A Georgia sheriff has taken to Facebook to declare that the men in his town are getting a free pass on Valentine’s Day this year due to the bad weather. 
 
 Sheriff Scott Berry in Oconee County announced he was canceling the holiday after an ice storm slammed Georgia on Wednesday. 
 
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 “The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office announces that Valentine’s Day has been CANCELLED from a line North of I-16 to the Georgia/Tennessee border,” the post says. “Men who live in the designated ‘NO VALENTINES DAY ZONE’ are exempt from having to run out and buy lottery scratchers and Hershey bars from the corner stores until February 18, 2014, due to ice, snow, freezing rain.” 
 
 Berry told Fox News’ Jenna Lee Friday he decided to do so after he noticed how many stores were closed after the storm. 
 
 Berry’s Chief Deputy Lee Weems said when Berry told him his plan he wasn’t surprised because he is used to Berry’s “hijinks,” but he was surprised how much attention it has received. 
 
 Berry said that even though the weather in Georgia was better Friday, men still should get a pass until Tuesday so they can play catch up. 
 
 “We’ve got to give these guys a chance,” he said. 
 
 Weems said the sheriff’s department will not actually enforce the ban by physically stopping someone from purchasing Valentine’s Day items. 
 
 In fact, Berry said he is not following his own decree. 
 
 “I may have written the proclamation but I am not stupid enough to go by it,” he said. “Yes, Valentine’s Day’s covered at my house.” 
 
 Berry’s Facebook post was shared more than 1,500 times. However, it has angered some in other states, including a man who called the sheriff's office Friday from a Michigan area code to protest the decision. 
 
 The Associated Press contributed to this report ||||| Shops brace for dicey deliveries after storm puts damper on big day for flowers. 
 
 Richard Citron is shown flowers by Sephanie Wolynetz at Boyd's Flowers in Wilmington, Del., on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014. (Photo11: Daniel Sato, The Wilmington, Del., News Journal) Story Highlights Winter snowstorms pose a particular challenge for florist ahead of Valentine's Day 
 
 Some florists are offering customers early delivery options 
 
 Many employees at floral shops are planning to work late Thursday to prepare for dicey deliveries on the Big Day 
 
 The snow blanketing huge portions of the South and northeast parts of the country Thursday – just a day before Valentine's Day – has precipitated another level of stress on top of an already harried time for florists. 
 
 Several florists in Delaware say they are taking a wait-and-see approach on how to deal with deliveries planned for days when lots of snow is predicted. If the roads are safe, deliveries will continue as planned. If not, the flowers might arrive on a later day. 
 
 "We are hoping it's not going to be too bad," said Gina Zimmerman Fries, a member of the family that owns Jen-Mor Florist in Dover. 
 
 With the coming snow in mind, Jen-Mor is planning to staff trucks with an extra person, providing a driver and a runner team to take care of about 300 to 500 deliveries planned for Thursday, and 600 to 1,000 expected to go out on Friday. 
 
 At the Posey Palace Florist in Seaford, Debbie Smith was answering phones Wednesday while others, including shop owner Teresa Lindell, hustled to get arrangements ready and out the door. It's a hectic time, Smith said, but it's also a lot of fun. 
 
 As for the snow, and the possibility of delivering in it, Smith said she's remaining upbeat. She's been delivering flowers for about five years, and enjoys the smiles she gets from the people on the other end. 
 
 "You just make the best of it, and hope you don't fall down on your way to the doors," she said. 
 
 The rush to deliver those blooms began earlier this week, as some customers chose to get vases sent on the days leading up to the Big Day. 
 
 But invariably, the actual holiday is the busiest day for florists, including Boyd's Flowers in Wilmington. 
 
 "Most people want flowers on Valentine's Day, and that's a big challenge for us," said Jackie Cinaglia, the owner of Boyd's Flowers. 
 
 With more than a foot of snow predicted in some communities in New York's Lower Hudson Valley, florists are having to employ some logistical creativity. 
 
 Catherine Amodio, of Creative Flowers by Amodio'??s, in White Plains, N.Y., arranges Valentine'??s roses in advance of Thursday'??s storm. (Ned P. Rauch/The Journal News) (Photo11: Ned P. Rauch, The Westchester County, N.Y., Journal News) 
 
 MariEllyn Dykstra-Donnellan, owner of Dykstra Florist in Spring Valley, N.Y., reached out to her regular customers and asked if they'd be willing to accept delivery on Wednesday, safely ahead of the storm but a little distant from Valentine's Day. Thursday deliveries would stop at noon, she said. Friday deliveries could not be guaranteed to arrive at a specific time. 
 
 "You can have the perfect rose, everything can be perfect, but if you can't get it to the recipient, then everything is broken," she said. 
 
 Most of her customers have been understanding, she said, and willing to take an early delivery. (Dykstra said her roses will last through the weekend without a problem.) She's more worried about losing the foot traffic she usually gets from last-minute Romeos. 
 
 "It's going to be a damper," she said. 
 
 In Georgia, someone in the Oconee County Sheriff's Office humorously decided to avoid the problem altogether when they posted a Valentine's Day cancellation on the department's Facebook page. 
 
 A Facebook message posted around 8 p.m. on Wednesday said, "The Oconee County County Sheriffs Office announces that Valentines Day has been CANCELLED from a line North of I-16 to the Georgia/Tennessee border. 
 
 Men who live in the designated "NO VALENTINES DAY ZONE" are exempt from having to run out and buy lottery scratchers and Hershey bars from the corner stores until February 18, 2014, due to ice, snow, freezing rain." 
 
 Rick Lee is the owner for Lee's Flower and Card Shop in Washington, D.C., where snowfall totals ranged from 4 to more than 12 inches in the region, and he is determined to make Valentines Day deliveries this Friday. 
 
 "Hopefully it will not be as bad," he said Wednesday. "But if it is we will have a major problem on our hands." 
 
 Lee is committed to working through the storm. 
 
 "We have a lot of stuff to get out and we will be here on Thursday all night," he said. "Mentally it's hard, physically it's not any harder but mentally you don't know what to expect." 
 
 In White Plains, N.Y., Catherine Amodio, owner of Creative Flowers by Amodio's, said a lot of her deliveries were going out earlier than usual. 
 
 As she stood at a counter, wrapping a dozen roses in clear plastic, she said she and her staff had been logging long days at the shop and would work through the storm. 
 
 "I have a feeling tomorrow's going to be quite a wasted day, as far as people coming in," Amodio said. 
 
 She hadn't given up all hope for a big day of sales. Love, after all, is a great motivator. 
 
 "When people are in love, they manage a way to make it happen," she laughed. "So, hopefully, it'll all happen for everybody." 
 
 Contributing: The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News, WXIA-TV, Atlanta, and WUSA-TV, Washington, D.C.) ||||| Twelve inmates escaped an Alabama jail Sunday night after using peanut butter to cover a door number and trick a young jailer, Walker County Sheriff James Underwood said Monday. 
 
 Of the 12, all but one was back in custody by daybreak Monday. "I thank the Lord today we have 11 people back in the jail,'' the sheriff said. 
 
 Only Brady Andrew Kilpatrick, a Cordova man jailed for possession of a controlled substance,possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana, remains at large. Underwood said he doesn't believe Kilpatrick is dangerous. 
 
 The Walker County jail break happened about 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the county jail in Jasper. The jailer opened a door to the outside thinking it was a cell door, Underwood said, because the number had been covered with peanut butter. 
 
 "Changing numbers on doors with peanut butter -- It may sound crazy, but these kinds of people are crazy like a fox." Underwood told a news conference. "He thought he was opening the cell door for this man to go in his cell, but in fact he opened up the outside door." 
 
 The dozen inmates then scaled a 12-foot fence topped with razor wire after walking out. Some were cut and scraped, but none seriously injured. He said it probably took them about 10 minutes to clear the fence. 
 
 "Escapes happen," Underwood said. "We've got some evil people down here, and they scheme all the time to con us and our employees at the jail. You've got to stay on your toes. This is one time we slipped up. I'm not going to make any excuses." 
 
 There were about 140 inmates in the jail Sunday. A staff of seven jailers was on duty. 
 
 After making their break, all 12 of the inmates met up at an undisclosed location about four miles from the jail. Not all of the inmates in the cell that had contained the inmates who escaped left, and were cooperative with deputies. "They helped us considerably,'' the sheriff said. 
 
 Once the jailer realized the inmates were gone, they took a head count to determine who was missing. Acting on information quickly developed, lawmen went to the location where the group had planned to meet and recaptured six of the escapees within 90 minutes - John Richard Hunter, 26, Christopher Cole Spain, 18, Kristopher Keith Secrest, 20, Quadrekas Latoddrick Key, 21, Timothy Chaz Cooper, 28, and Steven Sanford Hartley, 27. 
 
 Over the next eight hours, with the help of multiple law enforcement agencies, five more escapees were taken into custody: Michael Adam MicGuff, 30, Steven Blake Lamb, 28, Christopher Michael Smith, 19, Larry Inman, 29, and Ethan Howard Pearl. 
 
 One of the inmates was recaptured in Townley, where the sheriff said a car was stolen. Two others were captured by deputies and Birmingham police at the Flying J off of Interstate 65. 
 
 Underwood said all 11 inmates captured were still wearing their prison garb. 
 
 Authorities had offered a $500 reward for information leading to the recapture of the inmates. Underwood was asked about what some perceived as a low reward amount, but he said he felt it was adequate. "That's a lot to some people,'' he said. "We're going to pay a few people for their help." 
 
 Reward money will be paid out to several tipsters, he said. Other may face criminal charges for helping the inmates remain at large. "They had some outside help,'' Underwood said. "We will get to the bottom of it." 
 
 Underwood said there are two cameras at the jail, and both were working when the escape happened. The locks also were in working order. Though the jail, built 19 years ago, has its deficiencies, they didn't contribute to the Sunday debacle. 
 
 "I said it was human error and he made a mistake," Underwood said. "He's a young guy, he hasn't been there that long. This young man was a weak link, and they knew it." 
 
 Asked if the jailer would face disciplinary action, the sheriff said, "We're going to take care of that matter,'' he said. 
 
 He said the incident remains under investigation by his own department. They are not bringing in any outside agency to assist in the probe. 
 
 Underwood said there hasn't been an escape at the Walker County Jail in three years. "You a run a jail, you're liable to have escapes,'' Underwood said. "It's the cost of doing business." 
 
 The Associated Press contributed to this report.
– Two Valentine's Day extremes, with a law-enforcement theme: The dedicated: An Arizona inmate scaled a 12-foot fence, crawled through razor wire, and climbed yet another wire-topped fence to escape from jail and visit his girl yesterday, reports the Arizona Republic. Joseph Dekenipp, 40, made it to the Gallopin' Goose saloon—10 miles from the Pinal County Adult Detention Center—and did indeed reunite with his girlfriend. Trouble is, police got there soon after she did and hauled Dekenipp back to jail, where he faces vehicle theft charges. The not-so-dedicated: The sheriff in Oconee County, Georgia, caused quite a buzz when he declared that Valentine's Day was canceled because of the region's weather, reports Fox News. Men "are exempt from having to run out and buy lottery scratchers and Hershey bars from the corner stores until February 18, 2014, due to ice, snow, freezing rain," wrote Scott Berry. The jokey post drew attention from around the world, as seen on the department's Facebook page.