WWALS at Azalea Festival, Valdosta, GA 2017-03-11-12

Come help WWALS celebrate spring with 25,000 of our Valdosta-area friends, at the Azalea Festival, Saturday and Sunday 11 and 12 March 2017.

When: 10AM-6PM Saturday 12 March 2016
10AM-5PM Sunday 13 March 2016

Volunteer: WWALS members can help at the table!

Where: Drexel Park
30.846771, -83.285066
Patterson Street at W. Brookwood Drive, Valdosta, GA
(across Patterson from VSU)

Events: facebook, meetup

WWALS booth for all ages

What: The Festival website says:

The 2017 Azalea Festival will feature arts and crafts vendors from several different states, a huge food court, six stage areas of entertainment, a Classic Car and Motorcycle Show, KidZone, entertainment, Bike Ride and 5K race, and a whole lot more. Free admission.

The 16th Annual Azalea Festival (March 14 & 15, 2016) was a huge success. Thanks to all of our attendees, entertainers, sponsors, and all of our Board members and volunteers. Saturday, March 12 was a record setting day with a single day record of over 15,000 patrons visiting the Festival. Sunday was shortened due to severe thunderstorms, but the rains didn’t dampen the successes that we had on Saturday. Average two day attendance for the Festival is approximately 25,000.

The 2016 Azalea Festival featured a record number of over 170 arts & crafts vendors from several different states, a huge food court, six (another record) stage areas of entertainment, a Classic Car & Motorcycle Show, a newly expanded KidZone, the World Famous Disc-Connected K9’s Frisbee Show, the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show (sponsored by The Langdale Company), the all-new Falconry Forever/Birds of Prey Exhibits and Demonstrations, entertainment by Wild Adventures Theme Park, two great bands (sponsored by Camping World of Valdosta), the VLPRA Smoothie King Century Bike Ride & 5K race, and a whole lot more. None of this would have been possible without our sponsors, volunteers, and the support of our local community.

What started off as a small, local festival 16 years ago has become a major regional festival attracting attendees from all over the Southeastern United States, as well as a major economic booster for Valdosta and Lowndes County. Our vendors, attendees, and race participants come from several different states from Florida to South Dakota.

Drexel Park is on One Mile Creek, so we can watch it for any grease-caused spills, or fish, for that matter. Maybe it won’t flood like in the rain last year that closed festival Sunday afternoon.

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!

Resolution in Support of National Water Trail Designation of The Suwannee River in Madison County 2016-10-12

Madison BOCC passed a Resolution unanimously, with the same wording as the resolution by Suwannee BOCC.

SRWT Upper and Middle Suwannee River In the MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016:

Upon a motion by Commissioner [Wayne] Vickers, seconded by Commissioner [Justin] Hamrick, the Board voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the Consent Agenda (1. Agreement between the County and the North Central Florida Planning Council for Monitoring Hazardous Waste Generators for Fiscal Year 2017; 2. Resolution 2016-10-12A; Support of National Water Trail Designation for the Suwannee River).

Resolution

Continue reading →

Ensure that Valdosta, Georgia eliminates the dumping of raw sewage into our rivers –Madison BOCC 2017-02-08

Apparently Madison County was the first in Florida to call for state help to resolve the Valdosta sewage situation, back on February 8, 2017.

Followed by Hamilton and Suwannee Counties, both on February 21, 2017, and the other three four downstream Florida counties seem to have it on their agendas. After all, people downstream have been complaining about this since at least 2013, and the 2009 old Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) overflow was one of the reasons for the founding of WWALS in 2012.

In the BOCC packet for the Wednesday March 8, 2017 Regular Meeting of the Madison County, Florida Board of County Commissioners, and see also PDF of just those two pages.

RESOLUTION 2017-02-08

A RESOLUTION BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MADISON COUNTY, FLORIDA ASKING FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE HISTORIC SUWANNEE RIVER AND THE WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER IN NORTH FLORIDA.

WHEREAS, Madison County is located in North Central Florida and is bordered by the State of Georgia to the North and the Withlacoochee River and Historic Suwannee River to the East; and

WHEREAS, the Withlacoochee River starts its journey in Valdosta, Continue reading →

FL 200 to Citrus County Line, Sabal Trail @ WWALS 2017-02-07

See Sabal Trail jogs around fancy houses yet run right by a country club and a gated community in Marion County, E. upstream Withlacoochee (South) River, Marion County HDD, 28.9932140, -82.3611430 before its Citrus County Line starts at the Dunnellon Compressor Station and crosses the Withlacoochee (South) River into Citrus County where the houses are too close together to avoid.

Below are Continue reading →

Sabal Trail dispenses misinformation even in response to a shooting death

The Palm Beach Post heard of the shooting and did a story, in which Sabal Trail claims their construction is “on target” when clearly it is not.

Susan Salisbury, Palm Beach Post, 3 March 2017, Sabal Trail pipeline shooter killed by law enforcement in Citrus County,

The $3.2 billion natural gas pipeline is slated to begin bringing fuel to Florida Power & Light’s South Florida plants by June. The pipeline has been the subject of numerous protests by people who say its construction and presence will harm the environment and threaten the water supplied from the Floridan Aquifer, but this is the first death known to have occurred in connection to pipeline opposition.

And the opposition has never killed or injured anyone.

Bell Lago, 14130 SW 121st Court, Dunnellon, FL 34432,
Bell Lago, 14130 SW 121st Court, Dunnellon, FL 34432, 29.0170900, -82.3227090
Photograph by Continue reading →

Georgia legislature fails even to require notice on coal ash 2017-03-03

The coal ash bills didn’t even get out of the HNRE Committee, which instead appointed a study committee. You can ask your Georgia House members to get on that committee.

Peggy Riggins
Peggy Riggins Leslie Webb Riggins of No Ash At All in Valdosta 2017-03-01; photo by John S. Quarterman for WWALS.

Georgia Water Coalition, Press Release, 2 March 2017, Toxic Ash Dumping to remain secret; Georgia House Committee fails to vote on bills requiring community notification

Last year, Jesup residents found out that a landfill near their homes and wells leaked toxic metals found in coal ash into the soil and groundwater. The landfill company is proposing to make the landfill bigger and accept even more of the toxic waste.

“It felt like a punch in the gut,” said Peggy Riggins, Jesup resident. “We found out that toxins found in coal ash were underneath the landfill in our county. The government and the landfill knew for years before we were ever told. This is unacceptable. Our communities deserve to know about proposals to bring in toxic coal waste before its too late and has caused a problem.”

Mary Landers, SavannahNow, 2 March 2017, Lawmakers avoid public notice on coal ash dumping, Continue reading →

Resolution in Support of National Water Trail Designation of The Suwannee River in Suwannee County 2016-12-06

They passed a Resolution and wrote a Letter.

Thanks to Eric Musgrove, Clerk, Suwannee BOCC, for the PDF.

Resolution

RESOLUTION NO. 2017-16

A Resolution in Support of National Water Trail Designation of I

The Suwannee River in Suwannee County

WHEREAS, the benefits of designation of the Suwannee River in Suwannee County as a National Water Trail include Continue reading →

Georgia Legislature fails to advance pollution disclosure bill.

Please call your Georgia Legislators now and let them know that you want our rivers to be safe and clean. Let them know that pollutants do not belong in our rivers. The Natural Resources sub-committee failed to pass two different bills out of committee yesterday. Let them know that you care about what happens to pollutants and that our rivers should be protected. Today is cross-over day. Time is running out.

WWALS is a Georgia Water Coalition member. You can read the Georgia Water Coalition’s press release here.

Your voice makes a difference.

Thanks,

   –gretchen