Sneads FL News Commentary and Reading Recommendations

Alabama attorneys are claiming the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is illegally storing water for Georgia, and causing harm downstream.

From http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsi...id=439676&rfi=6:
 
That put the dispute over the Alabama, Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers back in court.
"The corps has made repeated decisions to sacrifice water quality, hydropower, navigation, downstream recreation, fish and wildlife during times of low flow in order to give undue preference to upstream recreation and water supply," the complaint states.(...)
The state sued the Corps in 1990 over the use of rivers that begin in Georgia and flow to Alabama and Florida. The Apalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint river system is also part of the suit.
North Georgia interests (...) state they need additional water to handle population growth. Downstream interests, including the cities of Eufaula, Columbus, Ga, and Bainbridge, Ga, state if Georgia receives the amount of water it desires, downstream cities would suffer. (...) According to The Birmingham News, Alabama claims about 25 endangered species of fish, mussels and snails could suffer from "illegal management of the reservoirs." The state also claims downstream residents may pay higher electricity bills because the Corps holds water that is needed for hydropower.

Essential reading for all residents of Alabama, Georgia and Florida. It's a tough call: who owns how much of a natural resource that flows freely across state lines?
 
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

07:55 AM   

It figures. The one time that a Sneads resident makes national headlines, it's for drinking bug juice mixed with maggots and fish eyes. :-)

From http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/9962733.htm:
 
Morgan, a 29-year-old Tallahassee resident, won $50,000 on Monday night's episode of "Fear Factor" taped in June. The NBC reality television show is hosted by Joe Rogan, who acts as drill sergeant and cheerleader for contestants who do crazy stunts - like eating a plate of roadkill - for money.
Along with Morgan's ability to swallow the "shots," he unlocked himself from a paddle wheel and swam to a buoy in about 40 seconds. And he sky-surfed on a surfboard placed on a beam and suspended from a helicopter.

Eric Morgan, a marketing employee with the state's Department of Agriculture, said that "money was on the line; I wasn't afraid of anything."
 
Big congratulations to Eric. We're proud of you, even though it seems there must be easier ways to make money... somehow...

07:47 AM   

The Tallahassee Democrat has a brief update on local road projects, including the paving and drainage work on US 90 between Sneads and the Apalachicola River Bridge.

From http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/9881559.htm:
 
Construction has resumed on U.S. 90 in Sneads and will continue for the next few weeks. Construction work, which was delayed due to Hurricane Ivan, will include paving and drainage work on U.S. 90 from Sneads to the Apalachicola River Bridge. Flaggers will be on-site to assist with traffic control.

06:06 AM   

Great article in Florida Game & Fish Magazine.

From http://www.floridagameandfish.com/fl_aa081003a:
 
No knowledgeable angler is going to list August as a hot month for catching seatrout along Florida's Panhandle coast. Unless, of course, they are talking about the weather!
By the time we enter August, the Gulf of Mexico becomes, as one veteran guide termed it, one large, warm bathtub. And that only describes the water temperatures. Anglers above the surface are going to get an even bigger dose of the heat. For a notoriously delicate fish like the trout, these are not the most favorable conditions for feeding.

Read the full (long) article how fishermen outsmart trout and other fish anyway, espeically in areas around Pensacola and Apalachicola Bay. Very interesting!

09:22 AM   

A great article in Florida Game & Fish Magazine, about catching 'Mr. Whiskers' in North Florida Catfish Hotspots.

From http://www.floridagameandfish.com/fl_aa060904a:
 
Florida has a reputation as one of the best states in the country in which to catch largemouth bass and, to a lesser extent, bluegills and black crappie. (...) For pure dining enjoyment, however, there's probably no better freshwater denizen than the different species of catfish that populate the rivers and lakes of North Florida. Channel catfish, white catfish and bullheads are plentiful, while an occasional blue cat and even flathead catfish also show up. All of them are fairly easy to catch.

If you want to do a little catfishing this summer, there are four North Florida waterways you should definitely check out. These are the Suwannee River; the Ochlockonee River and Lake Talquin; the Apalachicola River and Lake Seminole; and the Choctawhatchee River.

The article lists many tips and tricks, such as staying away from hydrilla, finding areas where the depth is 10 to 20 feet, finding the correct bait (shrimp, Asian clams, wigglers, red worms, live bream etc. depending on the situation and the target), and more.

09:44 AM   

'Living Waters' is slated for broadcast on WFSU-TV on June 8.

From http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/...ent/8604774.htm:
 
The hour-long film, which is introduced by famed Florida nature photographer Clyde Butcher, glides through the marshes, springs, mangrove islands and protected estuaries around the Sunshine State. Some are as close by as Port St. Joe Bay and others as far away as the Everglades.
(...) At 7 p.m. (CDT) Thursday, Stoltzfus will screen "Living Waters" for the hometown crowd at Blountstown High School Auditorium on Highway 71.
(...) "Living Waters" is being shown on a loop at the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science on Kleman Plaza. It's running in conjunction with a photo exhibit by Butcher until May 16.

For more information on the documentary, visit Stolzfus' website at www.liveoakproductiongroup.com

07:26 AM   

This would be very beneficial, especially for the less affluent areas of Florida.

From http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/...cal/8479704.htm:
 
The bipartisan measure has overwhelming support in the House, where it is a top item on a wish list for House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, R-Plant City, as the legislative session nears its scheduled April 30 end.
Florida drivers have been paying record gas prices for weeks.
(...) Drivers who put 20 gallons into their tanks once a week would save $8 during the month.

06:13 AM   

This happened near Fort Myers, however missiles are still found all over in the waters around Florida.

From http://www.news-press.com/news/local_state/040319missle.html:
 
Investigators think a missile found in a Fort Myers metal scrap yard Tuesday was pulled out of the Gulf of Mexico by a shrimp boat months ago, according to the Southwest Florida Domestic Security Task Force.
(...) A shrimper probably nabbed the missile in its net. Thinking it was scrap metal, the shrimper tossed it in a 40-foot-long bin
(...) Excitement over the missile began shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday when a Garden St. worker thought he was blow-torching a piece of pipe. Sparks flew and smoke shot out an end of the missile, which was corroded and without markings.
Garden St. President Robert Weber used a crane to pin down the missile as it scooted across the ground.

Military officials detonated the missile later in a remote area. Lesson of the story: Be careful when blowtorching obscure metal objects.

06:06 AM   

The Orlando Sentinel reminds us of the danger of sinkholes around Florida, by printing the recollection of a now 94-year-old woman who survived the 1981 Winter Park sinkhole.

From http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/loca...-home-headlines:
 
Mae Rose Williams doesn't like to talk about her bad times.
Her first husband died 70 years ago, leaving her with five elementary-age children to raise.
She turned 94 on Jan. 28, having buried four of her five children.
Despite the heartache, she considers herself fortunate.
(...) "I don't believe in things happening out of the blue," said Williams as she sat in her wheelchair in the DePugh Nursing Center, just two blocks from where she watched the famed Winter Park sinkhole swallow the home where she raised all of her children.
(...) For many years after the loss of her home, Williams said she could not even walk past the gaping 260,000-cubic-foot sinkhole. There were too many memories.
(...) At sunrise that Saturday morning, Williams said she saw a hole that was big enough to swallow the full-grown tree. Then she heard a noise "like giant beavers chewing," and the gaping hole began devouring more land.
Her relatives were allowed to move her furniture and belongings out of the home, and Williams moved into the Browns' Winter Park home. She stayed there with her son, Chet, while her new house was being built.
(...) Sinkholes are found throughout Florida. Just about all of the region's round lakes formed as sinkholes. But the 1981 Winter Park sinkhole, now Lake Rose for homeowner Mae Rose Williams, was a whopper, largely because of its size and its urban location. When it stopped growing, it measured 350 feet wide, 75 feet deep and caused $4 million in damage.

Very interesting facts. Anyone who has ever visited one of Florida's many, many caves knows that the ground beneath us is not as solid as it looks!

07:16 AM   

Poor freezing manatees...

From http://www.floridasportsman.com/floridas...an/casts/040116:
 
(...) Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) officials will wait for the next cold snap for another shot at the annual statewide aerial manatee count. The Department of Homeland Security's late-December terrorism alert forced the cancellation of flights over state power plants, where the animals gather during cold weather.
(...) "Roughly half the animals we count are around power plants," said Henry Cabbage, spokesman for the FWC. The plants' warmwater discharges attract the animals during the winter months, concentrating them for easy counting.

Poor creatures. Getting torn up by boat propellers, and celebrating Christmas huddled around a cozy... power plant?!

08:12 AM