Ocala Gazette | February 18 - February 24

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022

OCALA PROUD

Huge donation funds Maternal Fetal Medicine program at AdventHealth Ocala

By Marian Rizzo Special to the Gazette

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ocal women dealing with high-risk pregnancies will be able to receive specialized care for themselves and their babies through a new program at AdventHealth Ocala, thanks to a $1.7 million donation from Ocala residents Michael and Kathleen Smith.

The funds will go toward the McKenzie Kearney Gray Maternal Fetal Medicine program in honor of the late daughter of Kait and Ryan Gray, who passed away several days after she was born premature in May of 2018.

Following McKenzie’s birth, mother and child were separated at two different hospitals, one providing care for Kait and the other having a neonatal intensive care unit where little McKenzie received care.

Now that the funding has come in to start an MFM program right here in Ocala, that kind of separation should no longer happen, said Joe Johnson, CEO of AdventHealth Ocala.

“It’s a very substantial gift,” Johnson said.

“We’re humbled by it and we’re very grateful.”

AdventHealth Ocala’s MFM program is expected to open later this year and will enhance the current obstetrics/gynecology and pediatric services already offered, said Johnson.

“Maternal Fetal Medicine care teams work with the obstetrician and help guide practices to achieve the best possible outcome for complicated pregnancies”, according to a hospital press release, and “identify risk factors such as the delivery of multiples, and other complicated risk factors such as maternal hypertension, diabetes, fetuses with birth defects and genetic issues.”

“This is something new for us,” Johnson said.

“It’s a real safety feature for babies who maybe are not forming or are not healthy in the way they need to be pre-delivery. We want to provide the best care for our community. We want to do

Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette

Inline Speed Skating Coach Renee Hildebrand, top right, poses with skaters, James Sadler, 19, top left, James Tackett, 11, bottom left, and Brady Ankney, 13, bottom right, during their workout on the road between the Ocala Business Park at Ocala International Airport and the Ocala Regional Sportsplex in Ocala on February 15. Hildebrand coached Winter Olympics Team U.S.A. inline speed skaters Brittany Bowe, Joey Mantia and Erin Jackson, who are all from Ocala.

By Eric Adelson Special to the Gazette

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oy, Ocala, do you have a story to tell.

It’s a story that rings out like a bell here in town, and all over the state, and all over the country, and yes, all over the world. Ocala, you’re worldwide – as the kids say – in a whole new way.

In a good way.

Where do we start this story?

Is the first scene in Beijing, with one of your own, Erin Jackson, on the starting line of her Olympics speedskating race? Do we zoom in on her wide grin as she’s just become the first Black woman to

win long-track speedskating gold?

Or maybe the first scene is the grandmother whose crazycool methods helped launch Erin and two other Ocala kids to international prominence. Maybe the scene is this hard-edged softie named Renee, sitting awake in the middle of the night, bathed in the blue light of her TV screen, watching her mentee race for glory halfway around the world.

Actually, no. Here’s the first scene: It’s a bunch of eight-yearolds from Blessed Trinity at a roller skating birthday party at a rink here in town. It’s 1996.

There is a little girl named Brittany Bowe, and she likes the

four-wheeled skates. She zips around the shiny wooden rink and the grandmother – who is not yet a grandmother, since it’s the ‘90s – can’t help but notice how fearless she is.

Renee walks up to Brittany’s parents and asks if the girl might want to try speedskating. The parents have no idea what that is.

Why is this scene happening in Ocala in the first place? Well, that’s a good story, too. Brittany’s parents are from New York. They came to Florida for spring break and they decided they wanted to look for teaching jobs. They applied all over

See MFM, page A2

See Ocala, page A2

Supplied

Rising market tides sweep out new homebuyers

By Rosemarie Dowell and Jennifer Hunt Murty

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apidly rising home prices in Marion County, and throughout the Sunshine State, are snuffing out the dream of homeownership for many working and middle-class families, including essential workers and

first responders.

Last year, the median price for a singlefamily home in Marion County rose to $230,000, a 24.3% rise year over year, according to the Ocala/Marion County Association of Realtors, fanning an already affordable housing calamity.

Statewide, the median price for a single-family home rose to $365,000 the

last quarter of 2021, a 19% increase over the same period in 2020, according to a report by Florida Realtors.

Florida is among the country’s leading housing hot spots, fueled by an influx of out-of-state buyers, investors, and low inventory, which has essentially locked out first-time home buyers.

The statistics make the state among the

worst for home affordability.

“The market is pricing out our local service workers like waitresses, bank tellers, and teachers as well as our first responders and we do not want them to leave the community,” said Virginia Wright, president of the Ocala/Marion See New, page A2

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Ocala speedskaters shine in Beijing Continued from page A1 the state and Marion County was first to say, hey, welcome to Ocala.

That’s how this adventure began – because in the words of Brittany’s mom, Debbie: “Marion County was the first to give us an opportunity.”

So Brittany learned inline skating. Renee was into roller derby, but when the wheels went from two-by-two to one-by-four, she switched and started coaching.

She discovered that inline training made for better speedskating, since you could stay on the skates longer and strengthen the leg muscles more. Renee hated the cold, and never learned to ice skate. (She’s a Floridian!) But now, she didn’t need the cold. She could coach ice from the Ocala heat – outdoors on the track at Brick City Adventure Park.

Renee recruited more Ocala kids, including Joey Mantia – who would become an Olympic medalist in Beijing as well. Then she met Erin’s mom in a Waffle House.

That’s right: Olympic careers were launched from a roller rink birthday party and a Waffle House. Erin didn’t even step onto the ice until she was 16 years old. She would make an Olympic team after only four months of on-ice training.

That’s how good she was, and that’s how good Renee was.

This group went beyond just the usual athletic talent. Erin studied hard, earning her way into the University of Florida for material science and engineering. Joey taught himself piano by watching YouTube. Renee spent her days working with the elderly at The Villages. (She said she wasn’t too disappointed about not going to Beijing because “they need me here.”) And Brittany had a penchant for generosity. When she won a

medal at the Sunshine State Games as a little girl, she asked her mom if she could give the prize to a child with special needs who finished 10 minutes behind the rest of the kids.

“This is the best memory,” Debbie says, “of my whole life.”

It would be a sign of things to come. During trials for these Olympics several weeks ago, Erin slipped in the 500-meter qualifier, and finished third. Only the top two can proceed to the Games, so Erin was out. But Brittany had an idea.

According to Debbie, Brittany spoke to her friend that night: “I went up to Erin and said, you should sleep well tonight. You will go to the Winter Olympics. You deserve it.”

Brittany, who had won the race, decided to step aside. That meant Erin could chase her dream in Beijing.

So when you saw Erin proudly displaying the stars and stripes as a newly-minted gold medalist, you didn’t just see the culmination of years of hard work. You saw the culmination of years of friendship, years of selflessness, years of community. You saw all for one, and one for all.

Remember this, Ocala, in the months and years to come. In 2022, you were a symbol of togetherness, of opportunity, of common goals and common pride. Your story is one of victory, yes, but also something more.

“Ocala is as southern hospitality as the saying could be,” Debbie says.

“There’s just kind people -- a familyoriented place.”

The southern town with no ice rink and three Winter Olympians, bound by a common purpose and a lot of heart. It’s quite a story, and one that Ocala can tell forever.

RIGHT: Erin Jackson of the United States celebrates after winning speed skating women’s 500m at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, China, February 13, 2022.

[Photo by Giuliano Bevilacqua/ Abaca/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images)]

LEFT: Brittany Bowe and John Shuster, of the United States, lead their team in during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. [AP Photo/David J. Phillip]

RIGHT: Joey Mantia of the United States competes in the men’s speedskating 1,500-meter race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in Beijing.

[AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki]

MFM program recieves huge donation Continued from page A1 everything possible we can to give every child the best chance, not only to be born healthy, but to grow and develop to their potential.”

Additional funds are expected to come in from Golden Ocala Golf Club’s annual golf tournament in April. Organized by golf pro Ryan Gray, last year’s tournament provided $100,000 in honor of McKenzie.

The funds were used for a trained childlife specialist to work with young children coming into the hospital, Johnson said.

To Michael Smith, the decision to get involved financially came as a natural course of events. A board member of both AdventHealth’s hospital and the foundation, Smith also is good friends with Ryan Gray.

“We loved how Ryan and Kait shared their story with people and decided to get involved with that,” said Smith. “This

was really about finding a way to honor McKenzie in a perpetual way. We love the Advent healing through ministry. It’s just the kind of perfect kismet fit for what we’re trying to do. We’ve donated money here and there, but it hasn’t been to this level.”

The MFM program will be overseen administratively by Dr. Rajan Wadhawan, senior executive officer for AdventHealth for women and Advent Health for children in Orlando.

Marion County women have been traveling long distances to get the kind of services that will now be provided at AdventHealth Ocala’s MFM program. This will help to bring such services to the local community, Wadhawan said.

A neonatologist, Wadhawan said the hospital will hire an obstetric specialist, diagnostic medical sonographers and an office staff.

“They’ll have specialized ultrasound machines that have the ability to look

at things in more detail and are able to pick out subtle abnormalities,” he said.

“A lot of women can benefit from seeing an MFM doctor. We already have a unit in Ocala that is staffed by neonatologists 24/7. If there is a program not managed by appropriate doctors there is a risk to the mother and to the baby, so this will help to mitigate those risks.”

Advent/Health Ocala is the only hospital in the area that delivers babies, noted Jenna Krager, executive director of the AdventHealth Ocala Foundation. The MFM program is badly needed here, she said.

“It’s important to us to have this higher level of care for moms who come in with complicated pregnancies,” Krager said.

“That’s really what our purpose is in getting this program here. When we met with Mr. Smith we laid out our entire plan.”

“He’s been very involved with the

hospital and what we’re trying to accomplish and it fit perfectly with his passion; we’re obviously over the moon to bring this level of care to the community,” she said. “A lot of women have to be transferred out, but by having this care we could keep up to 1,000 of those complicated pregnancies every year.”

That’s good news to Kait Gray. She remembers with sadness how, despite her own physical weakness, she traveled from Ocala to Gainesville in order to hold her dying infant.

“I’d be happy to keep the mommies and babies together,” said Gray. “People are traveling and putting a lot of stress on themselves and their families. The moms now in this area will have a high-risk obstetrician who will work in tandem with their regular OB/GYN. It’s definitely going to help everyone.”

New homebuyers left out Continued from page A1 County Association of Realtors.

For that reason, said Wright, Florida realtors are backing Senate Bill 788, or the Florida Hometown Hero Housing Program, that will help frontline workers with down payment and closing cost assistance. The legislation is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“There is an affordable housing crisis for everyday normal working people,” she said. “And I’m hoping the bill goes through.”

Other help could be on the way soon if Gov. Ron DeSantis’s budget proposal of 355.5 million for affordable housing programs gets approved.

Florida Housing, the state’s housing finance agency, praised the proposed budget.

“Since taking office, Governor Ron DeSantis has been a strong advocate for funding Florida’s affordable housing

programs, because affordable housing is a lynchpin for Florida’s workforce,” Florida Housing Executive Director Trey Price said in a press release following the budget announcement.

“Governor DeSantis understands these funds meet critical housing needs and provide a significant economic impact in our communities statewide,” he said.

At the Marion County Sheriff ’s Office, Sgt. Paul Bloom, director of public information, said the area’s escalating home prices have admittedly made it difficult for new hires to find an affordable home.

“As anyone that is currently in the market for a home can attest to, homes are selling rapidly at a significantly higher price than they were just 18 months ago,” he said.

The starting salary for a new deputy is $44,566 annually, said Bloom, and the sheriff ’s office offers $7,000 in moving assistance for new hires coming from out

of state, along with $5,000 signing bonuses, but that may not be enough for deputies seeking homeownership.

“In my eyes, affordable housing is a big hurdle,” said Bloom. “While that starting salary is good and quite a jump from what it used to be, it can still be challenging in the current housing market.”

Rusty Branson, regional president for SouthState Bank, gave a snapshot of what a typical conventional mortgage on a $230,000 single family home would be: it “would require 20% or $46,000 down payment with the 80% or $184,000 balance finance over a maximum 30-year time period.

The monthly payment, given the current interest rate, would be around $880, before real estate taxes and property insurance, Branson said.

Meanwhile, monthly rental costs have soared to an average of $1,367 in Marion County, according to RentCafe. com, putting a financial strain on

singles and families who aren’t pursuing homeownership or lack the money required for a down payment.

Florida leads the nation in rental housing unaffordability, according to a report from rental listing company, Apartment List.

Jeff Walczak, public information officer for the Ocala Police Department, said while no one has directly said they’ve been impacted by housing prices, a few recruits, who were coming from out of town, say they’ve had a difficult time finding apartments.

Wright, a realtor since 2000, said Marion County does offer help for lowerincome homebuyers through its SHIP (State Housing Initiatives Partnership) program.

“We encourage people to look into the program,” she said. “There are resources out there for homebuyers that need help.”

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

COMMENTARY “The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.”

- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) Publisher Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@magnoliamediaco.com Bruce Ackerman, Photography Editor bruce@ocalagazette.com James Blevins, Reporter james@ocalagazette.com Matthew Cretul, Senior Reporter matthew@ocalagazette.com Sadie Fitzpatrick, Columnist sadie@ocalagazette.com Susan Smiley-Height, Editor susan@magnoliamediaco.com Amy Harbert, Graphic Designer amy@magnoliamediaco.com Lisa Maliff, Graphic Designer lisa.maliff@magnoliamediaco.com Kristine Nolan, Editor kristine@magnoliamediaco.com

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Our mission is to inform and uplift our readers by reporting on the events, issues and stories that shape Ocala with accuracy, fairness and passion. We also strive to serve as a forum where all voices can be heard and to chronicle our community’s history.

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Temporary home, lasting impact Editor’s Note:

Sadie Fitzpatrick uses this space to explore the character and quirks that make Ocala uniquely wonderful and occasionally irksome.

By Sadie Fitzpatrick sadie@ocalagazette.com

J

oy and Stephen Zedler couldn’t wait any longer.

The Ocala couple always knew they would become foster parents one day, and they planned to do so once their three biological children were older. But the need for foster parents in Marion County was, and remains, dire. In 2013, the couple opened their door, and their hearts, to a baby boy.

This baby boy arrived having already experienced a lifetime of pain. He was born two months premature after being exposed to drugs and alcohol in utero.

When he was placed with the Zedlers at two months old, he had suffered broken ribs, a third-degree burn and skull fractures from his previous placement in a foster home outside of Marion County.

Joy Zedler quickly realized that she and her family would need help learning how to navigate the physical and emotional trauma their foster baby had suffered before joining their family.

Their experiences and emotions mirror those of many members of the foster care network in Marion County, a dedicated community whose numbers have dropped sharply in recent years while the number of children needing care has remained steady.

As of Feb. 11, there are 808 children in foster care in Marion County, most of whom are between the ages of newborn to 5, according to Kids Central, Inc. They enter the foster care system due to abuse, neglect, or other circumstances, and the system aims to provide them a safe, stable environment until they be can reunited with their parents or extended family.

Kids Central serves as the lead agency for community-based care for child welfare. This is the result of a shift in the state of Florida’s management of child welfare, which allows nonprofits around the state to handle the care of foster children on a local level.

As such, Kids Central is responsible for prevention and diversion services, inhome case management, foster home recruitment and licensing, foster care case management, and adoption case management for the Circuit

5 area, which is comprised of Marion, Lake, Sumter, Citrus, and Hernando counties.

According to Kids Central, there are 78 foster homes in our county with 220 beds available, but Marion County needs 40-50 more beds to best serve the children in their care. This would increase the chances that a foster child will be placed with a family that is in their school district, providing them much-needed stability during a turbulent time.

John Cooper, CEO of Kids Central, Inc., cites the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as a factor in the decline in foster homes in Marion County. As lockdowns and quarantines occurred, some foster homes were not willing to take in new placements. Also, the organization recruits many of its foster parents through in-person events at churches and community gatherings, which were postponed or canceled as the pandemic raged on.

Kids Central provides foster parents with mentors and foster parent navigators to help these foster families through the process. Foster children are also provided a dedicated case manager to aid them through the system.

As their foster baby healed and bonded with them, the Zedlers fell in love with him and chose to adopt him. When he became available for adoption, so, too, did his older sister. The Zedlers quickly became a family of seven.

Though their little boy’s physical wounds had healed, at around 18 months old, he began to experience episodes of intense rage and tantrums. This led to him being diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), which affects his self-regulation and impulse control.

“After a year of having both of them, we were struggling,’’ Joy Zedler said. “We thought we could raise them like we’d raised our biological children. That’s not how it happened. Traditional parenting was making it worse.We were at a loss as a family.”

At a conference, they discovered the work of Dr. Karyn Purvis, who pioneered the practice of TrustBased Relational Intervention, or TBRI, which is a trauma-informed, attachment-based intervention for vulnerable children. Its main tenet is connection.

The results were profound.

“This gave us a paradigm shift on how to view the behaviors in our house,’’ Joy Zedler said. “(The children’s) behavior is an expression of a need. I knew that if I was struggling, others must be struggling as well.

“In 2018 we started the Pearl Project.

There’s such a need, so many foster parents need these resources. TBRI was such a lifesaver and we wanted to get this information out there to help the families, and ultimately, the kids,” she said.

The Pearl Project provides training sessions on TBRI for foster, adoptive, and kinship (relatives who are fostering) families as well as support and nurture groups for foster families and children.

Joy Zedler said she hopes more families will be willing to welcome a foster child.

“I know a lot of people say they fear getting their hearts broken, that they couldn’t imagine growing close to a child and then having to give that child back (to their biological parents). Yes, it’s temporary, but the lasting impact is huge.

You are planting seeds in them. You are providing them safety and stability during a very difficult time in their lives,” she said.

Florida residents aged 21 and older can apply to become a foster parent.

Applicants must be financially stable and provide appropriate sleeping arrangements for a child. A 10-week training course, background check, and home study are required before becoming a certified foster parent.

Kids Central has worked to make the training course easily accessible by providing virtual training sessions and flexible meeting schedules for potential foster parents. In the past, some parents waited up to a year to receive their certification. Kids Central has streamlined the certification process so that after course completion and a home study is performed potential foster parents are certified in 30 days.

Those unable to foster can help foster children in a variety of other ways. As Cooper of Kids Central, Inc. remarked, “Everyone can do something.”

Reach out to foster parents you may know and provide a meal for the whole family. Advocate for more financial resources from the Florida legislature for the child welfare system by calling your congressman. Host a team member from Kids Central, Inc. or the Pearl Project to discuss foster care at your next networking event, Bible study, or church service.

A bed. Such a simple notion, but a bed represents stability, consistency, routine. A bed in a loving home can serve as a beacon of hope for vulnerable children during the most traumatic time in their lives.

Do you have room in your home and your heart to serve as that beacon?

To learn more about becoming a foster parent, visit www.kidscentralinc.org.

To support the Pearl Project and their mission, visit www.thepearlproject.org.

When a law is working, why change it?

By Jim Fogler is the President & CEO Florida Press Service

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ast year, the Florida Legislature passed a Public Notice Bill that went into effect on January 1 of this year, with the goal of bringing more media players to the table, creating more competition and lowering costs, making public notice more accessible, and keeping the government’s activities in the public. And from our perspective, the new law is working. Since the beginning of the year, we have 11% more newspapers that can now qualify under the new law to receive public notices to share with their readers.

In spite of the new law’s initial positive impact, the Legislature is once again attempting to abolish

the requirement that governmental agencies publish legal notices in newspapers.

This action would push government actions further into the shadows and make it harder for Floridians to learn about public policy issues, make their voices heard, and hold their leaders accountable.

House Bill 7049 is moving us in the wrong direction.

The newly filed House bill flips public notice on its head by reducing government transparency. Putting legal notices on government websites means very few Florida citizens will ever read them. Public notice, along with public meetings and public records, have been part of our nation’s commitment to open government since the founding of our Republic.

From the perspective of efficient use of technology, I believe the bill takes a step backward by placing these notices on government websites. The Florida Press Association spent the last nine months with their new tech partner Column, a company that just relocated to Miami to help newspapers implement the new law. Together, we modernized a website which

aggregates and places all of the notices under one umbrella – it’s called floridapublicnotices. com. We invested hundreds of thousands of dollars upgrading this website to serve Florida’s state government, as well as its towns, municipalities, businesses, and taxpayers. And, it’s free for the public to use.

If this new bill passes, city and county governments will be required to recreate the same infrastructure we already created to make notices easily searchable, mobile friendly, and provide email notification upon request of a specific notice (which newspapers do today). Recreating that infrastructure will have a significant cost, not a cost savings. In addition, without a major investment in marketing to direct citizens to hundreds of government websites, the public will not know where to find public notices, which will significantly reduce notice.

Despite some reports, newspapers and media companies are alive and well.

Our weekly newspapers are growing, and our dailies are growing digital subscriptions and page views. In some cases, newspapers are experiencing double-digit online growth.

Newspapers in Florida alone reach 5.6 million readers in any given week, and our websites typically reach more audience than most city or county websites. Our websites draw a minimum of 53 million unique online users in any given month.

With notices in newspapers — in print and online — it provides a verifiable public record through sworn required affidavits of publication. Does the government really want to take on this responsibility of residents not being properly notified?

In closing, 250 years ago our founders wisely decided to place public notices in a public forum — newspapers – an open space where The People were most likely to see them. We firmly believe that public notices should remain in newspapers, not placed on hundreds of different government websites with the hope that people will find them.

It’s important there’s transparency when it comes to how our elected officials govern, and newspapers are in the business of informing the public. Please feel free to call your local legislator to share your views, before it’s too late.

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Judge orders Ocala to send out notices to all who paid illegally taxed fire fees

By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com

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judge last week provided some clarity to the burning question of how Ocala residents and businesses, past and present, will be able to get back almost $80 million in fire fees they were made to pay years ago under a tax that was later found to be illegal.

In a hearing on Friday, Marion County Circuit Judge Robert W. Hodges dismissed

Judge Robert W. Hodges

the City of Ocala’s proposal that those seeking their share of the court-ordered refunds be made to apply to the city for their money.

The case stems from a long-running class-action suit that was filed in 2014 over the approximately $15 a month that more than one hundred thousand Ocala residents paid for fire services as an add on to their Ocala utility bills from 2010 until 2021. During the trial, the city’s attorney, Patrick Gilligan, explained Ocala implemented the tax in 2007 to spread the cost of fire services across a broad group of citizens who wouldn’t be paying because they didn’t own real property or were tax-exempt.

An appellate court found the fees constituted an illegal tax, and in October, Hodges ordered the city to establish a common fund to refund the fees.

On Friday, Hodges ordered the city to send out a notice to all File Photo customers who paid the fees. The

notice sets the case for a final hearing on May 10 at 1:30 p.m. and proposes how the $80 million should be paid out.

The bulk of the fund, $72,633,228, would be used to make refunds to those who paid the fire fees. The law firm that handled the litigation over the past eight years, Bowen & Schroth, would receive $6,649,681 in attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of costs.

Dale Birch and Discount Sleep of Ocala, LLC, who initiated the class-action suit, would be awarded $50,000 each.

Although city officials have not said publicly where they intend to find the millions needed for the refunds, public records and pleadings reveal Ocala has identified $20 million in unrestricted funds and seeks to obtain $60 million in loans that it would draw down only as needed.

The unresolved key questions are: How should Ocala handle those customers who paid the fees and thus are owed a refund but who have moved away and may be hard to locate? This group are more transient residents, particularly renters.

Communications between the banks and the city reflect the city’s hope that the judge would approve their suggested application process and that a substantial portion of those owed

Cummings files to run for re-election on school board

BRUCE ACKERMAN/Ocala Gazette

School Board member Dr. Eric Cummings listens during the Marion County School Board meeting in Ocala on May 25, 2021.

By Matthew Cretul matthew@ocalagazette.com

M

arion County School Board Chair, the Rev. Eric Cummings has filed paperwork to run for reelection for the District 3 seat.

Cummings said the decision came after a lot of prayers, reflection, and conversations with his family.

He said it also came because he would like to continue to move the needle on getting Marion County Public School (MCPS) students “educated and ensuring they have equitable opportunities.”

During his time on the board, he said he has also seen the needle moving on bringing respect and courteousness back, something he credits to the entire MCPS staff.

“It was a group effort,” said Cummings. “We have gotten rid of the antagonism and the different things that were going wrong as far as attitudes.

Those things have worked themselves out and we’ve been moving forward as a good board, we’ve been making some differences.”

COVID has been an issue for more than half of his time on the board, he said, and while it showed where there were weaknesses in the system, it also provided the chance for lasting changes to be made in the area of hybrid learning models.

“We learned some shortcomings that we had as a district because it exposed

some things, and it allowed us to think outside the box and be creative on how we can educate in case something like this did happen again,” said Cummings “As far as technology, I think we put some great systems in that that are going to help us in the long run,” he said.

Should he be reelected, his goals for the next four years, Cummings said, are simple – to put students and employees in a position to succeed.

“I want to make sure that the superintendent and our staff have the necessary resources to properly educate our kids and to move them academically upwards,” he said. “And to implement policies and procedures that are equitable for everyone.”

He recognizes the unprecedented growth the county is experiencing and believes a solid MCPS is necessary and integral to any progress.

“Businesses want to come to where there is a good, strong educational system. So when businesses look to move to Marion County, they’ll say, ‘Hey, they have some of the best schools in the state here,” said Cummings.

“And that’s the role I want to play, to help make sure that when I leave the board that it can be said that Marion County is a great place to bring your business because they have top-notch schools,’” he said.

If proposed legislation in Tallahassee limiting school board members to two terms passes, his next term would be his last.

Cummings said he understands not wanting to have someone entrenched for decades, but he also believes the constant turnover would not be productive.

“I think in local politics when you find someone that’s good that’s in a position and they’re doing the right thing, you shouldn’t just move them to the side; I just personally don’t think we need to be legislating it.” he said.

“Leave that in the voters’ hands, the voters know who they want to represent them,” said Cummings. “When we talk about choices and freedoms and giving the rights to parents, let the voters decide what they want.”

Cummings is the first candidate to file for the Marion County School Board District 3 seat. The general election will take place Nov. 8.

refunds would not participate, thus forfeiting what they were owed—and giving the city a break on paying back the entire $80 million.

Jason Zimmerman, who represented the City of Ocala at Friday’s hearing, argued for the application process.

“If someone paid in 2013 at a certain address and they then moved, we’re going to send it to the address that they’re no longer at?” he asked Hodges. “That’s the concern that we have: businesses that have come and gone but who have paid this.”

Hodges rejected that argument, reasoning that if Ocala is still billing those same customers for electricity and water services, the city knows who they are and thus knows where to send the refund check.

The customers should not have to apply to receive their money.

Derek Schroth, attorney for the class, told the judge that his office had used a service called Direct One to verify addresses and the city could also hire that same type of service. Zimmerman indicated that the city would hire a third party to do notifications to more than 100,000 prior customers.

In a follow-up interview after the hearing, Schroth, indicated that the court would need to establish a final date where

uncashed checks expire and the case is closed and that would likely require refining the exact details of disbursement after the first round of checks went out to those parties who are identified as current customers by the city.

Although not discussed during the hearing or in the pleadings, Fla. Stat. Chapter 717, Florida Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, sets forth rules for disposing of unclaimed property that might become applicable in this instance if the city cannot locate an old customer.

“Due diligence” is defined under the statute as “reasonable and prudent methods under particular circumstances to locate apparent owners of inactive accounts using the taxpayer identification number or social security number, if known, which may include, but are not limited to, using a nationwide database, cross-indexing with other records of the holder, mailing to the last known address unless the last known address is known to be inaccurate, or engaging a licensed agency or company capable of conducting such search and providing updated addresses.”

Under the act, funds can be submitted to the state and advertised on the state’s website https://www.fltreasurehunt.gov in an effort to have them claimed.

Osceola Middle’s Denerstein named school-related employee of the year

By Gazette Staff

D

uring a surprise visit on the morning of February 16, representatives of the Marion County School district and the Public Education Foundation of Marion County, presented Bruce Denerstein, a home school liaison at Osceola Middle School, the 2022 School-Related Employee of the Year for Marion County Public Schools.

School administrators called him to the media center to work with a specific student, but when Denerstein stepped into the room, dozens of people cheered and congratulated him for winning.

Supplied

Shanna Jennings

Shanna Jennings – social work assistant in the district’s Mental Health and Wellness Department. Jennings works with staff, families, and students at multiple schools regarding academic achievement, attendance and pandemic issues, and contacts families directly as needed to resolve any school issues. She joined the district in 2011 and was a finalist for School-Related Employee of the Year honor.

Supplied

Bruce Denerstein

According to a press release released by the Marion County School Board following the event, Denerstein works with students and families struggling with school attendance, grades, behavior issues, COVID-19 concerns, and other school-transition challenges. He also helps in classrooms, runs a math tutoring group after school and escorts a visionimpaired student around campus.

Denerstein joined the district four years ago and became Osceola’s home school liaison in 2020. He now advances to the state-level competition to become Florida’s School-Related Employee of the Year.

Other employees honored by the district and foundation the same morning included:

Supplied

Karen Gaines

Karen Gaines – food service manager at Hillcrest School. She received the “Above & Beyond” Award for always putting students first, meeting cafeteria needs, ordering food and supplies, and maintaining top standards and menu choices. Gains joined Marion County Public Schools in 2012.

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Mary Sue Rich visits council Cosby Hayes, pays tribute to the venue’s important historic role as an anchor of the community.

Rich then delivered her criticism.

“I’m here to lodge a complaint,” said Rich. “I’m here to complain about two council members: Mr. Mansfield and Ms. Dreyer. You haven’t been on council two months, and already you complain about getting rid of Sandra Wilson. I don’t think that’s right.”

She went on to explain how it took her more than two months of being elected to the city council “to find out what was going on.”

Rich acknowledged that while every council member has every right to speak during council comments, she cautioned that the council should “have a File photo reason to speak.”

Mary Sue Rich speaks at podium during the groundbreaking ceremony for the City of Ocala Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place in northwest Ocala “I think she’s doing on Jan. 28, 2021. a great job. And if she does something that is

By James Blevins illegal, fire her. She can be fired. But you james@ocalagazette.com got to have a reason to fire. As long as she’s doing a great job, you all need to leave her ary Sue Rich, a dynamic prior alone,” Rich said. councilmember for 24 years “It’s eight months before her contract visited city council Tuesday is up and already you are talking about night to give thanks to the city looking for a new city manager. I sat on council and deliver special criticism for this council for 24 years and we looked, new councilmembers Barry Mansfield and and we got, and they left, and they stole, Kristen Dryer. and they did everything else. Sandra is During her address to the council, she doing a great job and I think you all need thanked the council for the beautiful mural to leave her alone,” she added. painted on Ocala’s oldest community Mansfield and Dryer did not respond center, the E.D. Crosky Recreation to Rich during the Feb. 15 meeting Center, located at 1510 N.W. 4th St., in comments.

Ocala. The colorful mural, painted by Rich’s complaint against Mansfield and

M

Dryer follows comments the new council members made during the last city council meeting on Feb. 2 where they suggested that council start searching for a new city manager, particularly someone from outside the community.

“I respect Sandra, but my feeling on the City Council is…I believe we need to have somebody who is outside of the community,” said Mansfield during that Feb. 2 meeting. “I think they have to be the conduit between us and the City of Ocala.”

“Sometimes, it seems like, again, it’s my perception, but it seems like the tail is wagging the dog,” he added. “It seems like sometimes the city itself is running, trying to bring stuff in front of us, saying ‘Hey, we just want you to vote on this. Don’t ask too many questions. We just want to vote on this.’ That’s really how I feel.”

Wilson’s contract is up on October 31, 2022, unless city council extends it another two years. She had originally been appointed to the role on an interim basis after John Zobler abruptly resigned in 2019; and was officially hired over former Fire Chief Shane Alexander and Assistant City Manager Bill Kauffman on June 2, 2020.

Alexander would later be fired by Wilson a year later for significant city policy violations as well as undermining city council and the city manager. This firing became a hot topic during the city elections and both Mansfield and Dreyer campaigned to ask tough questions about city management decisions.

Mansfield, who holds an active Certified General Contractor license for Construction Business since 2004, and is president of Cullison-Wright Construction, said on Feb. 2 that he’s not trying to fire Wilson.

“I think she’s been a great employee,” said Mansfield. “But everything that is brought before us has to do with like building, engineering or civil…or something like that—and I think that expertise has to be there.”

State records indicate that Wilson herself has maintained an active license as a general contractor since 2006.

Councilmember Kristen Dreyer said

she was also was open to start the search for a city manager and told Wilson during that meeting that Dreyer felt “a certain level of disconnect I think in the times that we’ve spoken about what’s going on and what’s coming before us,” said Dreyer to Wilson. “That is something of great concern to me because despite having an amazing staff, they can’t be running the show. They still need you to drive the vision and lead them.”

Council Chair Ire Bethea and councilmember Jay Musleh both expressed doubt in response to Mansfield and Dryer’s comments about starting a search for a new city manager.

“We tried that with Ricky Horst, who I think was a pretty good city manager. The problem was I don’t think he really wanted to live in Ocala, which is what you get with an outsider. All of a sudden, they move to Ocala and realize their family is in Utah or Wisconsin or Washington or wherever, and they decide they want to go back,” said Musleh during that Feb. 2 meeting.

Musleh added, “Yes, you can fire her or him at any time, at any meeting,” speaking of the city manager position. “But I would be cautious. Any new city manager you get, they’re going to look how you treated the past city manager.”

According to the City Manager’s contract, in the event the Council does not reappoint the Manager or provide at least a 90-day notice, the city would have to pay Wilson a lump sum cash payment equal to 20 weeks compensation as “severance,” to include benefits and perquisites such as retirement contribution, deferred compensation payments and car allowance.

The contract also goes on to state that the Manager shall be credited with three months of administrative leave that will be paid out in the event the Manager is terminated without cause at any time and all life, health, dental and disability insurance, and all other Employerprovided benefits, shall continue in force and coverage, at the city’s expense, for a 20-week severance period or until similar coverage is provided to Manager by a subsequent employer.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH IN MARION COUNTY JOINS PARTNERS TO HOST ‘WORLDS’ GREATEST BABY SHOWER’

By Ocala Gazette Staff

T

he Florida Department of Health in Marion County (FDOHMC), and its partners at the Healthy Start Coalition of North Central Florida, has rescheduled the “World’s Greatest Baby Shower.”

Postponed by the recent surge in

COVID-19 cases, and to better protect participants, the Baby Shower is now a drive-thru event scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. on Feb. 26. It will be held at Kingdom Revival Church, 3318 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, adjacent to the Publix in the Forest East Shopping Center.

The event is free for soon-to-be parents

or those with children 12 months old or younger. Fathers are also encouraged to attend. Participants will receive goodie bags and can enter a drawing for prizes.

In addition to the drive-thru session, the Baby Shower’s hosts will invite participants to register for a virtual presentation and educational quiz

OFR CAPTAIN HONORED FOR 25 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE CITY OF OCALA

following the event. Participants who register will be provided links to the Zoom event, scheduled for 10 a.m. on March 4.

The virtual presentation will feature a live drawing for prizes.

For more information, contact the Healthy Start program via FDOHMC at (352) 644-2717.

I asked what kind of family Amina wanted. She said, ‘A family like yours.’ That’s when I knew I had to adopt her.

Denise, adopted 17-year-old Amina

BRUCE ACKERMAN/Ocala Gazette

Captain Brett Ortagus receiving a 25-year service award from City Manager Sandra Wilson and Mayor Kent Guinn

D

uring city council meeting on February 16, Ocala Fire Rescue department veteran -Brett Ortagus who currently serves as one of three Prevention Captains was honored with a 25-year service award.

City manager, Sandra Wilson, noted during the award ceremony that Ortagus’s pride in providing outstanding public service was evidenced by his participation in the department’s Special Operations team for a

better part of the last 20 years.

Wilson credited Ortagus knowledge of hazardous materials, urban search and rescue, and rope rescue, among others, as being valuable when Ortagus led several deployments as a member of the State of Florida’s Task Force 8.

In Ortagus current role as a Prevention Captian, he focuses on school, commercial, and residential inspections.

LEARN ABOUT ADOPTING A TEEN YO U C A N ’ T I M AG I N E T H E R E WA R D

A D O P T U S K I D S . O R G

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

COVID cases in Marion County, MCPS decline HOSPITAL NUMBERS STILL REMAIN HIGH

By Matthew Cretul matthew@ocalagazette.com

MARION COUNTY UPDATE COVID cases in Marion County continued their drop, as the county registered 1,564 new cases during the week of Feb.4 - Feb. 10, according to figures released by the Florida Department of Health (FLDOH) Friday evening In previous reports, the county reported recording 2,621 new cases during the week of Jan. 28 - Feb. 3, 3,955 new cases two weeks ago, 4,696 new cases three weeks ago, 5,536 new cases during the week of Jan. 7-13, and 3,130 cases during the week of Dec. 31-Jan. 6.

In addition to the number of new cases dropping, the county’s cases per 100,000 and new case positivity both decreased as well.

The cases per 100,000 dropped from 703.7 to 419.9, and the positivity rate declined last week from 24.6% to 17.7%.

Despite the drop in the number of cases in the last three weeks, overall inpatient hospitalizations and ICU beds occupied remain high.

In Health and Human Services (HHS) hospitalization numbers last updated Feb. 11, county hospitals reported 96% of inpatient beds filled, with 22% being COVID patients. In addition, 94% of ICU beds were filled, with 20% being COVID patients.

In numbers from Feb. 4, county hospitals reported 97% of inpatient beds filled, with 23% being COVID patients. In addition, 93% of ICU beds were filled, with 20% being COVID patients.

For further reference, on Jan.

28, county hospitals reported 93% of inpatient beds filled, with 22% being COVID patients.

In addition, 89% of ICU beds were filled, with 25% being COVID patients; and on Jan. 21, hospitals reported 90% of inpatient beds filled, with 18% being COVID patients. In addition, 86% of ICU beds were filled, with 22% being COVID patients. Finally, on Jan. 7, HHS data showed 83% of inpatient beds filled, with 4% of those being COVID patients; and 84% of ICU beds filled, with 6% being COVID patients.

In Ocala, COVID Test FL is offering testing at the Ocala First Baptist Church located at 2801 S.E. Maricamp Road. COVID Test Express is offering testing in the Villages at 11714 N.E. 62nd Terrace. Both locations are open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Additionally, FLDOH announced testing is also taking place on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

STATE UPDATE Not only did new COVID cases fall in Marion County for the fourth week in a row, but they also fell across the state as a whole, as Florida recorded 103,022 cases for the week of Feb. 4 – Feb. 10.

Comparatively, the state reported 130,890 cases cases two weeks ago, 197,084 three weeks ago, 286,857 cases for the week of Jan. 14-Jan. 22, 427,628 new cases for the week of Jan. 7-13, and 393,706 new cases of COVID during the week of Dec. 31-Jan. 6.

The state’s cases per 100,000 average and new case positivity both dropped along with the number of cases. Cases per 100,000 fell from 603.5 to 468.8, and new case positivity from 18.0% to 14.3%.

The state’s overall vaccination rates continue to fall to their lowest number in more than 18 weeks, as Florida recorded administering 83,419 doses of the vaccine last week compared with 117,936 doses of the vaccine two weeks ago, 162,084 doses three weeks ago, 234,665 doses four weeks ago, 375,912 doses the first week in January, and 356,110 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine during the last week in December.

This brings the total state population of those ages 5 and up to 74%, the same percentage as the last report.

Specific to children ages 5-11, the state reported administering 6,235 doses of the vaccine last week, bringing the total number of children at least partly vaccinated to 358,248. The total population of children ages 5-11 in the state is just under 1.7 million, and figures released by the state showed 21% of them are now at least partly vaccinated against COVID-19, the same percentage as the last report.

MCPS UPDATE Marion County Public Schools (MCPS) reported 248 for the week of Feb. 5-Feb. 11, with 209 students and 39 employees confirmed COVID-19 positive by the Florida Department of Health in Marion County in figures released on Monday afternoon.

Additionally, MCPS reported 529 students and 20 employees had been identified as direct contacts to a COVID-positive case confirmed by DOH. For comparison, MCPS reported 513 cases for the week of Jan. 29-Feb. 4, with 424 students and 89

employees confirmed COVID-19 positive by the Florida Department of Health in Marion County in figures released on Monday afternoon. Further, MCPS reported 822 students and 38 employees had been identified as direct contacts to a COVID-positive case confirmed

by DOH. Moreover, MCPS reported 875 cases for the week of Jan. 22-Jan. 28, with 738 students and 137 employees confirmed COVID-19 positive by the Florida Department of Health in Marion County. Moreover, MCPS reported 1,699 students and 67 employees had been identified as direct contacts to a COVID-positive case confirmed

by DOH. MCPS reported 1,014 cases for the week of Jan. 15-Jan. 21, with 830 students and 184 employees confirmed COVID-19 positive by the Florida Department of Health in Marion

County. Furthermore, MCPS reported 1,761 students and 82 employees had been identified as direct contacts to a COVIDpositive case confirmed by DOH. For the week of Jan. 8-14, MCPS reported 870 confirmed cases, with 698 students and 172 employees confirmed COVID-19 positive. Further, 2,090 students and 129 employees were quarantined due to direct contact with someone testing positive for COVID-19 during that span.

While the numbers show a downtrend, the county continues to remain above the threshold set by FLDOH for MCPS to consider having students wear face coverings.

According to FLDOH guidance, the county must be below 99.9 cases per 100,000 (currently at 419.9) and the new case positivity must remain below 10% (currently at 17.7%) for two weeks in order for coverings not to be required.

New reported Covid-19 cases per week

Feb. 10:

1,564

5,500 5,000

Feb. 4 - Feb. 10

4,500 4,000

Aug. 26:

3,228

Source: Marion County Health Department

3,500

3,500

3,000

3,000

2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 26 2 AUG.

9 16 23 SEPTEMBER

7

14 21 28 OCTOBER

4

11 18 25 NOVEMBER

2

9 16 23 DECEMBER

30

6

13 20 JANUARY

27

3 10 FEB.

0

AMY HARBERT/Ocala Gazette

Student injured in school shooting at Forest Highschool files lawsuit

By Associated Press

A

student who was injured in a 2018 shooting at a north Florida high school is seeking more than $30,000 in a lawsuit filed against the school district.

The lawsuit filed late Monday claims Marion County Public Schools failed to provide sufficient security on April 20, 2018 when a former student brought a sawed-off shotgun onto the Forest High School campus in Ocala.

The shooting happened weeks after 17 people were killed by a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. In that case, a former student also brought a gun to campus.

Officials said Sky Bouche brought the gun to school in a guitar case and armed himself in the bathroom before shooting into a classroom.

He pleaded no contest in 2021 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The gunshot hit Evan Ekenroth, who was then 17, in the lower legs. The lawsuit,

filed by Joe Scapa of Dan Newlin Injury Attorneys in Orlando, claims Ekenroth suffered scarring and mental anguish.

School district spokesman Kevin Christian told the newspaper the district does not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit claims the school district failed to implement proper security measures and did not keep nonstudents from accessing the school’s parking lot and main building.

Four days after the shooting, the school board approved $224,000 to pay

for 34 new resource officers to protect elementary and charter schools for the rest of that school year, the Ocala Star-Banner reported. Voters later approved a tax referendum to provide more teachers and to pay for security at the district’s 50-plus schools.

The shooting happened weeks after 17 people were killed by a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

(352) 732-7218 4 S.E. Broadway Street • Ocala, Florida 34471

OCALA’S LOCAL FIRM ON THE SQUARE

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Firefighters, county closing in on completed contract

BRUCE ACKERMAN/Ocala Gazette

Deputy Chief of Marion County Fire Rescue, Robert Graff during the Collective Bargaining Agreement meeting between Marion County and the Professional Firefighters of Marion County in Ocala on February 10.

By Matthew Cretul matthew@ocalagazette.com

T

he Marion County Board of County Commissioners and the Professional Firefighters of Marion County (PFFMC) are one step closer to coming to an agreement on a new three-year collective bargaining agreement after the two sides had a productive meeting on Thursday, Feb 10.

“I thought it went well,” said Amanda Tart, the executive director of Administrative Services and Human Resources for Marion County who represents the county during the discussions.

“We still have about six articles to get back together and agree upon, and I need to go and cost out their counter-proposal to us, but hopefully next week, when we get back to the table, we’ll be able to sort through those articles and get a contract to bring to their body to vote on.”

Danny Garcia, the president of PFFMC agreed and is also hopeful the next meeting will bring about a finalized contract. “[Today] we made a lot of progress on several of the articles that we’ve been stuck on. We cleared up some of the contract articles that we had agreed to in principle

already,” he said. “I think realistically, we’re really only a couple of articles away from being done. So I think we might actually be able to wrap this up next week.”

The proposed contract contains 56 total articles, and at the start of the day’s negotiation, which was PFFMC’s chance to respond to the county’s latest counteroffer, Garcia identified more than a dozen articles that needed to be discussed.

The bulk of the time was spent discussing the article dealing with employee wages, something that Marion County Fire Rescue Deputy Chief for Operations Robert Graff said is one of the most important issues in the contract.

“Both sides are trying to work to provide the employees a competitive wage package to keep them engaged in our workforce, and that they don’t start to look elsewhere,” he said.

In determining an acceptable compromise on raising wages, the county, according to Tart, has to consider multiple factors.

“We pay about 38% of their salary to benefits, whether that’s health insurance, FRS (Florida retirement system), workers comp, taxes, I mean, all of those things that come on top of just the hourly rate of pay or the annual salary that you pay

somebody,” she said.

She went on to say she believed that once the pay hurdle is cleared, “The other ones are pretty easy changes here and there. So I think we’ll be able to hash out the wage article, and then we should be good to go, I hope.”

In addition to the wage article, articles dealing with pay related to light duty assignments, holidays, annual and sick leave, as well as worker’s compensation are the remaining areas the two sides will discuss.

Graff said finalizing a contract is integral to giving current and potential employees a roadmap to what working for MCFR is or would be like.

“I think it provides stability in the workforce and lets them know what they can expect over the period of time for their hours, wages, and the terms and conditions of employment,” he said.

Much like the county, PFFMC leadership too must find an acceptable compromise between wanting to be a good negotiating partner with the county, but also knowing that anything they agree to must be approved by their general body.

Garcia said he understands that dynamic and believes the current contract will check both blocks.

“So we’re always cognizant of whatever we agree to, whatever we tentatively agree to, has to be ratified by the body,” Garcia said. “So if we know that we’re

presenting something to them that won’t ratify, we obviously try to not do that, we try to always present a contract to our membership that we know, or feel pretty good at least, will ratify. And so where we’re at right now is that we feel that if what we’re close to tentatively agreeing to is what we actually ultimately get to the body, we feel pretty confident they would ratify.”

With Marion County growing at its current rapid pace, rescue services are seeing demands grow exponentially, something Graff said the county is mindful of. “We’re very cognizant of the increase in population within Marion County.

With that population comes an increase in call load, and we understand that the employees right now are very concerned about their workload,” he said. “I know the commission is concerned as well. They have given us additional staff, they’ve given us additional units. And now we just need to make sure that we keep our wage package competitive so that they’ll stay here and continue to work, continue to stay engaged in the workforce so we can solve the problems of workload and make Marion County better.”

The two sides will meet again on Friday, Feb. 18 at 1:30 p.m. in Green Clover Hall, located at 319 S.E. 26th Terrace, Ocala, FL 34471.

BRUCE ACKERMAN/Ocala Gazette

Amanda Tart, the Executive Director of Administrative Services for Marion County, left, and her administrative staff assistant, Labria Pinder, right, listen as Chief Danny Garcia, the president of the International Association of Firefighters Local #3169 speaks.

DISCOVERY CENTER TO HOST ENGINEERING DAY MARCH 5

By Ocala Gazette staff

T

he Discovery Center, Florida Engineering Society (FES) and Ocala Electric Utility (OEU) are partnering up to host Engineering Day on March 5, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

During the event, children ages 5 to 15 will plan, build, test and compete in specialized challenges alongside engineering professionals. Lunch will be provided for all attendees.

Admission is free, however, registration

for participants is required for the children who will participate. Adults do not need to register.

All children must be accompanied by an adult.

The Discovery Center is in the old Armory building at Tuscawilla Park, at 701 Sanchez Ave. Visit www.mydiscoverycenter.org to register by February 25 by 5 p.m.

For more information about the Discovery Center programs call 352-4013900 or visit www.mydiscoverycenter.org.

N PR ,A an av G

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BRUCE ACKERMAN/Ocala Gazette

The Discovery Center is shown in Ocala on Nov. 30, 2020.

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Florida failed to pay health claims for sick, needy children

In this photo provided by Daniel Miller, single father Miller, 57, left, poses for a selfie with his son Nathan, 17, who is autistic, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, in their home in Lake Worth, Fla. Miller, an electrical contractor, was forced to take time off from work to care for his son after the family’s care provider cut off their services due to months of missing Medicaid payments. Florida failed for nearly three months to pay tens of thousands of health-care claims for the state’s sickest and neediest children due to software glitches blamed on the corporate merger of its two largest payment vendors, officials and executives said. [Daniel Miller via AP]

By Kristin Bausch of Fresh Take Florida news service Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida

F

lorida failed for nearly three months to pay tens of thousands of health-care claims for the state’s sickest and neediest children due to software glitches blamed on the corporate merger of its two largest payment vendors, officials and executives said.

Families with critically ill children who relied on Medicaid-paid health providers were stranded in some cases. A father in Lake Worth was forced to cut back his contractor work to remain home and care for his son when payments stopped. A mother in Ocala said the company that helped care for her 15-year-old disabled son temporarily shut down because of the payment problems.

“We had to find caregivers for him,” said AnnMarie Sossong of Ocala, whose son has a neuro-immune condition and profound autism. “You can’t do anything else. You can’t go to work, you can’t go to school, you can’t even make a phone call because you’ve got this kid with such high needs,” she said.

Payment problems panicked more families, especially as unpaid bills for nursing care and other home health services began stacking up over months with no quick resolution in sight.

Executives at Sunshine State Health Plan Inc. of Tampa, Florida’s largest Medicaid payment vendor, said the payment glitches stemmed from the company’s merger on Oct. 1 with the second-largest payment vendor, WellCare of Florida Inc. Combined, Sunshine and Wellcare have multi-year contracts worth

$31.6 billion from the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration, according to figures from the state’s chief financial officer.

It was among the most serious technology meltdowns — affecting one of the most vulnerable populations — under the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis since unemployment claims overwhelmed Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity early in the pandemic.

“Nobody responded to all these cries for help,” said Lavette Gulley, owner of Serenity Companion Service Inc., which cared for Sossong’s son. She temporarily closed her company due to unpaid invoices, stranding families that relied on the services she provided. “Some of these kids I’ve been with six, seven years, and I never had to call those parents and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got to stop service because I’m not getting paid.’”

Dan Miller of Lake Worth is a single father of a 17-year-old son with autism and an electrical contractor. His son’s provider, Blessing Hands Services Inc. of nearby Palm Springs, stopped the family’s services after it went unpaid for months, forcing him to take time from work to care for his son full-time. He said he was at risk financially of losing his family’s home.

“I have jobs right now that I’m in fear of losing because I can’t get to them and can’t get them finished fast enough,” he said.

“It’s very bad for me right now financially.”

Sunshine said it realized the scale of the growing issues paying health-care providers by December, and by January was discussing its serious problems with the Agency for Health Care Administration. The agency confirmed it wasn’t aware of problems until January — and indicated it found out about the problems from others, not Sunshine.

Sunshine said the problems affected children receiving care under its Sunshine Health Medicaid program and the Children’s Medical Services Health Plan it operates on behalf of the Florida Department of Health, for patients under 21 who are eligible for Medicaid and who have serious, chronic conditions.

Gulley, the owner of the health provider Serenity, said payment problems started far earlier than December. She said she was unable to submit claims in late October. In November, she noticed some children who were clients were missing from Sunshine’s system. She said she remained on hold with the company by phone one day for eight hours before the call was disconnected. Parents told her they also were filing grievances with Sunshine over unpaid bills for services for their children.

“At the end of December, I knew I was going to have to shut my doors after 26 years,” Gulley said. She was able to restart her business over the last two weeks.

Frustrated families said they did not blame their children’s health providers who weren’t being paid.

“I don’t know how she’s staying in business,” said Miller, the Lake Worth father who owns Miller Electric Inc. “I couldn’t go three months without getting any money coming in and still pay payroll if I had somebody working for me.”

The Agency for Health Care Administration said in a statement it was considering “all available recourse options” to punish Sunshine Health — including “liquidated damages and sanctions” — if its investigation determines the company had violated terms of its contract.

The improperly rejected payments were all re-processed by Jan. 31, Sunshine said. Even though the problems involved its work under a government contract, it declined in interviews over six days to specify the number of families it estimated were affected, the number of health-care providers whose payments were rejected, the exact number of claims it improperly rejected – or even identify who at the Agency for Health Care Administration it was notifying.

The company said in a statement that “relatively few” providers were affected, representing what it said were one-half of 1% of its 9.2 million total payment claims it processed during the period. That works out to be 46,000 rejected claims, although the figure is believed to be closer to 30,000 rejected claims from roughly 400 healthcare providers.

The company was communicating with the state agency’s No. 2 in command, Chief of Staff Cody L. Farrill, who coordinates Medicaid issues with other Florida agencies, the U.S. government and the Legislature. Farill’s office has not yet responded to a Feb. 3 request under Florida’s public records law for copies of emails or other communications he exchanged with Sunshine about the crisis.

Owners of another health provider, The Lamp Post Therapy Center LLC of Gainesville, also said they weren’t paid

after the Sunshine corporate merger. It provides occupational and speech therapy services. “It’s been since maybe October when they took over, so that’s a lot of time to go without a paycheck,” CEO Elise Caton said.

The payment problems have drawn almost no public attention. Sunshine acknowledged payment issues in a press release it published on its website Jan. 20, blaming it on an unspecified informationtechnology problem and not hinting at the scale or seriousness of the issue.

A former Politico health journalist, Alexandra Glorioso of Tallahassee, wrote Jan. 28 in a blog that she had contacted seven health providers offering services across 10 counties that complained that Sunshine wasn’t paying them.

One provider told her problems were widespread and affecting companies across Florida, but she wrote that the company and government officials wouldn’t provide details.

Glorioso said she asked the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Jacksonville, about the problems, and he told her they were not widespread. Bean’s subcommittee helps oversee the Medicaid program in Florida, and he is president pro tempore in the Senate. Bean did not return messages over three days left on his cell phone or emails sent to him and his legislative staff.

Glorioso said a mutual friend of one health provider, speech pathologist Andrea Clark of Hudson near Tampa, complained Jan. 19 to House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Clearwater, and within a day Farrill and the state agency’s assistant deputy secretary, Brian Meyer, told Clark they were investigating.

In its statement responding to questions for this news article, the Agency for Health Care Administration said as soon as it was made aware of the problems, in January, it immediately contacted Sunshine for details and answers about how it was fixing the issues.

In its own statement, Sunshine said, “We regularly update our regulators on all aspects of our operations.” It said it had notified the state agency in December about what it described as “isolated, integration-related claims issues.”

Executives and officials said no one inside the combined health care giant so far has lost their jobs over the payment failures after the merger, for which the companies spent months planning and preparing. “While we do not discuss employee relations matters publicly, Sunshine Health has aggressively worked to fix these provider claims issues,” the company said in a statement.

Sossong, the mother in Ocala, said she sacrificed time trying to find alternate care for her son when her provider shut down.

The situation left her unsure whether she could work shifts or attend her nursing classes.

“You’re hurting these very vulnerable families,” she said. “There was a lot of extra stress put on our lives because we weren’t able to find care for my son.”

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

State Gator hunts could get longer hours

By Jim Turner Florida News Service

A

lligator hunting could become a 24/7 endeavor under a proposal going before Florida wildlife commissioners.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on March 2 will consider a staff proposal that would expand, at most locations, the daily hours for the next alligator hunting season to 24 from the current 17 — 5 p.m. to 10 a.m.

George Warthen, the commission’s director of hunting and game management, said in a memo that proposed rule

changes would “provide greater flexibility and opportunity for participants in the statewide alligator harvest program.”

The hours have gradually expanded since the harvest began in 1988, when people holding alligator trapping licenses and harvest permits were allowed to hunt from a half-hour before sunset to a halfhour after sunrise.

A staff presentation for the upcoming commission meeting at the Tampa Convention Center said the extra hours would eliminate concerns about being unable to bring in hooked alligators before the 10 a.m. cutoff. The extra hours would

provide hunters more flexibility in scheduling trips and be more accommodating for young and senior hunters who might be more comfortable hunting during the day, according to the commission staff.

Feedback from more than 7,000 people through workshops, webinars and surveys was largely supportive, according to the commission. But concerns were raised, in part, that the 24-hour proposal would conflict with other outdoor activities, such as bass fishing and duck hunting.

“Staff evaluated these concerns and believe they can be mitigated with additional planning and outreach,” the staff

presentation said. “Currently, we remind all alligator hunters to be courteous of one another and share space while minimizing negative impacts to other users and residents on the water.”

Also, staff members are asking to allow hunters to use precharged pneumatic airbows with tethered lines.

“A common misconception about this proposed rule change is that it could be used to kill an alligator; rather, the alligator hunter would only be using the airbow to initially secure a line to the animal to safely gain control of it,” the staff presentation said.

The state already allows a number of methods involving

tethered lines, including crossbows, bows, snatch hooks and harpoons. Airbows, devices charged with an external high compression source to propel arrows, were not commercially available the last time the state updated its alligator harvest methods, the presentation said.

The proposals aren’t expected to be finalized until the commission meets in May. The hunting season, which runs from Aug. 15 to Nov. 1, is part of the commission’s approach to managing the estimated 1.3 million alligators in Florida.

Nursing home staffing changes backed

By Jim Saunders Florida News Service

F

lorida lawmakers moved closer Monday to revamping staffing standards in nursing homes, amid criticism that the proposed changes could reduce hands-on care for residents.

The debate centers on the amount of time that certified nursing assistants spend providing care to residents. Certified nursing assistants play key roles in nursing homes, but the industry says it cannot find enough of the workers — resulting, at least in some cases, to unfilled beds.

The House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee on Monday approved an industry-backed bill (HB 1239) that would reduce from 2.5 hours to 2 hours the minimum direct care that certified nursing assistants must provide per resident per day. Proposed changes also would factor in time spent by workers such as occupational therapists, respiratory therapists and mental-health professionals.

Sponsor Lauren Melo, R-Naples, said the proposal would provide more flexibility to nursing homes to meet the needs of residents.

“Each patient is different, and they each have a different standard of care, and I

think this bill allows us to address that,” she said.

Supporters also pointed to the worker shortage.

“There are beds that are empty throughout the state where people are not receiving care because of the staffing crisis we’re in,” Rep. Sam Garrison, R-Fleming Island, said. “And that’s just the reality of the situation. Whether for-profit, not-forprofit, there are facilities that have the capacity to treat more seniors that aren’t able to do it because they can’t get the staffing to make it happen.”

But Democrats on the House panel and groups such as AARP Florida and the Service Employees International Union, which represents nursing-home workers, opposed the change and contend it will harm care for residents.

“This is a race to the bottom, is what this legislation is,” AARP lobbyist Zayne Smith said.

Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, said nursing-home residents still will need help with such basic activities as bathing and going to the bathroom — help that certified nursing assistants provide.

“The 2.5-hour staffing minimum itself in current law I don’t think is enough,” he said. “But this bill wants to slash those standards further.”

Minimum staffing requirements have long been a controversial issue. After a fierce debate, lawmakers in 2001 approved a measure that set standards, while also taking steps to help shield nursing homes from lawsuits.

The proposal this year is unusual in that the Florida Justice Association, which represents plaintiffs’ attorneys, has supported it. The association and the nursing-home industry have often battled in the past.

Blair Mendes, an attorney representing the association at Monday’s meeting, said nursing homes have used the minimum 2.5hour standard as a “shield” in defending against lawsuits. He said the bill would eliminate “some of the shields that nursing homes can use to avoid accountability in courtrooms.”

In addition to the 2.5hour standard,

current law also requires that certified nursing assistants and licensed nurses provide a weekly average of 3.6 hours of direct care per patient per day. The House bill would keep that 3.6-hour average, but it would allow time spent by other types of workers to be factored into the calculation.

The bill, which was approved Monday in a 9-4 vote, needs to clear the House Health & Human Services Committee before it could go to the full House.

A similar Senate bill (SB 804) needs approval from the Rules Committee before it could go to the full Senate.

File photo

State urges court to reject gun law case

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody addresses the media on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 in Lakeland Fla. (Calvin Knight/The Ledger via AP)

By Jim Saunders Florida News Service

A

ttorney General Ashley Moody’s office urged the Florida Supreme Court late Monday to reject challenges to a 2011 state law that threatens stiff penalties if city and county officials pass gun-related regulations.

Lawyers in Moody’s office asked the Supreme Court to

uphold a decision last year by the 1st District Court of Appeal that turned down arguments by more than 30 local governments and dozens of local officials challenging the law. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried joined the case, siding with the local governments and officials.

Florida since 1987 has barred cities and counties from passing regulations that are stricter than state firearms laws, and

the penalties in the 2011 law were designed to strengthen that “preemption.” The law, for example, could lead to local officials facing $5,000 fines for passing gun regulations.

The case does not challenge the underlying 1987 law but contends the penalties in the 2011 law are unconstitutional because they violate legal immunities for local officials and governments.

But in a 53-page brief filed shortly before midnight Monday, Moody’s office disputed the plaintiffs’ arguments. The brief said for example, that one of the arguments about what is known as legislative immunity “would have sweeping implications for the regulation of local governments and their officials.”

“Ultimately, plaintiffs simply disagree with the policy judgment made by the Legislature to protect the right of Floridians to keep and bear arms,” the brief said. “But nothing in the Florida Constitution confers on plaintiffs the freedom to enact ordinances infringing those civil rights without meaningful sanction.”

Cities, counties and local officials challenged the 2011 law after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that killed 17

people. Monday was the fourth anniversary of the shooting.

In a brief filed in November at the Supreme Court, attorneys for the plaintiffs said the penalties in the law “violate the legislative immunity of local elected officials because they require the judicial branch to impose personal penalties against local government officials for performing purely legislative activities, including voting for an ordinance that is later found to be preempted, and to do so by inquiring into the motivations of local legislators.”

“Petitioners ask this (Supreme) Court to recognize a fundamental principle of democratic governance: Local elected officials acting in their legislative capacities are entitled to the same immunities and protections historically afforded to all legislators in this country, and the judicial power of the state does not extend to impose financial liability on local governments for the performance of discretionary governmental functions,” the plaintiffs’ brief also said.

Attorneys for the local governments wrote in a 2019 court document that city and county officials had been urged to take actions after the Marjory

Stoneman Douglas shooting.

Those requests involved such things as requiring procedures or documentation to ensure compliance with background checks and waiting periods for gun purchases and requiring reporting of failed background checks.

But the attorneys said local governments refrained from going ahead with the proposals because of the potential penalties in state law. Along with officials facing the possibility of fines and removal from office, the law would allow members of the public and organizations to receive damages and attorney fees if they successfully sue local governments for improper gun regulations.

The Supreme Court announced in September that it would hear the case, though it has not set a date for arguments.

The Supreme Court case stems from three lawsuits that were ultimately consolidated in Leon County circuit court. The challenges were filed by cities and counties from various parts of the state, such as Tallahassee, Gainesville, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach.

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

STATE BRIEFS GASOLINE PRICES SEE LITTLE CHANGE

POLICIES CONTINUE PILING UP AT CITIZENS INSURANCE

File photo File photo

By Florida News Service

A

verage gasoline prices dropped a penny during the past week but motorists could see increases resume, the AAA auto club said Monday.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Florida on Sunday was $3.46, down from $3.47 a week earlier. But it was up from $3.22 a month ago and $2.47 a year ago.

AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins pointed to increased oil prices as a sign that the cost of gas could rise. “Pump prices moved slightly lower into the

Disastrous hurricane Matthew (2016) on Florida coastline.

By Florida News Service

weekend, but don’t be surprised if they increase again in the near future,” Jenkins said in a prepared statement.

“Oil prices set new 2022 highs on Friday, amid concerns over how a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine could result in sanctions on Russian oil that could make the oil market even tighter than it currently is.”

The most-expensive gas in Florida is in the West Palm Beach, Gainesville and Fort Lauderdale areas, while the leastexpensive gas is in the Punta Gorda, Panama City and Melbourne areas.

T

he state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. continued to add thousands of customers a week in January and ended the month with nearly 777,000 policies, according to newly released data.

Citizens had 776,790 policies as of Jan. 31, up from 759,305 on Dec. 31. Citizens, which was created as an insurer of last resort, has seen rapid growth during the past two years as financially troubled private insurers have

sought large rate increases and dropped customers.

On Jan. 31, 2020, for example, Citizens had 443,228 policies, reflecting about a 75 percent increase in policies during the past two years.

Florida lawmakers are considering a series of measures aimed at shifting more policies from Citizens into the private market, at least in part because of concerns about financial risks if the state gets hit with a major hurricane or multiple hurricanes.

LAWMAKERS LOOK AT EXCUSED ABSENCE CHANGE Florida News Service

to write notes attesting to illnesses or conditions that would excuse students’ absences. The House proposal would permit any “other licensed professional as determined by school board policy” to write such notes on behalf of students.

Bill sponsor Susan Valdes, a Tampa Democrat and former Hillsborough County School Board member, said the measure places an emphasis on students’ mental health.

S

tate House members on Monday advanced a bill that would allow professionals such as therapists and psychologists to authorize excused absences for students. The House Early Learning & Elementary Education Subcommittee unanimously approved the measure (HB 289).

Only physicians currently are allowed

“This bill will allow for school boards to update their policies to reflect the needs of their community by allowing and recognizing professionals such as mental health therapists, clinical social workers and psychologists,” Valdes said. Rep. Traci Koster, R-Tampa, said the proposed changes would work toward “changing the narrative” surrounding mental health.

“I think this is a great step in that direction to recognize that … a child’s

mental health or mental wellness is just as important as their physical health,” Koster said.

The House proposal needs approval from two more panels before it could be considered by the full House. A similar Senate bill (SB 1070) has not received a committee hearing.

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

SECOND SHERIFF TO WEIGH IN ON ‘MARSY’S LAW’ CASE

8th Annual

2022 y Presented B

File photo

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olusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood received approval Monday from the Florida Supreme Court to file a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that a 2018 constitutional amendment known as “Marsy’s Law” should not apply to lawenforcement officers.

The approval came after the Supreme Court last week said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri could file a brief taking a similar position.

The voter-approved Marsy’s Law amendment included a series of protections for crime victims. The briefs will address a Supreme Court case involving two Tallahassee police officers who invoked the law to prevent their identities from being released after use-offorce shooting incidents in which they were threatened. The officers argued they were victims in the incidents.

The 1st District Court of Appeal last year agreed with the officers, leading the city of Tallahassee to take the case to the Supreme Court. In a motion Monday seeking to file a brief, Chitwood said his department “makes a concerted effort to

be transparent and accountable” and has released the names of deputies who have been involved in shootings.

“VSO (the Volusia Sheriff ’s Office) is interested in this appeal as it believes that the citizens should know the names of deputies who are involved in the use of deadly force while carrying out their official duties,” the motion said.

“This disclosure of the deputies’ names not only promotes transparency and accountability but helps to rebuild the eroding public trust in law enforcement.

VSO desires to continue disclosing the names of deputies who are involved in the use of deadly force while in the execution of their official duties in order to continue promoting transparency and accountability.” The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case, though it has not set a date for arguments.

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, has maintained that his deputies should be afforded the protections of Marsy’s Law, and recently has not released the names of deputies involved in deadly force instances.

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ARGUMENTS SET IN MAY ON TECH LAW

Florida News Service

A

federal appeals court is slated to hear arguments in mid-May in a battle about a Florida law that would put restrictions on companies such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a notice this week that said arguments will be heard during the week of May 16 in Miami, though the notice did not specify an exact date.

The state took the case to the Atlantabased appeals court after U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle in June issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law from being enforced, saying it was “riddled with imprecision and ambiguity.” The law, passed during the 2021 legislative session, was a priority of Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans who accused socialmedia platforms of censorship.

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DeSantis championed the issue after former President Donald Trump was blocked from Facebook and Twitter after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In part, the measure seeks to prevent large socialmedia companies from barring political candidates from their platforms and would require companies to publish --- and apply consistently --- standards about issues such as blocking users.

The industry groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association filed a lawsuit contending that the law would violate First Amendment rights and harm companies’ efforts to moderate content. Hinkle sided with the groups, finding that they “are likely to prevail on the merits of their claim that these statutes violate the First Amendment.”

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

People, Places & Things

Chairmen of the Boards

BRUCE ACKERMAN/Ocala Gazette

Ire Bethea, Sr., the President of the Ocala City Council, speaks during the NAACP 5114 Marion County Branch Jubilee Program on Jan. 2.

By Matthew Cretul matthew@ocalagazette.com

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wo of Ocala/Marion County’s governmental bodies are headed up by Black men. The Marion County School Board is chaired by Rev. Eric Cummings, while Ire Bethea, Sr. is the President of the Ocala City Council. The Ocala Gazette spoke with both of them individually about their positions, what led them to service, and what Black History Month means to them.

Q: What does Black History Month mean to you?

Bethea: It’s the recognition of people that have come before me and others that sacrificed for the good of mankind. Basically, it’s a recognition of AfricanAmericans, or Blacks, that have made outstanding contributions to humanity.

Cummings: I know this is the month that nationally we celebrate Black History Month. But to me, it goes beyond just one month. Black history is much broader and much bigger than can be encapsulated in one month, because when we look at our everyday life we see Black history all around us every day, from the traffic light (Garrett Morgan is credited with inventing the first automatic three-way traffic signal system) to the air conditioning (Garthen Leslie is credited as the inventor of the Aros “smart” air conditioner). We encounter Black history every day.

So to say that is encapsulated into one month is very difficult for me.

We know that African-Americans or Black people have always contributed to any society they’ve been in, whether it’s been in America or any other country.

So, to me, I guess it’s just an official celebration of all the achievements of African-Americans or Blacks in our country. For me, again, it’s much broader, it can’t be put into 28 days or 29 days on Leap Year, what we’re celebrating.

Q: What does the position you currently serve in mean to you?

Bethea: It allows me an opportunity to serve my community, not as a Black man, but as a human being, per se. I have been an advocate for people all my life. I believe in service. I have been afforded the opportunity to serve my community in the capacity of a council member, being one of the few individuals that help with the governance of our city. And I don’t take my position lightly.

Cummings: My position as a citizen and as a taxpayer is one of being an advocate for our students, our staff, and for good education. As a Black man, I think I have the obligation and duty to be the representative from my community at the table when decisions are being made in regards to education, and how and what it looks like in Marion County. When you look at any community, there has to be representation from that community to make good, just decisions. And I think my role on the board is to be that advocate, not just for African Americans, but all minorities that make up the diverse minority population in Marion County.

Am I just seemingly set on minority issues? No. But I think I bring that dynamic to the conversation by me being on the board.

Becky Collazo Photography

Marion County School Board Chair Rev. Eric Cummings at the 2021 Juneteenth Celebration Day on June 19, 2021.

Q: Describe your path to your current leadership role.

Bethea: I have been somewhat in the public arena most of my life, definitely most of my adult life, in working for the city of Ocala and working for the Boys and Girls Club. I have been actively engaged and on boards and committees throughout the city and in this county, and have served on a state board in various capacities, from being the president and chair.

Cummings: I have kids and I have grandkids. When I initially ran for the school board, I had three of my sons in the school district. Right now I just have one son, my youngest son, and then I have two grandchildren. But also as a pastor of a church, I have members of my church that have students in Marion County Public Schools, and outside of kids, I know adults that work within the system. So, people were bringing me things saying, “Hey, these are the issues that we have within our school district, and we need someone to kind of help us navigate the system, in how to get help or resources, and someone to speak towards it.” And at times, there were times that I even had to go to schools with parents to kind of help navigate the conversation with their particular child or their particular situation, so that’s kind of how I got involved with it.

I’ve always been involved in my kids’ education, but it took me to a different level of advocating for different issues and then learning the dynamics of what really happens in our educational system. So that personal advocacy for myself and for those who are around me, let me into a bigger role of wanting to be on the board. And then the opportunity presented itself that Mr. James was no longer gonna run for that district and that seat. I knew Mr. James, he was my dean in high school, and I have watched him over the years, and I understood what he did as a school board member. And I said, “Hey, you know, we have to have someone else that’s going to have that same type of voice, that same type of reasoning, and that same type of logic.” And I just, I prayed about it and God said “This is time to go forward.”

Q: Any words of wisdom to the next generation?

Bethea: Well, we need our young people to step up and to get actively engaged into the different communities and to our entire city to serve. They can serve in many different ways. So, service as far as being on a board, on a committee, service as in helping an old lady clean up her yard, helping an orphan or foster kid. I mean, get actively involved so that you can be in the know. Knowledge is power, okay? So, and not only is it power, it’s a way to help not only yourself but to help others.

So my words of wisdom are to get actively engaged.

Don’t stand on the sidelines and complain, be a part.

A gentleman said to me many, many years ago, he said that “If you don’t believe in something, you’ll go for anything.,” So, in order for you to believe, you’ve got to try to find out what an issue is all about, how did it come about, all those particulars. Then you’re actively engaged.

Ocala needs our young people. Do you want to know something? This is one reason why again, I’m on the city council because one of the things I want to see is our young people come back to Ocala and work. I want them to come back here and be actively engaged and give of themselves to Ocala and Marion County, not to Memphis, Tennessee, or Atlanta, Georgia, or New York, New York.

They were born and raised in Ocala, most

of them. So, come back home. But we have to set it up for them, we’ve got to pay the types of wages that are needed. We’ve got to have the types of homes that are needed. We’ve got to have the infrastructure, we’ve got to have the good schools, we’ve got to have all of those things. Then, the same thing that attracts others here will attract our own to come back.

Cummings: The essence of the word service is not black and it’s not white. It’s about all people. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, and the Word of God would say, no one should be left out. So when you serve, you’re serving mankind. Now you do have to make some decisions sometimes that will go against some people because you’re never going satisfy everybody all the time. But my whole thing is about the service to the people of Ocala and Marion County.

Get involved. I encourage folks to get involved, to not show up when there’s just a problem, but to get involved at the grassroots level at the ground level, to know, know the things that are happening. As the next generation of African Americans, I encourage them to know their history, because if we don’t know where we came from, you can’t know you can’t have a clear direction on where we’re going to go. And so I encourage my kids, I encourage my grandkids, I encourage folks to, to know that we have a rich history, and our history is much bigger than just the things that we see in pop culture. Our history goes back thousands of years to the beginning, and we need to celebrate those things, not just 28 days or 29 days out of the year. We need to celebrate it every day, because every time I look in the mirror, I see Black history in how God has taken me from growing up on a dirt road in Ocala to being on the school board in Marion County, where I’m sure there are plenty of people who would probably say “I could never see him in that in that area.” And you know, not that that’s the President of the United States, but to me, I feel that it’s just as important of a position at home on the school board.

So I would encourage them to pursue their dreams and to know the issues in order to not just be running for something or involved in something, but to know what the real issues are and to know how to come to the table with solutions, not just problems.

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

‘I can be that light’

BRUCE ACKERMAN/Ocala Gazette

Jessica Forlaw, a homeless woman who is living at the Salvation Army Center of Hope, poses for a photo at the Salvation Army in Ocala, Fla. on Thursday, February 10, 2022. Forlaw has been living at the Salvation Army for seven months and is in the process of turning her life around.

Homeless since 2020, Jessica Forlaw slowly pieces her life back together.

By James Blevins james@ocalagazette.com

E

verything changed in Jessica Forlaw’s life following her arrest for driving under the influence on Nov. 16, 2020.

It was the last straw in a series of traffic infractions and other run-ins with the law that had been following her over the last two decades.

She lost her car, her job, her home, and even custody of her children.

“I pretty much lost everything all in one day,” she said.

Forlaw, now 39, took her most recent misfortune from 15 months ago as a God-given sign to make some serious changes in her life.

“I never knew that I would find myself in a situation like this,” said Forlaw of being newly homeless. “But suddenly, there I was, traveling from couch to couch with nowhere else to go.”

It wasn’t until she discovered The

Salvation Army Florida Center of Hope in Ocala that she learned there were resources available to her to help put her life back together again.

“They’ve helped me so much,” said Forlaw of Salvation Army. “Their resources and their patience—it’s amazing to have the support that they have given me.”

A native of New Orleans, Forlaw moved to Florida with her family when she was just four years old. She moved to Ocala and bought a home with the father of her children in 2003. They would later separate in 2013.

Forlaw completed her probation for the 2020 DUI arrest and has been staying at the Center of Hope for the last seven months, rebuilding the foundation of her life from the ground up.

Losing custody of her children was hard to bear, but she still sees them. For now, the children are in the care of their maternal grandmother.

“I’m fighting to gain my rights back,”

Forlaw said. “I am praying for unification and just moving on as a family.

She hopes to return to school and become a positive part of society again, Forlaw said, but she knows she has a long road ahead.

“I want to become the woman that I’m supposed to be; that I need to be,” she said. “Every part of my journey has been a learning experience. Everything I’ve learned from this I’ve applied to bettering who I am.”

On a typical day, Forlaw said she wakes up and studies before getting ready for work at Miller’s Ale House, where she is a server on the evening shift.

“I get back [to Center of Hope] around 1:30 a.m., then I relax, settle in, get back up in the morning and do it all over again,” she said.

Currently, Forlaw is in the process of looking for a home.

“The Salvation Army has resources for me to get a low-income voucher,” she said.

“I’m just waiting for that to go through.

And hopefully it’ll go through soon.”

Forlaw said she understands how people might view her mistakes in life, assuming she will never get better or rise above that November night in 2020.

But she insisted that she will, adding that it’s all she’s been working towards since finding the Salvation Army almost a year ago.

“My family has lowered their trust when it comes to me,” she said. “So, I have to build that all back up. But I want to show my family, as well as show myself, that I can be that positive influence. I can be that light.”

“Whether it takes hardships to find it,” she added. “It’s possible. I have to believe that.”

Editors’ note: This is the third of an on-going series of profiles meant to humanize the homeless within the City of Ocala. Through this series, we hope to put a human face on an issue that is often “otherized” or simply pushed out of sight.

Four local boys’ basketball players, coaches collect FACA accolades

By Matthew Cretul matthew@ocalagazette.com

F

orest, Trinity Catholic, Westport, and Lake Weir each had boys’ basketball players named as the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) District 7 Players of the Year for their respective classifications.

Trinity Catholic senior Ashton Lovett won the award for the 3A classification, Lake Weir senior Tyrone Smith took home the hardware for 5A, Forest sophomore Zay McCoy walked away with the 6A honors, and Westport junior Tay Floyd was named the FACA District Player of the Year for the 7A classification.

Not only were Lake Weir’s Smith and Trinty Catholic’s Lovett named Players of the Year in their respective classes, but they will also represent District 7 in the FACA all-star game.

In addition to the players,

coaches for each school also collected FACA District 7 Coach of the Year awards.

Trinity Catholic’s Carlos Villalobos won the 3A citation, guiding the Celtics to a 21-5 record. In the 5A classification, Lake Weir’s Mike Surber helmed the Hurricanes to a 17-7 record.

Forest’s Mike Hoffman went 18-8 with the Wildcats, earning him 6A honors, and in the 7A class, West Port’s Bernard Smith won the FACA District 7 Coach of the Year award with a record of 6-16.

According to FACA District 7 Chairman Tim Yarn, who also coaches North Marion’s boy’s team, the winners are then nominated for the Florida Dairy Farmers Player and Coaches of the year awards.

FACA District 7 is comprised of Dixie, Gilchrist, Levy, Alachua, and Marion Counties.

BRUCE ACKERMAN/Ocala Gazette

West Port’s coach, Bernard Smith, works with Kemaury Mathis (15) and Briante Sanders (23) on the bench as they play Vanguard during a game in the Kingdom of the Sun basketball tournament at Vanguard High School in Ocala on Dec. 27, 2021.

BRUCE ACKERMAN/Ocala Gazette

Lake Weir’s Tyrone Smith (22) is double-teamed by Forest’s Tayvion Jones (4) and Zay McCoy (0) as he looks for a way to the basket during a basketball game at Forest High School in Ocala on Jan. 24.

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Creative’s Corner

Kay Deuben and

the Art of Living

The painter, teacher and breast cancer survivor does what she pleases. In March, that includes showing her work at the Brick City Center for the Arts.

By Julie Garisto Special to the Gazette

computer user. It’s not that she can’t do it, rather that, like Melville’s Bartleby, she “would prefer not to.” hile coping with a serious “If you waste your time on things that illness or the death of a loved make you unhappy, it makes you sick,” one, the rat race begins to Deuben offers in a soft but instructive tone. loom large and supposedly Born and raised in Kansas City, Deuben imperative life goals and requisite material has created art since her 20s but studied things begin to seem trivial.

English in college. A love of fashion led her Just ask Kay Deuben. to working in the corporate retail world. She Now retired and in her mid-70s, the also has lived in Indiana, Massachusetts and Palatka-based artist, teacher and three-time New Mexico. cancer survivor chooses to live her best life.

“When I was in college, I wanted to go She paints, exhibits her work and teaches into writing” Deuben explained. “I was good art for the sheer joy of it. at it, but the job that opened up to me was In March, Deuben’s works will be in fashion, so I became a department store featured in a solo exhibition, “Field buyer and did that for, like, 10 years.”

Concert,” at the Marion Cultural Alliance’s She said she took art classes Brick City Center for the Arts, or “The recreationally.

Brick.” The show runs March 4-26 and “I adored my oil painting teacher, who features oil paintings and mixed media/ did the classical method,” she recalled. “It Kay Deuben teaching a class at The Brick City Center for the Arts. pastel works; all with animal subjects. was therapeutic. My mother (who was also An opening reception on Friday, March 4, an artist) sold my first painting. It was will usher in the exhibit from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Muhammad Ali in his boxing shorts.” with tapas, libations, raffle prizes and the Since retiring, Deuben has been involved chance to meet Deuben. All of the pieces will with several art organizations within a be for sale and a percentage of each purchase three-hour radius of her Palatka home. She will benefit the Mill Creek Farm Retirement has worked with the Ocala Art Group, is a Home for Horses in current member of the Appleton Alachua County.

Museum of Art and frequent “It’s just north of instructor at Marion County Gainesville,” Deuben said galleries such as the Brick. of Mill Creek. “That’s my Though she has no children, Zen place, where I go to Deuben enjoys teaching recoup, and I co-sponsor youngsters. On March 12, she a retired racehorse there, will teach kids how to paint Sir Valahad. He had been their pets. rescued from a kill farm “Life doesn’t stop at the in South Florida.” county line,” Deuben said.

After taking a job with “It just doesn’t, and neither the health department should art. Where would we around 12 years ago, be if the impressionist hadn’t Deuben was diagnosed been brought to New York? with breast cancer while We would’ve been clueless. So, helping other women I think it’s really important to through their healing be inclusive when you’re doing journey. She worked in a your art.”

Putnam County program Deuben said her pieces called Healthy Liaison. are priced reasonably in “I was the assessment comparison to other markets. worker,” she explained, “I don’t need to keep them,” adding that she would she said of her works, adding make home visits with that she’s done “hundreds” of - Kay Deuben young pregnant women dog and cat portraits. who were newly diagnosed “I don’t do a website, social with cancer. media is not my thing — it’s all “That was my job — to find out if they word-of-mouth advertising,” she affirmed. “If need assistance. During that time, my sister somebody pays me to do something, I make said, ‘I’ve got breast cancer, so you need to it affordable for them. My goal is to make go get checked.’ So I did, and I had it too. people happy. I have a roof over my head and My insurance had just kicked in with the food on the table. I don’t worry about it.” state. I’d been without health insurance for eight years,” Deuben said.

Deuben added that her most recent bout with cancer left her partially disabled, so she retired.

She now spends her days painting whatever and wherever she chooses. Most of her works focus on nuances of flora and fauna; horses and cattle roaming pastures, a singular close-up of a flower and a host of other creatures and plants. Her technique is expressionistic with the sensuousness of an impressionist.

“I’m more of a zero-in-onone-thing kind of artist, I guess,” Deuben summed up modestly.

With oils, acrylics and pastels arranged on her easel, “Baby Steps” nature is a bigger muse than career success has been.

Photo courtesy Marion Cultural Alliance Though she does very little on “Turtle 2 Play” won third place at Marion Cultural Alliance’s first juried members exhibit, the internet, she is a proficient

W

Photo courtesy Marion Cultural Alliance

If somebody “pays me to do

something, I make it affordable for them. My goal is to make people happy. I have a roof over my head and food on the table.

I don’t worry about it.

”

titled “Pleasures,” in 2019.

Photo courtesy Marion Cultural Alliance

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Florida

BLACK HISTORY FACTOIDS — WE’RE ALL PART OF IT. Very few states have as rich and culturally diverse Black history as Florida. That goes doubly for our area, since so much of Florida’s history, including booms, busts, conflicts and economic progress has (and still is) playing out right here in Marion County. This month, we focus on some of this fascinating Black history in our own neighborhoods.

2.

3.

4.

5.

An historical marker in Gainesville honors this Black man who fought for the Confederacy, was a state senator, and in 1871 became the first African American elected to Congress from Florida. He is: A. W. E. B. DuBois B. Alcee Hastings C. Josiah T. Walls D. Dred Scott Opening near Zuber in 1868 as a private academy for Black students, this historic school still educates in the local school system 154 years later. It is: A. Fessenden B. Howard C. Matthews-Scippio D. Martin When she won the 500 meter event at Beijing just days ago, Ocala Forest High and UF grad Erin Jackson became the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal in the Winter Olympics. Her win was in: A. Downhill racing B. Luge C. Roller skating D. Speedskating Not yet 21 years old, his name is Wander Franco and he is the richest rookie in baseball history, having just signed a $200 million contract with the: A. New York Yankees B. Tampa Bay Bucs C. Miami Marlins D. Tampa Bay Rays

6.

WORD FIND

Deion Sanders, the only athlete to play in football’s Super Bowl and baseball’s This is a theme puzzle with the subject stated below. Find the listed words in the grid. (They may run in any always in a straight line. Some letters are used more than once.) Ring each word as you find it and when yo World Series, is now head football coach at: pleted the puzzle, there will be 20 letters left over. They spell out the alternative theme of the puzzle.

A. Jackson State B. Morgan State C. Florida State D. Geico State

The Riverina

7.

On November 15, 2021, Ocala’s Black History Museum reopened at 306 NW 7th Avenue on the historic site of ____________ Academy.

A. Golden Hills B. Howard C. Mathews-Scippio D. Santos

8.

Founded in 1738 near St. Augustine, this became the first legallysanctioned free Black town in the present day U. S. It is: A. Eatonville B. Rosewod C. Princeville D. Ft. Mose

9.

A new 41,000 square foot community complex in northwest Ocala will be named in honor of this first Black female member of city council, who recently retired, who is: A. Mary Sue Rich B. Sandra Wilson C. Oprah Winfrey D. Alice Faison

10.

In 1949, this future Supreme Court Justice played a key part in the defense of the Groveland Four, which was finally fully exonerated on rape charges in Lake County in 2021. He is: A. Thurgood Marshall B. Clarence Thomas C. Salmon P. Chase D. Felix Frankfurter

In the 1960s this all Black group of itinerant painters founded by Harold Newton sold their art on Florida’s roadsides. Today their art is worth thousands. They are the: A. Black Cowboys B. Highwaymen C. Cubists D. Impressionists

Solution: 20 Letters

© 2022 Australian Word Games Dist. by Creators Syndicate Inc.

1.

Sudoku is played on a grid of 9 x 9 spaces. Within the rows and columns are 9 “squares” (made up of 3 x 3 spaces). Each row, column and square (9 spaces each) needs to be filled out with the numbers 1-9, without repeating any numbers within the same row, column or square.

Barooga Beelbangera Bilbul Birds Boats Bridge Canals Citrus Cliffs Coleambally Corn Culcairn Emus

Fishing Flow Gates Grower Gums Henty Illabo Interest Junee Lake Burrinjuck Loans Lockhart Luxury

Marrar Nets Nuts Rice Rivers Temora Vast Wine Wool Yabbies Yass Yenda

Answers are on page B7

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on: A major foodbowl region

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ANSWERS TO PUZZLES ON PAGE B7

Date: 2/18/2

B5

FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

community FEB. 18 & 25

Marion County Friday Market

McPherson Government Campus Field, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala 9am-2:30pm Shop locally fresh fruits and veggies, baked goods, honey, jerky, freeze dried treats, olive oils, and seafood; recurs every Friday.

FEB 18

LEAF Series: Love is in The Air

Sholom Park: 7110 SW 80th Ave., Ocala 10:30 AM Sholom Park is home to several bird species, from hawks to swallow-tailed kites, red-bellied woodpeckers, owls and the occasional bald eagle.

February is a great month for birding; vegetation is reduced so you can see our feathered friends, and birds are beginning to feel like it’s spring. All you have to do is look up to discover that love is in the air and birds are everywhere! Join bird expert Norm Lantz for a unique birding presentation followed by a guided walk to experience the birds of Sholom Park. Visit sholompark.org to learn more.

FEB. 18-20

ADS Spring Fling Combined Driving Event

Florida Horse Park, 11008 County Road 475, Ocala This driving show, hosted by the Carriage Association of America, is a horse and pony driving event and will consist of singles, pairs, and teams and ranges from training level up to advanced. For more info, visit flhorsepark.com

LOCAL CALENDAR LISTINGS

FEB. 19 & 26

Yoga in the Park

Sholom Park: 7110 SW 80th Ave., Ocala 9am Get your downward dog going. Stretch out by the Sholom Park stage; recurs every Saturday morning.

Visit sholompark.org for details.

FEB. 19 & 26

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, and arts and crafts. Rain or shine; recurs every Saturday. Visit ocaladowntownmarket.com for more information.

FEB. 20 & 27

Ocala Polo Club Winter Games

Florida Horse Park, 11008 S Highway 475, Ocala 1pm Get up close and personal with the equine athletes and their riders at this unique sporting event.

Tailgating at polo is the perfect venue to enjoy an afternoon out with your family and friends!

Chairs are suggested, food and drink are welcome, tents are available for rent. For more information, visit ocalapolo.com.

FEB. 21

African-American Read-In

All Marion County library locations 2pm Celebrate a rich heritage of literature, film, music and art at the 32nd National African American Read-In. It’s the first and oldest event dedicated to

diversity in literature, established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month.

FEB. 23

Wednesday Midday Market

Ocala Downtown Market, 310 SE Third St., Ocala 1-6pm Browse organic produce, microgreens, fresh-baked breads, and more. Food trucks such as Tom’s Taste of Chicago, Jimmy’s Philly Cheesesteaks, and Kona Ice Ocala join the fun; recurs every Wednesday. Visit facebook.com/OcalaDowntownMarket for details.

FEB. 24

Farmers Market

The Town Square at Circle Square Commons, 8405 SW 8th St., Ocala 9am-1pm Check out the wonderful selection of fresh seasonal produce from local growers as well as baked goods, plants, handmade soaps, and much more; recurs every Thursday. Visit circlesquarecommons.com for more info.

FEB. 21

Fun at the Park: 3rd Annual Gnome & Fairy Festival

Sholom Park: 7110 SW 80th Ave., Ocala 12pm-4pm Enjoy mystical music from Irish band the Mystic Celts, explore the Enchanted Forest, and stroll down Fairytale Lane. Magical merchants will be selling mystical merchandise, whimsical services, and fantastical fares. Shop for handmade trinkets, jewelry, art and more with local merchants. Fairy

FEB. 22

Marion County Planning & Zoning Commission, first hearing – McPherson Governmental Campus

Ocala/Marion County Transportation Planning Organization Board

FEB. 21 & 28

FEB. 24

601 SE 25th Ave., auditorium, Ocala 5:30 PM The Planning & Zoning Commission conducts hearings for zoning changes and special use permits.

Marion County Development Review Committee

Office of the County Engineer– 412 SE 25th Ave., building 1, Ocala 9am The DRC ensures compliance with the county’s Land Development Code and votes on items such as waiver requests, major site plans and subdivision master plans, preliminary plats, improvement plans, and final plats.

arts FEB. 18

Windowsill Basket Class

Crones’ Cradle Conserve Foundation, 6411 NE 217th Place, Citra 10am-4pm Create your own long, narrow basket with a center handle: perfect for sitting on a windowsill, collecting a stash of quilting fabrics, or holding tools! Class fee is $48, which includes all materials, instruction, and use of tools; please bring your own lunch. To register, contact Crone’s Cradle Conserve at (352) 595-3377 or email catcrone@aol.com.

FEB. 18

Reilly Noir Series: The Maharajah Flamenco Trio

Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE 9th St., Ocala 7:30pm Maharajah Flamenco Trio delivers a moving and dynamic expression of Flamenco Nuevo (new or “modern” Flamenco) by blending traditional Spanish rhythms with jazz, classical, and world music. Visit reillyartscenter.com for more info and to purchase tickets.

FEB 19

Beginning of Bolted Art (BOBA) Brunch

Magnolia Art Xchange, 531 NE 1st Avenue, Ocala 9am-11am Part of the Tuscawilla Art Park Series, this is your chance to celebrate the installation of 10 new sculptures in the park. Enjoy performers, mimosas and brunch, meet the artists at the Ocala Union Station, and then stroll around the park to see the new artwork. Tickets are $25 online or $30 at the door.

Tuscawilla Sculpture Stroll Celebration

Tuscawilla Art Park, 213 NE 5th St, Ocala 11am-2pm If you miss the brunch, there are still free family art activities to celebrate the new sculptures. Local

McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala 4:00 PM

Tourist Development Council meeting

FEB. 27

Horse Shows, various

Florida Horse Park, 11008 County Road 475, Ocala It’s a busy day at FHP with a big variety of shows.

STRIDE offers a dressage show and hosts five schooling shows a year, clinics, workshops and activities geared for dressage enthusiasts, from beginner to advanced. Tests will be offered in traditional dressage, driving, or Western dressage.

The Sunshine State Open Pleasure Show Series of Central Florida offers both Western and English show classes, including halter/lead line, beginner and adults 50+ classes. The Trail Obstacle Challenge is a competition for trail horses, consisting of 12 to 15 trail-simulating obstacles such as water crossings, side-pass, tarps, bridges, back through and other tests. Horses are scored on how well they negotiate each one. For more info, visit flhorsepark.com

FEB. 23-27

FEB. 27

government

friendly activities and magical arts and crafts. Meet unicorns, a dragon, and you’ll probably spot some fairies in the forest! Food trucks and entertainment throughout the afternoon. Fun for all ages. Visit sholompark.org for details.

World Equestrian Center Ocala Winter Spectacular Week 8

World Equestrian Center Ocala, 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala Part of this 12-week show series, this hunter/ jumper competition ends with a weekly Saturday night Grand Prix show jumping in the Grand Arena.

Shops, full-service and fast-casual restaurants, and pubs are all available on site, parking is free, and leashed dogs are permitted. Learn more at worldequestriancenter.com

FEB. 24

Code Enforcement Board

Marion County Main Training Room, 2710 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 9:00 AM A quasi-judicial body consisting of seven members, the board receives & evaluates evidence and testimony regarding alleged violations of county codes & ordinances. Fines can be imposed against parties found to be in violation.

CEB members are appointed by the county commissioners & are volunteers that represent varied community interests & possess diverse professional & civic backgrounds. CEB hearings are generally held the second Wednesday of each month.

Visitor & Convention Bureau, 109 W. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 9:00 AM

non-profits will have hands-on activities, tours of the sculptures, and the park will also host artist vendors, live entertainment, and food trucks.

For more information, visit ocalafl.org/artpark or call (352) 629-8447.

FEB. 19 7:30pm & FEB. 20 3pm 90 years of John Williams

Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE 9th St., Ocala If you’ve been to the movies in the last, oh, 60 years, then you’ve definitely heard the music of John Williams. Known for his iconic film scores, the Ocala Symphony will perform movie favorites from ET, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Superman and more. The scenes from the films will come to life on the big screen above the orchestra. Tickets are $15 to $40 for adults and $10 for students. For tickets and more information on the concert visit reillyartcenter.com or visit the box office, Tuesday-Friday, 10am-2pm, and over the phone at (352) 351-1606.

FEB. 25

After Dark in the Park Movie Series: The Princess and the Frog

Webb Field at Martin Luther King Recreation Complex, 1510 NW 4th St, Ocala 7pm-9pm Join fellow movie lovers for this animated tale about a prince, a princess, and the frogs they become.

This lighthearted adventure is definitely familyfriendly. Bring your own chairs or blankets, and snack concessions will be available for purchase. No registration required, just show up and have fun.

For more information, call (352) 368-5517.

FEB. 25

Mardi Gras Masquerade

Reilly Arts Center, 500 NE 9th St., Ocala 7 pm Celebrate New Orleans in Ocala at the inaugural Mardi Gras Masquerade to be held in the new NOMA Black Box at the Reilly Arts Center. Wear

your evening finery, and come with your most extravagant mask for your shot at being crowned King and Queen of Mardi Gras. Collect beads and doubloons throughout the night and see who will be crowned “Most Adorned” guest of the Royal Court. Tickets are $15 -$60. Live music by the Swamp Krewe will get you moving to the beat all night.

FEB. 27

Deeper South: Merging Art with History

Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 2-3:30 pm Artist and author Charles Eady will give a free talk on his artistic process. He’ll offer insight into how he uses art to examine long-held beliefs about the South with an emphasis on the lives of those in the South before the Civil War. Eady’s paintings open dialogues into little-known facts about southern history, and he tries to disrupt mainstream imagery and give voice to a population silenced from history. This talk is free and open to the public; no RSVP required. (Regular admission fees apply if you also plan to visit the galleries.) Learn more at appletonmuseum.org

THROUGH MARCH 11

CF Webber Gallery: Selections from the Permanent Collection

The Webber Gallery @ the College of Central Florida, 3001 SW College Road, Ocala Mon-Thu 10am-4pm “Selections from the Permanent Collection” is a curated glimpse into the hundreds of works contained in the College of Central Florida’s public art collection. This sneak peek into the college’s treasure trove features art by local and national artists as well as alumni. An opening reception will be held Feb. 23 at 12:30pm. Admission is free. For more information, call (352) 854-2322, ext. 1664.

THROUGH APRIL 24

Heart of the Horse: Photographs by Juliet van Otteren

Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala Tue-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm The beauty and complexity of horses is revealed through 40 black-and-white photographs by Juliet van Otteren. Visit appletonmuseum.org for more information.

THROUGH APRIL 24

Garden Party: Botanical Paintings

by Susan Martin

Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala Tue-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm Florida artist Susan Martin’s photorealistic canvasses explore the botanical world by concentrating on small portions of plant life.

Her detailed explorations, influenced by the photographs of Russell Lee, can be observed in her sharp, clean examination of the subject, her preference for strong contrast that reveals surface quality and detail, and an emphasis on composition that comes from years of work in black-and-white. Visit appletonmuseum.org for details.

THROUGH JULY 31

A Strange and Picturesque Country: Etchings by Earl H. Reed

Appleton Museum of Art, 4333 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala Tue-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm Prints from the permanent collection by Earl Howell Reed. Although a largely self-taught artist, Reed’s work can be viewed in the collections of the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Visit appletonmuseum.org for details.

B6

FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Ancient Implements in the Making

Photos courtesy of Silver River Museum & Environmental Education Center

The Silver River Knap-In and Prehistoric Arts Festival offers a firsthand look at flint knapping.

By Susan Smiley-Height susan@magnoliamediaco.com

D

riving into the Silver River Museum & Environmental Education Center side of Silver Springs State Park, from the entrance at 1445 NE 58th Ave., off Baseline Road, is like traveling back in time.

As you round each curve in the long and winding road, vestiges of city life give way to “old” Florida flora and fauna.

When you park and walk into the Cracker Village replica of a 19th century pioneer settlement, you can get a feel for how our ancestors lived. On Feb. 19 and 20, during the Silver River Knap-In and Prehistoric Arts Festival, you can venture even further back in time and see aficionados crafting the ancient implements that helped those generations survive.

According to Scott Mitchell, an archaeologist and director of the center, the word knap means to break and originates from Old German knoppen

or Middle English knappen. The act of “knapping” refers to the controlled breakage of stone such as flint (or chert in Florida) to create sharp tools. Spears and arrows, drills, knives, scrapers, axes, adzes and other implements were tipped with sharp bits of stone.

“Stone tools were critical to survival and allowed people to cut and carve wood, butcher animals, process hides into leather, shred pant fibers to create cordage, hunt and defend themselves with weapons.

Picture not having a hardware or grocery store available. Now limit the material you can make into tools to only what you can find around you in nature and you’ll get a sense of how important stone tool making was for early people,” Mitchell said.

Flint knapping has seen a resurgence among archaeologists as a way to better understand the past and among artists who create recreations of ancient implements.

“We have flint knappers and artisans who come from across the eastern U.S., including Texas, Ohio, Michigan,

Pennsylvania and New York. Ocala and Marion County, and our beautiful weather and freshwater springs, are a major draw,” Mitchell noted.

“This is the 11th annual Silver River Knap-In. Last year was canceled due to COVID-19, so we are excited to see the event return. Prior to coming to the Silver Springs State Park, the event was held for many years at the Payne’s Prairie State Park. It grew to be one of the largest events of its kind in the southeast and then was canceled by that park around 2008 due to lack of staffing and funds.

The event was held at several other parks for two years and then we were approached and asked to host it here at the Silver River Museum,” he said.

“We added a Friday student day for field trips and expanded the event to include an educational angle that includes booths and presentations by professional archaeologists. Hands-on activities include spear throwing and archery ranges, pottery making, buckskin hide tanning and

scraping, a beaded necklace activity and Native American mask making for kids (all are included in the general admission price). There are also museum scavenger hunts and many demonstrations as well, with flint knapping, pottery, bone and shell carving and more,” he added.

Tribal members from the Seminole Tribe of Florida will take part and typically demonstrate dugout canoe carving, which complements the museum’s newest exhibit on Native American dugout canoes.

“Our goal is get people outdoors and enjoying the state park, learning, having fun and visiting the Silver River Museum. The event is also structured to serve as a fundraiser for the museum, with all proceeds helping to support our educational programs,” Mitchell said.

The festival will take place 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb 19 and 20. Admission is $8; free for ages 5 and younger. For more information, visit silverrivermuseum.com or call (352) 236-5401.

Sunday, February 27, 2 p.m.

DEEPER SOUTH Merging Art with History A Talk by Charles Eady

Preview Night March 1, 5-7 p.m.

Ocala Campus Ewers Century Center

This talk is free in the museum’s auditorium and open to the public; no RSVP required.

Appleton Museum, Artspace and Store

Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 12-5 p.m.

4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd. | AppletonMuseum.org | 352-291-4455

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LEARN about academic programs and degrees.

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GET HELP with admissions and financial aid.

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CF.edu/PreviewNight | 352-873-5800 Ocala Campus | 3001 S.W. College Road –an equal opportunity college–

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

&

Ready for liftoff music nig ghtlife Student nightlife

FEB. 18

Elia Piedra

The Town Square at Circle Square Commons 8405 SW 80th St., Ocala 6pm Enjoy live entertainment and dancing with percussionist Elia Piedra, who will bring the fiesta to you. Free and open to the public from 6-9pm. Visit circlesquarecommons.com for details.

FEB. 18

The Joey & Jenny Duo The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6:30-10pm Join the Yellow Pony for dinner, drinks, and entertainment from the Joey & Jenny Duo. For details, visit worldequestriancenter.com/events.

FEB. 18

Second Slice Charlie Horse 2426 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm Rock the night away with Second Slice, covering music from the ‘60s through 2000s. Also, karaoke nightly.

FEB. 19

Rearview Mirror The Town Square at Circle Square Commons 8405 SW 80th St., Ocala 6pm Dance to live entertainment from Rearview Mirror, playing rock, grunge, and ‘90s music. Free and open to the public from 6-9pm.

Visit circlesquarecommons.com for details.

experiment heads to space

By James Blevins james@ocalagazette.com

S

tudents in the Dr. N.H. Jones Elementary School Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) will finally see their project lift off on a SpaceX rocket this summer, according to a Marion County Public Schools (MCPS) press release on Feb. 10.

This is the first time MCPS has participated in SSEP. The rocket, which is scheduled to blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, will carry the East SSEP science investigation to the International Space Station (ISS).

Dr. N.H. Jones students Anakan Keithan Gopalan and Aarya Jackson Seevaratnam designed and implemented the chosen experiment.

The students’ teacher, Lisa Fontaine Dorsey, is the SSEP community project director at the school. North Marion High School students Jacob Ridinger and Dalton Gentilman, under the guidance of their teacher, Dee Reedy, are also part of the experiment team.

Dorsey said in the press release that she sees the transformative power of this project as a benefit for both students and educators.

“As an educator, the [SSEP] was the most challenging and rewarding educational project I have ever had the privilege of experiencing,” she said, adding she hopes to expand the program next school year.

The title of the chosen experiment is “What is the effect of microgravity on the amount of ethanol produced by yeast fermentation?” The experiment will

Supplied

spend at least six to eight weeks in orbit before returning to Dr. N.H. Jones Elementary, where students will then complete a final analysis.

As controls, those students will mimic these same procedures in ground experiments alongside their North Marion High School counterparts for comparison with their control samples.

In addition to the science experiment, art students throughout MCPS are working on mission patch designs to accompany the science experiment to the ISS. A selection board will review those submissions and select two patch designs for the flight.

Nate Mercado

FEB. 19

Nate Mercado The Yellow Pony World Equestrian Center 1390 NW 80th Ave., Ocala 6:30-10pm Join in the fun at the Yellow Pony for dinner, drinks, and entertainment from Nate Mercado. For details, visit worldequestriancenter.com/events.

FEB. 19

Livestream Charlie Horse 2426 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm Rock the night away with music from Livestream. Also, karaoke nightly.

FEB. 25

Second Slice The Town Square at Circle Square Commons 8405 SW 80th St., Ocala 6pm Dance the night away to the musical stylings of Second Slice. Music from the 60s-2000s. Free and open to the public from 6-9pm. Visit circlesquarecommons.com for details.

FEB. 25

Joe Brown Charlie Horse 2426 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm Live music with Joe Brown. Also, karaoke nightly.

Supplied

FEB. 26

ANSWERS FOR PAGE B4

Stella Beat The Town Square at Circle Square Commons 8405 SW 80th St., Ocala 6pm Dance the night away to the musical stylings of Stella Beat. Free and open to the public from 6-9pm. Visit circlesquarecommons.com for details.

FEB. 26

Firecreek Charlie Horse 2426 E Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala 7pm Horse around at the Charlie Horse with rockers Firecreek. Also, karaoke nightly.

According to the release, the SSEP is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in the U.S. and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Educational internationally.

It is enabled through a strategic partnership with Nanoracks LLC., which is working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory.

Last fall, the SSEP invited students across the nation to write competitive research proposals to teste the effect of microgravity and have those proposals vetted by a twostep review board.

As part of a multi-school effort, students at Dr. N.H. Jones Elementary, Howard Middle, Horizon Academy at Marion Oaks and Reddick-Collier Elementary Schools worked in groups developing their experiments and presenting their proposals to a local review board. The board identified the topthree proposals, which were sent to the SSEP National Step 2 Review board where the flight experiment was chosen.

Each experiment had to follow strict constraints, including a requirement that it fit into a very small container called a Fluid Mixing Enclosure (FME).

“One of the highlights of the program was making connections with scientists, researchers and educators across the country and around the world,” said Dorsey. “We formed a partnership with local high school students and worked as lab partners to conduct further testing on the spaceflight experiment.”

“We didn’t just experience the scientific method, we lived it,” she added.

For updates on SSEP Mission 16, visit http:/ssep.ncesse.org/ssep-inthe-news/in-the-news-ssep-mission16-to-iss/. For more information on the SSEP project, contact Sarah Tierney, Ed. D., coordinator of School Choice, at Sarah.Tierney@ marion.k12.fl.us or (352) 236-0566.

1. D Josiah T. Walls

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Artist, author and educator Charles Eady to speak at the Appleton

By James Blevins james@ocalagazette.com

T

BRUCE ACKERMAN/Ocala Gazette

Charles Eady poses for a photo with his artwork, Anna, at the Marion County Public Library in Ocala on Feb. 17, 2021.

he College of Central Florida’s Appleton Museum of Art announced on Feb. 11 that it will host a special talk by Charles Eady, entitled “Deeper South: Merging Art with History,” on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.

Born in South Carolina, Eady, who is a contemporary mixed-media artist and author, will speak on how history has informed his creative process using art to examine long-held beliefs about the South, specifically those living in the South before the Civil War. Last year, a painting of his titled “Anna” won Grand Prize at the 2021 ArtFields Festival in Lake City, South Carolina. The painting depicts a young Black girl with a resolute stare—a character from a book of his of the same name—bringing her history to the present. It currently resides on permanent display as part of the ArtFields Collective at the Crossroads Gallery in Lake City.

“His unique artistic language layers art into history,” said the Appleton’s press release, “and his paintings open dialogues into little-known facts about Southern history. Through his work, Eady endeavors to improve social conflict by disrupting mainstream imagery and gives voice to a

population silenced from history.”

Graduating from Claflin University in 1988 with a bachelor’s in art education, Eady, 56, currently lives in Ocala and teaches in the Marion County Public Schools system, including teaching art education at Belleview High School since 2014.

Eady’s book, “Hidden Freedom: The South Before Racism,” tells a compelling story about a free Black family seeking equality in South Carolina before the Civil War, according to the release. Signed copies will be available in the Appleton store for $12.

The talk is free and open to the public.

No RSVP required. Regular admission fees apply if one also plans to visit the galleries. The Appleton Museum, Artspace and store are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

A campus of the College of Central Florida, the Appleton Museum of Art is located at 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, east of downtown on S.R. 40 (exit 352 off I-75 or exit 268 west off I-95).

Parking is free. For more information, call (352) 291-4455 or visit AppletonMuseum.org.

Get to the Greek fest

Say Opa! to Greek revelry while supporting area nonprofits.

Courtesy of St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church

The Aegean Duo will perform bouzouki music at the Ocala Greek Festival.

By Julie Garisto Special to the Gazette

G

reek culture and history have inspired our way of life around the world, from democracy to theater to poetry, mathematics,

sports and philosophy. Greeks have taught us a thing or two about pleasure too, from the tales of Dionysus to “Zorba the Greek” and too many poets and musicians to mention. Around 150,000 people of Greek origin live in Florida, according to

“Hellenes Abroad.”

The vibrant tradition of Grecian revelry lives on at the Ocala Greek Festival the last weekend of February.

Mediterranean food favorites, dancing, live music and fun for youngsters will spread out across the St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church campus in Belleview from Feb. 25-27.

The church has grown from a mission with services conducted at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church in 2001 to constructing its own Orthodox church in 2010.

Over the past two decades, the annual Ocala Greek Festival has grown from a half-day event to a three-day all-out celebration.

Friday’s festivities will include a flag presentation by the Belleview High School Color Guard. An opening prayer will be given by Father Nick Manousakis before welcoming remarks by Mayor Christine Dobkowski.

Bring the kids on Saturday and Sunday to participate in free children’s activities and games. Face painting and balloon animals add to the fun.

Folk groups from northcentral Florida Orthodox

parishes will take the stage to perform dances while indoor and outdoor tavernas serve Greek wine, beer and ouzo. Also onstage, the Aegean Duo will surely get toes tapping with their spirited bouzouki music.

A lottery drawing allows attendees to support the church while winning prizes donated by local businesses. Winners will be announced before the festival closes on Sunday.

Throughout the event, chapel tours will be featured.

For many, the hearty, aromatic Greek food will be the main draw.

Yiayia’s Kitchen will serve gyros, Greek-style chicken, roast legs of lamb, pork souvlaki, moussaka, pastitsio, spanakopita, baklava, Greek coffee and more. Food ticket booklets are available for purchase in advance.

Some proceeds from the event will go to several area charities and community programs, including Operation Shoebox, Shriners Children’s Hospital and Interfaith Emergency Services.

Typically, volunteers take in around $80,000 with around half going to operational costs and 10% of the profits allocated

Join the

Ocala Gazette publishes fond remembrances of your loved one Visit ocalagazette.com to submit an obituary

to local and regional nonprofits.

ROTC students from Belleview High School set up and clean tables and the church donates a part of the proceeds to the high school. The church also provides backpacks for Belleview-Santos Elementary School students through the Interfaith Emergency Services Food 4 Kids program.

“Last year, we just had a minifest with takeout food because of COVID-19,” said George Frangos, church president. “This year, folks can expect a full-blown food festival. We usually get more than 5,000 people coming through.”

Admission is a $2 donation; parking is free. Credit cards are accepted and an ATM will be available on site.

The Ocala Greek Festival will be held 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25-26, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27 at the Father George Papadeas Community Center at St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church, 9926 SE 36th Ave., Belleview. For more information, call (352) 426-3442 or visit stmarksgoc.org.

Team

FULL-TIME POSITIONS

PART-TIME POSITIONS

Faculty – Sonography, Program Manager Faculty – Cardiovascular Technology, Program Manager Trades Specialist – Carpenter/ Painter Trades Specialist - HVAC Librarian

Head Coach - Women’s Cross Country Adjunct – Visual and Performing Arts Assessment Specialist Accounting Specialist III Public Safety Officer Education Assistant

HOW TO APPLY

Go to www.cf.edu/jobs Select one of the following online portals Administrative/Faculty/ Adjunct Career Opportunities or Professional/Career/Part-time Career Opportunities.

Submit an electronic application, a copy of unofficial transcripts and resume online.

A copy of transcripts from an accredited institution must be submitted with the application.

3001 SW College Road, Ocala, FL 34474 CF is an Equal Opportunity Employer

B9

FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

What makes an expert?

Senior research scientist Mark Williams will be the keynote speaker for the resumption of the IHMC Lecture Series.

CF’s International Film Series continues with Tarkovsky’s debut feature, ‘Ivan’s Childhood’

By Susan Smiley-Height susan@magnoliamediaco.com

A

fter a pandemic-influenced delay, the popular Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) Lecture Series returns on March 3 with an expert look at how elite performance is built.

It’s a subject that will be explored

by Mark Williams, Ph.D., a senior research scientist at the IHMC campus in Pensacola. Williams’ experience with excellence has a grounding in sports, but his expertise in cognitive science informs the way his work has progressed.

Williams, a Welsh native, was a youth international soccer player who also played professionally and semiprofessionally. His undergraduate degree is in sport and exercise science from Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, England; his doctorate is in cognitive science at the University of Liverpool.

“Essentially, I’m interested in what makes performers elite in any professional domain,” Williams said. “A lot of my work started off in sport, but the work I do for IHMC is using similar methods and measures but looking more at expertise in military realms, such as special ops, NASA, Air Force and Navy, and looking at how do we best select trainees into these professional domains.”

He has been on the faculty at the University of Liverpool, the University of Sydney in Australia and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where he was professor and chairman of the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Recreation. He also has been a visiting professor at other universities, including Florida State University, where he met Ken Ford, Ph.D., the CEO of IHMC. “All of us at IHMC are pleased to see the Evening Lecture Series reconvening with a talk by our own Mark Williams,” Ford said. “It will be a pleasure to once again welcome the community into our facility.”

For his lecture, Williams will talk

Mark Williams, Ph.D.

about the science of what differentiates an expert and what role nature and nurture play in that.

“Do we become experts through practice on a single task or is there some aspect of generalized ability and transferability across a skill?” Williams said.

Williams has worked in medicine, law enforcement, aviation and other areas. One of his main areas of interest is anticipation and decision-making, and how those are impacted by stressors such as anxiety, fatigue, workload and hot and cold environments, he said.

Williams, a father of three sons, said he is very active physically and still enjoys playing soccer, along with working out, travel and “just being outdoors.”

He also is an author, mentor and peer reviewer for more than 50 journals and 15 funding agencies in North America, Europe and Asia. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, National Academy of Kinesiology, British Association of Sport and Exercise Science and European College of Sports Sciences.

The lecture takes place at IHMC’s Ocala campus at 15 SE Osceola Ave. and begins with a reception at 5:30 p.m.

Seating will be limited to accommodate social distancing. To learn more, go to www.ihmc.us/lectures.

By James Blevins james@ocalagazette.com

T

he College of Central Florida (CF) Ira Holmes International Film Series continues its 60th anniversary season with Russian auteur filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky’s first feature film, “Ivan’s Childhood,” on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

Released in 1962, the film “is a poetic journey through the shards and shadows of one boy’s war-ravaged youth,” according to The Criterion Collection’s website synopsis of the film, while moving “back and forth between [the] traumatic realities of World War II and [the] serene moments of family life before the conflict began.”

Cinematically, the website continued, it remains one of the most haunting and notable depictions of the impact of war on children committed to celluloid, winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1962.

In an interview conducted at the time of the film’s release and collected in a 2006 book of filmmaker interviews by John Gianvito, Tarkovsky stated that in making the film he wanted to “convey all [his] hatred of war,” and that he chose childhood “because it is what contrasts most with war.”

Tarkovsky would go on to direct six more feature films before passing in

1986: “Andrei Rublev” (1966); “Solaris” (1972); “Mirror” (1975); “Stalker” (1979); “Nostalghia” (1983); and “The Sacrifice” (1986).

“Ivan’s Childhood” will be shown at 2 p.m. at the Appleton Museum of Art, located at 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., and at 7 p.m. at the CF Ocala Campus, located at 3001 S.W. College Road, Building 8, Room 110.

Special guest Peggy Dates will introduce the film at its 2 p.m. showing.

An extensive world traveler and international film screening devotee, Dates has assisted the film series for more than nine years and is integral to the series’ success, said a CF press release.

On Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 12:30 p.m., Del Jacobs, author of “Interrogating the Image: Movies and the World of Film and Television” and “Revisioning Film Traditions: The Pseudo-Documentary and the New Western,” will host an online film talk and Q&A session on Zoom.

Future films in the series, all from the year 1962, when Professor Holmes first began the long-running program, include: • “Boccaccio ’70,” directed by Mario Monicelli, Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti, showing on March 8, with a film talk by Dr. Silvo Gaggi on March 9 • “To Kill a Mockingbird,” directed

by Robert Mulligan, showing on March 29, with a film talk by Dr. Gilbert B. Rodman on March 30 A bonus 1962 film shorts festival, featuring Chris Marker’s “La Jetée,” Louis Malle’s “Vive le Tour” and more, is scheduled for April 12.

Films at the Ocala campus are free and open to the public, while films at the Appleton are free to all museum and film series members. Nonmembers must pay museum admission.

Be advised that some films in the series may contain mature content.

For more details, visit CF.edu/ filmseries.

Dunnellon native serves aboard floating airport

Manvir Gill, Mass Communication Specialist Seaman

Petty Officer 3rd Class Steffen Kratzberg

By Patricia Rodriguez, Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Navy Office of Community Outreach

P

etty Officer 3rd Class Steffen Kratzberg, a native of Dunnellon, Florida, serves the U.S. Navy aboard one of the world’s largest warships, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.

Kratzberg joined the Navy two years ago. Today, Kratzberg serves as a information systems technician.

“I joined the Navy because some of my family had served, it would be fun to travel

and also for the educational benefits,” said Kratzberg.

Growing up in Dunnellon, Kratzberg attended Dunnellon High School and graduated in 2019. Today, Kratzberg relies upon skills and values similar to those found in Dunnellon to succeed in the military.

“My high school football coach used to say, ‘Iron sharpens iron,’” said Kratzberg.

“So surround yourself with people who inspire you and they will make you a better person.”

These lessons have helped Kratzberg while serving in the Navy.

Aircraft carriers provide unique capabilities and survivability. They are a powerful exhibition of the American Navy’s legacy of innovation, technological evolution, and maritime dominance, according to Navy officials.

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) represents the first major design investment in aircraft carriers since the 1960s. The ship is engineered to support new technologies and a modern air wing essential to deterring and defeating near-peer adversaries in a complex maritime environment. Ford delivers a significant increase in sortie generation rate, approximately three times more electrical generation capacity, and a $4 billion reduction in total life-cycle cost per ship, when compared to a Nimitzclass aircraft carrier. Once deployed, the Ford-class will serve as the centerpiece of strike group operations through the 21st century, supporting a host of evolving national strategic objectives.

When the air wing is embarked, the ship carries more than 70 attack fighter jets, helicopters and other aircraft, all

of which take off from and land from FORD’s state-of-the-art Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG). With nearly 5,000 Sailors serving aboard, Ford is a self-contained mobile airport.

Aircraft carriers are often the first response to a global crisis because of their ability to operate freely in international waters anywhere on the world’s oceans.

Carrier strike groups have the unique advantage of mobility, making them far more strategically advantageous than fixed-site bases. No other weapon system can deploy and operate forward with a full-sized, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier’s speed, endurance, agility, and the combat capability of its air wing.

“I could not be more proud of our sailors; this crew displayed a phenomenal amount of resiliency and proficiency during each phase of our operational development,” said Capt. Paul Lanzilotta, Ford’s commanding officer. “The crew’s efforts are what make Warship 78 so great, and I can’t wait to be a part of what this mighty warship and her crew achieve in 2022.”

Since USS Langley’s commissioning 100 years ago, the nation’s aircraft carriers, such as Ford, and embarked carrier air wings have projected power, sustained sea control, bolstered deterrence, provided humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and maintained enduring commitments worldwide. Gerald R. Ford represents a generational leap in the aircraft carrier’s capacity to project power on a global scale.

“The aircraft carrier is our U.S. Navy’s centerpiece, our flagship, and a constant reminder to the rest of the

world of our enduring maritime presence and influence,” said Rear Arm. James P. Downey, USN, Program Executive Officer (PEO) Aircraft Carriers. “These ships touch every part of our Navy’s mission to project power, ensure sea control, and deter our adversaries.”

Serving in the Navy means Kratzberg is part of a team that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.

“The Navy controls the seas, but we also protect them,” said Kratzberg.

With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea, and 95 percent of the world’s international phone and internet traffic carried through fiber optic cables lying on the ocean floor, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity and security of the United States is directly linked to a strong and ready Navy.

Kratzberg and the sailors they serve with have many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during their military service.

“I’m proud of receiving my Air Warfare device, I studied for about three months, learned a lot about the ship and then just standing the board itself, I was able to break out of my comfort zone,” said Kratzberg.

As Kratzberg and other sailors continue to train and perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy.

“When I think of serving in the Navy, I think of making lifelong friendships,” added Kratzberg. “It’s a brotherhood.”

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

Marion Rotary Duck Derby T

he Marion Rotary Duck Derby was held at Tuscawilla Park in Ocala on Saturday, Feb. 12. The fundraiser launched and raced 5,000 rubber ducks across Lake Tuscawilla. Cash prizes were awarded for first, second and third places,

with the first place winner receiving $2,000.

Overall, the event raised a net profit of $22,000—with half going towards the City of Ocala Discovery Center, and the other half going towards six local charities, chosen by the Rotary’s six local chapters.

Photos By BRUCE ACKERMAN Ocala Gazette

Kendrie Smith, a duck runner, right, points to the winning duck as Elora Pfriender, left, another duck runner, looks on before collecting another winning duck.

Some of the 5,000 rubber ducks are shown as they are raced across Lake Tuscawilla.

Tim Dean, left, and Al Formella, right, both of the Ocala Rotary Club, collect the winning duck on the shoreline at Tuscawilla Park.

Cattle Drive and Cowboy Round-Up A

lso on Saturday, Feb. 12, City of Ocala Recreation and Parks Department hosted the Cattle Drive and Cowboy Round-Up, kicking off festivities with live entertainment, cowboy demonstrations, mechanical bull rides, a farm animal petting zoo and other family-friendly games.

Photos By BRUCE ACKERMAN Ocala Gazette

Remy Reeves, 9, holds on tight as she tries to ride a mechanical bull for the full 8 seconds.

Brothers Caleb Force, 9, M.J. Force, 4 and Josh Force, 7, left to right, came armed and ready to watch members of the Marion County Cattlemen’s Association lead cattle past the Ocala Downtown Square.

Erin Wheeler, 7, milks a dummy cow.

LEFT: A cattle dog helps keep steers together as members of the Marion County Cattlemen’s Association lead cattle past the Ocala Downtown Square.

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FEBRUARY 18 - FEBRUARY 24, 2022 | OCALA GAZETTE

6 thought-provoking films to watch during Black History Month according to the Gazette’s in-house movie buff

By Ocala Gazette staff

W

hen he’s not writing poetry or news articles for the Gazette, reporter James Blevins is watching or rewatching movies. Hopefully, you’ve been following his enthusiastic previews for the College of Central Florida Ira Holmes International Film Series.

If you ask Blevins to tell you why movies are so important to our culture even when some are based on fictional characters, he’ll remind you that films are often the prisms through which we view the “human experience.”

They also lead to intellectual sparks—lights guiding us to books, essays and poetry, broadening our understandings of the wider world.

And when it comes to Black History Month, movies become a starting point for many nonBlack Americans, like Blevins, to better understand the Black American experience.

Here are six films that helped to do that for our in-house movie buff, maybe they’ll do the same for you:

“Glory” (1989)

Directed by Edward Zwick from a screenplay by Kevin Jarre, which itself was based on two novels—1973’s “Lay This Laurel”

by Lincoln Kirstein and 1965’s “One Gallant Rush” by Peter Burchard— “Glory” is about the Union Army’s first Black regiment during the American Civil War. It stars Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, Cary Elwes and Denzel Washington, in a performance that would win him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1990.

Available to watch on: Hulu, Amazon Prime, Vudu, Apple TV, Sling TV and Roku Further reading after watching: “Embattled Freedom: Journeys Through the Civil War’s Slave Refugee Camps” by Amy Murrell Taylor; “The Women’s Fight: The Civil War’s Battle for Home, Freedom, and Nation”

by Thavolia Glymph; “A Great Sacrifice: Northern Black Soldiers, Their Families, and the Experience of Civil War” by James G. Mendez; “Thunder at the Gates: The Black Civil War Regiments that Redeemed America” by

Douglas Egerton Similar films to check out: “12 Years a Slave,” “Lincoln,” The Birth of a Nation” (2016), “Harriet,” “Selma”

“Moonlight” (2016)

Winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2017, “Moonlight” is an American coming-of-age drama, presenting three stages in the life of Chiron, like three stanzas in a poem: his childhood, adolescence and early adult life. Chiron explores the difficulties of his sexuality and identity while being Black in modern day Miami, Florida.

Based on Tarell Alvin McCraney’s unpublished semiautobiographical play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue,” the film was written and directed by Barry Jenkins. It stars André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali, who won Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Juan, a drug dealer who becomes something of a surrogate father to Chiron during the first stanza of the film.

Available to watch on: Hulu, Amazon Prime, Vudu, Showtime, Sling TV and Google Play Further reading after watching: “Indecency” by Justin Phillip Reed; “Don’t Call Us Dead” by Danez Smith; “The Tradition” by Jericho Brown; “Black Unicorn” by Audre Lord; “Play Dead” by francine j. harris Similar films to check out: “Call Me by Your Name,” “Boyhood,” “Eighth Grade”

“Fruitvale Station” (2013)

Written and directed by Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”), “Fruitvale Station” tells the true story of Oscar Grant, 22, who on New Year’s Day 2009 was shot and killed by police at the Fruitvale district train station of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in Oakland, California, while handcuffed and lying face down on the ground.

The film stars Michael B. Jordan as Grant, with Kevin Durand and Chad Michael Murray playing the two BART police officers involved in Grant’s death, although their names were changed for the film. Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly and Octavia Spencer also star.

Available to watch on: Hulu, Amazon Prime, Vudu, Showtime, Sling TV, Roku, Apple TV and Google Play Further reading: “All American Boys” by Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds; “Dear Martin” by Nic Stone; “On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope” by DeRay McKesson;

“They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement” by Wesley Lowery Similar films to check out: “The Hate U Give,” “Detroit,” “Get Out”

“13th” (2016)

Ava DuVernay’s blistering documentary concerns the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865 during Reconstruction after the end of the American Civil War, which abolished slavery and ended involuntary servitude except as a punishment for a conviction of a crime.

DuVernay contends in the film that slavery has been perpetuated since the end of the Civil War through criminalizing behavior and enabling police to arrest poor freedmen and force them to work for the state under convict leasing.

The film also delves into the suppression of Black Americans by disenfranchisement, lynchings and Jim Crow; politicians declaring a war on drugs that weighs more heavily on minority communities; and, by the late 20th Century, mass incarceration affecting communities of color disproportionally, especially American descendants of slavery.

Available to watch on: Netflix Further reading: “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness”

by Michelle Alexander; “Understanding Mass Incarceration: A People’s Guide to the Key Civil Rights Struggle of Our Time” by James William Kilgore; “Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black People in America from the Civil War to World War II” by Douglas A. Blackmon; “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates Similar films to check out: “I Am Not Your Negro,” “The Central Park Five,” “What Happened, Miss Simone?”

“Hidden Figures” (2016)

“Hidden Figures” tells the true story of three Black American female mathematicians who worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the space race in the early 1960s.

Directed by Theodore Melfi from a screenplay by Allison Schroeder, which was based on the titular book by Margot Lee Shetterly, the film stars Taraji P. Henson as the real-life Katherine Johnson, who was critical to the success of the first and all subsequent U.S. crewed

NASA spaceflights.

Octavia Spenser, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons and Mahershala Ali also star.

Available to watch on: Disney+, Hulu, Vudu, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Vudu, Sling TV and Google Play Further reading: “Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, From Missiles to the Moon to Mars” by Nathalia Holt; “The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars” by Dava Sobel; “Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” by Neil de Grasse Tyson Similar films to check out: “42,” “Race,” “Ali”

“Black Panther” (2018)

Directed by Ryan Coogler of “Fruitvale Station,” “Black Panther” is a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name.

It stars the late Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther alongside Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis.

The film received numerous accolades, including seven nominations at the 91st Academy Awards. Additionally, it was the first superhero film to be nominated for Best Picture. At the box office, “Black Panther” was the first film to hold the number one spot for at least five weekends in a row since James Cameron’s “Avatar” in 2009.

Overall, the film earned $1.34 billion worldwide.

For Black moviegoers, “Black Panther” offered “an imagined reality free of the constraints and horrors of white supremacy,” said Nicol Turner Lee, director for the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings in Washington, D.C. Natasha Alford, a film reviewer at “The Grio,” called the film a “movement, a revolution in progress, and a joy to experience all wrapped into one,” as well as “a master class in what it means to be proud of who you are.”

Available to watch on: Disney+, Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Sling TV and YouTube TV Further reading: “The Intuitionist” by Colson Whitehead; “Dawn” by Octavia E. Butler; “Akata Warrior” by Nnedi Okorafor; “Freshwater” by Akwaeke Emezi Similar films to check out: “Captain America: Civil War,” “I Am Legend,” “Avatar”

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