One of our long-time advertisers, Pet Nation, is celebrating its 10th anniversary on Saturday! Bring your dog to the store on Saturday at 3 p.m. for a costume contest with prizes! Pet Nation’s ad in this week’s issue gives more information. We know part of their success is advertising in Navarre Press, and we also know that Holly and Abdul put a lot of time, energy, effort and love into the store and the Navarre community. They have obviously discovered the key to staying in business – and keeping so many loyal customers.
Check out our local happenings page for some great Halloween/Fall activities taking place in and around Navarre. Samplings include the YMCA Trunk or Treat this Sunday from 4-6 p.m. The Navarre United Methodist Church ad has a schedule of activities taking place on Halloween, which happens to be the date of next week’s issue of Navarre Press. The Gulf Breeze Zoo has their second weekend of Boo at the Zoo this coming weekend. At the Zoo, you will find an extensive collection of animals, including their newest edition, Cooper, the Hippopotamus. Apparently it was a blast last weekend because I heard several people say they were going back again. You can buy tickets for this weekend ahead of time so you don’t have to wait in line. The lines were very long last weekend, and I’m sure they will be longer this weekend.
The Holley Navarre Senior Center Pancake Breakfast is this Saturday, October 12 from 7 – 10:30 a.m. at their building across from the Navarre Library. Eat up – because you can run or walk it off Sunday.
As of press time there was a weather system, Invest 97L, that is predicted to develop into Tropical Storm Karen by the end of the week. So… be sure you have your supplies ready and your indoor chores lined up. Suggested indoor chores: switch your summer clothes with your fall/winter clothes and get a bag ready for your local church or distribution center for anything you haven’t worn in two years. Do the same with your shoes, reorganize and clean the garage, go through your paperwork and file what needs to be filed, purge the rest, go through closets and put aside old winter coats for a future winter coat drive, start getting your taxes in order for 2013 because it will be January 1 before you know it, go through the books on your book shelves and take down the ones you want to donate to Friends of Navarre Library, organize your cookbooks in your cabinet, pick out your favorite recipes to rewrite neatly on fancy recipe cards, scan and send to family members at Christmas time. This could also be a handy idea list for those of you on furlough. Just cut it out and put it on your refrigerator for your furloughed spouse. That is what I’m going to do.
Navarre Beach Sand Sculpting Festival is this weekend, September 27-29 and it’s the 4th annual competition and Soft Pack National Championship on Navarre Beach. Amateur teams and individuals (limited to the first 20 applicants) will compete for prizes. Ten of the world’s top soft sand sculptors are coming to compete so there is sure to be some sand sculpting that will impress you.
Enjoy the Taste of Pensacola Beach featuring Andrew Zimmern this Saturday and Sunday. It’s a free family event showcasing signature dishes from local chefs, kid’s activities, live music on Sunday, and even a Mermaid Parade! See their ad in this issue and visit TasteofPensacolaBeach.com for the full schedule of events.
Get ready for Navarre’s only 10K! The 2013 American Cancer Society Man Up 5K/10K is at 4:30 p.m. on September 14 on Navarre Beach. Runners are encouraged to dress in the lightest blue and/or wear the funniest beard! There is an after party at Juana’s. You can register now at active.com. See their ad in this week’s issue for more details.
Monday is Labor Day, which means that summer is coming to an end. We have had relatively cool mornings with low humidity this week and the days without rain seem brutally bright and hot. I haven’t looked at my July 2012 power bill as compared to July 2013, but I’m sure it is a lot lower due to the rain and cloudy days. So, there is something good to say about all of the rain we had this summer. However, the rain brought to light the fact that many neighborhoods in Navarre are lacking in stormwater protection. The handling of stormwater is not a new topic. In fact, the ancient Greeks collected storm water. However, if you bring it up around here, the concept of taking care of stormwater and the fact that it should be part of basic infrastructure is “Greek” to some. The City of Tampa actually has a “Stormwater Division.” They have 600 miles of stormwater pipe, more than 250 miles of ditches and culverts, and more than 100 treatment ponds. And get this…the staff annually cleans 21,000 miles of curbed roadway with a fleet of street sweepers to reduce flooding by preventing sediment and debris from entering the drainage system. And, I bet they have a vacuum truck that sucks up standing water so that it doesn’t “muck-up” the culverts and swales that do exist. I know Tampa is a lot bigger than Santa Rosa County, but the basics are the basics. Panama City is close by and they own a vacuum truck. We need a vacuum truck for times like these. There is still standing water and we haven’t had an extended hard rain in more than a week. The reason there is still standing water is because of the muck that will never perk water again, and because a lot of the holding ponds are full to the brim. Have you seen the ponds to the side of High School Road? It almost looks like the water is standing higher than the road. We need to be praying that we don’t get any more tropical moisture this season — and heaven forbid the “H” word.
