Santa Rosa Names Farm Family Of The Year
July 22, 2011
The Edwards family of Jay has been named the Santa Rosa County Farm Family of the Year.
Alan Edwards, his wife Michele, and daughters Shelby, 12, Madison 9, and Brianna, 5, received the honor during the 45th Annual Santa Rosa County Farm Tour Thursday.
Over 200 people took part in the farm tour with visits to Emerald Coast Growers, WFREC Jay Research Farm, the Edwards Farm, Hendrick & Sons Ranch in Allentown and Holland Farms.
For a photo gallery, click here.
The Edwards family was honored for their contributions to agriculture. Alan Edwards, a fifth-generation farmer, has about 750 acres near Jay, where he farms cotton, soybeans, peanuts, wheat and hay in addition to raising cattle. He has served on the board of directors of the Santa Rosa County Farm Bureau for 23 years and has served as vice president for the last six years. He also serves on numerous state and national boards, including the USDA Cotton Board, the Florida Peanut Producers Association, Florida Farm Bureau Cotton Advisory Board and the West Florida Research and Education Center Advisory Committee.
Michele also works away from the family farm; she is a staff assistant at the Century Correctional Institution.
Pictured above: The Santa Rosa County Farm Family of the Year (L-R) Madison, Michele, Brianna, Alan and Shelby Edwards. Pictured below: Participants on the annual Santa Rosa County Farm Tour Thursday. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fun News: A Real ‘Loopy’ Story
July 21, 2011
A little good news to report today — Loopy the parrot is back home thanks to a few good folks, our online paper and Facebook.
Loopy was happily enjoying life on a screened back porch in the Bratt area, near Pine Barren Road and the Alabama/Florida line, late last week. But when the mailman decided to put a package on the porch to avoid it getting it wet in an impending storm, Loopy decided to take a road trip out the screen door.
Darlene Thompson and her daughter, Kate Sells, frantically searched for Loopy, a 7-year old double yellow-headed green Amazon parrot. Darlene walked through the woods calling Loopy to no avail. When they returned home, Darlene emailed NorthEscambia.com, placing a free “lost and found” ad on the website.
Fast forward to Tuesday night. That’s when Loopy made his way into the Moore family’s barn on Highway 168 — about a mile from where he fled the porch last week. The Moores immediately tossed a towel onto the wayward bird and captured him, snapped a few photos and contacted NorthEscambia.com on Facebook with information about their find. They also called Darlene and made arrangements for Loopy’s little vacation to come to an end and returned him home safe and sound.
“Your classifieds really work,” Darlene told us. She also said that the family is looking into banding Loopy with their phone number, or, since he talks, teaching him his phone number in case of another flyaway.
And, Darlene said, she’s glad to know that there are good people in the world like the Moores.
“They were such nice people. They wouldn’t even take the reward we offered,” she said.
As for Loopy, he had no comment on this story.
- To visit the NorthEscambia.com “Free Classifieds” page and place an ad, click here. To become a NorthEscambia.com Facebook fan, click here. To become a personal Facebook friend of William, our publisher, click here.
Pictured: Loopy the parrot shortly after his “capture” on Highway 168 near Bratt. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Care’s Hildreth Elected VP Of State Group
July 21, 2011
Mae Sanders Hildreth, director of activities at Century Care Center, has been elected vice president of the Florida Health Care Activity Coordinators Association (FHCA) District XII.
“It has always been my dream to work in activities in a nursing home,” Hildreth said, adding that her mom worked as a nurse until she was 81, with her latter years spent working in a nursing home. “I was raised in it.”
“I strive to do my best to add quality of life for our seniors,” she said.
Pictured above: Mae Hildreth, dressed for the occasion, makes non-alcoholic tropical drinks for residents at Century Care Center during a planned Jamaican Party. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
NHS NJROTC Students Attend Camp (With Gallery)
July 19, 2011
About 90 high school students took part in a Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps basic leadership camp last week at Pensacola Naval Air Station.
The cadets from Northview, Pine Forest, Escambia and Washington high schools took part in daily instruction in academics, basic drills and physical training. The cadets also had daily room and personnel inspections, and they toured aviation training facilities and attended a Blue Angels practice.
For a photo gallery, click here.
The week ended with a graduation ceremony for 89 cadets Saturday at the Naval Aviation Museum.
Northview NJROTC cadets that attended, and the awards they received, were:
- Kasie Braun – 2nd place sit-ups, 5th place push-ups, 3rd place Individual Unarmed Knockout drill competition
- Dylan Cartwright
- Dakota Craft
- Zacarra Davis — 2nd place 1 mile run/ 1st place room inspection
- Casey Godwin
- Alanna Johnson
- Aaron Rausch –4th place room inspection
- Willie Owens — 1st place Individual Unarmed Knockout drill competition
- Johnny Robbins — 2nd place Academics
- Ashley Simpkins
- Victoria Wright — 2nd place Individual Unarmed Knockout drill competition
In addition, graduate assistants, who aided instructors and cadets at the camp, were presented the Cadet Achievement ribbon for their outstanding performance in leading the junior cadets. Graduate assistants from Northview that were honored were Arron McCants and Jonathon Moretz.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: First Baptist Bratt Youth Activities
July 17, 2011
Youth from The First Baptist Church of Bratt recently enjoyed another session of Y.A.H.W.E.H. — Youth Activities Happening Wednesday Evenings in Homes.
Youth Minister Tim Hawsey along with college and career leaders Denver Hawsey, Casey Bagget, Matthew Wilson, Jeremy Bardin, and Brad and Melanie Faulk led a session that included riding a Harley and wading in Canoe Creek.
“Y.A.H.W.E.H. allows Hawsey and his leaders to present the Holy Bible to the youth in our community in a real way and show them how to apply this teaching to their everyday life,” event host Marcella Wilson said.
Hawsey says he has seen the lives of many youth transformed thru Y.A.H.W.E.H. and he invites the youth of Bratt and surrounding communities to join the group.
Do you have news or photos you would like to share from your church? Email news@northescambia.com
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Featured Recipe: Summer Perfect White Chocolate Apricot Swirl Cheesecake
July 17, 2011
This delightful cheesecake recipe was the winner of the first-ever Eagle Brand Signature Recipe Contest, and earned home baker Rebecca L. of Virginia a $10,000 kitchen makeover. Smooth white chocolate, sweet apricot and rich cream cheese come together to create the perfectly refreshing summer dessert.
White Chocolate Apricot Swirl Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crisco Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 14-ounce can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups white baking chips, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 15-ounce can apricot halves, drained
Preparation
HEAT oven to 350°F. Coat bottom of 9-inch springform pan with no-stick cooking spray. Stir graham cracker crumbs, almonds, sugar and butter in small bowl until evenly moistened. Press firmly into bottom of prepared pan.
BEAT cream cheese until fluffy. Blend in sweetened condensed milk. Add eggs, melted white baking chips and vanilla; blend until smooth. Pour over crust.
PLACE apricots in food processor or blender. Cover and process until smooth. Spoon small dollops of apricot puree over top of cream cheese mixture. Swirl with tip of knife to make marbled appearance.
BAKE 50 to 60 minutes or until edges are puffed and golden. (Center will not be completely set.) Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Chill thoroughly before serving.
Serves
Yield 12 servings
Preparation Time:
25 Minutes
Cook Time:
50 Minutes
Tammie’s Cuttin Loose Salon Relocates
July 17, 2011
Tammie’s Cuttin Loose in Atmore has relocated.
Tammie’s is now located inside Jean Daniel’s Salon at 1901 South Main Street in Atmore, right on the Alabama/Florida line.
Walk-ins are welcome for any of the shop’s services, including cuts, perms, foils and color. For more information or an appointment, call Tammie’s Cuttin Loose at (251) 446-7386.
Birth: Ruby Cheyenne Lovely
July 17, 2011
Michael and Caitlin Lovely of Bratt are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Ruby Cheyenne Lovely.
Ruby came into the world on July 6, 2011 at 8:18 p.m. She weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces.
July Gardening Tips
July 16, 2011
The heat, humidity and frequent rains of July are great for tropical plants. Gardeners, however, take a bit of a beating. Remember to keep the sunscreen, insect repellant and iced tea handy as you venture out into your garden to perform some needed summer maintenance.
A midsummer application of fertilizer is usually required, especially on annual flowers, lawns, shrub beds and vegetable gardens. This is a supplemental application, so don’t overdo it. A 15-0-15 slow-release fertilizer is a good general purpose landscape fertilizer for most plants.
Major pruning jobs should have been done earlier, but there is still some maintenance pruning that should be done. Deadhead, or clip old flowers, from summer flowering shrubs as soon as they fade to help insure an extended season of bloom. Crape myrtles, hibiscus, hydrangeas and althea are examples of shrubs that will bloom repeatedly if light, selective pruning is done.
Flowering annuals also respond well to deadheading. Snip off old flowers and flower spikes before they have an opportunity to form seed. Allowing annual flowers to set seed can shorten their blooming season considerably.
Inspect your lawn and shrub plantings frequently in order to identify pest problems as early as possible. The most severe damage from pest insects normally begins in July. Be on the lookout for chinch bugs in St. Augustine grass; spittlebugs in centipede grass; sod webworm in all lawns-especially new ones; lacebug and caterpillars on azaleas; whiteflies on gardenia and spider mites on lots of different types of shrubs.
Sod webworms often attack lawns in the summer. They eat the grass blades producing areas that look as if they have been mowed too short. Close inspection will reveal that the blades have not been cleanly cut as with a mower blade but have been chewed along their edges and tips. These caterpillars feed at night and rest during the day down among the runners and in the thatch.
Once an insect pest is found, evaluate the damage and determine if control is necessary. If it is, choose the least toxic option. If only a few caterpillars are found, hand picking might be the choice. Aphids and spider mites can often be controlled by spraying with an insecticidal soap solution. Chemical insecticides are sometimes required. Before choosing one be sure that the insect pest has been properly identified and that the insecticide is labeled for that purpose For vegetable gardeners that have problems with nematodes, soil borne diseases and extensive weed problems, July is a great time to try soil solarization.
Prepare the soil as you normally would for a vegetable garden including adding organic matter. Moisten the area and cover with clear plastic, not black plastic. Clear plastic will produce the highest temperatures. Be sure to weigh down the edges of the plastic so that it doesn’t blow up. Allow the soil to bake in the sun for four to six weeks. The sun will raise the soil temperature high enough to kill many soil borne problems.
Tip of the Week: The nice thing about tomatoes is that you have the option of harvesting when the fruit is green if needed. Tomatoes will ripen indoors at room temperature. To ensure even ripening, place the tomato with the stem up. The ideal time to harvest tomatoes is when they are fully colored but still firm.
In general, it is best to harvest vegetables early in the mornings while the moisture content is higher. The overall quality will quickly diminish as vegetables are exposed to hotter temperatures later in the day.
For more information, contact Theresa Friday at 850-623-3868 or email tlfriday@ufl.edu. Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.
The Book Closes On ‘Harry Potter’ Film Series
July 15, 2011
The final Harry Potter film hit the big screen at 12:01 this morning, with throngs of fans lining up at theaters along the Gulf Coast anxiously anticipating the moment. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2″ is the end for the Harry Potter series, 10 years after the first film and 14 years after the book release.
Did you see the movie? Tell us about it in the comments below, and email any photos you have to news@northescambia.com.
Pictured above left: Sisters Lydia (left) and Haylee Weaver of Molino wait to see the final Harry Potter late Thursday night at the Ridge Cinema 8 in Pace. Pictured above right: Northview High Senior Taylor Rigby (left) and junior Ashley Cunningham pose with Voldemort at the Rave on Bayou Boulevard in Pensacola. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.