Submissions open for Second Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2019-04-01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (PDF)

Submissions open for Second Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

Hahira, Georgia, April 1, 2019 — No fooling but fun: today songwriters can start submitting new songs about the Suwannee, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, or Little Rivers, or other lakes, swamps, springs, or sinks in the Suwannee River Basin. New this year is a separate winner category for finalists younger than eighteen, in the Second Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. Well-known radio personality Chris Beckham will be the Master of Ceremonies inside in air conditioning Saturday afternoon, August 24, 2019, at The Salty Snapper in Valdosta, Georgia. Three judges will select winners as finalists play. Snacks are included, plus a silent auction and kayak raffle. Come have some family musical fun supporting your local nonprofit WWALS Watershed Coalition and Suwannee Riverkeeper.


Photo: Bret Wagenhorst, of Emmett Carlisle playing at the 2018 Contest

Last year’s winner, Laura D’Alisera has driven from Jacksonville for every contest organizing committee meeting this year, and will sing this year while the judges are judging. She says, “To encourage working songwriters, this year we will Continue reading →

GA-PSC report on AGL pipeline and Homerville August 2017 2018 explosion 2019-03-29

Update 2019-04-04: Actually the gas did go through a sewer pipe; AGL didn’t locate or mark that pipe, either. And the GA-PSC report was on the front page yesterday of the newspaper of the largest city in the Suwannee River Basin.

Maybe the gas didn’t go up a sewer pipe to the coffee shop after all. And in its long-awaited report, Pipeline Safety at the Georgia Public Service Commission is not letting AGL hand the blame to its contractors. This recommended fine does not look like the previous slap on the wrist.

[Filed]

GA-PSC says AGL failed to locate and mark its pipeline in use and failed to locate “their abandoned natural gas facility at 107 Courtland Ave.,” which is the address of the Coffee Corner which blew up in August 2017 2018 and sent three women to the hospital with third-degree burns.

The report gets worse:

PROBABLE VIOLATION: AGLC failed to consider the use of a valve to stop the flow of gas, or to check the surrounding buildings and confined areas, during the response to this incident, as required by their procedures.

But those are just in the first two items, which only got a $15,000 recommended fine each. The same $15,000 level of fine is recommended for AGL’s failures to test its personnel for drug or alcohol after the incident.

The big item, with a $2,245,000 fine, is for AGL failing Continue reading →

Deese-Howard Ramp to Gibson County Park, Suwannee River, 2019-06-01

Update 2019-05-22: Moved by the Outings Committee to Allen Ramp on the Withlacoochee River to Suwannee River State Park.

This is a 12 mile paddle on the Suwannee River. We will meet at Deese-Howard Public Boat Ramp at 8:30 to unload kayaks and gear before the 12 mile shuttle to Gibson County Park begins at 9 a.m. You will probably need to use the Lat/Long coordinates with your GPS to find the ramp easier.

We will pass Holton Creek River Camp, where we will stop for a break and a swim.

Just before the takeout this section of the river also includes the Alapaha Rise, an interesting natural feature that is worth the short side trip.

When: Gather 8:30 AM, Launch 10AM, Saturday, June 1, 2019

Put In: Deese Howard Boat Ramp, 107th Road, Live Oak, FL 32060, Suwannee County.

GPS: 30.41439, -82.96292

Take Out: Gibson Park Ramp, 6844 SW CR 751, Jasper, FL 32052. From Jasper, Hamilton County, FL, travel southwest on SW CR 249 to SW CR 751; turn left and boat ramp is on the right in Gibson County Park, in Hamilton County.

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

Alapaha Rise,
Photo: Beth Gammie, of Alapaha River Rise, on Southwings flight for WWALS with pilot E.M. Beck, 2016-11-23.

Continue reading →

WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting 2019-04-14

Update 2019-04-11: The meeting location has changed, to VSU Odum Library Rm # 2633.

Announcement
WWALS Quarterly Board Meeting
2:00-4PM, Sunday, 14 April 2019
Room 2633, Odum Library, Valdosta State University,
1500 N. Patterson St., Valdosta, GA 31698
Parking: Oak St. Deck, entrance off of N. Oak Street, across from Brookwood Drive.

Odum Library and Parking, VSU Map
Odum Library: green circle top center; Oak St. Deck: blue circle left center.

Dial-in Number (has changed): (712) 770-5505
Meeting ID: 855676
facebook event

Wastewater spills, water quality monitoring, water trails, paddle races, songwriting contest, Paddle Georgia, Alapaha Quest, festivals, projects and programs, pipelines, LNG export, phosphate mines, and more.

Invited to attend: WWALS members, especially committee members, and the general public.
All WWALS Board Members are expected to attend in person or by telephone.
The more done on the board list, the less time we have to spend in this meeting.

[Banner]
new WWALS Banner

Board Members: Continue reading →

Suwannee Riverkeeper at Live Oak Woman’s Club 2019-04-05

Update 2019-04-08: slides and video.

In Suwannee County, Florida, at the Live Oak Woman’s Club, Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman will talk about what WWALS does and how people can help. Thanks to Eileen Box and the Club for the invitation.

When: noon, Friday, April 5, 2019

Where: Woman’s Club of Live Oak, 1308 11th St SW, Live Oak, FL 32064

Event: facebook, meetup

John S. Quarterman, Suwannee Riverkeeper
Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman speaking with all nine Georgia Riverkeepers, 2019-02-06

I will talk about Valdosta sewage spills, Georgia Sewage Spills Reports, other E. coli in the rivers, water quality testing and how you can help test, and on April 10th Florida counties Rivers Task Force meets Valdosta City Council.

Have some fun with us, too, August 24th at the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

Race or just paddle April 27th at the BIG Little River Paddle Race, or join us for a week, June 15-21, with 300 people on Paddle Georgia down Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers, ending with the Final Feast catered by WWALS at Advent Christian Village in Dowling Park, Friday, June 21st. Or join us in our watery living room April 19th and every full moon sunset at Continue reading →

Kayak raffle: Hobie Mirage Outback

Update 2019-08-01: And the winner is….

Thanks to some generous WWALS members, we are raffling off a Hobie Mirage Outback kayak, 12′ 9″ long by 34″ wide, with pedals, rudder, and wheels. New it lists for $2700. This one obviously is used, but it is still worth over a thousand dollars. See below for tickets, drawing, and specifications.

Scotti, Gretchen, Sara, Booth
Photo: John S. Quarterman at Suwannee Spring Reunion, 2019-03-21.

Tickets

Tickets are $5 each or five for $20. You can get them Continue reading →

Pictures: Wild Azalea Festival, White Springs, FL 2019-03-16

A new festival to WWALS, and one of the smaller ones, but very friendly. The Mayor of White Springs came by to welcome us and then to invite us back, as did one of the city council members, at Wild Azalea Festival. Oh, and the musicians were astonishingly good. We invited them all to the Second Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, August 24 in Valdosta; submissions open April 1, 2019.

Songwriting Contest, Talking

Note the Songwriting Contest flyers. Each one is backed by a flyer for the BIG Little River Paddle Race.

Hanging pictures, Setting up

Continue reading →

Seventh Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race 2019-04-27

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (PDF)

One month before BIG Little River Paddle Race

Hahira, Georgia, March 27, 2019 — It’s one month until the Seventh Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race (BLRPR) in Reed Bingham State Park, between Adel and Moultrie, Georgia. You can just paddle along this scenic stretch of tea-colored river on the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail among cypress, turtles, birds, and yes, alligators. (Don’t pet them and they won’t bother you.) This three-mile race also has fierce competitors, with last year’s winner finishing in barely more than half an hour. Plus lunch, a silent auction, and a kayak raffle, at this family fun sporting event in support of two local nonprofits.


Photo: Bret Wagenhorst, of paddlers in BLRPR 2018

BLRPR mastermind Bret Wagenhorst, an eye doctor in Tifton, GA, and a charter board member of WWALS Watershed Coalition, Inc. (WWALS), said, “You can win in any of a dozen categories: one- or two-person canoe or kayak, male or female or mixed, as well as oldest, youngest, and from farthest away.”

Continue reading →

Video: WWALS E.D. Gretchen Quarterman on Charlie Walker Radio 2019-03-13

In eight minutes she talked about the BIG Little River Paddle Race, the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, on the air with Charlie Walker, KIX 99.5 Country Radio, plus Paddle Georgia, and all the other events and outings.

BIG Little River Paddle Race

“That’s our signature event,” said WWALS Executive Director Gretchen Quarterman, about the Seventh Annual BIG Little River Paddle Race.

On the Air, Gretchen Quarterman

It’s our seventh year. It’s at Reed Bingham [State Park]. We paddle from Continue reading →

Banks Lake Full Pink Moon Paddle, 2019-04-19

Update 2019-04-19: Rescheduled to Saturday due to weather.

A leisurely sunset paddle to watch the sun set and the full moon rise over the Banks Lake, a mini-Okefenokee near Lakeland, Georgia.

When: Gather 7:00 PM, launch 7:30 PM, Friday, April 19, 2019

Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County.

GPS: 31.034824, -83.096725

Take Out: Banks Lake Boat Ramp

Bring: the a light for your boat or some type of light to have on yourself (glow stick, head lamp, or flashlight), and bring a rope for your boat. You must wear a Personal Flotation Device (PFD). A whistle is not required, but it’s a good idea in the dark. Dress for cold weather, the temperature drops quickly after the sun sets. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.

Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!

Event: facebook, meetup

Zoom, Moonrise
Photo: Shirley Kokidko, Banks Lake Spring Equinox Full Moon Paddle, 2019-03-20.

Continue reading →