Author: Debbie Roney Smith

Welcome Back to School~2019/2020 is going to be a great year!  Here are a few reminders about driving safely especially during morning and afternoon school times.

School bus safety reminders~ Motorists are required to stop when approaching a school bus that is stopped with its red lights flashing and STOP arms extended. Check out the different scenarios in the bus photo below to help understand the rules. Be alert! The area 10 feet around a school bus is where children are in the most danger of being hit. Children walking to and from their bus are usually very comfortable with their surroundings and more likely to take risks, ignore hazards, or fail to look both ways when crossing the street.

~Slow down in residential areas. Watch for children crossing the street and congregating near bus stops.

~Always stop when directed to do so by a school patrol sign, school patrol officer, or designated crossing guard.

~Parents please also talk to your kids about safe walking, bike riding, and bus riding safety.

~According to the Transportation Research Board, a division or the National Academy of Sciences, every year nearly 100 children are killed walking to or from school. The afternoon hours being especially dangerous, nearly 1 in 4 child pedestrian deaths have happened before 3pm and 7pm.

~For more tips on school safety check out the National Safety Council’s Back to School Safety Checklist.  https://bit.ly/2KIPh8T

 

Celebrating 8/11~August 11th, which serves as a reminder for homeowners and professionals alike to ALWAYS call 811 before digging to avoid injury, damages, and service interruptions. Please be sure to share this info with neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends to keep our communities safe.

8/11 is a reminder to natural gas, propane and electric customers as well as all contractors to call 811 to have utility-owned underground lines marked prior to digging. A survey conducted earlier this year by the Common Ground Alliance, the national association that promotes the 811 phone number and safe digging practices, projected that 42 percent of homeowners who planned to dig this year for various projects, were likely to put themselves and their communities at risk by not calling 811 prior to digging.

Dialing 811 at least 3 days prior to digging in Florida you will get Sunshine811, which notifies the appropriate utility companies of the intent to dig. Professional locators are then sent to the requested digging site to mark the locations of underground lines with flags, stakes and/or spray paint. Once lines are located, customers and excavators must understand the markings and look for evidence of unmarked lines, such as water and sewer lines on private property. Sewer clean-outs and water valve covers are examples of equipment that can indicate the presence of underground lines.

Jackson County native and resident Madeline Wright just took international pageant title of Miss. Teen International. She is studying at Chipola College for her AA degree and after her graduation next May she plans to transfer to the University of Central Florida for a degree in communications and journalism. Miss Teen International showcases the achievements of young women ages 13 to 18. Although a resident of Florida, pageant rules allowed her to compete for the Alabama title, since she lives nearby in the bordering state and because she did her “platform work” in Alabama, wherein she promoted agricultural awareness in many classrooms doing hands-on projects with children. She and the youngsters did several activities, like making ice cream in a bag and butter in a jar. She said she is looking forward to expanding her reach in promoting the theme and she is excited to put the crown to work promoting agriculture literacy among her peers. So many in her generation are removed from understanding how their food comes from the farm to their plate and she wants to change that so everyone makes food choices that best support their beliefs.” Congrats to the Jackson County native!