William Brown Family Of Walnut Hill Wins Escambia County Farm Family Award
October 25, 2024
The William C. Brown Family has been name the Escambia County Farm Bureau’s Farm Family Award.
Farming is the in blood of William and Jean Norris Brown, owners of a 740 acre Walnut Hill tree farm. The timber on Narrow Gap Tree Farm is primarily longleaf pines with some stands of hardwoods scattered and along the natural spring-fed branches that run through the property.
The crops produced include long range timber production, annual pine straw harvesting, and pine seed harvested during the bumper cone crop cycles. Bill developed a freezer system for storing pine seeds for up to 20 years while maintaining their viability.
Bill is always creating some remarkable invention to improve his farming equipment and processes. He intensively farms the longleaf pines by fertilization, mowing, pesticide application, pruning, and controlled burning. His farmed five-year-old longleaf pines reach heights of 15 feet compared to unfarmed five-year-old longleaf pines that not appear to be much more than grass.
Bill and Jean both graduated from Ernest Ward High School, where Bill was a football player and president of Future Farmers of America. Jean was a cheerleader, which became a vital role she has played in every aspect of their life together. Bill received a bachelor of science degree in business administration, with a minor in Economics, from the Universityof Southern Mississippi. Jean received a bachelor of arts degree in English from Florida State University.
They were married in 1963 and moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where Bill was stationed in the Navy. After Bill got out of the military, they moved to Pensacola where Bill worked for Gulf Power and Jean taught high school English. They have two children, Jennifer and Billy, and four grandsons ranging in age from sixth grade through college junior.
In 1977, Bill and Jean founded Air Design Systems, an HVAC and mechanical contracting company in Pensacola.
Bill always wanted to own some property, and in 1984 they got the opportunity to purchase their original 530 acres of timber land, known as Narrow Gap, just three miles from his parent’s homestead where he grew up.
Pictured: Escambia County Farm Bureau board member Jack Livingston presents the Farm Family Award to Bill and Jean Brown. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Two Northview Students Earn Perfect Scores On Reading FSA
October 25, 2024
Two Northview High School students earned perfect scores on the Reading Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) last year.
Pictured with principal Michael Sherrill, they are Meeyah Lassitter (left) and Christian Caraway.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate, Beulah FFA Teams Take Top Sports At District Forestry Contest
October 24, 2024
Area schools took top spots in a recent FFA District Forestry Contest at Falling Waters State Park in Chipley.
Tate High School FFA took first and third place among high schools at the event hosted by the Florida Forest Service.
Tate High FFA team members (pictured above), led by advisor Melissa Gibbs, were:
Milton High School was in second place.
In the middle school division, the Beulah Academy of Science FFA Team A earned first place under advisor Allie Eubanks.
Beulah Academy of Science FFA Team A members (pictured below) were:
Addyson Creighton
Becca DeCoux
Braxton Williams
Luci Graham.
Second place middle school was Pleasant Ridge Christian School from Walton County. The Beulah Middle School FFA Team A finished third.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Middle School Names Students And Employee Of The Month
October 24, 2024
Ernest Ward Middle School recently named their Students and Employee of the Month for September.
They are:
- Sixth grade — Weston Jones
- Seventh grade — Donald Alexander
- Eighth grade — Kameron Brown
- Employee — Megan Bryan, eighth grade world history
Pictured top: History teacher Megan Bryan; Kameron Brown, eighth grade; Donald Alexander, seventh grade; Weston Jones, sixth grade; and Dawn Inman, assistant principal. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Elementary Schools Celebrate 50th Day Of School With 1950s Flair
October 23, 2024
Area elementary schools marked a milestone Tuesday by celebrating the 50th day of school with a nostalgic nod to the 1950s. At Lipscomb Elementary School, students and staff embraced the throwback theme, donning poodle skirts, leather jackets, and other iconic ’50s attire.
The celebration highlighted the progress students have made in their first 50 days of learning. The day was designed to reinforce academic milestones while adding a fun, retro twist.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Veterans Services Office Advocates on Behalf of Local Veterans
October 23, 2024
For veterans trying to navigate the process of getting benefits through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or VA, it can easily become overwhelming and confusing.
Escambia County resident and Navy Veteran Michael O’Neal, age 74, was struggling to get a benefits claim approved through the VA for knee surgery – until a friend told him about Escambia County’s Veterans Services Office.
“I had a documented injury that occurred while on active duty, and the VA kept denying me,” O’Neal said. “But these folks were able to put it together in such a way that they pretty much couldn’t say no.”
The Escambia County Veterans Services Office consists of two Veterans Services officers, Stevan Davis and Lisa Horan, who are accredited with the VA and experienced with helping veterans and their dependents navigate the VA benefits process.
Both veterans themselves, Davis and Horan are committed to working with veterans, their spouses, and dependents to file claims for benefits they are entitled to, acting as an advocate for them throughout the process. Most importantly, the Escambia County VSO provides these services to veterans completely free of charge.
“The veterans already paid for their benefits with their service, so why should anybody else get paid for what they’ve already paid for?” said Davis, who retired from the Air Force after 23 years of service. “We come across people who have done great things and have never asked anything back from their country.”
With a significant veteran population in Escambia County, the VSO stays busy, seeing approximately 65 veterans per week, in addition to outreach events, home visits, and numerous emails and phone calls for assistance. What was once a one-person office has now expanded to two Veterans Services Officers and one administrative assistant.
O’Neal said he worked with another agency before discovering the Escambia County Veterans Services Office, and the difference has been “night and day.” He retired from the Navy after 22 years of service, which included serving on Guam during the Vietnam War. O’Neal has experienced numerous health issues from exposure to Agent Orange, leading to various medical claims filed through the VA.
“We were able to get things accomplished with the VA that had not been able to get done before,” O’Neal said. “They just seem to do better work than anybody ese. They really care about us veterans – there’s no way you could possibly say enough good about them.”
Davis and Horan both emphasized that because they don’t work for the VA, their focus is on helping veterans file the best possible claim to receive the benefits they have earned through their military service.
“I’m your advocate,” said Horan, who served in the Marine Corps for seven years. “I’m a veteran, just like you. I work for you – I don’t work for the VA. Pretty much anything related to veterans, we’re going to do it if we know how to do it. If we don’t know how to do it, we’re going to find out how.”
The Escambia County VSO can assist veterans and their dependents with a variety of benefit claims, including medical treatment, disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, pensions, life insurance, burial claims, survivor benefits and more. Working closely with community partners including Waterfront Mission, Volunteers of America, and 90Works, the VSO also helps connect homeless veterans with available resources.
The VSO aims to make services as accessible as possible, visiting nursing homes throughout the county in addition to conducting home visits when the veteran or dependent cannot travel to the office.
As certified VSOs, Davis and Horan have access to the VA’s claims system, which provides them valuable information that can help when filing claims for veterans.
“That’s a huge benefit to us,” Horan said. “We have insight that the veteran doesn’t have.”
Although they can’t ensure every claim will be approved by the VA, Davis and Horan said they work hard to listen to veterans, gather the right information for their claim, and connect them with their benefits to the best of their ability. The most rewarding part for both of them is just being able to help veterans, many of whom express their appreciation through thank-you cards, letters of appreciation, or even through hugs and tears.
“Just seeing people get help is so rewarding, even if it’s a smaller claim,” Davis said. “For example, you get a guy who gets 10% for his hearing loss, he’s getting $171 a month, but he’s happy and thankful and comes and thanks you because now he gets hearing aids. And before, he couldn’t hear because he couldn’t get hearing aids – he couldn’t afford the $10,000 for a set of hearing aids.”
“That’s the great part of the job,” Horan said. “That’s what keeps us going.”
For more information about the Escambia County Veterans Services Office, visit MyEscambia.com/veterans. To schedule an appointment, please call 850-595-2409 or email VSO@myescambia.com. The Veterans Services Office is located at the Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place, Pensacola. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jim Allen Elementary Accelerated Readers ‘Silly String’ Teachers
October 22, 2024
Jim Allen Elementary School students when met their Accelerated Reader (AR) goals were able to “Silly String” a teacher recently. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Obreonne Parker Named Northview High School Teacher of The Year
October 22, 2024
Obreonne Parker was recently named the Northview High School Teacher of the Year.
Parker has been at Northview for 21 years. She now teaches ESE and is the OJT coordinator for ESE students. She has also served as the athletic director for Northview High School since 2017.
Parker is loved by her students and colleagues. Her hard work and care are evident in the positive environment that she creates for her students. When asked to reflect on her teaching career, she said, “Stay positive, love the kids, and continue to work hard because it pays off.”
She will now be in the running for the Escambia County Teacher of the Year, to be announced later this school year.
Photo Gallery: A Night Of Creepy Crawlies At Roy Hyatt Environmental Center
October 21, 2024
The Roy Hyatt Environmental Center held its annual “A Night of Creepy Crawlies” Friday night from 5:30 until 8:00. Located at 1300 Tobias Road in Cantonment, Florida,
The family-friendly event at the offered visitors a chance to explore the world of insects and reptiles up close.
Attendees could meet creepy crawlers with the Sunset Wildlife Connection, observe birds of prey with the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida, and get hands-on with the center’s resident reptiles. The event also featured educational opportunities, such as examining microscopic critters and discovering aquatic creatures in the “Beach House.”
The Roy Hyatt Environmental Center is an Escambia County Public Schools facility on Tobias Road in Cantonment
NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Community Donations Fund Lipscomb Elementary Book Vending Machine
October 21, 2024
Lipscomb Elementary School has a new book vending machine thanks to community contributions.
Designed to foster a love for reading in the school, contributions funded the purchase of the machine and stocking it with books.
“This will encourage younger kids to read because it is rewarding good behavior with the tokens,” one student told the contributors. “They will read more.”
Lipscomb said the project was funded by the Lipscomb PTA, Escambia County Commissioners, Steven Barry, and Ascend Cares.
A lucky student from Mrs. Whitfield’s class was randomly chosen to be the first student to get a book from the new vending machine.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
