Cantonment Knights Of Columbus Receive International Award
December 11, 2016
Knights of Columbus, Santa Maria Council 7402 of Cantonment, St Jude’s Parish has again earned the distinction of Star Council, one of the organization’s top awards, for the 2015-2016 fraternal year.
The award recognizes overall excellence in the areas of membership recruitment and retention, promotion of the fraternal insurance program, and sponsorship of service oriented activities. The award was presented to the membership by District Deputy John Recke at a special ceremony held recently.
In announcing the local winner of the Star Council Award, Carl A. Anderson, chief executive officer of the organization said, “Your dedication to the Order is seen in the high standard of excellence you have achieved. At the same time, I encourage you to carry forward this enthusiasm to meet the challenges that will face the Knights of Columbus in the years ahead. May this award be a reminder and an inspiration to the members of your council to continue to promote the ideals of Columbianism for the good of the Church, your community,and the Order”.
“Receiving the Star Council Award for three years in a row is quite an honor for us. We’re extremely proud of this accomplishment,” proclaimed Grand Knight Brian Hagensick, head of the local council. The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic lay organization. It provides members and their families with volunteer opportunities in service to the Church, their communities, families and young people.
Byrneville Elementary Holds Christmas Carnival (With Gallery)
December 11, 2016
Hundreds attended the annual Byrneville Elementary School Christmas Carnival Saturday at the Byrneville Community Center.
The event included plenty of carnival games for the kids, food, entertainment and the ever popular basket auction.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Photo Gallery: Flomaton Christmas Parade
December 9, 2016
The annual Flomaton Lighted Christmas Parade wound through the street of Flomaton Thursday night. The parade featured the Flomaton High School Band, Northview High School NJROTC, multiple floats, fire trucks and Santa Claus.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Santa Visits The Molino Branch Library (With Gallery)
December 7, 2016
Santa Claus paid a special visit to the Molino Branch Library Tuesday night taking those special Christmas wishes.
Top Christmas top requests were hoverboards and tablet computers. There were several other requests, including snow, a sewing machine, scooter, paint set, a drum set, a piano and a real dragon. All good possibilities except for the snow and the real dragon due to limited space in the sleigh.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Molino Park First, Second Grades Present ‘The Littlest Christmas Tree’
December 7, 2016
Molino Park Elementary Schools’ first and second grade classes presented “The Littlest Christmas Tree” Tuesday night at the school.
NorthEscambia.com photo by Savanna Calhoun, click to enlarge.
Escambia County’s Top 5 Teachers Named
December 7, 2016
The list of finalists for Escambia County’s Teach of the Year has been narrowed to five candidates:
Two Tons Of Peanut Butter Collected During Recent Food Drive
December 6, 2016
Two tons of peanut butter was collected during a recent “Take a bite out of Hunger” peanut butter food drive.
UF IFAS Escambia County Extension collected 371 jars of peanut butter weighing in at 625 pounds, plus local peanut producers Rodney and Mike Helton donated three pallets containing 3,375 pounds of peanut butter in 4,500 jars.
The peanut butter will be donated to local food pantries.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jim Allen Elementary Names Students Of The Month
December 5, 2016
Jim Allen Elementary School has named Students of the Month for November. They are Addison Everette (left) and D’Shayla James. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Local Resident Escapes Gatlinburg Fires
December 3, 2016
A beautiful mountain-view Gatlinburg vacation turned into a horrifying drive for local residentJennifer Ness.
An operator at Gulf Power’s Distribution Operations Center, Ness had to evacuate from the wildfires around Gatlinburg which burned more than 700 buildings and killed at least 11 people earlier this week.
Ness evacuated safely to a nearby hotel and returned home on Tuesday. But she lost all the possessions she had taken except her purse.
“It was definitely a horrific experience,” she said Thursday from her home. “I feel so heartbroken for the community and the people there. It’s just like going through a hurricane and losing everything they have.”
Ness left Sunday to spend a week’s vacation at Westgate Resort, located between Pidgeon Forge and Gatlinburg, where her parents had a timeshare condo. Her best friend, Kathy, was supposed to go, but had to back out so Ness went on her own.
She had never been to the area before and when she arrived late Sunday afternoon, she was amazed at the view.
“The place was amazingly beautiful,” she said. “The condo was incredible and all around the area, they had decorated for the holidays. I was looking forward to sight-seeing and shopping for Christmas.”
But Monday morning, when she went out on the balcony for a cup of coffee, she noticed the smoke. The view was gone and it was hard to breathe.
Ness texted her timeshare host, who told her there was a fire on Chimney Top, a nearby mountain. She instructed Ness to stay indoors until later that Monday afternoon.
Around 2 p.m., she noticed the view had cleared a little, so she went into town, returned to the condo around 6 p.m. and put on her pajamas to settle down for the evening.
Just an hour later, her host called and told her she needed to evacuate.
“She told me to drive as far away as you can,” Ness said. “She reiterated that I need you to leave now. I didn’t realize the extent of how serious it was.”
She put on her clothes, grabbed her purse and got in her vehicle. All four lanes of traffic had been routed to leave town.
The scene on the road was horrific. Embers from the mountain fire had blown down and ignited trees on both sides of the highway. Traffic was bumper-to-bumper and took Ness 45 minutes to get out of the area.
“You could see the flames on the mountain,” she said. “It was an unbelievable site. It seemed like an eternity to get out.”
While she was driving, she called Kathy, who booked her a hotel room in nearby Sevierville. She checked in and then called her family members to let them know she was OK.
Later in the hotel, she saw news video of the resort burning. All that was left standing was an elevator shaft. All her possessions she had brought were gone, including her clothes, a Nikon camera with a zoom lens and her jewelry, including a Pandora bracelet with 24 charms given to her by her children.
The blazes scorched thousands of acres in the resort-heavy area, burning more than 700 buildings in Sevier County, including about 300 in Gatlinburg alone, and injuring at least 74 people, officials said. Ness was one of more than 14,000 tourists and residents that had to be evacuated.
“All the beauty I drove into and then seeing the fires was unbelievable,” she said. “It wasn’t about grabbing my personal belongings. I was thinking about my children, my grandchildren and my mother and to get out safely. It makes you think about the things that are important to you in your life.”
Ness decided to check out of the hotel Tuesday and return so the hotel room would be available for a displaced family. She will return to work next week.
“With our job at the DCC, we’re always the first ones to respond,” she said. “To be on the opposite side as an evacuee was a place I would never want to be again. When I arrived there, I was so excited to be there and experience what my parents love so much. Now, I’m glad to be home.”
Northview Presents Christmas Concert (With Gallery, Videos)
December 3, 2016
The annual Northview High School Christmas Concert was held Friday night at the school. The event featured the Northview concert band, beginner guitar class, monologues from the theater class, vocal soloists and the Ernest Ward Middle School band.
Two video highlights are below: the Northview band with “The Polar Express” (top) and Catie Clayton with “The Christmas Song” (bottom).
NorthEscambia.com photos and video, click to enlarge.