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ANN IVERSARY
‘Mayor Emeritus’
After decades of service, Jimmy Stroup steps down as mayor, but Reddick will still revere him. By Rosemarie Dowell rosemarie@ocalagazette.com
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olks in the tiny northwest Marion County town of Reddick are downright gobsmacked these days because for the first time in roughly 50 years, the town mayor’s last name isn’t Stroup. The family’s remarkable decades-long streak of dedicated public service concluded April 6 when James R. “Jimmy” Stroup officially handed in the gavel following the monthly town council meeting. He had served a whopping 30 years as mayor. “It was time; I was ready,” said Stroup, who’ll turn 82 in July and won his first election back in 1993. “It was 30 years, but it seems like it was more like 100 sometimes.” Stroup’s father, the late Noland Jefferson “Jeff ” Stroup, served on the town council for a total of 35 years, including nearly 20 as mayor before he retired, making way for his son to take over as the pro-bono ceremonial leader of the town, established in 1882. “Dad liked to pass things on to people, me included,” said Stroup, who moved to Reddick from nearby Lowell during his sophomore year of high school. The Stroup family had moved to Marion
County in 1947 from Kokomo, Indiana. “I was always helping him out with town business, so I just stepped into the role,” said the father of four, including a daughter who passed away in 2016. The jovial grandfatherly town leader was evidently well-esteemed; he ran unopposed in every mayoral race he entered, serving as part public relations expert, part community watchman, and steadfast town advocate throughout his lengthy reign. “In Reddick, if they don’t like you, you can forget it,” said Stroup, a U.S. Army veteran who’s worked for the past 17 years at the Reddick Public Library, which was once the agricultural building he attended classes in on the campus of Reddick High School. Built in 1923 and renamed North Marion High School in 1957, the school was demolished in 2021, despite efforts to save it. Stroup, who graduated from North Marion in 1959, recently reflected on his decades of public service. “The thing I’m most proud of is the civility between everyone and the diversity of the council and the town,” said Stroup, who previously worked for a charcoal manufacturer in Ocala and near Dunnellon. The town’s council members, who also serve See Stroup, page A2
Ocalan among women honored at state level Darnitha Johnson received the Spirit of Community award from the Florida Commission on the Status of Women. By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com
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n Ocala woman was one of 11 women recognized statewide or their community service achievements and dubbed “Sheros” by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women (FCSW) in an awards ceremony in Orlando last month. Darnitha (Gaskin) Johnson received the 2022 Spirit of Community award for her “tireless work toward bettering the lives of women and families,” according to a post on the FCSW Facebook page. The award was presented during a ceremony at the Delaney Hotel on June 28. “I’m still in shock to be nominated as one of the women in Florida (to be recognized),”
Johnson stated in a text just after she received the award. She called the award “unbelievable” and said that a certification from Florida Atlantic University related to the business college, which was received about the same time as the FCSW award was the realization of several “goals.” In a statement connected to the awards, Christina Omran, director of the FCSW, referred to the honorees as women who have served as “positive role models for, and improved the lives of, women and families in their communities.” “Each day these extraordinary Floridians mentor children, advocate for women and families in need, empower and inspire our youth, volunteer their time, efforts, and other resources going above and beyond to serve and enhance See Darnitha Johnson, page A3
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JULY 7 - JULY 13, 2023
Jimmy Stroup, who served as Mayor of Reddick for thirty years, exits the vault of the Reddick State Bank on June 9, 2023. The building holds memorabilia and materials from the circa 1923 Reddick High School, later renamed North Marion High School. The local landmark was razed in 2021. [Rose M. Dowell/Ocala Gazette]
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 27
Tamela Rendleman , left, poses with Darnitha Johnson at a ceremony held by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women at the Delaney Hotel in Orlando, Florida on June 28, 2023. [Jesse Romimora]
Marion County Airport to see improvements
File photo: A pilot with Central Florida Skydiving takes David Bosanko up for another of his 77 skydives at the Marion County Airport in Dunnellon on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. Bosanko broke the Florida skydiving record of 72 jumps in one day with his 77 jumps on Sunday. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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hanges are coming to the Marion County Airport and the county is accepting bids for who will complete a big project aimed to increase safety and efficiency for the pilots who frequent it. The airport, located at 14968 SW 110th St., Dunnellon, will undergo construction to create two new taxiways, which will be parallel to the two existing runways. A taxiway is a strip that allows aircraft to move to or from a runway without obstructing the takeoff or landing of other planes on the runway. Taxiway alpha will be 5,000 feet long and run the entire length of runway 5-23, and taxiway bravo will be 3,291 feet long and run only part of the length of the other, runway 10-28. The procurement services department of Marion County issued a packet of all of the specifications for the project to any consultant who wishes their plan to be considered for the bid. “In the current airfield configuration, landing and departing aircraft are required to back taxi which increases the time that aircraft are on the runway, decreasing the operational efficiency of the airfield,” according to the procurement department. The Marion County Airport is also an uncontrolled airfield, meaning that there is no tower for air traffic control that informs pilots in the air of what planes are taxiing, taking off or landing on the runway. Pilots must pass over to check the runways or communicate with other pilots through the radio. At this time, there is no timeline or cost estimate for the project. That information will be solidified when the bid is awarded or during the negotiation process, said procurement and contract analyst Tika Black. The last day for potential contractors to contact the procurement department with questions about the project was Thursday at 12 p.m. The final day for contractors to submit a bid to the county for consideration is July 13 at 3 p.m.
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Mega-Complex Plans................... A4 Inmate Death................................. A5 State News...................................... A6 Reilly Arts Center Annual Meeting.... B2 Calendar......................................... B5
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