Tonight: Time To Start Planning For Relay For Life 2010
August 11, 2009
Relay for Life is months away, but there is a meeting tonight to being planning Relay for Life 2010 in North Escambia.
Community leaders and anyone passionate about fighting cancer in the North Escambia area are invited to a Relay for Life 2010 Committee Rally at 7:00 tonight at the Century Ag Building at the corner of Highway 4 and Industrial Boulevard.
The purpose of the meeting will be to recruit new members for the Relay for Life Steering Committee. The committee is tasked with organizing teams, fund raising and the Relay event itself.
The 2010 Relay for Life will be the fourth in North Escambia supporting the American Cancer Society.
For more information, contact Paula Jernigan at (850) 256-3842.
District 5 Town Hall Meeting Tonight
August 11, 2009
District 5 Escambia County Commissioner Kevin White will hold a town hall meeting tonight at 6:30 at the Escambia County Extension Office, 3740 Stefani Road in Cantonment.
The District 5 meeting will begin with comments from the commissioner and proceed into an open forum where citizens may ask questions, share comments and concerns.
For more information, contact Commissioner White’s office at 595-4950.
Big Show: Perseid Meteor Shower
August 11, 2009
If the skies are clear, there will be a meteor shower show in in the heavens above North Escambia.
The Perseid meteor shower will peak Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning, and astronomers say it will be a good show as earth passes through a swarm of dust shed by periodic comet Swift-Tuttle. NASA says you could see dozens of meteors.
Perseids can appear in any part of the sky, their tails all pointing back to the shower’s radiant in the constellation Perseus. Get away from city lights if you can. There is one light you cannot escape, according to NASA. The 55% gibbous moon will glare down from the constellation Aries just next door to the shower’s radiant in Perseus. The Moon is beautiful, but don’t stare at it. Bright moonlight ruins night vision and it will wipe out any faint Perseids in that part of the sky.
The moon is least troublesome during the early evening hours of August 11th. Around 9 to 11 p.m., both Perseus and the Moon will be hanging low in the north. This low profile reduces lunar glare while positioning the shower’s radiant for a nice display of earthgrazers.
“Earthgrazers are meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond,” explains Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. “They are long, slow and colorful—among the most beautiful of meteors.” He notes that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.
Pictured top: Looking northeast around midnight Tuesday, the red dot is the Perseid radiant. Although Perseid meteors can appear in any part of the sky, all of their tails will point back to the radiant. Image courtesy NASA and Spaceweather.com.
Forecasters Watch Low For Possible Tropical Development
August 10, 2009
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring an area of low pressure, saying that there is a medium chance of development during the next 48 hours.
The low pressure area is located just south of the Southern Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa. The hurricane center says the chances for development appear favorable, with a 30 to 50 percent chance that the system will develop into a tropical storm in the next 48 hours as it moves westward at 10 to 15 miles per hour.
If the system becomes a tropical storm, it will be name the first of the Atlantic season and named Ana.
School Shopping Savings: Sales Tax Holiday This Weekend In Alabama
August 8, 2009
This is Alabama’s sales tax holiday weekend on back-to-school shopping, but to get the full savings, you will need to drive past Escambia County, Alabama. And don’t expect to find sales tax savings in Florida.
This year is only the third year since 1998 without a back-to-school sales tax holiday in Florida. It is up to the Florida Legislature to approve the back-to-school tax breaks each year. A bill was introduced this year, but it failed to pass amid concerns over the state’s budget woes.
There is a sales tax holiday in Alabama through Sunday night, but Atmore, Flomaton and Escambia County, Ala., are not participating — they will be collecting county and sales tax as usual. Shopping in Escambia County, Alabama, will enjoy no state sales tax.
In Monroe County, including Monroeville, and Baldwin County, including Bay Minette and outlet shopping favorite Foley, there will be no school shopping sales taxes. Brewton will exempt shoppers from city sales tax, but county tax will still apply.
The Alabama sales tax holiday began at 12:01 a.m. Friday and ends at midnight Sunday. Most clothing items, computers less than $750 and most school supplies will be completely exempt from sales tax in Alabama counties and cities that approved the tax exemption.
Click here for a complete list of Alabama’s sales tax holiday items.
Century Football, Cheerleading Registration Today
August 8, 2009
The Century Recreation Association Little League will hold football and cheerleading sign up every Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon at the Roadside Park.
Everyone is welcome, including children from surrounding areas.
NHS Band Car Wash Today
August 8, 2009
The Northview High School Band Boosters will hold a car wash Saturday morning from 8 until noon at Advance Auto Parts in Atmore. All proceeds will benefit the Northview High School Tribal Beat Band.
Bratt Church To Hold Free Car Wash Tonight; NHS Band To Have Saturday Car Wash
August 7, 2009
If you have a dirty car, there are two good chances to get it washed.
A Bratt church will hold a free community outreach car wash tonight, and the Northview High School Band will hold a car wash Saturday.
Children at the First Baptist Church of Bratt will wash cars for free from 5 until 8 tonight at the church. Pete Amerson explained that the car wash is a community car wash — a chance for the children to do something for the community and spread the Gospel at the same time. The children washing cars will be first to fifth graders, and anyone in the community is invited to stop by to have their vehicle washed.
The Northview High School Band Boosters will hold a car wash Saturday morning from 8 until noon at Advance Auto Parts in Atmore. All proceeds will benefit the Northview High School Tribal Beat Band.
Down Home Jam Session: Barrineau Park Music Night
August 7, 2009
There’s some good entertainment on stage tonight in Barrineau Park — and it’s free.
The monthly Barrineau Park Music Night will be tonight at the Barrineau Park Community Center. The featured groups tonight are “The Rowell Family” and “Chapel Strings”.
The singing starts at 7 p.m. and is free. Food and refreshments will also be available beginning at 6 p.m.
The event is family-friendly — no alcohol is permitted on the property, and no smoking is allowed in or near the building.
For more information, call (850) 587-5575.
The Barrineau Park Community Center is located on Barrineau Park School road, about three miles west of Molino.
Pictured: Chapel Strings (top) and The Rowell Family (below) will perform at the monthly Barrineau Park Music Night tonight. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Flood Advisory — Central Escambia
August 5, 2009
The National Weather Service in Mobile has issued a
* flood advisory for…
central Escambia County in northwest Florida…
central Baldwin County in southwest Alabama…
this includes the city of Bay Minette…
east central Mobile County in southwest Alabama…
* until 700 PM CDT
* at 458 PM CDT…National Weather Service meteorologists found
excesssive rainfall 2 to 3 inches per hour from thunderstorms over
portions of southwest Alabama and west Florida Panhandle.
Precautionary/preparedness actions…
This includes the following streams and drainages…
Tensaw river…D’Olive creek…Perdido river…Middle River…Mobile
river…rains creek…Martin branch…mccurtin creek…Gunnison
creek…Eightmile creek…Styx river…Juniper Creek…nuke Branch…
Bay minette creek…Bowman Creek…roans creek…Flat Creek…Joes
branch…Escambia River…Bellefontaine creek…Clear Creek…Mobile
Bay…Threemile creek…Big Bay John…Alligator Bayou…Williams
Creek…Black Creek…Greenwood Spring Branch…Dyas creek…
Horseneck creek…Hollinger creek…Durbin branch…fish river…
fickling branch…Whitehouse creek…Wilson Creek…baptizing
branch…Smith Bayou…godbolt creek…Aikin creek…Brushy Creek…
Sara, bayou…hells Swamp Branch…Steele creek…Hall branch…
Seymore branch…Chickasaw creek…Silver Creek…corn branch…
perone Branch…Bay branch…Rock Creek…Blackwater river…penasula
creek…Alligator Creek…McDavid creek…McDade creek…elevenmile
creek…Spanish Mill Creek…Rices branch…cowdevil creek…jacks
branch…Cowpen Creek…cowhide creek…still branch…West Fork
Boggy Creek…Nelson branch…narrow gap branch…Freeman Springs
branch…Dodds branch…Dogwood branch and Buffalo Mill Creek.
Additional 1 to 2 inches of rain per hour is possible in these areas.
Most flood deaths occur in automobiles. Never drive your vehicle into
areas where the water covers the roadway. Flood waters are usually
deeper than they appear. Just one foot of flowing water is powerful
enough to sweep vehicles off the Road. When encountering flooded
roads make the smart choice…turn around…dont drown.