VOLUME 2 ISSUE 16
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Paper Thin debuts at OCT this week
OCTOBER 15 - OCTOBER 21, 2021
City ordered to pay 80 million in refunds By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com eight years of litigation, Administrative Judge Robert William Hodges ordered the City of Ocala to refund approximately $80 million in a class-action suit that challenged fees added
services.
Hodges’s ruling
in response to an appellate Court’s mandate by the 5th District Court of Appeals, an unconstitutional tax. The case was remanded back to Hodges’ courtroom for the establishment of a common
fund to refund the illegally collected taxes. In 2006, the collection of
services in the City of Ocala. The fees were not challenged until 2014.
added a monthly fee to every city resident’s Ocala Electric Utility bill. It was collected until the start of this year. Every city resident who had electric service paid approximately $15
from the appellate court, attorneys for the city maintained that they were entitled to another trial to present evidence in support which would reduce how See City, page A4
Bruce Ackerman/OG
City Attorney Robert Batsel Jr. speaks during an Ocala City Council meeting.
Ocala Breeder's Sales recap By Michael Compton Special to the Ocala Gazette
Bruce Ackerman/OG
Tommy Amodeo of A&A Trucking and Excavating - The Art of Destruction, operates an excavator to demolish the gymnasium at the old Reddick High School in Reddick, on Tuesday, Oct. 12.
Historic Reddick high school demolished Once the soul of the North Marion area, the old Reddick High School is coming down. By Kassidy Hill Special to Ocala Gazette
O Bruce Ackerman/OG
Jimmy Stroup, the mayor of Reddick, holds an old Swingline stapler that was given to him on Tuesday, Oct. 12 from the rubble of the old Reddick High School.
in mid-August, with wind
Spanish moss in nearby oak trees and towards the front steps of the historic Reddick High School, around 75 Terriers gathered. They represented decades of graduating classes, familial connections and a lifetime of memories shaped by
the red bricks behind them. The group included some of the last living pupils of Reddick High School, with those in attendance stretching as far back as the 1951 graduating class. Before COVID-19 interrupted their plans, the group would meet once a year for a reunion. But on that August day, they made an impromptu exception, coming together quickly to say goodbye to their beloved school. See Schools out, page A10
Buyers of Thoroughbred horses have spent the better part of the last few months demonstrating an insatiable appetite for acquiring top-class yearlings in Kentucky and New York auction rings. This week, the trend continued in Ocala with the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s October Yearling Sale, Oct. 12-13, generating pronounced increases across all key economic categories. The two-day auction, which featured a select session on Tuesday, followed by an open session on Wednesday, saw a total of 372 head sell over both days for gross receipts of $9,634,000. In the select session, 108 horses changed hands for a total of $4,714,500, an increase of 38.8% over last year’s corresponding session (held during uncertainties brought about from the COVID-19 pandemic) where 86 yearlings sold for $3,397,000. The average price was $43,648, a 10.5% hike compared with $39,500 a year ago, while the median price came in at $32,000, representing a 14.3% gain compared with $28,000 in 2020. The buyback percentage (horses not sold) was 19.4%; it was 36.3% t last year. A total of 276 head sold in Wednesday’s open session for gross sales of $5,173,500, compared to 258 horses sold for $2,811,900 in the corresponding session last year. The average was $18,745, marking a 72% increase over last year’s open session average of $10,899. The median price came in at $15,000; it was $7,500 a year ago. The buyback percentage was 18.1%, compared with 21.3% a year ago. “The market has been consistent with the rest of the year,” said Tom Ventura, president of OBS. “When you compare See OBS, page A3
County joins in paramedicine program By: Matthew Cretul matthew@ocalagazette.com
A
program designed to help mostly homebound Ocala residents struggling with new or chronic medical conditions will expand into Marion County.
The origin story Ocala Fire Rescue began their community paramedicine program in April of 2020 in partnership with Advent Health. Ocala Fire Rescue EMS Captain Jesse Blaire heads up the OFR
portion, and he said when they were coordinating and designing the program, he reached out to multiple agencies around the state to observe similar programs. people,” he said. “West Palm Beach, Manatee County, Gainesville Fire Rescue.” Blaire said because community medicine programs are so unique to the areas they serve, that “if you’ve seen one community medicine program, you’ve seen exactly one community medicine program. The people, the
stakeholders, the hospitals. All that makes each program very MCFR Deputy Chief for “We have 1,600 square miles in Marion County and based on the type of services that community across the country there's so many used here in Marion County,” he points out. “My biggest concern was how was I going to identify the most See New, page A6
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Capt. Chris Hickman checks on the inventory of medications in the Ocala Fire Rescue/AdventHealth Community Paramedicine unit.
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COVID Update ....................... A8 School Board Update ............ A9 Commentary .........................A11 New Discovery Exhibit ......... B1 Art Awards ..............................B1 Sports .......................................B9