A Port St. Joe man was killed in a single-vehicle accident Tuesday morning in Franklin County.

Christopher Lamar Anderson, 40, was killed on U.S. 98 in Carrabelle when the vehicle he was driving left the shoulder of the road and hit a tree, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

According to the FHP, Anderson was traveling east on U.S. 98 when his vehicle, a 2006 Saturn Vue, traveled onto the south shoulder, losing control.

The vehicle reentered the road and traveled across both lanes and onto the north shoulder where it struck a large tree on the right side.

Anderson was pronounced dead at the scene.

Anderson was not wearing a seat belt, according to the FHP. Toxicology results are listed as pending.

Two weeks after hearing the extent to which taxpayers are underwriting the losses at Five Points Landfill the Board of County Commissioners debated issues of recycling and mandatory garbage pickup for county residents.

Commissioners decided to hold off any vote for two weeks, but sentiment is moving in the direction of alleviating the hundreds of thousands the county loses each year with landfill.

Commissioner Warren Yeager pushed for a pilot recycling program for South Gulf County and asked commissioners to support funding the program – at maximum of $6,000 – for the remainder of the fiscal year with an eye toward expanding the program in the next fiscal cycle.

The pilot project would not be mandatory, but would be the opportunity to put in place a recycling program that many locals and visitors want.

During a Tourist Development Council advisory board meeting, it was noted that a number of visitors arrive from places where recycling is mandatory and a fact of life.

“I think this is the right thing to do for the community,” Yeager said.

The pilot project proposal would be to establish the bins at Salinas Park on Cape San Blas. The area would be open to all residents, but the pilot program targets the Cape and St. Joseph Peninsula due to solid waste issues during tourist seasons.

Paper, cardboard, glass and plastic would be recycled.

“I have a problem spending tax dollars on that recycling,” said Commissioner Carmen McLemore.

Yeager added that for a recycling program to truly work – and the city of Port St. Joe and county have each experienced failure with such programs in the past – the county should move to mandatory garbage pickup.

“At the end of the day the way recycling will work will depend on mandatory garbage pickup,” Yeager said. “And we could include yard debris. I think that’s the direction the county needs to go.”

Port St. Joe Mayor Mel Magidson said during last week’s TDC meeting that the city should join the county is pushing recycling as well as mandatory garbage pickup.

Yeager said that the county needs to examine how to assist the elderly and those on fixed incomes to handle the new garbage bill, but as part of ending the bleeding from the landfill the county will be forced to consider mandatory pickup.

“At some point we need to address mandatory pickup in a way that works for everybody,” Yeager said.

Commissioners did raise the landfill fees to reflect a suggestion made by Public Works director Joe Danford during a workshop two weeks ago.

The fee was raised from $35 per ton to $40 per ton.

Commissioner Ward McDaniel said the much of District 2, he estimated 95 percent, is already on some kind of garbage pickup and that both cities also require mandatory pickup.

But Commissioner Joanna Bryan said the issue was one she would like to more fully review and consider before voting and commissioners agreed to table a decision on the pilot recycling program for two weeks.

Port of Port St. Joe

Commissioners expressed various opinions as to whether to write a letter to the governor in support of a $2 million appropriation that would alleviate a pressing foreclosure issue on a parcel of land owned by the Port of Port St. Joe.

Commission chair Tan Smiley said he had already written one representing himself as chairman in support of the appropriation, but his fellow commissioners had mixed views.

McLemore said he opposed using tax money in “bailing out a bank” and McDaniel wondered if receiving the $3 million against a mortgage that is in excess of $4 million was doing nothing more than buying time for the port before it would find itself in the same situation.

McDaniel said he did support money in the state budget – roughly $1.4 million – for dredging the shipping channel to authorized depth, but was hesitant about supporting the $2 million to help on the mortgage.

Yeager said that the $2 million appropriation was being driven by Capital City Bank, not the Port Authority, and that the governor should decide the worthiness of that appropriation but agreed the dredging money was badly needed.

“I think the port is a regional project,” Yeager said. “It is going to go. I’m in full support of anything we can do to make that port go.”

Smiley said his decision was one of jobs.

“Helping (the port) out is helping Gulf County out,” Smiley said. “Just letting it sit there and do nothing isn’t an option. I come from when Port St. Joe had plenty of jobs. I am seeing getting back to where that was.

“Is (the $2 million) going to help? We need the jobs.”

CBRA

Yeager said a bill that would strike Cape San Blas and St. Joseph Peninsula from the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) was scheduled for a committee hearing.

“That is much farther along than we’ve ever been,” he said, adding that three or four other states also had land areas believed mistakenly placed in CBRA. “(Having the CBRA designation removed) would be a huge impact for this county.”

Bed tax revenue? Up.

Welcome Center visitors? Up.

Visitors to the Gulf County Tourist Development Council website? Up.

The trends are spiking as TDC director Jennifer Jenkins nears her one-year anniversary in Gulf County and the TDC advisory council last week heard about progress made and opportunities ahead.

“Everything is good, going quite well,” Jenkins said while outlining the bed tax revenue for the first six months of the fiscal year was more than $30,000 ahead of the prior year.

Jenkins said that visitors to the Welcome Center, with hours extended in the past month, have risen by roughly 70 percent.

“We are seeing a lot more people,” she told her board.

The board took action on one of Jenkins’ major overhauls this year, a new rubric and award structure for special event funding from the TDC.

In past years, the special event funding has been something of a grab bag, but this year the concentration is on return on investment – how many heads to events put in beds and the extent of draw in a radius beyond 60 miles from Gulf County.

“We have to break from the past,” said board member and Port St. Joe Mayor Mel Magidson.

In one instance, the board denied an application for funding this year from Project Graduation of Wewahitchka Jr./Sr. High School due to the new award parameters.

The event was not seen a boon for tourism, despite the fine intentions, said board member Ronald Pickett.

The emphasis was on identifying so-called “signature” events and marking the calendar with so-called “niche” events, events which draw more locals and bed tax collection is not as “lofty,” Jenkins said.

“Our job is to spend the money as smartly as we can,” said Alyson Gerlach, who chairs the TDC marketing committee.

The marketing committee approved, and in turn the full advisory board approved, several signature events – signature events, Jenkins said, were those events in which the expected bed tax collections exceed the amount of the special event award.

Those events include the Scallop Festival, Blast on the Bay Songwriters’ Festival, the Great Florida Plein Air Paint Out and the Semper Fi Sisters Beach Blast.

Bay Day, held twice a year as a fundraising celebration of the St. Joseph Bay State Preserves, is currently considered a niche event that will become a signature event.

The niche events funded under the special grant funding were broken into categories.

Those categories are golfing, snowbirds, pet friendly, fishing, festivals, eco-tourism, art/music and the final category simply local.

A major component to the difference in funding niche and signature events is the role the TDC will play in marketing the events.

For the niche, more local, events the key is that the TDC will hold back 50 percent of any grant award to do the marketing, be it a fishing events such as the Sheriff’s Office annual tournament or a local event such as Ghosts on the Coast.

“I have confidence in our ability to do all that work in house,” Jenkins said. “When we can take these niche events” and grow them into larger events the money will follow.

The TDC staff will have a major presence at signature events, but the amount of the award – for example $10,000 for the Scallop Festival – will go to organizers to handle the bulk of the marketing and advertising.

For any event, at least 50 percent of marketing and advertising must be done outside a 60-mile radius of Gulf County.

And the grants provide something of a road map for the TDC in creating website and social media content.

“(The partners) help us with the content development,” Jenkins said. “I’m starting to tie (events) to messaging and broaden it.”

In total, the TDC received grant proposals requesting more than $107,000. Events qualified for $76,447, but with the TDC share of marketing the niche events backed out the amount awarded this year totaled $54,848.

The TDC board also handed out grant funding for the remainder of the fiscal year for several events and functions.

The board granted addition funding this year of $9,600 to the MBARA for magazine advertising, the Gulf County Chamber of Commerce for additional Scallop Festival funding, the Friends of St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, the annual Street Dance in the neighborhood of North Port St. Joe and National Marina Day.

On May 23 the Healthy Start Coalition for Bay, Gulf and Franklin counties will host its annual baby shower in Port St. Joe.

The event aims to educate and be a resource for new parents.

Though the focus of the event is on delivering parenting information to new or expectant mothers with a baby six months or younger, caregivers, fathers and new moms from other counties are welcome to attend.

Healthy Start’s mission is to educate new parents and promote positive birth outcomes and protect the health and well-being of all mothers and children in the surrounding area.

“It’s essentially a bridal expo for new parents,” said Director Sharon Owens, who’s been involved with Healthy Start for the past eight years.

With a reputation for keeping its baby showers fun, informative and engaging, Healthy Start’s annual events draw 50 to 100 attendees but the coalition is always looking to increase their numbers to ensure that all babies in the region get off to a safe and healthy start.

Car seat safety, safe sleeping, and available community resources are just a few of the topics covered during the two-hour seminar. Information booths will also be on-site to pass along flyers for pediatric physicians, dentists, and other infant services.

To keep things light, information will be delivered through activities and games, and a series of door prizes will be given away throughout the presentations. The grand prize winner will be awarded a $200 gift certificate to Walmart.

“Sometimes people are scared to death when they come to the baby shower,” said Owens. “It’s neat to see new moms realize that there’s so much support.”

In addition to passing along information and resources to new parents, Owens emphasized the importance of building a network of supportive and knowledgeable people.

“You have to get a driver’s license to drive a car, but there’s not a test to have a baby,” she said.

Healthy Start gives guidance to anyone with a baby up to three years of age. There are no eligibility requirements and new parents can call 800-895-9506 with questions. The Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions has 32 branches across the state all working to improve pregnancy outcomes, reduce infant mortality rates and promote healthy growth and development in all children.

Healthy Start’s fifth Gulf County baby shower will take place at the Centennial Building from 4 p.m. – 6 ET. The shower is a free community-wide event.

Dear Editor:

My wife, Tammy and I have never written a letter to the editor before, but would like to take this opportunity to relay our recent experience of purchasing coastal property in the Port St. Joe area. After vacationing in the area for several years, we grew very fond of the natural beauty, of the relaxed lifestyle and most especially of the warm and friendly people who call the area home.   We decided we would fulfill a long time dream of ours to own coastal real estate.

Having spent 35-plus years in the construction and real estate development business in Tennessee, I had a basic understanding of the complexity of coastal real estate investment but most of all understood the importance of competent representation. To educate ourselves, we started reading Sherri Dodsworth’s (Boardwalk Realty) blog, and over time, recognized and appreciated her commitment to informing others about the Cape San Blas, Indian Pass and Port St. Joe real estate market.  We contacted Sherri, and on our next trip met with her, beginning our journey to find beach property for our planned cottage. Some months later after having Sherri help us build an adequate foundation of knowledge, we felt comfortable moving forward with our purchase.  We are looking forward to spending more and more time in the Port St. Joe area.

Sincerely, Bill A. Hodges

Knoxville, TN

Time Magazine just published its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. I didn’t make it. Shucks.    

Ed Ruscha did. I’ve never heard of him. I don’t know what he does. And I’m fairly certain he’s never influenced me. Nor had I heard of Wang Shu. Or Joaquim Barbosa, Andrew Sheng, Mary Nichols or Don Yeomans……I am sure they are all outstanding men and women but I’m still searching for their direct impact on my life. In fact, I did not know 85 per cent of the people on the list. Did I sleep through something?

I had heard of Justin Timberlake but I can’t tell you one song he sings. I couldn’t understand why Jimmy Kimmel was included but I’m in bed when he comes on TV. LeBron James was the most familiar name on the list. Well, and Barack Obama. My basketball days are way behind me and if Dwight David Eisenhower, Bill Clinton and George Bush didn’t influence me, I don’t think Obama has a chance.

And please, hear me this morning, I’m not knocking any of these people, I am proud for them. They obviously have a lot to offer. And I am not making light of the office of the President of the United States. They are all great men. What they do might effect me……but, let me tell you, there is a world of difference between “effecting” and “influencing”!

My Father did influence me. As in, “When you go down that row, son, turn your hat around backwards, I want you to be pulling so much corn I can’t tell if you are coming or going!” Even as he chided us to “work a little harder” he was always the one doing the most work, lifting the biggest logs, pulling the heaviest load. He didn’t have to yell a work ethic into us, he taught by example.

Daddy also told us more than once, “Be careful boys on who you listen to; make sure they are worthy of your attention and trust.”

Miss Carolyn Blades influenced me. She taught from the first day I walked into her classroom that studying hard pays off. She didn’t exactly say “a mind is a terrible thing to waste” but that was her message. She loved the ABC’s into us.

Bobby C. Melton influenced me. He was big and fast and could spin on a dime. When I was in grade school I’d go to the high school football games just to watch him run. He picked his knees up so high and he’d slice into the off-tackle hole! I was going to be just like him someday!  

Mrs. Charlie Mitchum was the first older person outside of family that took an active interest in me. She would stop and talk to me just like I was an adult! She was kind and she was always telling me what a fine boy I was. By high school I would take my dates by to meet her and see if she approved…..which, of course, she always did. I steered away from some trouble I saw my friends get into partly because I didn’t want to disappoint Mrs. Mitchum. She was so positive and upbeat and caring. She single handedly changed my thinking about elderly people. Now, that is influence!

My teenage friends held a great sway on my life in those formative years. If Ricky and Buddy thought it was cool, so did I. If Skip liked the “Kingston Trio”, I bought their albums. If Squeaky could kick a half dollar off his heel and flip it into his shirt pocket, I was going to practice until I could do it to. We didn’t look to national magazines, the new fangled television or world leaders for direction. We scratched out our path by mostly observing the ones closest to us.

We don’t always have to think individuals when we are talking influence. I have made a career out of writing about the little West Tennessee town I grew up in. How they shaped me, molded me, influenced me. And I couldn’t for the life of me single out one particular part of that town that touched me the most. Maybe it was the magic coming out of the movie theater. Or the way everyone turned out for the homecoming parade or the 4th of July celebration. It could have been Mr. Holland delivering the milk with a wave and a smile. Or the loud hullabaloo abounding at Frank’s Dairy Bar……or the quiet sereneness of the town square late at night. I appreciated then, and more so now, the conservative, solid, small town values that were so lovingly instilled in me.

Maybe Time has lost sight of what has made us such a great nation. Maybe they just made up that list to sell magazines. Or maybe, quite possibly, Time (time) has simply past me by.

If the editor had consulted me, I would have added Billy Graham to the mix.  I don’t care that he’s a tad older now with perhaps one foot already in Heaven. If he is alive, he should be on that list! And I would put Avery Lee and Hannah Colbert in there, too. They are my two youngest granddaughters and they can get me to do anything and everything they want me to. If they point to it, I buy it!

Ed Ruscha, Wang Shu, Justin Timberlake and Barack Obama can only dream of influence like that!

Respectfully,

Kes 

The other night, I started cooking dinner or thinking about cooking dinner for my son and myself.  I shouldn’t have, but I turned the television on and sat down in my chair and put my feet up.  My dogs seemed to be happy I was sitting down.

The television was still on the Hallmark Movie Channel from my early morning rendezvous with Ben Matlock (you know, Andy Griffith in the 1980’s).

I knew better.

It was around 5 in the afternoon and I was watching the Hallmark channel.  Men and dogs aren’t supposed to watch this channel.  The dogs and I knew that, but we did it anyway.

People who review Hallmark movies usually use words like “sweet” and “happy.”  They also say things like “Slow and predictable…”  You think?  Personally, I like knowing what’s going to happen, especially when I know it’s going to be good.

If a cake looks like it’s going to be chocolate, I want it to be chocolate – not some sort squished up bananas or other fruity filling that I have to guess what it actually is, or God forbid coconut.  I only eat coconut when I’m mad.

After watching a few Hallmark movies over the course of the past week, I come away with that song from the Country Music group Shenandoah on my mind.  You know the one – “I Wanna be Loved like that.” It talks about Mamas, Daddies, Natalie Wood, James Dean and promises you can’t take back. 

Hallmark movies are actually pretty good movies to watch while cooking or thinking about cooking dinner.  They all last two hours, which includes about 30 minutes of commercials usually loaded more toward the end of the movie to make you wait to see what you know is definitely going to happen.  You need to use low heat and walk back and forth to the kitchen a lot.

The commercials on the Hallmark channel are also usually “slow and predictable.”  After watching a Hallmark movie, one usually has a craving to sit in a Craftmatic bed eating Smuckers jelly out of the jar with a plastic spoon with Acne medicine on your face while filling out an application to join AARP.  You feel a little guilty about eating the Smuckers right out of the jar with the plastic spoon, so you call the 800 number for Nutrisystem.

In the middle of all this, you still feel good and you want to be loved like the folks in the Hallmark movie.  You want everything to be alright and for this two-hour period, you’d bet the mortgage that it will be.

The movie I was watching was about a nice looking lady who had “gone home” to spread her estranged father’s ashes per his wishes and have a couple of his feuding friends sing while she tossed the ashes up into the rural Massachusetts wind. 

After reading about the movie, I figured out that it was actually filmed in Canada, but it seemed more like Ireland. Everyone had Irish accents.  It seems I’ve heard there are a lot of Irish folks in Massachusetts.

The location doesn’t matter and please don’t think I didn’t like this movie.  I loved it.  Was it hokey?  You better know it was and it made you want to be there right in the middle of it.

Have you ever stood just stood and read Hallmark cards at the store?  All those one liners?  All those cards with nice love words oozing out of them?  You say things to yourself like, “I wish someone would say that to me,”  “Now that would crank my tractor, “ or “I wanna be loved like that.”

Hallmark movies are full of these zingers that should be in Hallmark cards.  It makes you think about the “Chicken and the Egg.”  You know – did they make the movie from the cards or make the cards from the movie.

At one point in the movie, the lady who you know will fall for the hometown fellow tells her friend’s husband, “Sometimes a woman just needs you to show her that she means more to you than anything in the world.”  Hallmark movies have a tendency to sometimes bash men.  I understand, every once in a while they need to put the shoe on the other foot.

Cate with a “C” is the lady there to dispose of her father’s ashes; she is engaged to an old fogey named Stewart who is 20 years older than she.  How do I say this?  Stewart is a backside of a donkey or something like that.  He has to be.  He’s going to lose.  You know he will lose.

The winner is Connor.  He wears his collar up once in a while, has a dog and smiles like he’s just eaten a jar of Smuckers jelly with a plastic spoon.  During commercials, you want to go to the powder room and look in the mirror and tell yourself that you are a Connor, rather than the fiancé that acts like he is experiencing some of the undesirable side effects of the medication from the commercials.

I was boiling carrots on low, I love carrots.

Before Connor shows back up in New York City with his dog to woo Cate with a “C” back to rural Massachusetts, you get all of the other things that have to be in a Hallmark movie. 

Just like country music songs need tractors, cheating, drinking, dying and cowboys, Hallmark movies need wicker picnic baskets, a fair or festival of some sort, some mist or fog, beds covered with chenille bedspreads, birds (seagulls work nice), porches and roads that look like they couldn’t handle two cars side by side.

Before the end, you’ll see some more acne medication commercials and more than likely one for a purple pill that could cause diarrhea.  They don’t want you to experience the side effects, but they warn you that you could. You don’t worry about acne or diarrhea, because you know everything in the movie is going to be alright.

I put sugar in my carrots I was cooking, because Mama would when no one was looking and Hallmark movies make me think of Mama.

Cate with a “C” ends up telling her fiancé (the old donkey’s derriere) that she wants kids and a dog.  He understands that means she does not want him.  Of course she needs to kiss Connor, the hometown boy on the mouth, make his collar stand up, pat his dog on the head and go dream under a chenille bedspread.

What does one take from all this?

I think if you want to be loved like they get loved in a Hallmark Channel movie, you need a dog, a wicker picnic basic and someone to shoo some seagulls your way. Just make sure you have the lid on the Smuckers jelly when they do the shooing of the seagulls.

Read more stories at www.CranksMyTractor.com.

Welcome to Gulf County.

Welcome to Port St. Joe.

Welcome to the Port of Port St. Joe.

Today representatives from the Colombian port city of Barranquilla will be visiting the area and enjoying time with community, port and economic development officials.

They’ll be getting a feel for the landscape around the port and the opportunities available.

The trip is a reciprocal journey following a recent Florida trade delegation to Colombia.

The folks from Barranquilla will have visited state officials in Tallahassee and made a visit to the Port of Panama City before venturing to this postcard paradise we call home.

We in Gulf County appreciate the time and effort required of you to take a glance at the Port of Port St. Joe.

Echoing the words of County Commissioner Warren Yeager during a recent meeting of the Gulf County Tourist Development Council, there is reason to be as optimistic about the future of the port as ever.

The collaboration agreement signed last year to develop a combined 300 acres of Port Authority and St. Joe Company property in the port planning area seems in hindsight the starting line for the steady drumbeat of optimism about the port.

Once the Port Authority had an invested and passionate private partner, one as interested in unlocking the port’s potential as port leaders have been for more than a decade, the race seemed to have truly begun.

Actually, let’s call it a marathon.

As an investment banker from the Bank of Montreal – the engagement of which by St. Joe provided another shot of adrenaline – this will all take time and there is no absence among port officials for staying the course for the long haul.

St. Joe, in addition to bringing to the table an international player in the investment in infrastructure, the Bank of Montreal, also worked to secure a Florida Department of Transportation grant for $5 million for rail line improvements along the Genesse Wyoming line.

One end of that rail line is in Chattahoochee for movement of goods and people north, west and east; the other end is on the old Arizona Chemical property site that is now unencumbered in port hands.

Not a bad asset to have in the back pocket.

The FDOT has also championed the Port of Port St. Joe, providing a critical extension that keeps the port in the Strategic Intermodal System (SIS), a system that receives the lion’s share of FDOT discretionary funding.

The department certainly could have pulled the plug, but representatives, reflecting the governor’s passion for ports as job creators, bent over backwards to make sure the SIS designation remained in place to allow the port more time and space to lure customers.

The Florida Department of Economic Development also had been a partner, providing funding and expertise to update the port master plan to reflect the addition in lands and the collaborative agreement with St. Joe.

The Florida Ports Council, while acknowledging work to be done, noted the significant changes over the past 18 months in its annual report on Florida’s deepwater ports.

Did we mention that, friends from Barranquilla? This is a deepwater port, authorized for a depth of 35 feet in the shipping channel and one of just 15 such ports in Florida.

That shipping channel has become another source of recent good news.

Port of Port St. Joe officials just last week learned that a grant was available to begin the preliminary engineering and permitting for dredging of the deepwater channel, seen as one of two major keys to unlocking the port’s potential.

The other lock may be opened soon, depending on the governor’s veto pen.

The state budget includes funding to bring a mortgage on a parcel of port land current and provide additional breathing room for the port in its hunt for customers and tenants.

That one even carries a very public campaign to “Protect Our Port.”

As one Port Authority member noted last week, it would be hard to underestimate what the funding for dredging and the mortgage would mean for the port.

There is also Eastern Shipbuilding, paying its lease for bulkhead space on the deepwater old mill site, booming with business and heading to Port St. Joe when its wharf space in Bay County is filled to capacity.

In other words, there is a lot happening and we are certainly glad you folks from Colombia have given us a chance to show off a bit.

But we can also learn.

As said by Tom Gibson – and a shout out to Gibson for joining the trade delegation to Colombia on his dime and Marina Pennington, the city’s planning consultant, who plowed considerable groundwork in her homeland prior to that Florida visit – your Colombian ports share many of the challenges facing Port St. Joe and have made them work.

According to Gibson, you have done an outstanding job of marrying the industry of a diverse operational port with a tourist outpost with fine beaches and plenty of sun.

You have overcome those challenges, with public and private partnerships, and flourish today and when the newly-widened Panama Canal opens next year, you will be in a position to benefit.

As will the Port of Port St. Joe, which as the crow flies is one of the closest Florida ports to the Canal Zone.

So whether there is any actual deal that comes out of your visit, we have much to learn from you while we show you our slice of heaven.

That you took the time to visit is another feather of optimism in what has been a quiver full over the past 18 months.

As we like to say, sit a spell, enjoy the waters and beaches that lure so many of us to put down roots, having found home.

Welcome to Gulf County; we are tickled to have you.

By Roy Lee Carter

County Extension Director

As summer approaches, the preparation and care you’ve given your vegetable garden will really be put to the test.  We say this because insect problems at this time of year can be quite serious.  Summer in our area of the state provides the heat and humidity on which insect thrive.  Without adequate control, pests can destroy your garden.

Very soon, all the time and effort you’ve put into your garden should begin to pay off in delicious fresh vegetables that is, if you can’t get to your crops before the insect do.  All the care you’ve given your vegetable garden up till now will be meaningless if insect are allowed to rob you of your harvest.  We’ll talk about the most common and bothersome bugs you may find on your vegetables.  We’ll offer some advice on their control.  My information on controlling garden insect was provided by Susan E. Webb, Associate Professor, Entomology and Nematology, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, University of Florida.

The insects you need to worry about in the weeks ahead are divided into two broad categories, those which live and do their damage above ground and those which live in the soil and bother the roots and lower stem of vegetables.  The most common above ground pests include leaf miners, armyworms, spider mites, flea beetles aphids, whitefly leaf footed plant bug, bean leaf rollers and stinkbugs.  Cutworms, wireworms and mole crickets top the list of below ground villains.  Leaf miners seem to cause the greatest damage on tomato and cucumber plants.  They’re called leaf miners because they burrow in between the transparent membranes on the top and bottom surfaces of the leaves as they feed.  They eat the living plant tissue, leaving the membranes, which then look like tiny window panes.

The army worm - you’ll find in your garden are the same as those you’re probably all too familiar with in your lawn.  They feed on plant foliage and attack a variety of crops.

Spider mites - aren’t really insects.  In fact, as the name suggest, they’re actually more closely related to spiders.  They’re tine pests usually no more than a fiftieth of an inch long.  They gather on the undersides of plant leaves, and feed by piercing the leaves with their needle-like mouthparts and sucking out the plant juices.

Aphids – sometimes called plant lice also causes damage by piercing leaf tissue and sucking out the plant juices.  Flea beetles are chewing insects which cause damage by chewing small holes in vegetables leaves.

Bean leaf rollers – The bean leaf roller feeds on members of the bean family.  The adult, a skipper butterfly, deposits eggs on the lower leaf surface, either singly or in cluster of 2 to 6.  The caterpillar cut triangles or semicircles from the edges of the plant leaf and fold them over to make individual shelters, only at night to feed.

Flea beetle – are tiny (1/16 inch long) bronze, black or brown beetles which attack young tomato plants, peppers, egg plants and other garden plants.  They can jump rapidly for great distances when approached and they resemble large “fleas” in appearance and habit.

Leaf footed plant bugs – gets its name from the appearance of its hind legs which are large and flattened in a leaf-like shape near the feet it is generally dark or chestnut brown with a cross bar about halfway down its body. 

Whitefly – the most common whitefly found on Florida vegetables is called the sliver leaf whitefly because of the effect its feeding has on squash leaves.  Feeding by the immature stages or nymphs can also result in white areas in tomato fruits, streaking of pepper fruit, and blanching of broccoli stems.  Whiteflies are not flies, but distant relatives of aphids and leaf hoppers and like them, feed on plant sap with piercing-sucking mouthparts. 

Stinkbugs – are common pests of most all plants and are generally solitary feeders in the adult stage.  Immature nymphs, which do not fly, may be found in groups.  All stinkbugs give off a characteristic foul smell as a defensive weapon when disturbed.

All this may sound discouraging.   But, fortunately, it’s actually fairly easy and inexpensive to control your local County Extension Office or Garden Center for recommended insecticides to control foliage feeding pests.

The insects which live in the soil are a different matter, because it’s hard to reach them with sprays.

Cutworms simply cut young vegetable plants off at the soil surface.  Mole crickets tunnel through the soil in the root zone, feeding on the roots and disturbing the surrounding earth.  Wireworms attack a wide variety of vegetables.  Living deep in the soil, they move up quickly to attack seeds or young plants.  Wireworms drill holes in the seeds and feed inside them or they bore into the taproot of the plant.  Insects in this category are best controlled with insecticide baits, which are normally available at garden centers.

One thing we don’t want to do is encourage you to use pesticides if you really don’t need to.  While a preventative spray program might be essential in a large scale commercial operation, you can usually deal with insects in the backyard garden on an “as needed” basis.

For more information on garden insects contact the Gulf County Extension Service at 639-3200 or visit our website:  http://gulf.ifas.ufl.edu  or www.http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu  and see Publication  ENY 476 and ENY 012

Pictured are members of the Port St. Joe Lions Club, led by President Jim Norton, and board members from the St. Joseph Bay Humane Society surrounding a new sign the money for which was donated by the Lions Club. The new sign, at the intersection of State 71 and Knowles Drive in Port St. Joe, provides motorists clearer directions on the location of the Humane Society Shelter and adjacent Faith’s Thrift Hut, which helps support Humane Society operations. According to the Sandi Christy of the Humane Society, “The sign has already made a big difference in people being able to locate the shelter and thrift hut. The St. Joseph Bay Humane Society greatly appreciates the Lions Club’s support.”

Memorial services for Clyde Whitehead of Port Saint Joe will be held in the pavilion at Holly Hill Cemetery at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, May 18, 2013.

Charles Howard Stephens, Sr., child of God, loving husband, dedicated father and granddaddy as well as community servant, was born in Donalsonville, GA on March 8, 1943 and went to be the Lord on May 10, 2013. He and his wife Bonnie celebrated 52 years of marriage.

He is survived by his wife Bonnie; his children Chuck Stephens (Julia), Gaynell Jones (Bob) and Lynn Watts (John); and his grandchildren Ty and Anna Drake Stephens, Phillip and David Jones, and Sarah Beth and Trevor Watts. He is also survived by his brothers Steve of California and Robert and Pete both of Georgia, as well as dearest friends Harry Lee Smith and Phil Early. He is now celebrating with his parents, Clyde and Grover, brothers, Nelson and David, sister Mary Alice, and many other friends and family members.

Charles and Bonnie made their home Port St. Joe in 1967 when Charles accepted a position at the St. Joe Paper Company. He worked there as a shift supervisor until the mill closed in 1998. One of Charles’s greatest testimonies of his faith in God was exemplified after the mill shut down permanently and he continued to live his life in such a way that demonstrated his belief in God’s promise to sustain us in all of our needs.

One of Charles’ passions included spending time with his family. If he wasn’t taking them to the beach, he was taking them to a campground, the mountains, or Disney.

Charles was an active member of First Baptist Church, serving as usher, bus driver for Sunday School trips, and cooking at the monthly Men’s Fellowship Breakfast. He loved being fed with God’s Word, fellowship, and worship.

From 2007-2011 Charles served as City Commissioner. Charles lived his life serving the needs of others first; as a commissioner, this passion guided him in all ethical decisions and ideas to better the community he loved. Charles was instrumental in having several structures built for the community members. There will be a Dedication Ceremony on May 31 to name the Holly Hill Cemetery Pavilion in his memory.

Charles had a strong determination to stay active and loved working at St. Joe Rent-All.

The family invited all friends and family to come celebrate Charles’ life and share in remembrance of countless good times. There was an open visitation from 1-2 p.m. ET and a life celebration service at 2 p.m. on May 14, 2013 E.S.T at the First Baptist Church, Port St. Joe. The family would like to thank all the friends and family members who have shown kind acts during these past few months, the EMT, nurses, doctors, Comforter Funeral Home, the staff of The Tommy Hamm Cancer Center, and Covenant Hospice.

Memorial donations may be made to First Baptist Church of Port St. Joe, The American Cancer Society, or Covenant Hospice.

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2.

Bobbie Jo Cox, 73, passed away Saturday, May 11, 2013 after a long fight with Alzheimer’s disease.  She was resident of Clinton, Tennessee for many years where she was retired from Nanny’s Educational Preschool in Knoxville, TN.  Bobbie loved to spend time with family and friends on the beach or just visiting. 

She is survived by her husband of 49 years, Carl Cox; son David Cox; and granddaughter Hailey Cox all of Clinton, Tennessee; daughter Carla and Wayne O’Dell of St. Joe Beach with her beloved dog Babyscooter.. 

Bobbie’s memorial service will be held on Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 8 p.m. at Hatmaker Funeral Home in Lake City, TN with burial at Oak Grove Cemetery on Friday, May 17, 2013.  The family would like to thank the nurses and staff at The Bridge of Bay St. Joe for all the wonderful cared they gave Bobbie during her five year stay with them.  Also, the family would like to give many thanks for all the prayers that have been given over the last five years.

Look who’s turning 8!!

McKenzie Grace Lyle!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl. We love you, Mom, Steven and Preston.

McKenzie will be celebrating her big day on Sunday with family and friends!

She is the daughter of Tonyia McDaniel Lyle of Wewahitchka, and Phillip Lyle of Panama City Beach, and sister of Steven Lyle of Wewahitchka.

She is also the granddaughter and Nancy Mack of Carrabelle and the granddaughter of the late Stewart "Yank" Lyle from Highland View, and the late Patricia Coker Mims and David H. Mims of Wewahitchka.

Lauren Wagner, a sophomore at Port St. Joe Jr./Sr. High School won this year’s Congressional Art Competition for her watercolor painting, “Boat in the Ocean.”

Originally painted for a classroom assignment to express Florida through paint, art teacher Julie Hodges enjoyed the vivid colors of the piece and submitted it to the competition.

“I was shocked,” said Wagner of her win. “I didn’t expect it.”

For her win, Wagner received a free trip to Washington D.C. in June to see her painting as it hangs inside the Capitol Building. She’ll take her mother as her guest for the journey. Hodges is raising money to pay for Wagner’s hotel stay.

Though she has only lived in Port St. Joe for a year, Wagner has found much artistic inspiration in the area.

She has already been commissioned to do paintings of fishing boats, the George Tapper Bridge, and a local sunset over the summer months and will spend the remaining time working with local children to create art out of recycled materials.

Wagner enjoys painting with acrylics and finds herself drawn to subjects that are realistic.

The arts run in her family, it seems.

Wagner’s grandmother is fourth-grade teacher Karen Odom who works at Port St. Joe Elementary School. Also an artist, Odom encouraged her granddaughter to be creative from a young age, purchasing art supplies and canvases for the budding painter.

“I’d known Karen for years, but I didn’t know they were related,” said Hodges. “I was able to see Lauren’s talent without connecting her to a family member.”

Hodges said that Wagner is quiet and shy but art is what really opens her up.

“I’m not like everyone else,” Wagner said. “I get into my work.”

For Hodges, that’s what it’s all about.

She’s constantly looking for new ways to bring art into the classroom in order to expose students to as many mediums as possible. She hopes that they’ll find a form of self-expression that ignites a passion.

Even though Wagner didn’t feel the painting was her best work, Hodges knew it was a winner when she saw it.

“It’s been her moment,” said the teacher.

As his economic teacher at Port St. Joe Jr./Sr.. High School, Derek Kurnitsky, said, “What can’t Javarri do?”

The subject of the questions was Javarri Beachum, who recently placed second in the Northwest Florida region in simulated stock market game.

The Florida Stock Market Simulation game is an online exercise in economic class. Students receive $100,000 in “free” money and go to a website that effectively mirrors the New York Stock Exchange, down to company trading symbols and trading prices.

Students can buy and sell stocks, purchase bonds and Treasury notes and by mid-April the closing bell rings on the class and tallies are made.

Beachum, an outstanding leader with the NJROTC program, headed to the Naval Academy Prep School, outstanding student, standout soccer player, finished second in the region among all high schoolers.

As he told Kurnitsky, if the game had continued in this month, when the market is at record levels, “He’s pretty sure he could have finished first,” Kurnitsky said with a laugh. “Is there anything he can’t do?”

Beachum earned an award and also a $50 gift card to Papa John’s Pizza.

The President, Board of Trustees, Faculty and Staff of Florida A & M University announced the graduation of Princess Royce A. Likely with the degree of Master of Science in Health Care Administration on Saturday, May 4 in the Lawson Center in Tallahassee, FL.  Princess is a 2001 graduate of Port St. Joe High School.  She is the daughter of Ray and Minnie Likely and the mother of Jakari Sims of Port St. Joe.

Serenity Davidson, Avery Davis, Caleb Carter, Jasmine Lister, Sierra Kirkland, Alex Baldwin, Cody Pickron, Jordan Pippin, Joshua Raffield, Ava Kelsoe, McKaylah Harrison, Hayden McDaniel, Laurel Parker, Taylor Roberts, Zeth Hanlon, Chloe Fuller, Izavion Hellum, Terrell Womack, Sarah Bailey, Mikey Roberts, Jonathan Harvey, Shiloh Jamerson, Breanna Weathers, Jasmine Causey, Hallie Vann, James Jensen and Matthew Randig.

At the NJROTC Awards Banquet held May 9, Senior Vice President of the Ladies Auxiliary, Ginny Seefeldt, had the honor of presenting a $500 scholarship to Cadet Kassandra Favre. 

It is the Ladies Auxiliary’s privilege to each year present a scholarship to a worthy NJROTC female Cadet.

We wish Kassandra the best of everything as she enters the United States Navy after her graduation. 

Front Row: Nathan Lipford, Makayan Jones, Caroline Sapp, Kylie Ingalls, Raelynn Hardy

Back Row: Tad Russell, Lauren Jenkins, Natalie Graziano, Tyrell Patterson, Chris Bryan