Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Saint Augustine, FL

Severe Thunderstorm Watch
Statement as of 3:10 PM EDT on June 18, 2009

The National Weather Service has cancelled Severe Thunderstorm
Watch 463 for the following areas

In Florida this cancels 9 counties

In northeast Florida

Alachua Bradford Clay
Flagler Gilchrist Marion
Putnam St Johns Union

This includes the cities of...Gainesville...Green Cove Springs...
Lake Butler...Ocala...Palatka...Palm Coast...St Augustine...
Starke and Trenton.

Detailed Conditions and Forecast Information:
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=32004&from_email=1

Treasure Beach News 2009

Beginning Tuesday, June 2nd, work is finishing up on Barco Road for new water lines. We are being told that in about two weeks when the pipes are being laid that we will have to start boiling our water. If work is being done on your street and you want a heads up on what to do and what to expect , read Larry Panchuck's posting entitled "Treasure Beach has Fresh Water" on May 12, 2009 (www.treasurebeachflorida.com). As this article is written a month in advance, unless our neighbors in the community send in special news and upcoming events in this column, most of the information here is of general interest. Of course, if you have any ideas or would like to contribute, just let us know. Our new website, www.treasurebeachflorida.com, is where you will find the most up-to-date information of what might be going on in Treasure Beach. There always seems to be a lot of things going on in and around St. Augustine. Some of these are even free so I hope you get a chance to take advantage of all that is being offered. Friends visited last week and we took them to Fort Matanzas for a visit. I never seem to get tired of going there. The trip across the river is always enjoyable. We also enjoyed a few hours at the Blue Crab Festival in Palatka and a visit to Corky Bell's Restaurant in East Palatka. Both events were well worth the trip. In Florida, our hurricane season officially starts June 1st and ends November 30th. On June 3rd, between 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., a number of St. Johns residents attended a "Hurricane Party" sponsored by the St. Johns County Extension Office. Besides helpful workshops on hurricane preparedness, lunch was provided along with a special introduction and tour of the new location for the St. Johns County Emergency Operations Center. Vendors were also available to show ways to renovate homes to reduce the damaging effects of high winds. Thanks to all the extension office staff and volunteer Master Gardeners for providing this very helpful information. Many times residents of Treasure Beach have expressed notes of concern about loose animals in our community. I have witnessed this myself during some of my daily walks along Costanero Road. I have also seen owners walking their pets on a leash who still fail to take responsibility to clean up after them. When I go walking I always carry a few plastic bags with me. No one likes to step in animal excrements left along side the roadway. But silly me! I know very well that the person(s) who should be reading this paragraph are probably not! In August, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, will hold a ten-week course on American Sign Language, Part I. The class meets on Tuesdays from 4:00 – 5:30 PM. If you are interested, please contact the school at 904-827-2221. We have a wonderful resource in our community should anyone have an interest in learning more about communicating with the deaf. I read the following article in American Profile. It is of general interest. Perhaps one of you will get inspired to write something for your family. Sharing Family Stories (contributed by Tricia Sanders, a freelance writer in Duluth, GA) "Each generation creates a well of wisdom, stories of a lifetime that should be shared with the next generation. But with everyone living such busy lives, and with families spread across the world, we seldom take time convey the stories that connect us with our past and future generations." "Memoir writing is one way to ensure that your children and grandchildren have a link to their family's past. It's a process of capturing stories you remember being told as a child, as well as the ones you create in your own life, and putting them in an enduring format." "Memoir writing should begin by breaking down the process into bite-sized, manageable pieces, making it a project you look forward to completing. Here are three ideas to get you started: Use photographs – Choose 10 of your favorite photographs representing different time periods in your life. Take each photo and write down the details recalled and memories evoked by the picture. Describe the people, the place, the emotions of the day, and time when that particular memory was captured on film. Recreate as many details as possible. Attach the photograph to the paper you wrote the story on. After you have completed all 10, have them made into a spiral bound book at your local office supply store or copy center. Create your family tree – Draw a family tree, beginning with your great-grandparents. After you have listed everyone on the tree and shown how each person is related, write a story describing each person you listed. Create a timeline – Label one blank sheet of paper for each decade you have lived – zero to 10 years on the first page, 11 to 20 years on the second page, and so on. On each page, choose two memories from that particular decade and make a note, including the year, your age, and the event. Continue the process through each decade. Once you have finished, go back through your notes and write a story describing each event. You might include the year a sibling was born, the first date with your spouse or the birth of your first child. You can even invite other relatives to make notes on the timeline to help trigger more details of the memories you are working to describe. The most precious gift you can give to anyone is yourself – your stories are ones that will be shared for generations to come. Take the time now to ensure the past is remembered in the future. Remember to start small, with one project at a time. Before you know it, you'll have volumes of family memories ready to share." (Contributed to American Profile by Tricia Sanders, a freelance writer in Duluth, GA) Historic July – Important Events 1619 – the first American legislative assembly, the House of Burgesses, was convened in Jamestown, VA. 1775 – the U.S. Post Office was established with Postmaster Benjamin Franklin. 1776 – the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to George Washington's troops. 1777 – British troops captured Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution. 1812 – U.S. forces invaded British-ruled Canada during the War of 1812. 1829 – William Burt received a patent for his "typographer," a forerunner of the typewriter. 1848 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott led the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY. 1861 – the first torpedo attack of the Civil War took place. 1863 – rioting against Civil War military draft broke out in New York City. 1870 – Georgia became the last Confederate state readmitted to the Union. 1881 – President James Garfield was fatally shot by Charles Guiteau. 1881 – outlaw Billy the Kid was fatally shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett. 1928 – the antiwar Kellogg-Briand Pact was proclaimed by President Herbert Hoover. 1942 – gasoline rationing began in the U.S. during World War II. 1945 – the Senate voted 89-2 to ratify the United Nations Charter. 1951 – J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye was published. 1952 – Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the U.S. 1969 – the Apollo II astronauts blasted off from the moon after 21 ½ hours on the surface. 1974 – the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach President Nixon for his role in the Watergate coverup. 1976 – America's Viking I spacecraft made a successful, first-ever Mars landing. 1976 – the U.S. celebrated its bicentennial. 1977 – the Medal of Freedom was awarded posthumously to Martin Luther King, Jr. 1982 – President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor as the first woman Supreme Court Justice. 1988 – the USS Vincennes shot down an Iran Air passenger jet, killing all aboard.

Volunteer Picnic

VOLUNTEER PICNIC: We would like to have another volunteer picnic this year. We've had them in the past and they were a lot of fun. I like seeing the people in the community that I don't see very often and meeting new residents. The picnic is not just open to past and present volunteers. It's really open for anyone that wants to attend...OWNERS AND RENTERS. We call it a VOLUNTEER PICNIC because we need VOLUNTEERS to organize it!!! This year it will be a "covered dish to share" picnic, just in case we don't have access to any grills. We would only need two volunteers! Volunteer Responsibilities: 1. CHOOSE A PICNIC SITE 2. CHOOSE A DATE 3. PICK UP SOFT DRINKS, NAPKINS, PLASTIC TABLECLOTHS AND UTENSILS. The rest "just happens"! TBPOA will reimburse the volunteers for the supplies and will put up the advertising signs. So...does it sound like fun? Call me at 461-4356 to sign up to volunteer!!!! AND LAST...BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST! We want your input. If you have questions or comments on a subject for the monthly newsletter, please e-mail me at rpm2121@bellsouth.net Thanks for reading to the very bottom of the this article!!! Paula Murphy

Volunteer Picnic

We would like to have another volunteer picnic this year. We've had them in the past and they were a lot of fun. I like seeing the people in the community that I don't see very often and meeting new residents. The picnic is not just open to past and present volunteers. It's really open for anyone that wants to attend...OWNERS AND RENTERS.

We call it a VOLUNTEER PICNIC because we need VOLUNTEERS to organize it!!!

This year it will be a "covered dish to share" picnic, just in case we don't have access to any grills. We would only need two volunteers!

Volunteer Responsibilities:

1. CHOOSE A PICNIC SITE
2. CHOOSE A DATE
3. PICK UP SOFT DRINKS, NAPKINS, PLASTIC TABLECLOTHS AND UTENSILS.

The rest "just happens"! TBPOA will reimburse the volunteers for the supplies and will put up the advertising signs. So...does it sound like fun?

Call me at 461-4356 to sign up to volunteer!!!!

AND LAST...BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST! We want your input. If you have questions or comments on a subject for the monthly newsletter, please e-mail me at rpm2121@bellsouth.net

Thanks for reading to the very bottom of the this article!!!

Paula Murphy

Treasure Beach Buzzing

Treasure Beach BUZZING !     After all the rain in late May we've had I guess that buzz you hear has arrived. What ? June ? More rain ? ,well we all know it will dry up sometime this month. But there's a new buzz in the air !. Lets face it, after all that rain it can only mean one thing. Mosquitoes ! Mosquitoes ! Mosquitoes!  Yes, the state birds are now out in numbers. That late night buzz your hear after retiring to bed is growing in alarming numbers. In the past week locals like Louie G have come by my house to complain about the little  swarms of mosquitoes on the rampage for more blood. Personally my own property has been bug free for years including mosquitoes or the more common pest, " no see'ems ". I called our local Mosquito control office, they reported about 600 calls are now coming in per day after all this rain we had. No real surprise to most anyone, but there are ways to help deal with the problem. Only a few years ago a study found that mosquitoes do not travel very far. The best thing we can all do is make sure there is no standing water left on our properties in Treasure Beach that offer a breeding haven for the pest. Simply walking around your own property like a CSI agent from TV you can discover small places that might be offering a safe harbor. From sitting garbage cans, old pails, bait buckets, even that old boat in the back yard is the fast track for mosquitoes. My favorite trick was the large plastic garbage cans I have. Each of my plastic garbage cans has a small hole punched into the bottom for drainage preventing them from building up with water. Mosquitoes can breed in less than 1/8th inch of water, so its really a hard find in some cases. The water best suited for Mosquitoes is standing water, and in a nice cool spot, so each property can offer some very odd places of discovery. My basic rule is to walk around, inspect anything that might be holding even a small amount of water for breeding, remove the debris, or empty the water. The second issue is more conflicting, but becomes the home owners taste VS mosquitoes. Some plants actually hold water by nature for their own use, but this also offers a great place for mosquitoes. Vermiliad plants is about the best mosquito breading plant I've ever seen in Treasure Beach. I'm sure there are other plants that do the same job for breeding, but you'll have to know your plants to personally figure out if its adding to your problem with bugs. I love sitting out on my back porch at night, and to counter this problem all my foliage was picked according to bugs. YES, some plants attract them and some drive the flying pest away. Bats will eat about 30,000 bugs per night on average, so its always a welcome sight at dusk to see the black wings fluttering nearby chewing up mosquitoes for us in Treasure Beach. Secondary to the bat is the common Dragon fly, this guy is a great bug to have a round for eating mosquitoes or most bugs in general. If you have have bushes, or tall grass, your offering a place for bugs to hide. Racing your car up and down the street at night will help to kill some bugs, but to date no study has produced any real figures on this "system" of randomized bug killing. I have noticed this practice in Treasure Beach, but I think with the gas prices going back up, we might have to retire that one for now. My message here is really to walk around this month after a rain and check your own property to see if mosquitoes are happy with your blood, and your property. Remove standing water areas, and clean up any debris. The mosquitoes only offers deceases we all do not want or need. The local mosquito control truck has already been in Treasure Beach this past first week of June, but we all need to do our part too. Early in June I saw them spraying the ditches out on A1A, so don't fret over all the standing water, just help us to keep Treasure Beach a safe fun area to live in. I do not recommend, a large bomb fire with beer, or high speed driving each street, or kicking over the neighbors garbage cans. Using loud music with sonic boom speakers has no effect, waving red hats, or just yelling will not get the bugs from Treasure Beach properties. The live concert held at Bill's place on Barco this past month didn't work, but the music was great. Lets all clean and check our properties, and I hope we can work together and reduce the mosquitoes numbers.   L.A. Panchuk ( Author: The Devil's Magnet ) X zone radio reporter ISD reporter     Released: I hearby release this article to Coastal Newspaper and community for its use and publication. LP

Richard E. Fanning Sr. (June 28, 1934 - June 5, 2009)

Retired Army National Guard shop chief Master Sgt. Richard E. Fanning Sr. went home to his Lord and savior on June 5, 2009. Born June 28, 1934, in Milton, Mass., he joined the service battery of 180th field artillery, 26th infantry division, while in high school. He later became a dual-status technician for the Army Guard, serving 32 years in that capacity. Reaching mandatory retirement at age 60, he retired from the U.S. Army after serving a total of 40 years. In 1990 he and his wife, Elizabeth, moved to Crescent Beach. He continued to work, first at Walt's Auto Repair for three years and as a bridge tender on State Road 206 in Crescent Beach for 15 years.

Richard is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Ann Fanning; son, Master Sgt. Rick Fanning Jr., of Plymouth, Mass., Otis Air National Guard Base; daughters, Kathleen Horte, of Wareham, Mass., Karen (Paul) Craig, of Weymouth, Mass., Lisa (David) Worth, of Buzzards Bay, Mass., and Dianne (Lawrence) Hanlon, of Pembroke, Mass.; stepsons, Steven (Diza) Critcher and Scott Critcher, both of Tucson, Ariz., and Tech. Sgt. Shawn (Christine) Rivers, of San Antonio, Randolph Air Force Base; brother Eugene J. (Kathleen) Fanning Jr., of North Attleboro, Mass.; nine grandchildren, Colin M. Critcher, Jeremy (Lyndsie) Craig, Joshua Rivers, Katelyn Horte, Malcolm Critcher, Erin Craig, Micah Rivers, Travis Hanlon and Dillon Hanlon; two great-grandsons, Nicholas McWalter and Matthew Craig; former wife, Margaret R. Kelly Fanning, of Hingham, Mass.; and many nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Helen and Eugene Fanning Sr., brother David D.G. Fanning and stepson Brian Critcher.

He loved gardening, walking, traveling and the ocean. He was a member of First Militia Chapter of the Association of the United States Army, 126th Signal Battalion Association, Morrisette American Legion Post No. 294, First Corps of Cadets Veterans Association, Honeymooner's Bowling League, Drifter's Bowling League, third Vice President of Treasure Beach Property Owner's Association, and a Eucharistic minister and first gardener at St. Anastasia Catholic Church, where he beautified the grounds.

Visitation will be held Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Craig Funeral Home. A Mass of Christian burial will follow at Jacksonville National Cemetery on Wednesday afternoon. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida or the American Cancer Society. Craig Funeral Home, Crematory and Memorial Park.

June 2009 Newsletter

I can't believe it is June already! I am only aware of one June birthday and it's MINE! Yep, I'll be 29.....again! Does it seem like time is just flying or is it me? "They" say time flies when you get old...but I'm not old yet!!!

So far this year we have had the TBPOA Annual Garage Sale and the TBPOA Annual Clean Up Day.

GARAGE SALE:

Even though there were not a lot of participants, the TBPOA table made $112.85. That, of course, is thanks to the residents who donated items to be sold by TBPOA and to the volunteers that manned the table. Many thanks to Gisela Prange, Barb Warman, Rose Larsen and Nancy Gaj. Note: These are the same ladies that "step up to the plate" all the time. Maybe next year we can add some new faces to the volunteer list!

We are open to ideas as to how to make this event more successful next year. We advertised in the paper, put signs up, but still had less participation of residents than we had hoped. ANY IDEAS? Please let us know your thoughts. You can sign onto our website: www.treasurebeachflorida.com and post your ideas and comments in the blog area!

ANNUAL CLEAN UP DAY:

We didn't fill an entire dumpster, but almost! We had plenty of help from volunteers like Bobby Wright, John Kelleher, our "water girl" Doreen Kelleher, Steve and Phyllis Abbott, Art Cunningham and yours truly. I brought a chair and my newspaper, got a little sun and relaxed. All in all, not a bad day. We collected $120.00 of new dues to add to our treasury. John and Bobby took some trash bags and picked up trash along Costanero Road. Next year we would like to get volunteers on each street to pick up trash on their road.

The turnout was not nearly as good as last year. However, this year your dues had to be paid in order to take advantage of this benefit. Just in case you wondered.....we will still accept dues for the 2009 year!!!!

I JUST HAD A THOUGHT!!! Why wait until next year?? Check your yard and the yard on each side of you to see if someone has littered when no one was looking! Sometimes the trash collectors drop some things when they are tossing the trash into the truck. They are under such time constraints that they don't stop to pick up those items.

ALSO....DON'T FORGET TO PICK UP YOUR DOG'S "BUSINESS"!

PAY PAL ACCOUNT:

We are in the process of setting up a Pay Pal Account so members can pay their dues online. It will be available soon on our website: www.treasurebeachflorida.com. This should be very helpful for owners that live out of town.

There will also be a new membership form on the website to complete. Please fill in as much information as possible, including your e-mail address, if you have one. There are times when we need to contact residents about current issues happening in Treasure Beach.