| In
this edition…
Preventing
Accidental 9-1-1 Calls
Keene
Road Opens
Pinellas
Teens Visit Tallahassee
Fewer
Unwanted Pets
Seminole
Students
Visit Weedon Island
Step
Back
To The 1940s
Master
Gardeners
Plant Sale
Celebrate
Earth Day
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Step Back To The 1940s
Set your time machine back to the 1940s for the upcoming World War II
Salute at Heritage Village. The event features reenactors and exhibits
that give a glimpse of what life was like on the home front during the
war. Join GIs at the USO show or kick up your heels with the swing dancers.
Delicious food and hands-on activities make this an event to remember.
The fun starts at 10:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, March
20th at Heritage Village. Parking and admission are free.
Master Gardeners
Plant Sale
Make your garden look great with the help of Pinellas County Extension’s
Master Gardeners Plant Sale on April 3rd. From 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.,
you can shop for a large variety of plants at great prices. Come early
for the best selection! There will be educational displays on various
subjects and Master Gardeners available to answer your green-thumb questions.
The sale will be held at the Pinellas County Extension, 12175 125th St.
North in Largo. Call (727) 582-2100 for information.
Celebrate Earth Day
Celebrate Earth Day at Pinewood Cultural Park with the Family
EarthFest, an annual fun and free family-friendly celebration coming on
Saturday, April 17th from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Activities feature
a fossil pit, planting of a champion Bo Tree, birdhouse workshops, butterfly
tent, tree giveaway, caterpillar petting zoo, storytelling, entertainment,
children’s activities and more. The Florida Native Plant Society
Spring Wildflower Extravaganza plant sale is also part of this major event.
Free shuttle bus service to the Festival entrance is scheduled throughout
the event.
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Top
Stories…
Preventing Accidental 9-1-1 Calls
Some cell phone users may not know they could be taking up 9-1-1 operators’
time with unnecessary calls. Last year more than 70,000 accidental calls
to the 9-1-1 emergency communications center came from older cell phones.
Older phones that are preprogrammed to dial 9-1-1 when the “9”
key is held down are to blame. Pinellas County Emergency Communications/9-1-1
is distributing 30,000 free cell phone button guards that fit over that
key on older phones. (Another option for cell users is to lock their keypads
following their phone manufacturer’s instructions.) To get a free
button guard, call (727) 464-3858 or click on the “Public Education”
link at the Emergency Communications home page.
Keene Road Opens
The final stretch of Keene Road between Drew Street and Sunset Point is
now open to traffic. The opening of Keene Road marks the completion of
a 20-year effort to establish the County Road 1 corridor as an alternate
north-south roadway through Pinellas County. Motorists can now drive straight
from Palm Harbor to South Pasadena. Keene Road is expected to carry 28,000
vehicles a day by the year 2015. The newly opened section cost about $6
million dollars to build. It was partly paid for with Penny for Pinellas
dollars.
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Pinellas Teens Visit Tallahassee
The members of the Pinellas County Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) visited
the State Capitol this week to lobby for a youth voting bill they wrote.
Commission Vice Chair John Morroni and Commissioner Calvin Harris accompanied
the YAC members for the one-day trip. The teens met with all the members
of the Pinellas Legislative Delegation and with Lieutenant Governor Toni
Jennings. The students drafted House Bill 291 and Senate Bill 1440, which
would require school districts and county Supervisors of Elections to
provide voter education to high-school seniors. State Senator Jim Sebesta
and State Representative Frank Peterman are sponsoring the bill.
Fewer Unwanted Pets
The numbers are in: Pinellas County’s Spay Month was a huge success.
Throughout the year, Pinellas County Animal Services tackles the issue
of pet overpopulation. And during February’s Spay Month activities,
Animal Services spayed 523 cats; 140 of the surgeries were performed aboard
the Animobile, a mobile surgical van that travels to underserved communities
to provide free or low-cost animal services.
Seminole Students Visit
Weedon Island
Native American students from the Big Cypress Reservation recently toured
the Weedon Island Preserve Cultural & Natural History Center to experience
the virtual tour of artifacts they helped preserve. Some of the students
assisted in creating the digital 3-D images shown at the center’s
kiosks and at its virtual tour website. The students are adding an interactive
section to the site so that viewers can email questions to archaeologists
in the field.
Links
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