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Bill Nelson's Office, in Apalach on Thursday

In a press release submitted ealier today, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson announced that a representative from his Senate office will be in town tomorrow March 11, 2010, from 10:00AM to 11:00AM at the Franklin County Courthouse Annex at 34 Forbes Street, Suite 3 in Historic Apalachicola.

Nelson representative will be on hand to meet with all residents, including those with a Federal issue to discuss.

For more information, please contact Lynn Bannister, Director of Outreach/Regional Director for Senator Nelson's office at (850) 942-8415.

A Day of Hope

What started out as one community’s show of love and support towards a young woman stricken with cancer has ended up as a county sanctioned day of hope.

It all began in 2007, when Kathy Ingersoll a member of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 82 in Lanark Village received word that a young woman in her neighborhood named Tonya Bridges was battling terminal cancer and needed help with her bills.

Ingersoll quickly went to work soliciting the membership of the Auxiliary to host a yard sale and pig roast as a fundraiser to provide financial assistance to Bridges during her extreme time of need.

During her final month, members of the Auxiliary asked and received permission from both Bridges and her family to continue using her name and image to benefit other residents of Lanark Village.

However, is was during the planning of last year’s benefit fundraiser that the Auxiliary decided to expand the event to include providing financial assistance to the residents of Carrabelle that needed their help.

This year the group went before the Franklin County Board of County Commissioners to spread out the benefit to include all of Franklin County and obtained county approval to declare April 3, 2010 as Tonya’s Hope Day throughout the entire Franklin County community.

Proceeds raised through the Auxiliary’s efforts, will now go toward providing financial assistance to the families of Franklin County residents who have loved ones stricken with cancer. Items that monies raised from the benefit will cover include the cost of gasoline, tires, groceries, utilities, rent, babysitting, and housecleaning.

The Auxiliary is asking all residents of the county to come out and "HELP US HELP EACH OTHER" at the Fourth Annual Tonya’s Hope Day. The group has scheduled the event for April 3, 2010, at the American Legion Post 82 in Lanark Village starting with a huge yard sale at 9:00AM, the blessing at 12:00PM followed by a roast pig dinner for a $10.00 donation, an auction at 3:00PM and wrapping up with a Carnival Cruise drawing promptly at 6:00PM.

For more information or questions concerning Tonya’s Hope Day, please contact Kathy Ingersoll, Chairperson at (850) 697-9533.

Neighborhood Watch Meeting

To help you help yourself, and your community, the Apalachicola Police Department has been trying for the past several months with minimum citizen participation to establish a Neighborhood Watch Program in the City of Apalachicola.

Neighborhood Watch Programs are nationally recognized as first step programs to help make your home, your neighborhood, and your community a safer place to live. In addition, the police department really needs the eyes and ears of the whole community to help combat crime.

Therefore, come join us at 6:00PM this Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at the 6th Street Recreation Center to learn what you can do to help fight crime and how to reduce your chances of becoming a crime victim.

Summerhill Designated Certified Municipal Clerk

At the Apalachicola City Commission March 2 meeting, City Clerk Lee Mathes presented Deputy City Clerk Cindy Summerhill with the prestigious designation of Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC).

The CMC designation program has been in existence for 40 years, started in 1970 by the Florida Association of City Clerks (FACC) along with the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) as a means to assist municipal clerks increase their proficiency in areas related to their work, and their professional and personal growth.

The program prepares the participants to meet the challenges of the complex role of the Municipal Clerks by providing them with quality education in partnership with 47 institutions of higher learning. To earn the CMC designation, a Municipal Clerk must attend and successfully complete an extensive curriculum provided by the association and its partners.

Mathes told commissioners during the presentation that Summerhill had successfully completed over a three-year period 100 hours of arduous educational and training courses and that she had met the requirements to become a Certified Municipal Clerk in the State of Florida.

The FACC has a statewide membership of 575 members, with 303 currently holding CMC designations and 60 holding the designation of a Master Municipal Clerk (MMC).

Mathes also holds the CMC designation and currently serves as the District Director over the Florida Association of City Clerks (FACC) Northwest District, which includes the counties of Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington.

Tobacco Products Placement Resolution

The Apalachicola City Commission unanimously adopted Resolution 2010-03 at their March 2 regular scheduled meeting, at the behest of David Walker, Human Services Program Manager with the Franklin County Health Department.

Walker requested the resolution in response to an intense campaign that the Chapters of the Tobacco Free Franklin Partnership and the Franklin County Students Working against Tobacco (SWAT) have waged against the sale of tobacco products to minors under the age of 18.

According to a 2008 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey, smokeless tobacco use among Franklin County High and Middle School students are among the highest in the State.

The Resolution adopted by the Apalachicola Board of City Commissioners at the March 2 meeting:

Resolution # 2010-03

TOBACCO PRODUCTS PLACEMENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature has enacted laws, located in Chapter 569, Florida Statutes, that provide for increased regulation of the retail sale of tobacco products; and

WHEREAS, The Florida Legislature has, in Chapter 569, provided for civil, administrative, and/or criminal penalties for the sale of tobacco products to an underage person and for the possession of such tobacco products by an underage person; and

WHEREAS, the State of Florida has entered into a settlement with the tobacco industry for billions of dollars to reimburse the state for some of the health care costs incurred by the state due to the prevalence of tobacco use; and

WHEREAS, the government and residents of the City of Apalachicola are also concerned about the use of tobacco products by underage persons; and

WHEREAS, a reduction in the availability, both visually and physically, of tobacco products to underage persons will lead to a reduction in underage persons obtaining tobacco products which will likely lead to a reduction in tobacco product use by underage persons.

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF APALACHICOLA COMMISSIONERS THAT: it supports the placement of all tobacco products “behind the counter” in all retail establishments so as to limit underage accessibility to such products.

THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF APALACHICOLA
Mayor Van Johnson

Nelson Acts on Fishing Regulations

U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, Florida (D) took several steps to help fishing communities in Florida that have been hurt by federal regulatory closures. He introduced two bills: one would end the current ban on red snapper fishing in the South Atlantic, and the other would prevent the federal government from shortening the red snapper fishing season in the Gulf of Mexico.

Additionally, Nelson requested that the Senate Commerce Committee examine the ban on red snapper fishing and fisheries closures in Florida to determine whether federal officials are using reliable data to support the tough fishing restrictions. “What’s troubling is too often these closures are based on limited data and sporadic stock assessments,” Nelson wrote to committee leadership. He also asked the panel to examine whether economic aid could be provided to communities hardest hit by the fishing bans.

Healthcare Associated Infections

Hand washing helps prevent Healthcare-associated infections (HAI)

When someone develops an infection at a hospital or other patient care facility that the person didn’t have prior to treatment, the healthcare industry refers to this as a Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) or hospital-acquired infection.

HAI’s are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers alike.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.

A Center for Disease Control (CDC) report published in March-April 2007 estimated the number of U.S. deaths from healthcare associated infections in 2002 at 98,987.

The risk of acquiring healthcare-associated infections in developing countries is 2-20 times higher than in developed countries.Afflicting thousands of patients every year, HAI often leads to lengthening hospitalization, increasing the likelihood of readmission, and adding sizably to the cost of care per patient.

Financially, HAI’s represent an estimated annual impact of $6.7 billion to healthcare facilities, but the human cost is even higher.

Until recently, a lack of HAI reporting requirements for healthcare facilities has contributed to less-than-optimal emphasis being placed on eliminating the sources of healthcare associated infections. However, growing public anxiety regarding the issue and resulting legislation on state and local levels demanding accountability is serving to accelerate initiatives to combat HAI’s.

To learn more about the impact of healthcare-associated infections for both medical professionals and patients, please visit www.haiwatch.com.

City Commission to discuss fire hydrants tonight

The Apalachicola Board of City Commissioners will hold their regular scheduled meeting tonight at 6:00PM at City Hall located at 1 Bay Avenue in Historic Apalachicola.

Time has been set aside at the top of the agenda to give residents the opportunity to discuss the February 8 fire that destroyed the Wright residence located off 16th Street.

At the time of the fire, fire fighters, residents and the city commission were surprised to learn that the water department had shut off a fire hydrant closest to the fire for repairs.

Personnel from the water department reported at a February 10 staff meeting called by the Mayor and attended by the City Administrator, and the Fire Chief that the hydrant and four others had been offline for repairs for over a year.

The City Administrator along with representatives from the water department, the fire department, and a representative from the City’s engineer firm Baskerville and Donovan who assisted with the design of the water system and has extensive background in fire service and emergency management will be on hand to assist in the discussion.