Ocala Gazette | August 25 - August 31, 2023

OSO’s 2023-24 season marks Maestro Matt Wardell’s 15th anniversary in Ocala.

Marion County ranked among the least healthy counties in Florida

By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com

When Conductor Matthew Wardell led his first Christmas concert with the Ocala Symphony Orchestra in 2009, he substituted a baton for a sock puppet. The bit was an homage to Shari Lewis, the mid-20thcentury TV puppeteer known for her jolly handmade friends Lamb Chop and Charlie Horse.

“She was actually a pretty accomplished guest conductor,” Wardell said of Lewis, explaining that the chirpy TV star also gained recognition in the classical music world for her rendition of the Ukrainian holiday favorite “Carol of the

Bells,” the piece that inspired Wardell’s impromptu puppetry.

“I conducted that way for that entire piece,” Wardell recalled with a laugh. “I thought, ‘I’m probably going to get fired for this.’”

Of course, he wasn’t. The offbeat moment was one of many unconventional, comedic and teachable moments furnished by OSO’s maestro over the past 15 years, the type of joke or anecdote that shows his knack for grabbing audiences’ attention and showing them how exciting, amusing and provocative classical music can be.

As OSO’s director/ conductor over the past decade and a half, Wardell has brought music lovers of all

ages to the Reilly Arts Center, the shining art-nouveau performance venue he helped birth from the hollow remains of an old community center.

“It’s exciting to be here for 15 years; it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but we’ve got a great season planned, and season ticket sales are really good,” Wardell said. “Attendance has been the highest in the last 15 years.”

Indeed, OSO attendance has been the highest since he signed on. In 2023, the Reilly hosted 139 events and 51,230 guests. During the previous season, affected somewhat by COVID-19, the venue held 68 events and 26,000 guests.

Still, a performing arts venue nearly doubling its

attendance in one season is nothing to sneeze at. Wardell and his cohorts shepherded the community arts mecca into existence in 2015. The fundraising didn’t stop there. The Reilly underwent a major renovation with the addition of the NOMA Black Box Theatre in 2022. An annual event at the park that draws thousands, Symphony Under the Lights, spearheaded by former Ocala Mayor Gerald Ergle, has endured as a holiday tradition under Wardell’s leadership and will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Dec. 1. The Ocala Symphony and members of the Ocala Youth Symphony put on the annual free concert to the community under the illuminated mossy oak canopy of Tuscawilla Park.

At the holiday event and throughout any given season, Wardell bridges instrumental and pop music favorites. Take, for instance, “Bowie and Glass: A Symphonic Tribute,” when Wardell and Adam Volpe

See Wardell’s, page A5

By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com

The 2023 annual county health rankings survey ranked Marion County one of the least healthy counties in Florida, in the lowest 25%.

The County Health Rankings National Findings Report, created by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, ranked Marion County 53rd out of 67 counties in the state for overall length and quality of life.

Out of all of the data collected, the county ranks significantly higher than the rest of the state and the country for the rate of premature deaths. Premature death is measured for years of potential life lost before the age of 75 for every 100,000 people in the population.

“In Marion County, Florida, 11,300 years of life were lost to deaths of people under age 75, per 100,000 people,” according to the report.

In the state of Florida, 7,500 years of life were lost to premature death and in the United States, 7,300 years were lost per 100,000 people.

The Marion County Department of Health was not able to offer comment or insight into the data at the time of publication.

See Marion, page A2

Remembering a civil rights martyr

National monument for Emmett Till rekindles memories for his Ocala cousin.

By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com

The White House recently announced plans to create the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, with three locations in Illinois and Mississippi dedicated to their memory. The monument sites will pay homage to Emmett, who died at age 14 in a racially motivated murder in Money,

Mississippi, in August 1955, and his mother, who bravely insisted on an open coffin viewing service for her son who had been beaten and horribly disfigured.

The passing of 68 years hasn’t dulled Ocala resident Thelma Edwards’ memory of the tragedy and the death of her second cousin, Emmett Till, who she affectionately called “Bobo,” which has been called an important catalyst for the Civil Rights movement.

A July 25 White House press release stated the monuments will be placed at Graball Landing in Mississippi, the Tallahatchie River site where Emmett’s body was found; the Tallahatchie County courthouse; and Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago; all areas significant in the story of the murdered teen’s death.

Also, on March 28, 2022, H.R. 55, known as the “Emmett Till Antilynching

Act,” was signed into law making lynching a federal hate crime, according to a White House press release. Edwards, 92, spoke to the “Gazette” recently following a service at Draw All Men Ministries Church. She was welcomed by Elder Quentin Samuel and his wife, minister Sharon Samuel, and her friend Brenda Vereen’s grandson, Amir Vereen Belle, 7, and was embraced by the entire congregation. Edwards

page A4

Ocala Symphony Orchestra Maestro Matthew Wardell in 2023. [Brittney Bishop] Left: Wardell offers one of his amusing asides at a recent pops concert. [MAVEN photo + film]

“It’s exciting to be here for 15 years; it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but we’ve got a great season planned, and season ticket sales are really good. Attendance has been the highest it’s been in the last 15 years.”

Matthew Wardell

Marion County health ranking

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Continued from page A1

The leading causes of death for people under the age of 75 in Marion County were cancer, heart disease, accidents, respiratory diseases and diabetes.

Tobacco use, drug use, alcohol use, diet and exercise, access and quality of health care, employment, education, income and housing are several factors that may influence premature death, by not only the length of life, but its quality.

In comparison, the county saw improved rates for the number of alcohol-related driving deaths. While the rate of motor vehicle accidents

resulting in death that involved alcohol still remains higher than the state and nation, the percentage of deaths in this manner have decreased in Marion County.

In 2016, the survey reported that 36% of motor vehicle crash deaths involved alcohol. In this year’s report, that number has decreased to 29%.

Within the past 13 years, alcohol related driving deaths peaked in 2010 with a high of 40%.

The study also evaluates the opportunity for communities to improve their overall health, which can be benefitted from positive civic infrastructure and involvement.

“Health factors represent those

things we can modify to improve the length and quality of life for residents,” according to the report. “Marion is ranked in the lowermiddle range of counties in Florida.”

Marion County has improved over time for many aspects of clinical care, including insured residents, amount of primary care physicians, dentists and preventable hospital stays.

Marion County ranks the same as both the state and country for rates of unemployment and children in poverty.

Also in the bottom 25% of counties are several surrounding Marion, including Putnam County, Citrus County and Levy County.

West Oak development approved for major increase in number of homes

By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com

The West Oak planned development, to be built on the former Pine Oaks Golf Course land in northwest Ocala, was unanimously approved by the Ocala City Council on Aug. 15 to expand to nearly 70% more housing units than originally approved.

The development is near giant distribution centers for Amazon, FedEx, Chewy and AutoZone—and lies just south of the future Buc-ee’s location off of Interstate 75.

To accommodate the growing workforce in the area, the developers believed that additional housing would be a necessity but only at the right price.

“There is a need for more housing development in the city, especially affordable housing, considering the recent increase in employment opportunities that resulted from the development of major distribution centers on NW 35th Avenue Road and NW 35th Street,” according to a staff report from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The original approved plan for the 198.8 acres of property included 386 single-family lots, 832 multifamily units and 150 townhomes, for a total of 1,368 units. Now, the development is approved for 1,980 multifamily units and 170 single-family units and the same number of townhomes, for a total of 2,300 units.

Scott Siemens, owner of Siemens Development and agent of West Oak Development LLC, requested this amendment to the plan because he said that without increasing the number of units, they wouldn’t be able to meet the requirement agreed upon with the city of 20% affordable housing. This would require a minimum of 460 units out of the

total 2,300 single-family, multifamily and townhome units to meet the threshold for affordable housing.

Affordable housing is privately owned housing that receives a subsidy to bring its purchase price or rent down to an affordable level for a low to moderate-income family, according to the Housing Finance Authority of Marion County.

As of 2020, the median household income in Marion County was $46,587 a year. By definition in Florida, people are eligible to live in affordable housing when they spend no more than 30% of their income on rent or mortgage payments.

Siemens said he believes that the affordable housing units within the development will be priced at about $200,000 per unit, based on housing and urban development data.

Siemens said to the city council that he believes with this amendment they will be able to go above and beyond the requirement and bring many more affordable homes to the area.

“We are actually, with this ask, increasing our affordable (housing) to almost 600 units on this project. I think my actual requirement based on count is closer to 500 units, but I’m going to make a 600-unit mark,” Siemens said.

Probably the biggest change that comes with the amendment,

however, is the amount of commercial space allotted, which would potentially be used for a grocery store for the influx of residents in the area. Rather than the 70,000 square feet of commercial space approved originally, there will now be only 12,000 square feet of commercial space for the 2,300 units planned.

The decrease in commercial space is due to a necessary drainage area, that will take up 5.83 acres that the council rezoned to governmental use during the same Aug. 15 meeting.

The Aurora St. Leon Apartments are already under construction on the property, but its developer opposed the change in square footage for commercial space. When Aurora initiated development on the West Oak property the company was under the belief that the 70,000 square foot commercial space would stay, allowing for a grocery store to be built there, said Aurora Ocala LLC attorney Austin Dailey.

“We don’t think that it’s appropriate at this time to reduce the commercial square footage. The demand in that area—it’s a food desert,” Dailey said.

The closest grocery store is a Harvey’s Supermarket, a little over a mile away.

The Southampton Development Company plans to take advantage of the amendment as a way to add more units, as buildings can now be up to 75 feet tall, allowing for much larger apartments, which may house the bulk of newly allowed units.

Southampton, which plans to build two five-story apartment buildings on the property, was one of the developers willing to accommodate for blended housing, with affordable and non-affordable housing. Their caveat to do so was that they would need to build about another 800 apartments, said Siemens.

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“We are actually, with this ask, increasing our affordable (housing) to almost 600 units on this project.

Scott Siemens Owner of Siemens Development and agent of West Oaks Development LLC

New golf cart rules for Ocala

By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com

People over the age of 18 can now drive a golf cart in Ocala without a driver’s license, the city council agreed on Aug. 15. In order to comply with a new state statute, the Ocala City Council approved an amendment to the city code that requires all people from ages 16 to 17 to have a driver’s license to operate a golf cart, but people 18 and older no longer need to be licensed drivers.

Previously, it was required for all golf cart drivers, regardless of age, to have a valid driver’s license to operate one. Those over 18 who wish to operate a golf cart must now only have valid identification.

The council also discussed an amendment to the map of where golf carts are allowed within the city, effective Aug. 1. The new map allows for golf carts to be driven in much more of downtown, east of the post office and south of the Downtown Square.

Council President Jim Hilty raised concerns for safety in some areas downtown.

“You see emergency vehicles all the time heading to the hospitals. You see the trucks that are delivering goods to the different businesses downtown or other tractor trailers that are going through there.

Especially when you have two cars parked on South Magnolia. It’s just not safe to me,” Hilty said. Growth Management

Director Tye Chighizola assured the council that safety elements such as this have been investigated, and that planning has been done to promote pedestrian safety and calm traffic.

“Part of it was looking to slow the traffic down in downtown going to the one lane (roads),” Chighizola said. “I think that has helped—and removing some of the lights and doing more of the stop signs. I think it’s designed to slow traffic for cars as well as golf carts.”

While all golf cart operators must follow safety guidelines and rules of the road, golf carts have been classified as “not motor vehicles” under state legislation, which is why they can be operated by adults without a license.

“You see emergency vehicles all the time heading to the hospitals. You see the trucks that are delivering goods to the different businesses downtown or other tractor trailers that are going through there. Especially when you have two cars parked on South Magnolia. It’s just not safe to me.”

Jim Hilty

File photo: Ocala City Council President Jim Hilty Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]

File photo: Vivian Price drives her golf cart on Southeast 24th Terrace in Ocala on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/ Ocala Gazette] 2022.

more of downtown, east of the post office and south of the Downtown Square [Courtesy of the city of Ocala]

Remembering Emmett Till

Continued from page A1 carried an index card with a handwritten statement she wanted to be sure was included in her remarks.

“I am very pleased that President Biden is encouraging the country to remember the horrors that African Americans have endured and to celebrate the bravery that my cousin Mamie and others have displayed in our journey toward freedom,” the statement read.

Edwards said she still can’t discuss some details of Emmett’s murder.

“When we learned in Argo (Illinois) that Emmett was found (deceased), I prayed and cried,” she said. “I couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t eat and lost 10 pounds in the first week after. (It was) like I was in a dream.”

Edwards, who was born in Mississippi in 1931, was sent at age 8 by her family to join family members in Argo in hopes of getting a better education. She did so, and later had a career as an educator.

Edwards often babysat for Emmett, who was 10 years younger than her, while living in Argo and “changed his diapers.”

Edwards recalled Emmett mainly as a “peacemaker” who “always tried to find a way” to resolve problems among the children. He was a sharp dresser and wanted a motorcycle prior to his trip to Money.

Edwards recoils when asked what she thinks happened at Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market in Money on Aug. 24, 1955, and declines to discuss that part.

Simeon Wright, Edwards’ brother, who saw Emmett’s abduction, passed away nearly six years ago. A Sept. 5, 2017, npr.org article, “Cousin Who Witnessed Emmett Till Abduction Dies At 74,” marked Simeon’s passing a day before.

The article states that at age 12, Simeon shared a bed with his cousin Emmett during his

visit to the home of Simeon and Edwards’ father, Moses “Mose” Wright, a local preacher, who lived outside Money.

The article states that on Aug. 24, 1955, Simeon, Emmett and several friends decided to go to Bryant’s grocery store for treats and refreshments while Carolyn Donham minded the store for her husband, Roy Bryant.

Although the facts have often been debated, the NPR article indicates Donham accused Emmett Till of “flirting” with her, but Simeon claimed Emmett only “whistled.”

Emmett’s mom said he likely did not whistle but may have made a sound due to a stutter, according to a “Chicago Tribune” report quoted in the NPR article.

The “Chicago Tribune” article also quoted an excerpt from Simeon Wright’s book “Simeon’s Story: An Eyewitness Account of the Kidnapping of Emmett Till.”

“I think he wanted to get a laugh out of us or something. He was always joking around, and it was hard to tell when he was serious,” the excerpt stated.

The NPR article details Simeon Wright’s recollection of the night of Aug. 28, 1955, when “(he) was awoken by two men with flashlights and guns.”

“They had come for Bobo,” Wright wrote in his book as excerpted by “The ClarionLedger” and referenced in the NPR article.

Emmett Till’s body was later found in the nearby Tallahatchie River.

Moses Wright “identified Donham’s husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, as the killers in their murder trial, but an all-white jury acquitted them,” the NPR article stated.

The NPR article states that, about a year after the trial, in a “Look’’ magazine article, Bryant and Milam “admitted to beating and shooting Till before dumping his body in a river.”

Edwards said her father “had a dream” before Emmett’s

killing about people around part of a muddy river and the location “kept getting smaller.” She said after Emmett’s killing, he understood the meaning of the dream.

An iconic photo depicts Moses Wright bravely pointing out the two men who kidnapped Emmett during the trial.

Rev. Wheeler Parker, now 83, a cousin of Emmett’s who traveled to meet his “best friend” in the summer of 1955,” in Money, was also a witness to the kidnapping, according to a March 12, 2023, NPR article

The Wright family relocated to the Chicago area after the trial, according to the Sept. 5, 2017, NPR article.

Meanwhile, Thelma Edwards visited the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., a few years ago with her friend Brenda Vereen of Ocala. Edwards was approached by a number of museum visitors who wanted to speak with her about Emmett and his mother.

Edwards and Vereen were also present at the April 29 unveiling of a life size sculpture of Mamie TillMobley at

Argo Community High School, where Till-Mobley “was the first Black student to make the honor roll and the fourth to graduate from the high school in Summit, Illinois—about 14 miles outside Chicago,” according to a “Chicago Defender” article on the unveiling event.

Till-Mobley held a master’s degree and was a Civil Rights activist who was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, according to the “Chicago Defender” article.

Edwards feels the finding of Emmett’s body was “God’s plan” and that he would “be happy things are changing.

Edwards’ hopes for the future are twofold: “I’d like to see people love each other more and (see more) justice,” she said.

To learn more about the national monument, visit the National Park Service page at nps.gov/till/learn/ historyculture/index.htm

OCALA METRO CEP RECEIVES $25,000 GRANT FROM DUKE ENERGY

By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com

The Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership (CEP) announced on Aug. 18 that it will receive a $25,000 grant from Duke Energy to promote economic development, outreach

and strategic planning.

The CEP’s collaboration with Duke Energy fosters making Ocala an attractive place to invest in, said CEP Chief Growth Officer Heather Shubirg in a press release.

“Diversifying our economy with new targeted industries,

complimentary business-tobusiness services, and high-wage employers is a priority to ensure the future prosperity of our region and all those who call the Ocala Metro home,” Shubirg said. The grant program through Duke Energy aims to invest in communities that can allow

businesses and residents to thrive and promote overall economic wellbeing, according to the press release.

“By investing in the people, places, and businesses that strengthen and uplift our communities, we are creating opportunities for years to come,”

said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president in a press release. “Together with our state, regional and local economic development agencies, we will continue to power lives and fuel Florida’s growth.”

Wardell’s 15th anniversary with OSO

people skills as did the camaraderie of belonging to a band and orchestra.

He also credited his mother and stepfather, John, for making sure he followed up with (and put up with) his practicing the drums and his participation in his high school band.

Music Conservatory.

He has even started opening the orchestra’s rehearsals so people who cannot attend performances still have the chance to enjoy the music.

“That will be exciting,” Wardell effused.

Continued from page A1 curated a 2019 melange of music by David Bowie and Phillip Glass.

Wardell tells students at the Reilly’s recently opened Community Music Conservatory stories that bring a new perspective to composers and their symphonies.

He recounted one of his favorites:

“In Hector Berlioz’s ‘Sinfonie Fantastique,’ each movement comes to us as a guy writing about his own life; it’s kind of autobiographical. In the first movement, he sees a beautiful girl from across the room, and he falls in love with her, and then she doesn’t love him back, so it gets kind of tumultuous. And then at the end, it’s pretty wild. He actually takes opium and it’s like kind of the first musical trip, well before the Beatles were around, and he envisions all these wild things.”

Wardell remembers playing that symphony for the first time in his youth, around the age of the protagonist in the first movement.

“It was really different from what I thought orchestral music was,” Wardell said. “I thought that was just a bunch of really buttoned up, boring old guys that didn’t do things like fall in love or have a lot of feelings, you know?”

Wardell re-creates that same “oh, wow” feeling with his students and audiences. He reveals the timeless tales and moods that lurk inside suites and symphonies. He brings entertainment and enlightenment to each performance

“The Gazette” talked to Wardell in his car, on speakerphone, while he and his wife—Pamela Calero Wardell, executive director of the Reilly Arts Center and OSO’s interim director of Orchestra Studies—were en route to Massachusetts. In addition to everything else, Matt has carved out time to teach classes as interim director of the music program at Mount Holyoke College.

“I’m going to be back and forth between Ocala six or seven times between now and

When he was 7, he got a keyboard for Christmas. He recalled his dad playing a Beethoven sonata and being surprised he knew how to play. While visiting him in Memphis, Wardell would also play his dad’s jukebox of old 45s. Like most kids growing up in the 20th century, “Purple People Eater” was among his favorites.

“My dad was a concert pianist,” Wardell said. “He took piano lessons from like age 3 or 4 until he was 18. He got accepted to the Royal Academy of Music in London for piano, but he ended up not doing that, he ended up joining the Air Force and then the Navy. So, I never knew that side of him.”

Wardell’s middle school band teacher, Jim Layton, was a big inspiration. Wardell admired him and wondered if he could teach middle school band. A pattern emerged. From then on, Wardell would take his life, projects and music a few steps further than anticipated.

He not only earned a bachelor’s degree cum laude in 2007 at the University of North Florida, but he went on to receive his master’s degree in music at the University of Florida and completed his Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree at UF in 2022 with his mentor Raymond Chobaz.

He was studying abroad in Austria in 2009 when Dave Schlenker, then with the “Ocala Star-Banner,” interviewed him on the phone. Wardell was in his boxer shorts, sharing the news that he would become Ocala Symphony Orchestra’s next conductor.

Wardell officially began his tenure with the OSO on July 1, 2009. OSO at the time was performing in the Ocala Breeders’ Sales auditorium. Recalling that time, Wardell joked about playing to sections of the arena labeled “pregnant” and “not pregnant.”

Onstage, he has publicly performed around 400 works in more than 250 live performances. He has led 16 staged productions of large-scale opera, musical theater and ballet works including “La Boheme,” Bartok’s “Miraculous Mandarin,” “Cosi fan tutte,” “Sunday in the

Since arriving in Ocala, Wardell has served as a member and president of the Ocala City Council (2015-21) and is currently a member of the College Orchestra Directors Association and the American Symphony Orchestra League. He serves or has served on the boards of the Arts in Health Ocala/Marion, the Ocala Municipal Arts Commission (OMAC), and Young Professionals of Ocala (YPO).

Accomplishments aside, he doesn’t just like to talk about himself. He credits his team and Pamela, whom he got to know while working together. He beamed about her recent milestone: She just graduated from the League of American Orchestra’s Essentials of Orchestra Management program at Juilliard. He posted on Facebook that he and their dog Buckley were proud of his Ocala-born spouse.

“Pam also is a part of this really wonderful program that focuses on six women executives in the (orchestra) industry, zooming with executive directors of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra… she’s really a big part of why the orchestra has grown as much as it has.”

Wardell is especially excited about his 15th season with OSO and is looking forward to upcoming performances such as the “Hungarian Pictures” Jan. 27-28, when he teams up with his mentor, Chobaz, as guest conductor, to lead iconic works by Hungarian and Romanian composers such as Miklós Rózsa’s hauntingly beautiful “Hungarian Nocturne,” to Liszt’s “Piano Concerto No. 2” (with renowned pianist Andreas Klein) and the “Dances of Galánta” by Zoltán Kodály.) Events in tandem with the performance include a Hungarian Dinner and Cocktails with the Conductor and Coffee with the Conductor.

Wardell is also looking forward to performing new music he composed with friend Brad DeLoatche as a live soundtrack to a screening of the 1923 silent film, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” starring Lon Chaney, presented by the Ocala Symphony Orchestra with him lead conducting on Jan. 20.

“We have a program called Symphony for Schools, and we’re working with a new, Marion County liaison on sending musicians into schools, and we’re working this year on starting a beginning band for kids in third through sixth grades that might not have a beginning band at their elementary or middle school,” Wardell shared. “You know, around 30% to 40% of our students in the conservatory don’t pay any tuition at all.”

Bridging generations is also a big priority for Wardell going forward. The orchestra has, in the past and will continue to, pair older and younger musicians.

Also on the horizon is the New Horizons Band, a beginning band for older adults who picked up an instrument when they were younger but didn’t follow through with it

Bob Reilly, the namesake of and major donor to the Reilly Arts Center, stipulated that he wanted to encourage intergenerational participation, and Wardell is continuing that tradition.

A good start can be found at the Reilly Arts Center’s new conservatory, which has 115 students and counting.

“In our music school, we have a cello student who’s just around 6, and we have a cello student who’s like 86, and they play together sometimes, which is really, really cool,” Wardell shared. “To see two people who are in totally different parts of their life coming together over music is something that has been praised all over the world as a health benefit for both our seniors and our students.”

Between all of his many projects, Wardell still finds time to decompress with Pam and Buckley.

“I enjoy playing video games and the comedy of Dave Chappelle, Nate Bargatze and Tom Segura,” Wardell shared.

“I was recently at the Comedy Cellar in New York and saw Nathan Macintosh, an up-and-coming comedian, and I’ll be keeping up with him, and to disconnect a bit, I play immersive (role playing games) like ‘Fall Out,’ ‘The Witcher,’ and I’m excited about ‘Starfield,’ which is releasing next week.”

The couple also take walks through Ocala’s historic downtown district with their 4-year-old Aussie doodle.

“He’s the celebrity in the family,” Wardell said.

Arts Center, Behind the Scenes [MAVEN photo + film]

Pamela Calero Wardell and Maestro Matthew Wardell at Ocala Symphony Orchestra’s opening night in 2021. [MAVEN photo + film]

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By David B. Isaacks Network director, VA Sunshine Healthcare Network (VISN 8)

There is a huge reason why I trust VA for all my health care needs and why I have for over 18 years—I feel safe, connected, and know my providers have my best interest at heart and strive to deliver positive health outcomes. Further, as I age, I know that VA will be positioned, ready, and capable of caring for me when I need them most. The overwhelming majority of veterans who use VA for their care feel the same way.

The Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act is perhaps the largest health care and benefit expansion in the history of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Among the many provisions in the law, there is one that I’d like to urgently highlight that directly impacts post-9/11 combat veterans and the opportunity to enroll for VA’s full medical benefits package.

When President Biden signed the PACT Act into law last August, his pen stroke immediately initiated a one-year VA health care open enrollment period for veterans who meet the following criteria:

• Served on active duty in a theater of combat operations during a period of war after the Persian Gulf War or served in combat against a hostile force during a period of hostilities after Nov. 11, 1998.

And:

• Were discharged or released between Sept. 11, 2001, and Oct. 1, 2013, and not previously enrolled in VA health care.

Time is of the essence as the deadline to apply for VA health care without

the need for additional eligibility verification is Oct. 1, 2023. For some veterans, meeting VA’s income threshold requirements prevents them from being eligible for VA care. Applying for care before the deadline eliminates this challenge.

To apply for care today and to learn more about the PACT Act, veterans can visit va.gov/pact, or visit the closest VA medical center or clinic.

One of the primary advantages of VA health care is the comprehensive coverage it offers. From preventive care to specialized treatment for servicerelated conditions, veterans receive highquality medical attention without the financial burden commonly associated with private health insurance and private health care in general. Furthermore, the VA health care system focuses on the unique health challenges faced by veterans, ensuring that their specific needs are met.

Back in 2005, after I completed my first VA primary care appointment, I felt the same way as I do now. VA health care is about building a lifelong relationship and empowering veterans to access VA throughout their journey of life. As a community, it is our duty and responsibility to encourage and support veterans in applying for VA care…they deserve nothing less.

David Isaacks is a Marine Corps veteran and executive director of the VA Sunshine Healthcare Network (VISN 8), the network of VA hospitals and clinics located in Florida, South Georgia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. VISN 8 is the largest VA healthcare network in the country, serving approximately 10 percent of all veterans enrolled and eligible for VA care in the nation.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN MARION INCREASES OCALA RESIDENT TO BE FEATURED IN TIMES SQUARE

By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com

The July unemployment rate for the Marion County region increased by 0.3% since the month before, according to CareerSource data.

For the entire region of Marion, Citrus and Levy counties, there were 212,716 people employed in July, with 743 fewer people employed in comparison to June.

“With 5,883 unemployed, Marion County’s jobless rate increased 0.1 percentage point compared to June’s rate,” according to a CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion (CLM) press release.

At 4%, the rate of people without jobs in the region is higher in comparison to data from July of last year, when there was a 3.7% unemployment rate across all three counties.

The data reflects common seasonal trends that typically occur in the summer months, said CareerSource CLM’s regional CEO Rusty Skinner in a press release.

“The report shows the continued impact of summer workforce transitions—students graduating and other seasonal adjustments,” Skinner said.

Several industries in Marion County gained jobs over the past year, including education, health services, transportation, hospitality, utilities and trade.

By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com

One Ocala resident, Jasper Roman, has been chosen to represent the Down syndrome community as part of a video presentation that will premiere at Times Square in New York City on Sept. 9.

Roman, a co-founder of the UniverseAbility Pageant, which aims to open up the world of pageantry to all people, will have his photo displayed on a Times Square billboard as part of a one-hour video showcasing 500 people with Down syndrome from all 50 states.

“These collective images promote the value, acceptance, and inclusion of people with Down syndrome in a very visible way,” according to a press release from the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS).

The picture chosen of Roman is from when he became the first Prince UniverseAbility Ambassador as part of the

pageant. The event is an outreach of the Ocala-based Champions for Champions nonprofit organization.

The video presentation marks the beginning of the New York City Buddy Walk, an event to raise funds to support and raise awareness for the Down syndrome community. More than 150 Buddy Walks are held in cities all across the country and internationally.

“(Roman’s) photo will be shown on two JumboTron screens in the heart of Times Square, thanks to the support of ClearChannel Outdoor,” according to the press release.

“The two screens are located above Dos Caminos restaurant in Father Duffy Square.”

To view the presentation remotely, visit the NDSS Facebook page from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 9. To learn more about the pageant and all of the programs of Champions for Champions, find the organization on Facebook.

[Supplied]

Courts Grapple with Death Penalty Change

By Dara Kam Florida News Service

Anew state law lowering the number of jurors required to recommend death sentences has spurred a rash of litigation, triggered conflicting judicial rulings and infused an additional level of uncertainty in capital cases.

The changes have caused what numerous attorneys called “chaos” in the death-penalty system.

The law allows death sentences to be imposed based on the recommendations of eight of 12 jurors, an easier threshold than a previous requirement of unanimous jury recommendations. The change—prompted by Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz receiving a life sentence after a jury did not unanimously recommend death—gave Florida the lowest death-penalty jury standard in the nation.

Allowing 8-4 recommendations is the latest in a series of changes in the capitalsentencing process since a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case known as Hurst v. Florida. The ruling found that the state’s death-penalty process was unconstitutional.

In October 2016, in the similarly named case of Hurst v. State, the Florida Supreme Court interpreted and applied the U.S. Supreme Court ruling and said unanimous jury recommendations were required. The Legislature responded in 2017 by putting such a unanimous requirement in law.

Amid uncertainty over whether the unanimity requirement should be applied retroactively to older cases, justices ordered resentencing for about 150 Death Row inmates who were sentenced based on recommendations by non-unanimous juries. Before 2016, inmates could be sent to Death Row based on majority—or 7-5— jury recommendations.

About 90 resentencing proceedings were completed under the unanimity requirement before this year’s law went into effect. More than three-fourths of those proceedings resulted in life sentences, with prosecutors often not asking for the death penalty in the resentencings.

When Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the 8-4 law this spring, nearly five-dozen Hurst resentencing cases were pending. That has led to disputes about which standard should apply.

“Undoubtedly, the new statute will plunge Florida’s death-penalty system into further instability and chaos,” Maria DeLiberato, executive director of Floridians for Alternative to the Death Penalty, told The News Service of Florida. “This knee-jerk change, in an understandably emotional case (the Cruz case), is causing complete destabilization of Florida’s death penalty.”

The Legislature approved the change after an ideological shift in recent years on the Florida Supreme Court. Shortly after DeSantis took office in 2019, he appointed justices who established a conservative majority. The court in 2020 reversed course on the death penalty and said unanimous jury recommendations were not necessary.

The unanimity requirement remained on the books, however—until this spring, when state lawmakers passed the law responding to the Cruz life sentence. DeSantis, who championed the change to a lower standard, signed the legislation on April 20.

The change is affecting Death Row inmates preparing for resentencings because of the Hurst decision. The unanimous standard was in place when the resentencings were ordered, leading their attorneys to argue it should continue to apply in the cases.

The new law also is having an impact on cases involving defendants accused of committing murders before DeSantis signed the law. Their attorneys also maintain the 8-4 threshold should not apply retroactively.

“Here we go again, with changes of laws that create different categories of people that are being treated very differently, which has to be a violation of the Constitution. And then, we’re looking at the overreach or the overstep as a result of very emotional, traumatized community and the play of politics in the death penalty, which is just horrifying, but we know it’s very political,” Hannah Gorman, a professor who is director of The Balanced

Justice Project at Florida International University’s College of Law, said in an interview.

The dispute over applying the 8-4 standard, in part, involves what is known as the “ex post facto” clause in the state and federal constitutions.

Defense attorneys contend that applying the new standard to cases initiated before April 20 would violate the ex post facto clause because the standard represents a substantive change in the judicial process.

Prosecutors, however, maintain that the lower threshold amounts to a “procedural” change and therefore should apply in such cases.

Judges—including in the same judicial circuit—are divided on the issue.

In the 10th Judicial Circuit, Judge Kevin Abdoney last month rejected prosecutors’ request to apply the 8-4 standard in the sentencing of Bryan James Riley, who was charged with four counts of first-degree murder in September 2021.

Abdoney, a Polk County-based judge, found that the new law “moved the goalposts” on the state’s death-penalty process.

“In the same stroke of the pen, the Legislature has reduced friction on the path toward death while increasing it on that toward life. As a result, the risk to a defendant confronted with the possibility of being executed that he will actually meet such an end is greater now than before. Shouldering the defendant with such increased risk not present at the time he allegedly committed his crimes substantially implicates ex post facto concerns,” Abdoney wrote in a July 12 ruling.

But three weeks earlier in the same circuit, Judge Angela Cowden ruled that the 8-4 standard should be used in the sentencing of Zephan Xaver, who was accused of killing five women during a bank robbery in 2019.

“In defendant’s (Xaver’s) case, the change in the law has increased his chances of receiving the maximum sentence he already faced; however, it has not ‘change(d) the punishment, (or) ‘inflict(ed) a greater punishment, than the law annexed to the crime, when committed,’” Cowden, who is based in Highlands County, wrote on June 26, partially quoting a legal precedent.

Both judges’ analyses were rooted in prior court rulings on the ex post facto issue.

As circuit judges grapple with which standard should apply, a number of appeals have made it to the Florida Supreme Court. But a “lead” case—if there will be one—has not emerged.

Lawyers for Attorney General Ashley Moody argue that the new law should apply to “all defendants whose penalty phases” will occur after April 20.

A Supreme Court case drawing attention is the appeal of Leonard Gonzalez, a Death Row inmate ordered to be resentenced following the Hurst decision. Gonzalez, who was convicted in the 2011 murders of an Escambia County couple, is appealing a circuit judge’s ruling that called for the 8-4 standard in resentencing.

Gonzalez’s case includes a number of twists, with Moody’s lawyers initially asking justices to weigh in on the retroactivity issue.

“Capital trials and Hurst resentencings are being stayed and delayed awaiting guidance from this (Supreme) Court regarding the constitutionality and proper application of the recently amended death penalty statute. This court should address these issues as quickly as possible to prevent any further delays,” Charmaine Millsaps, a senior assistant attorney general, wrote in a brief filed June 19.

But just weeks later, another one of Moody’s lawyers filed a motion asking the Supreme Court to dismiss the case, arguing that Gonzalez’s appeal raised issues “best addressed in a post-trial direct appeal.”

The court rejected the state’s request, and the case remains pending.

Melanie Kalmanson, an attorney who publishes the Tracking Florida’s Death Penalty blog, pointed to the state’s filings in the Gonzalez case to demonstrate what she called “widespread chaos” in the deathpenalty system.

“There’s some indication that even the state is not sure how they want to address the litigation about the new statute,” she said.

FLORIDA NEWS SERVICE BRIEFS

CITIZENS INSURANCE TOPS 1.37M POLICIES

The state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. added more than 7,700 policies last week, as its total climbed above 1.37 million policies, according to information posted Tuesday on its website.

Citizens had 1,371,324 policies as of Friday, up from 1,363,606 a week earlier and 1,353,786 policies two weeks earlier. Citizens President and CEO Tim Cerio has said the policy count could reach 1.7 million by the

end of the year.

Citizens, which was created as an insurer of last resort, has seen massive growth over the past three years as private insurers have shed policies and raised rates because of financial problems. As an illustration of the growth, Citizens had 486,773 policies on July 31, 2020; 661,150 policies on July 31, 2021; and 994,456 policies on July 31, 2022.

GILZEAN LEAVES ETHICS COMMISSION

Glen Gilzean stepped down Tuesday as chairman of the Florida Commission on Ethics, while maintaining his $400,0000-a-year job as administrator of a revamped special district that includes Walt Disney World properties.

In a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, Gilzean said after reviewing the matter with legal counsel, “prudence dictates that I discontinue serving in one of the two positions. Therefore, I respectfully tender my resignation from the Florida Commission on Ethics, effective immediately.”

Last week, commission lawyer Steve Zuilkowski wrote it would be “inconsistent” with state law for Gilzean to maintain his position as administrator of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District while serving on the commission. Gilzean had requested an opinion on holding the dual positions through

the June 2024 end of his term on the commission. Gilzean was first appointed to an unpaid seat on the commission in 2019 and was reappointed by DeSantis in 2022.

In May, Gilzean was appointed as administrator of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The move came after lawmakers and DeSantis replaced the former Reedy Creek Improvement District with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The former Reedy Creek district was created in the 1960s and was closely tied to Disney. But it was replaced after DeSantis and Disney clashed about the company’s opposition to a 2022 law that restricts instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida schools. The Ethics Commission next meets on Sept. 8. Former Senate President Don Gaetz has been vice chairman of the commission.

BILL SEEKS MINIMUM $65K TEACHER PAY

AHouse Democrat on Tuesday filed a bill for the 2024 legislative session that seeks to raise teachers’ minimum base salaries to $65,000. Rep. Tae Edmonds, D-West Palm Beach, filed the proposal (HB 13), dubbed the “Save Our Teachers Act.”

The measure comes after the Legislature since 2020 has provided more than $3 billion to an effort to raise educators’ minimum salaries to $47,500. Edmonds’ proposal would

put Florida’s minimum teacher salaries above the median teacher pay nationally, according to the most-recent available data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The data, last published in 2021, said median pay was $61,350 for elementary school teachers, $61,320 for middle school teachers and $61,820 for high-school teachers. The 2024 session is slated to start Jan. 9.

GOP VOTER EDGE TOPS 568,000

The Republican Party of Florida continued in July to expand its lead in registered voters. Data posted Tuesday on the state Division of Elections website showed the GOP with 5,244,138 registered voters as of July 31, while the Florida Democratic Party had 4,676,087. That 568,051-voter lead compared to a 541,798-voter advantage at the end of June and a 496,150-voter edge at the end of May. The new data showed the

state had 3,861,950 voters registered without party affiliations as of July 31 and 292,355 voters registered with third parties.

Democrats historically held a registration edge in the state, but Republicans overtook them in 2021 and have steadily expanded the lead. Republicans hold all statewide offices, a majority in Florida’s congressional delegation and supermajorities in the Florida House and Senate.

GAS PRICES UP, COULD GO HIGHER

Gasoline prices dipped over the weekend, but not enough to offset a surge earlier in the week. Meanwhile, because of issues such as a series of storms in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, higher prices at the pump could be on the horizon. The AAA auto club said the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas Monday in Florida was $3.81, up 8 cents from a week earlier.

“The volatility in prices at the pump will likely continue throughout the next couple of months, now that the tropics are beginning to heat up,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said in a prepared statement.

“Pump prices typically increase if a tropical system threatens refineries along the Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi coastlines. These refineries are the primary supplier of gasoline for Florida. The extent of the price hike varies, depending on the severity of the storm and extent of any damages sustained by the refineries or supply chain.”

Florida’s average price Monday was 33 cents a gallon higher than a month earlier and 27 cents more than a year ago. The national average of $3.87 a gallon on Monday was 28 cents more than a month ago but 3 cents less than a year ago.

People, Places & Things

By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com

Karen Puracan’s love of the fiber arts goes back to her childhood visits to her grandmother’s house in Battle Creek, Michigan.

“Whenever we would go over to see Grandma on the weekends, she would be crocheting something,” Puracan reminisced.

These days, the Ocalabased fiber artist, naturalist, educator and historic preservationist deals with one of adult life’s most arduous undertakings as a caregiver for her mother.

Weaving on her own or with others gives Puracan solace and a social outlet.

“These are crafts that go back hundreds and thousands of years,” Puracan expressed with pride and reverence.

“Spinning goes back to Old Testament times and before, from 5,000 to 6,000 years ago—and that’s just spinning and weaving.”

Although crafting rugs, clothing and crocheted items is no longer necessary for survival, Puracan maintains that the tradition of fiber arts is a way to celebrate history, work with one’s hands and engender a sense of community.

She conducts demonstrations in pioneer dress at local festivals and at the Barberville Pioneer Settlement, a village of preserved historic buildings constructed around two centuries ago, located at 1776 Lightfoot Lane, Barberville (a block off State Road 40 in Volusia County).

Puracan also formed the Schoolhouse Fiber Guild, which meets from 1-3 p.m. on the third Saturday of every month in the schoolhouse at the settlement. You don’t have to be a member to attend, but you must pay the admission fee to the settlement.

The guild officially gathered for their first meetup on May 21 this year. “I think 20 chairs were set up initially, but we had to get more out!” Puracan posted on her Facebook page.

“All sorts of artisans showed up—some spinners, a weaver, knitters, crocheters, basketry people, a talented felter and even a tatter!” (Tatting, by the way, involves crafting with knots and loops to make lace edging, doilies, collars, earrings, necklaces, and other decorative pieces.”

“We’ve got teenagers on up to senior citizens,” Puracan said of the group’s age range. “One of our two teenagers has her fingers in several crafts. … We’ve also got professionals, retirees, a really good mix of people. A really nice cross-section.”

Later on, life took Puracan in new directions. She attended Silliman University in the Philippines, received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 1993, and met her husband in the Pacific Island nation. They share a daughter who is about to start college.

The Puracan family moved to Ocala from Michigan in 2010. Since then, Karen worked at the Discovery Science Center and at the ranger station at Silver Springs State Park.

Her love of spinning arose from “the dusty corners” of her brain.

“Growing up as a little girl, I’ve always been fascinated with a spinning wheel, Just the pictures of a spinning wheel would sound off something in the back of my head, and I’d think, ‘Oh, I would love to learn how to use a spinning wheel,’” she said.

In 2013, while teaching a Florida Master Naturalist class, her dream would be realized.

“I was the instructor and I had about, oh, a dozen or so students, adult students, and we had to have an icebreaker every meeting,”

Puracan brought up a discussion question: “If time and money were no obstacle and you could learn anything in the world, what would it be? What would you like to do?”

When it was her turn, Puracan blurted out. “I want to learn to use a spinning wheel!’” She said it without forethought as if possessed by a ghost from the past.

At the following week’s class meeting, a spinning wheel appeared.

“One of the students had a spinning wheel that she gave up on,” Puracan recounted. “She told me, ‘I don’t have the time, I don’t have the patience, I don’t have the skill level to do this here—take it.’”

Puracan’s spinning skills didn’t develop overnight, and her wheel stood neglected for a few years, but the opportunity to learn how to spin from an expert, like the wheel, was serendipitous. While conducting a quilting demonstration during the annual Ocali Country Days at the Silver River Museum & Environmental Education Center inside Silver Springs State Park in 2016, she overheard some passersby mention a woman on the spinning wheel.

“My ears perked right up,” Puracan recalled with zeal. “I abandoned my post right then and there and hightailed it over to the cabin, where there was this older lady, Annie Stumpf, who was spinning away on the most beautiful spinning wheel I’d ever seen. I asked her, ‘If I bring my spinning wheel tomorrow, will you teach me?’ And she said yes.”

Sadly, Puracan never saw Stumpf after that, but she followed her advice to “spin every day for one hour, for one year, rain or shine.”

Now, Puracan makes shawls, socks, blankets and just about anything that can be woven, stitched or knitted by hand.

“I now do demos all over this part of Florida, and have my own yarn shop,” Puracan shared. “Just goes to show how far taking a few moments of one’s time to teach someone something can go.”

For more information on the Schoolhouse Fiber Guild or the Barberville Pioneer Settlement, call (386) 749-2959 or visit pioneersettlement.org.

A new guild and its intrepid founder keep old handmade traditions alive.

Karen Puracan gives a spinning demonstration at the Celebration of Olde Florida on June 3, 2023. [Julie Garisto]

Puracan sells natural wool fibers for spinning at her craft shop in the Barberville Pioneer Settlement.

[Julie Garisto]

“These are crafts that go back hundreds and thousands of years. Spinning goes back to Old Testament times and before, from 5,000 to 6,000 years ago— and that’s just spinning and weaving.”

Karen

Puracan

Karen Puracan calls these her “little Owlie socks,“ knitted with wool from local Florida Cracker sheep at Silver Bullet Farm in Citra. [Supplied]

Karen Puracan created this 100% handspun shawl that’s blue, dark brown hand-dyed. [Supplied]

Scientists create 3D models of freshwater mussels to help save them from extinction

mammals and birds. But years of widespread pollution, overharvesting and dam construction have imperiled freshwater mussel populations.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which promotes mussel restoration in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, plans to use the 3D-printed shells to educate community members and galvanize support for mussel restoration.

“Freshwater mussels provide incredible benefits for water quality and habitat, yet many people know very little about these hidden heroes of rivers and streams,” said Chesapeake Bay Foundation senior scientist Joe Wood. “Raising awareness is key. Giving someone the opportunity to hold a lifelike mussel shell in their hand is an important step towards protecting and restoring freshwater mussel populations.”

Given their importance and current plight, state and federal agencies have placed a strong emphasis on evaluating mussel populations and establishing regulations to safeguard species at risk of extinction. Before agencies can take stock of mussel diversity, staff members must first know how to distinguish among species, a skill they develop by observing live specimens or training with reference shells.

As mussel populations decline, however, reference specimens become increasingly harder to come by. For the rarest species, the only available shells are stored in museums, where they are carefully curated and seldom handled, which makes them unsuitable for training.

of shared features in these photographs and converts them to points in 3D space. The software connects these points to form a mesh, which it fills with imagery from the photographs. Having more photos results in a greater degree of fidelity in the final model, but it also requires a substantially longer amount of time to complete.

“Photogrammetry models can be composed of hundreds to thousands of digital photographs and can be very time-intensive,” Randall said.

To speed up the process, Randall custom-built a photogrammetry rig consisting of three cameras and capable of simultaneously photographing from multiple angles.

The specimens are placed on an automated turntable inside a lightbox, and photographs are taken at programmed intervals while the specimen incrementally rotates. The specimen is then flipped, so the bottom half can be imaged, and full 360-degree coverage can be captured.

It generally takes 30 minutes to completely photograph a specimen using traditional methods. The unique photogrammetry rig at the Florida Museum can take up to 432 images in 10 minutes, and an individual specimen can be entirely photographed from all angles in as much time or less.

By Jerald Pinson

Florida Museum of Natural History

Scientists and imaging specialists have teamed up to help save one of the world’s most endangered groups of animals: freshwater mussels. With funding provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center, imaging experts will create 3D shell models based on specimens from the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.

Once complete, the models will be available online for free to educate the public about these amazing, yet littleknown, creatures that dwell in rivers and streams across the United States.

“The U.S. is a globally important hot spot of freshwater mussel biodiversity,” said John Pfeiffer, curator of bivalves at the Smithsonian Institution. “Many of the country’s freshwater mussels are at risk of extinction. Roughly one out of every three species are protected under the Endangered Species Act, and another 30 species are thought to have recently gone extinct.”

The main idea for the project, Pfeiffer said, is to put rare species directly into the hands of biologists attempting to protect them. The National Conservation Training Center will create 3D prints of the shells to enhance its freshwater mussel identification course, which it offers to conservation professionals across the country. The digital models will also form the basis of an online course, allowing participants to virtually inspect specimens and learn to distinguish their characteristics.

“This project is very exciting because it provides opportunities to teach field biologists and the public how to identify all of the freshwater mussel species native to the United States, including the nearly 100 species listed as threatened and endangered,” said Matthew Patterson, course leader with the Service’s National Conservation Training Center. “And all of this is happening in 2023 as the Endangered Species Act is turning 50 years old.”

Mussels are essential to the health of streams and rivers. They filter algae, excess nutrients and heavy metals from their surroundings and stabilize streambeds by forming dense colonies. They’re also an important source of food for other animals, including fish,

“Some of the specimens are incredibly rare or delicate, and it’s next to impossible to have a comprehensive reference collection to help train people,” Pfeiffer said. “So instead, we came up with the idea to create a digital 3D library that improves access to specimens by putting all U.S. species directly at your fingertips.”

Researchers will use a method called photogrammetry to stitch multiple photographs of a single specimen into a 3D composite.

“The use of photogrammetry has been prominent in cultural heritage studies for a long time, and the biological sciences have recently hopped on the bandwagon, realizing the power it has to visualize a specimen’s external features and color in 3D. That’s what this method really excels at,” said Zachary Randall, biological scientist and manager of the Florida Museum’s digital imaging division.

The Florida Museum operates one of the fastest and most efficient photogrammetry rigs currently in use. Transforming two-dimensional photographs of a specimen into a three-dimensional model requires that every external feature be imaged at multiple, precise angles. Automated software then triangulates the location

Specimens will be photographed and digitized at the museum, after which the scans will be uploaded to MorphoSource, an online digital repository that allows users to access free 3D models. Several mussel specimens have already been digitized and can be downloaded and printed by users.

The Florida Museum received $29,946 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support freshwater mussel training, with an additional $5,500 awarded from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation will educate the public about mussels using 3D-printed models. The 3D models of mussels native to the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the foundation’s mussel outreach work are supported by Chesapeake WILD funding administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. This is one of the first projects supported by the Chesapeake WILD program, established by Congress in 2020 to aid restoration efforts in the Chesapeake watershed.

The Florida Museum of Natural History, located on the University of Florida campus, is home to more than 40 million specimens and artifacts in one of the nation’s largest natural history collections. To learn more, go to floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science

The National Conservation Training Center will use 3D prints of freshwater mussel shells, such as the reconstruction of a fat threeridge (Amblema neislerii) shown here, to train biologists and conservationists. [Florida Museum photo by Zachary Randall]

Clockwise from left: Freshwater mussels are essential for the health of many freshwater ecosystems, but widespread damming and pollution has cratered their population numbers. Without the ability to swim, freshwater mussels rely on fish to transport their larvae upstream. First, however, they have to convince a fish to get close enough for the larvae to attach, a feat they accomplish with elaborately disguised lures. Mussels have distinct shapes, colors and banding patterns that, to the trained eye, can be used to distinguish different species, such as the northern riffleshell (Epioblasma rangiana) and clubshell (Pleurobema clava) mussels shown here. [Photos by Ryan Hagerty, CC0]

Florida Museum imaging technician Sydney Stanley positions a shell on an automated turntable, which incrementally rotates specimens as they’re photographed by a tiered system of three cameras. [Florida Museum photo by Zachary Randall]

After a specimen has been completely photographed from all angles, the images are stitched together into a complete 3D reconstruction of the original object. [Florida Museum photo by Zachary Randall]

Work continues on new RV campground at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion

Staff report

As heavy machinery continues to work on a new RV Campground project at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion (SELP) at 2232 NE Jacksonville Road in Ocala, we checked in with county officials for an update.

Sara Lambert, the community engagement coordinator for the parks and recreation department, responded to our questions:

What is this project? “The RV Campground is part of phase three of the Livestock Pavilion’s Master Plan. It is to provide additional accommodations for those attending events at the pavilion.”

How will it supplement the current campus? “The campground will provide the pavilion with 66 RV sites that are fully outfitted with water, sewer, power, and broadband.”

When is it projected to be finished? “The project is scheduled to be completed in the Spring of 2024.”

How is it being funded? “$1 million of the project is grant funded through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; additional funding is provided by the county.”

The SELP includes a covered arena, grandstand seating, a sales auditorium with theater-style seating, and 226 stalls with iron gates. A rental area can be used for field events, exhibitions, open-air receptions, and picnics. The pavilion has showers and electric hookups, and a paved parking lot that holds 1,000 vehicles. Marion County Parks and Recreation manages the SELP, which is jointly owned by the Marion County Board of County Commissioners and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

To learn more about the SELP, including numerous events held there, go to selp.marionfl.org

Current Adoption

Specials:

“Ocala Gazette” regularly brings you three furry friends that are available for adoption from local animal rescue organizations.

Bronco

In another life, Bronco may have been a horse. This five-year-old, big boy can probably carry his own luggage to his new home…maybe yours?

Tootsie

Tootsie wishes no one would notice her. This shy, nine-week-old kitten would rather look away than seek your affection. We’re seeking a tenderhearted person to help this little angel grow into a confident, little lady!

Adoptions are FREE this month in honor of National Clear the Shelters Month!

#ClearTheShelters

This includes county license, spay/neuter surgeries, microchip, and up-to-date vaccinations. Visit MarionFL.org/Animal

Tipsy

This long-legged supermodel is Tipsy. She’s a four-year-old girl who is seeking a person with a fun lifestyle. She is ideal for someone who’d like to do dog sports, go for hikes, or anything active. She’s ready to embrace the world!

Bird of the Week

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.

By Michael Warren

This “new world sparrow” is most commonly found foraging in the underbrush of our scrub forests, and sometimes perching in low branches. The towhees in Florida and Georgia have a yellow eye, giving them a fierce look, while those in the rest of the Southeastern U.S. have a red eye. While walking local trails through scrub forests, listen for a song that sounds something like “Drink your tea!” or a bright call that sounds like “Chewink!”

Eastern towhee [MichaelWarren.com]

AUGUST 25

Seniors Learners, Inc. Kick Off Party College Of Central Florida, 3001 SW College Road, Building 20, Room 107, Ocala

1:30-3:30pm

The local nonprofit organization’s event will include introductions to fall term instructors, full descriptions of class offerings and refreshments. The event can also be viewed on Zoom. To register, email info@seniorlearners.org

AUGUST 25

Friday Foodie Fest

Lake Lillian Park, Belleview

5pm-9pm

The event includes food trucks, live music, kids’ crafts and activities, face painting and local vendors. It is held the fourth Friday of each month, January through September. For more info, see ocalamarion.com or belleviewfl.org

AUGUST 25-DECEMBER 15

Coffee and English

Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place, 1821 NW 21st Ave., Ocala

5:30pm-7pm

Join the English Language Learners (ELL) group each week as they practice and improve their English in a fun, relaxed environment. This is a great opportunity to improve upon a second language while building new relationships. See ocalafl.gov/recpark for more info.

AUGUST 25 & SEPTEMBER 2

Marion County Friday Market

McPherson Governmental Campus Field, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala

9am-2pm

Shop locally fresh fruits and veggies, baked goods, jerky, freeze-dried treats, olive oils, seafood and more; recurs every Friday.

AUGUST 25-27 & SEPTEMBER 1-3

Market of Marion Market of Marion, 12888 SE US Highway 441, Belleview

8am-4pm

A classic farmer’s market with lots of vendors. Open every weekend, with monthly special events like car shows on the fourth Saturday. See themarketofmarion.com

AUGUST 26

Wild Waters Splash and Dash

Tuscawilla Art Park, 829 NE Sanchez Ave., Ocala

10am-2pm

This race benefits the Magnolia Art Xchange and offers a walk/run through Tuscawilla Park near downtown. Donation is $25 to enter the race, which comes with a T-shirt and access to activities after the run. For more info, info.maxocala@gmail.com

AUGUST 26 & SEPTEMBER 2

Yoga in the Park

Sholom Park, 7110 SW 80th Ave., Ocala

9am Free yoga classes at this mellow park have started up again. Meet at the stage area. Recurs every Saturday. Visit sholompark.org for details.

AUGUST 26 & SEPTEMBER 2

Ocala Downtown Farmers Market

Ocala Downtown Market, 310 SE Third St., Ocala

9am-2pm

Vendors offer local fruits and vegetables, meats and seafood, fresh pasta, honey, jewelry, baked goodies, clothes, and arts and crafts. Check out local food trucks and the occasional guest entertainer. Rain or shine; recurs every Saturday. Visit ocaladowntownmarket.com for more info.

critters & equine

AUGUST 25-27

Ocala August Dressage

World Equestrian Center Ocala, Arenas 1, 2 & 4, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala

8am-4pm

The elegance of dressage is on display. Food and drink options onsite; some events have a parking fee. See worldequestriancenter.com for more info.

AUGUST 26 & SEPTEMBER 2

Summer Sunset Polo Florida Horse Park, 11008 South Highway 475, Ocala

6pm

The summer polo season continues. Free to the public. Tailgate next to the polo field and enjoy a unique evening out. Saturday evenings through September, as weather allows. Check out ocalapolo.com for more info.

AUGUST 28

civic

AUGUST 25 & SEPTEMBER 1

South Ocala Chess Club at Freedom Library Freedom Public Library, 5870 SW 95th St., Ocala 10am-12pm Meets weekly on Fridays; new members welcome. Please bring your own chess set. For more info, Walt Lamp at (352) 854-9378.

AUGUST 26 & SEPTEMBER 2

Farmers Swap Meet Rural King, 2999 NW 10th St., Ocala

9am-2pm

A true farmers market where chickens, ducks, quail, geese, goats, turkeys, rabbits and sometimes even ponies are available, along with horse tack, homegrown plants, produce and hand-crafted items. Saturdays, weather permitting.

AUGUST 27 & 29

Ocala Downtown Farmers Market

Special Events

Ocala Downtown Market, 310 SE Third St., Ocala

6pm

The Ocala Dog Ranch hosts an obedience school on Tuesday nights. The Woofstock Holiday Market is on Sunday, Aug. 27. See facebook.com/ ocaladowntownmarket for more info.

AUGUST 31

OTOW Farmers Market

The Town Square at Circle Square Commons, 8413 SW 80th St., Ocala

9am-1pm

Fresh seasonal produce from local growers as well as baked goods, plants, handmade soaps and more. Recurs every Thursday. Visit circlesquarecommons.com for more info.

AUGUST 31

International Overdose Awareness Day

Downtown Square, 1 SE Broadway St., Ocala

5pm-8pm

The Opioid and Addiction Task Force, Marion County Children’s Alliance, CCASA and Picking

Up the Pieces host this event on the square to celebrate the lives of those lost to overdose and addiction. Food trucks Café Rouge Express, K & M, Ice Ice Dreyton and speakers are planned, along with an “empty chair” exhibit. Names can be added to the chair as it travels. For more info, pickingupthepieces2020@gmail.com

AUGUST 31

Strategic Community Alliance Meeting

Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place, 1812 NW 21st Ave., Ocala

6pm

The Strategic Community Alliance is a local nonprofit organization working with community members to develop a strategic plan for the Black community in Marion County. All citizens, regardless of race, ethnicity, etc., are welcome to attend. Contact Cain Davis at (352) 871-4555 or caindavis03@yahoo.com, or visit scacommunities.org.

SEPTEMBER 1

First Friday Art Walk

Ocala Downtown Square, 1 SE Broadway St., Ocala

6pm-9pm

This week kicks off the Art Walk season. Each event features artists, performers and craftspeople. The square’s main stage hosts musical acts. Food and drinks are available from restaurants and vendors. Free to attend. For more info, ocalafl.org

SEPTEMBER 2

Twilight Cruisers of Belleview Car Show

Kent Furniture Centers, 10651 SE US 441, Belleview 5pm

This is a free car show/cruise-in that promotes the “classic autos of yesterday” and accepts food donations for the Interfaith Emergency Services charities. Recurs the first Saturday of each month. See twilightcruisersflorida.com for info.

SEPTEMBER 2

Florida Horse Park Invitational

Florida Horse Park, 11008 South Highway 475, Ocala

All day The Florida High School Athletic Association Cross Country Meet will take place, with more than 1,200 student athletes competing. See flhorsepark.com for more info.

AUGUST 27

Pack Walk Silver Springs State Park, 5656 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

9am-10:30am

Help Marion County Animal Shelter dogs get out and about by helping staffers walk homeless dogs. Park entry is $2. Recurs monthly on the fourth Sunday. For more info, animalservices.marionfl.org

AUGUST 30

Wildlife Wednesdays

Heritage Nature Conservancy, 2005 NE Third St., Ocala 5pm-6pm Free to attend. This is a great way to learn about native animals and their distinct habitats. For more info, ocalafl.gov/recpark

AUGUST 28

SEPTEMBER 1-2

Ocala Shrine Rodeo Southeastern Livestock Pavilion, 2200 NE Jacksonville Road, Ocala Gates open 5:30 pm; event at 7:30pm Classic rodeo events include team roping, steer wrestling, bull riding, barrel racing and bronc riding. Concessions are available onsite. This is a fundraiser is for the Shriners Hospital for Children and local youth organizations. Tickets are $25 at the gate. Check out ocalashrinerodeo.com for more info.

SEPTEMBER 2-3

Haz Othman Dog Training Seminar

World Equestrian Center Ocala, Arena 3, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 9am-6pm

Marion County Planning & Zoning Meeting

McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala 5:30pm Meets the fourth Monday of the month; agendas, minutes and video available from ocala.legistar.com/calendar.aspx

AUGUST 25 & SEPTEMBER 1

Kiwanis Club of Ocala Central Christian Church, 3010 NE 14th St., Ocala 12pm Meets weekly on Fridays. Supports Camp Kiwanis, children’s literacy and Habitat for Humanity. More info at ocalakiwanis.org

AUGUST 30

A hands-on training and educational seminar for you and your dog from a trainer with a security background. Tickets are $150 for audit privileges to watch, and $300 for working with your dog in classes. Note: Bring a crate for your dog for use during non-class time. See worldequestriancenter.com for more info.

City of Ocala Affordable Housing Advisory Committee City Hall, 110 SE Watula Avenue, Ocala 1pm Agendas, minutes and video available from ocala.legistar.com/ calendar.aspx

AUGUST 26 & SEPTEMBER 2

Ocala Chess Club at Headquarters Library Headquarters Library, 2720 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 11am-3pm Meets weekly on Saturdays; new members welcome. Please bring your own chess set. For more info, facebook.com/groups/53070499106

AUGUST 31

Ocala Lions Club Ocala Golf Club, 3130 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 12pm The Ocala Lions Club meets every Thursday. Newcomer’s welcome. Call Membership Chairperson, Libby Marks de Martino, (352) 441-0073.

arts

AUGUST 25

Fall Down Funny Comedy Show

Ocala Shrine Club, 4301 SE Maricamp Road, Ocala

7pm Gregory Allison, Tom Craft, David Jo Jolly, Ash Cash and Cody Z are scheduled to appear. Tickets are $15 at the door. Note: This is an 18+ event. See facebook.com/ocalashriners for more info.

AUGUST 25

Atlantic City Boys

Circle Square Cultural Center, 8395 SW 80th St., Ocala

7pm With their stellar harmonies and spot-on renditions of songs from the ‘60s and more, the four singers of the Atlantic City Boys sing the big hits from The Drifters, The Beach Boys, Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons. Tickets are $33-$38. See csculturalcenter.com for tickets and more info.

AUGUST 25

“The Gap Between Art and Life”

Reception

CF Webber Gallery, 3001 SW College Road, Ocala

5pm

Eight new pieces were selected for this exhibit, with works from four different installation artists from all over the US. The exhibit will be on display 10am – 4pm through Sept. 7. For more info, cf.edu/webber

AUGUST 26

Equity and Elle: “Legally Blonde”

Marion Theatre, 50 S. Magnolia Ave., Ocala

7pm

The Junior League celebrates Women’s Equality Day with a special showing of “Legally Blonde.”

Bring a donation of a package of diapers and get a free drink. Pink power suits are encouraged. Tickets are $10. See reaillyartscenter.com for more info.

& &music nightlife

AUGUST 25

Food Truck Friday with Ampli-Fires

Circle Square at OTOW 8413 SW 80th St., Ocala 7pm

AUGUST 25

Shifting Gears

Charlie Horse 2426 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

7pm

AUGUST 25

Fareeza

Crazy Cucumber Market Street at Heath Brook, 4414 SW College Road, Ocala

6:30pm

AUGUST 25

John Johnson Homestead Park 1050 NE 6th Blvd., Williston 7pm

AUGUST 25

KennaDee District Bar & Kitchen 110 SW Broadway St., Ocala 6pm-9pm

AUGUST 26

Clark Barrios Band Circle Square at OTOW 8413 SW 80th St., Ocala

7pm

AUGUST 26

R-Style

Charlie Horse

2426 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm

AUGUST 26

Bryce Carlisle & Jamie King

Homestead Park

1050 NE 6th Blvd., Williston 6pm

AUGUST 27

John Johnson Crazy Cucumber Market Street at Heath Brook, 4414 SW College Road, Ocala 1pm

SEPTEMBER 1

Marion County Line Homestead Park 1050 NE 6th Blvd., Williston 7pm

SEPTEMBER 2

DJ Rae Bae Homestead Park 1050 NE 6th Blvd., Williston 6pm

AUGUST 29/30-SEPTEMBER 5/6

Regal Summer Movie Express

Regal Hollywood Theaters, 2801 SW 27th Ave., Ocala

10am Tickets are $2. Movies include “How To Train Your Dragon 3D,” “Abominable” and “The Croods: A New Age.” For more info, bit.ly/43k01DC

AUGUST 30

Painting for Veterans

Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place, 1821 NW 21st Ave., Ocala

6pm-8pm

These free art workshops on Wednesdays are hosted by the Arts in Health Ocala Metro group and veteran Aaron Thomas. Beginners are welcome and supplies are included. Register at ocalafl.gov/recpark

AUGUST 31

Coffee and Cake

NOMA Art Gallery, 939 N. Magnolia Ave., Ocala

1pm-4pm

These weekly coffee (and cake) klatches bring together gallery guests, artists, patrons, creative types and more. Every Thursday afternoon. All are welcome. See nomaocala.com/events for more info.

SEPTEMBER 1

Richy Stano and Mindwalk

NOMA Black Box Theatre, 500 NE 9th St., Ocala

7:30pm

This jazz ensemble has opened for renowned artists. Tickets are $25 for general admission. A grazing box from Graze & Prosper is $20 if bought by Aug. 30. A VIP table option is available for $175. See reillyartscenter.com for more info.

SEPTEMBER 2

Free First Saturday Appleton Museum, 4337 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

10am-5pm

You can view museum works, regular and special collections, and create art in the interactive Artspace. This month is a screening of “The Thief Collector,” a documentary about an art heist. The Cuban Mambo food truck will be onsite. See appletonmuseum.org for more info.

THROUGH DECEMBER 12

“Patternz” by Kelsey Mahoney

Ocala City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave., Ocala

Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm

The city continues its Art in City Spaces program with this exhibit by emerging artist Kelsey Mahoney. Her abstract work is filled with vibrant colors and mosaic themes. Free to the public. For more info, ocalafl.gov/artincityspaces

THROUGH JANUARY 4

“Bold and Inspired: Native American Regalia” and “Abstract Island Expressions”

Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place, 1821 NW 21st Ave., Ocala Community center hours

Couple Diana and William Lee exhibit work in sideby-side exhibitions, each with its own distinctive style and theme reflecting each artist and their different approaches. The exhibit is part of the Ocala Art in City Spaces program. See ocalaflo.org/ artincityspaces for more info.

THROUGH JANUARY 8

The Beauty of Nature and Recyclable Refuse

Recreation and Parks Administration Building and Adult Activity Center, 828/830 NE Eighth Ave., Ocala 8am-5pm Florida artist Albert Bevilacqua focuses this

exhibit on recyclable items and has turned them into an artistic statement about protecting the environment. Free to the public, this is part of the Art in City Spaces program by the City of Ocala. See ocalafl.gov/artincityspaces for more info.

THROUGH JANUARY 9

Tony A. Blue, American Painter Ocala International Airport, 1770 SW 60th Ave., Ocala Airport hours Blue exhibits includes work in acrylics, mixed media and photographs, and his colorful, abstract paintings are inspired by Florida’s tropical natural landscape. The exhibit is free and open to the public during airport hours. For more info, ocalafl.gov/artincityspaces

THROUGH JANUARY 28

“The Unscene South” by Charles Eady

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

10am-5pm, Tuesday-Saturday

This new exhibit from artist Charles Eady focuses on the daily lives of “free Blacks” from the Civil War era. He is a contemporary mixed-media artist and author. Check out appletonmuseum.org for more info.

THROUGH JANUARY 28

“Caught Up in History and Captured on Film” by Randy Batista

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

10am-5pm, Tuesday-Saturday Batista’s work focuses on Florida and Cuba, two places that had profound impact on the artist. This exhibit features club members of The Spanish Center of Tampa and their daily lives. Check out appletonmuseum.org for more info.

Gasoline Alley

Animal Crackers

Broom Hilda Middletons

CF and Appleton announce photography contest winners

The

Appleton Museum of Art, College of Central Florida, has announces the winners of the ninth annual “Mobile Photography Contest & Exhibition.”

Participants of all ages were invited to submit one photo per category. Throughout the month of July, the Appleton received 519 mobile photos inspired by four categories: Light and Shadow, Pattern, Summer Scenes and My Kid Took That.

“Each year, the Appleton looks forward to this fun community event,” said Victoria Billig, Appleton assistant director, in the news release. “Now

Light and Shadow Category:

First Place, Jason Row, Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Second Place, Jon Barber, iPhone 11 Pro

Third Place, Peter Meyerhoefer, iPhone 13 Pro

in its ninth year, we continue to be impressed by the amazing displays of creativity. It’s truly inspiring to see the unique ways that participants interpret the categories.”

Entries were juried by Jenny Eggers of Jenny E. Photography.

“Jurying the mobile photo contest was eye-opening in the most delightful way,” Eggers said in the release. “There were beautiful technical moments with creative composition, color harmony,

the use of light, etc... But what really impressed me was the storytelling. Many of the images whisked me away!”

All 519 photos will be on view at the museum through Sept. 24. Regular museum admission fees apply to see the exhibition. Visitors can enjoy free admission on Sept. 2 for Free First Saturday. View the winning photos online at AppletonMuseum.org/2023mobile-photography-exhibition.

“We are thankful to those who

2023 Mobile Photography Winners

Pattern Category:

First Place, Rayhan Ahmed, Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro Max

Second Place, Rin Suggs, Motorola Edge 5G UW

Third Place, Dominika Koszowska, Sony Xperia 5 IV

Summer Scenes Category:

First Place, Justin MacDonald, iPhone 11

Second Place, Clarissa Cervantes, iPhone 11

Third Place, Megan Nelson, iPhone 13

participated this year and congratulate all of the winners,” said Kerry Elkins, Appleton Museum specialist in the release. “The contest is a wonderful way to engage the community and share experiences in such a universal way, especially with the Summer Scenes category that saw new views of our own backyard as well as abroad. The Appleton invites the participants and visitors alike to see the Mobile Photography exhibition.”

My Kid Took That Category:

First Place, Mary Clare, Age 8, iPhone 12

Second Place, Marcus von Rosenberg, iPhone 13

Third Place, Amira, Age 6, Galaxy S22+

ANSWERS FOR PAGE B4

Sudoku

Jumble

Crossword

GABBY

STOOD

WETTER

INFANT

When the grizzly returned empty handed, he was the -“BEAR” OF BAD NEWS

The Appleton Museum, Artspace and Store, at 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, are open 10

and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call (352) 291-4455 or visit appletonmuseum.org.

Light and Shadow Category First Place, Jason Row, Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

Pattern Category First Place, Rayhan Ahmed, Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro Max

Summer Scenes Category First Place, Justin MacDonald, iPhone 11 My Kid Took That Category First Place, Mary Clare, Age 8, iPhone 12

NOTICE

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

IN RE: THE ESTATE OF NORMAN EUGENE HILL, Deceased.

CASE NO: 2023-CP-1962 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: March 14, 2023

The date of first publication of this Notice is August 18, 2023.

Attorney for Personal Representative:

JOSHUA L. MOSES

Richard & Moses, LLC

Florida Bar No. 119304

808 E Fort King Street

Ocala, FL 34471

(352) 369-1300

Primary Email: Josh@RMProbate.com

Personal Representative: DEBORAH HAWTHORNE

7800 Mirror Rock Lane

Denton, TX 76210

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

IN RE: THE ESTATE OF EUGENE MAURICE HILL, Deceased.

CASE NO: 2023-CP-1854

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: July 10, 2023. The date of first publication of this Notice is August 18, 2023.

Attorney for Personal Representative:

JOSHUA L. MOSES

Richard & Moses, LLC

Florida Bar No. 119304

808 E Fort King Street

Ocala, FL 34471

(352) 369-1300

Primary Email: Josh@RMProbate.com

Personal Representative:

JOANNE BROOKS 15903 Chippenham Terrace Upper Marlboro, MD 20774

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

IN RE: THE ESTATE OF ANTOINETTE MOHR, Deceased.

CASE NO: 2023-CP-1929

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 4, 2023. The date of first publication of this Notice is August 18, 2023

Attorney for Personal Representative:

JOSHUA L. MOSES Richard & Moses, LLC Florida Bar No. 119304 808 E Fort King Street Ocala, FL 34471 (352) 369-1300

Primary Email: Josh@RMProbate.com

Personal Representative: VIVIAN EDWARDS P.O. Box 211 Orange Lake, FL 32681

NOTICE OF RULE MAKING

NAME OF AGENCY: The School Board of

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

IN RE: THE ESTATE OF JOSEPH MANZELLA, Deceased.

CASE NO: 2023-CP-1999 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: July 6, 2023. The date of first publication of this Notice is August 25, 2023.

Attorney for Personal Representative: JOSHUA L. MOSES Richard & Moses, LLC Florida Bar No. 119304 808 E Fort King Street Ocala, FL 34471 (352) 369-1300 Primary Email: Josh@RMProbate.com

Personal Representative: DANETTE TIPTON 10840 NE 47th Avenue Anthony, FL 32617

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

IN RE: THE ESTATE OF SHIRLEY R. CHAMBERS, Deceased.

CASE NO: 2023-CP-1884 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: June 18, 2023. The date of first publication of this Notice is August 18, 2023.

Attorney for Personal Representative: JOSHUA L. MOSES Richard & Moses, LLC Florida Bar No. 119304 808 E Fort King Street Ocala, FL 34471 (352) 369-1300 Primary Email: Josh@RMProbate.com

Personal Representative: MARIA CHRISTINE NELSON 21 Pine Trace Ocala, FL 34472

NOTICE OF SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

Notice is hereby given that the School Board of Marion County, Florida, will meet on Thursday, September 8, 2023, at 5:01 p.m., at the School Board Administration Office, 1614 E. Fort King Street, Ocala, Florida 34471. An agenda will be published seven days prior to the meeting. The agenda may be obtained at the Administration Office between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The agenda is also available from a link on the District’s website: www.marion.k12.fl.us.

Persons wishing to address the Board should register with the Chairman prior to 4:50 p.m.

Any person deciding to appeal any decision made by the Board at the meeting will need a record of the proceedings, and, for such purpose, may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence on which the appeal is to be based.

BOARD MEETING

Notice is hereby given that the School Board of Marion County, Florida, will meet on Friday, September 1, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. at the School Board Administration Office, 1614 E. Ft. King Street, Ocala, Florida, 34471. An agenda will be published seven days prior to the meeting. The agenda may be obtained at the Administration Office between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The agenda is also available from a link on the District’s website: www.marion.k12.fl.us.

Persons wishing to address the Board should register with the Chairman prior to 8:40 a.m.

Any person deciding to appeal any decision made by the Board at the meeting will need a record of the proceedings and, for such purpose, may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence on which the appeal is to be based.

NOTICE OF A SCHOOL BOARD ADMINISTRATIVE BRIEFING AND WORK SESSION

Notice is hereby given that the School Board of Marion County, Florida, will meet in a work session on Thursday, September 7, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. The meeting will be held at the MTI Auditorium, 1614 E. Ft. King Street, Ocala, Florida 34471. An agenda will be published seven days prior to the meeting and may be obtained at the Administration Office between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The agenda is also available from a link on the District’s website: www.marionschools.net.

NOTICE OF SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD

MEETING

Notice is hereby given that the School Board of Marion County, Florida, will meet on Thursday, September 7, 2023, at 8:30 a.m., at the School Board Administration Office, 1614 E. Ft. King Street, Ocala, Florida, 34471. An agenda will be published seven days prior to the meeting. The agenda may be obtained at the Administration Office between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The agenda is also available from a link on the District’s website: www.marion.k12.fl.us.

Persons wishing to address the Board should register with the Chairman prior to 8:40 a.m.

Any person deciding to appeal any decision made by the Board at the meeting will need a record of the proceedings and, for such purpose, may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence on which the appeal is to be based.

OCALA FPRA PRESIDENT EARNS STATE AWARDS

By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com

The Ocala chapter president of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) was honored with three state awards at this year’s annual conference.

President Tammy Gantt accepted the three President’s Awards from the state association president for her work in membership retention, financial management and special events while at the annual FPRA conference on Aug. 7,

according to a press release.

“While these awards are issued to the president, it takes the dedication of the entire chapter to make them happen,” Gantt said when accepting the awards. “The membership goals were achieved thanks to all our members who believed in our purpose and renewed.”

Under Gantt’s leadership, the Ocala chapter had the highest growth and member retention rates out of all 16 chapters in Florida, with 30% growth and 98% member retention, according to the press release.

Gantt was honored for the chapter’s financial management for increasing the number of fundraisers held, staying on budget, increasing outreach, finding sponsors and cutting expenses. This increase in revenue allowed for the chapter to give out more scholarships for leadership programs, assist with member dues and fund professional development programs, according to the press release.

For more information about FPRA, visit fpra.org.

Ocala Chapter President Tammy Gantt and FPRA President Jay Morgan-Schleuning, APR, CPRC [Supplied]

High School Football Coverage is Sponsored By

Vanguard plays tough in loss to Miami Central Knights compete on even terms with state powerhouse

game that we could play with Miami Central. Maybe no one else in Marion County believed that, but we did. We had an opportunity to pull out the win but came up a little short.”

Miami Central, which went 14-0 last season, is considered one of the best teams in the country again this year. The Rockets took the opening kickoff and marched 68 yards in eight plays, with Ford breaking a pair of tackles on his way to a 5-yard touchdown run to cap the drive. Ford rushed for 24 yards on six carries. Hodges drilled the extra point to give the Rockets a quick 7-0 lead with 7:39 left in the first period.

Neither team threatened again until the Vanguard defense forced a turnover with senior defensive back Cameron Powell recovering a fumble at the Miami Central 33-yard line with 1:03 remaining in the first half.

penalties and back-to-back sacks forced the Knights to punt.

Central put together a six-play, 93-yard drive with Nicholas McCall ripping off a 51-yard run. McCall is a powerful runner who gained 120 yards on just seven carries. The drive stalled and Hodges came on to kick a 30-yard field goal to extend the Rockets lead to 13-6 with 5:17 remaining to play.

Vanguard took possession at its 20 and moved the ball to midfield, but a third-down incompletion ended the drive and the Knights punted with hopes their defense could stop Central and give them one more opportunity to pull off the upset.

The Rockets ran the ball seven consecutive times, picked up a pair of first downs and ran out the clock to seal the victory.

By Mark Pinson Special to The Ocala Gazette

Playing one of the top teams in the state and country in a preseason game is a quick way to find out just how good you are.

Miami Central High, the Class 2S defending state champions, got a 5-yard scoring run from Jayden Ford and a pair of field goals by Kristian Hodges, and the Rockets held on for a hard-fought 13-6 win over Vanguard on Aug. 18 at Booster Stadium in Ocala.

Vanguard, which scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Fred Gaskin to wide receiver Dallen Ponder to pull within 7-6 at the end of the first

half, had the ball at midfield and a chance to win with less than five minutes left in the game.

But the Knights failed to move the ball, were forced to punt and Miami Central ran out the clock with its strong rushing attack to preserve the victory.

Despite the loss, Vanguard proved it could play at a high level against a quality opponent.

“You could see all the hard work that we put in during the summer coming together tonight,” said Knights veteran coach Edwin Farmer. “We’ve definitely got some things to clean up offensively and defensively. I thought the defense played great except for the first drive of the game. You could tell early in the

Vanguard capitalized on the excellent field position as Gaskin, a talented senior who was harassed all night by a relentless Rockets pass rush, scrambled for 26 yards and then connected with Ponder on a slant pass for the touchdown. Gaskin completed 13 of 21 passes for 143 yards with no turnovers. The extra point attempt by Jaxson Lee was blocked and the Knights trailed 7-6 at the half.

Central extended its lead on its first possession of the second half as Hodges booted a 32-yard field goal to put the Rockets up 10-6 midway through the third quarter.

Vanguard took possession and moved the ball inside the Central 10-yard line. but several

“I love our kids’ effort,” coach Farmer said. “We just need to keep working hard to improve and get ready for our next game.”

Vanguard was set to be back in action on Aug. 24, opening the regular season with an away game against Erie, Colorado.

Thankyou

Our community of readers owes a debt of gratitude and patronage to Florida Credit Union for helping underwrite the cost of the “Ocala Gazette’s” coverage of this year’s high school football season.

When we were scratching our heads on how to fund the considerable cost of coverage for high school sports this season, which starts with high school football, we reached out to key advertisers to explain the dilemma. Florida Credit Union stepped up in a big way to help ensure no lapse in coverage regarding this season’s high school football.

What does this mean? It means the “Gazette” will report on high school football this year without a paywall. This means anyone who wants to stay in touch with their favorite team can without a barrier.

It also means that any school, family member, or athlete can reproduce the photos taken by our very own award-winning photojournalist Bruce Ackerman.

When businesses like Florida Credit Union support local journalism, they give our community the gift of connectivity that lasts long after the season is over through newspaper clippings and photographic mementos documenting the wins and losses that no doubt help shape the characters of our next generation.

With deep gratitude,

Jennifer Hunt Murty

Photos By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

Vanguard’s quarterback Fred Gaskin (1) looks for extra yardage as Miami Central’s Armondo Blount (18) tries to stop him during a preseason football game at Booster Stadium in Ocala on Friday, August 18, 2023.

Miami Central’s Jayden Ford (20) eludes Vanguard’s Josiah Farmer (23) for a large gain during a preseason football game at Booster Stadium in Ocala on Friday, August 18, 2023.

Miami Central’s Jayden Ford (20) eludes Vanguard’s Markell Davis (24) for a large gain.

Miami Central’s Nicholas McCall (32) looks for extra yardage as he is stopped by a Vanguard player.

Vanguard’s quarterback Fred Gaskin (1) keeps the ball for a large gain on Miami Central defenders.