Monthly Archives: August 2019

Winners: Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

Valdosta, Georgia, August 25, 2019 — Everybody had a good time before plaques were awarded for Best in each Genre, from Folk to Funk, at the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, before two finalists won the money prizes, at the Salty Snapper in Valdosta, Saturday afternoon.

Jay Jourden of Ponte Vedra, Florida, swept the awards, winning Best Newgrass Bluegrass, and $50 for Best Song from Outside the Suwannee River Basin, and the $300 First Prize, all for “Save Our Suwannee.” Jay promised to submit a new song next year, before he played it again for the very happy audience.

[Jay Jourden Winning]
Jay Jourden Winning

“Yes, Jay submitted the same song last year,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman. “But this time he stopped in the middle, said he forgot some verses, and rattled off names of a whole bunch of rivers, all in perfect time. Naming rivers was one of the criteria, and it’s a great song: Save Our Suwannee!”

Dick Grillo of Live Oak, Florida, won both Best Folk/Country, and $50 for Best Song from Inside the Suwannee River Basin, for “Dear ‘Ol Suwannee,” and his cheering section demonstrated it was the loudest. Continue reading →

Moody AFB sewage spill, Mission Lake 2019-08-06

Update 2021-04-02: Moody AFB NPDES Permit No. GA0020001, which affects not only Beatty Branch in the Withlacoochee River Basin, but also Mission Lake and Grand Bay in the Alapaha River Basin, via “Sanitary, groundwater infiltration, runoff, potable water treatment plant, and vehicle maintenance.”

Did you know Moody Air Force Base had two sewage spills this month? Thanks to GA-EPD, we knew about them, and Moody AFB posted news reports on both of them. One went into Mission Lake, upstream from Grand Bay and the Alapaha River. The other went into Beatty Branch, upstream from Cat Creek and the Withlacoochee River.

[Building 769 and Mission Lake]
Building 769 and Mission Lake

23d Wing Public Affairs, News, 7 August 2019, Sewage Spill Notification, Continue reading →

Valdosta sewage sign, golf course, Valdosta Country Club, Stillhouse Branch 2019-08-23

Friday we found the warning sign on the Valdosta Country Club green for the Wednesday force main sewage spill, thanks to Valdosta Utilities Environmental Manager Scott Fowler, who told me where it was. Sara Jay has tested downstream for WWALS, and maybe we can get the Valdosta water quality testing data, as well. Although there is some ambiguity as to which way downstream is.

[Sewage Spill]
Sewage Spill

“It stinks,” said a man on a golf cart on the green, as I was taking pictures. Continue reading →

WCTV on mining proposed near Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge 2019-08-21

“Because of the coal plants in Georgia, there’s mercury deposition on the surface of the ground for years. If they go stir all that up, that could run in to the swamp,” said Suwannee Riverkeeper John Quarterman. “Why should we risk the Okefenokee, its boating, its fishing, its birding.”

Quoted by a reporter based in Valdosta, GA for WCTV in Tallahassee, FL, Emma Wheeler, WCTV, 21 August 2019, Heavy mining facility proposed near Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge,

[Sign]
Photo: John S. Quarterman, Okefenokee NWR Entrance Sign, 2019-07-18

…Last week the Charlton County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution of support for the project. County officials said the reason is because Charlton County does not have many industry opportunities of its own, and many residents leave to surrounding counties for work. officials said the 150 jobs created from the project could be beneficial to the county.

The Okefenokee Swamp is the headwater for the Suwannee River, which is why community members across the region are fighting the proposal, saying it could have consequences in both states.

In the proposal, the Continue reading →

Songwriting Contest on Scott James radio show 2019-08-23

Apparently we’re such an institution that Scott James thought tomorrow is our fourth or fifth Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, but actually it’s the Second Annual, 1-5PM, Saturday (tomorrow), at the Salty Snapper on Gornto in Valdosta, GA.

[Agenda]
Agenda

Tickets are still $10 online, which gets you closer to the stage, or $12 at the door. The VIP tables of eight right in front of the stage are sold out, but you can still get individual tickets.

Here’s WWALS radio TV (YouTube) of Scott James and I discussing the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest on 92.1 FM WVGA this morning from the steps of the historic Lowndes County Courthouse.

[Hat]
Hat

You can listen to the video, although you’ll hear why Valdosta wants a truck bypass around downtown. So I’ve summarized below what we said. Continue reading →

Valdosta Sewage spill into Stillhouse Branch, Withlacoochee River 2019-08-21

Credit for telling the public, but no credit for a very vague report, in the latest sewage spill in the City of Valdosta.

Every address on Plantation Drive is in the 3300 block, so that locates the spill only within 4,000 feet. Valdosta does know the name of that “local stream,” which is Stillhouse Branch, and where it goes, which is into the Withlacoochee River, upstream from US 41 and Langdale Park.

[Plantation Drive]
Plantation Drive

By “on a golf course” we can deduce the spill must have been Continue reading →

Thanks, Sponsors of Songwriting Contest!

Especially thanks to top tier sponsor Georgia Beer Company, and to all the rest, who are listed on this poster for the Contest this Saturday, 1-5 PM, at The Salty Snapper in Valdosta.

Tickets are still $10 online or $12 at the door. Seven headliners and finalists will play for three judges and you, with radio personality Chris Beckham as Master of Ceremonies, with prizes awarded, silent auction, kayak raffle, and food and drink.

[Thanks Sponsors]
Thanks Sponsors

Pre-sales will sit closer to the stage. The tables of eight right in front of the stage are sold out, but individual tickets are still available.

Everything else about the Contest is here: Continue reading →

Songwriting Contest on Scott James Radio 2019-08-23

Broadcasting 8AM Friday from the steps of the historic Lowndes County Courthouse in downtown Valdosta, Georgia, Scott James and I will discuss the Second Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, when seven finalists will play for you and three judges who will award some of them prizes, at the Salty Snapper this Saturday.

When: 8AM, Friday, August 23, 2019

Where: Talk 92.1 FM Scott James drive-time radio show.
You can listen on the air, or through the radio show’s own website, or through several online listening services.

Event: facebook

Historic Lowndes County Courthouse

All about the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest:
https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2019-08-24–suwannee-riverkeeper-songwriting-contest/ Continue reading →

Charlton County Commission passed resolution supporting titanium mine near Okefenokee Swamp 2019-08-15

Causing outrage from the packed house, the Charlton County Commission refused Thursday to let anyone speak who did not live in the county or own land there. This was after the Commission unanimously passed a resolution supporting the proposed titanium mine, without any public hearing and with citizens at all permitted to speak beforehand. The resolution apparently says it depends on the miners getting permits, and Charlton County does not decide on those permits. The opposition is now even more determined to stop those permits by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the state of Georgia. You, too, can comment to USACE and GA-EPD by the current deadline of September 12, 2019.

[Signs]
Photo: John S. Quarterman, before 2019-08-13 TPM meeting. L-r: Mark Lyons of Citizens Against Phosphate Mining, Alice Keyes of One Hundred Miles, Hilda Gilchrist of Our Santa Fe River (OSFR), Jim Tatum of OSFR and WWALS, Rena Peck Stricker of Georgia River Network, Mike Roth and Kristin Rubin of OSFR and WWALS, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper, Merillee Malwitz-Jipson of OSFR and WWALS.

The Charlton County Commission’s public speaking rule is indeed new, since the previous month Continue reading →

Last year’s winner Laura D’Alisera headlines Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

Last year, Laura D’Alisera of Jacksonville, Florida, won both the $50 prize for best song from outside the Suwannee River Basin, and the $300 First Prize for best song. This year, she’s on the committee that selected the seven finalists who will play for the three judges and you this Saturday, August 24, 2019. But first, Laura and Joe Smothers will entertain you, so come on down, 1-5 PM, to The Salty Sanpper, 1405 Gornto Road, Valdosta, GA, where radio personality Chris Beckham will be our M.C.

Laura D'Alisera (Sara Jay)
Photo: Sara Jay, of Laura D’Alisera winning the First Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest last year (2018).

Laura said her song is Continue reading →