The latest 8-inch model is made from stainless steel and is AIS compliant.

Flomatic Valves’ new Model 408S6 ball check valve is now available in a full 316 stainless steel 8-inch design. The valves are American Iron and Steel (AIS) compliant and designed according to AWWA C508 standard lay lengths.

“We are proud to support the recently passed Infrastructure law and the nationwide investment involving the construction, alteration, maintenance and repair of public water systems” Flomatic Valves president Nick Farrara said. “We offer one of the most complete lines of ball check valves that are AIS compliant and we continue to invest in American-made valve solutions.”      Flomatic’s ball check valves are anti-roping and self-cleaning with no sharp edges or snag points, which helps to prevent clogging from nonflushable wipes and other non-degradable sanitary products. They have been proved in wastewater lift stations for decades with a simple and reliable design.

This design is essentially maintenance-free with features that include a clean-out cover — providing easy access to the inside of the valve without removal of the valve from the pipeline — a Nitrile (Buna-N)-covered metal sinking ball and corrosion resistant stainless steel fasteners. The Model 408S6 ball check valve also includes heavy duty bosses to accommodate NPT tappings for additional optional components.

There are no moving parts except for the Buna-N vulcanized metal ball, which moves out of the flow path, resulting in reduced head loss and longer service life. Floating balls are also available for flood control or air vent applications.

The Beau Welling-designed 10-hole, par-3 course sits alongside Pete Dye’s 50-year-old Oak Marsh course.

Nestled on 1,350 acres at the tip of a barrier island off the northeast Florida coast, Omni Amelia Island Resort has opened Little Sandy, the resort’s unique 10-hole par-3 course, along with an accompanying 18-hole putting course.   Open to resort guests and members of The Amelia Island Club, Little Sandy features holes ranging from 70 to 125 yards. Playing through a picturesque lowland oak marsh habitat, the course seeks to provide a traditional, yet fun-focused golf experience for all ages and abilities.   Situated around Red Maple Lake, Little Sandy offers an idyllic setting as nearly all holes are played along the water amid sandy native grass areas, dunes and diverse wildlife habitat. Designed to be played in little more than an hour, Little Sandy provides stand-alone fun, or it can be enjoyed after a round at Omni Amelia Island Resort’s 18-hole Oak Marsh course.   Designed by Beau Welling Design, Little Sandy promotes camaraderie and community. Playability and an easy-going atmosphere will appeal to golfers of all skill levels while also offering strategic tests on bold, contoured greens. The design firm is also working on other Omni projects such as Omni PGA Frisco Resort, which is scheduled to open in spring 2023.   “Our golf experience is more welcoming than ever for all who stay with us on Amelia Island,” resort managing director Theo Schofield said. “We could not imagine a better complement to our championship layout, Oak Marsh, and we look forward to all guests enjoying Little Sandy as an entertaining and unique alternative.”

Completed in 1972, Oak Marsh Golf Course was designed by legendary architect Pete Dye. The layout is noted for its tight fairways and small greens, meandering along serpentine salt marsh creeks and through moss draped heritage oaks for which Amelia Island is famous.   “We are honored to have worked on Little Sandy with our partners at Omni,” Welling said. “We have created a course where players could use just their putters on nearly every hole or use several clubs in their bag if desired. The relaxed atmosphere and golf course strategy that includes multiple routes from tee-to-green will make Little Sandy a haven for fun and creativity.”

The purchase allows CT&IS to expand into Ohio thanks to newly acquired locations near Cleveland and Columbus.

Central Turf & Irrigation Supply, a wholesale distributor of irrigation and landscape supplies, acquired Irrigation Supply Inc. The sale includes two Ohio locations serving Columbus, Cleveland and the surrounding areas.

The two newly remodeled Ohio locations should provide a more robust, full-service experience for local green industry professionals, opened six days a week in season with expanded hours. Customers will have access to more products and categories, the largest selection of in-stock inventory, hundreds of leading manufacturer brands, and services such as same day delivery, business and marketing resources, and category subject matter experts for onsite training and troubleshooting.

“The timing was right for Central to acquire Irrigation Supply, not just for the customers but for the industry,” owner Bob Hobar said about his decision to sell Irrigation Supply Inc. “The additional product and service offerings is a wonderful thing for our customers. Central will enable them to access everything they need for their businesses to be successful — products, training, and business resources. Central will be their partner for success.”

Hobar and partners purchased Irrigation Supply in 2003 from founder David Vanderwist. Irrigation Supply Inc. has served irrigation contractors in and around Cleveland and Columbus for more than 40 years.

“As a family-owned and -operated business, Central believes in strong partnerships to help our customers grow and be successful,” Central Turf & Irrigation Supply president Bernardo Luciano said. “That’s why we’re so excited to be able to serve and support new and existing customers in Ohio with solutions across irrigation, landscape, lighting, hardscape, and more.

“As a former contractor, I understand the importance of being able to get the products and help you need when you need it. This is why we continually focus on our combination of customer-centered solutions, fully stocked warehouses and one-stop shopping.”

Superintendent-turned-sales rep Cal Hill will cover six states.

Control Solutions Inc. added longtime turf and ornamental industry veteran Cal Hill to its Quali-Pro Gulf Coast territory team, covering Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Hill comes to Quali-Pro with a strong product background thanks to more than 30 years of experience in the turf and ornamental business, 23 of them as a distributor sales representative.

Before moving to sales, Hill was the golf course superintendent at The Refuge Golf Course in Jackson, Mississippi, and the assistant superintendent at both Southern Trace Country Club in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Kiva Dunes in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Hill earned a B.S. in agronomy from Mississippi State University. He lives with his wife and daughter in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Dr. Thomas Fisher has long researched terrestrial and aquatic systems at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

LINNE Industries, which makes the PondHawk solar-powered pond aeration systems, announced Dr. Thomas R. Fisher as its new senior science advisor.  Fisher will lead the development of testing protocol to deliver measurable water quality improvements in stormwater and golf course ponds.

“Under Dr. Fisher’s guidance, we are developing the protocol and team structure to deliver measurable water quality improvement in ponds,” LINNE Industries president and PondHawk co-inventor Sandra Burton said. “As LINNE Industries looked to develop research to create measurable results from PondHawk water aeration, Tom was the first person we called.” 

“The work LINNE Industries is doing to improve water quality in stormwater ponds is an opportunity to apply my expertise in new and exciting ways.” Fisher said. “My primary interest is how land use and human activities on land influence the water quality of streams draining the land.”

Fisher has spent the better part of his career at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) researching terrestrial and aquatic systems in the basins of Atlantic estuaries, the Amazon River floodplain, and carbonate sands on coral reefs. His professional expertise focuses on atmospheric deposition, historical land use changes, stream chemistry, nutrient processing in streams and estuaries, aquatic nutrient cycling, and primary productivity.

“I first met the folks at LINNE Industries through a PondHawk customer,” Fisher said. “At the time, I was leading a team of UMCES scientists monitoring nutrient inputs and the effects of Best Management Practices on properties surrounding the Choptank estuary, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.”

“As the UMCES scientists shared nutrient updates with our engineers, the design of PondHawk systems at LINNE Industries underwent a steady evolution.” Burton said. “The information we received from Dr. Fisher and the UMCES research gave us insight on pond nutrient loads, new nutrients arriving from the watershed, and the PondHawk design changes needed to address the inputs.

“When LINNE Industries was looking to develop the new testing protocol to measure water quality improvements, it was clear, we needed Tom on our team.”

LINNE Industries will launch the new baseline water quality assessment this summer.