Yes, You Can Grow Potatoes In North Escambia
January 8, 2011
These cold winter days make gardeners yearn for the warmth of April to be able to get their vegetable garden started, but they needn’t wait so long. Late January through February are ideal times for establishing some potatoes in the garden. When you are eating YOUR home-grown, fresh potatoes in May, you won’t even think of those the day you braved a cold, brisk wind and drizzly skies to get your potatoes planted.
For those not familiar with growing potatoes, you don’t plant the typical seed to get more of the wonderful vegetable. What growers call “seed” is actually a portion cut from a potato tuber that has an active growing point called the “eye”. Many gardeners plant seed potatoes that they cut themselves from potatoes purchased at grocery stores, but it is better to purchase seed potatoes that have been certified. Certification insures that the seed tubers are free of disease. You can usually purchase seed at farm and garden supply stores in our area, and you can usually order seed. If you are unsure of where you can buy the seed, call the Extension office.
Before you plant any new crop, a soil test should be taken to determine soil fertility. Based on University of Florida fertilizer recommendations about 0.75 lbs of nitrogen(N) and about 0.5 lbs of potassium(K) are required per 100 ft of row at planting. This is roughly equivalent to 7.5 lb of a 10-0-10 complete fertilizer at each application. The remaining nitrogen and potassium fertilizer (0.75 lb N and 0.5 lbs K per 100 ft of row) should be placed in a band about four to six inches to either side of the plant approximately three to four weeks after planting. The fertilizer should be buried about two inches deep.
Mark the day you plant your seeds on the calendar. You will need to keep track of the age of your young potatoes. Plants should be spaced at about 6-8” within the row with at least 36” between rows. Seed pieces should be planted 4” below the soil surface. Seed pieces should be planted with the cut side down and eyes (or sprouts) facing up. Hilling is the act of adding soil to the top of the potato row. Since the seed piece was only planted 4” below the soil surface, there is the possibility that new potatoes will push up above the soil surface. Add about two or three inches of additional soil on the potato row when the sprout emerges from the soil (the sprout generally emerges around ten days to two weeks after planting). Soil can be moved from the furrows between rows and used for hilling.
Once you have your potatoes up and growing, you should see gradual growth of the vines. If we continue to have very cold temperatures, you might have to provide frost/freeze protection for the plants. Plants that are smaller than four to six inches can be covered with more soil if freezing temperatures are forecast. You can also cover them with fabric. Some people loosely mound hay over young plants and move the hay to the furrow when temperatures improve.
Should you start to see distortions in the leaves (from an insect, animal, or disease), don’t hesitate to contact your Escambia Co. Extension office. We can help you determine the cause of the problems and often provide a solution.
Potatoes that grow well here usually mature and ready for harvest 80-115 days after planting. Home gardeners who will be consuming their potatoes within a month or two can dig up their potatoes when they are ready, being careful to limit damage to the tuber when using tools. Most people don’t grow enough potatoes to be concerned with storing them for long periods of time, but if you do, please contact the Escambia Co. Extension office to learn more about how to keep potato tubers.
For more information about growing potatoes in the Home Garden, please visit http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/HS/HS18300.pdf As always, you can contact the Escambia Co. Extension office at (850) 475-5230.
Deputies Seek Cop Impersonator In Sexual Battery
January 7, 2011
Deputies are looking for a man suspected of impersonating a police officer and sexual battery on a woman in Escambia County.
The incident occurred as the woman waited for a taxi at the Motel 6 on Plantation Road early Friday morning.
Around 4:30 a.m., the woman told deputies that she had been on a night out with friends and it ended at the motel. According to the report, she stated that she had been “smoking weed, crack and drinking alcohol” until she was ready to go home. At that time she called a taxi and walked downstairs to wait for her ride.
Allegedly, as the woman was waiting on the taxi, she began talking to a Hispanic male she did not know. During this conversation the male suspect offered to take the woman home and she agreed, getting into the front passenger seat of his vehicle. She described the vehicle as a silver or gray compact car.
While in the vehicle the suspect allegedly asked the woman to exchange sex for money. She told deputies that when she declined his offer he began talking on a radio and told her he was a cop. He then threatened the victim with jail if she did not do what he asked.
The victim said that she was driven to a wooded area near Creighton Road where she was sexually battered by the suspect.
The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his mid to late forties and approximately five-foot-seven to five-foot-eight inches tall with short dark hair. He was said to be wearing blue jeans but no other clothing description was provided by the victim.
This incident is being actively investigated by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, and it is requested that anyone with information concerning this case call the Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Lawmakers Confident Gov. Rick Scott Will Delay Septic Tank Inspections
January 7, 2011
The sponsor of a Florida House bill that would provide for a six month delay of the new requirements that septic tanks be inspected every five years said Thursday that she likes the bill’s chances now that there is a new governor. The law went into effect January 1.
Rep. Marti Coley said the bill would likely be signed by Gov. Rick Scott, whose office confirmed Thursday evening that he has received the measure.
Coley, R-Marianna, said she was not sure why the bill was not sent to the governor’s office until after Scott took over for Crist, who signed the wide-ranging springs protection bill the requirement was included in last year.
But Scott “fully supports” the six month delay, which was the only piece of new legislation approved by lawmakers in a special session last month to override several Crist vetoes, she said.
Scott will also likely support a push by her and Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, to fully repeal the requirement this spring, she added. That measure has not been filed yet in the House, where Coley said “support is growing,” but three bills (SB 82, 130 and 168) have emerged in the Senate.
“Government should be lifting financial burdens from homeowners, not placing more on them. I’m committed to making sure that some commonsense is put back in our environmental regulations,” Coley said.
A spokeswoman for Scott could not confirm Thursday night whether or not he intends to sign the bill containing the six month delay.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me, and I want it repealed. What is the state government involved in that? It makes no sense,” Scott told NorthEscambia.com during an exclusive campaign trail interview last November.
Meanwhile, North Escambia’s legislative members are standing behind bills that seek to repeal the septic tank inspection program.
“These are very difficult times for Floridians and we should be looking for ways to reduce the burden of government, not require people to pay more into a bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all program, said Evers, who filed one of the bills in the Senate. “This bill is the first step in the right direction to reverse this concerning law. SB 168 will repeal all the septic tank inspection provisions that were passed into law during the 2010 regular session and return to a sensible approach of fixing only failing systems – an approach that was already codified in law.”
“This is an issue that the counties need to resolve locally, the state doesn’t need to dictate a solution,” Doug Broxson, Florida House District 1 member, said. “The local governments can investigate this matter and determine if there are any pollution problems in their county.”
The News Service Florida contributed to this report.
Report: Shortcuts, Mistakes Led To BP Oil Spill
January 7, 2011
In what likely will become fodder for upcoming lawsuits, a stinging federal report scheduled for release next week shows that shortcuts, mistakes, questionable technology and overall poor management led to the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
Releasing a portion of the report it will formally submit to President Obama on Jan. 11, the National Oil Spill Commission on Thursday had plenty of blame to spread around for the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The commission, co-chaired by former Florida Gov. Bob Graham, also is tasked with suggesting how to prevent a repeat of the catastrophic event that cost 11 lives and billions of dollars.
BP, Halliburton and Transocean share the majority of blame for the April 20 blow out of BP’s Macondo well, but the incident brought up industry-wide shortcomings that are even more troubling, the commission said.
“Whether purposeful or not, many of the decisions that BP, Halliburton, and Transocean made that increased the risk of the Macondo blowout clearly saved those companies significant time and money,” the report reads. “There is nothing inherently wrong with choosing a less costly or less-time-consuming alternative – as long as it is proven to be equally safe.”
Federal regulators did not escape blame as the commission, also co-chaired by former Environmental Protection Agency Administator William Reilly, found agencies tasked with policing the industry lacked the authority and the expertise to properly do the job. The report is scheduled for full release next week.
“The well blew out because a number of separate risk factors, oversights, and outright mistakes combined to overwhelm the safeguards meant to prevent just such an event from happening,” an advance excerpt released this week reads. “But most of the mistakes and oversights at Macondo can be traced back to a single overarching failure-a failure of management.”
Florida officials, meanwhile, have conducted a number of hearings as they try to recoup state and local money spent in repsonse to the disaster. People and businesses affected by the spill are also embroiled in efforts to receive payment from a $20 billion fund set up to compensate victims of the spill.
BP oversight was found lacking on a number of fronts, led by the decision to allow the well to be drilled using only six stabilizers instead of the 21 called for in its own engineers. Though unable to unequivocally link the lack of stabilizers to the blow out, investigators said the decision showed markedly poor management on BP’s part.
The commission found that BP’s overall approach to the stabilizer issue was best summed up in an E -mail sent by a BP engineer to a colleague days before the explosion arguing that more stabilizers were needed.
“But, who cares, it’s done, end of story, [we] will probably be fine and we’ll get a good
cement job,” the engineers concluded.
Looking at Halliburton, the company responsible for providing the cement needed to both cap the well and secure the bore hole, the commission found that the company disregarded its own tests that showed the foamy cement mixture it was using might not work at such depths and pressures.
“Halliburton documents strongly suggest that the final foam stability test results indicating stable slurry may not even have been available before Halliburton pumped the primary cement job at Macondo,” the report said. “If true, Halliburton pumped foam cement into the well at Macondo at a time when all available test data showed the cement would be, in fact, unstable.”
Meanwhile, employees for Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon Rig, failed to follow protocols and misread tell-tale signs that things were not proceeding as planned during the critical hours leading to the explosion and fire aboard the drilling platform that marked the beginning of a three month battle as millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf, the commission found.
The investigation showed rig workers may have overlooked some developments and disregarded others as indications mounted throughout the day that trouble was brewing.
But mistakes and failures to appreciate risk compromised each of those potential barriers,steadily depriving the rig crew of safeguards until the blowout was inevitable and, at the very end, uncontrollable,” the report concluded.
By Michael Pelteir
The News Service Florida
Miss Northview High School Pageant Scheduled For January 29
January 7, 2011
Mark your calendars — the annual Miss Northview High School Pageant will be held on Saturday, January 29 at 7:00 in the school auditorium. The pageant is sponsored by the Northview High Varsity Cheerleaders.
Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, January 11 at 8 a.m. for Miss NHS contestants only. All others can purchase their tickets beginning Wednesday, January 12 at 8 a.m. All tickets can be purchased in the Northview front office; tickets will not be sold at the door. Admission is $6 per person.
Pictured above: Angel Mitchell reacts as she was named last year’sMiss Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Charges Dropped Against Man Charged With Cutting Outside Bar
January 7, 2011
All charges have against an Atmore man charged with a cutting last year outside of a Davisville bar.
Joshua Wayne Stuckey, now 34, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after the incident about 12:30 the morning of January 31, 2010, outside of the Grey Goose on Highway 97 just south of the Alabama state line.
Escambia County (Fla.) deputies were dispatched at 12:48 that morning to Atmore Community Hospital in reference to a stabbing. The victim, a 34-year old male, told deputies that he and his wife decided to go to the Grey Goose after leaving the Atmore casino. Inside the bar, the victim saw his ex-girlfriend and her husband, Joshua Wayne Stuckey, and he told deputies he spoke to her.
That incident allegedly led to a cutting outside the bar. According the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report on the incident, the victim suffered a 9-centimeter long and 4-centimeter deep cut to his abdomen.
2010 Persons Of The Year: Lawrence And Doris Cooper
January 7, 2011
NorthEscambia.com is naming Persons of the Year for 2010 each day this week. Click here for previous recipients.
Lawrence and Doris Cooper have been named two of our North Escambia Persons of the Year.
The Coopers operated Cooper’s Grocery in Bratt for well over 50 years. They announced in October that they were closing the store; however, the store was later sold and remains open under a new name.
Reprinted below is our October story in which the Coopers announced the store’s closure.
A long chapter in the lives of many North Escambia residents is closing soon — Cooper’s Grocery at the Bratt Crossroads will soon be no more.
“I don’t know for sure when we will close it, but it won’t be long. Probably by the end of October,” Doris Cooper, 77, said Tuesday. She and her husband Lawrence Cooper, 84, have owned the country store at the heart of the Bratt community for 54 years.
Besides church, Cooper’s is, without a doubt, the center of the Bratt community. Mornings are a hustle and bustle of activity at “Coop’s”, with moms and children buying those last minute snacks for the school day at Bratt Elementary. Northview High students grab sugary snacks and caffeine to fuel their day.
The wooden front door creaks and moans as it opens and rings the bell to signal another customer. Wooden shelves are stocked with most everything imaginable. Cokes are sold in various sizes of plastic bottles like any other store. But there’s the sound of pure American nostalgia each time the top is popped on a glass bottle of Coca-Cola using the bottle opener located at the front counter. Glass bottles of Coke have been sold at Cooper’s since it first opened at the end of World War II.
The Coopers have offered credit to members of the community for decades. Customers were, and are still, able to add their purchase to their “ticket” for later payment. No credit checks needed, basically just residency in the community.
Some of the charge tickets are old and yellowed, waiting for decades payment. Tuesday morning, Mr. Lawrence located one from 1957. “3 doz. eggs $1.65. Gas $1.55. Groceries $21.35.” They know they will never be paid for the purchases 53 years ago. The gentleman that made the charges is long since deceased.
“But sometimes they will come back in here and make a payment,” Mr. Lawrence said. “I had a guy come in here and make a payment on an old one that I could not find right away. It wasn’t much, but he knew how much it was down to the penny that he owed.”
“I hope and pray that we’ve helped a lot of people,” Mrs. Doris said. “Sometimes that just what it is about.”
Anyone that has grown up around Bratt will happily tell you their memories about the candy counter. Well-stocked with all-time favorite candies, its the stuff dreams — and memories — are made of for little ones.
“Momma would give me 15 cents. We may have been poor, but I was spoiled with my 15 cents in here,” Donnie Bass, longtime Cooper’s Store customer said. “I would get a big candy bar, they were much bigger back then; a Coke and a honey bun.”
Bass, 64, has never really stopped going to Coopers. These days, it’s not uncommon to find Bass at the end of the counter, sharing his lighthearted outlook on most any subject that’s fit for discussion.
Known as the defacto mayor of Bratt, Bass and his buddies gather most mornings at the store to discuss the latest “news” of the day. They talk about the world’s problems, America’s problems and the local problems. And they always have a solution in mind.
“The world’s problems have been solved right here in this store,” Bass said, as he contemplated where he and his buddies will meet after the store’s closure. “I hate it when traditions are broken, don’t you? We might meet at my house, but I don’t know if that’s going to fly.”
It’s no secret that the solutions proposed by the men of Cooper’s Store have not solved America’s problems — the problems that have led to the demise of the store.
“It’s the economy really,” Mrs. Doris said as to why the store will close by the end of the month. And she said the couple hopes to do a little traveling. Then she started naming the trips taken through the years, all funded by the their little country store.
“We were blessed,” she said. “We able to do a lot with our children. We were probably one of the first families from Bratt to be able to go to Disney World.” Then there was the trip to California during which Mrs. Doris refused to get out of the car in Nevada because of legalized gambling.
“It was a Sunday and I wasn’t going to set foot on the ground in that state,” she said. As his wife continued to recount found memories of road trips with their children, Mr. Lawrence interrupted.
“We went to Wawbeek one day,” he said, bringing a chuckle from those around the counter. Even at 84, his humor is quick-witted.
Cooper’s Store adapted over the years to changing times. They once stocked a full line of groceries including fresh meats, hardware, clothes, shoes and animal feed. The store sold gasoline until just recently, and they also added a pizza/deli counter. “We would sell so much back then,” he said, from suppliers like J.U. Blacksher, Flomaton Wholesale and Lewis Bear.
The meat and cheese scale is still at the front counter — mostly used to weigh babies, she said.
Mrs. Doris’ own children are no strangers to the store, with all having worked behind the counter at one time or another.
“It’s been our family for all these years,” she said. “I’m going to miss seeing all the people in the community. They are like our family.”
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Deputies Seek Info On 1981 Murder
January 7, 2011
It was 30 years ago on the afternoon of January 2, 1981 that 9-year old Kenneth Deshun Underwood and three companions went bird hunting in the woods near their Cantonment home. Everyone returned home that afternoon except for Underwood.
When Underwood was still not home around 6 p.m., Escambia County Search and Rescue personnel were called. The area were Underwood was last seen alive was canvassed. His body was discovered about 5:45 the next morning –apparently murdered — in an area near Booker Street.
The case remains unsolved, and now the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for help because they believe someone in our area still has information about Underwood’s death.
If you know anything about the death of Kenneth Deshun Underwood, 9, you are asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit at (850) 436-9580 or Crime Stopper at (850) 433-STOP (7867). Crime Stoppers also receives tips at gulfcoastcrimestoppers.org.
Pictured above: The fourth grade photo of murder victim Kenneth Deshun Underwood of Cantonment. Pictured below: The highlighted area in this map shows were the body was found. Submitted by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Time For The Monthly Barrineau Park Music Night
January 7, 2011
There will be plenty of good entertainment on stage tonight in Barrineau Park — and it’s free. The monthly Barrineau Park Music Night will be tonight at the Barrineau Park Community Center. The featured local groups tonight are Rowell Bluegrass and The Wayfarers.
The singing starts at 6:30 p.m. Food and refreshments will also be available beginning at 6 p.m.
The event is family-friendly — no alcohol is permitted on the property, and no smoking is allowed in or near the building.
For more information, call (850) 587-5575.
The Barrineau Park Community Center is located on Barrineau Park School road, about three miles west of Molino.
Pictured above: Rowell Bluegrass will perform tonight during the monthly Barrineau Park Music Night. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sunny Saturday; Cold Rain For Sunday
January 7, 2011
Saturday will be sunny along the Gulf Coast, but a front will bring a cold rain for Sunday. Rain, sleet and even freezing rain is being forecast from Monroe and Conecuh counties in Alabama and north for Sunday night and Monday, so keep that in mind if you are traveling.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 36. West wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 56. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. North wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 44. Wind chill values between 25 and 35. East wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Sunday Night: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 37. East wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 50. North wind around 5 mph.
- Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers before midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 35. North wind around 5 mph.
- Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47. North wind around 5 mph.
- Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 44.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 28.
- Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 52.
- Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 28.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 51.