Ocala News
Post Date: 03/02/2020 3:58 PM
OCALA, Fla. (March 2, 2020) – The City of Ocala has awarded Ohlson Lavoie Corporation (OLC), an Orlando design firm, to create and design the Mary Sue Rich Community Center for Ocala. The project is part of the revitalization efforts in West Ocala and will carry the namesake of longtime City Councilwoman, Mary Sue Rich for her 24 years of dedicated service to the City of Ocala.
The new 41,750 square foot, two-story center will serve as the hub of the community. The facility will include designated indoor spaces for senior, youth and family programs; a 400-seat banquet/event space that can be dividable into three rooms; and a kitchen to serve seniors and children after school, in addition to catering and public cooking options.
Health and wellness facilities include an open fitness area; indoor walking track; two multi-purpose studios with an operable partition for larger groups; a mind, body and dance studio; two full basketball courts; a gymnasium with 120-person bleachers for each court; indoor playground with connection to one of the courts which will be used for camps; senior studio and multipurpose room; and library and media center. There are also huddle rooms for tutoring and health advice. Continue reading
Post Date:03/02/2020 2:51 PM
OCALA, Fla. (March 2, 2020) – In order to accommodate the Stormwater Project at SW First Avenue, at the intersection of SW Sixth Street, there will be road closures beginning Monday, March 9 through Friday, March 20.
All necessary devices will be in place to redirect traffic. Construction will take place Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Detour routes:
- • Northbound Traffic: Left onto SW Seventh Street, right onto SW Second Avenue, right onto SW Fifth Street, back to SW First Avenue.
- • Southbound Traffic: Left onto SW Fifth Street, right onto S. Magnolia Avenue, right onto SW Seventh Street, back to SW First Ave.
For more information, please contact the City Engineer’s Office, Capital Projects Division at 352-629-8419.
Sunday, March 29 – Thursday, April 2
Ocala Civic Theatre is celebrating an amazing milestone in the 2020-2021 season: our 70th year of providing quality live theatrical productions to our community!
To celebrate this memorable achievement, Ocala Civic Theatre – with your help! – will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the Longest Continuous Theatrical Performance. The big event will take place from March 29 to April 2, 2020. The time to beat is 78 hours, 45 minutes, and 16 seconds. A theatre that’s lasted 70 years clearly likes to do things in a big way – so OCT is going for 79 hours! And we’d love for YOU to be part of our 79 FOR 70!
The world record attempt will begin on Sunday, March 29 at 7 p.m. and will end at noon on Thursday, April 2. A cast of 20 actors, in alternating shifts, will present the 79 hours of continuous performance, selected from the 600+ productions in OCT’s 70-year history. Continue reading
By Bob Rountree on February 15, 2020
PLANT CITY — The 85th annual Florida Strawberry Festival opened to large crowds despite frigid weather on Thursday, Feb. 27, but the forecast calls for a slow but steady warming trend and clear skies over the festival’s 11-day run, which ends on March 10.
See all events and more at: https://www.floridarambler.com/florida-festivals/florida-strawberry-festival-plant-city/
OCALA, Fla. (Feb. 28, 2020) – The Racial Harmony and Cultural Awareness Task Force hosted the annual ‘REACH Across the Table’ event on Thursday, Feb. 27 at Silver Springs State Park. Joined by 70 people consisting of community leaders and residents, the task force engaged attendees in defining what respect means within the community.
The event, now in its second year, welcomed honest discussions about stereotypes, barriers (both physical and geographical) and how we envision our community. A diverse group of members within the community came together to create goals and objectives for the year. The feedback and notes provided during the event will be developed into an annual report and action plan that sets the agenda for the upcoming year.
The Racial Harmony and Cultural Awareness Task Force is a City of Ocala initiative lead by retired City Councilwoman Mary Sue Rich. The REACH program allows for an open dialogue among community leaders and residents to encourage a unified existence. Membership on the Task Force is open to all individuals and organizations who are passionate about furthering the mission of inclusion and unity.
For more information, about the REACH Task Force, visit https://www.ocalafl.org/i-want-to/learn/reach/about.
OBL Ocala has been a premiere referral club for many years, founded by David Liner and many Charter members. The club takes pride in helping each other through doing business with each other, business referrals and helping the community in many ways: feeding the hungry, ringing the bell during Christmas, helping families in need at Christmas time and other holidays, supporting scholarships every year & more.
The picture is the group having fun at the Installation Banquet. They competed in games as well as doing business. Pictures by Walter Crumm and Kent Poimboeuf
OBL meets every Wednesday 7 AM for breakfast at the Elks club. Business people wanting to join, visit and membership will tell you if that could work. Some categories are available. Call 352-804-1223.
The Marion County Genealogical Society will meet Thursday, March 19, 2020 from 2pm – 4pm at the Marion County Public Library, 2720 E. Silver Springs Blvd, Ocala, FL. Kathy Stickney will give a live presentation on the topic “Pass It On: Sharing Your Genealogical Research”. For further information, visit www.mcgsocala.org or contact Joel Swanson at (352) 897-0840.
(OCALA, Fla.) Feb. 13, 2020 – Ocala Fire Rescue (OFR) donated a firefighting apparatus to a volunteer fire department in the Bahamas during a quaint ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 13.
After the destruction of most of their fire rescue equipment during Hurricane Dorian, the Marsh Harbour Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department (MHVFRD) in Central Abaco, Bahamas, was left with a dire need for everything from apparatus to bunker gear. Learning about their needs, OFR began an exhaustive search for potential equipment donations. The search led to a 1992 Titan Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) truck, which had been retired from OFR’s fleet in 2018.
Today, among a group of representatives from both fire departments, as well as city officials, the keys and title were presented to Marsh Harbour Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department. Equipped with separate tanks capable of holding copious amounts of water and extinguishing agent, the ARFF truck, which had been decommissioned in 2018, was a perfect fit for Marsh Harbour’s needs.
The donation of the ARFF truck will allow the MHVFRD to service areas, including Marsh Harbour International Airport, Treasure Cay International Airport, the North Abaco Port, and Port of Marsh Harbour. Additionally, the ARFF truck will aid with coverage of six area fire stations and the ability to fight fuel fires.
Ken Boggs from First Federal Bank spoke at the OBL breakfast. The Bank headquarters are in Lake City Florida. They have banks all over the country concentrated along the I-10 and I-75 corridors. They offer many services.
Kent Poimboeuf was the designated speaker at the Ocala Business Leaders breakfast last month. He was explaining how to update your OBL website so the marketing tools work, how to use the website, how to use the mobile directory and how to advertise in the OBL Directory. This was all video available on Ocala Business Leaders Facebook. Kent also talked about advertising on Ocala4sale.com. Kent has been a long time valuable member of OBL. See OBL pictures on page 10.
