Thursday, March 5, 2009

LAKEWOOD PARK — “Hundreds and hundreds” of dead fish in Lake Ruce in this northern St. Lucie County neighborhood could be the result of a drier-than-normal dry season.

Patti Espiritu began noticing sick fish in the shallow water at the southern end of the lake behind her house on Arthurs Road. On Sunday, she started seeing dead fish, large-mouth bass at first, then almost exclusively tilapia.

“In the last couple of days, there have been hundreds and hundreds of them,” she said.

Tim Conwell and Anthony Sanchez of the Lakewood Park maintenance crew began picking up the dead and dying fish Thursday afternoon.

“There must be close to 1,000 of them,” Conwell said, “and more keep dying. We’ll probably be here all day today and tomorrow.”

An 18-year Lakewood Park resident, Conwell said fish aren’t dying at other lakes in the community, “but this has happened before at other lakes.” (more…)

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Like we need something right now to take another “bite” out of our wallets: Termites reportedly are swarming earlier this year than usual.
Jim Pond, manager of the Terminix pest control company in Port St. Lucie, said he started getting reports of termite swarms “a couple of weeks ago, and they’ve been coming in pretty consistently since then from as far north as Vero Beach down to Stuart.”
Anita Neal, director of the St. Lucie County Extension Service office in Fort Pierce, said no termites have been brought into her office so far this year, but that’s no reason to think Pond is just trying to drum up business.
“It’s a little early and the conditions aren’t quite right,” Neal said, “but it’s possible people are seeing swarms. Termites tend to swarm, or go into their reproductive stage, in the spring when the weather gets warmer and more humid. April and May are the peak months, but it can be as early as January.”
(more…)

The Baehrs — Derek, Kellyanne and their two young daughters are five months behind on their mortgage payments. They sometimes eat at a soup kitchen and shop at a food pantry. They expect to lose their three-bedroom suburban house before the end of the school year.
“This is just awful, and I know that we are not the only ones going through this,’’ says Kellyanne, 37, an accounting clerk. Derek, 40, is disabled. “We used to try to go day by day. Now we are just trying to get to the end of each day.’’

(more…)

Cold weather shelters in Martin and St. Lucie counties received 19 people who sought refuge on Tuesday night.

Eight people – including two women and six men – showed up at the Fort Pierce Community Center, where volunteers lined up cots in the activity room.

In Martin County, ten folks showed up at the local chapter of the American Red Cross. There was only one woman in that group, executive directory Mary Sawyer said. (more…)

Some residents of St. Lucie County have a chance to protect their homes against hurricane damage. For free.

The county and I.N.T.A.C.T., a local long-term recovery organization, are seeking low-income residents to apply for inspections and grants offered through the My Safe Florida Home Program.

Low-income residents who own their own home and have a homestead exemption could be eligible.

Improvements covered may include hurricane shutters, exterior and garage doors and gable end-bracing.
For more information about income limits, or to apply, call (772)462-1777.

eve_samples@pbpost.com

Treasure Coast drivers should be prepared for a foggy commute, particularly inland.

The National Weather Service has issued a dense fog advisory, warning that visibility in spots could dwindle to less than a quarter mile. The advisory should lift with the fog at about 9 a.m.

The rest of the day is expected to be sunny with a few clouds and high temperatures in the upper 70s from the Treasure Coast to Palm Beach County.

The forecast doesn’t change much until a strong cold front moves across South Florida on Friday.

The state Department of Education approved today a request by the Martin County School District to waive the second make-up day due to Tropical Storm Fay. The make-up day had been scheduled for Dec. 22.

If school board members approve the change, Martin County schools will be closed Dec. 22 to Jan. 2, as originally scheduled. The school board will consider the issue at a special meeting at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the school board meeting room.

The district held its first make-up day from Tropical Storm Fay on Nov. 26.

Even in Florida it gets cold.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, nearly half of all home-heating fires occur during the winter months. On average, NFPA research show that heating equipment is involved in roughly 70,000 reported U.S. home structure fires, with associated loss of more than 600 civilian deaths, almost 1,600 civilian injuries and more than $1 billion in direct property damage.

Heating equipment is a leading cause of home fire deaths. Almost half of home heating equipment fires are reported during the months of December, January, and February. Some simple steps can prevent most heating-related fires from happening. (more…)

Expect a cold and windy day in  the Treasure Coast. And it will stick around a day or two.

The National Weather Service forecasts today to be the coldest day of the week. There’s a wind chill advisory in the Treasure Coast in effect until 9 a.m.

That means wind speeds are at least 10 mph and the wind chills the air to below 35 degrees. The coldest air will be to the north and inland. And when the sun comes up, temperatures in our area  are not expected to break the 70-degree mark.

The service is also warning that it’s not a good time go boating.

Another cold front is promised Friday night, which will keep the weather cool and dry through Saturday. Sunday we might get some rain.