Basin Board Members Appointed
Governor Charlie Crist recently appointed new members to the Pinellas-Anclote River, Withlacoochee River and Peace River basin boards.
Roland Dove and Janet Hoppe were appointed to the Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board. Dove, from New Port Richey in Pasco County, succeeded Mitch Hammer. Hoppe, from Indian Shores in Pinellas County, succeeded Chet Renfro.
Burton Eno and Alan Grubman were appointed to the Withlacoochee River Basin Board. Eno, from Dunnellon in Marion County, succeeded John “Jack” Dennis. Grubman, from Inverness in Citrus County, succeeded Albert “Bo” Rooks Jr.
Pat Crisman was reappointed and Gordon “Mac” Martin was appointed to the Peace River Basin Board. Crisman is from Bartow in Polk County. Martin, from Arcadia in DeSoto County, succeeded J. “Ken” Harrison.
Head Start Gives District Award for Partnership
Hillsborough County Head Start/Early Head Start presented the District with a Community Partners of Excellence award at its annual banquet.
Thanks in part to the help of the District’s Youth Education Section staff, Hillsborough County Head Start/Early Head Start was awarded a Health and Human Services Innovation Grant to initiate a sustainable gardens program at Head Start/Early Head Start centers.
Youth Education staffers helped Head Start teachers weave the theme of water conservation into a preschool curriculum aimed at increasing math and science scores. Staff wrote letters of support, provided curriculum tools and trained program staff on watershed protection and conservation. The District provided the K–3 Watershed Resource Box, a collection of materials designed to help students achieve curriculum standards in reading, writing and science. In addition, Head Start was awarded a District Splash! school grant. The Head Start staffers used the grant to create natural green spaces in their playgrounds and classrooms at five of the centers. The green spaces provided hands-on learning about water conservation and water-wise landscaping.
Bartow, Brooksville Offices Win Safety Awards
The Tampa Area Safety Council recently recognized the District’s Bartow and Brooksville offices at its annual safety awards banquet.
The Bartow office won a first-place award in fleet safety and a third-place award for occupational safety. Bartow staff drove more than 377,000 miles in 2009 with no recordable accidents to win the first-place award. For the third-place award, Bartow staff worked more than 127,000 hours in 2009 with only one occupational safety incident. The Bartow office also won awards in 2008, taking home a first-place award in occupational safety and a third-place award in fleet safety.
The Brooksville office also won a third-place award for fleet safety. Brooksville staff drove more than 1.6 million miles in 2009 with only two recordable accidents.