20/20 Vision

Citrus 20/20 Inc. uses forward thinking and comprehensive planning to ensure a bright future for all of Citrus County.

› By JoAnn Guidry

Founded in 1995, Citrus 20/20 is a citizen-based community organization focused on cultivating the county’s people and natural resources to maintain a good quality of life in Citrus County. The name was derived from the original steering committee’s vision of where the county should be 25 years from 1995, hence the year 2020.

“Citrus 20/20’s mission evolved by looking at 10 key components that would affect the county’s future,” says Lace Blue-McLean, chair of the organization’s board of directors. “These include education, social needs, growth management, infrastructure, civic partnerships, economic development, youth needs, natural and people resources, society and culture identity, and eco-tourism.”

Blue-McLean describes Citrus 20/20’s role in furthering these causes as “a mediator for community organizations, bringing people together to help them with their needs.”

Over the years, Citrus 20/20 has played a vital role in several key issues, including improving water quality throughout the county; establishing the Academy of Environmental Science as a public charter school; historic structure designation and ownership transfer of Historic Hernando School for conversion to a community center; creating and printing of the Environmental Homeowner’s Guide; establishing the Citrus County Recycles! initiative; and establishing the annual youth scholarships given to college-bound students and/or technical school students.

“To be effective, we feel that, as an organization, we need to be involved in the community as a whole,” says Blue-McLean. “All our valuable partnerships make that possible.”

It was community partnerships that led to the creation of Save Our Waters Week, which has become a Citrus 20/20 signature event. Established in 1996, SOWW first came to be from Citrus 20/20 partnering with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Citrus County government. Added to the partnership was the Citrus County Chronicle in 2003 and Progress Energy (now Duke Energy) in 2005.

“The purpose of Save Our Waters Week is to promote public awareness, education and consensus to save Citrus County’s waters,” says Blue-McLean. “This includes springs, rivers, lakes, coastal areas and the Florida aquifer. We all recognize the importance of the waterways to Citrus County’s quality of life.”

The weeklong event, beginning on the third Saturday of September, features waterway cleanups, river tours, a high school environmental jeopardy competition and music. Last year’s SOWW included 742 volunteers who cleaned up 6,268 pounds of debris from Citrus County waterways.

“We are very proud that the community has made Save Our Waters Week such a success,” says BlueMcLean. “We celebrated our 20th anniversary of the event last year and look forward to 20 more years.”

Sell Out

The Problem

It’s a bit early to call it spring cleaning, but we’re guessing your life could use some decluttering.

The Challenge

Advertise

Make an ad that really stands out. Garage sale ads on websites like Craigslist are easy to skip over. Post a few photos of your big items with the ad, and then post a few teaser photos on your Instagram or Facebook account a week before your sale. Then on the day before your sale, start posting large signs around your neighborhood to direct cars to your home.

Sell As A Group

Do your friends and family have things they’d like to sell, too? Combine everyone’s stuff to make the garage sale look fuller. You’ll draw more people in and sell more if it looks like you have a ton of stuff.

Organize

Ever been to a sloppy garage sale? It probably only earned a quick browse, if that. Keep your sale orderly and attractive by placing large items in the front. Then, organize items by type, use baggies to keep sets and small items together, and label everything clearly with the price and name of the item. As items are sold, move everything closer together to keep your sale looking full.

Don’t Overcharge

Remember that it’s a garage sale. Getting something for your items is better than donating them for free, so keep the prices low. If you want to get top dollar for more valuable items, sell them on Craigslist or eBay.

This month, we’re challenging you to have a garage sale to get rid of the clutter.

Go through your closets, attic, garage, storage sheds and bookcases, and we’ll show you how to throw your best garage sale yet.

Free Pile

Make a “free pile” out of items that you don’t think will sell. Set it at the front of your sale and attach a large sign to the pile so people can see it from the road. Most people will want to check out the free stuff. If they see something they want, they’ll probably check out the rest of the sale, too.

Test Lab: Lookin’ Good, Honey

Do you ever see trendy foods, beauty techniques or odd products and think “now that I have to try?”

› By Katie McPherson

Here in the test lab (our editorial office), I’m trying honey cleansing, a natural face-washing method taking over the blogosphere.

The Method

The experiment is simple: Apply honey liberally, allow to sit for a few minutes and then rinse. Bloggers and skin pros say it should leave your face feeling moisturized and clean.

The Claims

Honey lovers say the sweet stuff balances oily skin while moisturizing—it’s a humectant, a substance that promotes moisture retention in skin and hair—without stripping skin and making it feel tight like commercial cleansers. Because honey is antibacterial, it’s said to battle breakouts sans chemicals, so it’s gentle on skin.

The Experiment

I decided to dive in to the honey challenge 100 percent by using it as my only cleanser for five days. Besides, it’s good scientific practice to eliminate any variables.

Online, everyone says to purchase manuka honey for its extra potent antibacterial properties. My wallet preferred a bear-shaped bottle of wildflower honey at $5.49 for 12 oz. versus $25.99. Just make sure

The Verdict

whatever honey you choose is raw and unfiltered, meaning it hasn’t had all the antibacterial goodness processed away.

Personally, I wasn’t excited about slathering goo on my face. Honey isn’t known for being cooperative, so I feared it oozing into my hairline and eyelashes and turning me into a sticky lagoon creature. I was quite happy to be proven wrong.

Dampening my face before putting on the honey made it easy to spread and it rinsed off cleanly. The first wash went smoothly, and I let the honey sit for five minutes as suggested. The following day, I noticed my skin didn’t get oily until much later in the day. Things went smoothly until day three, when after my evening honey cleanse, my skin still felt dirty. I broke my own rule and used a coffee ground exfoliator, which made my skin feel much better.

Confession: I have oily skin with pores you can see from the moon, but my skin actually looked a little brighter at the end of my experiment. The honey always left my skin feeling oddly healthy and never tight or stripped like other cleansers. If you try this at home, I suggest keeping your choice of exfoliator on hand to prevent build-up and moisturizer for dry spots.

Although I’m too into experimenting with new products (clearly) to dedicate myself to honey forever, I recommend it highly for anyone with sensitive skin in need of natural TLC.

A Curable Disease?

Researchers at Harvard University were recently able to create insulinproducing cells almost identical to those found in the human body, leaving scientists hopeful about the future treatment of Type 1 diabetes.

Scientists were able to recreate enough cells that cell transplantation is now possible, and the stem cells that are currently undergoing trial on animals are still producing insulin after several months. Ten percent of people with diabetes have Type 1 diabetes, and Type 1 is the most common type of diabetes in children.