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Continuing the week showcasing the genius and highly entertaining Sony Bravia commercials, here is another colorful ad with a really great soundtrack. Enjoy.

From St. Johns County:

Residents can safely dispose of hazardous waste and electronics
 
St. Johns, FL – (May 14, 2008) – St. Johns County Solid Waste Management will host a Community Collection Day on Saturday, May 17, from 8:00 a.m. until noon at Bartram Trail High School, located at 7399 Longleaf Pine Parkway in St. Johns.
 
A Community Collection Day provides residents an opportunity to safely dispose of household hazardous waste, obsolete electronics and tires. Some examples of household hazardous waste items include paint, oil, cleaners, pesticides, batteries and pool chemicals.
 
To allow the best service to residents, a few restrictions apply. No microwave ovens or large appliances are accepted. Also, each household is limited to disposing no more than ten tires. The Community Collection Day is also for residential materials only; no commercial items, construction materials, garbage or yard trash will be accepted.
 
For more details, contact Solid Waste at 904.827.6980.

We are looking for performing and creative artists of all kinds for a FREE Music and Arts Festival to be held in the JCP area Saturday June 28 from 11 a.m. till 10 p.m..
 
We need 33 performing artists and 50+ creative artists!
 
2,000 people are expected to attend so this is an excellent opportunity for exposure!
 
For information on how to register go to www.myspace.com/freeartmusicfest
 
Or email gail323is@bellsouth.net

 From St. Johns County:

Program is part of PGA Free Lesson Month
 
Elkton, FL – (May 14, 2008) – PGA Professionals Wes Tucker and Tom Stecker of St. Johns Golf Club in Elkton, Florida, will offer free 10-minute golf lessons on Saturday, May 17 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. as part of PGA Free Lesson Month. To participate in a free golf lesson, amateur golfers must call 209-0350 to schedule a lesson.
 
“PGA Free Lesson Month is a great opportunity for local non-golfers to come out and get introduced to the game of golf, or for existing golfers to focus on any area they want to improve,” said Wes Tucker, Director of Golf at St. Johns Golf Club. “We welcome all those who would like to participate and encourage them to bring a friend or family member and come out and have some fun, regardless of skill level.”
 
Throughout the month of May, PGA Professionals across the County will offer free 10-minute lessons to help golfers of all levels improve their game. More than 7,500 PGA Professionals are expected to participate this year. The free lessons will utilize V1 Golf video analysis software. The program is a joint partnership of the PGA of America, Golf Digest, Golf For Women, Golf World and The Golf Channel, with Nike Golf as the official sponsor.
 
For more information, contact St. Johns Golf Club Director Wes Tucker at 209-0350.

From the Sheriff's Office:

The Historic St. Johns County Police Athletic League (PAL) will be fielding a new program for St. Johns County Residents called Junior Development Tackle Football this fall. This program, which has been very successful in Ponte Vedra Beach, is an exciting change for the PAL. Youngsters learn the game of football from A to Z by trained and knowledgeable coaches. You practice twice a week and all ten (10) games will be played at the same location.

Youngsters between the ages of 7-14 will be placed in age appropriate divisions based upon age, weight and prior experience. The league is full contact, tackle football with a focus on learning the fundamentals rather than winning or losing. The goal of the program is that every single participant has a positive and enjoyable experience regardless of their skill or ability.

My Favorite Commercials Week continues today featuring...another Sony Bravia commercial! That's right, this whole week I am showcasing the Bravia commercial campaign as I think these commercials are truly unique and really demonstrate how art can be incorporated into the marketing world. Enjoy. (Plus the music in this one is great!)

From St. Johns County:

American Heart Association applauds local program

St. Augustine, FL – (May 13, 2008) – The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners received a plague Tuesday from the American Heart Association in recognition of being named a “Heart Ready County.” St. Johns County met the criteria to become a Heart Ready County through a variety of life-saving steps, including having AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) machines in County buildings, training approximately fifty percent of staff to use the AED machines, staffing emergency fire engines and ambulances with trained paramedics, and working with the community to register all AED machines with the 911 dispatch office, among several others.

The American Heart Association spoke highly of St. Johns County’s program. Amanda Skinner of the American Heart Association presented the award and said, “You have an outstanding program. Thank you for strengthening the Chain of Survival and ensuring that the residents of St. Johns County have the best possible chance of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest.”

An AED machine allows non-medical personnel to save lives by administering an electric shock to someone suffering from cardiac arrest. St. Johns County currently has 78 AED machines located in 58 locations, with at least thirty percent of the staff at each location trained to use them. In addition to the County as a whole being recognized by the American Heart Association, each of the 58 County facilities will also receive a Heart Safe Community Award.

St. Johns County instituted its Heart Ready Program in 2006. Since that time, Program Coordinator Amy Reichert has trained more than 600 County employees to use AED machines and arranged for machines to be placed in 58 County facilities. Reichert also works closely with the American Heart Association for on-going training, as well as businesses and community organizations to help them develop similar programs and obtain a life-saving AED machine for their properties.

For more information about AED machines or becoming heart ready, contact Amy Reichert in the St. Johns County Fire Rescue Department at 209-1733.

From the St. Johns River Water Management District:

PALATKA, Fla., May 13, 2008 — The St. Johns River Water Management District’s Governing Board voted today to begin the rulemaking process to amend the District’s irrigation rules. The rules apply to all lawn and landscape irrigation, agriculture, nurseries, golf courses and recreational areas not regulated by consumptive use permits.

“The additional water conservation provisions would enhance water savings by expanding the irrigation limitations to include reclaimed water and storm water,” said Hal Wilkening, the District’s director of resource management. “Also, the amendments would achieve greater savings by limiting landscape irrigation in the cooler months to one day a week and limiting the amount of water that can be applied during each irrigation cycle. Enforcement of the landscape irrigation provisions would be made easier by specifying the irrigation days for each user based on their address.”

From the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office:

CLICK IT OR TICKET

The St Johns County Sheriff’s Office Kicks Off Click It or Ticket Enforcement Mobilization
Extended Hours to Focus on All Unbuckled Motorists — Day and Night

[St Augustine, Florida] – The St Johns County Sheriff’s Office announced today that they are joining with hundreds of other law enforcement agencies across the country in renewing a pledge to save lives by intensifying efforts to enforce seat belt laws — among all motorists and around the clock — during the 2008 Click It or Ticket mobilization, which runs through June 1.

In 2006, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 15,046 passenger vehicle occupants were killed between the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of those killed at night were NOT wearing seat belts — compared to less than half (46%) of the passenger vehicle occupants killed during daytime hours.

Along with nighttime motorists, men — particularly young men — are among those less likely to buckle up. In 2006, 73 percent of male passenger vehicle occupants between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes were NOT wearing seat belts.

In fact, all young people are at greatly increased risk. Sixty-four percent of teenage passenger vehicle occupants killed in fatal crashes during 2006 were NOT wearing seat belts at the time of the crashes. And the 2006 observed seat belt usage rate of those 16 to 24 was lower than any other age group.
-more-

“With 18 percent of all Americans failing to buckle up regularly, it’s clear that far too many people still don’t take belt laws seriously,” St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar said. Among some groups, especially young men, the unbuckled rate is especially high — and the fatal crash rate increases significantly at night. So look for us to be out on the streets day and night from mid-May through June 1st making sure that everyone is buckled up.”

Sheriff Shoar added, “Worn correctly, seat belts have proven to reduce the risk of fatal injury in a crash by 45 percent for front-seat passenger vehicle occupants and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans. In fact, data shows that more than three-quarters (77%) of passenger vehicle occupants who were in a serious crash in 2006 and were buckled up survived the crash.”

Increased law enforcement activities, including seat belt checkpoints, will be conducted nationwide during the 2008 Click It or Ticket mobilization. Paid national advertising, as well as State advertising, will support the mobilization by promoting the life-saving benefits of regular seat belt use, especially nighttime belt use, to all motorists.

“Regular seat belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce motor vehicle crash fatalities. And high-visibility enforcement is effective at getting people to buckle up,” said Sheriff Shoar. “Wearing your seat belt is easy and it costs you nothing. Not wearing it might cost you a ticket, or worse — your life. I urge everyone in St Johns County to please be safe and buckle up day and night — Click It or Ticket.”

To learn more about the Click It or Ticket campaign and the lifesaving benefits of wearing your seat belt, please visit www.nhtsa.gov.

 Just got back from a week long trip with our Super Seniors group at our Church!  What a trip it was!!  We boarded the Charter Bus early Saturday Morning, May 3.  Spent our first night in Nashville, TN then on to Branson, MO from there.  What I expected to be a rather long and boaring trip turned out to be one of the most fun and interesting trips I have ever taken.  Those Senior Citizens almost wore me out. 

 We spent six days on the road, saw six shows and had more fun than a barrel of Monkeys!  I never stopped to think how many times one could get on and off a bus in six days.  I lost count after the first day!  Let me tell you being a Senior Citizen is NOT for Sissies! One interesting experience was eating at the " Home of the Throwed Roll"  Ever had a hot yeast roll thrown at you from across the room?  Well, let me tell you it's an experience.  The food was home cooked and delicious.