OCTOBER 1 - OCTOBER 7, 2021
RESPONSE TIMES
OPD is the focus of Part 2 of our series,
A 4-part series
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 14
$2
page A5
PART ONE
City's costs near $700,000 in homeless lawsuit By Carlos Medina carlos@ocalagazette.com
Carson Goetz, 6, of Oxford, gets some help feeding Shelly, an Asian Elephant, from Laura Parker, left, as Patricia Zerbini, right, looks on at Two Tails Ranch in Williston. Bruce Ackerman/OG
Two sides of the tale Area elephant facility at center of debate over animal exhibition
a sanctuary, animal rescue or forMost reviews on the travel booking and review website TripAdvisor rate the facility as "excellent" or "very good." Many are generous with their praise. "This was an experience of a lifetime," one traveler gushed. "We got to not only learn about elephants but got to have an 'extreme encounter' with them. This included quality time bathing, riding and taking photos with them." But the attraction feel of See Two Tails, page A6
See Case, page A2
Amelia Thompson, 2, of Slidell, LA, rides Shelly, an Asian Elephant, with her mother, Hilary. Bruce Ackerman/OG
For more than a decade, Wear Gloves Inc. has been trying to help those in need get back on their feet and rejoin the community. Wear Gloves has launched organization: the Dignity Center, in the Garden are three of its earliest. On Oct. 1, Wear Gloves will open
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Wear Gloves' Dignity House to offer counseling services By James Blevins james@ocalagazette.com
costs and bring the case to an end. Patrick Gilligan, city attorney, said he felt the amount awarded was still too high but noted it was probably the best they could do. “We can appeal it. I don’t recommend that. I don’t see us prevailing on appeal,” he said.
its latest initiative, Dignity House. The house, located on 98 N.E. 9th St., will feature a drop-in center and counseling services. director for the Dignity House, said clients are already showing up. "People have just started coming was getting out, so we were like, 'Okay, let's do it.' We've opened early—the need is that great." Dignity House operates as a safe space and drop-in center for See Goal, page A3
Janice Prothro, a peer volunteer who is a recovered client, left, gets a hug from Brandy Forman-Kraft, the director of the Dignity House. Bruce Ackerman/OG
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t the end of a quiet, unpaved road in Williston is Two Tails Ranch, home to a menagerie of exotic animals, including seven adult elephants. But beyond its physical location, it also sits at the crossroads of the past, present and future. The ranch is at the center of an ongoing debate over animal welfare and what constitutes exploitation and abuse. Patricia Zerbini, the CEO of Two Tails Ranch Inc. and All About Elephants Inc., recently held her annual Elephant Appreciation Day event. Two visits to the facility
by Ocala Gazette journalists prompted questions about the nature of the facility By Any Other Name There's confusion surrounding the precise
the U.S. Middle District of Florida. But in his order on Aug. 31, U.S. District Judge James Moody reduced that amount to $392,129.58. That does not include the more than $270,000 the city incurred in its costs and attorney’s fees. On Sept. 16, the Ocala City Council unanimously agreed to pay
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By Nick Steele Special to the Ocala Gazette
Ocala must pay nearly $400,000 in fees and costs to attorneys who brought a case against the city’s open lodging ordinance in September 2019. But the damage could have been worse had the court not cut the amount by nearly half. The ACLU of Florida and Southern Legal Counsel (SLC) claimed they accrued more than $1.16 million in fees and costs. They were seeking more than $780,000 in reimbursement,