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 →

Tony Clayton of Ocala Electric was ask to give a talk about Ocala Electric on  how everything works, telling us a little bit about power outages and how the power grid resets itself three times before it actually goes off. Tony says be prepared for Hurricane Season. They are forecasting 14 named storms and another 6 becoming hurricanes.

Outages will happen with storms and hurricanes. Their goal is to keep the power on.

During a storm or hurricane when the winds get up to 30 miles per hour they pull their guys in. Once the winds are safe again they start assessing the damage, and do the repair work in priority, like hospital first, homes keeping the elderly and so on and so on! Continue reading →

County Commissioner Michelle Stone was the Guest speaker at the Ocala Business Leaders. She listed the things they were proposing, things they have done and things they were working on right now. It was an informational hour with lots of good information that most of us did not know. Thank You Michelle Stone for informing us!

The City of Ocala announces the completion of three public art projects. The projects were completed during summer 2019 and include the restoration of the Ocala Black History Mural, Bridging the Divide in Tuscawilla Park and Retro Reel at the Marion Theatre.

OCALA, Fla. (Aug. 12, 2019) – The City of Ocala announces the completion of three public art projects.  The projects were completed during summer 2019 and include the restoration of the Ocala Black History Mural, Bridging the Divide in Tuscawilla Park and Retro Reel at the Marion Theatre.

On Aug. 2, in conjunction with the closing of the 2019 Ocala Levitt AMP Music Series, the City and the College of Central Florida (CF) celebrated the completion of the restoration of the Ocala Black History Mural.  Originally completed in 2005, and lead by then CF Brick City Center for the Arts staff Michele Faulconer and Hampton Center Director (current Vice president of Institutional Effectiveness and College Relations) Dr. Jillian Ramsammy, the mural provides a continual timeline of black historical events in Marion County and Ocala.  Individual panels depict themes of religion, politics, agriculture, banking, education, medicine and social activities.  It was designed by youth during a summer art camp held at the CF’s Hampton Center in 2004.  This year’s restoration includes a new panel that acknowledges the progress made in the community since the completion of the original mural and the accomplishments of distinguished members Mary Sue Rich, Ruth Reed and Carolyn Adams. Continue reading →

(Ocala, FL) The Historic Ocala Preservation Society (HOPS) is proud to announce they have begun installing signs this month in the Tuscawilla Historic District. The signs mounted on a granite monument located near the sidewalk describe the history of the homes.

“These signs will preserve our heritage and encourage walking tours throughout the neighborhood” states Leon Geller, who purchased a sign. He added that he loves old homes and the history behind them, and recently renovated a home at 114 Northeast Tuscawilla Avenue. A sign was also installed this week at a recently renovated building next door at 118 Northeast Tuscawilla Avenue enhancing the neighborhood. Twenty-three signs have already been installed in the Ocala Historic District. Owners may contact HOPS for information by calling (352)351-1861.

For many years I have noticed that there are not many garages to service the cars in The Villages. Let me introduce you to a GEM, just minutes from The Villages.

Robert and Karen Gazda, husband and wife are owners and operators. They have a very good reliable staff of many years. Billy Brown Front desk customer service Representative. Also with them for many years are Sam James and Ron Bartlett. You learn something about a company when employees stay that long.

Rain or shine mechanical work gets done. What I like is they have a cover drive up so if it’s raining you can get out and go in to  talk to Robert or Billy. They have a good size show room, with lots of reading material in the waiting area, free coffee and TV. Continue reading →

OBL  Speaker Les Singleton of Send Out Cards was a trainer for Dale Carnegie. He gave a session on how to Network, how to communicate, had some suggested questions and suggestions on how to respond. The information shared was very valuable. Everyone went through a drill picking someone they knew least about. In a few minutes they knew all about their business.