Meadowbrook Academy’s Into the Woods MARCH 17 - MARCH 23, 2023
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 11
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Live Oak International
FDOT plans to improve State Road 200 Median plantings, pedestrian crossings and narrower lanes will help slow and aim traffic for better access to businesses and improve safety. By Belea T. Keeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com
W Chester Weber spends some time with Phoenix, 13, one of the Budweiser Clydesdales that was on hand for the Live Oak International media preview at Live Oak Plantation in Ocala on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. Live Oak International runs from March 16 through March 19 and Chester Weber will be competing for his 20th win with his horse team. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.
The world-class competition, March 16-19, features show jumping, combined driving and the Budweiser Clydesdales. By Belea T. Keeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com
I
magine a misty Ocala morning, with light fog settling among the gentle green hills of the Live Oak Stud farm when you hear a distinct thump of horse hooves, the rattle of harnesses and out of the mist comes a horsedrawn carriage, its driver in
tuxedo-style formal wear and wearing a top hat. That elegant ensemble is part of the dressage phase of the combined driving competition slated for the Live Oak International on March 16-19. Live Oak International is unique in that it’s the only show jumping and combined driving tournament in the United States. This is the 32nd annual
event. Under the direction of Co-President Chester Weber, who this year will be competing for his 20th USEF Combined Driving National Championship for Advanced Four-in-Hand Horses, Live Oak International has added the full set of combined driving tests. With the 2012 addition of his niece and Co-President Chloe D. Reid, a member of
the U.S. Show Jumping Team, they added the show jumping element for broad appeal to sports fans and competitors. According to the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), combined driving is designed to test a driver’s ability and the horse’s obedience, speed and See Weber, page A2
Season opening success
Ocala racer Josh Hart wins callout event in new top fuel dragster. By Allen Barney allen@ocalagazette.com
O
cala resident and business owner Josh Hart started off the 2023 NHRA season in style by winning the second annual Pep Boys AllStar Top Fuel Callout in Gainesville on March 11. The National Hot Rod Association starts each new season at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, an event that Hart won in 2021. The Callout kicked off the weekend’s festivities and Hart was matched up with Austin Prock in the opening round. Hart took down Prock with a run of 3.765 seconds and a speed of 331.77 mph, then eliminated the top fuel defending champion Brittany Force with a run of 3.757 seconds and speed of 330.88 mph. In the final round, Hart was matched up with Mike Salinas. Hart, in his R+L Carriers dragster, scorched Salinas with a pass of 3.748 seconds at 331.53 mph. The run was the second-fastest time of the Callout and netted Hart a cool $80,000 in winnings.
Hart said he went into the event with no year stint in the top alcohol division. The expectations due to the low number of runs Callout was his third win in top fuel and he said he hopes to be in the hunt for many his car had made before Saturday. “We had a brand new car. It’s been a wins during the 2023 season. good car, but we only had three or four “Winning a championship is obviously passes on it before the competition round. on our mind. The main thing is just growing See Local, page A2 To go right out there and do what we did was storybook,” Hart said. “It’s awesome for our team and it’s good for morale. It’s just great all the way around and there is nothing better than to win the first race of the season. Hopefully, we can carry that momentum throughout the entire year.” The Gatornationals was the first of a 21-race schedule that will continue March 24-26 at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona. Hart is looking to build Josh Hart of Ocala is shown in the pits during the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA off his early success in the Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville on Saturday, March 11, 2023. Hart drove the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster to the win over Mike Salinas in the top fuel category as he enters Scrappers Top Fuel dragster in the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout final his third year in the class, race on Saturday during the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. [Thomas following a successful fiveGaines/Gainesville Raceway Track Photographer] 2022.
hen even Marion County’s Assistant County Administrator for Public Works and Growth Services, Tracy Straub, admits, “No one likes driving State Road 200!” citizens know there’s a problem. Most anyone who drives SR 200 would agree, and, more importantly, so does the Florida Department of Transportation, which can do something about it. The FDOT says it is aware of the problems drivers face on the busy road from Interstate 75 east to U.S. 301/Pine Avenue, and the agency has plans to try to alleviate some of them. In discussing improvement plans at a March 9 public meeting, FDOT Project Manager Ty Garner said, “The purpose of the project is to extend the operation life of the roadway and make the corridor safe for all users.” During the meeting at the College of Central Florida’s Klein Conference Center, residents, elected officials and city and county staffers reviewed concept plans and discussed the proposed changes with Garner. The goals for the road improvements include providing safer left-turns at signalized intersections; reducing congestion in the center turn lane; implementing safer driving speeds; enhancing pedestrian connections; and improving overall safety for all users. The crash history of that section of roadway is sobering, with 879 crashes reported from 2014-2018, a 47% increase over the previous five-year time period. Of those, 496 were injury crashes, and 42 resulted in incapacitating injuries while four involved fatalities. Eight of the crashes involved pedestrians and 16 involved bicycle riders. “Crashes have continued the upward trend with 301 crashes reported in 2020,” stated the FDOT’s video presentation at the meeting. The lack of median restrictions and the two-way left turn lanes were factors in the crashes; two-way left turns are often termed “suicide lanes” See Highway, page A3
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Raney’s Truck................................ A4 Judge Vacancy............................... A8 Calendar......................................... B5 Cartoons......................................... B6 Rodeo............................................... B9
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