VOLUME 6 ISSUE 2
The Ocala Camellia show is Jan. 25 and 26.
JANUARY 10 - 16, 2025
$2
Pg B1
Honoring a “great statesman” and family man on March 22, 1933, to the Buddy MacKay, who had a distinguished career in politics, and whose family has County lofty halls of the state legislature, the office of lieutenant governor deep roots in Marion County, died at home at the age of 91 on Dec. 31, 2024. and even to the governor’s By Susan Smiley-Height susan@magnoliamediaco.com
K
enneth “Buddy” MacKay Jr.’s strong work ethic and compassion for his
fellow man was innate, as he was born into a family of high achievers who cared about others. He learned early and well from his father, who died tragically in a commercial airplane crash in 1964. That left a young Buddy
County approves 158unit housing development in Silver Springs Shores Commissioners also approved a food truck park while a sand mine application was withdrawn. By Belea T. Keeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com
T
he Marion County Board of County Commissioners approved plans for 158 new homes on Juniper Loop in Silver Springs Shores during their Dec. 17 meeting, after considerable discussion among the board and staff, and some public opposition. In another vote, the board approved a food truck park. A sand mine operation application was withdrawn.
NEW PUD APPROVED
After more than an hour of contentious discussion, the board voted 3-2 to approve a change in land use and zoning from general agriculture to a planned unit development (PUD) for a new neighborhood of 158 singlefamily homes in the Silver Springs Shores area. Chair Kathy Bryant and Commissioner Craig Curry voted against the item, citing incompatibility with the area, the use of “non-buildable” areas of the parcel counting toward the density count, and the unexplained change from medium to high density residential for an expired PUD application. A previous PUD zoning change from agricultural to multifamily was approved in 2016 but expired in 2021. It allowed 123 multifamily units. The current property owner, GPD Ocala One LLC, requested the change to a single-family product for this new PUD. See Housing development, page A9
and his older brother George to take charge of their father’s businesses and land holdings, including citrus groves. That dedication to hard work and service to others took Buddy MacKay, who was born in Marion
mansion for a brief time. MacKay gently passed away at his home on Lake Weir during an afternoon nap on Dec. 31, 2024, at the age of 91. Following graduation from See Buddy MacKay, page A6
Kenneth “Buddy” MacKay Jr. was a noted politician and devoted family man, and loved the great outdoors.
Pot Ruling Affects Police Searches By Jim Saunders Florida News Service
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ALLAHASSEE — In what could be a first-of-its-kind ruling in Florida, an appeals court Tuesday said a drugsniffing dog’s alert did not justify police searching a car because the dog could not differentiate between medical marijuana and illegal pot. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal in a Lake County case could add complexity to police searching vehicles without obtaining warrants. The case stemmed from a Groveland police officer in September 2020 stopping a Lyft car for speeding and tag lights that weren’t working. The officer subsequently called for a drug-sniffing dog, Polo, which alerted to the presence of drugs when it walked around the car. Officers searched the car and found a bag that contained marijuana, crack cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine, leading to the arrest of a passenger, Stephon Ford, according to Tuesday’s ruling. Ford tried to get the evidence suppressed by arguing that the dog could not differentiate between illegal marijuana and medical marijuana or hemp. A circuit judge refused to suppress the evidence, but the appeals court backed Ford’s argument. While other drugs were
also found, the appeals court said it is possible that Polo alerted to marijuana in the bag. The pot that was found was not medical marijuana. “At the time when Polo alerted to a target substance in the Lyft vehicle, the police officers had no way of knowing whether Polo had detected an illegal substance (marijuana, cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamines) or a legal substance, namely the THC in hemp or medical marijuana that was properly prescribed and in the possession of a bona fide medical marijuana card holder. … Whether the substance Polo smelled was legal or illegal was not readily apparent, and thus his alert, alone, could not provide the probable cause needed to justify a warrantless search,” said Tuesday’s main opinion, written by Chief Judge James Edwards. Judge Jordan Pratt wrote a concurring opinion that said Tuesday’s ruling and a 2024 decision by the appeals court in a case about a police officer smelling marijuana show that “cannabis legalization carries collateral consequences.” Florida voters in 2016 approved a constitutional amendment that broadly allowed medical marijuana, though pot remains illegal under federal law and in other circumstances in Florida. Pratt wrote that under Tuesday’s decision, “dogs trained to alert on cannabis can no longer provide the sole
basis for a stop or search.” Nevertheless, he said police could continue to use alerts by drug-sniffing dogs to provide a basis for searching cars. “An alert by a dog trained not to alert to cannabis — or to alert to cannabis differently than it alerts to other drugs — can still on its own supply probable cause,” Pratt wrote. “And for another thing, even without such canine training, an undifferentiated alert can supply probable cause when combined with an officer’s questions ruling out the presence of lawful cannabis. Officers easily can be trained to ask such questions in conjunction with a dog’s undifferentiated alert.” Judge John MacIver concurred with the result of the majority opinion, though he did not sign on. Edwards described the case as being “of first impression,” which generally indicates it is the first time the issue has been decided. Tuesday’s ruling, however, cited an August ruling by the full 5th District Court of Appeal that said a police officer could not use smelling marijuana as the sole basis to search a car and arrest a man. In the Groveland case, Ford pleaded no contest to drug charges and was sentenced to 68 months in prison after the circuit judge denied his motion to suppress the evidence, Tuesday’s main opinion said. Ford, however, reserved the right to appeal. See Police Searches, page A4
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