Ernest Ward Middle Ships Care Packages To Overseas Soldiers
December 3, 2011
Students at Ernest Ward Middle School raised over $600 for Christmas care package items for American soldiers serving overseas. Clubs and athletic groups at the school donated a portion of their own fundraising proceeds toward the project.
In addition to snacks and other items, the students also included hundreds of handmade Christmas cards for the packages that were mailed Friday.
Pictured: Representatives from several Ernest Ward Middle clubs and athletic groups packed Christmas care packages Friday for overseas American soldiers. Pictured are Bethany Reynolds, cross country; Peighton Dortch, FFA; Mallory Gibson, cheerleading; Brianna Parker, basketball; Amber Freeman, band; Gavin Grant, basketball; and Austin Whitehead, football. Several other clubs that are not pictured also contributed to the effort. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Century Resident Retires After 11 Years With Escambia County Facilities
December 2, 2011
Louie Eugene (Gene) Findley of Century retired this week from Escambia County Facilities Management/Maintenance. He worked for Escambia County for 11 years after retiring from the Westinghouse Corp.
Findley’s work took him across the North Escambia area — often to the community centers, fire departments, tax and tag offices, Clerk of Courts offices, and Lake Stone.
Escambia County Public Works held a retirement party Wednesday for Findley, celebrating his accomplishments for Escambia County.
Pictured: Gene Findley (left) is congratulated on his retirement by Escambia County Facilities Management Deputy Bureau Chief David Wheeler. Pictured below: A retirement party for Findley was held Wednesday. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jay High Students Get Hands-On With Hospital Clinical Experience
December 2, 2011
Six Jay High School students who plan to pursue careers in health care are receiving hands-on experience while shadowing staff members at a local hospital.
The Jay seniors — Quinten Garcia, Shelbie Barnhill, Leah Finney, Crystal Brown, Allison Blair and Dallas Belanger — enrolled in the school’s Health Science Academy as sophomores and are now in the final phase of the program. The academy was launched in 2009 as a partnership between Jay High School and Jay Hospital to offer real-world experience for students interested in health care careers.
“Our team of doctors, nurses and support staff has enjoyed working with these talented students,” said Patsy Jackson, director of nursing at Jay Hospital. “The students experience a wide range of health care occupations and have opportunities to learn from our staff members in very small group settings. The mentoring relationships that have formed will be invaluable to these students for years to come.”
During their clinical rotations, Health Science Academy students participate in all areas of the hospital – from patient care to housekeeping to medical records. They observe and practice skills that are allowed within their scope. Prior to the on-site experience, students attended classes at Jay High School to prepare them for the clinical setting.
Participant Allison Blair said she expects the experience to be helpful to her when it comes time to make a career choice. “So far, I have really enjoyed working with patients and getting to know the employees,” Blair said. I have gained a respect for each of them.”
For more information about the Jay High School Health Science Academy, contact program facilitator Nina Hendricks at (850) 675-4507 or HendricksN@mail.santarosa.k12.fl.us.
Pictured: (L-R) Quinten Garcia, Shelbie Barnhill, Leah Finney, Crystal Brown, Allison Blair and Dallas Belanger are enrolled in the Jay High School Health Science Academy and are completing clinical rotations. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fire Safety Campaigns Begins Today; Fire Damages Home
December 1, 2011
Today, Escambia County Fire Rescue and the City of Pensacola Fire Department begin the “Keep the Wreath Green” holiday safety program and Santa Rosa County begins the “Keep Your Holidays Bright” campaign designed to promote fire safety during the month of December. With both programs, officials hope to reduce the number of fires during a time of serious fire danger with simple, life saving tips.
The first residential fire of the year in Santa Rosa County was reported at 4:15 a.m. Thursday in the 4800 block of Covenant Circle in Pace. The fire, mostly contained to the attic, caused an estimated $25,000-$50,000 in damage.
Escambia County
Every time firefighters respond to a residential fire in Escambia County, a green light bulb will be replaced with a red one to remind citizens of the dangers posed by holiday decorations. Last year, there were 18 occupied residential fires during December. None of the fires were in North Escambia; all were south of Nine Mile Road.
This year, the eighth year of the campaign, five-foot wreaths will be on display at 28 different locations throughout the holiday season. These sites are the Old Escambia County Courthouse on Palafox Place, the Public Safety Building on W Street, the Central Office Complex on West Park Place, 17 primary county fire stations, seven stations within the City of Pensacola, Cordova Mall and one mobile display.
This year, the “Keep the Wreath Green” program is going green with all new LED low wattage lights that use less energy, have a longer lifetime and are more durable than the standard lights.
Officials hope to reduce the number of fires during a time of serious fire danger with simple, life saving tips for each day of the month. Click here to read the fire safety tips.
Santa Rosa County
In the Santa Rosa “Keep Your Holidays Bright” campaign, a Christmas tree decorated with candles has been placed in the Santa Rosa County Administration Complex on Caroline Street.
Each time firefighters respond to a working residential fire or large wildfire causing fire damage, a candle will be “extinguished” and replaced with a card noting the basic details of the fire.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Hurricane Season Ends (With Video)
December 1, 2011
The Atlantic hurricane season officially ended at midnight Wednesday. That does not mean that a tropical system is out of the question; there has been a tropical storm recorded every month except February.
The 2011 season was the third most active in recorded history, with 19 named storms — including seven hurricanes. Hurricane Irene caused more than $10 million in damage from the Caribbean to the Bahamas to the northeastern U.S. Along the Gulf Coast, our only taste of tropical weather this season was rain from Tropical Storm Lee.
The following video from NOAA shows the entire 2001 Atlantic hurricane season in just 4.5 minutes.
Flomaton Cheerleader Performs In Disney Parade
November 30, 2011
Ronna Tullis from Flomaton High School was one of more than 500 student cheerleaders and dancers from across the country to perform in the Thanksgiving Day Parade last week at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
The individuals invited to perform in the parade were part of a select group of cheerleaders chosen as cheerleading and dance All Americans during Universal Cheerleaders Association and Universal Dance Association summer camps across the country.
Pictured top: Ronna Tullis from Flomaton High School performed in the Thanksgiving Day Parade last week at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
What’s That Mystery Molino Crop With The Yellow Flowers?
November 30, 2011
We received a lot of emails over the past few weeks asking about the unique yellow-flowering crop planted at Highway 29 and Highway 97 behind the Tom Thumb in Molino.
NorthEscambia.com turned to Libbie Johnson of Escambia County Extension and to the farmer, Eric Koehn of Walnut Hill, to find out that the plant is called Sunn Hemp (that’s Crotalaria juncea L for the scientific types).
For a photo gallery, click here.
It is a semi-tropical plant that is grown as a cover crop in the southeast. It’s a legume, growing in a variety of locations and returning nitrogen to the soil. It can also be used as a biomass to produce biofuels.
“Because it grows so fast, it is really good for people looking to get something on their soil to prevent erosion or to build organic matter into their soils,” Johnson said. “It is touted as being resistant to root knot nematodes- a real problem for our local row crop producers, so it would be good to use in a rotation. It takes about 8-12 weeks of growth for you to get the full benefit of the crop, so it’s best if it’s planted after corn or maybe a vegetable crop. It wouldn’t have time to get going if planted after cotton or peanuts.”
Koehn said he planted the Sunn Hemp as cover crop to prevent erosion after he harvested corn from the field. There were no plans to harvest the crop.
Pictured: Recent photos showing Sunn Hemp growing at Highway 29 and Highway 97 in Molino. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Local Students Recognized As Rotary Four-Way Test Essay Winners
November 30, 2011
Four Escambia County students — including one each from Northview and West Florida high schools — were recognized as winners in the 19th annual Rotary Four-Way Test Essay Contest by the Suburban West Rotary Club.
Winners included Justin Halteman (pictured) from Northview High School, Rachel George from West Florida High School and Jennifer Lewis from Escambia High School. Grand prize winner was Destiny Williams from Booker T. Washington High School.
The Four-Way Test Essay Contest is open to all Escambia County sophomores and juniors, with each participant writing a short essay on the topic “Why is the Rotary Four-Way Test relevant today?”. The Four-Way Test is used by Rotarians to encourage value-driven, ethical behavior at work, at home and in the community.
During a recent luncheon, the winners read their essays to the club and were presented with certificates of achievement and cash prizes. The contest finalist from each participating high school received a $100 award, and the grand prize winner received a $500 award.
Pictured: Justin Halteman of Northview High School reads his award winning essay to the Suburban West Rotary Club. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bratt Student’s Art Tops Among 1,020 Contest Entries
November 29, 2011
A Bratt Elementary School fifth grader Ashtyn Carnley’s artwork was chosen as one of the best over over 1,000 entries in a recent “Express Yourself” art contest held in conjunction with the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra.
Bratt’s fifth grade students recently went on a field trip to hear the orchestra perform. During an art class prior to the field trip, the students listened to music while creating art work inspired by the piece titled “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
About 1,020 students in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties created music-inspired artwork for the competition. Three top winners were chosen from each county.
Second place was awarded to Carnley of Bratt Elementary for her artwork titled “Battle of the Atlantic”. She will be receiving a $250 savings bond from Regions Bank.
Pictured top: Ashtyn Carnley with her award-winning artwork “Battle of the Atlantic”. Pictured below: Bratt Elementary art teacher Meredith Roberts, Ashtyn Carnley and Bratt music teacher Emily Pollard. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weekend In Photos
November 28, 2011
If you missed NorthEscambia.com over the weekend, you missed over 200 photos from several events. Click an item below to view the corresponding story and/or photo gallery.
