VOLUME 4 ISSUE 43
Ocala Arts Festival is this weekend!
OCTOBER 27 - NOVEMBER 2, 2023
$2
Oct. 28 & 29
Finding solutions
A partnership of government, business and private entities helped a 98-year-old Ocalan get a new home. By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com
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llean Cunningham didn’t want to leave her beloved southeast Ocala community, where she had lived for 98 years and raised 11 children— even though her home, built in 1963, was decaying and deemed unsafe to live in. Cunningham will
clearly and adamantly tell you it would be “no good” to move from her ancestral home in the area once known as Montague, or to go into an assisted living facility, even though her former house was called “beyond repair” by a county official. Now, however, a path taken by family members and county officials, looking for a solution See Cunningham, page A2
Allean Cunningham, 98, right, celebrates moving into her new home with builder, John Plunkett of Triple Crown Homes, left, and her daughter-in-law, Audrey Cunningham, center, on Southeast 31st Street in Ocala on Oct. 21. Cunningham’s new home is a few feet away from her old house, which was built in 1963 and was deemed unsafe by county officials. Cunningham raised 11 children in the old home and the new home was built after her family worked with a partnership of county government, business and private entities. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.
Sideline superheroes
The North Marion High chain gang has been policing the football field for decades. By Rosemarie Dowell rosemarie@ocalagazette.com
O
ut of all the diehard North Marion High School fans packing Stan Toole Memorial Stadium during football season, Jimmy Stroup figures he and his three cohorts have the best view of them all. From masterful quarterback passes to stinging tackles and fumbles, heart-stopping first downs, and game-winning plays in the end zone, they get to see all the action, up close and personal. Stroup, along with Steve Rogers, Chip Dixon and Nat Sherer make up the North Marion Chain Gang, an allimportant sideline crew who marks the line of scrimmage, the down number and otherwise keeps track of those crucial 10 yards that can make or break a pivotal drive. “It’s the best seat in the house; I’ve seen some great
football games, and some great coaches,” said Stroup. “But I’ve also seen some games that were not a pleasure to watch.” The all-volunteer team has a walloping 115 years of combined experience working the sidelines along the opposing team’s side during home games, earning them respect from boosters, officials and coaches alike. The chain gang at North Marion has been in existence since the early 1950s and is one of the oldest continuous serving crews in the state. Stroup’s father, the late Noland “Jeff ” Stroup, who served on the Reddick Town Council for 35 years, including 20 as mayor, began serving on the crew in 1954 and kept at it for 44 years. He reeled his son in one autumn afternoon in 1970. “My Dad came by and said, ‘Let’s go, I need someone to help run the chains,’ and that started it all,” said Stroup, a 1959 graduate of North Marion
I
t’s been an exciting month for Marion County Fire rescue as it celebrated the groundbreaking for a new emergency medical services facility that officials said has been “years in the making.” The new facility, EMS Central, will cost
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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hen Ocala police found the bodies of a couple dead in their home on Oct. 18, the tally of deaths in pairs in Marion County during the month rose to eight, an unusually high number for this community. Since Oct. 3, there have been two incidents of murder-suicides, one instance of double homicide and another couple’s death investigated either by the Marion County Sheriff ’s Office or the Ocala Police Department. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s latest annual crime report, in 2021 there were a total of 19 murders in Marion County. Within this month, these incidents alone of murdersuicides and deaths in pairs would exceed the 2021 average.
Oct. 3:
Members of the North Marion High School Colts chain gang, from left: Nat Scherer, Jimmy Stroup, Steve Rogers and Chip Dixon, pose together before the Colts’ game against Hawthorne at Stan Toole Stadium in Citra on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.
who played football all four years of high school. “So far, I’ve run with all 13 coaches at North Marion.” These days, Stroup, now 82, who also served as mayor of Reddick for 30 years before retiring earlier this year, operates the clip, while Rogers, president of the Reddick City Council, keeps track of the downs, with Dixon and Sherer running the chains. Keeping the pigskin game flowing is critical, but the latter
task can be daunting - and an intense workout. “When you run the chains, you might be on the five-yard line, then 25 seconds later you’re on the 25-yard line on the other end of the field,” said Sherer, who joined the gang 15 years ago. His sons Zac and Brad both played football at North Marion. “The style of the game has gotten faster,” he said. “The offense wants to go faster. With See Chain, page A3
Two new fire stations in the works for Marion County By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
Four pairs of people found dead in October in seperate incidents
an estimated $8.4 million and will be an upgrade to the existing facility that was built in 1960. The project will take about 15 months to complete and will be funded by the county’s penny sales tax. The new station, located at 1400 SW Sixth Ave. in Ocala, will be over 19,400 square feet and will include 12 vehicle bays, sleeping quarters for 21
people, four restrooms, a training room, classroom, two dayrooms and a kitchen, according to MCFR. The station that is being replaced was formerly used as a juvenile detention facility. After being adapted for use as a fire station, it served its purpose but has reached maximum capacity to house EMS crews. See Fire, page A4
“We won’t abandon that facility until the new station is open. We don’t want to redistribute crews and leave an area uncovered, so they’ll still continue to operate as they do today until the new facility is built.” James Lucas
Marion County Fire Rescue spokesperson
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OPD investigators responded to Southeast 34th Terrace in relation to a report of a death. They found an elderly couple, Robert Fischer and a woman whose name has not been released, both deceased with gunshot wounds to the head, according to the case report. Those close to the pair who spoke to the police said the woman had dementia and that Fischer was one of her caretakers. Fischer left a suicide note in the house before shooting the woman and then himself, authorities said. The medical examiner ruled the woman’s cause of death as a homicide and Fischer’s cause of death as a suicide, according to the case report.
Oct. 15:
At about 11 a.m., MCSO detectives responded to a home on Southeast 52nd Avenue, Ocala, in Whispering Sands. “When deputies arrived, they located a male and female both deceased from apparent gunshot wounds. The victims have been identified as 32-year-old Kevin Ray Russell and 60-year-old Sandy Kara Bobman,” according to an MCSO press release. The incident was reported by a friend of the two victims, who went to the apartment to check on Bobman and Russell and found that they had been shot, according to the incident report. The case was turned over to the MCSO Major Crimes unit, which is currently investigating the pair’s death as a double homicide. MCSO asks for the public’s help in providing any information See Multiple, page A4
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