Relay At Tate Raises Money For A Cure (With Gallery)

May 4, 2013

The annual Relay for Life of Greater Escambia got underway Friday evening at Tate High School.

Tate High senior Halee Boyd, who is battling a rare form of cancer, spoke to the crowd of hundreds as the event got underway. “It’s about the fight; it’s about never giving up,” she said. Boyd led the survivor’s lap in a “pace car”.

For a photo gallery, click here.

A break was called in the relay by early Saturday morning due to weather. Teams were  back by 7 a.m. for more activities and fundraising. The closing ceremony was held at 11:30 a.m. with recognition, awards and a final lap.

The event at Tate High, formerly called the North Pensacola Relay for Life, has raised well over a half million dollars for cancer research.

Pictured top and below: The survivor and caregiver laps kick of the Greater Escambia Relay for Life Friday evening at Tate High School. Pictured inset: Tate senior Halee Boyd, who is battling cancer, addresses the Relay crowd. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Tonight: Tate High FFA Rodeo

May 4, 2013

The Tate High School FFA Alumni Foundation will present its 22nd Annual Rodeo at the James C. Robinson Escambia County Equestrian Center at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at Farm and Nursery Mart, Southern Mill and Supply and Hill Kelly Dodge at $8 for adults and $3 for children. Tickets can also be purchased at the Equestrian Center gate at $10 for adults and $5 for children.

Sawmill Day And Car Show In Century Today

May 4, 2013

The 3rd annual Sawmill Day and Car Show will be held Saturday in Century.

The car show registration will be open until 11 a.m., with awards at 2 p.m.

The day featrues entertainment, music, Heather Leonard’s Danceworks, flintknappers, pottery demonstratons, picture IDS and fingerprinting for children, the Perdido Bay Tribe of the Southeastern Muscogee Creek Indians traveling museum, Old 100 – the restored original 1919 Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company logging and switching engine, animals from Turtle Point, and inside yard sale, a turpentine display, hot barbecue plates, cold drinks and more.

The event is taking place in the Historical Park at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Fourth Street in Century.

Pictured: The 2012 Sawmill Day and Car Show in Century. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.

Unseasonably Cool, Low Near 43

May 4, 2013

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

  • Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 43. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable.
  • Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.
  • Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
  • Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon.
  • Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
  • Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
  • Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
  • Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
  • Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 58. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
  • Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84.
  • Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 61.
  • Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 84.
  • Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62.
  • Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 85.

Photos: Northview Presents ‘Grease’

May 4, 2013

Northview High School presented Grease before a sold out crowd Friday night.

For a photo gallery, click here.

NorthEscambia.com photos by Bethany Reynolds, click to enlarge.

Photo: Beautiful Rainbow

May 4, 2013

A full rainbow was seen over portions of the North Escambia area Friday afternoon. Pictured top is the rainbow over Northview High School (by Ramona Preston). Pictured below is the rainbow over Atmore (by Ditto Gorme). Pictured bottom is the rainbow over Oakshade Road behind Northview HIgh in Bratt (by Donna Gilman).  Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Today: Market at St. Monica’s, Palafox Market Open 2013 Season

May 4, 2013

Today is opening day for two local farmer’s markets named among the best in their size in the U.S. The Market at Saint Monica’s in Cantonment and the Palafox Market in downtown Pensacola will both be open with farm fresh produce and much more.

MARKET AT SAINT MONICA’S

The Market at Saint Monica’s will begin its third season today  until 1 p.m. in the parking lot of Saint Monica’s Episcopal Church, 699 South Highway 95-A, Cantonment.

Vendors signed up participate in opening day include Ladybug Acres All-Natural Growers, Smocked with Love, Pawless Ponies & Farm, Carlos Goebels – local artist, Hastings Grass Fed Beef, F & G Craftworks, Enoch’s Walk Farm, Ray of Hope – recycled concrete sculptures, Susan’s Hot Dog’s, Jackie’s Sno-cones and more. All vendors are asked to make a donation to Manna Food Pantry.

In addition to new and returning vendors, opening day will feature a Smoked Pulled Pork Barbecue Fundraiser, music by Mr. V’s DJ Service, and special children’s activities. Barbecue plates are $6 and include pulled pork barbecue sandwich, baked beans, coleslaw, and soft drink or bottled water. All proceeds will benefit St. Monica’s outreach ministries.

For more information about Market’s vendors, special events, or schedule, visit www.st-monicas.org/market.html.

PALAFOX MARKET

The May 2013 – April 2014 Palafox Market season begins today  until 2 p.m. in downtown Pensacola.  As it enters its sixth season, the Palafox Market continues to expand with new vendors and more products.  Customers have Saturdays to browse the unique goods offered by local farmers, gardeners, artisans and bakers.

Items originate directly from onsite vendors and include dozens of local farmers, home gardeners, culinary and area artists.  Vendors reside throughout Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Baldwin counties which ensures a variety of colorful, local, and enticing products.  In addition to returning vendors, new vendors will also be joining the market.  Customers will get to experience new products such as homemade sauces, baked goods, additional local produce and even more original award winning artwork.

Mary Bartlett, market vendor since 2008 and owner of Bartlett Meadows Farms said, “The Palafox Market is the best way for shoppers to find locally grown and crafted products at their freshest.  The exchange between people and farmers insures the best possible food on local tables. From local honey and handmade soaps to produce, baked goods, jellies, art, jewelry and handcrafted yard furniture, the Palafox Market has it all.”

The Palafox Market is every Saturday from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. rain or shine.  The market is located under the shade trees in Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza on North Palafox Street between Garden and Wright Streets.  For more information, including products available and how to become a vendor, or to sign up for the weekly newsletter, visit the website at www.palafoxmarket.com.

May Fest Today At Quintette Community Park

May 4, 2013

The Quintette Community Park Association will hold their 3rd Annual May Fest  until 6 p.m. at the Quintette Community Park. The event will include entertainment, food, music, softball, vendors, Maypole planting and much more.

Pictured: The Maypole at last year’s May Fest at the Quintette Community Park. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Chipley Beats Jay In 10 For Region 1-1A Championship

May 4, 2013

The Jay Lady Royals fell short of a return trip to state with a Friday night loss to Chipley.

In Friday night’s Region 1-1A championship game, the Chipley Tigers defeated Jay 4-1 in 10 innings.

Chassity McCranie pitched 10 for the Lady Royals, allowing four runs, 12 hits and striking out four. Sydney Lowery went 2-4 for Jay with two doubles and an RBI. Olivia Wright was 1-3, Destiny Herring was 1-4, and Brittany Gillman was 2-4.

Lawmakers Approve Budget, Finish Session

May 4, 2013

The House and Senate overwhelmingly approved a $74.5 billion budget Friday evening, bringing the curtain down on the 2013 legislative session.

The spending plan for the year that begins July 1 — the one thing lawmakers are constitutionally required to do — gives raises to teachers and state employees, the latter for the first time in six years; repays $300 million that lawmakers had drained from university reserves last year in an effort to close a budget gap; and sets aside money for projects large and small, including $70 million to help restore the Everglades.

Perhaps as significantly, the plan was passed a few minutes before 7 p.m. Friday, marking a departure from the late and sometimes bitter denouements to the sessions of recent years.

“The era of acrimony between the House and the Senate is over,” said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, moments after the session ended.

In the House, lawmakers voted 106-11 to approve the budget, with a handful of Democrats and Rep. John Tobia, R-Melbourne Beach, voting against the package. Most members of the minority party joined Republicans in approving the deal. The vote was unanimous in the Senate.

The measure still needs to be signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott, who will have the opportunity to nix individual projects and proposals with his veto pen.

“I’ll be going line-by-line, making sure that we don’t waste any dollars,” Scott said after the session.

The era of good feelings was helped along by modest growth in state revenues as the budget finally began to emerge from the shadows of the Great Recession.

“There’s light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s not another train,” said Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach.

The extra money allowed the Legislature to both allow spending to grow and say that they were being careful guardians of taxpayer money.

“And this year in addition to taking care of the people who you’re supposed to take care of, you’ve also responsibly balanced your budget by putting $2.6 billion in reserves, and responsibly funding one of our most important missions coming up here, and that is education, by putting $1.8 billion new into your entire education system,” said House Appropriations Chairman Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland.

It was not a universally shared sentiment. Democratic leaders in the House hammered Republicans for not including as part of the budget any program to use federal funds to provide health-care for low-income Floridians. While Scott and the Senate backed doing so, House Republican leaders balked and said that the federal government was an unreliable partner.

House Minority Leader Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, acknowledged that lawmakers should not proverbially let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

“But we do have an opportunity to be great, and we’re settling for good,” Thurston said.

Republicans, who also claimed victories on an overhaul of the state’s education system, bills dealing with ethics and elections reforms and measures revamping campaign-finance laws, didn’t let the criticism get to them.

“I can go home and sleep well tonight,” Gaetz said. “When I go back to northwest Florida, I’m going back proud of our accomplishments.”

by The News Service of Florida

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