Count-E-News • March 29, 2010

John Prince Golf Learning Center Rated Among Top 100 Golf Ranges

Golf Learning Center The Golf Range Association of America has rated John Prince Golf Learning Center as one of the top 100 golf practice centers and learning facilities in America. The center was selected for excellence in the areas of teaching, training, operations and community outreach programs, such as the Green Golfer Challenge and the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses.

This state-of-the-art golf learning and practice facility features 42 hitting stations, a lighted driving range, a practice fairway bunker, three regulation practice holes, and practice putting and chipping greens. The golf training facility provides affordable group and private instruction for all ages and abilities.

John Prince Golf Learning Center, operated by Parks and Recreation, is located in John Prince Park in Lake Worth. For more information, visit http://www.pbcgov.com/parks/sports/golf/johnprince or call 966-6666.

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Pay Attention to Water Safety

We are fortunate to live in the Sunshine State where outdoor activities can be enjoyed year-round. With such enjoyment however, can also come tragedy.

According to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office, there have been 688 drowning deaths from 1997 to 2009 in our county. Among these victims, children ages 1 to 4 had the highest drowning rate. Regardless of age, race, gender or socio-economic background, drowning incidents can occur. With swim season approaching, it is important not to forget about water safety while having fun.

Apply water safety practices by utilizing the following guidelines:

Never swim alone, even if you’re a proficient swimmer.
Have constant adult supervision for children. Maintain eye-to-eye contact at all times.
At the beach, always swim in front of a lifeguard.
Have physical barriers around a pool area, such as fencing that includes self-closing or self-latching gates.
Have window and door alarms that sound when breached.
Use pool safety covers.
Use pool alarms that float on the surface of the pool.
Use alarms that go around a child’s wrist and sound if the wrist touches water.
Keep children away from pool and spa drains.
Learn to swim.

Use the Water Watcher System While at a pool party or event with swimming, designate an adult water watcher who wears a distinguishable item, such as a lanyard or funny hat. For 15 minutes, this person’s sole responsibility is to watch the pool area and not read, talk on the phone or have any distractions. After 15 minutes, the next water watcher is on duty who can wear the funny hat. Take turns constantly watching the water.

The Drowning Prevention Coalition can provide information on reasonably priced swim lessons and answer any water safety/drowning prevention questions that you might have. Swim lesson locations are listed at http://www.pbcgov.org/dpc. For more information, call 616-7068 or e-mail astewart@pbcgov.org.

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Land Development Launches E-Permitting System

After five years of development with Information Systems Services (ISS), the Land Development Division of the Engineering Department recently launched its e-permitting system. This new system allows online users to submit, track and receive right of way permits and on-site drainage reviews on the Internet.

Users can view the status of their projects online and also view or download comment letters, red-lined mark-ups, permits and approved plans. Permit applications can be instantaneously distributed and simultaneously reviewed by other divisions. Plans can be digitally marked up without compromising sensitive information or valuable intellectual content of a drawing. The proprietary Autovue Program integrated into the database system can view and mark up hundreds of different file formats. The division has yet to receive plans that could not be addressed with this system. This process has completely eliminated the need for paper plans, submittals and resubmittals to be exchanged with users. Even the approved plans and permits can be printed by the users from their computers, printers and plotters.

More than 615 permits have been submitted, reviewed and issued completely online. The Land Development staff would like to thank the ISS development team for working so long and hard to make this one of the most advanced and thorough permitting systems in the state.

For more information, visit http://www.pbcgov.com/engineering/landdevelopment/ and click on “Right of Way/Drainage Review Application” in the bottom left corner.

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Adopting Rabbits

With Easter just around the corner, the image of cute bunnies comes to mind. While rabbits can make wonderful pets, there are many things to consider before bringing your new friend home to the family:

Rabbits enjoy the company of others and are very social.
Rabbits are “high-maintenance” pets due to dietary and health needs.
Rabbits are a poor choice as a pet for small children as they do not like to be picked up or held.
Rabbits can have a lifespan of up to 10 years.
Your home will need to be “rabbit-proofed.”

Thousands of ex-Easter bunnies are abandoned at shelters or into the wild each year when their novelty wears off. This creates a problem for animal shelters and also negatively impacts the environment by nonnative species being released into the wild.

If you have decided a pet rabbit would be a good addition to your home, consider adopting from a shelter. Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control has an abundance of rabbits waiting for good homes. The adoption fee includes the spay or neuter surgery.

There are many animals currently available for adoption at Animal Care and Control located at 7100 Belvedere Rd., West Palm Beach. Special promotional adoption fees are available during certain times. To view animals available for adoption, visit http://www.pbcgov.com/snap. Please call 233-1272 for more information.

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Consumer Trap & Tip: Dry Cleaning & Care Labels

Trap
Sonia was distraught. The designer business suit she planned to wear to the shareholders meeting had shrunk after being dry-cleaned. Although her dry cleaner said the suit was handled according to the care label, he was willing to compensate her for the damage, but at only a fraction of what the suit cost!

Tips

How could a suit be cleaned properly but still shrink? Clothing is covered by the Federal Trade Commissions’ (FTC) Care Label Rule. Consider the following:

Clothing sold in the United States must have a permanent, legible care label attached in a conspicuous place stating accurate cleaning instructions.

The FTC’s Care Label Rule allows businesses to use a registered identification number, or RN, instead of its name on the fabric label. The FTC has an RN search page (https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/TextileRN/wrnquery$.startup) to obtain a manufacturer’s name and address.
If a purchased garment doesn’t have a care label, contact the FTC at http://www.ftc.gov or call 1-877-382-4357 to file a complaint. Provide the name and location of the retailer where the garment was purchased.
Ask the dry cleaner what the loss/damage policy is before risking damage to your clothes. Look for it to be posted at the store or on the back of the receipt.
The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) recommends contacting the cleaner promptly when there is a problem. If the care label procedures were not followed, the damage claim can be resolved by the dry cleaner. Dry cleaners will often use the “Fair Claims Guide” published by the DLI which considers the age and condition of a garment to help determine its value.

Call Palm Beach County Consumer Affairs at 561-712-6600 (Boca/Delray 888-852-7362 toll free) or visit http://www.pbcgov.com/consumer to check for consumer complaints against local dry cleaners.

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