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VOLUME 7 ISSUE 38

POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony Page B1 September 25 - October 1 2026

Marion County Commissioners weigh data center rules

Striking out More than $100K in county impact fees shutter youth training facility before it can open. By Steve Collins steve@ocalagazette.com

ohn Ivory was browsing Facebook on his phone when an ad for the Brick City Academy popped up. As a baseball dad who coaches two travel teams, he was excited to learn there would soon be indoor batting cages, an artificial pitching mound and youth baseball instruction in downtown Ocala. “My first thought was this is amazing; I can’t wait to have this for my kids,” Ivory said. To Ivory’s frustration, it now appears that Brick City Academy will never open its doors in Marion County. The co-owners announced on Facebook Sept. 10 that they can’t afford to open because they’ve been hit with more than $100,000 in county impact fees. It’s news that could affect more than the youth sports community as impact fees are expected to continue to rise in the coming years, making it more costly to open many businesses. The fate of the aging downtown building the academy’s co-owners were hoping to spruce up also remains unclear.

Board hears from government representative from Virginia, St. Johns River Water Management District official and a representative of the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council.

THE MEN BEHIND THE MISSION

Brick City Academy was to be the dream of two men who found themselves searching for their next move in life. John Prosoco had run the Ocala franchise of The Hitting Academy, an indoor baseball and softball training center, but closed the doors in February after two and a half years when his landlord raised the rent. Prosoco said when he became a Hitting Academy franchisee, he went through rigorous training to become a hitting instructor. He said he wasn’t ready to move onto something else after closing the doors of his franchise. “I can do other things, but this is what I’m good at,” Prosoco said. Jared Johnson had recently sold his dumpster business and was looking for something that would allow him to spend more time with his family. He figured his business acumen could be combined with Prosoco’s talents to help fill a need in a community with a growing number of youth baseball and softball players. See Striking out, page A4

Marion County Commissioners and staff listen as Data Centers Key Milestones are shown on a monitor while Loudon County, Virginia, Vice Chair and Ashburn District Supervisor Michael R. Turner gives part of his presentation during the Data Center Workshop at the Marion County Commission in Ocala, Fla. on Sept. 21, 2026. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2026.

By Jennifer Hunt jennifer@ocalagazette.com

acing growing public anxiety over energy grids, water supplies and rural preservation, the Marion County Board of County Commissioners convened a workshop on Sept. 21 to establish proactive guardrails for potential data center developments before a formal application hits county desks. Although the county says no active data center applications are currently before the board, commissioners made it clear that Marion County was concerned about creating land use policies that would give “by-right” land use for data centers.

These decisions come at a time when the state and environmental advocates are raising an alarm for Marion County about low water levels, placing our springs at 50% their normal flow, and increased demand for water as our population grows. As previously reported, in 2025 Marion County was placed under a state Basin Management Act Plan to restore springs to healthy levels over a 20-year period. The commissioners have currently hired lobbyists to negotiate the state’s directive. Although state legislation limits data centers to industrial zoned properties, Marion County has reserved large swaths of land for industrial zoning to draw distribution centers to the area. To complicate matters, legislators have

also encouraged local government to consider rezoning requests for industrial land to meet needs for affordable housing.

COMMISSIONER PRIORITIES: SPECIAL USE PERMITS AND STRICT CONTROL

At the top of the meeting, commissioners outlined their individual priorities for managing large-scale data facilities. A central consensus emerged around Commissioner Matt McClain’s position that data centers must be restricted strictly to industrial zoning districts and require a Special Use Permit (Special Exception) for

The heritage of Howard Academy

Arthur Cunningham, 96, who graduated from Howard Academy in 1947, speaks during the 160th Anniversary Alumni Breakfast at the Howard Academy Community Center in Ocala on Sept. 19, 2026. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2026.

160th anniversary homecoming event honors the legacy of Ocala’s first African American school. By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com

he Howard Academy 160th Anniversary Homecoming Celebration saw graduates dating back to 1947 gather to celebrate the legacy of Ocala’s first African American school.

Loretta Pompey Jenkins, a Howard High School Class of 1961 graduate and past president of the Ocala branch of the NAACP, moderated the Sept. 19 program and introduced local dignitaries. Alumni gathered for a soldout breakfast spoke about the history of Howard Academy and their experience in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s.

See Data center, page A6

Howard Academy, the “first African American school established in Ocala,” was initially known as the Union Academy when the school was opened in 1866 by the Freedman’s Bureau, according to a history in the event program. See The heritage, page A3

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School board candidate Q&A......... A5 Two arrests in shooting case............A8 High school football......................... A10 Travel; Chicago with an insider......B6 Calendar.................................................B8

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September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

COMMUNITY NEWS By Susan Smiley-Height susan@maganoliamediaco.com

CF STUDENT JOURNALISTS RECOGNIZED BY SPJ

ollege of Central Florida student journalists were recognized for their work at the Society of Professional Journalists Florida Sunshine State Awards ceremony on Aug. 29. The annual awards event honors excellence in Florida journalism from the previous calendar year. Ashley Brace, editor-in-chief of CF’s “The Patriot Press,” earned first place in the College Arts & Entertainment Review category, competing against finalists from Florida Atlantic University and Florida State University. Amber Battillo, student journalist and photographer, was named a finalist for College Photojournalist of the Year and News Photo. The Sunshine State Awards bring together journalists from across Florida, with SPJ Florida combining college entries from two-year and four-year colleges and universities. “The Patriot Press” is CFs student-run newspaper, covering campus and community news throughout Marion, Levy and Citrus counties. The publication provides students with opportunities to develop their skills in journalism, photography and multimedia storytelling.

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

- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) “The Patriot Press” student journalists Amber Battillo, left, and Ashley Brace, right, hold their awards after being recognized at the Society of Professional Journalists Florida Ceremony on Aug. 29. [Photo courtesy College of Central Florida]

Publisher Jennifer Jean Hunt jennifer@ocalagazette.com Bruce Ackerman

BOBBY’S BIKES EARNS COMMUNITY PARTNER AWARD

n Sept. 3, Bobby’s Bikes was presented with the Community Partner of the Year Award by Savannah Smiles Youth Services in Southern Indiana. The nonprofit outreach is organized by Debra McCoskey-Reisert and her brother George McCoskey. “George and I founded Bobby’s Bikes after losing our brother Bobby to COVID-19 in 2020. Bobby had an intellectual disability and riding his bicycle gave him freedom, independence and happiness. We created Bobby’s Bikes to help give children that same feeling by providing bikes to kids who may not otherwise have one of their own. George lives in Indiana and I live in Citrus Springs, but Bobby’s Bikes has always been a brotherand-sister effort across state lines. Today, we continue working within communities in Florida and Southern Indiana to put children on bikes. We gave about 50 bikes to Marion County kids last year and 20 the year prior,” McCoskey-Reisert shared. To learn more, go to bobbysbikes.org

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dani@magnoliamediaco.com Andy Fillmore Reporter

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greg@magnoliamediaco.com Susan Smiley-Height Editor

susan@magnoliamediaco.com Belea Keeney Debra McCoskey-Reisert and George McCoskey with the award for Bobby’s Bikes. [Submitted photo]

CARLTON WARD JR. TO SPEAK AT HFF SUMMIT

arlton Ward Jr. will share the story of the Great Florida Cattle Drive at the Horse Farms Forever Conservation Summit on Nov. 12 in Ocala. Ward is a conservation photographer, Emmy Awardwinning filmmaker, National Geographic Explorer and producer of “Path of the Panther.” His work focuses on documenting Florida’s wild places, wildlife and the people working to conserve them. The story of the Great Florida Cattle Drive is about more than cattle and cowboys. It’s a story about Florida’s working landscapes and what’s at stake as ranches and horse farms disappear under development pressure, the Horse Farms Forever press release stated. The most recent Great Florida Cattle Drive celebrated Florida’s 500-year cattle ranching history but also highlighted the urgent need to protect working ranches from rapid urban development. Over six days, 300 riders moved 300 herd of cattle through some of the same trails used by ranchers over a hundred years ago — and now as part of the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Ward documented the journey through photography. “This year’s Conservation Summit explores what we can learn from Florida’s ranching heritage to keep our horse farms, open spaces and natural resources thriving for generations to come. It’s also at the heart of Horse Farms Forever’s mission to inspire the preservation of horse farms that have come to define Marion County’s culture and unique sense of place,” the release stated. The Florida Wildlife Corridor is a network of natural lands that covers about 18 million acres across Florida. About 10 million acres have been protected and the goal is to protect the remaining 8 million acres, which are mostly tucked within farms and ranches. About 40% of Marion County is located within the Florida Wildlife

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Marion County resident Jennifer Schuck, with Cher, took part in the Great Florida Cattle Drive. [Submitted photo]

Corridor, mostly as part of the Ocala National Forest, and also as part of the northwest section of the Farmland Preservation Area, according to Horse Farms Forever. The summit will take place at Circle Square Commons, 8405 SW 80th St., Ocala, starting at 5 p.m. To learn more and get tickets, go to horsefarmsforever.com To read a first-person account of the cattle drive by a local resident, go to Great Florida Cattle Drive 2026: A living piece of history | Ocala Gazette

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

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September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

The heritage Continued from page A1 In 1868, the school’s name was changed to Howard Academy and a few years later the school became part of Marion County Public Schools. The first eighth graders graduated in 1900. A high school program began around 1927 and ran for 42 years. In 1949, the elementary grades were moved to Madison Street School, the history stated. The day long 160th anniversary celebration was held at the Howard Academy Community Center at 306 NW 7th Ave., Ocala, and included music, vendors and tours of the Marion County Black History Museum, which is housed inside the center. The event was presented by the community center in partnership with the Friends of Marion County’s Black Museum. The Howard Academy Community Center, the current extension of the historical Howard Academy, is part of the Marion County Public Schools system and a community resource that offers mentoring, financial and other programs. Davida Randolph, HACC program manager, spoke at the event and talked about the Dare to be Great mentoring program which stresses helping others. She also discussed the Marion County Black History Museum moving forward with Cynthia Wilson Graham as current curator. Arthur Cunningham, 96, shared some of his school experiences with the audience. He graduated from Howard Academy in 1947 and served in the U.S. Army in the Korean War. He looked at historical photos and articles on display, which, he said, represent how much progress has been made toward equal racial treatment but “more progress needs to be made.” Barbara Brooks attended Howard High in the mid-1950s. She operates the R.A.M.A.L. (Reach, Aim, Motivate and Lead) educational and social program at the community center. Brooks told the attendees she learned to type under Howard High School principal Herbert Coleman. She said reading, writing and math were considered “a ladder out of poverty.” Brooks said teachers encouraged getting all the education possible because education “can’t be taken away from you. Teachers were preparing us for the Civil Rights Movement,” she said. Simon Ponder represented Howard High School Alumni of the 1960s. He said a teacher, Mrs. Miller, encouraged him to read literature like the Edgar Allan Poe poem “Annabel Lee.” Candice Shelton said that over generations, Howard Academy became more than a school. “Howard Academy was family, community and sanctuary,” she said. Shelton said Howard Academy showed students “perseverance” at a Black school during the years of segregation and that the school encouraged dreams that produced future leaders. Shelton said the school nickname, the “Wild Bulls,” was earned not because the students were rowdy but because “they refused to back down.” Notable Howard High School graduates, according to museum literature, include Jesse J. McCrary Jr., in 1978, the first African American to serve on the Florida cabinet and Ron Coleman, in 1955, the first Black athlete to earn an athletic scholarship at the University of Florida as well as scores of educators, doctors, lawyers and members of the military. Lauretta Eason was one of five Howard High School students who transferred to the previously all white Ocala High School around 1966 under an early integration program called Freedom of Choice. Eason praised former principal Coleman, who she described as an encourager. “He wasn’t just a principal, he was everything; a counselor and like a father figure,” Eason said. “He pushed me. ‘You can do it,’ he would say,” Eason said. Eason had a career with the Coca-Cola corporation in Atlanta and then went into real estate.

Loretta Jenkins speaks during the alumni breakfast.

Photos by Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

Alumni listen during the Howard Academy 160th Anniversary Alumni Breakfast at the Howard Academy Community Center in Ocala on Sept. 19, 2026.

Historic photos.

Melissa Coleman of Marion County Public Schools, Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano, Davida Randolph of the Howard Academy Community Center, County Commissioner Michelle Stone and Ocala City Councilman Ire Bethea, with proclamations.

Marion County Commissioner Michelle Stone.

Anthony Deleon listens with his son, Tafari, 4.

Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano.

Lawana Croskey participated in an optional integration program in 1965 as an 8th grade student. Benjamin Wilson, Class of 1964, called the 160th Anniversary event “beautiful.” He served in the Army from 1964 to 1967 and was stationed in Germany. Herbert McNeil, who changed his name since high school to Lateef Majied, represented the Class of 1969, the last year of operation of Howard High School. Rose Miller Wise Thomas graduated from Howard High School in 1966. One of her fondest memories is when she worked in the school’s front office as a student. She had a 45-year career with MCPS, serving in various positions. Class of ‘66 member Earlene Collins joined the alumni breakfast as did Class of 1958 member Carrie Johnson Parker-Warren, who said Howard High School was where the graduates’ “roots” are and where they got their start. She said her teacher, Thelma Parker, was “strict” and you learned with “no failures. She brought out the best of us.” Gloria Johnson-Pasteur represented the Class of 1956.

Eunice Woodbury-Barnes was in the Class of 1968. She attended mass civil rights related meetings conducted by a local clergyman and was active in a “sitin” at a local McCrory’s lunch counter, demanding service for Black patrons during segregation. “We tore down signs that said white or black (water fountains),” WoodburyBarnes said. Anthony DeLeon, 32, came to learn the history and share the experience with son, Tafari DeLeon,4. Rodney Croskey pointed out his father, Ed Crosby, in a photo on display in the Marion County Black History Museum. He said his father, the namesake of the E.D. Croskey Recreation Center, which offers arts and crafts and instructional programs and a computer lab, was a 1947 Howard High School graduate. Ed Croskey “worked for the city of Ocala Recreation and Parks Department for 35 years and was known for his love of helping local youth,” according to a Jan .14, 2022, “Gazette” article. Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano and

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Sam Ponder, who attended Howard Academy starting in 1962, and Gus Gray, a legendary Ocala horseman.

Marion County Commissioner Michelle Stone read city and county proclamations marking the 160th anniversary of Howard Academy. Ocala City Council President Ire Bethea and Marion County Public School Board member and local clergyman Rev. Dr. Eric Cummings both spoke at the event. Melissa Mace with Marion County Public Schools spoke and delivered greetings from Superintendent Danielle Brewer. For more information, go to fb.com/ HowardAcademyCC and marionschools. net/departments/grants_federal_ programs/howard_academy_ community_center

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

Striking out

Jared Johnson, one of the co-owners of Brick City Academy, talks about how a $100,000 impact fee forced the planned baseball and softball training facility from opening in the former Marion County Public Schools Central Warehouse on Southeast 3rd Avenue in Ocala, Fla., on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026.

Continued from page A1 They found a vacant building near Osceola Middle School that had previously been used as a warehouse by Marion County Public Schools. The property would need to pass city code inspection and an initial meeting with city officials went well. “My agent said he’d never had a meeting with the city go so well,” Johnson said. “They were very excited.” Johnson and Prosoco signed a lease that began in July with a $28,000 deposit and set about spending what Johnson describes as “tens of thousands of dollars” to get ready for opening day. There was close to $10,000 a month on rent, $2,000 for rubber flooring, $10,000 on turf and netting, and on it went. The goal was to be open by mid-August, in time for fall baseball season. They were getting close when the bill for the impact fee came in. Johnson said nobody ever mentioned an impact fee until his contractor told him they’d received a bill. He said he was surprised but assumed the amount was something that could be absorbed. Instead, it was more than $100,000. At first, Johnson and Prosoco assumed something could be done. They worked with city and county officials to find a compromise, but it eventually became clear the final authority fell to the county and the county wasn’t budging. County Commissioner Craig Curry, whose district includes the property, said the ordinance covering impact fees doesn’t allow the county to make exceptions except in cases where somebody hires a firm to do their own impact study. Johnson said when it became clear their existing property would be prohibitively expensive, he and Prosoco began to work with the county to find other potential properties. However, they weren’t able to find a property with impact fees of less than $50,000. “We might have to move to a different county,” Prosoco said. “We don’t want to do that, but we might have no other choice.” Mike Boyle, owner of Boyle Construction, was the contractor on the Brick City Academy project. He said he was shocked to hear how much impact fees would be. “Impact fees were almost double what construction would’ve been,” Boyle said. “That’s a killer.”

WHAT’S AN IMPACT FEE?

Impact fees are most often associated with new construction, as a fee local governments charge developers for building new houses or commercial developments. The idea is that new construction places a strain on existing infrastructure and that developers rather than taxpayers should pick up the tab. Although it’s true that impact fees apply to new development, it’s also true that when a business moves into building and wants to use it in a different way than the building has previously been used, an impact fee may be required before a certificate of occupancy is granted. “It’s important to note that impact fees are based on the

type and intensity of a proposed use, not simply on whether a building already exists. Different uses can place different demands on public facilities, including the transportation system,” according to an email from Stacie Causey, public relations manager for the Marion County Board of County Commissioners. The county breaks new development into dozens of landuse categories, with each assessed a different rate based on how much traffic a particular use is expected to generate. The more expected traffic, the higher the fee. For that reason, the impact fee for a warehouse is different from a medical office, which is different from a car wash. Impact fees are a one-time fee, so once an impact fee has been paid for a particular use, that use is covered for life in that particular building. However, if somebody wants to switch to a heavier use, that comes with additional impact fees. “In the case of Brick City Academy, the proposal involves changing an existing building’s use from warehouse space to indoor batting cages,” according to Causey’s email. “For impact fee purposes, indoor batting cages fall within the county’s racquet club/health spa land-use category, which has a different transportation impact fee rate than a warehouse because the uses are expected to generate different levels of transportation demand.” For Brick City Academy, the change in use proved costly. The impact fee for the racquet club/ health spa land-use category is $10,858 for every 1,000 square feet. By comparison, the fee for a warehouse is $529 per 1,000 square feet. With Brick City Academy planning on using 12,500 square feet of the building, after factoring in the credit for the previous use, the co-owners would’ve been on the hook for a little more than $129,000. Johnson says they were originally told the property would be classified as a Recreational Community Center, but even with that classification, it would’ve cost nearly $102,000.

A HISTORY LESSON

Understanding how we got here requires also understanding where we came from. On the heels of the global financial crisis, the county halted all impact fees in 2010. It would reinstate fees with a 2015 ordinance, but those fees didn’t kick in until 2017. That means that all the growth Marion County experienced over a roughly seven-year period, and there was a lot of it, came without developers having to kick in impact fees. And when fees did return, they were at rates much lower than the rates the county’s consultants had suggested. The rates weren’t raised again until October 2025. This time, fees rose dramatically. The impact fees that the Brick City Academy co-owners would have paid had they opened this summer while classified as a racquet club/health spa would have been 426 percent higher than what they’d have paid had

Photos by Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

Specialized Kevlar baseballs for batting machines.

Batting cages that were installed.

Walls that have been painted.

The outside of the planned Brick City Academy, which was formerly the Marion County Public Schools Central Warehouse.

they opened before the county raised rates in 2025. Similarly, the impact fee for a new fullservice restaurant would be 369% higher today than in September of 2025. It appears to Ivory that after years of giving developers a free or reduced ride, now the county is trying to play catch-up, but guys like Johnson and Prosoco are the ones paying the price. “Now it’s the local familyowned businesses that are getting choked out,” Ivory said. “Not the developers.”

A QUIRK IN THE SYSTEM

Not all businesses are affected in the same way. Novel businesses, such as Brick City Academy, are disproportionally affected because there are fewer existing properties where the impact fee has already been paid. For example, somebody looking to open a smoke shop in Ocala would likely have a lot less trouble finding a building where the impact fee has already been paid than somebody with batting cages. The other challenge is that impact fees must be paid in full before the doors open. Big developers and national chains have that kind of money on hand. Folks hoping to open a small business often don’t. Ironically, if Johnson and Prosoco had pulled together the money for the impact fee and later went out of business in part because they were carrying additional debt, somebody else could walk in and start the same business with zero impact fees. If there are flaws in the system, the county commission’s Curry

said it isn’t for a lack of trying. “We spent an inordinate amount of time studying impact fees,” Curry said.

RISING COSTS

As high as they may be, impact fees are only headed higher. Although the impact fees that Johnson and Prosoco would have paid were 426 percent higher than the previous year, that’s nothing compared to the 651% increase they’d have faced had they waited until Oct. 1, 2028. When the Marion County Board of County Commissioners voted to increase impact fees in 2025, the commissioners chose to phase in the new rates over four years. The rates Johnson and Prosoco were quoted were just 70% of what they’ll be in a little more than two years. The rates will go up another 10% every Oct. 1 until they hit 100%.

THE FUTURE OF A VACANT BUILDING

The future of the aging building at 506 S.E. 3rd Ave. remains unclear. That frustrates Johnson. “This building is just rotting downtown and you get somebody who wants to spend money to fix it up and then this happens,” Johnson said. Only time will tell if somebody else will step up and fill the space. David King, the architect on the Brick City Academy project, has a piece of advice for anybody considering it. It’s the same advice he’d

give anybody looking to open a business, regardless of location. “Please do not forget to check the impact fees before your start,” King said. Anybody who checks those impact fees may well come to the same conclusion that Johnson and Prosoco did. Because impact fees for warehouses are so much lower than those for many other businesses, there may well be some sticker shock for anybody hoping to turn the space in to something other than a warehouse. Even without batting cages, the switch won’t come cheap. “It will end up being a homeless area, you watch,” King said.

HARD FEELINGS

Ivory is left thinking of what could have been. He said the county is home to many talented youth baseball players, but Marion County lacks the kind of infrastructure that allows young athletes to reach their full potential. He said he’s not the only one who’s disappointed Brick City Academy won’t open. “Everybody in the entire baseball community is upset about it,” he said. Now that his excitement about the promise of Brick City Academy has turned to disappointment, one thing is clear to Ivory. “Our local government officials aren’t supporting our kids,” Ivory said.

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September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

“Ocala Gazette” Q&A with candidates for school board

This is the first week in a four-week project to ask questions of and hear responses from those seeking office. Staff report

here are two candidates running for school board seat four, Mike Mills and Brigitte Smith. There are two candidates running for seat five, Donald “Donny” Barber and incumbent Sarah James. The “Gazette” will email a different question each week to all of the candidates, for a total of four questions over four weeks. The candidates are given a week to respond in writing and we do not edit their answers except if it applies to AP Style Rules. The answers are presented in the order in which they were received. QUESTION ONE: There has been public uproar about Marion County Public Schools low ranking amongst Florida’s 67 districts by state measures for decades now. Name the single change you would push for in your first year that you believe would move that ranking, explain how you would know within 12 months whether it was working and say what you would do if it wasn’t.

*** The single change I would push in my first year is a districtwide culture reset that starts by investing in the people already doing the work. Within my first months, I would push for a line-by-line review of the budget, contracts, administrative costs, outside services and nonessential spending to identify money that can be redirected immediately toward staff pay increases and targeted incentives. If we say teachers and support staff are our greatest resource, our budget should demonstrate that priority. But compensation is only one part of culture. I would also implement confidential employee surveys and meaningful exit interviews, then require school and district leaders to address recurring concerns. Employees should know that when they identify a problem, someone is responsible for fixing it. Within 12 months, I would measure whether this approach is working through employee retention, vacancies, absenteeism, applicant numbers, staff survey results, student attendance and discipline. I would also compare those results with student academic growth from the beginning to the end of the school year. Better culture should ultimately produce greater stability in classrooms and better outcomes for students. If those measures did not improve, I would go back to the data, determine which schools and departments were succeeding, and change the approach accordingly. That could mean changing incentives, redirecting additional resources, eliminating programs that are not producing results, or addressing leadership problems. I do not believe we can improve academically without first building a district where good employees want to come, want to stay and have the support necessary to succeed. —Donald Barber *** Once reelected, my top focus to address student achievement will remain the same;

improving student attendance. Over the last four years, I have worked with the board to enhance attendance enforcement, recognition, and our overall chronic absenteeism rate. Since elected in 2022, we have improved the chronic absenteeism rate by over 5%. Yet still, almost 30% of our students are chronically absent. Daily attendance is recorded on each campus and reported to the district. We have the ability to track individual students, schools, and rising trends in our student attendance data. We also compare, year over year, our chronic absenteeism data and can track our improvement throughout the district. Based on the work the last four years, the practices we have implemented are working. Outlined in both our student achievement outcomes, which hit a 10-year high, and our student chronic absenteeism rate, a 5-year low, we know that the strategies we are implementing are working. When students are present, they can learn and achieve. We are addressing absenteeism at the state level with the Florida legislator I have met with our local delegation more than thirty times both in Marion County and in Tallahassee to address what we believe needs to be improved in state law to better enforce attendance. We have a productive working relationship with Judge King who supports our truancy enforcement efforts by holding parents accountable for their child’s attendance in truancy court. A consistent judge has made a significant impact on enforcement and has directly supported the reduction in our chronic absenteeism rate. As a district we have enhanced our

recognition efforts at school sites and district wide by focusing on overall achievement and improvement of attendance and chronic absenteeism. Our code of conduct was updated to reflect attendance criteria for student athlete participation in sports. —Sarah James *** These endeavors are far too complicated to be limited to “one thing” I would do. It will take a combination of priorities to achieve the improvements we want. Over the first 12 months I will double down on the efforts to decrease absenteeism because it is the single most effective way to ensure a child has the best opportunity to learn. We cannot teach a student that is not present. Simultaneously, I will push for more VPK opportunities for students, work towards getting more kids enrolled in VPK, and making sure that every kid gets to the classroom fed. Those efforts will produce results. Additionally, I intend to perpetually assess the strength of our CTE programs. We will do more and improve for the kids in K-12 and that means ensuring that the students in the last couple years of high school have options. We want every student to find success and it is becoming increasingly more apparent that trades and industry certifications are an effective way to find jobs with livable wages and a high ceiling. As an elected official we are expected to have the mental fortitude to receive information, formulate discussion, and process the information to make sound decisions. ChatGPT, Grok, and other AI tools are good

for many reasons but they also make it possible for people to appear more prepared or skilled than they are. I encourage everyone to copy and paste the responses of candidates, emails, flyers, or even social media posts into Google or their favorite AI resource and ask how much of the content is AI generated. I have been at a forum and watched a candidate ask AI the forum question before picking up the mic to answer. Being an informed voter is critical. Holding people accountable is critical. Those seeking office need to be held to a high standard of excellence and integrity, and that includes responsible implementation of AI tools. —Michael Mills *** There are several issues that warrant change but given the broad question of county ranking and the 12 quantifiable points that go into that ranking, I’ll go with talking about absenteeism. Making chronic absenteeism a district’s number one measurable priority, with a hard target of getting below 20 percent within two years. Here’s why it fits your question. Marion’s chronic absenteeism sits around 30 to 33 percent, versus roughly 22 percent statewide. The district’s own A-rated schools run 4 to 10 percent absenteeism, while its struggling schools run 37 to 44 percent. An outgoing board member put it bluntly: get chronic absenteeism below 20 percent and maintain instruction quality, and Marion becomes an A district. That’s not spin — it’s the one lever where Marion’s own data shows the correlation is strongest. The 12-month test is simple and public. Track the monthly chronic absenteeism rate against the prior year’s baseline and watch the FAST progress monitoring windows — PM1 through PM3 — for year-over-year gains in ELA and math. If absenteeism drops five or more points and FAST gains match or beat the state average, the idea is working. If absenteeism stalls above 30 percent or FAST gains lag the state, it’s not. If it’s not working, I’d stop treating attendance as a campaign and start treating it as an intervention system. We must first start with a root-cause conversation with the student and the parent, grandparent, or guardian, whether the child dislikes school, cannot get there, or lacks basics such as laundry, and then intervene. Why are they missing school? Once we find out those issues, then we can intervene and help that student, mandatory child-study-team meetings after five unexcused absences, real truancy court follow-through, and a public dashboard so every school and every family can see the numbers. The district already has the PowerSchool attendance tool and the Community Attendance Council — the missing piece is accountability, not more programs. Additionally, it could be that the student and family/guardian are simply unaware of the resources available, i.e. Rock program, etc. If the correlation that poverty drives absenteeism, as basic needs are not being met, again, it may be as simple as that guardians which could be aging grandparents are simply unaware of the resources available to the student. A real conversation goes a long way. The state grades districts purely on test scores, gains, graduation, and acceleration. So when people say absenteeism is dragging Marion down, they mean it’s dragging down the students who show up to take those tests. As a nurse, we use FOCUS PDCA to implement change and I think this would definitely work here. —Brigette Smith

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September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

Data center Continued from page A1 approval. Under this framework, data center developers cannot build “by right” without public scrutiny; every proposal must come before the county commission for individual review and legislative approval. Commissioner Michelle Stone strongly agreed with McClain’s stance on special use permits, emphasizing that keeping projects under conditional oversight protects the community while allowing incoming policy parameters to be established. Other commissioners highlighted additional priorities: Chair Carl Zalak III pushed for a proactive “two-pronged approach,” drafting strict performance standards alongside a temporary moratorium so the county remains legally protected if a moratorium faces court challenges. Commissioner Kathy Bryant urged the board to enact interim restrictions capping data center power capacity at 20 megawatts (MW) rather than 50 MW until comprehensive Land Development Code updates are finalized. Commissioner Craig Curry focused on nationwide infrastructure strains, noting sky-high land speculation where data-center-zoned land in major hubs commands up to $6 million per acre, alongside immense strains on local electrical grids.

LESSONS FROM “DATA CENTER ALLEY”: LOUDOUN COUNTY’S BEST PRACTICES

To guide the county’s regulatory framework, Growth Services staff brought in Loudon County, Virginia, Vice Chair and Ashburn District Supervisor Michael R. Turner. Loudon County is home to “Data Center Alley” and the highest concentration of data centers in the world. Turner presented 15 core “best practices” based on six critical factors: noise, power, water, emissions, setbacks and appearance. His primary recommendations included: 1. Eliminate “by-right” approvals: Never allow data centers as a permitted-byright use under standard industrial zoning. Require mandatory public hearings for every application. 2. Prohibit non-disclosure agreements (NDAs): Local governments must refuse to sign NDAs with developers to ensure complete transparency with taxpayers. 3. Mandate closed-loop water cooling: To protect local water supplies, local codes should mandate closed-loop internal water systems that continuously recycle cooling water rather than consuming potable groundwater. 4. Strict noise controls and novel enforcement: Establish lowfrequency noise limits (dBC tonal noise) at property boundaries. Turner recommended seeking authority to impose tax rate penalties on noncompliant facilities as an effective enforcement tool. 5. Power line setbacks and integrated substations: Require utilities to disclose maximum power requests in writing, mandate that substations be included in base applications rather than added piecemeal and enforce setbacks so new transmission lines are not built near residential backyards. 6. Buffers and appearance: Require a minimum 500-to-1,000-foot setback from residential zones, alongside natural berms, screening and building height restrictions. The Marion County Board of County Commissioners voted to place a 12-month moratorium on large-scale data centers in a 4-1 vote during its Sept. 15 Planning & Zoning meeting. The new ordinance would prohibit any sort of permitting, for site, usage or special use for any large-scale center, defined as more than 50-megawatts. A 50-megawatt facility is estimated to use the same electricity amount as 10,000 to 15,000 households. As to the current moratorium set by the Marion County Commissioners, Turner responded, “I think 50 is too high... I’ve seen every executive order I’ve seen from a governor and every contemplated piece of legislation uses either 20 or 25 megawatts as the threshold for a large power consumer.” Turner expressed concern that facilities under 50 megawatts can bypass regulatory scrutiny. “I think you can have a functioning data center that theoretically could violate every one of the six factors at 49 megawatts and not be subject to any kind of scrutiny. That’s

Marion County Commissioners listen during the workshop.

Loudon County, Virginia, Vice Chair and Ashburn District Supervisor Michael R. Turner gives a presentation during the Data Center Workshop at the Marion County Commission in Ocala, Fla. on Sept. 21, 2026.

Clay Coarsey, division director for the Division of Water Supply Planning and Assessment for the St. Johns River Water Management District.

Chuck Varadin, Marion County Growth Services director.

The Data Center Workshop drew some interested citizens.

what concerns me. In most cases, there are data centers going to operate below 50 megawatts and have all the attendant problems that a data center has under 50 megawatts, Turner told the commissioners. “That’s just a guess. All I’m saying is, every constraint that I’ve seen from a state constraint uses 20 or 25 megawatts as the term,” he said.

WATER AUTHORITY: ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT OVERSIGHT

Addressing widespread public concern over groundwater depletion, Clay Coarsey, P.E., Division Director of Water Supply Planning and Assessment for the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), clarified the state regulatory process. “The legislature in the 1970s, when they enacted Chapter 373 of Florida statute, envisioned growth happening in Florida. That’s one of the reasons they created the water management districts, to help manage our water supply when that growth happens. They saw what was happening out west with water supply and said we want to do it a different way in the state of Florida,” he told the commissioners. Coarsey noted that under Florida law (including newly enacted Senate Bill 484), the water management district holds exclusive, preemptive authority over Consumptive Use Permits (CUPs). Under new regulations: • Mandatory board review and public hearing: Any proposed large-scale AI data center seeking a water permit from SJRWMD must undergo a formal public hearing and receive direct approval from the district’s Governing Board. • Reclaimed water requirement: Data centers are legally required to use reclaimed water instead of fresh groundwater or surface water whenever lines are available at the property boundary. • Three-prong legal test: Every application must prove it is a “reasonable-beneficial use,” will not interfere with existing legal users and is consistent with the public interest — with Silver Springs Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs) acting as a firm environmental ceiling. Zalak asked Coarsey whether the St.

Johns River Water Management District examines water treatment and disposal in its review process. Coarsey explained that the disposal would be handled by the Department of Environmental Protection, “if we’re talking about the discharge of water from any water treatment system. That’d have to go through their (FDPA) permitting process.” “What we would be looking at is the water that’s being extracted in Marion County most likely be pulled from aquifer systems. What sort of potential impact would that have to existing legal users in our natural systems pulling that water out of the [aquifer],” Coarsey explained.

Michelle Morrison of the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council.

REGIONAL RECAP: HOW OTHER FLORIDA COUNTIES ARE REACTING

Michelle Morrison of the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council provided a recap of how neighboring jurisdictions across Central Florida are scrambling to regulate data centers: • Lake County: Recently enacted a 90-day suspension on all application acceptances while quickly drafting a specialized data center ordinance focused on industrial zones and conditional use permits. • Orange County: Evaluated a moratorium while researching a tiered classification system that groups data centers into four categories based on power capacity (0–5 MW, 5–20 MW, 20–50 MW and 50+ MW). • Osceola and Sumter counties: Both opted against moratoria. Osceola is pausing code changes until a state OPPAGA study finishes in 2027, though its early draft proposed requiring cooling water to originate from precipitation outside urban boundaries. Sumter is conducting utility capacity analyses and reviewing areas with available reclaimed water. • Seminole County: Currently conducting site suitability analyses and considering a potential moratorium.

THE VOLUSIA PARALLEL: POROUS GEOLOGY AND SINKHOLE FEARS

Morrison’s most striking regional update came from Volusia County, drawing direct parallels to Marion County’s fragile environment. During a three-and-a-half-hour

Ken Weyrauch, deputy director of Marion County Growth Services.

deliberation on a proposed one-year moratorium, Volusia officials confronted the reality of their porous karst topography — a geologic formation of soluble limestone highly prone to sinkhole collapse when groundwater levels fluctuate or heavy surface loads are applied. After recognizing that massive water withdrawals for evaporative cooling over unstable karst terrain pose severe sinkhole risks, Volusia County pivoted from a temporary moratorium toward an outright ban on data centers, which is heading to public hearings. This concern in Volusia mirrors Marion County’s own underground geography. According to the Marion County Comprehensive Plan and county vulnerability assessments, large portions of Marion County feature unconfined karst limestone where groundwater recharges rapidly, making the region “most vulnerable” to both aquifer contamination and sinkhole formation. As Marion County staff go back to the drawing board to draft local regulations, the lesson from regional neighbors and environmental experts is clear: protecting the Floridan Aquifer and preventing structural collapse requires tight local zoning, mandatory special use permits and strict limits on groundwater extraction. Photos by Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

State board approves AI guidelines for K-12 schools, colleges The policies require school districts to amend regulations on internet safety to include AI and for state colleges to provide limitations on AI use in schools. By Ana Goñi-Lessan the News Service of Florida

he Florida Board of Education on Sept. 16 passed rules for the use of artificial intelligence in K-12 public schools and state colleges. At a meeting at Polk State College in Winter Haven, the board approved policies requiring school districts to amend their regulations on internet safety to include AI and require state colleges to provide limitations on AI use in schools. “Artificial intelligence is already in the classroom and the rules before you today are about keeping Florida in front, rather than reacting,” said Education Commissioner Henry Mack. In K-12 schools, districts will be required to notify parents if their student will be using an AI product. Parental consent will be required for AI use and the district will have to offer an alternative, non-AI instructional tool similar in

Students arrive on the first day of school at the new South Marion High School in Marion Oaks on Aug. 10, 2026. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]

instructional quality if a parent does not allow their child to use AI. School districts must finalize the policies by July 1, 2027, for the 2027-2028 school year. For the state’s 28 institutions in the Florida College System, colleges will now

be required to adopt policies on AI “to ensure quality of education for students, efficiency of operations and a safe learning environment for the whole college community.” Those policies must prohibit students from using AI to work on graded assignments or assessments unless explicitly permitted to do so by the instructor. “AI is an enhancement. It’s a supplement. It doesn’t supplant. It’s complimentary,” Mack said. “The rules before you today elevate that in a very nuanced way. It’s a difficult conversation.” For school districts, any AI used in grades PreK-5 will have to undergo an additional review for approval and no AI instructional tools can be used to meet a student’s social or emotional needs, to simulate an emotional relationship with a student or use relationship-building or anthropomorphic design features to encourage a student to interact with the AI

product. The AI tools also cannot subject students to undisclosed behavior monitoring, social scoring or psychological profiling. Teachers and administrators will also be required to undergo training regarding AI risks, limitations, safety and compliance, and students will also not be able to use AI unsupervised. School personnel must also be able to immediately suspend or disable the AI product without vendor assistance. And districts must prioritize vendors that keep student data within the United States and vendors cannot sell, monetize, profile or commercially exploit data to train commercial AI models. “We are exercising the virtue of prudence here,” Mack said. “We are neither going to one extreme, i.e. banning AI, nor are we going to the other extreme, which is unfettered access, so there’s real value in what we’re presenting today.”

First ballots cast for November election

The last day to register to vote in the Nov. 3 election is Oct. 5. By Jim Turner the News Service of Florida

ounty supervisors of elections are starting to receive the first of what is expected to be around 8 million ballots cast in Florida for the November general election. Around 150 mail ballots have been returned from the nearly 200,000 sent out last week to Floridians in the military and currently overseas, according to figures posted Sept. 21 by the Division of Elections. “I encourage voters who are voting by mail to track their ballot and sign up for notifications, so they know when we mail their ballot out and when we receive it back in our office,” Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer said Sept. 18 in a released statement. “Most mail takes about a week to reach its destination.” One of 67 county elections offices in Florida, Latimer’s office sent out 2,721 General Election ballots to absent military and overseas voters, while announcing plans to send out more than 146,000 ballots to domestic voters on Oct. 1. As has been the case the past few elections as President Donald

Trump repeatedly questions the vote-by-mail process, despite using that method himself in Florida elections, Democrats have returned more ballots. But it is early in the process, with 63 ballots submitted by registered Democrats to 39 by Republicans and 26 by individuals without a party affiliation. Democrats have also been sent more than half the ballots already sent, with the Broward County elections office accounting for nearly three-quarters of those ballots. Republicans who currently have a 1.55 million advantage in registered voters over the Democrats, typically make up the difference with the in-person early voting. In prior midterm elections, 7.8 million Floridians voted in 2022 and 8.3 million in 2018. About 35 percent of the 2022 votes were cast by mail and 29 percent through in-person early voting. Four years earlier, mailed ballots accounted for 31 percent of the voting and early voting was nearly 33 percent. The start of the pre-election day voting comes as representatives for Common Cause said Florida voters shouldn’t anticipate changes to the voting process from the prior

election cycle as the organization continues to take legal action against legislative changes made earlier this year to the election process. “We are here to tell Florida voters that actually nothing has changed for voting in Florida,” Common Cause Florida Executive Director Amy Keith said during a conference call on Sept. 17. “In 2026, the rules are exactly the same as they were in 2024.” The new law (HB 991), which takes effect after the 2026 election, is Florida’s version of the proposed federal Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which remains stalled in the U.S. Senate. The law requires citizenship paperwork and a photo ID, such as a Florida driver’s license, U.S. Passport or concealed carry permit, when an individual registers to vote and before they vote at the ballot box. Also, a voter must provide a passport or birth certificate to register or remain on the voter rolls. But those provisions don’t take effect until after the November election. Common Cause is joined in the lawsuit by the League of Women Voters of Florida, Florida Rising, Florida Immigrant

Example of a vote by mail ballot at the Marion County Election Center in Ocala. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]

Coalition, Hispanic Federation and UnidosUS. Filed in the federal U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the lawsuit contends the latest election changes by Florida violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and create unnecessary barriers to voting by requiring prospective voters to provide “evidence of citizenship.” It also claims the documentation requirement will make voting harder for naturalized citizens, low-income voters, married women who’ve changed their name, nonwhite voters, students, voters with disabilities, transgender people and seniors who may not have easy access to the needed documents.

The Common Cause conference call was to announce the launch of an election protection program intended to mobilize thousands of trained volunteers across the nation to help voters concerned about potential impediments to casting ballots. “We want every Florida voter to know that the best way to protect their vote is to double-check their voter registration status before the registration deadline and by voting early, whether that’s by mail or in person,” Keith said. The last day to register to vote in the Nov. 3 election is Oct. 5. To learn more, visit the Marion County Supervisor of Elections website at votemarion.gov

Final $1 minimum wage hike Sept. 30; new laws Oct. 1 Increase sets minimum wage at $15 per hour; new laws include changes in how police ID criminal gang members.

By Jim Turner the News Service of Florida mong the new laws taking effect Oct. 1 are changes in how police identify criminal gang members, a new penalty for those who involve minors in animal fighting and a clarification on license plate frame rules. The final $1 increase in the state’s voter-approved minimum wage will also take effect Sept. 30, pushing it up to $15 per hour. It’s part of the 2020 constitutional amendment spearheaded by prominent Orlando lawyer John Morgan. Under the amendment, the minimum wage went to $10 an hour on Sept. 30, 2021, and grew by $1 on Sept. 30 of each subsequent year. Any future increases will be based on inflation. Tipped employees will see their base wage increase from $10.98 to $11.98 per hour on Sept. 30. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, unchanged since July 2009. An employer of a tipped employee is required to pay $2.13 per hour in direct wages provided the tips equal the federal minimum wage. The majority of legislation that

successfully advanced out of the 2026 regular session and a series of special sessions became law July 1, the start of the current fiscal year, or upon the signature of Gov. Ron DeSantis. But some laws and provisions don’t take effect until Oct. 1. Among those changes:

sexual organs in a lewd manner, regardless of the minor being aware of being observed, becomes a third-degree felony. (HB 1525)

ANIMAL CRUELTY

TRANSPORTATION

— The pre-sales process begins for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to offer specialty license plates involving: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Miami Northwestern Alumni Association, Outsider, St. Petersburg College and First Responders Resiliency. (SB 246) — Clarifying a 2025 law regarding frames placed around a license plate, the 2026 legislation allows frames if they don’t cover the primary features of the plate — essentially the letters, numbers and registration sticker. (SB 488)

FELONY REGISTRY

— A “career offender” registration is to be created similar to the sexual offender registry. The new law requires habitual violent felony offenders,

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis [Image courtesy flgov.com]

violent career criminals and three-time violent felony offenders to annually provide their address, phone number, employment, vehicles, professional licenses and immigration status to the local sheriff. Those individuals must also report changes of address, phone numbers and employment within 48 hours and have the marking “775.261,” signifying “career offender,” on their driver license or state identification card. (SB 1332)

LEWD BEHAVIOR

— Observing a child under 16 for sexual gratification, while intentionally exposing

— Penalties are increased for animal cruelty, with a new thirddegree felony offense for adults who involve minors in animal fighting, baiting or in sexual offenses. Children charged would have to undergo psychological evaluations and, if recommended, treatment. (HB 559)

COURT ORDERS

— Willfully violating a “no contact” court order carries new penalties, with law enforcement authorized to make a warrantless arrest when the officer has cause to believe the order was violated. (HB 397)

GANGS

— Makes it easier to categorize a person as a criminal gang member, from allowing a spouse to make the identification to accepting online admissions of gang membership and reducing the number of times a person must be seen in the company of gang members from four to two.

The bill also defines the term “gang-related language” to mean any verbal or written statement that signals gang affiliation, supports gang activity or uses recognized gang codes, symbols or terminology associated with criminal organization. (HB 429)

DRUGS

— The manufacture, selling or even delivery of xylazine outside its allowed use as animal drug products for veterinary purposes becomes a first-degree felony. Also, selling or possessing nitrous oxide, unless for approved uses at grocery stores, becomes a thirddegree felony. (HB 432)

TRASH

— Requires Broward County to conduct a feasibility study and hold a public hearing before advancing plans to expand the “Monarch Hill Landfill.” (HB 4039)

WATER MANAGEMENT

— The Fellsmere Water Control District is reduced in size from 34,441 acres to 14,090 acres and moved from an independent special district in Indian River County to a dependent district of the county. (HB 4093)

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

Two arrests in Ocala shooting case The Ocala Police Department has charged two Reddick men in connection to incident in which mother and child were injured. By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette

wo Marion County men have been arrested in connection with a Sept. 14 shooting that injured a woman and her 5-year-old child as the two rode in a vehicle in a southeast Ocala residential area, the Ocala Police Department has reported in a media release. Kentrai Patterson, 28, of Reddick, was arrested Sept. 16 and identified as the alleged shooter in the OPD release. He was charged with attempted

murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle. OPD stated Patterson was a passenger in a silver 2014 Chevrolet Impala that was registered to and allegedly driven by Kedonte Davis, 26, of Reddick. Davis also was arrested on Sept. 16 and faces charges as an accessory in the crimes, according to the OPD release. The release indicated a third suspect is being investigated. According to OPD, their investigation revealed that surveillance video showed a silver Chevrolet Impala was

seen following a family — father, mother and child — from the Hickory Knoll Apartments complex, which is located on Northeast 22nd Avenue in Ocala. An arrest report indicates the family had a relative who was involved in an altercation earlier the night of Sept. 14 at Sutton Place Apartments complex, but it is unclear if the family went to that location and then returned to Hickory Knoll Apartments. The shooting occurred around 10 p.m. in the vicinity of Southeast 11th Avenue and Southeast 12th Street, the release

stated. Investigators found 22 shell casings at the scene mainly on the passenger side (right) side of the roadway. The arrest report indicates the victims’ vehicle had bullet holes in the rear. “The mother was shot in the hand and the child sustained serious injuries to the torso. Both were treated at the hospital and are expected to survive. The father was not injured,” the OPD release stated. In an earlier press conference, OPD Chief Mike Balken indicated the victims

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“transported themselves to a local hospital.” OPD stated that license plate reader technology “assisted in providing critical information to link the suspect vehicle to the crime.” A woman who lives within sight of the shooting incident but was not aware of the shooting at the time said she was surprised by the crime and that the incident is very “uncharacteristic” of the neighborhood. “There’s a very neighborly feel here. It’s sort of Mayberry–ish,” she said.

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September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

Prayer vigil held for victim in shooting incident War Cry4 Peace, a support group for families impacted by gun violence, hosted the event to remember 23-year-old Ocala man. By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com

candlelight prayer vigil was held Sunday evening, Sept. 20, in northwest Ocala for 23-year-old Tedarrium “Teddy” Deas, who died as the result of a shooting a week ago near the site. Upwards of 100 family members and friends gathered at Lamb Park, a multi-acre city of Ocala park located at 1200 NW 9th Ave., with playground equipment and basketball courts. The vigil was held by War Cry4 Peace, a support group for families impacted by gun violence that is led by Kimberly Wilkerson. It began just after sunset as mourners formed a circle and were led by Wilkerson and a youngster to say together, “We love you, Teddy.” “We are all family,” said Wilkerson, as she encouraged the group to share love and support. “Deas was quiet and sweet,” said a young woman who identified herself as a family friend. Deas’ mother sat in a group of people seated on chairs, ringed by people standing. She was consoled by those around her as she cried. A relative of Deas’ provided

Portraits of Tedarrium “Teddy” Deas, 23, who died as a result of gun violence on Sept. 13, were on display at a prayer vigil held in his honor on Sept. 20. [Andy Fillmore/Ocala Gazette]

Family members and friends hold candles at a prayer vigil on Sept. 20 to honor Tedarrium “Teddy” Deas, 23, who died as a result of gun violence on Sept. 13 in northwest Ocala. The vigil was organized by War Cry 4 Peace, a support organization for families impacted by gun violence and took place at Lamb Park near the sight of the shooting. [Andy Fillmore/Ocala Gazette]

a statement from his parents: “Tedarrium Deas Jr. was a loving young man with a huge heart and a deeply empathetic spirit. He worked with the elderly in the dietary and nutrition department, where his caring nature truly shined. In his spare time, he loved to rap and dreamed of becoming a successful artist. He will always be remembered for his kindness, creativity and the love he shared with others.”

Pastor Brian McIntosh of Old Ship of Zion Church in Reddick offered a sermon. “(The killing of the victim) was not God’s plan. We need healing in our community. We need to stop the next young man from dying,” McIntosh commented in part. McIntosh charged all the attendees to “save five lives” in honor of Deas Deas was found by Ocala Police Department officers

who responded to a shooting in the 1100 block of Northwest 12th Avenue on Sept.13. He was pronounced deceased and an 18-year-old man found at the scene was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. A 31-year-old man arrived later at a local hospital also with serious injuries, according to OPD Facebook posts. The posts also noted that a car crash on State Road 200

at Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. after the shooting may have involved individuals connected to the case. No arrests have been announced in the case and anyone with information is asked to call OPD at 352-3697000 or Crime Stoppers of Marion County at 352-3687867 with anonymous tips or visit ocalacrimestoppers.com Tips that lead to an arrest may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.

A10

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

Sports West Port outlasts North Marion Wolf Pack turns attention to Class 5A-District 3 contest. THANK YOU! To Our Sports Boosters

West Port’s Devaris Jackson Jr. (0) pulls in a pass for a touchdown ahead of North Marion defenders during a football game at North Marion High School on Sept. 18, 2026.

By Mark Pinson Special to the Ocala Gazette

est Port senior quarterback Avin Pickering passed for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Wolf Pack to a hard-earned 23-21 win over North Marion on Sept. 18 in Citra. The win improved West Port to 2-3 on the season, while the loss kept the Colts winless at 0-5. “This win gives us confidence and momentum going into our second district game coming up,” said secondyear Wolf Pack coach Adrian Nunn. “We had a tough schedule early in the season with games against state playoff teams in Bradford, Buchholz and Dunnellon, but we’ve got some guys back that were hurt and we’re getting better.”

West Port’s Zaveion English (14) catches a pass away from North Marion defenders.

West Port drove down the field on its second possession of the game as the elusive Pickering found a crease in the North Marion defense and capped the drive with a 23-yard scoring scamper. The extra point was blocked to make it 6-0 Wolf Pack. North Marion, which has also played a very difficult schedule, answered with a march of its own with junior running back James Horne finding the end zone on a nifty 29-yard touchdown run. The point after by sophomore Carlos Romero gave the Colts a 7-6 lead. West Port got its air attack going in the second period with Pickering finding senior Devaris Jackson Jr. on a 48-yard scoring pass. Pickering, who was 10 of 16 passing for 126 yards, ran in a 2-point conversion to give the Wolf Pack a 14-7 lead.

West Port’s Devaris Jackson Jr. (0) celebrates a touchdown.

West Port’s Trey Anthony (3) battles for extra yardage as North Marion’s Barrett Thompson (44) tries to stop him.

“Avin played well but he still hasn’t reached his full potential,” coach Nunn said. “When he’s comfortable and confident, that’s when he’s at his best. There’s no doubt his best football is in front of him.” North Marion got the ball but couldn’t gain a first down and was forced to punt from its own territory and the West Port defenders stormed through to block the kick. The Colts defense rose up and the Wolf Pack had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Ramon Oleaga for a 17-7 lead late in the second quarter. North Marion got an excellent kick return to the West Port 34-yard line. Wide receiver A J Cook took advantage of a blown coverage in the secondary and hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass. The point after pulled the Colts within 17-14 at the half. See Sports, page A11

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North Marion’s Jeremiah Ford (14) sprints past West Port’s Caleb Anderson (1).

North Marion’s Doug Heath (4) battles for extra yardage against West Port’s Jordan Robinson (13).

West Port’s Tyrique Leaks (2) stops North Marion’s Zabreon Carpenter (2).

A11

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

Sports Continued from page A10 West Port extended its advantage midway through the third period when Pickering hooked up with senior wide receiver Troy Johnson on a 25-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point run attempt was stuffed and the Wolf Pack led 23-14. North Marion refused to fold and put together a drive in the fourth period. Junior Jadarian Hampton finished the march by

powering his way into the end zone on a 2-yard run. The point after brought the Colts within 23-21 with less than three minutes left in the game. West Port kept the ball on the ground and converted on third down and on a fourth down to run out the clock and seal the much-needed victory over the Colts. With the win, the Wolf Pack can now turn their attention to a key Class 5A-District 3 contest against Oakleaf High School on Sept. 25. “The kids are buying in to

what we want them to do,” coach Nunn said. “Getting some of our injured guys back will help with our continuity. Oakleaf has some good athletes and we’re going to have our work cut out for us, but I feel if we have a solid week of practice, we can put ourselves in a good position to make some noise.” North Marion will look for its first win of the season on Sept. 25 when the Colts host Santa Fe High School out of Gainesville in a Class 3A-District 5 game. Photos by Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

North Marion’s James Horne (22) eludes West Port’s Devaris Jackson Jr. (0).

West Port quarterback Avin Pickering (5) gets his jersey pulled by North Marion’s Jakari Washington (0) as he runs for a touchdown.

North Marion’s Jeremiah Ford (14) looks for extra yardage as West Port’s Caleb Anderson (1) tries to stop him.

West Port head coach Adrian Nunn works with his players.

West Port quarterback Avin Pickering (5) scrambles away from North Marion’s Jakari Washington (0) on his way to a touchdown.

Public Notice

NOTICE

West Port quarterback Avin Pickering (5) celebrates his touchdown on North Marion.

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Notice is hereby given, pursuant to applicable Florida Statutes including Chapters 194, 196 and 286, that the 2026 Value Adjustment Board in and for Marion County, Florida, or its designated Special Magistrate(s), will meet beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, OCTOBER 12, 2026 and continuing as necessary on: Tuesday, October 13; Wednesday, November 4; Thursday, November 5; Friday, November 6; Tuesday, November 10; Friday, November 13; Tuesday, December 8; Friday, December 11; Monday, December 14; Thursday, December 17; and Monday, December 21, 2026; Monday, January 11; Tuesday, January 12; Thursday, January 14; Friday, January 15; Thursday, January 21; Friday, January 22; Tuesday, January 26; Wednesday, January 27; Thursday, January 28; and Friday, January 29, 2027; until such time as all matters and petitions properly before the Value Adjustment Board have been given an opportunity to be heard. The Value Adjustment Board, or its designated Special Magistrate(s), will meet in the Board of County Commissioners Auditorium at 601 SE 25th Avenue, Ocala, Florida, Marion County Governmental Complex, to hear petitions regarding valuation and exemptions from taxation. For the scheduling of individual cases, one may contact the Marion County Clerk’s Office, Commission Records Division, at (352) 671-5622. Notice is hereby given that a list of all petitions for portability of homestead exemption, exemptions for homestead, widows, widowers, disability, blind, government organizations, religious, literary, educational literary, educational, scientific and charitable organizations, veterans and first responders who have had their application for exemption wholly or partially approved or denied is maintained by the Property Appraiser in and for Marion County, Florida, and available to the public for inspection at 501 SE 25th Avenue, Ocala, Florida, during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Please note that if a petitioner decides to appeal a decision made with respect to any matter considered at the above advertised hearing(s), the petitioner will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose, the petitioner may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings was made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal was to be based. The exemption procedures of the Value Adjustment Board are provided in Chapter 194, Florida Statutes, and records of the Value Adjustment Board and its hearing(s) showing the names of persons and organizations granted exemptions, the street address or other designation of location of the exempted property, and the extent of the exemptions granted are public record. The County Commission Auditorium is a handicapped accessible facility. If any accommodations are needed for persons with disabilities, please contact the Marion County Public Affairs Office at (352)438-2300/438-2304 (fax), a minimum of 24 hours prior to the hearing. Please be governed accordingly. 2026 Value Adjustment Board In and for Marion County, Florida

Gregory C. Harrell, Clerk

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September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

People, Places and Things ‘Somebody has to remember them’ Event in Ocala on National POW/MIA Recognition Day honored those who served and sacrificed or never came home.

By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com

ational POW/MIA Recognition Day was observed with a ceremony at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park on Sept. 18, 2026, presented by Marion County Veterans Services. Upwards of 100 attendees honored those who served and sacrificed or never came home. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency states that more than 80,000 service members remain missing from “previous conflicts” and an estimated 38,000 are “still recoverable,” according to war.gov The day recognizing and honoring Prisoners of War (POW) and service members Missing in Action (MIA) was first designated by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Daisy Diaz, a U.S. Navy veteran and director of Marion County Veterans Services, opened the ceremony, which included the presentation “Voices of Captivity: The Poetry of Prisoners of War.” Renee Coventry, secretary for Marion County veterans’ events, organized and wrote a script for the poetry presentation. Eleven speakers associated with the Marion County Library System delivered excerpts from poems written by POWs from the Civil War, World War II and the Vietnam War. One speaker read from a POW’s heartfelt lines written while in captivity in Vietnam in 1966 about having a young child at home. The poetry readers included TJ Mack, Taylar Bensen, Jim Stroup, Jerome Azbell, Jared Brocks, Adans Felfcano, Mark Sloan, Sheldon Grant, Greg Croft, Jonathan Lithgon and Leica Baldwin. Jared Brooks read an excerpt from a poem known as “The Cremation of Sam Mc Gee,” by Robert W. Service. A presentation note with the excerpt stated that the daily sharing of the poem between POWs was a way to “sustain” the captives’ lives. “There are strange things done in the midnight sun By the men who moil for gold; The Arctic trails have their secret tales That would make your blood run cold; The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, But the queerest they ever did see Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge I cremated Sam McGee,” the excerpt read. Coventry explained that the poem did not focus on the plight of the POWs but was a poem known to a POW from his school days. Sen. John McCain was one of the Vietnam War POWs who shared the 880-word poem by way of “tap code,” which prisoners used to communicate from cell to cell, and he recalled the poem decades later, Coventry explained. McCain’s aircraft was shot down over North Vietnam in 1967 and he was held as a POW until 1973. His captivity included torture and illness, according to johnmccain.com Brain Lackey with Drummer for Veterans, according to the ceremony program, gave a demonstration of the “tap code” by striking two sticks together. Vietnam War veteran Jerry Arthur was at the ceremony. He served with the Army’s 1st Infantry Big Red One in artillery in 1966-67. “Somebody has to remember them,” he said about not forgetting POW/MIA service members. The ceremony included a recitation of the “POW/ MIA Remembrance Ceremony,” also known as the POW Table, by Cadet Technical Sergeants Daisy Fessenden and Lisbeth Pacheco of the Belleview High School Air Force JROTC. Marion County Memorial Honor Guard members provided a color guard and rifle volley. Belleview High School Air Force JROTC cadets posted and retired the colors and Chaplain Mike Nilon with Hospice of Marion County/Empath Health offered an invocation and benediction. Holly Denton, regent with the Ocala Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, recited the pledge of allegiance and Hannah Stuckey sang the national anthem. Music, including “God Bless America” was provided by Brittany Schofield, flutist, Eric Chandler, pianist, Drumming for Veterans, as listed in the program. Chandler also played taps. Dorothy Antonelli of Dunnellon marked another year in a lifelong vigil to learn the final fate of her uncle who died in the Korean War and awaits the return of his remains. Peter A. Patete was killed in action in North Korea in 1950, according to an Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park monument to the then roughly 20-year-old Army sergeant. Antonelli has sought information for decades through various agencies and has visited the DMZ in Korea. “I have siblings who don’t even know about Peter Patete and I want them to know the story and not forget,” she said. “I’ll never give up.” To learn more, go to dpaa.mil

Dorothy Antonelli is seen next to a monument in the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park dedicated to her uncle, U.S. Army sergeant Peter Patete, who was killed in action in the Korean War in 1950, during the “Voices of Captivity: The Poetry of Prisoners of War” ceremony on National POW/ MIA Recognition Day in Ocala on Sept. 18, 2026.

Belleview High School Air Force cadets, Technical Sergeant Daisy Fessenden, left, and Lisbeth Pacheco, right perform a POW/ MIA Remembrance Ceremony, also called a POW Table ceremony, at the “Voices of Captivity: The Poetry of Prisoners of War” ceremony on National POW/MIA Recognition Day at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in Ocala on Sept. 18, 2026.

Members of the Belleview High School Air Force JROTC provided a color guard at the “Voices of Captivity: The Poetry of Prisoners of War” ceremony on National POW/MIA Recognition Day at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in Ocala on Sept. 18, 2026.

Members of the Marion County Memorial Honor Guard salute during the “Voices of Captivity: The Poetry of Prisoners of War” ceremony on National POW/MIA Recognition Day at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in Ocala on Sept. 18, 2026.

POW poetry readers stand at the close of the “Voices of Captivity: The Poetry of Prisoners of War” ceremony on National POW/MIA Recognition Day at the OcalaMarion County Veterans Memorial Park on Sept. 18, 2026.

Photos by Andy Fillmore Ocala Gazette

Melanie Keller with the Ocala Vet Center, a readjustment counseling service for combat zone veterans and their families and victims of sexual trauma while in the military, manned a booth during the POW-MIA Recognition Day ceremony at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park on Sept. 18, 2026.

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

Monstober — a month of spooky wellness The Joint Chiropractic Ocala at Gaitway Plaza is celebrating Halloween throughout October with costumes, giveaways, treats, community fun and a special offer for new patients. Staff report

SPONSORED CONTENT

hy celebrate Halloween for just one day when you can make an entire month out of it? That is the idea behind Monstober, a monthlong Halloween celebration coming to The Joint Chiropractic Ocala at Gaitway Plaza this October. From Oct. 1 through 31, the Ocala clinic will be getting into the Halloween spirit with costumes, treats, giveaways, local community involvement and surprises. And if you happen to see George Green around Ocala spreading the word about Monstober, you will know why. George is helping kick off the celebration with a new video inviting the Ocala community to join the fun. His energy has become a familiar part of The Joint Chiropractic and this time he is helping make sure Ocala knows something spooky is coming to Gaitway Plaza. Watch George Green’s Monstober video: https://youtube.com/ shorts/6LNPRJqLJzk?feature=share

CONE IN COSTUME AND GET A FREE* INITIAL VISIT

There is another reason for area residents to pull out their Halloween costumes early this year. Throughout October, new patients who visit The Joint Chiropractic Ocala in costume can receive a free initial visit*, including a consultation, exam and adjustment. Simply come in costume and mention code MONSTOBER. The special runs all month long, through Oct. 31, giving people who have been thinking about trying chiropractic

The Joint Chiropractic Ocala is located in the Gaitway Plaza, at the intersection of 27th Avenue and State Road 200, and offers convenient chiropractic care for the local community.

READY FOR MONSTOBER?

Costumes are encouraged. Halloween spirit is welcome. And there may be a few surprises waiting throughout the month. Celebrate MONSTOBER at The Joint Chiropractic Ocala from Oct. 1 through 31. Learn more about The Joint Chiropractic Ocala: thejoint.com/florida/ocala/ ocala-27108 Watch George Green’s Monstober video: youtube.com/ shorts/6LNPRJqLJzk?feature=share Follow the Monstober Facebook event: facebook.com/share/1FDwjBBi8j/

care a fun opportunity to walk in and see what The Joint Chiropractic is all about. No appointment is necessary.

SOMETHING NEW THROUGHOUT OCTOBER

Monstober is not designed to be a oneday event. The celebration will continue throughout October with different activities, giveaways, treats and surprises along the way. The Ocala team also is connecting with local businesses to make the month a community celebration and introduce patients to more of the people and businesses that make Ocala special. The easiest way to keep up with what is happening is through the official Monstober Facebook event, where new information and updates will be shared as October gets closer.

Follow the Monstober Facebook event at facebook.com/share/1FDwjBBi8j/

THE JOINT CHIROPRACTIC 2701 SW COLLEGE ROAD, SUITE 107, OCALA THEJOINT.COM/FLORIDA/OCALA/OCALA-27108 352-759-4206

For families and residents searching for Halloween events in Ocala, October events in Ocala or fun things to do in Ocala this fall, Monstober offers something a little different. There is no single date you have to remember. The celebration lasts the entire month. Current patients can stop by and join the fun, while people looking for a chiropractor in Ocala can take advantage of the Monstober new patient offer. Because The Joint Chiropractic welcomes walk ins, visitors do not need to schedule an appointment before coming to the clinic.

*Offer valued at $55. Valid for new patients only. Initial visit includes consultation, exam and adjustment. Offer and offer value may vary for Medicare eligible patients. NC: IF YOU DECIDE TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL TREATMENT, YOU HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO CHANGE YOUR MIND WITHIN THREE DAYS AND RECEIVE A REFUND. (N.C. Gen. Stat. 90-154.1). FL & KY: THE PATIENT AND ANY OTHER PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYMENT HAS THE RIGHT TO REFUSE TO PAY, CANCEL (RESCIND) PAYMENT OR BE REIMBURSED FOR ANY OTHER SERVICE, EXAMINATION OR TREATMENT WHICH IS PERFORMED AS A RESULT OF AND WITHIN 72 HOURS OF RESPONDING TO THE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE FREE, DISCOUNTED OR REDUCED FEE SERVICES, EXAMINATION OR TREATMENT. (FLA. STAT. 456.02) (201 KAR 21:065). Subject to additional state statutes and regulations. See clinic for chiropractor(s)’ name and license info. Clinics managed and/or owned by franchisee or Prof. Corps. Restrictions may apply to Medicare eligible patients. Individual results may vary.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF HALLOWEEN EVENT

Set the Stage Gala Second annual benefit will support the Ocala Civic Theatre.

First Thursday reception to feature sculptor

Arts at The Canopy to present works by Dennis Rentschler.

Greg Thompson, executive and artistic director for the Ocala Civic Theatre, and Danielle Marciano and Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano, pose during the Set the Stage Inaugural Gala at The Civic in Ocala on Oct. 9, 2025. This year’s gala is set for Oct. 8. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]

Staff report

ant to add a little ooh la la to your life? Well put on something fancy and get ready to party French-style and help out the Ocala Civic Theatre as you enjoy some bubbly, a delicious meal and fabulous live entertainment. The Civic’s second annual Set the Stage Gala, set for Oct. 8, will offer a chance to “step into a magical French world,” the news release noted. “This sophisticated evening of exceptional camaraderie begins with our social hour at 6 p.m. Enjoy the event’s signature cocktail, a bubbly French 75, while browsing our carefully curated silent

auction in Studio B. Then the Civic stage becomes a charming French bistro for dinner, drinks and sparkling entertainment,” organizers offered Catered by The Fiery Chef, with a wine selection by Stella’s Modern Pantry, dinner will begin with a variety of amuse-bouches, charcuterie and salade Lyonnaise. Main course choices are a Boeuf Bourguignon of Fort McCoy Ranch short ribs, Provençal Black Grouper in a light lemon beurre blanc or Champignons Bourguignon as a vegetarian option. Each entrée will be served with pommes purée, haricots verts amandine and fresh French bread dinner rolls. Dinner concludes with a tarte tatin with rich Calvados caramel.

The entertainment will include performances of musical selections from the Civic’s Season 76 musicals, “Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical Jr.,” “RENT,” “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” and “Disney’s The Little Mermaid,” by Civic performers. The evening also will feature music by local artist Becky Baby. Seating is limited. Attire is optional black tie. “Proceeds will support our continued work to provide quality entertainment and exemplary performing arts education,” the release noted. Purchase tickets through the Civic box office in person or over the phone at 352-236-2274, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., or at thecivic.org

“Among the Lily Pads” by Dennis Rentschler. [Photo courtesy Arts at The Canopy]

Staff report

he October First Thursday Exhibit Reception on Oct. 1 at Arts at The Canopy will showcase the bronze-look sculptures of local artist Dennis Rentschler. The free public event will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. at the collective at 1703 NE 8th Road, Ocala. Known for his craftsmanship and attention to detail, Rentschler creates stunning sculptures inspired by the natural world. His bronze-like works beautifully depict wildlife and wetland scenes, capturing

the grace of birds, aquatic life and native landscapes. Through intricate textures and carefully composed natural elements, each sculpture reflects the beauty, serenity and wonder found in nature, the news release noted. Visitors can meet the artist, view a collection of his creations and learn more about the artistic process behind the sculptures. The evening will include complimentary wine and refreshments. To learn more, go to artsatthecanopy.com or call 352-362-2954.

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

Fall lineup at the Appleton CF’s museum of art announces special events and educational programming.

The Appleton Museum of Art fall lineup includes wheel throwing classes and open studio time for adults. [Photo courtesy College of Central Florida]

Alpine Express returns Oct. 8 with an Oktoberfest celebration for Appleton Museum of Art Director’s Circle members. [Photo courtesy College of Central Florida]

Staff report

Caren Neile, noon • Oct. 3: Film screening, “The Yearling,” 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. • Nov. 7: Film screening, “Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock?,” 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. • Dec. 5: Holiday Community Day, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free First Saturdays are supported in part by CAMPUS USA Credit Union. The Holiday Community Day is supported by the Urban Family. From Oct. 13–18, visitors can also enjoy free admission in honor of the birth date of museum founder Arthur I. Appleton (1915–2008).

he Appleton Museum of Art, College of Central Florida, has announced its new schedule of fall and holiday events, free-admission days and educational programs, building on a summer of record-breaking attendance. The 2026 Summer Art Camp hosted nearly 450 children ages 5 to 17 across 10 weeks, with an additional 100 students served at East Marion Elementary School through a free, one-week outreach camp. The museum

also offered free admission throughout July in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States and welcomed 11,690 visitors, the news release stated. This fall, Free First Saturdays will continue with free admission on the first Saturday of each month. Visitors can explore the galleries and participate in free programming such as film screenings and talks, as well as support local businesses by visiting on-site food trucks and vendors. The schedule includes: • Sept. 5: “Florida Lore” storytelling presentation by

Early October brings two exclusive events for Appleton members. On Oct. 2, 5:30–7:30 p.m., Appleton Director’s Circle members are invited to celebrate the opening of “Jeffrey Kronsnoble: Master of Allusion, A Life of Art” with heavy hors d’oeuvres and wine. The artist will give a talk in the auditorium at 6:30 p.m. RSVP is required to Colleen Harper at harperc@cf.edu or 352-291-4455, ext. 1831. On Oct. 8, 5–8 p.m., all Appleton members are invited to an evening with the popular Alpine Express for Oktoberfest music in two interactive sets.

Enjoy light snacks and beverages, including Oktoberfest brews, before the music begins at 5:45 p.m. The event is free to attend. RSVP is required by Oct. 5, to Colleen Harper at harperc@cf.edu or 352-291-4455, ext. 1831. The museum also will offer a new schedule of fall studio art classes, for pre-K through adult participants of all skill levels. Each class will be led by experienced educators and artists. To learn more about all of the activities and memberships, visit appletonmuseum.org

Rated PG-13

By Larissa FastHorse THE THANKSGIVING PLAY is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

October 29 - November 15 COMMUNITY PARTNERS: Dave Schlenker Photography Ocala Gazette

TICKETS: $35-$40 for adults $17-20 for ages 18 & younger 4337 E. Silver Springs Blvd Ocala, FL 34470 (352) 236-2274 • thecivic.org

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

Exploring the spooky side of Micanopy On five days in October, town native Megan Beckham will lead ghost tours in Florida’s oldest inland village. By Susan Smiley-Height susan@magnoliamediaco.com

f you have ever been to Micanopy, one of the oldest towns in the nation, you may have enjoyed a nice lunch, shopped for antiques or just strolled the shaded, tree-lined streets. Or maybe, you felt the hair on the back of your head stand up a bit or felt a shiver down your spine. Are there ghosts in this old village? Maybe. On Oct. 9, 10, 17, 18 and 24, you can join Micanopy native Megan Beckham on guided ghost tours that wind through town streets and into the ancient cemetery. “Join us for a spooky evening exploring the haunted streets of Micanopy. Our knowledgeable guide will lead you on a journey through the town’s ghostly past, sharing chilling tales and historical tidbits along the way. Get ready to encounter supernatural occurrences and learn about the paranormal activity that has long been rumored to haunt this historic area. Whether you’re a ghost enthusiast or just looking for a fun night out, this tour is sure to thrill and entertain,” noted the press release. To learn more, the “Gazette” did an email Q&A with Beckham.

HOW OLD IS MICANOPY?

Founded in 1821, Micanopy is the oldest inland town in Florida and was the first European settlement founded after St. Augustine was built on the Atlantic coast. It was also the first official township recognized when Florida became a state in 1845.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIVED THERE?

Micanopy is my hometown, and I am a second-generation Floridian from this area. My grandmother was the original founder of Harvest Village in McIntosh and I grew up traipsing around in the nearby cemeteries as my mother, a local author of a few novels set in Micanopy’s antique past, was doing research for her books.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO OFFER THE GHOST TOURS?

I decided to offer this ghost tour back in 2023 and when I was researching it so many locals came to me with their personal stories. Storefronts and homes all over town have unique histories and the stories of hauntings or unexplained supernatural things happening are almost a daily occurrence for lots of people who live in town. On my tour, I simply share what others have told me and I link it to the town’s historical timeline. When folks ask me if I believe in ghosts, I always respond that

I believe those who have earnestly seen them and I choose to keep the past alive in the retelling of these stories.

WHAT SITES WILL TOUR PARTICIPANTS VISIT?

I have volunteered as a docent at the local Micanopy Historical Society Museum, served on the board of the Micanopy Historic Preservation Trust and was an employee of the famously haunted local B&B, the Herlong Mansion, which is a spot on my walking tour. Other locations we will visit include the current Town Hall, a two-story brick building that originally served as a schoolhouse in 1835, as well as the location where Fort Defiance was thought to have been erected during the Second Seminole War and we’ll end the tour in our famously mystical Micanopy historic cemetery. Before leaving you to explore it freely as the sun goes down, I’ll point out a few gravestones with names that correspond with the town’s history from the walking tour, including the grave of Madora Montgomery, the late wife of the town’s original doctor and the heroine in my mother’s historical novel titled “Madora’s Grave.”

Megan Beckham will lead a series of ghost tours in Micanopy, all of which end in the town’s historic cemetery.

HAVE YOU SEEN/EXPERIENCED GHOSTS IN MICANOPY?

I have experienced a few unexplainable things myself as a former employee of the Herlong Mansion, including a time when we had a paranormal investigation team book the house and stay for the entire weekend to take photos and shoot video of the property. Inez Herlong, who died after going into a diabetic coma in her family’s home, is the most famous ghost in town, with a reputation for being a friendly and gracious Southern hostess whose perfume wafts up the third-floor staircase to her quarters. The tour dates are Oct. 9, 10, 17, 18 and 24. Friday and Sunday tours begin at 6 p.m., with BOGO ticket options available. Saturday tours have a 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. start time. Each tour will begin at Micanopy Town Hall, at 706 Northeast Cholokka Blvd., Micanopy, rain or shine. Micanopy is in Alachua County, just a few miles north of the Marion County line. A portion of ticket revenue will be donated to the nonprofit Micanopy Historic Cemetery Association to assist with maintenance costs and tombstone upkeep. For tickets, go to https://www.eventbrite. com/o/megan-beckham-90921404653 Submitted photos

Megan Beckham is shown in front of the historic Herlong Mansion Bed and Breakfast, which is rumored to have some supernatural spirits.

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

Speedy students

It took 3.7 billion years for this genome to evolve; UF students assembled it in one semester.

The pignut hickory tree used for genome sequencing (A). Aerial view of McCarty Woods on the main UF campus (B). Instructors and students of the course gathered around the pignut hickory (C). [Image courtesy Florida Museum of Natural History]

Plants have three genomes: in their chloroplasts, mitochondria and nuclei. Students assembled all three during the course. [Image from “A haplotype-resolved, chromosome-scale genome assembly and annotation for Carya glabra (pignut hickory; Juglandaceae)” (2026) by Shan et al, CC BY]

By Jerald Pinson Florida Museum of Natural History

several countries and 13 years to complete. “This field is changing rapidly,” Shan said. “People can spend four or five years as a doctoral student assembling a genome, but now it’s one semester with 11 undergraduate students because of advancements in technology.” But assembling a genome is really just the beginning. Before it can be published and used by scientists, the assembled genome must be annotated to identify the tens of thousands of genes inside it, predict their functions and compare them with those of closely related species. Shan could have wrapped things up on his own, but he invited students who were interested to continue working on the genome over the summer. Tucker was among the five students who had the time to see things

f you stroll through the oldest and busiest part of the University of Florida’s main campus in Gainesville, you’ll likely pass by or through a 2.9-acre forest full of gnarled and wizened trees. The forest is just north of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s dry collection building and the spongy footpath starts out beneath the broad and dark green canopy of two pignut hickory trees (Carya glabra). The trees are a regular sight for Audrey Tucker, a UF undergraduate majoring in biology and, as of April 2025, her name and those of 10 other students decorate a plaque staked at the base of one of the hickories. All 11 students were members of a 2025 independent research course in which they assembled the pignut hickory’s genome for the first time. This course was part of a collection of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) classes organized by the UF Center for Undergraduate Research to give students, especially freshmen, the opportunity to learn through structured inquiry and investigation. “I walk past that tree probably every day and just seeing that I was able to be a part of something bigger than a regular class was really special,” Tucker said. The course, called Plant Genome Assembly and Annotation, was offered during the 2025 spring semester and taught by Pamela and Douglas Soltis, both distinguished professors at the Florida Museum; Shengchen Shan, a staff scientist at the museum; Edgardo Ortiz Valencia, a computational biologist for the Soltis research team; and Alex Harkess, a faculty investigator at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. “When Pam and Doug heard that Alex was organizing this course, they thought of McCarty Woods right away,” Shan said. For the last several years, the Soltises have organized a grassroots effort to conserve and revitalize McCarty Woods. Once a month, they gather with a group of volunteers and a few boxes of doughnuts on Saturday morning and spend an hour or two pulling up invasive species, planting natives, picking up trash and laying down pine straw to add nutrients to the soil and cushion the trails. The idea behind the course was to give students the opportunity to assemble the genome of a plant species that previously lacked one. The course was part of a broader initiative developed by Harkess and Leslie Goertzen of Auburn University to sequence genomes from trees on college campuses across the nation. Genomes are used to determine how species are related to each other, how genes function, how life evolves, how to cure or treat diseases, how best to protect endangered species, how organisms interact with their environments, how to improve crop yields…the list goes on. Knowing that being able to see and touch the tree would add special significance to the project, the instructors collected leaves from a venerable swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii) that grows in McCarty Woods and sent them to Harkness for DNA extraction and sequencing. But there was a delay in sequencing the material and the work couldn’t be completed before the start of the semester. “We were planning to do the oak tree first,”

Shan said. “All oaks are diploids, so we knew their genomes would be comparatively easy to assemble. An organism’s ploidy level refers to how many copies of DNA it has tucked inside its genome. Humans and many other animals are diploid, meaning they have two sets of DNA. When two diploids sexually reproduce, one copy from the mother and one from the father is passed down to the offspring. But some organisms have extra copies of their DNA. Tetraploids have four, hexaploids have six and so on all the way up to the netted adder’s-tongue fern (Ophioglossum reticulatum), which has 48 copies of its DNA. Fortunately, the instructors had also sent in pignut hickory leaves for sequencing and those data were ready to go the first day of class. “I said great! And we rushed into the analysis so we could get the course underway. Later on, we discovered that it’s a tetraploid and there was a moment of panic,” Shan said. With twice as much DNA to assemble, the instructors worried the students wouldn’t have time to complete the project. But rather than viewing the situation as a setback, they used it as a learning opportunity. “It was kind of a fun surprise,” Shan said. “We got to introduce the topic of polyploidy and how important it is to agriculture and medicine.” Pignut hickories are native and abundant in eastern North America. They’re graceful trees known for their slow rate of growth and remarkably thick wood. In “A Natural History of Eastern and Central North America,” the botanist Donald Peattie wrote that “…Hickory is stronger than steel, weight for weight, more elastic, less brittle, less heat conductive. It is not possible to imagine another wood which could replace our hickories if all of them were depleted.” The task of assembling a genome is as complex and varied as the motivations of the people who undertake it. A quick glance at the roster shows this was true of the students in the Plant Genome Assembly and Annotation course. “There were students from multiple different majors,” Shan said. “There were biology students who wanted a career related to genetics, but there were also English, chemistry, engineering and computer science majors. No matter what their career path, I think the coolest part of the experience for everyone was getting to learn by doing and working with real-world data to create something novel.” The class met twice a week and usually began with a short lecture by one of the instructors. After that, students broke up into groups and worked on one of several tasks, with Shan moving between them to help out whenever someone got stuck. The first step to assembling a genome is to sort through the raw sequence data, which comes in hundreds of thousands of small segments. “The basic procedure is just like piecing together a puzzle,” Shan said. The sequences are screened to filter out low-quality data; then the fragments are pieced together by matching up sections of overlapping DNA. This might sound like a simple procedure, but these two steps alone took the entire semester to complete, which is fast compared to how long it would have taken just a few years ago. The first human genome to be sequenced and assembled took hundreds of scientists from

through. She’s now a student volunteer in the Soltis Lab, where she’s helping to assemble the original swamp chestnut genome that had originally been selected for the course. She plans on attending graduate school and a possible career in genetic counseling, a medical profession in which doctors use genetic sequences to find the root cause of certain illnesses. Wherever her path takes her, she’ll have a peer-reviewed publication under her belt, the knowledge she gained from working on it and the satisfaction of a job well done. The authors published their study in the journal “G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics.” To learn more, go to floridamuseum.ufl.edu

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September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

Travel

Chicago with an insider

A long weekend of art, architecture and great food. By Jennifer Hunt jennifer@ocalagazette.com

here are plenty of ways to plan a trip to Chicago. You can study travel guides, scroll through “best of ” lists and map out the city’s most famous attractions. Or you can visit a friend who lives there and ask: Where would you take me? That was my approach during a July 23-26 trip to Chicago. My friend supplied the insider scoop on where to eat, what to see and a few experiences I probably wouldn’t have found on my own. For North Central Florida travelers, Chicago is also a relatively easy long-weekend escape. I flew from Gainesville Regional Airport to O’Hare with one connection each way. It wasn’t nonstop, but I preferred it to driving to Orlando for a flight. Once in Chicago, a rental car isn’t necessary. The Chicago Transit Authority’s Blue Line connects O’Hare with downtown and runs 24 hours a day.

START WITH THE ARCHITECTURE

If you choose only one quintessentially Chicago experience, I’d make it the Chicago Architecture Center River Cruise aboard First Lady. The 90-minute cruise travels all three branches of the Chicago River, with trained volunteer Chicago Architecture Center docents explaining the buildings and history around you. It’s the only river cruise partnered with the nonprofit Chicago Architecture Center. The architecture was fascinating, but one of my favorite memories had nothing to do with buildings. Several times, people standing on bridges or looking down from residential balconies called out to our boat: “Welcome to Chicago!” It happened often enough to leave an impression. For such a large city, Chicago felt remarkably friendly.

ART DESERVES AN AFTERNOON

Don’t miss the Art Institute of Chicago, and don’t try to squeeze it into an hour. At a minimum, plan for at least two or three hours. I love art and could easily have stayed longer. Check what’s on exhibit before visiting. Some special exhibitions require an additional ticket beyond general admission. For a smaller art stop, my friend introduced me to the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago on South Michigan Avenue. Admission is free, making it an easy addition while exploring downtown. Then there’s Millennium Park and Cloud Gate, “The Bean,” but one of my friend’s best tips was to see the park from above. Take the elevator to Cindy’s Rooftop on the 13th floor of the historic Chicago Athletic Association hotel, grab a drink at the bar and, if there’s room, step onto the terrace. From there, you look down over “The Bean” and Millennium Park with Lake Michigan in the distance. Walk-ins are welcome subject to capacity.

LET A LOCAL TELL YOU WHERE TO EAT

Chicago may be synonymous with deep-dish pizza, but my

View from Cindy’s Rooftop bar on the 13th floor of the historic Chicago Athletic Association hotel on July 24, 2026.

The historic wood paneled lobby of the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, now part of Hyatt. It is home to Cindy’s Rooftop, where one of the best views of Millennium Park is only an elevator ride away. July 24, 2026.

friend took me in another direction: Forno Rosso for Neapolitan pizza. We tried the restaurant’s award-winning Datterino, but my favorite was my friend’s suggestion, the Bufalina with prosciutto added. Sometimes it pays to order like the local sitting across the table. For burgers, head to Au Cheval in the West Loop. For Italian, Acanto Restaurant + Wine Bar across from Millennium Park was another standout. If its three-course menu is offered, it’s a lot of food, plenty of choices and a great value. Next door to Acanto, The Gage gets my vote for cocktails, which came with superb presentation.

WHERE TO STAY

For location and atmosphere, two historic hotels are worth considering. The Palmer House, a Hilton Hotel, dates to the 19th century and puts you in the heart of the Loop, within easy walking distance of Millennium Park and the Art Institute. Its grand lobby alone is worth seeing.

View of the Chicago skyline from the deck of the First Lady on a river cruise on July 25, 2026.

Kevin Kantor playing Romeo with Liz Shivener playing Juliet in an improv version of “Romeo and Juliet” at Drunk Shakespeare in Chicago on July 26, 2026.

At the front, Forno-Rosso’s award-winning Neapolitan Datterino pizza, but my favorite was my friend’s suggestion, in back, the Bufalina, with prosciutto added.

The Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, now part of Hyatt, offers an entirely different historic experience in a former private athletic club overlooking Millennium Park. It’s also home to Cindy’s Rooftop, so one of the best views of the park is an elevator ride away. Both are especially good choices if you want to explore much of this itinerary on foot.

into the classic. My friend has attended other performances that weren’t quite as raunchy but were equally funny. Guests willing to splurge can even purchase a Royal Experience that puts them on thrones and gives them a small part in influencing the night’s performance. It’s definitely not your high school English teacher’s Shakespeare.

One recommendation I certainly wouldn’t have thought of myself was Drunk Shakespeare. Five professional actors tackle a Shakespeare play after one cast member downs five shots of whiskey. What follows is part Shakespeare, part improvisation and part audience participation. We saw “Romeo and Juliet,” although our version took a decidedly adult, and hilarious, turn as modern references and satire worked their way

The newly opened Obama Presidential Center is one attraction where spontaneity isn’t your friend. Museum admission requires a timed ticket, and demand remains high. The Obama Foundation releases tickets approximately six months in advance, with new availability released monthly. General admission tickets aren’t held back for visitors who simply show up at the door. So, if the museum is important to you, try to secure that ticket

SHAKESPEARE, AFTER FIVE SHOTS OF WHISKEY

ONE ATTRACTION TO PLAN FAR AHEAD

first and arrange the rest of the trip around it. The value of a local guide In four days, I barely scratched the surface of Chicago. But that may have been the best part of traveling with someone who lives there. Instead of racing through a checklist, I got a mixture of the Chicago everyone should experience — its architecture, art and skyline — and the Chicago my friend enjoys herself: a particular pizza order, a rooftop drink, a tiny photography museum and Shakespeare fueled by whiskey. And somewhere between the volunteer docent explaining the skyline and strangers calling “Welcome to Chicago!” from bridges overhead, I discovered something else I hadn’t expected — Chicago didn’t just feel like a great city to visit; it felt surprisingly neighborly, like Ocala. Photos by Jennifer Hunt Ocala Gazette

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

RICK STEVES' EUROPE

The sights, sounds and smells of sensuous Amsterdam … by bike

ightseeing is more than just seeing. To get the full experience of a place, you need to feel, hear, taste, and smell it. On a recent visit to Amsterdam, I made a point to focus on sensual travel … because this is a city made to engage all the senses. I always rent a bike here. I want to feel the bricks and pavement beneath two wheels. The lack of hills and the first-class bike lane infrastructure make cycling here a breeze. The clerk at the rental shop must be tired of explaining why they don’t carry mountain bikes in this flat land. When I ask, he responds – in classic Dutch directness – “Mountain bikes in the Netherlands make no sense at all. When a dog takes a dump, we have a new mountain. You pedal around it ... not over. It’s no problem.” I ride off along the shiny wet cobbles, my Amsterdam experience framed by my black bike’s handlebars. I get pinged by passing bikes and ping my bell to pass others. When it comes to bike bells, there’s no language barrier. For my own safety, I wish I had a bigger periphery. Amsterdam is crowded, and cars, trams, bikers, and pedestrians seem to float by from all directions in silence … lost in the white

noise of breezing through this dreamy city on two wheels. Reaching the Red Light District, I stop to use a classic old street-corner urinal. It’s painted a deep green and designed to give the user plenty of privacy from neck to knees and a sliceof-Amsterdam view at the same time. The pungent smells of pot smoke and someone else’s urine compete with the dank smell of the canal. I'm reminded of a new Amsterdam fact I’ve just learned: A handful of people drown in the canals each year. When their bodies are finally dredged up, very often, their zippers are down. They were very drunk and, rather than using the civilized urinal as I did, they used the canal … splash … their final mistake. Across the lane, an abundant woman in a cliché of lingerie eyes me seductively from a window, framed in red. I think to myself, “This is probably the most unforgettable trip to a urinal I’ll ever have in my life.” Back on my bike, I continue to a square called Museumplein, where Amsterdam’s three big art museums are gathered. I stop a moment to take in the square. It strikes me that much of Amsterdam still looks like

SERIOUSLY SIMPLE

This dish is an ode to late summer

hese last days of summer call for tomatoes, corn and sweet peppers at their peak, and this colorful cod dish makes the most of them. The sauce comes together first, with clam juice added at the end for a light, briny consistency, and crisp bacon is folded in for smoky depth. Best of all, the sauce can be made a few hours ahead, so the fish only needs a quick steam just before serving. Cod is ideal here: Its mild flavor and flaky white texture let the bright sauce take center stage. Use one large skillet or braiser with a lid, then nestle evenly sized fillets into the hot sauce, cover and steam until the fish flakes easily, about 10 minutes. With the ingredients prepped in advance, the dish comes together quickly; serve it with farro, quinoa or rice, a green vegetable, and a chilled pinot grigio or pinot blanc. Steamed Cod with Corn and Tomato Sauce Serves 4 4 (6 ounce) cod fillets from center cut For the sauce: 3 tablespoons olive oil 3 ounces bacon, cut into 1 1/2-inch dice 2 leeks, light green and white part only, finely chopped 1 orange or yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 1/2-inch dice 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup dry white wine like pinot blanc or grigio 1 (14 1/2 ounces) can diced tomatoes and juice or 1 pound skinned and diced fresh, ripe tomatoes 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1/4 cup chopped basil 1 1/4 cups fresh yellow corn kernels (about 2 1/2 cobs) Salt and pepper Smoked paprika 2 teaspoons balsamic syrup 1 cup clam juice For garnish: Extra basil leaves 1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Saute the bacon for about 4 minutes or until crisp and golden. Remove with slotted spoon onto paper towels, drain and reserve. 2. Add remaining oil and saute the

The cod’s mild flavor and flaky white texture let the bright sauce take center stage. CREDIT: (Diane Rossen Worthington/TCA).

leeks for 5 to 7 minutes or until the leeks are soft but not brown. Saute the diced peppers for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and saute another minute. Add the white wine and increase heat to high and reduce for about 4 more minutes to burn off the alcohol. 3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and 2 tablespoons chopped basil. Lower the heat to medium and stir 5 to 8 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add the corn and cook another minute. Season to taste with salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Add the balsamic and mix to combine. 4. Just before cooking the cod, add the clam juice, reserved bacon and remaining chopped basil and bring to a simmer. Taste for seasoning. 5. Season the fish with salt and pepper and arrange each fillet in the skillet surrounding the sauce. Cover the skillet and cook on medium high for about 10 minutes, depending upon the thickness or until the cod is cooked through. You can use a sharp knife to test it. Place a small basil leaf on top of each fish fillet. 6. Arrange each fillet and some sauce on serving plates. Add your favorite grain like quinoa, farro or rice on the side and serve immediately.

Renting a bike in Amsterdam is one of the best ways to appreciate the city's sights, smells, and overall vibe. CREDIT:(Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves' Europe).

it did three or four centuries ago, during the Dutch Golden Age, when this was the world’s richest city. Long lines plague the Dutch Masterfilled Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum – both understandably popular (book ahead). But there’s rarely a wait at the Stedelijk Museum, nicknamed “the bathtub” because of the striking shape of its modern architecture. Inside are 20th-century favorites (Dalí, Picasso, Kandinsky) and crazy contemporary art. I’m not a big fan of the abstract style, but the artwork at the Stedelijk is really fun (perhaps really, really fun if you’re into marijuana – sold with a smile in the city’s many “coffee shops”). The city’s biggest green space, Vondelpark, is just a short pedal away. I roll by snippets of Dutch conversation – families with kids, romantic couples, strolling seniors, and hippies sharing blankets and beers. By now my sense of taste is ready for a little attention. Last night I enjoyed a grand rijsttafel (literally “rice table”), a ritual dish for tourists in Holland. Not a true Indonesian meal, it’s a Dutch

innovation designed to highlight the best food of its former colony – specifically to show off all the spices that, in some ways, originally motivated the colonial age. The dinner includes 20 dishes and a rainbow of spices with white rice to mix and mingle on your plate and palate. Working your way through this tasty experience, it’s clear why the Dutch called Indonesia “The Spice Islands.” Tonight, I’m in the mood for something lighter and more historically Dutch. I opt for a snack of herring with pickles and onions – and two shots of Dutch gin. Pedaling back to my hotel, I rattle over those shiny cobbles just inches from the murky canals – thankful I resisted the herring man’s offer for a third gin. I pause at the crest of a bridge, which scenically spans the water. Making sure my zipper is all the way up, I gaze down the canal. It's flanked by trees, parked cars, tethered boats, and locals chatting happily – each contributing to the sensory appeal of Amsterdam. A soft ping reminds me that I'm still in the bike lane, so I get back on and pedal home.

MAYO CLINIC

Sinus infection or migraine? Understanding your head pain DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Ever since I turned 30, I’ve been having painful headaches frequently. My sister gets sinus infections all the time, but my mom had migraines at my age. How do I know what I’m dealing with? ANSWER: Nearly everyone experiences a headache at some point, and the pain can range from mild to debilitating. Sometimes, headaches are accompanied by pain and pressure in your brow and forehead, and they cause nasal symptoms. Many people associate sinus and nasal symptoms with a sinus infection, also called sinusitis, or with an upper respiratory infection, such as a cold. Someone may say that they’re experiencing a sinus headache. But sinus and nasal symptoms often can signal something else: a migraine headache. The term “sinus headache” isn’t an actual medical diagnosis. Studies show that 90% of people with sinus headache symptoms are experiencing migraine headaches. Migraines and headaches from sinusitis are easy to confuse because the signs and symptoms of the two types of headaches may overlap. Also, migraine headaches affect people differently, and symptoms can change over time. That is why many people who have had migraine headaches in the past are surprised when they begin having sinus and nasal symptoms with a migraine headache. Sinusitis usually isn’t associated with nausea or vomiting, and usually isn’t aggravated by noise or bright light, which are all common features of migraines. Instead, it tends to occur after a viral upper respiratory infection or cold, and it includes thick, discolored nasal mucus, decreased sense of smell, and pain in one cheek or the upper teeth. Headaches due to sinus disease often last several days or longer, while migraines most commonly last hours to a day or two. Many people who assume they have headaches from sinusitis have been misdiagnosed and prescribed an antibiotic for sinusitis. In these cases, the antibiotics aren’t necessary and could be harmful. Some people may feel better after they take an antibiotic because it may decrease inflammation in the sinuses caused by migraine headache or because they think the antibiotic is helping, known as the placebo effect.

However, an antibiotic is not the correct treatment for a migraine headache. There are a few ways you can tell whether your sinus and nasal symptoms are part of a sinus infection or part of a migraine headache. When you have a sinus infection: • You likely just had or have a cold. • You have thick, colored nasal mucus. • You usually need to blow your nose, and your sense of smell is decreased. • You usually can function. When you have a migraine headache: • You do not have a cold. • Any drainage from your nose is clear. • Your sense of smell is not affected. Your symptoms tend to get worse with physical activity, such as walking or bending over. You may feel better after you lie down or sleep. Migraine headaches can affect anyone. However, they’re more common in people between the ages of 20 and 50. More than twice as many women as men have migraine headaches. Women over 50 often have fewer and less severe migraine headaches than they had earlier in life. Sometimes, migraine headaches stop after menopause. Migraine headaches tend to run in families. Seventy-five percent of people with migraine headaches have a family history of migraine headaches. The cause of headaches can be challenging to determine. Your healthcare team will ask you questions about your headaches and perform a physical exam. You also may have a CT scan or MRI to help determine the cause of your headache. There are several ways to treat headaches, and your care team will work with you to find the best option for you. Talk with your primary care clinician if your headache symptoms happen more than 15 days a month, over-the-counter pain medication doesn’t work, or you miss school or work because of frequent headaches. Call 911 if you have the worst headache of your life or a sudden, severe headache accompanied by any or all of these: Confusion or trouble understanding speech • Fainting • High fever • Numbness, weakness or paralysis • Trouble seeing, speaking or walking

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

LOCAL CALENDAR LISTINGS

Government

Community

SEPT. 28, OCT. 5, 12, 19, 26

SEPT. 26

Marion County Development Review

Office of County Engineer, 412 SE 25th Ave., Building 1, Ocala 9am The committee meets each Monday to review and vote on waiver requests to the Land Development Code, major site plans and subdivision plans. See marion.fl.legistar.com/ calendar.aspx for agenda and minutes.

OCT. 6, 20

Marion County Board of County Commissioners

McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala 9am The commission meets the first and third Tuesday of the month. Agendas, minutes and video are available at marionfl.legistar.com/ calendar.aspx

Ocala City Council

Ocala City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave., Ocala 4pm The council meets each first and third Tuesday

of the month. Agendas and minutes are available at ocala.legistar.com/calendar.aspx

Belleview City Commission

Belleview City Hall, 5343 SE Abshier Blvd., Belleview 6pm The commission meets the first and third Tuesday of the month. Agendas, minutes and video available at belleviewfl.org/200/agendasminutes

OCT. 13, 27

Marion County School Board

1614 E Fort King St., Ocala 5:30pm The board meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. Agendas and minutes are available at go.boarddocs.com/fl/marion/ board.nsf/public

OCT. 14

Dunnellon City Council

Dunnellon City Hall, 20750 River Dr., Dunnellon 5:30pm The council generally meets the second Wednesday of the month. Agendas, minutes and video are available at dunnellon.granicus. com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=1

Arts

SEPT. 25-27

“Threads of Memory” online production

Times vary Unboxed Productions and the South Floridabased Curtain Up Theatrical Group are teaming up to present the world premiere of “Threads of Memory,” a new play by Michael Levitan. The online performances will take place: Sept. 25, 3 p.m. EST; noon PST; Sept. 26, 8 p.m. EST; 5 p.m. PST; and Sept. 27, 4 p.m. EST; 1 p.m. PST. To obtain a link, go to unboxedproductions.org

SEPT. 25

Dueling Pianos

Midgett Black Box, Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE Ninth St., Ocala 6pm Grab a seat at a café table and enjoy dueling pianos, cocktails and an evening of fun with friends. Performing sing along classics of soft rock and pop that spans decades. Get details at reillyartscenter. com

Dueling Pianos Uncensored

Midgett Black Box, Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE Ninth St., Ocala 9pm Unleash your wild side on the dance floor as talented pianists engage in hilarious and unpredictable musical mash-ups while cocktail servers dish up your favorite drinks. Get ready for a night of laughter, outrageous requests and a high-energy, adults-only atmosphere. Learn more at reillyartscenter.com

SEPT. 27

Ocala Symphony Chorus: A Choral Portrait of America

Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE Ninth St., Ocala 3pm A reflective and richly textured exploration of the American choral voice, tracing how landscape, community, faith and longing have shaped a shared musical language. Featuring works by composers such as Copland, Randall Thompson, Whitacre, Paulus and Stephen Foster, this program presents America not as a single story, but as a chorus of voices — plainspoken and soaring, intimate and expansive. Rooted in folk melody, hymnody and modern lyricism, the music invites listeners to hear the nation anew: not as an idea, but as a living, breathing sound

shaped by the people who sing it. Get tickets at reillyartscenter.com

OCT. 2

Reilly Noir: JK & the Contraband

Midgett Black Box at the Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE Ninth St., Ocala 7:30pm Genre-blurring live experience fusing jazz improvisation with the raw energy of ‘90s alternative rock. Reimagining classic alt-rock and grunge icons through a fearless, instrumental lens—transforming the music of Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins and Queens of the Stone. Learn more at reillyartscenter.com

OCT. 4

Late Nite Catechism: ‘Til Death Do Us Part Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE Ninth St., Ocala 3pm The latest class to be unveiled in this sinfully funny series. After teaching countless students about the saints, venial sins, limbo and more, Sister is now offering up hilarious lessons on the Sacraments of Marriage and the Last Rites, including her own wacky version of the Newlywed Game. Classroom participation is a must, so bring along your sweetie and your sense of humor for a session with the country’s feistiest couples counselor. Get tickets at reillyartscenter.com

OCT. 8

Set the Stage Gala

OCT. 1

TEDxOcala: “Rhythm & Intersections”

CF ribbon cutting

Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE Ninth St., Ocala 10am-4pm The 12th annual event will feature 14 speakers addressing this year’s theme. For tickets and additional information, visit tedxocala.com

Free family health and wellness event

Silver Springs Shores Community Center, 590 Silver Road, Ocala 10am-2pm HCA Florida Ocala Hospital and HCA Florida West Marion Hospital will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with health topics and injury prevention information, music, dancing, crafts, family activities and emergency vehicles. Healthy cooking demonstrations and recipes will be offered, along with food trucks on site. To learn more, go to hcafloridahealthcare.com

Talking History program

Reddick Public Library, 15150 NW Gainesville Road, Reddick 10:30am The series will continue with a discussion on Emathla, a farming community in Northwest Marion County whose roots are from the town Chief Charley Emathla established circa 1822 and which has also been known by several other names. To learn more, call 352-438-2566.

7-9pm The city of Ocala Recreation and Parks Department monthly outdoor concert series takes place the second Friday of each month, October through March, and features local and regional artists performing original music. All concerts are free to attend. Performing Oct. 9 will be the reggae band SensaMotion. Food trucks and alcoholic beverages for purchase through the Ocala Outreach Program. Bring chairs or blankets. For more information, visit ocalafl.gov/sunsetsongsseries

OCT. 10

Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses Black & White Gala.

Circle Square Convention Center, 8395 SW 80th St., Ocala 6pm Grammy award winning performers will arrive from Nashville to help celebrate Magic’s birthday with a special concert and party. Performers include Brent Maher, Billy Montana and Leslie Satcher. Entertainer Garth Brooks has donated a Takamine Model GD20 NS guitar for the charity auction. When the auction is over, he will autograph and personalize the guitar for the winning bidder and it will be sent to them. For tickets, go to gentle-carousel.givecloud.co/ gala2026

OCT. 11

Phantasmagoria XVII, “Frankenstein” Ocala Civic Theatre, 4337 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 2 and 6:30pm Journey with the Victorian horror troupe as they light the candles at the Villa Diodati, to celebrate Mary Shelley’s legendary and iconic tale as well as “The Vampyre” by John Polidori, along with other stories. With original music by Phantasmagoria composer Josh Solomon, choreography by Mila Makarova, stage combat by Bill Warriner, puppets by Nic Parks Puppetry and all new adaptations and direction. To learn more, go to phantasmagoriaorlando.com

Ocala Civic Theatre, 4337 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 6pm Celebrate 76 years of live theater in Ocala with this special benefit. Step into a magical French world as you enjoy the event’s signature cocktail, a bubbly French 75, while browsing a silent auction in Studio B. The Civic stage becomes a French bistro for dinner, drinks, and entertainment, catered by The Fiery Chef, with a wine selection by Stella’s Modern Pantry. Seating is limited. Purchase Kingdom of the Sun Concert Band tickets through the box office in person or over the Countryside Presbyterian Church, 7768 SW State Road phone at 352-236-2274, Monday through Friday, 10 200, Ocala 3pm a.m. to 2 p.m., or at thecivic.org Enjoy an afternoon of tunes from pop and rock legends Elvis, Neil Diamond, Elton John, the Beatles, plus Broadway marches and more. Admission is free Sunset Songs Series kickoff and open to the public. A voluntary love offering will Citizens’ Circle, 151 SE Osceola Ave., Ocala be taken. Call 352-237-4633 for further information.

OCT. 9

CF Ocala Campus, 3001 SW College Road, Ocala 9:30am The College of Central Florida invites the community to a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Criminal Justice Institute, which will open for classes in January 2028. The new center will house Law Enforcement Academies and Corrections Academies, for approximately 180 students, on an annual basis. It also will provide training in advanced/specialized courses to more than 600 law enforcement professionals from 14 agencies within region six (Marion, Citrus, Levy, Hernando and Sumter Counties) annually. RSVP is requested for this event: CF.edu/Groundbreaking or pr@cf.edu.

OCT. 7

Braver Angels special event

Marion County Public Library Headquarters, 2720 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 5pm Braver Angels is a national organization with a mission to strengthen democracy through civil discourse. As part of the national Building Together Tour, Braver Angels CEO Maury Giles is coming to Marion County to share what’s next for the movement, including a new five-year plan. To learn more, go to braverangels.org or email dhoswald@gmail.com

THROUGH DEC. 3 AND BEYOND

Art in City Spaces

City of Ocala Cultural Arts Division art exhibitions include: • Landscapes by Nancy Bowden, on display until Dec. 2 at the Clerk’s Office inside City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave. • “Stillness in Motion,” by Gwen Morrison, on display until Dec. 3 at Ocala City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave. • “Through the Looking Glass,” by Linda Bourassa, on display until Dec. 16 at the Eighth Avenue Adult Activity Center, 830 NE Eighth Ave. • “Creative Voices,” by Arts in Health Ocala Metro, on display until Dec. 17 at the Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place, 1821 NW 21st Ave. • “Waterscapes” by Marjorie Dodrill, on display until Dec. 22 at the Ocala International Airport, 1770 SW 60th Ave. All exhibitions are free and open to the public during each facility’s regular business hours. For more information, go to ocalafl.gov/artincityspaces

THROUGH DEC. 31

Photography exhibit by Keith Sackin Arts in Health Ocala Metro Healing Arts Gallery, 2880 NE 8th Road, Ocala. Office hours A native of Ocala, Sackin attended Emory University before a spinal cord injury in 2001 reshaped his path. His photography explores disability, embodiment, memory and human connection. AIHOM is a nonprofit organization that connects art and healing. Its programs include music, dance, performing and visual arts. To learn more, go to aihocala.org

THROUGH JAN. 24

“Life, Labor and Lens: Randal Levenson’s Working-Class America” Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala Times vary Drawn from the 80 works by Levenson in the Appleton’s permanent collection, “Life, Labor and Lens” features 25 black-and-white and color photographs that evoke a sense of familiarity and nostalgia. For more information, go to appletonmuseum.org or call (352) 291-4455.

RENT THE APPLETON Open House

Thursday, September 24 | 2-6 p.m. Make your next event a work of art. Explore our unique indoor and outdoor spaces for weddings, corporate gatherings and more. Drop in anytime between 2 and 6 p.m. to learn more. Free to attend; no reservation needed. Scan the QR code to learn more. Appleton Museum, Artspace and Store Photos by Eighteenth Hour Photography

Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday, noon-5 p.m. 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd. | AppletonMuseum.org

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

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

Across 1 Tool for someone with attachment issues 11 Pros who work according to schedule? 15 "I haven't even gotten to the good part" 16 Spot to 14-Down 17 Part of a full count 18 Pond plant 19 Long 20 Message with a slammed door 22 Jack of "Twin Peaks" 24 Fourth-highest mountain on Earth 25 Cold one 28 Person in labor 29 "Queen of the Blues" Washington 30 Foil a foil 32 COINTELPRO org. 35 Exact location, slangily 36 Yankee great who wore No. 9 37 Cure component 38 "Definitely" 39 Ashtray array 40 Change for a 20 41 Sassiness, informally 42 Infamous fly eater? 44 "Stand strong" 47 Weasel 48 Serious violation 50 Title of respect 54 Useless, batterywise 55 Lot lot 57 Like challah 58 Solved crosswords in a waiting room, say 59 CNBC topic 60 Publisher's guideline Down 1 Intro to web programming 2 Surprised greeting 3 Arctic __: bird that flies between poles

4 New York's High Line or Boston's Emerald Necklace 5 Film producer Daniels 6 Wells Fargo rival 7 Free 8 Half of a "Do You Love Me?" duo 9 Many search results 10 Big and little spoon, say 11 Drawer in a box 12 Spirit guide? 13 Cattle breed 14 Skim the surface? 21 Bridge call 23 Incinerator residue 25 NYE, for Psy 26 Badger 27 Stops 28 Sentence structure 31 "The only way to run away without leaving home," per Twyla Tharp 32 __ bean 33 Ran 34 Wee 36 Dirty looks from a spa attendant 37 Creature domesticated in China more than 5,000 years ago 39 Small town 40 Org. concerned with recalls 41 It's bound to change colors 43 Reveal 44 Leader from Scranton 45 Parting words 46 Standards 47 Oscar nominee Hawkins 49 Café au __ 51 "Voyage to India" Grammy winner 52 High point 53 Converge 56 Hook-and-ladder cos.

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES ON PAGE B11

B10

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE Public Notice

Public Notice

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF THE FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA

Filing # 257568889 E-Filed 09/22/2026 11:42:39 AM IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA CIVIL DIVISION UCN: CASE NO.: 25-CA-002180 SHORECREST INVESTMENT FUND, LLC., a Nevada limited liability company, VS. Plaintiff, SCIONTI CONSTRUCTION GROUP, LLC. ANN MARIE FERRAO AND ANY KNOWN AND/OR UNKNOWN TENANTS. Defendants. NOTICE OF SALE NOTICE IS GIVEN that, pursuant to a Uniform Final Judgment of Foreclosure dated the 15th day of September, 2026 in CASE NO.: 25-CA-002180 of the Circuit Court of Marion County, Florida, in which SHORECREST INVESTMENT FUND, LLC. is the Plaintiff and SCIONTI CONSTRUCTION GROUP, LLC., ANN MARIE FERRAO AND ANY KNOWN AND/OR UNKNOWN TENANTS, are the Defendants. TRACI PERRY, Marion County Clerk of Court, will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash online at at www.marion. realforeclose.com on October 21, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. or as soon possible thereafter, the following described property set forth in the Order of Final Judgment: PARCEL "I": Lot 1, Block 1587, of Silver Springs Shores Unit No. 50, a Subdivision according to the Plat thereof, recorded in Plat Book J, Page 354 through 359, inclusive, of the Public Records of Marion County, Florida. Commonly known as: 201 Emerald Loop Way, Ocala, Florida Page 1 PARCEL "J": Lot 3, Block 865, of Silver Springs Shores Unit No. 32, a Subdivision according to the Plat thereof, recorded in Plat Book J, Page 276 through 285, inclusive, of the Public Records of Marion County, Florida. Commonly known as: 11 Hickory Track Dr, Ocala, Florida PARCEL "K": Lot 9, Block 147, of Silver Springs Shores Unit No. 13, a Subdivision according to the Plat thereof, recorded in Plat Book J, Page 74 through 82, inclusive, of the Public Records of Marion County, Florida. Commonly known as: Oak Circle Lot#9, Ocala, Florida PARCEL "L": Lot 9, Block 1607, of Silver Springs Shores Unit No. 51, a Subdivision according to the Plat thereof, recorded in Plat Book J, Page 360 through 367, inclusive, of the Public Records of Marion County, Florida. Commonly known as: Lot 9, Locust Loop Radial, Ocala, Florida PARCEL "M": Lot 10, Block 1607, of Silver Springs Shores Unit No. 51, a Subdivision according to the Plat thereof, recorded in Plat Book J, Page 360 through 367, inclusive, of the Public Records of Marion County, Florida. Commonly known as: Lot 10, Locust Loop Radial, Ocala, Florida PARCEL "N": Lot 17, Block 1047, Silver Springs Shores Unit No. 34, according to the map or plat thereof, as recorded in Plat Book J, Page(s) 286 through 292, inclusive, of the Public Records of Marion County, Florida Commonly known as: Lot 17, Locust Place, Ocala, Florida Any person claiming an interest in the surplus from the sale, if any, other than the property owner as of the date of the lis pendens must file a claim within 60 days after the sale. AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACCOMMODATION NOTICE If you are a person with a disability who needs an accommodation in order to participate in a proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, the provision of certain assistance. Please Page 2 contact the ADA Coordinator for the Courts within 2 working days of your receipt of your notice to appear in Court at: Marion County (352) 401-6701 Dated this the 22 day of September, 2026 TRACI PERRY Clerk of the Circuit Court Post Office Box 1030 Ocala, Florida 34478 Publish in: Ocala Gazette (Marion County) Billing Information: Steven W. Moore, PLLC 8240 118th Avenue North, Suite 300 Largo, Florida 33773-5014 Page 3 Steven W. Moore, Esquire, For the Court 8240 118th Avenue North, Suite 300 Largo, Florida 33773 (727) 395-9300 FBN:0982660 steven@stevenmoorepa.com kathy@stevenmoorepa.com

N THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA

CASE NO.: 25 CC 001559 AX GREYSTONE HILLS HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida not-forprofit corporation, Plaintiff, vs. RICHARD JOSE LABARCA NAVARRO, individually; MARY ALEJANDRA AGUILAR MOLINA, individually ; SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; and ALL UNKNOWN TENANTS/OWNERS N/K/A MARCUS AGULAR, Defendants. / NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NOTICE is hereby given pursuant to a Summary Final Judgment of Foreclosure and Award of Attorneys Fees and Costs, dated November 12th, 2025, and Order on Plaintiff’s Motion to Reset Foreclosure Sale, entered August 25 th , 2026, and entered in Case Number: 25 CC 001559 AX , of the County Court in and for Marion County, Florida, wherein GREYSTONE HILLS HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION MEADOWS AT HEATH BROOK HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION , INC. is the Plaintiff, and RICHARD JOSE LABARCA NAVARRO, individually; MARY ALEJANDRA AGUILAR MOLINA, individually ; SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; and ALL UNKNOWN TENANTS/OWNERS N/K/A MARCUS AGULAR , is the Defendants, the Marion County Clerk of the Court will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash, by electronic sale on-line at www. marion.realforeclose.com , beginning at 11:00 o’clock A.M. on the 30th day of September, 2026 the following described property as set forth in said Summary Final Judgment of Foreclosure and Award of Attorneys Fees and Costs, to-wit: Property Address : 8720 SW 49th Circle, Ocala, Florida 34476 Property Description : Lot 28, Block A, Greystone Hills Phase One, according to the plat as recorded in Plat Book 14, Pages 10 and 11, of the Public Records of Marion County, Florida . If you are person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in this proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact Tameka Gordon, the ADA Coordinator at the Office of the Trial Court Administrator, Marion County Judicial Center, 110 NW First Avenue, Ocala, Florida 34475, Telephone (352) 401-6710, at least 7 days before your scheduled court appearance, or immediately upon receiving notification if the time before the scheduled appearance in less than 7 days; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call 711. /s/ Rebecca Blechman Patrick J. Burton Florida Bar No.: 0098460 Brian S. Hess Florida Bar No.: 0725072 Helena G. Malchow Florida Bar No.: 0968323 Rebecca Blechman Florida Bar No.: 0121474 Shelby Pfannerstill Florida Bar No.: 1058704 Jennifer Peattie Florida Bar No.: 0127602 Nelson Crespo Florida Bar No.: 0121499 Lauren G. Franklin Florida Bar No.: 1045720 Arthur Barksdale Florida Bar No.: 0040628 Toby Snively Florida Bar No.: 0125998 DI MASI | BURTON, P.A. 801 N. Orange Avenue, Suite 500 Orlando, Florida 32801 Ph. (407) 839-3383 Fx. (407) 839-3384 Service E-Mail: jdlaw@orlando-law.com Attorney for Plaintiff, Association Certificate of Service I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been furnished via U.S. Mail to the following this 11th day of September, 2026. Richard Jose Labarca Navarro 8720 SW 49 th Circle Ocala, Florida 34476 Mary Alejandra Aguilar Molina 8720 SW 49 th Circle Ocala, Florida 34476 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States Attorney’s Office C/O John F. Rudy Esquire USAFLM.HUD@usdoj.gov DOJMDFla@hud.gov All Unknown Tenants/Owners N/K/A Marcus Agular 8720 SW 49 th Circle Ocala, Florida 34476 /s/ Rebecca Blechman Rebecca Blechman, Esq.

Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction to sell personal property described below belonging to those individuals listed below at the location indicated: Extra Space Storage 15855 S.US Hwy 441 Summerfield FL, 34491 on October 6th 2026 @ 12 pm. Eric Bilyou furniture, tires, boxes, tools, car parts Gerald Mastic furniture ,totes, boxes, sporting goods, bedding, clothes Aaron Kingston lawn mower, totes, luggage, truck bed camper top The auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com. Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction. Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.

First Add Run 09/18/2026 Second Add Run 09/25/2026 Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction to sell personal property described below belonging to those individuals listed below at the location indicated: 4620 SW College RD Ocala, Fl 34474 on October 06, 2026, at 12:00pm Dorell Pearson- Clothes, furniture Milagros Garmendiz- Clothes, Books

Marion Soil & Water Conservation District, a special district under 582, F.S., requests proposals from licensed CPA firms to perform the FY 25–26 annual audit in ac‑ cordance with 218.39, F.S., Government Auditing Standards, & Florida Auditor General rules. Firms must be licensed un‑ der Ch. 473, F.S. Proposal packets, including evaluation criteria established under 218.391, F.S., are available from the District: MSWCD; 2710 E. Silver Springs Blvd; Ocala, 34470; (352) 438‑2475 Submit a sealed hard‑copy proposal marked “Auditing Services – MSWCD” by 4 PM, 11/30/26 to the District. Late pro‑ posals will not be accepted. The Auditor Selection Committee will meet at 3:30 PM, 12/14/26 at the above address to evaluate and rank firms per 218.391, F.S. Meetings are open to the public and may continued as announced. Agendas are available at the District office or online.

This auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com . Purchase must be made cash only and paid at the above referenced facility to complete the transaction. Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any Persons needing accommodations should purchase until the winning bid der takes contact the District at least 48 hours be‑ fore the meeting. possession of the personal property.

CASE NO.: 2025-CA-1863 LEMKORE LLC,

Public Notice

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION File No. 26-CP-001968

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION File No. 2026-CP-2040 IN RE: ESTATE OF

IN RE: ESTATE OF

Plaintiff, vs.

JOSEPH LOUIS DEMPSEY, a/k/a JOSEPH L. DEMPSEY, Deceased.

EXCALIBUR KITCHEN AND BATH, LLC, PAUL FLETCHER, DISCOVER QUARTZ & GRANITE, LLC, AND BARON OF EASTVIEW HOLDINGS, LLC.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Defendants. / NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Summary Final Judgment dated the August 21, 2026, and entered in Case No: 2025 CC 1863, of the Circuit Court of the Fifth Judicial Circuit in and for Marion County, Florida wherein EXCALIBUR KITCHEN AND BATH, LLC, et all , are the Defendants, I will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash via online sale at www.marion.realforeclose.com at 11:00 A.M. on the 29th Day of September 2026 the following described property as set forth in said Summary Final Judgment, to wit: Lot 20, 21 and 22, NORTH ROADS PARK, according to the plat recorded in Plat Book T, page 70 of the Public Records of Marion County, Florida. ANY PERSON CLAIMING AN INTEREST IN THE SURPLUS FROM THE SALE, IF ANY, OTHER THAN THE PROPERTY OWNER AS OF THE DATE OF THE LIS PENDENS MUST FILE A CLAIM WITHIN 60 DAYS AFTER THE SALE.

Jacob I. Reiber, Attorney at Law Jacob I. Reiber, P.A. Florida Bar Number: 240036 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE Post Office Box 10157 I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and Tampa, Florida 33679 correct copy of the foregoing was Telephone: (813) 973-0883 furnished via U.S. regular mail this 14 day E-Mail: jacob.reiber@reiberlawgroup. com September, 2026 to: Secondary E-Mail: tina@ reiberlawgroup.com EXCALIBUR KITCHEN AND BATH 207 NE 20th Street, Ocala, FL 34479 Personal Representative: /s:/ Esther Ruth Dempsey DISCOVER QUARTZ & GRANITE 3423 All American Blvd, Esther Ruth Dempsey 3102 North 31st Street Orlando, FL 32810 Tampa, Florida 33605 PAUL FLETCHER 2220 SE 24th Avenue Ocala, FL 34471 McGraw, Rauba, & Mutarelli, PA Attorneys for the Plaintiff 35 SE 1st Avenue, Suite 102 Ocala, FL 34471 352-789-6520 Fla. Bar No: 1016707 Alexandra@lawmrm.com By: Alexandra M Scales Esq. IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA FRANKIE HUERTAS; MARIA JUDITH RIVERA LÓPEZ; Plaintiffs, VS. ROSE M. ROSARIO, Defendant. CASE NO.: 2026-CA-001163 NOTICE OF ACTION-CONSTRUCTIVE SERVICE TO: ROSE M. ROSARIO 7507 Mourning Dove Circle Apt. 203 Reunion, FL 34747 YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that an action to Partition the following real property: Tract 116, Florida Highlands, an unrecorded subdivision, more particularly described as follows: The East 1/2 of the Southeast 1/4 of the Southwest 1/4 of the Northwest 1/4 of the Northeast 1/4 of Section 22, Township 17 South, Range 20 East, Marion County, Florida. Together with 2005 SIZZ Mobile Homes, VIN GMHGA10460317A and VIN GMHGA10460317B. has been filed against you and you are required to serve a copy of your written defenses, if any, to it on counsel for Plaintiff, whose address is 407 Wekiva Springs Road, Suite 217, Longwood, Florida 32779 on or before 30 days from Date of First Publication of this Notice and file the original with the Clerk of this Court, located at Clerk of the Court, located at 110 NW 1st Ave., Ocala, Florida 34475, either before service on Plaintiff's attorney or immediately thereafter; otherwise a default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint or petition filed herein. WITNESS my hand and the seal of this Court at Marion County, Florida, this 26TH day of August 2026. By: D. Corticia As Deputy Clerk Plaintiff's Attorney: JARED GROW, ESQ. Florida Bar No. 1069596 Haynes Law Group, P.A. Attorneys for Plaintiff 407 Wekiva Springs Road, Suite 217 Longwood, FL 32779 Phone: (407) 960-7377 Email: Jared@hayneslegalgroup.com THIS NOTICE SHALL BE PUBLISHED ONCE A WEEEK FOR FOUR (4) CONSECUTIVE WEEKS. PUBLISH IN: OCALA GAZETTER - MARION COUNTY

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the Estate of KENNETH S. WISTON, deceased, whose date of death was January 14, 2026, is pending in the Circuit Court for Marion County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 110 NW 1st Ave. Ocala, Florida 34475. The names and addresses of the personal representatives and the personal representative's attorney are set forth below. All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent's estate on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. The personal representative has no duty to discover whether any property held at the time of the decedent's death by the decedent or the decedent's surviving spouse is property to which the Florida Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act as described in ss. 732.216-732.228, Florida Statutes, applies, or may apply, unless a written demand is made by a creditor as specified under s. 732.2211, Florida Statutes. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent's estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT'S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. The date of first publication of this notice is September 18, 2026.

The administration of the estate of Joseph Louis Dempsey, a/k/a Joseph L. Dempsey, deceased, whose date of death was July 1, 2026, is pending in the Circuit Court for Marion County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is P.O. Box 1030, Ocala, Florida 34478. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative's attorney are set forth below. All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent's estate on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. The personal representative has no duty to discover whether any property held at the time of the decedent's death by the decedent or the decedent's surviving spouse is property to which the Florida Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act as described in ss. 732.216-732.228, Florida Statutes, applies, or may apply, unless a written demand is made by a creditor as specified under s. 732.2211, Florida Statutes. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent's estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT'S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. The date of first publication of this notice is September 18, 2026. Attorney for Personal Representative:

IF YOU ARE A PERSON WITH A DISABILITY WHO NEEDS ANY ACCOMMODATION IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCEEDING, YOU ARE ENTITLED, AT NO COST TO YOU, TO THE PROVISION OF CERTAIN ASSISTANCE. PLEASE CONTACT THE ADA COORDINATOR AT THE MARION COUNTY JUDICIAL CENTER, 110 N.W. FIRST AVENUE, OCALA, FLORIDA 34475 OR BY PHONE AT 352401-6710 AT LEAST SEVEN (7) DAYS BEFORE YOUR SCHEDULED COURT APPEARANCE, OR IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIVING THIS NOTIFICATION IF THE TIME BEFORE THE SCHEDULED APPEARANCE IS LESS THAN SEVEN Attorney for Personal (7) DAYS. IF YOU ARE HEARING OR Representative: /s/ Jacob I. Reiber VOICE IMPAIRED, PLEASE CALL 711. DATED this 14th day of September, 2026

KENNETH S. WISTON, Deceased.

SAMANTHA SHEALY RAUBA, ESQ. Attorney Florida Bar Number: 59503 McGraw, Rauba & Mutarelli P.O. Box 4440 Ocala, FL 34478 Telephone: (352) 789-6520 Fax: (352) 789-6570 E-Mail: Samantha@LawMRM.com Secondary E-Mail: Gina@LawMRM. com Personal Representative: KIGINA OJEDA-WHITNEY Personal Representative 5728 SW 117th Lane Road Ocala, Florida 34476

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA. IN RE: THE ESTATE OF LYNN A. LATHROP, Deceased. CASE NO: 2026-CP-1990 NOTICE TO CREDITORS The name of the decedent, the designation of the court in which the administration of this estate is pending, and the file number are indicated above. The address of the court is 110 N.W. 1st Avenue, Ocala, FL 34475. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative’s attorney are indicated below. If you have been served with a copy of this notice and you have any claim or demand against the decedent’s estate, even if that claim is unmatured, contingent or unliquidated, you must file your claim with the court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF A DATE THAT IS 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER YOU RECEIVE A COPY OF THIS NOTICE. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons who have claims or demands against the decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, must file their claims with the court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT SO FILED WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. EVEN IF A CLAIM IS NOT BARRED BY THE LIMITATIONS DESCRIBED ABOVE, ALL CLAIMS WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN FILED WILL BE BARRED TWO YEARS AFTER DECEDENT’S DEATH. The date of death of the decedent is: August 13, 2026. The date of first publication of this Notice is September 18, 2026. The personal representative or curator has no duty to discover whether any property held at the time of the decedent’s death by the decedent, or the decedent’s surviving spouse, is property to which the Florida Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act, as described in sections 732.216 – 732.228 F.S., applies, or may apply unless a written demand is made by a creditor as specified under section 732.2211, F.S.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION IN RE: ESTATE OF ROBERT O. BRIDGELAND, Deceased. FILE NO.: 2026-CP-2132 NOTICE TO CREDITORS (Summary Administration) The administration of the estate of ROBERT O. BRIDGELAND, deceased, whose date of death was February 22, 2026; is pending in the Circuit Court of Marion County, Florida, Probate Division; File Number 2026-CP-2132; the address of which is 110 N.W. 1st Avenue, Ocala, Florida 34475. An Order of Summary Administration was entered on September 16, 2026, and the names and addresses of the persons assigned control of the assets are TAMMY L. PREECE, 15510 S.E. 36th Avenue, Summerfield, Florida 34491, and JULIE BRIDGELAND, 2761 S.E. 14th Street, Ocala, Florida 34471, the daughters of the decedent, and their attorney is Davis R. Watson III, Davis R. Watson III, P.A., 2201 S.E. 30th Avenue, Suite 202, Ocala, Florida 34471. All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, on whom a copy of this notice is served must file their claims with this Court WITHIN THE LATER OF THREE MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR THIRTY DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons who have claims or demands against the decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, must file their claims with this court, WITHIN THREE (3) MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT SO FILED WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE Attorney for Personal Representative: JOSHUA L. MOSES OF DEATH IS BARRED. Richard & Moses, LLC THE DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION OF Florida Bar No. 119304 THIS NOTICE IS SEPTEMBER 25, 2026. 226 NE Sanchez Avenue Attorney for Petitioner: Ocala, FL 34470 DAVIS R. WATSON III (352) 369-1300 Florida Bar No.: 117996 Primary Email: Josh@RMProbate.com DAVIS R. WATSON III, P.A. 2201 S. E. 30th Avenue, Suite 202 Personal Representative: Ocala, Florida 34471 CHERYL L. LATHROP (352) 732-8080 2004 Willesdon Drive E Email: davis@daviswatsonlaw.com Jacksonville, FL 34426

Public Notice IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION IN RE: ESTATE OF GEOFFREY LUDO GERT HAARSELHORST Deceased. File No.: 2026-CP-1768 NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of Geoffrey Ludo Gert Haarselhorst, deceased, whose date of death was July 20, 2026, is pending in the Circuit Court for Marion County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 110 NW 1st Avenue, Ocala, Florida 34475. The names and addresses of the personal representatives and the personal representative's attorney are set forth below. All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent's estate on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent's estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. The personal representatives have no duty to discover whether any property held at the time of the decedent's death by the decedent or the decedent's surviving spouse is property to which the Florida Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act as described in ss. 732.216-732.228, Florida Statutes, applies, or may apply, unless a written demand is made by a creditor as specified under s. 732.2211, Florida Statutes. The written demand must be filed with the clerk. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT'S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. The date of first publication of this notice is September 25, 2026. Attorney for Personal Representative: LAW OFFICE OF KNELLINGER & ASSOCIATES Scott D. Bird, for the Firm Florida Bar Number: 1021389 2815 NW 13th Street, Suite 305 Gainesville, FL 32609-2865 Telephone: (352) 373-3334 Fax: (352) 376-1214 E-Mail: scott@knellingerlaw.com rick@knellingerlaw.com phoenix@knellingerlaw.com Attorney for Personal Representatives Personal Representatives: Nicolas Haarselhorst Gerard de Cremerstraat, 27 2650 Edegem, Belgium Rita Bijnens Gerard de Cremerstraat, 27 2650 Edegem, Belgium

IN RE: ESTATE OF IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA THOMAS E. FENNESSY PROBATE DIVISION Deceased. CASE NUMBER: 422026CP001864CPAXMX Division: Probate NOTICE TO CREDITORS The administration of the estate of Thomas E. Fennessy, deceased, whose date of death was October 31st, 2025, is pending in the Circuit Court for Marion County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 110 NW 1st Avenue, Room 202, Ocala, Florida 34475. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative's attorney are set forth below. All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent's estate on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent's estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. The personal representative or curator has no duty to discover whether any property held at the time of the decedent's death by the decedent or the decedent's surviving spouse is property to which the Florida Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act as described in ss. 732.216- 732.228, applies, or may apply, unless a written demand is made by a creditor as specified under s. 732.2211, Florida Statutes. The written demand must be filed with the clerk. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT'S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. The date of first publication of this notice is September 18, 2026. Attorney for Personal Representative: Robert F. Baldwin, Jr., Esq. rbaldwin@bsfattorneys.com Florida Bar No. 0357261 6320 Fay Road, Suite 105 East Syracuse, New York, 13057 Telephone: 315-477-0100 Personal Representatives: Christine M. Fennessy 216 South 12th Street Emmaus, PA, 18049 Thomas S. Fennessy 1520 North Memorial Way Apt. #328 Houston, Texas, 77007

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September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE

Bird of the week Brown-headed nuthatch Week of September 25th thru October 1st 2026 ARIES

March 21-April 20

Aries, it is time to be on the lookout for fresh financial opportunities. Set new goals for yourself, and put your finances at the top of your priority list.

TAURUS

April 21-May 21

Taurus, don’t bother attracting people through false advertising. Instead, be authentic and you will find you garner much more attention and adoration.

GEMINI

May 22-June 21

Gemini, the universe is trying to send you cues this week. But you will only receive these cues if you keep your eyes and ears open. Things may not be what they seem.

CANCER

June 22-July 22

Cancer, if you want others to open up, you have to start the conversation by sharing something from your heart as well. Make an effort to be more open in the days ahead.

LEO

July 23-August 23

Leo, this week you have the strength and motivation to accomplish your goals. You will sigh with relief when everything gets accomplished on time and in order.

VIRGO

August 24- September 22

You have a green light to spoil yourself this week, Virgo. It isn’t something you do often, so let loose a little bit and splurge on some luxuries.

LIBRA

September 23October 23

Libra, a dear friend or relative could use your support right now. Offer a helping hand or even a shoulder to cry on so this special person knows you’re there to help.

SCORPIO

October 24November 22

Make an effort to be a social butterfly in the week ahead, Scorpio. This will quench your thirst to be around others. Don’t be afraid to reconnect with old friends.

SAGITTARIUS

November 23 -December 21

Sagittarius, this is a great week to establish a financial strategy that fits into your lifestyle. If this involves revisiting your professional ambitions, then so be it.

CAPRICORN

December 22January 20

Capricorn, don’t be afraid to shake things up a bit this week. You may not have time to mince words, so don’t hesitate to get to the point. Others will appreciate your candor.

If you happen to be walking through a forest of longleaf pine and hear the sound of squeaking rubber duckies overhead, that’s likely to be your brown-headed nuthatch. These tiny songbirds run up and down tree trunks, often hanging upside down to feed. They are one of very few birds in North America to use tools. They have been recorded using small pieces of bark to pry open larger chunks while foraging. This one was photographed in Silver Springs State Park. Photo by Michael Warren. See more at https://michaelwarren.com/birds

AQUARIUS

January 21-February 18

It is time to be your own teacher and become an expert in any subject you desire, Aquarius. Start doing your research and you may be surprised at the discoveries.

PISCES

February 19-March 20

Pisces, this week you might start seeing a platonic pal in a more amorous way. The affinity you share may be the foundation for a great relationship.

Animal Crackers

Broom Hilda

ANSWERS FOR PAGE B9 Sudoku

Middletons

Jumble

Gasoline Alley

Crossword

BRING VISOR DRESSY WIGGLE Answers: The meal eaten by the winner of the tennis tournament included — BIG SERVINGS

B12

September 25 - October 1 2026 | OCALA GAZETTE