Home Care In Tarpon Springs, FL

PALMETTO – A recent study shows the contaminated water from the 2021 Piney Point spill, which contributed to algae blooms and red tide in Tampa Bay waterways, traveled farther than originally thought.

According to the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP), a chemical signature from the spill was found more than 30 miles away, in St. Joseph Sound near Tarpon Springs.

Immediately after the spill in 2021, SBEP partnered with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the University of Florida and the University of South Florida to set up a series of sites to monitor existing conditions and determine the extent of the spill’s impact, according to the SBEP.

Results of that collaboration among agencies showed evidence of algae blooms and high concentrations of red tide in the months following the spill.

“A chemical signature, unique to the Piney Point effluent, was also found at a location in St. Joseph Sound, originally chosen to be a reference site, as it was assumed to be far enough away from the spill to avoid impact,” according to the SBEP website. “This was not the case as evidence of the Piney Point spill was also found at this location.”

In 2021, FDEP authorized the intentional emergency discharge of 215 million gallons of wastewater from the former phosphate plant into Tampa Bay to avoid a potential flood after a leak was discovered in the waste storage system. Surrounding homes and businesses were evacuated.

From March 30 to April 9, 2021, the wastewater poured into the bay, adding an estimated 186 metric tons of nitrogen, exceeding typical annual nitrogen loads in a matter of days, according to a report released by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. The nitrogen worsened toxic cyanobacteria blooms that peaked in June, followed by a bloom of toxic red tide algae that caused fish kills, triggering the cleanup of more than 1,600 metric tons of dead fish, according to the report.

Last March, Manatee County Utilities crews began disposal of those waters into a permitted injection well. The well, drilled to a depth of 3,300 feet below land surface, was completed by Fort Myers-based Youngquist Brothers Inc., working with consultants ASRus of Tampa and Manatee County Utilities staff. By collaboratively working with the FDEP, crews were able to expedite the well work, which was completed in late 2022.

The well holds Piney Point’s process water in a confined saltwater aquifer over a half mile below the surface under the Floridan aquifer, the state’s drinking water source.

The phosphate process water will continue to be drained from the reservoirs atop nearby phosphogypsum stacks as the plant is permanently closed, and will be pre-treated before injection.

CEDAR KEY, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday in Florida as a Category 3 storm and unleashed devastation along a wide stretch of the Gulf Coast, submerging homes and vehicles, turning streets into rivers, unmooring small boats and downing power lines in an area that has never before received such a pummeling.

LIVE MAP: Track the path of Hurricane Idalia

More than 330,000 customers in Florida and Georgia were without electricity while rushing water covered streets near the coast. As the eye moved inland, high winds shredded signs, sent sheet metal flying and snapped tall trees.

“We have multiple trees down, debris in the roads, do not come,” posted the fire and rescue department on the island of Cedar Key, where a tide gauge measured the storm surge at 6.8 feet (2 meters) — enough to submerge most of the downtown. “We have propane tanks blowing up all over the island.”

Idalia came ashore in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula. It made landfall near Keaton Beach at 7:45 a.m. as a high-end Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph (205 kph).

A man wades through flood waters after Hurricane Idalia passed to the north, in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Julio-Cesar Chavez

RJ Wright stayed behind on Cedar Key so he could check on elderly neighbors. He hunkered down with friends in a motel and when it was safe, walked outside into chest-high water. It could have been a lot worse for the island, which juts into the Gulf, since it didn’t take a direct hit, he said.

“It got pretty gnarly for a while, but it was nothing compared to some of the other storms,” Wright said.

WATCH LIVE: White House holds briefing as Hurricane Idalia moves across Florida

The system remained a hurricane as it crossed into Georgia with top winds of 90 mph (150 mph), after drenching Florida mostly to the east of Tallahassee. Forecasters said it would punish the Carolinas overnight as a tropical storm.

Some models had predicted that Idalia could circle southward toward land again after that, but the National Hurricane Center predicted it would move deeper into the Atlantic this weekend.

Mike Sellers surveys flood waters after wading in to check on his mother in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia in Clearwater Beach, Florida, U.S., August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

In the town of Perry, the wind blew out store windows, tore siding off buildings and overturned a gas station canopy. Interstate 275 in Tampa was partially flooded, and toppled power lines closed northbound Interstate 75 just south of Valdosta, Georgia.

About 200 miles to the south of where Idalia made landfall, the roads around the chic shops and restaurants of St. Armands Circle in the Sarasota area were underwater.

Astounded by the flooding that turned Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard into a river, Bill Hall watched a paddleboarder ride along the major thoroughfare.

“This is actually unbelievable,” Hall said. “I haven’t seen anything like this in years.”

A vehicle is partially submerged after the arrival of Hurricane Idalia, in Cedar Key, Florida, U.S., August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Julio-Cesar Chavez

In Tallahassee, Florida’s capital city, the power went out well before the center of the storm arrived.

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey urged everyone to shelter in place. Florida residents living in vulnerable coastal areas had been ordered to pack up and leave as Idalia gained strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

“Don’t put your life at risk by doing anything dumb at this point,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday at a news conference. “This thing’s powerful. If you’re inside, just hunker down until it gets past you.”

WATCH LIVE: Florida Gov. DeSantis gives update as Hurricane Idalia crosses into Georgia

Storm surge could rise as high as 16 feet (4.9 meters) in some places. Some counties implemented curfews to keep residents off roads.

Diane Flowers was sound asleep at 1 a.m. Wednesday in her Wakulla County home, but her husband was up watching the weather on TV when he got a text from their son after the storm was upgraded to a Category 4. He’s a firefighter/EMT in Franklin County, which is also along the Gulf Coast.

“He said, ‘You guys need to leave,'” Flowers said. “And he’s not one for overreacting, so when he told us to leave, we just packed our stuff, got in our car and got going.”

They quickly packed a few clothes, medicine, food for their two border collies, a computer, important documents and a bag of Cheetos. Motels were packed all the way into Alabama, where they ended up finding a room in Dothan.

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend. The state, still dealing with lingering damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian, feared disastrous results.

A man photographs floodwaters outside his resident in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia in Tarpon Springs, Florida, U.S., August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Idalia grew into a Category 2 system on Tuesday and then a Category 3 storm on Wednesday before peaking as a Category 4 hurricane. It then weakened slightly.

Asked about the hurricane Tuesday, President Joe Biden said he had spoken to DeSantis and “provided him with everything that he possibly needs.”

Ian was responsible last year for almost 150 deaths. That Category 5 hurricane damaged 52,000 structures, nearly 20,000 of which were destroyed or severely damaged.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said the 2023 hurricane season would be far busier than initially forecast, partly because of extremely warm ocean temperatures. The season runs through Nov. 30, with August and September typically the peak.

Associated Press writers Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Florida; Mike Schneider in St. Louis, Missouri; Marcia Dunn in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Curt Anderson in Orlando, Florida; Chris O’Meara in Clearwater, Florida; Cristiana Mesquita in Havana; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Seth Borenstein in Washington; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Tara Copp in Washington; and Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.

Play/Pause

Mute/Unmute

Embed video

Playback Speed

Video Quality

Embed video

Copy the code below to embed the video.

<div _="@=1490,dis=none"><div _="@=1491,dis=none"></div></div> Copy

Playback Speed

2

1.75

1.50

1.25

Normal

0.50

Video Quality

Play/Pause >>

Mute/Unmute

0:00 / 0:00

Settings Closed Captions Picture in Picture Cast Fullscreen

Play/Pause >>

Mute/Unmute

0:00 / 0:00

Settings Closed Captions Cast Fullscreen

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — Marek Swoboda is a biomedical engineer and a maker of artificial hearts.

But when the stresses of that job got too much, the Tarpon Springs turned to his love of swimming in the sea.

And that's how the Amphi bionic fin was born.

"I wanted to be a sea creature," he said. "I wanted to be one of them. So I invented something called bionic swimming."

Leaning on his scientific and medical skills, and with his wife Ginger by his side, Swoboda created a jet-propulsive super fin that gently propels a swimmer through the water.

You can steer and dive; if you want to stop, you pull your knees up, and sensors slow you down.

The technology is intuitive and smooth.

"You just put it on your feet and go," he said. "Enjoy the view."

Right now, the Amphi is selling for about $2,600 for a single-propeller model; there's also a double-propeller model too. Once the Amphis is mass-produced, he expects the price to drop by $1,000.

He also sees a future where the Amphi is used for practical purposes (commercial divers, reef restoration) and therapeutic uses (wounded veterans with prosthetics).

For more on the Amphi bionic fin, click here.

Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Report a typo

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — The yearly Tarpon Springs community celebration of Epiphany is back.

Epiphany is celebrated worldwide on January 6 but the event’s biggest Western Hemisphere observance is in Tarpon Springs.

What You Need To Know

For 116 years, crowds have turned out at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral and at Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs during the first week of January for the traditional throwing of the cross during Epiphany celebrations.

As many as 20,000 people typically descend on Tarpon Springs for celebrations now.

And the 117th edition of the unique Greek event will be just as special.

Almost 60 young men will take their places in the usually chilly waters of the Bayou in hopes of retrieving the cross from the water and the yearlong blessing that is said to come with it.

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta, will be among the participants in this year’s observance, said the Reverend Fr. Athanasios Haros, Dean of St. Nicholas.

“This blessing is an annual opportunity for us to recall our need for God’s grace," said Fr. Haros. "As the Archbishop beckons the Holy Spirit to descend upon the waters of Spring Bayou.”

The event-filled celebration features a Blessing of the Fleet on Thursday.

The next day begins with an 8 a.m. church service at St. Nicholas, followed by the procession to Spring Bayou around noon, the releasing of the doves and the cross throwing.

Schedule of Events:

8 am – Orthros

9 am – Archierarchail Liturgy Immediately Following Liturgy – Procession to Spring Bayou Blessing of Tarpon Springs

Where: St Nicholas Church and Tarpon Springs Bayou Dates: 01/06/2023 - 01/06/2023

Time: 8:00am - 2:00pm

Following the ceremony and cross throe, the Epiphany Glendi (festival) at the Spanos-Pappas Community Center (348 N Pinellas Ave) with food, drink, live music, and dancing.

The celebration of epiphany is set to take place this Friday at the Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs. It's the largest epiphany celebration in the western hemisphere and for more than 100 years its right here in Pinellas County. Pretty cool. More on the preps here @BN9 --> pic.twitter.com/xbEvmtPpTf

— Angie Angers (@angie_angers) January 3, 2023

ROAD CLOSURES

Locations: Area bounded by Spring Boulevard, Pine Street, Levis Avenue and Lemon Street.

Major thoroughfares of Alternate US Highway 19 (from Pine Street to Lemon Street) and Tarpon Avenue (from Levis Avenue to Spring Boulevard) will be closed as well as many smaller roads within the area of the procession.

Time Period: Friday, January 6, 2023, from approximately 10:45 am until 3:00 pm

MOT: Please observe posted detours, expect heavy traffic and yield to pedestrians. There will be NO overnight parking Thursday night or during the event within the procession area (Pinellas Ave. between Orange St. and Tarpon Ave.; Tarpon Ave. between Grosse Ave. and the Bayou; Orange St. between Pinellas Ave. and Ring Ave.).

ORIGINS

The Orthodox Christian Church celebrates Epiphany on January 6th of each year, in remembrance of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the water of the Jordan River 2000 ago.

The observance spread to the new world and eventually to Tarpon Springs, which boasts the largest percentage of Greek Americans of any city in the U.S.

The Tarpon Springs community has commemorated Christ’s baptism for more than a century with services at St. Nicholas Cathedral, and events highlighted by a ceremonial cross dive at Spring Bayou. (Jorje Roman,Spectrum News staff)

Tarpon Springs’ Epiphany began as a simple affair in 1903 and grown in size ever since.

The local ceremonies are identical to those taken place in and around Greece.

THE PANDEMIC

The 2021 version of Epiphany was unlike any before.

With the worldwide COVID pandemic, much of the pomp surrounding the multi-day event was canceled.

But the cross throwing went on.

No Blessing of the Fleet took place the day before and there was limited seating at St. Nicholas Church during the morning Archierarchial Liturgy instead of the normally packed procession of clergy, divers and onlookers.

Only 50 divers took part and masks and social distancing were in place at the Bayou.

The Glendi celebration that usually follows the cross retrieval did not take place.

FAMILY AFFAIR

Most young men growing up in Tarpon Springs dream of retrieving the cross when it comes their time to dive.

And most, if not all, have a relative in the small, tight-knit community that grabbed the cross from the murky waters.

We caught up with Alex & his dad Nick after the cross dive. And get this! @DangerDalia interviewed his dad live on @BN9 before the dive during our coverage of Epiphany. He told her he was proud of his son & he reiterated that when she spoke with him again @BN9 pic.twitter.com/jRYnUkZ7Vq

— Jorja Roman (@JorjaRoman) January 6, 2022

Pantelis Kondoliakos retrieved the cross in 2009. His father and multiple uncles all retrieved the cross as well in earlier years.

In 2020 and 2021, brothers Hunter and Colten Sakadelas, respectively, emerged with the white cross. There’s only been one other time brothers retrieved the cross back-to-back. It was in the 1980s.

Last year, Alexander Makris, 16, became the cross bearer on his first dive.

“It’s a very important religious day, and it’s a blessing just to be able to dive,” Kondoliakos said. “Catching it is extra. Just to get in that water and be there with your brothers and your friends….we’re blessed and that is the way we look at it.”

Saint Michael’s Shrine at 113 Hope Street in Tarpon Springs, Florida, is a place where the faithful have reported miracles for decades. It was built more than eighty years ago to fulfill the promise an ill eleven-year-old boy made to the Archangel Michael after the Saint saved his life, according to his sister, Goldie Parr.

To this day, people visit the shrine to pray and light a candle, and there are testimonies of true miracles which have taken place there.

The story of the icon from the Holy Abbey of Taxiarchis Michael of Panormitis on the island of Symi in Greece’s Dodecanese and how it came to St. Michael’s Shrine began many decades ago.

In June 1937, Maria Tsalickis, wife of Tarpon Springs sponge diver James Tsalickis, visited her birthplace Symi to meet the Abbot Prior Chrysanthos of the Monastery of Taxiarchis Michael of Panormitis. The purpose of the long journey was to fulfill an old promise.

Her husband, who had been in danger while on a voyage, had promised the Abbot Prior that he would make an offering to the Monastery. His wife was proud to deliver an offering of $300 on his behalf. This constituted an enormous sum of money at that time. The Abbot Prior thanked her, and to show his gratitude, he took a small silver icon of Taxiarchis Michael, which was hanging in the Church, and gave it to her.

Maria Tsalickis said that chills of emotion and awe seized her body and soul as soon as she touched the icon. Upon her return to Tarpon Springs, she placed the Holy Icon of Taxiarchis on a table under the Iconostasis.

A year later, on the 6th of November, 1938, she was sitting at home with relatives when all of a sudden they heard the sound of a church bell—the very same bell as that of the Holy Abbey of Taxiarchis of Panormitis back in Symi. The sound was somehow emanating from the Icon of Taxiarchis, which was on the table. The sound lasted until 3 AM the next day and left everyone dumbstruck with awe.

Maria visited Father Theophilos Karaphilis, the priest of the Church of Saint Nicholas of Tarpon Springs, and told him what had happened. Father Theophilos instructed her to bring the icon to church, where a holy ceremony of breaking the holy bread was performed.

The following day was the Feast Day of Saint Michael Taxiarchis. After eight days, Maria brought the icon home. The extraordinary event of the pealing bells repeated itself the following year, and the next, and the same church ceremony was repeated.

In December 1939, Maria’s second-born son Steve became sick with a high fever and was taken to the hospital, where his condition worsened. He was then diagnosed with a brain tumor, and he fell into a coma. He then suddenly awoke and told his mother, “Mama, I want you to bring me the Icon of the Taxiarchis.”

The mother asked her koumpara to bring the icon to the hospital. As soon as Steve saw the icon, he asked his mother to place it on his chest. He crossed his hands over the icon and began speaking unintelligibly. He then told his mother, clearly, “Mama, Taxiarchis wants you to build his shrine.” Maria automatically agreed just to satisfy her son.

Steve said, “Mama, say yes with your heart, for he says tomorrow at 10 AM I will be cured.” and Maria replied, “Yes, Steve, yes, my Steve, with all my heart, I will erect his shrine, as long as he wishes it.” The boy then slept quietly until the following day.

The next day Steve was indeed cured and went back to school only days later. His parents, with much difficulty, erected a small stone chapel in their backyard a year later. Steve, now strong and healthy, grew up to become a popular middle school guidance counselor.

From that day on, several miracles have been reported at the shrine after many people came there and prayed to the Holy Icon of Saint Michael Taxiarchis. Local papers wrote about a young girl who was blinded and regained her sight; a crippled woman began walking again.

Another woman reportedly got up from her wheelchair after nine failed operations; tumors disappeared; a deaf woman’s hearing was restored; and women who previously had been unable to conceive became pregnant.

Today, Goldie Parr, the daughter of James and Maria Tsalickis and Steve’s sister, tends to the shrine, keeping the flame of faith alive. Steve Tsalickis passed away in 2007—many, many years later than the 24 hours the doctors gave him as a prognosis when he was only eleven years old.

See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!