VOLUME 1 ISSUE 52
Fabian named Mr. Baseball
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See page B1
JUNE 25- JULY 1, 2021
Silent Sorrow
Light Up Ocala returns to the square By Beth Whitehead Special to the Ocala Gazette For nearly four straight decades, Light Up Ocala ushered in the holiday season before the tradition fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This year, the event is back and planned for Nov. 20 on the downtown square. “2020 was challenging, so the fact that we can come together and celebrate this year is really exciting… it’s something that literally people ask for every year, so it’s exciting to have it return again this year,” said Ashley Dobbs, Ocala spokeswoman. Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn also welcomed the return of the event. “It’s a big deal,” Guinn said. “It brings
Recent spate of teenage shootings points to troubling trend
to the Christmas season, and people love coming downtown—they’ll love this. And yeah, it’s an exciting time in Ocala.” Last year, the Ocala City Council voted to cancel Light Up Ocala due to COVID-19 social distancing worries. The event typically hosts an estimated 30,000 people packed into a few city blocks. Even with estimates of a crowd size of between 10,000 to 15,000 people, social distancing would have been While the event was canceled, the lights still went up, and smaller, subsequent events charmed the square. Holiday pop-ups of Santa and elves ready for a family picture while music
“No one is going to tell the truth... It’s going to keep on going. It’s going to be a domino effect.”
Santa popped up on a surveillance switch and lighting the square up like a chandelier. Thanks to social media, the video garnered a lot of attention, Dobbs said. “So, there were still activities that people could partake in,” she said, “But it just allowed for a little bit more crowd control to not have thousands of people descend on the downtown square.”
-Jaydon Hodge
begins during the summer and requires the interface of multiple city departments. “Everyone’s involved,” Guinn said, See Shootings, page A1
See Light Up Ocala, page A3
Calesa charter school, FAST pool on track By Joel Bronson joel@ocalagazette.com Calesa Township, the upstart family community in Southwest Marion County, is well into the construction of a new charter school and state-of-the-art swimming facility. The Ina A. Colen Academy, a newly created charter school being built for area residents, broke ground in October and is well underway. The outside walls at the new school are up. Recently, dozens of construction workers were busy welding
and working on interior walls. The school will include a gymnasium, cafetorium, art and music rooms, as well as a media center and laboratory areas. kindergarten through sixth grade. The school plans to open its doors in August 2022. “The school will accommodate roughly 200 students, and the plan is to add grades 7-8 over time,” said Kinley Rogers, who works with the community’s developer, Colen Built Development.
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See Calesa, page A3
A worker pressure washes in the new indoor 50-meter pool at the Florida Aquatic Swimming and Training (FAST) pool complex that is under construction. [Bruce Ackerman/OG]
Inside: Bizz Buzz.................................. A4 School Grades ......................... A5 Crime Rate ..............................A6 Sports ....................................... B1 Creative’s Corner ................... B3 Calendar .................................. B5