Petersons To Celebrate 50th Wedding Anniversary

February 20, 2011

Roland “Pete” and Mary Alice Peterson will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday, February 26.

Friends and relatives are invited to attend a reception held in their honor at Bratt First Baptist Church in the Family Life Center from 4 until 6 p.m. A scrapbook will be available to share any memories, pictures or stories you have of the couple; everyone is invited to bring something to share.

The reception will be given in their honor by their children, Janice Coleman, Karen Tibbals and Greg Peterson.

If you are unable to attend but would like to send a card, mail it to Janice Coleman, 6901 Pine Barren Road, Century, FL 32535. For more information, call Janice at (850) 287-2947 or Karen at (931) 224-7032.

Start Your Battle With Summer Weeds Now

February 19, 2011

theresafriday.jpgWeeds are problematic in most landscapes.  Even if you do everything right, a weed is going to pop up occasionally in the lawn.  Although most of our lawns are still dormant, it’s time to decide if you need to apply a pre-emergence herbicide (weed preventer).

Weeds can be less of a problem if you maintain a healthy lawn through proper cultural practices.  Watering correctly, using appropriate fertilizers and maintaining a high mowing height will ensure your lawn is at its peak and can compete with the weeds.

However, if year after year you have an abundance of weeds during the summer, a pre-emergence herbicide may help you in the battle against weeds.

Pre-emergence herbicides are applied before weed seeds germinate.  Therefore, it’s critical that these chemicals be applied at the proper time.

In Northwest Florida, timing of a pre-emergence herbicide application for summer annual weeds, such as crabgrass, should be between February 15 and March 5 or when day temperatures reach 65 to 70 degrees F for four to five consecutive days. This generally coincides with the blooming of azaleas and dogwoods.

Some pre-emergence herbicides to look for include:

  • dithiopyr (Dimension)
  • isoxaben (Fertilome Broadleaf Weed Control with Gallery)
  • pendimethalin (Lesco PRE-M or Scotts Halts Crabgrass Preventer)
  • benefin (Hi-Yield Crabgrass Control)

Be sure to apply any product according to the label directions.  Even, consistent coverage is essential with pre-emergence herbicides.  Any gaps in coverage will allow weeds to emerge.

Once applied, be sure to water-in the product.  Do not apply before a rain event.  It’s hard to know how much rain will fall at any one time.  Too much rain can send your weed killer down the storm drain.

Pre-emergence herbicides are generally effective in controlling weeds from six to twelve weeks following application.  Most will begin to degrade when exposed to the environment. Therefore, to obtain season-long control, an additional application should follow six to nine weeks after the initial one.

It is possible to use too much pre-emergence herbicide.  Some pre-emergence herbicides have a root-stunting effect on established turf and can thus be detrimental to the health of your lawn if applied at too high of a rate or applied too many times during a season. It is best to time applications when they will be most effective, and to further prevent weeds by maintaining a dense, healthy stand of turf.

It is difficult to find a good time to apply “weed-n-feed” products. Weed control using pre-emergence products should be applied from mid-February to early March. Fertilization should wait until your lawn if fully out of dormancy and actively growing.  In our area, that is sometime in April.

When nitrogen-containing fertilizer is applied too early to warm-season grass, it may stimulate the lawn to grow much too soon.  If we have a couple of weeks of warm weather followed by a late frost, damage can occur to over stimulated lawns.  My recommendation would be to apply your pre-emergence herbicide separately from your nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

If weeds have been a major problem in your landscape consider using pre-emergence herbicides.  If applied at the proper rate and at the proper time, the benefits can be tremendous.

Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.

EMWS Drama Students Awarded At State

February 18, 2011

Three Ernest Ward Middle School Drama Department students performed at the Florida State Junior Thespian Festival in Melbourne last week.

Katelyn Born, Megan Bryan and Morgan Packer each received an “Excellence” rating and a medal at the competition with about 120 schools and almost 2,000 in attendance.

“It is quite an accomplishment to place at state, so we are extremely proud of these girls,” said Katie Ward, Ernest Ward drama instructor.

Pictured: Ernest Ward Middle School drama students (L-R) Megan Bryan, Morgan Parker and Katelyn Born. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

FBLA Celebrates: Fast Typists And Wacky Photos

February 18, 2011

Northview High School’s FBLA celebrated National FBLA week with several contests, including creating a wacky photo of their teacher.
The winner of the Fastest Typist Contest was Jacob Morris with 91 net words a minute.

The winner of the Wackiest Photo Contest was Ashley Mooney. In the photo contest, students were instructed to digitally enhance a photo of teacher Donna Smith for success (or not).
Mooney and Morris were presented with a teddy bear and certificate for their efforts by FBLA President Elizabeth Wright.

For more “Wackiest Photo Contest” entries, click here.

Pictured top: Ashley Mooney and Jacob Morris are awarded for winning National FBLA Week contests at Northview High School by FBLA President Elizabeth Wright. Pictured inset: Mooney’s digitally enhanced “wacky” photo of teacher Donna Smith. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Bratt Students Awarded In PTA Reflections Art Program

February 17, 2011

Five Bratt Elementary School students were awarded during the annual PTA Reflections Art Program recently in Pensacola.

Winners were: Madison Peterson, second place musical composition; Savannah Doremus, second place dance choreography; Amber Gilman, first place photography; Gracen Brooke, second place photography; and Landon Chavers, second place photography. Each received a medal and certificate presented by Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas.

Pictured top: Bratt Elementary students receive their PTA Reflections Art Program awards from y Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas. Pictured below: (L-R) Madison Peterson, Savannah Doremus,Amber Gilman, and Gracen Brooke. Not pictured: Landon Chavers. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.


Northview FBLA Students Place At Districts

February 16, 2011

Several members of Northview High School’s Future Business Leaders of America placed at the FBLA District 1 Leadership Conference at the University of West Florida recently.

NHS students taking part included:

Business Calculations
Taylor Dukes , 6th
Erin Fremin , 3rd
Derrick Portis, 5th

Business Communication
Taylor Byrd , 3rd
Hannah Hinton , 5th

Business Mathematics
Victoria Wright , 5th

Health Care Administration
Alissa Fiellin , 1st
Casey Godwin , 2nd

Intro to Business Communications
Kasie Braun , 1st
Deidre Steele , 4th

Job Interview
Jessica Imholte , 2nd

Public Speaking II
Elizabeth Wright , 2nd

Technology Concepts
Darwin Robinson , 3rd

Web Design Team 1
Brandon King , 1st
Joshua King , 1st
Jacob Morris , 1st

Winners first to fourth place (first place for performance events) are eligible to attend the FBLA State Leadership Conference in Orlando April 25-28.

EREC Sends Area Juniors On Tallahassee Youth Tour

February 15, 2011

Fourteen high school juniors were guests of Escambia River Electric Cooperative last week in Tallahassee as they learned more about their state legislature and electric cooperatives.

Participants included Ashley Brazwell, Crystal Davis, Myranda Jernigan, and Taylor Mitchell from Central High School; Crystal Brown, Cody English, Caristyn Golden, Sawyer Hudson, Meredith Owens, and Sara Stokes from Jay High School; and Taylor Byrd, Holly Dickson, Nolan Taylor, and Elizabeth Wright from Northview High School.

While in Tallahassee, the students met with nearly 100 other high school juniors from electric cooperatives throughout the state of Florida. EREC delegates enjoyed visiting the Challenger Museum and viewing the IMAX movie, Hubble (3D). Youth Tour participants observed court in session in the Florida Supreme Court and participated in a mock session in the senate chambers where various members of the Legislature addressed the group.

The Youth Tour program provided students an opportunity to learn more about their state government and electric cooperatives and also gives them a chance to interact
with other students from co-ops throughout the state.

“It was a great educational experience and a lot of fun for the entire group,” according to Sabrina Owens, EREC’s marketing director.

Pictured top: 2011 EREC Youth Tour delegates with Florida State Representative Doug Broxson. Left to right: Ashley Brazwell, Taylor Mitchell, Sawyer Hudson, Elizabeth Wright, Cody English, Taylor Byrd, Holly Dickson, Rep. Broxson, Nolan Taylor, Crystal Davis, Sara Stokes, Myranda Jernigan, Crystal Brown, Caristyn Golden, and Meredith Owens. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Century Care Center: Be My Valentine

February 15, 2011

Residents at Century Care Center celebrated Valentine’s Day with a lot of good fellowship Monday afternoon.

Sweethearts were Evelyn Bates, Alene Burch, Hattie Floyd, Ada Inman, Ruby Leach, Essie Johnson, Dora Rolin,  Betty Roney,  Dorothy Roper,  Ruth Steele, Thomas Barrow, David Comalander, Larry Gregory, George Lockett and W.E. Welch.

For more photos, click here.

Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Camp Fire Kids Create Valentine’s Cards For Vets (With Gallery)

February 14, 2011


The students at the Camp Fire USA Century Youth Learning Center shared their Valentine’s love with local veterans by making cards to express their honor and appreciation. Nationally, Camp Fire USA children and youth have made Valentine’s cards for veterans each year since 1978.

For more photos from the Camp Fire USA Century Youth Learning Center, click here.

Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Featured Recipe: Fresh Rosemary Chicken with Pesto Pasta

February 13, 2011

This weekend’s featured recipe from Janet Tharpe is a Fresh Rosemary Chicken with Pesto Pasta. Fresh herbs, sun dried tomatoes and pesto sauce team with chicken for this impressive but simple pasta dish.

To print today’s “Just a Pinch” recipe column, you can click the image below to load a printable pdf with a recipe card.

« Previous PageNext Page »