You Are Loved! Check Out Pine Forest High School’s Shoutout To Students
April 7, 2020
Pine Forest High School posted a shoutout to students Monday night on social media.
With handmade signs for each word and individual photos, the shoutout said “Dear Eagles. We miss you so very much and want you to know you are loved!”
Click the photo to enlarge.
Escambia County Company Begins 3-D Printing Face Mask Shields Inspired By Facebook Post
April 7, 2020
As COVID-19 spread across the United States in March, Caroline Shaw knew the pandemic would alter many parts of her job as a sourcing manager at GE Renewable Energy’s wind turbine factory in Pensacola.
What Shaw hadn’t expected was for the virus to present her with a problem that seemed to have no simple solution.
A team of her coworkers had been assigned to screen employees for fevers or other signs of infection, and her job was to keep the team supplied with proper personal protective equipment, especially N95 face masks that limit the spread of the disease. Yet Shaw knew that adding to the small supply she had on hand would mean diverting masks from doctors and nurses who were in even more dire need of protection. “There’s a supply out there for the medical community,” Shaw says, “but we didn’t want to tap into that.”
Shaw hit upon a possible way out while browsing Facebook on Sunday, March 22. A message posted by a friend from her church described a couple in Virginia who were using a simple 3D printer to build plastic shields for protecting disposable N95 masks.
3D-printed mask shields are meant to extend the life of the N95 masks. The concept is simple — by placing the protective mask shield over the N95 masks, it helps to limit exposure of the mask to contaminants. In turn, this offers an opportunity to extend the life of an N95 mask beyond its typical one-time use while supply remains constrained. “These masks are intended to be disposable, but the CDC has guidelines on what to do in crisis situations,” Shaw explains.
As it happened, Shaw knew a lot about additive manufacturing, as 3D-printing is more formally known. Her plant uses an industrial-grade 3D printer to make tooling and custom-made gauges and prototype wind turbine components.
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So Shaw got moving. One of the central advantages of additive manufacturing is the speed it can move from idea to prototype to finished product. Shaw hit upon the idea on Sunday, the same day as her Facebook eureka moment, printed a plastic prototype of the N95 protective shield on a simple 3D printer on Monday and gave it to the on-site nurse to try out that afternoon.
Word spread fast. That same Tuesday, Tiffany Craft, a senior repair engineer, had caught wind of Shaw’s efforts and immediately began printing the mask shields. Craft gave the shields to her emergency response team and dropped a couple off at the local hospital. Craft has also been testing multiple materials and prototyping full mask designs to provide protection. Today, she’s helping build a design library where GE teams from around the world planning to 3D-print personal protection equipment can go for insights.
Soon, 20 of Shaw and Craft’s colleagues from around GE joined in the effort, coordinating their contributions to crowdsourcing improvements in the design. They included U.S. and Hungary-based teams from GE Aviation, GE Research and GE Power.
While the initial version worked well enough, the testers reported back several flaws. The tabs that kept the shield in place had a tendency to break off, so the team thickened the tabs and narrowed the slots they fit into on the chin piece. They also eliminated the elastic strap and created a plastic nub where the band of the N95 mask could fit, making the shields easier for workers in gloves to get on and off.
Shaw, Craft and their colleagues aren’t done. While additive manufacturing excels at rapid prototyping, it takes about 40 minutes to make each shield. The next and faster iteration of the manufacturing process could involve water jetting, which uses streams of water laced with tiny pieces of garnet to carve the masks out of sheets of plastic. This method has the additional advantage of being able to form the shield from plastics that are less porous than the ones 3D-printed. This could make them easier to clean by lowering the chance of a virus being able to cling to the shields.
That advance should allow shields to be produced every 5 minutes. After that, the team is looking to move to laser or die cutting, with the goal of being able to produce a shield in just 5 seconds.
McDavid Special Needs Girl Gets Special Surprise Drive-By Birthday Parade From Escambia First Responders
April 5, 2020
In the days of COVID-19 and social distancing, traditional birthday parties for kids are out.
A 15-year old special needs girl in McDavid was unable to have a party Saturday, but the party came to Ella Kizer thanks to Escambia County first responders.
Led by Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chip Simmons, the parade included other deputies, the ESCO Mounted Posse, Escambia County EMS and the McDavid and Molino stations of Escambia Fire Rescue along with decorated vehicles with friends and family.
For a photo gallery, click here.
As the parade passed by, Ella shrieked with joy and waved. She received presents, birthday cupcakes and balloons.
“This is for me? Wow,” she exclaimed with a huge smile. “This is the best birthday ever!”
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century’s Mayor, Good Samaritans Donated Medical Supplies To Local Practice
April 4, 2020
Century Mayor Henry Hawkins and several good Samaritans recently donated medical supplies to Community Health Northwest Florida’s Century adult practice. They delivered bandages, gowns, gauze sponges, glucose testers, and more supplies are on the way.
Century’s Clinical Office Manager Jennifer Johnson said she is “grateful and humbled”.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
These Aren’t Just Your Grandma’s Old Quilts. Check Out This Local Quilt Show In Photos.
March 15, 2020
The Pensacola Quilters’ Guild held their biannual show and sale Friday and Saturday at the Pensacola Fairgrounds.
Over 150 quilters took part in the 2020 Quilt Show “Portal to the Future” with over 200 quilts made by members over the last two years on display.
The show included traditional handcrafted quilts, art and modern quilts with intricate computerized designs. Organizers said the show covered the spectrum of quilting today and showed just how far quilting has advanced into a textile art form.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
It’s Getting Warmer, But It’s Not Time To Fertilize The Lawn Yet
March 14, 2020
Days may be getting warmer, but that does not mean your lawn is ready for nitrogen fertilizer, according to the Escambia County Extension.
Roots are not growing well enough to absorb the fertilizer until much later in the spring. Research found that nitrogen fertilizer applied to turf before mid April was lost though the soil, eventually making its way into local bodies of water.
“Work on other parts of your landscape but wait to apply fertilizer until at least mid April or early May. You are not getting a jump on a healthy lawn by fertilizing now,” the Extension Service said.
Here’s How A Flomaton Moonshiner Did In A National TV Competition (Spoiler Alert)
March 11, 2020
“I’m an illegal distiller; I work in the backwoods.”
That’s how Flomaton resident Johnny Griffis described himself during Tuesday night’s episode of Moonshiners Master Distiller on the Discovery Channel.
He competed against two other distillers for bragging rights and a chance to have his moonshine bottled by the Sugarlands Distilling Co. in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Griffis made it to the final competition of the show where he made his “old school corn liquor moonshine” using a recipe he got from a McDavid old timer some 13 years ago.
Spoiler Alert — Scroll down below the photo to see if Griffis won.
In the end, Griffis finished second in the competition.
To watch the episode, click here. (You must be a subscriber to a cable, satellite or streaming provider and have a package that includes the Discovery Channel.)
Pictured: Johnny Griffis of Flomaton on Moonshiners Master Distiller Tuesday night. Pictured first below: Griffis and his still somewhere near Flomaton. Images courtesy the Discovery Channel for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Roy Hyatt Environmental Center Holds ‘Night of Nature’
March 9, 2020
The annual Roy Hyatt Environmental Century Night of Nature was held Friday night.
Attendees had a chance to meet raptors, visit with reptiles, peer through telescopes, see a planetarium show, take a night hike and more.
The Roy Hyatt Environmental Center is located at 1300 Tobias Road in Cantonment. The facility is owned and operated by the Escambia County School District.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Students Learn About Ag During Fresh From Florida Event (With Gallery)
March 8, 2020
About 1,000 elementary school students attended the annual Northview High School FFA “Fresh From Florida” agricultural advocacy program Friday morning at the school in Bratt.
Formerly known as the “Food For America program”, the event gave students a chance to learn about agriculture first hand, up close and personal with farm animals, farm equipment and more to learn how food gets from the farm to their tables. Students were even able to make and enjoy eating their own fresh butter.
The Northview High School FFA “Fresh From Florida” program has been honored as the number one program in the state multiple times, and the chapter was recently name one of the best in the United State by the National FFA Organization.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Molino Park Elementary Holds Annual Arts Day (Photo Gallery)
March 7, 2020
Molino Park Elementary School recently held their annual Arts Day with multiple performers.
Musical performers included individuals from the Pensacola Children’s Choir, Kaye’ Music, Schmidt’s Musi, West Florida High School Colorguard, Pensacola Symphony, and The Heavenly Brass Trio. Artists included Sara Bouldin, Dale Cooey, Larry Manning, Ruth Gordon, Robert McBrooms, Henritta Adams and Molino Park’s very own Matt Brabham.
The day concluded with dancers from the Heather Leonard’s Danceworks “Raising the Barre” Performance Team.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
