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ALACHUA COUNTY ‒ The Florida League of Cities (FLC) has recognized three of Alachua County’s municipal leaders as 2022 Home Rule Heroes for their work during the 2022 legislative session.

City of Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper, City of Hawthorne Commissioner Matthew Surrency and City of Newberry Mayor Jordan Marlowe were among the 150 municipal officials recognized for the award. Each of these people is being recognized for their work and advocacy efforts during the 2022 Legislative Session.

Coerper, Marlowe and Surrency worked throughout the session to promote local voices making local choices, protect the Home Rule powers of Florida’s municipalities and advance the League’s legislative agenda.

“I am greatly humbled to be selected for this honor,” Coerper said. “I’ve always felt the government closest to its community should be the one making decisions based on the best interests of that community and the Home Rule allows municipalities like Alachua to do just that.”

“I am so honored to be a recipient of this prestigious award, and I will continue to work hard to protect local authority,” said Marlowe.

“It’s an honor always to be recognized for the work that we do on the local, state and national level to advocate for keeping policy making at the local level,” Surrency said.

“On behalf of the League and its legislative team, we’re very proud to present this year’s Home Rule Hero Awards to a deserving group of municipal leaders,” said FLC Director of Legislative Affairs Casey Cook. “We had a record number of Home Rule Heroes this year, which shows the dedication and impact of local officials on behalf of their residents and businesses in protecting local decision-making. These local officials were constantly engaged and actively advocating for their communities throughout the 2022 Legislative Session. They’re heroes for Home Rule and we thank them for their efforts.”

Home Rule is the ability for a city to address local problems with local solutions with minimal state interference. Home Rule Hero Award recipients are local government officials, both elected and nonelected, who consistently responded to the League’s request to reach out to members of the legislature and help give a local perspective on an issue.

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NEWBERRY ‒ Ozell Rasheem Hoyt, 29, was arrested on Tuesday, May 3 following two separate assault incidents at the same location the previous night.

According to arrest reports, shortly after midnight on May 3, Hoyt arrived at the home of a woman he had previously been in a relationship with. The woman reportedly didn’t let him in because she thought he was high. About an hour later, the woman’s mother let him in and he entered the woman’s bedroom, then went to the kitchen, picked up a steak knife and went back to the bedroom while attempting to conceal the knife in his shirt. He allegedly threatened to kill the woman while walking toward her with the blade of the knife protruding from his shirt.

The woman’s mother told deputies that she was able to convince him to leave the bedroom and he put the knife in the kitchen sink. The woman’s mother pushed him out of the residence and locked the door.

At about 3:25 a.m. the same night, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about a man trying to force entry to the same home by throwing a cinderblock into a window.

When the deputy arrived, he found Hoyt with a large piece of cinderblock in his hands behind his back. After Hoyt reportedly refused multiple commands to drop the cinderblock, the deputy drew his Taser and told Hoyt he would be tased if he did not drop the cinderblock.

The deputy reported that Hoyt then assumed an aggressive posture, holding the cinderblock out to one side. When the deputy repeated the command to drop the cinderblock, Hoyt allegedly said, “You will have to shoot me” and started moving toward the deputy. The deputy deployed his Taser, and he was able to handcuff Hoyt.

Post Miranda, Hoyt denied the verbal argument occurring with the woman and stated that he never was in possession of a knife. However, both the mother and daughter allegedly saw Hoyt with the knife.

Hoyt has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest. He is being held on $155,000 bail.

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ARCHER ‒ Donteau Ontrais Symonette, 41, was arrested early Saturday morning, April 23, following an attempted shooting at a card game in Archer.

According to the arrest report, an Alachua County Sheriff’s deputy responded to a call regarding an armed disturbance in Archer and found a victim bleeding from the back of his head.

The deputy learned from witnesses that a group of 10-20 people, including Symonette, had been playing spades on the front porch of a home. Symonette reportedly began losing money and told the other players he was going to get more money. When he returned, he allegedly pulled a handgun from his waistband and racked the slide back, then fired a round into the floor of the porch, saying, “Empty your pockets.”

The witnesses said that people started running, and Symonette said, “Don’t run, empty your pockets.” Symonette allegedly took money from some of the players and from the card table. He allegedly approached the victim and started hitting him in the head with his gun, then pointed the gun directly at the head of the victim and pulled the trigger multiple times. The gun malfunctioned, so the victim was not shot. The victim was able to strike the gun with his hand, causing Symonette to lose his grip. The gun fell in the bushes located just in front of the porch.

Witnesses said that Symonette retrieved the gun from the bushes and sat down at the table, racking the slide back and forth to try to clear the malfunction. Only one person was left sitting. Symonette placed the firearm on the table and allegedly exclaimed, “Don’t worry I’m not going to shoot you.” When deputies arrived, Symonette reportedly got into his truck and tried to drive away.

The deputy saw the truck driving away and relayed that information to other deputies, who pulled Symonette over and arrested him.

The deputy said he saw the hole in the wooden floor of the elevated front porch. Deputies were able to retrieve one spent .40 mm shell casing.

Post Miranda, Symonette denied ever being in the area of the incident location.

Symonette has previous felony convictions in Levy County and has been charged with attempted homicid, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, and unlawful discharge of a firearm. He is being held on $350,000 bond at the Alachua County Jail.

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GAINESVILLE ‒ Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) has extended the deadline for parents to notify the district if their students need a laptop and/or Internet connection at home.

Thanks to federal funding, the district has the opportunity to provide thousands of students with a laptop, Internet service or both at home beginning this fall. However, families need to let the district know what their students need by filling out the Home Technology Survey

More than 1,800 of the surveys have been returned so far. The original deadline of May 13 has now been extended to May 20 to give more families time to respond.

Hard copies of the survey were sent home with all students at the end of April, but parents can request another by contacting their child’s school. They can also respond to the survey online at https://www.sbac.edu/techsurvey. The online version can be completed on a cell phone, tablet or desktop. All responses will be confidential.

The district is hoping to order, receive and distribute devices to students in time for the beginning of the school year, although that will depend on the availability of devices and other supply-chain issues.

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ALACHUA ‒ On a busy Friday night on April 29, customers at Sonny's in Alachua were greeted by some unusual waiters. Four police officers from the Alachua Police Department (APD) volunteered their time as “Celebrity Waiters” to collect tips at Sonny's restaurant to support the Special Olympics program.

Officers Thomas Stanfield, B. Railey, T. Brown and Sgt. C. Hunt joined the regular wait staff to serve beverages and interact with the customers to raise money for Special Olympics Florida in an event known as “Tip a Cop.”

Accompanied by three athletes from the Special Olympics, Jason Cacciotti, Richard Sullivan, and Gabby Taylor, the officers went from table to table introducing people to the athletes, explaining the significance of the program and collecting donations to help fund the athletes’ training and events.

The Special Olympics was the vision of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family that included Rosemary, who had an intellectual disability. The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for people with intellectual disabilities who wish to participate, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness and gain confidence in themselves.

Neither athletes nor parents are charged a fee to participate in the program, and activities exist for those of all ability levels, from the highly functioning to the severely challenged.

The programs are funded by donations and organized by volunteers. Each state has its own Special Olympics organizations with all funding raised staying within the state. Special Olympics Florida serves over 60,000 athletes and offers training and competition in a variety of team and individual sports, with the help of over 38,000 coaches and volunteers statewide. However, besides state events, there are national and international competitions as well.

The “Tip a Cop” event is an official Law Enforcement Torch Run Campaign fundraising event that is organized throughout the country with law enforcement officers and department personnel volunteering their time as “Celebrity Waiters” to collect tips at a restaurant in support of Special Olympics.

In Alachua, Sonny’s Restaurant offered to sponsor the event and the restaurant was at full capacity for most of the evening. Many of the customers were there especially for the event, but there were more than a few surprised patrons who did not expect to be served by police officers in full gear and uniform during their dining night out.

“The Alachua Police Department with the help of Sonny's and the Special Olympics Florida Athletes raised $1,757 and 100 percent will be given to Special Olympics Florida,” said Officer Stanfield. “In addition to this event, all the law enforcement agencies in Alachua County will be participating in a “Torch Run” on May 6 in Tioga to raise more funds for the Special Olympics. The race route will start at Jonesville Publix and end at Tioga Towne Center,” Stanfield said.

On May 20 the Special Olympics State Summer Games will be held in Kissimmee, Florida and from June 5-12 the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games will be held in various Florida cities.

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