The Blue Angels Return Home
March 21, 2017
The Blues are back! The U.S. Navy Blue Angels buzzed downtown Pensacola and Pensacola Beach late Monday afternoon on their way back to their home at NAS Pensacola for the air show season..
The 2017 Pensacola Beach Blue Angels Air Show will be July 9, and the Pensacola Naval Air Station Homecoming Air Show is coming up on November 11 and 12. There are also numerous opportunities to catch a Blue Angels practice aboard NAS Pensacola. Click here for a schedule.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Ditto Gorme, click to enlarge
Camp Fire Kids Celebrate Incredible Kids Day; Camp Fire Birthday
March 20, 2017
The children at Camp Fire Century recently celebrated Camp Fire’s 108th Birthday and Absolutely Incredible Kids Day.
Camp Fire’s Absolutely Incredible Kid Day honors our nation’s youth by asking adults to write letters of encouragement and inspiration to the incredible kids in their lives. It is a simple, meaningful way to let youth know how much they are appreciated. This year, the staff at Camp Fire Century wrote 207 letters for Byrneville Elementary school to pass out to their students.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Tribal Beat Band Names New Drum Major, Assistant
March 20, 2017
The Northview High School Tribal Beat Band has named Clayton Findley (left) as drum major for 2017-2018. Camilla Windham (right) has been named assistant drum major. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
25th Annual Sawmill Pageant Held (With Photo Gallery)
March 19, 2017
The 25th Annual Miss Sawmill Pageant sponsored by the Century Lions Club was held Saturday.
Overall winners were Khloe Hamilton and Skylar Crawford. NorthEscambia.com will publish a complete winner’s list and photos after the information is made available to us.
In the meantime, click here for a photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s events.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
4-H County Event Youth Winners Named
March 19, 2017
The UF/IFAS Escambia County Extension Office recently hosted 4-H County Events, consisting of competitions in public speaking, demonstrations and illustrated talks, fashion, photography, graphic design, and share-the-fun (talent) activities.
The event featured 14 youth, submitting 25 different entries. Blue ribbon winners will advance to district competition.
Escambia County 4-H Event winners were:
Poster Art: Elizabeth Atkins, Levi Nelson, Trista Wolk, and Taylor Nelson.
Demonstrations and Illustrated Talks: Jasmine Guillory, Brayton Workman, Von Littlejohn, Taylor Nelson, Danielle Tinker, and Michelle Tinker.
Photography: Lacie Kittrell, Tucker Padgett (3), Dillon Conti, and Taylor Nelson (3).
For more information on Escambia County 4-H, call (850) 475-5230.
Weekend Gardening: March Tips
March 18, 2017
Here are gardening tips for the month of March from the University of Florida IFAS Extension office:
Flowers
- Annual flowers that can be planted in March include: ageratum, alyssum, amaranthus, asters, baby’s breath, begonia, calendula, celosia, cosmos, dahlia, dusty miller, gaillardia, geranium, hollyhock, impatiens, marigold, nicotiana, ornamental pepper, pentas, phlox, rudbeckia, salvia, sweet Williams, torenia, verbena, vinca and zinnia.
- Caladium bulbs are extremely sensitive to cold soil. There is no advantage to planting early. Purchase caladiums while there is a good selection, but wait until late March or April before planting them in shady beds.
Trees and Shrubs
- Finish pruning summer flowering shrubs such as althea, hibiscus, abelia, oakleaf hydrangea and oleander.
- Delay the pruning of azaleas, camellias, spiraeas, gardenias and other spring flowering shrubs until after flowering is complete.
- Prune any cold weather-damaged plants after new growth appears.
- If needed, fertilize shrubs and small trees with a slow release fertilizer. A good general-purpose landscape fertilizer is a 15-0-15.
- Mature palms should receive an application of granular fertilizer. Use a special palm fertilizer that has an 8-2-12 +4Mg (magnesium) with micronutrients formulation. Apply one pound of fertilizer per 100 sqft of canopy area or landscape area.
- Last opportunity to spray shrubs with dormant horticultural oil.
- Pick up all fallen camellia blossoms and remove them from your property. This practice helps to prevent petal blight next season.
- Prune ornamental grasses.
- If you are in the market for specific colors of azaleas, visit the local nurseries and garden centers this month. Though this is not the most ideal planting time you are assured of the right flower color without having to wait until next blooming season.
Fruits and Nuts
- Time to finish planting bare-root fruit trees.
Vegetable Garden
- This is the month for establishing a spring vegetable garden. Early March plantings have about an even chance of avoiding a late frost.
- The warm season vegetables that can be planted this month are: bush beans, pole beans, lima beans, cantaloupes, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, southern peas, peppers, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, summer squash, winter squash, tomatoes and watermelon.
- The cool season vegetables that can be planted this month are: beets, carrots, celery, collards, endive, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, mustard, bunching onions, parsley, English peas, Irish potatoes, radish and turnips.
- More conservative gardeners might wish to wait until the middle to latter part of the month to risk tender plants such as tomatoes and peppers.
Lawns
- Remove excessive accumulation of leaves from the lawn. This will increase the effectiveness of fertilizers and pesticides applied to the lawn.
- If a preemergence lawn herbicide is needed to control summer weeds, it should be applied in early March. Make certain to choose one that is safe on your kind of grass.
- Keep lawn herbicides away from the root zones of desirable flower, shrubs and other plants.
- Fertilize the lawn only after the danger of frost has passed and when the grass has greened up. Fertilize using a complete fertilizer applied at 0.5 lbs nitrogen per 1000 sqft containing 50% soluble and 50% slow-release nitrogen.
- Service the lawn mower: include a sharpening of the blade and adjusting of the cutting height for your type of grass.
- Anyone considering establishment of centipedegrass from seed should hold off until the soil warms up and stabilizes above 70°F. Add Item Here…
Tate High FFA Provides Meals Of Hope To The Needy
March 16, 2017
The Tate High School FFA is lending a hand to local families in need along with Feeding the Gulf Coast and Meals of Hope.
The group raised $5,000 to purchase bulk commodities to be packaged in single family portions and redistributed to help feed families in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Wednesday, the FFA students packaged thousands of macaroni and cheese meals — carefully measuring, pouring, weighing labeling and counting each bag. Each family receiving one of the mac and cheese meals will know from the label that it was packed by the Tate High School FFA.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Photos by Kim Stefansson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bob’s Sales Camp: UWF Professor Takes Lesson To Escambia Jail Inmates
March 15, 2017
After years of teaching sales skills to corporate professionals and students, University of West Florida marketing professor Dr. Bob Kimball is taking his instruction to a new audience: inmates at the Escambia County Work Release Center.
In February, Kimball conducted a two-day sales course, Bob’s Sales Camp, with 24 inmates participating in the Pathways for Change men’s residential treatment program. Pathways for Change operates a faith-based addictions treatment program for men who want to overcome destructive behaviors, attitudes and habits that prevent them from living a life free from crime and incarceration.
Through a collaborative effort by the UWF College of Business, UWF Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Pathways for Change, Bob’s Sales Camp included interactive exercises, role-play and life skills. Kimball said he plans to repeat the course with a new cohort of inmates every 90 days.
“We are all selling and negotiating all the time, not only in business but in relationships and other areas of life,” Kimball said. “Selling and dealing with others requires you to listen and help them achieve their goals in order to get what you want. I emphasized to these men that to be successful they should focus on others. As they assess their lives and manage their goals, this is a focus that can really benefit them.”
Kimball first approached Dr. Matthew Crow, chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, about his interest in conducting Bob’s Sales Camp.
“When Dr. Kimball approached me with his interest in conducting Bob’s Sales Camp in order to provide skills to inmates preparing to reenter society, I immediately thought of Pathways for Change, an important community partner for our department and UWF,” Crow said.
Brittany Austin, UWF alumna, serves as a link between the University, where she is as an adjunct professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Pathways for Change, where she is the case management director.
“In our men’s residential treatment program, all of the men have been arrested for a felony and court ordered to complete our program,” Austin said. “They are non-violent, non-sexual offenders who are addicts or alcoholics and want to change. We help them develop new skills and trades, and provide counseling to help them better their lives here. For Dr. Kimball to offer these men a new skill that can be applied to any aspect of life is really valuable. It will help them to sell themselves to others in the future.”
One participant in the camp, Michael Ritenour, said he plans to use the skills he learned when he applies for a part-time job in a later phase of the Pathways program.
“It was very educational and I enjoyed it,” he said. “I’m officially trained now, and I can put that on my resume.”
Kimball, who has taught at UWF for 30 years and built his own successful business career prior to teaching, said he views Bob’s Sales Camp as an act of service on behalf of the College of Business.
“Within the College of Business, we’ve talked about finding ways that cross-functional teams can serve the community,” Kimball said. “Bob’s Sales Camp was a pilot project for this effort, and hopefully others in the college will participate in other ways.”
Happy National Pi Day! Math Club Celebrating With Moon Pie Sale
March 14, 2017
The math-inspired Pi Day was observed Tuesday, 3/14.
In case it’s been a few years since your last geometry lesson…remember Pi ( π ) is the number than begins with 3.14 and represents the mathematical constant of the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.
At Northview High School, members of the Math Club celebrated Pi Day by selling Double-Decker Moon Pies, both banana and chocolate flavors, as a fun fundraiser.
Pictured: Members of the Northview Math Club selling Moon Pies for Pi Day Tuesday morning were: (front, L-R) Lexi Broadhead and Charleigh Parham; (back) Cassidy Boutwell, Ashlan Harigel, Cloe Smith, Teriana Redmond, Abi Mascaro, Savannah Spence and Addison Albritton. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Names Students Of The Month
March 13, 2017
Ernest Ward Middle School recently announced Students of the Month for January. They are Autumn Williams, eighth grade; Kailyn Watson, seventh grade; and Alexia Yeater, sixth grade. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.