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Camellia Festival at Eden Gardens Feb. 20

Camellias in bloom at Eden Location: Eden Gardens State Park Sat. Feb. 20, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The Department of Environmental Protection’s Eden Gardens State Park and the Friends of Eden Gardens would like to invite everyone to their annual Camellia Fest on Saturday, Feb. 20 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Families are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch. Festivities will include talks on Camellia identification, air layering (propagation), general maintenance and pest control of Camellias and floral...

Alaqua Animal Refuge pet of the week

Looking for a friend to play ball with? Logan is a 1-year, 4-month old neutered male Australian Shepherd/ Catahoula mix. He is smart and loves to play with other dogs. His favorite thing to do is play ball. He has beautiful multi-color markings of tan, brown, black with some white. Alaqua Animal Refuge is a no-kill animal refuge, located on a 10 acre farm housing more than 300 animals daily, ranging from dog, cats, horses, goats and birds. Alaqua Animal...

Public forum on proposal to allow drilling off Florida coast Feb. 4

Forum to be held at South Walton High School auditorium The E. O. Wilson Biophilia Center will be sponsoring a public forum on the proposal to allow oil and gas drilling in Florida state waters.  The forum will be held on Thursday, February 4, 2010 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the South Walton High School Auditorium, located at 645 Greenway Trail off Highway 331 South, Santa Rosa Beach. Presenters at the forum will be David Mica, Executive Director of...

Cages and Coops builds animal enclosures with comfort in mind

Happy chickens lay better eggs at Walton area farm David and Kerri Thompson of Ponce deLeon believe happy chickens make for better tasting eggs. With that in mind, the couple has embarked on a business named Coops and Cages, that manufactures comfortable living quarters for chickens, rabbits and small animals. Leaving the fast-paced world behind a few years ago, David and Kerrie moved to Ponce deLeon to start a small farm and become more self sustainable. Both raised in rural...

Alaqua Animal Refuge Pet of the Week

Scooter a special pup with a miraculous story This irresistible face belongs to Scooter, a very special resident of Alaqua Animal Refuge.  A terrier mix with a soft tan coat, Scooter is about five years old, and has a story that borders on the miraculous.  When he first arrived at the shelter, he had been mercilessly abused.  Besides suffering from bruised ribs where he had been repeatedly kicked, another brutal injury caused him the loss of his right eye. After...

Walton County animal shelter opens in DeFuniak Springs

Grand opening to be held Jan. 26 DEFUNIAK SPRINGS – The Walton County Board of County Commissioners is proud to announce that the Walton County Animal Shelter was opened for use on January 4.  The state of the art facility is located at 365 Triple G Road in DeFuniak Springs. According to Commissioner Kenneth Pridgen in whose district the shelter is located, “This has been a long process and we are glad to have it finished.”  Construction of the building...

Help reduce power costs by joining CHELCO’s No Peaking Program

Curb your power usage, save costs In late December, CHELCO started the first automated phone messages to residential members concerning a potential cold weather energy usage peak. Members were asked to conserve energy during the hours of 5:30 a.m. through 8:30 a.m. to help CHELCO manage the cost of wholesale power and avoid potential rate increases from our power supplier, PowerSouth. Participation in the program lets members help themselves, their neighbors and CHELCO by lowering the peak demand (which is...

Banded Rufous hummingbird winters in same yard six years in a row

Local bird lover excited about a returning winter guest Local hummingbird enthusiast and butterfly expert, Mary Ann Friedman of Niceville is excited about a winter guest she has coming to her yard year after year. A Rufous Hummingbird, nicknamed “Ruferocious” has been returning to Mary Ann’s yard each winter for six years. “We call her Ruferocious because she is pretty possessive and usually kicks any other would be winter hummingbirds out in a very short time. Before she started “living”...