VOLUME 7 ISSUE 17
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April is Farmland Preservation Month Page A4
April 17 - 23, 2026
On top of the world
County budget squeeze Shortfalls for 2026-27 budget year emerge amid rising health care, public safety costs.
County Administrator Mounir Bouyounes speaks during a meeting of the Marion County Commission in the McPherson Governmental Complex in Ocala on Feb. 18, 2025. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]
By Jennifer Hunt jennifer@ocalagazette.com
M
arion County commissioners and department heads gathered for an initial budget workshop on April 7 to face a sobering financial reality: maintaining the current property tax millage rate of 3.09 will not be enough to cover the county’s mounting operational costs for the 202627 fiscal year. County Administrator Mounir Bouyounes set the tone early in the meeting, warning commissioners that routine belt-tightening will not solve this year’s deficit. Describing the various department budgets submitted by staff as “practical,” Bouyounes noted, “I don’t think we’re going to be able to make it by just being practical unless there is some policy decision made at the board level and we have better direction where we need to go.” The board directed staff to continue refining the numbers and return to workshops later this summer with models analyzing the impact of keeping the millage rate at 3.09 or raising it to 3.35 or 3.48. Bouyounes explained that massive increases in employee benefits and labor negotiations are the primary culprits. “Major cost drivers in the proposed budgets are going to be health insurance and, as you all know, we are engaged in negotiation with the union,” he said, referencing the ongoing negotiations with the union representing Marion County Fire See County budget, page A8
Gwenda Ward hits a forehand shot as she practices at the Fort King Municipal Tennis Center in Ocala on April 9, 2026. Ward, 77, is a championship tournament tennis player who competes in the 75-age group of women’s singles in the International Tennis Federation, as well as in other competitions. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2026
Ocala’s Gwenda Ward is the number one women’s international tournament tennis player in her age group. By Susan Smiley-Height susan@magnoliamediaco.com
T
alk about being at the top of your game. Ocala’s own Gwenda Ward is at the pinnacle when it comes to playing tournament tennis.
Some of Gwenda Ward’s numerous ITF medals and USTA gold ball awards.
Ward, 77, is number one in the world in her age group so far this year with the International Tennis Federation. In 2025, she also ended the year in the number one spot. She has notched numerous gold, silver and bronze medals with the ITF as well as a tall stack of prized gold and silver balls awarded by the United States Tennis Association to winners and runner’s up in singles or doubles national titles in her age divisions over a number of years. Ward, who grew up playing tennis in South Carolina, was one of the first female athletes at the University of South Florida. A mother of two, she continued to play tennis throughout her career but devoted herself to becoming one of the world’s best when she was 67. Since then, she has gone on to compete at the international level, winning the world mixed doubles championship this year for the Mixed 75+ Doubles competition as part of the International Tennis Federation tournament. She also won the U.S. singles and doubles championships for her age group this year, according to provided materials. As the national governing body, the USTA is responsible for the management of U.S. tennis teams competing in international tournaments, like the ones in which Ward has competed. The USTA also is responsible for the national rankings of players, which determines who competes in tournaments, Axtman explained. Last October, Ward was on an American team competing in the ITF World Team Championships on the red clay courts in Bol, Croatia. The tournament is the supersenior equivalent of the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup competitions, where top American tennis players represent their country in the 75-, 80-, 85-and-over age groups.
Winning the Queens Cup (women’s 75 and over) for the U.S. for the first time since 2017 was the team of Ward, Liane Bryson, Toni Novack and Judy Dixon. Ward also brought home a mixed doubles title in the 75+ category and finished runner-up in singles. As for all the “hardware” she has earned playing tennis, Ward noted that, “All my gold balls and medals are highlights.” “I won a gold medal in mixed doubles at the World Individual Championships last year with Bruno Renoult, a Frenchman I’d never met or played with before. I won two gold balls on grass in 2024 and 2025 with different partners. Gold for singles and mixed doubles this year at the National Clay Court Championship in Pelham, Alabama. So far this year, I have won three singles titles in my age group in California, Florida and Alabama,” she shared. “But the awards are a byproduct, not the main show,” she asserted. “The best part of competing is the preparation and tactical awareness in real time on court. That’s the joy and real prize. The rest is ephemeral.”
BACK STORY
Ward was born in Laurens, South Carolina, and her family moved to Sullivan’s Island, near Charleston, when she was 5. Her father was a football coach and then became the recreation director for the city of Charleston. She and her four sisters all played tennis on the island and then for the high school tennis team. Their mother, who was an English teacher, and also taught tennis and helped several top players reach national prominence. “I was always athletic, as were my sisters. We played basketball, track, tennis and table tennis. But I also was a reader. As a teen, I watched William F. Buckley on TV but didn’t understand his vocabulary. I decided I wanted to understand the words he used and so set about expanding my vocabulary,” Ward shared. See Gwenda Ward, page A6
DeSantis considers ‘little tweak’ to redistricting schedule By Gray Rohrer The News Service of Florida
G
ov. Ron DeSantis could push back the special session on congressional redistricting, he said on
April 14. DeSantis originally called the session to produce new maps for the U.S. House in an unusual middecade redistricting in January and it’s scheduled to start April 20. “I haven’t made any decisions on that, but the answer is it’s
possible you could do a little tweak, but you can’t really push it very far,” DeSantis told reporters in Tallahassee at a bill signing event. His remarks came after “Punchbowl News” reported earlier on Tuesday that DeSantis was considering delaying the redistricting session, tying it to Virginia’s referendum next week on whether to move forward with redistricting in the Democraticcontrolled state. DeSantis said he had “no idea what the relevance of Virginia”
has to Florida’s redistricting decisions. Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2010 banning partisan gerrymandering, but President Donald Trump has urged lawmakers in Republicancontrolled states to redraw their maps to give the GOP an advantage heading into the midterm elections in November. Republicans hold a 216-213 advantage over Democrats in the U.S. House and a small wave of
Democratic wins could give them control of the chamber in 2027. Democrats have decried DeSantis’ redistricting push as a partisan power grab, but after a swathe of Democratic wins in special elections in recent weeks, including two state legislative districts in Florida, some Republican members of Florida’s congressional delegation are warning against passing an aggressive new map. The main reason DeSantis gave for convening the redistricting
session is a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision on a case involving Louisiana he believes will knock down part of the Voting Rights Act that allows districts to be drawn for racial reasons, to address historic discrimination. DeSantis thinks the decision will implicate some South Florida districts, but the ruling hasn’t been issued yet. Last week he said the lack of a ruling wouldn’t affect Florida’s timing on redistricting. See Redistricting schedule page A8
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INSIDE:
Science fair history maker......... A5 Sheriff ’s budget struggle............. A8 Marion County salaries............... A9 KOS Celebrates America........... B1 Calendar......................................... B6
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