Page 1 - The Shores of Jupiter - January '23

Our Village Voice

VOL. 34 NO. 1 www.seabreezepublications.com JANUARY 2023

Northern Notes Bill’s Box

Living With Snakes that greenways and
preserves within our By Bill Thompson
By Katie Roundtree, area can support a broad Here We Go
Director of Finance and diversity of wildlife, Christmas and New
Administration, Northern including snakes. Years has come and gone.
Palm Beach County Only six of Florida’s This is the first of 2023.
Improvement District 44 snake species Can you believe it? As
Living in Florida, you are venomous, the a child, the coming of
have no doubt seen snakes eastern coral snake, Christmas was forever.
in your travels. A fear of the southern copperhead, the cottonmouth, the eastern As we grow older, we
snakes, or ophidiophobia, diamondback rattlesnake, the timber rattlesnake, and the could swear that earth
is common in many people. dusky pygmy rattlesnake. Out of the six, just four of them live is spinning faster and faster, breakneck speed. But it is
Interactions between people south of Gainesville. Most Florida snakes are harmless and clipping along as it always did, to our knowledge. No
and venomous snakes in play a key role by keeping rodent populations under control. wonder I’m always being late.
residential areas are much less common than those involving Even the venomous species are not particularly dangerous During Christmas, Shores residents were joyful
nonvenomous species. The risk of snakebite (venomous unless stepped on or otherwise provoked. and generous with gifts. Now we need to expand our
or nonvenomous) is minimal. Snakes defend themselves Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes are solitary animals generosity. Each day of our lives is a holiday in contrast
primarily by fleeing but may bite if captured or harmed. that are effective ambush predators. Since these snakes are to so many citizens. Those are the people who need
However, biting is not a sign that they are dangerous; it is cold-blooded, they bask in the sun to regulate their body our help just to survive. They have no home, food, a
the only way most snakes have to defend themselves. temperatures. This species uses gopher tortoise burrows, wardrobe, medical care or expectation. Conditions for
Depending on your point of view, Florida is blessed or armadillo holes, stump holes and root channels to avoid these fellow humans is worsening. They are dependent
cursed with a rich diversity of snakes. Forty-four species of inclement weather. These shelters keep them warm when on help from underfunded nonprofit organizations and
snakes are found in every conceivable habitat, from coastal air temperatures become too cold for surface activity. While governmental agencies that are limited in their ability
mangroves and saltmarshes to freshwater wetlands and dry foraging, rattlesnakes use vegetation for cover, relying on to provide essential needs due to insufficient funding
uplands. Many species thrive in residential areas. camouflage to conceal them. They are ambush predators, from our fellow humans. Most of us are able, within
Most snakes you encounter are likely to be nonvenomous. meaning they sit and wait in a coiled position for prey to cross our economic limitations, to help with tax exempt
By recognizing snakes and understanding their habits, you can their path. They use their thermal pits to help them locate contributions. I submit that homeowners fortunate enough
take a more relaxed attitude toward them and appreciate them to live in communities such as The Shores may be able
as an integral part of Florida’s wildlife. Northern is thrilled Northern Notes on page 5 to make contributions on a periodic basis that will assist
needy humans even to survive. To compound this problem
Commissioner’s Update is a global inflation that makes even food and housing
unaffordable. Hunger and food and other essentials are all
consuming. Fortunately, few of our residents are critically
Post-Hurricane Season Wrap-Up 1 full activation on Nov. 9, as hurricane watches and affected. We can still go to the grocery store and pay for
warnings were issued, returning to normal operations the overpriced food. We have housing and all essential needs.
By Commissioner following Tuesday. During this activation, our incident The bottom line is we help ourselves and society as
Maria Marino command team kept in contact with all 39 municipalities a whole by giving a leg up to someone in need. Hunger
November 22 and participated in daily conference calls with the State and homelessness. The state of living is abdominal in the
No w t h a t we a r e of Florida EOC, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the National richest nation in the world. We must believe in possibility.
officially finished with Weather Service. We kept the public informed through The amount we can give does not matter. It is the giving
the 2022 hurricane season news releases, two press conferences, and numerous that matters. There is a biblical saying about helping the
and we can reflect on the social media posts. least of us.
late-season storms that The county opened seven general population shelters,
made landfall on Florida’s one pet-friendly shelter, and a special needs shelter, Bill’s Box on page 3
shores, it is helpful to learn housing 517 of the general population, 21 special needs
how our county programs persons, and 29 pets. Emergency staff monitored more
work to keep us safe and than 8,000 power outages, and handled 1,095 calls to
protect our properties and natural resources. our Emergency Information Center. Public Works crews 01.16.23
Fortunately, we were spared most of the damaging locked down eight bascule bridges to allow continuous
effects of Hurricane Nicole, a Category 1 storm that vehicle traffic, and removed 49 signal heads and 20 LED
came ashore on North Hutchinson Island just south of blank out signs. Staff conducted damage assessments
Vero Beach on Nov. 10, as areas like ours to the south did countywide.
not bear the brunt of the storm. Having witnessed in real Beaches are the first line of defense against the
time, Category 4 Hurricane Ian, which decimated coastal enormous energy from tropical systems that threaten
communities in Southwest Florida, and which spawned our coastal communities. County-managed beaches were
tornadoes in western Delray Beach, residents took the well prepared and performed as designed to mitigate
warnings, watches and evacuation orders seriously. significant damages associated with Hurricane Nicole.
The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) quickly
moved into activation on Nov. 7 and reached Level Commissioner’s Update on page 3

REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY IMMEDIATELY

TO THE JUPITER POLICE DEPARTMENT
(561) 799-4445

Use 911 for emergencies only. Lock car doors.
Do not leave valuables in the car.