Do you know who your neighbors are?

Photo courtesy of capjournal.com

Crime in any town is nothing new, but once upon a time we used to know our neighbors. There were neighborhood picnics and get togethers. Kids played outside all day long until porch lights came on and moms could be heard calling their childs name to come home for dinner.  Parents didn’t worry about the potential monsters that we worry about today. 

Did they exists back then? Probably. Were there as many? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe once upon a time we didn’t worry so much because there were more stay at home parents that could keep an eye on each others children as they played and rode bikes in the neighborhood streets, but in this day and age its a necessity that both parents work just to make ends meet and maybe that’s why we aren’t as close to our neighbors as our parents and grandparents were to their neighbors.

Times - they are a changing, but thankfully so are our resources. We may not be able to get to know our neighbors the way we would like, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t know who our neighbors are. While watching the news last week with the recent events of the U.S. Marshall that was shot in the face and legs while trying to serve warrants to a suspect, a woman being interviewed on the news mentioned that she never even knew someone with such a violent past lived right down the street, all the while her children were out playing. 

This got me thinking, why are people not educating themselves on who lives near them? The resources are right at our finger tips! I see it each night, the kids are put to bed and the parents are on Facebook or the next morning they’re on Facebook talking about the t.v. show they watched the night before. Safeguarding their family would take only a couple minutes of their time. Actually, the Florida Sexual Offender and Predator (FDLE) website will allow you to set up alerts that will go right to your email when an offender gets released from prison or when one moves within a certain mileage of your home. 

For those of us living in the Cheyenne Estates neighborhood, you’ll be interested to know that we have had one move back in. Residing at 5338 Medicine Bow Street, is Rodriquez L Porter. He drives a red pick up truck. Convicted of sexual battery upon a person 12 years of age or older, without that person's consent. You can view all the details of his flier by clicking here. 

**Update on this...we're told the man no longer lives at this address and when you check the FDLE website, he is no longer there. This means he no longer has to register, but that doesn't mean we should let our guard down, once a predator, always a predator.

***Another update is we have a new offender living at 5309 Casper Circle. His name is Trent Martin. He's guilty of Lewd or lascivious conduct victim under 16 years old by offender 18 years or older. Here is the link to view his picture.
 By setting up alerts to go right into your email, you’ll know who the person is and where they live.

The next resource is the Florida Department of Corrections if you know a persons name, you can enter it in or even search by zip code, but remember - a convicted murderer that served his or her time is not required by law to register with a parole officer or with the community once they are released. So, unless you feel like running all your neighbors names through this data base you may not truly know the background of your neighbors unless you pay to run a background check.  

The point to this blog is that we really need to try to get to know our neighbors face to face and since that is so hard with work its great that we have resources like this blog and Facebook to help us connect. 
Its also vital that we keep watch over our children while they are outside playing and walking to and from the bus stop, because even if we knew the background of every single person in our neighborhood, that doesn't mean that a monster from out of town won’t drive through...Take the Jaycee Dugard kidnapping for example. She was kidnapped on her WAY TO the bus stop. Early morning. "Dugard thought the man in the car would ask for directions, but when he rolled down the window, Phillip Garrido shocked Dugard unconscious with a stun gun and abducted her" - all while her step dad watched from within sight of their home. Click here for more on this awful story.

Keep your children safe. Sit outside while they play, you may even get to know your neighbors better.

Summer Nostalgia

As summer approaches and day light hours get longer the nostalgia of crickets chirping and neighbors gathering for cookouts returns. Our hope this summer is to capture that feeling and give our children that same experience. The kids have been running through sprinklers all day, enjoying ice cold popsicles, and their little faces and shoulders are starting to turn a slight shade of pink from the hot sun. But, summer seems to have a magical essence in the evening. Just as the sun is setting and everyone is finishing up their grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, there’s a peace that comes over the evening. The stars come out; the kids bring out the glow sticks, still not wanting to settle down. And so we let them enjoy this time. This time, when they don’t have to obey the strict bedtime rules and they are allowed to stay up a little later because it is summer.  The adults are sitting in lounge chairs chatting about politics, religion, recipes, children, and anything else that happens to come up. But, even with the kids still running around and all the chatter among the adults, not one person misses how great it feels to have a place to call home, people to call friends, and that magical happy feeling the summer night has brought to all of them.  THAT is what we want to bring back this summer to Cheyenne Estates. Our hope to have more cookouts with more people.  Get to know more of our neighbors.  We’d love to have a huge block party with ALL the neighbors. But we’ll need everyone’s help to spread the word. Let’s get more people involved on-line with the Facebook page that may be easier for some to join in conversation and post ideas. We have so many different things we can do as a neighborhood and it’s time we join together and get to know each other on a more personal level.  If you have any thoughts, ideas, or questions there is a form on the Facebook page you can fill out to contact us or you can leave a comment on this blog.  We can’t wait to see how this turns out and we sure hope everyone will want to join us in this venture.

Have a happy Monday!

-Jenn V.

A weekend full of fall festivities!

The weather has been absolutely wonderful this past week and I know so many of us are just itching to get outside and enjoy the beginning of Florida fall! If you’re not sure what to do this weekend, you’re actually in luck, because there’s so much going on - you may just not be able to make up your mind on what sounds like the most fun. You may just have to go to all of them!

The Haystackular Haymaze  across from S.S. Dixon Primary School in Pace is open and hours are 4 to 9 p.m. on Friday, noon to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and noon until 6 p.m. on Sundays. This fun event runs from September 30th until October 22nd.  If you haven’t been, here’s what you can expect...to start with a 4,000-bale haymaze to get disoriented in (the largest hay bale maze ever constructed in northwest Florida), hayrides, bouncers for the kids, a playground, a corn trough to play in and even a zip line! 

Next, we have the fabulous Main Street Milton First Friday! This event takes place every first Friday of the month through November 4th  - hours are 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. If you haven’t been, you really should go. They have a car of the month club, arts and crafts, and I’ve even spotted our roller derby team there... I’ve also noticed a nice collection of classic cars seem to hang out at First Friday, maybe they come for the live music or dinner specials offered by the local restaurants, or maybe they just like being downtown and visiting with everyone  - whatever their reason, they sure do have some nice cars and I sure hope First Fridays are here to stay for a long time!

The next event is another local favorite - so much a favorite that's its been happening for 30 years now! Yep -I ’m talking about the St. Rose of Lima 30th annual International Fall Festival! Starting Friday, October 7th from 5 to 10 p.m., Saturday 10a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday noon until 5 you can enjoy foods from the cultures of Filipino, America, Hispanic, Cajun, Italian, and Polish. There’s art tables, craft booths, plant booths, bakery booths and even a petting zoo. Keep me away from the petting zoo. I almost left there last year with a goat and a pot belly pig named Bacon.

Not really into the Fall Festival scene, how about taking a trip over to the Milton Library and visiting the Friends of Milton Library Sale. They have great prices on used books and it’ll be a little more quiet that the festivities going on around town. Hours are Monday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Closed on Sunday.

You could also visit the Santa Rosa County Historical Museum, open 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturdays in October. Here you will learn about the culture and history of Santa Rosa. The museum is located in historic downtown Milton.

The last place on my list is the Sweet Season Farms Corn Maze. This was so much fun for us last year! We literally stayed for half the day. The farm is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. It opened October 1 and will run through November 6th. I follow them on Facebook and due to limited rainfall this summer, the corn is not as tall as it has been in past years, but that won’t stop us from visiting! There is so much to do here. Admission is $5 for ages 4 and up, but along with a gigantic corn maze, that by the way is drawn out into a theme each year, they have a play ground, hayrides, a cow train little ones can ride on, a corn cannon  - yeah, you actually load corn into a PVC pipe and fire the corn, and a picnic area. Not to mention the farm is just beautiful. And with the beautiful weather we’re expected to have this weekend, this will be a great place to spend the day!

There you have it, plenty of options to choose from! Enjoy the wonderful weather and our great town and which ever event you choose to go to - even if its all of them!

-Jenn V.

Summer Time Refreshments!

Ahhhh, good ole summer time! August brings in the dog days of summer where the heat in Florida is just about too hot to tolerate. So hot that when you step outside your lungs feel like they have caught on fire. Thankfully, kids like Kendall remember what else summer is great for - Lemon-aid stands! This longtime tradition has stood the test of time and comes back every summer all over America, giving us adults cool beverages to sip on and teaches our kids the importance of entrepreneurship.

Ok, well at the very least it gives the kids something to do for an afternoon and a chance to earn some money for something they'd like to have. (and it gets them away from t.v and video games) In case you missed it, this past weekend, little Kendall set up shop on her parents front lawn  to raise money for a much desired scooter! I'm not sure how much she ended up earning, I believe the rain clouds got the best of her business after about an hour, but she did have plenty of customers.

 Many neighbors stopped on their way home from Sunday afternoon shopping and some stopped for a cool drink while walking the dogs. I don't know about you, but I'm hoping to see this lemon-aid stand a couple more times before school starts!
-Jenn V

Avoiding Heat Stroke

Think you’re immune to heat stroke? Think again. Many people think their immune to it. They work outside in the heat everyday, they’re used to it. They think “it could never happen to them.” As you’re outside working it’s important to stay hydrated. Yeah, you hear that all the time don’t you? But have you actually stopped and thought about it? According to the Water Information Program, the human body is more than 60% water. So, when you’re outside working and sweating, you’re loosing a good amount of that water. It needs to be replaced. Profuse sweating, fatigue, thirst and muscle cramps, usually in the stomach, arms or legs are some of the first signs to heat stroke, this first phase is categorized as heat cramps. When this happens you need to get inside to a cool place and replace the fluid you have lost with Gatorade or water.

If you choose to ignore these warning signs, the next phase will be heat exhaustion. The symptoms include: iheadache, dizziness or lightheadedness, nausea, skin that feels cool and moist, and muscle cramps. The symptoms are treated the same way, although it may take longer for you to feel better and if they don’t go away, seek medical attention!

According to the Mayo Clinic The cause of your heatstroke depends on the activities you do that bring on your condition. Heatstroke can occur in these ways:

• Environmental conditions. In a type of heatstroke called nonexertional heatstroke, your condition is caused by extreme environment temperatures that cause your body temperature to increase. You may be doing some light or moderate activity, but activity is not the primary cause of your heatstroke. This type of heatstroke is typical in warmer, more humid weather.
• Strenuous activity. In a type of heatstroke called exertional heatstroke, your condition is caused by strenuous activity that increases your body temperature. You can have exertional heatstroke even if you're accustomed to working or exercising in very hot temperatures, though heatstroke is more likely to occur if you're not accustomed to high temperatures.

In either exertional or nonexertional heatstroke, your condition can be brought on by:

• Wearing excess clothing that doesn't allow your sweat to evaporate easily
• Drinking alcohol, which can affect your body's ability to regulate your temperature.

Please remember to wear loose fitting clothing and STAY HYDRATED!


-Jenn V

My Slithering Friend

I must give kudos to Brianna Abney - my blog and Facebook admin partner. The other day after dinner, the kids and I were outside. I was watering the flowers and the kids were eating Popsicles. When I was done watering I decided to have a seat in my camping chair and relax for a few minutes. And then a bug crawled on me. Not a small bug. A medium sized bug. It was black with red, I’m not real sure on the specifics and they don’t really matter anymore, its just one of the stepping stone leading up to the event of the evening. Since I am not a fan of any bug, I decided I would not be sitting in the chair relaxing. I mean after all - I have no idea where this bug went to after I freaked out and flicked it off of me. So, I folded up the chair, picked it up, and turned to bring it back into the garage.

That's when I saw it.

Squirming around like it was confused on where to go. I froze. Was it poisonous, was the mama around? I wanted to grab the kids and run inside, but I knew if I did this creature, this SNAKE would get further into the garage and grow into an adult snake and then what would I do? This snake was still small enough that I wasn’t screaming, but it still had enough punch to render me frozen not knowing what to do. Mostly because I didn’t want to get bit by a poisonous snake while I was home alone with the kids. So, I did what any freaked out woman would do.
I called a neighbor. 

I had originally thought Brianna’s step son would be the one to come down and haul this thing off, but to my surprise Brianna came charging down the street like a She-ra Princess Warrior to my rescue. Her step son Cameron was with  her, and they quickly determined that my new friend was a white oak. Common to north Florida and wooded areas. I have also learned that they like to hide in tree’s and attack their prey by surprise. UGH. Just the thought of a snake in a tree and possibly dropping on me, freaks me out while I am sitting here typing. Anyway...back to this slithering reptile. Apparently they are not poisonous, which is good to know and they’re good at keeping rodents away. That's good to know too, but I’d like to propose to all the snakes out there- that if they could please do their ‘do-gooding’ while I am inside that would be great.
Episodes like this remind us of the precautions that we do need to take. Especially living in Florida - we do have poisonous snakes and we just need to be aware of our surroundings, teach our kids to be aware, and most important (for me especially) know what to do when we happen to come upon these creatures. After all, our She-ra Princess Warrior may not always be around when we need her. 

So, what do we do when we happen upon a poisonous one? The Florida Museum of Natural History says to just leave the snake alone. Most snakes bites occur when a person is handling them or trying to catch them. So, what if the snake is in the garage like mine? Without getting too close, try to push it out with a long handled broom or shovel. Of course if the snake is aggressive or poisonous and eliminating its existence is the only option, then do so with caution. If the snake is in an area that you can not get to, you can call Florida Wildlife Trapper at 1-866-263-WILD. They also remove other animals. Check out their website for more information. You can also find them on Facebook.  

With that -  lets all be safe and hopefully none of you happen to come across the mama or the siblings!




-Jenn V

4th of July Riverfest!

The 4th of July falls on a Monday this year, but that doesn't mean you can't take the family down to Riverwalk Park at historic downtown Milton! There will be a ton of fun activities for young and old, plus who doesn't love a good 4th of July celebration? The Stars & Stripes parade will actually kick off the festivities on July 2nd. There will be all day activities on July 4th followed by fireworks.There will be a Treasure Island activity area for the children from 11 to 5. Please keep in mind that the North and South streets will be closed. For more information you can visit the Beaches to Rivers of Santa Rosa County website or  you can also call SRC chamber of commerce at 850-632-2339 and to see a list of events click here.

Happy 4th of July!

-Jenn V