donating to funds that support such things as reforestation and bird conservation.

Warner said couples are asking more questions, including “what various parts of their weddings can be recycled, composted or reused.”

Greater Good Events, which bills itself as “event planners for those who give a damn,” takes a holistic approach in Portland, Oregon, and the Tri-State region of New York. Waste in weddings isn’t always tangible, said Maryam Mudrick, who bought the company with Justine Broughal in September.

“If you’re working with vendors with bad labor practices that are not reinvesting in communities, you’re creating some ancillary waste in that regard as well,” Mudrick said.

One of their catering partners, Pinch Food Design, has a zero waste pledge, which includes designing menus to limit food waste, donating used cooking oil for biodiesel, and supporting sustainable and regenerative farming.

Florist Ingrid Carozzi of Tin Can Studios in Brooklyn cited other issues with floral arrangements beyond the use of non-biodegradable foam, such as bleaching and chemically dyeing flowers to achieve unnatural colors.

“It’s terrible for the environment, and working with these materials isn’t good for you,” she said. “Some florists are working towards sustainable methods, doing everything they can. There’s a real mix now.”

Kate Winick and her fiance had a rule for their May 22 backyard wedding at a home in Northport, New York: If it’s destined to get thrown out or be used only once, skip it or buy secondhand.

“I don’t think living sustainably means you need a crunchy aesthetic,” she said.

“It just means using what is already in the world. The most sustainable purchase is something that already exists.”

Current Adoption Specials: Ocala Gazette regularly brings you two furry friends that are available for adoption from local animal rescue organizations.

Rai

No appointment needed!

He knows he’s a good boy, because he hears it often! He’s one of those dogs that makes you wonder how he could ever end up in a shelter. Don’t miss out on this three-year-old cutie- he’s such a treasure!

ALL ADOPTIONS $25 in May! Adoption fee includes up-to-date vaccinations, county license, microchip, and spay/neuter surgery.

View all of our adoptable pets at MarionFL.org/Animal. This database is updated every hour.

Shuggie

We’ve featured this ten-year-old in our Pets of the Week segments several times, and we’re going to keep trying until she finds her purr-fect home. She is asking for a sunny window to watch what’s going on outside while she lounges. She’ll make an excellent companion for a calm home.

ANSWERS FOR PAGE B4 Sudoku

WOMEN’S EXPO SAVE THE DATE

Saturday, June 25, 2022 • 10am - 3pm College of Central Florida, Klein Center

Newsday Crossword

B8

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Local man inducted into the International Pirate Hall of Fame “My mission is to serve, lead and inspire people who want to have a positive life experience as a result of the Real Estate business.”

- Elisha Lopez, Broker/Owner

[Supplied]

By Ocala Gazette Staff

K

eith Carson, a well-known entertainer and local area resident—best known for portraying Santa Claus during the holiday season—was recently named a 2021 inductee in the inaugural class of the International Pirate Hall of Fame.

Carson was selected from well over 400 nominations received between July and September of last year. The list was narrowed down to 30 finalists, with Carson among the 10 inductees announced.

The International Pirate Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization, and the only internationally recognized hall of fame honoring and paying tribute to pirates, pirate-related performers, as well as authors, covering the Golden Age of Piracy all the way to today, according to a May 17 press release.

Also an ordained minister, Carson has been involved in charitable work for many years, dressing up as his pirate persona, Captain Kidd Carson, aka Whitebeard the Pirate, and visiting

children’s hospitals in the State of Florida year-round, telling pirate jokes, taking photos and reading to the children.

He also has a literacy program called “Captain Kidd Carson’s Bookaneers.”

When not dressing up as a pirate or Santa Claus, Carson runs a business, Captain Whitebeard’s Weddings, a fullservice pirate-themed wedding company.

In 2020, he was elected into the Order of Leviathan, long considered the National Honor Society of modern-day pirates, according to the release.

Other 2021 International Pirate Hall of Fame inductees include actors Johnny Depp and Kevin McNally, both of Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise fame; real-life pirates Edward Thatch/Teach, aka Blackbeard, Ching Shih and Samuel Bellamy, all posthumously, of course; author Allen Balogh; paleographer and historian Dr. John de Bry; re-enactor and master craftsman Jeff MacKay; and creator/host of “The Pirate History Podcast” Matt Albers.

For more information, visit www. piratehalloffame.org.

Elisha Lopez has over 22 years of experience alongside her husband Luis in real estate, with almost 11 of those years as a Broker. They are the founder‘s of the ORW School of Real Estate, which serves real estate students seeking licensure in Ocala, Marion County and all over Florida. In 2021, Elisha was named the worldwide ambassador for Realty World International Inc., the Newport Beach, California-based Real Estate franchise company with locations around the world, including Elisha‘s own, right here in Ocala. Contact us today and build the successful Real Estate career you want.

Already licensed and ready to take your Real Estate career from where it is to where you have wanted it? Let's schedule a "right fit" meeting.

Become a Realtor ® - Classes starting soon! www.ocalarealtyworld.com 2709 SW 27th Ave., Ocala, FL 34471 • 352-789-6746

Photo by John Jernigan

Disney’s magical musical

E

very Friday, James Blevins, this newspaper’s in-house reporter and poet—who has seen his work previously published in “Salt Hill Journal,” “Pretty Owl Poetry,” “Stoneboat Journal,” “Mud Season Review” and

“AZURE,” as well as numerous other outlets both online and in print—chooses one poem for publication.

Additionally, Blevins will share a poem of his own, just for good measure, at the end of each calendar month.

[since feeling is first]

By E. E. Cummings

since feeling is first who pays any attention to the syntax of things will never wholly kiss you; wholly to be a fool while Spring is in the world my blood approves, and kisses are a better fate than wisdom lady i swear by all flowers. Don’t cry —the best gesture of my brain is less than your eyelids’ flutter which says we are for each other: then laugh, leaning back in my arms for life’s not a paragraph

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And death i think is no parenthesis

Edward Estlin Cummings was born on October 14, 1894, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Forerunner of the modernist free-form movement in poetry during the early 20th Century, Cummings was also an essayist, novelist

and playwright. Some of his published works of poetry include “Tulips and Chimneys” (1923), “is 5” (1926), “No Thanks” (1935) and “XAIPE: SeventyOne Poems” (1950). He died of a stroke on September 3, 1962, at the age of 67.

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B9

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

New this week: Harry Styles, ‘Angelyne’ and ‘The Valet’ winning “CODA” may want to check out Hulu’s “The Valet,” starring Eugenio Derbez as a valet attendant hired to act as though he’s dating a movie star (Samara Weaving) to square rumors of an affair with a Los Angeles real estate This combination of photos shows promotional art for “Angelyne,” a limited series premiering May 19 on Peacock, left, “The G Word With Adam Conover,” debuting Thursday, May 19, on Netflix and “The Valet,” a film premiering May 20 on Hulu. [Peacock/ mogul (Max Netflix/Hulu via AP] Greenfield).

The film, streaming Your Fire,” which is debuting

By Jake Coyle, Mark Kennedy Friday, is a rom-com platform Friday in theaters and on digital and Lynn Elber for the versatile Mexican star rental, captures how one former The Associated Press Derbez, who memorably played traffic cop, with a degree in the music teacher in “CODA.” psychology, flipped an often fatal ere’s a collection script and used communication, curated by The MUSIC not violence, to settle a crisis and Associated Press’ — Harries, rejoice! Harry Styles’ remake policing. entertainment third studio album, “Harry’s — You could say that the journalists of what’s arriving on House,” is on the way. The TV, streaming services and music cartoon-live action reboot “Chip collection, due out Friday, is ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” is platforms this week. the follow-up to his fine album an unlikely project to gather “Fine Line” from 2019. Styles MOVIES some top “Saturday Night is coming off a two-weekend — The gripping documentary Live” alums. Yet here is a “Chip headlining stint at Coachella, “Hold Your Fire,” directed by ‚n Dale” with John Mulaney where he was joined by Shania Stefan Forbes, chronicles a voicing Chip, Andy Samberg as Twain and Lizzo. The first single 1973 Brooklyn robbery that Dale and Lonely Island auteur from the new album is “As It became a turning point in Akiva Schaffer directing the Was,” a melancholy ‚80s-based hostage negotiation tactics new Disney+ release, streaming low burner that spent three and de-escalation. The scene, Friday. In this “Chip ‚n Dale,” weeks atop the Billboard Hot the title chipmunks are living vividly depicted in archival and 100 in April. Styles told BBC in modern-day Los Angeles and contemporaneous news footage, Radio One that the song is captures a classic New York much long removed from the heyday about “embracing change, of their TV series. Chip has like the one found in Sidney losing oneself, finding oneself, resorted to suburban domesticity a shift in perspective.” Some of Lumet’s “Dog Day Afternoon.” and Dale is living off his longWhen four Black men attempted the new song titles are “Music gone fame. With KiKi Layne, to rob a sporting good store, they For a Sushi Restaurant,” “Late Will Arnett, Eric Bana and were trapped by police and a 47Night Talking,” “Grapejuice,” Keegan-Michael Key. hour standoff, with hostages and “Daydreaming,” “Keep Driving,” a killed policeman, ensued. “Hold — Fans of the best picture“Satellite,” “Boyfriends” and

H

“Love of My Life.”

— The Who icon Pete Townshend opens up in a new Audible Original, taking listeners through the period between the 1978 death of band drummer Keith Moon and the 2002 loss of bassist John Entwistle. “Pete Townshend: Somebody Saved Me” mixes his memories and songs like “Let My Love Open the Door,” “Slit Skirts,” “You Better You Bet” and “Eminence Front.” Townshend joins other iconic musicians telling their stories on Audible, including Eddie Vedder, Billie Joe Armstrong, Tom Morello, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Yo-Yo Ma and Gary Clark Jr. — Two vital American musicians met and jammed together in the summer of 2011 when legendary singer Mavis Staples visited her good friend Levon Helm of The Band in Woodstock, New York. Staples and her band spent five or six days with Helm and his band, playing music and telling stories.

It was the last time they would meet; Helm died in 2012. A record of their last meeting together is finally being released Friday — “Carry Me Home.” The setlist mixes vintage gospel and soul with timeless folk and blues, including “This Is My Country”

by Curtis Mayfield and “The Weight” by Robbie Robertson.

TELEVISION

— “Lionel Richie: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song” honors the prolific pop star whose hits include “All Night Long,” “Endless Love” and “Lady.” Anthony Anderson hosts the ceremony that was taped in Washington and includes performances by Gloria Estefan, Boyz II Men, Luke Bryan,

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Andra Day, Yolanda Adams and Chris Stapleton. Estefan, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney are among previous recipients of the award. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden called Richie an inspiring entertainer who helped “strengthen our global connections.” The PBS special airs Tuesday.

— Angelyne didn’t have or need the internet to make her a Los Angeles celebrity — billboards scattered around town starting in the 1980s did the trick.

Her seductive image brought her surprisingly enduring fame – and now a show based, sort of, on her story. Peacock’s limited series “Angelyne,” starring Emmy Rossum and debuting Thursday, is billed not as a traditional biography but, as showrunner Allison Miller described it, a “magical story... about becoming the person you were meant to be” and about L.A. and the dreamers it attracts. Martin Freeman, Alex Karpovsky and Hamish Linklater are in the cast.

— Adam Conover, who used comedy to apply the power of critical thinking in “Adam Ruins Everything,” takes a similar approach to the workings of government in “The G Word With Adam Conover,” debuting Thursday on Netflix. In what’s described as a “hybrid comedydocumentary series,” Conover explores how crucial — both for good and not-so-good — government is to our lives, from weather to food to money and more. The show is based on “The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy”

by Michael Lewis (“The Big Short”) and includes a cameo by former President Barack Obama that cements his comedy chops.

B10

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

CF squeaks past Miami-Dade 4-3 in comeback win for college baseball state title

By Ocala Gazette Staff

T

he College of Central Florida Patriots’ baseball team defeated defending state champion MiamiDade College in comeback fashion 4-3 on May 15 to win the Florida College System Activities Association/National Junior College Athletic Association South Atlantic District state tournament.

The Patriots will next travel to and compete in the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado, on May 28-June 4. This will be the first time the baseball team has competed in the World Series since 1998.

“I’ve been dreaming of getting back to the JUCO [junior college] baseball promise land for 24 years now,” said Head Coach Marty Smith. “It’s so hard to get out of Florida. [I am] so proud of these Pats.”

CF opened the tournament at Joker Marchant Stadium, in Lakeland, Florida, spring home of the Detroit Tigers, on May 12, defeating the No. 2 nationally ranked Chipola Indians 7-2.

Aaron Combs, a University of Tennessee commit, pitched for 6.2 innings, holding the Indians to only two hits, one earned run and striking out nine batters.

Edrick Felix led the Patriot’s offense with a double, a homerun and four RBIs. Nick Calero had two RBIs. In game two of the tournament, the Patriots defeated the Indian River State College Pioneers 15-5.

After starting pitcher Ben Chestnutt struggled to rein in Pioneer bats, teammate Landon Ginn (9-1 record) would take over the mound, allowing only four hits, two runs and striking out seven over the next 6.1 innings.

As Ginn was stifling Indian River’s bats, CF sluggers got hot. The Patriots scored 10 unanswered runs through three innings. Most of the damage came on a Caleb Cali home run, a Spencer Stephens tworun single and a Kevin Kilpatrick three-run homerun, his ninth of the season.

After beating Indian River, CF was the only undefeated team remaining in the tournament. In their next game, the Patriots played Miami-Dade on Saturday, May 14, the Sharks won with a combination of 11 hits and 12 walks to pound CF 15-9, forcing a winner-take-all final game on the following Sunday.

After his short outing against Indian State, pitcher Chestnutt started for the Pats and gave his team three tough innings, allowing three runs, six hits and striking out three batters. With CF down 3-0, relief pitcher Sam Swygert stepped in and helped keep the Sharks off balance and off the scoreboard for the rest of the game.

In the sixth inning, CF’s Kilpatrick doubled.

Teammate Victor Castillo would later drive Kilpatrick home off a single, cutting Indian State’s lead to two runs. The very next batter, Felix, doubled home another run to make it 3-2. Suddenly, it was a game.

The eighth inning started well for the Patriots, with Ginn getting hit by a pitch, followed by a Cali single. Castillo then pushed a bunt into a single to load the bases with no outs. This set the stage for Tournament MVP Felix to smash a hard single to left field, driving in two runs, giving CF the 4-3 lead, which it would ultimately hold for the win.

Swygert finished the game throwing six innings, allowing only five hits, no runs and striking out seven batters.

B11

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Patriots win state softball title, defeats Seminole State 10-2 on May 8

By Ocala Gazette Staff

an error by Raiders pitcher Jada Oleski. Emily Konz was he College of Central walked, followed by Kamaya Florida Lady Patriots’ Cohen’s single to load the softball team dominated bases for Brooke Roberts, who Seminole State College of hit a sacrifice fly to left field, Florida 10-2 on May 8 winning scoring Guerriero. Katie Hogue the Florida College System followed with an RBI single, Activities Association/National scoring Konz. Hannah Meyer Junior College Athletic later doubled to score Cohen.

Association South Atlantic Seminole State clawed back District state tournament. into the game with one run The Lady Patriots will in the bottom of the second advance to the NJCAA inning. But CF responded, Division I National scoring two more runs in the Tournament held in Yuma, top of third.

Arizona, beginning on May 24.

In the bottom of the third, “We are extremely Seminole State scored their proud of our baseball and second and final run of the softball athletes for their game. The Patriots led the accomplishments this season,” Raiders 5-2 after three innings. said Dr. James Henningsen, Savannah Barnett closed president of CF. “It’s an out the rest of the game from incredible achievement for the mound, pitching her both teams to win the state third complete game of the championships, but even more tournament, striking out nine impressive is that the student- batters while only giving up four athletes also excelled in the hits and two runs (one earned). classroom with an average The Patriots scored five GPA of 3.2 for both teams.” more runs in the seventh “That speaks to how we inning, which put the game support our students as firmly out of the Raiders’ they excel in the field, in reach, 10-2 the classroom and in the Cohen and Roberts, community,” he added. respectively, scored one run a This was CF’s fifth matchup piece on back-to-back doubles. of the season versus interMeyer added two runs with conference foe Seminole State. a shot to center field. Gabbie The Lady Patriots had bested Haas drove in the fifth and the Raiders three out of four final run of the inning with times during the regular a single to left field, scoring season.

Abbey O’Conner from second, CF scored early, taking the who re-entered the game lead 3-0 in the first inning. after Alyssa Adams crushed a Gianna Guerriero led off double to right field. the game, reaching base on

T

B12

MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

SCORE BOARD SELECTED MARION COUNTY

HIGH SCHOOL & COLLEGE

SPORTS Pensacola Catholic’s Jackson Maddrey (8) makes it safely back to first base as Trinity Catholic’s Luke Wilkerson (23) can’t handle the throw during the Region 3A quarterfinal at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala on May 11. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

RESULTS MAY 10 - MAY 16

Results were gathered from MaxPreps.com and CFPatriots.net and compiled by James Blevins

PREP BASEBALL SCORES

COLLEGE BASEBALL SCORES

May 10

May 12

Class 6A Regional Quarterfinal Forest 5 Pace 10

May 11 Pensacola Catholic’s catcher Will Barter (5) tags out Trinity Catholic’s Wyatt Amodeo (7) at the plate during the Region 3A quarterfinal at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala on May 11. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Class 3A Regional Quarterfinal Pensacola Catholic 0 Trinity Catholic 8

May 14

Class 3A Regional Semifinal Fernandina Beach Trinity Catholic

5 2

PREP SOFTBALL (FAST PITCH) SCORES May 11

Class 2A Regional Quarterfinal Trinity Catholic 3 Foundation Academy 4

FCSAA/NJCAA South Atlantic District Tournament College of Central Florida Chipola College

West Port’s Tiara Chavis (10) loses the ball in the dirt as Apopka’s Jaelyn Diller (6) makes it safely back to first base in the Class 7A Regional Quarterfinal at West Port High School in Ocala on May 12. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

7 2

May 13

FCSAA/NJCAA South Atlantic District Tournament College of Central Florida 15 Indian River State College 5

May 14

FCSAA/NJCAA South Atlantic District Tournament College of Central Florida 9 Miami Dade College 15

May 15

FCSAA/NJCAA South Atlantic District Tournament College of Central Florida Miami Dade College

4 3

West Port’s pitcher Ryleigh Bauer (3) can’t handle the throw from the backstop as Apopka’s Jesiana Mora (24) scores in the top of the 1st inning in the Class 7A Regional Quarterfinal at West Port High School in Ocala on May 12. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

May 12

Class 7A Regional Quarterfinal Apopka 13 West Port 3 Trinity Catholic’s Bryan Navarro (37) runs safely to first base as Penscola Catholic’s Carter McCulley (16) can’t handle the throw during the Region 3A quarterfinal at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala on May 11. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Class 5A Regional Quarterfinal Vanguard 0 Middleburg 10

Pensacola Catholic’s Zack DeJesus (7) makes it safely back to second base as Trinity Catholic’s Seve Fernandez (33) looks for the out during the Region 3A quarterfinal at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala on May 11. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

West Port players converge to make an out on Apopka in the Class 7A Regional Quarterfinal at West Port High School in Ocala on May 12. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Trinity Catholic players celebrate their win over Pensacola Catholic in the Region 3A quarterfinal at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala on May 11. The Celtics blanked the Pensacola Crusaders 8-0 in the regional quarterfinal. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Trinity Catholic players celebrate with good luck charm dolls with Luke Wilkerson (23) as he scores another run on Pensacola Catholic in the Region 3A quarterfinal at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala on May 11. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Apopka’s Jaelyn Diller (6) celebrates with Avery Brewer (32) after she scored another run on West Port in the Class 7A Regional Quarterfinal at West Port High School in Ocala on May 12. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.