Blue, a Bullmastiff mix owned by Stacey Smith of Mims was chosen “King of Mardi Gras Paws in the Park” and his “Queen” was Roxie, a Pug owned by Babette Wilkins of Merritt Island at the Central Brevard Humane Society’s 4^th Annual Mardi Gras Paws in the Park held on Sunday, February 28^th, at Riverfront Park in Cocoa Village.

Other awards presented were “Best Pet/Owner Look-a-Like” went to PeeWee, a Yorkie owned by Kat Starr of Cocoa; “Best Costume” was presented to Mealing, a Sphynx cat owned by Diana Benton of Titusville; and “Best Pet Trick” was awarded to Lilly Grace, a Cockapoo owned by Bridget Goodwin of Rockledge.    All proceeds from this event will go towards the care of the abandoned and abused animals at the shelter.

The judges of this year’s event were Dave Poore with WSBH 98.5FM The Beach, Greg Pallone with Central Florida News 13 and his wife Katie; Jake Williams, Jr., Councilman of District 2; and Dr. Frank and Cheryl Venzara’, 2010 King & Queen of Space Coast Mardi Gras.

<

Seeing the Red Cross in action in Haiti proves the value of the organization. At home the American Red Cross is proud of how their volunteers help the community during emergencies. Locally the Space Coast Chapter needs to prepare for the challenges that 2010 may bring..from a single house fire to hurricanes to help victims of disasters in Brevard they need more good people to become trained volunteers and they urgently need your donations now to prepare for this years disasters and to ensure the Red Cross can be there for you. To learn more, visit MIDFLORIDAREDCROSS.ORG or call 321-890-1002. If  you can volunteer or donate, you are helping to give hope and to change lives.

 LOCALLY IF YOU CAN DONATE NEW BLANKETS, BOTTLED WATER, CANNED GOODS AND NON PERISHABLE FOOD ITEMS, DALE LONGSTREET OF INDIAN RIVER COFFEE CONTINUES TO COLLECT DONATIONS AND WILL GET THEM SHIPPED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. LOCATIONS ARE 4980 N. WICKHAM RD IN FRONT OF HOME DEPOT AND 2112-A SARNO ROAD.

Riverside National Bank has set up a relief fund. To make a monetary donation, visit any Riverside National Bank location. Make checks payable to the Treasure Coast Haiti Relief Fund. All funds will be turned over to the American Red Cross International Fund designated for Haiti relief.

GSI Commerce has set up an account with Mercy Corps for their employees and partners to help. Go to www.mercycorps.org/fundraising/gsicommerce. They will also work with Project Response for a food drive in the coming weeks.

The Rotary Club of Indialantic is accepting donations to help those injured or displaced in Haiti. Checks for tax-deductible donations should be made payable to Rotary Distric 6930 Foundation, Inc. and mailed directly to Stan Helm, 700 Wavecrest Avenue #304, Indialantic, FL 32903 or online at www.indialanticrotary.org.

Harris Corporation is matching employees’ American Red Cross donations up to $15,000.

Blood donors are encouraged to call 1-800-RED CROSS or to make an appointment online. Type O negative and type B negative donors are especially needed. The Red Cross is looking for Creole-speaking volunteers to help man the phones.Local telephone number: 890-1002

Gary Stebbins, pastor of Church on the Rock Melbourne, is collecting an offering through Fisher’s of Men Ministries, a Haitian-based ministry whose offices are located in Melbourne. Direct contributions may be made to: Fishers of Men Ministries International, P.O. Box 410953, Melbourne, FL 32941. Or call 752-6766 or visit www.fomhaiti.org.

Brevard County has just experienced a full week of freezing temperatures. This has taken a toll on some of our tropical foliage and many of you are wondering if there is any way to revive your gardens and landscape. While you might be tempted to prune and fertilize, doing so right away can actually cause more damage. Instead, continue to water your plants once a week and be patient while we wait to see what the next few weeks have in store for us.

This Saturday at 1 pm,
Rockledge Gardens is presenting a free seminar on First Aid for
Freeze-Damaged Plants & Gardens. Staff grower Bernie Peterson will
tell you what you should and shouldn’t do right away, when and how to
prune, and what you can do to help revive your garden for the
quickest possible return to tropical beauty.