VOLUME33 VOLUME ISSUE37 37 ISSUE
Kingdom of the Sun Concert
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Sept. 17 & 18 SEPTEMBER 16 - SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
It’s time to Give4Marion Ocala area nonprofits rely on donations, which can be easily made during the Sept. 20-21 online fundraising campaign. By Gazette Staff
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n the fall of 2020, during the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many nonprofits were forced to shut down inperson giving events due to health and safety protocols. Restrictions and economic uncertainty meant these organizations lost out on the ability to hold events during what is traditionally a time for year-end fundraising campaigns. Give4Marion, an online giving opportunity, was started by the Community Foundation for Ocala/Marion County to support our local nonprofits. Now in its third year, the campaign has become a staple of the foundation’s Nonprofit Resource Center and is an important annual fundraiser. This year’s Give4Marion will run from 10 a.m. September 20 through 7 p.m. September 21. Give4Marion offers people a convenient way to give to multiple nonprofit organizations and charitable funds through a single platform. Results are updated on Give4Marion.org in real time, showing total giving, top fundraisers and more. With a minimum donation of just $10, people can choose from a wide array of nonprofit organizations from their computers and mobile devices. Donations can be made online using a credit card or bank transfer. Offline gifts can also be made via checks and cash. Individuals and businesses will be able to easily support causes they are passionate about to make a real difference in Marion County. Give4Marion provides nonprofit organizations the opportunity to reach thousands of new donors and boost their visibility within the community throughout the campaign. This year, more than 85 nonprofit organizations are expected to participate. A record number of local businesses and charitable foundations have also agreed to be event sponsors, offering bonus prizes to nonprofits. A total of 32 power hour prizes will be awarded to large and small nonprofits, respectively, with the most donors within the hour. There are also scheduled Matching Moments, where all donations are matched dollar-for-dollar up to $100 and several nonprofits have secured their own matching gifts as well. In year one, Give4Marion raised more than $310,000, with 1,154 individual donors and 1,592 total donations. In 2021, donations increased by 83% to a total of $532,000 raised for 75 participating nonprofits, with 2,267 individual donors and 3,251 donations.
To learn more about the foundation, go to ocalafoundation.org To make a donation, visit give4marion.org
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MCBOCC seeks to expand traffic studies requirement for developers Growth is the biggest challenge county staffers and commission face. By Belea T. Keeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com
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he Marion County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 7 tackled some of the biggest challenges facing the growing county—traffic congestion and how to process development requests. The board heard details about a proposal to take a broad look at development in a highly congested
area of the county, voted to change requirements for traffic studies by developers, and asked staff to develop changes to the county’s planning and zoning process.
Commissioners review plans for a westside-area traffic study At the board’s Aug. 16 meeting, several members engaged in discussions with developer representatives that got heated at times. Among the points of
contentions were the amount of traffic a proposed development would add to the area, and what level of review developers must provide for their proposed projects; a full traffic study or a much-less involved traffic assessment. The board then directed county staff to develop plans for a comprehensive traffic study of the SW 80th Avenue area. Discussion topics would include See Long range, page A5
Student invents life-saving technology, wins international award
Vivek Sandrapaty holds up his 4th place award at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. Sandrapaty invented a wearable fabric that can detect injury and alert first responders. [Courtesy of Vivek Sandrapaty]
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
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fter seeing and hearing of tragedy, one Marion County student decided to get inventive—and the
results have life-saving potential. Vivek Sandrapaty, a senior at West Port High School, invented a type of fabric for military and police uniforms that can detect injury and immediately
signal for first responders. The threads within the fabric are connected to transistors which direct electricity through the fabric, and if disrupted, send signals if the fabric is cut, such as by a bullet or knife. The idea came to him while at school, when his medical class reviewed a case report of a police officer whose injuries were fatal because no one knew that he had been shot. By the time first responders were alerted of his injuries and came to the scene, it was too late to save him, Sandrapaty said. “I’m hoping that this could potentially be applied in the military and in the police force,” Sandrapaty said. “With the fabric that I designed, I’m hoping that concept can be implemented into their own uniforms so that we can automatically detect if they’re injured.” After six months of designing, testing and creating a prototype, Sandrapaty competed in regional, state and national science fair competitions with his invention. Finally reaching the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, he then took home 4th place for the invention he singlehandedly created and built from his own garage. “The way that this works is there’s an array of conducted threads on the uniform in a coordinate plane pattern. For example,
if they’re stabbed or injured in a certain location, the threads in that specific area would break and the electrical values in that area of the uniform would change,” he said. Sandrapaty said that this occurrence would immediately send a signal to an external receiver which would not only alarm first responders but tell them exactly where on the body the person is injured so that they may know the severity of the victim’s injuries. The young scientist was able to plan and build a working prototype all from the comfort of his home— more specifically, his garage. Sandrapaty said he ordered everything he needed for the project online, and mostly from Amazon, with financial help from his parents. His father, Ravichandra Sandrapaty, said this is not the first invention he has watched his son create. The teen came up with his first invention in the seventh grade, when something happened that changed his life forever. “He had witnessed somebody drowning, and the EMT arrived but they were unable to revive the person at that point,” his father said. “At that point, he went on to create a device that can alert bystanders to people that might be drowning before it’s too late.” See Vivek, page A2
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Fire Fee Refunds........................... A4 State Proclamations..................... A8 November Ballot........................... A9 NOMA Gallery.............................. B3 Calendar......................................... B5
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