FFA Boxed Fruit Sale Is Underway
November 23, 2015
The annual Northview High School FFA Fruit Sale is underway with delivery before Christmas.
The NHS FFA is selling citrus in attractive 2/5, 1/2 or 4/5 bushel boxes perfect for gift wrapping. The Florida citrus is from RiverBrite in Vero Beach.
Orders must be made by Monday, November 30. The pickup date is Wednesday, December 16.
For an order form click here. Order forms and payment can be returned to Northview by mail (the address is on the order form), or dropped off at the school office. Fruits available include red apples, grapefruit, navel oranges, tangelos and Hamlin oranges. Mixed trio half bushels are also available.
For more information, call (850) 327-6681, ext. 248.
Let The Miracle League Fry Your Thanksgiving Turkey
November 22, 2015
Want a fried turkey but afraid to try it yourself? Volunteers from the Miracle League of Pensacola will fry your turkey for you on Wednesday, November 25, saving you the time and trouble while benefiting the charity. And there is still time to make an appointment.
Completely thaw your turkey, removing all of the inside packaging and giblets. Write down exactly how much your turkey weighs so it is fried perfectly and take it to the Miracle League Park at 555 East Nine Mile Road from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25. For a monetary donation to Miracle League, the volunteers will fry your turkey to perfection. A minimum of $20 per turkey is necessary to help cover costs, and any additional donation will benefit the Miracle League of Pensacola.
Call (850) 384-9180 with questions or to schedule your time (leave a message if no answer). Reservations should be made early as they number of time slots is limited.
Molino Park Students Check Out The Moon, Stars
November 21, 2015
Molino Park Elementary School students and their families took part in a stargazing event Friday night at the school.
They were able to use an iPad app to see a virtual sky map as they panned from horizon to horizon, and telescopes were set up for a closer look at stars and planets.
Pictured top: The moon as seen from the stargazing event Friday night in Molino. Pictured inset: Molino Park student Sophia St. Cyr uses an iPad app to locate stars. Reader photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weekend Gardening: What To Do Before November’s End
November 21, 2015
Here is your November gardening calendar from the University of Florida/IFAS Extension:
What to Plant
- Bedding Plants: Create a display of fall colors with cool season plants. Some to try are pansy, viola, and chrysanthemum.
- Bulbs: Bulbs to plant this month include amaryllis, crinum, and daylily. Plant Lycoris (spider lily) in partial shade. Plants will produce foliage in winter and beautiful red flowers emerge in late summer.
- Herbs: Continue planting herbs from seeds or plants. A wide variety of herbs like cooler, dryer weather, including cilantro, dill, fennel, parsley, sage, and thyme.
- Vegetables: Continue planting cool season crops such as beet, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, kale, and lettuce.
What to Do
- Citrus: If freezing temperatures are predicted, protect small citrus trees by watering well at least a day before the freeze. You may also use covers that extend to the
- ground for protection.
- Scale on ornamental plants: Now that temperatures are lower, use dormant oil sprays to control scale insects on trees and shrubs.
- Irrigation: Plants need less supplemental watering in cooler weather. Turn off systems and water only if needed.
- Flowering Trees: Taiwan cherry is an ornamental cherry suitable for north Florida. Late winter will bring pink buds so consider planting one now.
- Birds: As you prune your plants during the cooler months, make a small brush pile in the back of the yard for birds.
- Camellias: Add some of the new cultivars for bright spots of color in winter. Disbudding, or removing some buds now, will insure larger blooms later.
What to Do Every Month
- Adjust irrigation based on rainfall.
- Deadhead flowers to encourage new blooms.
- Monitor the garden for insects and disease.
- Plant trees, shrubs, and perennials and water until established.
Tate Students Coots, Brown Named To All County Academic Team
November 20, 2015
Tate High Schools students Bryce Coots (left) and Samantha Brown will represent Tate High School and the Escambia County School District on the 2015-2016 All County Academic Team. They are pictured with Tate Principal Rick Shackle. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Library Holds ‘Thank-You’ Event; Coloring Contest At Molino Library
November 20, 2015
A “Thank You Kids!” program was held Thursday afternoon at the Century Branch Library. The program celebrated youth with stories, crafts and treats.
A Thanksgiving coloring contest is continuing through Saturday at the Molino Branch Library. Children 11 and under can pick up an sheet, color a Thanksgiving turkey and return it to the library by Saturday for a chance to win a prize. Winners will be announced on Monday.
Photo by August Whorff for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Auburn Fans Win Northview High Food Drive
November 19, 2015
Students at Northview High School collected over 500 pounds of food during a college-theme food driver for Manna Food Bank. Auburn fans at the school came out on top, contributed about one half of the total food.
Pounds donated by fans were as follows:
Auburn: 243.76
University of Florida: 109.2
Alabama: 107.4
Florida State: 44.2
A total of 504.56 pounds of food were collected during the food drive.
Survey: Grocery Prices Down A Bit This Fall
November 18, 2015
Lower retail prices for several foods, including whole milk, cheddar cheese, bacon and apples resulted in a slight decrease in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Fall Harvest Marketbasket Survey.
The informal survey shows the total cost of 16 food items that can be used to prepare one or more meals was $54.14, down $.12 or less than 1 percent compared to a survey conducted a year ago. Of the 16 items surveyed, 10 decreased and six increased in average price.
Higher milk and pork production this year has contributed to the decrease in prices on some key foods.
“Energy prices, which affect everything in the marketbasket, have been quite a bit lower compared to a year ago. Processing, packaging, transportation and retail operations are all fairly energy-intensive,” said John Anderson, AFBF’s deputy chief economist. Lower energy prices account for much of the modest decrease in the marketbasket.
The following items showed retail price decreases from a year ago:
- whole milk, down 17 percent to $3.14 per gallon
- bacon, down 11 percent to $4.55 per pound
- apples, down 7 percent $1.45 per pound
- shredded cheddar, down 5 percent to $4.56 per pound
- flour, down 4 percent to $2.37 per five-pound bag
- bagged salad, down 4 percent to $2.46 per pound
- vegetable oil, down 3 percent to $2.61 for a 32-ounce bottle
- Russet potatoes, down 3 percent to $2.64 for a five-pound bag
- white bread, down 1 percent to $1.69 for a 20-ounce loaf
- chicken breast, down 1 percent to $3.42 per pound
These items showed modest retail price increases compared to a year ago:
- eggs, up 56 percent to $3.04 per dozen
- orange juice, up 7 percent to $3.43 per half-gallon
- ground chuck, up 6 percent to $4.55 per pound
- toasted oat cereal, up 3 percent to $3.09 for a nine-ounce box
- sirloin tip roast, up 3 percent to $5.67 per pound
- sliced deli ham, up 1 percent to $5.47 per pound
“As expected we saw higher egg prices because we lost so much production earlier this year due to the avian influenza situation in Iowa, Minnesota and some other Midwestern states,” Anderson said.
Price checks of alternative milk and egg choices not included in the overall marketbasket survey average revealed the following: 1/2 gallon regular milk, $2.21; 1/2 gallon organic milk, $4.79; and one dozen “cage-free” eggs, $4.16.
The year-to-year direction of the marketbasket survey tracks closely with the federal government’s Consumer Price Index report for food at home. As retail grocery prices have increased gradually over time, the share of the average food dollar that America’s farm and ranch families receive has dropped.
“Through the mid-1970s, farmers received about one-third of consumer retail food expenditures for food eaten at home and away from home, on average. Since then, that figure has decreased steadily and is now about 16 percent, according to the Agriculture Department’s revised Food Dollar Series,” Anderson said.
Using the “food at home and away from home” percentage across-the-board, the farmer’s share of this $54.14 marketbasket would be $8.66.
AFBF, the nation’s largest general farm organization, began conducting informal quarterly marketbasket surveys of retail food price trends in 1989.
Escambia River Muzzle Loaders Make Donation To Escambia Fire Rescue
November 17, 2015
The Escambia River Muzzle Loaders stopped by the Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue with a donation Monday. They donated a turkey, spiral ham and $200 for the Escambia County Professional Firefighters Local 4131 burn fund charity. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Operation Christmas Child Collection Week At First Baptist Bratt, Grace Fellowship Atmore
November 16, 2015
Volunteers be busy this week at the First Baptist Church of Bratt and Grace Fellowship in Atmore during “National Collection Week” for Operation Christmas Child. For the 22nd year, the simple, gift-filled shoe boxes will bring Christmas joy and evangelistic materials to children in over 130 countries across the world.
National Collection Week for OCC is November 16-23. The First Baptist Church of Bratt will be the official OCC Relay Center for the north end of Escambia County, FL, while Grace Fellowship will collect boxes in Escambia County, AL.
“This is not about the FBC of Bratt”, says Student Pastor Tim Hawsey, Relay Center coordinator. “This is about being a blessing and bringing God’s love and hope to children in poverty around the world that would not receive it otherwise. We have gone through the intense process of been approved as a church to be a Relay Center to collect the boxes from individuals, families, and churches of our area, document and pack them into special cartons and take them to the next level for Samaritan’s Purse, and we have been blessed to do it for six years now.”
Collection hours at the First Baptist Church of Bratt will be:
- Monday, Nov. 16 – Friday, Nov. 20: 8 a.m. – noon, 4-6 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 21: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 22: 9 a.m. – noon, 4-7 p.m.
- Monday, Nov. 23: 8 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Collection hours at Grace Fellowship in Atmore will be:
- Monday, Nov. 16: 1-4 p.m.
- Tuesday, Nov. 17: 1-4 p.m.
- Wednesday, Nov. 18: 5 – 8 p.m. (packing party)
- Thursday, Nov. 19: 1-4 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 20: 1-4 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 20: 9:30-11:30 a.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 22: Noon-3p.m.
- Monday, Nov. 23: 8-9a.m.
Operation Christmas Child boxes should be packed in a specific manner, and there are changes this year. For more information, call Hawsey at the First Baptist Church of Bratt at (850) 327-6529, visit www.samaritanspurse.org/occ, or call (800) 353-5949. Resources are available for churches that wish to participate.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.