Northview Football Teacher Of The Week: Megan Carroll
August 26, 2018
The Northview Chiefs named Megan Carroll as their Teacher of the Week for her hard work and dedication to inspire football team members in an academic setting.
Each week, we would like to invite the teacher to our pregame meal on Friday (if possible), to talk to the team prior to the game on Friday night and stand on the sideline with the team during the game.
Also, each teacher of the week will receive a Northview football t-shirt.
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4-H Council’s ‘Boots vs. Badges’ Presents $3,500 To Gulf Coast Kid’s House
August 24, 2018
The Escambia County 4-H Council’s “Boots vs. Badges Challenge” last May raised $3,500 for the Gulf Coast Kid’s House.
The event pitted the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office vs the U.S. Navy in an obstacle course challenge. The ECSO’s eight-main team defeated the Navy’s team.
The competition was held at the Escambia County 4-H property in Molino along with individual obstacle course competitions, a car show, bounce houses, and petting zoo.
Escambia County 4-H Council President Taylor Nelson (pictured above left in green jacket) presented a $3,500 check to the Gulf Coast Kids House a few days ago.
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West Florida Libraries Receive $25,000 Donation From Friends
August 24, 2018
Friends of West Florida Public Library donated $25,000 to West Florida Public Libraries for youth programs such as Summer Reading Club supplies and educational performers, and STEAM activities such as WFPL’s robotics, science, art, and engineering programs.
Friends of West Florida Public Library is a nonprofit organization founded in 1973. Over the past 40-plus years, the Friends have raised more than $2 million to enhance the programs and services at West Florida Public Libraries such as developing library programs, building new library locations and many other activities.
The Friends raise money through their book stores located inside Pensacola Library located at 239 N. Spring St. and Tryon Branch Library located at 1200 Langley Ave. The Friends also host book sale events throughout the year.
IP Donates For School Supplies At Jim Allen Elementary
August 22, 2018
International Paper employees that work in the administration building in Cantonment raised $260 to use for school supplies for Jim Allen Elementary. Pictured: Jim Allen Principal Rachel Watts accepts a $260 gift card donation for school supplies from Brian Till and Mark Kyle of IP. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Even The Sidewalks Help Kids Learn At Cantonment Park
August 19, 2018
Even the sidewalks help children learn at Carver Park in Cantonment.
Decals placed on sidewalks in the park offer children a chance to play and learn. The decals reinforce concepts that will be important for children when they start school. Skills like counting, letter naming, shape and color identification are built into the nine decal designs.
Partners in the project included the Cantonment Rotary Club and the Studer Community Institute.
Cantonment Rotary President Bobby King said the project was a great match for Rotary’s commitment to community, education and improving the lives of children.
“Carver Park has been recently renovated through the efforts of Cantonment Improvement Community (CIC),” King said. “Their organization is dedicated to helping the children by improving this community. Their efforts and dedication has inspired us. For us at Cantonment Rotary, this was an easy and clear decision to utilize our Rotarian grant for this project. It is a piece of the puzzle in making a difference. Seeing the smile on a child’s face while learning and interacting with the decals is special.”
Carver Park is located at 208 Webb Street. The play and picnic areas at the park are located under the largest natural oak canopy of any Escambia County park.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
United Way Recruits Volunteers, Projects For Day Of Caring
August 18, 2018
United Way of Escambia County is now recruiting volunteers and organizations in need of support for its 26th Annual Day of Caring on October 5.
Day of Caring is the largest single day of volunteerism in Northwest Florida. Each year, individuals and groups are matched with local nonprofit agencies and schools to spend the day working on various service projects. Day of Caring volunteers have the opportunity to see firsthand the needs of our community while working together to combat those issues through volunteerism.
Last year, more than 1,300 volunteers rolled up their sleeves across our community to spend time with seniors, read to students, paint, build, landscape, and more. Together, Day of Caring volunteers completed 97 projects at 68 local nonprofit agencies and schools, and donated 4,463 hours of their time for an estimated $107,748 impact on our community.
Volunteers or organizations looking to participate in 2018’s Day of Caring should register online at http://www.unitedwayescambia.org/dayofcaring by August 31.
Once all volunteer applications and project requests are received, a committee of United Way staff and volunteers carefully review them to match groups with preferred projects or those most appropriate based on a group’s skills or size.
For more information on how to get involved, contact United Way’s Volunteer Center at 850-434-3157 or by emailing volunteer@unitedwayescambia.org.
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Tate Graduate Forecasts Career In Television Weather
August 16, 2018
Cantonment native Alexandra Kent is forecasting a career as a television meteorologist.
Kent was the featured weather personality Wednesday afternoon on WTVA TV in Tupelo, MS. She has interned at the station this summer as she works toward her meteorology degree at Mississippi State.
She will graduate in 2019, and plans to apply for a masters degree program at the University of Oklahoma.
Kent graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2014 from Tate High School where she was a member of the Multimedia Academy. She also attended Ransom Middle School and Pine Meadow Elementary, and volunteered at Escambia Westgate.
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Tate And Northview FFA Chapters Named Among The Best In The Nation
August 13, 2018
Both the Northview High and Tate High FFA chapters have been named two of the very best in the nation as Three-Star Chapters by the National FFA Organization.
The National Chapter Award Program is designed to recognize FFA chapters that actively implement the mission and strategies of the organization. These chapters improve chapter operations using the National Quality Chapter Standards and a Program of Activities that emphasize growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture. Chapters are rewarded for providing educational experiences for the entire membership.
Pictured: The Tate High School FFA Chapter (above) and the Northview High School FFA Chapter (below) at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN, last fall. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fall Veggies Are Cool To Grow
August 11, 2018
by UF/IFAS Extension Service
In Northwest Florida, vegetable lovers can enjoy harvests from their backyard gardens throughout the year. However, to ensure a productive and enjoyable vegetable garden, you must understand and abide by planting times.
In general, vegetable crops can be grouped into warm-season and cool-season varieties. Warm-season crops do not grow well at temperatures below 50 degrees F and are killed by frost. Cool-season crops are those that grow at lower temperatures, are not injured by light frost, but can’t take the heat.
In late summer and early fall, North Florida gardeners experience a unique opportunity. You can still plant another round of warm-season crops and/or start your cool-season vegetables.
Planting of warm-season vegetables gets to be more critical with the fall garden because we have an end point—frost and freezes. When planted too late, plants will grow, but may not provide enough of a harvest to make the effort worthwhile. Examples are peppers, eggplants and tomatoes. These vegetables can easily take up to two months from transplanting to producing the first fruit. All the time, the fall is getting shorter in day length and cooler in temperatures. That’s really tough on “warm-loving,” full-sun plants.
Since timing is so important with the fall crop, choose warm-season crops that will produce well within a short time. Look for fast-maturing and determinant or bush-type cultivars to ensure a good yield before frost.
Crops to plant outdoors in August include bush and lima beans, cauliflower, collards, cucumbers, onions, southern peas, peppers, squash, tomato and turnips.
In September, you can set out beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, endive, kale, kohlrabi, mustard and radish.
The cooler temperatures of October are better for planting Chinese cabbage, lettuce and spinach.
To find specific recommendations on when to plant vegetables in Florida, read the UF/IFAS “Vegetable Gardening Guide”. It’s online at edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh021
The leafy crops excel in the fall. Some of the more popular leafy crops are Swiss chard, collards, spinach, mustard, turnip greens and lettuce. Endive, escarole, kale, arugula and the greens of mesclun mix also do very well during the cooler months.
Garden lettuces can be divided into three classes based on habit of growth – leaf or loose-leaf types, semi-heading types (such as butterhead and romaine) and heading or crisp-head types.
Crisp-head lettuces, such as the iceberg types available in supermarkets, are more of a challenge to grow here, so its recommend you stay with the leaf and semi-heading varieties. Other than generally avoiding the heading types, feel free to try just about any variety that strikes your fancy.
Leaf lettuces are the most decorative and least-demanding. They also are among the most heat-tolerant lettuces. This type of lettuce grows in a loose rosette of foliage, and the leaves can be smooth or crinkled, pointed, lobed, curled or ruffled. Foliage color runs from deep ruby red to dark green to pale greenish yellow, with just about every combination in between.
Collards will withstand wide ranges of temperatures if properly conditioned. They may be direct seeded and or plants can be transplanted. Collards may be harvested by cutting the whole plant or by “cropping” individual leaves.
Onions are generally grown from sets or plants. Sets and plants will require about six to eight weeks to reach eating size. Bulbing onions will not be ready to harvest until spring.
Radishes are fast growers and fun for the kids. Many are ready to harvest 25 to 30 days after planting.
So take the leap and “fall” into vegetable gardening.
Total Cuteness Alert: Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office Names New K-9 Pups
August 11, 2018
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office has named their two newest K-9 pups — meet Copper and Zinc.
The department held a naming contest on social media that ended Friday that receive about 2,000 entries.
The two bloodhounds were donated to the department SRSO Capt. Jim Cotton and Maj. Randy Tifft. Once Copper and Zinc are trained, the new deputies will be used for tracking.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
