Photo Gallery: Molino Park Celebrates The Arts
May 14, 2011
Molino Park Elementary School held its annual Arts Day on Friday, with the students spending the day immersed in a variety of arts.
The students enjoyed a wide range of arts, from pottery to photography to cake decorating. They had the opportunity to get “hands on” with many activities. The day ended with the “Molino Park Arts Day Roundup”, a live concert series in the school cafeteria. Artists appearing in the concert had local ties to Molino Park.
For a photo gallery from the event, click here.
Pictured top: A student checks out a dragster during the annual Arts Day at Molino Park Elementary School. Pictured inset: Photographer Candy McGahan explains her work to students. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Google Street View Car In North Escambia (With Photo Gallery)
May 12, 2011
The Google Street View car was spotted in Walnut Hill and Molino Wednesday. And no, that’s not a camera on top. It’s actually 15 cameras and lasers on top, mapping and photographing our communities.
Google Maps with Street View, as well as Google Earth, allows users to explore places through 360-degree street level imagery. Most of the roadways in North Escambia already appear on Street View, but the lower quality images are being updated with new realistic high definition photos.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery of the car and its equipment, click here.
NorthEscambia.com caught up with the Google Street View car at the intersection of Arthur Brown and Pine Forest roads in Walnut Hill Wednesday afternoon. The driver, who is from Pensacola, would not allow us to photograph the inside of the vehicle. But it’s remarkably simple in appearance compared to the outside of the colorful vehicle.
The back seats have been removed or folded down, making room for a ladder to reach the camera mounted above the car. There is one small computer (the original Street View SUV had a rack of computers in 2007) and a hard drive to store the data. There’s one touchscreen computer monitor mounted next to the driver. During our visit, the monitor was displaying a Google map with the driver’s route planned out along with a “record” and “pause” button.
But the real magic is in the red ball mounted above the car. The latest, fifth generation, car’s red ball has 15 lenses taking 360 degrees of photos. It has motion sensors to track its position and three laser sensors to determine distances within the Street View imagery. The laser sensors call also be used to create 3D maps of the surroundings.
GPS sensors, along with sensors that measure speed and direction are used to make sure the images are placed in the right place on the Google Maps and in Google Earth. The sensors even provide enough information to tilt and align the images with hilly terrain.
Google uses cutting-edge face and license plate blurring technology to make sure that people and vehicles captured in the images can’t be identified.
There’s no word when the new images from North Escambia will be available on Google Street View.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery of the car and its equipment, click here.
Pictures top: The Google Street View car Wednesday afternoon on Arthur Brown Road at Pine Forest Road in Walnut Hill. Pictured inset: The red ball contains 15 cameras for photographing a 360 degree view. The three boxes below the cameras are laser mapping sensors. Pictured below: A closeup of the camera systems. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Molino Park Elementary Names Volunteers Of The Year
May 12, 2011
Molino Park Elementary School has named its 2010-2011 volunteers of the year. They are (pictured L-R) Adult Volunteer Tina Pendleton, Youth Volunteer Brandy Hart and Senior Volunteer Janet Crosby. The were honored with a dinner at New World Landing on May 4 and were also honored at the school Wednesday. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cheerleaders Adopt Squad In Tornado Devastated Alabama Town
May 11, 2011
Cheerleaders at one area school have adopted the cheerleaders at a small school in an Alabama town devastated by the recent tornadoes.
Phil Campbell, Alabama, tucked away in the northwestern corner of the state, is a small town with a population of 1,090 — until the tornado hit. There were 28 fatalities in the Phil Campbell High School attendance zone when the massive EF5 mile tornado devastated the town, flattening hundreds of homes and businesses. About 60 people remain hospitalized.
The varsity and junior varsity cheerleaders at Jay High School decided to “adopt” the cheerleading squads at Phill Campbell High School and send a personal care package to each cheerleader.
“We wouldn’t have been doing our job as cheerleaders if we hadn’t jumped at the opportunity to help,” Jay cheerleader Tessa Hendricks said. “I would have been devastated and in complete shock. I hope by sending care packages we were able to cheer them up or at least make them smile.”
Many of the Jay Royal girls contacted their “adopted” cheerleader via Facebook, where they learned that 4 of the 12 varsity cheerleaders at Phil Campbell lost their homes and everything that they had.
“Since we are the same age and have been through a natural disaster before, we can kind of understand what they are going through. All of us wanted to help in any way we could, and this was a great opportunity to do something for people that we can relate to,” said the Royals’ Meridith Owens. “It’s hard to imagine exactly what these girls are feeling, but if I were in their situation, I would be glad to get any help possible. Even the smallest things would mean a lot. Getting a care package from someone my age would be great, and I would be very thankful.”
The care packages were delivered directly to the PCHS girls by Janie Gomillion, Jay’s SGA sponsor, who has a relative who teaches at Phil Campbell High.
“I love helping out people, it’s the Christian thing to do. When something terrible like this happens, it is important to be a part and do as much as you can,” said Abby Raney. “If I were in this situation, I would be completely devastated, and I would greatly appreciate people helping me out in anyway possible.”
“This school really touches the heart of our students because the school is very much like Jay,” said Junia Fischer, Jay varsity cheer coach. “This is a good story that comes from such a bad storm.”
Pictured top: The Jay High School varsity cheerleaders created personal care packages for each member of a cheerleading squad in the town of Phil Campbell, Alabama, which was devastated last month by a tornado. Pictured top inset: Camille Driver writes a note to her “adopted” Phil Campbell cheerleader. Pictured bottom inset: Hanna Roberts works on a card for the PCHS squad. Pictured below: Some of the care packages. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Camp Fire Teachers Take Pie In The Face For Relay
May 11, 2011
The teachers at the Camp Fire USA Century Youth Learning Center recently took a pie in the face recently for a good cause — the American Cancer Society Relay for Life.
Camp Fire is one of several teams that will take part in the Century Relay for Life beginning Friday evening. Each Camp Fire classroom raised $20 or more to see one of their teachers get a pie in the face for Relay.
For more pie-in-the-face photos, click here.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Care Residents Celebrate With Black Tie Ball (With Gallery)
May 10, 2011
Residents at Century Care Center enjoyed their Second Annual Black Tie Ball Friday with good music, great food and good times with friends.
Dressed in formal attire, the residents were escorted into a ballroom setting where they were served by administration, including Administrator Don Ripley, nursing staff including Director of Nursing Doris Jackson and the physical therapy department.
Organizers said every department at the facility contributed to make the event possible.
Pictured top: Century Care Center residents Rita and Larry Irwin of Bratt enjoy the facility’s Black Tie Ball Friday. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Principals Camp Out On School Roof For Relay
May 9, 2011
The principal and assistant principal at Jim Allen Elementary School in Cantonment camped out on the school’s roof Monday to raise money for Relay for Life.
Principal Rachel Watts and principal intern Lisa Arnold remained on the roof for one hour for every $100 contributed to Relay. The school raised $600 — enough to keep the principal duo on the roof for six hours.
Jim Allen Elementary’s Relay for Life team is one of dozens that will take part in the Relay for Life that begins this Friday night at Tate High School.
Pictured: Principal Rachel Watts and principal intern Lisa Arnold were on the roof at Jim Allen Elementary School Monday to raise money for Relay for Life. Submitted photos by Brian Miller for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weekend In Photos
May 9, 2011
From community festivals to theater productions to math tournaments and farmer’s markets, NorthEscambia.com had photo galleries this weekend with about 250 photos from across the area.
Click any of the items below to see more pictures.
Ernest Ward Middle School Names Students Of The Month
May 9, 2011
Ernest Ward Middle School has named their Students of the Month for April. They are (L-R) James White, Courtney Weekley and Jon Michael Hart. Submitted photo for Northescambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photo Gallery: Century Celebrates Sawmill Day
May 8, 2011
The Sawmill Day heritage festival was held Saturday in Century’s historical park. The event included a variety of entertainment, displays, arts, crafts, food, an antique car show and more.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the event and car show, click here.
There were about 40 participants in the car show. Ron Watkins, Jr.’s 1972 Buick GS took Best of Show in the event.
Century Sawmill Day Car Show winners were:
Best of Show
9 – Ron Wadkins, Jr. – 72 Buick GS
Next Ten (alphabetical, not necessarily in finishing order)
12 – Dennis Ard – 80 Pontiac TransAm
18 – Jerry Dawson – 70 Chevelle SS
4 – Gerald DuBose – 40 Chevy Coupe
3 – Joe Linsy – 50 Ford Coupe
32 – Freddie McCall – 40 Ford 2-Door Sedan
33 – Freddie McCall – 34 Ford 3-window Coupe
1 – Betty Tharp – 67 Camaro
10 – Earl Tisdale – 30 Model A
11 – Diane Van Leer – 55 Chevy BelAir
5 – Ron Wadkins, Jr. – 57 Chevy BelAir
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
