Ocala Gazette | August 21 - 27, 2020 by Magnolia Media Company

Subscribers within the following zip codes will receive their paper every Friday by courier. Those that live outside this area will receive their paper through USPS on the USPS schedule. 34470 • 34471 • 34474 • 34476 • 34481 Subscription orders must be received by 5 pm on Tuesday in order to be included in the following week’s delivery. Starting at $14/month ocalagazette.com/subscribe

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | TWO DOLLARS

VOLUME 1 | ISSUE 8

County OK’s COVID-19 relief for businesses By Bill Thompson Deputy Editor

Kristen Givens, a teacher, works with students in her classroom as Andrew Massengill, 7, adjusts his face shield. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Back to school

Gullet outlines short-, long term vision By Brad Rogers Executive Editor

More than 43,000 students will be enrolled with about 70% of them expected to be at their respective schools for face-toface instruction.

ith Marion County Public Schools on the threshold of opening for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, new Superintendent of Schools Diane Gullet on Wednesday addressed the business community for the first time and outlined her vision for the immediate future as well as the long term. When local schools open Monday, Gullet said more than 43,000 students will be enrolled. About 70 percent of them are expected to be at their respective schools for face-to-face instruction. Parents and students were given the option of in-person learning or online instruction when reopening plans were unveiled. She warned those attending the Ocala/Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership’s monthly breakfast that as

Diane Gullett. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

parents and business owners they can expect “perpetual disruption” in the coming weeks and months as the schools deal with the impact of COVID-19 on students, teachers and other staff. When students or teachers are identified as being positive for COVID-19, they and the people they have been in contact with at school will be sent home to quarantine. “Our task is to ensure we’re providing a safe environment for our students and staff,” Gullett said.

She said the school district is working closely with the county Health Department to ensure schools can respond quickly to suspected cases of the virus so students or teachers can be isolated and tested expeditiously. Masks will be required on everyone on school property and intensive cleaning will be part of the new school culture, she said. Nonetheless, she added, “We know these cases will be disruptive to a class, to a school.” When schools open on Monday, the district is

expecting 20,316 elementary, 10,208 middle school and 12,091 high school students. Gullett said that 68 percent of the district’s students qualify for the free and reduced lunch program -- a clear indicator of the number of poor families in Marion County. Finally, she said the district’s 262 school buses, which make more than 3,000 bus stops every day and costs $21 million a year to operate, is the 84th largest school bus fleet in the nation. While the short term for MCPS is less than

he aid package for Marion County businesses can now be opened. On Tuesday, the County Commission appropriated nearly $7.5 million for an account that the Ocala/ Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership can tap to bolster local companies rocked by coronavirus. The funding comes courtesy of the federal CARES Act, through which Marion County received $63 million for COVID-19 relief programs. CEP President and CEO Kevin Sheilley said on Tuesday companies are already interested in the organization’s Moving Biz Forward initiative, which was unveiled earlier this month in anticipation of commissioners supporting this plan. The CEP went live with its application website on Friday, and so far companies had come forward seeking a total of $600,000, Sheilley said. Potential applicants do not have to be CEP members to seek aid. Assistant County Administrator Jeannie Rickman explained that the programs will be funded with $7.1 million. The county set aside 5 percent, or $355,000, for the CEP’s cost to administer the applications. Sheilley said some early applicants don’t qualify. But, he added, the fact they lined up even before the money was approved does “speak to a need.” “We don’t want to do what everyone else is doing, We don’t want to be Oprah Winfrey where everyone in the audience gets $2,000,” he said. “We will target to where the need is.” Sheilley added that he believed two of the four programs the CEP created will prove popular. The first is the Bridge to See Funding, page 3

See School, page 5

You Can Support Local Journalism! Sign up for free e-edition or paid print subscription at ocalagazette.com

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

A look at primary election winners and losers, and for some what comes next By Bill Thompson Deputy Editor

uesday’s primary elections brought about 27 percent of Marion County’s registered voters to the polls. Here’s a look at what they decided, beginning locally. County Commission District 1 Craig Curry, a former Ocala mayor, captured the County Commission District 1 seat by winning Marion County’s first universal primary in a local election, in which all voters could participate because the winner faced no opposition in November. Curry received 50 percent of the vote in overcoming Mike Behar, 29 percent, and Michael Saxe, 20 percent. Curry will succeed outgoing Commissioner David Moore and will take office in November. County Commission District 3 Incumbent Commissioner Jeff Gold essentially won re-election to a second term, defeating challenger Bobby Dobkowski in the Republican primary for County Commission District 3. Gold received 73 percent of the vote. He now faces two write-in candidates, Richard Brown and Brigitte Smith, in the Nov. 3 general election. County commissioners

serve four-year terms and make $84,434 a year under the state’s population-based formula. Property Appraiser Jimmy Cowan, a 28-year veteran of the county property appraiser’s office, won the Republican primary for county property appraiser, defeating foes Nick Nikkinen and Commissioner Moore. Cowan, head of the agency’s residential assessments operation, received 46 percent of the vote, compared to 29 percent for Moore, who opted to not seek a third term on the County Commission, and 25 percent for Nikkinen, an assistant property appraiser. Cowan faces write-in Kelly Taub on Nov. 3. The winner will succeed Property Appraiser Villie Smith, who was first elected in 1996 and is retiring. Marion County’s property appraiser serves a four-year term and makes $146,342 a year under the state’s population-based formula. School Board District 1 Lori Conrad and Allison Campbell are headed toward a run-off election on Nov. 3 to determine the winner of the Marion County School Board District 1 race. Conrad, a 25-year elementary school teacher, was the top vote-getter with 41 percent, while Campbell, communications director for the Community Foundation of Ocala/Marion Coun-

ty, took 36 percent. A third candidate, business owner Shelia Arnett, received 23 percent. Board members serve four-year terms and are paid $40,286 a year under the state’s population-based formula. State House District 20 Yvonne Hayes Hinson easily overcame opponent Rodney Long in a battle of Alachua County Democrats for Florida House of Representatives District 20, which includes much of northwestern Marion County. The election was universal primary in which all voters could participate because the winner faced no opposition in November. Hinson received 60 percent of the vote in the race to succeed Rep. Clovis Watson, a Gainesville Democrat who is leaving office because of term limits. State representatives serve two-year terms and make $29,697 a year. State House District 22 Joe Harding blew out Russ Randall to take the Republican primary for Florida House District 22, which spans western Marion County and includes Levy County. Harding, of Williston, took 70 percent of the vote in a bid to succeed Rep. Charlie Stone, an Ocala Republican who is leaving office because of term limits. Harding will be up against Democrat Barbara

Byram, a Levy County resident who qualified without opposition, on Nov. 3. State House District 23 Cynthia Dela Rosa had no problem getting past opponent Richard Allen Rowe in the Democratic primary for Florida House District 23, which includes Ocala and most of eastern Marion County. Dela Rosa, an Ocala resident, captured 76 percent of the vote. She now goes up against incumbent Republican Rep. Stan McClain of Ocala on Nov. 3. State Senate District 5 Jennifer Bradley bested Jason Holifield to win the GOP primary for state Senate District 5, which traverses much of North Central Florida and includes the Dunnellon area in Marion County. Bradley, a Fleming Island resident and the wife of the current incumbent, Sen. Rob Bradley, received 59 percent of the vote. She will face Democrat Melina Rayna Barratt of Newberry on Nov. 3. State senators serve four-year terms and make $29,697 a year. U.S. House District 3 Kat Cammack, a former top aide to incumbent Republican Rep. Ted Yoho, survived a 10-candidate battle royale to take the GOP primary for Florida’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes Ocala and much of northern Marion County in stretch-

ing almost to Jacksonville. Cammack, of Gainesville, received 25 percent of the vote in defeating Ryan Chamberlin, Todd Chase, Bill Engelbrecht, Joe Dallas Millado, Gavin Rollins, Judson Sapp, James St. George, David Theus and Amy Pope Wells for the opportunity to succeed Yoho, who is leaving office to fulfill a pledge to serve just four terms. Meanwhile, Adam Christensen came out on top in a relative squeaker on the Democratic side of the 3rd District slate. Christensen, a Gainesville business owner, took 34 percent of the vote to overcome Tom Wells and Philip Dodds, who received 33 percent and 32 percent, respectively. Cammack and Christensen will settle the matter on Nov. 3. U.S. House members serve two-year terms and make $174,000 a year. Circuit Judge, 5th Judicial Circuit, Group 22 Pam Vergara upset incumbent Circuit Judge George Angeliadis in a tight race for the only judicial seat on the local ballot this year. Vergara, a Brooksville lawyer, received 51 percent of the vote to win the judgeship, which will most likely be in Hernando County, where Angeliadis now serves. The 5th Judicial Circuit includes Marion, Citrus, Hernando, Lake and Sumter counties. Circuit judges serve six-year terms and make $160,688 a year.

Craig Curry

Jeff Gold

Jimmy Cowan

Lori Conrad

Allison B. Campbell

Yvonne Hayes Hinson

Joe Harding

Cynthia Dela Rosa

Jennifer Bradley

Kat Cammack

Adam Christensen

Pam Vergara

Primary Elections The Marion County Election Center in Ocala was bustling as results from the primary elections rolled in on Tuesday, August 18, 2020. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Supervisor of Elections Wesley Wilcox, left, looks over Primary results with election canvassing board members, Marion County Commissioner Kathy Bryant, center, and Judge James McCune.

Precinct election workers deliver Primary Election results

Deputy Supervisors of Elections work on Primary Election results.

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Commentary

Right back where they started “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” - Thomas Jefferson

Executive Editor Brad Rogers brad@ocalagazette.com Deputy Editor Bill Thompson bill@ocalagazette.com Photography Editor Bruce Ackerman bruce@ocalagazette.com

Publisher Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@magnoliamediaco.com Staff Writers Susan Smiley-Height susan@magnoliamediaco.com Lisa McGinnes lisa@magnoliamediaco.com

By Brad Rogers Executive Editor

cala City Council President Jay Musleh has spent the past couple of weeks being The 1. That is, as the Ocala City Council wrangled over a proposed mask mandate, Musleh has been the model of consistency – until, oddly, the end – in being the lone council member to vote against said mandate. For those who have not followed the twists, turns and intermittent bizarreness of the sheriff ’s sideshow and a mayoral veto, City Councilman Matt Wardell thought it prudent for the city to enact an emergency ordinance mandating masks in businesses and other buildings – churches and governmental buildings, for example – where people gather and social distancing may be difficult. And given that Marion County’s COVID-19 numbers have soared since July 1 – by a shocking tenfold – it didn’t seem like a bad idea to get everyone on

Graphic Designers Simon Mendoza simon@magnoliamediaco.com Brooke Pace brooke@magnoliamediaco.com

Director of Sales & Promotions Lee Kerr lee@magnoliamediaco.com Account Executives Sarah Belyeu sarah@magnoliamediaco.com Evelyn Anderson evelyn@magnoliamediaco.com Skip Linderman skip@magnoliamediaco.com Tammy Slay-Erker tammy@magnoliamediaco.com Client Services Guru Brittany Duval brittany@magnoliamediaco.com

the previous ordinance, which was pretty watered down itself.” Wardell mildly defended the process and the intent, saying he believes more people in Ocala are wearing masks today than before the mask mandate debate began. Maybe. I hope so. The doctors in town damn sure hope so. But one thing everyone agrees on is the process from getting from introduction to final vote – all three of them – was ugly and, well, ineffective. Ironically, as Musleh got ready to vote Tuesday night on the final version of the watered-down mask ordinance, he paused and noted, “I wish we were voting tonight to repeal the ordinance; that’s what I would really like.” Then, the guy who had been The 1 all along, joined his fellow council member and voted in favor of the final ordinance. And he was no longer The 1, bringing the city pretty much right back where it started – with soaring COVID-19 numbers and no mask mandate.

Best Practices for Social Distancing at Your Business

Marketing Manager Kylie Swope kylie@magnoliamediaco.com Marketing Coordinator Sabrina Fissell sabrina@magnoliamediaco.com

board taking whatever precautions we can to stop further spread. Well, turns out a lot of people don’t think masks make any difference, despite near consensus of the scientific and medical communities that they do. Others think not having to wear a mask is protected in the U.S. Constitution. Others are just looking for something new to be divided and angry over. Anyway, the Wardell ordinance was an “emergency” ordinance, meaning it required support from four of the five council members. The first vote, it passed 4-1, with Musleh objecting. The second vote to override Mayor Kent Guinn’s veto of the first ordinance passed 4-1, with Musleh being The 1. Then came, sigh, yes, a third vote on Tuesday. At that point, Musleh had plenty to say. By the third version of the ordinance was presented and had been stripped of virtually any teeth, Musleh observed: “I would observe this is a watered-down version of

KEEP AT LEAST 6-FEET BETWEEN PEOPLE WHETHER THEY ARE EMPLOYEES OR CUSTOMERS

ROUTINELY CLEAN & DISINFECT ALL FREQUENTLY TOUCHED SURFACES

DISCOURAGE HANDSHAKING

PLACE HAND SANITIZERS IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS & ENCOURAGE EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS TO WASH THEIR HANDS OFTEN

PROVIDE TISSUES AND NO-TOUCH DISPOSAL RECEPTACLES

DO NOT HOLD GATHERINGS OR MEETINGS IN EXCESS OF 10 PEOPLE. EVEN IN SMALL MEETINGS, MAINTAIN 6-FOOT DISTANCE.

DISCOURAGE WORKERS FROM SHARING PHONES, DESKS, OFFICES OR OTHER WORK TOOLS

USE PRECAUTION WITH SICK CUSTOMERS

EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF STAYING HOME IF AN EMPLOYEE IS FEELING SICK

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Distribution Dave Adams, Rick Shaw

From Funding, page 1

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.

1515 NE 22nd Ave. Ocala, FL 34470 352.732.0073

PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT INVERNESS, FL SECOND CLASS PERMIT #114280

Recovery Program. That is accessible to businesses with fewer than 25 employees, and provides money for rent or mortgages, salaries, utilities, supplies and working capital. To qualify, both the company and its owner must reside in Marion County, and be licensed to do business here. The company also must have been in business for at least a year. Chains or franchises are not eligible, nor are real estate investment firms, multi-level marketers, adult entertainment outlets or gun dealers. Those that owe back taxes or are in bankruptcy also cannot qualify. They must demonstrate how jobs would be lost without the funding, and provide a plan showing how the money will sustain them to recovery. Recipients must complete a one-hour online financial overview class, and will be required to provide quarterly updates for one year on how funding was used, the status of the company and the current number of employees. Sheilley said he believed this would appeal particularly to companies in the hospitality industry that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 restrictions on travel and dining. The second initiative that Sheilley believes would attract attention is the Project Operating

Safely Program. That effort provides grants to private, forprofit companies located in Marion County that were launched before Feb. 15, 2020, and obtained products or services to safeguard employees or customers between March 1 and Aug. 30, 2020. For instance, applicants must have purchased personal protective equipment

$10,000 per business for those with more than 100 workers. Businesses, however, can submit just one application per registered business address. Sheilley noted that companies, other than healthcare providers, typically don’t have such products in their inventory, and will welcome relief for these purchases.

“We don’t want to do what everyone else is doing. We will target to where the need is.” -Kevin Sheilley

such as masks, face shields, gloves, hand sanitizer and disinfectant products. Or they could have obtained professional cleaning and disinfection services, and/or made capital improvements that include, but aren’t limited to, signage, air handling, social distancing partitioning, improvements for safe queueing, and changes intended to reduce the spread of infection. Grants are capped at $3,000 per business for businesses with 100 or fewer employees, and

The CEP also offers the Moving Forward Program, which makes forgivable loans to companies with 26 to 100 workers. The funding can be used for rent or mortgages, salaries, utilities, supplies and working capital. Again, the owner and business must both reside in Marion County, and be licensed here. The company must have been in business prior to Aug. 1, 2018. Moving Forward also excludes chains or franchises, real estate investment

companies, multi-level marketing firms, adult entertainment businesses and gun sellers. Also ineligible are those in arrears on taxes or in bankruptcy. Applicants must submit a plan to show how the loan will help sustain them, and demonstrate how jobs would be lost without the loan Finally, the Testing Capacity Reimbursement Program assists labs, clinics and physicians’ offices with costs associated with expanding COVID-19 testing capacity. The program offers grants, capped at $30,000, to private, for-profit firms located in Marion County. The company must have started before Feb. 15, 2020, and those with multiple locations can submit a request for each one. Applicants must show the expenses, as documented by receipts, occurred after July 1, 2020. They may seek reimbursement for testing supplies or equipment, remodeling or expansion costs, or capital Improvements, which can include but are not limited to air handling, safety partitioning, and improvements designed to reduce the spread of the virus that comply with state and CDC guidelines. For more information, those interested can visit MovingBizForward.com or contact the CEP at (352) 629-8051.

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Third time no charm for city mask ordinance By Brad Rogers Executive Editor

All that is now required of businesses within the city limits is that they post a sign on their door declaring that masks are to be worn inside, according to city ordinance, and that they must announce that masks are required if they have an intercom system. Also, all employees of any business must wear masks. Business owners do

ell, the third time was not a charm. The Ocala City Council on Tuesday voted again to pass a municipal mask mandate to help stem the growing spread of coronavirus in the city, but by the time the final vote was taken virtually all involved agreed the third and final version of the ordinance was “watered down” and had virtually no teeth. “I would observe that this is a watered-down version of the previous ordinance, which was pretty watered down itself,” said City Council President Jay Musleh, who voted against the first versions of Councilman Matt Wardell’s attempt to make people in Ocala to wear face masks inside businesses and other public places. The final version of the socalled mask mandate excluded houses of worship and other governments’ buildings from the ordinance and eliminated any sanctions for businesses whose customers do not wear a mask in their establishments. That businesses had been held accountable for their customers not following the mask mandate in earlier editions of the ordinance was a sticking point with some on the council. While the ordinance still includes a $25 fine for businesses that do not comply with the ordinance, Mayor Kent Guinn, who oversees the police department, and Police Chief Greg Graham have both said police officers would not help enforce the ordinance and would never write a ticket. The final ordinance also has no sanctions for individuals who do not wear a mask.

“I’m not quite sure why we did not stick with the original resolution” -Jay Musleh not have to verbally request that customers wear masks as earlier versions had. Resident Brian Creekbaum chided the council from removing houses of worship from the ordinance. “From a public health standpoint, an exemption for houses of worship is insanity,” Creekbaum said. Businesswoman Sherry Wilson opposed earlier requirements that businesses enforce the ordinance and told the council, “We’re not enforcers, we’re businesspeople.” Councilman Brent Malever, who had been a swing vote throughout the evolution of the mask ordinance, was the impetus for the third rewrite because he opposed houses of worship being included. That they were removed from the ordinance satisfied him.

Kevin Sheilley, president and CEO of the Ocala/Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership reminded the council that his organization had been opposed to the first two versions of the ordinance but was supportive of the latest, watered-down version. “We certainly are for masks,” he told council members. Wardell, for his part, was clearly displeased with the whittling away of the ordinance that he had presented as an “emergency ordinance” as Ocala/Marion County saw the number of coronavirus cases surge more than tenfold between July 1 and Tuesday night’s meeting. As an “emergency ordinance,” it required 4/5 of the council to vote in favor of the measure. That occurred on July 21, although the original ordinance was vetoed by Mayor Kent Guinn. The council overrode Guinn’s veto on Aug. 10 then made some modifications that softened the ordinance, which again passed 4-1. But Malever’s concerns about houses of worship led to Tuesday night’s third version which also passed. A clearly weary and frustrated Musleh, who said he “was very much an advocate of people wearing masks,” ultimately voted for the final ordinance, declaring after casting his vote, “I’m not quite sure why we did not stick with the original resolution.” The council earlier this summer had passed a resolution urging residents to wear masks per the Centers for Disease Control recommendations. Wardell responded that he believed the discussion over the mask mandate had resulted in greater public awareness about the need for masks and more people wearing them.

Council President Jay Musleh. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Brian Creekbaum. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

People practice social distancing during the Ocala City Council meeting. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Starting at

PER MONTH*

Mon

20% OFF

ALL BASSETT PRODUCTS $

300 GIFT CARD

ON SELECT MATTRESS SETS

JACKSON POSH 8-Piece Sectional

Low Plush Back, Pillowtop Seat Cushions, Extra Deep Seats

Save $900

3099

WAS $3999

Starting at

LOOK F O

R OUR

RED T SPECIAL AG S A up to VINGS

60% O

PER MONTH*

Brown

HOMESTRETCH MALIBU 3-Piece Power Sectional

Shown in Smoke, also available in Brown • Power Headrest & Lumbar

Save $600

2699

WAS $3299

Starting at

PER MONTH*

Starting at

PER MONTH*

HOMESTRETCH Rocker Recliner

Your choice: Grey or Brown

Save $111

488

WAS $599

ACCRINGTON 2-Piece Sectional

Microfiber Upholstry, Plush Arms, Fixed Pillow-back Cushions

Save $200

799

WAS $999

*Payments shown based on 48 month financing estimates. Your payments may vary based on your credit approval. See associate for details. Prior sales not included. Due to early advertising deadlines, some items may be sold or out of stock. See or call store for details on total delivery area. Delivery is additional. Product photos are for illustration only, actual product may not be as pictured. Not responsible for typographical errors.

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE From Schools, page 1 rosy, Gullett outlined her vision of the schools in enthusiastic and ambitious terms. “We will be the shining star of the state,” she said. “I guarantee it. We will be the shining star of Florida.” To achieve that, Gullett said intends to “invest in human capital” and create a culture of continuous improvement. She also is already working on a longrange, five-year strategic plan that will be “multifaceted and measurable.” “If we do this well,” she said, “it will have a tremendous impact on the schools here and on the community.” “It’s not just about our students graduating … it’s also about what happens once they leave us.” She said the educational model she envisions provides “equity and access” in providing students with educa-

tional opportunities, and the schools have to be adaptable to meet whatever the students’ needs are. “We have to look at the data across the district and reach out to our students wherever they are.” Gullett, who came to Marion County from the Las Vegas school district, the nation’s 6th largest – said a key to her vision succeeding is to start talking to children about what they want to be when they grow up as early as elementary school. Then, she said, the school system’s mission must be “meeting them where they are and providing them with a pathway.” Gullett, who grew up in Clay County, south of Jacksonville, said she also wants to start something called Leadership MCPS, a community leadership program that will allow the district to engage citizens more productively.

[Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Cassandra Height, 7, wears her face shield and mask as she works on an activity. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Return to school safely with COVID-19 precautions By Christy Jergens Marion County Health Department

s in-person learning at schools resumes starting Monday, everyone in their households should take steps to stay healthy and protect each other from getting sick. Practice everyday preventive actions, limit interactions with other people, and stay informed on COVID-19 updates. Back to school planning: how to protect your family and loved ones For many families, back-toschool planning will look different this year than it has in previous years. Your school will have new policies in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. You may also be starting the school year with at-home learning. Whatever the situation, these tips are intended to help parents, guardians and caregivers plan and prepare for the upcoming school year. Children should be advised to do the following: • Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. • If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer comprised of at least 60 percent alcohol. Make sure you are using a safe product. The FDA provides a list of hand sanitizers consumers should not use. Adults should monitor children while they use hand sanitizer. • Maintain a recommended physical distance from other people, including other students. • Wear a cloth face covering or face shield as directed, based on the school’s guidelines. • Avoid sharing objects with other students, including water bottles, devices, writing instruments and books.

• Develop daily routines before and after school— for example, things to pack for school in the morning (like hand sanitizer) and things to do when you return home (like washing hands immediately). • Be familiar with your school’s plan for how they will communicate with families when a positive case or exposure to someone with COVID-19 is identified and ensure student privacy is upheld. • Be sure that your child does not attend class (except virtually, if available) if he or she is awaiting COVID-19 test results. If someone other than the student within your household is awaiting COVID-19 test results, make sure that person stays isolated away from others until test results are received. Older adults and people with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for serious illness from COVID-19. If your household includes anyone who is at increased risk, then all family members should exercise the appropriate precautions. People who live in multigenerational households may find it difficult to take precautions to protect themselves from COVID-19 or isolate those who are sick, especially if space is limited. It is important to understand potential risks and how to adopt different types of prevention measures to protect your family and to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. The CDC recently created guidance for multi-generational households. Although the guidance was developed as part of the CDC’s outreach to tribal communities, the information could be useful for all families, including those with both children and older adults in the same home. You can also contact your local health department for guidance.

Deana Burleson, a teacher, right, talks with Makala Marshall, 10. [Bruce Ackerman/ Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Bryson Kessel, 5, wears a mask as he works on an activity. [Bruce Ackerman/ Ocala Gazette] 2020.

[Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

The Best Journeys Always Lead You Home

The Marquis

$395,000 ••• OM547408

Defining elegant living, this 3-bedroom, 2-bath multi-story home in the private community of The Marquesas features beautiful wood ceilings, a custom stone fireplace and is overlooked by a stunning loft with bonus room. An amazing gourmet kitchen offers granite countertops, new stainless appliances and so much more! Valerie Dailey | 352.816.1080

Warm and inviting, this 4-bedroom, 2.5-bath estate rests on a little under an acre within White Oak Village. The home has a luxurious feel with cathedral and tray ceilings, large picture window, ample natural light, and an open floor plan. Just minutes from Ocala’s downtown shopping, dining and events. Valerie Dailey | 352.816.1080

White Oak Estate $389,000 ••• OM568767

Within the beautiful community of Del Webb Stone Creek, this immaculately kept 3-bedroom, 2-bath home offers mature privacy landscaping and has been newly painted throughout. Come be a part of a community that has activities for most everyone's interests!

Stone Creek

$208,000 ••• OM566697 Social distance in style with this luxurious 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom home. Surrounded by a park-like setting just under 3 acres, this home offers peaceful country living. Other fantastic amenities include a beautiful pool and home office. RVers will relish the enormous 20 X 50 motor home storage with 50amp plug-in. Kathy Prater | 352.817.4144

Jeaneen Crisante | 407.928.2685

Kathy Prater | 352.817.4144

Jeaneen Crisante | 407.928.2685

Fox Run Estates $438,000 ••• MLS TBD

www.ShowcaseOcala.com

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Photos courtesy of Marion County Extension Service

Amid COVID crisis, Marion County’s Extension Service planted hope and knowledge in ‘victory gardens’ By Bill Thompson Deputy Editor

otential revolutions are rarely an occasion for mirth. But to many it was likely amusing when some radical protesters in Seattle took over part of downtown, and in a demonstration of their autonomy, dumped top soil on the ground and stuck plants in it to show they could grow their own food. Perhaps those hip, young urbanites could have used some help from Marion County’s Extension Service, whose agents really do know farming, and who came up with a creative way to teach people how to grow food and build community amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Back in the spring Emma Cannon, a 4-H youth development extension agent in Marion County, developed a program to teach people about “victory gardens.” Cannon, who was assisted in the program by fellow Marion 4-H Agent Chandler Mulvaney, said she got the idea from her graduate studies at North Carolina State University. As a student, Cannon had researched victory gardens, which date back to World War I, and their importance not only to supply food but to build community and enhance patriotism. “Victory gardens were an outreach for the community because all the men were away at war,” Cannon said. “When COVID started and it looked like everything would be shut down, it took me back to my research. And it was the time when people would be planting gardens anyway, so we had a program on how to grow a garden.” Thus, the Victory2020

Garden Community was born. As History.com explains, America became the world’s breadbasket as World War I raged across Europe, turning farmers into soldiers and their cropland into battlefields. In March 1917, Charles Lathrop Pack established the National War Garden Commission “to encourage Americans to contribute to the war effort by planting, fertilizing, harvesting and storing their own fruits and vegetables so that more food could be exported to our allies,” History.com reports. “Citizens were urged to utilize all idle land that was not already engaged in agricultural production — including school and company grounds, parks, backyards or any available vacant lots.” Ultimately, in 1918, Americans harvested food from more than 5 million garden plots. The process was repeated for the same reason during World War II. By 1944, some 20 million plots churned out eight tons of food. Even first lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a garden at the White House. “Throughout both world wars,” History. com notes, “the Victory Garden campaign served as a successful means of boosting morale, expressing patriotism, safeguarding against food shortages on the home front, and easing the burden on the commercial farmers working arduously to feed troops and civilians overseas.” The history of victory gardens fascinated Ashtyn, Abree and Ada Perryman, who are Marion 4-Hers from McIntosh. They participated in

Cannon’s program. The girls did not plant their own victory garden, even though they have considerable experience planting both personal and competitive gardens for 4-H. Their family operates Coon Hollo Farm, an agritourism site in Micanopy that draws some 10,000 people each fall. In the spring they were busy helping run the farm, which the family opened over Mother’s Day weekend and promoted as a coronavirusacceptable outdoor activity. Instead of planting, the Perrymans, assisted by friends and fellow 4-Hers, Cora and Lane Taylor, made a video about victory gardens to teach their lineage to others. Ashtyn Perryman, 17, said the film portrayed the girls alternating between a World War II setting and today to explain the history of victory gardens. In the brief movie, they show how such a garden would be planted and maintained. “We flipped back and forth to show what they were going through, and we learned their response to tragedy, and what we can do to help ourselves and others now, even though we feel kind of helpless,” Ashtyn said. “We learned a lot about the history of victory gardens and 4-H history and teamwork and costumes. It was really cool to bring back the past.” It paid off. Earlier this month their movie won first prize at the National 4-H FilmFest in the category of “Voices of 4-H History.” Cannon said she saw the potential of instilling some of those same benefits that animated victory gardens of the past in contemporary Marion County. But she also saw an opportunity to make

it something more. “We realized if our whole extension office came together, with all our expertise in different areas, we could serve the public as a whole to improve lives during a global pandemic,” Cannon said. The program at that point was not just about dropping seeds in the ground. The Extension Service’s in-house experts shared knowledge, for example, on how best to plant the vegetables, to identify and eliminate pests, to cook the harvested crops and to can and preserve them for the future. At the end they had created an eight-part selfpaced online series that took participants, who ranged in age from 1 to 80, literally from soil to table. The gardeners were provided envelopes of seeds for cucumbers, squash, cowpeas and corn – all of which were left over from donations provided by Seminole Feed in Ocala for a spring 4-H program. Overall, Cannon said, the program ran on $7,500 in donations from individuals and groups like the Marion County Farm Bureau and the University of Florida. But the idea didn’t stay local. “It spread like wildfire,” Cannon said. For one thing, Cannon’s team partnered with the Columbia County Extension Office and exchanged program content with agents there. Erin Harlow, a horticulturist with Columbia County, said she started a Victory Garden program about the same time as Marion did to connect people when they might otherwise feel distanced.

“I wanted to provide a platform” – via a private Facebook group – “where we could learn from each other’s successes and failures. I also wanted people to have a way to get information from me since they couldn’t visit with my Master Gardeners or myself at the office,” Harlow said in an email. “The program has been amazingly successful. We enjoy seeing everyone’s garden and sharing in their ‘victories,’ no matter how large or small. We also provide comfort and sympathy when things don’t go right. We have gardeners from all walks of life, all ages, one plant to huge gardens, and from across the globe. It’s been a lot of fun.” Cannon said a private “victory gardens” Facebook group eventually enlisted 1,500 followers. It included families with toddlers, to the usual 4-H children to senior citizens. They also included followers from 40 states and five countries, including U.S. military families in Japan and Germany. Underpinning it all, Cannon added, was the emphasis on people doing their part to fulfill the 4-H philosophy of making “my club, my community, my country and my world” a better place. “I love gardening,” Cannon said, “because it’s good for your mental and physical well-being. With COVID-19, we’re not sending food overseas to troops, but we told them they were doing their part for their families and the community.” “Maybe this is an avenue how we can serve more,” she added. “This has taught me about a whole new way that we can improve people’s lives.”

HOME DELIVERY NOW AVAILABLE

Never miss an issue and save time by having Ocala Style Magazine delivered right to your mailbox for only $5.50 per month.

OCALASTYLE .COM/SUBSCRIPTION Ocala Style Magazine is still available for free at any of our distribution locations.

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Wildlands Nature Adventures The City of Ocala Recreation and Parks Department hosted Wildlands Nature Adventures at Scott Springs Park on Friday, August 14, 2020. Children who attended the outdoor event learned about animal tracking and how to identify an animal from their footprints and scat. Participants also got to track a park ranger through the woods using only their senses and cast an animal track to take home. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Park Rangers Caroline Rutkosky, second from left, and Seth Crevison talk to children about how to track a person through the woods

Park Ranger Caroline Rutkosky shows children how to identify animals by looking at their scat

Park Rangers Caroline Rutkosky, second from right, and Seth Crevison, second from left, show Hailey Reddick, 12, left, and Forest Deroy, 9, right, and other children, how to track a person through the woods.

AHO-462

Park Ranger Seth Crevison, second from right, helps Noah Nelson, 12, Aubrie Nelson, 11, Hailey Reddick, 12, and Forest Deroy, 9, left to right, make their animal tracking cards.

Close to home. A world of difference. New, modern suites big enough to hold all the love your newborn brings.

Introducing the Baby Place®. For over 100 years, we’ve been the leading experts in mother and baby care. Now, our newly transformed, postpartum center brings you the best of everything at AdventHealth Ocala. Here, you’ll bond with baby in the peace and privacy of your spacious, suite-style room, complete with tech-savvy amenities to help ease your body, mind and spirit. And as Marion County’s only center with a Level II NICU, you’ll have all the support you could dream of during the most beautiful moments of life. Visit AdventHealthOcala.com/BabyPlace to learn more.

AHO-462 OG TBP3 10x10.125.indd 1

8/17/20 4:29 PM

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

ENCORE PRESENTATION!

Belleview Student Elected FFA President

Photo courtesy of Florida FFA Association

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! September 3-6 JOIN US FOR AN INTIMATE CABARET WITH SOME OF OCT’S FAVORITE PERFORMERS!

ONLY FOUR EVENINGS, ALL AT 8 P.M. Thursday, September 3 Friday, September 4

Saturday, September 5 Sunday, September 6

iley Rowe, a senior at Belleview High School, has become the first ever Florida FFA Association president from Marion County. She was elected state president at the annual state FFA convention and is one of eight student officers statewide and the only officer representing Marion County for the 20202021 school year. “Growth, creativity and connection are the foundation for which our generation will make the greatest impact,” Rowe wrote in a letter to Florida FFA member and advisors. “It is the greatest honor of my life

to be chosen to serve you.” As an FFA member since middle school, Rowe has held several local and district offices in the organization. She plants to pursue an education and career in agriculture public relations. Throughout the school year Rowe will visit students at many of the youth leadership and agriculture organization’s 350 chapters in Florida and will represent the state at the national convention and the American Agriculture Experience. Rowe credits her own agriculture knowledge to growing up on her family’s Angus cattle ranch in Weirsdale.

Cabinet of Curiosities Scenic Photo Sub No. 3 Postcard

T DON’T MISS THIS LIMITED TIME OFFER! Select a Furniture Package* or Paid Moving Expense*

his postcard shows “Scenic Photo Sub No. 3” at Silver Springs. In the years before SCUBA gear was available, visitors could ride in “photo sub” boats to view or photograph the underwater beauty of the springs and river. In 1944, Pvt. 1st Class John Ott, based at the Army Air Forces Tactical Center in Orlando (now Orlando Executive Airport), visited Silver Springs and rode a photo sub. Pvt. Ott described his experience in a note to his mother this way: “In this type of boat one goes down steps to the bottom of the boat, which is about 4-5 feet

below the water level. Here one sits and looks through the side of the boat by means of port holes. Many photos are snapped on these boats but not all of them are of the subterranean wonders, as you can see on the other side.” The Silver River Museum is a program of Marion County Public Schools. Learn more at www. SilverRiverMuseum.com.

Photo and text provided by Scott Mitchell, director of the Silver River Museum

Offer ends August 31

Superior Residences of Lecanto 4865 W Gulf To Lake Hwy. Lecanto · (352) 746-5483 superiorlecanto.com *Disclaimer - Resident can choose either a mover package OR furniture package; one offer per apartment. Both offers require full community fee payment and agreement for automatic monthly payment for term of residency. Mover Package: Our community will pay moving expense up to $1,500 when resident takes possession of apartment on or before August 31, 2020. Movers must invoice community directly. Furniture Package: Packages valued up to $1,500 are provided per apartment size when resident takes possession of apartment on or before August 31, 2020. Furniture andaccompanying items selected are considered property of this community after end of residency.

Mention this ad and save $5 toward your Scout purchase of $30 or more. Online use Discount Code GAZETTE. Store pick-up is free!

Perfect for our Florida life • Find it in store and online. AGAPANTHUS • 18 SW BROADWAY STREET • DOWNTOWN OCALA

ShopAgapanthus.com • Curbside • Nationwide Shipping Good through 8/30/2020. In stock only. Final sale. Not combinable with other offers.

WORD FIND

s is a theme puzzle with the subject stated below. Find the listed words in the grid. (They may in any direction but always in a straight line. Some letters are used more than once.) Ring AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE h word as you find it and when you have completed the puzzle, there will be 22 letters left r. They spell out the alternative theme of the puzzle.

Sailing up north

Solution: 22 Letters

Abaft Ahoy Alee Axis Back Bags Balls Pyramid Bank Beacon Boat Cabin Clew

Coral Cove Crew Decks Deep Dinghy Drinks Films Fish Free Heat Inlet

Instays Main Mast Meals Nadir Navigation Norfolk Island Open Pole Sail Seaweed Sheet

Size Spar Spinnaker Storm Summer Surf Swim Trim Unexpected White horses Wind Yawl

Solution: In the tropical warm water

Creators Syndicate

737 3rd Street • Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 310-337-7003 • info@creators.com

Date: 8/21/20 Illustration by David Vallejo

Illustration by Steve Weaver

The current climate in our neck of the woods

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Community

8/21

Marion County Friday Market

8/21

Fall Food Gardening

8/22 8/22

McPherson Government Complex, 601 SE 25th Ave. 9am-2pm Shop locally fresh fruits and veggies, cinnamon buns, jerky, freeze dried treats, olive oils and seafood.

Virtual 9:30-11am UF IFAS Marion County Master Gardeners present a free online workshop. Mark Bailey, Marion County Sustainable Ag Agent, presents the best crops to plant in fall. Registration required at https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/marion/

WinePO

8/26

CEP 101

8/26

1 Million Cups Ocala

8/27

Summer Sweat Series

8/27

Brick City Farmers Market

Brownwood Farmers Market

2726 Brownwood Blvd., Wildwood 9am-1pm More than 70 vendors offer fresh produce and crafts. www.thevillagesentertainment.com.

Ocala Downtown Market

SE 3rd Street and SE 3rd Avenue 9am-2pm A variety of vendors offer local fruits and vegetables, meats and seafood, fresh pasta, honey, arts and crafts, rain or shine. www. ocaladowntownmarket.com

8/22

Vibranium Comic Fest

8/24

Veterans Café

8/25

Networks CEMG

8/25

Paddock Mall, 3100 SW College Rd. 11:00am Fee all-ages event. Cosplay welcome and face masks required. Call (352) 237-9049 for more information. www. vibraniumcomics.com

Hospice of Marion County Elliott Center, 3231 SW 34th Ave. 9-11am Veterans from all military branches and service eras are invited to socialize, share stories, provide support and enjoy free refreshments. Call (352) 873-7441 for more information.

Power Plant Business Incubator, 405 SE Osceola Ave. 8:15-9:15am Chamber Execs and Marketing Group. Email tom@ocalacep. com for more information.

Stiletto Network

CenterState Bank, 1632 E. Silver Springs Blvd. 4-5pm Please wear a mask. Email April Savarese at asavarese@ bgcofmarion.com for more information.

8/729

The Keep Downtown, 36 SW 1st Ave. 5:30-7:30pm Young Professionals Ocala’s monthly social series for current and future members. Enjoy The Keep’s wine, beer, cider and mead as well as non-alcoholic drinks and food with a 10 percent discount. Email andrea@ocalacep.com for more information.

Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership, 310 SE 3rd St. 8:30-9:30am An orientation for new partners and their staff. Email jim@ ocalacep.com for more information.

Power Plant Business Incubator, 405 SE Osceola Ave. 9:30-10:30am Two local startups present their business idea to an audience of community entrepreneurs. Email ryan@ocalacep.com for more information.

Paddock Mall, 3100 SW College Rd. 9-10am Free community yoga classes with local instructors, limited to 15 participants. Advance registration required; call (352) 2371223. www.paddockmall.com

Beautiful Moments, 3400 SW 60th Ave. 4-8pm Farmers and artisan vendors offer fresh produce, herbs, pasta, eggs, and baked goods as well as locally crafted soaps and jewelry. Masks required. www.brickcityfarmersmarket.com

Arts The Art of Purpose: An Applied Arts Exhibit

Brick City Center for the Arts, 23 S. Broadway Monday-Friday 10am-4pm; Sunday 11am-4pm This new exhibit, sponsored by Angie Lewis State Farm, celebrates applied arts, which integrate design and decoration into everyday and practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing. Visitors to the gallery are asked to please social distance and wear a mask. Email Ashley.justiano@ mcaocala.org or call (352) 369-1500 for more information. www.mcaocala.org

Has your business been negatively impacted by COVID-19?

Loan, Grant, and Training Funds for Marion County Businesses Marion County wants to ensure that every business continues to grow through the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to an allocation of the County’s CARES Act Fund, assistance programs are now available for businesses of all sizes. Every business should be committed to keeping employees safe.

Bridge to Recovery Program The Small Business Assistance Program seeks to assist businesses with 25 or fewer employees who have been experiencing continuing negative impacts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The business will need to submit an online application demonstrating the negative impact of COVID-19 and will be able to receive up to $15,000. The business will be expected to maintain the same number of employees. The company will report quarterly on their status for a period of 1-year.

Moving Forward Program The Business Assistance Program seeks to assist businesses with 26-100 employees who have been experiencing continuing negative impacts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The business will need to submit an online application demonstrating the negative impact of COVID-19 and will be able to receive up to $40,000. The business will be expected to maintain the same number of employees. The company will report quarterly on their status for a period of 1-year.

Testing Capacity Enhancement Reimbursement Grant Private labs, clinics, and physician offices can apply to be reimbursed for the purchase of equipment, testing supplies, additional space, etc. to expand their testing capabilities.

Project Operating Safely (PPE Reimbursement Program) Project Operating Safely will provide up to $3,000 in reimbursements to local businesses with fewer than 100 employees and up to $10,000 for businesses with more than 100 employees for the purchase of necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) and other health and safety-related items and services. Businesses may apply once for a reimbursement and funds will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis.

Find out how your business can access funds and submit an application at

MovingBizForward.com

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

8/21

Welcome Reception

8/26

Teaching Tuesday: Paper Bag Jellyfish

8/24 8/24

8/25 8/25

Brick City Center for the Arts, 23 S. Broadway 12-2pm Marion Cultural Alliance and the City of Ocala Cultural Arts are hosting a welcome reception for Leslie Nottingham, the new Ocala Cultural Arts Supervisor. Please wear a mask. RSVP (352) 629-8447.

Appleton Museum – virtual 10-10:30am The Appleton Museum presents a live streaming art project that the whole family can make at home with basic art and craft supplies. Online at www.facebook.com/appletonmuseum.

Government

8/25

Ocala City Council Strategic Planning Update

8/25

Soil and Water Conservation District Board Workshop

8/25

Ocala/Marion County Transportation Planning Organization Board

8/25

City of Belleview Code Enforcement Board

8/25

City of Dunnellon Planning Commission

8/27

Marion County Development Review Committee Staff Meeting

City of Belleview Site Plan Committee

City Hall Commission Room, 5343 SE Abshier Blvd., Belleview 9-10am Call (352) 245-7021 for more information.

Marion County Development Review Committee

Office of the County Engineer, 412 SE 25th Ave. 9am The DRC votes on waiver requests, drainage/site plans, subdivision master plans, preliminary plats, improvement plans and final plats. Call (352) 671-8686 for more information.

Hospital District Board of Trustees & Munroe Regional Health System Committees Hospital District Office, 1121 SW First Ave. 12pm Call (352) 622-3662 for more information.

Ocala City Council FY 20/21 Budget Workshop Ocala City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave. 12pm Call (352) 629-8401 for more information.

Ocala City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave. 12pm The mid-year strategic planning update will follow the 12pm budget workshop. Call (352) 629-8401 for more information.

USDA Ocala Service Center, 2441 NE Third St. 12:30pm For more information, call (352) 622-3971, ext. 3.

McPherson Government Complex Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave. 4pm Call (352) 438-2630 or visit www.ocalamariontpo.org for more information.

City Hall Commission Room, 5443 SE Abshier Blvd., Belleview 5:30-6:30pm Call (352) 245-7021 for more information.

Dunnellon City Hall, 20750 River Dr., Dunnellon 5:30pm Call (352) 465-8500 for more information.

Office of the County Engineer Bldg 1 Conference Room, 412 SE 25th Ave. 8:30am Applicants may discuss proposed or current projects with county review staff prior to meeting formally with the Development Review Committee. Call (352) 671-8686 for more information.

ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

6:30-9:30pm Miranda Madison La Cuisine

2:30 & 7:30 pm Elvis on Tour Orange Blossom Opry

8-11pm Zack Maruniak The Keep Downtown

5pm The Big Bad Bank Street Patio Bar

7pm Conrad Marcum Bank Street Patio Bar

2:30 & 7:30pm Elvis: An American Trilogy Orange Blossom Opry

9pm-12am Side Piece Pi on Broadway

6-10pm Jeff Jarrett Bank Street Patio Bar

7-10pm Heather Lynne The Keep Downtown

4-8pm Jeff Jarrett Gator Joe’s

11am Sounds Live Brunch The Courtyard on Broadway

7pm Fareeza Pi on Broadway

7-10pm The Big Bad The Crazy Cucumber

7:30-11:30pm Propaganjah Bank Street Patio Bar

12pm Johnny Gibbs Bank Street Patio Bar

7pm Orange Blossom Opry Showcase Orange Blossom Opry

August is National Clear the Shelters Month. Adoptions $25 through August 31st! View more adoptable pets at www.marioncountyﬂ.org/animal. Adoption price includes up-todate vaccinations, county license, microchip and spay/neuter surgery.

Tobias

Brooklyn

Your New Friend Fun-loving, 3-year-old mixed breed male dog seeks playtime companion. Let his friendly smile capture your heart and his playful energy will light up your home!

Cuddle Bug Affectionate 4-month-old female domestic, short-haired kitten seeks a loving home. Curl up with this cutie, pet her beautiful cap-and-saddle coat and feel all your worries fade away. 352.671.8700

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

We encourage our readers to share their opinions through letters to the editor. All letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, taste and libel. Letters should contain the writer’s full name, address and phone number. Letters should be 200 words or less. To give as many readers as possible an opportunity, we publish only one letter every 30 days per writer. Submit your letter to letters@ocalagazette.com.

The next fatality in Florida’s springs pandemic By Robert L. Knight Guest Columnist

ainbow Springs, located in southwest Marion County, long nourished the Rainbow River with over 450 million gallons per day of cool, clear and clean groundwater. During Florida’s inevitable droughts, Rainbow’s reliable groundwater discharge historically supported productive fisheries in the lower Withlacoochee River and Withlacoochee Bay. Ongoing monitoring has documented a catastrophic decline in flows in the Rainbow River and in the downstream water bodies. Based on analysis of the long-term flow records, the Florida Springs Institute has concluded that these flow reductions are primarily the result of excessive groundwater pumping throughout Florida’s Springs Coast Basin. Rising nutrient pollution in the groundwater feeding the springs and rivers is a second major stress on the

environmental health of these Outstanding Florida Waters. Nitrate nitrogen concentrations in the groundwater feeding the Rainbow Springs have risen by more than 4,500 percent and are nearly 600 percent higher than the state’s legal limit to protect healthy springs. In fact, there is enough nitrate in drinking water in southwest Marion County to increase the risk of certain human cancers by three- to five-fold. Excessive recreational pressure is the third major stress impacting the future of this natural aquatic wonderland. Hundreds of thousands of people are attracted to the Rainbow River each year to enjoy the cool and clear water — tubers, scuba divers and boaters — all with an unintentional but very real environmental footprint. Rainbow’s problems — reduced flow, nitrogen pollution and excessive recreation — are not new or unique. They have been documented by Florida’s governmental scientists

for at least 25 years. More than 80 percent of Florida’s 1,000-plus artesian springs are suffering from this pandemic of declining flows and increasing nutrient pollution. Florida’s springs are showing the symptoms of a life-threatening disease — altered or lost native vegetation, massive growths of filamentous algae, reduced water clarity, marked reductions in populations of native fish and other wildlife, and the resulting decline in their aesthetic qualities. Florida’s environmental laws prohibit human activities that result in springs and groundwater pollution. Florida lawmakers long ago (in the 1970s) mandated the maintenance of adequate water flows to protect healthy environmental systems. Florida law also provides our environmental agencies extensive power to control excessive recreational impacts in state parks and aquatic preserves. Florida’s governmental

officials are ultimately responsible for allowing the continuing death spiral at Rainbow Springs and the Rainbow River. Florida’s governor and his appointed directors at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Southwest Florida Water Management District have the power to turn this crisis around and put the Rainbow on a road to recovery. I challenge each of these responsible leaders to put on a face mask and swim down the Rainbow River this summer. Rainbow, formerly known as Blue Run, is filled with massive, bank-to-bank growths of bright green filamentous algae covering the native plants. The Rainbow needs to be put on a ventilator — it is dying as surely as many of our human neighbors are from an out-of-control COVID-19-like virus. The disease killing the Rainbow and our other springs is made here in Florida. This river is polluted and depleted because of poorly

regulated development. Too much groundwater pumping. Too much farm and yard fertilizer. Too many septic tanks. Too much insufficiently treated animal and human wastewater. And too many people loving the springs and river to death. All of the problems plaguing Florida’s springs can be resolved through the actions of a responsible government representing an ethical and engaged public. Until Florida’s government expeditiously and fully enforces the existing laws that were intended to protect Rainbow Springs, there should be no additional permitted activities along the river and in the springshed that will make bad conditions even worse.

Robert L. Knight is the executive director of the Florida Springs Institute in High Springs.

Photo courtesy of Visit Florida

Senior Learners, Inc. Fall Kickoff Instructors introduce their online courses via Zoom.

Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 10 a.m. Free and open to seniors age 50 and greater. Register to get the kickoff link at www.SeniorLearners.org.

Answers for page 9 Senior Learners, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing educational opportunities to seniors, who are at least 50 years old, by teaching noncredit, collegelevel classes, covering a broad range of academic interests, and providing other occasional activities to promote social interaction among our members.

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Seeing Florida’s recovery through a viewfinder By Dominic Calabro Guest Columnist

magine that you are a TV producer, trying to figure out how you can begin getting back up and running as the pandemic begins to abate. You need a sunny climate with easy access to beaches. After months on hiatus, your network has green-lit a full first season of your new show, and you need somewhere to set up shop. You don’t have an unlimited budget, though, so you have to make the call based on what location gives you the best balance of cost and atmosphere. Might Florida be the right choice? With companies like Netflix spending more than $12 billion on new programming in 2018 alone (yes, that says billion), there are no shortage of film and television productions out there, waiting to get back to work, going on-location with new jobs and new spending,

not to mention the impact on tourism that can come from having millions of viewers watching a show set in a tropical paradise like the Keys. Could the next wave of TV and film production help dig Florida’s economy out from under the COVID-19 rubble? As sports and entertainment return, could the industry surrounding our favorite actors and teams put a sizeable number of the millions of Floridians worrying about next month’s rent back to work? The Florida TaxWatch report, “Is The Sun Setting on Film in Florida,” reported that in 2016, as a result of a 2010 law that created a five-year, $242 million “transferable tax credit for the state’s film and entertainment industry,” the Florida motion picture and television industry was responsible for more than 150,000 jobs and $2.02 billion in wages. This industry has a demonstrated

history of stable, high-paying jobs across a multitude of sectors, such as caterers, dry cleaners, hotels, florists, hardware and lumber suppliers, software and digital equipment suppliers, plus the knock-on effects on theme parks and tourist attractions. All of these businesses are greatly affected by the current state of our economy and could receive a boost from a renewed effort to bring film & TV productions back to Florida. But for that to happen, the state has to do its part. If history has shown us anything, it is that film and television production companies will spend when on location. It has been reported that when Walt Disney Studios filmed in Lakeland a few years ago, the company spent more than $134,000 for local acting talent, hotel rooms, and other expenditures, in just three days. Film Florida, a not-for-profit association

that provides a leadership role in Florida’s film, TV, commercial, and digital media industry, estimates that recently Florida has experienced more than $1.3 billion in known lost film and television opportunities in the past few years alone. After years of decline and lost opportunities, is it just possible that this oncevibrant industry can be a catalyst for the recovery? Putting Floridians back to work, inspiring tourists to return to the state, and helping us all get back to normal? We can provide the right structure to incentivize this industry to come back to Florida, and it just might help put us back on track. Florida’s lack of an incentive program has decimated the state’s film and television production industry, and Georgia has benefitted tremendously from this policy decision. Florida TaxWatch research shows that a film incentive program could create

jobs for Florida residents, promote Florida tourism, pump additional revenue into local businesses, and generate state and local revenues if properly reconstituted with safeguards to ensure the state profits on its investment. Florida lawmakers need to recognize the value of this industry and leverage its ability to bring in serious cash flow into communities that desperately need it. Now is the time for Florida to build a new incentive program so when the film and television industry gets back up and running, Florida returns to being the destination that it deserves to be. Dominic Calabro is president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog and taxpayer research institute.

Photos courtesy of Florida Memory

A search for ‘heroes’ from Marion County appears to be fruitless By Bill Thompson Deputy Editor

“I

n my stars I am above thee, but be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em.” So reads Malvolio in Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” after coming across a prank letter intended to spur him to action. Recently, the Trump administration asked Marion County officials who from the community had been born great, achieved greatness, or had it thrust upon them in helping shape America’s history. They were stumped. So who would be the greatest Marion Countian ever? Does anyone from our past measure up as making some notable mark on U.S. history? The question arose after President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July speech at Mount Rushmore. Trump proposed creating the “National Garden of American Heroes,” which he said would be “a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans who ever lived.” He also signed an executive order to launch the project. On July 31, U.S. Interior

Department Secretary David Bernhardt asked Marion County for some suggestions. In a letter, Bernhardt noted “many statues and monuments that preserve the memory of our collective American story have been vandalized, destroyed or removed. President Trump has made clear that this Administration will not stand for anarchy and allow our Nation’s history to be erased. We must preserve the story of America’s heroes.” To that end, Bernhardt wrote that he was leading a task force to find a site, preferably on federal land and close to a major population center, for the National Garden of American Heroes. Trump’s executive order included the names of 31 “historically significant” Americans who would make the cut for the garden and would signify the kind of people recognized in it. These would be public figures who “contributed positively to America” and who “made substantive contributions to America’s public life or otherwise had a substantive effect on America’s history.” The role models Trump envisioned include the Founding Fathers, abolitionists,

military heroes including Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, inventors and entrepreneurs, pioneers, first-responders, labor leaders, former presidents or other elected officials, missionaries or religious figures, explorers, judges, intellectuals, authors and artists, teachers, or “opponents of national socialism or international socialism.” Trump’s not-so-short list in the executive order included: John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Daniel Boone, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Henry Clay, Davy Crockett, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Franklin, Billy Graham, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Douglas MacArthur, Dolley Madison, James Madison, Christa McAuliffe, Audie Murphy, George Patton, Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Betsy Ross, Antonin Scalia, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, George Washington and Orville and Wilbur Wright. Said garden, Bernhardt added, would recognize “the greatest Americans to ever live and (would) express our noblest ideals: respect

for our ancestors, love of freedom, and striving for a more perfect Union.” The garden relics would “show reverence for our past, dignify our present, and inspire those who come to visit this majestic place in the future.” Bernhardt then asked the county if it had land for the garden or any statues or monuments that could be donated or lent to it. In reply, County Commission Chairwoman Kathy Bryant sent a letter thanking the Interior Department for reaching out and added that Marion County applauded the concept. But, she wrote, the county could not contribute. “We feel Marion County does not hold the lands necessary, federal or otherwise, to appropriately honor this collection of monuments with the prominence and distinct honor so adequately deserved,” Bryant wrote. “We are humbled by the offer to highlight our local heroes in the vicinity of those honored by our nation. The achievements accumulated by the list of heroes selected for placement within this location are numerous and worthy of awe. Unfortunately, at this time, we are not in a position to

offer a statue or monument to be added to the 31 historical figures listed in the executive order,” she continued. “We appreciate and thank you for your work in preserving our nation’s history so that social advances and national triumphs are available for future generations to use as resources to continue America’s success story,” Bryant concluded. In a follow-up email to the county, Jeffrey Small, a senior adviser to Bernhardt, noted, “We suspect there will be hundreds in the National Garden by the time we are done with this project.” Which is scheduled to debut on July 4, 2026. He also suggested the county could “highlight some local heroes.” The county did not respond a second time, an official said. Bryant’s letter indicated our community did not have a statue ready to be planted in the National Garden of Heroes. But that also reveals that we haven’t produced someone worthy of such a monument. So how about it? Is there some prominent Marion Countian who our leaders have not considered? Let us know and we’ll pass them along.

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

65 and Older Population Grows Rapidly as Baby Boomers Age Census Bureau Releases 2019 Population Estimates by Demographic Characteristics

n June 25, 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau released estimates showing the nation’s 65-and-older population has grown rapidly since 2010, driven by the aging of Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964. The 65-andolder population grew by over a third (34.2% or 13,787,044) during the past decade, and by 3.2% (1,688,924) from 2018 to 2019. The growth of this population contributed to an increase in the national median age from 37.2 years in 2010 to 38.4 in 2019, according to the Census Bureau’s 2019 Population Estimates. “The first Baby Boomers reached 65 years old in 2011,” said Dr. Luke Rogers, chief of the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch. “Since then, there’s been a rapid increase in the size of the 65-and-older population, which grew by over a third since 2010. No other age group saw such a fast increase. In fact, the under-18 population

was smaller in 2019 than it was in 2010, in part due to lower fertility in the United States.” In 2019, over half (29) of the states had a median age older than 38.4 years, including all nine states in the Northeast. Eleven states were in the South, six were in the Midwest, and three were in the West. Since 2010, the nation’s under-18 population declined by 1.5%, from 74,182,279 to 73,039,150. In 2019, one in five people in Maine, Florida, West Virginia and Vermont were age 65 or older. Maine had the largest share (21.2%) of population in that age group, followed by Florida (20.9%), West Virginia (20.5%) and Vermont (20.0%). Utah had the lowest percentage (11.4%) of population age 65 and older followed by Washington, D.C. (12.4%), and Alaska (12.5%). Utah also had the lowest median age (31.3 years) in 2019, up 2.1 years from 29.2 in 2010.

North Dakota was the only state whose median age declined (1.7 years) between 2010 and 2019. In 2019, North Dakota’s median age was 35.3 years. Of the 3,142 counties in the United States in 2019, 57.3% (1,799) had a median age between 40.0 and 49.9 years; 34.2% (1,076) had a median age between 30 and 39.9; 6.8% (215) had a median age 50 or older; and 1.7% (52) had a median age younger than 30 years. Between 2010 and 2019, the median age increased in 83.2% (2,614) of counties. During this period, the median age dropped in 15.9% (500) of counties and stayed the same in 28 or 0.9% of counties. In 2019, Sumter County, Florida, had the highest median age (68.1 years), and Madison County, Idaho, had the lowest median age (23.3 years). A Changing Nation As the nation has continued to gray, it has also grown more

racially and ethnically diverse. References below to the race and ethnicity compositions are for race-alone-orin-combination groups or Hispanics of any race unless otherwise specified. The American Indian or Alaska Native Population • The American Indian or Alaska Native population was 6,945,552 in 2019, growing by 806,930 (13.1%) since 2010. • The median size of the American Indian or Alaska Native population in U.S. counties was 415 in 2019. • In 2019, the median age for this population was 31.3 years, up from 28.8 in 2010. The Asian Population • The Asian population in the United States was 22,861,985 in 2019, representing an increase of 5,185,297 or 29.3% since 2010. • The median size of the Asian population in counties in 2019

was 255. • In 2019, the median age of the Asian population was 35 years, up from 32.9 in 2010. • The Black or African American Population • The national Black or African American population was 48,221,139 in 2019, representing an increase of 5,004,079 (11.6%) since 2010. • The median size of the Black or African American population for counties in 2019 was 1,208 people. • In 2019, the median age for the Black or African American population was 32.3, up from 30.6 in 2010. The Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Population • The Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander population was 1,612,424 in 2019, up 21% or 279,895 since 2010. • The median size of the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander population for counties in 2019 was 36. • In 2019, the median

age of the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander population was 29.6 years, up from 26.4 in 2010. The White Population • The White population was 258,646,488 in 2019, an increase of 10,570,492 (4.3%) since 2010. • The median size of the White population for counties in 2019 was 22,417 people. • In 2019, the median age of the White population was 39.5 years, up from 38.4 in 2010. The Hispanic Population (Any Race) • The Hispanic population was 60,572,237 in 2019, up 20% or 10,093,626 since 2010. • The median size of the Hispanic population for counties in 2019 was 1,133 people. • In 2019, the median age for the Hispanic population was 29.8 years, up from 27.3 in 2010.

Older and Growing Percent Change among the 65 and Older Population: 2010 to 2019

Percent change 60.1 and higher 30.1–60.0 15.1–30.0 0.1–15.0 Decrease

Source: Vintage 2019 Population Estimates www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Understudy campaign offers fun way to support local theatre By Lisa McGinnes Staff Writer

heatre patrons, are you ready for your closeup? Ocala Civic Theatre (OCT) is offering a unique way to support local live performances for the organization’s 70th anniversary season. They’re calling it “the role of a lifetime—with no audition and no lines to learn.” The role: your smiling face in the audience. “We miss your face!” OCT Director of Marketing & Promotions Larry Kiernan said in a press release. “Sometimes you need to send in your understudy.” Because the theatre will sell a limited number of socially distanced seats for this season’s performances, many seats in between will remain open. This innovative “Send in my understudy” campaign offers you a seat for every show— well, your cardboard “understudy,” that is—costumed in your choice of a suit and an “I love OCT” tie or a dress and an “I love OCT” necklace. The concept is simple: for a $100

donation, you can upload your photograph (or the photo of a loved one, or even a pet!), which will be printed onto a 40” x 16” cardboard cutout to fill an empty seat during performances. There will be opportunities to decorate your cutout for holidays and special occasions, Kiernan said, as well as red carpet photo ops with your cutout at the end-of-theseason party. Your cardboard understudy will then be yours to keep. “We’ve been preparing for a season of socially distanced seating to provide the safest possible way for everyone to enjoy live theatre together,” Kiernan said. “This is a wonderful way to support the theatre during this unprecedented time. We’d love to see both you and your ‘understudy’ with us for opening night – and all season long!” For more information, visit www. ocalacivictheatre. com or contact Larry Kiernan at (352) 236-2851 ext. 108 or lkiernan@ ocalacivictheatre.com.

Lawyer: Lawsuit against the City Council will continue despite changes to the mask-mandate ordinance By Bill Thompson Deputy Editor

he Ocala City Council revised its emergency mandatory-mask ordinance again this week, apparently hoping the power of persuasion, rather than brute government power, will convince people to go along as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise. Despite the change, however, the Ocala attorney who sued the city over its mask law is not backing down. Christina D’Amato-Miller said for her a constitutional principle at stake – to wit, the City Council turning business owners into its enforcers, rather than policing mask scoff laws itself. Court records indicate the city has not responded to D’Amato-Miller’s petition. Members of the city’s legal team could not be reached for comment prior to publication. D’Amato-Miller sued the city last week after the council overrode Mayor Kent Guinn’s veto of the initial emergency order. Guinn cited problems with enforcing the law, including churches in the law as “business establishments” and potential meddling with the privacy of people who claim a healthcondition exemption to masking. The council overturned the veto 4-1, with council President Jay Musleh dissenting. But the majority recognized the unpopularity of much of its language and sought to assuage concerns. The new version considered on Tuesday excluded churches, as well as voting locations. It also clarified that the regulation applied only to city property and not to other government agencies headquartered within Ocala, such as Marion County government and the Sheriff ’s Office. Moreover, the masking requirement was softened. The original version said business owners “shall ensure that every person in such business establishment or lodging establishment wears a face covering.” The ordinance now says business owners must post signs encouraging patrons to wear masks, make an announcement over a public address system if one is available and require

only employees to mask up. Guinn still has until Aug. 28 to veto this version, if he so desires. In her petition against the original ordinance, D’Amato-Miller argued that the law amounted to an “unlawful delegation of powers, as well as infringement upon individual constitutional rights.” She noted that at least 14 other local governments, from Key West to the Panhandle, had been sued over the constitutionality of mask mandates. The distinction for Ocala, D’Amato-Miller maintained, was that it approached the mandate obliquely by placing the enforcement burden on business owners such as herself. “Ocala has not specifically enacted any legislation that actually requires individuals to utilize face coverings,” she argued. “The abject failure of Ocala to draft any meaningful law to remotely achieve its stated objective cannot stand as a matter of law. It simply must be struck.” She further maintained, “In a clear effort to circumvent the constitutional question of governmental powers with regard to facemask mandates, Ocala has instead unlawfully delegated both its powers and responsibilities, of legislating and enforcing individual citizen’s choices with regards to face mask usage, to private business owners.” D’Amato-Miller told the Gazette that despite the recent changes she intends to press her case. “My position remains the same. If the city wants its constituents to wear masks, then they need to order them to do so,” she said. “They have purposefully sidestepped the long established system of checks and balances by refusing to order citizens to wear a mask, while still requiring businesses to interfere in the personal healthcare choices of others.” “My bigger problem,” she continued, “is that they have bootstrapped the ability of individuals to file a constitutional challenge, since consumers and citizens are not actually required to do anything, only private business owners.” “It’s a gross misuse of power,” she added. “It has nothing to do with anyone’s position on masks. It has to do with your right to challenge behavior you believe to be unconstitutional. That’s our system, like it or not.”

Senior Learners “Paris: In Search of Mary Cassatt”

enior Learners, Inc. is temporarily transforming from classroom to offering interactive, summer courses online, through Zoom, for seniors age 50 or older. Senior Learners will host “Paris: In Search of Mary Cassatt,” on Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 1:30 p.m., online. Instructor Dr. Evelyn Kelly will discuss the unique place Mary Cassatt holds among American

artists, both as a female painter and impressionist. Cassatt, the daughter of a wealthy banker, enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and was disgusted with the narrowmindedness and nastiness of the male students and faculty. Even her father said he would rather see her dead than become an artist. So she left her native Pennsylvania and moved to

Pairs. Her first painting, “The Mandolin Player,” was shown in a prestigious salon and caught the eye of Edgar Degas. He influenced her into trying the new and exciting style of impressionism. The cost of the course is $2.50 and is open to the public 50 years of age or more. Visit www.SeniorLearners. org or call 352-239-8780 to learn more and register.

No knock necessary: Stone urges county residents to finish the census By Bill Thompson Deputy Editor

020 is mostly gone. But it’s not too late to get counted. County Commissioner Michelle Stone on Tuesday was encouraging community residents to still answer the census. “The census is still in play right now,” she said during the commissioners’ comment period. “We want to make sure everyone in Marion County gets counted.”

Then noting that federal census-takers are now canvassing the community, Stone added, “Please answer the knock.” As of Tuesday, 63.8 percent of U.S. households had responded to the census, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Florida, however, was lagging, with a response rate of 60.6 percent. Marion County was outpacing both, as well as its performance 10 years ago. So far, the county’s response rate was 64.2

percent, which was up from 63.8 in 2010. As a city, Ocala was trailing. To date, 60.4 percent of city households had answered the decennial population count. In 2010, the city posted a 63.2 response rate. Because of COVID-19, the federal government tabled in-person questioning until later in the summer. So, door-todoor canvassing to catch up to those who have yet to respond via mail or by the internet began on Aug. 11. It will end on Sept. 30. The county

has adopted and is promoting the Census Bureau’s promotional campaign -- #AvoidTheKnock – to encourage people to fend off home visits by census-takers. In that vein, Stone on Tuesday encouraged people to head online to 2020census.gov to complete the census and, thus, avoid the knock “Fill that information out so everyone is counted,” Stone said. “That pulls dollars into this community.” The Census Bureau notes that roughly

$700 billion in federal funding is divvied up among more than 100 separate and diverse programs and funneled to individual communities according to census data. Those dollars cover everything from school lunches to public housing to highway projects to fixing leaky underground storage tanks to helping disabled veterans. Because of census data, Stone noted, “Dollars flow back into this community to assist those in need at the time of need, not to mention how

Congress is allocated on our behalf in the next 10 years.” That latter comment refers to the fact that Florida, because of population growth, could gain two additional seats in the House of Representatives, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.based think tank. “There’s a lot of money at stake for our community, and I just ask that everyone who has not completed their census, please do so,” Stone said.

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Mostly gone, but not forgotten: County Health Department keeps an eye on relatively dormant Hep A outbreak This time last year, before any of us had heard of COVID-19, local public health officials were monitoring an increasing number of hepatitis A cases. New safety practices put into place in response to the coronavirus have also helped stop the spread of another infectious disease. By Bill Thompson Deputy Editor

or nearly six months now, local public health officials have focused their attention and resources on COVID-19, and understandably so. But it wasn’t so long ago that Marion County was in the middle of another troubling public health emergency – one that seems to have been contained in part because of COVID-19. In July 2018 Marion County witnessed an unexpected increase in hepatitis A cases that lingered until just a few months ago, said Marion County Health Department Administrator Mark Lander. Hepatitis A, or Hep A for short, is a highly contagious liver disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that most often Hep A, unlike other strains, will go away on its own in time without treatment and without causing chronic liver damage

or, except in rare cases, liver failure, which tends to occur in the elderly when it happens. It does, however, cause weeks of discomfort, exhibited by fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Those conditions can be more severe in people with compromised immune systems. Hep A is spread through contact with feces of infected people, usually caused by inadequate hand-washing and other poor hygiene practices. It can also be contracted through contaminated food or beverages. The CDC says a vaccine is the best way to prevent it. Despite its ease of transmission, the disease was almost nonexistent in Marion County a few years ago. According to state Health Department data, the county reported just one case each year between 2015 and 2017. Yet that jumped to 13 in 2018, and rocketed up to 152 last year. For 2020, though, Marion’s number

“We’ve just been very fortunate. Even though we don’t have any active cases (in Marion County), the reality of the situation is that the mitigation practices are similar. By stressing those with COVID, it’s really helping with hepatitis A.” -Mark Lander

of Hep A cases has plunged to just four, as of Aug. 16. Lander said that two years ago the initial outbreak was triggered in Ocklawaha and arrested by a vaccination drive in the community. Then it spiked last year, which mirrored a statewide and national trend. Last year’s surge drove Health

Department officials in Tallahassee to declare a public health emergency. Locally, said department spokeswoman Christy Jergens, the agency responded by conducting vaccination events at its headquarters and out in the community, immunizing both residents and people who worked with atrisk folks.

More than 9,000 Hep A vaccinations were administered during 2019, according to Jergens. As recently as six months ago, the county Health Department was promoting another free Hep A vaccination event for March. But then the coronavirus pandemic struck -- and that helped, said Lander. Lander attributed the drop-off in Hep A cases to two factors. One was targeting the right areas for vaccinations. Besides the Ocklawaha outbreak, Jergens noted that the most common risk factors locally were drug use and homelessness. In time the department successfully slowed the spread of Hep A despite hurdles with contact tracing. Jergens said that can be more complicated with an illness such as Hep A because sometimes illegal activity, such as drug use, has “dampening effect” on people sharing information local health authorities need to

notify those who may bey exposed. Stay-at-home orders issued in April were the other critical factor. “That snuffed out the main source,” said Lander, noting that contact tracing revealed that people had brought the disease in from places like Citrus, Pasco and Volusia counties. “There was a lot less intercounty travel.” In fact, Lander said, many tactics that help curtail the spread of COVID-19 are effective in slowing Hep A. For instance, thorough and repetitive handwashing, and contact tracing. “We’ve just been very fortunate,” said Lander, noting that his department continues to maintain weekly updates on Hep A, and watch it elsewhere. “Even though we don’t have any active cases (in Marion County), the reality of the situation is that the mitigation practices are similar. By stressing those with COVID, it’s really helping with hepatitis A.”

Health director assesses county’s COVID-19 numbers By Brad Rogers Executive Editor

hen Mark Lander developed a slight cough a couple weeks ago, he didn’t think anything of it – at first. But when it persisted the next day, he went for a COVID-19 test. He tested positive. Lander, administrator of the Florida Department of Health-Marion, is back at work and is encouraging Marion County residents to follow his example and not go to work if you have any symptoms that might suggest you have the coronavirus. Too many people, he says, are not doing that. And the numbers back him up. Since July 1, the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Marion County have increased tenfold, from 727 cases and 11 deaths on July 1 to 7,614 cases and 121 as of Wednesday. The good news, in recent days the county is seeing a downward trend in the number of daily cases, but Lander said the numbers “are still outrageous.” “They’re going down, but we still have

too many cases,” he said. Lander noted that about one-third of all the county’s cases have come out of correctional facilities and long-term care facilities. He added, however, that both groups have responded to the recent spike in local cases and now have stabilized, especially the prisons. “The correctional facilities have got their situation under control,” he said, adding, “it’s nearly impossible to have non-congregant facilities and not have it spread like wildfire.” He went on to say workers in correctional and long-term facilities have to be extra cautious if they develop anything resembling coronavirus symptoms. “A lot of people feel like they need to be at their jobs, whether at a correctional facility or long-term care,” he said. “When they do that, they take a chance of infecting the ones they’re charged with caring for.” As for deaths, on July 1 Marion County had experienced 11 deaths due to the virus. As of Wednesday, that number was 121. Lander said that 105 of those 121 cases had

been people who were 55 or older. Lander said he was not surprised by the spike in cases over the past month and a half. “Until we have everyone adhering to the recommendations – which is, if you’re sick stay home – we’re going to keep seeing spread,” he said. “We were going along good for so long. All along

more than 10 people and if you think you are sick, stay home. People are doing those things more and more, he said, and the result is the numbers are beginning to go down. “It is difficult,” Lander acknowledged. “But with Florida reopening, we have to reopen responsibly.” Now the schools are opening on Mark Lander

Since July 1, the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Marion County have increased tenfold we kept saying ‘We’re going to catch up.’ … I think what happened is we got comfortable.” Lander said earlier in the summer Marion Countians got complacent and started holding or attending large events. The result is the spike we are in. Lander’s instructions are simple and nothing the public has not heard before wear a face mask, don’t go to events with

Monday. Lander said his department has worked closely with the school district to provide guidance and access to quick turnaround testing. But with so many people congregating, there is no doubt new cases will emerge. “I think it’s realistic to say we will have cases coming out of the schools,” he said. He said the trick to containing outbreaks in the schools will be

removing suspected virus carriers, isolating them and doing quick contact tracing. On Tuesday, Dr. Keith Singer, medical director for the Health Department, briefed the County Commission on local hospital capacity. Singer said he monitors COVIDrelated hospital data daily, and he noted that in recent days the seven-day rolling average of admissions had ticked up, with a couple more people admitted to the hospitals than were discharged. Still, Singer said, that was “not a big concern.” The doctor also noted that the “census” at the three local hospitals was trending up as well.

“We are not at risk of overwhelming hospital resources, but there is an uptick in the numbers,” he said. “So, this is something I want to watch very carefully.” Similarly, Singer characterized the rolling average of the intensive care unit census as “very stable,” while adding that “ventilator usage is trending down and has been for several days.” “That’s good to see,” he said. “People are not going on a vent, people are not requiring ventilation. Doctors have other means by which they are treating people that doesn’t require ventilation, which they’ve learned over the past several months, and survival has gone up as well.”

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Hotel business rebounds after disastrous spring By Brad Rogers Executive Editor

hen the coronavirus first emerged as a national health crisis earlier this year, one of its first victims was the hospitality industry. People sheltered en masse and, as a result, they quit traveling and quit checking into area hotels. After a disastrous couple of months, however, the local hotel industry has staged something of a comeback, although it is far from fully healthy. In March of this year, when the coronavirus first

entered U.S. lives, the state reports that hotels in Ocala/ Marion County did $5.8 million in lodging sales. That is compared with $10.3 million a year earlier. In April, local hotel sales plummeted to $2.8 million, down sharply from the same month a year earlier when the figure was $7.4 million. There was only slight improvement in May, when local hotel receipts reached $3.9 million, compared with $6.2 million a year earlier. June of this year, the latest figures available, brought a continuation of a rebound for the hotel industry locally, with

hotel receipts for the county jumping to $6 million, compared with $6.4 million in June last year. Azim F. Saju, vice president and general counsel for the Ocalabased HDG Hotels, said the resurgent hotel occupancy numbers largely are due to “pent-up demand” after months of people sheltering in place. “It’s the American spirit of wanting to travel and seek leisure,” said Saju, whose company owns 19 hotels in Central Florida. “You can’t keep Americans down.” Another local hotel operator, Danny Gaekwad, said his hotels are seeing an

increase in business as well, but he was quick to add that occupancy, while up, is still well below historic levels. Both Saju and Gaekwad said the customers their hotels are seeing are domestic travelers and, in many cases, regional residents just looking for a weekend getaway. “Business travel is anemic still,” Saju said. “The conventions, the meetings, just aren’t happening.” For his part, Gaekwad said most of his hotel customers live within driving distance, and many are on short business trips. He said what is missing from his current clientele is “the long-term visitor.”

Saju said his organization has partnered with the hotel chains it represents to rewrite the rules for providing overnight accommodations. For example, instead of a breakfast buffet in the morning, hotel guests get a “graband-go” breakfast. In the rooms, “common touch points,” like pens, toiletries and writing paper, have been remove. Keyless entry, by way of a cell phone, has replaced room keys. Moreover, Lisa Lombardo, chief people and culture officer for HDG, said hotels have always had intense cleaning protocols, but since the coronavirus has become part of everyday life, the major hotel chains have upped their game. Lombardo said rooms are more thoroughly cleaned and cleaners are now “hospital grade.”

Gaekwad, who sits on the board of VisitFlorida, the state’s tourism promotion agency, said the federal government’s Payroll Protection Program has helped his hotels weather the coronavirus storm, but believes the industry’s troubles are far from over. “Everything is not dead,” he said. “But we are in the eye of the storm.” For every month from March to June of this year, hotel occupancy in Ocala/ Marion County was down at least 20 percentage points over the same months in 2019, according to the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau. But Saju remains optimistic that better times are sure to come. “We don’t bet against the United States of America,” he said. “So, we definitely believe things will get better.”

[Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

SkillUp®

Citrus Levy Marion 5,000+ FREE Online Courses!

Accessible by anyone, any time, anywhere Sign up: citruslevymarion.skillupamerica.org Learn more: call 800.434.JOBS

Skillup™ Citrus Levy Marion is supported by the U.S. Department of Labor as part of awards totaling $8.7 million (revised annually) with no portion financed from non-governmental sources. CareerSource CLM is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids/services available upon request to persons with disabilities and in Spanish. Voice phone numbers may be reached via the Florida Relay at 711. For accommodations, please call 800-434-5627, ext. 7878. CareerSource CLM is a proud partner of the American Job Center network and member of CareerSource Florida.

TOYOTA MAKES THE CAR... DELUCA MAKES THE DIFFERENCE! — Since 1978 —

FRANK DELUCA PRESIDENT/OWNER

0% FINANCING 72 MONTHS! *

UP TO

2020 CAMRY

4653

$ UP TO

OFF! MSRP

— OR —

118

LEASE FOR

2020 COROLLA

$ UP TO

PER MO 1

2964 OFF! MSRP

— OR —

$ LEASE FOR

2020 RAV4

$ UP TO

PER MO 2

2502 OFF! MSRP

— OR —

124

LEASE FOR

PER MO 3

SR 200 Ocala, FL 352-732-0770 • DELUCATOYOTA.COM B BBBBB CAMRY LE MODEL ##### VIN# TTCCCAKKLUUUUUUU MONTH LEASE WITH APPROVED CREDIT. ...DUE AT LEASE SIGNING PLUS TAX, TAG, TITLE, REGISTRATION, AND DEALER FEE OF . SECURITY DEPOSIT. PLUS DEALER I STALLED OPTIONS. K MILES PER YEAR ... A MILE FOROVERAGE. NET CAP COST ... ORR #BBBBB MODEL##### CAMRY XSE VIN##TTKKKAKKLUUUUUUU, OFF MSRPP ,,,, SALE PRICE ,,,, EXCLUDES TAX, TAG, REGISTRATION, TITLE AND DEALER FEE. OFFER EXPIRES OFFER EXPIRES ////////. COROLLA LE PER MONTH #BBBBB COROLLA LE MODEL ##### VIN# JTDEPRAEELJJJJJJJ MONTH LEASE WITH APPROVED CREDIT. ... DUE AT LEASE SIGNING PLUS TAX, TAG, TITLE, REGISTRATION, AND DEALER FEE OF . SECURITY DEPOSIT. PLUS DEALER INSTALLED OPTIONS. K MILES PER YEAR ... A MILE FOROVERAGE. NET CAP COST ... ORR #BBBB MODEL##### COROLLA SE VIN# YFSSRCEELPPPPPPP OFF DE EXCLUDES TAX, TAG, REGISTRATION, TITLE AND DEALER FEE. OFFER EXPIRES OFFER EXPIRES ////////. BBBBB RAVV LE MODEL ##### VIN# TTHHRFVVLCCCCCCC MONTH LEASE WITH APPROVED CREDIT. ... DOWN DUE AT LEASE SIGNING PLUS TAX, TAG, TITLE, REGISTRATION, AND DEALER FEE OF . SECURITY DEPOSIT. PLUS DEALER INSTALLED OPTIONS. K MILES PER YEAR ... A MILE FOROVERAGE. NET CAP COST ... ORR BBBBB RAVV MSRPP ,,,, SALE PRICE LIMITED VIN# TTYYRFVVLCCCCCCC OFF MSRPP SALE PRICE ,,,, EXCLUDES TAX, TAG, REGISTRATION, TITLE AND DEALER FEE. OFFER EXPIRES OFFER EXPIRES ////////. *#BBBBB CAMRY HYBRID XLE MODEL ##### VIN# TTFFFAKKLUUUUUUU. // ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE FINANCING ON NEW COROLLA WITH RESPECTIVE TERMS OF MONTHS. THIS OFFER APPLIES TOWELLLQUALIFIED BUYERS AND REQUIRES APPROVED CREDIT AND FINANCING THROUGH SOUTHEAST TOYOTA FINANCE. NOTALL BUYERS WILL QUALIFY FORTHESE RATES. PAYMENTS MAY BE DEFERRED FORTHE FIRST DAYS; INTEREST ACCRUES FROM INCEPTION. MONTHLY PAYMENT FOREVERY ,,,, FINANCED IS ..% MONTHS = ...; NODOWN PAYMENT REQUIRED. EXCLUDES TAX, TAG, REGISTRATION, TITLE AND DEALER FEE. MAY NOTBE COMBINED WITH CERTAIN OTHER OFFERS. EXCLUDES TAX, TAG, REGISTRATION, TITLE AND DEALER FEE. OFFER EXPIRES OFFER EXPIRES ////////.