VOLUME 6 ISSUE 23
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Road to Wishes Pg A6 JUNE 6 - 12, 2025
Saving Siena Maj. Phillip Irish of the Salvation Army, right, talks about how the homeless shelter will stay open through the summer because of a recent donation as Maj. Lynn Irish, left, looks on during a meeting of the Salvation Army Advisory Board at the Center of Hope in downtown Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2025.
Shelter to remain open through summer By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com
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he Salvation Army emergency shelter in Ocala, which sheltered 1,165 people in the last year, is not in danger of a temporary shutdown and will remain open until at least Labor Day while funding sources are rebooted, according to an announcement made at the nonprofit’s advisory board meeting on June 3. “We are remaining open through summer to Labor Day,” local Salvation Army Maj. Philip Irish stated about the emergency shelter at the start of the meeting. About $25,000 was donated by the community in the last few weeks, according to information provided at the opening of the meeting. Concern was raised when Irish said at a May 27 Ocala/Marion County Continuum of Care partners board meeting that the shelter might suspend activities for up to year due to the facility reaching a “budgetary break point.” The Continuum of Care is a group of local agencies and nonprofits that extend care to the homeless. Irish said that Salvation Army and “other social services” handled from the building would continue during a proposed suspension. See Shelter page A4
Siena Hale, now 10, gets pushed on a swing by her mother, Keszia, in the backyard at their home in Dunnellon on Nov. 21, 2024. [Photo by Bruce Ackerman]
The parents of a 10-year-old Dunnellon girl with a rare genetic disorder, and others like them, are collaborating with a biotech company for a drug repurposing project to find a potential treatment. By Susan Smiley-Height susan@magnoliamediaco.com
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he sweet smile on Siena Hale’s pretty face melts the hearts of those she encounters. Her inquisitive eyes quickly scan the visages that enter her orbit. She might extend her delicate hands to touch someone, but she cannot have a conversation with them. Siena seems to be like millions of other 10-year-old girls, but she is one of fewer than 100 children in the world with a rare genetic disorder called ALG13-CDG, one
type of a group of metabolic diseases known as congenital disorders of glycosylation, or CDG. ALG13-CDG is caused when a mutation arises spontaneously in someone’s ALG13 gene or is inherited. In Siena’s case it was spontaneous. Nearly all children with ALG13-CDG experience neurological and developmental delays, muscle tone disorders, gastrointestinal problems, cortical visual impairment and seizures. There is no cure for ALG13-CDG, so parents of children like Siena are raising money to collaborate with the biotech company Perlara PBC on a drug repurposing project to find a potential
treatment to improve the quality of life for their children. Siena’s mother, Keszia Hale, is the project director for Finding a Cure for ALG13-CDG. Keszia and her husband, Bryce Hale, are among the parents working to raise $150,000 to complete the first phases of the project. She recently announced that, “We have raised over 70% of what we need to complete the first two phases of the drug repurposing research project with Perlara.” The donation page on June 3 showed that $61,933 of the $150,000 had been raised. See Saving Siena, page A3
Paying tribute to families of gun violence victims The War Cry 4 Peace event included testimonials, a youth sports clinic and awards. By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com
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ar Cry 4 Peace, an organization that provides support and comfort to families of gun violence victims, held a Children’s Awards Ceremony/Celebration and Youth Sports Clinic event, with testimonials from families, on June 1 at the Mary Sue Rich
Community Center at Reed Place. The theme of the event was “Run Your Race…& Finish.” The event was designed to celebrate “the resilience of children who have been impacted by gun violence to reach their fullest potential in school and in life.” Inioluwa Odunleye welcomed guests and Titus Owens led the pledge of allegiance. Kyla Carter offered an opening prayer and Trenton Hopkins read some
scripture. WC4P President Kimberly Pompey Wilkerson was introduced by her daughter, Ashley Hampton Levister, who served as emcee. Wilkerson said WC4P was started in 2014 even though she asked, “Why me?” since there was not a gun violence victim in her family. “My passion, my heart, is for people…God gave me a vision,” she said, adding that her 10-year journey has been about “healing and resources” for families of victims.
Levister said Lawana Croskey, who joined Wilkerson on the stage for Sunday’s event, was the first person to help her mother react to her vision. During the event, four moving testimonials were given by families who lost loved ones. Daniel Johnson, the brother of Da’monta Harris, who was killed Jan. 1, 2023, in a New Year’s Day See The War Cry, page A3
Kimberly Pompey Wilkerson, president of War Cry 4 Peace, right, embraces Fashun Ivery, center, and Jairah Raines Jr., left, who offered a testimonial for Jairah Raines Sr., who was killed on Feb. 16, 2023.
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Honoring Excellence.................... A5 P&Z approvals.............................. A7 Container gardening................... B1 Calendar........................................ B6 "Hear Us Roar............................... B9
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