Ocala Gazette | March 31 - April 6, 2023

Archaeologists interested in WEC Jockey Club

It’s his time to shine

Native American and historic artifacts discovered during CRAS survey

By Rosemarie Dowell rosemarie@ocalagazette.com

Arecent Cultural Resources Assessment Survey (CRAS) of the WEC Jockey Club property has identified nine new archaeological sites, three of which were recommended for avoidance or further testing to assess their eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Those are the major findings by the nationwide archaeological firm SEARCH Inc., which conducted the Phase I survey in December on behalf of the 1,000-plus-acre property’s owner, Golden Ocala Equestrian Land, LLC., which plans to develop it.

Of the nine newly recorded sites on the site located on West County Road 318 near Irvine, four are Native American, one is historic while the remaining four have historic and Native American components, according to the

CRAS, a copy of which the “Gazette” obtained March 23 through a public records request.

Although no structures, human remains or other evidence of Fort Drane, a Second Seminole Indian War fort erected on the sugar mill and cotton plantation of Col. Duncan L. Clinch in 1835 were found, one of the sites was tentatively identified as possibly containing artifacts that date to the fort’s period of occupation, the CRAS noted.

At 3,000-acres, or four-square miles, the plantation, with multiple structures, likely encompassed most if not all the Jockey Club property as well adjacent land, including a large mining operation directly to the south.

Whether Golden Ocala decides to investigate further the three newly recorded sites that were recommended for further testing or avoidance remains unknown.

Dr. Joe Knetsch,

Ph.D.,

a retired

research historian for the State of Florida and noted expert on the Seminole Indian Wars who has written extensively about Fort Drane, said SEARCH fell short in the Phase I survey, which he’s read, especially in its shovel testing.

“There were an awful lot of buildings on the plantation and up to 3,500 soldiers camped at Fort Drane at one time, as well as many civilians and volunteers,” said Knetsch. “Why haven’t we seen any historical or archaeological evidence of that? They should have done more testing and looked a little harder.”

SEARCH’s fieldwork included the excavation of 564 shovel tests, along with metal detecting throughout the massive property, including areas closest to the purported location of the fort itself, a 150-yard-by-80-yard fenced enclosure with two blockhouses and several other buildings.

But Knetsch, author of “Fear and See Archaeologists, page A4

Heated debate over “book banning” takes over school board meeting

By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com

The audience came in by the busload for Tuesday’s Marion County School Board meeting with one topic in mind for discussion: the content of books in school libraries.

Thirty-seven speakers addressed the board to either oppose the banning of books in the district’s libraries, what many called censorship, or support the removal of what some deemed “pornographic” books from schools.

The discussion stemmed from comments made by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this month. During a press conference on March 8, DeSantis sought to debunk what he said was a “hoax’’ that books were being banned in public schools. He said libraries were not being emptied; only books containing pornographic,

violent or inappropriate content would be removed.

DeSantis mentioned Marion County as one of the school districts with a book called “Flamer” available to students. “Flamer” and another book mentioned by the governor, “This Book is Gay,” have already been removed from all MCPS media centers and libraries, according to the libraries’ “objections” list.

“Flamer” tells the story of a 14-year-old gay Filipino boy at summer camp navigating self-acceptance and bullying. “Flamer” has been removed from shelves based on the claim that it is inappropriate and pornographic, with references to masturbation and genitals.

Superintendent Diane Gullett stated at the beginning of the meeting that the district’s libraries follow state law and school board policy regarding content and that

parents and families may search library catalogs, read policies, restrict titles from their children and object to library materials if they see fit.

The process to challenge library materials or to restrict the content that one’s child may read can be found on the MCPS Library Media

‘American Idol’ contestant Cam Amen took care of his younger siblings in Ocala before making it onto the hit ABC series.

By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com

Cam Amen nervously walked onto an “American Idol” audition set in New Orleans last Sunday night and walked off, quite possibly, a new star on the rise.

With sweaty palms, singing through tears, the former Ocala resident managed to give a soul-stirring performance of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” during “Audition, Episode 605” of the ABC talent competition series.

“I had been already trying to audition and get on for about eight years,” Amen told the “Gazette.” “Through that time, I used to practice and get better, and just last year is when I said that I was going to start saying yes to every opportunity.”

Program website. Gullett ensured the audience that the district is in compliance with House Bill 1467, saying that all school media specialists involved in the selection of library materials have completed an online training program. The See Pornography?, page A2

Celebrity judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan were visibly moved throughout Amen’s performance, reacting with surprise to his high notes and emotive inflections. They gave a standing ovation and even embraced the contestant. The trio unanimously said “yes,” promoting Amen to another round.

Born Cameron Osterloh, Amen, now 27, grew up in Indianapolis and adopted his surname from his girlfriend Erica Amen, who joined him on the set of his successful audition. The couple met while he worked at World of Beer in The Villages, and she was celebrating her birthday on a Florida vacation. They now live together in Omaha.

“I was working, and they had karaoke, and she challenged me to get up there and sing,” Amen recalled. “She didn’t know that I was the guy that always sings on karaoke nights.”

Letting his emotions pour out with a raw but measured vibrato, Amen soulfully hit the high notes before the judges and his dynamic range revealed a gentle beauty and grace complemented by a weathered, blues-like maturity. The tune was a favorite of his late

See Local, page A2

Books that were said to contain pornography and presented by members of Ocala Christian Academy and the Central Baptist Church are displayed outside before the “Citizen Emergency Rally To Stop Pornographic Books” in Marion County Public Schools libraries rally during a meeting of the Marion County Public School Board in Ocala on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.

Local goes on American Idol

Continued from page A1 grandmother, to whom Amen pays tribute with an inscription on a cross he wears.

“My grandma would say that we have to keep that song in our hearts because we don’t have anyone else but God,” he said.

Before Amen’s audition, Bryan asked him to talk about his life growing up.

“It was a bit rough, not the normal life, of course,” Amen recounted. “We all got taken away from our mom.”

In a voiceover, Amen told a harrowing tale of when police officers took him out of his classroom (at the age of 13, he later told the “Gazette”). A montage of family pics filled the screen.

“I was holding my brother,” he said. “We didn’t know what was going on. We were crying, waiting for Mom. She never came. We were in foster care for a long, long time. I knew I had to raise them right and get them through high school.”

Two of his five siblings, Tyler and Sammie, wound up in Florida, he said, adding that he tracked them down and removed them from foster care when he aged out of the system at 18.

The sibs attended Lake Weir High School and Amen would work odd jobs in construction and restaurant work, and mowed lawns to make ends meet.

“All through my life, I’ve been doing karaoke and everything with my family,” he said. “Even before foster care, before we got taken away, everything was golden. We were a beautiful family. I mean, we still are a beautiful family. We were just broken up.”

Unfortunately, within hours of his success on the stage, Amen said he learned that people were taking advantage of him and his family by creating fake posts and appeals on social media and other sites. He said he immediately began to invest a lot of time and effort in stemming the false information, including spending several hours making sure that people who donated to false appeals got their money refunded.

“American Idol” Season 3 contestant Jennifer Hudson — who’s now known as an EGOT for her Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony wins — has been a big

Pornography?

Continued from page A1 bill also dictates that all material must be free of pornography, which is defined by “the depiction of erotic behavior intended to cause sexual excitement,” according to Merriam-Webster.

Local Republican organizations, led by Randy Osborne, president of the Florida Eagle Forum, put out a call to action for people to attend the board meeting and speak in support of banning books. Transportation was offered via a bus from the Ocala Christian Academy.

Many speakers took the stance that banning books from the school system equated to censorship. If a parent is uncomfortable with the content their child is reading, they should be the ones to decide rather than authorities making a decision on behalf of all parents.

“It is unsafe, discriminatory, unjust and intolerant to seek to erase the voices and lived experiences of what it’s like growing up gay in an increasingly more hostile environment for these people,” said Sarah Klitenick, parent of a kindergartener in MCPS.

A large majority of the books on the “objections” list center on LGBTQ stories, notably history books. Among the titles that are currently under evaluation are “The Gay Liberation Movement: Before and After Stonewall,” “The Early History of the Gay Rights Movement” and “Transgender Activists and Celebrities.”

“Children identify as who they identify as, and no book is going to change that,’’ said Vickie Treulieb, North Marion Middle School English and acting teacher. “What books do is allow for visibility and diversity. All students deserve access to the books that have been challenged in “quarantine.”

Other speakers shared major concerns about explicit sexual content or pornographic books, not exclusive to LGBTQ content or classic novels.

influence on Amen.

“She inspired me to keep going, never be scared and not worry about the hardships of singing. ‘You’ll get there; let’s just practice,’ she’d say to people online, and I’ll always remember that,” Amen said.

Bryan was captivated by Amen’s voice and story and said he was rewarding him with a platinum ticket, which would allow him to skip the elimination trials.

“You did your job and did it well, and now it’s your time,” “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest told Amen during a backstage pep talk.

“Welcome home. Now, it’s your time to shine,” Richie said. “You’ve been through a lot, but the rest of your life is waiting,” the Grammy-winning vocalist added.

“I can hardly breathe,” Bryan chimed in. “Your style is so beautiful, unique … I don’t have anyone I’ve seen in this chair to compare you to. You wanted you to do something amazing, you did it.”

Amen shared with the “Gazette” that he will be revealing a big surprise during his next appearance.

For TV episode information, visit abc.com/shows/ american-idol.

Visit Amen’s social media sites at instagram.com/ camamen23 and tiktok.com/@camamen23?lang=en

“I’m not here to ban regular books like “Matilda,” that’s up for a parent to decide. The books that are that are better sexual content, sexual excitement, sexual battery and sexual abuse, it’s those kinds of books,” said Brigitte Smith, Marion County Republican Executive Committee chair.

The school board policy adheres to these standards and has a review process to address complaints about certain books.

Claims of books “indoctrinating” children were abundant, with several speakers saying that it is a parent’s right to teach children certain topics within the home rather than being exposed to it at school.

“We want our students to be well-educated with knowledge of things that are important and relevant, and focusing on personal pronouns and sexual dysmorphia is not why we pay taxes,” said speaker Barbara Schmidt. “Exposing students to books in the library about gender bending ideology is a form of indoctrination, because you normalize it in the reading material you provide to them.”

The school board condemned the exposure of pornography to children and said the district will continue to follow the statutes, policies and procedures in place to ensure the quality of the material in the MCPS library system.

“I don’t think any of us as parents want our kids to read inappropriate things that are not age-appropriate,” said Board Member Rev. Eric Cummings. “However, I listened to all of this tonight, and I saw a lot and heard a lot of things that to me was just downright sensationalism.”

Board Chair Allison Campbell implored the audience to seek common ground on this important issue.

“Regardless of our differences,’’ she said, “as long as we can have dialogue rather than shouting at each other, we can have productive outcomes.”

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

- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

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Randy Osborne, the administrator at Ocala Christian Academy, bottom, and a woman who did not want to be identified, top, hold up books they said contain pornography during the “Citizen Emergency Rally To Stop Pornographic Books” in Marion County Public Schools libraries rally during a meeting of the Marion County Public School Board in Ocala on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.

Photos By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette Liam Treulieb, 10, pounds his fists on the podium as he speaks against pornography.

BOCC approves another development on SW 60th Avenue

Village Mobile Home Park, and the school bus stops and children who congregate near 60th Avenue in the mornings.

Kathy Dale’s presentation focused on numbers and figures for traffic, citing over 9,000 trips per day due to the new developments and noted there are no plans for a sidewalk for schoolchildren to get to a bus stop.

“How long before there are multiple rear-end collisions?” Dale asked. “You have created an untenable situation, a major safety hazard, that is going to result in injury and death in the near future by ignoring all common sense. By approving these mini-city developments in a rural, agricultural area, you are subjecting the current residents to eight or nine times the recommended traffic for a two-lane road [SW 59th Street].’’

Angry area residents pushed back with formal appeals to county, opposing testimony during public hearings and impassioned pleas for less development.

By Belea T. Keeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com

The Marion County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) gave the green light for a new development in its March 21 meeting, approving a controversial apartment complex on SW 60th Avenue while extending deadlines for three previously approved projects in the busy State Road 200 corridor and denying a land-use and subsequent zoning change for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) near SR 200.

Residents near SW 60th Avenue who strongly opposed the idea of more apartment complexes and extending years-long deadlines for more developments amid their three- to 10-acre equine-friendly lots were left frustrated by the commission’s actions.

Board Chairperson Craig Curry, speaking generally about the planning process and approvals, told the audience that at this stage of the process, the commission has no legal recourse but to approve the development, no matter how residents feel about the traffic congestion and overcrowded schools the projects will exacerbate.

“Due to state statutes, we cannot turn a project down because of traffic. And we also cannot turn down one because of concurrency and school issues,’’ he said. “We can do it, but we’ll be sued. We are constrained in some ways, but the state legislature has decided. We have to follow those rules.”

In his remarks, Commissioner Carl Zalak welcomed the area’s growth.

“It’s a great sales pitch for me,’’ he said. “If you like that rural drive, come out to Fort McCoy. We’ve got property that you can live on 10 acres and have a great drive down [County Road] 315 every day. And you don’t have to worry about that traffic as soon as you get out of the city of Ocala.”

Some meeting attendees stirred and groaned aloud at his remarks.

Area resident and neighborhood organizer Mira Korber said after the meeting, “Carl Zalak is concerned about accent colors (on the apartment complexes) and (Commissioner) Michelle Stone asks me if I know how to drive my horse trailer. I don’t drive it into a threestory apartment complex. If you’re going to bring three-story apartment complexes to horse country, make it so the roads can accommodate both types of people who live there. Screw the paint chips!”

BOCC approves Pointe Grand Ocala South on SW 60th Avenue

Pointe Grand South Ocala was initially approved as a PUD in December 2021. It is slated for two parcels on SW 60th Avenue at SW 59th Street, east of Ocala

Equestrian Complex, north of Oak Tree Villages, and south of Red Fox Farms/ Blackjack Acres. One entrance is planned on 59th Street, currently a narrow rural easement road, and a new one is planned at SW 61st Place, across from the Fairfield Villages Mobile Home Park. The plan allows for up to 584 apartment units on a 38.62 tract.

The BOCC faced another organized Red Fox Farms neighborhood at this meeting, mirroring its opposition to the previously approved Calibrex development, which plans for over 1,200

apartments and single-family homes near SW 60th Avenue and 52nd Street. This time the neighborhood group, led by Korber, filed a formal Notice of Appeal to the Development Review Committee, or DRC, last month against Pointe Grand Ocala.

“The appeal points out that the county violated its own land use codes and particularly the tree removal statutes,” Korber said, noting that the developer has not complied with tree mitigation requirements.

The appeal alleged the county improperly granted waivers for site clearing and tree removal, cited a lack of mitigation for tree removal, a lack of environmental soundness, an improper parking allowance for the apartment complex, and other issues in violation of Marion County Land Development Code and other county statutes.

The tree removal on the site began the morning of March 21 just before the BOCC planning and zoning portion of the meeting when the project was slated for final Master Plan approval. The permit for removal of gopher tortoises (10 burrows or fewer) was received March 2. Neighbors are also concerned about bald eagles that have been photographed in the area and a bobcat that one resident insists lives in the woods.

The formal appeal was a new tactic by residents that County Attorney Guy Minter commended during the BOCC meeting for its thoroughness. But he dismissed the appeal outright, explaining that despite being the people most impacted by the developments, the neighbors have no legal rights to have their objections considered at this stage of the approval process. The board’s review was on the Master Plan details, not the zoning or land-use elements that were already approved in December 2021.

“The only person with standing to appeal a decision from the DRC is the applicant,’’ he said. “There is no standing for third parties to appeal [a DRC decision.]”

The residents, however, continued to press their opposition, with most focusing on the traffic issues that adding hundreds of new homes will create.

Korber passionately addressed the board and showed 3-feet-by-4-feet blown-up photos of how horse trailers have to veer into the left-hand travel lane on southbound SW 60th Avenue in order to turn onto narrow SW 59th Street, the only access the residents have into their neighborhood. Korber maintained the proposed expansion and improvements proposed by the developer are insufficient.

“Tell me that one feet, five inches is going to be enough to for me not to get killed entering my only access into my property!” Korber said. “I’m taking my life in my hands every day to get home.”

Korber concluded with a plea to commissioners about commissioners about “my real risk of getting killed. [The road] is a liability. While I’m here, let me live here! Please.”

The board members made no responses to Korber’s comments.

Other opponents also addressed public safety issues, including the lack of traffic signals at SW 61st Street and 59th Street, the vulnerability of the residents at the 55+ community Fairfield

Dale ended with a pointed comment to the board. “I promise that I will make it my mission when there is an accident causing injury or death at this intersection that I will notify every personal injury attorney in central Florida of this meeting and how to access it,” she said.

Pam Bruno, another resident, expressed frustration with the board’s emphasis on accommodating newcomers to Marion County.

“What about the people who already live here?” she asked. “They keep talking about the new people coming in, but what about us who are stuck between the Farmland Preservation boundary and the city?” Bruno was referring to the formal Urban Growth Boundary that the commission uses to help determine the appropriateness of a project.

Resident Nancy Haehn pointed out to the board that five other projects are already slated for the SR 200 and SW 60th Avenue area, all of which will be adding to traffic. “There are 2,662 units [planned] within a half mile of 200 and 60th Avenue,” she said.

Commissioner Stone asked county staff about the coming improvements to SW 59th Street and was told that the intersection will incorporate sufficient radius for large vehicles to make turns and improvements will be made per engineering standards to match other intersections in the county.

Commissioner Zalak, in reviewing the Master Plan package and its photos of typical buildings the developer has built previously, suggested some variation in the colors and possibly adding brick to give the building some architectural features.

Stone tried to alleviate some of the anger coming from resident speakers. “We’re trying to do exactly what we were charged to do,” she said. “Keep the growth within that Urban Growth Boundary.”

According to a county staff report, these are the area schools most affected schools by the proposals and their current student capacities: Saddlewood Elementary (117.98%), Liberty Middle (111.64%), and

West Port High (109.81%).

The parcels are currently wooded, and nearby equine operations include Resolute Polo, the Ocala Horse Complex, and several small horse farms, both private and commercial.

The board approved the Master Plan for the project.

3 projects receive extended deadlines

In an hour-long discussion, commissioner debated whether projects initially approved in 2016 and 2017 should have deadlines for implementation moved.

Three projects requested extensions:

• West Point PUD, with 513 multi-family units on 28.5 acres located at SW 80th Avenue and SW 100th Street originally approved in 2016.

• Maro 200 PUD, with 322 townhomes and 177 single-family homes on 111 acres located at SW Highway 200 and SW 100th Street, across from the Walgreens and Walmart Neighborhood Market, and just west of Countryside Farms. It was approved in 2017.

• 110th Street PUD located at SW 100th Street, with 480 multi-family units on approximately 40 and 30 acres of commercial usage, approved in 2017.

Area resident Pam Bruno spoke in opposition. “They’ve expired their time,’’ she said. “They’ve had plenty of time to do what they were supposed to. And it didn’t get done.”

Ultimately, the extensions were passed 3-1; Curry was the sole dissenting vote. Ocala Place on SR 200 denied The board denied a requested landuse change from commercial to urban residential for another proposed rental development, slated for 280 apartments and 25 single-family cottage homes on 24 acres at 8120 SW SR 200, behind the McDonald’s near On Top of the World.

Zalak questioned the need for more residential units in that area of the county and Senior County Planner Ken Weyrauch replied, “This is an area where we have a lot of everything.”

Stone asked for clarification about the total number of apartments and homes already slated for the SR 200 corridor from OTOW southwest to the Greenway. Assistant County Manager Tracy Straub reported that pending projects number 1,701 units; those already approved by the BOCC number 3,497 units; and there are 3,054 single-family and 3,458 multifamily units that have gone through the development review process, are approved and ready to pull permits. Those figures include the Calesa Township, which is slated for at least 5,000 total units at build-out.

After discussion about the alreadyplanned homes in the area, the board denied the project.

“It’s a great sales pitch for me. If you like that rural drive, come out to Fort McCoy. We’ve got property that you can live on 10 acres and have a great drive down [County Road] 315 every day. And you don’t have to worry about that traffic as soon as you get out of the city of Ocala.”

Commissioner Carl Zalak File photo: County Commission Chair Carl Zalak the Planning and Zoning and DRC Waiver Requests meeting in the Marion County Commission auditorium at the McPherson Governmental Complex in Ocala on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Unknown man protests [Supplied]

Archaeologists find interesting history

Continued from page A1

Anxiety on the Florida Frontier: Articles on the Second Seminole War” and several other books, isn’t sold on SEARCH’s initial findings.

“There are questions that have to be asked,” he said. “There’s lots of information out there about the workings and layout of the plantation as well as the soldiers and civilians who camped or lived there. “

The CRAS was initiated by Golden Ocala, also developers of the World Equestrian Center (WEC) Ocala, in response to an April 2022 letter from the Florida Division of Historical Resources. The letter was sent to Marion County as part of a mandated review by state agencies of proposed changes to the county’s comprehensive land use plan, which were later adopted, allowing the Marion County Board of County Commissioners in June to approve Golden Ocala’s application for a Planned Unit Development on the WEC Jockey Club property.

The approval was immediately challenged by nearby landowners and the nonprofit group Save Our Rural Land in two legal proceedings that were officially resolved March 17. (See related story this issue.) Jimmy Gooding, attorney for Golden Ocala, declined to comment on this story via email, and County Attorney Matthew “Guy” Minter did not respond to several emails requesting an interview.

However, in a March 7 Marion County Board of County Commissioners meeting, Minter announced a settlement had been reached in the lawsuits and mentioned cultural resources.

“The settlement made provisions for setting aside areas around cultural areas like what might be the remains of Fort Drane from 1835,” said Minter.

The FDHR letter from April 2022 noted numerous cultural resources had been recorded in the general vicinity and multiple attempts had been made to locate Fort Drane, thought to contain human remains. It also said development should be sensitive to locating, assessing and avoiding adverse impacts to any historic resources.

Many residents of rural northwest Marion County grew up hearing about the plantation and the fort’s storied but short history as a major miliary hub and hospital for the sick and wounded before it was abandoned in early 1837 due to sickness and disease.

The fort and plantation’s building and structure were soon burned down by Seminole warriors, including Osceola, who then camped at the site for a short time.

Area natives Lonnie K. Edwards III, now in his 80s, and sisters Annabelle and Nancy Leitner recalled that as kids, they visited the ruins of the fort, which included foundations or footings, cannon mounts and bricks.

Edwards is the oldest son of the late former State Sen. L.K. Edwards, whose family owned and farmed thousands of acres in Irvine beginning in the midt0-late 1800s, including the land the plantation and fort were located on.

“We’d have birthday parties by fallen down oak trees on the property near the fort,” Edwards told the “Gazette” for an in-depth story, “What Happened to Fort Drane,” published in early June.

The investigative piece detailed how in the the early 1970s, the late former senator sold a 700-acre portion of his land, which included a chunk of the sugar plantation and the fort’s ruins, to M.J. Stavola Industries, which then sold it to Allen Edgar of Mid-Florida Mining.

In 1977, Whit Palmer Jr., who died in 2020, purchased Mid-Florida and began mining the property for its clay soil, eventually becoming a top producer of cat litter in the U.S.

The story included the early 1990s efforts of a small but now disbanded group called the Friends of Fort Drane and the still-in-existence Micanopy Historical Society, to get the historically significant site recognized and preserved by the county and state.

However, the group immediately encountered resistance from Palmer, who was well-known in the community and had political ties. Edwards and the late Alyce Tincher, leader of the group, even approached Palmer and asked about

getting a historical marker placed on the property, to no avail.

“We had an uproar with Whit about it; we tried to prevent it from being destroyed but he didn’t care and didn’t want to hear about it,” Edwards recalled for the June story.

Tincher and the others, including Carol Riley and Warren Otto, both also deceased, soon uncovered gruesome allegations from two former mine employees. In sworn statements, they said said mine workers, under the orders of manager Martin Palmer, Whit’s son, destroyed evidence of the fort, and dumped the remains of soldiers and others unearthed during mining operations in a deep pit elsewhere on the property.

The desecration of the graves began roughly one month after a December 1990 “St. Petersburg Times” (now the “Tampa Bay Times”) story in which Knetsch, both Palmers and Tincher, who contacted the reporter about Fort Drane and the efforts to save it, were quoted.

Martin Palmer told the reporter the company was asking an archaeologist to confirm the location, “just to kind of put the whole thing to rest.”

In early spring 1991, following pressure from Tincher’s group and strong urging from the state, the Palmers hired Gainesville based firm, SouthArc, to conduct a search for human remains at the mine. By then, however, if the allegations are true, it was too late because all evidence of the fort had been destroyed.

Indeed, according to an August 1991 article by Marion County historian and newspaper columnist David Cook, SouthArc said it was unable to confirm the fort’s location based on maps and historical information.

No digging was done at the time, but SouthArc said in its survey, obtained by the “Gazette” last year, that it had found no evidence of remains but had uncovered numerous artifacts, including glass and ceramics which they believed were from Clinch’s plantation and or a later farm.

They also found the remains of one burnt structure, “that could have been a blockhouse,” according to its 1991 survey. The survey also said burials could be located some distance from the fort compound, possibly within the adjacent property to the north of MidFlorida Mining.

Back then, Knetsch, who became involved in the Fort Drane saga after Tincher contacted the state and they became friends, had little faith in SouthArc.

“They were notorious in the field for finding what they were paid to find,” said Knetsch for the June story.

The attempts to find evidence of the fort and the soldiers buried there soon faltered.

Jeff Winans, an amateur archaeologist who knew Tincher and others in the group and assisted with their efforts, authored a book in the mid-1990s, “What Happened to Fort Drane in Marion County,” based on his research.

“We know what happened back then, they would have found something if politics hadn’t been involved,” said Winans, 75, who despite the fort’s apparent destruction and horrific disturbance of graves, still believes there is evidence somewhere of the fort, the plantation and the soldiers and civilians who lived there, as well as human remains, either on the mine property, the WEC Jockey Club land, or on property south of the mine.

Knetsch agrees, saying SEARCH needs to do some more historical research about the plantation’s vast layout, including the whereabouts of a large village where up to 150 slaves lived, a cotton gin, the sugar mill, the driver’s house, Clinch’s plantation house and where the dead were buried.

“I’ve seen no evidence of spaced-out shovel testing,” said Knetsch, who gave expert witness testimony about Fort Drane on behalf of the plaintiffs during mediation for the lawsuits. “I don’t find, to a level of comfort, enough of a conscientious effort to locate evidence.

“There’s a lot more out there somewhere,’’ he added. “And no one seems to care about it.’’

Knetsch spoke of John Bemrose, a

medic at Fort Drane, who in numerous letters to his son years after the war wrote extensively about the plantation and the fort. Those 60 letters were compiled in a book, “Letters to My Son, American History and Adventures of John Bemrose,” by his great-greatgrandson, Michael French, via Book Pal in 2014.

Bemrose, an Englishman, also wrote a book, “Reminiscences of the Second Seminole War,” which SEARCH did mention in the history section of the CRAS, along with multiple other historical resources, including several of Knetsch’s books.

For the CRAS, SEARCH archaeologists contacted Edwards and the Leitner sisters and met with them on at least one occasion.

Both Edwards and the Leitners assisted SEARCH by plotting from memory Fort Drane and the plantation house’s location (it was rebuilt sometime after the war) on both an image of an 1895 topographic map and a 2021 aerial

photograph that shows the Ocala Jockey Club property boundary, according to the survey.

On both maps, the trio placed Fort Drane and the replacement plantation house on the mine property, near the WEC Jockey Club property.

The CRAS pinpointed the location of the newly recorded archaeological sites, but the “Gazette” is withholding that information as well as details about the findings to prevent looters from disturbing them.

Winans, who’s spent countless hours and thousands of dollars of his own money in the search for Fort Drane since the 1990s, still hopes something will be found and that one day Fort Drane will be recognized with a historical marker along West County Road 318.

“Fort Drane was just as historically significant, if not more, than Fort King and deserves to be honored with a plaque or marker to let people know about it,” said Winans. “It’s overdue; it’s telling a story that needs to be told.”

“There were an awful lot of buildings on the plantation and up to 3,500 soldiers camped at Fort Drane at one time, as well as many civilians and volunteers. Why haven’t we seen any historical or archaeological evidence of that? They should have done more testing and looked a little harder.”

Dr. Joe Knetsch, Ph.D.

Fort Drane artifacts are shown in a photo in Jeffrey Winans’ first book. [Courtesy Jeffrey Winans] 2022.

petition and resolution to close and abandon the above described road shall be considered by the Board after required publication of this notice. Persons wishing to do so should provide their written comments on this subject to the Office of the County Engineer, 412 SE 25th Avenue, Ocala, Florida, 34471, prior to the 4th day of April 2023. The County Commission Auditorium is a handicapped accessible facility. Anyone requiring special assistance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or requiring language assistance (free of charge) should contact the County's ADA Officer at (352) 438-2345 or TTY or Relay number (352) 438-2357 a minimum of 48 hours in advance of the hearing so appro-

can be made.

Development detente

Litigation ends in settlement agreement that reduces potential adverse impacts on neighbors of planned WEC Jockey Club.

By Rosemarie Dowell rosemarie@ocalagazette.com

The developers of the WEC Jockey Club have agreed to significantly increase the minimum lot size of some site-built homes, forego a gas station, and not host car shows, concerts or music festivals on the 1,000plus acre property, located on West County Road 318 near Irvine.

Golden Ocala Equestrian Land, LLC., also agreed to avoid development or conduct additional archeological testing at several sites identified in a recent Cultural Resources Assessment Survey (CRAS) to assess eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

Those details, and myriad others, are outlined in a settlement agreement, a Joint Stipulation of Dismissal, that effectively ends two lawsuits filed in connection to the June 21 approval of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) on the property by the Marion County Board of County Commissioners, following changes to the county’s comprehensive plan.

For their part, the lawsuits’ petitioners agreed to not object to Golden Ocala demolishing and reconstructing the existing clubhouse on the property, (subject to approval of a proposed Master Plan by county commissioners) and to not oppose the development as long as it’s consistent with the current county approvals.

The settlement, recorded March 17 on the Department of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) website, was signed by the lawsuits’ petitioners: Damian and Rebecca Guthrie, Don Love, Michael and Jacki Robinson, Jennifer Hale and Karen E. Courchaine and the nonprofit group, Save Our Rural Areas (SORA) as well as the respondents Marion County and Golden Ocala.

The petitioners all own property adjacent to or near the Jockey Club, while SORA fights uncontrolled growth in the county’s Farmland Preservation Area, which includes the Highway 318 corridor.

Attorney Ralf Brookes, a land use expert who represented the plaintiffs, Monday issued a press release on SORA’s behalf.

“The main achievements that SORA fought hard for are assurance that neither a hotel nor a gas station will be constructed on the Ocala Jockey Club land,” the release stated. “And that events located on the property will be limited to equestrian activities only with the sole exception being the use of fields for amateur youth sporting events.”

Love said Wednesday he and his neighbors were overall pleased with the settlement.

“We are in favor of it, but have some hesitations about the site-built homes,” he said. “But if Golden Ocala duplicates WEC Ocala, the whole neighborhood will enjoy the complex.”

Another concern is the Fort Drane issue, Love said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen with that,’’ he said.

Fort Drane was a Second Seminole Indian War fort located on the 3,000-acre plantation of Gen. Duncan L. Clinch, which included all or part of the Jockey Club property.

The CRAS was done in response to a letter from the Florida Division of Historical Resources, as part of a review by state agencies in response to the county’s proposed comprehensive plan changes, that mentioned Fort Drane being in the general vicinity of the property. (See related story in this issue)

Attorney Jimmy Gooding, who represents Golden Ocala, declined to comment via email for this story. County Attorney Matthew “Guy” Minter has not responded to several emails requesting an interview.

He did note the settlement in the March 7 Board of County Commission meeting.

“Last week, we spent an afternoon amongst the parties and were able to work out a settlement of the challenges of the opponents of the plan,” he said. “So, the settlement would resolve both the comp plan challenge and the rezoning challenge.”

Minter also said the settlement included setting aside cultural areas, including “like what might be the remains of Fort Drane from 1835.”

The issue of the hotel was addressed during the June meeting, when Golden Ocala agreed to remove it from consideration prior to the county commissioner’s vote. The county also imposed lighting requirements and approved a redesign of the entrance sign in the developer’s conceptual plans during the meeting, which was noted in the settlement.

In its statement, SORA said the agreement will limit the disturbance of the adjacent neighbors and wildlife.

“The possibility of music festivals, concerts, car shows, and motor sports events would have been incompatible with the Farmland Preservation Area,” it said.

The settlement stipulates the lot size of suit-built homes near the Guthrie’s farm on County Road 225 must be a minimum of six-acres, up from the three-acre minimum approved in June. It also mandates that properties on the southeastern property boundary, where the Guthries live, will be protected by a larger Type C buffer.

Water and sewer plants, if built in the future, would be required to be at least 1,200 feet away from farms and neighbors in that southeastern boundary as well, and manure generated by horses participating in WEC Jockey Club equestrian events must not be disposed of on the property, according to the settlement.

Meanwhile, the

petitioners also acknowledged and agreed that Golden Ocala’s development of the property is presently uncertain and that some provisions of the agreement may no longer be necessary or appropriate in future years.

The legal challenges followed a controversial 3-2 June vote by the Marion County Board of County Commissioners adopting amendments to its Comprehensive Plan’s future land use map and subsequent approval of Golden Ocala’s application for rezoning the land from mostly agriculture to a PUD.

Commissioners Craig Curry and Kathy Bryant voted against the project.

Golden Ocala, owned by the family of the recently deceased Larry Roberts, founder of R+L Carriers, a longdistance trucking company, including his wife, Mary, also developed the World Equestrian Center in Ocala.

The developer purchased the former Ocala Jockey Club in August of 2021 for $10.5 million and soon announced its intentions to create a second similar multiuse venue, with site-built homes, a 100-site RV park, stadiums, polo fields, as well as

commercial and retail space.

Dozens of concerned area residents, including Damian Guthrie, spoke out against the project at the June meeting, and county staff recommended denial for both the amendments and rezoning from county staff. Even so, commissioners Michele Stone, Jeff Gold and Carl Zalak III voted for it.

Brookes then filed in July two legal challenges to the PUD: one challenging the county’s rezoning of the property, and the other, a request for a Formal Administrative Hearing disputing the commissioner’s adoption of the amendments to its comprehensive plan.

Now that the lawsuits have been settled, SORA said it can continue its mission of fighting urban sprawl and unwanted growth on rural lands.

“This is a sound beginning of continued efforts to protect the FPA and our rural way of life,” said SORA in the release. “This settlement presents a strong willingness of all parties to keep commercial development out of the Farmland Preservation Area and maintains the one in ten rule.’’

File photo: Ralph Brookes, an attorney for the opposition to the WEC Jockey Club, front, works on making notes over a large satellite map as the auditorium was filled to capacity at 235, mostly with people opposed to the project, during the Marion County Commission meeting on the WEC Jockey Club development at the McPherson Governmental Complex in Ocala on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

The WEC Jockey Club shown Monday, March 20, 2023, in Reddick. [Alan Youngblood/Ocala Gazette]

Community collaboration

A diverse group of concerned Ocala citizens discussed issues, solutions and leadership during a two-hour session on Saturday.

President Pro-Tem Barry Mansfield; Councilman Ire Bethea and Marion County School Board Members Lori Conrad, Eric Cummings and Board Chair Allison Campbell.

Mansfield called the meeting an “eye-opener” while Bethea said the session was a “good start.” Campbell said the initiatives should “start today so tomorrow can happen.”

Jamie Gilmore, 29, and his brother, Eddie Rocker, 31, are co-founders of Kut Different, a nonprofit focused on mentoring youth. Gilmore said his breakout group found church (related) and community relations to be their top issues. Rocker commented on the multiple generations represented at the meeting. Malcolm-Omari Davis, 28, Myles McConico, 30, and Rory Carter, 41, all with Kut Different, sat with Gilmore and others. McConico said he was “encouraged” by the meeting and Carter said the suggestions offered a “beautiful vision.”

Johnson said she felt Davis’ message was “on target” but that he was “preaching to the choir” for her and that she would like to see the message get to teenagers.

Henry DeGeneste is a retired superintendent of the Port Authority Police Department in New York, educator and Wall Street operative. He was involved with the Black Panthers movement before he retired to the Ocala area 20 years ago. He escorted famed freedom fighter Nelson Mandela around New York in the 1990s when Mandela visited the city.

“When Nelson Mandela was asked about his race, he said, ‘I’m of the human race,’” DeGeneste told the group.

More issues discussed included community involvement, mentoring, gun violence, banning automatic weapons and news reporting without bias.

Davis said as the meeting ended that many area businesspeople are not engaged in the Black community because the owners often feel “everything we do is called racist.”

By Andy Fillmore Correspondent

An Ocala resident with a background in business and civil rights led a community session on March 25 that drew about 75 people to the newly opened Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place, which is named for two women who have had a deep and powerful impact in West Ocala.

Cain Davis is a University of Florida alumnus and CEO of Diversified Consulting Concepts, a consulting and training firm focused on diversity, fair housing and leadership development. He is a former director of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s Civil Rights Offices in Alabama and Tennessee. He retired to Ocala from Topeka, Kansas, about two years ago and said he wants to “make a difference in the community,” along with his wife Sheni Meghani.

Davis invited concerned citizens, businesspeople, educators and elected officials to attend the meeting to discuss historical references, leadership expectations and goals, and to suggest actions to lift up the economic and personal circumstances of every member of the community. The two-hour meeting included a small group breakout session to discuss what the groups felt are the most pressing issues in Ocala’s Black community,

Davis used visuals, including one PowerPoint presentation comparing “politically driven, race centric and victim” approaches to problem solving to achieve “optimal” or better approaches to solving problems, such as those that are “strategically driven, local solution and empowerment centric.”

Davis said a focus in the community should be on “generational” businesses with “generational return on investment.” He invited the audience to be “proactive and manage their “worldview” and gave an example of how a person’s worldview can affect decision making.

“If you were in a room with white and Black people when the O.J. Simpson

verdict was read, you saw their worldview,” Davis said.

One visual listed the “negative effects of a racial worldview,” which could include “division; businesses leaving the neighborhood; young people being arrested; and no need for organized religion.” Regarding politics, Davis said that, as a Christian, he asks himself “if the (candidate) lines up with my God.”

Davis said you can “look at (an individual’s) social media” to see how their worldview is shaped.

“It’s dangerous to walk around without knowing your worldview,” he said.

Davis said the Black community pays a “high price for division in our country.” He said some members of the Black community may focus their view of history on figures such as George Floyd and Breanna Taylor and overlook historically significant figures like Claudette Colvin, who refused to give up her bus seat months before Rosa Parks did; Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a lead scientist on the team that developed the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine; and Nicholas Johnson, who in 2020 was Princeton University’s first Black valedictorian.

Using another visual, Davis listed leadership qualities including “message mirrors action; (being) civil and respectful to “opposition”; selfless and not profitseeking; and system changers.” He gave examples of Christ, Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as leaders not seeking financial gain and who used language to “uplift, not the same garbage” used by some personalities.

“Opposites must be able to sit down (and) engage on moral ground,” he said. “I sat down and talked with members of the KKK and saw them become advocates for civil rights.”

After the presentation, Davis, assisted by his wife, asked attendees to form groups of about six persons per table to decide on the top issues of concern in the Black community.

Attendees Saturday included Ocala City Manager Peter Lee; Ocala City Council

SUNDAY BRUNCH Buffet

One breakout group considered “barriers in the workplace and inclusion” to be their focus and another group listed “employment and education” as the top issues.

Frank Thomas, Elgin Carelock and Sam Samuel were among those sharing thoughts after the sessions. Tara Morgan-

He recommended forming a task force to meet monthly and charged members of the Black community to pool resources, engage business leaders and take action to empower and uplift their lives and futures.

“Create a model for success,” he challenged the attendees.

Cain Davis, left, facilitated a community meeting on March 25 at the Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place. [Andy Fillmore]

This image shows one of the breakout groups during the March 25 meeting. [Andy Fillmore]

About 75 people attended the March 25 meeting in West Ocala. [Andy Fillmore]

Record-equaling $2 million Good Magic colt tops OBS March Sale

Japan, the Middle East, and Europe, and we’re going to see the same thing in April (at the OBS Spring Sale).

“Fortunately, the pioneers that have been purchasing from us over the years have bought 2 year olds that have gone on and done really well at the racetrack,” he added. “When others see the success that people have had buying 2 year olds from Ocala, they jump on the bandwagon as well, and that bandwagon continues to grow. It’s a testament to the quality of horses that our consignors bring to the sale and what they are doing at the racetrack.”

The second-highest priced horse of the sale was Hip 215, named Saturday Dreams who sold to Maverick Racing (buying arm of WinStar Farm) and Siena Farms LLC for $1.2 million to top the sale’s first session. The dark bay or brown colt is from the second crop of Triple Crown winner Justify and is out of the graded stakes-placed Smart Strike mare Zinzay. Consigned by Ocala’s Hartley/ De Renzo Thoroughbreds, agent, the colt breezed an eighth in :10 flat at the under tack show, and he is a half-brother to stakes winner and graded stakes-placed Moon Over Miami.

was bought by Lanni on behalf of Frank Fletcher Racing Operations during the sale’s third and final session. The fleetfooted filly, who is from the family of Grade 1 winner Chaposa Springs, breezed a quarter mile in :20 4/5 at the under tack preview for consignor McCrocklin. Lanni indicated that she will be trained by Bill Mott.

“She is an exceptional filly,” Lanni said after signing the ticket. “She worked great, came back great, and kept her weight. She is just a really cool, elegant filly.”

The top-selling Florida-bred of the sale was Hip 505, a son of Curlin who sold to Woodford, Talla, and West Point Thoroughbreds for $900,000. Consigned by Old South Farm, the colt is out of the Grade 1-winning Uncle Mo mare Gomo and was bred in the Sunshine State by Ocala’s Bridlewood Farm. The bay colt was originally sold to Hoby Kight for $250,000 as a yearling at the 2022 Keeneland September Sale.

The March Sale is often an indicator of what the sale audience—buyers and sellers—can anticipate for the remainder of the sale season in terms of prices and trends.

By Michael Compton Special to the Ocala Gazette

The start of spring marks the beginning of the 2-year-olds in training sale season in the Thoroughbred industry, and Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. kicked off the juvenile sale year in promising fashion with five seven-figure horses sold during its annual March Sale.

Topping the three-day auction from March 20-22 was Hip 546, a son from the second crop of Good Magic consigned by Top Line Sales and purchased by Donato Lanni, agent for Zedan Racing Stables, for a record-equaling $2 million during the sale’s second session. The bay colt, who breezed an eighth of a mile in a blazing :09 3/5, the fastest time of the sale’s under tack preview, is produced from the Uncle Mo mare Hoopa and hails from the family of Grade 1 winner Hit the Road and graded stakes winner Wandering Star.

The price equaled the previous March Sale record, which was set in 2019 by Chestertown, a son of Tapit.

For the entire auction, which attracted an international buying bench, 460 horses generated gross sales of $71,110,500 over three sessions compared with 374 head selling for $49,371,633 in two sessions a year ago. The average price was $154,588, compared with $132,008 last year. The median price of $75,000 was unchanged from last year, and the buyback percentage (horses that failed to meet their reserves and did not sell) was 21.4%; it was 12.2% in 2022.

“I think it went very well,” said Tod Wojciechowski, director of sales at OBS.

“We had five horses sell for $1 million or more, our average was up, and obviously gross was up but we had more horses.

I’m always impressed by the number of international buyers that we have that come to the sale, and it keeps growing from year to year. We had buyers from

Hip 489, a colt from the final crop of the brilliant Arrogate is headed to Japan after selling to Katsumi Yoshida for $1,050,000. Consigned by agent Tom McCrocklin, the New York-bred colt is out of the graded stakes-winning Bellamy Road mare Georgie’s Angel, making him a full brother to multiple Grade 1 winner Cave Rock. The colt was acquired by McCrocklin as a yearling last year for $700,000.

“He is a lovely, lovely horse, very athletic,” noted McCrocklin. “He is very sound mentally and physically, and he has not had a bad day since we’ve had him.”

Hip 433, a Kentucky-bred son of Twirling Candy sold for $1 million to Jeff Mackor, agent for Sean Flanagan. Consigned by Eddie Woods, agent, the gray or roan colt is out of the graded stakesplaced Divine Park mare Divine Dawn, and he breezed an eighth in :09 4/5.

Also fetching $1 million was Hip 558, a daughter of the stallion Munnings, who

“The April (Spring Sale) has become its own monster,” Wojciechowski said. “It is the must-go-to 2 year old sale of the year. Even in light of some uncertainty in the financial markets, we saw good traffic and a lot of willing buyers here for the March Sale. Many of them didn’t get a horse bought and they will be back in April. I think it (the March Sale results) bodes well for the rest of the season. We continue to see the flight to the top, to the perceived highest-quality horses, and there is always a lot of money there for them. I think we will see more of a middle market as well in April, but you will continue to see the topend be coveted.”

Next up on the OBS schedule is the Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, slated for April 25-28 with all sessions beginning at 10:30 a.m. The under tack show for the spring sale runs from Sunday, April 16 through Saturday, April 22 with all sessions beginning at 8 a.m. A total of 1,221 juveniles have been cataloged for the four-day sale.

IHMC Lecture Series

Powered by:

Morgan L. Cable

THE TALK: Exploring Ocean Worlds

www.ihmc.com

Co-hosted by:

April 20, 2023

Reception: Begins at 5:30 p.m.

Talk: Begins at 6:00 p.m.

Seating is limited RSVP to ihmc-20230223.eventbrite.com or call 352-387-3050

Season Sponsors:

Our solar system is host to multiple ocean worlds - planets and moons that contain oceans of liquid, usually water, either on their surfaces or underneath icy crusts. These worlds are prime targets of exploration due to NASA’s quest to ‘follow the water’ and may contain all three ingredients for life as we know it - water, chemistry, and energy. Could life exist in the oceans of Enceladus or Europa? Could even stranger life have emerged in the liquid methane lakes of Titan? Dr. Cable will cover our current state of knowledge of these ocean worlds, and discuss some current missions and future mission concepts to explore their plumes, surfaces, and ocean depths.

Morgan L. Cable is the Co-Deputy PI of the Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) Instrument aboard the Mars 2020 (Perseverance) rover and the Science Lead for the Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS) Project. She has worked on the Cassini Mission, is a Co-Investigator of the Dragonfly mission to Titan, and is serving multiple roles on the Europa Clipper mission. Currently Dr. Cable performs laboratory experiments to study the unique organic chemistry of Titan. She and colleagues were the first to discover minerals made exclusively of organics that may exist on Titan’s surface. Morgan also conducts fieldwork in extreme environments on Earth, searching for life in places such as the Atacama Desert, ice fields at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, nutrient-limited lakes at the base of Wind Cave (the densest cave system in the world) in South Dakota, fumarole-generated ice caves of the Mount Meager stratovolcano in Canada, and lava fields of Iceland.

Lecture Sponsors:

The $2 million sale-topping Good Magic colt in the ring at OBS. [Judit Seipert]

Paying tribute posthumously

Multiple local agencies are involved in an unclaimed bodies program that provides full military honors for deceased veterans.

By Andy Fillmore Correspondent

Two veterans whose bodies went unclaimed after their deaths last year received full military honors services on Friday at the Forest Lawn Funeral Home and Memory Gardens.

The service to country and fellow citizens by the veterans, whose circumstances at the time of their deaths was not immediately known, was recognized with military honors thanks to the Marion County Community Services (MCCS) Unclaimed Bodies program, the Marion County Veterans Council (MCVC), several veterans’ organizations, Forest Lawn and Roberts of Ocala Funerals and Cremations.

Michael E. Witkowski, who died June 19, 2022, and Keith Wayne Melton, who passed away on July 9, 2022, both U.S. Air Force veterans, were honored in ceremonies that included a prayer, a reading, an honor guard, a rifle salute, a bugler sounding taps, a benediction of the ashes, a respectful salute from a rifle unit and the ceremonial folding and presentation of an American flag. Military honors were provided by volunteers, including members of the MCVC, Veterans of Foreign Wars Angela Santos Post 4781 of Ocala, Jason Price

with Forest Lawn and Ray Mehaffey, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of Desert Storm and Desert Shield, also with Forest Lawn.

Chip Rich with MCCS, and the county’s Veterans Service Office led by Director Jeffrey Askew, are also part of the process to be sure veterans get a final “thank you for your service.”

The cremated remains of each veteran were transported in a hearse led by two motorcycles to the Garden of Veterans area of the cemetery.

“The march of our comrades is over,” said VFW Post 4781 Auxiliary member and chaplain Valerie Roobol.

Roobol and Heidi Brown, a Post 4781 auxiliary member and captain of the post honor guard, officiated as fellow post members Sherry Whitmer-Hall and Jean Destache stood at attention holding an American flag and U.S. Air Force emblem flag.

“We are here assembled to pay a lasting respect to our departed comrade. When the call of our country was heard, he answered and self was forgotten in the cause of the greater good,” Brown said.

Roobol and Brown have conducted at least 400 military honors services.

The seven-member rifle unit fired a three round salute and bugler Richard Saltz with American Legion Ocala Memorial Post 27 played taps. The

container holding the ashes was briefly draped with the Air Force emblem flag and each member of the rifle unit placed a poppy by the container as a sign of respect.

The unclaimed bodies program was started in 2020. In cases when someone dies and no one comes forward to claim the body and handle the costs of cremation, regardless of any military service, the county makes arrangements for “final rest” for the person, according to Marionfl.org.

The county contracts with Roberts of Ocala using tax funds to handle arrangements in unclaimed cases and, in many cases, the funeral home locates the next of kin. The website indicates that in one example of 100 unclaimed bodies, they found the next of kin for 60 people.

Josh Matthews-Leverette with Roberts of Ocala said during a recent 12 month period, the unclaimed bodies program involved 114 cases. Ashes are held by the funeral home for at least 120 days before appropriate disposal.

Col. Craig Ham, president of the MCVC, said the veteran memorial services are held at 10:30 a.m. on the third Friday pf each month at Forest Lawn. He said American Legion Post 354 and VFW Post 4209 are among the groups involved in providing military honors at the services.

Robert Ortiz of VFW Post 4209

McCullough-Mixson Post and On Top of the World resident Bob Levenson, dressed in his USMC uniform, attended the ceremony.

Suzanne McGuire, secretary of the MCVC and retired USAF Lt. Col. Carol Walker, president of the Kingdom of the Sun Military Officers Association of America, were on hand to pay their respects. The two have participated in the services for upwards of 15 years and have been ceremonial recipients of the American flag folded by members of the honor guard and presented in honor of each veteran. They both said the symbolic accepting of the flag for the veteran is always moving.

Penny Ryan, the wife of rifle unit member Dennis Ryan, a member of Post 4781 and U.S. Navy veteran from 1971 to 1991, who served on submarines and surface ships, watched the service. She said her husband served as a medic (corpsman) and has a heart for fellow veterans.

“He’s always there for veterans; he loves his people,” she said.

Veterans and their spouses may qualify for a no-cost burial space in the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. To learn more, go to the Department of Veterans Affairs website, cem.va.gov

Veterans carry the cremains of a veteran who received military honors through the Marion County Unclaimed Bodies program. [Andy Fillmore]

Members of VFW Angela Santos Post 4781 escort the remains of two veterans as part of the county’s unclaimed bodies program. [Andy Fillmore]

Sherry Whitmer-Hall, left, and Jean Destache, help provide military honors for two veterans. [Andy Fillmore]

The VFW Angela Santos Post 4781 rifle unit. [Andy Fillmore]

Sherry Whitmer-Hall, left, and Jean Destache, help provide military honors for two veterans. [Andy Fillmore]

Bugler Richard Saltz of American Legion Ocala Memorial Post 27. [Andy Fillmore]

People, Places & Things

By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com

Upcycling elevates recycled material into something new with better quality.

The eco-friendly concept has inspired artists internationally and, most recently, Marion Cultural Alliance (MCA) Gallery Director Ashley Justiniano.

Justiniano, who came up with the idea to gather artists and the community to celebrate Earth Day, got the trash ball rolling to premiere MCA’s exhibition and event series, “UpCycled: Turning Waste into Wonder,” at the MCA’s Brick City Center for the Arts from Friday, April 7, to Saturday, April 29. The show kicks off with a members-only reception from 5 to 6 p.m. on Friday, April 7.

Florida Express Environmental has signed on as the exhibit sponsor. The company offers residential and commercial solid waste services throughout a sixcounty region that includes Ocala. Company officials talked with MCA Executive Director Jaye Baillie about inviting an MCA artist member to gather refuse from one of their sites to use to create an original artwork, which the company would potentially buy to hang in its main office.

“We anxiously wait for the April 7 event to see what trash will now become an artistic treasure,” said John Paglia, owner and president of Florida Express Environmental.

MCA recently posted photos of a Florida Express Environmental site visit on social media.

“Jaye and I just tagged along with artist David D’Alessandris to take pics and meet our sponsors,” said Justiniano.

Since moving to Ocala in 2006, D’Alessandris has served as a board

member and artist liaison for MCA. He paints and creates threedimensional and mixed media artworks. He earned a bachelor’s in fine arts degree from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

The artist’s tactile “Quillage” collection won Best in Show at the College of Central Florida Webber Gallery around 12 years ago. His work has been exhibited at the Brick City Center for the Arts and NOMA Ocala, among other galleries. He was selected to create “Forest King,” a Horse Fever 10th Anniversary statue, in 2011.

Last week, he joined Baillie and Justiniano at the Florida Express Environmental recycling site to scavenge for materials to use in his submission, which will be revealed at the opening reception.

“In all my years as an artist, I must say that this collaboration with Florida Express Environmental is one of the most fun challenges I’ve had the opportunity to create,”

D’Alessandris said. “I am obsessed. I have worked on the piece, and I must say watching it develop is a story in itself.”

Another standout in the show, Laura Nell Britton, is an accomplished illustrator/ mixed media artist with a knack for imaginative imagery. The international traveler and author of the semi-autobiographical “Monkey Mind and the Melting Heart” infuses her works with colorful humor and pathos.

“I get some glue, start sticking stuff to cardboard and enjoy the process,” Britton said. The process, she added, makes her feel like she’s 6-years-old again and she relishes the opportunity to “make merry fun.”

Of her “Upcycled” works, she said, “The flamingo looks upon a path to fantasy mountain” and “the

Screen dream

panda constructs his bed in a jungle and eats bamboo” and did indeed bring out her inner child as she crafted her intricate assemblages from found materials such as cut paper from many printed sources, old clothes and food packaging.

“Upcycled” ticketed events happening throughout the month will benefit the MCA.

“Family-Friendly

Fabric Fun” cuts things up from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 8, and “Trashy Tuesday: Turning Trash Into Treasure” teaches art lovers 10 and older how to creatively repurpose items from 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 11. Tickets are free to Trashy Tuesday but reservations via EventBrite are requested.

On April 29, local designers invite fashionistas and fashion lovers to the “Get WAISTED, not WASTED!” fashion Show from 5:30-7:30 p.m. At the event, models will be decked out in ensembles composed of recycled materials. DJ Matt Maio will spin tunes and Darian Mosley will emcee. Also, cheers to the cocktails and hors d’oeuvres included with the ticket price of $40 for MCA members and $50 for nonmembers. Proceeds will go to the organization’s ongoing efforts to provide art and art education to the community.

For more information, visit mcaocala.org.

By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com

While working on a Christian rap music video around seven years ago, Tekulve Jackson wondered if he could be working on a project that was more meaningful to him.

The 43-year-old former state employee and mental health professional said he felt inspired by his Citra hometown and wanted to tell stories about the struggles of everyday people in North Marion County and Ocala, where he lives today, so he created the storyline for “Backstreet.”

The series’ first two episodes premiered at the Marion Theatre in downtown Ocala last

week, but if you missed it, the series can be streamed online.

The project started out as a film but evolved into a TV series because Jackson wanted to see his characters’ stories continue.

“I wrote the characters based off the personalities of the people that I already knew,” Jackson said. “Even though it’s all fiction and made up, we’re kind of trying to put the characters in situations that normal people would go through.”

The name “Backstreet,” he explained, comes from a “road” out of Citra and represents many small country roads. Themes include struggling to accept the past and reconcile emotions, the inner conflict between loyalties and the consequences of life-

Refuse is reborn onto the canvases and pedestals of local artists in the MCA exhibition titled “UpCycled: Turning Waste into Wonder.”

File photo: David D’Alessandis works on his painting Paradise at his home studio in Ocala on Thursday, June 3, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

“The flamingo looks upon a path to fantasy mountain”; cut paper from many printed sources, old clothes, food packaging, reclaimed stones, paint, markers and a reused frame; 26” x 38” - By Laura Nell Britton

“The panda constructs his bed in a jungle and eats bamboo”; cut paper from many printed sources, candy wrappers, cloth, paint, markers, reused mat and frame; 20” x 25” - By Laura Nell Britton

“We anxiously wait for the April 7 event to see what trash will now become an artistic treasure.”

John Paglia, Owner

and

president of Florida Express Environmental.

Ocala resident Tekulve Jackson grew up in Citra and brings his community to life, and on set, for his first TV series, “Backstreet.”

TV series inspired by local

Continued from page B1

changing choices.

Its filming style is gritty and raw, somewhat voyeuristic with some stylized flashbacks, drone and tracking shots, and the plot centers on protagonist Quentin Jacobs, aka “Q” (Jackson), who’s trying to heal and make a life for himself amid the aftermath of a shooting that took the life of his mother.

In the series’ first episode, “Ouroboros” (symbol of a snake eating its own tail), Jackson “wanted to show how our own decisions can turn around and destroy us also wanted to show Q matures and heals through grief, pain and accountability.”

The story didn’t start off with Q losing his mother, he said.

“I rebranded the show and picked up where it left off a couple of years ago,” he explained. “When I started filming in 2016, I wanted to show how your actions affect more than yourself. Q’s younger brother Casey made some decisions that caused their mother to lose her life and Casey ended up in prison. The rebranding of the show just picks up from there and will go back and explain it over time.”

Q and his family must heal and overcome a wide range of challenges as Q navigates between the twists and turns of conflicting allegiances, which could interfere with the lead character’s commitment to making the right choices and securing his and his family’s future.

Problems with mental health and addiction are also examined.

“We want to display mental health traits and show how those characters deal with them and how they overcome them because mental health is real and it looks different depending on who’s looking at it,” Jackson said. “For instance, I may see someone as my crazy Uncle Willie, but somebody else may see him and say, ‘Okay, Willie has schizophrenia.’”

Locations include The Lodge (exterior shot), Ocala Wetland Recharge Park, Urban Style Beauty and Barber Shop, Tuscawilla Park and other familiar local settings. The soundtrack features some catchy rap tunes

recorded and performed by Jackson. The lyrics reflect the story’s themes and Jackson keeps the language clean.

Working with his wife Theresia Jackson, a licensed mental health counselor who runs a therapy service for couples, families and individuals, and their close friend and partner Regas Woods (who plays Clayton Williams), a Paralympic bronze medalist, Jackson started out by creating content for three episodes, but it became evident they needed a larger team to piece everything together.

The crew decided to take a four-year break from filming to regroup, continue to work fulltime jobs, purchase upgraded filming equipment, and reach out to various local filmmakers and videographers, They later were joined by cinematographers Christin Hayes and GBG Photography (Governor Jamal Mosley). Tekulve and Theresia have so far invested a significant amount of their own money into the show.

Tekulve Jackson said he also wanted to provide newbies a chance to try their hand at screen work, to show off their abilities, enabling them to pursue their ambitions of filming, acting, directing, and being a part of something creative and entertaining.

Despite having a large team onsite, Jackson constantly worked behind the scenes writing scripts, recruiting and interviewing the cast, planning scenes, editing, and engineering sound for the series. He consulted with collaborators such as Melvin Cotton III (Kain Wallace), who acts and assists with direction.

Though “Backstreet” rides a roller coaster of emotions, the series brings up themes of morality and justice that challenge viewers to consider their own perspectives and questions the power of forgiveness and the implications of revenge.

“I’m proud of the fact that the show has literally no profanity or insidious language,” Jackson proclaimed. “The worst word you’ll hear is ‘hell’!”

“Backstreet” can be viewed online at the Blac Box Studios video channel on YouTube (tinyurl.com/YouTube-Backstreet) or via the series’ URL at backstreet.live.

Hello, Ocala!

in that order!”

She was one of four children born to her mother, who was from New York state, and her father, who emigrated to the United States from Bucharest, Romania. Her sister Jewel lives in Ocala, and her brother Ira lives in Virginia. Another brother, Alvin, is deceased. Her father was a painter and, because of his work, the family moved frequently. He owned a paint factory in Mississippi and one in Louisiana.

“I went to a lot of different schools and met a lot of different people. I like people,” she shared. “I can tell a lot about someone’s character by their eyes.”

While attending Jacksonville University in Florida, she met her first husband, Walter Clark. The pair had two children, son Tracy, who has passed away, and daughter Kimberly, who lives in Marietta, Georgia.

and her many friends, who stop by her home often. Her outgoing and giving nature is evident.

“I just like to help people,” she ventured.

Michelson is enthusiastic about OTOW Lions Club activities, such as providing Thanksgiving baskets for families in the Dunnellon School District who need help during the holiday and for residents of the Ritz, a veterans’ home in Ocala. The group also provides clothes, underwear and school supplies to children in need and collects eyeglasses to be sent to people in developing countries. They offer vision examinations and a pair of eyeglasses to individuals who do not have vision insurance and who qualify for the program.

“Just apply to your local Lions Club,” she said.

By Eadie Sickler Correspondent

Estelle Michelson is all about lions. Every size, color, shape, and sort, including cement statues and statuettes, all sizes of stuffed likenesses and many beautiful paintings. Her lifelong love for lions all started in 1998 when she joined the Lions Club in Fort Worth, Texas. She joined the On Top of the World (OTOW) Lions Club, a 501 (C)(3) nonprofit organization, when she moved to the community in 2000.

Over the years, she has become very active with the group and has held the membership chairperson position, receiving many awards for her volunteerism. One of the awards she proudly displays in her home is a large sword, which she explained is the “Crusader Sword,” given to a “grassroots lion.” Under the sword are hung two wagon wheels; one she received for holding

the offices of past district governor, District 35L, which includes several counties from the Florida Panhandle through Marion County; and the other was for serving as the Florida state Lions Club governor from 2009 to 2010.

Michelson also has been awarded the Lions Club President’s Medal of Honor. She recently received a letter from the national organization stating there are 250,000 Lions Club members in the contiguous United States, and of that number 200 have brought more than 100 new members into the organization. The letter confirmed that she is one of those 200.

Over time, many friends, family members and other Lions Club members have given her much of the lion memorabilia that she displays in her home.

Michelson was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Displaying her wit, she said with a grin, “Memphis is famous for two things: Estelle and Elvis.” After a brief hesitation, she added, “But not necessarily

Walter was an airline pilot who worked for National Airlines, Pan American World Airways, and then Delta Air Lines. The family lived in Hollywood, Florida, and then in Plantation. He owned a small four-seater airplane and the family flew everywhere around the country, she recalled, “with two kids and a dog.” While living in Fort Lauderdale for a time, she wrote for the “Fort Lauderdale News” for four years in the 1970s.

Michelson later moved to Ocala and settled into a home at On Top of The World, where she joined the Lions Club. It was here that she met her second husband, Edward Michelson, a widower. They dated for 17 years before marrying in 2016. He was a graduate of the University of Florida and was a professor at Harvard for 30 years and worked for the World Health Organization in preventive medicine and biometric sciences.

“He was a brilliant gentleman,” she said of Edward, who passed away in November. In addition to Estelle, he left three daughters who live in California and Colorado. Between them, the couple has 15 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.

Again using her journalistic abilities, Estelle Michelson was a writer for a small community paper and the OTOW paper for a few years. She keeps busy now with all activities of the Lions Club at OTOW,

There are several Lions Clubs in Marion County, and their main focus is on children and veterans, she emphasized. To achieve their goals, they hold fundraisers during the year. Michelson said one effort her club sponsored was a “Recycle Trashy Fashion Show,” where people created outfits out of recyclable materials.

“Some were phenomenal,” she said.

Her club has also held a senior prom for senior citizens at OTOW, complete with a band and the crowning of a king and queen, and a spaghetti dinner.

They plan to hold a Casino Night event from 5-8 p.m. on April 30, at the Circle Square Cultural Center, to which the public is invited.

“A large crowd is anticipated,” she said.

The main prize is a 65-inch smart TV. Other prizes will be awarded, including a 50-50 drawing. The $40-per-person entry fee will include light snacks and $300 in “fun money” to be spent in casino-type gaming events.

Tickets may be purchased in advance at the OTOW Recreation Center Craft Fair, on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon; the OTOW Farmers Market on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; First Federal Bank at Circle Square, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the Ameris Bank at Heath Brook; or from any OTOW Lions Club member.

To learn more, go to ontopoftheworldinfo.com/otow-lions-clubmonthly-meetings

Estelle Clark Michelson, who has been doing good deeds for the Lions of Florida for numerous years, poses with part of her large lion collection by some of her numerous Lions of Florida awards at her On Top of the World home in Ocala on Monday, March 27, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.

Left: The “Backstreet” law enforcement contingent includes, from left, Jacob Richardson, Clyde Garrison, Rhonda Lane and Stacie Mone’ Smith. [Theresia Jackson]

Below: Tekulve Jackson on the set of “Backstreet,” filmed in Marion County. [Theresia Jackson]

The Jackson family from left, Tekiyah, Tekelvin and Tekaylah Jackson, parents Tekulve and Theresia Jackson, Tayshaun and Tekayen Jackson. Jackson’s sons appear in episode four of the series, and the name “Backstreet Ballaz” on their shirts represents the AAU basketball team their dad started for kids in the community. [James Oliver/Exclusive Images]

A focus on farmlands

The Marion County Farmland Preservation Festival on April 8 will highlight the area’s rich agricultural history.

By Rosemarie Dowell rosemarie@ocalagazette.com

This year’s Marion County Farmland Preservation Festival has yet another venue change, but its message of celebrating timehonored traditions and quest for preservation of farmland has been consistent since its founding.

The 15th annual event will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sat., April 8, at Majestic Oaks Ocala, 17500 N U.S. Highway 441 in Reddick, a move from last year’s locale of Rock Star Arena in Micanopy.

Created by the nonprofit Save Our Rural Areas (SORA)-which opposes urban sprawl on farmland, especially within the county’s designated Farmland Preservation Area (FPA)--the educational festival highlights the area’s rich agricultural history with exhibits and demonstrations, including a “Cracker Cowboy Camp,” and beekeeping.

“We’re expecting a big crowd this year,” said festival chairman Jerome Feaster, a founding member of SORA, which also works to protect the rural character of the area. “We’ve got

lots of vendors who are looking forward to coming and a great location with people who are supportive of our efforts.

“We have quite a few nonprofits coming, too; more than we’ve ever had,” he added.

A farmer’s market stocked with locally grown plants and produce, along with traditional farm and cottage crafts will be available, too, said Feaster.

Along with the crowd-favorite Horse and Tractor Parade (set to begin at 10 a.m.), which features antique and vintage John Deere and International Harvesters tractors and others, the event also includes other farm animals, a petting zoo and hayrides.

Live entertainment will take place throughout the day, with bluegrass, Americana and fiddle music.

Local musicians Rod and Dave Guynn, cousins to the late rock icon Tom Petty, will be back for a repeat performance, said Feaster, who lives in Shiloh, in northwest Marion County, on acreage his grandparents settled on more than 100 years ago.

An array of tastebud-tickling food will be on tap, too, including barbecue, hot dogs and sausages,

GRANT DEADLINE NEARS

The Chief Greg Graham Legacy Foundation is accepting applications for a new grant for nonprofits. The deadline to submit is April 15.

The former police chief died in a plane crash on Oct. 25, 2020. The foundation fund focuses on giving back to the key initiatives and causes that Graham held dear.

In 2023, a committee created a grant process where nonprofits can apply for funding to address a key initiative or cause to be selected annually. This year’s key initiative is mental health. Applicants must be a registered 501(c)(3) in good standing and must be/have a program to address the key focus area.

Find the application at bit.ly/Graham-GRANT

SECO ENERGY FOUNDATION

$5,319 GRANT

APPROVES

The newly established SECO Energy Foundation approved a grant of $5,319 to benefit public safety for Marion County Fire Rescue (MCFR).

MCFR requested the funds to equip three fire engines with updated material. The improved equipment prepares the local fire rescue team to respond to emergency calls, provide service to citizens and protect its team of first responders who put their lives in danger to assist the community in fire, rescue and medical emergencies, the news release stated.

The SECO Energy Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) funded largely through SECO’s electric bill round up program and will be supplemented by grants the foundation applies for through other local, state and federal funding programs.

hamburgers, homemade desserts, Jersey Cow Creamery Ice Cream, freshly made lemonade and more, said Feaster.

“It should be fun for the whole family,” he said.

The inaugural Farmland Preservation Festival took place in the parking lot of Shiloh United Methodist Church and moved to other locations over the years, including Harvest Village (now Antonio’s Restaurant and Speakeasy), Coon Hollo Farm and the Ocala Jockey Club.

Besides all the fun and education, Feaster hopes the festival’s message of preserving critical farm and agricultural lands and the rural flavor of the area comes through to those in attendance.

“It’s all about preservation, that’s the main thing,” he said. “And getting people here and out in the community.”

As always, admission is free. This year, however, organizers have added a $5 parking fee and each paid fee comes with a raffle ticket for items at the SORA booth.

To learn more, go to farmlandfestival.org.

INAUGURAL INDUCTEES NAMED

On March 3, during the inaugural Inspire Gala hosted by the Community Foundation for Ocala/ Marion County, the foundation announced the first two inductees into the Community Golden Circle.

The Community Golden Circle honors

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS

HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, an affiliate of HCA Florida Healthcare, recently announced that it has begun construction on the new $11 million HCA Florida Foxwood Emergency in Ocala. Slated to open this winter, the 11,000-square-

philanthropists who have given more than $1 million through the foundation in support of charitable causes. Local philanthropists Bob Reilly and Rich and Deb Bianculli were the inaugural inductees. New members of the Community Golden Circle we will be inducted annually.

foot, one-story facility will be located at 4361 NW Blichton Road. It is expected to employ approximately 45 full-time healthcare professionals with additional staff hired to support growing needs, according to the news release.

NEW BOARD AND TEAM MEMBERS

Hospice of Marion County (HMC) has announced two new members have joined its board of directors, along with one returning member, and the addition of a new medical team member.

The new board members are Carlos E. Tobon and Heather A. Smith, MSN, BSN, RN. The returning member is Diana Holder.

Sujatharani Thiruman, MD, holds an internal medicine certification and brings more than 20 years of experience from various healthcare settings, such as outpatient, hospital, skilled nursing facilities and hospice. Prior to joining HMC, she worked at HCA Ocala/West Marion Community Hospital for approximately 10 years.

File photo: Jaxon Miller, 9, Dade Markham, 4, and Raelyn Hoffman, 2, left to right, play in a large bin of corn during the 14th-annual Marion County Farmland Preservation Festival at Rock Star Arena in Shiloh on Saturday, April 9, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

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

Common throughout Marion County year-round, the male redwinged blackbirds are sharply attired with snappy red and yellow shoulder bars. That’s one easy way to tell the difference between these birds and the somewhat similar common and boat-tailed grackles. Their distinctive trilling call is a familiar soundtrack for wetlands.

THIS SOUP RECIPE USES A WHOPPING 17 CLOVES OF GARLIC, FOR GOOD REASON

By America’s Test Kitchen

There are three qualities you want in a weeknight meal: quick, simple, and delicious.

Lucky for you, this creamy soup recipe, developed for our “FiveIngredient Dinners” cookbook, gives you all three.

The secret ingredient here

is really no secret, as test cook

Carmen Dongo used a whopping

17 cloves of garlic! However, cooking the garlic three different ways mellowed its sharpness and practically transformed it into three different ingredients.

She broiled it, dry-toasted it still in its skin, and turned it into garlic chips to toss with lemon zest and chives for garnish. Treating the garlic this way creates a balanced flavor that you’ll love so much we’re confident this soup recipe will become part of your regular dinner rotation.

Creamy Chickpea, Broccoli Rabe and Garlic Soup

Serves: 4 to 6

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 pound broccoli rabe, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths

17 garlic cloves (1 minced, 8 sliced, 8 unpeeled)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons juice

3 tablespoons minced fresh chives, divided

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, undrained

1. Adjust oven rack 4 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

2. Toss broccoli rabe with 2 tablespoons oil, minced garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then spread in an even layer over the prepared sheet. Broil until exposed leaves are well browned, about 2 minutes. Toss to expose unbrowned leaves then return sheet to oven and broil until most leaves are well browned and stalks are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes; set aside.

3. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil and the sliced garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly once garlic starts to sizzle. Cook until garlic is light golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer garlic to a bowl and toss with lemon zest and 1 teaspoon chives. Set aside.

4. Carefully wipe out the saucepan. Toast unpeeled garlic in the now-empty saucepan over medium heat until skins are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from saucepan and let cool. Peel garlic then return to the now-empty saucepan along with chickpeas and their liquid, 2 1/2 cups water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat until chickpeas begin to break down, 5 to 7 minutes.

5. Working in batches, process soup in a blender until smooth, about 2 minutes. Return soup to again-empty saucepan, stir in broccoli rabe, and adjust consistency with extra hot water as needed. Cook over medium heat until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining chives and lemon juice. Serve with garlic chips.

(For 25 years, home cooks have relied on America’s Test Kitchen for rigorously tested recipes developed by professional test cooks and vetted by 60,000 at-home recipe testers. The family of brands—which includes Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, and America’s Test Kitchen Kids—offers reliable recipes for cooks of all ages and skill levels. See more online at www.americastestkitchen.com/TCA.)

Hears __”

26 Merit badge spot

27 “Gross!”

28 Liberate

29 Christmas pudding fat

33 Cowardly

34 Since Jan. 1

36 Unlikely Oscar nominees

37 Hockey legend Phil, to fans

38 Cinder-covered

40 Like much court evidence

41 “Flying” national symbol

42 Modeling adhesive

47 Bolivian bruin

48 Website providing vehicle history reports

49 “Don’t delete” mark

51 Bond portrayer Daniel

52 Greeting word

53 Elicit

54 Spanish queen

55 Scarlett’s Butler

59 Island with a U.S. state capital

60

Red-winged blackbird [MichaelWarren.com]

The garlic in this soup was cooked three different ways.

LOCAL CALENDAR LISTINGS community

MARCH 31-APRIL 1

McIntosh Garden Show and Plant

Sale

Van Ness Park, 5835 Avenue G, McIntosh

Friday, 1pm-4pm; Saturday, 9am-4pm

The McIntosh Seedlings and Garden Club’s annual plant sale will offer new plants, seeds, veggies and more. Choose from perennials, annuals, vegetables, houseplants and herbs, along with garden décor for inside and outside. Proceeds help sponsor scholarships to the Wekiva Youth Camp. Visit mcintoshseedlings.com

APRIL 1-2

Kirby Farms Easter Train and Easter

Egg Hunt Kirby Farms, 19630 NE 30th Street, Williston

10am

This festival offers a train ride, magic show, dance party, petting zoo with spring baby animals, amusement rides and carnival games, plus prizes, food and photo ops with the Easter Bunny. Every child gets at least a dozen filled eggs. Tickets are $16 for ages 11 and older, $11 ages 3-10 and, if available, $20 at the gate. Pre-register and buy tickets at itickets.com/promoters/275537, or check out kirbyfarm.com

APRIL 1

CF Educational Field Day

College of Central Florida Vintage Farm campus, 4020

SE Third Ave., Ocala

10am-2pm

The Equine Studies and Agribusiness departments are hosting a field day with presentations about clicker training for horses, sport horse genetics, round pen work, handline and horse care, plus horticulture and agribusiness topics. Faculty, students and alumni will offer tours and demonstrations. Free to attend. See CF.Edu/BusTechEvents for more info.

APRIL 1

April Foolin’ On The Dock Dog

Contest

Ocala Dog Ranch, 440 SW 110th Ave., Ocala

9am-5pm

This International Dog Sports event will have multiple jump opportunities, food trucks, vendors and pets available for adoption from an area rescue group. Games include Horizon for distance; Eclipse for fetching; and Velocity of speed. Free for spectators; jumping rounds for dogs start at $20 in advance and $25 day of. For more info, check out ocaladogranch.com

APRIL 1

Yoga in the Park Sholom Park, 7110 SW 80th Ave., Ocala

9am Free yoga classes at the stage area; recurs every Saturday morning. Visit sholompark.org for details.

APRIL 1 & 8

Ocala 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, 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.

APRIL 1 & 8

Farmers Swap Meet

Rural King, 2999 NW 10th St., Ocala

9am-2pm

Chickens, ducks, quail, geese, goats, turkeys, rabbits and sometimes even ponies are available, along with horse tack, home-grown plants, produce and hand-crafted items. Booth types vary, with occasional meat vendors, food trucks and other goods. Saturdays, weather permitting.

government

APRIL 3 & 10

Marion County Development Review Committee

Office of the County Engineer, 412 SE 25th Ave., Building 1, Ocala

9am

The first step for new development projects, the committee reviews and votes on waiver requests to the Land Development Code, major site plans, and subdivision plans. Meets weekly on Mondays; agendas are usually posted the Friday prior. Agendas, minutes and video available at marionfl.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

APRIL 4

City of Ocala City Council Meeting

City Hall, 110 SE Watula Avenue, Ocala

civic

MARCH 31 & APRIL 7

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.

MARCH 31 & APRIL 7

Kiwanis Club of Ocala

Knights of Columbus Building at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church, 1510 SE

3rd Ave., Ocala

12pm

Meets weekly on Fridays. Supports Camp Kiwanis, children’s literacy and Habitat for Humanity. More info at ocalakiwanis.org

APRIL 2

FAST One-Year Anniversary Open

House

Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training, 4635 SW 67th Avenue Road, Ocala

12pm-3pm

The swim center in Calesa Township celebrates its first year of training with a celebration that includes food options, aqua aerobics classes, TRX and yoga classes, and the pro shop will be open. Free to attend. For more info, FloridaFAST.com

APRIL 6

OTOW Farmers Market

The Town Square at Circle Square Commons, 8405 SW 80th St., Ocala

9am-1pm

Large selection of 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

APRIL 7

First Friday Art Walk

Ocala Downtown Square, 1 SE Broadway St., Ocala

6pm-9pm

The monthly Art Walk features Ocala artists, performers and craftspeople. The square’s main stage hosts music, and food and drink are available from vendors and nearby restaurants. Free to attend. For more info, ocalafl.org

APRIL 8

Honoring the Fallen/First

Responders and Veterans Marion County Public Library Community Room, 2720 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

10am-12pm

Sponsored by the City of Ocala, Hospice of Marion County, We Honor Veterans and the Marion County Veterans Park, this service will honor those who served but did not survive. It will offer a chance to

share a story, unburden grief and renew respect for service. To close the ceremony, attendees will walk to the Veterans Memorial Park for a final tribute. See marionvetpark.com for more info.

APRIL 8

Farmland Preservation Festival

Majestic Oaks Farm, 17500 N US Hwy 441, Reddick

10am-3pm

Kicking off with its traditional tractor and horse parade, this festival celebrates the importance of farmland preservation and showcases the value of all kinds of rural activities. Along with critters, the day brims with live music, a farmer’s market, farm animals, arts and crafts vendors, educational exhibits and more. Barbecue, hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream treats, homemade desserts and more for sale. Free to attend. See saveourruralarea.org/ and sites.google.com/site/ farmlandpreservationfestival for more info.

APRIL 8

Brick City Beer and Wine Festival

Citizens Circle, 151 SE Osceola Ave, Ocala 2pm-6pm Beer and wine to sample and purchase, entertainment, 50/50 raffle, vendors, live music, activities and food trucks. Wind FM is sponsoring a “Battle of the Bands.” The Ocala Silver Springs and Ocala Sunset Rotary Clubs sponsor the event and proceeds will benefit Interfaith Emergency Services, Marion County Literacy Council and Kimberly’s Center for Child Protection. Tickets range from $15-$55; some include drink passes. For more info, see brickcitybeerandwinefest.com

THROUGH APRIL 8

Photos with the Easter Bunny

Paddock Mall, 3100 SW College Road, Ocala Mall hours

Time blocks of 15 minutes can be scheduled online and walk-up guests are welcome. See whereisbunny.com for reservations.

4pm

Meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Agendas are usually posted the Thursday prior; agendas, minutes and video available from ocala.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

APRIL 4

Marion County Board of County Commissioners

Meeting

McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala 9am & 2pm

Meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. The Planning & Zoning portion is scheduled for the 2pm meeting. Agendas are usually posted the Thursday prior. Agendas, minutes and video available at marionfl.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

MARCH 28

Ocala Blue Star Mothers

Arena 1, second floor, World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala

6pm

Organization for mothers of active duty military and veterans meets the fourth Tuesday of each month. New members

APRIL 4

City of Belleview City Commission Meeting City Hall, 5343 SE Abshier Blvd., Belleview

6pm-8pm

Meets the first and third Tuesdays; Belleview agendas, minutes and video available at belleviewfl.org/200/Agendas-Minutes

APRIL 10

Marion County Historical Commission Growth Service Training Room, 2710 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

6pm Meets on the second Monday of the month. For more info, contact Rolando Sosa at (352) 620-0944.

arts

MARCH 31

Caribbean Chillers-Jimmy Buffett

Tribute

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

7pm

This party band recreates the Jimmy Buffett sound and vibe. Tickets start at $31. See csculturalcenter.com/events/492 for info and purchase.

MARCH 31-APRIL 2

“Once: A New Musical”

West Port High School, 3733 SW 80th Ave., Ocala

Mar 31 & April 1 at 7pm; April 2 at 2pm

The West Port High School Omega Theatre Company presents this musical about a “guy who gave up on love and music and the girl who inspired him to dream again.” Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students, available from wphs.seatyourself.biz

APRIL 1

The Buzzcatz Swing and Soul

Classics

Orange Blossom Opry, 16439 SW 138th Terrace,

Weirsdale

7:30pm

The Swing era comes to life when the Buzzcatz hit the stage with their “Mob Hits & More” show. Tickets from $28, available from obopry.com

APRIL 1

Bonnie Halsell, Wildlife

Photography Exhibit

Silver Springs State Park Welcome Center, 5656 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

1pm-3pm

Wildlife photographer Bonnie Halsell is exhibiting—and talking about—her photos, many of which were taken at Silver Springs. Park admission is $2 per person.

APRIL 1

After Dark in Park: “The Monuments

Men”

Tuscawilla Art Park, 213 NE 5th St., Ocala

8pm-10pm

The City of Ocala sponsors free movies in the park, and this month it’s about rescuing stolen art masterpieces. Rated PG-13; bring a blanket or chair. Light refreshments are available to purchase. For more info, ocalafl.org

APRIL 2

Central Florida Master Choir

Country Presbyterian Church, 7768 SW Highway 200, Ocala

3pm

This year’s choir show is named “Night and Day” and will offer renditions of songs by Beethoven, Porter, Bach, Lennon, McCartney and others. Free to attend, with donations gratefully accepted. Check out cfmasterchoir.com for more info.

APRIL 3

Appleton Museum Summer Camp

Registration

Online at AppletonMuseum.org

The popular summer day camps open for registration today, with lots of choices for young art lovers. Classes are organized by age groups of 5-7, 8-12 and ages 13+ with subjects like Florida Wildlife, Fashion Fun, Horsin’ Around, Superheroes and more. Classes run weekly starting June 5 and end July 28. Camps are for a half-day and cost $130 for Appleton members and $150 for non-members. For registration, go to AppletonMuseum.org and click on the Education tab.

APRIL 4

“Flora for Fostering” Art Show

South State Bank, 1632 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

5pm-7pm

Over 100 floral paintings by 22 artists from Gallery B will be on display and available for sale at this fundraiser for the Pearl Project, a group that works to build trust and hope for foster children in need

&nightlifemusic

MARCH 31 & APRIL 7

Courtyard Jams

MCA Courtyard

23 W Broadway St., Ocala

6-9pm Music, dancing, drumming, poetry and limbo. Free to all, Friday nights weekly.

MARCH 31

Nate Mercado

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala

6-9pm Food, drink, live music and horses.

MARCH 31

Adam Rountree

Homestead Park

1050 NE 6th Blvd., Williston

6-9pm Food, drink, shopping options and entertainment.

MARCH 31

Dr. King provides comprehensive and exceptional

services here in the local Ocala area. He is board certified and has over 30 years of experience in male and female urology.

(thepearlproject.org). Food and beverages will be offered, and tickets are $20 available from Greiners, Her Kloset, Pen and Ink, Gallery B and online at julieshealy.com/events

APRIL 7 THROUGH JUNE 17

“Secrets” Art Show Opening

South State Bank, 1632 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

Daily during business hours

Abstract artist Kayla Moffatt takes over the secondfloor community gallery space. Her technique includes writing a secret on the canvas before painting, then using color and marking to connect with viewers. Her paintings are large, colorful and evocative. A reception on April 7 begins at 5:30pm and includes light refreshments. See kaylamoffattart.com for more info.

THROUGH MAY 4

CF Student Art Exhibition

College of Central Florida CF Webber Gallery, 3001 SW College Road, Ocala

10am-4pm Monday-Thursday Visual Arts and Digital Media students present their works. Free to the public. For more info, CF.edu

THROUGH MAY 21

Big & Bold

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

Tues-Sat; 10am-5pm; Sunday 12pm-5pm

The museum goes big with large pieces of art in this collection, including historical, modern and contemporary art pieces. Works include a 10’ x 4’ painting by Valenkamph and Snyder’s “Florida Pink Ignition,” which is almost 7’ x 7’. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for youths. For more info, appletonmuseum.org

THROUGH MAY 25

Revolutionized Textile & Fiber

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

Daily when center is open

Artist Ingrid Humphrey, a native Floridian, displays her handmade dolls and tapestries, which portray the sisterhood of women of color all over the world. Free to the public. For more info, ocalafl.org/ artincityspaces

THROUGH JUNE 9

Blessed Be the Birds

Clerk’s Office, 110 SE Watula Ave., Ocala

Mon-Fri; 8am-5pm

Part of the Art in City Spaces program, Courtney Kravig-McGuire is a local artist with a special interest in showing the connection between nature and spirituality in her works. Her medium of choice is printmaking. Visit ocalafl.org/ artincityspaces

THROUGH JUNE 18

Paper Thin & Shadow Deep Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

Tues-Sat; 10am-5pm; Sunday 12pm-5pm

The artworks from Hiromi Mizugai Moneyhun are three-dimensional cut paper pieces that feel both lighthearted and alive. Moneyhun’s style combines traditional Japanese art forms along with modern elements from today’s Japan. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for youths. For more info, appletonmuseum.org

THROUGH JUNE 20

Aerial Dream Views of Land and Sea

Ocala International Airport, 1770 SW 60th Ave., Ocala

Airport hours

Part of the Art in City Spaces program, local artist Maggie Weakley shares her ocean-themed collection. Weakley’s series in her Water collection is comprised of multiple painting techniques, including acrylics, spray paints, glitter, Mica powder, plaster and more. Free to the public. Visit ocalafl.org/ artincityspaces and maggieweakley.com

All

Public Notice Public Notice Public Notice Public Notice Public Notice Public Notice

CIRCUIT COURT OF

IN

creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM.

ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED.

NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED.

The date of first publication of this notice is March 24, 2023.

Personal Representative:

Michael Steven Parker 6213 NE 26th Avenue

Ocala, FL 34479

Attorney for Personal Representative:

Lauren E. Merriam, III Florida Bar No. 320099

Blanchard, Merriam, Adel, Kirkland & Green, P.A. lmerriam@bmaklaw.com msandstrom@bmaklaw.com

Post Office Box 1869

Ocala, Florida 34478

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

IN RE: THE ESTATE OF KEITH LELAND REEDS, a/k/a LELAND KEITH MARTIN, Deceased. CASE NO: 2023-CP-645 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. 1 st 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: February 17, 2023. The date of first publication of this Notice is March 23, 2023.

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: KEVIN REEDS 10130 SW 188th Court Dunnellon, FL 34432 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION CASE NO.: 23CP000589AX IN RE: ESTATE OF MARY M. RAIMONDI, deceased / NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The

March 31 , 2023

Notice is hereby given: BARTON, JACOB M 631 NE 35TH LOOP OCALA, FL 34479 BROWN, GRANT E 6870 SE 88TH ST OCALA, FL 34472 BROWN, KEVIN T 1995 NE 97TH STREET RD ANTHONY, FL 32617 COUNTS JR., ROBERT E 1402 NW 23RD AVE OCALA, FL 34475 GIDDENS, MELISSA M 11960 SW 146TH PL DUNNELLON, FL 34432 GIFFORD II, TIMOTHY E 4900 SW 46TH CT OCALA, FL 34474 HAYES, KATIE J 10430 SW 100TH CT OCALA, FL 34481 KENDRICK JR, NATHANIEL D 1128 SW 2ND ST OCALA, FL 34471 MALDONADO-SOTO, ELIEZER 8150 NW 2ND ST OCALA, FL 34482 MORETZ, JOSHUA G 5439 SE HWY 484 BELLEVIEW, FL 34420 ORTIZ, JEFFREY S 718 NW 7TH ST OCALA, FL

34475

PERKINS, BRAYDN J 5870 NW 55TH CT

OCALA, FL 34482

PERRY, CYNTHIA D 8645 NW 10TH AVE OCALA, FL 34475

ROTH, CHRISTOPHER M 16635 SE 102ND AVENUE RD SUMMERFIELD, FL 34491

SMALL, JAMES E

16410 SE 57TH PL OCKLAWAHA, FL 32179

WRIGHT, DEVON D 1165 NW 105TH TER

OCALA, FL 34482

You are hereby notified that your eligibility to vote is in question. You are required to contact the Supervisor of Elections, in Ocala, Florida, no later than thirty (30) days after the date of this publishing. Failure to respond will result in a determination of ineligibility by the Supervisor and your name will be removed from the statewide voter registration system.

Wesley Wilcox Marion County Supervisor of Elections 981 NE 16th ST Ocala, FL 34470

IN RE: THE ESTATE OF H. JOSEPH SMITH, a/ka/ HAROLD JOSEPH SMITH, CASE NO: 2023-CP-588 Deceased. 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: December 16, 2022. The date of first publication of this Notice is March 31, 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: JEFFERY S. SMITH 1210 SE 27th Street Ocala, FL 34471

SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM

OUR MISSION IS TO INFORM AND UPLIFT OUR READERS BY REPORTING ON THE EVENTS, ISSUES AND STORIES THAT SHAPE OCALA WITH ACCURACY, FAIRNESS AND PASSION.

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

IN RE: THE ESTATE OF JOSEPH ZOLLA BYRD, Deceased.

CASE NO: 2023-CP-627

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.

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

NOTICE.

The date of death of the decedent is:

February 21, 2023. The date of first

The date of death of the decedent is: February 23, 2023

Sudoku

ANSWERS FOR PAGE B4

Crossword Jumble

SALAD

AWFUL

FEMALE

HOURLY

of first publication of this Notice is March 31, 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: JOHN ANTHONY ADDINGTON 1451 Meadowlands Drive Fairborn, OH 45324 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA. IN RE: THE ESTATE OF CAROLE ANNE DAMBSKI, Deceased. CASE NO: 2023-CP-704 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 3, 2023 The date of first publication of this Notice is March 31, 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: DESIREE DRINKALL 305 1st Avenue Albany, IL 61230 OCALAGAZETTE.COM/SUBSCRIBE

Blake Maum wins Ocala Open Golf Championship

By Mark Pinson Correspondent

Blake Maum shot his third consecutive 65 to finish first at 18-under par in the March 24 final round of the 18th annual Ocala Open Golf Championship at Candler Hills Golf Club.

The championship, which is part of the Florida Professional Golf Tour, attracted a field of 131 players who competed on the demanding 7,274 yard, par 71 Candler Hills layout.

Maum, from Chattanooga, Tennessee, won $15,000 for his first-place finish in the three-day, 54-hole event. Nick Robillard finished second at 15 under after carding a final round 65. Robillard, from Birmingham, Alabama, won $8,000.

There was a four-way tie for third place with Freddy D’Angelo, Maxwell Sear, Brian Richey and Michael Visacki all finishing at 13 under. Each of them earned $4,125 for their efforts.

Raj Ghosh, Van Holmgren and Thomas Giroux tied for

seventh place at 12 under and collected $2,067 apiece.

There was a five-way tie for 10th place with Travis Trace, Joey Petronio, Moses Compaan, Kevin Hall and Trey Shirley finishing at 10 under and earning $1,250 each.

Maum birdied the first hole in Friday’s final round and added birdies at 6, 8 and 9 to shoot a 4-under 32 on the front nine. He made birdies on 12 and 17 for a back nine of 33 and a 6-under 65 to seal the victory.

There was a pro-am held on Tuesday and the event, with contributions from sponsors, raised $50,000 each for Hospice of Marion County and Interfaith Emergency Services.

“That was the most money we’ve raised for our charities in the tournament’s history,” said Candler Hills Golf Club Professional Denise Mullen.

The next event on the Florida Professional Golf Tour schedule is the Daytona Open, on April 1-2 at the Daytona Beach Golf Club.

Blake Maum of Chattanooga, TN celebrates his win by the leaderboard during the final round of the Ocala Open at Candler Hills Golf Club in Ocala on Friday, March 24, 2023.

Blake Maum of Chattanooga, TN putts for a birdie on the first hole.

Kevin Hall of Cincinnati, OH, talks with his father, Percy, who was also his caddy, after finishing up on the 18th hole.

Jackie Hall, who is Kevin Hall’s mother, tries to stay cool under an umbrella as she watches him play on the 9th hole.

Carol Clark, Carol Joseph and Nadine Hewes, left to right, watch golfers on the 18th hole from the VIP area.

Jarred Garcia of Jacksonville chips his ball onto the green on the 8th hole. Michael Visacki of Sarasota, who was the winner of the 2020 Ocala Open, shoos flies away from his ball with his hat before his final putt of the day on the 18th hole. Michael Sakane of Jacksonville chips his ball onto the green on the first hole.

Photos By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

SOFTBALL SCORES

SCOREBOARD

SELECTED MARION COUNTY

HIGH SCHOOL & COLLEGE SPORTS RESULTS

MAR. 20 - 25

BASEBALL SCORES

Montverde races by Trinity Catholic with dominant pitching and feisty offense

By Allen Barney allen@ocalagazette.com

The Montverde Academy Eagles (5-4) softball team used a balanced offensive attack that saw eight hitters get at least one hit in a 10-0 win over the Trinity Catholic Celtics (7-8) on March 22.

Montverde attacked early and often, with Luna Taboas leading off the game with a double to left field. Taboas never stopped running as an errant throw from the outfield allowed the freshman to scamper home for an inside-the-park home run.

Following another error from Trinity Catholic and two stolen bases from Aracelis Jimenez, Colby Reish drove in Jimenez with a double to left field. With a 2-0 lead, Jimenez went to work in the circle as she fired a scoreless first inning against the Trinity Catholic lineup. The Celtics had an opportunity to score after Emma Kaylor drew a walk and stole second base but was called out for interference when she ran into the shortstop on a ground ball off the bat of Kinley Libby.

Libby kept Montverde off the scoreboard in the second inning, despite giving up two hits, Libby struck out Lexi Perez to get out of the jam. Jimenez fired a second consecutive scoreless inning by working around a one-out walk to Kristina Fogelman.

Montverde added to

their lead in the top of the third inning with Danika Spinogatti and Reish starting the inning with base hits. Following a sacrifice bunt from Jenna Meder, Leila Susaia missed a three-run home run by just a couple of inches when the ball hit the top of the fence in left field and bounced back into play. Spinogatti and Reish scored to give Montverde a 4-0 lead. Monteverde head coach Caitlin Griffis was happy to see Susaia break out of her early season slump with a big hit.

“She needed that as a confidence boost because it’s been tough stretch for her after leading the team in batting average last season,” Griffis said.

Trinity Catholic picked up their first hit of the night in the bottom of the third when Emma Simms laced a single to left to leadoff the inning but was stranded at second as relief pitcher Emerson Gunkel bounced back with two strikeouts and a flyout.

Montverde put more runs on the board in the top of the fourth when Spinogatti launched a massive two-run home run to center field to extend the lead to 6-0. Gunkel fired a scoreless bottom of the fourth to keep Trinity Catholic at bay.

In the top of the fifth, Montverde’s Taboas hit a run-scoring single and was followed by Perez, who hit a run-scoring single. A second run was scored on a throwing error and Reish

drove in the final run with a single to left field.

With a 10-0 lead, Montverde had to keep Trinity Catholic off the scoreboard to invoke the mercy rule and Ava Penkal did just that by inducing a strikeout, popout and groundout to cap off the win.

The offensive attack for Montverde was a team effort as eight players had at least one hit. The standouts for the Eagles offense were Taboas (three hits and two runs), Jimenez (two hits, four stolen bases and two runs), Spinogatti (two hits, two runs and a two-run home run) and Reish (three hits, two runs batted in and a stolen base). Jimenez picked up the win with two scoreless innings and a strikeout.

It was a tough night for head coach Mike Young and his Celtics.

“Their pitchers did a great job of mixing pitches and keeping us off balance to where we could not string together any hits,” Young said.

Despite the loss, Young was confident his team would recover quickly.

“We are a program that is still being built and when you face a good team like that you can’t give them opportunities,” Young said.

Casas Garcia, Simms and Fogelman each collected a hit and Libby took the loss over six innings of work with six earned runs allowed and three strikeouts.

Forest’s Dillon Grace (16) gets tagged out by Trinity Catholic’s Cade Hentz (5) as he gets caught between second and first base during a baseball game at Forest High School in Ocala on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.

Results were compiled by Allen Barney

Trinity Catholic’s Emma Simms (11) makes it safely back to first base as Montverde Academy’s Lexi Perez (5) looks for the out.

Montverde Academy’s Luna Tabois (3) tags out Trinity Catholic’s Diana Casas Garcia (16) out at second base during a softball game at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.

Photos By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

Montverde Academy players celebrate as they defeat Trinity Catholic.

Montverde Academy’s Ari Jiminez (2) throws a pitch against Trinity Catholic during a softball game at Trinity Catholic High School on Wed., March 22, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.