Escambia County FFA Students Receive State FFA Degrees
June 20, 2016
A dozen Escambia County FFA members received their coveted State FFA Degrees last Friday during the 88th Florida FFA Convention in Orlando. The State FFA Degree is highest honor bestowed upon any regular member of the Florida FFA Assocation.
2016 State FFA Degree recipients from Escambia County Schools were:
Northview High School: Kaitlyn Nicole Kleinatland, Bethany Cheyenne Reynolds, Haylee Alease Weaver, Courtney Bryce Weekly.
Tate High School: Owen Phillip Carter, Rachel Joy Grammer, Heath Haydon Herndon, Bricen Trace Iannone, Victoria Lynnne Kent, Patra Nicole Miller, Michael Austin Rising
West Florida High School: Miranda Marie Vidak
Pictured above and below are FFA members from Escambia County at the 88th Florida FFA Convention in Orlando last week, including those from Northview, Tate and West Florida high schools and Ernest Ward Middle School. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Birthday Party Held For Rescue Horse
June 19, 2016
Panhandle Equine Rescue in Cantonment held a 32nd birthday party for Sky, their second rescue horse, and an open house event on Saturday.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
ECUA Helps Prepare 4-H Students For Mock Legislative Session
June 17, 2016
Escambia County 4-H students are scheduled to take part in a mock legislative program at the state capitol late this month. In preparation for that week, Larry Walker, ECUA District 5 board member, hosted the students Thursday in the ECUA board room to allow the students to practice their legislative skills in a governmental chamber environment.
The training prepared the students for the upcoming 4-H Legislature and gain an understanding of board proceedings similar to legislative committees that happen in organizations in all forms of government and private corporate enterprise.
The local students have participated in an intensive five-part training program, which was directed by 4-H agents and adult volunteers, who contributed their knowledge of parliamentary procedure, research, debating, the art of persuasion, and formal presentation in committee and chamber sessions.
This year’s 4-H Legislature is set for Monday, June 27 through Friday, July 1.
The civic education event allows students to write bills, act as lobbyists, pass the bills through various committees and debate the potential laws on the Capitol House and/or Senate Floor as acting representatives and senators. This exercise provides the 4-H’ers an opportunity to debate issues and experience the legislative process first-hand. This year, 14 students will represent the Escambia County 4-H Program.
Pictured: Escambia County 4-H mock legislative students practice their skills in the ECUA board room Thursday. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
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Cantonment Church Builds Courtyard For Waterfront Rescue Mission
June 13, 2016
Pinewoods Presbyterian Church of Cantonment worked last week to construct a courtyard for the men in the Waterfront Rescue Mission program. The project was part of the church’s annual local missions outreach. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Market In The Park
June 12, 2016
The Atmore chamber held their first in a series of “Market in the Park” events Saturday morning at Heritage Park on South Main Street.
The market featured local produce, baked goods, breads, handmade furniture and more.
Additional Market in the Park events are set for June 25, July 9 and August 13 from 7:30 until 11 a.m. For more information or to register as a vendor, call the Atmore Area Chamber of Commerce at (251) 368-3305.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Yard Sale Helps Tate Showband Raise Funds For Hawaii Trip
June 12, 2016
The Tate High School Showband of the South held an indoor multi-family yard sale in the school’s Fryman Gym Saturday. All proceeds will benefit the band’s upcoming trip to Hawaii. The Tate Showband is raising funds to perform in Hawaii in a mass band to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 2016. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Work Continues To Uncover History Of Old Muscogee Cemetery
June 11, 2016
Flanked by his daughter and grandson, Walter McQueen of Cantonment became emotional when they walked down a newly blazed trail leading him to a freshly cleared patch in the woods and saw the headstones of Muscogee residents dating back to the late 1800s.
The 68-year-old had been trying, since he was a teenager, to find the black section of the Old Muscogee cemetery, which had disappeared behind vines, brush and trees and swallowed up by leaf debris decades ago.
In May, Gulf Power Environmental Affairs and Plant Smith employee teamed up with the Northwest Florida Water Management District staff to begin clearing the vegetation to provide families access. (Read previous story, click here.)
“This is amazing to me because I tell you my granddad Elias McQueen is here,” McQueen said. “My grandmother told me he died in 1946, a year before I was born. And I have an uncle, Jim McQueen, here who died of polio at 16 years old. That’s what’s amazing to me about this area.”
McQueen couldn’t find his own family members’ gravesites. He believes the sites are nearer to the River Annex Road under an oak tree, in an area that has yet to be cleared. But he’s nevertheless grateful to be able to stand in a portion of the historic site that was once a part of a thriving timber town that no longer exists. What once was Muscogee is now part of Cantonment.
“Words cannot explain what I feel in my heart,” he said. “I have always thought, ‘When are we going to be able to find these graves?’ This brings back so much of our history. Naturally, families want to know where their family members are buried. This gives us so much closure.”
McQueen wants to help with future efforts to restore the cemetery and plans to locate the families of the people in the graves that have been found.
McQueen’s grandson, Kaleb Gulley, 19, who just graduated from high school, has had a fascination about the town his grandfather always told him about and was thrilled when he read a news story about the cleanup effort.
He was also clearly excited to finally be walking through the cemetery as he searched for possible signs of his great-grandfather’s grave.
“When I was riding on the school bus, I’d look directly out here and think, ‘Wow there’s a cemetery there,’” Gulley said. “There is so much history in Muscogee, and I like to hear about the lumber mills and post office and the people who used to live here. I’m enjoying this moment.”
Gulley is also looking forward to passing on to his children, someday, his grandfather’s stories about the ghost town and show them the cemetery.
Rebekah McQueen-Morris, 32, said there used to be an African-American Holiness church across the dirt road from the cemetery. “The members were buried here in the segregated section,” she said.
To be sure, the site is a reminder of the days of segregation. It also provides a snapshot of the people who supported the timber industry, served in the military and, as McQueen-Morris pointed out, had acquired some financial means based on some of the ornate monuments and marble headstones they left behind.
“I grew up in Cantonment, and it’s a blessing that we have another piece of the puzzle to our history,” she said.
“A lot of times we try to research and learn things about our ancestors but we don’t have the resources, or something like this to occur to help us find out about our history,” she said. “Once we find out about our history, where we come from, we find out who we are.”
Weekend Gardening: Expert Tips For The Month Of June
June 11, 2016
Here are gardening tips for the month of June from the Florida Extension Service:
Flowers
- Annuals to plant include celosia, coleus, crossandra, hollyhock, impatiens (pictured above), kalanchoe, nicotiana, ornamental pepper, portulaca, salvia, torenia, vinca and zinnia.
- Sow seeds of sunflowers. They are easy to grow if you have a sunny spot. Look for some of the new, dwarf varieties that can also be used as cut flowers.
- Remove old blooms (deadheading) to make flowers bloom longer.
- Allow the foliage on spring bulbs to grow. Do not cut it off until it turns yellow and falls over.
Trees and Shrubs
- 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 sq ft of canopy area or landscape area.
- Do any necessary pruning of junipers this month.
- Finish pruning the spring flowering shrubs such as azaleas, camellias, spiraeas, wisteria and forsythia by early June.
- This is the month to reproduce plants by budding.
- Check mulch around ornamental plants to be sure it’s two inches thick. Add mulch as needed to help keep weeds down and conserve water. Keep mulch one to two inches away from trunk or stem.
- Inspect maple trees, especially silver maple for infestations of maple soft scale. Look for a white substance with some black on one end. Individual maple scales are about 1/4 inch in diameter and resemble bird droppings. They occur mostly on leaves and can cause defoliation unless controlled.
- Inspect the undersides of azalea leaves for spider mites and lace bugs. If dry weather conditions exist, these insects can do some serious damage if not controlled.
- Check conifers for signs of bagworms. Call your local Extension Service for control measures.
Fruits and Nuts
- Harvest peaches, nectarines and plums as soon as they mature, before the squirrels and birds get to them
Vegetable Garden
- Side dress vegetable gardens with fertilizer containing nitrogen and potassium. A fertilizer such as a 15-0-15 can be used. Use approximately 2-3 cupfuls (1 to 1 ½ pounds) per 100 feet of row.
- Increase watering frequency and amount as tomatoes load up with fruit.
- Vegetables that can be planted outdoors include eggplant, lima beans, okra, southern peas, peppers and sweet potatoes.
- Sweet potatoes are started from plants or “draws”. Be sure to purchase only certified weevil free sweet potato plants.
- Check for the following pests and control them if necessary: tomato fruitworm, stinkbugs on vegetables and aphids on all new growth
Lawns
- Check for the lawn pests and control them if necessary: Spittlebugs in centipedegrass. They are more attracted to especially lush areas of the yard such as along septic drain fields and in areas where excessive nitrogen fertilizer has been used. Chinch bugs in St. Augustinegrass Sod webworm in all turf
- Start monitoring for mole cricket infestations and prepare for treatment.
United Way Announces Campaign Results, Presents Awards And Funding
June 10, 2016
United Way of Escambia County President and CEO started a Thursday night finale celebration of workplace campaign and community investment results saying, “While some of our community indicators in health, education and financial stability have improved over the last year, there is more work to be done and we are humbled that partners remain unified in the approach to solving our complex community problems.”
She went on to stress the value of collaboration that would be enhanced by the $2,265,294 in cash that United Way announced as the amount invested in community partnerships.
Partners were thanked for their dedication to solving challenges that start with educational gaps that lead to financial stability and health concerns. Krieger stated, “While 15.3% is an improvement over past indexes for those 46,000 neighbors and friends who live in poverty, meeting basic needs is a challenge. Eviction, foreclosure and homelessness are one health emergency or natural disaster away for households where 20 percent of our children are impoverished. “We must remain committed to working together to improve health challenges that leave us unfavorably ranked as 59th among Florida’s 67 counties.”
There were many reasons to celebrate Thursday night as some of the 259 workplace campaigns that helped raise $2,058,845 got to see 47 local agency program partners receive investments of $1 million.
When asked about this year’s 52 percent increase in investments generated by over 3,600 volunteers and partners, John Floyd, Gulf Power Manager of Energy and Efficiency and United Way Board Chair of Community Investment said, “The 66 donors who served on community investment volunteer panels this year spent almost 1,500 hours evaluating the 47 funding applications and allocating the community investment funds to achieve the best return on investment. These volunteers believe in the process and enjoy helping these many great programs make a difference in our community.”
United Way’s support begins with community investment awards, but the giving grows from there. After adding $1,265,294 to Community Investment Awards, United Way was able to target outcomes that improve community success. Details on funding are as follows:
Thursday night’s awards were invested as follows:
As part of the celebration, United Way of Escambia County thanked the workplace campaigns, community donors and partners who made this year’s investments possible. This year’s top ten campaigns raised $163,000 more than last year; an 8 percent increase and annual support from Gulf Power Company ($321,222), Publix Supermarkets ($299,160) and Ascend Performance Materials ($197,699) was celebrated in recognition of their status as the top three workplaces.
Oliver Sumlin, Board Chair of the Workplace Campaign added, “Prior to my involvement in the campaign, I had no idea so many local businesses and organizations were so generous in their giving. It says a lot about our community.”
Special recognition was given to the following individuals and organizations:
WORKPLACE CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR AWARD
1-50 Employees
Virginia College
51-100 Employees
CSL Plasma
101-199 Employees
Escambia County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller
200+ Employees
Navy Federal Credit Union
SCHOOL SPIRIT OF GIVING AWARDS
Elementary
CA Weis
Middle
Ransom Middle School
High
Northview High School
Department/Center
Exceptional Student Education
BUSINESS RECOGNITION BY COMPANY SIZE
1-99 Employees
Central Credit Union of Florida
100-399 Employees
Publix-Perdido #1296
400+ Employees
Escambia County School District
First Baptist Church Of Cantonment Youth Serve At Waterfront Rescue Mission
June 10, 2016
Youth from the First Baptist Church of Cantonment recently served lunch to the guests at the Waterfront Rescue Mission. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
