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“The start of the race is so intense and so fast. It’s like a cavalry charge,” said Dr. Tiffany Atteberry, 46, who competed along with 45 other riders from around the world in the July 23-Aug. 1 race. “You are randomly assigned a Mongolian horse for the start, so you don’t have any idea what you’re getting. But it’s obvious that the fastest horses are chosen for that first leg to get everyone’s adrenaline going and it works. My first horse was like a Ferrari and got me off to a great start.” By the end of her first day riding across the rugged terrain, Atteberry experienced her initial challenge as she looked for a place to spend the night. “I was riding alone up in the mountains and couldn’t find a local ger or yurt to stay at for the night. And it was pouring rain,” explained Atteberry, noting that riders competed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. “So, I backtracked to an old well house that I had seen. I was able to get water for the horse from the well and hobbled him for the night. I got out my camping gear and settled into the well house for shelter.” But when race officials, who track all the riders through GPS, came to check on Atteberry, they were not pleased with her situation. “The race officials were concerned about my safety. I was advised to meet up with riders Chris Walker and Patrick Hefffron, who were camping in a nearby
The City of Ocala might SCOTUS-boundbe
Dr. Tiffany Atteberry, 46, who competed along with 45 other riders from around the world in the July 23-Aug. 1 Mongol Derby race. [The Equestrianists/Shari Thompson] See Mongol, page A3
The ride of a lifetime
See Golf, page A5 Vivian Price drives her golf cart on Southeast 24th Terrace in Ocala on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022. City, page A6
Almost anywhere you go, golf carts are shuttling by like Fred Flintsone having a “yabba-dabba-do time” but without all the fancy footwork. The mini vehicles have surged in popularity both on and off the greens. Some drivers even trick their rides out with automobile- and truckinspired grilles and other accessories. In Ocala, a pair of downtown meeting sessions will address just where drivers can venture out on city streets. The city has posted a notice encouraging “downtown business owners, current golf cart permit holders and those potentially impacted by proposed changes” to attend feedback/ information sessions at noon and 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 18, at the Brick City Center for the Arts, 23 SW Broadway St. The meetings are free and open to the public. The meetings will explore a “potential” extension of the current boundaries where golf carts are allowed, said Rachel Fautsch, the city’s community outreach manager. City staffers will be on hand to answer questions, and they will provide the same information at both meetings. For reference, the city has posted on its website a map of boundaries where golf carts are permitted.
Covering 600 miles across the Mongolian Steppe, the Mongol Derby is billed as the longest and toughest horse race in the world. And it starts at a full gallop.
Ocala officials envision golf carts tooling around downtown
Ocala equine veterinarian Dr. Tiffany Atteberry conquers the Mongol Derby, earning a spot on the podium.
exhibit Page
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M ayor Guinn and the Ocala City Council are proposing a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a 2018 federal ruling against them in light of recent Conservative wins, and the ramifications of that might be far-reaching.Inaspecial meeting of the Ocala City Council on Friday, Aug. 5, city attorney Patrick Gilligan recommended taking a 2014 Federal Court ruling against the city to the U.S. Supreme Court. The governing body present unanimously complied. Councilmember Kristen Dreyer wasn’t present. The ruling concerned a lawsuit in protest of a 2014 downtown prayer vigil organized by city officials in response to a series of West Ocala drive-by shootings. Former/deceased Ocala Police Chief Greg Graham met with spiritual leaders and pastors to solicit support for a prayer vigil on the downtown square. Abigail Sutherland, senior litigation attorney for the American Center for Law & Justice, has volunteered to represent the city for free and addressed the Council about the proposed SCOTUS filing by phone. “We have to determine which path we’re going to take before next Friday,” she said, adding that there’s a long history of city governments leading citizens in prayer. “The other issue is a hotly debated issue -- standing,” she added, explaining that standing suggests proof of the right to sue. “The Plaintiffs were unable to establish there was any city funding to present the vigil,” Sutherland stipulated. “For that reason alone, that makes this a strong case to bring before the Supreme Court for review.” Sutherland also informed the Council that if the Supreme Court does not agree to hear the case or if the city loses the appeal, that the city “will be on the hook for the plaintiffs’ attorney fees” for an amount estimated at around $275,000. Mayor Guinn weighed in,
By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com
But the growth management office is hosting a pair of meetings on Aug. 18 to get the public’s take on their ideas first.
By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com
See
ByB5JoAnn Guidry Special to the Ocala Gazette
AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTEA2 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) News tips tips@ocalagazette.com Distribution Inquiries info@ocalagazette.com Follow @ocalagazetteus Our mission is to inform and uplift our readers by reporting on the events, issues and stories that shape Ocala with accuracy, fairness and passion. We also strive to serve as a forum where all voices can be heard and to chronicle our community’s history. ocalagazette.com ©2022 Ocala Gazette, LLC Ocala Gazette is published weekly by Magnolia Media Company, LLC, PO Box 188, Ocala, FL 34478. Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices is Pending at Ocala, FL. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Ocala Gazette, PO Box 188, Ocala, FL 34478. Evelyn AccountAndersonExecutive evelyn@magnoliamediaco.com Bruce PhotographyAckermanEditor bruce@ocalagazette.com CarolineReporterBrauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com RosemarieReporterDowell rosemarie@ocalagazette.com JulieReporterGaristo julie@magnoliamediaco.com GregEditorHamilton greg@magnoliamediaco.com Susan Smiley-HeightEditor susan@magnoliamediaco.com BeleaReporterKeeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com Publisher Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com Share your news The Ocala Gazette invites you to share your important news events with the community. Email your submissions to info@ocalagazette.com. Please include your name and contact information on the submission. Letters to the editor: 200 words or less. Honorable Mentions: 150 words or less about an individual or organization accomplishment in the business, education, community service, athletics or other area of endeavor. Attach a photo of the individual or group being honored, if available. • Upcoming events: Are you holding a charitable or community event that is open to the public? Include the organization hosting the event as well as the time, date and a brief description of the event, along with registration information or other important Newsinstructions.tips:Include whatever information you consider relevant. Approved Auditor info or periodicAls permit (if ApplicAble) As required for public notices per section 50.011(1)(e), f s cvc – circulAtion verified council 12166 old big bend roAd suite 210 KirKwood mo 63122 phone (314) 966-771 Amy GraphicHarbertDesigner amy@magnoliamediaco.com OPINION
It’s
File photo: Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn returns to his seat before he was re-sworn in during the Ocala City Council meeting in Ocala on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.
By Ocala Gazette Editorial Board
N ext year, the voters of Ocala will once again choose their mayor. While no one has stepped forward to challenge longtime incumbent Kent Guinn, the time has come for the community to make a Historically,change. the mayor’s duties have been largely ceremonial. The mayor has no vote on the Ocala City Council but does hold veto power. The pay is a nominal $550 a month. However, there is one aspect of the job that literally involves life and death. Because of the structure of Ocala government, the mayor, not the city council, has sole oversight of the Ocala Police Department. Guinn has failed miserably in his oversight of the city’s law enforcement agency and officers have suffered because of it. The recent public revival of a series of incidents from 2016 involving then-Police Chief Greg Graham and female subordinates, one of whom is now a Marion County Commission candidate, should remind voters that as much as Guinn proclaims to “back the blue,’’ that support only goes so far and for certain officers. This is simply not good enough for the boss of the department, who only answers to you, the voters. The Gazette’s review of public records detailing how Guinn handled the sexual harassment and retaliation accusations about Graham in 2016 reflect a dereliction of his duty to represent the entire department, not just his friends. Immediately after two female officers accused Graham of sexual harassment after an event in Washington, D.C., Guinn went public with a press conference. But rather than express legitimate concern for the officers, who had made the possible career-ending decision to accuse their boss of harassment, or at least state that he supports letting the system play out, Guinn went in another direction: He whole-heartedly backed Graham prior to any careful investigation. Guinn denounced the officers and sought to discredit their attorney, Bobi J. Frank, of Gainesville who, ironically, was the only person actually “backing the blue.’’ Frank appealed to the city council to protect the officers from retaliation as the cases were being resolved, but the council has little to no say in how the police department is run. Despite the scorched-earth tactics Guinn implemented against Frank, she continues working closely with the Florida Police Benevolent Association to help officers who are in trouble across the state of Florida. Understandably, the charged political situations involving officer misconduct would require attorneys from outside a community to withstand the heat. For the money? Hardly. The state has capped any officer’s claim against the agency it works for at $300,000. And if what Ocala experienced with the Graham case is indicative of how volatile and time-consuming these types of cases are to navigate, most attorneys could make money under less combative and more lucrative circumstances. But consider what this financial cap means to a lifelong Ocalan who chose law enforcement as a career. They may have invested four years in a criminal justice degree, spent years patrolling in hopes of climbing the ladder- but if a management decision essentially ruins their career, the most they can recoup in damages is $300,000. And from that sum, the officer will need to pay attorneys’ fees and costs of litigation while the city defends with other people’sGuinnmoney.disagreed with the city council’s unanimous decision to settle the complaints from the officers in 2019 for a total of $500,000.Themayor pressed for the council to keep fighting the cases in court, which would have given the public more insight into the cases but at a possible financial risk to the city of more claims. Guinn also criticized the attorney, Stephanie Pidermann, who was handling the case for the city. Pidermann, on more than one occasion advised the mayor and council to implement training and education to prevent and manage claims more appropriately. Ocala has hundreds of police officers and staffers whose careers are at the mercy of those who the mayor hires to manage them. For those who think this one episode, no matter how appalling, should not define Guinn’s oversight of the police department, consider the heart-wrenching case of Officer JaredForsyth,Forsyth.33, died in a training incident in 2015. It was a national fallen officers memorial event in 2016 to honor Forsyth and others that drew the Ocala police officers and Graham to Washington, D.C., where the sexual harassment incidents took place. The committee formed to review the circumstances surrounding Forsyth’s death concluded: “The accidental death of Officer Jared Forsyth was preventable and the direct result of policy violations and/ or procedural failures which were in place to prevent such an accident from ever occurring. It is important to realize, however, that these issues did not occur in a vacuum, nor did they develop overnight. The violations, practices and concerns raised by this investigation appear to have developed from a department-wide firearms training complacency and a training culture which lacked structure, control, and accountability.”Guinnrefused to answer questions from the Gazette about whether any of these concerns have beenHowaddressed.thepolice department, and, in turn, Guinn, have handled another aspect of this tragedy speak volumes about how far their “back the blue’’ sentiments actually go. Forsyth was not married, and he had no children. He was the only son of Amy Forsyth. How much did Forsyth’s estate receive from the OPD as a result of his death? Zero. The city only paid for his funeral. Frank, the same attorney who represented the officers in the allegations against Graham, joined by local attorney Jared King, filed a suit on behalf of the estate of Forsyth against Ocala for damages due to the city’s negligence. The city attorney, Patrick Gilligan, cried foul against the city paying Forsyth’s estate any money and instead is asking the court to implement sanctions against the officer’s estate and its sole beneficiary, Officer Forsyth’sForsythmother.istheonly Ocala Police officer that has died in the line of duty in at least 60 years. Back the blue,Anotherindeed.more-recent situation sheds light on the management of theEarlierOPD. this year, thenCity Manager Sandra Wilson presented the city council with results from a confidential city employee satisfaction survey. Each city department head was afforded the chance to work with the independent consultant to tailor the survey questions to their department. All of the employee responses were outside management’s purview until the consultant delivered the final results to the council on March 22. Curiously absent from the survey results were anything from those who work at the Ocala Police Department. Police Chief Michael Balken would not allow his department to participate in the citywide exercise, and Guinn backed his decision. Once again, it was a missed opportunity for management, including the mayor, as well as city council, to show their support for members of the OPD. It’s almost as if the leaders were afraid to let the public hear what their subordinates might say about how the department is operated. We’re a year away from the next election for mayor, and it’s a big ask for someone to step forward to challenge Guinn, who was on city council for 12 years before being elected mayor. After all, he won his most recent reelection bid, in 2021, by decidedly trouncing his opponent Manal Fakhoury in a very expensive campaign. But the people of Ocala deserve a mayor who is more than a ceremonial figurehead cutting ribbons and representing the city at the Kentucky Derby. Ocala needs someone who will not just be a friend and rubber stamp for the police chief, but someone who will be honest, objective and will respect everyone wearing the badge. These men and women risk everything for us, it’s time we had their backs. time for a new mayor of Ocala
File photo: Motorists on I-75 [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.
Mongol Derby Primer The inaugural Mongol Derby was in 2009 and although the course changes from year to year, it is based on Genghis Kahn’s horse messenger system that began in 1224. There is generally a field of 40 or so riders, usually evenly split between men and women. In addition to dealing with the challenges of mountains, valleys, sand dunes, open grasslands and the unpredictable hot, cold, rainy weather, riders also have to be able to handle the Mongolian horses. Small in stature at but 13.2 hands to 15 hands, the hardy Mongolian horses are well-suited to their rugged country. But they are often described as semi-wild and with one buck they can end a rider’s Mongol Derby. Riders change horses every 25 miles at horse stations, where a horse must pass a vet check before a rider is allowed to pick out another horse and continue on. If a horse doesn’t pass a vet check, a rider receives a time penalty, which they have to serve out before the end of the race. Riders generally cover 75 to 100 miles a day, only being allowed to ride in the daylight hours. There is the option to camp out or stay in locals’ yurts. Competitors have 10 days to finish the race, but winning riders come in under that mark. In 2019, Bob Long, 70, from Boise, Idaho, became the oldest person to win the Mongol Derby, doing so in seven and a half days. Due to COVID-19, there was no Mongol Derby in 2020 or 2021. To make up for those cancellations, two events were scheduled for 2022. Atteberry, who had initially signed up for the 2020 Mongol Derby, competed in this year’s first event with a second one set for Aug. 10-19. “I was so disappointed when the race was canceled those two years,” said Atteberry, who established her Ocala-based Atteberry Mobile Veterinary Services in 2003 and specializes in equine care. “So as soon as I was contacted that it was back on in 2022, I was delighted and started training.” An disciplines,horsewomanaccomplishedinseveralAtteberryturned her attention to endurance riding to prepare for the Mongol Derby. Local endurance riders Deb Walker and Caren Risley lent Atteberry their expertise and even their horses. Atteberry bought a Mongolian saddle and trained and competed in area endurance races with the 11 pounds of gear she would be allowed to carry on her body. “In a way, I’m glad I ended up having more time to train,” said Atteberry, who, with her husband Scott Brown, also raises thoroughbreds. “All that training really paid off.”
Continued from page A1 valley,” said Atteberry. “Of course, that put me riding after 7 p.m., so I picked up my first time penalty. I wasn’t happy about that, but those are the rules of the race. Tomorrow would be another day.”
Atteberry also noted that “almost every horse bucked right after it was saddled, so if I could get a herder to get on a horse first and get that buck out of him, then I would.” One gray horse perhaps thought he was a bit of a rodeo horse. Once Atteberry was on, he went straight up on his hind legs several times and then jumped sideways, eventually tossing her. But she got right back on and off they went. Eating the local cuisine was also part of the experience, both out of respect and survival. “The locals were all very nice and they want to share their way of life with the riders, not only their horses, but their food,” said Atteberry. “You want to respect that and you also need all the calories you can get, so you eat the local food. That included boiled mutton and goat, fried rice and potatoes and a lot of fermented milk drinks. The most common fermented drink is airag, which is fermented mare’s milk. My favorite was the fried rice and potatoes.” After her first day of riding alone, Atteberry then rode in the company of other riders. Eventually, she teamed up with Deirdre Griffith from Wyoming and Willemien Jooste from South Africa. The trio rode together, sometimes in the lead and other times following the aforementioned Walker and Hefffron, from England and Ireland, were“Deirdrerespectively.andWillemiengreattoridewithand we enjoyed tracking the men,” said Atteberry, who was surprised at warm temps in the 80s the whole ride. “In a way, it’s better to be the hunter than the hunted. It’s a lot less pressure.”
Her Kingdom for a Horse At each horse station, Atteberry became astute at picking out what she hoped would be just the right horse. “I would look for a horse that looked fit, particularly paying attention to their hooves,” noted Atteberry. “I wanted a horse with muscles and worn hooves that meant he was being ridden often.” She also had to rely on the locals, who own and know the horses.“You learn not to ask the herders in their 20s for their recommendation because they generally wanted to put you on a wild one,” said Atteberry, who rode 27 different horses. “I would look for an older herder or a young boy, ask them humbly for their help and motion that I wanted a fast horse. That seemed to work. I only got one slow poke and one who pretty much just ran off with me that whole time.”
Mongol Derby
Local officials expressed relief. Mayor Bill White of the Dunnellon City Council said he was happy to hear of the decision.“Dunnellon was the little city that roared,” White stated. “We were one of the first governmental entities to push back on the project. Dunnellon’s environmental concerns were paramount and the proximity to the Rainbow River, Rainbow Springs and the Withlacoochee River” had officials and the public deeply concerned. Dunnellon was also opposed to the “pass-through traffic” that proposed roads would have had on their community, with routes possibly affecting US 41, State Roads 40 and 200, and County Road 484. “This is a win for the opposition,” White said.Opposition forces, including the Sierra Club, 1000 Friends and the No Roads to Ruin coalitions made their own announcements about the news. The Sierra Club expressed some pleasure, but still questioned the FDOT announcement, asking how the pause would affect statutory requirements, whether the department will complete a Project Development and Environment study and how long the threat of the project will last for voters in Citrus, Levy, Marion and Sumter counties.
Photos below: Dr. Tiffany Atteberry, 46, who competed along with 45 other riders from around the world in the July 23-Aug. 1 Mongol Derby race. [The Equestrianists/Shari Thompson]
FDOT pauses plans for turnpike extension
Finishing Strong The trio of women came in together at the second-to-last horse station with Walker and Hefffron not far behind. But for Atteberry, Walker and Hefffron, the time penalties they had accrued came due. “I had a 2-hour penalty to burn off and couldn’t leave with Deirdre and Willemien,” said Atteberry. “Seeing them leave without me was my lowest point. But then much to my surprise, I had cellphone reception and was able to contact my husband in Ocala. Talking to him really picked me up.” Griffith and Jooste crossed the finish line together in first place on Day 8. After serving out their penalties, Walker and Hefffron came in later that day together in second place. Atteberry left the horse station at 7 a.m. on Day 9 and crossed the finish line two hours later in third place. Officially listed as the fifth person to finish, Atteberry was on the podium, receiving a third-place green Mongolian robe and a Bronze medal. “I was so emotional when I crossed the finish line,” said Atteberry, whose goal was to finish in the Top 10. “The event, everything exceeded my expectations. I came away with such a wonderful feeling of being present in that moment and having so much gratitude for the experience. And I came away with a lifetime of memories of competing in and finishing the Mongol Derby.” Want To Know Equestrianists.comMore?
By Belea T. Keeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com
AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE A3
There was moment when Atteberry thought her ride was over. The women had camped out with a local family, hobbling and line-tying their horses for the night. When they came out the next morning, Atteberry’s horse was nowhere in sight. “He had somehow gotten free during the night. I thought my ride was over right then,” said Atteberry. “But I finally spotted him, a lone silhouette grazing on the horizon. The hobbles had kept him from totally running off. I managed to catch him, get tacked up and was able to head out on time with Deirdre and Willemien.”
In an unexpected move, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has “paused” plans for its four proposed toll road routes for extending the Florida Turnpike north from Wildwood and ending at US 19 in Levy County. The state will, instead, focus on improvements to I-75. The proposed toll road project has been completed, according to an FDOT press release, “without recommending a specific corridor and [the FDOT] will not pursue the project any further until options can be reassessed to address concerns of the Department and the community.”
“Credit rests with the many local residents and elected officials who clearly understand the many negative impacts of the proposed Turnpike Extension—and associated sprawling development—on their rural economies, water quality, environment and quality of life,” said 1000 Friends of Florida Communications Director Vivian Young, in a press release. The extension was proposed by the FDOT with four routes, all running through the rural areas of Sumter, Citrus, Marion and Levy counties. In addition to grassroots and environmental groups, multiple city and county boards and councils had voiced their opposition to the state, including the Dunnellon City Council, the Inglis Town Commission, Inverness City Council, the Yankeetown Council, and Sumter, Levy and Citrus county boards. The Marion County Commission had voted 3-2 to request a seat at the table as the state reviewed options. On Friday, the county issued a statement that said, “We agree that the routes proposed are not viable and look forward to working with our FDOT partners on solutions for Interstate 75 (I-75) in the future.”
There’s a new furry friend on the scene in Marion County Public Schools. Her name is Albi and she’s a four-legged German short-haired pointer. She’s the first firearms detection police K9 for the sheriff’s office. Also, whoever said, “No one gets a free lunch,” couldn’t be farther off the mark, especially in one of the 52 Marion County Public Schools now offering free breakfast and lunch meals. Thanks to MCPS taking part in the Community Eligibility Provision, a program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, all children can take advantage of the free grub. No student/family application is required to participate.TheFordham Early Learning Academy has opened its doors for the first time, to kindergarteners and pre-K students as young as 4 years old. Located just north of Ocala, the school is named for former MCPS teacher and administrator Edmond Fordham. The school will add first and second grades in the coming years and is under the direction of Jennifer Beck. Around the district, 14 schools have new principals this year thanks to leadership changes made by Superintendent Dr. Diane Gullett. First-time principals include Sarah Dobbs at East Marion Elementary School, Michael Carter at Forest High School, Jason Jacobs at Lake Weir Middle School, Dr. Anna Streater-Mcallister at Shady Hill Elementary School, Renee Johnson at Sparr Elementary School and Victoria Hunt at Wyomina Park Elementary School.
AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTEA4 Public NoticePublic Notice
WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR AT SCHOOL? A weapons-sniffing K-9, Free lunches, an early learning academy and more kick off as Marion County kids head back to school. Marion County voters have three options to cast their ballot in the upcoming Aug. 23 Primary Election: Vote-by-Mail, Early Voting, or on Election Day, Aug. 23. The deadline to request a Vote-by-Mail ballot for the Primary Election is Aug. 13 by 5 p.m. Requests can be made by visiting VoteMarion.Gov, calling (352) 620-3290, or in person at the Supervisor of Elections office. Mail ballots must be signed by the voter and received by the Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m. Election Day to be counted.TheUSPS requests voters mail their ballot at least a week before Election Day. Mail ballots can be returned to a Secure Ballot Intake Station at the Elections Office, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, or at any open Early Voting site during Early Voting hours. Voters can check their mail ballot status by visiting VoteMarion.Gov. Ballot status alerts are available by email, text message or voice mail by filling out a form at MarionBallotTrax.com.EarlyvotinginMarion County begins Aug. 13 and will continue through Aug. 20 at 9 Earlya.m.voting sites are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following locations: Election Center 981 NE 16th St, Ocala Belleview Public Library 13145 SE Highway 484, Belleview Deputy Brian Litz Building 9048 SW Highway 200, Ocala Dunnellon Public Library 20351 Robinson Road, Dunnellon Forest Public Library 905 S Highway 314A, Ocklawaha Freedom Public Library 5870 SW 95th St, Ocala Reddick Community Center 4345 NW 152nd St, Reddick Silver Springs Shores Community Center 590 Silver Road, Ocala The Villages Mulberry Center 8445 SE 156th Mulberry Lane, The ForVillagesmore information, visit www.VoteMarion.Gov; call the Marion County Election Center at 352-620-3290 or email Elections@VoteMarion.Gov.
By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com
File photo: Wesley Wilcox [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]
MARION COUNTY GEARS UP FOR ELECTIONSPRIMARY
Albi, the first firearms detecting canine. She’s German short-haired pointer. [screen capture From WESH news story]
On Monday, Aug. 15, all kindergarten students report to class. Staggering times like this gives students more personal time with their teacher to make the adjustment to school easier. Students, especially seventh graders, must have their immunizations up to date by August 10 as required by Florida law. Otherwise, they are not allowed in class on the first day. To date, parents have submitted 9,485 applications for their students to use “School Choice” and other reassignment options for out-of-area schools. Criteria are strict and not everyone who applies receives approval. Marion Afterschool Programs offer adult supervision of students before and after school. As of today, all MAP sites already have waiting lists. Meal prices remain unchanged -- $1.75 for students (middle & high) and $4 for adults. More than 62 percent of students district-wide are eligible for free and reduced meal plans. Interactive technology continues to be available for communication. Parents can sign up for and use “Family Access” for complete 24/7 access to student grades, attendance records, and other important academic information. They can register at one school with a valid photo ID and access all their children’s records with a single convenient sign-on. To date, the district has hired more than 400 employees, including 320 new teachers at every grade level. As of today, approximately 150 teaching positions remain open. Marion County Public Schools’ complete calendar and other valuable information can be found at County--Informationmarionschools.net.courtesyofMarionPublicSchools
K SE 5TH ST E FORT KING ST SW1STAVE SE11THAVE SPRINGS BLVD SE25THAVE SE 13TH ST PINEAVE SE22NDAVE SE3RDAVE SE 11TH ST SE 3RD ST SE 17TH ST SE14THAVE SE 7TH ST SMAGNOLIAAVE SESANCHEZAVE 9TH ST SEMAGNOLIAEXT SE 12TH ST SE SE21STAVE SE 15TH ST SE24THTER SE16THAVE SW 12TH ST SE10THAVE SE BROADWAY ST SE18THAVE 17TH ST SE17THAVE 6TH ST SE1STTER AVE19THSE 7TH ST SW 5TH ST SE24THAVE AVE15THSE SE14THTER SPRINGS PL SEOSCEOLAAVE TER15THSE SE21STTER SE9THAVE CT20THSE SE 12TH PL SE9THTER SE 6TH PL SE 15TH LN NE25THAVE SW2NDAVE SE 14TH PL SE 14TH LN AVE3RDSW SE 16TH LN SPRINGS BLVD SE12THTER SE13THAVE SE11THTERSE12THAVE SE20THAVE SE 16TH PL SEWENONAAVE SE 10TH SE20THTER SE15THAVE SE 6THPL SE12THAVE AVEPINES SE13THAVE AVE9THSE SE20THAVE SE14THAVE SE 11TH ST SEWENONAAVE AVE3RDSW ST SE17THAVE SW3RDAVE SW1STAVE SE15THAVE SE16THAVE SE18THAVE 11TH ST SE15THAVE SW2NDAVE SE16THAVE SE 13TH ST SE17THAVE SE12THTER SE 15TH ST SE 12TH ST SE 14TH ST SE15THAVE SE 14TH ST SE10THAVE AVE2NDSW PINEAVE SE 24TH10THAVE SE7THAVE LAKEWEIRAVE SE 22NDRD 8THAVE SE10TH 19THCIR 12THAVE 21ST AVEWENONA SE17THCIR NE13TH AVE3RDAVE ACCESSRD PRIVATEDR AVE PRIVATEDR SE19TH 18TH 15THAVE PRIVATEDR ACCESSRD PRIVATEDR GOLF CART December2019MAP LegendGolfCart Crossing Location Golf CartProhibited Roads Golf GolfPrivateCartFriendlyRoadsRoadsCartParking CityParkingMarketOcala Garage: Golf carts Motorists drive past a golf cart sign on Southeast 14th Street near the intersection of Southeast 25th Avenue in Ocala on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022. MARION COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS FACT SHEET
According to the city Ordinance 2020-3, drivers operating golf carts or mini trucks can only operate vehicles that do not exceed 20 mph on the city’s streets. They are also required to register their golf cart for a one-time permit at a cost of $30. Florida Statutes, section 320.01(22), allow golf carts to be operated on roadways that are designated for golf carts with a posted speed limit of 30 mph or less. A little more than 180 golf cart drivers currently hold permits. The city ordinance that passed two years ago states that an unlicensed driver must be 18 years of age or older or possess a valid stateissued learner’s driver’s license. When operating a golf cart, the unlicensed driver must be accompanied at all times by another person who holds a valid state-issued driver’s license, is at least 21 years old and occupies the closest seat to the right of the unlicensed driver of the golf Accordingcart. to research by the Glover Law Firm, 15.2 percent of golf cart injuries occur on streets or public property. While most golf cart injuries occur on sports facilities, the most serious injuries happen when a golf cart is struck by a car or truck. Under current city regulations, the vehicles are only permitted to travel on roads from sunrise to sunset unless they are equipped with headlights, brake lights, and a windshield -- a regulation echoed by the state ordinance. If you are currently in the golf cart area and haven’t applied for a permit, visit ocalafl.org/GolfCart to start the application process. For more information or for accommodations, call the Growth Management office at 352-629-8404; email building@ocalafl.org or visit ocalafl.org/GolfCart.
AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE A5
An estimated 43,778 students are starting school this week in Marion County Public Schools.Most elementary schools operate 7:40 a.m.-2:05 p.m. daily. Middle schools range from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. High schools vary from 7:30 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. Elementary schools also offer “stagger start” for kindergarten students, meaning one-third of students report to school either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
Continued from page A1 The cart-wheeling area currently comprises East Silver Springs Boulevard to the north, Southeast 17th Street to the south, Watula Avenue to the west and Southeast 25th Avenue to the east. City regulations also cap off the vehicles’ top speed to 20 miles per hour. “We’re inviting people who operate Golf carts to bring up any issues or concerns they might have while we present a proposed boundary extension, taking the area we have now west to Pine Street,” Fautsch said. The city also hopes that it will be an economic driver for downtown businesses, Fautsch added. Downtown parking areas are being discussed but no list has been drafted as of press time. Fautsch said she waiting to hear from the engineering office what those proposals will be.
The recent decision in Kennedy vs. Bremerton essentially changed the law the district court had previously relied on when it granted summary judgment against the city. The July 22 eleventh circuit court of appeal order in the city’s case references Lemon vs. Kurtzman, a landmark Pennsylvania separation of church and state ruling in 1971. The order opines on how the case once offered the protective powers of establishing a precedent against religious infringements. Justice Antonin Scalia derided the Lemon case, a fact mentioned in the order. He scorned the ruling as a ghoul in a late-night movie that kept sitting up and haunting the court. In a play on words, the order suggests that the recent ruling in Kennedy vs. Bremerton “drove a stake through the ghoul” and “buried Lemon for good.” Monica Miller, legal director and senior counsel at the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center, told DeseretNews that the goal is not to force city leaders to never speak of prayer again; it’s to ensure that residents with less common religious beliefs or no religious beliefs feel welcome at publicly sponsored or endorsed events.
omen interested in discussing global solutions, take note: Ocala’s first-ever All-In for Peace Women’s Summit aims to bring star power and global discourse to the Appleton Museum of Art on Thursday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ollin Women International, founded by pharmacist and civic leader Dr. Manal Fakhoury, is coordinating the event that’s scheduled to feature Marianne Williamson as keynote speaker. The famed author and 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate will join other prominent women in discussing peace, literacy and empowerment. Ocala-based guest speakers and facili tators include Jessica McCune, Dr. Jillian Ramsammy, Fakhoury and Jessi Miller. All-In for Peace takes place one day after the International Day of Peace but aims to keep up the momentum of the day’s messaging by educating women to educate and empower themselves to facili tate peacebuilding in their lives, commu nities, and, in turn, the world at large. Williamson, who penned the bestseller A Return to Love and 13 other books, has appeared in the spotlight throughout the years as a political activist and spiritual thought leader. She has worked throughout her career on poverty, anti-hunger and racial reconciliation issues. In 2004, Williamson co-founded The Peace Alliance and supports the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace. Guest speaker Medea Benjamin cofounder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK and the human rights group Global Exchange, has advocated for social justice for more than 40 years, and she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Dot Maver, founding president of the National Peace Academy USA, will also join the event as a guest speaker. Maver has served as the founding executive director of the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding and other global welfarefocused organizations, focusing on applied peacebuilding, shared responsibility and shared leadership modeling. Ollin Women International was founded in Ocala with a mission to create “a culture of peace by transforming the way we interact with and see one another.” The inspiration for the organization’s name traces to a word that can be found on the Aztec calendar and on many of the instruments used in sacred preColumbianPronouncedceremonies.ALL-IN, the word “ollin” derives from yollotl, meaning heart, and yolistli, life. So, in a way, it’s the perfect double entendre and speaks to the event’s name, “All-In for Women.” Manal Fakhoury founded Ollin Women International after she woke up one morning and thought, “Things have to change. We can do better.” She posted a message on her personal Facebook page in search of women leadership and got more than 400 responses from friends and colleagues around the world. Her hope is that the summit will become an annual event and continue raising awareness of ideas, large and small -- ideas that help everyone move toward peace. The All-In For Peace Women’s Summit takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22, at the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala Tickets are $45 and can be ordered at ollinwomen.org.
Left: Marianne Williamson from Creative Commons
Ire Bethea voiced his support for the filing and redirected the focus to the purpose of the vigil to engage the citizenry in trying to find out who committed the drive-by shootings, the initial motivation for the 2014 vigil. Attorneys for the plaintiffs disputed the event’s secular underpinnings, arguing that it violated the Establishment Clause, which bars government “establishment” of religion. Four Marion County residents filed the lawsuit against the city and Graham in November 2014, but only two of the Plaintiffs, Art Rojas and Lucinda and Daniel Hale are still alive. The American Humanist Association --which “advocates progressive values and equality for humanists, atheists, freethinkers and the non-religious across the country” -- represented the plaintiffs and claimed that the gathering violated their U.S. Constitution rights.
By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com W
AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTEA6 10AM — 6PM *Payments shown based on 48 month financing estimates. Your payments may vary based on your credit approval. See associate for details. Prior sales not included. Due to early advertising deadlines, some items may be sold or out of stock. See or call store for details on total delivery area. Delivery is additional. Product photos are for illustration only, actual product may not be as pictured. Not responsible for typographical errors visit:Flyer,Monthlyourviewtoand www.BlockersFurniture.com FURNITUREOUTDOOR SALE! ALL PALLISER ON SALE!Save $150Save $1300 Save $200 $599 WAS $749 $2699 WAS $ 3999 CAMBECK Queen Bed with Dresser & Mirror $799 WAS HAISLEY Sofa Loveseat: $579 MIDDLETON 3 Piece Sectional $13 starting at PER MO $ 57 starting at PER MO* $17 starting at PER MO* 25% OFF 25% OFF ALL OUTDOOR FURNITURE & ACCESSORIES Top brands, In-Stock and Ready for Your Patio SEE IT, BUY IT, TAKE IT HOME! CHECK OUT BLOCKER’S MATTRESS GALLERY up to 60 FINANCINGMONTHS SEE ASSOCIATE FOR DETAILS RECEIVE $98 OFF ANY PURCHASE $499 OR GREATER! * MATTRESSES $399starting at Continued from page A1 comparing the church-and-state case to a lawyer he knew who was charging a hotel owner thousands of dollars for flying a drone over his pool to seek out violations. Referencing past run-ins with “freedom from religion” advocates, the mayor had strong words at the meeting. “Not only did they get us to remove the ‘God be with us’ off our seal, we had to get rid of the chaplains program at the police department, stop using the word ‘prayer,’ stop having prayer breakfasts,” he complained. “This is obviously the perfect time not to do this just for us but for the country. We all stood up to take an oath to protect the Constitution. This is your chance to do that.” Gilligan suggested a fiscal motivation. “It’s not the amount of the money that’s already spent, but if we win, it’s the incremental amount going forward. I think it’s worth it.” “We need to take a stand just for the fact that we can stop this for other people … this is ridiculous,” said Councilmember Barry Mansfield. “I still believe and want to believe that the Constitution was built under the Christian faith. This is what we’re here Councilmemberfor.”
First-ever women’s summit aims to become annual event All-In for Women will promote an exchange of ideas and feature author Marianne Williamson
City of Ocala appeals to highest court
Having uniformed police officers participate and government officials plan the event and promoting the event promoting on OPD letterhead crossed a line in their court-sanctioned opinion. But with a conservative-leaning SCOTUS, the city has a fighting chance of overturning the Federal District Court ruling in 2018. Last month, the New York Times reported on a Supreme Court case, Kennedy vs. Bremerton, ruling in favor of a high school football coach, stating that he had a constitutional right to pray at the 50-yard line after his team’s games. The vote was 6 to 3, with the court’s three liberal members in dissent. The NYT story added that the decision came less than a week after the court ruled, by the same vote, that Maine could not exclude religious schools from a state tuition program.
School Board Attorney Jeremy Powers offered clarification in response to comments from Campbell and Browning, stating that the average income to be normally eligible for free and reduced public assistance for meals is much higher than the income classified under living in poverty. “The poverty guidelines for the state of Florida are right around, for a family of four, $27,000. Whereas always the eligibility requirements for free and reduced public assistance for lunch was roughly doubled at something like $52,000,” Powers said. The income to classify under poverty guidelines and incomes to be eligible for reduced-price or free meals differs from year to year, as defined by the USDA. For 2022-23, the federal poverty guideline for a family of four is an annual income of $27,750. The same size of family would have to have an annual income of $51,338 to be eligible for reduced-price meals, and an annual income of $36,075 for its students to be eligible for free meals in publicBoardschools.Member Nancy Thrower commended Lovett and the entire food and nutrition department, saying that making sure a student is well-fed is quintessential to the student’s success in the classroom. “If a kid is hungry, the kid is not going to learn at the level that they’re capable of,” Thrower said. “Then when those standardized test scores come out, the teacher is held responsible for that child’s lack of academic success.”
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
Board Member Don Browning said he felt that giving students free meals regardless of income could be a slippery slope into students growing up to be dependent on welfare and other government assistance opportunities. “I think at this juncture it’s incredibly important [in the] broad picture to look at the implications of widespread adaptation of welfare,” Browning said. “Welfare is not a positive view of our society. It’s capitalist. Get out, have a job, maybe work a couple of jobs, and actually provide a lunch and a sandwich, for example, for your children.”
AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE A7 The patient and any other person responsible for payment has a right to refuse to pay, cancel payment, or to be reimbursed for payment for any other service, examination or treatment which is performed as a result of and within 72 hours of responding to the advertisement for the free discounted fee or reduced fee service, examination or treatment specials available with this coupon only. Not valid with any other offers. DR. JOHN BORCHERS, DDS. PA DR. MICHAEL T. MCKEE, DDS MS.PA. DR. WALTER VANNESS, 352-873-4844DDS 3300 SW 34th Ave., Suite 136 Ocala, FL 34474 Monday-Friday 8am-5pm www.flgentledental.com EMERGENCIES & WALK-INS WELCOME EXAMEMERGENCY&XRAY New Patient Special $1900 00140 CLEANING, X RAYS & EXAM New Patient Special $2900 00220 CROWNS BRIDGEWORKor per unit $69500 Porcelain & Noble Metal, 006242 20%DENTURESOFF Reline or Repairs D5751, D5750, D5761, D5760, D5619 Center for Dentistry Women helping women.uicfla.com 808 Highway 466, Lady Lake, FL 32159 (352) 751-0040 9401 SW SR 200, Ste. 403 Ocala, FL 34481 (352) 732-6474 2850 SE 3rd Ct Ocala, FL 34471 (352) 732-6474 Non-invasive treatment options Full range of diagnostic services including: • Urodynamics • Digital Cystoscopy • Urinalysis • PSA ProstateScreeningUltrasound • Image-Guided Prostate Biopsy RezūmTM Water Vapor Therapy Providing exceptional urological care for over 30 years. EmilyPerry-Hartlein,APRNRosemaryGavan,APRN ErinZimmer,APRN
The addition of these portables at Liberty Middle School and West Port High School could not have come soon enough—the schools are direly overpopulated and were reported to be lacking in the appropriate number of seats for students as shown in the Impact of Growth on Marion County presentation given to the board in May. Liberty Middle is currently at 111% capacity, with 1339 students enrolled and a seat capacity of only 1203 seats, according to the report. West Port High School was also reported to be over capacity at 112%, with 2743 enrolled students and a seat capacity of only 2452. “We have identified portables around the district that can be relocated should the need arise,” Dobbins said. “We’ll continue to monitor the numbers, and that is where we are in regards to enrollment and classroom space.” But it is not only a possibility that the need should arise for more portables—it is almost a certainty. The school board has and will continue to have conversations about the looming threat of overcrowding, as shortterm solutions such as portable classrooms serve as the only relief until new schools can be built and existing schools can expand. “It kind of goes to the greater conversation that has been had over the summer about overcrowding that we have in some schools, and what we’re trying to do to accommodate that,” said Board Vice-Chair AllisonCampbellCampbell.saidthat while these portables will help the district to have enough room in classrooms for the 2022-23 school year, she recommends that the members of school board have a greater conversation to assess what will happen next as the district anticipates enrollment in its schools to expand. “We can make all the projections that we want right now, but until we actually have students coming to school and having them in seats, we won’t know what those actual enrollment numbers look like,” Campbell said. The Gazette reported in May that the current enrollment utilization sits at 93%, with over 42,000 students enrolled across all grade levels in public schools. By the year 2032, the district projects that its enrollment will reach a staggering number of 50,715, an increase of 20.5% in just 10 years. The addition of portables at the schools that need them most may greatly relieve some strain on overcrowded schools, but only for now, she said. Long-term solutions involving construction have been discussed during meetings between governmental agencies to form interlocal agreements. “If we were to do something like a changing of zone in any one of our schools, specifically in our overcrowded areas—those are conversations that we need to start in August and September of this year, if we’re thinking about it for next year,” Campbell said. Board Member Nancy Thrower has continuously been an advocate for working out a consensus in regard to an interlocal agreement. Thrower said that in a district so large, it is crucial that each governmental agency gets on the same page so that they may move forward with long-term planning to ease the strain on school capacity. “I know the focus has been on our southeast and southwest areas, but our northern areas are over capacity too, and in more than one school,” Thrower said. “It really is going to take all the creative heads at the table and great ideas come from everywhere to alleviate these stress points.”
Several portable classrooms added to schools in need as the school year begins
Thrower said that while a family may be able to afford to put together a lunch to feed their students while at school, some students often do not have a guardian who takes the responsibility to make sure that they don’t go hungry. That’s where the true value of food assistance programs like CEP lies, she “Whensaid.we have conversations like this, it’s really important to know the details and the totality of the whole picture. The only way to know that is to get out of your own personal echo chamber and get out into our schools,” Thrower said. “Look and see what’s really going on—the challenges that public education is faced with, and the level of accountability that we have to meet.”
Free meals for students in Marion County Public Schools
Board Chair Eric Cummings countered this comment by clarifying that the school board was in no way encouraging people to be subsidized or rely on government aid. Cummings expressed his gratitude that the students who do not have access to ample food will now have the opportunity to receive free or reduced-price lunch without needing to go through an application process. “We’re not glamorizing poverty. We’re not glamorizing anything other than the fact that our kids will be able to [eat]. All of our kids will have the opportunity,” Cummings said. “The fact still remains that there is a large segment of our community that needs these resources.”
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
S tudents across 52 of Marion County’s public schools can now eat breakfast and lunch for free during the 2022-23 school year thanks to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) initiative. Students will be eligible to be fed regardless of family income, and there is no application necessary. The initiative that allows for free meals is funded by the Florida Department of Agriculture and will be provided to the district due to the percentage of students from each school who are participating in at least one public assistance or service program. “There are no strings attached. The program is an extension of the National School Lunch Program,” said Jamie Lovett, the supervisor of the food and nutrition department. “It provides eligibility for a whole school or a group of schools, and we are reimbursed based on the number of meals that we serve.” The program will allow for schools to serve free meals to about 43,000 students that the district projects will be enrolled for the upcoming school year. Apart from the 52 schools listed on the MCPS website, only a few schools were either not eligible for the program or opted to continue using their own programs to feed students, said Lovett. “Ina A. Colen Academy has its own school meals program, and you will need to contact them for more details,” Lovett said. “We are working on CEP approval for Fordham Early Learning Academy and Ocali Charter. Until that happens, these schools will receive meals, so no student goesMCPShungry.”students were able to receive free meals for the past two years through waivers from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which operated summer meal programs. With the recent eligibility for CEP, schools must qualify based on the number of directly certified students who are qualified for free meals based on other means than the previous application process, she said. Schools with around 40% or more of students enrolled in assistance programs are eligible for the initiative, and as of last March about 62% of students in Marion County were directly certified through at least one type of federal assistance program, said Lovett. Lovett briefed the Marion County School Board on the district’s eligibility for CEP during the most recent administrative work session on August 4. While members of the school board expressed their gratitude that so many students will be able to have free meals without filling out an application, they also expressed concern that such a large percentage of Marion County students have a necessity for assistance. “It actually shows kind of a reflection on our community,” said School Board Vice-Chair Allison Campbell. “While it’s very positive that our students are able to receive it, the reason they are is because our community has such a significant number of students living in a government assistance, poverty situation financially.”
Additional portables have been installed in schools that needed them after the district completed its Annual Portable Building Inspections. The inspections, mandated by state statutes, identify which portables are non-compliant so that the School Board of Marion County may approve corrective action to fix any portables that must be repaired, decommissioned or replaced. “Technical Services did install three portables at Liberty Middle School, and they are set and ready to go. We also repurposed an existing room at Liberty Middle School into a vocational classroom,” Dobbins said. “We’ve reallocated a portable at Westport High School, and where needed, principals have repurposed storage portables into classrooms.”
AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE
By Jim Turner Florida News Service Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidates called out Gov. Ron DeSantis for comments he made after an unprecedented FBI raid Monday at the Palm Beach home of former President Donald Trump. During a news conference Tuesday morning outside the governor’s mansion, Democratic candidate Nikki Fried said both political parties should tone down inflammatory rhetoric about the raid at Trump’s Mar-aLago estate and that the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice should be allowed to conduct their investigation. “We are all waiting for lots of answers from yesterday, and we all deserve them,” Fried, the state agriculture commissioner, said. “But we need steady leadership who uphold the American values, including the rule of law and civilThediscourse.”searchwas reportedly tied to Trump’s retention of classified material amid investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. It came as speculation swirls about Trump and DeSantis running for the White House in 2024. DeSantis went on Twitter after Monday’s raid and said President Joe Biden’s White House had “weaponized” federal agencies. “The raid of MAL (Mar-a-Lago) is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves,” DeSantis tweeted, referring to the president’s son. “Now the Regime is getting another 87k IRS agents to wield against its adversaries? Banana Republic.”
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, a congressman from St. Petersburg, issued a statement Monday night saying that “no one is above the law, not even a former president.”
As an example, Cambridge Christian attorneys quoted the Kennedy case and an earlier case as they argued that during the “past term the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Free Exercise Clause protects not just religious faith but also ‘the ability of those who hold religious beliefs of all kinds to live out their faiths in daily life through the performance of … physical acts.’” They argued that communal prayer is a “sincere religious practice that permeates life” at Cambridge Christian. “Communal prayer is conducted during morning announcements over the PA system; in the classroom; on the athletic fields; and at performing arts events, staff meetings, trustee meetings, graduations, and just about every other gathering of all or a portion of the CCS community,” the brief said. “This religious practice is a manifestation of deeply held religious belief.” But in her April ruling, Honeywell wrote that the case “is not about whether two Christian schools may pray together at a football game,” noting that players and coaches met on the field of Orlando’s Camping World Stadium to pray before and after the 2015 game. “The issue before the court is whether the First Amendment required the FHSAA (the association) to grant the teams unrestricted access to the PA system to deliver the prayer over the loudspeaker during the pregame,” Honeywell wrote. “Thus, the questions to be answered are whether the inability to pray over the loudspeaker during the pregame of the state championship final football game violated CCS’s (Cambridge Christian’s) First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and free exercise of religion. … (The) court concludes that the First Amendment does not apply because the speech at issue is government speech, but even if some portion of the speech is considered private speech, the court finds no constitutional violation occurred.” Honeywell initially dismissed the case in 2017, but the appeals court in 2019 overturned the dismissal and sent the case back to Honeywell for further consideration. That led to her April judgment in favor of the association.
Democrats target DeSantis over raid comments
“Gov. DeSantis’s knee-jerk partisan response to this law enforcement action proves yet again he is more interested in playing politics than seeking justice or the rule of law,” Crist said in the statement. “Healing and uniting our state and nation starts with respecting the rule of law. If Ron DeSantis can’t understand that, or refuses to, he’s not qualified to be governor of Florida.”
School challenges ruling on pre-game prayer
A Biden-backed bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, includes funding for 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service agents.
But DeSantis was joined by other Florida Republicans in condemning the raid. In a Twitter post, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., compared the raid to “something we have seen many times from 3rd world Marxist dictatorships.” U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., on Tuesday tweeted that when Republicans have a majority in the Senate, there will be “thorough & aggressive investigation into the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago.” “Everything needs to be on the table for (U.S. Attorney General Merrick) Garland, including impeachment, if he doesn’t come out today and explain what happened,” tweeted Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is leading efforts to elect GOP Senate candidates. But Fried criticized DeSantis, as he and many other Republicans have kept quiet about the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. “He (DeSantis) won’t condemn January 6. But he has no problem attacking the FBI,” Fried said. “An FBI that is run by a director that was appointed by Donald Trump. Attacking our institutions and making threats about revenge if they gain power is un-American. We should always seek truth and justice.” Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried held a news conference Tuesday outside the governor’s mansion. [Jim Turner]
StateA8
By Jim Saunders Florida News Service
ATampa Christian school has asked a federal appeals court to find that the Florida High School Athletic Association unconstitutionally prevented a prayer over a stadium loudspeaker before a 2015 highschool football championship game. In a 74-page brief filed Monday at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, attorneys for Cambridge Christian School cited legal precedents, including a June decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of a Bremerton, Wash., high-school football coach who lost his job after praying on the field after games. Cambridge Christian wants the Atlanta-based appeals court to overturn an April ruling by U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell, who said the Florida High School Athletic Association is a “state actor” and did not violate First Amendment rights when it refused to allow a prayer over the public-address system before a game between Cambridge Christian School and Jacksonville’s University Christian School. “FHSAA (the association) claims that all speech over the loudspeaker is government speech,” the school’s brief said. “Yet the record shows that FHSAA permits schools and other private actors to deliver a variety of messages over the loudspeaker: welcoming remarks, promotions, music, and even prayers (at all games except the championship). Moreover, FHSAA uses the loudspeaker to call for moments of silence, deliver ethical messages, promote sportsmanship, and honor persons and events. But it will not allow these same themes to be expressed under a religious banner. Because the prayer ban constitutes viewpoint discrimination, and has been arbitrarily applied, it violates CCS’s (Cambridge Christian’s) free-speech rights.”
The brief is dotted with references to the high-profile June U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case known as Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, along with other court precedents. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority sided with Joseph Kennedy on free-speech and free exercise of religion claims.
By Jim Saunders Florida News Service
The Biden administration’s lawyers also tried to pick holes in Fried’s arguments that medicalmarijuana patients should be allowed to possess guns and be trusted not to use them when they’reMonday’shigh. memo pointed to a consent form, created by the Florida Board of Medicine, in which patients must acknowledge that marijuana impairs “the ability to think, judge and reason.” “It is therefore dangerous to trust regular marijuana users to exercise sound judgment while intoxicated, a fact tragically borne out by the frequency with which marijuana users drive while impaired and suffer fatal collisions,” the Justice Department’s lawyers argued. Fried, a lawyer who is Florida’s lone statewide elected Democrat, said Tuesday she was disappointed by the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and the memo backing it “Callingup.marijuana users dangerous. Using a 1633 case about the disarming of Indians. It is very disappointing. And so we will … have a response to the motion to dismiss,” Fried, a prominent supporter of medical marijuana, told reporters. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Fried, two women who are medical-marijuana patients and want to possess guns, and a man who is a gun owner and wants to become a medicalmarijuana patient. Federal lawyers argued in Monday’s memo that plaintiffs “lack standing for most of their claims.”Fried’s lawsuit also accused the Biden administration of defying a federal law, known as the RohrabacherFarr Amendment, that bars Justice Department officials from using agency funds to prevent states with medical-marijuana programs “from implementing state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana.”
Previous court decisions have found that the law prohibits federal officials from spending money to prosecute people who engage in conduct permitted by state medical-marijuana laws, Fried’s lawyers wrote. But the memo filed Monday said the Justice Department hasn’t prosecuted any people for using medical marijuana in compliance with state law and noted that Florida has a robust and rapidly expanding medicalmarijuana market. “The inability for medical marijuana users to possess firearms, or the possibility of prosecution if a medical marijuana user unlawfully possesses a firearm, does not prevent Floridians from using medical marijuana,” the Justice Department lawyers argued. “Nothing in the RohrabacherFarr amendment requires DOJ to permit medical marijuana users to possess firearms.”
the CDC’s contention that it had the authority to order travelers to wear masks. In part, the CDC cited authority to impose “sanitary” measures. “In context, ‘sanitation’ authorizes CDC to demand cleaning, but it does not authorize CDC to require any action that may result in cleanliness, much less on a nationwide basis,” lawyers in Moody’s office wrote. “A mask does not clean anything. Rather, it traps respiratory droplets in place, without regard to whether infection is present.” But in a May 31 brief filed at the Atlanta-based appeals court, U.S. Department of Justice attorneys wrote that the mask requirement “falls easily within the CDC’s statutory authority, which includes measures that ‘directly relate to preventing the interstate spread of disease by identifying, isolating, and destroying the disease itself.’” “Masks do exactly that: They isolate the disease itself by trapping viral particles exhaled by infected travelers and preventing non-infected travelers from inhaling viral particles,” the Justice Department attorneys wrote. “The CDC’s statutory authority explicitly encompasses ‘sanitation’ measures and — as the district court itself recognized — a mask is a conventional sanitationRequiringmeasure.”travelers to wear masks on airplanes was highly controversial, with many people objecting and flight attendants left with the difficult task of trying to enforce the measure. Republican politicians attacked the requirement as part of criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of the pandemic.Inaddition to the brief filed Monday by Moody’s office, 17 members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, including Florida Congressmen Brian Mast and Bill Posey, sought approval Monday to file a brief in support of Mizelle’s ruling. In a copy of the brief attached to the request, they alleged the CDC had overstepped its authority. “In particular, (the members of Congress) take the position that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lacked congressional authority to enact and implement the mandate via the statutes it cites as granting it authority to do so,” lawyers for the U.S. House and Senate membersMizelle’swrote.April ruling came in a lawsuit filed last year by the Health Freedom Defense Fund and two individual plaintiffs. In a separate case, Orlandobased U.S. District Judge Paul Byron later backed the CDC’s mask order. An appeal of that ruling also is pending at the 11th Circuit.Inher ruling, Mizelle, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump, wrote that the mask requirement exceeded the CDC’s authority under a law known as the Public Health Services Act and refuted that the requirement was a legal sanitation measure. “The government interprets ‘sanitation’ and ‘other measures’ to include traditional techniques that impede the spread of disease,” Mizelle wrote. “One definition it relies upon is even broader, defining ‘sanitation’ as the ‘applying of measures for preserving and promoting public health.’ If Congress intended this definition, the power bestowed upon the CDC would be breathtaking. And it certainly would not be limited to modest measures of ‘sanitation’ like masks.”Mizelle also ruled that the CDC violated the federal Administrative Procedure Act, in part because it did not give the public proper time to review and comment on the mask rule before it was put in place. Also, she wrote that the requirement was “arbitrary and capricious” because the CDC didn’t adequately explain its reasoning. Moody was joined in Monday’s brief by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia and the solicitor general from Iowa. other states target mask requirement
File photo: The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is weighing a legal fight about a mask requirement for travelers.
Feds say guns and pot a ‘dangerous’ mix
Florida,
By Dara Kam Florida News Service Arguing that the country has a long tradition of viewing intoxication and firearms as a “dangerous” mix, the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried challenging federal prohibitions on medicalmarijuana patients buying guns. Justice Department court filings, in part, focused on arguments that it is “dangerous to trust regular marijuana users to exercise sound judgment while intoxicated” and that federal firearm restrictions are legally sound. “Marijuana users pose a danger comparable to, if not greater than, other groups that have historically been disarmed,” such as mentally ill people, Justice Department lawyers wrote.The Biden administration also maintained that restrictions prohibiting marijuana users from purchasing guns are justified because, although medical marijuana has been authorized in Florida, cannabis remains illegal under federal law. Fried, a Democrat who is running for governor, filed the lawsuit in April, alleging the federal prohibitions “forbid Floridians from possessing or purchasing a firearm on the sole basis that they are statelaw-abiding medical marijuana patients.”Inanamended complaint filed last month, lawyers for Fried relied in part on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a New York law that placed strict limits on carrying concealed weapons in public. Gun-control advocates have expressed concerns that the decision could severely restrict states’ ability to regulate guns. But in a memorandum of law accompanying Monday’s motion to dismiss Fried’s lawsuit, the Justice Department argued that the recent court decision held that the New York regulation violated the Second Amendment because it “prevented law-abiding citizens … from exercising their right to keep and bear arms.” By contrast, the restrictions Fried is challenging “impose no burden on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” federal lawyers wrote. “These laws merely prevent drug users who commit federal crimes by unlawfully possessing drugs from possessing and receiving firearms, and only for so long as they are actively engaged in that criminal activity,” the lawyers added, noting that “possession of illegal drugs, including marijuana, is a federal crime.”Such restrictions “on unlawful drug users are ‘consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,’” Monday’s memo said, partially quoting from the June 23 Supreme Court ruling in the New York case. The Biden administration pointed to centuries-old case law showing that, in England and the United States, governments “regularly disarmed a variety of groups deemed dangerous,” including Catholics and panhandlers.“ManyAmerican colonies forbade providing Indians with firearms,” the Justice Department’s lawyers also noted. “Perhaps most relevant here, a long tradition exists of viewing intoxication as a condition that renders firearms possession dangerous, and accordingly restricting the firearms rights of those who become intoxicated,” theyButwrote.Fried’s amended complaint maintained that prohibiting people who use medical marijuana from buying or having guns is a relatively recent development in the U.S. “Quite simply, there is no historical tradition of denying individuals their Second Amendment rights based solely (or even partially) on the use of marijuana,” the lawsuit said. “In fact, historical evidence shows that marijuana was considered a legitimate and legal form of medicine in England, America, and other western countries through the mid-Nineteenth and early-Twentieth Centuries.”
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tate Attorney General Ashley Moody and other Republican politicians from across the country urged an appeals court this week to uphold a Florida federal judge’s ruling that blocked a mask requirement on airplanes and in other transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moody’s office, taking the lead in a brief filed by officials from 23 states, described the mask requirement as “overreach” by the federal Centers for Disease Control and arguments,Moody’sbriefU.S.therequirementofficialsplanes,wearaMizelleJudgeTampa-basedPrevention.U.S.DistrictKathrynKimballinAprilstruckdownrequirementthattravelersmasksinairportsandontrainsandbuses.Federalstoppedenforcingtheaftertheruling,butCDCappealedtothe11thCircuitCourtofAppeals.Inthefriend-of-the-courtfiledMonday,lawyersinofficemadeaseriesofincludingdisputing
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Born in 1947 in Orange County, New Jersey, Schvimmer grew up in North Brunswick around a big, boisterous family. “In those days you didn’t just have ‘nuclear family,’” she reminisced. “We must have had a hundred, relatives nearby, and we were always at some aunt or uncle’s house and with our cousins.”Though Schvimmer didn’t grow up in a stereotypical bohemian, artistic household, there was no shortage of creativity. Her dad was a builder and mom had a way with needlepoint.“It’sinour genes,” she said with a laugh, adding that one of her granddaughters is a professional artist based in Philadelphia. Another writes plays and screenplays in California.Familyis a big part of Schvimmer’s life. She’s been married for 53 years to attorney Ted Schvimmer, and the artist recently moved her mother two blocks away. She helps her art between activities with the Ocala Art Group and other localThoughorganizations.sherequires assistance, Mrs. Newman is still sharp despite having some difficulties getting around.“You know, people will look at you and they’ll see you, but they really don’t know you as well as your mother does,” Schvimmer added with a tinge of emotion. “The way she’s looking at me is more telling than if she were looking at somebody else. It’s hard to explain, but your mother can see through you where another person can’t.”
Terry on
When playingSchvimmerMarcelleisn’tmah-jongg and assisting her mother, she’s painting portraits of people and pets, capturing that spark or penetrating gaze that reveals their veryTheessence.portraitist’s works are currently showing in exhibits at the Marion Cultural Alliance’s Brick City Center for the Arts, Ocala Art Group’s “Summer Art Show” and in galleries on the East Coast as well as the Citrus County community of Hernando’s new A Cracker Canvas. Schvimmer’s uncanny ability to convey character and personal details draws viewers in, which is why a portrait of her mother, Helen Newman, is so striking. “Time Well Spent,” shows Mrs. Newman at 97, seated and passing the hours with one of her favorite activities, putting a puzzle together. The painting is part of the “The Art of Aging: The Secret of Life” exhibit for artists 55 and older at the MCA’s Brick City Center for the Arts through Aug. 27. Her winning painting, “Rising Harvest,” in the Ocala Art Group’s show at South State Bank depicts a couple who work at a family farm stand by the same name. “I buy my vegetables and fruits at Rising Harvest,” Schvimmer said. “One day I asked the husband and wife working at the family farm (Josh and Trish Wise) if they would pose for me. I just found them very interesting, nice to look at. They were sitting back to back and giggling. It took them a while to stop laughing.”
Artist Marcelle Schvimmer knows how to bring out the character of her subjects.
Rising Harvest 24”x30” acrylic A recent award-winner for Schvimmer
Marcelle Schvmmer captures her mother’s knowing gaze in “Time Well Spent” on display at the Brick City Center for the Arts 20”x24” acrylic on canvas Easter 16”x20” acrylic Jessica at 30 23”x29” pastel
morning
Contact Marcelle Schvimmer at mschvimmer@gmail.com for portrait commissions. See more of her works at fineartamerica.com/profiles/ marcelle-schvimmer. Current exhibits showing her works include Ocala Art Group’s Summer Art Show at South State Bank, through Sept. 28; and Marion Cultural Center’s Brick City City Center for the Arts through Aug. 27. She’s also exhibiting at A Cracker Canvas in Hernando.
By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com
Capturing essence through portraiture
Lauren Proctor-Brown, left, and Lupe Castro, both of the Resolute team, move the ball downfield.
By Michael Compton Correspondent The fast-paced and competitive sport of polo, widely considered among the oldest organized sports ever played and traditionally considered a society game, has evolved over the years to where it now reaches a much broader base of enthusiasts. Thanks to Dr. Lauren Proctor-Brown, who operates Resolute Equine Sports Medicine, and her business partner David Eldredge, a former Cornell University polo coach, the historic sport of polo is enjoying a resurgence in Ocala/Marion County.
Katie Glynn of the Piccin and Glynn team, David Eldredge of the Piccin and Glynn team and Lupe Castro of the Resolute team, left to right.
Dormant for about 15 years, the Ocala Polo Club traces its formative roots back some 30 years. ProctorBrown and Eldredge combined their respective passions for the sport in 2020 to resurrect the Ocala Polo Club just as the COVID-19 pandemic brought many sporting events to a halt.
Ocala Polo Club sparks resurgence in local polo scene
B2 AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE
“Polo has been undergoing changes. The number of players has decreased, and the number of clubs has also decreased,” she pointed out. “So, looking at it, we thought let’s bring people back together and let’s build a community to compete together and have people be successful. If they are successful and move up in the ranks and go play at a high-goal level, we love that, and we can all grow together. There are also a lot more women in the USPA playing polo now, so building a safe place for women where they feel they can get out there and compete and take some risks and learn a new sport and play on coed teams was important.”
As far as fan growth and expansion are concerned, Ocala Polo Club is making great strides within the local community.“Inthesummer, we do matches at 6 p.m. after the sun begins to go down and after the storms have come through and cooled everything off,” Proctor-Brown shared. “In the winter, we do Sundays at 1 p.m., which is a typical time for Sunday afternoon polo and tailgating. It’s great. “I think the fans love it,” she added. “Our spectatorship has grown like 20-fold. When we first started, it was me and a couple of friends. That’s how it felt. Now, in the winter, we can fill the sideline (300 yards). This coming winter, we’re going to start opening the far side, the other sideline. We’ve really grown a lot. It’s exciting for us, and we love our spectators. It makes for a fun day for people. It’s family-friendly, it’s still reasonably affordable, and it’s easy to just drive up and tailgate and spend a couple of hours outside in the fresh air with friends. We have retired people come out who’ve never seen a horse sport in person. We see families with kids and even college students from the
Now a member of the United States Polo Association, the governing body of the sport in the U.S., the Ocala Polo Club has two seasons—a winter season that runs from December to March and a summer season that spans June to September--with matches played at the Florida Horse Park in southwest Marion“ThereCounty.wasa lot more polo here in the early 2000s,” said Proctor-Brown, who is originally from Wisconsin and who was introduced to polo while attending veterinarian school at Cornell where she met Eldredge. “There were a couple of other clubs around and then this one (Ocala Polo Club) eventually fell dormant. Ocala is horse paradise. I grew up with horses doing Hunter-Jumpers and eventing and then got into polo when I was in vet“Weschool.got the club started back up in 2020. Not quite the perfect time to start a polo club and bring people together,” Proctor-Brown added. “Honestly, it has worked out pretty well, though. Because of the pandemic, we ended up staying in Ocala yearround that first year. Polo up north was canceled; the northern states canceled everything, including all sports events. So, we had normally gone back to New England for polo in the summer, but since it looked like there wouldn’t be anything, we stayed in Florida. We played around and dabbled with a close group of people. We played later on in the day over the summer, just trying to be smart about it. We realized playing in Florida year-round isn’t that bad. It kind of blossomed from there.” Safe to say the future of the Ocala Polo Club is in good hands with Proctor-Brown and Eldredge who both play, coach, and offer lessons. Proctor-Brown, a Division I athlete at the University of Louisville where she attended school on a rowing scholarship, obtained a BA in Biology and a BSBA in Equine Business. From there, she earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Cornell University, where she discovered polo in earnest. Her love of the game has continued to grow over the last six years and today she is enjoying life in the “Horse Capital of the World” where she competes with Team Resolute on the polo field and offers her veterinary services to horses of all disciplines through her Resolute Equine Sports Medicine. “When I was an undergrad at Louisville, I was rowing, and they found out I could ride,’’ she said. “My coach understandably told me no. When you’re on a full (scholarship), they don’t want you getting hurt playing a different sport. So, of course, when someone tells you no, it’s like, ‘Now, I want to do it.’ I went to Cornell for vet school, and I ended up having my horse at the equestrian center where the polo team practiced. “The winters are long there, and at one point, I picked up a mallet and was just messing around with my jumper and someone saw me and said, ‘I can teach you how to do that correctly.’ That someone might have been David. Once you get into it, it is a really cool horse discipline. I was a rower and that is a team sport, but in most other horse disciplines you don’t have a team. It’s just you and your horse. So, for polo, you have you and your horse, and you’re working as a team and have teammates to compete with. It’s one of the only horse disciplines where you compete as a team. Polo marries all of it forEldredge,me.” who started playing polo at the age of 9 and was competing in his first game by age 10, boasts 50 years of experience playing and coaching both in arena and outdoor polo. He is recognized as an honorary certified polo instructor by the USPA and he competed in intercollegiate polo for Cornell University, starting for all four years and as captain of the team for three. He then served as the assistant coach at Cornell from 1981-85 and served 33 years as the head coach. During his tenure at Cornell, Eldredge led the men’s and women’s polo teams to a combined 14 national titles and 37 national championship appearances. He also held his own during his professional career and gives back to the polo community by serving the USPA on both the arena and outdoor rules“Whencommittees.Davidwas growing up on a dairy farm, there were a lot of little polo clubs in small communities, and they would compete against each other in the area, and it was friendly low-goal community polo,’’ Proctor-Brown said. “Then you had the high-goal (polo is divided into three levels—low-, medium-, and high-goal), high-level polo where all the multimillionaires competed, and that’s a different kind of game. That is major leagues versus your minor league baseball team, and that’s just not inviting to bring more people in. It has also alienated a lot of people.”
According to Proctor-Brown, polo is no longer just a game for the posh. Thanks in part to communities like the Ocala Polo Club, the sport is more welcoming these days with people of all ages and backgrounds getting involved.
Photos By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette
Guillermo Jeime of the Piccin and Glynn team, third from right, battles for the ball with Lupe Castro of the Resolute team, right, as other players charge in behind them during a Sunset Polo Match at the Florida Horse Park south of Ocala on Saturday, July 30, 2022.
Lupe Castro of the Resolute team, hits the ball in for a goal.
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tailgate spaces can be reserved. Community spaces are on
Ocala Polo Club Remaining Summer Series Schedule Aug. 13 – Sportsmanship Cup Aug. 20 – Citrus Cup Aug. 27 – Family Day Sept. 3 – Andy Moran Memorial Sept. 10 – Women’s League Finals Sept. 17 – Horseman’s League Finals Sept. 24 – Dog and Pony Show Visit ocalapolo.com for tickets and more information.
It’s Clear the Shelters Month. Adoption fees have been waived for the month of August! For more information about adoptions please visit MarionFL.org/Animal University of Florida.’’ For those new to the sport, the announcers at the matches do everything they can from the booth to make sure the action on the field is thoroughly explained.“Ourannouncers are really good at teaching spectators about the game,” Proctor-Brown said. “We expect that a lot of first-time spectators may not know the sport, so (the announcers) walk you through it, keep you engaged, and explain fouls when they happen. They make it inviting for new people. I understand more about polo listening to our announcers than I ever learned watching a football game.“We also have a booster club and those members love talking to new people about polo and explaining things to them. We have a lot of season-pass people as well, and they enjoy following the teams and the players. This is your hometown, and your local doctor or veterinarian going at it and competing on the weekends. It isn’t Tom Brady or professional athletes. You can watch people from your town go out and compete and grow and get better. It’s a lot of fun, and maybe more like minor league baseball in that respect as opposed to the pros. There is a little more interaction with fans and players.” Ocala Polo Club’s relationship with the Florida Horse Park is proving to be an ideal union in bringing together equestrian enthusiasts.“TheFlorida Horse Park is just great,” Proctor-Brown said. “We love that it is multidisciplined. We love seeing all the different disciplines come through here. We love when we get opportunities to work with them and we like being involved in a horse community. A lot of people who play polo have done other (equestrian) disciplines in the past or currently. Some people are really involved in the racing community or involved with jumpers. Polo brings a lot of people together, and that’s what we like. “At the Horse Park, we see different disciplines every week and we get to talk to everybody,” she continued. “At the Horse Park, you can see polo, cutters, dressage, eventing, and even dog shows. Ocala is amazing. You can do so many different disciplines here that you just can’t do in many other places, and you can do them at a high level here. You just can’t find that everywhere, and that’s what makes it cool.” For those interested in attending a match or possibly giving polo a whirl, Proctor-Brown suggests attending an upcoming match and sticking around after the contest to speak with the participants. “Come out and check out a match,” Proctor-Brown said. “We usually have a wooden horse at the field, so you can check out how to swing a stroke. You can hold a mallet and see what the balls are like and meet and talk to the people involved. If you come to a match, hang out afterward so you can talk to the players following the awards. We can get you going in any direction, whether you want season passes or to get involved in lessons.“Players on Team Resolute end up playing with and against everybody,” she added. “Depending on the different skill levels and different leagues that we are doing, we mix everyone up frequently. So, today, you might be competing against this person and then next week you are competing alongside them. That kind of helps build the club community aspect of it. We get new people joining all the time, even over the summer. We’ve had people join us from Texas, and New England, and we even had a player from Colombia who was in Ocala for other reasons, and she played with us for a bit. We welcome new people to the club very fluidly. We welcome them with open arms, and that’s a beautiful thing because it’s not like that with all polo clubs.”
Season single match a first-come, Guillermo Jeime of the Piccin and Glynn team, puts a halter onto one of his ponies named Corazon, an Argentinian.
Rick Bourne stomps divots with his dog, Daisy, a long-haired Dachshund, leading the way.Addison Greene of the Gospel Riders Drill Team braids the mane on Houston, a quarter horse.
Hello, Ocala!
After “recuperating” for a time, Laura worked for about a year for a call center for Disney World, a job that she could do from herThen,home.their daughter, Sara, became ill. “My world stopped,” Laura said. Sara has been diagnosed with neurocardiogenic syncope, which is a condition in which a person experiences a sudden drop in blood pressure and heart rate. “She faints,” Laura explained.Doctors said the illness is stressrelated, and it overwhelmed Sara when her grandparents passed away, and soon after, her brother, who she was so close to, moved away to college. Sara went from being an “A” student to one who at least one of her teachers thought was in danger of failing. She sometimes fainted at school and began to be less social and less academically able. Counselors recommended she be home schooled, and she was enrolled in Florida Virtual School (FVS). Her classes were basic and offered no social events. Sara would become frightened if faced with unknown situations, and developed agoraphobia, a fear of everything, becoming more reclusive. Despite her challenges, Sara graduated in 2017. She is receiving exposure therapy. Therapists believed that if the family lived in a smaller geographic environment than Pembroke Pines, Sara would be better able to function. Howard had retired, so the couple sold their large, four-bedroom house in Pembroke Pines, packed everything into a storage unit, got an RV, and headed toward northern Florida to explore places where they might like to live. This was not a small feat since they were also traveling with three bearded dragons (lizards), all rescues, and two large dogs. They stopped in Ocala at an RV park and were immediately drawn to the area. “Then Covid hit,” Laura exclaimed, and the family found themselves confined to the RV. “This, too, turned out to be a blessing in disguise,” she said. Sara was comfortable with the small space. “I loved the RV park here,” Laura said. “The people are so friendly, and there were many activities available for tenants.” The family contacted a real estate agent and in 2020 bought a home in the La Jolla development in southwest Ocala. “Ocala is a little, hidden-away area, close to everything. And we can take I-75 to visit our son,” Laura said. Sara is showing interest in continuing her education here. Her interests are in both cinematography and history. Meanwhile, Laura is using her business acumen as president of her homeowners association board. “I’m all about people and want to do the best I can for the community,” she said, admitting she has ideas to bring to the area where she lives. “I’m not moving again,” she emphatically said.
Meet your neighbor: Laura Miner Laura Miner by her home in the La Jolla subdivision in southwest Ocala on August 8, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.
B4 AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE Sudoku is played on a grid of 9 x 9 spaces. Within the rows and columns are 9 “squares” (made up of 3 x 3 spaces). Each row, column and square (9 spaces each) needs to be filled out with the numbers 1-9, without repeating any numbers within the same row, column or square. ANSWERS TO PUZZLES ON PAGE B8 Across1Water filter brand 6 Voice below baritone 10 Major Web portal 13 Grows faint 14 Informal okay 16 “Now I get it!” 17 Wind of 19-24 mph, on the Beaufort scale 19 Reservoir structure 20 Swimmer that may be furry 21 Inlet, vis-à-vis the sea 22 Classic Lanvin scent 24 In addition 26 Big name in bouillon cubes 27 Japanese living art form 30 Iberian dance for two 33 Summer on the Seine 34 Danes of “Homeland” 36 Kept the party hopping, briefly 37 Scenic road, maybe 39 Albuquerque sch. 40 Dahl who wrote “Fantastic Mr Fox” 41 Ready for business 42 Present from birth 44 Zen opening? 45 Pointy flags 47 Sports coat 49 Full of chutzpah 50 States 51 What a voter fills out 53 Golf scorecard word 54 Soybean product 58 Gershwin brother 59 “The Hunger Games” trilogy, e.g. 62 Light brown 63 Upright 64 “Divine Comedy” poet 65 Unlike the starts of this puzzle’s four longest answers 66 Site for handmade gifts 67 Little ones Down1Inseparable pals, briefly 2 Seldom spotted 3 Half-baked thought, perhaps 4 Popular electric cars 5 Shade of gray 6 Grand Canyon pack animal 7 “May I say something?” 8 The Beatles’ “__ Loves You” 9 Somers who played Chrissy on “Three’s Company” 10 Genre for a John Lewis quartet 11 Layered hairstyle 12 Bering Sea port 15 King in “Jesus Christ Superstar” 18 Thai cuisine herb 23 Madrid museum 25 Like some bridal dresses 26 Destiny 27 Early form of 10-Down 28 Common blood group 29 Patriots’ home 30 Helsinki natives 31 Hair salon application 32 More unusual 35 Mommy’s sis 38 Invalidate 40 Depend (on) 42 About to happen 43 Vintage ski lifts 46 Make amends 48 Off the right path 50 Like sea water 51 __-Honey: candy bar 52 Depleted Eurasian sea 53 Push-up targets 55 Sow sound 56 Big celebration 57 Puts in the lineup 60 Racetrack doc 61 D.C. summer hrs. Loccurrences that brought them to thisBornlocale.in Miami Beach to immigrant parents--her dad from Cuba, and her mother from Colombia--Laura spent most of her life in South Florida. The family moved to Ft. Lauderdale, then to Pembroke Pines, close to the Everglades, where they lived for 19 years. Laura married and had a son, Peter, who is now 34, and lives in Jacksonville area. She and her husband laterLauradivorced.metHoward Miner, who was an insurance agent, while she was working as a secretary in a broker’s office. The pair dated and decided to go to the courthouse in Pembroke Pines to get a marriage license. It had seemed like an otherwise ordinary day when suddenly there was a flurry of activity in the courthouse, with people running to and fro. The couple asked what was going on and were told an airliner had struck the World Trade Center tower in New York City. While they completed the paperwork for their marriage license, they heard that a second airliner had hit the second WTC tower. They were able to get the license completed before the courthouse was shut down and evacuated. They had expected this would be a special day for them, but they never dreamed that Sept. 11, 2001 would go down in history, a day with worldwide implications. They married on Sept. 30 of that year. The couple has two children: Daniel, 25, who lives in Oldsmar, in Pinellas County, and Sara, 24, who lives at home. The children, who were so close in age, were inseparable growing up, Laura recalled. Laura began a career as a body shop manager at a Lexus dealership in Pembroke Pines.Inuncanny timing, both of Laura’s parents became ill at the same time. Her father developed a blood clot requiring surgery, and the procedure became complicated. The family believes the anesthesia he received caused dementia, from which he did not totally recover. Her mother was diagnosed with rapidly progressing Alzheimer’s disease. She had to be watched constantly so she did not wander outside of the house or get into other dangerous situations. With her parents not being able to care for each other or themselves, Laura felt she had no choice but to resign her position at the dealership and move into her parents’ home to care for them. They could not accommodate them in her family’s home. Laura would try to go home for the weekends to be with her own family, and Howard became “Mr. Mom” for their children and the home. Laura began to suffer from sleep deprivation as well as stress, a situation to which many caregivers can relate. It became evident, because of the level of care her mother required, that she had to be placed
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 13 Journey to My Soul: Landscape of My Mind by Kelley Batson-Howard City of Ocala Recreation and Parks Administration Building, 828 NE Eighth Ave., Ocala Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm This free art exhibits showcases the work of artist Batson-Howard, who creates abstract works to bring beauty to the world. Her work is variable, often colorful and full of whimsy. For more info, Kbatsonart.com
AUGUST 13 & 20 Ocala Farmers Market Ocala Downtown Market, 310 SE Third St., Ocala 9am-2pm A variety of vendors offer local fruits and vegetables, meats and seafood, fresh pasta, honey, jewelry, baked goodies, and arts and crafts. Check out some local food trucks and the occasional guest entertainer. Rain or shine; recurs every Saturday. Visit ocaladowntownmarket.com for more information.
AUGUST 13 & 20
AUGUST 16 Marion County Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala 2pm Final hearings, held on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, after the regular morning BOCC meeting.
AUGUST 18 City of Ocala Golf Cart Ordinance City Council Meeting Brick City Center for the Arts, 23 SW Broadway St., Ocala 12pm and 5:30pm Public information sessions regarding proposed changes to the downtown golf cart ordinance.
AUGUST 13 & 20 Yoga in the Park Sholom Park, 7110 SW 80th Ave., Ocala 9am Stretch out by the Sholom Park stage; recurs every Saturday morning. Visit sholompark.org for details.
AUGUST 15 Marion County Development Review Committee Office of the County Engineer, 412 SE 25th Ave., Building 1, Ocala 9am Meets weekly on Mondays. Reviews and votes on waiver requests to the Land Development Code, major site plans and subdivision plans.
AUGUST 18 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.
THROUGH JANUARY 2023 Colorful Pleasures by Christine Dozier Ocala International Airport, 5770 SW 60th Ave., Ocala Hours vary per airport operations Ocala resident Dozier exhibits a variety of work including landscapes, abstracts, still life and animal portraits. She works in oils and acrylics. For more info, visit ocalafl.org/artincityspaces
&nightlife
AUGUST 13 West 27 Charlie Horse, 2426 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm AUGUST 13 Miguel Miranda Homestead Park Williston 1050 NE 6th Blvd., Williston 6-9pm AUGUST 13 Nate Mercado The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm AUGUST 14 Lupo Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 2pm AUGUST 17 Blues Jam Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 6pm AUGUST 17
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30 Julijana Prest Art Exhibit Ocala City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave., Ocala Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm This Florida-based visual artist’s “Transitional Moments in Nature’s Landscape” exhibit is hosted by the city of Ocala as part of its Art in City Spaces program. For more info, ocalafl.org/artincityspaces
Cliff Dorsey The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm AUGUST 18
Brent Jackson Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 6pm
The Wildflowers-Tribute to Tom Petty Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE 9th St., Ocala 7:30pm In this tribute show to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Wildflowers will play many of the Gainesville boy’s greatest hits. The Wildflowers have the look, sound and vibe that made Petty an American rock n’ roll icon. Tickets are $15-$35 and available from reillyartscenter.com
Invented PhotographsObservations:bySteven Benson Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala Tue-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm The works of professor, educator and artist Benson represent the human search for meaning. For more info, appletonmuseum.org
AUGUST 13 & 20 Summer Sunset Polo Florida Horse Park, 11008 South Highway 475, Ocala 6pm Free to the public. Tailgate right next to the polo field and enjoy a unique evening out. Saturday evenings through September. For more info, ocalapolo.com
AUGUST 13 A Brother’s Revival-Allman Brothers Legacy Band Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE 9th St., Ocala 7:30pm Band leader David Goldflies toured with the Allman Brothers throughout the US and Europe, fine-tuning the bluesy, Southern rock sound of this unique American band. Expect to hear plenty of the band’s classic hits. Tickets are $20-$50. For more info, see reillyartscenter.com
AUGUST 16 City of Belleview City Commission Meeting 5343 SE Abshier Blvd., Belleview 6pm-8pm Meets first and third Tuesdays of the month.
AUGUST 20
THROUGH DECEMBER 9 A Floral Retrospective by Gregory Dirr Ocala City Hall, Clerk’s Office, 110 SE Watula Ave., Ocala Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Boca Raton artist Gregory Dirr emphasizes environmental conservation in his interdisciplinary artworks. Using paint, multi-media resources, fabric and glass, Dirr’s works is a response to the world around us. For more info, visit ocalafl.org/ artincityspaces
AUGUST 16 City of Dunnellon Planning Commission Meeting City Hall, 20750 River Drive, Dunnellon 5:30pm Meets the third Tuesday of the month.
AUGUST 12 & 19 Marion County Friday Market McPherson Government Campus Field, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala 9am-2pm Shop locally fresh fruits and veggies, baked goods, jerky, freeze-dried treats, olive oils, seafood and more; recurs every Friday.
AUGUST 13 Fortunate Son, Tribute to Creedence Clearwater Revival Circle Square Cultural Center, 8395 SW 80th St., Ocala 7pm Billed as the “World’s Greatest Tribute to CCR,” this show combines the spirit and authenticity of one of America’s best known rock bands. Mixing rock, country, folk music and blues, singer Brad Ford leads this tribute band through CCR’s big hits. Tickets are $28-$31. For more info, see csculturalcenter.com
AUGUST 13 Lisa Haley & Cajun Cabin Morgan’s Music Junction, 6981 SE 147th Street, Summerfield 7pm Grammy nominated singer, songwriter and fiddler, Lisa Haley entertains in a variety of musical genres, including Cajun, blues, country, folk and jazz. See this show in an intimate setting; tickets are $14-$17. See morgansmusicjunction.com for more info.
AUGUST 13 Kayaks & Koffee Meet at Brick City Adventure Park, 1211 SE 22nd Road, Ocala 7:45am Another outdoors event is this city of Ocala kayak trip on the Tomoka River. All equipment is provided for the $50 ticket fee, or you can bring your own kayak for $25. Includes coffee and a light breakfast, and the chance to see wildlife and enjoy the river’s charms. For more info, Register online at https://bit.ly/3vzmBZY
music
AUGUST 19 No Compromise Band Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm AUGUST 20 Jack Knife Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm AUGUST 20 Uptown Music The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm
B5AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE
AUGUST 12 Karaoke Night with DJ Nathan Cox-‘80s music Homestead Park Williston 1050 NE 6th Blvd., Williston 6-9pm Dining, shopping, and beer and wine garden. AUGUST 12 Second Slice Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala Live7pmmusic. Also, karaoke Wed.-Sat.
THROUGH NOVEMBER 6
AUGUST 12-14 Ocala Summer Series Weeks 9 and 10- Hunter/Jumper Show World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 8am-4pm This is the final week of these shows, during which more than $3 million in prizes has been awarded. The final Grand Prix will take place Saturday night in the Grand Arena. Spectators welcome. WEC has restaurants onsite and shopping options. For more info, worldequestriancenter.com
Conrad Marcum The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm AUGUST 19 2Peace Homestead Park Williston 1050 NE 6th Blvd., Williston 6-9pm AUGUST 19 Mark Smythe The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-3pm
AUGUST 13 North Central Florida Outdoor Expo World Equestrian Center Ocala, Expo Center 2, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 9am-3pm Wind-FM and K-Country radio stations are hosting this expo, which features vendors and info about fishing, boating, archery, shooting and more. Guests might practice casting, throw an axe, or try their hand at archery. Adult admission is $5; free for ages 17 and younger. For more info, windfm.com
AUGUST 16 Marion County Commission Meeting McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala 9am Meets the first and third Tuesdays of the month.
Farmers Swap Meet Rural King, 2999 NW 10th St., Ocala 9am-2pm A true farmers swap meet where chickens, goats, turkeys, rabbits and sometimes even ponies are available along with horse tack, home-grown plants, produce and hand-crafted items. Booth types vary with occasional meat vendors, food trucks, and other goods. Saturdays, weather permitting.
arts
government
LOCAL CALENDAR LISTINGS
AUGUST 16 City of Ocala City Council Meeting City Hall, 110 SE Watula Ave., Ocala 4pm Meets the first and third Tuesdays of the month.
community
AUGUST 12 Jeff Jarrett The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm Dinner, drinks and entertainment. For details, visit worldequestriancenter.com
AUGUST 19 & 20 Elvis ’56 to Vegas and The Elvis Story Orange Blossom Opry, 16439 SE 138th Terrace, Weirsdale If rocking with the King is more your kind of swing, then World Champion Elvis tribute artist Cote Deonath performs songs from Elvis’ entire lifetime in these two unique shows. Elvis’ early years from 1956 through his Vegas residency are highlighted the first night and the second evening covers the King’s entire musical life. Tickets are $30-$43; see obopry.com for more info.
AUGUST 18
2. While tofu drains, in a medium bowl, whisk together broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, and the sesame oil.
Whether you’re looking for a vegetarian option or simply want to make a healthy meal, this dish is a winner. And it’s easy to make if you follow these tips: To make trimming green beans quick and easy, line up several green beans in a cutting board and cut off tough ends. Do the same thing on the other side of the beans.Crush garlic with the bottom of a measuring cup to help loosen papery skin. Place one hand on the handle of a chef’s knife and rest the fingers of your other hand on top of the blade. Use a rocking motion, pivoting the knife as you chop garlic repeatedly to cut it into very small pieces.
(For 25 years, home cooks have relied on America’s Test Kitchen for rigorously tested recipes developed by professional test cooks and vetted by 60,000 at-home recipe testers. The family of brands -- which includes Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, and America’s Test Kitchen Kids -- offers reliable recipes for cooks of all ages and skill levels. See more online at www.americastestkitchen.com/TCA.)
5. Add remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and green beans to skillet and return to medium heat. Cover and cook until green beans are bright green, about 3 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until green beans are spotty brown all over, about 3 minutes.
3. Gently pat tofu dry with more paper towels. Transfer to a second medium bowl. Add remaining 1/3 cup cornstarch to bowl. Use rubber spatula to gently stir tofu to coat until there is no dry cornstarch remaining.
6. Carefully add tofu, scallions, garlic, and ginger to skillet. Whisk broth mixture to recombine, then pour into skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened, about 1 minute. Serve.
Tips for dealing with back pain
1. Cut tofu into 3/4- inch cubes. Line a rimmed baking sheet with three layers of paper towels. Spread tofu cubes on the baking sheet and let drain for 20 minutes.
IF YOU’VE NEVER COOKED TOFU BEFORE, NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME TO GIVE IT A TRY!
4. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat for 1 minute (oil should be hot but not smoking). Carefully add tofu to pan and spread it into an even layer. Cook, stirring often, until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off heat. Transfer tofu to a large plate lined with paper towels.
B6 AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE
By America’s Test Kitchen
Cornstarch helps give the tofu a crispy crust. [Carl Tremblay/TNS] By Kendall Snyder, M.D. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research D EAR MAYO CLINIC: It seems like everyone I know has some type of back pain. My husband and I both suffer from back pain but mine is a dull ache at the end of the day while he seems to have shooting pain. Why are our backs so susceptible to pain and how do I know when we should talk with our doctor?
ANSWER: Back pain is extremely common, so you and your husband are not alone. About 80% of adults in the U.S. will experience low back pain at some point. Your back is made up of 30 bones stacked in a column surrounded by muscles and ligaments. Nearly every movement you make involves your back in some manner. This constant movement and support mean that your back is susceptible to strain andNotstress.allback pain is the same, though, and symptoms can vary widely. Occasionally, a person with back pain can pinpoint the exact time it started, like when attempting to lift a heavy object or after a fall. More commonly, no specific trigger or event led to the pain. Here are the most common causes and descriptions of back pain: Muscle or ligament strains: Muscle or ligament strains are usually caused by a single event, such as using poor body mechanics to lift a heavy object. Strains feel like a sudden stabbing, localized pain. This pain worsens when you contract the muscle or twist. Redness, swelling and bruising can occur. The pain can be intense. Occasionally, people state that they have “thrown out” their backs. In most cases, they have a muscle or ligament strain. Osteoarthritis: Low back pain often is caused by osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis. Arthritis can lead to a narrowing of the space around the spinal cord or nerve roots, a condition called spinal stenosis. It occurs most often in the low back and neck. When this occurs in the low back, the most common symptoms are pain in both legs, tingling, numbness and sometimes muscle weakness. Bulging disk: Disks act as cushions between the bones, or vertebrae, in your spine. The material inside a disk can bulge and press on a nerve. This is called a bulging disk. Pain from a bulging disk usually occurs in the low back and radiates into the hips, buttocks or legs. It often is worse with activity and feels better when resting.Herniated disk: A herniated disk results when a tear in the tough outer layer of a disk allows some of the inner disk material to protrude outward. Herniated disks also are called ruptured disks or slipped disks. But compared with a bulging disk, a herniated disk is more likely to cause pain because it protrudes farther and is more likely to irritate nerve roots. Depending on where the herniated disk is, it can result in pain, numbness or weakness in one or both legs. These symptoms usually affect only one side of the body. Sciatica: Sciatica is named after the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in your body. It most commonly occurs when a herniated disk, bone spur or spinal stenosis compresses part of the nerve. Sciatica is a sharp, shooting pain that runs from your low back down the side or back of your leg. Typically, sciatica affects only one side of your body. Degenerative disk disease: As you age, the disks between your vertebrae begin to shrink and lose their softer qualities. This narrows the space between the vertebrae and can make your spine less flexible. Degenerative disk disease does not always cause symptoms. If it does, symptoms vary widely in nature and severity. Generally, pain comes and goes over a long time. It may feel better when you change positions or walk, and worsen when you sit, bend or twist. When to schedule an appointment Most low back pain -- even when severe -- goes away on its own in six to eight weeks with self-care, such as resting from heavy lifting, applying heat or ice, using over-the-counter pain medications, and stretching. Physical therapy can provide tremendous relief from back and limb pain, and oftentimes people do not need moreTalktreatment.withyour health care professional if you have a history of cancer, or if yourIspain:constant or intense, especially at night or when you lie down. Spreads down one or both legs. Causes weakness, numbness or tingling in one or both legs. Occurs with a fever, swelling or redness on your back. Occurs with unintended weight loss. Occurs with new bowel or bladder control problems. Also, if your back pain occurs after a fall or another injury, you should seek medical attention. -- Kendall Snyder, M.D., Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic Health System, La Crosse, Wisconsin (Mayo Clinic Q & A is an educational resource and doesn’t replace regular medical care. E-mail a question to MayoClinicQ&A@mayo.edu. For more information, visit www.mayoclinic.org.)
Stir-Fried Tofu with Green Beans Serves 4 14 ounces extra-firm tofu 1 cup vegetable broth 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar 2 teaspoons plus 1/3 cup cornstarch, measured separately 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, measured separately 1 pound green beans, ends trimmed 2 scallions, sliced thin 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
SupportiveCarewellCare Improving Quality of Life
Kailey Quiroz, 4, visits with Princess Belle. Visitors look over an exhibit on display. Photographer Steven Benson talks about his photographs in the Invented Observations exhibit.
Art for all at the Appleton Free First Saturday event draws crowd to see princess and chat with photographer.
Feel better. Live better. Chronic illness can be controlled with expert symptom and pain management by our specialists, working with your physician and your family. Live your best life! We can make a world of difference. Carewell Supportive Care — an affiliate of Hospice of Marion County your local not-for-profit hospice since 1983 1528 SW 1st Avenue | Ocala, Fl 34471 | (352) 291-5881 www.carewellsupportivecare.com
Photos By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette
Caterina Sciotto, 2 1/2, left, and Irianne Johnson, 2, right, anxiously wait to visit with Princess Belle. People come to visit during the First Free Saturday event at the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala on Saturday, August 6, 2022. Stella Lombardi, 7 months, and her mother, Kandice, spend some time with Princess Belle.People line up to visit with Princess Belle.
Lorelai Chauncey, 3, anxiously waits to visit with Princess Belle.
Princess Belle, from Beauty and the Beast,” was truly the belle of the ball on Aug. 6 as guests, many in costume, enjoyed a day of festivities that showcased the “Finding Beauty” exhibit at the Appleton Museum of Art. The overflow crowd also heard photographer Steven Benson talk about his “Invented Observations” exhibition. The museum hosts Free First Saturday events the first Saturday of each month. Visitors can peruse the permanent collection, special exhibitions and more. The “Finding Beauty” exhibit, on view in the second-floor galleries through Jan. 15, merges costumes, drawings and other items from the Ocala Civic Theatre’s recent production of “Beauty and the Beast” with the objects from the Appleton collection that inspired them. “Invented Observations” will be on display in the Balcony Gallery for Florida Artists through Nov. 6. The exhibit features 35 black-and-white photographs taken from 1970 to 2005. Benson is a professor of photography and video at the Daytona State College School of Photography and Media Studies. He has been an educator, fine art and commercial freelance photographer for more than 25 years. The Appleton Museum, a campus of the College of Central Florida, is located at 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. For more information, call 352291-4455 or visit AppletonMuseum.org.
B7AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE
B8 AUGUST 12 - AUGUST 18, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE Classes start Aug. 15 and Oct. 10. No matter where you are in life or where you want to go, CF is a great place to start! Learn a new skill. Get the certification you need. Finish your degree. With affordable tuition, small class sizes, day, evening and online options, CF makes it easy to succeed. Ŋ CF.edu/Fall Æ 352-873-5800 MARION • CITRUS • LEVY • ONLINE –an equal opportunity college–Get on the fast track to a new career. SudokuCrosswordJumble EQUATEPULPITGLOATHAIRY After acing the math test, her parents asked how she did, and she answered -ALL RIGHT FORANSWERSPAGE B4
By Rick Steves When I tell my British friends I’m going to Blackpool, their expressions sour and they ask, “Oh, God, why?” My response: Because it’s a carnival-esque tipsy-toupee, earspierced-while-you -wait place, where I can experience workingclass England at play. For over a century, until the last generation, Blackpool, located on the west coast north of Liverpool, was where the mill workers and miners of Yorkshire and Lancashire spent their holidays. Working blokes took their families to this queen of north England resorts hoping for good fun for the kids and a bit of razzle-dazzle entertainment for themselves. Today, Blackpool’s vast beaches are empty -- too cold for comfort. Today, with cheap airfare to Spain, even lowly workers know that warm beaches are an option ... somewhere else. Blackpool is dominated by the Blackpool Tower. Shaped like a stubby Eiffel Tower, this giant amusement center seems to grunt, “Have fun.” At the tip of this 518foot tall symbol of Blackpool is a grand view that’s just smashing, especially at sunset. The tower’s gilded ballroom is festooned with old-time seaside elegance. A relay of organists keeps pensioners waltzing, foxtrotting, and doing the tango. Many of these dancers have been coming here regularly for 50 years. They’re happy to share an impromptu two-step lesson with any curious visitor. Many more pay to sit with their fish-andchips and mushy peas and watch. Leaving the ballroom, I work my way through a string of noisy amusements on the waterfront promenade. Countless greedy doors open, trying every trick to get me inside. Huge arcade halls
3001
Blackpool: Britain’s Coney Island SW Road, Ocala, FL 34474 is an
broadcast tape-recorded laughter and advertise free toilets. The randy wind machine under a wax Marilyn Monroe flutters her skirt with a steady breeze. The smell of fries, tobacco, and sugared popcorn wafts with an agenda around passersby. For a quick diversion, I hop a vintage trolley car to cruise the promenade. Riding the trolleys, which constantly rattle up and down the waterfront, is more fun than driving. While the old trolleys survive, the traditional horse carriages have been replaced with sugary pink Cinderella carriages. Little girls want to be princesses, and demand drives change. Each of the three amusement piers has its own personality. Are you feeling sedate? Head to the north pier. Young and frisky? Central pier. Dragging a wagon full of children? The south pier is for you. For a peaceful side of Blackpool, I hop out at the north pier, and stroll that venerable boardwalk out to sea where the only sounds are the gulls and the wind in my hair. In 1879, back when the north pier was new, Blackpool became the first city in England to switch on electric streetlights. Now, it stretches its season into the autumn by illuminating its seven miles of waterfront with countless blinking and twinkling lights. The first time I saw the much-hyped “Illuminations” years ago, the American inside me kept saying, “I’ve seen bigger and I’ve seen better.” But I filled his mouth with cotton candy and just had some simple fun like everyone else on my specially decoratedBlackpooltrolley.claims to be England’s second-best theater town (after London), so a fun part of my afternoon is deciding how I’ll cap my day: with a play or an old-time variety show. When in the mood for variety, there are always a few dancinggirl, racy-humor, magic, and tumbling shows. I enjoy the “old-time music hall” shows: always corny, neither hip nor polished. It’s fascinating to be surrounded by hundreds of partying British seniors, swooning again and waving their hankies to the predictable beat. Busloads of happy widows come from all corners of north England to giggle at the racy jokes. A perennial favorite is Funny Girls, a burlesque-in-drag show that delights footballers and grannies alike. For me, Blackpool’s top sight is its people. You experience England here like nowhere else. Grab someone’s hand and a big stick of “rock” (rock candy), and stroll. Appreciate the noisy 20-somethings pulling down their pants to show off butt cheeks reddened by new tattoos. Ponder what might inspire someone to spend his golden years here, wearing plaid pants and a bad toupee. A British friend once told me, “Blackpool is in the DNA of north England. It’s a ritual where family memories are created and where those memories are passed through the generations. It’s a place not to see but to do. You’ve got to eat the candy, ride the carousel, dance in the ballroom, walk the pier.”
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Blackpool, its beach, and its tower. [Rick Steves/Rick Steves’ Europe]
If you’re not into kitsch and greasy spoons, skip Blackpool. But if you’re traveling with kids -or still are one yourself -- splash in Britain’s fun puddle. So many Brits do, even though few will admit it. (Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European guidebooks, hosts travel shows on public TV and radio, and organizes European tours. This article was adapted from his new book, For the Love of Europe. You can email Rick at rick@ricksteves.com and follow his blog on Facebook.)
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