Go Little Chiefs: Northview Plans Mini Cheerleading Clinic
October 18, 2011
The annual Northview Mini-Cheerleading Clinic will be held Thursday evening, giving area girls the chance to cheer at an upcoming Northview Chiefs game.
The clinic will be from from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m Thursday in the school gym. The clinic is open to children three-years old through the eighth grade. Cost is $10 per person, and t-shirts will be available for purchase the at the clinic.
The girls will perform during the October 21st Northview Chiefs football game at home against Freeport High School. They girls will receive free admission to the game,ribbon and a megaphone filled with goodies.
For questions, call Anna at Northview at (850) 327-6681.
Pictured: Mini-cheerleaders perform last year at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Ransom FFA Members Place In District Forestry Field Day
October 17, 2011
For the first time in Ransom Middle School FFA history, four students recently participated in the District 1 Forestry Competition at Bear Lake Blackwater State Forest. Ransom’s FFA placed third overall , with Austin Murphy placing second in Map Interpretation and Johnnie Johnson placing second in Forest Disorder Identification.
The event was designed to stimulate student interest in forestry, to promote forestry instruction in the agricultural education curriculum, and to provide recognition for those students who have demonstrated skill and competency as a result of forestry instruction. Each participant was an active member of a chartered Florida FFA Chapter and enrolled in sixth, seventh or eighth grade. All teams consisted of four members and all members of the team participated in all six events.
Along with FFA Advisor, Dawn Inman, eighth grade students, Cole Halfacre, Paul Guy, Austin Murphy, and Johnnie Johnson competed in this event. The events covered this year were General Knowledge, Dendrology, Forest Disorders, Equipment Identification, Timber Cruising, and Map Interpretation.
Two employees from International Paper, Jack Williams and John Brown, assisted the students with preparing for this competition.
Pictured top: Ransom Middle School FFA members Austin Murphy (left) placed second in Map Interpretation and Johnnie Johnson (right) placed second in Forest Disorder Identification at the recent District 1 Forestry Competition. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: Hundreds Attend Molino Park Fall Carnival
October 15, 2011
Hundreds attended the annual Molino Park Elementary School Fall Carnival Friday evening at the school. The event featured games, food, entertainment and lots of great family fun.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Photos: Molino Park Community Helpers Day
October 13, 2011
It takes a lot of people, and sometimes a lot of big machines, to keep a community running smoothly.
Molino Park Elementary School held a “Community Helpers Day” Tuesday for students to learn about some of people that are hard at work in the Molino area.
The event includes personnel and equipment from Escambia County EMS, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, the Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, the Florida Division of Forestry, AAA Towing and Transportation, ECUA, the Escambia County School District Maintenance Department, J. Miller Construction and Charles Woodward.
Submitted photos by Candice Blackburn for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Camp Fire Kids Hold Trike-A-Thon For Children’s Hospital
October 13, 2011
The children at Camp Fire USA Century Youth Learning Center recently held their third annual Trike-A-Thon in support of St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. The Camp Fire kids raised a total of $1,153.23 in support of cancer research. The children also learned about bike safety and the importance of wearing a proper helmet. Submitted photos by Pam Townson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Woman Shares Lifelong Love Of Spinning Yarn
October 11, 2011
The art of spinning yarn has interested Cathy Johnson since she was young.
Now, the Century Care Center CNA has discovered that she has a talent for spinning, and she recently shared that talent with the residents at Century Care.
At age 18, Johnson worked in a cotton mill and became interested in the process. She began spinning lessons about two years ago, and she has been spinning and dying her own yarn since. She also does knitting and crocheting, selling her artwork in festivals and on display.
She explained the spinning process — which she describes as a good form of meditation — to a group of fascinated Century Care Center residents.
Pictured above: CNA Cathy Johnson (right) explains the art of spinning yarn to Century Care Center resident Dora Rolin (left). Pictured inset: A finished product. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weekend In Photos
October 10, 2011
Here’s a look back at over 425 photos from the weekend on NorthEscambia.com. Click a photo to read the story and see the corresponding photo gallery.
NorthEscambia.com photos.
Hundreds Of Local Students Take Virtual Trip To Russia
October 9, 2011
Hundreds of local students have been given a passport to Russia, thanks to the Global Corner Learning Center.
This past week, students at Bratt Elementary School had the opportunity to take a virtual trip to Russia — learning about the language, arts, culture, geography and more of a unique land half a world away.
Each year, The Global Corner teachers take students from their classroom virtually to another country. Through The Global Corner, local students have “visited” Japan, Spain, Egypt, Brazil, in addition to this year’s trip to Russia.
The Global Corner was conceived by its director, Lee Hansen, as part of her vision for the Pensacola area to become a player in the global economy and to have Northwest
Florida become an international business hub and the Center of Excellence for International Learning by 2025.
Last week, The Global Corner announced a partnership with Target in recognition of its efforts in providing its Passport to Russia program to local elementary students. The grant monies will be used to support the cost of bringing the program to thousands of area students this school year.
“This is our fifth year of bringing the world to local elementary school students. We provide hands-on activities that help children understand the language, geography, culture, arts, heritage, and literature of countries around the world,” Hansen said. “We’re thrilled to partner with Target to help create a future workforce that understands the world around it.”
Bratt Elementary’s virtual trip to Russia ended last week. Other North Escambia area students will participate in the program later this school year — including home school students on October 25, Byrneville Elementary School on October 26 and 27, Jim Allen Elementary students January 9-12, 2012, and Molino Park in March, 2012.
Pictured top: The Global Corner’s Kitt Lough teaches Russian music and dance to students at Bratt Elementary School Friday morning. Pictured inset: Lisa Crowdus teaches Russian culture at Bratt Elementary. Pictured below: The Global Corner’s Erika Twitchell teaches Bratt students about Russia geography. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Photo Gallery: Northview, Jay High School Bands Perform
October 9, 2011
For a photo gallery of the Northview and Jay high school bands as they performed Friday night in Jay, click here.
Pictured above: The Northview High School Tribal Beat band performs. Pictured below: The Jay High School band performs a variety of “Car Tunes” Friday night. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Fall Gardening: Time To Tackle The Chaos And Prepare For Winter
October 9, 2011
Towards the end of the growing season, many landscapes are overgrown and untidy. Allowing plants to tower over others can mean the demise of the smaller plant. It’s time to tackle the chaos and prepare for winter.
First and foremost, take a good look at your landscape. If a plant has outgrown its allotted space, perhaps it was the wrong plant in the wrong place. Avoid these types of problems by becoming familiar with a plant before you plant it. While you can try to control the size of the plant to fit its space, it will never be a happy, stress-free plant.
Information on the mature size of a plant and their site requirements can be found in several Extension publications. The Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ (FFL) “Guide to Plant Selection and Landscape Design” is intended for homeowners who want to take the next step and design their own Florida-Friendly landscapes. Included in this book is information on landscape design strategies, a landscape planning worksheet, and the FFL plant list containing many of the UF/IFAS recommended Florida-Friendly plants for each region of the state. It’s available online by clicking here.
Even in a well-planned landscape, though, the gardener’s controlling influence is important. The most useful methods for dealing with especially enthusiastic plants are removing, pruning, supporting or creating barriers to prevent unwanted spreading.
Removing and replacing
Autumn is an excellent time to establish shrubs and trees. Consider removing oversized plants and replacing them with carefully chosen ones that will happily fit within your defined boundaries. Plants that are installed late in the year will develop strong roots systems before hot weather arrives next spring.
Pruning
When it comes to pruning, it’s good to remember that it’s better to prune lightly occasionally as needed, than to allow a plant to get way overgrown and then cut it back severely. A few prudent snips here and there will help keep more vigorous plants from overwhelming their less vigorous neighbors.
Emphasis must be placed on the word “light.” It’s important to remember that late summer pruning may stimulate an additional flush of shoot growth on species which flush several times each year. These shoots could be damaged by an early frost.
Supporting
Another technique to improve the look of an overgrown landscape is staking. Staking or otherwise supporting plants keeps them from leaning or falling over onto others. It helps the tall plant look better, and obviously benefits the plants that would otherwise be covered. The stake should be tall enough to do the job but not be too obvious.
Stakes may simply be placed in such a way that the plant is supported by leaning up against it. On the other hand, it may be necessary to tie the plant to the stake. Typically, twine or plastic ties are used for this purpose. Make sure you tie the lower and upper parts of the plant to the stake to provide proper support.
Other techniques for support include tying twine in a loop all the way around a plant, using a wire cage – this is best done early in the growing season to allow the plant to grow into it – tying a plant to a sturdier, nearby plant or using one of the commercially available support systems.
Barriers
Many perennials and tropical plants spread by underground structures called rhizomes. If growth shows up outside the area you’ve allotted for that plant, promptly dig out the unwanted growth and replant it somewhere else.
Barriers extending at least one foot down into the ground around aggressive spreaders can sometimes help keep them under control. Digging, dividing and replanting clumps of aggressive spreaders annually is another good way to make sure they stay put.
Overgrown shrubs can cause a house to lose its curb appeal. Proper, regular control measures should be employed to keep a landscape looking its best.
Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.