Free Admission Today To Florida State Parks
November 11, 2014
There is free entry into all Florida state parks today for everyone in honor of veterans day.
“This Veterans Day, I encourage all Florida families to get out and enjoy Florida’s natural treasures at our wonderful state parks. We also honor our veterans and thank them for their service and sacrifice they gave to protect our state and nation,” said Gov. Rick Scott.
“Veterans Day is a perfect opportunity to visit Florida’s award-winning state parks,” said Donald Forgione, director of the Florida Park Service. “Spend the day hiking, biking or picnicking with a veteran – and most importantly, thank them for their service.”
The free admission includes the Blackwater River State Park and Big Lagoon State Park.
Pictured: Big Lagoon State Park.
Sunny And Warm Through Veterans Day
November 10, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Monday Sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 47. Calm wind.
- Veterans Day Partly sunny, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
- Tuesday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Calm wind.
- Wednesday A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the morning.
- Wednesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. North wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday Partly sunny, with a high near 61. North wind around 10 mph.
- Thursday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 37. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Friday Sunny, with a high near 56.
- Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 37.
- Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 62.
- Saturday Night A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47.
- Sunday A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65.
Cool Overnight, Pleasant Monday
November 9, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 39. North wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
- Monday Sunny, with a high near 74. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
- Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 46. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
- Veterans Day Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Tuesday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday Partly sunny, with a high near 73. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Wednesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. North wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62.
- Thursday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39.
- Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 56.
- Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 37.
- Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 60.
Highway 29, Highway 97 Traffic Light Due By Year’s End
November 9, 2014
Plans were complete months ago and Escambia County made a deposit of just over a quarter of a million dollars for the Florida Department of Transportation to install a new traffic signal at the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 97 in Molino.
In October 2013, the Escambia County Commission affirmed its support for improvements at the intersection and expressed a willingness for the county to pay for the red light at the intersection. A Florida Department of Transportation study determined the intersection did meet the criteria for the light, with an agreement in place that FDOT would design and construct the upgrades with Escambia County paying for the construction.
FDOT has completed the design phase and determined that Escambia County’s estimated cost for construction was an estimated $265,400 for mast arms and signals at the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 97. The Escambia County Commission approved payment last August, with the payment made October 29.
Friday afternoon, moments after two Northview High School students were badly injured in a two vehicle collision at the intersection [read more], Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry said FDOT was due to start construction by early October with a completion date by the end of the year. He said Friday afternoon that he did not know why the state had not started work.
A redesign of the Crabtree Church Road intersection with Highway 97, which is just feet from Highway 29, also also expected to take place as separate project.
Saturday night, the intersection was the scene of another accident, this one involving an Escambia County deputy and a passenger vehicle [read more]. There were no injuries in the crash.
Pictured top: Firefighters use the Jaws of Life to free a passenger in a vehicle (pictured inset) involved in a Friday afternoon collision at Highway 29 and Highway 97 in Molino. Pictured below: A vehicle involved in a Saturday night wreck at the intersection. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Great Fall Weather
November 8, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. North wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday Sunny, with a high near 69. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 38. North wind around 5 mph becoming east after midnight.
- Monday Sunny, with a high near 73. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
- Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 46. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
- Veterans Day Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning.
- Tuesday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Wednesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. North wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61.
- Thursday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39.
- Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 56.
- Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 37.
- Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.
Weekend Events: VFD Fish Fry, Benefits For Cooper And McMorris, Harvest Festival
November 8, 2014
Here are some events in the North Escambia area today:
Walnut Hill VFD Fish Fry
The Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department annual fish fry will be held Saturday, November 8, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the fire station. Plates are $7 each and include catfish or grilled chicken, hush puppies, baked beans, cole slaw, dessert and drink. Enjoy baked goods and TCBY. The bloodmobile will also be onsite.
Bryant Cooper Benefit
There will be a benefit car wash Saturday from 9 am until noon at the First Baptist Church in Bratt for cancer patient Bryant Cooper sponsored by the FBC Youth. All donations will go toward travel expenses to MD Anderson in Texas. T-shirts will be available
Jennifer McMorris Benefit
Benefit for Jennifer McMorris on Saturday, November 8 at 11 a.m. at Heritage Park in Atmore. Live music, food and more.
Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church Harvest Festival
Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church will hold their annual Harvest Festival on Saturday, November 8, from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the church. Games, hayrides, antique car show, chili cookoff and desert auction. Free soup and chili available. The church is located at 170 West Bogia Road in McDavid. Everyone is welcome.
Blue Angels Homecoming Show This Weekend (With Complete Schedule)
November 8, 2014
The Blue Angels will close the 2014 season at their annual Homecoming Air Show aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola today and Sunday.
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the air station, this year’s show days will include two full show days Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. (gates open at 8 a.m.)
Prior to the world-famous Blue Angels F/A 18 Hornet performances, the Blues’ C-130 Hercules transport known as “Fat Albert” will thrill the crowd with its short field take-off and low level passes at 2 p.m. followed by the Blues.
Tentatively scheduled for all both days will be extraordinary aerobatics by performers such as John Klatt in his “Screamin’ Sasquatch’ Jet Waco and David Martin will pilot his Brietling CAP 232. Roger Buis will amaze the crowd in “Otto the Helicopter” and Matt Younkin will excite everyone with aerobatics in his Beech 18. Neal Darnell will also be on hand to impress visitors in his Shockwave Jet Truck.
The crowd can marvel at the grace and beauty of the renowned Budweiser Clydesdales on Saturday. The Clydesdales were first introduced to the public in April 1933 and since have awed audiences all over the world.
Visitor may also stroll around more than 50 static display aircraft, from early aviation vintage planes to state-of-the-art modern fighters and more. There will also be a “Kids Zone” for children.
Admission and parking for all shows are free. Areas will be reserved for the physically challenged. Food and memorabilia will be available at numerous concession stands. Pets and coolers are not permitted. Security personnel and signs will direct spectators to parking areas near the show site.
2014 Air Show Schedule
Saturday and Sunday
Gates Open: 8 a.m. / Air Show begins 9 a.m.
- NASP Parade of Trainers
- Otto the Helicopter
- Stearman Team
- Gene Soucy
- Kevin Coleman
- John Klatt – Air National Guard
- Air National Guard with Shockwave Jet Truck
- Mike Rambo – Beechcraft
- Opening Ceremony
- United States Air Force Academy Wings of Blue Skydiving Team with the National Anthem
- Matt Younkin
- Bob Carlton – Vertigo Airshows
- Air National Guard with Shockwave Jet Truck
- Budweiser Clydesdales (Saturday only)
- Gene Soucy with Teresa Stokes wing walker
- Team AeroDynamix
- Mike Goulian – Goodyear
- Screamin Sasquatch
- David Martin – Breitling
- Fat Albert Demonstration- 2 pm
- USN Blue Angels
Local Tradition: Walnut Hill Vol. Fire Dept. Holding 45th Fish Fry
November 7, 2014
Saturday will mark the 45th anniversary of what has become one of the biggest events in Walnut Hill and surrounding communities — the annual fish fry at the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department.
The fish fry has been held annually since 1969, according to Assistant Chief Kevin Mininger. The first fish fry on record was held about a month after the department was chartered.
The fire department’s first fish fry was held on Saturday, April 10, 1965, just after the Walnut Hill Fire Department was officially chartered on Monday, March 8, 1965, during a meeting held at the Ernest Ward High School.
Adult plates were sold for $1, and plates for children under 12 were 50 cents. According to minutes from the fire department’s charter meeting, the fish fry was suggested by O.D. Gibson. It was organized as a fund raiser, and “to let the community know what had been accomplished” with the new department. It was a two hour community event.
That first fish fry cost the department $87.62, including $43 for fish and $13.23 to Lawrence Cooper’s Grocery. The total income was $256.50, netting a $168.88 profit for the Walnut Hill Fire Department’s first fund raiser.
The fire department was organized by the Walnut Hill Ruritan Club, under the leadership of Ruritan President Royce Ward.
In 1968, the Walnut Hill Fire Department held an open house at their first building on November 16, 1968. The first firehouse was located under the water tower at Highway 97 and Arthur Brown Road. Before the building was completed, fire trucks and other equipment was stored in members’ sheds and barns.
According to Mininger, there are no records indicating that a fish fry was held each year between 1965 and 1968, but the fish fry events have been held annually since 1969.
The department’s first truck was about a 1957 model GMC 2 1/2 ton 4×2 fuel service truck loaned from the Florida Forest Service.
Mininger has also compiled a list of the department’s fire chiefs as follows: E. C. (Chuck) Church, 1965 to September 1966; Bob Holdeman, September 1966 to August 1968; Vern Peters from August 1968 to 1983; Jack Brown from 1983 to December 1984; Ervin Schneider, 1985 to 1987; Dennis Rigby, 1988 to 1989; Bill Jackson, 1990 to February 1991; Al Bradley, March 1991 to 1992; Robert Stewart, 1993 to September 2008; and Chris Brown October 2008 to present.
The department’s first board of directors were: C.L. Byrd, Robert E. Holdeman, Kenneth Brown, W.H. Corley, Chief E. C. Church, Assistant Chief Buddy Sharpless, Assistant Chief Therman Raines, Captain Don Strickland, Captain James Pierce, Lt. roger Johnson, Lt. Glenn Thrower, J.H. Morgan, Sam Jantz and Harvey Bradberry.
To read original fire department minutes from December 2, 1968, click here (pdf).
The Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department’s 45th Annual Fish Fry will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Walnut Hill Fire Station on Highway 97. Plates will be $7 each with your choice of catfish fillets or grilled chicken, plus baked beans, cole slaw, hush puppies, homemade bread and cake. There will also be drawing for door prizes beginning at 1 p.m. and a live auction.
Pictured top: This undated photograph from the early days of the Walnut Hill Fire Department shows Robert Mininger, an assistant chief; Bob Holdeman, the department’s second chief; Royce Ward, president of the Ruritan Club; and Vern Peters who served 15 years as the department’s third chief. Pictured inset: The original handwritten minutes from the department’s first meeting. Pictured below: Former Chief Robert Stewart (left) was honored in 2008. Stewart is being presented a framed uniform shirt by current Chief Chris Brown. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Cooler Weather Forecast
November 7, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Friday Sunny, with a high near 64. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 37. North wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning.
- Saturday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41. North wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday Sunny, with a high near 68. North wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 41. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Monday Sunny, with a high near 72. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 50. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
- Veterans Day Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.
- Tuesday Night A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 51.
- Wednesday A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 63.
- Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 40.
- Thursday Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.
Rain Chance Tonight, Thursday
November 5, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after midnight. Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Thursday A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly before noon. Patchy fog before noon. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 43. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Friday Sunny, with a high near 64. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 38. North wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Saturday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 41.
- Monday Sunny, with a high near 70.
- Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 51.
- Veterans Day Mostly sunny, with a high near 73.