Villages/Lady Lake
My second visit with friends for dinner at El Mezcal.
A very extensive menu to please everyone’s tastebuds. They have two outdoor seating areas, in front and rear of the restaurant, dog friendly. The interior has two sections and bar for those fabulous Margaritas and mixed drinks. This restaurant is exceptionally maintained, clean environment, beautifully decorated, excellent service, generous portions and flavorful food prepared by their chefs. I’ve lived in Texas and California, El Mezcal seems to capture a unique hybrid of the Mexican cuisine. A personal favorite is Fajitas, containing shrimp, scallops and chicken breast strips, a special marinate in a pineapple shell presentation. If you want a Five Star Experience at $-$$ prices this is the spot. It will become a destination for exceptional food, service and dining after your first experience!
Frank Turner
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My wife and I visited the Oasis Cafe. It is a mom and pop friendly atmosphere. I had some great soup and a hamburger was excellent. It was moderately priced and well prepared. My wife as well said she enjoyed the meal.
I liked the meal some much went back for lunch the next week. Again I was not disappoint ted. Good food and they had some home chips that were interesting, you should go try them.
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My review has to be about the Blue Gator. Tuesday night wings 50 cents anyway you want them. Of course there was a waiting line but the wings were worth every minute. I ate the Garlic parmigaun. I can only eat eight or nine w/ranch dressing and I’m done.
Ex-Chief Chris McKinstry
By TomL
There are Rumors flying around that the Ex-Chief is suing the Town of Lady Lake for age discrimination. It was also in a online news cast. At press time the Town has not been served. So right now it is a rumor on June 25th at 12 noon.
This is a long time battle between Ex-Chief McKinstry and the Town Manager Kris Kollgaard. McKinstry stepped down in 2018 after several heated Town Meetings. Town Manager Kris Kollgaard said the Chief was not following regulations or rules of his contract and they had irreconsilable differences. The Ex-Chief answered to the Town Manager according to the Town Council. One thing led to another and the Chief was forced out. Two of the five Town Council sided with the Chief and three did not so it was over.
Recently when the Town Manager gave notice sources say the Ex-Chief was suing the Town for age discrimination. The ex-chief did file a complaint with Florida Commission on Human Relations claiming age discrimination and they came back with a ruling of no reasonable cause to believe that there was any age discrimination.The Town does not seem to know anything about the suit. There is no information at press time that the Town of Lady Lake has been served.
Inverness Florida Lady Lake Chamber holds Ribbon Cutting for HNR Gunworks. HNR Gunworks celebrated their 4th year Anniversary with a Ribbon Cutting and customer appreciation BBQ. Conveniently located at 3238 South Florida Avenue in Inverness, FL, they are a SOT Class 3 licensed dealer, the only one in the Inverness area.
Kris Kolgaard Lady Lake Town Manager
by TomL
Kris Kollgaard Town Manager of eleven years has notified the Town Council June 16th that she will not be renewing her contract as Town Manager. Kollgaard said she would stay on until they get another Town Manager, then she will step down to Town Clerk. Kollgaard has been doing both jobs and she wants to just do Town Clerk job. Kollgaard said she wanted to spend more time with her family and kind of wined down from the stress that goes with the Town Manager job.
There is a organization of retired Town Managers that will assist the council’s search for a new manager at no charge to the Town.
To Kris Kollgaard from TomL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
Pictured is a Purple Passionflower
We have bantering pictures of Animals, Birds, Flowers nonprofessional photography. Here is some information from the web about the Purple Passionflower.
Alternate Names Wild passion flower, maypop, apricot vine, old field apricot, Holy-Trinity flower, molly-pop, passion vine, pop- apple, granadilla, maycock, maracoc, maracock, white sarsaparilla.
Uses One of the uses of the purple passionflower is ornamental in nature. This is because of their showy blooms and their climbing ability over fences, arbors, or up walls. Native American Indians used the poultice root for boils, cuts, earaches and inflammation. Dried leaves boiled with water also aids in insomnia.
Wildlife Purple passionflower attracts butterflies. Young tendrils inch lavender flowers are short-stalked from leaf axils. The petals and sepals subtend a fringe of wavy or crimped, hair-like segments. The pistil and stamens are also showy. Three-lobed, deciduous leaves are dark-green above and whitish below. The plants bloom from June to September. The pulpy fruit or “maypop” develops in two to three months after flowering and may be harvested from July to October. It will be yellowish in color and it is about the size of a large oval hen’s egg. Continue reading
OCALA, Fla.-The Department of Health in Marion County is reporting 655 cumulative cases of COVID-19 as of this afternoon; 340 of those cases were added within the past two weeks. Because of this substantial increase in cases, residents need to take extra care with Fourth of July celebrations and activities in the coming days.
“Ultimately, we do not want to see a surge in cases linked to Fourth of July celebrations,” said Florida Department of Health in Marion County Administrator Mark Lander. “So, however you celebrate, do so responsibly by practicing social distancing, wearing a mask if you can’t socially distance, avoiding large gatherings, and staying home if you are sick,”
Residents are also advised to avoid the three C’s: closed spaces with poor ventilation, crowded places with many others nearby, and close-contact settings, such as close-range conversation. The risk of COVID-19 spreading among a group of people is highest when the three C’s overlap. Continue reading
Pictured is Alana Bartram opening the door for a customer. Alana and her husband Chris own and operate the Lady Lake Discount Beverage store on 441 downtown Lady Lake.
Picture left Bill Marshall and right George Marshall Standing in front of their store and saying yes we are open!
Pictured is the front of Bob’s coin & Jewelry, They have made some great provisions for receiving customers safely. Call for an appointment. 352-347-7900 (see page 16)
Dennis McGee owner operator of Mr. Handyman of Lady Lake on 441 says “We’re open and ready to roll!!”
Experience has taught us that the best thing to do before a hurricane is prepare so you can be confident during a storm that you’ve done everything you can to keep your family safe. Even though forecasting methods and tools are improving year after year, people are still at great risk if they are not prepared. As your Chief of Police, I want you to know that during a hurricane, you can depend on the men and women of the Lady Lake Police Department to be there to assist. Remember, preparation is important because as the storm begins to peak, emergency vehicles will not respond once maximum sustained winds reach 45 MPH.
As a local law enforcement agency, we work with our local, county, state, and federal partners to improve our response, cooperation and communication during hurricanes. Just as we at the police department plan for unexpected weather emergencies, there is plenty you can do to make yourselves, your families and your homes ready for hurricane season. Don’t wait for a storm to threaten. Continue reading
A four-way stop is any intersection with a stop sign in each direction, a flashing red light in each direction, or an inoperable traffic light. Traffic lights that are not working should be treated as a four-way stop sign. Four-way stops are usually, but not always, labeled as such, having a rectangular sign below the octagonal shape which reads something to the effect of, “4-Way Stop,” “Four-Way Stop,” or “All-Way Stop.”
- Each driver arriving at a four-way stop must first come to a complete stop, then one driver proceeds at a time.
- If turning, as you approach a four-way stop, use your turn signal about one hundred feet prior to reaching the stop sign. The four-way stop is one of the most crucial places for using your turn signal compared to almost any other driving situation.
- Four-way stops always operate in a clockwise direction. So, the car furthest to the right always has the right of way, and then cars take their turns in a clockwise direction.
- If multiple cars approach a four-way stop at about the same time, the driver who comes to a complete stop first proceeds first.
- If two or more cars arrive at a four-way stop simultaneously, the driver furthest to the right always proceeds first, and each next driver in the clockwise direction follows.
- If four cars arrive at a four-way stop simultaneously, drivers going straight should proceed first. If all four are turning right, they may all proceed simultaneously. These aside, there is no distinguishable way to see who should go first, so the intersection is at a standstill until one driver gets up the nerve and begins to inch forward, alerting the other drivers of his or her intentions, and proceeds through the intersection (thus starting the clockwise rotation from that driver).
- If two cars opposite each other are proceeding straight, both turning right, or one proceeding straight with the other turning right, they may go at the same time. The turn then goes to the adjacent cars at the stop, who may follow the same rule if applicable.
Follow these tips to avoid adding further miscommunication to the situation. Continue reading
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with Lake Support and Emergency Recovery, Inc. (LASER) to collect food items to meet the immediate needs of Lake County families struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The food drive begins on Saturday, March 28 and will remain active until further notice. The hours for making donations will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily at the following locations:
• North Lake County: First Baptist Church of Umatilla, 550 Hatfield Drive, Umatilla
• Central Lake County: Lake County Jail, 551 West Main Street, Tavares (west end)
• South Lake County: Real Life Church of Clermont, 1501 Steves Road, Clermont
Items being sought include non-perishable foods such as peanut butter, canned meats, canned meals, snack bars, boxed cereal, canned fruits, and canned vegetables, etc. As these items are collected, they will be delivered to local food pantries throughout the county for the immediate distribution to families in need. Continue reading
