Ocala News
Cracker Days is held every spring at Rainbow Springs State Park in Dunnellon. For a $2/person admission fee, you can spend all day experiencing Florida’s frontier, a step back in time. Watch the crack of a cattle whip, touch the mane of a unique Florida Cracker horse, enjoy fresh made food from that era, including kettle corn, marmalade, and other goodies. You can also have hands on experience at corn grinding, vintage children games, and much more. 1800’s living history demonstrators will educate and entertain you with stories from the past. Continue reading
Thousands of people, hundreds of vendors attended. Nurseries, landscaping companies, lawn designers, gardeners, etc.
I went to get information about Camellias for my wife who could not attend. They had it and every other plant you could imagine. One vendor said “if it’s not here that plant bloomed early. This show is about color.” There was brilliant color!
The Festival is always held the 2nd weekend of March, so put it on your calendar for next year. Continue reading
Lions Club holds fund raising for Charity. Here are some members of the Ocala Fort King Lions Club selling brooms at the Fresh Market in downtown Ocala. They are also on a membership drive. If you’re interested in joining, call Walt at Walt’s Brakes and More 352-629-3134. The Ocala Downtown Market is the place where a diverse array of farmers, artisans, craftspeople, and food trucks come together to sell their products to customers from Ocala, Marion County, and beyond.
Chief Graham shared to the OBL Breakfast group some surprising statistics about the effects of Opiate addiction in our community. Opiates were the number one cause of deaths, 70, in Marion County in 2017. With just a few weeks into 2018, Marion County has already recorded 34 overdoses and 9 deaths. The Ocala Police Department has created a new task force to help with this epidemic. He called on us, as members of the community, to support treatment facilities and educate others on the use of prescription drugs.
MARION COUNTY, Florida (March 30, 2018)- After a thorough investigation conducted alongside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) detectives have arrested Lawrence Margulies (DOB: 03/18/1970) for possessing multiple files of child pornography. Margulies, a U.S. citizen who holds a Ph.D. in Physics, was working in Canada in 2017 when he was deported from the country for possessing child pornography. Margulies was residing with family in the On Top of the World subdivision in Marion County when he was arrested for the same offense Friday morning. Continue reading
The City of Ocala will host the annual Mayor’s Spring Cleanup event Saturday, April 21 from 8 to 11 a.m. at various locations throughout the city.
OCALA, Fla. (March 26, 2018) – The City of Ocala will host the annual Mayor’s Spring Cleanup event Saturday, April 21 from 8 to 11 a.m. at various locations throughout the city.
Community groups, businesses and volunteers are invited to participate in this event by collecting litter or cleaning up an area in our city. All litter collected will be brought to a collection site at Tuscawilla Park at the conclusion of the event. All participants will receive a free T-shirt. The deadline to register is Tuesday, April 3.
To register, or for more information, please contact City of Ocala Sanitation Division Head, Dwayne Drake, at ddrake@ocalafl.org or 352-351-6744.
Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn is joining mayors across the country in asking residents to make a long-term commitment to manage water resources more wisely by taking part in the annual Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation.
OCALA, Fla. (March 26, 2018) – Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn is joining mayors across the country in asking residents to make a long-term commitment to manage water resources more wisely by taking part in the annual Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. In return, residents can win $5,000 toward their home utility payments, water saving fixtures and hundreds of other prizes. Plus, one lucky charity will receive a 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid to serve the community.
The annual challenge, taking place Sunday, April 1 through Monday, April 30, is a non-profit national community service campaign to see which leaders can best inspire their residents to make a series of informative and easy-to-do online pledges at mywaterpledge.com to use water more efficiently, reduce pollution, and save energy. Continue reading
The City of Ocala will conduct a special waste amnesty day Saturday, April 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the corner of at NE 14th Street and NE Eighth Avenue.
OCALA, Fla. (March 27, 2018) – The City of Ocala will conduct a special waste amnesty day Saturday, April 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the corner of at NE 14th Street and NE Eighth Avenue.
Special waste consists of household hazardous waste and electronics. Neither of these types of waste is permitted to be picked up with regularly scheduled residential waste collection. Special waste from businesses will not be collected.
Examples of hazardous waste items accepted: Continue reading
The city that receives the most nominations will receive a $20,000 grant to improve a local park.
OCALA, Fl. (March 29, 2018) – For the fourth year in a row, the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is collaborating with The Walt Disney Company — including Disney|ABC Television Group and ESPN — to help fund local park improvement projects across the country through the national “Meet Me at the Park” Earth Month campaign. The city that receives the most nominations will receive a $20,000 grant to improve a local park.
Local parks make Ocala a better place to live and shape so many of our lives. Parks are essential to our city’s health and wellbeing. They provide safe places to be active and enjoy nature—and they help preserve the environment and bring people together. That’s why from April 1 to April 30 Ocala residents will have the opportunity to nominate our city to receive $20,000 in grant funding to make improvements at a local park. Continue reading
