Time to celebrate our nation's birth with a "bang up" party in Sanford.  With some of the cities in the area cancelling their celebrations, it's great to have our very own event in Sanford still going on.

Click here for complete info on the event, and we'll see you there!










One of the exciting things about this year's event is that we get to hear from Orleans!  Here's more about the band:


Best known for their hits "Still the One" and "Dance With Me," Orleans was founded in New York in 1972 by John Hall, Larry Hoppen and Wells Kelly. Hoppen's brother Lance joined before the group signed with ABC Records in 1973; working with producers Barry Beckett and Roger Hawkins at Muscle Shoals Studios, they released their self-titled debut later that year. In 1974 Orleans recorded a self-produced album in New York's Bearsville Studio, but ABC didn't like it and dropped the group from the label, leaving Asylum to release the album Let There Be Magic in 1974, spurring the group's first big hit, 1975's "Dance with Me."

Their album Waking and Dreaming contained the hit "Still the One," which ABC-TV used as a theme song for that year. In 1977, Hall, who wrote many of the groups hits with his wife Johanna, left the group to pursue a solo career. He recorded two solo albums after signing with Elektra Records, and became something of a spokesman for the anti-nuclear power movement, helping to organize a group called MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy). Hall eventually worked with Jackson Browne, Graham Nash and Bonnie Raitt to organize the No Nukes concerts at ~Madison Square Garden in 1979.

Without Hall, Orleans went through several other personnel changes before it had a number 11 hit with "Love Takes Time," from the album Forever. Though MCA's Infinity label went bankrupt in 1980, the group persevered, performing together in clubs and releasing the album One of a Kind in 1982. In 1984 Kelly died in London of a heroin overdose, and by the early '90s, Hall ditched his solo career and returned to performing with Orleans. After the group released 1994's Orleans Live, Vol. 1, and 1995's Analog Men on its own Major Record Label, Hall and the Hoppen brothers continued to tour as an acoustic trio.

Fireworks Safety Tips

Got this from Orange County Fire Rescue and thought I would pass on:

Orange County, Fl., Fireworks and celebrations go hand in hand, especially during the Fourth of July. Fireworks can be very dangerous, causing serious burns and eye injuries.  Most, if not all, of these injuries can be prevented with established safety measures in place.

The majority of firework related injuries involve victims under the age of 15. Caution and sound judgment work hand in hand in protecting our most valuable assets, our children.   Below are some safety tips that will help reduce the number of injuries and safeguard our properties all while celebrating the holidays.

• Never use illegal fireworks (If it leaves the ground; makes a loud noise or contains more than 100 grams of flammable compound, it is illegal in the State of Florida as defined by Florida State law).
• Store products in a cool, dry place.
• Keep spectators back to a safe distance.
• Read and follow label directions carefully.
• Use outdoors only and keep fireworks away from vehicles, houses and any flammable material.
• If sparklers are used, light them in an open aired area.  Use a smooth hard surface, away from dried brush or other ignitable material.
• Wear safety glasses or goggles when igniting fireworks.
• Do not re-ignite "duds" or malfunctioning fireworks.
• Keep a hose or water bucket immediately available.
• Never point or project any fireworks towards another person.
• Light only one at a time and then move away quickly.

The safest and recommended option is to simply leave the sparklers at home and attend a public fireworks display.  Let’s sit back and relax and allow the professionals to put on a great show. 

Orange County Fire Rescue wishes everyone a safe and happy July 4, 2008.

More Safety Tips for the holiday


Water safety at the pool and beach:
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• Swim in a supervised, marked area with a lifeguard present, and swim with others. Never swim alone.
• Enter the water feet first. Enter the water headfirst only when the area is clearly marked for diving and has no obstructions.
• Adults should never leave a child unobserved around water. Practice "reach supervision" by staying within an arm's length of young children and weak swimmers while they are in and around the pool, lake or ocean.
• Take frequent breaks (about once an hour) where everyone gets out of the water, drinks water, reapplies sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher) and rests.
• If you are caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current. Once you are free, turn and swim toward shore. If you can't swim to the shore, float or tread water until you are free of the rip current and then head toward shore.
• Watch out for the "dangerous too's" – too tired, too cold, too far from safety, too much sun, too much strenuous activity.
• Post CPR instructions and directions to call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number in the pool area.
• Keep toys away from the pool when it is not in use. Toys can attract young children into the pool.
• If a child is missing, check the pool first. Go to the edge of the pool and scan the entire pool, bottom, and surface, as well as the surrounding pool area.

Safe Grilling:

• Use gas and charcoal barbecue grills outside only.
• Position grills far from siding, deck railings, overhanging branches and house eaves.
• Keep children and pets at least three feet away from the grill area.
• Never add charcoal starter fluid when coals have already been ignited.
• Always follow the manufacturer's instructions when using grills.
• Always supervise a barbecue grill when in use.
For more safety tips or to register for a first aid or CPR/AED course, visit www.centralflorida-redcross.org. The American Red Cross wishes everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Funny expression, but very accurate.  After going in for surgery on June 11th, I am finally back on the air today.  It's been a long road, and I am still healing.  In fact, I had to assure my doctor that my job didn't involve any heavy lifting.  Otherwise I would not have been able to return to work until near the end of July.  We want that "patch" between my sinuses and brain to stick for good!  No leaking allowed. 

I'm taking it easy, trying not to bend over or do anything that increases pressure to my head or spine.  That could be bad news.

Of course this edict from the doctor gets me out of having to schlep around boxes of copy paper when the printer runs low, etc...so there are advantages!  I even had to bring a note from my doctor to return to work. 

I had my first real outing yesterday when my wife and I went to breakfast and then did some shopping.  I may have overdone it, because I felt very weak afterwards.  That feeling extends into today somewhat, so I am not 100%, but glad to be back "in the saddle" so to speak.  Now if I can just remember how to control this horse!!

<===I look MUCH better than this now, but this is the day after my release from the hospital.  I had my wife take this picture before we left for the doctor's office. 

Thanks to Zach for that quick update in the previous blog entry.  I haven't felt up to typing anything until now.  I’ve been away from this blog (and the station) for the last week.  Today I wanted to give you an update.  My surgery took place last Wednesday and was successful.   They removed the growth in my Frontal and Ethmoid sinuses.  The growth was so fused to the bone that the brain was exposed by the time they finished, and the area needed to be patched.  This changed the procedure from sinus to brain surgery. 

That also meant a short stay in Neuro Intensive Care. Luckily the Neurosurgeon who performed the patching does this on a regular basis.  In fact, he is one of three surgeons in the country who remove tumors from the brain this way and he is teaching others.  I couldn’t have been in better hands.  Even so, he said my case was "quite a challenge". He was in there for 4 and a half hours!  He said he even broke a drill working on me!  Apparently, my surgery will be featured as a case study in the medical journals.  
 

Had they not exposed the brain, I may have only been out a few days...now it's two weeks minimum rest at home with another  4-6 weeks of limiting my activity.  I have an appointment with both surgeons early next week and expect they will clear me to go back to work.  I feel much better now.  Initially I had nausea and a fever that left me feeling either on fire or sweating on a consistent basis.  Those symptoms have now subsided, and I am using fewer pain pills.  Even my jaw is sore after all that drilling and bone removal.  Essentially I have one big sinus where there were once three separate ones.  As my surgeon said when I asked about the connection: “you can now drive a truck through there”…ha-ha.
 
Being in the ICU was quite an experience.  Nurses hovering over me and alarms going off.  I had a CT scan at 2am that night that showed the patch was holding and I was released to go home late on Thursday, which was quite a surprise to the nurses as people are rarely released directly from the ICU.  Rather, they are transferred to a regular room.  However my doctor is very cool and knew I would want to get the heck out of there and I could be cared for at home by my wife, whom I have dubbed “Nurse "Chrissy" ...LOL.
 
Last Friday we saw the other member of the surgical team-the sinus surgeon-to have splints removed from my nose, as well as the balloon that was putting pressure on the brain patch to hold it in place.  It is an invention of the Neurosurgeon surgeon for these procedures, and works quite well.  

Thanks to my wonderful surgeons I am on the road to recovery!  My wife has been incredible, waiting on my hand and foot and my staff and coworkers at the radio station have also been a great comfort.  I received one of those baskets wiith all manner of snacks and goodies and get well balloons.  It was strange to be on the receiving end of one of those.  It truly brightened my day.  My sense of taste and smell is very slowly returning and it's quite a treat to have all those things you would normally never buy at the store!  mmmm, that bag of dark chocolate beckons as I write this!

Anyway, just a quick update to let you know what is going on.  Thanks for your support and your prayers.  I hope to talk to you next week on the radio!