Check Out These Rides: Cantonment Rotary’s Car Show (Photo Gallery)
September 15, 2019
The Cantonment Rotary Club held their second annual “Hawgs & Hoot Rods car and motorcycle show at Krystal on Nine Mile Road. The event also featured pulled pork sandwich plates. It was all a fundraiser for the Cantonment Rotary Club Foundation to support the local chapter of the Boys & Girls Club of America.
For a photo gallery from the car show, click here.
Photos by Perry Doggrell for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Barrineau Park Fall Gathering Held Saturday
September 15, 2019
The Barrineau Park Historical Society held its annual Fall Gathering Saturday at the Barrineau Park Community Center. There event featured arts and crafts, vendors, activities for the kids, live music by the Southern Revival Band, food and fellowship. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Byrneville Second Graders Visit Roy Hyatt Environmental Center
September 13, 2019
Byrneville Elementary School second graders got up close with nature this week at the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center in Cantonment. The students met Simon the bearded dragon and Ozzie the diamondback terrapin, and they compared and contrasted reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds and mammals as part of their visit. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
First Responders Dedicate New Library Flagpole On 9-11
September 12, 2019
A new American flag and flagpole were dedicated Wednesday at the Flomaton Public Library by local first responders honoring 9-11. Both were donated by Modern Woodmen. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
McArthur Elementary And PTA Honored As National School Of Excellence
September 12, 2019
McArthur Elementary School and their PTA have been recognized by the National PTA as a School of Excellence.
National PTA School of Excellence is a recognition program that supports and celebrates partnerships between PTAs and schools to enrich the educational experience and overall well-being for all students.
Schools and their PTA’s must decide to team up and enroll in this eight step, year-long, program. They then deploy a baseline survey, set objectives, follow a “Roadmap to Excellence,” and conduct a second survey as parts of their action plan for school improvement. Their plan must also incorporate the PTA National’s Standards for Family-School Partnerships. Their improvement is tracked and when successful, a school and PTA team can earn the designation of a School of Excellence.
“I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone for your support that makes this award possible. It is an honor to work for a school district that supports our students, families and staff. This award is possible because of everyone’s dedication for excellence and I am glad to be a part of this organization,” McArthur Principal Dr. Tama Vaughn said when she shared the news with Escambia County School District leaders.
No other school in Escambia or Santa Rosa counties received the designation.
Bratt Elementary Names Students Of The Month
September 11, 2019
Bratt Elementary School has named Students of the Month for September. They are:
Pre-K
Summer Bell
Dawson Golson
Kindergarten
Lilly Harper Jacobson
Addisyn Steege
James Romans
Makenna Smith
1st Grade
Mason Wilson
Cameron Hall
Melody Sage
Paisley Emmons
2nd Grade
Audrey Franklin
Bailey Campbell
Landon Lee
Zoe Jantz
3rd Grade
Jaxon Byrd
Autumn Heist
Alexa Beasley
Sophia Ikner
Jeremiah Walker
4th Grade
Makinzi Roley
Trinity Bryan
Sawyer Gilmore
Sandra Hall
5th Grade
Mikayla McAnally
MaKayla Plato
Presley Johnson
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Get A Special Edition Toy Story 4 Library Card This Month Only
September 11, 2019
West Florida Public Libraries are offering a special edition library card during September in honor of Library Card Sign-up Month.
The special edition card features Disney-Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” characters joining the American Library Association on an adventure to promote the value of a library card.
While library cards are always free for Escambia County residents, the usual $3 replacement fee for lost or damaged cards will be waived during the month of September as part of the celebration.
September was designated as Library Card Sign-up Month by the ALA in 1987, after then Secretary of Education William J. Bennett issued a challenge. The challenge was for a national campaign encouraging every child to obtain and regularly use a library card.
Escambia County residents can find information about getting a library card or sign up at mywfpl.com/borrow/card.
Could You Package An Egg To Survive A 75 Foot Drop? These Byrneville Students Did
September 10, 2019
Could you design a package to make a raw egg survive a drop onto a parking lot from 75-feet up? Several groups of Byrneville Elementary School fifth graders did just that recently.
The students were given the open-ended task of using household supplies to keep an egg from cracking when dropped from various heights, and they were given a week to design their ideas.
With help of Ladder 5 and a crew from the Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, the eggs were dropped from 20 feet, 45 feet and finally 75 feet. If an egg survived the first drop, students were required to remove some part of the protective shell and try again from a greater height.
The students were in seven different groups, with three groups having eggs that survived all three drops.
“The students learned that a parachute of some sort helps the egg survive as well as making the ‘protective shell’ well padded and secure,” said Byrnevill teacher Jacke Johnston.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Youth Show Off Their Beef Projects At Escambia County 4-H Labor Day Classic
September 7, 2019
Youth from Florida and Alabama showed their beef project animals during the second annual Escambia County 4-H Labor Day Classic at the 4-H property in Molino.
Youth showed their animals in the showmanship category, which focuses on the youth’s show abilities, and the breed and weight classes, which focus on the animal’s merits.
“This show was just a stepping stone for youth who are preparing these animals for shows later in the year where they will finish their project,” said Ali Schortinghouse, 4-H livestock agent. “Of the many hours a youth pours into a livestock project, shows like the Labor Day Classic allow the youth to demonstrate their growth throughout the project.”
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
97-Year Old WWII Pilot Fulfills Last Wish Of One More Flight
August 25, 2019
Attired in a fighter pilot’s suit, Albert J. Lane, 97. clutched a cold beer in his left hand and a century of life spirit in his heart.
Lane, a U.S. Army fighter pilot in World War II, had just taken one final flight, which included a flyover at Blue Wahoos Stadium, perfectly timed after the National Anthem, as a cheering, sellout crowd waved at the vintage aircraft.
Through Pensacola’s Covenant Care, a Blue Wahoos corporate partner and its “My Wish” program, Lane was able to exit his wheelchair and settle into the co-pilot’s cockpit of a vintage, dual-wing, 1943 Boeing N2S-4 Stearman aircraft and fulfill his own wish.
It was 82 years ago when Lane, a Michigan native, last climbed into an open cockpit plane of that era, training for a future role as a B-17 Bomber in the United States Army. He remembered how to do it again.
“How about that! I got in that plane,” said Lane, excitedly, about an hour after the flight, as young children and admiring adults gathered around him on the stadium concourse.
It created a powerful, emotional scene that made even Jhoan Duran’s no-hit bid into the seventh inning, along with the Blue Wahoos eventual 3-2 win against the Jackson Generals, seem secondary on this memorable night.
“That was really special to see,” said Blue Wahoos manager Ramon Borrego, who stood and cheered from the dugout as Lane was honored on the first base line in the bottom of the sixth inning. “When you see a guy like him who went to World War II and served this country…I was thinking about it and thought, ‘Wow, this guy fought in World War II. He gave everything to his country.’
“And he still had energy. He began to get up from that wheelchair. That was amazing to see. I could think and see this man, say back when he was in his 20’s in that airplane.”
Lane lives in Greenwood, a small town near Marianna in Jackson County, about two hours east from Pensacola. When Covenant Care got involved and arranged a My Wish request, the Blue Wahoos joined to help provide the flyover experience at the stadium.
“It’s such a great tie-in for us,” said Blue Wahoos president Jonathan Griffith. “The wishes Covenant Care grants are local and regional and in our own footprint, so it’s awesome to be part of, and meets our own mission to improve the quality of life in our area. It’s very cool to be part of this.”
The My Wish program began about a year ago and has provided a couple hundred such final wishes, according to Covenant Care president and CEO Jeff Mislevy.
We thought about how do we connect donors to these wishes. And it’s a unique platform,” Mislevy said. “Because an individual donor has an opportunity to entirely support a wish for someone. You make that person to person connection and there is just so much power in that.
“I wanted to be here to see him fly over. It chokes you up in a way. I can’t imagine the emotion that must be pouring through his veins right now. That’s what powers us to do this. And this was unique to him.”
The gold vintage bi-plane that Lane was flown in was provided by Pensacola’s Roy Kinsey, who operates Veterans Flight and annually participates in the Pensacola Beach Air Show.
Kinsey and others at Pensacola Aviation Center helped Lane from his wheelchair. They aided him to climb on a step-stool, hoisted him on the wing and into the open-air co-pilot cockpit of the plane. Kinsey then flew the aircraft.
Lane’s physician, Robin Albritton, who lives in Marianna and works there at Jackson Hospital, was at Blue Wahoos Stadium standing on the concourse, watching the flyover.
“When Covenant Care called me two weeks ago to tell me what they were doing, I put my phone down and cried,” said Albritton, his voice wavering with emotion. “He is a real American hero. He deserves this so much.
“Having taken care of him for the past eight years, I knew he probably got into that plane by himself. That man is sharp as a tack. He first came to me at 90-years-old and gave me the biggest, ol’ hug. I’ve had long conversations with him when he visits. I have done just enough to not get in his way these years. To see this is unbelievable. People like him remind me of why I do this.”
After the plane returned to Pensacola Aviation, Lane and his group traveled to Blue Wahoos Stadium. Covenant Care staff were there waiting to congratulate the World War II veteran.
The smile on his face, the throng of strangers, including so many children, who wanted to meet him and get his autograph, were poignant examples of how meaningful, how special this experience became.
Photos courtesy Pensacola Blue Wahoos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.