Ocala Gazette | December 2 - December 8, 2022

Unwrap Christmases’ past

By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com

The market for vintage toys and collectibles has grown like a Hungry Hungry Hippo in the past couple of years.

Whether it’s the nostalgia they impart, their durability or how cool they look on a knickknack shelf, playthings from the past are in higher demand than ever, a trend reported by MarketDecipher.com.

Even retail outlets as far-ranging as GameStop and Target stock “retro toys.”

Big box stores and eBay, however, aren’t consumers’ only options for brick-andmortar, vintage toy shopping. Ocala-based independent retailers such as Vintage Toy King, Up in the Attic Toys and Vintage Toy Universe stock vintage games, action figures, comics and other collectibles.

According to John Wineberger, who runs Up in the Attic Toys on E Silver Springs Boulevard (in the Hillside Shopping Center anchored by Big Lots), “buying local” isn’t just good for the soul; it saves money, too.

“We’re actually lowering our prices to draw people into our stores,” Wineberger said, comparing his shop to the big-box experience. “Understanding the inflation and possible recession that everybody’s going through, we are not raising our prices.”

There’s always the dickering factor, too. For instance, you can’t walk into a Walmart and ask if you can have three items priced $40 or more for $100, but negotiating isn’t frowned upon at local vintage toy shops like Up in the Attic Toys, owned by Wineberger’s wife of 22 years, Zenaida “Sandy” Wineberger.

“She’s Hispanic and I am a veteran, so we like to say our store is woman-and minority-owned and veteran-operated,” John Wineberger added, expressing pride.

Born in 1971, the Desert Storm vet was once deployed to Kuwait. He grew up in west/southwest central Florida, moving around often, but one thing remained consistent: his mom gifting him “Star Wars” figures and spaceships.

“I was a big “Star Wars” kid in the ‘70s,’’ he said. “I remember seeing “Star Wars” in Fort Myers and my mom

popping popcorn for us that she snuck into the theater.”

His business sense, however, comes from his dad, who lived in Zephyrhills, where Wineberger lived for a few years.

“The good thing about my dad was he made me earn my money,” Wineberger said. “I picked up lawn mowing jobs, and I only charged $5 a lawn, so I would take that money and run up to Eckerd Drug and I would buy stuff for myself, whether it was magazines or G.I. Joe figures.”

Later in life, Wineberger worked for a company that sold electronic components used in space exploration. He has since decided to leave aerospace to return to the “Star Wars” universe and hasn’t looked back.

In 2015, he maxed out his credit card at Emerald City Comics, Games and Toys in Clearwater to purchase the “Star Wars” toys he once owned as a child and then some. He sold some items and bought some more, growing his collection bigger and bigger. Not long after, a vendor invited

Oath Keepers found guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy

Among those found guilty, is a Marion County resident who led the Florida group.

By Lindsay Whitehurst, Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Kunzelman Associated Press

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted Tuesday of seditious conspiracy for a violent plot to overturn President Joe Biden’s election, handing the Justice Department a major victory in its massive prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

A Washington, D.C., jury found Rhodes guilty of sedition after three days of deliberations in the nearly two-month-long trial that showcased the farright extremist group’s efforts to keep Republican Donald Trump in the White House at

all costs.

Rhodes was acquitted of two other conspiracy charges. A co-defendant — Kelly Meggs, a Marion County resident who led the antigovernment group’s Florida chapter — was also convicted of seditious conspiracy, while three other associates were cleared of that charge. Jurors found all five defendants guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding: Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory.

The verdict, while mixed, marks a significant milestone for the Justice Department and is likely to clear the path for prosecutors to move ahead at full steam in upcoming trials of other extremists accused of sedition.

Rhodes and Meggs are the first people in nearly three decades to be found guilty at trial of seditious conspiracy — a rarely used Civil War-era charge that can be difficult to prove. The offense calls for up to 20 years behind bars. It could embolden investigators, whose work has expanded beyond those who attacked the Capitol to focus on others linked to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland recently named a veteran prosecutor, Jack Smith, to serve as special counsel to oversee key aspects of a probe into efforts to subvert the election as well as a separate investigation into the retention of classified

documents at Trump’s Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. Garland said after the verdict that the Justice Department “is committed to holding accountable those criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy on January 6, 2021.”

“Democracy depends on the peaceful transfer of power. By attempting to block the certification of the 2020 presidential election results, the defendants flouted and trampled the rule of law,” Steven M. D’Antuono, assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, said in an emailed statement. “This case shows that force and

October home sales and median home prices stay steady

By Ocala Gazette staff

The housing market in Florida remains robust, with sales prices continuing to outpace results from a year ago.

“The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $401,990, up 12% from the previous year; for condo-townhouse units, it was $310,000, up 19.2% over the year-ago figure for the month of October,” according to the latest Florida Realtors® report.

The median price is the midpoint price, meaning half the homes sold for more, half for less.

For the Ocala metro area, the median sale price for a single-family existing home for the month of October remained steady for another month at $285,000, up 18.8% from the previous year. The median price for an Ocala condo-townhouse was $194,400, up 14.3% from the prior year.

Over the past few months, the Ocala market has seen a decrease in the volume of sales ranging from 11% to 15% under from the prior year.

“The supply of for-sale homes continues to slowly build, easing inventory constraints in many markets across the state,” said 2022 Florida Realtors® President Christina Pappas. “Having more supply available will begin to ease some of the pressure on home prices, which in turn will help buyers dealing with higher interest rates.”

Florida Realtors®’ chief economist Dr. Brad O’Connor said rising interest rates are impacting the market.

According to Freddie Mac, the interest rate for a 30-year fixedrate mortgage averaged 6.90% in October 2022, more than double the average during the same month a year earlier.

“The beginning of 2022 marked the end of a nearly two-year period of record-low mortgage rates, as the Fed began to reverse its course in order to fight pervasive inflation in the economy,’’ said O’Connor. “The rapid pace of the resulting increases in interest rates has dramatically increased the monthly payments required for new mortgages, and home price growth has only recently started to show signs of responding.”

Noting that home sales in Florida remain steady at pre-pandemic levels despite higher prices and higher mortgage rates, O’Connor said this “only illustrates that despite these headwinds, housing demand in Florida continues to receive support from its recent surge in post-pandemic in-migration, vacation home purchases, and the ever-increasing number of millennials looking to find a home for their growing families.”

However, Florida Realtors® reported that homes are still going under contract quickly throughout the state.

“The median time to contract for single-family existing homes last month was 25 days compared to 12 days during the same month a year ago. The median time to contract for existing condo-townhouse units was 25 days compared to 15 days in October 2021,” the report said.

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Beloved boxed action figures and dolls from the 20th century line the aisles of three independently owned vintage toy stores.

John Wineberger poses with a Storm Trooper helmet and a figure of a ghost from Ghostbusters at Up in The Attic Toys on East Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Local found guilty of seditious conspiracy

Continued from page A1

violence are no match for our country’s justice system.”

Using dozens of encrypted messages, recordings and surveillance video, prosecutors made the case that Rhodes began shortly after the 2020 election to prepare an armed rebellion to stop the transfer of presidential power.

Over seven weeks of testimony, jurors heard how Rhodes rallied his followers to fight to defend Trump, discussed the prospect of a “bloody” civil war and warned the Oath Keepers may have to “rise up in insurrection” to defeat Biden if Trump didn’t act.

Defense attorneys accused prosecutors of twisting their clients’ words and insisted the Oath Keepers came to Washington only to provide security for figures such as Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally. The defense focused heavily on seeking to show that Rhodes’ rhetoric was just bluster and that the Oath Keepers had no plan before Jan. 6 to attack the Capitol.

Rhodes intends to appeal, defense attorney James Lee Bright told reporters. Another Rhodes lawyer, Ed Tarpley, described the verdict as a “mixed bag,” adding, “This is not a total victory for the government in any way, shape or form.”

“We feel like we presented a case that showed through evidence and testimony that Mr. Rhodes did not commit the crime of seditious conspiracy,” Tarpley said.

On trial alongside Rhodes, of Granbury, Texas, and Meggs, were Kenneth Harrelson, another Florida Oath Keeper; Thomas Caldwell, a retired Navy intelligence officer from Virginia; and Jessica Watkins, who led an Ohio militia group.

Caldwell was convicted on two counts and acquitted on three others, including seditious conspiracy. His attorney, David Fischer, called the verdict “major victory” for his client and a “major defeat” for the Justice Department. He also said he would appeal the two convictions.

Jury selection for a second group of Oath Keepers facing seditious conspiracy charges is scheduled to begin next week. Several members of the Proud Boys, including the former national chairman Enrique Tarrio, are also scheduled to go to trial on the sedition charge in December.

In an extraordinary move, Rhodes took the stand to tell jurors there

was no plan to attack the Capitol and insist that his followers who went inside the building went rogue.

Rhodes testified that he had no idea that his followers were going to join the mob and storm the Capitol and said he was upset after he found out that some did. Rhodes said they were acting “stupid” and outside their mission for the day.

Prosecutors said the Oath Keepers saw an opportunity to advance their plot to stop the transfer of power and sprang into action when the mob started storming the Capitol. The Capitol attack was a “means to an end” for the Oath Keepers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rakoczy told jurors in her closing argument.

Jurors heard how Rhodes spent thousands of dollars on an ARplatform rifle, magazines, mounts, sights and other equipment on his way to Washington ahead of the riot.

They watched surveillance footage from the Virginia hotel where some Oath Keepers stashed weapons for “quick reaction force” teams prosecutors said were ready to get weapons into the city quickly if they were needed. The weapons were never deployed.

On Jan. 6, Oath Keepers wearing combat gear were seen on camera shouldering their way through the crowd and into the Capitol.

Rhodes remained outside like a “general surveying his troops on the battlefield,” a prosecutor said. After the riot, Rhodes and other Oath Keepers went to an Olive Garden

restaurant to celebrate, according to prosecutors.

The trial revealed new details about Rhodes’ efforts to pressure Trump to fight to stay in White House in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6. Shortly after the election, in a group chat that included Stone called “FOS” or “Friends of Stone,” Rhodes wrote, “So will you step up and push Trump to FINALLY take decisive action?”

Another man testified that after the riot, Rhodes tried to persuade him to pass along a message to Trump that urged the president not to give up his fight to hold onto power. The intermediary — a man who told jurors he had an indirect way to reach the president — recorded his meeting with Rhodes and went to the FBI instead of giving the message to Trump.

“If he’s not going to do the right thing and he’s just gonna let himself be removed illegally then we should have brought rifles,” Rhodes said during that meeting, according to a recording played for jurors. “We should have fixed it right then and there. I’d hang (expletive) Pelosi from the lamppost,” Rhodes said, referring to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Three other Oath Keepers previously pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. The last time the Justice Department had secured such a conviction at trial, though, was in the 1995 prosecution of Islamic militants who plotted to bomb New York City landmarks.

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Wildlife Officials Take Aim at Pythons

By Jim Turner Florida News Service

State wildlife officials want more money to eradicate invasive Burmese pythons and increased penalties for people who illegally import and release venomous reptiles.

The proposals were part of $150.2 million in legislative funding requests backed Wednesday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservative Commission. Also, agency staff members were directed to consider giving a boost to people called out to handle nuisance alligators.

Commissioner Gary Lester suggested increasing funding for stipends in the nuisance-alligator program, saying trappers keep the agency from having “to do all this stuff.”

“It’s not a simple, run out and kill a gator,” Lester said during the commission meeting at Bluegreen’s Bayside Resort and Spa. in Panama City Beach.

“They’re out there in the middle of the night. They’re in dirty, nasty places a lot of times. All hours,” Lester continued. “They go back multiple times. There is no guarantee that they’re just going to run out and get a gator. They get

hurt. There’s just so many reasons that we’re fortunate that we don’t have to have our own department to do all of this.”

Lester made the suggestion after Robb Upthegrove, a Plant City resident from an alligator-hunting family, expressed disappointment that legislative-funding requests didn’t provide assistance to alligator hunters.

“We’re taking the liability,” Upthegrove said, noting that hunters usually get $30 per alligator from the state. Trappers can also make money selling alligator products, including hides and meat.

The agency’s funding requests approved Wednesday came in preparation for the 2023 legislative session, which will start in March.

They included $1.35 million to pay python hunters and better assess the effectiveness of python removal efforts.

This year’s Florida Python Challenge, an annual effort to reduce the number of pythons that threaten native wildlife in the Everglades, featured cash prizes for people who killed the most pythons. The winner killed 28.

Also, prizes were awarded for the longest pythons — with the longest measuring 11 feet, 24 inches.

The invasive snakes have become

prevalent in South Florida, largely as a result of being pets that escaped or were released. Estimates indicate tens of thousands of pythons could live in and around the Everglades.

In addition to seeking more funding from the Legislature for eradication efforts, the commission is seeking to increase penalties for the illegal purchase, sale, importation and intentional release of venomous snakes.

Currently, first-time offenders can face a first-degree misdemeanor, which carries penalties up to one year in prison and $1,000 fines.

Second violations within a 10year span carry an additional $750 fine and the permanent revocation of wildlife licenses or permits.

The commission is seeking to bump up the penalties, making initial charges a third-degree felony, which carries up to five years in prison and $5,000 fines.

Among other funding requests for the 2023 session, the agency is seeking $16.9 million to cover 41 additional full-time law enforcement patrol officers and support staff. Also, its requests include such things as $7.7 million to fight invasive plants; $6 million to continue Apalachicola Bay oyster-restoration efforts; and $600,000 for artificial reef construction and monitoring.

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him to sell items at the Oldsmar Flea Market, and his store kept growing into multiple booths until he decided to move his family from Palm Harbor to Ocala three years ago to open Up in the Attic Toys.

The store’s name came to Wineberger when he told his wife about a boxed Millennium Falcon spaceship he wanted to purchase from a private buyer. It was “up in the attic,” he recalled.

“On average, we price everything around 20% below eBay,” Wineberger assured.

The buy-sell-and-trade store features boxed/mint-condition toys, die-cast race cars and other favorites from past decades in addition to more current collectibles,

“We will offer 25% off for customers who mention they saw the story in the Gazette,” Wineberger cheerily added.

A harmonious playgroup

Ocala vintage toy shop owners have commented more than once about how they are part of a cooperative, friendly community who share leads and information with one another.

It’s not uncommon to see Wineberger dropping into Vintage Toy King in search of action figures or to chat with owner Kelly Leslie.

Also located on Silver Springs Boulevard a few doors down from the Chelsea Coffee Company, Vintage Toy King stocks antiques and collectibles.

John Wineberger

cards, comic books and toys to charity, Leslie’s dad got him on the right track as a collector by developing a system to note every time his son got a new “Star Wars” or G.I. Joe action figure.

The shop, which opened in 2014, specializes in ’70s and ’80s toys but now has a few older and newer items.

Leslie operates the shop with his wife, Dawn. In the past eight years, Vintage Toy King has expanded its inventory to include toys from the ’60s through the 2000s. Brand names include Barbie, G.I. Joe, Transformers, “Star Wars,” LEGO, Beyblade, “Lord of the Rings,” “Jurassic Park/World,” “Godzilla,” plush, “The Simpsons” and “Ghostbusters.”

At Jasmine Plaza in southwest Ocala, the Vintage Toy Universe celebrated its first-year anniversary last month and offers its own niche as well as recurring specials. The shop offers a vast selection of merchandise, from wrestling dolls

to 1990s-era Nintendo games to an assortment of autographed memorabilia.

“I love this place!” effused Vintage Toy Universe customer and Facebook reviewer Tara Saia, who “highly” recommends the store for its friendly service and hard-to-find items.

Like the other toy shops, the Universe is also buy, sell and trade. A banner over the front section reads, “We are not Walmart. We accept offers.”

Vintage Toy Universe is located at the Jasmine Plaza at 6152 SW Highway 200, Unit 111. For more information, call 352239-5774 or visit vintagetoyuniverse.com.

Vintage Toy King is at 3225 E Silver Springs Blvd.; call (352) 502-6622 or visit vintagetoyking.com.

Up in the Attic Toys can be found at 2693 E Silver Springs Blvd.; for more information, call 727-614-2870 or visit facebook.com/upintheattictoys.

“We’re

Drug slows Alzheimer’s but can it make a real difference?

By Lauran Neergaard AP Medical Writer

An experimental Alzheimer’s drug modestly slowed the brain disease’s inevitable worsening — but the anxiously awaited new data leaves unclear how much difference that might make in people’s lives.

Japanese drugmaker Eisai and its U.S. partner Biogen had announced earlier this fall that the drug lecanemab appeared to work, a badly needed bright spot after repeated disappointments in the quest for better treatments of the incurable disease.

Late Tuesday, the companies provided full results of the study of nearly 1,800 people in early stages of the mind-robbing disease. The data was presented at an Alzheimer’s meeting in San Francisco and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Lecanemab delayed patients’ worsening by about five months over the course of the 18-month study, Eisai’s Dr. Michael Irizarry told The Associated Press. Also, lecanemab recipients were 31% less likely to advance to the next stage of the disease

during the study.

“That translates to more time in earlier stages” when people function better, Irizarry said.

Every two weeks, study participants received intravenous lecanemab or a dummy infusion. Researchers tracked them using an 18-point scale that measures cognitive and functional ability.

The study’s key finding: Those given lecanemab declined more slowly, a difference of not quite half a point on that scale over the 18 months, concluded the research team led by Dr. Christopher van Dyck at Yale University.

Doctors are divided over how much difference that may make for patients and families -- especially as the drug carries some worrying potential safety risks including brain swelling.

“It is unlikely that the small difference reported in this trial will be noticeable by individual patients,” said Dr. Madhav Thambisetty of the National Institute on Aging, who noted he wasn’t speaking for the government agency.

He said many researchers believe a meaningful improvement would require at least a difference of a full point on that 18-point scale.

But Dr. Ron Petersen, an Alzheimer’s expert at the Mayo Clinic, said the drug’s effect was “a modest one but I think it’s clinically meaningful” -- because even a few months’ delay in progression could give someone a little more time when they’re functioning independently.

The trial is important because it shows a drug that attacks a sticky protein called amyloid -considered one of several culprits behind Alzheimer’s -- can delay disease progression, said Maria Carrillo, chief science officer for the Alzheimer’s Association.

“We all understand that this is not a cure and we’re all trying to really grasp what it means to slow Alzheimer’s, because this is a first,” Carrillo said.

But any delay in cognitive decline early on could be meaningful for “how much time we have with our loved ones in a stage of disease where we can still enjoy family and outings, vacations, bucket lists,” she said.

Amyloid-targeting drugs can cause side effects that include swelling and bleeding in the brain, and lecanemab did as well. One type of this swelling was seen in about 13% of recipients. Eisai said most were mild or asymptomatic.

‘Gaslighting’ is MerriamWebster’s word of the year

Also, two deaths have been publicly reported among lecanemab users who also were taking blood-thinning medications for other health problems. Eisai said Tuesday the deaths can’t be attributed to the Alzheimer’s drug.

But Mayo’s Petersen said if lecanemab is approved for use in the U.S., he’d avoid prescribing it to people on blood thinners at least initially.

And Thambisetty said the death reports raise concern about how the drug may be tolerated outside of research studies “where patients are likely to be sicker and have multiple other medical conditions.”

The Food and Drug Administration is considering approving lecanemab under its fast-track program, with a decision expected in early January. If approved, it would be the second anti-amyloid drug on the market.

Nearly all treatments available for the 6 million Americans with Alzheimer’s — and millions more worldwide with the most common form of dementia — only temporarily ease symptoms. Scientists don’t yet know exactly how Alzheimer’s

forms but one theory is that gunky amyloid buildup plays a key role, although drug after drug that targets it has failed.

In a contentious move last year, the FDA approved the first amyloid-targeting drug, Biogen’s Aduhelm, despite lack of evidence of better patient outcomes. Insurers and many doctors have hesitated to prescribe the pricey drug -- another reason experts have anxiously awaited word of how well the newer lecanemab may work.

If the FDA approves lecanemab, patients and their families will need a voice in deciding whether it’s worth the hassle of IV infusions and the risk of side effects for the chance of at least some delay in progression, Petersen said.

“I don’t think we’re going to stop the disease in its tracks” with just amyloid-targeting drugs, he added, saying it will take a combination of medications that target additional Alzheimer’s culprits.

Researchers are preparing to test lecanemab with other experimental drugs, and how it works in high-risk people before they show the first signs of memory problems.

GOV. DESANTIS BOOK ‘THE COURAGE TO BE FREE’

COMING FEB. 28

By Leanne Italie Associated Press

“Gaslighting” — behavior that’s mind manipulating, grossly misleading, downright deceitful — is MerriamWebster’s word of the year.

Lookups for the word on merriam-webster.com increased 1,740% in 2022 over the year before. But something else happened. There wasn’t a single event that drove significant spikes in curiosity, as it usually goes with the chosen word of the year.

The gaslighting was pervasive.

“It’s a word that has risen so quickly in the English language, and especially in the last four years, that it actually came as a surprise to me and to many of us,” said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press ahead of Monday’s unveiling.

“It was a word looked up frequently every single day of the year,” he said.

There were deepfakes and the dark web. There were deep states and fake news. And there was a whole lot of trolling.

Merriam-Webster’s top definition for gaslighting is the psychological manipulation of a person, usually over an extended period of time, that “causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.”

More broadly, the dictionary defines the word thusly: “The act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one’s own advantage.”

Gaslighting is a heinous tool frequently used by

abusers in relationships — and by politicians and other newsmakers. It can happen between romantic partners, within a broader family unit and among friends. It can be a corporate tactic, or a way to mislead the public. There’s also “medical gaslighting,” when a health care professional dismisses a patient’s symptoms or illness as “all in your head.”

Despite its relatively recent prominence — including “Gaslighter,” The Chicks’ 2020 album featuring the rousingly angry titular single — the word was brought to life more than 80 years ago with “Gas Light,” a 1938 play by Patrick Hamilton.

It birthed two film adaptations in the 1940s. One, George Cukor’s “Gaslight” in 1944, starred Ingrid Bergman as Paula Alquist and Charles Boyer as Gregory Anton. The two marry after a whirlwind romance and Gregory turns out to be a champion gaslighter. Among other instances, he insists her complaints over the constant dimming of their London townhouse’s gaslights is a figment of her troubled mind. It wasn’t.

The death of Angela Lansbury in October drove some interest in lookups of the word, Sokolowski said. She played Nancy Oliver, a young maid hired by Gregory and told not to bother his “high-strung” wife.

The term gaslighting was later used by mental health practitioners to clinically describe a form of prolonged coercive control in abusive relationships.

“There is this implication of an intentional deception,” Sokolowski said. “And once one is aware of that deception, it’s not just a straightforward lie, as in, you know, I didn’t eat the cookies in the cookie jar. It’s something that has a little bit more devious quality to it. It has

possibly an idea of strategy or a long-term plan.”

Merriam-Webster, which logs 100 million pageviews a month on its site, chooses its word of the year based solely on data. Sokolowski and his team weed out evergreen words most commonly looked up to gauge which word received a significant bump over the year before.

They don’t slice and dice why people look up words, which can be anything from quick spelling and definition checks to some sort of attempt at inspiration or motivation. Some of the droves who looked up “gaslighting” this year might have wanted to know, simply, if it’s one or two words, or whether it’s hyphenated.

“Gaslighting,” Sokolowski said, spent all of 2022 in the top 50 words looked up on merriam-webster.com to earn top dog word of the year status. Last year’s pick was “vaccine.” Rounding out this year’s Top 10 are:

— “Oligarch,” driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

— “Omicron,” the persistent COVID-19 variant and the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet.

— “Codify,” as in turning abortion rights into federal law.

— “Queen consort,” what King Charles’ wife, Camilla is newly known as.

— “Raid,” as in the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.

— “Sentient,” with lookups brought on by Google canning the engineer who claimed an unreleased AI system had become sentient.

— “Cancel culture,” enough said.

— “LGBTQIA,” for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual, aromantic or agender.

— “Loamy,” which many Wordle users tried back in August, though the right word that day was “clown.”

The long-rumored memoir-policy book by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is coming out next year. The HarperCollins imprint Broadside will release “The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival” on Feb. 28.

Wednesday’s announcement comes in the wake of DeSantis’ decisive reelection victory and likely will add to speculation that he plans a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. Former President Donald Trump has already declared his candidacy and warned DeSantis that he will reveal information “that won’t be very flattering” should the governor oppose him.

According to Broadside, DeSantis will cover everything from his childhood to his service in the Iraq War to his years as Florida governor, when he made opposition to COVID-19 restrictions and the fight against “woke” culture centerpieces of his first term.

“What Florida has done is establish a blueprint for governance that has produced tangible results while serving as a rebuke to the entrenched elites who have driven our nation into the ground. Florida is proof positive that we, the people are not powerless in the face of these elites,” DeSantis writes in his book, according to Broadside.

HarperCollins is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The Murdoch-run New York Post has openly disparaged Trump recently, burying news of his announcement for president and later referring to Trump’s announcement speech as “meandering” and criticizing him for “false and divisive claims about the 2020 election being stolen from him.”

File photo: Gov. Ron DeSantis

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THE TALK: Your Health: The Dirty Secrets of the Wine Industry

In Vino Veritas! It is an ancient latin expression meaning “In wine lies truth”

www.ihmc.com 15 S.E. Osceola Avenue Downtown Ocala

Co-hosted by: Tuesday December 6, 2022 Reception: Begins at 5:30 p.m. Talk: Begins at 6:00 p.m.

Seating is limited RSVP to ihmc-20220421.eventbrite.com or call 352-387-3050

Unfortunately, the modern wine industry does not share this philosophy. In fact, conventional wine companies hide much of their production behind some dark secrets. Todd has spent the last several years as the leading authority exposing the truth about the wine industry. He is passionate about educating people on why it is important to enjoy healthy wines through moderating alcohol consumption (lower alcohol wines), which is vital for brain health and healthy aging.

It will likely surprise you to learn there are 76 additives approved by the FDA for use in U.S. wine manufacturing. The reason you don’t know this; the wine industry has spent tens of millions of dollars in lobby money in Washington, DC to keep contents labeling and nutritional labeling off wine bottles.

The second significant problem with modern wines: rising alcohol levels over the last 30 years. Alcohol is addictive and a dangerous neurotoxin. Todd is promoting a conversation across the U.S. to get real about our relationship with alcohol and how to drink more moderately with low alcohol pure organic Natural Wines.

By Rosemarie Dowell rosemarie@ocalagazette.com

Forrest McIntyre spent five years with the Ocala/Marion County Salvation Army as its commanding officer in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, and he still fondly remembers the generosity of area residents, especially during each holiday season.

McIntyre, this year’s Red Kettle Campaign coordinator, is confident the giving spirit still prevails in the county, even with high inflation taking a chunk out of most everyone’s budget.

“Marion County never lets people go without,” said McIntyre, who retired in 2011 after a 25-year career with the army and moved back to Ocala. “They have always been generous to nonprofits; they are wonderful people.

“Even a donation of 50 cents will do,’’ he said. “It all adds up.”

With the theme, “Love Beyond Christmas,” a nod to the Army’s year-round assistance to the less fortunate, this year’s campaign officially kicked off Nov. 19 with Red Kettles and volunteers set up at area Publix grocery stores and Walmarts throughout the county.

There is also a Red Kettle at Harvey’s supermarket at the Ocala North Shopping Center on North Pine Avenue, and Hobby Lobby on State Road 200, said McIntyre, who was asked to come out of retirement to coordinate this year’s fundraiser.

“We have 23 Red Kettle locations in the county so far,” he said. “We should have another two soon.”

Meanwhile, the organization has placed Angel Trees, adorned with a gift tag with the name of a local child in need and their wish list, at locations throughout the county, including area Walmart stores, the Paddock Mall and Lakis (cq) Restaurant on SR 200, said Elizabeth Palmer, second-year coordinator for the gift program.

“We serve about 1,000 children every year,” she said.

The organization, led since late June by corps officers and husband-wife duo, Majors Phillip and Lynn Irish, hopes to raise

$200,000 this year, said McIntyre, with the bulk of the monies raised going toward holiday meals and Christmas presents for the area’s needy children and families.

The meal baskets and gifts will be distributed to families Dec. 14-15, with the agency expecting to serve 10,000 individuals in the county.

“Every penny we receive counts and helps us make the holidays brighter for the less fortunate here in Marion County,” McIntyre said.

For many American families, dropping a donation into a Red Kettle at the start of the holiday season has become a time-honored tradition going back several generations.

According to the Salvation Army’s website, the familiar fundraiser got its start in 1891 in San Francisco when corps officer Capt. Joseph McFee resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the poor and destitute and utilized a crab pot to collect coins to successfully fund the project.

A mere four years later, in 1895, roughly 30 Salvation Army Corps on the West Coast were using a collecting kettle. By 1897, the novel fundraising idea spread to the eastern U.S.

Today, more than 130 years after its initial start, there are Red Kettles in nearly every city in the United States, as well as Chile, Japan, and Korea, along with a host of European countries.

In America, the organization serves more than 30 million people in need annually, with more than 4.5 million seeking assistance during Thanksgiving and Christmas, the website states.

While the Ocala/Marion County Salvation Army fell short of its $230,000 goal last year by more than $40,000, McIntyre believes this year will be different, despite the bad economy.

“I have faith that we are going to make our goal of $200,000,” he said. “I’m counting on the good people of Marion County.”

To donate, stop by any Red Kettle location in Marion County with either cash or a check; by accessing the QR code sticker on the sign next to the kettle; by texting the word KETTLE and the number 91999 on a smartphone; or by going to salvationarmyflorida.org.

Forrest McIntyre Ocala/Marion County Salvation Army

Season Sponsors: Lecture Sponsors:

Ida Gerson smiles as she greets people while she rings her bell for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Drive outside Hobby Lobby on Southwest

College Road in Ocala on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

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

IN RE: THE ESTATE OF JOAN YVONNE WHITE, Deceased.

CASE NO: 2022-CP-2742

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The name of the decedent, the designation of the court in which the administration of this estate is pending, and the file number are indicated above. The address of the court is 110 N.W. 1st Avenue, Ocala, FL 34475. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative’s attorney are indicated below.

If you have been served with a copy of this notice and you have any claim or demand against the decedent’s estate, even if that claim is unmatured, contingent or unliquidated, you must file your claim with the court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF A DATE THAT IS 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER YOU RECEIVE A COPY OF THIS NOTICE.

All other creditors of the decedent and other persons who have claims or demands against the decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, must file their claims with the court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE.

ALL CLAIMS NOT SO FILED WILL BE FOREVER BARRED.

EVEN IF A CLAIM IS NOT BARRED BY THE LIMITATIONS DESCRIBED ABOVE, ALL CLAIMS WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN FILED WILL BE BARRED TWO YEARS AFTER DECEDENT’S DEATH.

The date of death of the decedent is: October 20, 2022

The date of first publication of this Notice is December 2, 2022.

Attorney for Personal Representative: JOSHUA L. MOSES Richard & Moses, LLC Florida Bar No. 119304 808 E Fort King Street Ocala, FL 34471 (352) 369-1300

Primary Email: Josh@RMProbate.com

Personal Representative: JOHN GALLAGHER, III 13950 N.E. 150th Avenue Fort McCoy, FL 32134

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned pursuant to Section 865.09, Florida Statutes, desiring to engage in business under the fictitious name of New World Research and Development, in the County of MARION, located at 222 SE Wenona Ave, Ocala, FL 34471 reg istered said name with the Division of Corporations of the Florida Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida on November 11, 2022. Dated at Ocala, Marion County, Florida, this 16th day of September 2022.

Owner's name: Richard Beasley, New World Research and Development.

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

IN RE: THE ESTATE OF WALTER PAUL KAMM, JR., Deceased. CASE NO: 2022-CP-2620

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The name of the decedent, the designation of the court in which the administration of this estate is pending, and the file number are indicated above. The address of the court is 110 N.W. 1st Avenue, Ocala, FL 34475. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative’s attorney are indicated below.

If you have been served with a copy of this notice and you have any claim or demand against the decedent’s estate, even if that claim is unmatured, contingent or unliquidated, you must file your claim with the court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF A DATE THAT IS 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER YOU RECEIVE A COPY OF THIS NOTICE.

All other creditors of the decedent and other persons who have claims or demands against the decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, must file their claims with the court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE.

ALL CLAIMS NOT SO FILED WILL BE FOREVER BARRED.

EVEN IF A CLAIM IS NOT BARRED BY THE LIMITATIONS DESCRIBED ABOVE, ALL CLAIMS WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN FILED WILL BE BARRED TWO YEARS AFTER DECEDENT’S DEATH. The date of death of the decedent is: February 5, 2022.

The date of first publication of this Notice is November 25, 2022.

Attorney for Personal Representative: JOSHUA L. MOSES Richard & Moses, LLC Florida Bar No. 119304 808 E Fort King Street Ocala, FL 34471 (352) 369-1300 Primary Email: Josh@RMProbate.com

Personal Representative: SHARON KAMM 106 Nob Hill Lane Ovilla, TX 75154

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned pursuant to Section 865.09, Florida Statutes, desiring to engage in business under the fictitious name of New World Research and Development, in the County of MARION, located at 222 SE Wenona Ave, Ocala, FL 34471 reg istered said name with the Division of Corporations of the Florida Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida on November 11, 2022. Dated at Ocala, Marion County, Florida, this 16th day of September 2022.

Owner's name: Richard Beasley, New World Research and Development.

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

IN RE: THE ESTATE OF KENNETH EMERSON ADAMS, Deceased.

CASE NO: 2022-CP-2677

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The name of the decedent, the designation of the court in which the administration of this estate is pending, and the file number are indicated above. The address of the court is 110 N.W. 1st Avenue, Ocala, FL 34475. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative’s attorney are indicated below.

If you have been served with a copy of this notice and you have any claim or demand against the decedent’s estate, even if that claim is unmatured, contingent or unliquidated, you must file your claim with the court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF A DATE THAT IS 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER YOU RECEIVE A COPY OF THIS NOTICE.

All other creditors of the decedent and other persons who have claims or demands against the decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, must file their claims with the court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE.

ALL CLAIMS NOT SO FILED WILL BE FOREVER BARRED.

EVEN IF A CLAIM IS NOT BARRED BY THE LIMITATIONS DESCRIBED ABOVE, ALL CLAIMS WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN FILED WILL BE BARRED TWO YEARS AFTER DECEDENT’S DEATH.

The date of death of the decedent is: October 25, 2022

The date of first publication of this Notice is December 2, 2022.

Attorney for Personal Representative: JOSHUA L. MOSES Richard & Moses, LLC Florida Bar No. 119304 808 E Fort King Street Ocala, FL 34471 (352) 369-1300

Primary Email: Josh@RMProbate.com

Personal Representative: BARBARA T. BRADY 513 N. Boston Avenue Deland, FL 32724

WILDLIFE OFFICIALS APPROVE MANATEE PROTECTIONS

should not feed manatees.

The no-entry zone approved Wednesday will further restrict access of boats and people around Florida Power & Light’s Cape Canaveral Energy Center, where manatees congregate during the winter because of warm water. The zone is aimed at providing additional protections for the slow-moving sea cows.

Currently, the power plant’s intakecanal area is regulated as a seasonal idlespeed zone.

The no-entry classification will be in place annually from Nov. 15 to March 31. A seasonal no-entry zone had already been in place north of the discharge area targeted by the commission.

State wildlife officials Wednesday approved a seasonal no-entry zone in an area of Brevard County waters where manatees gather, while preparing for a second winter of feeding the sea cows to try to prevent deaths.

The approval came after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed this month that it will again work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to feed lettuce to manatees. The agencies also took the unusual step last winter, as manatees starved because of a lack of seagrass, a key food source.

“We are poised and ready to manage our manatee situation in the Indian River Lagoon, much as we have, but with improvements based on what we have learned,” Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Executive Director Eric Sutton said Wednesday during a meeting at the Bluegreen’s Bayside Resort and Spa in Panama City Beach.

Poor water quality and algae blooms have depleted seagrass beds that provide a key food source for manatees in the Indian River Lagoon.

“Water quality improvements and habitat restorations are ongoing,” Sutton said. “So, we are hoping that this will be a bridge to help us.”

During the 2021-2022 winter, 202,000 pounds of lettuce were fed to manatees, with nearly $117,000 spent on the project. Wildlife officials say the public

A temporary no-entry order was issued this month In anticipation of Wednesday’s action. The commission issued a similar 90-day emergency rule in December 2021.

Florida has seen an increase in manatee deaths across the state, predominantly in the Indian River Lagoon, with many of the deaths linked to starvation.

As of Nov. 25, the state had recorded 749 manatee deaths this year. At the same point in 2022, 1,027 had died. The state had a record 1,101 manatee deaths last year.

Boats accounted for 103 of the 2021 deaths. So far this year, 71 manatee deaths have been tied to collisions with boats.

In the five years before 2021, the state averaged 626 manatee deaths a year, with boat impacts accounting for an average of 96 deaths.

As part of a 2023 budget request to the Legislature, the commission is asking for $4 million to address habitat issues in the Indian River Lagoon and its tributaries and money for three fulltime employees who will collect countyspecific boating and manatee data.

The commission has received $28 million over the past two years to help with manatee-protection efforts, including $8 million last year to help manatees access springs and to restore other habitat.

Jim Turner

Florida News Service

State

Court Weighs

By Jim Saunders Florida News Service

In what could be a first-ofits-kind case in Florida, a former state correctional officer is asking an appeals court to overturn his dismissal for using medical marijuana.

Samuel Velez Ortiz, who was a sergeant for the Florida Department of Corrections, was approved by a doctor to use medical marijuana to treat posttraumatic stress disorder related to previous military service, according to documents filed in the case. He tested positive for marijuana last year during a random test, ultimately leading to his firing under a Department of Corrections “zero tolerance” policy.

Velez Ortiz took the dispute to the 1st District Court of Appeal after the state Public Employees Relations Commission upheld the dismissal in January. His attorneys point, in part, to a 2016 state constitutional amendment that broadly authorized the use of medical marijuana in Florida and say Velez Ortiz did not use the substance while on duty.

“The department attempts to cloud the main issue of this case by ignoring the fact that appellant (Velez Ortiz) was terminated for being a legal medical marijuana user,” the attorneys wrote in a July brief. “The department implies that appellant was seeking to use medical marijuana ‘on site.’

Nothing could be further from the truth. The case before this court is not about having accommodations for on-site use of medical

marijuana; rather, it revolves around the discrimination against appellant for being a medical marijuana user. More importantly, not once did appellant possess or use medical marijuana while on the department’s premises, during work hours or attended work under the influence of medical marijuana.”

But lawyers in Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office in a brief this month wrote that the Department of Corrections’ drug-free workplace policy and “procedures implementing that policy reveal zero tolerance for employee use of medical marijuana.”

“Velez Ortiz does not dispute that the department may validly prohibit correctional officers from being under the influence of marijuana, including medical marijuana, while on the job, no matter whether the officer ingested that substance on or off site,” the Nov. 16 brief said. “Yet the department has no way to distinguish between an officer who is high on the job because he ingested medical marijuana from a person who ingested the same drug off-site. The result would be untenable risks to public safety. A correctional officer who shows up to work high or experiencing the lingering effects of marijuana — including lack of focus and delayed reaction times — may not trigger alarm bells until the worst-case scenario has already come to pass.”

The Florida Sheriffs Association filed a friend-of-thecourt brief Monday backing the department, saying employers

Firing Over Marijuana Use

have the authority to enforce drug-free workplace policies.

“Put bluntly, sheriffs and other employers have the clear authority to terminate an employee who violates their policies by testing positive for any marijuana — recreational or medicinal,” the association’s brief said.

The briefs filed by Velez Ortiz and the sheriffs association describe the dispute as being a case of “first impression” in Florida — a legal expression indicating the issues have not been considered previously by courts.

Velez Ortiz began working for the Department of Corrections in 2013 and had been diagnosed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs with combatrelated post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Jan. 11 decision by the Public Employees Relations Commission. He tried prescription drugs to treat the PTSD, but they had undesired side effects.

A doctor approved what is known as a “registration card” that allowed Velez Ortiz to buy medical marijuana under the 2016 constitutional amendment and a related 2017 state law.

Velez Ortiz and two other Department of Corrections employees tested positive for marijuana during random testing in May 2021, according to the commission decision.

The two other employees later provided notes from physicians confirming that they were no longer using medical marijuana and remained employed with the department. But Velez Ortiz

provided a note from his doctor to “support his continued use of medicinal marijuana,” leading to his dismissal, the commission decision said.

While the briefs do not indicate where Velez Ortiz worked, a July 2021 dismissal letter filed in the case was signed by Joseph Edwards, warden of the department’s Reception and Medical Center in Lake Butler.

A hearing officer in November 2021 recommended upholding Velez Ortiz’s dismissal — a recommendation that was approved in the decision by the Public Employees Relations Commission.

“This case turns on the fact that even though medical marijuana is legal under Florida law, the department has adopted a blanket policy prohibiting any use of marijuana,” the commission decision said. “It is

not our prerogative to rewrite the department’s drug-free workplace policy or question its wisdom.”

But in their brief, attorneys for Velez Ortiz wrote that medical marijuana “should be treated just as any other medical drug that requires a qualified physician to prescribe the use of it, and a ‘qualified patient’ should not be discriminated against like any other medical patient.”

“This court should find the department’s policies provide for an employee to present proof of his legal use of the substance that resulted in a positive test and that the definition of prescription and non-prescription drug includes medical marijuana pursuant to Florida statutes,” the brief said.

“This court should reverse the department’s order and require the department to reinstate the petitioner to his prior position with back pay and all accrued seniority.”

Court Refuses to Block School Board Speech Policy

By Jim Saunders Florida News Service

Afederal appeals court has rejected an attempt by a chapter of the conservative group Moms for Liberty to block restrictions that the Brevard County School Board placed on public participation at board meetings.

A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld a district judge’s denial of a preliminary injunction against the policy, which Moms for Liberty members contend has violated First Amendment rights.

Moms for Liberty, which was founded by two former Florida school-board members, including former Brevard County board member Tina Descovich, has gained national prominence as it has fought school boards on issues such as mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, who took the somewhat-unusual step of aggressively backing schoolboard candidates in this year’s

elections, appeared in July at an inaugural Moms for Liberty “summit” in Tampa.

The group’s Brevard County chapter and individual members filed the lawsuit in November 2021 in federal court in Orlando and sought a preliminary injunction against the publicparticipation policy. Among other things, they contend that speakers are frequently interrupted for criticizing the school board, including for comments deemed “personally directed” at board members.

But U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr. in January turned down the request for a preliminary injunction, writing that on “its face, the policy is both content- and viewpoint-neutral.”

“It allows the (school board) chair to interrupt speech only when it is ‘too lengthy, personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant.’ … And prohibiting abusive and obscene comments is not based on content or viewpoint, but rather is critical to prevent disruption, preserve ‘reasonable decorum,’ and

facilitate an orderly meeting — which the Eleventh Circuit (Court of Appeals) has held on multiple occasions is permissible,” Dalton wrote.

The Moms for Liberty chapter and members quickly appealed to the Atlanta-based appellate court, with their attorneys writing in a brief that the “First Amendment does not exist to protect the speech that government officials find inoffensive. The rights of free speech and petition come into play only where, as here, government officials seek to silence views that they dislike.”

“School board meetings are limited public fora,” the March 16 brief said. “School officials may thus restrict the content of debate to school matters. But in doing so, they must tolerate all viewpoints. Americans cannot silence each other in a limited public forum by taking offense. But the record is clear: Defendants (the school board) interrupt, silence, and even expel speakers they find disagreeable from school board meetings when finding speech ‘abusive,’ ‘personally directed,’ or

‘obscene.’”

But attorneys for the school board fired back in a May brief, writing that the “record reflects that speakers at Brevard Public Schools’ school board meetings — including appellants (Moms for Liberty members) — routinely criticize the board and its policies without any interruption or comment from the board or its chair whatsoever.”

“The policy aims to ensure that speakers are able to share their perspectives, regardless of viewpoint, while preventing disruption or interference with the board’s ability to conduct its business,” the school board’s brief said. “The board has observed that comments directed specifically to individual

board members tend to result in audience members calling out and becoming disruptive, whether in agreement or disagreement with the speaker’s comments. This precludes the board from conducting its business and inhibits public speakers from being heard.”

The appeals-court panel heard arguments Nov. 17 and issued a three-page opinion last week that said “we find no abuse of discretion in the district court’s thorough, well-reasoned order. We therefore affirm the district court’s order denying appellants’ motion for preliminary injunction.”

While the preliminary injunction was denied, the underlying lawsuit about the policy continues before Dalton.

Lawmakers Appeal in Redistricting Testimony Fight

By Jim Saunders Florida News Service

Key lawmakers and legislative staff members have gone to an appeals court as they fight giving depositions in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a congressional redistricting plan.

House and Senate attorneys this week filed a notice that is a first step in appealing an order by Leon County Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh that would allow current and former lawmakers and staff members to be questioned in the lawsuit, according to documents posted Wednesday on the court website.

As is common, the notice did not provide details about what the House and Senate will argue at the 1st District Court of Appeal.

But the dispute has centered, at least in part, on whether lawmakers should be shielded from depositions by the legal concept of legislative privilege and what is known as the “apex doctrine.” That doctrine generally prevents depositions of high-ranking officials if information can be obtained in other ways.

In his Oct. 27 order, Marsh placed some limits on questions that lawmakers and staff members could face. Groups such as

the League of Women Voters of Florida, filed the lawsuit in April, alleging that the plan violates a 2010 constitutional amendment, known as a “Fair Districts” amendment, that set standards for redistricting.

“The appropriate line in this case is where the doors to the House and Senate meet the outside world,” Marsh wrote in the order. “Accordingly, each legislator and legislative staff member may be questioned regarding any matter already part of the public record and information received from anyone not elected to the Legislature, their direct staff members or the staff of the legislative bodies themselves. They may not be questioned as to information internal to each legislative body that is not already public record (e.g., their thoughts or opinions or those of other legislators.)”

Marsh pointed to legal precedent that required lawmakers to testify in challenges to redistricting plans passed in 2012.

“While this court has great concerns about allowing plaintiffs to intrude into the internal processes of a separate co-equal branch of government, the binding precedent … provides little relief to the legislators and staff other than protection from revealing their thoughts or impressions or the thoughts or impressions shared with legislators by staff

or other legislators,” he wrote.

The order, if upheld on appeal, would allow plaintiffs’ lawyers to question former House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor; former Sen. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero; former Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach; Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island; Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach; Rep. Tyler Sirois, R-Merritt Island; and current and former staff members, including former House Chief of Staff Mat Bahl.

Sprowls’ term as speaker ended this month, while Rodrigues was recently appointed chancellor of the state university system and Bean was elected to Congress. Rodrigues served as chairman of the Senate Reapportionment Committee; Bean was a top lieutenant to former Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby; Bradley served as chairwoman of the Senate Congressional Reapportionment Subcommittee; Leek served as chairman of the House Redistricting Committee; and Sirois served as chairman of the House Congressional Redistricting Subcommittee.

The lawsuit challenges a redistricting plan that Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed through the Legislature in April. The plan ultimately helped Republicans gain four congressional seats in the Nov. 8 elections.

The challenge focuses heavily on Congressional District 5, which in recent years stretched from Jacksonville to west of Tallahassee and elected Al Lawson, a Black Democrat. The plan put District 5 in the Jacksonville area and diminished the chances that it would elect a black candidate — a change that critics have contended violated a “non-diminishment” standard in the Fair Districts amendment.

Lawson ended up running Nov. 8 in another North Florida district and lost to U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla.

Marsh last month also allowed a deposition of J. Alex Kelly, a deputy chief of staff to DeSantis. In addition, he ordered the DeSantis administration to provide documents sought by the plaintiffs, though he will privately review the documents to determine whether they should be shielded.

Attorneys for the DeSantis administration and the plaintiffs filed a document Monday that said they had reached an agreement that would clear the way for depositions of Kelly and Adam Foltz, an outside consultant on the redistricting plan. The agreement also included the plaintiffs withdrawing requests for certain documents.

“The policy aims to ensure that speakers are able to share their perspectives, regardless of viewpoint, while preventing disruption or interference with the board’s ability to conduct its business,”

Brevard County School Board

Prosecutor Testifies in Bid to Get Job Back

and who was “negatively impacting law enforcement and their ability to protect people,” Keefe said.

“The overall theme … was that his approach, the mindset … was creating an environment of lawlessness, chaos … That was what was stunning to me,” he added.

After talking with law-enforcement officials, including Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, Keefe said he conducted an internet search on Warren.

Jean-Jacques Cabou, who represents Warren, repeatedly pointed to policies establishing that assistant prosecutors were told to use discretion in making charging decisions on a case-by-case basis.

But Keefe wasn’t swayed, he said.

“I don’t believe that … inoculates Mr. Warren from the consequences of the joint statements,” he said.

When asked what he would have told Keefe if he were asked about the joint statements, Warren said he would have explained that “the two policies … were not blanket policies” and “were not policies of the office.”

Warren’s attorneys have argued that the governor overstepped his authority by suspending Warren and that the joint statements are “protected speech.”

During opening arguments Tuesday, Cabou told Hinkle that DeSantis suspended Warren “because of what he said and what he believes and because they’re different from what the governor believes.”

But George Levesque, an attorney who represents DeSantis, argued that the Republican governor suspended Warren “because he was refusing to enforce the law.”

By Dara Kam Florida News Service

Andrew Warren, a twice-elected Hillsborough County state attorney suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis in August, took the stand Tuesday as he testified in a federal lawsuit aimed at getting his job back.

Warren’s testimony came on the first day of a trial before U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle that could last until Friday.

Warren, a Democrat first elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, alleges in the lawsuit that DeSantis violated his First Amendment rights by removing him from office.

Testifying after opening arguments Tuesday, Warren said he is challenging the suspension because he wants “to be able to do the job that I was elected to” and so that voters would “have their rights protected.”

DeSantis’ Aug. 4 executive order suspending Warren accused the prosecutor of “incompetence and willful defiance of his duties.” The order pointed to a letter Warren signed pledging to avoid enforcing a new law preventing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Also, the governor targeted a statement Warren joined condemning the criminalization of transgender people and gender-affirming care.

Warren and his attorneys spent much

of Tuesday trying to establish that his office never established “blanket policies” about foregoing the prosecution of abortion-related crimes or refusing to prosecute laws that haven’t passed.

Joint statements he signed with dozens of other prosecutors across the country “were not policies of the office,” Warren said, but were “value statements” about the issues.

Warren also argued that prosecutors have discretion about how to spend resources.

“Case-specific review is a hallmark of our criminal-justice system,” he said. “No statute, no law is exempt from this policy.”

Other witnesses Tuesday included Larry Keefe, an adviser to DeSantis who is known as the state’s “public safety czar.”

According to Keefe, DeSantis in December asked him if any state attorneys in Florida weren’t following the law. Keefe, a former U.S. attorney appointed by thenPresident Donald Trump, said he started an “ad hoc” inquiry into the issue by querying law-enforcement officials around the state.

“By the end of January or February, all roads were consistently leading to Mr. Warren,” he said.

Warren “was regarded as a state attorney whose approach to his job was harmful,” who was “hostile and antagonistic toward law enforcement”

By signing the joint statements, Warren was effectively “nullifying” the law, Keefe argued.

“That is what is a threat to democracy to me,” he said.

“Your interpretation is not what’s at issue here,” Cabou said, adding that Warren’s actions were the focus of the lawsuit.

But Keefe refused to back down.

Allowing prosecutors to refuse to enforce laws would create “chaos and anarchy” in the criminal-justice system, he said.

Cabou also asked Keefe if he ever questioned Warren about his approach to the controversial issues.

Keefe said he never communicated with anyone at the state attorney’s office, including by phone or email, until the day Warren was suspended.

Warren earlier Tuesday said he learned of his suspension in an email while he was with a grand jury working on a murder case that his office had solved after nearly three decades.

Keefe --- accompanied by two sheriff’s deputies in uniforms --- handed Warren a “partial copy” of the executive order in which DeSantis suspended Warren, who asked if he could review it. Keefe said no, according to Warren.

“The whole conversation lasted three minutes,” Warren said, adding that Keefe instructed the deputies to escort Warren out of the building.

Warren’s stance against the 15-week abortion restriction was “tantamount to a veto of state law,” Levesque argued. “Mr. Warren believes that he can be a law unto himself, choosing which laws are just and which laws he chooses to enforce,” Levesque added.

Warren and his supporters have maintained that DeSantis’ suspension was crafted to score political points with conservative voters.

Warren’s attorneys on Tuesday pointed to a Twitter post by Christina Pushaw, who at the time was a spokeswoman for DeSantis, the night before Warren’s suspension was announced.

“Prepare for the liberal media meltdown of the year,” Pushaw, who later went to work for DeSantis’ re-election campaign, tweeted on Aug. 3.

Levesque said Tuesday that Pushaw “was taken to the proverbial woodshed” for the post.

Warren’s suspension and subsequent lawsuit have drawn national attention, with more than 100 legal scholars and dozens of former judges, prosecutors and police chiefs decrying the governor’s actions in friend-of-the-court briefs.

“We are fighting for free speech, for the integrity of our elections and for the very values of our democracy,” Warren told reporters before the trial began Tuesday.

Target subsidiary wins state tax fight

By Jim Saunders Florida News Service

ALeon County circuit judge has sided with a subsidiary of the Target retail chain in a battle with the Florida Department of Revenue about millions of dollars in corporate income taxes.

Judge J. Lee Marsh issued an 11-page decision Monday rejecting the department’s arguments that Target Enterprise, Inc., should pay more than $7.9 million in taxes, plus interest, after the department conducted an audit of the company for fiscal years that ended in January 2017, January 2018 and January 2019.

Target Enterprise provides

marketing, merchandising and other services to Target Corp., the parent company. Both are based in Minneapolis, where the vast majority of Target Enterprise’s employees work.

Target Enterprise filed the lawsuit last December in a dispute that, at least in part, involved how income should be “apportioned” for tax purposes. Such apportionment is an issue when companies do business in multiple states.

After conducting the audit, the Department of Revenue used a formula involving the square footage of Target stores in Florida and the square footage of Target stores overall. It issued an assessment for $7,918,977 in taxes plus interest, which as of August

2021, totaled about $2.3 million, according to court documents.

“The evidence shows that TEI’s (Target Enterprise’s) activities are primarily responsible for the proper operations and success of Target as a whole,” the department contended in a Nov. 18 written closing argument. “Therefore a ratio of Target’s Florida stores’ proportion of square footage to Target stores’ square footage everywhere was used as an approximation for sales with Florida nexus.”

But Marsh rejected the department’s decision to use the methodology, concluding that most services Target Enterprise provided to Target Corp. occurred outside Florida. As an example, Marsh wrote that 94.9

percent of Target Enterprise’s payroll was attributable to Minnesota, while less than 0.1 percent was Florida payroll.

“It is clear from the facts presented that TEI is not directly providing services to individual Target retail locations,” Marsh, who held a trial Nov. 2, wrote. “TEI is providing services to Target. How — or if — Target chooses to use these services in its retail stores in no way impacts TEI’s entitlement to receive compensation under (an agreement between Target Enterprise and Target Corp).”

In part, the Department of Revenue argued that it used the square-footage methodology because Target Enterprise did not provide sufficient information

during the audit. Also, the department contended in its written closing argument that “evidence shows that a significant portion of TEI’s income is an intercompany shifting of income from Target to TEI.”

But Marsh and Target Enterprise refuted the argument about insufficient information. In a written closing argument, Target Enterprise also said it is a “distinct legal entity” from Target Corp. which operates stores.

“TEI is providing services to Target,” the company’s attorneys wrote. “The department’s proposed formula conflates Target’s business activity in Florida … with TEI’s business activity (employing human capital to perform services).”

Suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren talked to reporters before testifying Tuesday. [Tom Urban]

TOP DESANTIS AIDES ADDED IN MIGRANT FLIGHT LAWSUIT

Two top aides to Gov. Ron DeSantis were added as defendants Tuesday in a potential class-action lawsuit stemming from the DeSantis administration flying 49 migrants from Texas to Massachusetts in September. An amended version of the lawsuit added DeSantis public-safety adviser Larry Keefe and DeSantis Chief of Staff James Uthmeier as defendants. Also, it added Vertol Systems Company, Inc., which received a state contract to provide the flights; James Montgomerie, the company’s president; and Perla Huerta, who allegedly led efforts to recruit migrants around San Antonio, Texas.

The lawsuit, whose plaintiffs include the group Alianza Americas and individuals, makes a series of allegations, including violations

of constitutional due-process and equal-protection rights. The case was initially filed in September in federal court in Massachusetts and named as defendants DeSantis, Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue and then-unidentified people who recruited migrants. DeSantis, who is widely considered a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, frequently rails against Biden administration immigration policies.

The flights took the migrants from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard, with a stop in the Northwest Florida community of Crestview.

“Defendants intentionally and invidiously targeted class plaintiffs because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, and/or status as non-citizens,” the amended lawsuit

said. “They specifically preyed on recent immigrants — and in particular, on recent Latinx immigrants from Venezuela and Peru — because they believed that transporting Latinx immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard would fuel greater political outcry about unauthorized crossings at the Southern border than if white or other non-Latinx immigrants were targeted and because they believed that such immigrants would lack resources and be susceptible to their false offers of jobs, services, and benefits.”

To pay for the flights, the DeSantis administration tapped into part of $12 million that Florida lawmakers earmarked in the state budget to transport undocumented immigrants.

ABORTION CLINIC FIGHTS WAITING PERIOD FINE

POT INITIATIVE NEARS 50,000 SIGNATURES

Nearly 50,000 valid petition

signatures have been submitted to the state in an effort to pass a constitutional amendment that would legalize recreational use of marijuana, according to numbers posted Wednesday on the Florida Division of Elections website.

The initiative, spearheaded by the Smart & Safe Florida political committee, totaled 49,692 valid

signatures.

The “Adult Personal Use of Marijuana” proposal would allow people 21 or older “to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise.”

Backers are trying to get the proposal on the 2024 ballot,

eight years after voters approved a measure authorizing medical marijuana. To reach the ballot, the political committee will have to submit 891,589 valid signatures and receive Florida Supreme Court approval of proposed wording.

Trulieve, the state’s largest medical-marijuana company, has spent $10 million on the initiative, records show.

In one of a series of similar cases, a Broward County abortion clinic is fighting a $56,000 state fine stemming from allegations that it did not properly comply with a law requiring 24-hour waiting periods before abortions can be performed. East Cypress Women’s Center, Inc. is challenging the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration at the state Division of Administrative Hearings, according to documents posted online Monday. The agency, which regulates abortion clinics, said in a complaint that it reviewed records of 56 patients from April 26 to May 13. “The records contained no evidence of documentation that the clinic’s physicians followed the requirements pertaining to patient consent to a termination of pregnancy,” the complaint said. “The records revealed no documentation that the physician, who is to perform the procedure or the referring physician, had orally, while physically present in the same room, and at least 24 hours before the procedure, informed the patient of the nature and risks of (the) proposed procedure and probable gestational age of the fetus.” After years of legal battling, a Leon County circuit judge in April upheld a 2015 law that required 24-hour waiting periods. In recent months, four cases have been filed at the Division of Administrative Hearings challenging fines that the Agency for Health Care Administration sought to impose for alleged violations of the law. At least one of the cases has been settled.

In requesting a hearing, the East Cypress Women’s Center said the agency’s “allegations omit certain facts and mischaracterize others.”

It also said that an agency official sent a letter June 28 indicating that the clinic’s issues with the 24-hour waiting period had been resolved. “In light of the fact that the deficiencies were corrected, the remedy sought in the administrative complaint is arbitrary and capricious,” the hearing request said.

As a Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery, our surgical team has a proven commitment to high-quality surgical care and exceptional patient outcomes. Robotic-assisted surgery helps surgeons perform complicated and delicate procedures with more precision, control, and flexibility than traditional techniques allow. Join us to hear from our panel of experts and interact live with five unique robots currently used at AdventHealth Ocala.

Robotics Symposium

Thursday, December 8, 2022 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Harvey R. Klein Conference Center College of Central Florida 3001 SW College Road, Ocala, FL

FEATURING THE LEADING EXPERTS:

Karl Siebuhr, MD Orthopedic Surgeon

Raj Karunakara, MD Pulmonologist

Saravanan Karuppiah, MD Neurologic Surgeon

Christopher Manseau, MD Orthopedic Surgeon

Edwin Menor, MD General Surgeon

People, Places & Things

Every picture tells a story

By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com

From a searing gaze to unique perspectives on figure and form, photographic art distinguishes itself through truthfulness. As Dorothea Lange once told the Los Angeles Times, The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”

Phillip D. Breske also takes an uncompromising view of his subjects.

Widely recognized throughout North Central Florida, the Belleview-based photographer is enamored with the human form, wildlife and his Florida home-state, and all three are lovingly conveyed in his black-and-white images. Whether he’s zeroing in on a close-up of a guitarist or shooting motorcycles, cars or an independent film such as “Signal Lost: Revelations,” Breske brings an artistic vision grounded in sincerity to his work.

“I’ve dedicated myself to doing black-and-whites the best I could,” Breske said, “and I think at this point I’ve gotten to the point where I have a style that is very much my own. It varies depending on the subject. Everything up to 16-by-24 inches, I print myself using the giclee process, which involves the use of inkjet printers. The larger prints I have done by a small online lab that uses my exact paper and inks so they look and feel just like the ones I make myself. ”

In a previous life, as he describes it, Breske was a military helicopter pilot and a field technician for a major telecommunications company. A near-fatal propane explosion affirmed to him that “Life is precious and fleeting.”

“I spent three months in the burn unit at Shands (UF Health Shands Trauma Center) in Gainesville, and six weeks of that was in a coma,” the 54-year-old photographer recalled.

The near-fatal ordeal of having burns over 30% of his body, a collapsed lung and a bout with sepsis caused a seismic shift in Breske’s priorities.

“Enjoyment takes precedence over making money,” he said.

A near brush with death also has a way of diminishing the finger-wagging of others, too, especially if it gets in the way of your art.

Breske has recently had to defend his choice to take photos of nude subjects, adding that he’s able to work with just about anybody who’s willing to stand in front of his

camera and make what he thinks are beautiful, nude portraits. He said that he’s open to working with men and non-cisgender individuals.

For the past 20 years, however, females have dominated his portraiture.

“What I’m trying to do is just show the beauty of what I think is a wide variety of women in my portfolio,” he said. “I don’t have a type. I reach out to women that I meet and ask them if they’d like to do some modeling. A lot of times they say, ‘Oh, no, I’m not photogenic,’ or ‘I don’t have the body for that.’ And that really makes me sad because it points to a flaw in society that says you must look a certain way to be a model, which you don’t.”

Because the Miami native challenges viewers to appreciate the human body, partially or completely unclothed, he has been vocal against censorship, reminding critics that nudes are a time-honored tradition, a point brought up twice at recent Ocala City Council meetings after a city representative asked him to take down some of his photos from his First Friday Art Walk booth.

“The response from the Council president was telling,” he wrote on his Instagram page (@phillipdbreske):

“Ocala City Council President Ire Bethea began by saying that he listened to my argument but then went on to say that he thinks the city does have the right to restrict any content they feel is inappropriate. The City Attorney then cut him off and told me that they did not have a response that night, but that they would contact me ‘soon’ to discuss the matter.”

As of this story’s run date, there has been no resolution to the matter. Breske gave a public comment at the Nov. 1 council meeting (covered in the Gazette on Nov. 9).

“The First Friday Art Walk is sponsored by the city government, and because of that, there are very clear First Amendment rules that take precedence over whatever they think are the rights they have,” he said. “I researched a lot of this, and I contacted the National Coalition Against Censorship. They told me the same thing. They said, ‘Look, this is not even a question.’”

To see more of Breske’s work and find out about his upcoming events, visit pdbreske.com or instagram.com/phillipdbreske.

“Mia at Lake Eustis, Tavares”

“Blowing Rocks Preserve, Jupiter”

“Heron at Santa Rosa Island, Pensacola”

“I’ve dedicated myself to doing black-and-whites the best I could and I think at this point I’ve gotten to the point where I have a style that is very much my own.”

Phillip

D. Breske

These three kings

By Julie Garisto julie@magnoliamediaco.com

Holiday nostalgia and musical greatness converge in “Coming Back Like a Song,” a cozy play that transports us to a martiniclinking Christmas Eve in 1956, when three American icons—Irving Berlin (Timmy Spence), Harold Arlen (Wayne T. Dilts) and Jimmy Van Heusen (Hans Jeff Borger)— gather to catch up and play tunes at Berlin’s elegant Manhattan townhouse.

The dramatized reunion will have local theatergoers dreaming of a “White Christmas” all over again Dec. 1-18 at the Ocala Civic Theatre.

Intimate, candid and sprinkled with timeless tunes, “Coming Back Like a Song” delves into the largely unknown, often surprising lives of three of America’s most prolific songwriters. The play’s title, if you didn’t know, derives from a Berlin tune, “You Keep Coming Back Like a Song,” famously performed by Bing Crosby and, later, Dinah Shore.

The composer confab takes place at a crossroads between youth and aging,

and changing musical sensibilities. Rock ‘n’ roll tunes are topping the charts, and Elvis has just become an overnight sensation. As we listen to the tunesmiths’ reminiscences, we come to understand that they feel displaced by the changing times of the impending 1960s and postWorld War II era.

Despite their different beliefs, lifestyles and political bents, the well-heeled gentlemen bond with one another over Christmas cocktails, gathering around the piano to share songs and stories.

The OCT production crew does a splendid job of conveying the elegantly homey ambiance of Berlin’s townhouse, and director Carlos Francisco Asse effectively coaches Spence, Dilts and Borger to impart that warm feeling we get while gathering with old friends.

Hopes, dreams, and trepidation about the future of music go down the hatch with personal revelations. Between performing tunes such as “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Swinging On a Star” and “What’ll I Do?”, the famed songwriters hash out grievances, lost loves and humbling admissions.

“For my research, I bought various memoirs and biographies of those three, and I read about their lives, and they were fabulously different characters,” playwright Lee Kalcheim told The Berkshire Eagle.

“Berlin was an icon, Jimmy Van Heusen was part of Sinatra’s Rat Pack and was tremendously successful as many of those great Sinatra albums of the ‚50s and ‚60s were full of his songs. Harold Arlen was a superbly talented songwriter but also lived a very difficult life, much of which is at the heart of this play.”

Berlin, the Russian-born elder of the trio, reveals that before his successful career spanning 45 years, he endured a povertystricken childhood and heartbreaking loss before happily marrying again. Known as “the writer of a thousand songs,” Berlin provides sage advice for his guests based on his life experience.

We learn that Arlen, the scribe who brought us “Over the Rainbow” and a slew of other standards, has been touched by tragedy. His beloved wife, Anya, has suffered from mental illness and resides in a sanatorium. Wracked by guilt and worries, he pines for her return for Christmas with torturous mixed feelings.

Van Heusen, a debonair, self-styled ladies’ man, can’t help but namedrop throughout the show, mentioning his brushes with close personal friend Frank Sinatra, whose golden pipes transformed the songwriter’s songs into classics. Also a pilot, he’s cocky inside and outside the cockpit, bragging about his high times, even when Berlin won’t let him light a

jazz cigarette.

Between tunes and laughter, darker moments are revealed, and the friends help each other with compassion and humor. The show’s moments of endearing male bonding feel therapeutic amid today’s isolating times, especially if you’ve experienced loss and miss the “good ol’ days.”

Revisited musical gems also include “Stormy Weather,” “The Man That Got Away,” “Come Rain Or Come Shine,” “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “Blues In the Night,” “Count Your Blessings,” “Accentuate the Positive,” “Cheek to Cheek,” “Always,” “Lydia the Tattooed Lady,” and “Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails.”

Kalcheim said he wrote “Coming Back Like a Song” to present the rare opportunity to be a fly on the wall and witness three of the greatest songwriters of the last century, who also had a complicated relationship.

“At the end of the night,” he added, “the audience will know they’ve seen three really talented artists, but also very interesting and remarkable human beings.”

COMING BACK LIKE A SONG runs Dec. 1-18; 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for ages 18 and younger. Purchase tickets over the phone at 352-236-2274 or visit ocalacivictheatre.com.

Note: The play is not recommended for children due to adult situations and language.

Wayne Dilts as Harold Arlen, left, and Hans Jeff Borger as Jimmy Van Heusen, right, rehearse a scene for Coming Back Like a Song at the Ocala Civic Theatre in Ocala on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Timmy Spence as Irving Berlin, Wayne Dilts as Harold Arlen and Hans Jeff Borger as Jimmy Van Heusen, left to right, rehearse a scene for Coming Back Like a Song at the Ocala Civic Theatre in Ocala on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

By Eadie Sickler Correspondent

Elaine Whiteaker moved to Ocala 31 years ago with her husband, Howard, after they had retired from their teaching careers in Carlton, Michigan.

Elaine was born in Kentucky, and after high school she graduated from Spencerian Business School in Louisville, Kentucky. Her first job was in the directory division of Southern Bell Telephone Company in Louisville.

Bikes

“I knew I didn’t want to do this for the rest of my life,” she said, adding, “I had always wanted to be a teacher.” She enrolled at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky, and after graduation, she taught high school business classes in Ferguson, Kentucky. That’s where she met her future husband, who was a science teacher at the school.

The couple has two children; son, Marvin, who lives in Summerfield, Florida, and daughter Sharon, who lives in Monroe, Michigan. They have

six grandchildren.

While in Michigan, Whiteaker taught shorthand at night school at a Monroe County Community College. “I like shorthand the best. It takes concentration,” she shared.

During her time in Michigan, Whiteaker was invited to join Alpha Delta Kappa, an international organization for women educators. In Michigan, she served as the local chapter president, district chairman and state president from 1988 to 1990.

The Whiteakers both retired from teaching at the same time and attended a seminar in Michigan where homes in Florida were promoted. They decided they preferred the Florida heat to the cold and snowy winter weather in the north. They looked at homes in Winter Haven first but, “Ocala looked so much like Lexington when we first came here. We loved the farmland and the beauty of the area and that it was horse country,” she said. “The weather was wonderful.” They moved to Ocala in November of 1990.

The couple were both involved with the Public Education Foundation of Marion County, and the Take Stock in Children program under auspices of the PEFMC. They were able to enjoy traveling and took several cruises, including to the Baltic Sea and going to St. Petersburg in Russia: New Zealand and Australia, and Alaska. They have visited all 50 United States.

Howard passed away 10 years ago, Whiteaker said, three days before their 51st wedding anniversary.

At an event for her ADK sorority, Whiteaker connected

with two sorority sisters and she has traveled extensively with them, visiting England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. One of her favorite excursions was on a Viking River Cruise to Budapest.

“It was a 16-day trip, and I didn’t want to get off!” she exclaimed. She has been on an African safari while she had a bad fracture in one of her feet and had to wear an immobilizing “boot” the whole time.

Whiteaker’s involvement with the Public Education Foundation began when she was hired as a secretary, and she still works there in either paid or volunteer positions. She was asked to serve on the leadership council for the Take Stock in Children program, which she has done for several years.

“I think the Take Stock in Children is the best program in the world,” Whiteaker said, explaining that children who are accepted into and complete this program through their four high school years are provided financially for two years of college education. This effort works in conjunction with the Florida Prepaid College Program.

There is a process to selecting students for the program, according to Whiteaker. All applications, which are extensive, must be received in December.

Whitaker reviews all the applications, which sometimes number up to 160 and come from all 10 middle schools. The top students chosen are interviewed and 50 each year are awarded scholarships to participate in the high school program.

Students are chosen during their eighth-grade school year. Guidelines are that they

must have at least a 2.5 grade point average (GPA), be drug and crime free and stay in school. They are usually from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. A mentor is matched to each student for the entire four-year program.

The organization accepts donations for the program and hold a fundraiser each year, which for 2023 will be a golf tournament in January.

In 2014, Whiteacre was named Volunteer of the Year by the foundation, and the award and is now named the Elaine Whiteaker Volunteer of the Year Award. She was the first to receive the award, which will now be an annual recognition of a deserving volunteer.

Whiteaker is an active member of the College Road Baptist Church, being a greeter, preparing snacks for the children’s Sunday School program, and serves on the kitchen committee. She was on the building committee for the current church building.

Whiteaker has been a member of the ADK sorority for 55 years, and is now a member of the Ocala chapter, Fidelis Kappa.

“In my retirement years, the sorority (ADK) has kept me going. I attend conferences and conventions and meet people at these events I had known years before. Some of the members are still teaching, and it is rewarding to be involved with the group,” Whiteaker commented.

“I thank God that He’s given me the strength and energy to volunteer,’’ she said. “I consider volunteering a blessing.”

Representatives of Winn-Dixie stores from Marion and five surrounding counties presented more than 700 bicycles to area Marine Corps League Toys For Tots officials in a brief ceremony recently at the Winn-Dixie market in the Ocala Spring Shopping Center in Ocala.

Toys For Tots officials with Philip C.DeLong Detachment 1267 from The Villages, which oversees the area effort, and representatives of several Toys For Tots drives in surrounding counties, were on hand. The gathering included Walt Clevenger, from Citrus County, who is a Marine Corp veteran of the Korean War.

Katie Scott started the regional bicycle drive four years ago with 18 bicycles. The bikes are purchased with employee and customer donations. Scott said the Toy For Tots drive in Alachua County would receive 50 bikes; Levy County, 100; Marion County, 209; Citrus County, 100; Lake County, 125; and Sumter County, 145.She said 21 Winn-Dixie stores in the six counties participated in the drive.

Carla Kelly served as captain of this year’s drive and said that next year’s goal is 1,000 bikes. To learn more, go to toysfortots.org

Elaine Whiteaker poses for a photo by the College Road Baptist Church in Ocala on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

DECEMBER 2 & 9

Chess Club at Freedom Library

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

10am-12pm

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

DECEMBER 2 & 9

Kiwanis Club of Ocala

Knights of Columbus Building at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church, 1510 SE 3rd Ave., Ocala

12pm

Meets weekly on Fridays. Supports Camp Kiwanis, children’s literacy and Habitat for Humanity. More info at ocalakiwanis.org

DECEMBER 7-9

artsThe Nutcracker Ballet

Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE 9th St., Ocala

7:30pm

The Dance Alive National Ballet performs this holiday classic as Clara meets and saves the Nutcracker Prince and they make a musical journey to the Kingdom of the Sweets to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy. Tickets are $10-$35 from reillyartscenter.com

DECEMBER 9

Sunset Cinema: “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”

Sholom Park, 7110 SW 80th Ave., Ocala 6pm

This charming film will entertain the whole family. Bring chairs or blankets and snacks and drinks or buy from the food truck onsite. Cost is $12 per vehicle for up to eight passengers. For more info, sholompark.org/events

DECEMBER 9

Never Give Up On Country Concert

World Equestrian Center Ocala, Expo Center 1, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala

4:30-11pm

This benefit concert for the Travis Mills Foundation features special musical guests Colt Ford and Kidd G along with headliner Jimmie Allen. A pre-concert block party with Chris McNeil will have contests, food trucks, a parachute show and more. The foundation supports injured veterans and their families. Tickets are $78-$202. For more info, travismillsfoundation.org

DECEMBER 9-11

“Sleighin’ It: A Holiday Cabaret” Ocala Civic Theatre, 4337 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala Friday and Saturday 7pm; Sunday 1:30 pm

Students from the theatre’s Creative Arts Student Troupe will perform on the OCT outdoor stage, slated as a festive cabaret to celebrate the holidays. Student artists share original stories, songs, skits and more. Tickets are $10 for ages 18 and under; $12 for adults. For more info, ocalacivictheatre.com/

DECEMBER 10

“Emmanuel, God with Us!”

CF Dassance Fine Arts Center, 3001 SW College Road, Ocala Saturday 2pm & 7pm; Sunday 2pm

The Light of Joy Ballet Company performs this classic dance. The performance is free to all; seating is firstcome, first-served. More into at dancedivineocala.com/ events.htm

DECEMBER 11

Master Choir Winter Concert Countryside Presbyterian Church, 7768 SW Highway 200, Ocala

3pm

The Central Florida Master Choir holiday performance

DECEMBER 7

VFW Wednesday Dinners

Angela S. Santos FVW Post 4781, 9401 SW 110th St., Ocala 4:30pm-6:30pm

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

DECEMBER 8

Ocala Lions Club

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

12pm

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

DECEMBER 8

General Francis Marion Stamp Club meeting

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

1pm

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

will include classic seasonal songs, Vivaldi’s “Gloria in D Major” and the chorus from “Messiah.” Free for all; goodwill donations gladly accepted. For more info, cfmasterchoir.com

THROUGH DECEMBER 9

A Floral Retrospective by Gregory Dirr

Ocala City Hall, Clerk’s Office, 110 SE Watula Ave., Ocala Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm

Dirr emphasizes environmental conservation in his interdisciplinary artworks. For more info, visit ocalafl.org/ artincityspaces

THROUGH DECEMBER 11

BLOW UP II: Inflatable Contemporary Art

Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 10am-5pm

Eight internationally renowned artists have works on display. For more info, appletonmuseum.org

THROUGH JANUARY 8

A Dickens Christmas: The Urban Family’s Holiday Exhibition

Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm; Sunday 12pm-5pm

The Urban family’s premiere collection of Christmas decorations is on display on the first floor and includes trees, a miniature Dickens Village, nutcrackers, handmade caroler dolls and Santa dolls. The second floor display offers trees decorated by area community groups and businesses. For more info, appletonmuseum.org

THROUGH JANUARY 9

Looking on the Brighter Side by Jennifer Weigel

Recreation and Parks Building, 828 NE Eighth Ave., Ocala Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm

Weigel’s multi-media artwork includes drawings, fibers, installation, paint, video and more to explores themes of beauty, identity and memory. For more info, ocalafl.org/ artincityspaces

THROUGH JANUARY 2023

Colorful Pleasures by Christine Dozier Ocala International Airport, 5770 SW 60th Ave., Ocala Hours vary per airport operations Dozier exhibits a variety of work including landscapes, abstracts, still life and animal portraits. This is part of the City of Ocala Art in City Spaces program. For more info, visit ocalafl.org/artincityspaces

in the Monteverdi opera “The Coronation of Poppaea”

Big-screen TV site

DECEMBER 2

Symphony Under the Lights

Tuscawilla Art Park, 800 NE Sanchez Ave., Ocala 7:30pm

The Ocala Symphony Orchestra offers a free holiday concert in the park. Bring your chairs, picnic basket and hot chocolate for an evening under the stars. The performance will include the Ocala Youth Symphony. See reillyartscenter.com for more info.

DECEMBER 2

Light Up Marion Oaks

Marion Oaks Community Center, 294 Marion Oaks Lane, Ocala

5pm-8pm

Santa & Mrs. Claus will be turning on the Marion Oaks Community Center Complex holiday lights at 7 p.m. Music, snowflakes, food trucks and more.

For more info, http://bit.ly/3Ffd9QE

DECEMBER 3

Dunnellon Christmas Parade

Dunnellon Middle School, 21005 Chestnut St., Dunnellon 6pm

The parade theme is “Christmas Across the Decades.” It starts at the school then moves east and south to end on San Jose Boulevard. For more info, dunnellonchamber.com

DECEMBER 3

Light Up Lake Lillian

Lake Lillian Park, SE Robinson Road, Belleview 2pm-7pm

Vendor booths, arts and crafts, kids’ activities and more. Food options available. Bring chairs and watch this annual holiday tradition. For more details, ocalamarion.com/events/light-up-lake-lillian2

DECEMBER 3

Santa at the Park

Ernie Mills Park, 11899 Bostick St., Dunnellon 2pm-9pm

A celebration of Santa as he visits the park, along with a bounce house, ice skating, food, entertainment and more. For more info, dunnellonchamber.com

DECEMBER 3 & 4

Pops! Goes the Holidays

Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE 9th St., Ocala

Saturday 7:30pm; Sunday 3pm

For festive music, the Ocala Symphony Orchestra’s holiday concert is an Ocala tradition and sells out every year. Holiday music and touching tributes make this a night to remember. Tickets are $15-$40; see reillyartscenter.com for more info.

DECEMBER 4

Belleview Christmas Parade

Lake Lillian Park, SE Robinson Road, Belleview 2pm

This year’s parade route is reversed—it starts at Lake Lillian and Robinson Road and ends at 110th Street. Vendor booths, floats, horses and more. For more info, belleviewchristmasparade.com.

DECEMBER 4

Marion Civic Chorale Concert

Fort King Presbyterian Church, 13 NE 36th Ave., Ocala 3pm

Admission is free for this Christmas concert performed by our community chorus. Donations are welcomed to help fund the Grat L. Rosazza music scholarship. For more info, marionchorale.org

community

DECEMBER 2 & 9

Marion County Friday Market

McPherson Governmental Campus Field, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala 9am-2pm Shop locally fresh fruits and veggies, baked goods, jerky, freeze-dried treats, olive oils, seafood and more; recurs every Friday.

DECEMBER 2-4

Ocala

Holiday Premiere Horse Show

HITS Post-Time Farm, 13710 US Highways 27, Ocala 8am-6pm

A hunter-jumper show series culminating in the Grand Prix on Sunday with a $25,000 grand prize. Classes for youth riders, re-trained thoroughbreds, adult amateur riders and more. See hitsshows.com/ Ocala for more info.

DECEMBER 2

Parents Night Out

St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 3453 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala

5pm-9pm

Activities for the kids so parents can get a break (or go holiday shopping) takes place with dinner, movies, games, crafts and more. $10 for first child; $15 for two; $20 for three kids or more. Ages 4-14. To reserve a spot, contact the church office at (352) 629-5948.

DECEMBER 2

First Friday Art Walk

Downtown Ocala Square, 1 SE Broadway St., Ocala 6pm-9pm

Art displays, activities and vendors, plus live entertainment on stage by Nino Castaneda and street buskers My Uncle’s Friend, Prestine Allen and Sean T Music. Stores are open late for shopping. Free to attend. For more info, ocalafl.org

DECEMBER 3

Urban Cowboy Night

Quail Roost Arena, 4246 W. Highway 318, Citra 4pm-9pm

This fundraiser for Stirrups ‘n Strides Therapeutic Riding Center will have dancing, mechanical bull riding, silent auctions, dollar dances and a Dolly Parton look-alike contest. Suggested donation is $75 per person; for tickets, see stirrupsnstrides. com/events/urban-cowboy-night

DECEMBER 3

First Saturdays Market in the Park

Ernie Mills Park, 11899 Bostick St., Dunnellon 8am-2pm

A variety of vendors set up their booths at Ernie Mills Park. Many Dunnellon stores also offer Saturday Specials and you can pick up a map of participating merchants.

DECEMBER 4

Ocala Holiday Grinch Festival

Tuscawilla Art Park, 800 NE Sanchez Ave., Ocala 11am-4pm

This holiday craft show offers local artists and vendors. Free admission for all. More info from Jason or Abby Hurwitz at (561) 929-0237.

DECEMBER 6 & 8

Santa on the Square

Downtown Square, 1 SE Broadway St., Ocala 6pm-8pm

A special visit from Santa, Mrs. Claus and some holiday elves will make this a photo fest for families. The square is lighted for the holidays. There is free parking in the municipal garage two blocks to the east. For more info, see ocalafl.org/holidays

DECEMBER 10

Ocala Christmas Parade McPherson Governmental Complex to Tuscawilla Park, Ocala 5:30pm

This year’s theme is “Hometown Christmas.” This is one of the nation’s oldest and largest nighttime parades. For details, including bleacher seating info, go to ocalachristmasparade.org

THROUGH DECEMBER 24

Winter Wonderland World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 5pm-9pm Thursday through Sunday nights at the Grand Plaza. Holiday décor, carolers, balloon artists,

face painting, live entertainment and the chance to meet Santa. Note: this is a paid parking event ($30) and some experiences require purchase. See wecwinterwonderland.com for more info.

DECEMBER 3

NAACP Taste of Soul Marion One Health Center, 1714 SW 17th St., Ocala 2pm-4pm

A festive afternoon of food tastes and tidbits of Marion County’s restaurants, food truck vendors, wine and more. Tickets are $30 from Eventbrite.com

DECEMBER 3 & 10

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.

DECEMBER 3 & 10

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.

DECEMBER 3 & 10

Farmers Swap Meet

Rural King, 2999 NW 10th St., Ocala 9am-2pm

A true farmers swap meet where chickens, ducks, quail, 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.

DECEMBER 4

Winter Polo Games

Florida Horse Park, 11008 South Highway 475, Ocala 1pm

The Ocala Polo Club’s winter season offers Sunday afternoon matches through March. Free to the public. You can tailgate next to the polo field. For more info, ocalapolo.com DECEMBER 7

THROUGH DECEMBER 30

Christmas

Light Spectacular

Florida Horse Park, 11008 South Highway 475, Ocala 6pm-10pm This is a drive-thru show with a walk-around area. Ticket prices are per carload and include kids’ activities, live music, train rides, slides and inflatables and a visit with Santa. Food trucks will be onsite and, new this year, there is ice skating. For more info, see ocalamarion.com/events/ocalachristmas-light-spectacular

walk the red carpet in a tuxedo to her film debut. Hero Horse tells the stories of the Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses. VIP tickets, at $125, include a pre-show party, photo op with the tiny star, movie swag bag and more. General admission is $25. Get tickets at reillyartscenter.com/events/ hero-horse-a-magical-true-story/

DECEMBER 8

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.

DECEMBER 9-11

Pac West Barrel Race Show

Southeastern Livestock Pavilion, 2232 NE Jacksonville Road, Ocala

All day

Multiple races with great prizes and exciting action. Free to spectators; food and drink options onsite. For more info, see selp.marionfl.org/home

DECEMBER 9-11

Run for the Ribbons Thoroughbred Transformation Expo

Florida Horse Park, 11008 South Highway 475, Ocala

All day

Thoroughbred horses coming off the job need new careers and Run for the Ribbons is a charitable group helping to train and place these equine athletes. This show will feature a variety of disciplines, with classes in hunter, jumper, dressage, eventing, working ranch, trail horse and freestyle. $28,000 in prizes will be awarded. For more info, runfortheribbons.org/

DECEMBER 10

Ocala 200 Lions Flea Market

Bank OZK, 8375 SW State Road 200, Ocala

8am-1pm

The club hosts multiple booths full of goods, along with food and drink for purchase. The club also welcomes donations of non-perishable food items for Interfaith Emergency Services, pop top rings for the Ronald McDonald House and donations of used glasses, cases and hearing aids. For more info, bartorobert@hotmail.com

The Grinch waves as he rides on the hood of a car with the Florida Gamblers 500 group during the Ocala Christmas Parade in Ocala on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

government

DECEMBER 5 & 12

Marion County Development Review Committee

Office of the County Engineer, 412 SE 25th Ave., Building 1, Ocala 9am

The first step for projects, the committee reviews and votes on waiver requests to the Land Development Code, major site plans, and subdivision plans. Meets weekly on Mondays; agendas are usually posted the Friday prior. Agendas, minutes and video available at marionfl.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

DECEMBER 6

City of Belleview City Commission Meeting

City Hall, 5343 SE Abshier Blvd., Belleview 6pm-8pm

Meets the second and fourth Wednesdays; Belleview agendas, minutes and video available at belleviewfl.org/200/Agendas-Minutes

DECEMBER 6

Marion County Board of County Commissioners Meeting

McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala 9am

Meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Agendas are usually posted the Thursday prior. Agendas, minutes and video available at marionfl.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

DECEMBER 6

Marion County Board of County Commissioners Planning & Zoning

Meeting

McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala

2pm

Meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month after the regular morning meeting. Agendas are usually posted the Thursday prior. Agendas, minutes and video available at marionfl.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

DECEMBER 7

Joint Workshop Regarding Interlocal Agreement with Marion County School Board

Southeastern Livestock Pavilion, 2232 NE Jacksonville Road, Ocala 9am

Meeting with city and county officials to discuss school issues.

DECEMBER 12

City of Dunnellon City Council

Meeting

City Hall, 20750 River Drive, Dunnellon 5:30pm Meets the second Monday of the month; Dunnellon agendas, minutes and video available at Dunnellon.org/89/Agendas-Minutes

DECEMBER 12

City of Ocala Planning & Zoning Meeting

City Hall, 110 SE Watula Avenue, Ocala 5:30pm Meets the second Monday of the month; agendas, minutes and video available from ocala.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

& &music nightlife

DECEMBER 2

Courtyard Jams MCA Courtyard 23 W Broadway St., Ocala 6-9pm Music, dancing, drumming, poetry and limbo. Free to all, Friday nights weekly.

DECEMBER 2

Peaches & Karim

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm Dinner, drinks and entertainment.

DECEMBER 2

REL

Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm Live music, DJ Bingo, trivia games and karaoke.

DECEMBER 2

Austin Hunter Homestead Park 1050 NE 6th Blvd., Williston 6-9pm Live music, line dancing, food and drink.

DECEMBER 3

Jeff Jarrett

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm

DECEMBER 3

Adam Rountree Homestead Park 1050 NE 6th Blvd., Williston 6-9pm

DECEMBER 3 44 West Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm

DECEMBER 4

Doug Adams Charlie Horse 2426 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 2pm

DECEMBER 7

Donny Sawyer

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm

DECEMBER 8

Gily & The Girl

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm

DECEMBER 9

Conrad Marcum

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm

DECEMBER 9

Sad Donkey Homestead Park 1050 NE 6th Blvd., Williston 6-9pm

DECEMBER 10

Mark Smythe

The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6-9pm

DECEMBER 10

The Big Bad Homestead Park 1050 NE 6th Blvd., Williston 6-9pm

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Trinity Catholic rides explosive offense and dominant defense to win over P.K. Yonge in Regional Final

By Allen Barney allen@ocalagazette.com

The Trinity Catholic Celtics football team was back at home for the 1-Suburban Regional Final against the P.K. Yonge Blue Wave on Friday night, Nov. 25.

Trinity Catholic had beaten P.K. Yonge 51-7 on Oct. 28 and was looking to pull off the difficult task of winning against them for the second time in one season.

Trinity Catholic’s offense got the fireworks going quickly when running back Beau Beard scampered 37 yards for a touchdown on the sixth play of the opening drive to give his team a 7-0 lead.

P.K. Yonge garnered a bit of momentum when wide receiver Calvin Thomas picked up 15 yards on a reception to put the offense near midfield. A sack and an incomplete pass killed the opening drive for P.K. Yonge, forcing a punt.

Quarterback Preston Wright opened Trinity Catholic’s second drive with a 20-yard run. Following a short carry by Beard, the running back took off up the middle of the defense for a 47-yard touchdown, which was called back due to an illegal motion penalty.

The penalty didn’t stop the Trinity Catholic offense as Wright connected with an uncovered Jewellius Lluberes for a 52-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 14-0 after four minutes of action.

Trinity Catholic forced another punt but Deshawn Shelton fumbled the ball on the return, giving P.K. Yonge the ball and an opportunity to get back into the game. The momentum was short lived as wide receiver Deldrick Goston fumbled the ball away after gaining 15 yards on a pass from quarterback Adrian Curtis.

The third drive of the game for the Trinity Catholic offense got off to a great start thanks to a 20-yard reception by tight end Mekai Griffin. After Griffin’s reception, Beard got four consecutive carries for 61 yards, with the fourth carry being an 11yard touchdown to make the lead 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.

On the second play of the following drive, cornerback Courtney Patterson made a fantastic onehanded interception, giving his offense superb field position at the P.K. Yonge 11-yard line. An illegal motion penalty slowed the drive and Trinity Catholic settled for a 30-yard field from senior Justin Arroyo.

Arroyo has been a weapon all season long by making all five of his field goal attempts and 24 for 25 on extra point attempts.

“We have a big senior class, including myself, and we want to make these last few games count,” Arroyo said.

Linebacker Donathan Lecorn and the Trinity Catholic defense continued their stingy play and forced a punt before sophomore wide receiver Gerald Lawton juked two defenders out of their shoes on his way to a 35-yard touchdown.

A sack by senior nose guard Tyler Sims gave the Trinity Catholic offense one more opportunity to score before halftime. During the ensuing drive, Deshawn Shelton had a 31-yard touchdown run called back.

Nonetheless, penalties did not stop running back Jamarkus Starkes from gaining 27 yards on the final three plays of the drive before scoring from 11 yards out to give Trinity Catholic a 38 lead with four minutes left before halftime.

Trinity Catholic continued on their runaway train to open the second half when backup quarterback Alan Means connected with Lawton on an 11-yard touchdown pass to put the Celtics up 45-0 with eight minutes left in the third quarter.

The remainder of the third quarter and a majority of the fourth quarter featured punts from both teams.

Curtis connected with sophomore wide receiver Tony Sanchez for an 11-yard touchdown in the final minute to get P.K. Yonge on the scoreboard before time ran out and the game ended with a 48-7 win for Trinity Catholic.

Wright and his receivers had one of their best performances of the season as the sophomore threw for 127 yards and two touchdowns in just two quarters. The young quarterback said he and his receivers had been working on chemistry long before the season started.

“We put in work over the summer by coming together and throwing on the weekends. I’m proud of how we’ve come together and were starting to get things moving,” Wright said.

The sophomore is rounding into a good player and leader who will be one of the most important pieces of the program the next couple years. Even with his team up 40-plus points in the fourth quarter, he was among many of the teams’ starters cheering on the reserves that were trying to score a touchdown.

Trinity Catholic head coach John Brantley II believes the passing game is the final piece of the puzzle that can launch this team into championship territory.

“I’ve said in the past, if we can round that out in our offense and do some big things in the passing game, we have a chance to do some great things on our offense behind our big boys up front and our running game of Beau (Beard) and Jamarkus (Starkes),” Brantley said.

The offense was explosive the entire game but not very efficient as 10 penalties negated two touchdowns and put the group in unfavorable scenarios.

Brantley said the competition will only get tougher and Trinity Catholic cannot afford to continue sloppy play if they want to win a state championship.

“I feel good. It’s a big win any time you win in the playoffs because that’s what we strive to do. Everybody’s going to wake up tomorrow and see the score in the paper and say we played well and beat them but we didn’t play well at all,” he said.

He continued: “We got to clean up some things to accomplish the goals we need to. We have to come to work on Monday and clean up those mistakes. This football team has a chance to accomplish every goal they set out to do at the start of the year and it’s exciting but a little frustrating.”

Trinity Catholic’s defense was absolutely dominant as they only allowed two first downs until the final drive of the game and did not let P.K. Yonge cross the 50-yard line.

Linebacker Donathan Lecorn knew his group would be ready because of the amount of preparation put in during the week.

“We work hard in practice, we watched film and we ran hard. It all starts with practice, we work hard Monday through Thursday so that Friday is easy and we just go out and execute,” Lecorn said.

Brantley’s team will be back at home next Friday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. to host the John Carroll Catholic Rams in the 1-Suburban state semi-final. Lecorn expressed excitement towards the next week of practice and the game.

“I can’t tell you how practice is going to be because John Brantley is so excited. He’s on us this year because he wants it and everybody wants it. Coaches, trainers, cheerleaders and everybody who is involved. I feel we will go out and execute well Monday through Thursday and make Friday easy again,” he said.

Photos By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

Trinity Catholic’s Tommy Kinsler (82) sprints through a big hole between P.K. Yonge defenders on his way to a touchdown during a football game at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022.

Trinity Catholic’s Beau Beard (20) blasts past P.K. Yonge’s Thomas Young (3) and Jammel Gillins (23) on his way to a touchdown.

Trinity Catholic’s Courtney Patterson (3) breaks up a pass intended for P.K. Yonge’s Calvin Thomas (4) and nearly intercepts the ball.

Rollerson and Simpson lead Dunnellon to season-opener over Belleview

By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

By Allen Barney allen@ocalagazette.com

The Dunnellon Tigers and Belleview Rattlers boys’ basketball teams opened their 2022-2023 season on Tuesday night, Nov. 22.

Belleview is looking to bounce back from a 4-21 record in 2021 and Dunnellon is hoping to build off a 20-win season and a playoff appearance. Both teams got off to a sluggish start as Dunnellon led 4-0 after four minutes.

Coming off the first timeout, Dunnellon sophomore Tre Rollerson hit a gorgeous layup against a defender. Belleview got on the board with three minutes left in the first quarter after senior Cori Johnson hit

two free throws. Dunnellon led 14-8 after the first quarter as four different players scored a basket.

Belleview started fast in the second quarter as Johnson scored three points to pull the deficit to 14-11. Dunnellon followed with a 11-5 run on the backs of sophomore Eli Nelson and junior Aramys Ramirez.

Following a timeout with 4:41 left before halftime, Nelson scored four consecutive points to extend the lead to 13 points. Belleview gained a dash of momentum in the last two minutes of the first half because of three made free throws by Samuel Vargas and a threepointer from Julian Ramos to bring the deficit to 10 at halftime.

The third quarter was a defensive

battle as both teams notched multiple steals and a back-and-forth scoring battle ensued between Johnson of Belleview and Rollerson and sophomore Sean Simpson for Dunnellon.

Dunnellon had to turn to other scoring options with Ramirez and Sean Martin in foul trouble early and Dunnellon head coach Melissa Mosby knows that’s an important trait for successful teams.

“Variety is always good because other teams can’t just focus on shutting down one person, they have to focus on everybody,” Mosby said. Ten different players scored a basket for Dunnellon and three different players scored more than 10 points.

Despite sloppy play from their offense, Dunnellon led 57-40 at the end of the third quarter. Just like the third quarter, Belleview started quickly in the fourth quarter as Johnson scored four consecutive points to whittle down the deficit to 13.

Following a basket from Martin, Johnson hit four free throws and Vargas hit a wide-open three point shot to aid a 15-4 run and Belleview only trailed by six with 3:24 left in the game. By this point in the game, free throws became a major factor with both teams over 10 fouls.

Dunnellon used it to their advantage and finished the game on a 13-9 run to win 81-71. Simpson scored six of his 21 points in the final two minutes, he also added two rebounds to his scoring effort.

Rollerson finished with 19 points, a career-high, and four rebounds. Eli Nelson had a solid night in every facet of the game with 11 points, 7 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Leading the way for Belleview was Johnson, he scored a game-high 38 points to go with four rebounds.

It was a historic night for Johnson and the Belleview basketball program as he surpassed 1,000 career points. Belleview head coach Jason Hasson said there will be a pre-game ceremony honoring

Johnson’s achievement at their next home game on Dec. 1.

Belleview never led and at times were down double digits but seemed to always get within six or seven points and not fall completely out of the game. For Johnson, he talked about being a leader in those moments and being more than just a scorer.

“Just telling them to keep pushing off momentum and not play in spurts, if we can do that we can be a great team,” Johnson said.

Vargas was second on the team with 11 points and Antoine Armbrister finished with five points and a teamhigh eight rebounds. Freshman Darnell Goodman and Brandon Woode combined with sophomore Devon Johnson to play major minutes as they gain experience for the future.

“It was their first real varsity game and they played fearless. They have some things to work on, but I feel very good about that group, and they will be good,” Hasson said.

Dunnellon has a bevy of scorers on offense, and everybody is willing to play suffocating defense. The results show the effort on defense was not in vein as they finished with six blocks and seven steals to keep Belleview’s offense off balance all game.

“We knew if we were aggressive, they would turn the ball over. We just didn’t anticipate the fouls,” Mosby said.

Winning the first game of the season is always great because it can set the tone for a successful season and Rollerson has high hopes for this year.

“It was great to push through, we fought hard on defense as always. I’m excited and I feel like this could be a great season,” Rollerson said.

Dunnellon (1-0) will be hosting a tournament this Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2 and 3. Their first game will be against Eustis at 7 p.m. on Friday. Belleview (0-1) will travel to Bell (Gilchrist County) on Saturday for a noon tip-off.

Photos

Dunnellon’s DeMarcus Williams (20) and Jahn Lugo (15) double-team Belleview’s Brandon Woode (3) as they steal the ball from him during a basketball game at Belleview High School on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022.

“Variety

Melissa Mosby Dunnellon head coach

Lake Weir holds off second-half rally by Vanguard to stay undefeated

myself to not miss these free throws because we needed them and I already missed some layups so we needed those points,” Brown said.

“Those were crucial and I’m so glad she stepped up to the plate. She’s one of our seniors and we count on her a lot for leadership. I’m glad she showed she is not only a leader in words, but also in action,” Smith said.

Vanguard had an opportunity to get within one point, but Mitchell missed the second free throw and Brown came down with the rebound before assisting Gunsby on a layup to extend the lead to four.

By Allen Barney allen@ocalagazette.com

The Lake Weir Hurricanes girls’ basketball team moved to 5-0 on the season under first-year head coach Briana Smith as seniors Reniya Ford, Shanice Brown and Sa’ Naria Gunsby used their experience to pull out a win on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

Lake Weir came out of the gates firing on all cylinders as they took a 7-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game on the backs of Ford and Gunsby. Vanguard landed their first bucket of the game when senior Makiya Mitchell twirled in an easy layup at the three-minute mark of the first quarter.

Vanguard pulled within three before Lake Weir senior Tatum Lake drained a threepointer from the top of the key with 20 seconds left to in the period to give her team a 10-4 lead.

The second quarter featured more offense as both teams started landing shots. Continuing to lead the way for Lake Weir was Lake as she used her quick shooting release to knock down two three-pointers in the quarter and the aforementioned senior trio for Lake Weir hauled in nine rebounds.

Vanguard’s offense found life as Mitchell, Kenaria Dowdy, Diana Gegaj and Annabelle Francois all made baskets, but still trailed 26-14 at halftime.

Vanguard head coach Terrance Lewis made a couple of adjustments at the half to get his team back into the game.

“I made minor adjustments and from the first possession of the second half, you could tell it sparked us. There was never a doubt in the locker room and as soon as we hit that spark, everybody knew what to do and we woke up,” Lewis said.

The defensive adjustments gave Lake Weir’s offense fits as Vanguard played press defense

to make every possession difficult. Lake Weir committed seven turnovers in a difficult quarter that ended with them scoring just four points.

For Vanguard, Dowdy scored five points and picked up two steals in the quarter while senior Jyla Gunsby added on five points, three rebounds and a block to cut the deficit to one point by the end of the third quarter.

Despite the rough quarter, Smith learned a lot about her team and feel it can be worked on as the season goes on.

“It just caught them off guard with how aggressive Vanguard was playing defense and credit to them because they came out and did not quit. I want them to be able to respond and not give life by feeding into the defensive pressure. I want them to get better at it and its something we will hash out in practice,” Smith said.

With Lake Weir clinging to a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the stage was set for players to step up and make a name for themselves in pressure situations.

Dowdy came up with a huge steal and breakaway layup to give Vanguard its first lead of the night on the first possession of the final period. A three-pointer by Mitchell gave her team a four point lead, their largest of the night, but Lake Weir fought back after Dowdy missed two free throws.

Brown got the rebound and made a shot in transition. Following a bevy of rebounds and missed shots from both teams, Brown was fouled by Gunsby and went to the free throw line with the opportunity to tie the game.

After Brown made the first free throw, a substitution error by Vanguard led to a technical foul and gave two extra free throws to Brown. The senior made three of four to give Lake Weir a 3734 lead with just under two minutes left.

“I was just thinking to

Ford sank one of her two free throws in the final seconds to seal the 40-35 win for Lake Weir. The senior finished the night with 10 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.

Brown ended the game with a team-high 11 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

The group of seniors is the strength of the Lake Weir team and used their experience and talent late in the game to bring home the win.

“I depend on them heavily, but over the course of the season I want to get my underclassmen more into the mix as well. Our seniors do a lot and I’m grateful for what they do, but I want our underclassmen to be able to step up to the plate when they’re on the floor because they have huge shoes to fill,” Smith said.

Mitchell scored a teamhigh 10 points for Vanguard combined with three steals and two rebounds. Jyla Gunsby was a menace in the paint with seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Dowdy, a freshman, finished with nine points and four steals.

Dowdy doesn’t appear to be a freshman with her play on the court and her demeanor in high-stress situations.

“She loves the moment and is just unfazed about anything. In practice she is unfazed and usually a freshman is a little timid or hesitant, but not her,” Lewis said.

With her team moving to 5-0, Smith wants the players to stay motivated and not get too comfortable with the early success.

“I’m glad to see that they’re responding to how I coach and the way I coach. I hope it’s something we can keep going, but with each win we pick up I don’t want them to get too comfortable. I want them to continue to stay hungry and always want to work.”

Lake Weir will look to move to 6-0 when they host North Marion on Friday, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. Vanguard, now 1-3 on the season, hits the road to face Wildwood on Nov. 30 at 7:30.

The superhero was a star on her softball team and not a --

Photos By Bruce Ackerman Ocala Gazette

Lake Weir’s Tatum Lake (20) drives to the hoop as Vanguard’s Diana Gegaj (1) and Makiya Mitchell (2) try to stop her during a basketball game at Lake Weir High School in Candler on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022.

Vanguard’s Kristen Moore (5) and Lake Weir’s Erilynn Beltre (3) hit the floor as they battle for a loose ball.

Lake Weir’s coach, Briana Smith, works with her players on the bench

Lake Weir’s Reniya Ford (1) gets her hand on the ball as Vanguard’s Jyla Gunsby (0) drives to the basket.

Lake Weir’s Reniya Ford (1) looks for a way to the basket as she is defended by Vanguard’s Makiya Mitchell (2).

FOOTBALL SCORES

November 25

Class 1-Suburban Region 2 Final P.K. Yonge 7

Trinity Catholic 48

BOYS BASKETBALL SCORES

November 21

Oak Hall 65 St. John Lutheran 41 Wildwood Hoopsgiving West Port 27 Lake Howell 48 Lake Weir 52 Steinbrenner 48 Forest 67 Armwood 48 November 22

Springstead 51 Trinity Catholic 36 Dunnellon 81 Belleview 71 St. John Lutheran 54 Bishop McLaughlin Catholic 52 Wildwood Hoopsgiving West Port 58 Archbishop McCarthy 71 Lake Weir 40 Downey Christian 81 Forest 79 Wiregrass Ranch 58 November 25

Dunnellon Holiday Classic Eustis 68 Dunnellon 45 Vanguard 61 Tampa Bay Tech 53

November 26

Eastside 53 Trinity Catholic 20

Williston Mighty Ike Shootout Belleview 75 Bell 49 Forest 52 Columbia 47

Dunnellon Holiday Classic Tampa Bay Tech 52 Dunnellon 45 Vanguard 63 Winthrop College Prep 71

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

November 21

Wildwood Hoopsgiving Dunnellon 60 Wiregrass Ranch 51 Forest 35 Wildwood 41

November 22

Providence School 49 Trinity Catholic 47 St. John Lutheran 34 Bishop McLaughlin Catholic 8 Wildwood Hoopsgiving Forest 58 Dunnellon 51

November 25

Prospect Thanksgiving Invitational Boone

West Port

Luke Sparkman (15) on his way to the end zone during a football game at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Oak Hall’s Andrew Powell (22) knocks the ball away from St. John Lutheran’s Isaac Texidor (23) during a basketball game at St. John Lutheran School in Ocala on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Dunnellon’s Eli Nelson (21) takes the ball away from Belleview’s Antoine Armbrister (22) during a basketball game at Belleview High School in Belleview on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

St. John Lutheran’s Treyton Cave (3) looks for

way to the basket

he

double-teamed by Oak Hall’s Andrew Powell (22) and Harrison Beach (3) during a basketball game at St. John Lutheran School in Ocala on Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Trinity Catholic’s quarterback Preston Wright (10) eludes P.K. Yonge’s Luke Sparkman (15) during a football game at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Dunnellon’s Jahn Lugo (15) takes a loose ball away from Belleview’s Cori Johnson (4) and Brandon Woode (3) during a basketball game at Belleview High School in Belleview on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022. Turner Who finds brushing a dog soothing and relaxing? We’re asking for a friend. We just happen to know a handsome eight-year-old hound mix who will be your best friend in exchange for a spa day! Turner is open and willing to accept friend requests.

knows what’s important; Safety, a permanent home, and ALL THE