Ocala Gazette | November 13 - 19, 2020

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NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19, 2020

NTSB investigators detail Graham’s fateful flight

A house divided Nine area leaders reflect on the nation’s heated divisions and possible paths to harmony and understanding here in Ocala

Ocala police chief’s plane was flying slowly and changing altitude before the 18-minute flight ended in disaster

By Brad Rogers Ocala Gazette

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Ocala Gazette staff

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lection Day 2020 may be over, but political animosities linger as Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, whites and people of color, the working class and the perceived elites, continue to wage a pitched battle for the soul of America.

The outcome of the election seems set at this point – although a fair number of Republicans disagree still. But the cultural, racial and values divisions that have surfaced in recent years figure to be with us for some time, fueled in large part by defining issues like police shootings of Blacks, COVID-19 and immigration, among other things.

Against this backdrop, we asked some of Ocala’s community leaders – people with front-row seats to workplaces, faith groups, local institutions and Ocala at large – to share their insights into the causes of these divisions and, importantly, their recipes for healing.

Here is what they said:

Lauren Deiorio ‘When these heated issues run their course, how are you going to repair the relationships you destroyed?’

ederal investigators have issued a preliminary report about the airplane crash that killed former Ocala Police Chief Greg Graham last month, but they have not determined what caused the crash near Dunnellon.

The preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board mostly details Graham’s route, based on radar readings, after he took off around 10:34 that Sunday morning from Back Archers Airport in Belleview in his 1966 Cessna 172H single-engine plane. NTSB spokesman Terry Williams said there has not been any determination as to the cause of the crash and that it could take a year or more to identify the actual cause.

The NTSB said Graham took off and flew over Lake Weir before turning west and heading toward the Marion County Airport, also known as the Dunnellon airport.

He was flying at 1,250-1,300 feet when at 10:38 a.m. Graham began a slow decent to 900 feet before climbing back to 1,000 feet, the See Investigation, page 3

For Lauren Deorio, president and executive director of the Community Foundation of Ocala/Marion County, the social, political and cultural tensions that divide people hit home, literally: Deorio’s hometown of Louisville, Ky., suffered devastating riots in the wake of the shooting of Breonna Taylor.

“The destruction has left many to wonder who is going to be responsible for the cleanup,” she said. “The focus needs to be on constructive action not destructive

See Quintel, page 4

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Scot Quintel, executive director of the United Way of Marion County, said the current political divisions in the country are palpable within his organization from time to time, and coping with them is a matter of trying to understand and respect the other person.

“While I see individuals and organizations continue to work together, you can also feel tension in the air from time to time, and that makes bringing folks together something of a challenge,” he said. “From an organizational standpoint, it’s more important than ever to be cognizant of where the other person is coming from.

“It’s about being respectful. One of the things that has changed drastically over the past 15 or 20 years is

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Scot Quintel

‘We seek to be understood rather than trying to understand’

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See Deiorio, page 4

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NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Honoring the protectors of freedom Dozens of people turned out under gray skies Wednesday to honor the millions of Americans who served, and still serve, in the Armed Forces and have sacrificed for our freedoms. The event, at the Ocala/Marion County Veterans Memorial Park on Southeast Fort King Street and Southeast 25 Avenue, featured a Color Guard presentation by West Port High School’s JROTC, music from the Belleview High School jazz band, student essays, a family wreath presentation and 21gun salute by the Ocala Police Department, and more. [Photos by Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Vietnam Veteran Vern Shukoski bows his head as Taps is played during the Veterans Day ceremony at the Ocala/Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in Ocala

Reina Reynold, 2, looks on with her mother, Katie, as they wait for the Colors to be presented during the Veterans Day ceremony at the Ocala/ Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in Ocala on Wednesday.

Master Sergeant, Jeffrey Kochen, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, salutes as the National Anthem is performed during the Veterans Day ceremony at the Ocala/Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in Ocala on Wednesday.

Spectators look on from the grandstand as members of the West Port High School U.S. Army JROTC present the Colors during the Veterans Day ceremony at the Ocala/Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in Ocala.

On Veterans Day, Ocala DAR inducts a WWII vet

By Bill Thompson Ocala Gazette

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etty Williams Reeves brought a new wrinkle to a local celebration of Veterans Day. Reeves on Wednesday simultaneously became one of newest and one of the oldest members of the Ocala chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, or DAR. Reeves was newly inducted into the organization along with her daughter, Marsha Reeves Scott. Joining the pair for the ceremony was Leslie Wengler, Reeves’s granddaughter, who also will become a DAR member in the near future.

Although junior in status within the group, Reeves is also one if its most senior members. That’s because she is also a 96-year-old World War II veteran.

Upon taking the oath, Reeves recalled that her aunt tried to get her interested in the DAR when she was 18, right after she graduated high school.

“I’m proud to be here. I should have done this years ago,” she said, but “my life got in the way.”

Part of that life included marrying and having three children with a young sweetheart who narrowly survived a German U-boat’s torpedo in World War II. Before that, however, Reeves joined the U.S. Navy to do her part to defend our

nation.

She said she felt it was her patriotic duty to serve her country. And, she added, “I wanted to help get the war over so he could come home and we could get married.”

“He” was Leslie, her eventual husband, who in November 1942 was aboard the USS Hugh L. Scott, a troop transport ship that sank after being torpedoed off the coast of Casablanca while delivering U.S. forces during the invasion of North Africa. Fifty-nine of the ship’s sailors perished in the attack.

According to Reeves’s son-in-law, Circuit Judge Edward Scott, his future father-in-law was rescued and eventually sent back into combat aboard the battleship USS Alabama, spending the rest of the war manning an anti-aircraft gun while sailing the Pacific Ocean.

Betty Reeves’s two-year stint in the Navy was not as risky or dramatic.

After her initial training, she said, she was dispatched to Corpus Christi, Texas.

There, Reeves served as a yeoman, working under the base’s gunnery officer. She said her duties included continually updating training manuals for aircraft and weaponry.

“I didn’t have a gun, but I had a typewriter,” she said.

Reeves noted that military service was important to her family.

Her father was a World War I veteran who attributed his return home to the Spanish flu.

Rochelle Gerofsky, a regent with the Ocala Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, left, reads a Proclamation to Betty Reeves, second from left, and her daughter, Marsha Scott, third from left, before they were sworn in as members of the National Daughters of the American Revolution as Reeves’ granddaughter, Leslie Wengler, looks on.

[Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020

Reeves recalled that her dad contracted the flu en route to Europe and was hospitalized for some time.

He was set to be released for battlefield duty when the armistice was signed -- 102 years ago on Wednesday.

It was another ancestor, David Alderman, whose service was responsible for her becoming a new member of the DAR. Prospective members must prove a direct tie to a relative who fought in the American Revolution.

According to records verified by the national DAR leadership, Alderman, who is seven generations

removed from Reeves, served in the militia in Duplin County, North Carolina, during the Revolutionary War. Reeves’s journey to that began with her daughter.

Marsha Scott said she became interested in joining the DAR after being in a Bible study group with Beth Coleman, the local DAR’s 1st vice regent. She said she was influenced by the fact that her mother’s aunt had been a DAR member in the 1950s, by her family’s long history of military service and by Coleman’s persistent lobbying.

“She’s a very proud

veteran, and I thought it would be good for her,” Scott said of her mother.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have her,” Coleman said after Reeves’s induction ceremony, which was held inside the World War II room of the Marion County Veterans Exhibit and Education Center.

Once the local Florida Highway Patrol station, and subsequently the headquarters of the county Veterans Services Department, the facility became a mini-museum last year.

“She embodies really See WWII, page 14

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NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19 , 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

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By Brad Rogers Ocala Gazette Hanging on the dining room wall in Craig and Mary Baggs’ Ocala home is a small, black-andwhite ink sketching of a big, elaborate house.

The Baggs are friends, so while the wife and I were over for dinner one night, I asked whose house it was. Craig said it was the house he grew up in in Miami.

Wow. Again, it was a big, elaborate house – impressively so. I knew Craig’s father, Bill Baggs, had been the editor of the now-defunct Miami News, that city’s evening newspaper for almost a century until it closed in 1988. Craig began telling stories from his childhood. Of presidents coming to visit. Of governors stopping by to talk to his Dad. Of large parties of A-list dignitaries.

As a newspaperman, and having worked with Mary for years at the Star-Banner, I knew a little something about Bill Baggs, namely that Bill Baggs Cape Coral State Park had been named after him because of his relentless campaign to save the gorgeous tract of oceanfront property, where Ponce de Leon once walked, from

inevitable development.

Oh, but there was so much more to Bill Baggs’ story.

Now comes a new book about Bill Baggs

by Savannah-based journalist Amy Paige Condon. Titled A Nervous Man Shouldn’t Be Here in the First Place: The Life of Bill Baggs, Condon explores the relatively short but dynamic career of Baggs, from being an orphan as a child and his World War II years as a bombardier to his rise as a journalist of influence to, ultimately, his impact on regional and international affairs.

Condon was in town last week for a book signing (and to visit Craig and Mary) and she took time to talk to a newspaper editor about the newspaper editor she said she “became obsessed with” the more she explored his life.

“His story speaks to this moment,” Condon told me. “It speaks to how journalists should approach their job. That they are not enemies of the people. That journalists are heroes.”

Baggs’ rise to prominence in the postWW II years is a look into another time when network television news was in its infancy and no one could have conceived of the internet. It was a

time when newspapers were king, the public’s main source of news and information. It was a time when men like Baggs, who were smart and charming and ambitious, had seemingly endless opportunities to make a difference in, if not change, the world.

Through his front-page column In the Bag, Baggs was vocal about civil rights, environmental protection, 18-year-old voting, his opposition to the Vietnam War, stopping communism and boosting Miami.

Condon said Baggs looked at stories from, first, a moral perspective.

Then he would look at them from secular and political vantage points.

“If there’s a moral reason to do something,” she said, “then there is a secular and political reason to do it. That’s what’s inspiring.”

Baggs was friends with people in high places. The Kennedys, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Richard Nixon, Walter Cronkite, Sen. William Fulbright … the list goes on and on. During the Vietnam War Peace Talks he had the phone number of North Vietnam’s chief negotiator. He had access to Fidel Castro.

During the Kennedy administration, Baggs’

insight was deemed so significant that a phone connected directly to the Oval Office was installed in the Baggs’ Miami home. Former Florida Gov. Reubin Askew said it was Baggs who convinced him to run for governor. Yes, Baggs was connected, to say the least.

But for all the power and influence that swirled around Baggs, he still had readers who despised his ideas and let him know it. So Baggs had a stamp made that he would use to send readers a postcard responding to their gripes: “This is not a simple world, my friend; there are no simple answers.”

Bill Baggs, for all his world travels and famous friends, died from pneumonia at the young age of 45. Despite his short life, he made a mark that remains visible today.

I asked Condon what she learned most from her research and writing about Baggs.

“We need to be less afraid of having the hard conversations,” she said. “Let’s be OK with discomfort, and let’s have those conversations that cause discomfort. And, if we can, please stop worrying about who gets credit.”

That is some wisdom that is timeless.

From Investigation, page 1 report states.

Around 10:51 a.m., the Cessna decelerated from about 94 knots to 47 knots. It then suddenly rose to 1,025 feet, then began descending when data ended at 10:52. At that time, the report states, the plane was at 600 feet and traveling at 60 knots.

The plane then crashed into a large open field along Southwest 140th Avenue a mile northeast of the Dunnellon airport.

Investigators say the plane traveled about 120 feet after impact, and there was no fire after the crash. Both wings were still attached when the plane came to rest, although they had extensive damage from the impact, and the left fuel tank was breached.

The tail section was “folded over” the plane from the impact, the report states.

Investigators did find “heavy corrosion” in the

Rescue workers and investigators comb through the wreckage of Greg Graham’s single-engine Cessna in a field near Dunnellon Airport on Sunday, Oct. 25

NTSB investigators haven’t determined what caused Graham’s plane to go down in Dunnellon but noted “heavy corrosion” in the filter screen of the fuel strainer.

bowl and the filter screen of the fuel strainer but gave no indication if this was a contributing factor.

The engine was partially separated from the plane and sitting next to the Cessna when investigators arrived. The engine was examined, and investigators said all cylinders were tested and found to produce compression, except for the No. 6 cylinder, which investigators said

sustained damage upon impact. The carburetor separated from the engine upon impact, yet it was taken apart and there also “was a small amount” of corrosion observed in the fuel bowl and the carburetor inlet screen.

The NTSB said the Cessna had an electronic engine data monitor, which investigators removed to download the data in hopes it will yield some clues to the crash.

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NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Matthew Wardell

‘You have so much more in common with the couple you’re shopping next to than you have differences.’

Ocala City Councilman Matt Wardell sees a dangerous and frustrating shift: So many people now view all things through a partisan, political lens.

“As a local government person, I can’t think of a single time I’ve asked myself, ‘What is the proper Republican or Democratic response to this request for street paving? What is the partisan answer to this wastewater issue?’ But if you followed social media, you would think this is how all these issues are dealt with.”

Cliché as it may seem, Wardell believes listening to those with opposing views – really listening – is key to finding common ground and preserving important relationships.

“What are they upset about? What data or information is directly driving their position? I try to put myself in that person’s shoes and allow myself to imagine that position. It’s important to know that, yes, they could be acting from a gaslit position based on bad information, or they could genuinely be in a different place than you.

“Then, try to find common ground and begin the reverse of this process. Maybe explain -- without saying ‘you’re wrong’ -- why you feel the way you do. Of course, this is only possible when communicating in good faith and with the understanding that there are some facts that, no matter how you feel about them, don’t change.”

Wardell’s message to the wider community is, essentially, love thy neighbor.

“The 24/7 news cycle, Tallahassee and Washington politicians and special interest groups will never bring in your garbage can when you forget or loan you a tool when you need it the most. Your neighbors will. You have so much more in common with the couple you’re shopping next to than you have differences. Be thoughtful, care for one another, and remember everyone wants the best for their family, their community, and for this great country.”

Beth McCall ‘The lack of civility and intolerance for differences has come to a head.’

School Board member Beth McCall, who also serves as executive director of the Marion County Children’s Alliance, said there is no question the country is divided – and she believes the COVID-19 pandemic has only made things worse.

“The lack of civility and the intolerance for differences has absolutely come to a head in this country,” she said. “There used to be a point not too long ago where you could agree to disagree. And until we can sit down at the table together and find the root cause of that anger, it will continue.”

McCall believes the pandemic has made a bad situation even worse.

“Absolutely. I think what COVID has done is we have become so isolated from each other, even our families,” she said. “So, we’re turning to television and social media more than ever before. I think that has exacerbated tempers. The isolation is preventing us from having the good conversation we would have if we were not isolated.”

She believes people have stopped trying to understand where the other person is coming from.

“Now, it’s ‘I’m right, you’re wrong,’” she said.

Yet, McCall believes people generally have more in common than not.

“I think collectively we all want pretty much the same things,” she said. “We want to be successful. We want our community to be safe for our children. We want good jobs. We all agree on the important stuff. We really do.”

TiAnna Green ‘We have to speak change, show change with our actions and carry the hope for change within our hearts.’

Tianna Greene traces much of the current discord to the 2008 election of Barack Obama. Her granddaughter came home from school crying uncontrollably because a white classmate badgered her about whether she liked white people.

“I was very upset about the situation because I had not planned to talk to her about race until she was of an age to understand, and due to the actions of another, I was forced to have the conversation during a time she was hurt and didn’t fully understand.”

When Donald Trump emerged as a candidate in 2015, she feared a widening racial and cultural divide. “The divide was widening right before our eyes and there was absolutely nothing we could do about it. Many African Americans felt that the unrest we experienced during COVID and the excessive use of force that caused the deaths of George Floyd and Breanna Taylor as well as the murder of Ahmaud Arbery was only the tip of what could happen if this country remains divided.”

She believes the key to harmony is to understand differences, rather than defending them.

“It will take immeasurable time to heal from the racial tension we have experienced, but it’s not impossible,” Greene said. “We have to speak change, show change with our actions and carry the hope for change within our hearts. We all have to be willing to put in the work by accepting the fact that our differences will remain, but how we interact within our differences will need to change.”

From Deorio, page 1

From Quintel page 1

behavior.”

Yet the Foundation that Deorio leads is trying to play a leadership role in tempering the animosities and bringing about mutual respect and understanding.

“We have had multiple discussions with our board members on this topic. The Foundation is always happy to facilitate discussion for those willing to discuss community issues in a constructive manner. The hope would be that those discussions will inspire action items that both parties can agree on in order to create harmony in the community.”

She acknowledges, however, that some people just seem too entrenched in their anger.

“The name-calling and attacks because someone has a differing opinion, whether that is politics, COVID-19 -- masks on or masks off -- or even social issues, has escalated to a disappointing high,” she added. “So, what I really want to ask these people is, when these heated issues run their course, how are you going to repair some of the relationships you destroyed?”

we now seek to be understood rather than trying to understand.”

Quintel, who said he is registered as an independent to avoid political conflict, said part of the problem these days is there is just so much focus on the divisions in society.

“I think we’re just more aware of it, but we have not seen it rise to a level where organizations and individuals can’t work together,” he said. “It’s there, but we have not seen where those feelings are so strong that they stand in the way of progress.”

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NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19 , 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Michelle Stone ‘Nothing is more poisonous than hate, nothing stronger than love.’

Marion County Commissioner Michelle Stone said her beliefs and values are strongly aligned with most of her family and friends, but she tries to be respectful in acknowledging other people’s opinions and values. Most people have been respectful of hers in return, she said.

“I believe each of us has a leadership role to help others move past these differences,” she said. “We have the next generations watching how we respond to each other. We must show them that it is OK to have different opinions and still be respectful and tolerant of each other. It’s these types of interactions that allow us to grow and mature in our own thinking and strengthen relationships.”

Stone said she has often used Abraham Lincoln’s quote: “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.”

“I believe most people have the best of intentions and want a stronger, better position for themselves and their families,” Stone said. “How we achieve that depends on how we treat each other.

Nothing is more poisonous than hate, nothing stronger than love. What’s a better way forward than filtering our thoughts and actions toward each other than by applying The Golden Rule?”

The Rev. Pat Sheedy

‘I’m hoping that people will come to the realization that every life, from conception to natural death, has dignity, and look forward to the day when each of us promotes the positive.’

The Rev. Pat Sheedy, pastor of Blessed Trinity Catholic Church in Ocala, oversees one of the biggest flocks among local religious leaders, with roughly 3,500 families on record as parishioners. As Catholics, his parishioners adhere to a faith tradition that straddles the red-blue, left-right divide.

Despite being perched above such a large and diverse parish, Sheedy has remained relatively distant from the presidential election fray.

“I’m sure it does split people,” he said, “but they don’t discuss politics with me.” Sheedy noted that the Catholic Church teaches that its faithful have a “moral obligation” to vote, but it doesn’t instruct them whom to vote for.

Yet, Sheedy said, the public can take a lesson from Pope Francis’s latest encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti,” which translates as “Brothers All.” Francis encourages people to look at the innate dignity of all human beings, regardless of social status. He denounces the “danger of thinking that we have to protect ourselves from one another, of viewing others as competitors or dangerous enemies.”

“The best way to dominate and gain control over people is to spread despair and discouragement, even under the guise of defending certain values. Today, in many countries, hyperbole, extremism and polarization have become political tools. Employing a strategy of ridicule, suspicion and relentless criticism, in a variety of ways one denies the right of others to exist or to have an opinion,” Francis wrote.

Against that backdrop, Sheedy noted, “I’m hoping that people will come to the realization that every life, from conception to natural death, has dignity, and look forward to the day when each of us promotes the positive. We must all gather together and learn to live together.”

Barbara Fitos ‘I don’t think in a lot of cases we’ve asked each other, ‘I want to understand why you feel that way.’

Barbara Fitos, the last Democrat elected to the Marion County Commission, knew of one instance where the Trump-Biden divide affected a friend.

An 84-year-old friend is a Biden supporter, Fitos said. Many of the woman’s out-ofstate relatives backed the president. As the race proceeded, Fitos said, her friend largely ignored election materials her family sent her and withdrew from them.

“That’s a sad thing to hear, that they were so entrenched that nothing she could say can sway them,” said Fitos.

But Fitos also sees this in her own life. Her son, Joseph, is a longtime Republican, she said. “We just understand that we have different viewpoints,” she added. And Fitos recalled that she, too, ignored or deleted social media posts or emails from Trump fans that she felt went too far.

Yet Fitos acknowledges that Team Blue can be at fault as well.

“I’m very concerned that we’re so, so divided. It’s never been this bad in my recollection,” said Fitos. “It has devolved into animosity, and it doesn’t have to.”

Fitos admitted she wasn’t sure how to bring people closer. She suggested a public gathering of civic leaders discussing how to bridge the gap may help. She noted that she recently gave a TED talk entitled “Beyond the Choir,” in which she discusses in part how to get beyond “preaching to the choir.”

“The only way to get beyond it is to make a concerted effort to choose to listen to the other side and not be dismissive when they start down a path,” Fitos said. “And that applies to both sides.”

Kevin Sheilley

‘My faith demands that I see each individual as God sees them – fearfully and wonderfully made and made with a purpose.’

Kevin Sheilley, president of the Ocala Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership, believes people fall into two camps: they believe they need to engage everyone on issues or they believe they should not engage on any issue. “It is an all or nothing dialectic that I think just further stresses individuals,” he said.

“The current partisanship is focused on what divides, but I think my role, my responsibility is to focus on what unites us as a community. When we focus on what we share, it is then easier to see those with whom we disagree on other issues as worthy opponents and not mortal enemies.”

The CEP, by definition, is an organization that brings people and organizations together for a common cause. He says he tries to model that approach in his life and hopes others do the same.

“The only way that is possible is if we know and are known broadly,” Sheilley said. “Additionally, my faith demands that I see each individual as God sees them – fearfully and wonderfully made and made with a purpose. In other words, I have to value each person.

“This does not mean that we cannot have strong opinions and beliefs or that it is inherently wrong to disagree. However, we must view others as valuable as individuals and if we can find no other commonality, we can find it as fellow citizens and in our joint humanity.”

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NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Balken looks to carry on Graham’s legacy Interim chief is expected to be named 31st police chief Tuesday by Ocala City Council

Like his predecessor, Greg Graham, interim Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken has worked his way up through the agency from patrol officer and is expected to be named chief Tuesday night. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020

I

n his 27 years with the Ocala Police Department, Mike Balken has done just about everything.

He started out as a patrol officer, moved to being a field training officer and then became a detective. He went on to be a sergeant, a lieutenant and a watch commander. He worked in special operations and internal affairs before becoming a captain in 2014 and a major in 2015.

He oversaw all OPD’s

investigations and led the patrol division.

In 2018, he was named deputy chief, the department’s No. 2 post. It was part of a plan, that of former Chief Greg Graham, to prepare Balken to take the top job one day.

“I always wanted to experience every division in the agency,” Balken said last week. “I wanted to see how all aspects of the agency worked. I learned don’t get too comfortable in the position you’re in. There are so many facets to the agency.”

On Tuesday night all that preparation will likely

pay off for Balken when Mayor Kent Guinn is expected to recommend the 47-year-old deputy chief to become Ocala’s 31st police chief. For Balken, it will be bittersweet, because he is ascending to the chief ’s job only because his friend and mentor, Graham, died in a plane crash on Oct. 25, just five days after the Ocala City Council had renewed his contract as chief for two more years.

“That was the plan the whole time – for Mike to become chief when Greg retired,” Guinn said last week.

It is evident when talking

“AdventHealth saved my life.”

to Balken that Graham was and is a huge influence on him.

“He was an incredible person,” Balken said. “You can’t go anywhere in this community without running into someone who has been touched by this man – and I’m not just talking about him as a police chief.”

If he is approved by the City Council – and there is no indication he will not be – Balken said he intends to continue where Graham left off.

“Where did Chief Graham leave us?” Balken asked. “We’re in a position to make some great strides.

See Balken, page 7

Al

Heart Attack Survivor Retired Physician AHO-517

By Brad Rogers Ocala Gazette

We’re stronger now than any time in my 27 years here.”

Balken said the 300-person department is fully staffed and fully equipped with vehicles and equipment, thanks to the countywide 1 percent local option sales tax. He said OPD has state-of-the-art technology, which he called “a force multiplier” because it allows the police to track crime patterns and predict where crimes are going to take place.

“We have never been in a stronger position to make this community a safe place to live, work and play,” said Balken, who married his middle school sweetheart, Dawn, and raised a son and daughter in Ocala.

He said an important legacy Graham left behind is “the community engagement we enjoy.” He said he believes OPD has “an outstanding relationship” with all minority communities in Ocala and wants to improve those even more. One of Graham’s last acts as chief was to approve the hiring of a community liaison, whose job it will be to provide community outreach so the department is involved in community events and programs “in a robust way.” “(Graham) understood this was not his police department,” Balken said.

“This is your department, the people of Ocala’s department. … He was really a progressive leader.

When Al experienced chest pain and numbness in his jaw, his wife, Jan, suspected it was more than heartburn. They rushed to an AdventHealth ER where Al was quickly diagnosed and treated for a serious heart attack, giving him a second chance at life.

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7

NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19 , 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

From Balken page 6

Vivian Herrera of the City of Ocala Recreation and Parks Department picks up palm fronds that came down in Tropical Storm Eta at Tuscawilla Park on Thursday. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

He was always on the cutting edge of whatever was coming down the pike next.”

As an example, Balken cited the community’s Heroin and Opioid Task Force, which is led by the Marion County Children’ Alliance.

Graham embraced the initiative and implemented OPD’s “Amnesty Program,” through which anyone addicted to opioids or heroin can contact any OPD officer and asked to be taken to a treatment facility, no questions asked. Balken will continue it, adding, “We want to continue to save lives.”

“I would argue that Chief Graham changed the whole perception of addiction in our community,” he said.

“It went from being addiction to being the illness that it is and can be treated.”

When asked about how the national protests that have followed some high-profile police incidents, like the death of George Floyd,

have impacted Ocala, Balken cites the community engagement the department strives to maintain.

Regarding the Floyd death, he said: “There’s not a cop in this county, certainly not an executive, who is going to tell you that was permissible. … It was criminal,” he said. “However, cases like that, that are sensationalized in the news media, are in no way indicative of law enforcement here in Marion County.”

“We’re afforded the authority to take away your freedom, sometimes your life, because the community gives us that power and responsibility.”

Balken, who is an avid surfer, scuba diver and white-water rafter, said he hopes to receive the City Council’s support and be named chief.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “I would be honored to pick up where Chief Graham left off.”

Eta loses punch before hitting Ocala

By Brad Rogers Ocala Gazette

T

he Ocala/ Marion County region was spared damaging winds and rain from Hurricane Eta late Wednesday and early Thursday, recording just .31 inch of rain and experiencing scattered power outages.

Meteorologist Kip Bricker with the National Weather Service in Jacksonville said Thursday the Ocala area escaped any significant impact from Eta, even though the storm made landfall near Cedar Key and passed across neighboring Levy County. The storm was weakened by a dry air mass as it moved into North

Central Florida, further diminishing its impact, Bricker said.

Meanwhile, Marion County Public Schools were closed Thursday as early forecasts had called for wind gusts in excess of 40 mph, which are unsafe conditions for school busses to travel in.

The winds, thankfully, did not occur but schools were closed anyway.

School district spokesman Kevin Christian said a make-up day is scheduled for Dec. 18, something that was planned at the start of the year as a hurricane make-up day.

Marion County Sheriff ’s Office spokesman Paul Bloom said there was

little damage reported to his agency from around the county.

He said there were reports of some limbs down and scattered power outages, but they were being addressed Thursday morning. Bloom said there were no reports of flooding of roads.

Ocala city spokeswoman Ashley Dobbs said the city experienced a few power outages but nothing widespread.

Crews were working early Thursday to restore lost power, “From a city perspective, we have been very fortunate,” Dobbs said.

The NWS forecast for Friday, Saturday and Sunday calls for sunny skies Friday and Saturday, with a slight chance of rain on Sunday.

Interim Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken receives a Thin Blue Line American Flag from Sean Price, right, at the Ocala Police Department on Tuesday, Nov. 10. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

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NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

In Ocala, a mix of jubilation, skepticism over election results Ocala Gazette

I

n the summer of 2008, Joyce Blake and Georgette Motte were working on Barack Obama’s first election campaign here in Ocala. They were among select Democratic campaign workers designated to help guide a campaign stop for Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, in Ocala.

The event went without a hitch: Blake and Motte spent much of the day with Biden.

They met him at a local hotel and escorted him to the venue where he and Obama would rally supporters.

Motte lived long enough to see the fruits of her labor rewarded with an Obama/ Biden victory, but she passed away two years later.

After her death, Blake wrote a letter to Vice President

Biden imploring him to drop a brief note of condolence to Motte’s husband.

At a time when the nascent Obama presidency was engrossed in the war on terror, stabilizing a still-staggering economy and trying to reengineer American healthcare, Biden made the time to do so.

“He wrote the most beautiful statement to her husband about how he understood what it was like to lose someone,” Blake said.

“That’s the kind of person he is - compassionate and kind.”

For Blake, and for other Democrats who are celebrating Biden’s win over President Donald Trump this week, that moment embodies the hope they feel for a less coarse, more empathetic tone in the Oval Office in the next four years.

On Sunday morning, 12

hours after Biden’s victory speech, Blake heaved a sigh of relief and declared that the president-elect is “the right person at the right time” in America.

“Our country was on the brink of losing democracy,” said Blake, a Democratic state committeewoman for Marion County. She believes Trump “barreled” through traditions, skirted laws and abused his power, citing the moment this year when police gassed and pushed back peaceful protesters so the president could walk to a nearby church for a photo opportunity.

“Biden’s going to bring us back to democracy,” she said, “and I think democracy will be stronger because of his ability to reach across the aisle and compromise.”

LaVonda McCandless, chairwoman of the Marion

Supervisor of Elections Wesley Wilcox, center, works with members of the Election Canvassing Board, Judge James McCune, left, and County Commissioner Jeff Gold, as they count damaged ballots on Election Night at the Marion County Election Center in Ocala. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

County Democratic Party, agrees. She affectionately refers to Biden as “healer-inchief ” because of his history of forging common ground between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, and she hopes he will do the same as president.

“You know, consensus building isn’t getting what you want all the time,” McCandless said. “It’s, you get a little, I get a little and we come up with a solution we can all live with and that moves us forward as a country.”

Both women think a Biden presidency will pay immediate dividends in the war on COVID-19, America’s standing on the world stage and race relations.

“I’m very hopeful that the COVID situation will get under control,” McCandless said. “I’m hoping that when we get a vaccine, it will be a safe and effective vaccine. I didn’t have that trust with Trump.”

And of race relations, she said: “I think (Biden has) already made a big advance in race relations. He has placed his full confidence in (Kamala Harris) a woman, and a woman of color.”

Until COVID struck, Blake said she frequently travelled abroad and was struck in recent years by the disdain people of other nations have for Americans during the Trump presidency.

“I’m hopeful,” she said. “I don’t know if Biden can do all the things that need to

be done, but I hope he can help the country just settle down. Now we can wake up and not have to worry about what terrible thing the president is going to tweet.

Just go into the office and do your doggone job.”

However, the Democrats are in the minority in Marion County, a historically bright red community that went almost 63 percent for Trump in this election.

While crowds flocked to the street in traditionally Democratic urban centers to celebrate the win last Saturday, local Republican leaders remain unconvinced of Trump’s loss.

Glen Fiorello, the head of the Trump Club of Marion County, goes further: Fiorello believes, as Trump does, that widespread voter fraud is tilting the election for Biden. He sees this race being settled in the Supreme Court.

Although election officials in the states that flipped for Biden in the days after the election insist the counts were legal and accurate, Fiorello is dubious about the flood of Democratleaning ballots that arrived in election offices after Tuesday.

“We haven’t even started yet,” Fiorello said. “We all, deep down in our hearts, knew they were going to try to do this,” referring to Democratic operatives and perhaps even foreign players who don’t want to see Trump in office.

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NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19 , 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

County aims to upgrade Southeastern Livestock Pavilion Auditorium lighting and sound, campsites part of proposed $2.2 improvement package

Christopher Campana of Chiefland sets up guns for the Gun Trader Shows gun show in the Marion County Extension Auditorium at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion in Ocala on Friday, Nov. 6. Marion County is proposing lighting and sound system upgrades to the auditorium. [Bruce Ackerman/ Ocala Gazette] 2020.

fiscal year 2018. In FY 2019, the forfree usage jumped to 40 percent of 116 events. During the last fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30, usage slipped to 107 gatherings because of COVID-19, but Denise Alexander, the facilities manager of the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion, 64 percent them describes how the current sound system would be upgraded in the auditorium. [Bruce generated no revenue. Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Ironically, Meanwhile, the this, not just for events, but Couillard pointed out auditorium was only part of could you imagine marketing that revenue had increased the vision for the Livestock it during the busy times of last fiscal year – $63,330, Pavilion. the year to people that don’t up from $58,600 in 2019 – Couillard floated another want to stay in a hotel, and because the fee-based events, $1.7 million in improvements stay in their own RVs, which though fewer in number, to its camping facilities, have become very popular were booked at higher rates. the Dave Ballie Arena and since COVID?” he told the Despite the increased parking areas. board. popularity, though, users The Livestock Pavilion “We think that the had frequently complained property features 58 investment now into about some of the features, campsites for trailers or those RV sites would be he noted. recreational vehicles, but something that would be very According to Couillard’s only nine of them offer water, worthwhile. ” report, the hall itself sewer and electric service, Commissioner Kathy produced an echo, or the Couillard said.

Bryant recommended current speakers distorted Couillard recommended waiting for the state to the sound. As for visual establishing another 48 provide the money, which effects, not all guests could full-service campsites at Couillard felt had a good shot see the projection screens, a projected cost of nearly of being funded. the screens themselves were $885,000.

Yet Commissioner Carl inadequate, ceiling lights The rest of the effort Zalak advocated pushing were not dimmable and involves paving a new access ahead.

He suggested that glare blasted through the lane to those new campsites the county could borrow the building’s glass doors and from Northeast Jacksonville money and start reaping the windows.

Road, paving 127 parking rental revenue sooner.

Couillard said that spaces and completing the Commissioner Michelle despite the reduced feeroof of the Baillie Arena, the Stone lobbied for exploring based bookings and rental corners of which, Coulliard whether the commission rates that had not changed added, were “clipped” could tap some of the nearly since 2014, the county still off during the original $64 million Marion County would recover the cost of the construction phase as a received through the federal audio and visual portion of cosdt-cutting measure.

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, the proposed enhancements The parks director and Economic Security, within five years – and work maintained the county would or CARES, Act, a $2-plus could start right away. recoup this funding within trillion coronavirus aid “We can essentially get to 18 months, based on current package passed by Congress work on this project with the usage and rental rates. and signed into law by board’s approval,” he said.

Couillard noted that, President Donald Trump in While supportive of both once the improvements March. aspects of the project, the are finished, the Livestock Stone prevailed, and board could not take formal Pavilion would then offer the the board directed staff to action to approve because closest RV sites to downtown investigate whether CARES it met in a workshop. It’s Ocala. money could be used for the unclear when commissioners “Now, we’re looking at improvements. would give the green light.

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T

he multipurpose auditorium at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion is poised for a half-million-dollar makeover.

At a County Commission workshop last week, the board supported Parks and Recreation Department Director Jim Couillard’s recommendations to make the decade-old facility more aesthetically pleasing and functional for community gatherings.

But the auditorium upgrade is just part of an estimated $2.2 million package to enhance the entire 55-acre property for a variety of users.

Beginning with the 11,000-square-foot auditorium, Couillard pitched commissioners an upgrade to its lighting and sound systems.

His list includes new wall-mounted speakers, amplifiers, wireless microphones and other technology for those suffering from hearing impairments.

In addition, the upgrade also would add new video projection screens,

streaming-media processors and remote touch-screen control units.

Couillard also proposed improving the electrical system in the building’s kitchen to aid caterers, new wooden baseboards to replace tile that is prone to crack and fresh window treatments.

Estimated cost: $327,750.

Couillard noted that would be funded by repurposing money in the department’s 2021 capital improvements budget.

But commissioners also liked ideas that are not funded at the moment.

Those included new light fixtures for the ceiling and walls and replacing formica bar tops with wood, as well as new landscaping, paint, awnings, lighting and signage for the building’s exterior.

That second list was projected to run $167,200, bringing the building’s total makeover to $494,950.

“It’s become quite the facility. A lot of people have discovered it,” Couillard told the board.

And increasingly, those people are using it at no cost.

According to his presentation, the county reaped no revenue for 26 percent of the 115 events held in the auditorium in

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By Bill Thompson Ocala Gazette

10

NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Ocala Lions honor local peace poster-makers

Honorable Mention

T

Ocala Electric Utility earns FEMA award

he Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) recently recognized Ocala Electric Utility (OEU) with a Building Strong Communities award for offering the community additional services and programs beyond those normally supplied.

Winners are selected for programs that include environmental improvement, community education, public safety, charitable donations and sponsorships, and other special services, such as lighting ball fields and playgrounds, parade and festival participation, and building car and phone charging stations.

Efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic also were recognized.

Public power utilities across the state suspended disconnects for unpaid bills, waived late and reconnection fees, and offered payment assistance plans to help customers financially impacted by the pandemic. To support customers who faced financial hardships due to COVID-19, the City of Ocala suspended service disconnection over the summer and OEU provided $75,000 to assist customers who were behind on

the electric portion of the municipal services statement.

Florida’s 33 public power utilities are the third-largest electric provider in the state and serve 14 percent of Florida’s customers.

OEU serves more than 55,000 customers. A city news release states that OEU invests in public education and outreach to communicate the benefits of public power, is driven by public service and is committed to building a strong and sustainable community by supporting essential services such as parks, public safety, roads and more.

OEU was announced as an award recipient Nov. 2 during the FMEA Energy Connections Virtual Conference and joined 21 other Florida public power communities in receiving the award.

“We commend Ocala Electric Utility for everything they have done to positively impact the lives of their families, friends and neighbors, especially in a year that has been everything but normal. We thank all the recipients for doing what they do best by putting the community they serve first,” said FMEA Executive Director Amy Zubaly.

By Marilyn Hinds Special to the Ocala Gazette The Ocala Lions Club on Nov. 5 presented prizes to Lake Weir Middle School students who participated in the club’s annual International Peace Poster contest.

Sofia Cruz was awarded first prize for her artwork representing this year’s theme, “Peace Through Service.”

Her poster has advanced to the district level of judging, where it will compete against winners from other areas clubs.

The second place winner was Luciano Vargas, and the third place winner as Raeienan Bell.

The Peace Poster contest began over 30 years ago to give students ages 11 to 13 the opportunity to express their visions of peace through the creative process.

Guided by art teacher Lisa Russo, the Lake Weir Middle School students created posters that were judged by members of the Ocala Lion’s Club. Local winners can move on to the district competitions, multiple district competitions and, finally, an international competition.

The grand prize winner can potentially win $5,000.

In the process, students can learn more about Lion’s Clubs and their work for the blind.

The Ocala Lion’s Club currently has about 100

members. The group meets at noon every Thursday at the Ocala Municipal Golf Course. The group has lunch before each meeting, which features an interesting guest speaker.

To learn more

about the club, contact audhall033@gmail.com, call (352) 854-6715, or visit OcalaLionsClub.org.

Marilyn Hinds served as chairwoman for the Ocala Lion’s Club Peace Poster contest.

Ocala Lions Club Contest Chairwoman Marilyn Hinds talks about one of the posters entered in the contest. [Courtesy of Ocala Lions Club]

Pictured is the winning poster created by Sofia Cruz for the Lion’s Club Peace Through Service Poster Contest. Cruz is a student at Lake Weir Middle School. [Courtesy of Ocala Lions Club]

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NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19 , 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

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NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Sports

The Lake Weir Hurricanes storm the field minutes before taking on Forest High School Friday, Nov. 6 in a game won by Forest. [Alan Youngblood/Special to the Ocala Gazette]

Shutouts dominate final week of regular season

By Morgan Willett Ocala Gazette

R

egular season play ended last week with a multitude of highscoring blowouts as the top teams steam into the postseason.

Dunnellon remained undefeated at 6-0 as they stomped the West Port Wolf Pack 35-0.

Forest’s offense was simply too much for Lake Weir as the Wildcats blanked the Hurricanes 38-0.

Meanwhile, although Belleview had homefield advantage for their final game of the season but was blanked by the Vanguard Knights by a final score of 30-0.

the tough West Port defense was able to hold the Tigers to just 53 total passing yards, although Shai’hem Thomas nabbed a beautiful one-handed grab for six.

With its passing attack grounded, Dunnellon’s offense was forced to rely heavily on their rushing game, and Demetrius McCants was up for the challenge with 94 rushing yards on the night.

McCants averaged a remarkable 13.4 yards per carry and contributed a touchdown on a 44yard run. Adding to the Tiger’s rushing game was Christiaan Fashaw with 26 yards and another touchdown. Fashaw also contributed thirty receiving yards.

Rounding out the Tigers’

Dunnellon’s Christiaan Fashaw (11) looks for a way around West Port’s Tre Stokes (22) on Friday, Nov. 6. Fashaw scored a touchdown and added 56 rushing and receiving yards as the Tigers shut out West Port. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Here is a closer look at the action from the last games of the regular season: Dunnellon 35, West Port 0 Entering the final game of the regular season, undefeated Dunnellon looked across the field at the West Port Wolf Pack, and although the Wolf Pack has played tough football this season, they were no match for the Tigers. With a final score of 35-0, Dunnellon moves to 6-0 and West Port ends the 2020 regular season with a record of 4-2.

Throughout the season, Dunnellon has relied on their passing game to provide some gamechanging plays. However,

game on the defensive side of the ball were Avery Braden, Sam Wryals and Jermain Fashaw with seven tackles each.

Forest 38, Lake Weir 0 Forest, coming off of a close loss to fearsome Dunnellon, was primed and ready to take on the Hurricanes of Lake Weir.

The Hurricanes struggled to a 1-4 record entering the game and were no match for the Wildcats.

In the first quarter, Forest was faced with a third down and five, and Antonio Crim came up big.

Following his blockers, he took what could have been simply a first down and ran

for 43 yards, for a score.

The six points put up by Forest went unanswered and with a scoreless second quarter, Forest entered the second half with a narrow lead of 6-0.

The Wildcats stormed out in the second half, scoring 19 points in the third quarter and an additional 13 in the fourth.

The Wildcat’s offensive front was led by Crim, who had an epic game. Crim put up 160 yards rushing, which was more than half of the team’s total yards, and scored four of Forest’s five touchdowns. Quarterback, Stephen Curry led the passing game with 77 yards.

His leading receivers were Izaiah Guy (38 yards) and Jamarrien Burt (18 yards).

Forest improved to .500 and enters the postseason at 3-3. Lake Weir fell to 1-5 on the season.

defensive side of the ball Belleview’s Xavier Moore led the team with seven tackles, Andrew Davis, Elijah Turner and Cornelious Bentley-Greene contributed another five each.

West Port’s Elijah Hopkins (1) is hit by Dunnellon’s Eleazar Quetant (54) as the ball arrives during a football game at Dunnellon High School on Friday, Nov. 6. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

State Bracket Matchups: Here’s a look at the postseason to date: Class A In the small Class A bracket, Ocala Christian Academy fell to Out-of-Door Academy on Nov. 6. The final score was 48-22.

Class 3A Trinity Catholic was set to play Melbourne Central Catholic in the quarterfinals on Nov. 8, but Melbourne was forced to forfeit.

TC, therefore, advances to the semifinals and will face the winner between Taylor and Trinity Prep, who play on Friday. TC’s semifinal game will be at home on Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

because of Hurricane Eta. Belleview and North Marion face off on Friday.

On the bottom half of the same side of the bracket in Class 5A are the Vanguard Knights, who play Crystal River on Friday. As Crystal River is currently at .500 with a record of 3-3, the Knights are heavily favored to move on to the quarterfinals, where they would face the winner of the matchup between Tavares and Ridgeview, who also played Friday.

Additionally in Class 5A, Lake Weir squares off against winless Atlantic out of Port Orange. If Lake Weir slips by Atlantic, they would proceed to the quarterfinals to play the victor between Clay and Leesburg.

Vanguard 30, Belleview 0 Vanguard, having only lost to Dunnellon this season, improved their record to 5-1 with an easy win over winless Belleview.

Opening strong in the first quarter, Alexander Law completed a short pass to Class 7A Tony Johnson, who took it Class 5A As the sole team from 68 yards for a touchdown.

As the front runner out of Marion County in the Class With a successful point after, Marion County, Dunnellon 7A bracket, Forest will face Vanguard took the lead 7-0. was scheduled to play Edgewater out of Orlando, The Knights put another Eastside in Gainesville on who has a current record touchdown on the board Thursday in a game that of 3-2. The two face off on with an interception by was likely to be postponed Friday in Orlando.

Trevonte Rucker, who Class 8A followed a wall Similarly, will see of blockers to fresh teams in the the end zone. playoffs, as the only While Marion County team Vanguard’s in Class 8A. With assault fewer teams in the was spread bracket and a bye in out across round 1, West Port’s the board, opening game of the Belleview’s Eric postseason will be McLaughlin a quarterfinal game struggled against the Hawks of to carry the Spruce Creek High Rattlers’ School out of Port offense on his Orange. The Hawks back with 94 have a current record rushing yards of 3-3 and will travel out of the team’s total 125 Forest High School running back Antonio Crim Jr (24) gets by to West Port on Nov. Lake Weir High School Tyrese Terry for a touchdown as Forest Game starts at 7:30 offensive yards. blanked the Hurricane on Friday, Nov. 6. [Alan Youngblood/ p.m.

On the Special to the Ocala Gazette]

13

NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19 , 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Trinity Catholic players celebrate their win over Pensacola Catholic in the Class 3A Region 1 final on Oct. 31. The Lady Celtics went on to topple powerhouse Bishop McLaughlin on Nov. 7 to earn a spot in the state Championship Game next week. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Trinity Catholic earns ticket to the State Championship

By Morgan Willett Ocala Gazette

A

gainst all odds, Trinity Catholic advanced to the State Championship with an upset win over Bishop McLaughlin last week Meanwhile, Forest and Vanguard suffered losses and their 2020 seasons came to an end.

Here is a look at all the action: 3A: Trinity Catholic All season the girls of Trinity Catholic have been underestimated. Not any more.

Trinity defeated Pensacola Catholic 3-1 in the regional final last week, then toppled powerhouse Bishop McLaughlin Catholic on Nov. 7 to earn a spot in the State Championship game.

Bishop McLaughlin entered the match with a gaudy 24-2 record, but TC refused to be intimidated and put up a strong offensive attack with 64 kills.

Outside powerhouse hitter Kiana Laborde dominated the net with 31 kills, while Chloe Teter

added 17 and Amelia Fitzpatrick threw down another 12. Making the kills possible were Isabella Sanchez with 37 assists and Fitzpatrick with 18.

The Celtics not only presented a fearsome offensive attack, but also had a remarkable night on defense. True freshman McKenna Yates did not fold under pressure, ending the night with 37 hardearned digs. Adding to the team’s total digs of 116, were Laborde with 27 and Camden Crews with 20.

With the match going all 5 sets, TC fought for each and every point, ending the night with set scores of 2520, 18-25, 25-21, 22-25 and 15-9.

“This season has been a blast,” head coach Jeff Reavis said. “These girls have been an amazing team to coach and constantly display a never-give-up attitude. All year we’ve been told we shouldn’t be winning, but guess what?

We are winning game after game.”

With a current record of 17-6, the Celtics will have to dig deep when they take on the Warriors of Westminster Christian out of Miami in the State Championship.

Westminster Christian

is currently undefeated at 220. The two square off in Fort Myers on Nov. 14 at 4 p.m.

5A: Vanguard The lady Knights faced Fivay in the Regional Final, winning 3-0, and moved on to the Final Four. With one last hurdle to overcome to make it to the State Championship, only undefeated Ponte Vedra stood Trinity Catholic’s Amelia Fitzpatrick (17) battles at the net during the Celtics’ win over in their way.

Pensacola Catholic in the Class 3A Region 1 final on Oct. 31. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Ponte Vedra Gazette] 2020. took down Vanguard figures to be a 49 kills. Comparatively St. Vanguard in straight sets 25force in 2021. The Knights Petersburg had 55 kills in 12, 25-10 and 25-20. have only one senior on the match.

Emma Ehmaan led the the team, and their leading Defensively, the Knights offense with 7 kills hitter is just a sophomore. lady Wildcats out-dug on the night. On defense, their opponent with an Taryn Reardon had 10 digs, 6A: astounding 117 digs, with followed by Donita Buie Forest Madilyn Jerald contributing with 8.

Forest, having only lost 45; unfortunately, however, Unable to get their one set going into the their scrappiness was not blocking in sync, Vanguard Regional Final on Oct. 31, enough to overtake the could not keep up with the looked across the net at St. Green Devils. fast-paced offensive attack of Petersburg.

Although Forest fought Ponte Vedra and their 2020 Emma Truluck had a hard, they lost 3-1, with set season came to an end. The formidable 24 kills on the scores of 25-23, 25-22, 20-25 Knights finished with a 15-3 night, followed by Emma and 27-25. record.

Santi with 11. As a team Forest concludes the Coming off a strong Vanguard earned a total of season at 16-1. season led by a young squad,

Vanguard’s Christina Light (5) and Adyla Kerley (23) jump to block a spike from Ponte Vedra’s Kendall Mignerey (7) in a match Vanguard lost in straight sets. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Vanguard’s Adyla Kerley (23) and Veronica Velez (32) console each other after their loss to Ponte Vedra in the Region 5A State Volleyball semifinal at Vanguard High School on Nov. 7. Ponte Vedra won the match 3 sets to 0. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

14

NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

News in Brief

Elections supervisor to speak about challenges of 2020

CF offers online intro to IT careers The College of Central Florida’s Business and Technology Department will host a free online event about careers in information technology and management information systems from 12:15 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Participants will hear how to upgrade tech skills and prepare for these high-demand jobs. The session will include conversations with CF alumni, facilitated by Lori Kielty, CF’s program manager for Information Technology, and Russ Wright, associate professor for Management Information Systems.

Register at CF.edu/BusTechEvents.

The first 10 to register and attend will receive a small gift and one participant will receive a grand prize. For more information, contact Bonnie Hays at haysb@CF.edu.

Road closure through Dec. 10 Motorists can expect temporary lane closures along Southwest 60th Avenue between the intersections of 86th Place and 89th Place Road, through Dec. 30.

Art Walker Construction, Inc. will be reconstructing the median.

Workers and equipment will be in the county right-of-way. Crews will place barricades and signs to direct traffic through work zones. Travelers should expect delays and use alternate routes when possible. Adverse weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances may affect schedules.

For more information, contact the Office of the County Engineer at (352) 671-8686.

Marion County Supervisor of Elections Wesley Wilcox will share insights from the 2020 election season during an upcoming virtual meeting of the Ocala chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association.

Organizers say that during the Nov. 20 meeting, Wilcox will discuss how his team “shattered voting records, while communicating transparently, and effectively managing the historic 2020 election.”

Wilcox has been with the Marion County Supervisor of Elections office since 2001, starting as a systems administrator. He worked as assistant supervisor for seven years before running for the top spot in 2012. He was re-elected in 2016 and 2020 without opposition.

The professional development virtual meeting will begin with networking at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 20. The cost is $15 for guests and $10 for members. RSVP by Nov. 18 by visiting www.fpraocala.org/professionaldevelopment/monthly-programs.

Santa’s Calling returns for the holidays If you know of a child age 3 to 13 who would like to speak by telephone with Santa and Mrs. Claus, you’re in luck.

The Santa Calling program is coordinated by the City of Ocala Recreation and Parks Department.

Phone calls from Santa will be made between 6 and 9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8 through Thursday, Dec. 10.

“It has been a difficult year for families. We are thrilled to be able to partner with Santa and his elves again this year to offer a safe way for children to interact directly with Santa,” said Charles Dobson, the Recreation Program Supervisor at the Lillian Bryant Community Center.

To schedule a call with Santa, fill out the application at www.ocalafl.org/ holidays by Monday, Nov. 30.

Betty Reeves receives a present from Jeffrey Askew, the director of Marion County Veterans Services, after she and her daughter, Marsha Scott, were sworn in as members of the National Daughters of the American Revolution. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020

From WWII, page 2 what we’re all about. We are blessed and excited to have them,” Coleman continued, noting that adding Reeves, as well as her daughter and soon her granddaughter, promotes the DAR’s main principles: patriotism, history and education.

“That’s why we place historical markers, that’s why we redo the houses, that’s why we put up monuments, that’s why

we serve – because we want the heritage of our country passed on to those after us so they understand the price people paid for what we have.”

The Ocala DAR chapter turned 95 this year. It boasts about 140 members, according to Coleman. One of the organization’s first acts, in 1927, was to raise money to acquire the graveyard at Fort King.

Betty Reeves, 96, seated, poses for a photo with her family, from left, Leslie Wengler, Marsha Scott and Judge Edward Scott, after she and her daughter, Marsha, were sworn in as members of the Daughters of the American Revolution during a ceremony at the Marion County Veterans Exhibit and Education Center on East Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala on Wednesday. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020

Let us help you with your grant and training fund needs!

-Kevin Sheilley, President & CEO of the Ocala CEP

• Grants up to $40,000 • PPE reimbursement up to $10,000 • Free online training classes

Time is running out!

Go online to apply now.

MovingBizForward.com

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.

15

NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19 , 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Community

Now -1/2

Astronaut Academy

11/17

NonProfit Business Council

11/13

Marion Oaks Farmers Market

11/17

Tuesday Talk: Business Advancement Series

11/13

Marion County Friday Market

11/17

Biz Promoters Networks Group

11/17

Find Your Competitive Advantage

11/17

WinePO

11/18

ExCEPtional Mornings

11/18

1 Million Cups Ocala

11/19

CEP 75 West Networkers

11/19

Farmers Market

11/19

AdventHealth Groundbreaking

11/19

CEO Roundtable

11/19

Conservation Summit: Preserving Open Spaces & Beautiful Places

11/13

11/13 11/14 11/14

11/14

Discovery Center, 701 NE Sanchez Ave. Tuesday-Saturday 10am-4pm Kids of all ages learn about space travel with hands-on exhibits exploring the space station, Mars rover and rockets. www.mydiscoverycenter.org

Marion Oaks Community Center, 294 Marion Oaks Ln. 9am-12pm Fresh vegetables, artisan food products and handmade crafts.

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.

Taste of Thyme

Sholom Park, 7110 SW 80th Ave. 10:30am Master Gardener Sheena Schlegel presents a historical lesson on herb gardening with tips and tricks to grow your own herb garden. Visit sholompark.org to register.

Workspace Collective One Year Anniversary

Workspace Collective, 603 E. Fort King St. 4-7pm A ribbon cutting celebration with food, cocktails and live music. Visit fb.com/workspacecollectiveocala to RSVP.

Brownwood Farmers Market

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

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. Visit ocaladowntownmarket.com for more information.

Fun at the Park: Let’s Get Buggy

Sholom Park, 7110 SW 80th Ave. 10am-1pm A free interactive, educational event for ages 3-12. Registration at sholompark.org is required.

11/14

Belly Dance Workshop

11/14 -15

Sunshine State Mopar Show and Swap Meet

Brick City Center for the Arts, 23 SW Broadway St. 2-3pm Learn Egyptian-style belly dancing with Millie Blonder of the Cairo Dancers. Visit fb.com/mcaocala for more information.

Florida Horse Park, 11800 C.R. 475-A 8am-4pm See some of the most impressive cars from across the state, enjoy music, food and vendors and meet “Mr. 4-Speed” Herb McCandless. Call (352) 427-8382 or visit floridamoparassociation.com for more information.

Ocala Police Department, 402 S. Pine Ave. 8:15-9:30am A free monthly professional development workshop for NonProfit Business Council members. ocalafoundation.org/ non-profit-business-council

CEP, 310 SE 3rd St. and virtual 8:15-9:30am Mac McKellar will present “The Billion-Dollar Industry of How to Beat a Drug Screen.” Attend the networking breakfast and presentation or attend on Facebook Live. RSVP to andrea@ocalacep.com.

Power Plant Business Incubator, 405 SE Osceola Ave. 11:30am-12:30pm Bring your own lunch. Email tom@ocalacep.com for more information.

Online via http://midflorida.score.org 7-8pm Learn ways to distinguish your business and get a competitive advantage. Email midflorida@scorevolunteer.org to register for this free online workshop.

The Keep Downtown, 36 SW 1st Ave. 5:30-7:30pm Young Professionals Ocala’s monthly social series features a casual setting for current and future members with discounts on wine, beer, cider, mead and food. Contact andrea@ocalacep. com for more information.

Church of Hope, 3233 SE Maricamp Rd. 7:30-9am Les Brown presents on Global Entrepreneurship Week for CEP partners. Call (352) 629-8051 for to RSVP or for more information. ocalacep.com

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.

Canterfield of Ocala, 9589 SW State Road 200 8-9:30am Call Laurel Ziemann at (352) 817-6984 for more information.

Circle Square Commons, 8405 SW 80th St. 9am-1pm Locally grown seasonal produce, baked goods, plants and more. Visit circlesquarecommons.com/farmersmarket for more information.

6003 SE Babb Rd., Belleview 9:30-10am AdventHealth hosts a groundbreaking ceremony for a new freestanding emergency department to be built in Belleview.

Email natalie.mccomb@adventhealth.com for more information.

Virtual 11:30am The NonProfit Business Council hosts a discussion of the upcoming nonprofit economic study. Visit ocalafoundation.org to register.

11/14

Push-Ups for Pups

11/14

Ocala Pet Expo

Tuscawilla Park, 829 NE Sanchez Ave. 10am-2pm The fifth annual pet expo brings together vendors, demonstrations and adoptable pets, featuring professional dog trainer Letty Towles, Ocala Fire Rescue’s arson investigation dog Gracie and the Soccer Dogs. Human and animal treats available for purchase; leashed pets welcome (no intact males permitted). Call (352) 622-5600 for more information.

11/19

Cheers for Pace

11/14

Ocala Horse Alliance Connections

11/19

Pivot Your Business to Success

CrossFit Pinnacle, 7175 S. Pine Ave. 9am-12pm Athletes are raising pledges for push-ups to benefit the Humane Society of Marion County. The winning athlete will choose a shelter pup to take to the park and treat with a puppuccino. Call (352) 209-8213 or email marketing4crossfit@ gmail.com for more information.

Fox Grove Farm, 9445 NW 60th Ave. 1-5pm Celebrate Palm Equestrian Academy’s 50th anniversary, meet the founders and participate in educational demonstrations with lunch and prizes. Visit ocalahorsealliance.com or call (352) 629-3310 for more information.

Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club, 8300 NW 31st Lane Road 12-2:30pm Horse Farms Forever, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited and the American Farmland Trust, hosts Adam Putnam speaking about land conservation and Billy Van Pelt presenting a report on the loss of prime agricultural lands.

Visit horsefarmsforever.com/conservation-summit to register.

Infinite Ale Works 5-8pm Celebrity bartenders take over the taps to earn “tips” which will support holiday break meals for girls from the PACE Center for Girls. Visit fb.com/pacecentermarion for more information.

Online via http://midflorida.score.org 7-8pm Get expert advice for evaluating whether your struggling business can adapt or transform to remain viable. Email midflorida@scorevolunteer.org to register for this free online workshop.

16

NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19, 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

Arts

Now Paint What You Love Exhibit -11/28

Brick City Center for the Arts, 23 SW Broadway St. Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday 11am-4pm A collective art exhibit featuring artworks in all mediums by more than 40 student artists of Marion Cultural Alliance artist Carol Basso. The opening reception will take place November 6th from 5-6pm. Email Ashley.justiniano@mcaocala.com for more information.

Now -1/1

Hinterlands

City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave. 8am-5pm Artist Megan Welch, a portrait painter and educator who lives in Northeast Florida, has created an exhibition of portraits in oil and graphite that portray the stories of those navigating the temporal nature of life, the unknown and the human condition. Open Monday-Friday. Call (352) 629-8447 for more information.

11/17

Spoken Word Ocala

Brick City Center for the Arts, 23 SW Broadway St. 7-9pm All styles welcome, from beat to baroque, formal to freestyle, spoken word to academic. Follow Spoken Word Ocala on Facebook for details.

11/19 A Christmas Carol -12/20

Ocala Civic Theatre 2pm & 7:30pm The timeless holiday story of Scrooge presented in live theater.

Performances Thursdays-Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 2 and 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm. Visit ocalacivictheatre.com for tickets.

Now Seasons of Change -11/28

NOMA Ocala, 939 N. Magnolia Ave. 12-6pm Thursday-Saturday A curated exhibition featuring the works of more than 20 artists in all style and mediums interpreting the theme “Seasons of Change.” Visit nomaocala.com for more information.

Now -1/3

The Spaces Between

Now -1/3

Mid-Century Tourism on the Silver River

Now -1/3

The Art of Adventure

Now -1/15

Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd.

10am-5pm Thursday-Saturday; 12-5pm Sunday A mixed media exhibition featuring the theatrical landscapes of Christian Duran. Visit appletonmuseum.org for more information.

Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd.

10am-5pm Thursday-Saturday; 12-5pm Sunday An exhibition featuring Bruce Mozert’s iconic Silver Springs photographs plus ephemera from Silver Springs and Paradise Park. Visit appletonmuseum.org for more information.

Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd.

10am-5pm Thursday-Saturday; 12-5pm Sunday The serigraphs of 1970s artist Clayton Pond highlighting his “Leisure-time Obsessions Series.” Visit appletonmuseum.org for more information.

Florida: Explored

City of Ocala Recreation and Parks Administration, 828 NE Eighth Ave. 9am-5pm Ocala artist Dan McCarthy’s exhibition includes pieces created during his exploration of Indian Lake State Forest, a hidden gem in Marion County, capturing the mood and feeling of this wild space. Open Monday-Friday. Call (352) 629-8447 for more information.

11/13 -15

Deck the Walls

11/13

Coffee with the Conductor

Gallery B Art Collective, 405 E. Silver Springs Blvd.

10am-5pm Friday; 10am-5pm Saturday; 12-4pm Sunday Nine local artists offer their unique, contemporary-style art calendars, jewelry, pottery, stationary, mugs and charcuterie boards in a holiday show and sale. Visit gallerybocala.com for more information.

Marion Theatre, 50 S. Magnolia Ave. 10am Sip coffee with Maestro Matthew Wardell of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra and learn about the composition and upcoming performance of “Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi-The Four Seasons.” Visit reillyartscenter.com for more information.

11/19 -20

Metal Art Jewelry Workshop

11/19

Fall Jazz Night

11/19

Beginner’s Sewing Class with Florida Sewcialite

11/19

Artist’s Outlook: Clayton Pond

Brick City Center for the Arts, 23 SW Broadway St. 5-7:30pm A two-day workshop offering demonstrations or coldconnected jewelry with Denny Machette Pizarro. Explore a variety of methods to join metals, stones and glass to make unique jewelry. Visit fb.com/mcaocala for more information.

Sholom Park, 7110 SW 80th Ave. 6pm Bring your chairs and enjoy a fall evening on the lawn with jazz music by vocalist Miranda Madison. Visit sholompark.org for tickets.

NOMA Ocala, 939 N. Magnolia Ave. 6-8pm Learn sewing machine basics and learn to create a drawstring bag out of your own upcycled pillowcase, dress or tablecloth.

Visit fb.com/nomaocala for more information.

Virtual 7pm The Appleton Museum of Art hosts a free online chat with artist Clayton Pond, whose bright and bold serigraphs are on view in “The Art of Adventure” exhibition. appletonmuseum.org

Government

11/13

Introduction to Oil Painting: Fascinating Frida

11/16

Marion County Development Review Committee

11/14

Two Sketchy Characters

11/17

Marion County Board of Commissioners

11/17

Marion County Public Hearing

11/17

Marion County Commission Zoning

11/17

Ocala Community Redevelopment Area Agency Board

11/17

11/17

NOMA Ocala, 939 N. Magnolia Ave. 6p-9pm Part I of an introductory class in loose style portraiture with Mel Fiorentino. Part II will be held November 20th. Visit fb.com/nomaocala for more information.

NOMA Ocala, 939 N. Magnolia Ave. Local artists Jordan Shapot and Justin Alsedek will create live portraits of attendees. Sittings are limited; message Jordan Shapot at fb.com/jshapot for reservations

Teaching Tuesday: Raised Salt Painting

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 fb.com/appletonmuseum.

Villages Philharmonic Orchestra: Messiah Classical Concert

The Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center, 1051 Main St., The Villages 3 & 7pm Handel’s traditional holiday oratorio featuring four guest soloists. Visit thesharon.com for tickets and more information.

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.

McPherson Government Complex Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave. 9am Call (352) 438-2323 for more information.

McPherson Government Complex Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave. 10am Public hearing to consider an application for a commercial collections service franchise for GFL Solid Waste Southeast, LLC. Call Dawn Phelps at (352) 438-2300 for more information.

McPherson Government Complex Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave. 2pm Call (352) 438-2600 for more information.

Ocala City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave. 4:45pm Call 629-8401 for more information.

17

NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19 , 2020 | OCALA GAZETTE

11/17 11/17

ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

Ocala City Council

Ocala City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave. and online 5pm Call (352) 629-8401 for more information. Visit https://zoom. us/j/446885807 to participate online.

Belleview City Commission

13

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

11/19

11/19

Marion County Parks and Recreation Advisory Council Parks and Recreation Conference Room, 111 SE 25th Ave. 3pm Call (352) 671-8560 for more information.

13

6:30pm Giselle Felice & Erik Abernathy La Cuisine French Restaurant

5-9pm Jeff Jarrett Eaton’s Beach Florisiana Cuisine

14

6pm Mark Raisch La Cuisine French Restaurant

14

6pm Good2Go O’Calahans Pub & Eatery

13

6:30pm Stephen Lopez The Crazy Cucumber Eatery & Bar

14

6:30pm Lou Katz Hiatus Brewing Company

13

7pm Fareeza The Corkscrew

Brownfields Advisory Committee

Citizen Service Center, 201 SE 3rd St. 2:30pm Call Lisa Walsh at (352) 629-8381 for more information.

6-9pm Jeff Jarrett Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar

Marion County Development Review Committee Staff Meeting

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.

14

Horse & Hounds Restaurant

13

11/18

6pm Heather Lynne

14 13

7pm Chadwick Pierce The Corkscrew

7pm Conrad Marcum Infinite Ale Works

11/19

West Ocala Community Redevelopment Area Advisory Committee Citizen Service Center, 201 SE 3rd St. 3pm Call Gus Gianikas at (352) 629-8311 for more information.

13

7pm The Music of Outlaw Country Orange Blossom Opry

11/19

Marion County Fire Rescue and EMS Advisory Board

13

7:30-11pm Becky Sinn

11/19

MCFR Training Room, 2631 SE Third St. 4pm Call Pam Doherty at (352) 291-8000 for more information.

Rainbow Lakes Estates Public Advisory Board

Rainbow Lakes Estates Clubhouse, 4020 SW Deepwater Ct., Dunnellon 6:30pm Call (352) 489-4280 for more information.

14

7pm The Ultimate Kenny Rogers Tribute Orange Blossom Opry

19

5:30pm Gilly & the Girl La Cuisine French Restaurant

The Keep Downtown

13

8pm Dueling Pianos The Lodge

19

7pm Orange Blossom Showcase Orange Blossom Opry

Toys Accepted November 2 - December 4

Ocala - Southwest Colin A Barrett 4701 SW College Rd. Suite 104 352-512-9715

Ocala Gazette publishes fond remembrances of your loved one Visit ocalagazette.com to submit an obituary

Answers for pages 8,9

Christina L Ebey 2575 SW 42nd St. Suite 107 352-237-2029 Anthony Montemurro, CRPC® 8441 SW Hwy 200 Suite 119 352-327-2008 Kelly Moore 7668 SW 60th Ave. Suite 100 352-237-0379 David R Nettles 8960 SW Hwy 200 Suite 3 352-237-2430 Marc C Stalvey, AAMS® 4701 SW College Rd. Suite 104 352-512-9715 Brittani Tilley 2575 SW 42nd St. Suite 107 352-237-2029

Ocala - Downtown Nick Navetta, AAMS® 814 E Silver Springs Blvd Suite B 352-629-2165

Ocala - Southeast Brian Wakefield 2157 SE Fort King Street 352-351-9482 John F Walker, AAMS® 3879 SE Lake Weir Road 352-351-0769 Justin Yancey 2157 SE Fort King Street 352-351-9482

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