Gulf Power Academy Celebrates 10 Years At West Florida High
September 18, 2011
Engineers, welders, electric linemen and equipment operators all get their start somewhere. In Escambia County, Gulf Power Academy has been that starting point for almost 200 students over the past 10 years.
This career academy is built into the West Florida High School curriculum and is designed to prepare students for entry-level work in the electric utility industry or for post-secondary education in engineering, electronics, and other technical fields of study.
Ten years ago Gulf Power was looking for opportunities to engage in the educational process to develop a diverse pool of candidates for critical Gulf Power positions.
“At that time we were already seeing a gap in the technical training we were looking for in our applicants and realized we would need to get involved on a much deeper level in recruiting employees,” Jennifer Grove, Workforce Development coordinator, said.
Gulf Power initiated the program in 2001 after learning about the opportunity to partner with West Florida High School. A total of 170 students have graduated from the program and 45 of those graduates have been hired for full-time or temporary positions at Gulf Power.
Students choose to participate in the career academy through grades 9-12 and receive a combination of rigorous academics along with a relevant technical education. In addition to supplying resources for training, Gulf Power helps pay for materials, lab equipment and training for the students.
Prior to their senior year the students can apply for the Advanced Career Experience (ACE) program. Students in the ACE program work at Gulf Power every other day and are rotated through several departments and positions.
Students earn a high school diploma, a technical certification in their area of study and receive college credit.
“I’ve met countless determined students through this program who are willing to work hard at a very young age in order to give themselves a successful future,” Grove said. “To see these kids grow up and succeed in a career is extremely satisfying.”
Calvin Mattin, a Plant Equipment operator for Plant Crist, graduated in 2008 from the program and was hired soon after in July of 2008.
“While I was in the program I got to meet a lot of people and we were able to take trips to the plants to get an idea of what it would be like if we did get hired,” Mattin said. “Working for Gulf Power part-time gave us a good feel of whether we would like that type of work or not.”
“I would definitely recommend the academy for any student. Even if you don’t end up working for Gulf Power, its good experience and a great way to learn about the utility industry,” Mattin said.
This year’s ACE senior class began working at Gulf Power earlier this month.
For more information on Gulf Power Academy, call Jennifer Grove at (850) 444-6821 or visit the West Florida High School website at www.wfhs.net.
Pictured: Gulf Power Academy students tour the Crist Plant in Pensacola. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weaver, Caum To Wed
September 18, 2011
Archie and Cheryl Weaver of Molino announce the upcoming marriage of their daughter, Meridith Lynn Weaver, to Marshall Keith Caum, son of Richard and Amy Caum.
Meridith is the granddaughter of W.A. and June Weaver and Charles and Barbara Hendrix. She is a 2007 graduate of Northview High School and is currently attending Auburn University’s Harrison School of Pharmacy Mobile Campus. She is pursuing her Doctorate of Pharmacy.
Marshall is the grandson of Richard and Patricia Caum and O.M. and Frances Hanks. He is a 2006 graduate of Northview High School. He graduated from University of South Alabama in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and currently works for Premier Engineering Group in Pensacola.
The couple will be united in marriage on Saturday, October 1 at 3:30 p.m. at Highland Baptist Church, 6240 Highway 95A North in Molino. A reception will follow at Palafox Wharf, 617 Palafox Street in Pensacola. All friends and relatives are invited and welcome to attend.
Langford Celebrates 90th Birthday
September 18, 2011
Helen Langford of the Poplar Dell Community recently celebrated her 90th birthday. Helen and her family were joined in the celebration at the Poplar Dell Baptist Church by husband George T. Langford, her only living sibling Winston Gilmore, and other friends and family. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weekend Gardening: It’s Easy To Attract Hummingbirds
September 17, 2011
Few sights are more thrilling in the garden than rapidly moving hummingbirds darting among colorful flowers. Hummingbirds, also known as hummers, are always a wonder to see, and it’s easy to attract them to your garden.
In Florida, we see three different types of hummingbirds, but the most common is the ruby-throated. This feathered jewel is only about three inches long and weighs as little as a single penny.
For their size, hummingbirds have among the largest appetites in the bird world. They feed every 10 or 15 minutes from dawn until dusk. During this period, they eat more than half their weight in food and 8 times their weight in water.
If you’re fascinated by hummingbirds, as I am, you probably hang out a feeder or two in the summer to provide them with sugar water. Artificial feeders will attract hummingbirds.
However, feeders should not be the sole source of food provided. The sugar solution may appeal to the hummingbirds’ sweet tooth, but it provides little nourishment. Nectar is much more vital to the hummingbird than just water and sugar. By planting certain flowers and shrubs, home gardeners can provide food and habitat for hummingbirds.
Typical hummingbird flowers are red, have a tubular shape and have no strong scent. But there are several notable exceptions to this general rule. Many plants with red flowers don’t contain very much nectar. Roses, petunias, geraniums and zinnias have brilliant colors but little nectar.
Plants that produce an abundance of flowers over an extended period of time and those that require little care are good choices. Native plants can “fill the bill” where nectar-seekers are concerned and should be used whenever possible.
Perennials that are recommended as nectar sources include butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), red basil (Calamintha coccinea), shrimp plant (Justicia brandegeana), cigar plant (Cuphea ignea), firespike (Odontonema stricta), red star hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus), and obedient plant (Physostegia spp.).
It’s also important to plant a mixture of nectar producing trees, vines and shrubs that have overlapping blooming seasons. This will insure that a continuous source of nectar will be available to hummingbirds throughout the growing season. Some of the species recommended include red buckeye, bottlebrush, firebush (Hamelia patens), wild azalea, trumpet vine, and coral honeysuckle.
Contrary to popular belief, hummingbirds are not strictly nectar feeders. Insects and other invertebrates are the primary source of protein for adult hummingbirds and their young. An adult female can consume up to 2,000 insects per day. Small invertebrates including mosquitoes, gnats, small bees, fruit flies, spiders, caterpillars, aphids, and insects eggs make up the hummingbirds diet. So keep your plants free of pesticides. Pesticides destroy the insect food base vital to hummingbirds and their offspring, and may also contaminate the nectar they drink.
And if you do use artificial feeders, remember that the sugar solutions must be kept fresh. Florida’s hot weather can cause rapid bacterial growth in these feeders and birds that drink contaminated water could die. To avoid this, change the solution every 3 to 5 days. Clean the feeders with hot water and white vinegar. Do not use soap or chlorine bleach.
Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.
Smoother Parking At Byrneville Community Center
September 15, 2011
Parking will be much smoother in the future at one local community center. Wednesday, crews began paving the parking lot at the Byrneville Community Center at Byrneville Road and West Highway 4. The county owned facility previously had a loose gravel parking lot. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Ransom Middle FFA Names Officers
September 13, 2011
Ransom Middle School has announced new FFA officers. They are:
- President – Annabella Garcia
- Vice President – Peyton Baisden
- Secretary – Taylor Hodges and Ashley Stokes
- Treasurer – Connor Groff
- Sentinel – Rachel Grammer
- Reporter – Dalton Young
- Student Advisor – Kathryn Caro
- Historian – Brittany Miehe
- Parliamentarian – Tyler Burt
Under the direction of agriculture teacher and FFA sponsor, Dawn Inman, the FFA student membership program at Ransom Middle has quadrupled in size.
Pictured above: (front row, L-R) Connor Groff, treasurer; Taylor Hodges, secretary; Annabella Garcia, president; Tyler Burt, parlimentarian; Kathryn Caro, student advisor, (back, L-R) Dalton Young, reporter; Brittany Miehe, historian; Peyton Baisden, vice president; Rachel Grammer, sentinel; and Ashley Stokes, secretary. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Picture Perfect Sunset
September 12, 2011
Sunday night’s sunset caught the eye of several of our readers. The sunset is pictured as seen from the North Escambia area (above), Flomaton (below) and Foley (bottom). Submitted photos from Alisa Hart, Donna Lord and others for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: Hero’s Welcome As Soldier Returns From Afghanistan
September 11, 2011
A large crowded turned out in Flomaton Saturday morning with a hero’s welcome for a local soldier returning from Afghanistan.
All along Highway 113 and Highway 31, Chris Burnham was greeted by well wishers as he arrived home following six months in Afghanistan in the Air Force Reserves. The Master Sergeant has been in the service for 19 years — four years active service and 15 in the reserves.
“Thank you to everyone that came out today,” Burnham said. “It meant so much to me and my family to have everyone there.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured above and below: Master Sergeant Chris Burnham (seen in the middle photo in black) returned home from Afghanistan to Flomaton Saturday morning. Photos by Katie Findley for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
9/11 In His Own Words: Inside The Pentagon – Come September Morning
September 11, 2011
Steve Vanderwerff, who currently serves as public affairs action officer for Naval Education and Training Command in Pensacola, was inside the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 — less than 100 yards around the corner from the crash site in his new office. Less than a week before, his office had been located in the strike zone.
Vanderwerff describes, in his own words, that September morning….
My decision to join the Navy was solely based on my sense of adventure. The Navy’s ad from my childhood, “It’s not just a job it’s an adventure,” truly struck home. I envisioned myself a bell-bottomed, Dixie-cup wearing sailor right out of the movie “Mr. Roberts.” Ah the sweet pleasure of sailing the seven seas doing the hula-hula, late night pub crawls in Hong Kong, collecting an armful of tattoos and chasing after Thai girls and beer while being paid. So I enlisted. It was 1988. All has come true except for the tattoos.
The years flew by, a tour on USS Carl Vinson – the Navy’s Golden Eagle, two tours with Pacific Fleet Combat Camera, surviving SERE School, graduating from Syracuse University’s DoD film school, a science expedition to the North Pole; and a tour with the Blue Angels as their backseat aerial photographer pulling a lot of G’s. I was operating on maximum overdrive, high on adrenaline. The ad had come true. It wasn’t just a job it was indeed an adventure. Little did I know that I had yet to experience the adventure of a lifetime, one that was life altering, made me grow-up and come to fully realize what it means to serve my country in the United States Navy.
After my tour with the Blue Angels I was detailed to the Pentagon. I had heatedly disagreed with my detailer’s decision. Taking a Secretary of Defense staff assignment at the Joint Combat Camera Center (JCCC) didn’t exactly register very high on my fun meter. Driving a desk, supporting Com Cam policy and supervising the reception of imagery from forward deployed combat camera teams isn’t exactly how I had ever envisioned myself. Damn it, I was an operator! The likelihood or remote possibility of me running into something fun and adventurous like arm-wrestling Bolivian Blow Dart Peddlers or fire walking with Tahitian Mai Tai Jugglers while stationed in DC was slim-to-none. Didn’t he have something for me, like pulling G’s in a fast-mover (I could fill volumes about how to prevent power puking inside the cockpit)? Or what about breaking through the Arctic’s polar cap in a nuclear powered fast attack submarine and standing guard against polar bear attack as I had in the past? I’m not exactly sure if a polar bear attack on a US Submariner constitutes an act of war, if so who owns the polar cap? If he wouldn’t send me to any of the above, how about something a bit more cerebral like me hitting a foreign beach armed to the teeth with Kevlar wearing Marines or maybe photographing Navy SEAL’s in revved up low-altitude fast moving helos moving in and out of hostile territory? I had always been a big fan of that sort of action. He said no to all. It was time for me to take a seat at a desk and help others do what I wanted to do.
And so on a hot muggy day I checked in. It was August 2001. The Pentagon buzzed like a beehive. I was impressed by all of military’s, “Heavy Hitters” that walked the halls. There was a lot to learn, especially working with the other service branches. What was there not to like? The world appeared to be at peace. I was stationed in our nation’s capitol. I had a large cubicle, and my own computer with super fast T-line connections. A Starbucks was conveniently located one floor below. Best of all, I would be home every night for the next three years to annoy my wife and kids. My first month flew by moving JCCC into the Pentagon’s newly renovated wing.
On a sunny, Tuesday morning I arrived at work. It was September 11, 2001. It was a little after nine a.m. when I got to work. My wife Dayle, was flying back home that day from attending a funeral in the mid-west. I was getting in late because I had to drop my kids off at school; playing the role of soccer mom somewhat new to me. My officer in charge was attending a conference in Norfolk, Va. and my operations chief was at a meeting down the road in Alexandria. When I got to the office everybody was huddled around the TV. The news was reporting that a plane had crashed into one of New York’s Twin Towers.
I stood flabbergasted as the tragedy unfolded. To my disbelief a second jet slammed into the Twin Towers. My memory is a bit fuzzy of what happened next, but as I recall, soon afterwards the Pentagon shuddered and shook. My co-workers and I looked at each other not sure of what had just happened. That sure seemed like one helluva sonic-boom I thought to myself. Having come from the “Blues” my mind still operated in the aviation world of thinking. The phone rang. I answered it. It was one of my guys who, was off for the day at home just across the Anacostia River at Bolling Air Force Base. He asked me if we had just been attacked. I said “is that what that was?” I said I wasn’t sure, there were no alarms going off. He said he thought so because looking from his back yard black smoke was pouring out of the Pentagon. Someone went out to investigate. They quickly came back. All they said was, “We gotta go.”
Smoke filled halls were filled with people making their way towards exits. The murmur of voices and shuffling feet was all that could be heard. No one had a clue to what had just happened. The idea of a passenger plane hijacked by terrorists and crashing into the Pentagon was as remote a possibility as Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming the governor of California. Not exactly knowing what to think I made my way outside. Once outside I saw thick black smoke rising from the building. I thought that maybe construction workers working on the renovation might have hit a gas main. All sorts of thoughts ran through my head as hordes of dazed and confused people continued to pour into the daylight. Seeking information I went to my car and turned on the radio to listen to the news. I sat stunned not believing what I was hearing. Holy-moley I thought. We’ve been attacked by terrorists, same as the Twin Towers. My God there are people in the wreckage. I spend my entire career trying to get into the action and when I think that I’m away in the rear the action comes looking for me. I heard approaching sirens in the distance. Then it dawned on me. My wife was flying home that day. My mind raced with morbid fear. Is she safe? Has she got on the plane yet? In a fog I made my way to the pre-determined rally point. Once there I set my personal emotions aside. I had people to muster and account for. The rest of JCCC showed up. All were accounted for. Then security officers were yelling for everybody to leave the area because another attack was imminent. Mass hysteria hit the crowd. What the heck was going on? Like cockroaches scattering when the lights come on, civilians, military personnel, politicians and bungling bureaucrats ran for cover. Somehow we all ended up on the other side of Highway 395. I knew I wouldn’t be seeing my car for a long time. More worries filled my mind, thinking of how would I get home and who would pick-up and care for my kids? The second attack turned out to be a false alarm. I set aside my worries, I focused on the positive. My wife would be ok and I would figure out how to get home and take care of my children, but first I had my duty to fulfill. Once again I accounted for my personnel.
Fortunately several members had grabbed their cell phones. The airways were jammed, but after repeated attempts we were able to get a hold of my boss. He instructed us to get to the American Forces Information Services (AFIS) in Alexandria, where he currently was and where we would set up shop. There was imagery to get out to the world. The story needed to be told. Because none of us had access to our cars we made our way to the nearest metro station. I tried repeatedly, but couldn’t reach my wife. I was scared. Fortunately I was able to contact a neighbor who would pick my kids up from school. Once at AFIS we went into action setting up a temporary JCCC – still and video imagery started to come in. Sec Def wanted his imagery. Hours later after repeated attempts I finally was able to get a hold of my wife. She was safe. Her plane had been delayed because of the tragedy. She had spent her time desperately trying to get a hold of me, fearing for the worst – widow hood. I assured that her I was un-harmed and that the kids were safe with a neighbor. We cried for our good fortune and the mis-fortune of others. I thanked God for watching over me and my family. I had been less than a hundred yards around the corner from the crash site. Late that night in the safety of my home with my kids snug in bed I realized that a week earlier before moving into the newly renovated wing, JCCC had been located in the area of impact and that a few of my office mates and I would have been in the old office that morning to make sure we had moved everything, but had not because we had been watching the Twin Towers tragedy on TV. I sighed with relief. It had been a close call.
Years later, thinking about that bleak morning in September when all of America held its breath and our enemies cheered I give pause to reflect. Understanding, that on that day something awoke in me that had been missing in me, if not many others – service and sacrifice. I had spent my time in the Navy up until then thinking of what I could take or get out of the deal. My training, my many deployments, my wanting fun and adventure had always been about me. Sure, I had always been a good Sailor, but I had been driven by hubris and selfish desire. Not giving much thought to what it meant to serve my country. I was happy as long as I was able to collect a paycheck.
It didn’t happen overnight, but over the course of my tour at the Pentagon and supporting the “Global War on Terror” I found a new sense of purpose and energy. I worked long hours, determined to support the cause and give meaning to my duty. Gone were my days of thinking that being a Sailor meant being a sea going pirate, swashbuckling across the globe, with tales to spin and tell. People had died and would continue to do so without mine and every American’s full support to stop our enemies.
So when it was time for me to talk to my detailer about orders, I didn’t hesitate to ask for orders at the “tip of the spear” aboard a ship because that was where I was needed. My days of asking for fun and adventurous jobs seeking personal reward and glamour were over.
And so whenever I found myself on long arduous extended deployments while sailing in harms-way wondering why I had to be there and for what purpose I would think of all those who had gone before me and of their sacrifice and dedication to service.
I continued to serve with that sense of pride and purpose at follow-on duty stations, and continue to do so as a retired chief and civilian employee at Naval Education and Training Command, which develops the Navy’s workforce through education and training that builds personal, professional, and leadership skills.
When my time in the Navy, active duty and as a civilian, comes to a close I will be proud to say as President Kennedy so eloquently put,
“I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction:
“I served in the United States Navy”
Birth: Myles Robert Odom
September 11, 2011
Arthur and Susan Odom of Atmore proudly announce the birth of their son, Myles Robert Odom. Myles was born January 24, 2011, at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. He weighed just 1-pound, 13-ounces. Our miracle came home the first of May.
Maternal grandparents are Gail Webster and the late Robert Webster of Atmore. Paternal grandparents are Jim and Jeanette Odom, of Bay Minette. Maternal great-grandmother is the late Dorothy Oneal of New Castle, Indiana.
Myles was welcomed home by his brothers and sisters, Melissa, Kimberly, Ashley, Darian, Dane and Karen.