Has Your Signature Changed

Update Your Signature

Has your signature changed? When you return a Vote By Mail ballot or sign a petition, your signature is verified against the signature we have on file. If the signatures do not match, your ballot may not be counted or your petition may not be accepted.

Power of attorney does not apply to voter registration. If for medical or other reasons you are unable to sign your complete name, please submit any mark you are capable of making. For voter registration purposes this mark will be deemed your signature. Voters may update their signature by completing and mailing a Voter Registration Application to the Supervisor of Elections.

Hurricane Preparedness Checklist

Prepare a family disaster plan. If you haven't done so already, visit http://www.floridadisaster.org or call Security at 625-5709 for assistance.

Determine escape routes from your home and places to meet. These should be measured in tens of miles rather than hundreds of miles.

Have an out-of-state friend as a family contact, so all your family members have a single point of contact.

Make a plan now for what to do with your pets if you need to evacuate.

Post emergency telephone numbers by your phones.

Check your insurance coverage - flood damage is not usually covered by homeowners insurance.

Stock non-perishable emergency supplies and water for 3 days.

Stock a Disaster Supply Kit.

Include a battery operated radio. Listen to 1670 AM on your radio dial for information during an emergency. Remember to replace its battery every 6 months, as you do with your smoke detectors.

Know your home's vulnerability to storm surge, flooding and wind. Locate a safe room or the safest areas in your home for each hurricane hazard.

www.floridadisaster.org

Hurricane Pruning

Properly pruned trees are safer during a hurricane

Beautiful trees add value to homes and communities. Yet the thought of a tree crashing through the roof in the midst of a hurricane causes many homeowners to improperly prune trees in a mistaken quest to make them safe.

Pruning to thin the tree is a good thing. Thinning allows sunlight to penetrate to interior foliage that will help keep interior branches alive. Thinning increases airflow and allows more light to reach the ground beneath the tree. Also, when more air passes through the canopy instead of pushing against it, trees resist storm damage better. Trees that are properly and regularly pruned and thinned usually suffer less damage than those not regularly pruned.

Topping a tree creates a dangerous tree and creates a whole host of problems:

Topping is stressful to the tree by removing most of the leaves that support growth. The tree essentially starves for many months or years while trying to grow with no leaves to do the work; if there are not enough reserves to do this work, the tree may weaken and die.

Topping forces the growth of many lateral buds close to the surface of the cut branch. A dense, loosely held canopy is the result of growth after topping which is much more susceptible to failure during a storm.

Hurricane Community Alerting System

Add radio 1670AM to your radio dial.

It is the Community Advisory Radio for residents in Palm Beach Gardens in the event of an emergency. Residents with special needs are encouraged to utilize the Palm Beach County Special Needs Program by contacting the Palm Beach County Department of Public Safety Division of Emergency Management at (561)712-6400.

Visit http://www.pbcgov.com/publicsafety/emergencymanagement/programs/logistics/SCU.htm for more information on the Special Needs Program.

Volunteer Opportunities In Palm Beach County

We all have experienced difficulties this past year. Not-for-Profits have been greatly impacted by the economic downturn. Volunteer are needed more than ever.

If you are looking for a way to give back please consider looking at this website www.pbcgov.com I believe there is a volunteer opportunity waiting for you that is a perfect fit.

www.pbcgov.com/dem/citizens/volunteers.htm

Exciting Recycling News

Recycling is available to all Palm Beach County residents. With your help we have made Palm Beach County's recycling program one of the best in the country. If you currently recycle, we thank you. If you don't, we urge you to start.

Recycling preserves our natural resources and increases the life of our landfill. The Solid Waste Authority has adopted a 50% waste reduction goal and if we are going to continue to achieve this goal we need everyone to do their part.

Recycling is easy in Palm Beach County.

Here's how.

Paper products go in your yellow bin.

Palm Beach County recycles: