In Memory of CPL Lewis B Alston – Born in Glassboro, NJ, on May 23, 1951, Lewis lived in Lancaster, PA most of his life before moving to Ocala, FL in 2016. Lewis served in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He was a Purple Heart recipient. Lewis was an integral member of the Marion County Memorial Honor Guard, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Florida Honor Guard and the World Veteran’s Club.
Lewis could always be found volunteering his help to Veterans and their families in the community, as well as volunteering as a crossing guard in Lancaster City. He enjoyed riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, was an avid scuba diver and loved spending quality time with his family and friends.
Lewis passed away on Saturday, November 18, 2023. Once one later, his presence stands firm within the ranks of the Marion Count Memorial Honor Guard. Photos by CK Johnson
Click to view or download.
“I will never surrender our mission keep America Great!”
Caption: Speaker Johnson, Rep. Cammack, and Rep. Dunn speak to members of the local, state, and national media about their visit.
GAINESVILLE, FL — Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) joined Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-FL-03) and Congressman Neal Dunn (R-FL-02) for a visit to the areas in North Central Florida devastated by Hurricane Helene.
The group took an aerial tour of the damage, viewing Cedar Key, Suwannee, Horseshoe Beach, and Steinhatchee from above. Hurricane Helene made landfall last Thursday evening, dumping heavy rain that generated 18 feet of storm surge along the coastal areas in Florida’s Big Bend region.
The congressional leaders stopped in Steinhatchee to view the damage on the ground and to visit with local leaders who have been working around the clock to aid in initial cleanup efforts. The lawmakers also spoke with members of local, state, and national media, sharing important updates about recovery efforts and what more Congress can and should do to help the communities devastated by the storm.
Speaker Mike Johnson told members of local, state, and national press during a stop in Steinhatchee: “I think this has been an extraordinary effort by Florida, the state and local officials. It’s just really inspiring to see how well it’s been covered and how much the community is rolling up its sleeves and working together. Here in this community, it would inspire the entire country to see how they’re really banded together. They’re undeterred. This is a very resilient community of people. That’s the best of America. We have this disaster now that’s around the country. We have people in North Carolina still stranded in their homes in the mountains, and people in Georgia and a number of other states that have been terribly affected by this storm. So, Congress is on the ground, the representatives who represent all those districts are there with their constituents, with their people trying to help, and we will do what’s necessary to make sure that Americans are taken care of.”
By TomL
All through the eyes of Kamala Harris’s and through the brain where she does not use common sense to fix problems. She also is mistaken about almost everything she says. She makes up story’s and then thinks their true after a while. She is the danger to our country! She adopts issues that she to talk’s about and when she finds it is not popular she changes her stance. Immigration, Abortion, Nato and Ukraine aid, Israel – Gaza War, Taxes, Healthcare, Crime, Climate Change, Fracking, Gun Laws, everything she says or pretends to do is done wrong.
China prefers Kamala to Donald Trump because she is more predictable and more MANAGEABLE! Wow that is the way the Democratic party feels! Manageable China says. Donald Trump says America first! Trump says if the Chinese want to sell product cheap in our country they will have to pay for it with a import tax or Terrif! Continue reading
The Lady Lake Chamber of commerce had it’s monthly networking luncheon at the Glenview Champions Country Club. The restaurant was full the food was good as usual. The luncheons are held so that businesses can network, maybe do business or set up appointments.
It has been very successful. Pictures on the center fold of this paper are a sample of people attending. Lots of door prizes were won. A fun day was had by all.
According to the internet FBI has agreed to pay a total of 34 women who claimed sexual discrimination and harassment at the FBI training academy.
The plaintiffs were dismissed from the FBI’s Quantico training academy in Virginia between 2019 and 2020.
Shockingly, this isn’t the first substantial settlement; it comes on the heels of a $138.7 million settlement related to mishandled sexual assault allegations againsta sports doctor. The FBI’s agreement to this settlement signifies a long-overdue acknowledgment of systemic injustices faced by these women.
Despite reforms, public confidence in the FBI remains shaken, given past and ongoing revelations of misconduct.
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Is Governor DeSantis snubbing Camala Harris by not accepting her phone calls. Some think he is not talking to her because she showed up a week to late! Others say she is just trying to grab a headline. DeSantis says he is to busy to play political games, we are trying to rescue people, she did not show up because she was at a fund raiser in California, now a week later she shows up? The same thing happened in the aftermath of Helene that killed hundreds of people and the death toll is still rising. Finally after the public opinion was so over whelming they showed up. Meanwhile Miorcus says we are running out of disaster funds. They spent a lot of that fund to house the illegals. Continue reading
If you have lived in Ocala for more than a decade, then you probably know our community’s story of bouncing back from the Great Recession in 2007-08. If you are newer to the area since then (and more than 100,000 people have moved here over the last decade), it is important history to know.
In the early 2000’s, our community was truly a boomtown. Everyone was a builder, developer, or realtor and we were building and flipping houses like nobody’s business. Unfortunately, it was nobody’s business. No one was actually living in many of the houses, and we had stopped building a real economy to support the growth. When the Great Recession happened, arguably no community in our country was more negatively impacted than Ocala. Overnight, the County and School System lost 40% of their revenue, wages stagnated, and we began a period of seven years of double-digit unemployment. SEVEN YEARS!
The business community in partnership with local government and education partners made an intentional effort to turn the tide in 2012 with the creation of the CEP with the merger of the Chamber of Commerce with the Economic Development Council. While there were a number of goals, the three top goals were to 1) to create more jobs which 2) pay wages higher than the current county median and 3) resulted in the significant private investment in the community. Continue reading
If you have lived in Ocala for more than a decade, then you probably know our community’s story of bouncing back from the Great Recession in 2007-08. If you are newer to the area since then (and more than 100,000 people have moved here over the last decade), it is important history to know.
In the early 2000’s, our community was truly a boomtown. Everyone was a builder, developer, or realtor and we were building and flipping houses like nobody’s business. Unfortunately, it was nobody’s business. No one was actually living in many of the houses, and we had stopped building a real economy to support the growth. When the Great Recession happened, arguably no community in our country was more negatively impacted than Ocala. Overnight, the County and School System lost 40% of their revenue, wages stagnated, and we began a period of seven years of double-digit unemployment. SEVEN YEARS! Continue reading
From the desk of Senator Dennis Baxley—
I want to thank you, the citizens of District 13, for allowing me to serve and represent you, these past 8 years. Due to senate term limits, I am “termed out”.
It’s been a privilege having worked in both the House and the Senate for 20 years. We’ve addressed a lot of issues, working to make the lives of the citizens here in the State of Florida economically better, our educational programs stronger, our people safer, and gave incentives to small businesses so they could thrive.
I will be returning to family, community and business activities. I hope to see you when we’re out and about.
Onward & Upward,
Senator Dennis Baxley
Senate District 13
……….Publishers Note………
Definition of termed out means…Dennis Baxley’s was at the end of a term and could not run again.
Some history from the internet
2022-2024. Senator Dennis Baxley. Party: Republican. Committee Assignments. Agriculture · Appropriations · Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil … Continue reading
