Happy Thanksgiving
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 46
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NOVEMBER 18 - NOVEMBER 24, 2022
COMMUNITY COMES THROUGH Northern Turnpike FOR CUNNINGHAM Extension remains in FDOT plans Above: File photo: Allean Cunningham is shown in a portrait with her late husband, Lester, who passed away in 1992, at her home on Southeast 31st Street in Ocala. Below: File photo: A memorial marker in front of Allean Cunningham’s damaged home. Photos by Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette
By Belea T. Keeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com
File photo: Allean Cunningham, 96, center, gets hugs from her daughter-in-law, Audrey Cunningham, left, and her daughter, Erica Cunningham, right, at her home, which needs major repairs or rebuilding, on Southeast 31st Street in Ocala on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.
By Rosemarie Dowell rosemarie@ocalagazette.com
H
ome is where the heart is, the adage goes, and for 97-yearold Allean Cunningham her heart has been sweetly tucked inside a small home on Southeast 31st Street for the past six decades. The Ocala native’s late husband, Lester, built the modest two-bedroom, one-bath home in 1963, and the couple eked out a living over the years while raising their 11 children. Two more bedrooms and another bathroom were later added. “We worked hard. We picked peas,
tomatoes and peanuts to keep a roof over our head,” said Cunningham, who is legally blind and lost Lester in 1992. “Whatever work kids could do, our kids did it.” Over the past 30 years, Cunningham did not have the means to keep up with the home’s maintenance, and time has taken its toll. It’s now in such dilapidated condition it was officially deemed beyond repair and unsafe to live in several months ago. Soon, though, Cunningham will have another home to put her heart into, thanks to a unanimous vote Tuesday by the Marion County Board of County Commissioners approving Cunningham
for a new county program under the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program that will allow her to build a new home. “It’ll be like heaven to me, I’m leaning on Jesus,” said Cunningham, a grandmother of 18, great-grandmother of 26 and great-great-grandmother of 12, after the vote. She added: “I thank the county and the community for everything.” For Cunningham’s family, the formal contract between her and the county comes after a five-year battle to get the beloved matriarch’s home either See Cunningham, page A5
Small local nonprofit wins big By Rosemarie Dowell rosemarie@ocalagazette.com
I
t may have been an underdog in a North American competition, but a small, local non-profit organization still beat out some much bigger contestants to garner a big win recently. Patriot Service Dogs (PSD), which trains and provides high-quality service dogs to deserving military veterans was notified earlier this week of its victory in the 2nd Annual Defender Service Awards, sponsored by Land Rover. Winners were announced at a celebratory weekend event Nov. 12-13 in Saugerties, New York, according to a company press release. The non-profit beat out four other organizations in the Veterans Outreach category in the contest that recognizes U.S. and Canadian non-profits and charities making a positive impact in their local communities. “Oh my gosh, we were such underdogs,” said Victoria Sanderson, volunteer coordinator for PSD, which was cofounded by her mother, Julie Sanderson in 2009.” This is really a victory for the community; we had a lot of fervent supporters who pestered their friends and family to vote for us.”
“We even had supporters who went to farmer’s markets and got people to vote for us,” she added. “We are so grateful for the support of everyone.”
Horse Farms Forever conservation summit hears update on controversial highway proposal
PSD was the only Florida based organization out of 800 total entries to See Patriot dogs, page A2
Trooper, a 5-year-old Black Lab and Standard Poodle mixed-breed being trained by James Davis, lays down by a dropped credit card he has been trained to pick up during a training session for Patriot Service Dogs at Christ The King Anglican Church in Ocala on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.
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cross section of horse farm owners, developers, real estate agents, county residents, government staffers and elected officials convened at the Horse Farms Forever annual conservation summit held Nov. 14 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company. When guest speaker Jared Perdue, secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, said the Northern Turnpike Extension is still in the agency’s plans, an audible response came from some audience members. “We got a lot of feedback from communities,” said Perdue to muttering, groans and laughs from the audience, which he acknowledged. “We embrace our communities,” he said, but “we know we have to do something. We know it connects to I-75.” In the face of determined opposition from environmentalists and other entities, the FDOT announced in August it was pumping the brakes on four proposed routes that would extend Florida’s Turnpike from its terminus at Interstate 75 in Wildwood northwest to U.S. 19 in Levy County. Instead, the agency would focus on improving Interstate 75. Work on the proposed extension, Perdue said, will start up again in the “next year or so” with the agency re-engaging the potentially affected communities. “We know we need to do something,’’ he said. “We want that something to preserve your farmland, to fit the growth patterns that are occurring. We want that something to continue to provide the needed transportation while embracing and maintaining the character of your community.” The Northern Turnpike Extension project is not going away, Perdue confirmed. “Is something needed between I-75 and the west coast?’’ he asked. “We believe something is needed for the future of Florida.” He reminded the audience that Florida’s population and development will only continue to grow. Perdue also acknowledged the congestion and other issues with I-75 See Turnpike, page A2
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