On Memorial Day in Hernando County a 22 month old girl was found floating in the deeper end of the family pool, fortunately quick action saved this young girls life. With summer approaching, keeping children safe from these types of incidents is imperative!

A few safety tips to take into consideration:

• You should NEVER leave a child alone or near a pool, not even for a brief moment.
• It is Florida law that every swimming pool built after January 1, 2001 must be equipped with some form of safety device to prevent children from accessing the pool.  If your home was built before 2001, there are many different safety devices that you can install or implement that can help prevent children from drowning in your pool. One option is installing a fence that is at least 4 feet high around all four sides that separates the pool from the home. Other options include installing a power-operated safety pool cover or an exit-alarm on all doors and windows that provide direct access from the home to the pool.
• Remove all toys from the pool when the swimming day is done, therefore children aren’t tempted to reach for them.

By following these few quick tips, pool owners can have a safe and happy summer!

With hurricane season around the corner (June 1st – November 30), we celebrate this week with Hurricane Preparedness Week.

It is of the utmost importance to be prepared and informed during Hurricane Season.  The reality is that your life could very well depend on it!  Developing a family plan and keeping a disaster supply kit handy can help keep you and your family safe during a time of crisis.

Having a family plan would entail knowing what to do in case a hurricane is heading in your direction.  Know what type of vulnerability your home has to hazards such as storm surge, wind damage and flooding. Know which room in the home is the safest and inform every family member.  Have a family contact that resides outside of the state, therefore family members know who to contact if the family becomes separated.

Pets can be issue during a time of disaster, have a plan to keep your pets safe, they’re your family members too!  If you need to evacuate your home, have a safe place to take your pets ahead of time.

Keep a disaster supply kit handy and make each family member award of where is is located.  Your supply kit should contain enough items to last at least a week.  I have found that large plastic totes work well to keep your supplies in.  Your supply kit should contain items such as batteries, water (at least a gallon per person for each day), non perishable food, flashlights, first aid kit, tools, pet care supplies, radio, blankets and pillows.

Some items you can’t keep stored as you may use them on a daily basis.  Items such as credit cards, important documents, prescription drugs and cell phones should be placed in your kit the day the storm is heading your way, therefore they stay safe and dry in case of a disaster.  Be sure that your vehicle has a full tank of gas, quite often if you wait until the last minute, the lines are lengthy and sometimes the station even runs out of fuel.  If you have a generator be certain that it is full on fuel, as well.

By following a few simple guidelines, keeping a clear head and using common sense in the case of disaster, you are more likely to keep you and your family safe.

With the way that the National economy is going, cutting costs and pinching pennies for the holiday season seems to be a ‘must’ for most families these days. This Thanksgiving consider following some of these cost saving tips. Remember, cutting every little corner adds up…

1. Have the children make all the table decorations for the holidays as opposed to buying them. Hand traced turkeys, pine cones on the table and a decorative vase of ‘hand-picked’ flowers is not only less expensive but ‘cute’ to boot!

2. Coupons! Coupons! Coupons! I can’t stress enough how important coupons can be in saving money at the grocery store. If you already receive the newspaper, Sunday’s news always has coupons in the flyers. If the web is more your style, CoolSavings offers free coupons as well as many other websites.

3. Calculate what the cost will be at the grocery store for each guest that you will be having for dinner. A Thanksgiving Calculator may be of some help to you.

4. Make your shopping list and stick by it! Don’t go to the store hungry, that’s always a big no no!

5. Double check your cabinets before you hit the store you may be surprised at the things that are stashed away that you can use this year.

“To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”
President Wilson November 11, 1919

On June 28, 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was signed outside of the town of Versailles, France, officially ending WWI. Although, the fighting had stopped months before, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, or Armistice Day, it was said to be the end of the “war to end all wars.” Armistice Day was observed from this day forward with parades, public meetings and a brief hault of the businesses starting at 11:00 a.m.

By 1938, the 11th of November was made a legal holiday, in which Armistice Day was dedicated to world peace and honoring our many veterens of World War I. However, by 1954, after WWII and Korea, the Act of 1938 or Armistice Day, became amended and the word “Armistice” was replaced with the word “Veterans”. And Veterans Day became an official holiday to honor all of the Veterans from every war, right up to the Iraq War of today.

Let me just say, Thank You…

The 44th President-elect of the United States of America has been nominated to be Barak Obama. The goal to reach 270 electoral votes was acheived at 11:00 p.m. on November 4th, 2008. The final projected count was Barak Obama 338 Electoral Votes, John McCain 163 Electoral Votes. The result of the popularity votes was Barak Obama 62,419,768 to John McCain’s 55,363,122; 52% to 47%. Don’t consider this game over yet, the Electoral College won’t vote until Dec. 15, 2008.

The Commander and Cheif of our nation is not decided entirely on the popular vote of the nation, but by the number of electoral votes. The vote that you made yesterday, whether it was in Citrus county, Florida or in Hernando county, Florida, is only what helps to decide how Florida’s Electoral College delegates will vote.

In Florida, presidential electors are nominated by the governor of the state. It is required that the presidential electors vote for the candidate that wins the state. There is no Electoral College Campus, as a matter of fact the electoral college never even meets as a group. They do, however, meet at the individual state capitals on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December to cast their ballots. On January 6th those votes are counted during a joint session of Congress.

There is such a thing as a “faithless elector”. A “faithless elector” is one who does not vote for the candidate that they pledged to vote for. Although a majority of the states have laws to punish these types of electors, some states still count these votes in the final tally.

Even though, Barak Obama is the 44th President-elect, don’t count your chickens before they hatch, this is only based on the projected count. The solid ballots will not be known until January 6th of 2009!

Although, early voting has officially ended, tomorrow is the last day to let your voice be heard. Don’t be silent, take that litte extra time that is needed to ensure that you make a difference!

Voting is a right that our ancestors have fought hard for, excercise that right! Vote! If you don’t agree with the way that things are being handled by the government, don’t complain! Vote! I’m sure that you know at least one person that is voting differently than you are, cancel out that voice! Vote! If you don’t do it, someone else will! Vote! As an added bonus, you get to wear a very fasionable “I voted” sticker….