Ocala Gazette | April 28 - May 4, 2023

NEEDS, NOT WANTS

for

In a ‘heartbeat’

How much will women’s healthcare change if DeSantis’ Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect?

By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com

While the national conversation recently has centered on the legal debate around Mifepristone, an oral medication known as “the abortion pill,” in Florida, it remains uncertain how women’s lives will be affected by a bill that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law earlier this month.

SB 300, the Heartbeat Protection Act, became law on April 13, and the State Capitol press release announcing its passage is still the top Google result when you search it by name. The new law prohibits abortions once the fetus has a detectible heartbeat, at six weeks.

By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com

Marion County Fire Rescue leaders recently shared with Marion County commissioners their multimillion list of what they emphasized are needs, not wants, in order to provide fire services to the growing county in the coming years.

To build new stations and remodel others, MCFR would need $117 million over the next 15 years, officials told the Board of County Commissioners at the April 6 budget workshop. At least two stations, they said, are needed immediately. With new fire trucks, ambulances, and additional staff positions to run the vehicles, the fire department estimates a budget need of $134,750,000.

Half-sister act

As stark as these figures are, they do not account for inflation or expected increases in payroll. MCFR has been struggling to attract and keep workers due to a competitive market for the fewer firefighters and paramedics who are entering the field.

MCFR officials told the board they were not holding back communicating

DNA testing unlocks mystery of biological connections for 2 local women.

By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com

Two half-sisters, one given up for adoption in 1966, seven years before the other was born, met face to face for the first time last year after both took Ancestry.com DNA tests and results indicated they had a 28% match.

Karey Carlton-Yarborough, who was given up for adoption 57 years ago by her biological mother, Nancy Cromer-Marino, met her halfsister Tara Bauer, 49, for the first time ever on Aug. 12 at The Legacy Restaurant at Nancy Lopez Country Club in The Villages.

The two half-sisters had lived less than perhaps 20 miles apart in two different counties over the years and likely crossed paths.

Carlton-Yarborough said meeting her sister was “overwhelming and exciting.”

“We spent time comparing similarities at our first meeting. We

both talk with our hands,” she said describing one of the siblings’ shared mannerisms.

Bauer also described the first meeting.

“It was like seeing my mom and my aunt at the same time,” she remarked. The siblings’ path to the 2022 meeting rewinds back to 1966.

Nancy Cromer, then a single mom living in Miami, was working three jobs to support three other children and the relationship resulting in the birth of CarltonYarborough didn’t work out. Cromer sought a better life for her infant daughter and the adoption was made final in August, 1966.

Carlton-Yarborough grew up in South Miami with a loving and caring adoptive mom and dad, Jean (Newman) Carlton and Bobby Carlton.

“My adoptive mother told me I was a special gift from God because she couldn’t have children,”

See Sisters, page A2

Previous bills similar to SB 300 were introduced by Florida Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Lady Lake, (SB 792), and State Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola, filed House Bill 235 in January, considered to be a companion bill. Georgia and Mississippi lawmakers have also recently banned abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.

“I think we’ll see some improvement in moving away from the idea that we should recommend, enforce, encourage people to destroy their own infants,” Baxley told WLRN in South Florida.

However, not everyone agrees with the six-week ban.

A poll in February by the University of North Florida found that 75% of the state’s residents either somewhat or strongly oppose the six-week ban—including 61% of Republicans.

According to physicians who specialize in reproductive health, the term “fetal heartbeat,” as used in the anti-abortion law in Texas, is not based on science. What the ultrasound machine detects in an embryo at six weeks of pregnancy is electrical activity from cells that aren’t yet a heart, and the sound attributed to a pulse is manufactured by the ultrasound machine.

Likewise, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) opposes any proposals, laws, or policies that attempt to confer “personhood” to a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus.

According to their official position posted on ACOG’s website, “These laws and policies are used to limit, restrict, or outright prohibit access to care for women and people seeking reproductive healthcare, including those who are pregnant, those who are trying to prevent pregnancy, and those who are trying to become pregnant, and they have been used as the basis of surveillance and prosecution of pregnant people.”

See Six weeks, page A8

Sisters Karey Carlton-Yarborough, left, and Tara Bauer, right, hold a photo from when they were united on August 12, 2022, as they pose together on the beach at Karey’s home on Lake Weir in Ocklawaha on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.

MCFR outlines the department’s significant list of needs

people, buildings and equipment to the county commission.

Left and bottom right: Recent training of new recruits. [Supplied by MCFR] Top right: File photo: A new firetruck is shown at Marion County Fire Rescue Station 28 in Rolling Greens in Ocala on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Sisters find each other

Continued from page A1

Carlton-Yarborough said in a recent interview along with Bauer at her Lake Weir home.

Carlton-Yarborough said her parents introduced her as adopted so it would “never come as a surprise.”

Bobby Carlton’s career as a football coach included a state championship for Miami High in 1965, according to an obituary published Feb. 10, 2022, in the “Miami Herald” four days after his passing. Carlton was with South Ridge High School in south Dade County for 16 years and inducted into the Florida Coaching Hall of Fame in 2006, Carlton-Yarborough said.

Carlton-Yarborough said her biological mom, Cromer, and Bobby Carlton both attended Miami High and graduated around 1955 and very possibly knew each other.

Nancy Cromer (Marino) and Tara’s father, Hector Marino, married in 1973. The family lived in the northern end of Dade County. Hector Marino passed away in 1993.

Carlton-Yarborough went to Palmetto High School and Tara Bauer went to American Senior High School in Hialeah.

The siblings learned later they attended the same Michael Jackson concert at the Orange Bowl in Miami in the mid-1980s

Carlton-Yarborough worked at Burdine’s Department Store in Dadeland Mall in southwest Dade County in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During that time, her biological mom visited the mall for a glamour portrait.

By her 20’s, Carlton-Yarborough sought details about her adoption and was able to retrieve a microfilm record through Vital Statistics

CITY WORKS TO MEET INCREASED WATER DEMAND

The city of Ocala Water Resources Department will begin to pump, disinfect and distribute water from a supplemental offsite water wellfield, which will be used to meet increased water demands and improve water pressure output.

Due to the location of the well, water pumped from it will not undergo lime softening treatment, which removes the water hardness (calcium and magnesium) but will not impact the taste, color or smell of the water that customers receive. All water sent to city of Ocala customers will be disinfected and meet Safe Drinking Water Act standards, according to the news release.

To reduce the strain on natural resources, customers are encouraged to practice water conservation techniques, such as shortening shower time, reducing or ceasing irrigation and only washing full loads of laundry. For more tips, visit bit.ly/40J21CW

records in Orlando, which were “non-identifying” but generally described her biological family. The information only served to increase her curiosity to at least see photos of her biological family, but CarltonYarborough’s birth mom and family remained a mystery.

Carlton-Yarborough moved to Dallas with her husband, but that marriage dissolved around 2000.

Jean Carlton died in 2006.

Spencer Yarborough, a childhood friend of Carlton-Yarborough, saw the obituary for Jean Carlton, who taught both a typing class in high school, and he and CarltonYarborough reconnected.

Carlton-Yarborough moved to Melbourne, Florida, in 2006 and she and Spencer Yarborough were married in 2014. In 2018, they moved to a home on Lake Weir, a location where his family has vacationed for many years.

Coincidentally, Tara Bauer moved to the Ocala area after marrying Chris Bauer in 2006, but the siblings still did not meet until 16 years later.

Spencer Yarborough said the coincidences over the years and the sisters’ first meeting are “like a movie.”

CarltonYarborough said the sister she grew up with, Karmel Horvath, who was also adopted, bought her an Ancestry.com kit as a Christmas gift but the kit “sat in my drawer for three years as I did not really believe that they worked.”

“When my

adoptive father passed away in 2022 … my husband … encouraged me to pursue finding my biological family/ siblings,” she wrote in an email.

The Ancestry.com website states even “if the person you’re trying to find hasn’t taken the test, a close relative of theirs may have.”

“The good news is that DNA testing is becoming increasingly popular; there are currently 22 million people (and counting) in the AncestryDNA database,” the website states.

Bauer joined Ancestry.com several years ago, but CarltonYarborough only joined last May. Both were soon notified there was a DNA match with another person at a level of about 28%, which is about that of a first cousin, CarltonYarborough said.

During a recent meeting, the two siblings pored over photographs of their biological family.

“I feel so blessed each and every day that I have found my sister and her family,’’ Carlton-Yarborough said. “I look forward to this new chapter in my life.”

“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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Sisters Karey Carlton-Yarborough, left, and Tara Bauer, right, show the striking similarities of Karey’s adopted mother, Jean Carlton, left, and their biological mother, Nancy Mariono, right, on their phones at Karey’s home on Lake Weir in Ocklawaha on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Karey’s adopted mother, Jean Carlton, is also shown in the older, large photo between them, with her husband Bobby Carlton.

MCFR needs significant resources

Continued from page A1 their needs, but the workshop didn’t fully address the most critical element for improving the current department crisis: people.

Current staffing situation

As previously reported, numerous MCFR employees have resigned from the department over the past five years:

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

54 33 46 67 72 4

TOTAL 276

These numbers do not include 68 others who either retired or were transferred or fired over the past five years.

The reason for the significant level of resignations is attributed primarily to workers seeking higher wages in neighboring counties.

MCFR, which handles all ambulance transport in Marion County, even though Ocala Fire Rescue serves the city, needs 175 personnel to staff each shift with the current station and emergency vehicle capacity. That breaks down to eight commanding officers, 72 engine operators, nine assigned to ladder/tower firefighters, six to heavy rescue, 54 dual-certified Paramedic/Firefighters and 26 singledcertified EMS/Firefighters.

Fire Chief James Banta told the commission, “There are 492 budgeted positions. Currently, there are 458 of those positions filled for a vacancy of roughly 34 positions.”

However, Banta explained, those numbers need context when it comes to understanding how many boots on the ground are currently available. Of the 458 employees, “33 … are in fire school right now, so they’re not on the truck. While it says it’s a position that’s filled, they’re not on the truck and they’re not going to be there for several months.

“On our EMS single-certified of the side of the house,’’ he said, “of the 109 budgeted positions we are at 93 (filled) and 16 are vacant. You can see where we’re dealing with a significant amount of openings each day, roughly 27.666 repeating.”

Unique to the MCBCC is one commissioner, Jeff Gold, who is himself is a firefighter paramedic, and worked for MCFR in 1984-1990, before heading to Marion County Sheriff’s Office for 25 years. Even as a commissioner, he still works part time in other neighboring areas. Gold has a Master’s degree from UF related to fire emergency services and holds many state certifications.

“My biggest problem with our strategy over the years is that we are filling vacancies through recruiting non-certified firefighters. It’s a three-year projectwe put them through fire school, EMT school, and then paramedic school- only they leave for another department, and we are back to where we started. We are temporarily filling the positions to get the vacancies off our books- rather than recruiting people that can work now,” Gold told the “Gazette”.

The department’s medical director, Frank A Fraunfelter, M.D., wrote a memo the commissioners received last fall, “Losing and having to replace experienced paramedics with new graduate paramedics

is a big morale and liability concern,’’ he wrote. “Placing inexperienced providers into life-threatening decisions without supervision can be detrimental to lives and our community as a whole.

A new paramedic is learning the skills necessary to provide high-level care while still gaining the clinical experience to provide top-level care that all of our citizens deserve. Without an experienced workforce, the lack of mentoring from senior medics will be damaging to our county, department and paramedics.”

Increased need for services

According to information provided by MCFR, meeting community needs has been exacerbated by significant increases in the population of Marion County and the number of service calls that are being generated as a result.

One of the slides shared during the presentation indicated that service calls from 2017-18 to the 2021-22 period increased by more than 30%.

In 2010, each MCFR budgeted position had 113 incidents associated with it annually. From 2012 until 2020, the budgeted positions in the department dropped while the incidents associated with each budgeted position increased by approximately 45%. In 2020, the county increased MCFR budgeted positions from 506 to 565.

For these statistics, MCFR included both certified and noncertified supporting roles. But as of last year, incidents per position had increased since 2010 more than 50% totaling 173 incidents per position.

MCFR officials said they have been exploring several ways to cut the demand for services. One change has been having local hospitals handle all interfacility transfers, which deviates from contracts the county has had with hospitals to provide transport. Thus far, AdventHealth had been handling 90% of its own transports, and Ocala Regional Medical Center has increased its capacity from 60% to 90% during this last quarter.

Another idea has been a re-evaluation of what type of vehicle to send to calls, moving away, for example, from sending both a fire truck and ambulance to a traffic accident scene when other response vehicles could handle the situation.

MCFR encouraged the commissioners also to increase funding for the community paramedic program that proactively treats those so-called ambulance “frequent flyers” who don’t necessarily need emergency care just access to routine health care.

MCFR leaders also suggested a public information campaign explaining the appropriate use of the 911 system; a nurse to triage nonemergency medical requests received at Public Safety Communications; and possibly integrating more telehealth for nonemergency medical requests. Need for more and better fire stations MCFR leaders also identified a substantial need for new or updated stations. Categorizing stations as either Excellent, Good, Fair or Poor, more than half the county’s stations were deemed Fair or Poor.

MCFR considered nine of the stations they rated “poor” under this criterion: Appears to be cosmetically weathered and worn with potentially structural defects,

although not imminently dangerous or unsafe. Large, multiple full-thickness cracks and crumbling of concrete on the apron may exist. The roof has evidence of leaking and/or multiple repairs. Interior is poorly maintained or showing signs of advanced deterioration with moderate to significant nonstructural defects. Problematic age-related maintenance and/ or major defects are evident. May not be well suited to its intended purpose. Age is typically greater than 40 years.

MCFR officials mentioned they didn’t only need more living quarters to accommodate more employees but betterplanned living quarters. Some of the older stations previously intended for volunteer workers did not allow for interrupted sleep when calls came in—a serious concern when it came to protecting the mental health of its employees. Other considerations related to stations were a lack of storage space for bunker gear and response vehicles.

The need for better equipped stations became especially important for some units that were receiving calls twice the volume considered safe.

Additionally, it was mentioned more than once during the workshop that ISO ratings impact homeowners’ insurance premiums, and those ratings are directly correlated to how close a home is to a fire station.

Emergency vehicles and gear

Over the next 15 years, MCFR recommends purchasing 30 new engine trucks at a rate of two per year. Each fire engine comes at a cost of $900,000 in today’s market and requires staffing to operate each truck at an annual cost of $1.2 million.

They estimated the need for 135 ambulances at the rate of nine per year. Each ambulance comes at $450,000 and comes with an annual staffing cost of $650,000.

Bunker gear related to cancer prevention was also a budget item discussed; a second set of gear is ideal. The department has been budgeting some for the gear a little every year but currently, 274 employees still need a second set, at an estimated cost of $863,000.

Funding

MCFR identified three funding obstacles.

In regard to funding for competitive wages and additional staff, building new stations and buying new emergency vehicles and gear, MCFR proposed that commissioners consider adjusting the fire assessment fee, adjust general fund millage, implement fire impact fees and/or give the department the benefit of “available funds in budget from impact fees.”

The collection of impact fees, however, won’t provide a quick funding solution for the multitude of demands brought on by the growing population.

In 2021, Gov. Ron DeSantis implemented changes that restrict local governments from increasing impact fees more than once every four years and then only by 50%. Any increases that come in between 25 and 50% would have to be spread over four years.

At the time DeSantis signed the bill, the environmental group 1000 Friends of Florida said the measure made it “virtually impossible for local governments to require that new development pays its own way.”

Another workshop is expected to address how to address budget concerns for MCFR’s mounting needs.

Immediate future

Toward the end of the workshop, Commissioner Kathy Bryant prefaced a question as “the most important one” she’d ask that day: “What’s more important, shoring up the people or shoring up the stuff?”

To which Banta answered, “People. You got to start with the people.”

“I figured that’s what it was. But I wanted it on the record,” responded Bryant.

The county and fire union are currently negotiating wages in hopes of answering the complaint that Marion County wages are not competitive and the main reason for so many resignations- that leave the department shorthanded and firefighters having to work so many extra shifts.

In a statement issued to the “Gazette” from the Professional Firefighters of Marion County it says they were “hopeful” for the future of Marion County Fire Rescue (MCFR) now that it had been acknowledged “how inadequate the department is when it comes to staff, stations and equipment.”

“The Professional Firefighters have sounded the alarm on a pending staffing crisis since last December, when thenPresident Daniel Garcia addressed the board, outlining the rising overtime costs and crushing, ever-increasing workload across 1,600-sq. miles of a post-covid Marion County,” they wrote.

“The Professional Firefighters of Marion County have continuously worked to improve the working conditions and benefits for MCFR’s valued public safety responders. We hope to partner with the Marion County Board of County Commissioners in recruiting and retaining the best and brightest first responders in Florida, instead of continually losing our valued, experienced staff to better pay and healthier working environments.”

Clean Up Marion! is underway

Marion County hosted an event April 21 to launch a countywide litter clean-up campaign.

Secretariat and Ocala

By Belea T. Keeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com

Rubbish the Raccoon, a mascot developed for the Marion County Litter Task Force, did not disappoint on April 21 when the critter with the black and gray mask danced to the newly created rap song, “Throw It Away.” The Clean Up Marion! kickoff event at the Baseline Trailhead included speakers from the Marion County Board of County Commissioners, law enforcement agencies, Litter Task Force leaders and the city of Ocala.

Commission Chair Craig Curry praised his fellow commissioners, who unanimously voted to create the Litter Task Force and support its work. With more than 220 residents moving to Marion County every week, Curry thinks the issue is worthy of focus, attention and dollars.

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods spoke, along with Capt. Robby Creech of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and State Attorney Bill Gladson. With the beefed-up countywide ordinance and heavier fines and penalties for littering, especially dumping,

the enforcement aspect of the program is in place.

Creech talked about accountability and protecting the Ocala National Forest. A case in which 23,000 pounds of construction debris and roofing materials was dumped there got his team’s attention. He gave thanks to Cpl. Joe Simpson, who tracked down subcontractors across state lines. Ultimately, the state charged the individuals and the business involved with the illegal dumping. “To business owners who turn a blind eye (to illegal dumping) in the hopes of saving a dollar,” Creech said, “you’re on notice.”

Beth McCall, task force chair, spoke about the program being integrated into the school system and its plan to influence youngsters about litter. By getting kids involved, she said, they’ll get the parents in it, too.

Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn praised the collaboration of the teams and the

OBITUARY

Roger L. Updike

4/27/1938 - 4/15/2023

Roger Lee Updike, age 84, of Summerfield, FL passed away at Wayne T. Patrick Hospice House in Rock Hill, SC on Saturday, April 15th, 2023.

A graveside service will be held at 10 am on Friday, April 21st, 2023 at Fort Jackson National Cemetery, 4170 Percival Rd. Columbia, SC 29229.

inclusion of Belleview and Dunnellon.

“Ocala is the fourth safest city in the country to live in,” Guinn said. “We’d like to make Ocala/Marion County the cleanest city in the country to live in. It’s a change in mindset, not to throw trash out on the road.”

Curry closed with some action steps for county residents: Teach children not to litter, join an Adopt-a-Road group or start a new one, volunteer to help with the task force speaker’s bureau, and sign the litter-free pledge on the county’s website.

For Curry, the goal in a perfect world would be, “As close to zero litter as we can get. The main thing is to change the minds of the population.”

By JoAnn Guidry

The 149th Kentucky Derby will take place May 6. In advance of what is called “the greatest two minutes in sports,” here is a look back to 50 years ago, in 1973, when a big red equine comet named Secretariat streaked through the Triple Crown races and left his indelible mark.

Secretariat set track record times that still stand: Kentucky Derby (1:59 2/5 for a mile and a quarter); Preakness Stakes (1:53 for a mile and three-sixteenths) and Belmont Stakes (2:24 for a mile and a half). His 31-length victory in the Belmont Stakes is regarded as one the most spectacular feats in all of sports. “Big Red,” as he was called by his legions of fans, graced the covers of “Time” and “Newsweek,” both declaring him a “Super Horse.”

Retired to stud in 1974 at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, Secretariat sired 57 stakes winners, including Lady’s Secret, the 1986 North American Horse of the Year. Fillies by Secretariat were highly sought after as broodmares and made him a leading broodmare sire.

Secretariat unexpectedly died of laminitis on Oct. 4, 1989. A necropsy conducted by the University of Kentucky Veterinary Sciences Department revealed his heart was almost three times the size of a normal thoroughbred’s. It was not diseased, just extraordinarily large, as befitting a once-in-lifetime champion racehorse.

One of several Ocala connections to Secretariat was Charlie Davis, who was the champion’s exercise rider throughout his racing career. Davis moved to Ocala not long after the Triple Crown winner was retired. He continued to exercise racehorses in Ocala until he injured his back in 1981. Thanks to his connection to Secretariat, Davis was a sought-after special guest at events over the decades. Davis died in Ocala in December 2018, at age 75.

Local Connection

Roger was born on April 27th, 1938 in Fairmont City, MN. He was the son of the late Rhoda M. Updike and the widower of Erika Nikolaus Updike. He proudly served 26 years in the US ARMY reaching the rank of E8 Master Sgt. He served in both the Vietnam War and Desert Storm. After retirement, Roger and Erika enjoyed traveling the world together.

Roger leaves behind his son, Rodney Updike and his wife, Lisa; and his late son’s fiancé, Ola Faye Carter. In addition to his wife and mother, Roger was preceded in death by his son, Richard Wichman.

In memory of Roger L. Updike, memorials may be made to Coastal Poodle Rescue, PO Box 121142 Melbourne, FL 32912.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.brattonfuneralhome.com. Bratton Funeral Home of York, SC is serving the Updike family.

With the racing world celebrating the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s 1973 Triple Crown, Ocala-based Bridlewood Farm is home to no ordinary pensioner in Maritime Traveler, who belongs to an exclusive club of only two known living horses sired by Secretariat. Maritime Traveler, a chestnut colt foaled May 15, 1990, has the distinction of being the only known living member of Secretariat’s last crop.

Out of the Northern Dancer mare Oceana, Maritime Traveler was bred by the late E.P. Taylor’s Ontario-based Windfields Farm. His breeder consigned him to the 1991 Keeneland September yearling sale, where Arthur Appleton bought him for $55,000. Maritime Traveler made five lifetime starts, all at Canada’s Woodbine Racetrack, with his best finish being a fourth. His earned all of $1,572 and soon after his last start on June 12, 1993,

Appleton retired him to Bridlewood Farm. That operation, one of Ocala’s legacy thoroughbred farms, was founded by Appleton and his wife Martha in 1976.

George Isaacs, current president of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association board of directors, was Bridlewood’s stallion manager from 1989-1992, leaving to become the general manager of Allen Paulson’s Ocalabased Brookside South Farm. In 1996, Isaacs returned to Bridlewood Farm as general manager, remaining in the position through the death of Arthur Appleton in 2008 and the ensuing Appleton Family Trust ownership. In 2013, John and Leslie Malone purchased Bridlewood Farm and Isaacs remains the operation’s general manager.

“When I returned to Bridlewood Farm in 1996, I found out that we had a son of Secretariat as a teaser. Maritime Traveler was initially the broodmare division teaser, and he did his job very well for years,” said Isaacs. “When the breeding shed teaser was retired, Maritime Traveler was moved into that position, and he took to it just fine.”

When Maritime Traveler lost his enthusiasm for being a teaser about five years ago, he was pensioned.

“He earned his keep. He’s 33 now and lives in a great paddock that backs up to 100 acres of forest. He has a great life,” Isaacs said.

Preserving A Legacy

Besides Maritime Traveler, the only other known living horse by Secretariat is Trusted Company, a 34-year-old chestnut mare. The New York-bred mare out of Star Snoop, by Stage Door Johnny, made only one start and earned $60. She became a successful broodmare before being retired and now resides at Bright Futures Farm, a Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance-accredited sanctuary in Cochranton, Pennsylvania.

Maritime Traveler and Trusted Company are included in awardwinning photojournalist Patricia McQueen’s recently released book, “Secretariat’s Legacy.”

“After Secretariat’s death, I began to track his offspring over the years, documenting their lives with stories and photos. I was particularly interested in the foals of his last crop in 1990. And that’s how I came to Bridlewood Farm in March 1993, to photograph Maritime Traveler,” McQueen explained.

There are other Ocala connections to Secretariat included in the book (secretariatslegacy. com), among them the late George Steinbrenner’s Florida-bred Image of Greatness, one of Secretariat’s major stakes winners. When retired, Image of Greatness stood stud at Steinbrenner’s Ocala-based Kinsman Farm.

For information about this year’s Kentucky Derby, go to kentuckyderby.com

County Commissioner Craig Curry speaks during the Marion County Litter Task Force press conference at the Baseline Road Trailhead in Ocala on Friday, April 21, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/ Ocala Gazette] 2023.

There are several local connections to Secretariat, who captured the 1973 Triple Crown, and Bridlewood Farm has a unique living link to the legendary thoroughbred racehorse.

George Isaacs, general manager of Bridlewood Farm, with Maritime Traveler [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]

Micah McDowell, 3, left, and Eli Nygaard, 2, get their pictures taken with mascot Rubbish The Raccoon during the Marion County Litter Task Force press conference at the Baseline Road Trailhead in Ocala on Friday, April 21, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.

Networking event includes donation to HMS band

On April 20, hundreds of people were on hand when DeLuca Toyota sponsored an Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership Business After Hours networking event. In addition to enjoying hors d’oeuvres and libations, guests were treated to a musical performance by the Howard Middle School Jazz Band.

During the event, dealership owner Frank DeLuca presented HMS Director of Bands Brittany Schofield with a check for $1,025 to support the school’s band program.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Hot Dogs in Cars

Fun in the sun can turn deadly for our fur friends.

By Sandra Poucher

It’s that time of year again, when the glorious summer days draw us outside to visit friends and fun places, run errands and go shopping. While out and about with fur friends in the car, if thinking about a quick trip into the grocery store or the coffee shop, consider your best buddy panting on the seat beside or behind you. And maybe reschedule that stop until Rover is home, safe and comfortable in the air conditioning.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, hundreds of pets die from heat exhaustion while left in cars. Even on overcast days, the temperature inside cars rises much higher than the outside temperature, rising 20 degrees F in 10 minutes, and continuing to rise as time elapses, reaching over 40 degrees higher than the outside temperature one hour later.

A quick trip into the gas station even on a relatively cool 80-degree day leaves your fur friend panting in temperatures of 99 degrees after only 10 minutes. The temperature rises to 114 degrees after just 30 minutes. Leaving the windows cracked makes no difference to the temperature within the car. The sunlight bouncing off dashboards and seats give off heat by longwave radiation, even more effective at heating up the inside of a vehicle than the

shortwave radiation entering through the windows. Darker cars heat up faster than lighter cars, and darker interiors heat faster than lighter interiors.

Dogs begin overheating at 102 degrees, according to the American Kennel Club, and pant to cool themselves. But if already in a hot car, there is no cool air to give the suffering pooch relief. The dog will begin gasping, and his gums may turn gray or purple.

At 106 degrees, the dog’s metabolism begins to break down. He may vomit or experience diarrhea before collapsing, falling into a seizure or coma, and dying.

Florida law allows anyone to rescue a vulnerable person or domestic animal from a motor vehicle, even using force if necessary. This law provides immunity from civil liability as long as the rescuer follows certain steps. The rescuer must determine in good faith that the individual or animal is in imminent danger, call 911 before attempting to enter the vehicle, use no more force than necessary to enter the vehicle, and remain with the person or animal until law enforcement or another first responder arrives.

Have fun out there! Take Fido on walks or to the park, but remember the heat and keep pets out of hot temperatures, especially during our excessively hot summers. Even a short wait in the car can turn into an eternity of heartbreak.

Photos supplied

File photo

(30) DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN THREE (3) MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN SECTION 733.702 OF THE FLORIDA PROBATE CODE 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 the first publication of this Notice is April 21, 2023.

Personal Representative: Susan Carol Estensen SUSAN CAROL ESTENSEN JANET W. BEHNKE, P.A. BEHNKE,P.A. 4330 N. Skylard Road Kingman, AZ 86409 Attorney for Personal Representative: By:__Janet W. Behnke JANET W. BEHNKE Florida Bar No. 135969 P.O. Box 1237 Ocala, FL 34478-1237 500 NE 8th Avenue Ocala, FL 34470 Phone: (352) 732-6464 Facsimile: (352) 867-5111 janet@behnkelaw.net tammy@behnkelaw.net

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In his talk Dr. Pardi will cover fundamental questions about what health, wellness, well-being, disease, and illness mean, and discuss novel mind frames on how to increase one’s level of health in today’s world. Dr. Pardi will also explore how to measure all things health, taking into consideration objective measurements of health status, a discussion on normality vs optimal, and non-traditional health measurements, including qualitative assessments of health potential based on available health resources and health literacy. At the heart of his talk will be a discussion on how individuals, given the state of the world today, can best navigate their health regardless of where they currently sit on the health continuum.

Dan Pardi is the CEO of humanOS.me - a digital health training application. To create humanOS, the team has collaborated with over 100 top health-science Professors across the globe. Their podcast, humanOS Radio, is the official podcast of the Sleep Research Society, the Canadian Sleep Society, and a content partner of the Buck Institute on Aging.

He also currently serves as the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for Restore Hyper Wellness, the fastest-growing franchise in the United States. Formerly, he served as Chief Health Architect for Restore, where he led the Product and Health Sciences Department to establish the Performance Medicine arm of the business.

Talk:

Seating

In his work, Dr. Pardi has collaborated with high-performing organizations, from Silicon Valley VCs like the Mayfield Fund and Artis Ventures to companies like Adobe, Salesforce, Workday, Pandora, Intuitive Surgical, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and many more. He also works with several branches of the US Military including the Special Forces and Naval Special Warfare. Dr. Pardi has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and Stanford University in the United States, and he has a Masters of Science in Exercise Physiology from Florida State University in the United States. He currently lives in Austin Texas with his wife and two young boys.

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION HONORS

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

BARRED.

EVEN IF A CLAIM IS NOT BARRED BY THE LIMITATIONS DESCRIBED ABOVE, ALL CLAIMS WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN FILED WILL BE BARRED TWO YEARS AFTER DECEDENT’S DEATH. The date of death of the decedent is: August 31, 2022

The date of first publication of this Notice is April 21, 2023

Attorney for Personal Representative:

James L. Richard Richard & Moses, LLC Florida Bar No. 243477 808 E Fort King Street Ocala, FL 34471 (352) 369-1300

Primary Email: jimrichard77@gmail.com

ANDREA ROSSMAN 527 Bahia Circle Run Ocala, FL 34472

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

IN RE: ESTATE OF MICHAEL PAUL ROSSMAN, FILE NO. 2023-CP-903

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. 1 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: September 8, 2022 The date of first publication of this Notice is April 21, 2023.

for Personal Representative:

L. Richard Richard & Moses, LLC Florida Bar No. 243477 808 E Fort King Street Ocala, FL 34471

Email: jimrichard77@gmail.com

Public Notice

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 24, 2022.

The date of first publication of this Notice is April 21, 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: SHAENA LEUTHE 3098 Willowstone Dr. Duluth, GA 30096

REGIONAL LABOR RATES RELEASED

The jobless rate in the CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion region held at 3.3% in March, unchanged over the month and 0.3 percentage point lower than the region’s year ago rate of 3.6%. At 219,652, the labor force expanded over the year by 6,901.

According to preliminary data released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, there were 212,393 employed across the region, an increase of 1,926 over the month and up 7,340 compared to February 2022. There were 7,259 unemployed residents; 97 more than in February but 439 fewer than the same time last year.

Levy County continued to post the lowest unemployment rate in the region at 3.0%, unchanged over the month and 0.6 percentage point lower than in March 2022. Marion County followed at 3.2%, up 0.1 percentage point compared to February’s rate while dipping 0.3 percent points over the year. Citrus County’s rate held at 3.8%, a drop of 0.3 percentage point compared to the county’s year-ago rate.

Statewide, jobless rates remained unchanged over the month in 44 counties, dropped in six and rose slightly in 17.

CF PRESENTS GRANT FUNDS TO SHERIFF’S OFFICE

On April 21, Jim Henningsen, president of the College of Central Florida (CF), presented Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods with a check for $38,557.84 to help support the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) in accordance with the Open Door Grant Program.

The program was created by the Florida Legislature in 2021 to create and sustain a demand-driven supply of credentialed workers for high-demand occupations and expand the affordability of workforce training and credentialing, the CF news release stated.

CF was the recipient of $267,453 in Open Door funding and has disbursed funds by partnering with law enforcement agencies including the MCSO and Ocala Police

The Community Foundation for Ocala Marion County recently announced it is naming the training room in its headquarters in honor of Whitfield M. “Whit” Palmer Jr.

The Whitfield M. Palmer Jr. Training Room will provide a vital resource for nonprofit organizations and community groups, noted the news release. It is equipped with the latest technology and audiovisual equipment, and will be used for training sessions, workshops, and other events that support the work of local nonprofits and community organizations.

“Whit Palmer has been a tireless advocate for our community, and we are proud to honor his legacy in this way,” said the foundation’s President and CEO Lauren Deiorio, in the release. “The Whitfield M. Palmer Jr. Training Room will serve as a hub for collaboration and learning, and we believe it will have a significant impact on the organizations and individuals who use it.”

Palmer, a native of Ocala, gave his time, talent, and treasure to the community for decades. He served on numerous boards and committees, including the Marion County Hospital District Board, the Ocala/ Marion County Chamber of Commerce, Camp Boggy Creek, and the Boys & Girls Club of Marion County, the release stated. Palmer died Jan. 1, 2020, at the age of 90.

“I am humbled and honored by this recognition,” said his widow, Diane Palmer, in the news release. “Whit and I always believed in the power of community, and I am grateful to be a part of such a caring and dedicated group of people. The Whit Palmer Training Room will be a valuable resource for our community, and I look forward to seeing the great work that will come from it.”

The Community Foundation for Ocala Marion County is a nonprofit organization that works to improve the quality of life for people in the area. For more information, go to ocalafoundation.org.

Department, which are experiencing an increased need for qualified, well-trained law enforcement personnel. The grant funds support law enforcement recruits attaining certification through the Criminal Justice Institute at CF by helping to reduce expenses and barriers to completion and increase the number of qualified graduates to fill open law enforcement jobs.

“We strive to do our best to support our local agencies in the important mission of public safety,” said Charles McIntosh, CF dean of criminal justice, in the release. “I am extremely proud that we were able to support some of them through the Open Door initiative.”

To learn more, visit CF.edu.

Kat Kelley, Jim Henningsen, Sheriff Billy Woods, Charles McIntosh and Jennifer Fryns with CF Criminal Justice students. [Submitted]

Whit Palmer [Supplied]

Six weeks

Continued from page A1

Regardless, abortion will be allowed in Florida through the first two trimesters only if a woman is impregnated as a victim of human trafficking, incest or rape, including statutory rape, at risk of death, or deemed in “substantial and irreversible harm” or the fetus has a “fatal fetal abnormality.” Documentation is required and can include a restraining order, police report, medical record or other evidence.

According to his State Capitol press statement, DeSantis signed “groundbreaking legislation to encourage responsible and involved fatherhood in Florida through educational programs, mentorship programs, and one-on-one support.”

The governor’s Framework for Freedom Budget also includes permanent sales tax exemptions for baby and toddler necessities, including cribs and strollers, tax holidays on children’s books, toys, athletic equipment, and pet food, plus more than $96 million to support foster parents, caregivers, and children.

It includes nearly $143 million to enhance services for pregnant and postpartum women and children, which the statement says “will improve maternal health outcomes for women at high risk for maternal morbidity.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called it “extreme and dangerous” and said it “flies in the face of fundamental freedoms and is out of step with the views of the vast majority of the people of Florida and of all the United States.”

The signing of the Heartbeat Protection Act has elicited outrage from abortion-rights Democrats. Former gubernatorial candidate/Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried and Senate Minority leader Lauren Book were arrested on April 3 at the State Capitol during the Occupy Tally protest of the bill.

The governor has also signed legislation that discontinues Florida’s status as a southern-U.S. abortion haven and cuts off access to out-ofstaters who visit from neighboring states for the procedure.

According to a University of California San Francisco study, one in three women confirm their pregnancies after six weeks, and one in five past seven weeks.

“Later confirmation of pregnancy is even higher among young people, people of color, and those living with food insecurity, suggesting that gestational bans on abortion in the first trimester will disproportionately hurt these populations,” the study reported.

Florida’s latest sortie in the abortion rights crusade aligns with the 20-plus states that have either banned or made abortions more restrictive since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which repealed the precedent set by Roe v. Wade to federally protect abortion rights in the U.S. In these states, women must travel for abortion care, in some instances in secret, to receive services.

“Many questions remain about the broader impact of each of the recently

passed state abortion bans, should they take effect,” writes lawyer Joan Zolot in “The American Journal of Nursing.”

“The contraceptive intrauterine device (IUD) acts by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg, which the Georgia statute deems a person,” Zolot continued. “Might this, therefore, make IUDs unavailable to women residing in Georgia? When pregnant patients present with vaginal bleeding, might clinicians decline to help for fear of prosecution? And might women with vaginal bleeding—which can indicate fibroid tumors or cancer in addition to pregnancy problems such as miscarriage—delay seeking medical help?”

What if a local child becomes pregnant? Would a 12-year-old have the means to report a rape to the law enforcement? What does an economically challenged parent do in this situation?

Questions on how to navigate these murky waters remain unanswered, and the gynecologists that the “Gazette” contacted for comment did not respond over a period of two weeks with any input on the matter.

Pregnancy options for women in Marion County

According to the statistical news website Stacker.com, the average resident in Marion County lives 44.7 miles from the nearest clinic, which is in Gainesville. The county ranks No. 39 in Floridian metros with the closest access to abortion services and at No. 865 nationwide.

“There are many reasons people make the very personal decision to have an abortion and by the time they know they are pregnant, they will likely not get an appointment for an abortion within a six-week time,” lamented Pam Escarcega, president of NOW of Greater Marion County.” Many appointments in Florida abortion clinics are being taken by people coming from other areas of the Southeast that have already enacted restrictive abortion laws.”

Driving down two-lane highways, including State Road 40 just east of Silver Springs, billboards solicit women to consider adoption as an option for an unplanned pregnancy.

In Ocala, the Women’s Pregnancy Center on Silver Springs Boulevard promotes itself as a “faith-based” practice on its website and says upfront that it will not recommend abortion as an option for pregnant women.

On its website, the center says, “We can discuss the different types of abortion procedures with you and the risks associated with each. We may also be able to offer you a free ultrasound exam to give you the facts you need prior to making a decision.”

According to the Guttmacher Institute, ultrasounds, either abdominal or transvaginal, given before an abortion procedure, is a common practice to assure appropriate dating of the pregnancy, but it is not medically necessary and can add to the cost of the abortion procedure, reported the reproductive health research organization.

Google Reviewer Lauren Davis credited the Women’s Pregnancy Center

for “an amazing Parenting Class” adding, that she and her husband “walked away with more knowledge and a huge amount of free baby things.”

But not every patient has left WPC satisfied. Marie Mellon’s criticism of the facility’s faith-based approach calls into question its professional objectivity.

“If you’re in a healthy relationship but not married or engaged, they will push marriage on you,” Mellon wrote. “‘A ring isn’t that expensive,’ the woman told me. I went there to determine how far along I was, not to be lectured about Jesus and marriage. And after I explained that I’m in a good relationship, but the baby was our priority right now, she suggested I go to single mother classes.”

How will this ruling bode for our DeSantis?

Will the governor’s recent anti-abortion victory lap help or hurt his chances if, as expected, he makes a presidential bid next year?

Depends on whom you ask.

In previous years, Florida’s Supreme Court has blocked antiabortion measures passed by the GOP legislators, but the judicial body has adopted more conservative stances since DeSantis took office.

DeSantis, who’s considered by many pundits to be former President Donald Trump’s biggest opponent in the Republican primary, has dropped in popularity. A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken after Trump was indicted on illegal campaign finance charges related to a payoff to an adult film star shows Trump with 58% of Republican votes to DeSantis’ 21% —a 10% gain for Trump compared to surveys given before the indictment.

As news about the Heartbeat Protection Act was hitting national news, billionaire Thomas Peterffy announced that he and his friends were going to pause their financial support for DeSantis. The backers criticized the governor’s “extreme positions on social issues.”

In military parlance, a Pyrrhic victory inflicts a devastating toll on a conqueror with such an unintended backlash that it causes defeat for the once-declared winner. The phrase originates from Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose success against the Romans in the Battle of Asculum in 279 BC destroyed much of his forces, forcing the end of his campaign.

Time will tell if his latest win on the abortion front will wind up a major historic triumph for DeSantis or as a Pyrrhic political disaster.

Editor’s Note: The Ocala Gazette contacted the Health Department of Marion County and several local doctors for comment on the passage of the Heartbeat Protection Act and, how, if it goes into effect, the law will influence the gynecological care protocol for women. A handful of health professionals refused to comment or did not return our calls before the publication of this story. This is a developing story, and we welcome input on practical knowledge women can obtain in light of this recent legislation. Write to letters@ocalagazette.com to voice your opinion on the matter.

The Constitution’s guarantee that no one can “be deprived of life, liberty or property” deliberately echoes the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that “All” are endowed by their Creator” with the inalienable right to life. We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. The Fourteenth Amendment protects human life from conception to natural death.

Marion County Republican Executive Committee

Iam the mother of 4 and the grandmother of 4. I love them dearly. So, why am I writing in opposition to the near total abortion ban that Governor DeSantis just signed into law? Because abortion is healthcare. Because abortion is a discussion between a woman and her doctor. Because access to abortion is supported by most Floridians.

The Republican-dominated Florida Legislature and Governor DeSantis have turned Florida into one of the most restrictive states in the country with regard to abortion. The ban they have passed and signed into law could prevent four million Floridian women of reproductive age from accessing abortion care after six weeks. The Republicans talk about freedom. The new abortion ban is not freedom. Rather, the ban ignores what the people of Florida want and wipes out reproductive rights that woman have had for more than 50 years.

Here in Ocala, it is not easy for a woman to get an abortion. If you do a website search for “abortion in Ocala,” you are directed to sites that do not perform abortions and do not refer for abortions. In fact, these sites use thinly disguised language to discourage abortions. If a woman in Ocala wants an abortion at a clinic, she has to travel to Gainesville, Orlando or Tampa. This presents enormous obstacles for anyone with limited resources. The abortion ban only will compound these obstacles as many women do not even know they are pregnant at 6 weeks. Perhaps our legislators need a refresher on woman’s menstrual cycles with all its irregularities, along with extenuating health issues.

The Biden administration is correct in calling the new abortion ban extreme and dangerous and out of step with the views of the vast majority of Floridians. I stand with the nearly 80,000 Democrats in Marion County on the side of reproductive freedom. Since polls show that about two-thirds of Floridians oppose the ban, then many No Party Affiliates and Republicans stand with us.

One more thing, it amazes me—in all this discussion—there is not a word about the male role in this process. Sex is not going away, so why are we not talking about PREVENTING pregnancies, thereby avoiding the need for abortions! What about FREE vasectomies, what about FREE Plan B (the “morning after pill”) that helps prevent conception, and what about the many other methods of birth control. Think of all the heartbreak that could be spared by focusing on preventing pregnancies. There is a better way!

Diana Williams, Chair of the Marion County Democratic Executive Committee

Volunteers impact the community

April is National Volunteer Month and is a good time to explore the benefits of helping others.

“It makes you feel good because the kids feel good,” Fowler said. “It’s exciting when students build confidence and read to me.”

Fowler said volunteering keeps her young at heart, and she encourages others to explore the program.

“Try it and see how it goes,” Fowler said. “It doesn’t matter what age you are. The kids don’t care how old you are. They just want someone to read to them.”

Volunteering also has rewards like improving the community, bolstering a resume, and creating social networks.

Another volunteer, Pat Palmer, says reading with kids brings joy.

“I definitely receive more than I give,” Palmer said.

For Reed, who also volunteers at ReadingPals and Bridges, volunteering is a way of returning assistance her family received when she was young.

“My family needed help, and, at a young age, I determined I would pay it back,” she said.

volunteers are an integral part of care and support services,” said Connie Storms, Program Manager for the Alzheimer’s Association.

United Way President Bob Haight goes a step further, stressing that volunteerism is at the heart of our society’s success.

“Volunteers are critical to our faith community, local government, education, health care, social services, the arts community, animal and environmental organizations, and business groups. Volunteerism shapes our society daily for the betterment of others,” he said.

ReadingPals Director Jan Hathaway echoes these sentiments. The impact on the community is measurable. Since 2012, ReadingPals has partnered with Marion County Public Schools. In 2023, more than 186 children, with the help of over 100 volunteers investing more than 3,200 hours, are bridging the gap between community impact and education.

By Beth Nelson

President Community Impact, United Way of Marion County

Shirley Fowler celebrated her 90th birthday with a classroom of 5and 6-year-olds at College Park Elementary School. For nine years, Fowler has been with the local United Way’s ReadingPals program, aimed at helping students develop early literacy skills. Nothing could keep her from the classroom, even a milestone birthday falling on her volunteer day.

Fowler said she couldn’t disappoint the two students she reads to weekly. She’s missed one day of volunteering during her nine-year tenure, and her students were so disappointed she could never do that to them again. When she returned to the classroom, they said, “Where have you been?” Fowler recalled. “I never have an excuse not to go, and it keeps me young.”

April is National Volunteer Month, which President George Bush officially named in 1990, and it is the perfect time to explore the benefits of giving back to others. Volunteering can improve your mental health and enrich your life, says 84-year-old ReadingPals volunteer Sally Ahrens.

“As long as I read to the children, I won’t feel my age. It just fills me,” said Ahrens, a former Hospice of Marion County volunteer.

ReadingPals volunteer Chris Riopel said volunteering is not just about giving back. She contends it improves her quality of life. Riopel enjoyed an active lifestyle after retirement. She exercised and taught classes at Master the Possibilities, but something was missing. For Riopel, paying it forward and sharing her talents was the missing link. She encourages others to give back. Find what you are passionate about and then seek out that organization. She suggests you can volunteer at an animal shelter, hospital, food pantry, senior living center, or charity organization. Volunteer

websites allow you to input your skills, preferences, and schedule, and match you with opportunities.

Rich Lovelace is a former bicycle police officer whose job training included bike repair. After he retired, he offered his skills to Brother’s Keeper, a Blessed Trinity Catholic Church ministry that serves the needy through emergency assistance and a soup kitchen. The social service agency has many bikes donated to its thrift store so, when Lovelace asked if they could use his volunteer skills, the answer was a resounding “Yes.” Two of Lovelace’s repaired bikes went to siblings who needed them to get to work.

“You receive so much by giving just a little,” Lovelace, 64, said.

Currently, Florida ranks as the lowest volunteer state in the nation, with 22.8% of residents participating, according to the Corporation for National and Community Services AmeriCorps. The low participation rate is in part due to the transient nature of the population.

Volunteer advocates like Karen Reed hope Marion County can lead the charge to improve Florida’s ranking.

Reed, United Way’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) volunteer, said, “You decide your hours and commitment. It’s not like a job.”

Many organizations will have opportunities that only take an hour or two a week. She advises that volunteers should not worry about whether they are qualified.

“I am not an accountant, but I have a computer, and the IRS trained me to do the taxes,” she said.

The most important thing is being passionate about where you share your time and talents.

Fowler took the attitude that she would try several different volunteer opportunities. She knew she had found her niche when she read to her first student. After a year, the kids’ reading improved, Fowler shared.

Prime Wagyu Beef

Many employers will give time off from work to volunteer or compensate time later. The Marion County Clerk of Courts has more than 20 employees who are ReadingPals volunteers since 2022.

“This has been a great volunteer opportunity to extend to our employees, and I am proud to work alongside such good people who are willing to take time out of their day to give back to our community, reading to local students,” said Marion County Comptroller and Clerk of Courts Gregory Harrell.

Retirees are not the only ones contributing to their community. Youths starting as young as 13 are doing their part. Ocala Fire Rescue Community Paramedics Capt. Chris Hickman and Capt. Jesse Blaire oversee The Ocala Marion Mentorship Program.

“Volunteering allows someone searching for a direction in their life to find the resources they need for life skills, coping mechanisms, and mental toughness,” Blaire said.

For this reason, participants of the mentorship program have committed every Tuesday evening to help United Way’s Strong Families program set up and tear down tables for the family meals. The students also benefit from receiving community hours needed for graduation.

“It is humbling when you give something valuable to someone else,” Blaire said.

Homeschoolers under the direction of Mandi Moore serve as ReadingPals volunteers at Belleview-Santos Elementary, working with children in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program. Some of the volunteers are 13 years old.

Volunteers also help fill the gap for organizations like Strong Families or the Alzheimer’s Association.

“Across our community,

“We can train you. Your passion and commitment are all that is required,” Hathaway said. “Volunteers are why we can impact 18 elementary schools and 28 classrooms across Marion County. Students need to learn to read so they can read to learn.”

For information about how to become a ReadingPals volunteer, contact Hathaway at (352) 732-9696, ext. 212.

Vice

Shirley Fowler at Collge Park Elementary School. [Supplied]

Ann Goodwin dressed as a pirate. [Supplied]

People, Places & Things

This year’s Best of Show artwork in Ocala’s “Metamorphosis” Emerging Artist Exhibition explores the post-birth experience for women.

By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com

Each year the city of Ocala hosts the Emerging Artist Exhibition to honor exceptional work by local creatives, and this year’s Best of Show winner is a compelling abstract piece that embodies the exploration of birth and postpartum depression.

The digital print titled “Parturition Portal” by Olimpia Cantillano is part of the artist’s “Postpartum” series; poignantly apt in a juried exhibition titled “Metamorphosis,” co-presented by the city and the Magnolia Arts Xchange arts incubator.

Indeed, nothing suggests a transformation quite like childbirth, and Cantillano’s “Parturition Portal” conveys the inner volcanic eruption that goes with bringing a new life into the world.

“I created the ‘Postpartum’ series and ‘Parturition Portal’ to express my own journey with postpartum,” said the 26-year-old mother of son Arthur, 2, and daughter Sage, 4, months.

“I was trying to communicate a message about the act of giving birth, the process for all women and my process, specifically,” Cantillano said. “I also wanted the work to be a conversation starter because I feel like postpartum is sort of a taboo topic or theme even in today’s society. A lot of women feel alone in their journey.”

Red dominates Cantillano’s winning piece, and she associates red and other warm tones with a woman’s pelvic energy source and how it radiates in the body, using Hindu chakras to reference that energy flow.

“I associate the vagina and the lower pelvic area, the reproduction area of the woman, the vulva, with warm colors because I think of the lower chakras. So, the root chakra is the one that starts right there. Your pelvic bone is associated with the color red. If you go up one chakra, it’s orange, and one more, it’s yellow…. But when it comes to color, honestly, it’s all very intuitive.”

Cantillano, 26, graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in visual art from Miami International University of Art and Design in December 2021. Her parents were born in Nicaragua, and she’s firmly rooted in the culture’s close family traditions and the indigenous spirituality of the Central American nation, which she has visited and says plays a major role in shaping her identity.

After living back and forth between Miami, where she was born, and Marion County, Cantillano, with her husband, Richard Perales, who lived in this area when they met and also is of Nicaraguan descent, now live in Silver Springs Shores.

In art school, Cantillano gravitated to digital media because it allowed more freedom for her to explore

colors and imagery that convey emotions and ideas.

“I like digital work because I like to work in layers,” she said.

Cantillano often creates work in other media, too, which can be seen on her Instagram page, @artandsage, named in honor of her children.

She is deeply interested in art therapy and wants to use her work to help others after her infant daughter gets a little older and she can leave the house more often.

She said her postpartum depression came on hard due to a lack of knowledge and being a firsttime mother, and other factors such as “not being able to breastfeed, the consumption of overwhelming exhaustion and the loss of selfidentity and I had to learn and put into practice healthy coping mechanisms in order to recover.

“The more I exposed postpartum, the more I spoke to women about it, I came to realize that it wasn’t really just for me, it was for all women out there,” Cantillano said. “I’ve spoken to a variety of women who are going through their postpartum experience right now and women whose children are grown up and married or off to college and whatnot. Though we’ve all gone through our own journey, we have more in common than you’d think.”

The inability to breastfeed and the exhaustion she experienced deeply affected the artist when her son was born, so, in addition to hormonal changes already wreaking havoc, she had to cope with feelings of shame and inadequacy brought on by societal expectations and a lack of education on what happens after childbirth.

“When I was preparing to give birth to my son, I read books, and there’s a lot of books out there that’ll tell you what to expect when you’re pregnant and how to prepare for birth,” Cantillano recalled. “I actually attended birthing classes with Advent Hospital, and they’ll tell you should expect X, Y, and Z, and there’s all this information on before and during, but there’s nothing out there on after.”

She said she’s going through her second postpartum with her daughter now, and it’s completely different.

“I wouldn’t say it’s less severe,” she explained. “I would say it’s different. In the sense that I am more knowledgeable this time around, and, therefore, I am aware of signs and have established good coping mechanisms. Art being one of them. …We need to shed a light on this and honor women and let them know that we’re not alone in this journey.”

“Metamorphosis” will be on display through Oct. 12 at Ocala’s City Hall, at 110 SE Watula Ave. Email artinfo@ocalafl.org for more information.

“Joining Ancient Mothers”

“Submerged

By

in Exhaustion”

Olimpia Cantillano, 2021 Digital, 44” x44,” part of the “Postpartum” series

Olimpia Cantillano, winner of Best of Show in the “Metamorphosis” Student and Emerging Artist Exhibition, holds her work “Motherhood Garden #1,” acrylic and soft pastels on mixed media paper, 11”x14”

“Parturition Portal”

Digital print by Olimpia Cantillano, winner of Best of Show in the Emerging Artist Exhibition

By Olimpia Cantillano, 2021 Digital, 44” x44,” part of the “Postpartum” series

Rotary Club awards scholarships

Twice upon a time

Grace Netanya returns to NOMA with a new chapter of her ‘Fables’ series

By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com

Renowned for her unconventionally rendered fairy tale depictions, Grace Netanya has evolved in her portrayals of women as the heroines and villains of their stories.

Staff report

The Rotary Club of Ocala Silver Springs recently honored five local high school seniors for winning Community Service Awards and presented each of them with a $1,000 scholarship.

According to club member David Kramer, chairman of the Scholarship Committee, the honorees are Celia Rose Jeffreys, Forest High School (FHS); Megan Elizabeth Griggs, FHS; Ava Helene Pizzuti, FHS; Alexandra Lynn Rudnianyn, Vanguard High School; and Abigail Ann Wilke, Redeemer Christian School.

“As a group, during their four years in high school, these five students volunteered at 31 different organizations in Ocala and Marion County. They documented over 2,100 service hours, and probably volunteered many more that were not documented. In addition, they listed over 30 extracurricular activities they took part in during their high school years, and they held leadership positions in most of them,” Kramer stated in a news release.

He said the students were asked to draft an essay entitled “What Service Above Self Means to Me” and to highlight one organization that meant a great deal to them. The news release noted that the five organizations that were highlighted (followed by the name of the student who wrote the essay) were:

• The Sunshine Foundation, which grants dreams for children who are chronically or seriously ill, physically challenged, or abused, and who have limited income. --

Celia Rose Jeffreys

• Young Life, which is a mission devoted to introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith and strengthening their relationships with friends and leaders while having fun. --

Megan Elizabeth Griggs

• The Children’s Miracle Network’s Dance Marathon, which funds critical life-saving treatments and healthcare services and research, vital pediatric medical equipment, and services that put kids’ and families’ minds at ease during

difficult hospital stays, and financial aid for families who could not otherwise afford these health services. -- Ava

Helene Pizzuti

• The Marion County Literacy Council’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program, which helps nonnative speakers who want to improve their comprehension of English to become more self-sufficient and engaged, better informed, and better residents of Ocala and Marion County. --

Lynn Rudnianyn

Alexandra

The Royal Family KIDS Camp, which fosters resiliency, self-esteem, hope and positive memories. The camp curriculum and activities are woven through the modality of Trust-Based Relational Intervention to ensure our children are experiencing truly life-giving activities throughout the five-day experience. --

Abigail Ann Wilke

The announcements were made during a recent noon meeting of the club, which took place at the Knights of Columbus Hall at 1510 SE 3rd Ave., Ocala.

“On behalf of club President John Gibboney and the entire membership of the Rotary Club of Ocala Silver Springs, we are enormously proud of the students,” Kramer shared, noting that club members raised the money to award the scholarships.

“Getting to know these students as our Scholarship Committee members have over the past three months helps reinforce our knowledge that the schools in Marion County are doing a great job of training, inspiring, and educating tomorrow’s leaders,” Kramer noted.

Rotary International is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves, he stated in the release.

To learn more about the club, go to facebook.com/OcalaSilverSpringsRotary

She brings a sequel of sorts to NOMA Gallery, which owner Lisa Midgett describes as a departure from Netanya’s December 2021 “Fables” exhibit at the Ocala space. The pieces are even more psychologically intriguing this time around Netanya’s “Fables: The Next Chapter” runs through May 25 at NOMA. In the exhibit, Netanya again portrays herself as a storyteller whose art combines contemporary and traditional ideas to fuse the avant-garde and introspective.

As with her previous show at NOMA, Netanya uses graphite, marker, and colored pencils to illustrate an alternate realm that incorporates recognizable elements of our own everyday lives. Her materials, like her narratives, blend contemporary and classical elements. Her ambiguous settings remind the viewer that fables are universal and timeless.

This time around, we see more experimentation with color and design elements in her work. She creates fanciful, alluring frames around her subjects and offers other new twists.

Before earning her BFA in art history, Netanya was homeschooled and raised in Southeast Ocala. Her family moved a few times, and now she now lives in Port Orange. Her younger siblings have acting experience and lend their expressiveness to some of the artist’s most striking portraits.

“Dorothy”

24” x 30” graphite, charcoal, colored pencil, alcohol ink, acrylic and embellishments, 2023, uses the narrative of Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz” to explore the theme of confronting change

“Victory”

Colored pencil on Bristol board, 2022, conveys artist Grace Netanya’s belief that victory is a psychological, rather than physical reality and can be achieved through maintaining hope and emotional strength

She has won many awards, such as The Copic Award Grand Prize 2019, Martha Vineyard’s drawing prize first place, and, most recently, Boyne’s Emerging Artist Prize 2022 second place. NOMA Gallery is at 939 N. Magnolia Ave., Ocala. Visit nomaocala. com for more details.

ALGAE BLOOM ALERT ISSUED FOR ORANGE LAKE

The Florida Department of Health in Marion County has issued a health alert for the presence of blue-green algal toxins in Orange Lake, in north Marion County. Blue-green algae are a type of bacteria that is common in Florida’s freshwater environments. A bloom occurs when rapid growth of algae leads to an accumulation of individual cells that discolor water and often produce floating mats that emit unpleasant odors, the release noted.

Residents and visitors are advised to take the following precautions:

Do not drink, swim, wade, use personal watercraft, water ski, or boat in waters where there is a visible algae bloom. Do not get water in your eyes, nose or mouth. Wash your skin and clothing with soap and water if

you have contact with algae or discolored or smelly water. Keep pets away from the area. Waters where there are algae blooms are not safe for animals. Pets and livestock should have a different source of water when algae blooms are present.

• Do not cook or clean dishes with water contaminated by algae blooms. Boiling the water will not eliminate the toxins.

• Eating fillets from healthy fish caught in freshwater lakes experiencing blooms is safe. Do not eat shellfish in waters with algae blooms.

For additional information, visit floridahealth.gov/ environmental-health/aquatic-toxins.

Recipients of Rotary Club of Ocala Silver Springs scholarships, from left, are Celia Rose Jeffreys, Megan Elizabeth Griggs, Ava Helene Pizzuti, Alexandra Lynn Rudnianyn and Abigail Ann Wilke. [Courtesy of Rotary Club of Ocala Silver Springs]

FPRA Ocala chapter honors award winners

By Savannah Silliman

The Ocala Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) recognized accomplishments in the fields of public relations and communications on April 19 at the Run for the PR Roses 2023 Mid-Florida Image and Communicator of the Year awards held at the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ & Owners’ Association in Ocala.

The Liquid Creative Marketing Agency won two image awards for public relations in the promotional/marketing and public service categories. They also won the judges’ award for their own Liquid Creative Marketing Agency campaign. A full-service digital marketing agency, Liquid Creative implemented a comprehensive marketing strategy with the goal to increase their agency’s full-service retainer clients in Ocala and Gainesville. They achieved this goal by positioning themselves as a strategic marketing partner. This campaign increased monthly retainers by 150% and revenue by 112%.

Tom James was honored with the Wilton F. Martin Communicator of the Year award, which recognized him for using his position to enhance Marion County’s community causes, advance the field of public relations, and uphold the ethical standards representing the Ocala chapter.

The Marion County Supervisor of Elections office received the Wilton F. Martin Communicator of the Year award in the institutional category. Institutional recognition is presented to a business

or media outlet that has gone above and beyond to provide timely, accurate, and critical information to the community, and has demonstrated a mastery of communications skills and strategies.

The event was sponsored by FPRA chapters in Ocala, Lake County and Volusia/Flagler, C.L. Swag, Kaplan Advertising, A&A Campbell Group, Ocala Electric Utility and Liquid Creative.

About Tom James

For many decades, Tom James has put his communications skills to good use as an award-winning director, anchor, and freelance sportscaster. But it is his role as networking guru – for the Ocala Metro Chamber of Commerce (CEP), as well as myriad community organizations – that distinguishes James.

Networking is defined as the process or practice of building up or maintaining relationships, especially with people whose friendships could bring advantages for job or business opportunities. James does that by leading networking programs for the CEP that include Net>Works groups, Leadership Council, CEO networking receptions, NetPerking, Business After Hours, CEP 101: Partner Orientation, and Networking University.

Dean Blinkhorn, the CEP’s chief operating officer said, “Tom is truly the voice of the CEP as co-anchor of ‘The Weekly Buzz,’ host of ‘A Closer Look,’ and as the voice of the 2020 Chamber of the Year’s on-hold messages.”

“Additionally, it’s Tom’s ability to communicate – and advocate – for this community that makes him the de facto

goodwill ambassador for Ocala/Marion County.”

An awards judge said, “Tom James stands out not only because of his long and varied communications experience, but because, in addition to being a strong communicator, he is also a highly visible ambassador for our community, and a good one. Tom delivers a positive, upbeat message time after time and wins fans for himself and Ocala wherever he goes.”

An Ocala native, James also gives back to his community as an Elks member, Rotary Club member, and is a United Way and Salvation Army volunteer. His efforts impact not only Marion County, but other areas of the state, which include working with broadcasting students at Daytona State College and traveling to Fort Myers with Rebuild Southwest Florida in the wake of Hurricane Ian.

About the Marion County Supervisor of Elections Office

Supervisor Wesley Wilcox and his team led the charge to form an FSE public relations work group to develop communications and resources to combat misinformation, bolster voter confidence in elections, and identify election officials as the sources of trusted election information. The effort led to messaging being sent to each of Florida’s supervisors to distribute to candidates and elected officials with the message of “tone down the rhetoric.” The approach was considered extraordinary and received local, state, and national media attention with Wilcox being interviewed by media outlets including the “Ocala Gazette,” WCJB TV, CNN, Fox News, and NBC.

The work group, again led by Wilcox, developed an elections integrity toolkit to equip supervisors throughout Florida with resources and materials to educate voters ahead of the 2022 election cycle.

Supervisor Wilcox also initiated a meeting with Florida Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee to film a joint message announcing their partnership as part of the National Association of Secretaries of State’s nonpartisan #TrustedInfo campaign.

As part of ongoing business, the Marion County Supervisor of Elections office offers numerous guided tours of the local Election Center operations for elected officials, members of the media, business leaders, political clubs, and homeschooled students, educating all about the voting system and election processes. There are various public speaking engagements and a wealth of factual election information available on the Supervisor of Elections website, social media feeds, and at local outreach events within the community and schools.

An awards judge said, “One cannot communicate enough, especially clearly, when it comes to modern-day politics. Wesley Wilcox and the Marion County Supervisor of Elections team can stand tall and proud given their success at sharing current election laws and protocols and ensuring voters are informed and updated when it comes to casting ballots and making one’s voice heard.”

The FPRA Ocala chapter was established in 1980. For more information about the chapter, go to fpraocala.org

Students learn about the equine industry

distribution of 3,400 copies of the book “The Black Stallion” to fourth grade students in 32 local schools this year. In 2021, 3,100 students received a copy of the book and in 2022, 3,250 students got books.

The reading project is handled by volunteers and is fully funded by the Marion County horse industry, according to Ellie Trueman, president of the Ocala Horse Alliance.

The program on Friday began in a covered area in the center of the school, which is a tuition-free public charter school of choice located in the Calesa Township Community. It serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Labrador retriever Luna.

“I love it,” he said.

Abby Fuller, a pioneering female jockey who raced mainly in the New England area from 1982 to 2012, spoke about her riding career. She said female professional jockeys first came on the scene in the 1970s. Fuller discussed the methods she used while racing a typically 800- to 1,200-pound horse, traveling up to 40 mph, which included proper use of the hands. She said one of the hardest things for jockeys is to maintain proper weight and that most weigh from 105 to 112 pounds. Fuller invited the students to try to assume a jockey’s posture and showed them how to handle imaginary reins.

horses sold at Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company events.

The balance of the presentation was held outside, where Letitia Glen of ContourVersafit Saddles was standing by with Flash, a 15-year-old gelding quarter horse. She described how a horse reacts to its surroundings in certain instances and also how Contour saddle systems enhance natural movement, using Flash as a model.

By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com

The students in Karen Hayes’ fourth grade class at Ina A. Colen Academy in southwest Ocala were treated to a fun and educational show and tell session on April 21 by local horse industry professionals who help make this area the “Horse Capitol of the World.”

The session included presentations by a veterinarian, pioneering female jockey, blacksmith, horse nutrition professional and saddlery supplier as part of the Black Stallion Reading Project, a partnership between the nonprofit, all volunteer Ocala Horse Alliance and Marion

County Public Schools (MCPS).

In early 2021, MCPS announced the first year of the five-year Black Stallion Reading Project and said the project would “harness horse power to encourage fourth grade students to read, set goals, achieve and become aware of job and career opportunities” in the horse industry.

According to PenguinRandomHouse.com, “The Black Stallion,” written by Walter Farley in 1941, is a “triumphant tale of a boy and a wild horse” who meet on a ship and are stranded on a desert island but are ultimately rescued.

The Black Stallion Reading Project includes a week of equine education, this year from April 24 to 28, for students at about 15 schools. It includes the

Dr. Jason M. Holloway, a veterinarian with Superior Performance Equine Clinic, told the students about the educational requirements and day-to-day duties of a large animal vet, ranging from emergency situations to providing vaccinations, all to keep animal performance at a top level.

Holloway moved his presentation to the school’s parking area to show students his mobile set-up, which includes a medicine locker and X-ray and ultrasound equipment. He stressed the importance of keeping accurate records of animal care.

Holloway said he enjoys the outdoors and gets to work “with horses all day” while accompanied by his black

Students Charlotte Price, 9, and Analisa Lapham, 10, were among the 18 students who attended the talks. Both tried to strike a seated jockey’s stance as shown by Fuller. The students got a look at the saddle, boots and other equipment Fuller used in her racing career.

“Jockeys go out to the track around 5 a.m.,” for training she told the students.

She also discussed the use of safety equipment including a helmet and Kevlar vest.

Miriam Gonzalez, area sales manager with Seminole Feed/ Seminole Wellness, spoke of the importance of proper nutrition and the characteristics of baby horses. She also discussed the business aspect of the equine industry, including the expensive

Tom Wittman, blacksmith for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team, also called upon Flash to give the students a mock example of how a horse is shod and included a few tips about working around horses, learned from spending more than 65 years in the trade.

The students were attentive and asked questions. Reyna Reyes,10, is interested in jumper horses while Madisyn Willis, 10, is interested in the job of groom so she can spend time with horses.

Athena Arevalo, 10, said being a jockey would be “fun” and you can get “the wind in your face.”

Hayes called the session a “valuable opportunity” for the students and said the students evidently were pleased as well.

“The students were saying this is one of the best days ever at school today,” she wrote in a text after the presentations.

For more information about the project, go to ocalahorsealliance.com/blackstallion-reading-project

Run for the PR Roses Mid-Florida Image Awards guests gather during an awards ceremony at the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ & Owners’ Association campus in Ocala on April 19, 2023. [John Nevarez]

The Black Stallion Reading Project is a partnership of the Ocala Horse Alliance and Marion County Public Schools.

Dr. Jason Holloway, a veterinarian, goes over some instruments and medicines carried in his vehicle during a presentation as part of the Black Stallion Reading Project organized by the Ocala Horse Alliance in partnership with Marion County Public Schools. [Andy Fillmore/Ocala Gazette]

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

The black and white warbler is always dressed for a fancy night on the town in their pinstripe suites. You’ll typically find them running up and down tree trunks, pecking away at the bark and hunting for insects. They range from breeding territory in northern Canada to winter grounds in Ecuador. They head north from Marion County during the hotter months, typically leaving town by the end of May.

4 Guitarist Paul

5 Where Mark Watney was stranded for about 560 sols, in a 2015 film

6 Wonderland service

7 Raring to go

8 Rest

9 Tentacle analog

10 Fragments

11 Law group

12 Passed-down property

14 Kierkegaard, e.g.

16 “Get on it!”

19 Field role of early TV

20 Demean

21 Capacitance unit

22 Roman fountain

23 Stupefy

24 Nomadic shelter

28 Mature eft

30 Just what the doctor ordered

31 U.S. Cabinet-level dept.

32 Family __

34 Theme park offering

36 More vast

37 “The

Black and white warbler [MichaelWarren.com]

LOCAL CALENDAR LISTINGS

MAY 5-6

Derby Day Jackpot Cattle Show

Florida Horse Park, 11851 SW 16th Ave., Ocala

All day

This cattle show won’t have any of them running a race, but the finest heifers and bulls from all over the U.S. will be shown in a variety of classes. The cattle are presented and judged on their confirmation. Onsite food options available. Sponsored by RW Cattle Company, see flhorsepark.com for more info.

APRIL 28

Friday Foodie Fest

Lake Lillian Park, Belleview

5pm-9pm

Food trucks, live music, kids’ crafts and activities, face painting and vendors; held the fourth Friday of each month. For more info, belleviewfl.org

APRIL 28

Ladies’ Night Out

CF Vintage Farm, 4020 SE 3rd Ave., Ocala

4pm-8pm

Enjoy drinks and light hors d’oeuvres, shop market vendors, have mini spa services and register to win Bryan Adams concert tickets. $10 admission. See windfm.com or 937kcountry.com for more info.

APRIL 28

41st Freedom Fund & Awards

Banquet

CF Klein Center, 3001 SW College Road, Ocala

7pm-10pm

The NAACP 5114 Marion County Branch celebrates its Freedom Fund with an awards banquet. Tickets are $60 per person; email marioncountyflnaacp@gmail.com for more info.

APRIL 28 & MAY 5

Levitt Amp Music Series

Webb Field at Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Complex, 1510 NW 4th St, Ocala

7-9pm

This music series of free weekly concerts sponsored by the city of Ocala and Marion Cultural Alliance focuses on a variety of genres. April 28 is Bassel & the Supernaturals, with opener Katara.

On May 5, it’s The Harlem Gospel Travelers, with opener The Rooms Living. Bring chairs, blankets and food, or purchase food from vendors. The Ocala Recreation Mobile will offer activities for kids. For more info, ocalafl.org/levittamp

APRIL 28 & MAY 5

Marion County Friday Market

McPherson Governmental Campus Field, 601 SE 25th

Ave., Ocala

9am-2pm Shop locally fresh fruits and veggies, baked goods, jerky, freeze-dried treats, olive oils, seafood and more; recurs every Friday.

APRIL 29 & MAY 6

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 29 & MAY 6

Farmers Swap Meet

Rural King, 2999 NW 10th St., Ocala

9am-2pm

A true farmers market where chickens, ducks, quail, geese, goats, turkeys, rabbits and

civic

APRIL 28 & MAY 5

Chess Club at Freedom Library

Freedom Public Library, 5870 SW 95th St., Ocala

10am-12pm

MAY 5-7

derby day community

Derby Days Barrel Race Show

Southeastern Livestock Pavilion, 2232 NE Jacksonville Road, Ocala

Friday/Saturday 8am-7pm; Sunday 9am-last race

Check out a different kind of race when the horses run the barrels at this event. Multiple races with great prizes and exciting action. Saturday afternoon will have a break to watch the Kentucky Derby. For more info, see gobarrelrace.com/derbydays

MAY 6

Kentucky Derby Hat Party

World Equestrian Center Ocala, Equestrian Hotel, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala

5pm-7:30pm Dress up to celebrate the best two minutes in sports. The party takes place on the terrace at the Equestrian Hotel and includes food, an open bar, dessert and a bottle of bourbon, plus a Jumbotron view of the race. Tickets start at $395 per couple; visit showclix.com.

MAY 6

Kentucky Derby Viewing Party

World Equestrian Center Ocala, Grand Arena, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala

5-7:30pm

The viewing party takes place in the Grand Arena and offers food options from WEC’s fast casual restaurants plus pop-up food court servings. Cocktails will be available at cash bars. Free attendance and parking. See worldequestriancenter.com for more info.

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.

APRIL 29

Olde-Fashioned Picnic & Cruise In Joy Lutheran Church, 7045 SW 83rd Place, Ocala

9:30am-1pm

This picnic and car show will have kids’ activities and live music. Free to attend. See joylcocala.org for more info.

APRIL 29

Financial Empowerment Seminar

Howard Academy Community Center, 306 NW 7th Ave., Ocala

10am-2pm

The seminar will cover how to buy a home, get the most from your bank, talking to kids about saving and more. With speakers, vendors, food and giveaways, this presentation by R.A.M.A.L. Educational and Social Services is free to all. For more info, ramalservices.org

APRIL 29

Natural Foods Gala

Crones Cradle Conserve, 6411 NE 217th Place, Citra

10am-3pm

This celebration of natural foods, organic living and sustainability will offer vegan, vegetarian and meat meal options, live music, tours, a farm store and more. Admission is $1; food sample tickets are $2 each. For more info, cronescradleconserve.org

APRIL 29

Makin’ Bacon Festival

Heritage Park, 116 N. Main St., Williston

11am-5pm

This festival features vendors, a bacon-eating contest, a best bacon dish competition and live music by Ken Apperson. Free admission and parking.

APRIL 29

Water Conservation Workshop

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

11am

The city of Ocala is offering tips on saving water, plus a free EyeOnWater app, which staffers will help you download. Bring a smartphone, laptop and account number. Free to attend. For more information, call (352) 351-6772.

APRIL 29

Legends of the Fort Fort King National Historic Landmark, 3925 E. Fort King St., Ocala 6pm-10pm

The city of Ocala Recreation and Parks Department is offering a unique evening guided lantern tour with tales from the past and information on this Seminole War site. Food, games and historical reenactors; tours leave every 15 minutes. Tickets are $10 (free ages 5 and younger) and must be purchased in advance at eventbrite.com/e/ legends-of-the-fort-tickets-558119559627

MAY 3

Meets weekly on Fridays; new members welcome. Please bring your own chess set. For more info, Walt Lamp at (352) 854-9378.

APRIL 28 & MAY 5

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 29

Kimberly’s Center 5K Run/Walk

Ina A. Colen Academy in Calesa Township, 5080 SW 66th Court, Ocala

8am

This annual fundraiser benefits Kimberly’s Center for Child Protection, which serves Marion County children suffering from abuse or neglect. Tthere are multiple categories for runners and groups. Prizes will be awarded for each 5-year age bracket, a largest group participation award and more. $30 to pre-register; $35 day of. For info, bit.ly/3UJnoTr

APRIL 29-30

Ocala’s Largest Indoor Garage Sale

World Equestrian Center Ocala, Expo Center 2, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala

9am-4pm

More than 100 sellers are planned. Food and drink options onsite. Tickets are $4 in advance or $5 at the door with early bird tickets at $10 to enter at 8:30am on Saturday. See worldequestriancenter.com for more info.

APRIL 30

OTOW Lions Club Casino Night

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

5pm-8pm

With games like craps, roulette, blackjack and Texas

Hold ‘em, this fundraiser for the Lions Club includes snacks, a 50/50 raffle, baskets raffles and more. Proceeds benefit children’s and veteran’s causes. Tickets are $40 from any OTOW Lions Club member, the OTOW farmer’s market, First Federal Bank at Circle Square and Ameris Bank at Heathbrook.

MAY 2

Master Gardeners Info Session

US/IFAS Marion County Extension Office, 2232 NE Jacksonville Road, Ocala

2pm-4pm

If you are interested in becoming a Marion County Master Gardener, this info session is highly recommended before training starts at the end of July. To register, visit bit.ly/2023volunteer2023 or call (352) 671-8400.

MAY 4

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.

MAY 4-JUNE 8

Free Parenting Workshops

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

6pm

These workshops from the Early Learning Coalition will focus on early childhood development and how parents and caregivers are important teachers. Resources provided, along with childcare and dinner; those who attend all six workshops receive a $250 gift card. Space is limited; register at ELC-Marion.org/parents/success-by-6/parenttraining-scheduling

VFW Wednesday Dinners Angela S. Santos FVW Post 4781, 9401 SW 110th St., Ocala

4:30pm-6:30pm Weekly dinners for about $5-$7 with a variable menu. The dining room is open to the public, meals are prepped by VFW Auxiliary volunteers and proceeds benefit veterans in Marion County. For the menu, call (352) 873-4781.

MAY 5

Tea in the Fort Fort King National Historic Landmark, 3925 E. Fort King St., Ocala 4pm-5pm & 5pm-6pm

Learn about pioneer life in Florida during the Seminole Wars, stroll the walking paths and have high tea with finger foods and treats. Hats and dress-up clothing welcomed. Registration in advance is required; $10 per person. For more info, ocalafl.org/recpark

MAY 5

Senior Learners Summer Kickoff

Party College of Central Florida, Bldg. 20, Room 107, 3001 SW College Road, Ocala

1:30pm-3:30pm

The Senior Learners team hosts a summer term kickoff party with a chance to meet instructors and find out about upcoming classes. Subjects such as history, art, health, travel, music and more are offered. For more info, go to seniorlearners.org or call (352) 239-8780.

MAY 6

Twilight Cruisers of Belleview Car

Show

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

This free car show/cruise-in, which promotes classic autos of yesterday, accepts food donations for the Interfaith Emergency Services charities and recurs on the first Saturday of each month. See twilightcruisersflorida.com for info.

MAY 6

Salsa Night at the Square

Downtown Square, 1 SE Broadway St., Ocala

6pm

This free night of dance celebrates Latin culture and features local dance teachers, DJ Ocho playing music and food trucks. Musical styles will include salsa, bachata, merengue and reggaeton.

MAY 6-7

Garden Show and Spring Festival

Cedar Lake Woods and Gardens, 4990 NE 180th Ave., Williston Saturday, 9:30am-5pm; Sunday 9:30am-4pm

Dozens of plant vendors, food trucks and live music throughout the day. The $10 admission includes a self-guided tour of this botanical paradise. For more info, cedarlakeswoodsandgarden.com

THROUGH MAY 17

DOH Diabetes Education Program

Belleview Community Center, 5615 SE 110th Place, Belleview 5pm-7pm

The Department of Health is offering free weekly classes to help people learn about and handle diabetes with topics like balanced diets, meal planning, physical activity, prevention and more. Free clinical screenings. Space is limited; RSVP by contacting Melissa Marino at (352) 644-2624 or Melissa.marino@FLHealth.gov

MAY 3

General Francis Marion Stamp Club meeting

Public Library Headquarters, Room B, 2720 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

1pm

Meets the first and third Wednesday of each month; newcomers welcome. For more info, elliotn27@aol.com

MAY 4

Ocala Lions Club

Ocala Golf Club, 3130 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

12pm

Meets weekly on Thursdays; newcomers welcome. The club supports vision health and diabetes prevention. More info at e-clubhouse.org/sites/ocalafl

VISIT OUR EVENTS CALENDAR ONLINE

critters & equine

APRIL 28

Neuter Commuter

Locations vary, see website 9am Marion County Animal Services offers weekly neutering services with options for low-income households. The fees include the animal’s surgical sterilization, rabies vaccination, county license and microchip. Pet drop-off is 9am and pick-ups start at 3:30. Locations vary and include the Headquarters Main Library, Silver Springs Shores Community Center and Southeastern Livestock Pavilion. Register online at bit.ly/NeuterCommuter

MAY 2-7

Arabian and Half-Arabian Horse Show

World Equestrian Center, Arenas 1, 4 & 5, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 8am-9pm; tours 11am & 2pm Friday-Sunday

The Region 12 Arabian Horse Association will hold its championship show and, on May 5-7, Tail Tours will offer a guided tour through the barns. Food and drink options onsite; some parking fees may apply. More info at worldequestriancenter.com

government

MAY 1 & 8

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

MAY 2

City of Ocala City Council Meeting

City Hall, 110 SE Watula Avenue, Ocala

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

arts

APRIL 28

Georgette Jones

Orange Blossom Opry, 16439 SE 138th Terrace,

Weirsdale

7pm

The daughter of Tammy Wynette and George Jones has been performing since the age of 3. Tickets are $30-$45. See obopry.com for more info.

APRIL 29

Tribute to Coldplay

Marion Theatre, 50 S. Magnolia Ave., Ocala

8pm

Singer Kristopher James honors the iconic band. Tickets are $15-$25 from reillyartscenters.com

APRIL 29 & 30

(Pop) Music Americas: from Rio to the Big Apple Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE 9th St., Ocala

Saturday 7:30pm; Sunday 3pm

This is the final season performance of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra and features music from Gershwin, Marquez and others. Tickets are $15-$40. See, reillyartscenter.com for more info.

APRIL 30

International Jazz, Art and Blues

Festival

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

4:30pm-9pm

The Ocala Steel Orchestra, Inc. hosts, with the Keith Caton Blues Band and the SeanTMusic global Quintet, along with games, bucket drumming and food vendors. Free to attend. For more info, ocalasteelorchestra.org

APRIL 30

Ocala Youth Symphony Orchestra

Concert

First Christian Church, 1908 E. Fort King St., Ocala

3pm

This youth orchestra helps develop young musicians and encourages study and performance to enhance players’ skills on their instruments. Free

MAY 2

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

MAY 2

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

MAY 6

Brown’s Junk in the Trunk Sale & Dog Adoption Event Brown’s Country Market, 13940 North US Highway 301, Oxford 8am-1pm Hundreds of sellers, plus adoptable dogs from Marion County Animal Services. See animalservices.marionfl.org

MAY 4

Candidate Workshop

Marion County Election Center, 981 NE 16th St., Ocala

6pm

The Marion County Supervisor of Elections is offering a workshop for individuals seeking to run for local office in 2023 or learn about the candidate process. Free to attend, but space is limited. RSVP to candidateschool@votemarion.gov or call (352) 620-3290.

MAY 8

City of Ocala Planning & Zoning Meeting

City Hall, 110 SE Watula Avenue, Ocala

5:30pm Meets the second Monday of the month; agendas, minutes and video available from ocala. legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

MAY 6-7

Stride Dressage Show

Florida Horse Park, 11008 South Highway 475, Ocala

All day

Various levels of dressage classes are slated, including traditional, driving classes and Western dressage. Visit flhorsepark.org for details.

THROUGH JUNE 2

City of Ocala Parking Garage

296 Broadway St., Ocala

The garage will have partial closures for maintenance, deep cleaning and re-striping. Signs will be placed around restricted areas.

to attend; donations accepted. For more info, see ocalayouthsymphony.org

MAY 3-AUGUST 30

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

6pm-8pm

These free art workshops will be held on Wednesdays for veterans. Hosted by the Arts in Health Ocala Metro group and veteran Aaron Thomas, join in for evenings that foster artistic expression and creativity. Beginners welcome. Supplies are included. Register at ocalafl.org/recpark

THROUGH MAY 4

College of Central Florida Student

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

10am-4pm Monday-Thursday

The Visual Arts and Digital Media students from CF present their work in this special exhibition. Free to the public. For more info, CF.edu

MAY 6

Magnolia Art Xchange Art Heist

Magnolia Art Xchange, 531 NE 1st Ave., Ocala

6pm-9pm

This annual fundraiser supports the MAX mission of creating a resource hub for artists, educators and art lovers. Guests can purchase tickets in a prize drawing and those with a winning ticket can select from original artwork by talented local artists. If someone else chooses the piece you had your eye on, it can be “stolen” for a price. Admission is free; playing in the art heist game is $25 per person; $50 for three or $100 for seven guests. For more info, facebook.com/maxocala.

MAY 6

Free First Saturday

Appleton Museum, 4337 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

10am-5pm View museum works, regular and special collections, and create in the interactive Artspace. Dr. Jose Gaudier presents “Medicine in Art” and

focuses on medical history as depicted in some of the greatest works of art, including works in the Appleton collection. See appletonmuseum.org for more info.

MAY 6 & 7

Kingdom of the Sun Spring Concerts

Marion Technical Institute Auditorium, 1614 E. Forth King St., Ocala

2pm Saturday; 3pm Sunday

This volunteer concert band performs a variety of musical genres from classical, pop, show tunes and patriotic tributes. Concerts are free; donations accepted. For more info, kingdomofthesunband.org

MAY 7 & 14

Marion Civic Chorale Concert St. George Anglican Cathedral, 5646 SE 28th St., Ocala

3pm

Admission is free for this “Some Enchanted Evening: Music from the Stage & Screen” concert. Donations help fund the Grat L. Rosazza music scholarship. For more info, marionchorale.org

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 at Reed Place, 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 17

“Secrets” Art Show South State Bank, 1632 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala Daily during business hours Abstract artist Kayla Moffatt takes over the secondfloor gallery space. Her technique includes writing a secret on the canvas before painting, then using color and marking to connect with viewers. See kaylamoffattart.com for more info.

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

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Patriots power past Falcons Correa’s grand slam paces mercy-rule win.

had six hits and 10 walks, extended its lead to 4-0 in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI double by Nate Cannizzaro.

CF finally broke through against Daytona State right-hander Clay Hendry in the bottom of the fifth inning as Thad Ector doubled and scored on a single to left field by Cole Bullen. John Marant worked a walk and Edwin Toribio followed with a ground-rule double to right field to plate Bullen.

Daytona State brought in Bryce Roth to relieve Hendry. Carson Bayne walked to load the bases, Kameh Valentin ripped a bases-clearing triple down the right-field line and scored on an infield error to give the Patriots a 6-4 lead.

the lumber in the bottom of the seventh inning against three different Daytona State pitchers. Two walks, a hit batter and four base hits produced a seven-run explosion. Correa’s grand slam, a high drive over the left-field fence capped the inning.

The home run was the 97th of the season for CF and sets a new school record with four regular season games to play.

Central Florida is looking forward to finishing the season strong and competing in the postseason in one of the toughest regions in the country.

By Mark Pinson Special to Ocala Gazette

When you have an offense like the College of Central Florida, a four-run deficit midway through a game is nothing to get too worked up over.

The Patriots, who lead the state in home runs and runs scored in the junior college ranks, scored 13 runs in the final three innings, capped by a grand slam by sophomore Juan Correa, to cruise past Daytona State College on April 19 by a score of 13-4 in a seven-inning, mercyrule victory.

The win improved CF, the second-ranked junior college team in the nation, to an impressive 44-4 on the season.

“Their (Daytona State) pitcher did a good job of

keeping the ball down and we hit some balls hard right at people the first few innings and we just had to keep battling and try to get into their bullpen, which is what we did,” said veteran CF Patriots coach Marty Smith. “Our pitchers kept us in the game, and we woke up at the plate. We can hit bullpens and that’s what we were able to do.”

Daytona State, which dropped to 16-24 overall, took advantage of wildness by CF starter Todd Kniebbe, who walked five batters in two innings, to score a run in the top of the second inning on an RBI double by Devon Nowells.

The Falcons plated a pair of runs in the top of the third inning on a runscoring single by Joe Becker and a bases-loaded walk by reliever Austin Eppley.

Daytona State, which

Central Florida righthander Keller Eberly, who came on in relief in the fifth inning and scattered three hits, cruised through the Daytona State lineup in his three innings of work to earn the win.

The Patriots broke out

“We’re 44-4 on the season which is incredible,” Smith said. “It’s the best record percentage wise we’ve ever had. We just need to take care of business the next few games. We’re pretty talented, and have the best record in the country. It’s just so hard to get out of Florida. If we can get out of Florida, maybe we can do some damage in the junior college world series.”

The College of Central Florida’s Kainen Jorge (17) slides safely into second base as Daytona State’s Nate Cannizzaro (28) looks for the out during a baseball game at the College of Central Florida on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.

Photos By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

The College of Central Florida’s Thad Ector (22) catches a Daytona State hit in right field for an out.

The College of Central Florida’s head coach Marty Smith meets his players at the mound as he changes pitchers to Austin Eppley (11).

The College of Central Florida’s Todd Kniebbe (37) throws a pitch against Daytona State.

“We’re 44-4 on the season which is incredible. It’s the best record percentage wise we’ve ever had.”

Marty Smith CF

Patriots

coach

Colts top Celtics on the diamond North Marion beats Trinity Catholic for 12th win in a row.

By Mark Pinson Special to Ocala Gazette

North Marion righthander Hunter Jones allowed one hit in five innings, and first baseman Jake Tompkins belted a two-run homer to pace the Colts to a 9-4 win over Trinity Catholic on April 21.

The win was the 12th in a row for North Marion, which improved to an impressive 19-4, and it gave the Colts, the second-ranked team in the state in Class 4A, a season sweep of the Celtics.

“Hunter threw a great five innings for us,” said North Marion coach Dale Hall. “It was a tough night for him because we had two or three innings that were 30 minutes plus and for a pitcher to sit around that long makes it extremely tough, but I’m happy with his effort. Our guys do a really good job of getting on base and we really value quality at-bats and getting on any way we can. We got guys that can flat-out swing it and I love our offense one through nine.”

The loss dropped Trinity Catholic, which had a three-game winning streak snapped, to 15-7 on the season. Junior Mekai Griffin allowed only two hits but issued a pair of walks, hit four batters and gave up six runs in his 3 2/3 innings of work to take the loss.

“Mekai was just a little off tonight,” said Trinity Catholic coach Tommy Bond III. “He was getting behind in the count and struggled getting his second pitch over for a strike. That’s a bad combination against teams that can swing it a little bit. The one positive

West Port blanks Vanguard

Bauer tosses shutout in Wolf Pack win.

Knights coach Carrie Vance. “We had baserunning errors and didn’t move people when we’re supposed to move them. We didn’t execute and had a lot of mental errors that we shouldn’t be making this time of the season.”

Vanguard had an excellent scoring opportunity in the top of the first inning as Aubrey Goodreau walked and Lilly Land lined a one-out single to right field, with Goodreau moving to third base.

Bauer, a hard-throwing right-hander, bore down to strike out the next two batters to keep the Knights from seizing momentum and off the scoreboard.

West Port struck quickly in the bottom of the frame as senior Aniyah Dixon walked and Bauer smashed a double to left field off right-hander Kaylee Myers to score Dixon to give the Wolf Pack a 1-0 lead.

Vanguard’s Hannah Davis worked Bauer for a leadoff walk to open the second inning, but Bauer recorded a pair of strikeouts and Davis was thrown out at second base to end the threat.

from this game is we didn’t roll over and quit and continued to battle.”

Griffin breezed through the first two innings but ran into trouble in the top of the third inning.

Sam Cauthen was hit by a pitch, Cooper Jones walked and Karson Lindsey was hit by a Griffin curveball to load the bases with two outs.

Ross Ray drilled a double to right-center field to score Cauthen and Jones, with Lindsey moving to third base.

Griffin uncorked a wild pitch allowing Lindsey to score and Tompkins followed with a two-run blast over the right-field fence to give the Colts a 5-0 lead.

Hunter Jones, who issued a pair of walks and struck out five in five-plus innings, retired the first 15 Trinity Catholic batters in commanding fashion.

North Marion, which had five hits, tacked on a run in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly RBI by Rowan Quartararo to increase its lead to 6-0.

Hunter Jones lost control of the strike zone s in the sixth inning with three hit batters, two walks and a base hit by Ryan Young to break up the no-hitter.

Karson Smith came on in relief for the Colts and allowed another run to cross the plate, but the right-hander retired the next three hitters to keep North Marion on top by a score of 9-4 heading to the final inning.

North Marion brought in Eli Blair to close the game out and the junior retired the Class 3A Celtics to seal the victory for the Colts.

“Very happy with Karson for getting out of a very difficult situation in the sixth inning,” coach Hall said. “And Eli for coming in and throwing strikes in the seventh.

I think we’re extremely dangerous, but you can’t count on hitting every single night. We’ve got to be able to pitch it and play defense if we want to end up where we want to end up.”

By Mark Pinson Special to Ocala Gazette

West Port senior Ryleigh Bauer hurled a three-hit shutout and smacked an RBI double to pace the Wolf Pack to a 3-0 win over Vanguard on April 20.

The Senior Night win improved West Port, which made several sparkling defensive plays in support of Bauer, to 15-9 overall and gave the Wolf Pack a 2-1 edge over the Knights during the season.

“I think this was our most complete game of the season,” said West Port coach William Brewington. “We got solid pitching from Ryleigh, great defense behind her and some timely hits. I told the girls before the game that this is our field and we’re going to defend our field no matter what. We took a tough loss last week to Vanguard in the MCIAC championship game. We beat them earlier in the season, so this was the rubber game and a win is a win.”

The loss dropped Vanguard, which had a runner thrown out at home plate, third base and second base during the game, to 16-5 on the season.

“It just wasn’t our night,” said

West Port took advantage of a pair of two-out infield throwing errors by the Knights and an infield hit by the speedy Dixon to take a 2-0 lead after two innings of play.

Bauer, who issued four walks and struck out six, cruised through the Vanguard lineup and retired six in a row to give the West Port offense a chance to increase its advantage.

Alyssa Pugh worked a walk off Vanguard reliever Davis to open the fifth inning, advanced to second base on a wild pitch and raced home on a single to center field by Kayleigh Rauch to make it 3-0.

That was more than enough support for Bauer, who escaped a jam in the final inning when Vanguard had a runner thrown out at the plate trying to score on a double to right field by Davis.

Vanguard’s last batter grounded out to second base to end the threat and the game.

Photos By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

North Marion’s Cooper Jones (1) slides safely back to first base as Trinity Catholic’s Ashton Fernandez (16) looks for the out.

“Very happy with Karson for getting out of a very difficult situation in the sixth inning. And Eli for coming in and throwing strikes in the seventh.

Dale Hall North Marion coach

North Marion’s Cooper Jones (1) gets tagged out by Trinity Catholic’s Cade Hentz (5) as Jones gets caught between first and second during a baseball game at Trinity Catholic High School on Friday, April 21, 2023.

Photos By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

West Port’s Ryleigh Bauer (9) throws a pitch against Vanguard during a softball game at West Port High School on Thursday, April 20, 2023.

Vanguard’s Hannah Davis (13) gets caught between second and third and is tagged out as West

Port’s Baylee Paparo (65) makes the throw to third

West Port’s Aniyah Dixon (44) scores as Vanguard’s catcher Lilly Land (3) waits on the late throw to the plate.

Hannah Davis

“I told the girls before the game that this is our field and we’re going to defend our field no matter what.”

William Brewington West Port coach

SOFTBALL SCORES

BASEBALL SCORES