Tag Archives: south Georgia

Winners, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2022 2022-08-20

Update 2022-08-26: Wesley Vallotton accepted Songwriting Contest raffle kayak for Mala Vallotton 2022-08-24.

Hahira, Georgia, August 22, 2022 — Everyone had a good time, it was a successful fundraiser for WWALS, and here are the winners of the Fifth Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

[Winners: Emmett Carlisle, Best Song from Outside; Tracy Horenbein, Best Americana; David Rodock, First Prize and Best Song from Inside; Kyle Chamberlain, Best Folk, Kevin Stephenson, Best Country]
Winners: Emmett Carlisle, Best Song from Outside; Tracy Horenbein, Best Americana; David Rodock, First Prize and Best Song from Inside; Kyle Chamberlain, Best Folk, Kevin Stephenson, Best Country

The winners were chosen by judges J.J. Rolle, Kenji Bolden, and Joe Smothers. Continue reading →

Videos: Suwannee Riverkeeper about Songwriting Contest on Scott James Radio 2022-08-18

Thanks to Scott James for half an hour of radio time Thursday, mostly about the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. The Contest is 7-11 PM today, Saturday, August 20, 2022, at the Turner Center Art Park, 605 N. Patterson St., Valdosta GA 31601.

For entry tickets and how you can get a raffle ticket for that Vibe Yellowfin 120 kayak donated by Georgia Beer Co., see:
https://wwals.net/pictures/2022-08-20–songwriting/

[Mayor, Plaques, Sponsors]
Mayor, Plaques, Sponsors

Who’s going to draw the winning kayak raffle ticket? The one and only hippie, kayaking, radio Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson.

Which of the five Finalists will MC Chuck Roberts announce as winners Continue reading →

Good Withlacoochee River water quality 2022-08-18

Update 2022-08-26: Good river water quality 2022-08-25.

All clear for fishing, swimming, and boating on the Little, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha Rivers this weekend, according to the latest water quality results we have.

[Chart, Rivers, Plates]
Chart, Rivers, Plates

There hasn’t been enough rain to wash any significant contamination into the creeks and rivers, no, not even Okapilco Creek.

The only sewage spill in the past week we know of is the Valdosta one last Sunday near Sugar Creek on Meadowbrook Drive at Gornto Road. That one, like the other four Valdosta spills this summer, was probably too small and fixed too quickly to have any detectable effect on the Withlacoochee River. We still don’t know Continue reading →

Forever chemicals in rainwater everywhere 2022-08-02

U.S. EPA may get around to mandatory limits for drinking water later this year.

[Worldwide, graph]
Worldwide, graph

Georgia and Florida have no mandatory limits for these per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Georgia EPD is monitoring drinking water (mostly clean) and some surface water (in north Georgia, with some bad results). FDEP “ continues its efforts to investigate and understand PFAS in the environment and the ecological and human health risks associated with PFAS contamination.”

My backup drinking water is rainwater collection. Probably the charcoal filters I use remove PFOAS, although Continue reading →

Judges, Headliner change, raffle kayak, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2022-08-20

Hahira, Georgia, August 18, 2022 — We’re announcing our singing judges, and raffle tickets still available for the kayak Georgia Beer Co. donated. But we also have to say the pandemic is not over. A key member of one of our headliners went to Atlanta to hear a famous band and came back with COVID-19.

So our new second headliner is Dirty Bird and the Flu, from Valdosta, Georgia. “Funky-blues-soul-fusion born straight out of the South Georgia swamps and a charismatic front-man who catches comparisons of all the famous soul singers. No two shows are ever the same!”

[Flyer]
PDF

Our first headliner is Sweet William Billy Ennis from Palatka, Florida, our First Prize winner last year. “His fifty years of original songs cover Continue reading →

Suwannee Riverkeeper on Scott James Radio 8:30 AM Thursday 2022-08-18

Update 2022-08-20: Videos: Suwannee Riverkeeper about Songwriting Contest on Scott James Radio 2022-08-18.

Thursday (tomorrow) at 8:30 AM, Suwannee Riverkeeper will be on Scott James Talk 92.1 FM radio, about the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, coming up this Saturday evening, 7-11 PM at the Turner Center Art Park in Valdosta, Georgia.
https://wwals.net/pictures/2022-08-20–songwriting/

No doubt we’ll also talk about the trash situation and how you can help stop a strip mine far too near the Okefenokee Swamp.

We may also talk about water quality testing, and who knows what else.

[Movie: Sen. Ossoff got U.S. Army Corps to resume oversight of mine site next to Okefenokee Swamp]

When: 8:30 AM, Thursday, August 18, 2022

Where: Talk 92.1 FM radio, Scott James drivetime show
http://talk921.com/

Listen: Over the air, or through the radio show’s own website, or through any of several online listening services.

Event: facebook

For more WWALS outings and events as they are posted, see Continue reading →

Refurbished Pepsi Adopt-A-Spot sign, Barack Obama Blvd., Valdosta, GA 2022-08-17

Update 2022-08-28: Valdosta Block Club added to Pepsi sign at Barack Obama and Ricardo 2022-08-28.

Valdosta has replaced the Adopt-A-Spot sign at the corner of Barack Obama Blvd. and Ricardo Street. The sign looks much better now.

[Old and new sign]
Old and new sign

But it no longer mentions Valdosta Block Club. That’s the organization former City Council James Wright started to help with Adopt-A-Spot, which he also spearheaded. Valdosta Block Club was featured in his obituary. I guess that’s not important anymore. Continue reading →

Suwannee Riverkeeper Suwannee Bass t-shirts 2022-08-17

These ten t-shirts will be for sale at the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, 7-11 PM, this Saturday, August 20, 2022, at Turner Center Center Art Park in Valdosta, Georgia.

[Four colors rotated]
Four colors rotated

This bunch of ten all have artist Hank Hershey’s image of a Suwannee Bass (Micropterus notius) on the front. Continue reading →

Valdosta sewer spill, Meadowbrook Drive at Gornto Road 2022-08-14

Valdosta had a sewage spill on Meadowbrook Drive at Gornto Road this weekend, which this morning they said they fixed that same weekend. We don’t know how many gallons, but we’re guessing not many. Maybe we’ll know more about that once Valdosta reports to GA-EPD. If it was small, it probably did not get into Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River, although we hope Valdosta is testing to find out.

Congratulations to Valdosta for fixing this problem quickly. Room for improvement on internal handoffs on Valdosta’s Click ‘n’ Fix smartphone app, and on completeness of reporting. Also, we would like to know the cause, considering there was no rain.

[Map, Manhole]
Map, Manhole

That’s the fourth small Valdosta sewage spill and one major one since June. So far as we can tell by later testing, none of them had any noticeable effect on the Withlacoochee River.

Plus there was a spill from Quitman, Georgia, that very likely did affect Okapilco Creek and the Withlacoochee River, although more than a week later nobody yet knows how many gallons. And there was a spill from High Springs, Florida, which probably did not affect the Santa Fe River.

WWALS member Suzy Hall noticed yesterday (Sunday) afternoon Continue reading →

Bad Water Quality Creeks and Withlacoochee River 2022-08-11

Update 2022-08-26: Quitman’s 2022-08-08 sewage spill did strongly affect the Withlacoochee River.

Update 2022-08-19: Good Withlacoochee River water quality 2022-08-18.

Update 2022-08-16: Good water quality, Ichetucknee and Santa Fe Rivers 2022-08-12.

Update 2022-08-15: Valdosta sewer spill, Meadowbrook Drive at Gornto Road 2022-08-14.

WWALS sampled 19 locations yesterday, and found bad water quality upstream on the Withlacoochee River, with worse on Beaverdam Creek, Cat Creek, and Beatty Branch. Valdosta had another small sewage spill Wednesday a week ago, but that probably did not get into the river, and is gone by now.

Quality was surprisingly good downstream of Okapilco Creek, which usually has cattle manure runoff coming out of Brooks County, Georgia, but apparently did not yesterday. Even Quitman’s Monday sewage spill of unknown quantity apparently had little effect or was washed away by yesterday.

[Chart + Little River, Creeks, Withlacoochee River, Alapaha River, Swim Guide]
Chart + Little River, Creeks, Withlacoochee River, Alapaha River, Swim Guide

Still, I would worry about that upstream contamination washing downstream. Instead of the Withlacoochee River, maybe you’d like to come along on the Suwannee River tomorrow. Continue reading →