Ocala News

The 6th Annual Critter Trail 5K Walk/Run will be held at Silver Springs State Park on Saturday, November 16, 2019, 9:30 A.M..  The fundraiser is sponsored by the Friends of Silver Springs State Park, a 501c3 non-profit Citizen’s Support Organization (CSO).  Sponsorship opportunities are available, please contact 5kfsssp@gmail.com for details.

The race will begin at the Silver Springs Boardwalk and run through trails within the park.  Marked trails will guide you through the race which you may choose to run, walk or stroll.  Be the first to participate and get a specially designed Tee Shirt.  Kids 12 years and younger are half price and well behaved pets, on leash, are welcome.  For Race details and to Register On-Line, please go to https://runsignup.com/Race/FL/SilverSprings/CritterTrail5k. This is a fundraiser in the park and for the park.  All monies stay local and will be used to aid the Silver Springs State Park in it’s mission to conserve, protect and enhance this pristine park and its diverse habitats which improves the visitor’s experience.  Enter through the Silver Springs Entrance, off of Silver Springs Blvd (S.R. 40) and east of S.R. 35. The address is 5656 East Silver Springs Blvd, Silver Springs, FL 34488. For more information about the Park and the Friends, please visit  www.FloridaStateParks.org/SilverSprings and www.TheFriendsofSilverSprings.org.

After 36 + years Father Les Singleton will retire in November. Episcopal Church of the Mediator. Sunday November 24 will be Les’ final service at Church of Mediator.

By Publisher Tom Loury

This review has several months included and some out of the area reviews.

  1. In August I ate Silver Springs Restaurant, had a Cowboy Burger, no bread, no Barbecue sauce with half order fries, extra crispy. The hamburger was fresh, handmade and had onion rings on top like a Cowboy Hat. It was good and the price was reasonable.
  2. Ate at Roadhouse grill, Villages on 441. Had steak, potatoes and veggies. Service was good, food was excellent.
  3. Ate at Mojo’s Ocala,Fl. It was all good, price was right. I had a Hound Dog, ft long beef hot dog wrapped in bacon, with cheese, onions and mustard. WEW! Excellent.
  4. Ritzy place: ate at the Strata Hotel St Pete Beach several times. The food, all Chef prepared, all good. They had a Luau with a whole roasted pig. It was delicious. My wife would not look at it or eat any of it. There were plenty of other meats. One interesting thing they were serving Icelandic Glacial water in the rooms and at the conference’s meetings with sponsors paying for it. The bars were expensive, a good reason to stay sober. It was very nicely done. The Hotel was nice, the view of the ocean was rated great.
  5. 5. Ate at Terry’s restaurant. Had a fish sandwich on one of their homemade rolls, baked fresh every day in house. It was all good, I will go back there soon.
  6. 6. Ate at Turnpike Mikes Bistro in Dunnellon Florida at the Rainbow Spring Country Club. Bottom floor looking out over the well-groomed grounds and shade trees. My gosh! The half sub is huge. I ate some of the half sub took some home. I used the leftover meat & cheese to put in my salad twice the next two days.
  7. 7. Had finger foods at the Sky restaurant on top of the Holiday Inn, Ocala Fl at a networking event. The Chef there always does a good job. Interesting touch the Holiday Inn serves Artesian water from Norway in a unusually tall container with a lid that has a seal. Break the seal and it’s yours. The water was good.
  8. 8. Had breakfast at the Ocala Business Leaders at the Elks club. They always do a good job. Also they know how to make a good hot cup of coffee.
  9. 9. Had lunch at Honey Bake Ham, the soup and sandwich deal. Turkey noodle soup and ham and cheese half sandwich with the works. It was good, and price was not bad at all.
  10. 10. Had lunch at the Florida Cracker Kitchen on my way back from St Pete. It is in Brooksville Florida. The food was good, prices moderate. They also have a Cracker store next door. It was fun walking through while waiting for a table.
  11. 11. I ate at Ocean 11 all you can eat buffet. I had two or three kinds of shrimp, crab, stuffed mushrooms and tea which it was difficult ordering since staff did not speak very much English. Ordered unsweetened tea with just a splash of sweet on top. After two waitresses and sending the tea back we got it right. I said unsweet tea and I put the sugar in myself.
  12. 12. Ate at Eaton’s Beach on Lake Weir last week. I had a catfish poorboy without the bun. It was a nice fish fillet grilled lettuce, tomato, pickles & steamed broccoli and cauliflower. It was excellent. The unique setting is on the Lake with a beach on ground level surrounded by boat docks. I saw a catchy saying on a brochure…The only thing better than the view is the food!” How True!!!
  13. 13 Ate at Darrell’s Restaurant East Silver Spring Blvd. One of 15 locations, wow. I would classify my lunch as a good meal, bowl of chicken noodle soup with half a ham and cheese on toast. The service was good, the coffee was good and hot, prices were moderate. Good job Darrell’s. I don’t like cold coffee and not too strong. There is an art to making good coffee. Do not ask someone who doesn’t drink coffee every day to make coffee.

If you had a good restaurant experience anywhere in Florida,  email me at: tloury@att.net. Tell me what restaurant. What food did you have? How was it? How was it priced? How was the service?

(Ocala, FL) A sign was unveiled this week that has been erected on Ocala’s downtown square. The sign commemorates and recognizes a twinning agreement with Ocala’s sister town located in Newbridge, Ireland. The official agreement linking the two communities was finalized ten years ago and was signed by the mayors of both towns. “The concept of twinning among towns helps promote the sharing of culture, and has resulted in lasting bonds of friendship” states Charles Eades, chairperson of the Ocala Twinning Committee.

Attending the ceremony were officials from the City of Ocala, Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn, a delegation visiting from Newbridge, and Ocala Twinning committee members. The sign includes information about the twinning, a display of the American and Irish flags, a map pinpointing the location of Newbridge, and the fact that Ireland is only 4,038 miles away.

In the photo, former mayor of Newbridge Murty Aspell says a few words to a group gathered during the unveiling ceremony.

TomL Publishing LLC Wins Awards! The awards event is put on by Florida Media Association covering all of Florida. TomL Publishing has a Multi-Media Platform offering print newspapers and with internet exposure. The TomL Publishing company entered a statewide contest for newspapers in different categories. Graphics Artist Chris Boody of Website Design Ocala / Website Graphic Design Florida, took first place for Best Digital Ad Design. Tom Loury, Publisher won First Place Best Editorial and several other awards.

TomL says we are lucky to have won in the field of newspapers that were competing. We appreciate them for considering us. We are lucky to have Chris Boody doing our ad designing and composing our papers. Chris has also set up tomlpublishing.com website. Thank You Chris Boody for all you do!

   Pictured is Diane Leaf speaking in front of the Ocala Business Leaders about Champions for Champions. They are working toward making life better for children and adults by helping them overcome adversity. They are self-funded meaning they raise money through fund raising. They pay for building rental and program to enhance their participation skills.

The purpose for Champions for Champions Inc. is to enrich the lives of special needs individuals and their family in Marion county and surrounding areas of Central Florida. They facilitate in providing recreation, educational, athletic, life skills and musical activities. For questions on how you can help call 352-462-0380 or 352-800-6733.

    Ocala Water Resources Conservation Coordinator Rachel Slocumb explained the process of the water resources in Ocala. Slocumb showed how toilet tissue verse non toilet tissue breaks down. It was amazing to see. If you ask you can get a brochure that tells you what not to flush down the toilet. The list is just common sense. Remember the toilet is not a garbage can. Wipe grease out of pans and put in the trash bag for garbage pickup.

Some of the extra work processing waste water is what some people are flushing down the toilet or washing down the drain like grease. It will clog your drains and will clog the city’s drains. Slocumb explained some of the processes they use to break the grease buildup from the walls of the pipes. After filtering, the human waste is dried, treated and taken to a designated area near Brooksville.

It was a very educational talk! Thank you Rachel Slocumb!

MARION COUNTY, Florida [Monday, September 9, 2019] The Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) has instituted a prescription drug drop-off box program, a service which will enable Marion County citizens a way to safely dispose of their prescription medications all year.   The goal of this new program is to combat our local, state and national opioid crisis by collecting unwanted or unused medications that have the potential to fall into the hands of those who may abuse them. 

With the contribution of funds from Advent Health and the Florida Department of Health of Marion County, we are able to have a prescription drug drop-off box at each one of our MCSO district offices as well as the Belleview Police Department where citizens will be able to drop off their prescription medications Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.  MCSO Evidence Division will collect the prescriptions and properly dispose of them according to DEA regulations.    Continue reading

OCALA, Fla. (Aug. 30, 2019) – In preparation for Hurricane Dorian, the City of Ocala Recreation and Parks Department has announced the following facility closures and adjusted hours of operation.

  • Friday, Aug. 30
    • All city parks, splash pads and recreation centers will be open and maintain routine operating hours
  • Saturday, Aug. 31
    • All city parks and splash pads will be open and maintain routine operating hours
    • All city youth and adult recreation centers, including the Discovery Center, will be closed until further notice
  • Sunday, Sept. 1
    • All city parks and splash pads will be closed until further notice.

Please note, these facility closures and adjusted hours of operation are subject to change as weather conditions change. We will continue to provide updates as they become available. Continue reading

Sandbag Operations and School Athletic Schedule Changes Announced

Marion County, Florida (August 28, 2019) – As Marion County residents are preparing for a potential hurricane event, Marion County Emergency Management has announced sandbag operation locations.

Sandbags will be made available for residents starting Friday, August 30th starting at 7AM. Bags and sand will be provided. You will be required to fill your own bags.

Operations will run from 7AM through 7PM.

Locations:

  1. Wrigley Field – 405 County Road E 316, Citra FL
  2. Belleview Sports Complex – 6501 SE 107th Street, Belleview, FL
  3. Dunnellon City Complex – 11924 Bostick Street, Dunnellon FL

City of Ocala

  1. Reilly Arts Center – 500 NE 9th Street, Ocala FL
  2. ED Crosky Recreation Center – 1510 NW Fourth Street, Ocala, FL

Continue reading

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