Saturday, August 8, 2009
Franklin County on the web August 8th, 2009
Enjoy Old South style in and around classy Tallahassee
Todd Palin Speaks Out About The 'D' Word and His Salmon Fishing Guide
Carrabelle should be disappointed in officials
Friday, August 7, 2009
I'm sure we're completely safe....
Federal forecasters are lowering their outlook for the Atlantic hurricane season. The National Weather Service on Thursday updated its forecast for the six-month season that ends on November the 30th. It now predicts a 50 percent chance of a near-normal season, a 40 percent chance of a below-normal season, and a 10 percent probability of an above-normal season. During an average season, there are 11 named storms with winds of at least 39 mph, of which six become hurricanes and two of those become major hurricanes with winds of 111 mph or higher. The reason for the downgraded forecast is the continued formation of El Nino patterns along the equatorial central and eastern Pacific Ocean which tends to suppress hurricane formation. But there is no reason for people to let their guard down. The calm start to this hurricane season is not a reliable indicator of the overall activity for the entire season. In 1992 there was also a below-normal number of named storms and hurricanes and the first storm did not form until late August. But many people in Florid will remember that year because it spawned Hurricane Andrew which hit southern Florida as a destructive Category 5 storm.
Florida opens new oyster bar in Wakulla County
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is opening a new shellfish harvesting area in Wakulla County. The new St. Marks Shellfish Harvesting Area consists of a 4,111 acre conditionally approved area and a 5,264 acre prohibited area. The St. Marks Shellfish Harvesting Area has an anticipated opening date of September 1st, as long as there isn’t too much rain around that time. The St. Marks shellfish harvesting area will be managed much like those in the Apalachicola Bay where openings and closings are based on local rainfall and river levels. Agriculture Chief Charles Bronson said “This is a positive development for oystermen in Florida. While the St. Marks Shellfish Harvesting Area is not a large area, it does provide additional oyster harvesting opportunities where none previously existed.” Copies of the map, legal description and management plan for the harvest area are available on-line at www.FloridaAquaculture.com.
FWC has its nets back
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has its nets back. The 4 large research hoop nets were taken last week from Lockley Lake off the Apalachicola River in Gulf County. The nets are used to capture and tag alligator snapping turtles, a species of special concern. The FWC said that the nets could be returned with no questions asked, and that’s what happened. Monday night someone contacted the Gulf County sheriff and told him the location of the nets. They were retrieved undamaged on Tuesday morning. The FWC now says the incident is resolved and the turtle research continues.
County sees big drop in solid waste funding
County commissioners this week signed the annual solid waste agreement that provides state money to help offset the costs of handling local solid waste. This was a bad year for the fund which fell from 277 thousand dollars last year to just 78,700 dollars this year. The money is provided annually to counties with fewer than 100 thousand residents – landfill director Van Johnson said the cuts affected all small counties in Florida. Franklin County has used the money in the past primarily for capital outlay projects like buying new trucks and machinery so the major effect the cuts will have during the next budget year is that there will be no new vehicles for the landfill. It should not have a major impact on day to day operations. Van Johnson said if Florida’s economy remains weak for a number of years, however, it could have a big impact on the local budget.
Five weeks with no swimming advisories
Franklin County is now in its fifth week with no swimming advisories. The health Department released water quality results on Wednesday – and said that there were no bacteria found in water samples taken from local beaches. Health officials test the waters at 6 popular swimming areas every week looking for bacteria that indicates whether human or animal waste is in the water that could pose a hazard to swimmers. That includes 4 sites on St. George Island, as well as Carrabelle beach and Alligator Point. There were also no swimming advisories issued for Mash’s Island or Shell Point in Wakulla County this week or for any of the 6 locations tested in Gulf County though moderate levels of bacteria were found at St. Joe Bay Monument Beach.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The end of the airport land purchase issue?
County commissioners have ended a months long stalemate over purchasing land adjoining the Apalachicola airport when the board agreed Tuesday to pay the landowner 9000 dollars an acre. The county has found itself divided for most of the year on purchasing the undeveloped land at the end of the airport’s main runway which will now act as a buffer zone to keep homes and other structures away from the end of the runway. Commissioners have voted on the purchase at least three times this year but always found themselves in a 2-2 deadlock with commissioners Pinki Jackel and Cheryl Sanders arguing that the asking price was too high. Commission chairman Smokey Parrish was unable to vote on the issue until this week because of a potential conflict of interest, but this week he cast the deciding vote to buy the land after the Florida ethics commission ruled that he could vote. Commissioners Sanders and Jackal voted against the purchase again this week – but said they would be willing to buy the land at 7500 dollars an acre which they feel better represents the real value of the land. The money to purchase the land is being provided by the Federal Aviation Administration – the FAA has already awarded money to purchase 21 acres, the county is now applying for the funding for the rest of the land.
South Bayshore speed limit back at 35
The speed limit on South Bayshore Drive in Eastpoint has been returned to 35 miles an hour. The county commission agreed about three months ago to lower the speed limit on that road to 25 miles an hour to make it safer to drive. On Tuesday, however, District 1 county commissioner Pinki Jackel said the lower speed limit had the unintended consequence of changing traffic patterns in Eastpoint so that fewer people used the road. Instead, most people began using Island Drive to get to St. George Island, increasing traffic on that road and causing more traffic delays at the intersection of Island Drive and Highway 98. Commissioner Jackel said beside that, she’s getting tired of people calling South Bayshore Drive “Pinki’s speed trap.” The new 35 mile an hour speed limit signs were replaced earlier this week.
Boat ramp rule should be ready this month
County commissioners should have an ordinance ready for consideration later this month designed to keep people from blocking boat ramps. The proposed ordinance will affect boaters who tie up their boats in the water blocking the boat ramps, and those that park their trucks and trailers in a way that keeps other people from launching their boats. The commission said the new rule will likely also ban people from mooring their boats overnight at county boat ramps. County attorney Michael Shuler is currently working on the new rule and said it should be ready for county consideration on August the 18th. The county already has signs placed at most public ramps asking people to be considerate – but they say they need a rule in place that can be enforced by local law enforcement.
Blue Cross agrees to freeze rates for one year
Franklin County commissioners got a little good financial news this week. Gary Barber, the county’s health insurance agent, told county commissioners that Blue Cross will freeze its rates at current levels for another year. The company had proposed raising its rates by 8 percent for the next budget year but county commissioners asked their agent to negotiate a lower price. By keeping rates the same the county will save about 65 thousand dollars on its health insurance rates during the next budget year which runs from October the 1st to September the 30th. Mister Barber said he was very surprised that Blue Cross agreed to freeze their rates – he said the trend in the health insurance industry is to raise rates by about 13 percent a year – he called this the biggest cut he’s ever seen. County commissioners, however, said they would like to see if they can save even more and asked Mister Barber to approach Blue Cross about actually lowering their rates instead of just freezing them at the current levels. The county said during the next year it will also likely seek bids from other companies to see if that could bring health care costs down even more. At this time Blue Cross is the best choice because most local doctors are in the Blue Cross network.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Franklin County nears decidion on MSBU increases
County commissioners feel they may have reached a fair agreement with local fire departments on increased MSBU assessments, but the commission says it wants to hear from its constituents before taking a final vote on the issue in two weeks. Local volunteer fire departments are seeking an increase in the amount homeowners and business owners pay to fund the departments and medical rescue units. Every homeowner in the county currently pays 42 dollars to fund fire departments; businesses pay 75 dollars a year, while motels and mobile home parks pay a maximum of about 300 dollars a year. The problem is the assessments are not enough to fully fund the fire departments’ budgets. Firefighters say with the current assessments fire departments are seeing budget shortfalls ranging from 600 dollars a year for Dog Island to nearly 90 thousand dollars a year for St. George Island – those shortfalls have to be made up through fund-raisers like the annual chili cook-off on St. George Island and rib cook-off in Eastpoint. And the problem is bigger than just current budget shortfalls. Because of the ever increasing number of regulations and requirements and because the costs on everything from fire trucks to equipment to training goes up almost every year it is becoming more expensive every year to operate a fire department , yet the amount local property owners pay for fire service has remained unchanged since 2001. Not only that, but volunteer firefighters are now performing more services, ranging from first responder care to water rescue and that increases their costs even further. Fire departments have now requested that the county commission approve an increase in MSBU assessments to 57 dollars for homeowners, and 100 dollars for businesses. They also want a new assessment on vacant parcels of land which they say make up 70 percent of the fire calls they respond to. They were seeking an assessment of 12 dollars per vacant lot. County commissioners agreed that the fire departments need more money but not quite as much as the departments were seeking. On Tuesday the board said they would be willing to raise the MSBU for homeowners to 50 dollars instead of 57 and to 100 dollars for businesses. The board also agreed in principle to increase the minimum trailer parks and motels pay to 100 dollars with a maximum annual payment of 500 dollars for motels and 375 dollars for trailer parks. The most contentious item was the new assessment on vacant lots – the board did agree to an assessment of 10 dollars per lot, not the 12 dollars the fire departments were hoping for. But none of the higher assessments are final yet – the county commission tabled their final decision until their next meeting on August the 18th. They said they want to take the next two weeks to consider the increases further and to publish the proposed increases in the local newspaper so that voters can have a chance to comment on them.
Waste Pro recognized for wildlife resistant containers
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recognized the Waste Pro garbage company on Tuesday for its efforts in providing wildlife resistant garbage containers to residents of Franklin County. The state agency presented a plaque to Waste Pro at Tuesday’s Franklin County Commission meeting. FWC representative David Paleska said half of the bear calls the FWC gets from Franklin County relate to bears getting into garbage cans and Waste Pro has done a lot to alleviate that by voluntarily offering wildlife resistant cans. Waste Pro is the first company in the state to offer the specially fitted garbage containers and Paleska said he hopes other companies will follow suit. Waste Pro began offering wildlife-resistant containers to customers in Franklin County on June the 1st. They cost 5 dollars a month extra for people who use them. And the cans do more than keep bears away from your garbage, they also seem effective against feral cats and dogs, raccoons, foxes, opossums and other wildlife. For more information on wildlife-resistant containers and to find out what you can do to avoid bear conflicts, go to MyFWC.com/Bear. Franklin County homeowners interested in the wildlife-resistant containers offered by Waste Pro can call 850-670-8800 or visit their Web site at www.wasteprousa.com.
Plenty of candidates for city of elections
Voters in both Apalachicola and Carrabelle will have reason to go to the polls on September the 8th. Both cities have city commission seats up for grabs. There are four candidates on the ballot in Carrabelle vying for two city commission seats. Incumbent Richard Sands is seeking re-election for his position as finance commissioner. Also on the ballot are Cherry Rankin who works with the Boys and Girls Club, Charlotte Schneider who works as a realtor, and Cal Allen who is retired. The two candidates receiving the most votes will become commissioners. In Apalachicola three people qualified for city commission seat #4. That seat is currently held by Valentina Webb, who is seeking re-election this year. She will face Brenda Ash and Andy Williams in that race. Mrs. Ash works for Gulf State Community Bank, Mister Williams previously served as Apalachicola’s chief of police. There are two candidates seeking city commission seat 3. Frank Cook is the incumbent – he will face Apalachicola business owner Jerry Hall. Residents in both cities have until August the 10th to register to vote in the election.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Two local beaches make dirtiest beaches list
Two of Franklin County’s beaches made the top ten list of dirtiest beaches in Florida last year. The Natural Resources Defense Council has issued the list for the past 19 years. The worst beach in Florida was Dixie County's Shired Island, which failed to pass bacteria standards 90 percent of the times it was tested. Alligator Point had swimming advisories issued 56 percent of the time and Carrabelle Beach 43 percent. Wakulla County's Shell Point Beach had swimming advisories 43 percent of the time and Mash's Sand 39 percent. There are 306 Florida beaches that are tested weekly for bacteria including enterococcus and e coli, both of which can be dangerous for swimmers. The Natural Resources Defense Council report says the causes of polluted water include storm water runoff, sewage, septic tanks, boating, wildlife and human waste. Locally, county commissioners are working with state officials and local business interests to ascertain what is causing swimming advisories off of St. George Island, though there is no plan at this time to look at Alligator Point or Carrabelle beach.
FWC seeks info on stolen hoop nets
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is looking for information in the theft of a number of research hoop nets from Lockley Lake off the Apalachicola River in Gulf County. The nets were taken between noon last Wednesday and early Thursday morning. Kim Sash, an FWC wildlife biologist, said the 10-foot-long, barrel-shaped nets or traps were partially exposed above the waterline in the small lake across from Bryant Landing. The hoop nets are used to capture and tag alligator snapping turtles, a species of special concern. Each of the hoop nets costs $135. The FWC says if the traps are returned there will be no questions asked and they won’t press charges. Keeping the traps is a felony. The Gulf County Sheriff’s office is investigating the theft. Anyone with information about the incident can call Kim Sash at 850-827-2417.
Officers find plenty of pot during fly-over
Franklin County sheriff’s officers found nearly 300 marijuana plants during an aerial search of the county last month. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit, with assistance of the Florida Department of Agriculture and the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office flew over Franklin County on July 23rd. They found 285 Marijuana plants. No arrests have been made yet, though police say there are a number of persons of interest under investigation.
Elderly Liberty County man killed in ATV accident
An 86-year-old Liberty County man was killed last week in an ATV accident. The Highway Patrol said Joseph Hardy of Bristol died while riding a 2007 Honda ATV on a private dirt roadway just off Rockville Road. Mister Hardy was riding the ATV just before 5 o’clock last Monday afternoon when his back tires lost traction on the road causing the ATV to flip over. Mister Hardy was thrown from the vehicle, which then landed on top of him. He was taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital where he died 2 days later from his injuries.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Foreclosed Eastpoint property now being spruced up
A portion of Eastpoint is getting a little clean up. 30 lots on the eastern end of Eastpoint that were going to be a residential and commercial development called Porthaven are now being cleaned up by the bank that owns them. The Porthaven development never became a reality and the property was foreclosed on. The land was then allowed to deteriorate with buildings becoming dilapidated or the target of graffiti artists. County commissioner Pinki Jackel said Chambers Bank, which owns the land, has now begun cleaning up the property. The bank has hired a local contractor to tear down and buildings that are dilapidated and to paint over those that are covered in graffiti. They may also fence off some of the property to protect it from vandalism. The project should take about a month to complete.
Franklin County signs agreements for road repairs
County officials have signed agreements with the state that will improve two local roads. One, under the small county outreach program will provide the county with over 225 thousand dollars to resurface Avenue A in Eastpoint. That work will extend from Old Ferry Dock Road to 6th street. A second agreement through the Department of Transportation County Incentive Program will provide the county with over 266 thousand dollars to improve a portion of C30 A in Carrabelle. That work will widen and resurface the road from Marine Street to Highway 98. The project will likely begin in the next 3 to 6 months.
Franklin County to recieve 350K to promote home ownership
Franklin County has approved some changes to its housing program that will allow it to receive some federal funding to help residents purchase homes. The program, called the “Florida Homebuyer Opportunity Program” will provide 350 thousand dollars to the local SHIP program to promote home ownership. The program will provide up to 10 percent of a homes purchase price or 8000 dollars, whichever is less – and that money is not a gift. It would have to be repaid using the 8000 dollar federal income tax refund currently available for home buyers through the US stimulus bill. In order to receive the money, the county had to agree to adopt some new policies, including lowering the eligibility requirements so that single taxpayers making up to 75 thousand dollars a year or joint filers making up to 150 thousand dollars are eligible to apply for the assistance. The county also had to agree that the money could be used to purchase mobile homes as long as the mobile homes are built after June the 30th, 1994. County commissioners said they don’t feel many people will take advantage of the program but did make the changes to their policies just in case. Any of the money that is not used for home buying over the next year will then go into the county’s regular SHIP program which provides funding to low income residents to repair existing houses.
County continues work to end peddling on St. George Island
County commissioners will likely hold a public hearing in August that will end peddling on St. George Island. The commission is responding to a number of complaints, mainly from business owners, about the peddlers who show up to sell their wares to the crowds of people that visit St. George Island’s beaches during the summer. The county has a 13 year old peddler’s ordinance that requires people to pay a fee and to stay in certain areas near the public beach – but for the most part that ordinance is ignored. Most of the peddlers show up on weekends when the crowds are biggest and county enforcement is weakest and they are generally gone again by Monday morning. That has business owners on St. George Island upset, because the peddlers are taking their customers and the peddlers don’t have to meet any of the expensive requirements that normal businesses do. The county is now considering doing away completely with the peddlers ordinance and that way police can just run off anyone they see peddling anywhere on St. George Island. The commission is still investigating whether they can legally make two exceptions for two long-time seafood dealers who work on the island – the county attorney is investigating that issue. The commission says that even it can’t allow the exceptions it will likely still vote to end all peddling from public property on the island.
Opportunity Florida seeks grant to expand high speed internet to North Florida
County commissioners have thrown support behind a program that could bring high speed internet to more areas of North Florida including Franklin County. The commission has signed a resolution of support for the group Opportunity Florida which is seeking federal money to install broadband infrastructure to eight North Florida counties reaching from Franklin and Gulf counties along the coast to Holmes and Jackson counties along the Georgia border. If the grant is approved, Opportunity Florida would get 25 million dollars to provide broadband infrastructure which could include fiber optic lines or towers to provide wireless internet. Opportunity Florida said there are currently a number of unserved or underserved areas in the eight counties that currently can only get dial up internet service and this grant could help provide those areas with high speed internet. Opportunity Florida said it would not actually provide internet, just the infrastructure – it would have to enter into agreements with existing internet service providers like Fairpoint Communications or Medicacom to actually provide internet service. Those companies would have to pay to use the infrastructure and since Franklin County would own a portion of the system and the infrastructure would use county right of ways, its possible the county could see some revenue from the project. Opportunity Florida said their grant application is due by August the 14th and we will know if the grant was approved within 60 days of that date.
Tracy Lawrence to headline Florida Seafood Festival
The Florida Seafood Festival board has the musical entertainment for this year’s event. The headline entertainment this year is country singer Tracy Lawrence who has had quite a few number one hits including Sticks and Stones, Alibis, Can't Break It to My Heart, Texas Tornado and Find Out Who Your Friends Are. In total he’s had 30 songs on the Country Billboard charts – eight of which hit number one. He’s released 9 albums, including a new one called “The Rock” which was released on June the 9th. As always there will a number of other local and regional bands playing at the festival this year – you can stay updated on Seafood festival news on-line at Floridaseafoodfestival.com.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Franklin County on the web August 2nd, 2009
Travel 101: Top 10 Dog Friendly US Cities
Sunday Journal: A camping horror story, or, not so snug with these bugs
Ending the water wars
Our Opinion: Water wars, still
Apalachicola Homes-Which is your favorite? PT 2
Homes of Apalachicola - Which is your favorite? PT 1
Water use ruling a sound decision
Despite Landmark Ruling, Water Wars Will Likely Continue
Apalachicola: More than oysters
St. George Island: a gem along Panhandle's Forgotten Coast
Back to the Cape 2009 - Last Day... Apalachicola
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