One of the many ways that we are raising money to restore and maintain the water tower, is by selling t-shirts. Gil Watson, local artist and gallery owner, created this beautiful depiction of the Old Homosassa Water Tower.
Gil donated the painting to the OHHC co-chair, Marian MacRae.
The t-shirt will be white with a screen-print of Gil’s interpretation of the water tower on the back. A small OHHC logo will be on the front.
The donation is $18.35 for the t-shirt. (1835 is the year that Old Homosassa was established)
We had a very exciting town hall meeting with District Two County Commissioner Ron Kitchen yesterday.
Exciting because there were so many attendees and our new commissioner seemed eager to talk about Homosassa’s unique issues.
I’m guessing we had over 60 people for this meeting. And most of them were from the Homosassa River area. Much better than the “meet and greet” we went to with J.J. Kenney last July. I think there were 8 concerned citizens for that one. The sidewalk meeting the same month drew about 30 people.
Commissioner Kitchen opened this meeting by saying he could not talk about the Halls River Project–a 110 room hotel being planned right across the street from the site of the former Marguerita Grille. This was a disappointment to the audience since many came just for that purpose. The commissioner could not discuss it because of the public hearing that is coming up on April 14th. He did invite us all to come to the hearing and I think just about everybody in that room will be there.
Commissioner Ron Kitchen
The commissioner was assisted by Toby Phillips, County Information Officer. She listed all of our questions and issues on the wall–26 bullet points with the really important items starred. Randy Oliver, the county administrator, was also present.
Since the majority of the people attending the meeting were from the Homosassa River area, that’s what most of the questions were about. From traffic on Halls River Road, to what was going on with our sidewalks and trees, and how do we get the county to focus on Old Homosassa?
The area is not incorporated, we have no merchant organization, our main community groups are the Civic Club, the River Alliance, and The Old Homosassa Heritage Council and we have no common voice between these three groups. Commissioner Kitchen stated several times that the more meetings we attend and the more noise we make, the more we will get in return.
So let’s make some noise!
On a side note, don’t forget the Shrimpaplooza on Saturday. I said earilier this week that the parade starts at 10:30 which is what I pulled off of the Rotary’s website. Today’s paper lists the time at 10 am. The Old Homosassa Heritage Council (OHHC) will have a booth on Mason Creek. Stop by and say hi, buy a t-shirt, or/and make a donation to help us with our current project–buying, restoring, and maintaining the Water Tower.
DeeDee Wilcox, co-chair of the OHHC, will be at the Visitor Center of the Homosassa Wildlife Park for Homosassa Heritage Days on Saturday. Besides handouts and information, DeeDee will have an original painting by Gil Watson of the Water Tower on display.
This evening at 5:30, Old Homosassa Historical Preservation Society holds their monthly meeting at the Gator Den at MacRae’s Motel, If you are interested in preserving Old Homosassa’s heritage for current and future generations, you should attend this meeting. Our current project is to buy, repair, and maintain the Old Homosassa Water Tower.
Thursday evening at 6 – 7:30 there will be a town hall meeting with County Commissioner Ron Kitchen Jr. at the Homosassa Library. According to the Citrus Chronicle, Kitchen said “I want the public to know that I am continuing to listen, I want to hear about any issues our citizens are currently facing.” If you are concerned with events occurring in our community, you should attend this meeting. Two hot issues right now are the sidewalk plans on Yulee Drive and the 110-unit motel being planned on Halls River Road.
Following the town hall, The River Alliance will be meeting at 7:45 at the Civic Club.
We have two big events on Saturday.
First, Homosassa Heritage Day will be held at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Here’s an opportunity to learn about Homosassa’s history. The event is held inside the park’s Visitor Center at the main entrance on U.S. 19 so you do not have to pay admission to the park.
Second is the 3rd annual Shrimpapalooza. The parade starts at 10:30 am and will feature about 10,000 golf carts and a gazillion beads. That might be a slight (huge) exaggeration but you should just come and see for yourself. The festival following the parade is held in the park behind the Homosassa Civic Club. Sponsored by the Homosassa Rotary club, the proceeds go to numerous charities, many of them local.
There’s Anne, her daughter and granddaughterMe and Jack.
One of the many ways that we are raising money to restore and maintain the water tower, is by selling t-shirts. Gil Watson, local artist and gallery owner, created this beautiful depiction of the Old Homosassa Water Tower.
The t-shirt will be white with a screen-print of Gil’s interpretation of the water tower on the back. A small OHHC logo will be on the front. 
