First Day Of Spring
March 20, 2012
Pictured: Amaryllis blooming in Walnut Hill as spring began on Tuesday. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Photos: Rodney Atkins, Travis Tritt At Beulahfest
March 19, 2012
Thousands attended the annual Beulahfest over the weekend. Friday night, Travis Tritt headlined the event, with Rodney Atkins the featured entertainment Saturday night.
For a photo gallery from Day 2 with Rodney Atkins, click here.
For a photo gallery from Day 1 with Travis Tritt, click here.
The festival Friday and Saturday featured not only great music, but plenty of fun, rides, and of course those delicious sausages. Beulahfest attracts thousands each year, with proceeds benefiting the Beulah Volunteer Fire Department and other local charities.
Pictured above: Rodney Atkins performs Saturday night. Pictured below: Grammy Award winning country star Travis Tritt performs Friday night at Beulahfest. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith/Kennedys Photography, click to enlarge.
Tate Trumpet Player Places Fourth In The Nation
March 19, 2012
A Tate High School senior was named the nation’s fourth best high school trumpet player Sunday afternoon in Washington, D.C.
Chris Snyder took fourth among high school players in National Trumpet Competition.
Each year, candidates from across the nation submit a video audition of themselves performing a difficult classical composition. He was one of 30 high school students selected out of hundreds of applicants who auditioned for the opportunity.
Snyder was able to attend Master Classes led by artists the likes of Doc Severinsen, longtime band leader for the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and various other trumpet professional players from top symphonies across the United States.
Snyder, the son of Mark and Sonya Snyder, is a member of the Celebration Orchestra at Olive Baptist Church. For the past six years, he has studied trumpet privately from Darryl Evans and Tom Savage, both faculty members at Olive’s School of Performing Arts.
Pictured: Chris Snyder practices at the Olive Baptist Church School of the Performing Arts. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jim Allen 1st Graders Present ‘BUGZ’
March 19, 2012
First grade students at Jim Allen Elementary School recently presented the musical “BUGZ” with plenty of singing and dancing. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weekend Gardening: Choosing Heirloom Or Hybrid Tomatoes
March 17, 2012
Tomatoes are a favorite of backyard gardeners. Fresh-grown tomatoes are packed with flavor and nutrition. Due to their popularity, many different types of tomatoes have been developed and selected over time. Choosing the best type for your individual growing situation will increase your chance of enjoying a mouth-watering tomato sandwich on a hot summer day.
Heirloom vegetables are back in vogue. A tomato must meet three criteria to be considered an heirloom variety. The variety must grow “true to type” from seed saved from each fruit, the seed must have been available for more than 50 years and the variety must have a history or folklore of its own. Heirloom vegetables are also called open-pollinated or non-hybrid.
Heirloom tomatoes are known for their full flavor and excellent taste. Gardeners who start their plants from seeds have always had many choices available to them. This year, I was surprised to see some heirloom seedlings in stores including ‘Cherokee Purple.’ This is an heirloom from Tennessee rumored to have come from Cherokee gardeners. Its rich flavor is said to be similar to the much-celebrated Brandywine.
While heirlooms offer better flavor, they do have a downside. Their biggest weakness is that they are not generally disease resistant and therefore more susceptible to devastating and sometimes fatal diseases. Heirloom varieties also experience more fruit defects such as cracking and catfacing.
To overcome the potential disease pitfall of heirloom varieties, many gardeners are now grafting their tomato seedlings. In the case of heirloom tomatoes, grafting involves connecting the shoot of the heirloom variety to the roots of a disease-resistant rootstock. The cut pieces are held together by a grafting clip until the tissues grow together (pictured left).
To learn more about heirloom tomatoes and grafting, read the UF/IFAS publication entitled, “Growing Heirloom Tomato Varieties in Southwest Florida.” It’s available online at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs174 or by calling your local Extension Office.
Hybrid tomatoes are those that have been breed and selected for their disease resistance and productivity. They are the first-generation cross between two “pure” parental lines.
The simplest way to define an F-1 hybrid is to take an example. Let’s say a plant breeder observes a particularly good growth-habit in a plant, but with poor flower color, and in another plant of the same type they see good color but poor habit. The best plant of each type is taken and self-pollinated (in isolation) each year and, each year, the seed is re-sown. Eventually, every time the seed is sown the same identical plants will appear. This is known as a ‘pure line.’
If the breeder then takes the pure line of each of the two plants they originally selected and cross pollinates the two by hand the result is known as an F-1 hybrid. Plants are grown from seed produced and the result of this cross pollination should have a good habit and good color.
The vigor of hybridization can increase yields, improve pest resistance and impart other desirable characteristics. Some have credited crop hybridization as a prime reason for our country’s ability to feed larger populations with fewer farmers.
A down side of hybridization is that if you collect and save the seed from a hybrid variety, its offspring will show a loss of that hybrid vigor – it will start to revert back to its inbred parents. If you want the vigorous capacity that comes with hybrid varieties; don’t save the seed for replanting. You will have to buy new seed each year.
To learn about tomato varieties recommended for Florida gardens, read the UF/IFAS publication entitled “Tomatoes in the Florida Garden.” It’s available online at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh028 or by calling your local Extension Office.
Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.
Ransom FFA Takes Part In ‘Ag On The Hill’
March 15, 2012
Five Ransom Middle School FFA chapter members recently participated in “Ag on the Hill” day in Tallahassee.
Anabella Garcia, Connor Groff, Patra Miller, Rachel Grammer, and Ashley Stokes were among the FFA members that had the chance to see government in action and promote agricultural education at the state capitol.
Participants were introduced by Rep. Clay Ingram to the Florida House of Representatives in the House Chamber Gallery during a legislative session and were addressed in special chambers by Agriculture Commissioner Adam H. Putman.
The Florida Association of Agricultural Educators (FAAE) in conjunction with the Florida FFA Association and the University of Florida’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), hosted the event.
Pictured top: Ransom Middle School FFA members Rachel Grammer, sentinel; Patra Miller, creed speaker; Anabella Garcia, president; Connor Groff, treasurer; and Ashley Stokes, secretary.
Flomaton, Century Making Plans For 4th Of July Fireworks
March 14, 2012
Fourth of July fireworks could light up the summer sky again this year in a joint Flomaton-Century show.
Last year, the Town of Flomaton, the Town of Century, the Flomaton Chamber of Commerce and the Century Chamber of Commerce contributed $625 each for a fireworks show that was held at Hurricane Park in Flomaton.
The town of Century helped fund the show last year with the stipulation that the 2012 show be held in Century. This year’s fireworks show will cost $5,000, according to Flomaton Mayor Dewey Bondurant.
The Flomaton Town Council has already voted to contribute $1,500 to the show at Century’s Showalter Park, while the Town of Century will consider a $1,500 contribution at a future council meeting. The remaining $2,000 will come from chambers of commerce and other sponsors.
“It will be a good show,” Bondurant said.
Pictured: The 2011 Fourth of July Fireworks Show at Hurricane Park in Flomaton. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Photos: Molino Park’s E-I-E-I-Oops!
March 14, 2012
Kindergarten students at Molino Park Elementary School “raised the barn and brought down the house” with their production of E-I-E-I-Oops! Tuesday night at the school.
Pictured: Molino Park kindergarten students present E-I-E-I-Oops! Tuesday night. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: Northview’s Got Talent
March 14, 2012
Northview High School recently held a student talent show.
Winners were:
- 1st place — Danielle Scott
- 2nd place — Abby Odom
- 3rd place — Nightmares Never Sleep (Band — Charlie Hadley, Blake Luker, Michael Sepulveda, Alex Edmonson, Zack Johnson and Austin Ard)
- Crowd Pleaser Award — Caleb Leonard, Brian Ross and Alexander Payne
For more photos from the event, click here.
Pictured: Northview High School’s recent student talent show. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century CI Employees Read To Jay Elementary Students
March 13, 2012
Representatives from Century Correctional Institution read to a class at Jay Elementary School recently as part of Read Across America Day.
Read Across America Day, the signature program of the National Education Association, focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships and reading resources. It’s held annual on or near Dr. Seuss’ birthday.
Century Correctional’s Assistant Warden Robert Flores and Officer Tony deGraaf read to Mrs. deGraaf’s kindergarten class at Jay Elementary School as part of the program. They read the popular Seuss book Green Eggs and Ham and gave each student a special treat. They also expressed the importance of learning to read and of a good education.
Pictured: Century Correctional Institution Officer Tony deGraaf (in hat) and Assistant Warden Robert Flores read to a kindergarten class at Jay Elementary School. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
