Staff bloggers

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.”
           
Public workshops will be held to provide information about the proposed rule amendments and to obtain public comment on the proposed changes.
·         June 18, 2008, 1 p.m., Seminole County Commission Chambers, 1101 E. First St., Sanford, FL
·         June 19, 2008, 10 a.m., Indian River County Commission Chambers, 1801 27th St., Building A, Vero Beach, FL
·         July 1, 2008,10 a.m., Department of Environmental Protection, 7825 Baymeadows Way, rooms A and B, Jacksonville, FL
·         July 3, 2008, 10 a.m., Lake County Commission Chambers, 315 W. Main St., Tavares, FL
 
“We encourage participation in the rulemaking process,” said Wilkening. “The proposed amendments are a work in progress and the public’s input can help shape the final product.”
 
For more information, visit the District’s Web site at www.sjrwmd.com/irrigationrule.

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.

Here's another commercial for a Sony Bravia television. Like yesterday's video, this was not done with computer animation, as hard as it may be to believe.

And here's the "making of" video to show you just how it was done...

This week I will feature one of my favorite commericals for each Daily Dose. To kick things off, here is one of the greatest commercials of all time. (And in case you were wondering...it wasn't created with computers.)

Check out the video below to see how it was made:

A jet ski driver was killed Saturday when he collided with a boat in Durbin Creek in northern St. Johns County. A passenger, identified by authorities as the driver’s girlfriend, was critically injured and was flown to Shands Jacksonville by rescue helicopter.
Investigators hadn’t concluded how fast each vessel was traveling, or whether alcohol played any role in the collision. The driver of the boat wasn’t injured.
Investigators said people onboard another boat heard the collision and brought the victims to the closest boat ramp, at Hood Landing on Julington Creek in Mandarin. Both people on the jet ski were wearing life vests, investigators said.
The names of the 19-year-old driver and 18-year-old passenger were not released because authorities were still contacting their families. Check Jacksonville.com and Sunday’s Times-Union for updates.

This is currently one of the most popular videos on Youtube. Guys jumping into a pair of jeans. And the stunts only get better as the video goes on. Because it's so incredibly lighthearted and fun, I thought it would make a great video for a Friday. Enjoy, and have a great weekend.

Julia Della Porta, age 7, was the winner of My St. Johns Sun's Mother's Day picture drawing, so her mom, Karen Della Porta received a gift card from Border's book stores for Mother's Day.

By FRANCINE KING
The Times-Union

PLANT CITY — The Bartram Trail High School softball team scored four runs in the first inning, then held on for a 4-2 victory over Venice in the Class 5A state championship game Thursday night at Plant City Stadium.

Bears pitcher Molly Manning (24-3), a Villanova University signee, struck out 15 and allowed four hits in the win over the previously unbeaten Indians (31-1).

Bartram Trail shortstop Christie Bailey hit a two-run single and later scored on an error by Venice’s second baseman to help the Bears (30-3) to their 4-0 lead. The Indians responded with two runs in the fourth, but Manning stopped the rally with a strikeout.

Jason Polan says he is attempting to draw everyone in New York. He draws people quickly, as he sees them in a park, on a subway or walking across the street. He then posts the drawings on his blog, Every Person In New York.

The best part is that Polan says, "When the project is completed we will all have a get together."