Debbie Roney Smith, REALTOR®

Register to vote or update your registration by visiting RegistertoVoteFlorida.gov. If you find that you still have questions after reviewing the information on their website, you can contact them via telephone at (850)482-9652 or via email at email@jacksoncountysoe.org.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020–Books Close for March 17th Presidential Preference Primary. All new registrations and updates to party affiliations must be received in there office or postmarked by Feb. 18th. The deadline to register to vote is 29 days before any election. You may update your registration at any time, but for a Primary Election, party changes must be completed 29 days before that election. That is going to be February 18th for the next voting. For each election, Early Voting will be held at the following locations:
*Supervisor of Elections Office
2851 Jefferson Street, Marianna
*Graceville City Hall
5348 Cliff Street, Graceville
*Sneads City Hall
2028 Third Avenue, Sneads

Presidential Preference Primary will be–
March 17,2020
Books Close for New Registrations and Party Changes–February 18,2020
Early Voting Dates and Times:
Saturday, March 7– 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m
Sunday, March 8– 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Mon-Sat, March 9-March 14– 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

As of 2/9/20 Active registered voters in Jackson County.

Democrats:13,569
Republicans:11,520
Others:3,298
Total:28,387

What is up with this weather? FPU and WFEC have both reported thousands in the area with no power. Reminders from WFEC to stay safe and NEVER approach a downed power line. There are currently downed lines throughout the service area. Use caution when traveling.

As of 2 hours ago WFEC had over 5000 customers without power. For more information contact Candace Croft, croft@westflorida.coop or Terry Mullen, tmullen@westflorida.coop – As of 1:00 p.m. approximately 5,800 West Florida Electric Cooperative (WFEC) members across our four-county service area are without power. The majority of those are in Jackson & Calhoun Counties. Line crews are battling the elements and working to make repairs as quickly but safely as possible in these conditions. Approximately 2,800 members served by the Altha substation could experience lengthy outage times today. PowerSouth’s mobile substation is en route to assist in that area. We encourage those members to take the necessary steps to ensure their health and well-being until power can be restored. West Florida Electric members can monitor restoration efforts on the co-op’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/wfeca), website (westflorida.coop), mobile app and online outage map located on the website. To report outages, please call 844-688-2431 (844-OUTAGE1). *This information came from the WFEC FB page.*

To report power outages with FPU you can contact them at 800-427-7712.

Stay safe out there!

Since his first prediction in 1887 through this year, Phil has seen his shadow 104 times, while he has failed to spot it on just 20 occasions. Ten years are missing from the record, but Phil has issued forecasts without exception. It is the second year in a row Phil has not seen his shadow and the first time on record in consecutive years.

This year just after 7:25 a.m. Sunday, with a record crowd on hand to witness the spectacle, Phil emerged from his den in Punxsutawney, Pa., amid a steady light snow and temperatures near 30 degrees. The marmot did not see his shadow, signifying early spring, according to folklore. Had he spotted his shadow, it would have meant six more weeks of winter.

The origins of Groundhog Day are traced to the 1700s when German settlers arrived in the United States, bringing a tradition known as Candlemas Day, a celebration of the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox. About a century later, it was reimagined as Groundhog Day.

Groundhog Day this year takes on extra significance as the digits of its date make up the palindrome: 02/02/2020. As a palindrome is a sequence that reads the same way backward and forward, perhaps it means Phil can’t be wrong this year. Time will tell. The track record of Phil’s more recent predictions, however, is a disaster. In each of the last three years, the furry critter has missed the mark. See the photo for full details.

Groundhog Day this year also coincides with the Super Bowl. This is only the second time Super Bowl Sunday has fallen on Feb. 2. The last time was in 2014. On that day, Phil saw his shadow, and the Seattle Seahawks routed the Denver Broncos, 43-8. Phil’s prediction for six more weeks of winter that year was spot on, as brutally cold and snowy weather lasted well into March.