Archive for June 2012

Debby Makes Landfall at Dixie County

June 26, 2012 Front Page Comments Off

By Lynette Norris
Greene Publishing Inc.

“At this point, we’re good,” said EMS Director Tom Cisco at the 2:30 June 26 National Weather Service Update at the EMS station in Madison.
Tropical Storm Debby was predicted to make landfall in about an hour in Dixie County, with sustained winds of 30-35 mph. As it moved inland, those winds were expected to drop to 20-30 mph., because “the structure of the storm is not that great.” As the system moved through Madison County and began pulling away, it would pull in a band of drier air behind it; already at the 2:30 meeting the color weather radar image onscreen showed the northeast half of the county in a dry band and the southeast portion in a moderate green rain band, with only the southeast corner in a band of yellow.
With Debby’s passing and moving on, weather patterns would then be somewhat drier than the usual summer weather patterns, and very hot; temperature would be in the 90s, and those persons dealing with cleanup after the storm would need to be prepared for that.
River flooding except for the Suwannee River did not to appear to be a great concern, and barricades were on their way from DOT to block off impassable and dangerous roads.
All those gathered at the station agreed that things had quieted down significantly since the noon hour, with the one big area of uncertainty being the sinkhole beside I-10. DOT was pouring cement into it and hoping it would hold, so that the entire eastbound part of the Highway would not have to be shut down.
Other than that, “we’re transitioning away from dealing with impact to dealing with the aftermath – the ongoing rainfall, the flooding and the runoff.”

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“CARES” DINNER POSTPONED DUE TO FLOOD CONDITIONS

June 26, 2012 Front Page, Outdoors Comments Off

LIVE OAK, FL, June 26, 2012 – The Suwannee River Partnership’s Annual CARES Dinner, scheduled for this Thursday evening in Live Oak, has been cancelled due to flood conditions from Tropical Storm Debby.

This is the first-ever cancellation of the annual event that honors farmers and producers for their environmental stewardship. The dinner will be rescheduled later this summer and award recipients and their guests soon will be notified of the new date.

“Our honored guests, families and friends will be busy dealing with the aftermath of Debby,” explains Hugh Thomas, SRP spokesman. “We don’t want Debby to dampen this important annual event that honors the agriculture community so we’ve decided to postpone until conditions improve.”

For more information contact Hugh Thomas at 352.317.0504.

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Sinkhole On I-10

June 26, 2012 Front Page Comments Off

A sinkhole has opened near the eastbound weigh station and one lane of traffic has been closed until further notice.

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County Commission Declares State of Emergency

June 26, 2012 Front Page Comments Off

Madison to Help Neighboring Counties With Storm Waste
By Lynette Norris
Greene Publishing, Inc.

Noting that it was an emergency, that it would be temporary, and that Madison could find itself in a similar situation someday, the four Madison County Commissioners present at the special meeting Tuesday morning, June 26, voted to approve allowing neighboring Columbia and Suwannee Counties to use the Aucilla Landfill in Madison County to dispose of excess storm waste.
The two counties in question have been hard-hit by widespread flooding and asked to begin using the Aucilla site by the following morning, hoping to be able to revert to using their own sites by the next week.
Commissioners added that the counties would have to pay a “tipping fee,” i.e., their waste “would be weighed on the scale like everybody else,” and they would be charged accordingly.
The second item on the agenda was to declare a state of emergency in Madison County, allowing the county to make emergency requisitions and request assistance from the state in the form of sandbags, barricades, and reimbursements for storm-related costs such as a few extra chainsaws to clear away fallen trees where they impede traffic.
Tom Cisco, Director of Emergency Management Services for Madison County, said that by “just guessing,” he thought that there had probably been six eight inches of rain so far Tuesday, and that it might taper off to three or four inches by Wednesday.
Lonnie Thigpen Director of the Madison County Road Department, said that he expected to be able to start grading dirt roads in the county, when they had dried out enough. People might get a little impatient having to wait until then, he said, but as Commission Wayne Vickers pointed out, “You can’t grade mud.”

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ASPCA Applauds Florida Court Decision Placing Custody of Animals Seized From Caboodle Ranch, Inc. With Madison County Sheriff

June 26, 2012 Front Page Comments Off

Hundreds of ASPCA responders providing extensive care
for animals in a temporary shelter since February

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) applauds the decision of the County Court, Third Judicial Circuit, Madison County, Fla., ordering the animals seized from Caboodle Ranch, Inc. (“Caboodle”) on February 27, 2012, as part of a criminal animal cruelty investigation, to be remanded to the custody of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. The Court stripped Caboodle, a Fla. not-for-profit corporation, of all right, title or interest in the animals seized from its facility in February and prohibited Caboodle from possessing other animals.

The ASPCA has managed the sheltering of the hundreds of animals (almost all cats) removed from the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at Caboodle in Lee, Fla., approximately 64 miles east of Tallahassee, for the past four months.

“We are pleased that the Court so strongly affirmed what we knew to be true from our work on this case—that Caboodle has not provided adequate care for the animals in the past and is not fit to do so in the future,” said Stacy Wolf, vice president of the ASPCA.

“The Court’s decision has the best interest of the animals at heart,” said Tim Rickey, senior director of the ASPCA’s Field Investigations and Response team. “As the Court noted, cats at Caboodle lived in filth; many were sick and in pain; hundreds of ASPCA responders have made an extraordinary effort to care for these cats over the past four months in order to bring them back to a basic level of health. Our hope is that we will soon be able to help them find the homes, special adoption arrangements or colonies they so richly deserve.”

Among some of the Court’s findings:

The evidence demonstrated “clearly and convincingly, that the Caboodle animals were not receiving proper and reasonable care while in the custody of Caboodle.” (Order ¶ 8)

“Caboodle’s own veterinarian testified that the number of animals on the Caboodle property on the date of the seizure significantly exceeded the limits he had recommended. . .” (Order ¶ 10f)

Caboodle “depended upon a continuing influx of new animals for its financial survival. It is more likely than not that Caboodle would continue to fail to abide by the recommendations of its own veterinarian regarding population limitations if the animals were returned.” (Order ¶ 10g)

“Sick animals were not adequately isolated. . .” (Order ¶ 10j)

“. . . Caboodle is clearly and substantially lacking in the resources, ability, skill and (most importantly) willingness to follow expert veterinary advice essential to an operation dedicated to the care of such a large and apparently ever-growing number of animals it seemed intent on sheltering.” (Order ¶ 11)
The following criminal charges are pending against the founder of Caboodle: one count of felony animal cruelty; three counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty; and one count of scheming to defraud (felony).

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