Big Watermelon Festival Going On Today In Century
June 28, 2014
The first annual Twin Cities Volunteers Watermelon Festival is going on today from 9-5 at Showalter Park in Century. The festival will include family fun, craft booths, food, entertainment and more with about four dozen vendors and attractions set to take part.
And, of course, there will be plenty of ice cold watermelon.
Admission is free. For a map to Showalter Park, click here.
Food vendors will offer a variety of food — including BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, funnel cakes, fried candy bars, chicken baskets, chili cheese fries, burgers, oriental food, seafood, cotton candy, snow cones and more.
A variety of vendors will display their wares, ranging from Scentsy and Tupperware to handmade wreaths, jewelry, bows, purses, clothing, furniture, antiques and more. There will also be a variety of activities for kids, including bounce houses and pony rides.
Official, limited edition 2014 Watermelon Festival shirts will be available for $8 each while supplies last.
The first annual Twin Cities Volunteers Watermelon Festival is sponsored in part by NorthEscambia.com.
Scheduled Entertainment:
- 9:00 Welcoming and Introductions and Recognition of Sponsors
- 9: 30 Sensational Tones of Joy
- 11: 00 A Joyful Sound
- 2:00 Rose Gilley
- 4:30 Major’s Majorettes
Food Vendors:
- Twin Cities Volunteers – BBQ pulled pork sandwiches with chips, drink and watermelon
- Kona Ice – tropical shaved ice
- Red Hot Concessions – funnel cakes, fried candy bars, chicken baskets, corndogs, chili cheese fries, nachos
- Grammy Sue’s – burgers, hot dogs, candy, funnel cakes, drinks, chips, canine treats for your furry friend
- Tin Tin’s – oriental food and seafood
- Bayou Billy Sweet Dixie Tea – sweet tea in 32 oz. collectible tin mugs
- Antioch Apostolic Ministries, Inc. - fish sandwich dinner and hot dogs
- Century Area Chamber of Commerce – cotton candy and bottled water
- Century Corrections: fried Boston Butt n2uggets tossed in buffalo sauce and cheese fries
- Abundant Life Assembly: popcorn and snowcones
Other Vendors Include:
- Emerald Coast Attractions – bounce houses and other kid’s activities
- Pony Rides
- Scentsy
- Tupperware
- Jewelry, furniture, bird houses, antiques
- Hair bows, custom clothes
- Oils, shell jewelry
- Real Time pain relief
- Hand crafted wood products
- Avon
- Isom purses and jewelry, baseball caps, wallets, sun glasses
- Stun guns, pepper spray and other personal protection devices
- Bow holders, fabric bows and scrunchies
- Mary Kay
- Handmade wreaths
- Handmade barrettes, jewelry and toys
- High fashion jewelry
- Wreaths, door hangers
- Pedigree charts to fill out and business cards with free family history website
- Bird feeders, keyholders
- My Fathers Arrow (non-profit) informational booth
- Escambia County Supervisor of Elections
- Book covers, lap blankets
- Alger Sullivan Historical Society
Open House, Community Event Today At Molino Fire Department
June 28, 2014
The Molino Volunteer Fire Department will host their annual Open House event today from noon until 5 p.m.
The event will include food, music, tours and more. The event is free but donations are welcome, all proceeds will go towards sponsoring a ball team at Don Sutton Ball Park.
The fire department is also looking for volunteers. Volunteers must be 16 to train and 18 or older with high school diploma to run calls on a firetruck. More information will be available at the open house, or call (850) 503-6754.
Afternoon Showers And Storms
June 27, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Today A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Tonight A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light after midnight.
- Saturday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 91. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Saturday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Sunday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Sunday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Monday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Tuesday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95.
- Tuesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72.
- Wednesday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95.
- Wednesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
- Thursday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.
Dozens Of Vendors Lined Up For Watermelon Festival Saturday In Century
June 26, 2014
The first annual Twin Cities Volunteers Watermelon Festival is this Saturday from 9-5 at Showalter Park in Century. The festival will include family fun, craft booths, food, entertainment and more.
About four dozen vendors and attractions are signed up to take part in Saturday’s event.
Food vendors will offer a variety of food — including BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, funnel cakes, fried candy bars, chicken baskets, chili cheese fries, burgers, oriental food, seafood, cotton candy, snow cones and more.
A variety of vendors will display their wares, ranging from Scentsy and Tupperware to handmade wreaths, jewelry, bows, purses, clothing, furniture, antiques and more. There will also be a variety of activities for kids, including bounce houses and pony rides.
Official, limited edition 2014 Watermelon Festival shirts (pictured below) are available now at the Century Town Hall during regular business hours. Shirts are $8 each.
Showers, Thunderstorms Likely
June 26, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Thursday Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88. Light west wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Thursday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
- Friday A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 92. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Friday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
- Saturday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93. Light southeast wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Saturday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Sunday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Sunday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Monday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95.
- Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
- Tuesday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95.
- Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 72.
- Wednesday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95.
Open House, Community Event Saturday At Molino Fire Department
June 26, 2014
The Molino Volunteer Fire Department will host their annual Open House event on Saturday from noon until 5 p.m.
The event will include food, music, tours and more. The event is free but donations are welcome, all proceeds will go towards sponsoring a ball team at Don Sutton Ball Park.
The fire department is also looking for volunteers. Volunteers must be 16 to train and 18 or older with high school diploma to run calls on a firetruck. More information will be available at the open house, or call (850) 503-6754.
Citizens Insurance Delays Expansion Of Clearinghouse
June 26, 2014
Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which moved forward Wednesday in reducing rates for most customers, has delayed putting existing policies into a clearinghouse designed to shift property owners into the hands of private companies.
Citizens President and CEO Barry Gilway announced Wednesday that policies up for renewal with the state-backed company won’t start to be run through the electronic clearinghouse until around Nov. 1, rather than in August or September, as most recently planned.
“There were a few areas we felt needed to be improved,” Gilway told the company’s Board of Governors during a meeting in Winter Park. “But very clearly we’ll be ready by the end of the year.”
The delay comes at the request of contractor Bolt Solutions, Inc., which received a five-year contract last year to design the software for the clearinghouse. Bolt’s contract includes an option for an additional five years, which could bring the payment total to $44.9 million over the decade.
Through the clearinghouse, when coverage by a private firm is found within 15 percent of Citizens’ premium for a new single-family policy, the policy goes to the private carrier.
Citizens spokesman Michael Peltier said the New York-based Bolt requested the extra time to ensure the functions of the clearinghouse work with the participating private carriers.
“Should not be a big issue in that renewals in that period are relatively light because we are in the middle of hurricane season,” Peltier responded in an email.
Reducing the number of polices, and thus the potential exposure to the state, has been a focus of government officials for several years.
Since the clearinghouse went live in January, nearly 3,300 first-time policies that had been submitted to Citizens have been placed with private vendors, Gilway said.
In the same time period, the number of vendors eligible to have rates compared to Citizens has grown from four to 11. Gilway expects there will be 20 when renewal policies enter the system.
The clearinghouse is expected to have a bigger impact once the renewals are put into the system.
Gilway has projected that Citizens would have around 925,000 policies when the 2014 hurricane season started June 1 and 725,000 policies by the end of 2015.
As of May 31, Citizens had 928,546 policies. Most are located in six counties: Miami-Dade, Pinellas, Broward, Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Pasco.
The overall number of policies is down from 1.26 million on May 31, 2013. A year earlier, the state-backed insurer topped 1.43 million policies.
For existing Citizens customers, renewals will have to go to the private market if comparable coverage is found at or below the state-backed insurer’s rates. Peltier said policyholders should expect a notice in September regarding the clearinghouse.
The announcement comes as the Citizens board approved a plan that is expected to reduce base rates for about 70 percent of policyholders, with the other 30 percent having their base rates go up.
The 2015 rates must still be approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation.
As part of the proposed rate changes, homeowner policies are projected to decrease on average 3.2 percent, while mobile-home rates will go down 3.9 percent on average.
Overall, personal and commercial rates will decrease by 1 percent.
There is no change projected in sinkhole rates outside Hernando County, where the rates are projected to go up 10 percent.
Citizens pointed to a number of factors for the changes, from “increasingly reasonable rates” for reinsurance to a reduction in the number of policies under Citizens that has decreased the overall exposure for the agency.
The reduced rates vary across the state. And a drop in rates doesn’t preclude the overall cost of a customer’s premium — the total amount that a policyholder pays for coverage — from going up.
by The News Service of Florida
FDOT Public Hearing Tonight On Possibly Four-Laning Nine Mile Road
June 24, 2014
The Florida Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing tonight concerning the future of Nine Mile Road, including a possible four-laning project.
The proposed improvements include widening a portion Nine Mile Road from two to four lanes, installing additional drainage and storm water treatment ponds, constructing sidewalks, and the design and construction of medians and median openings within the study limits.
The hearing is being held to give interested persons an opportunity to express their views concerning the location, conceptual design, and social, economic and environmental effects of the proposed project.
The public hearing will take place from 5:30 until 6:30 p.m. at Plainview Baptist Church, 1101 West Nine Mile Road. The hearing will begin as an open house at 5:30 p.m., followed with a formal presentation at 6 p.m.
Draft study documents and other information depicting the proposed improvements will be available for public review at the hearing. Documents may also be viewed at the FDOT Milton Operations Office, 6025 Old Bagdad Highway and at American Consulting Professionals, 4489 Woodbine Road, Pace, until Monday, July 7.
Showers, Thunderstorms Continue
June 23, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Monday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
- Tuesday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Tuesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light after midnight.
- Wednesday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93. Light west wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Wednesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Thursday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
- Thursday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
- Friday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92.
- Friday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70.
- Saturday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92.
- Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 70.
- Sunday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.
Limited Edition Watermelon Festival Shirts Available Now
June 23, 2014
The Twin Cities Watermelon Festival is this Saturday. And official, limited edition 2014 Watermelon Festival shirts are available now at the Century Town Hall during regular business hours. Shirts are $8 each.
The Twin Cities Volunteers First Annual Watermelon Festival will be this Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Showalter Park in Century. The festival will include family fun, craft booths, food, entertainment and more. For vendor information, call Kim at Century Town Hall at (850) 256-3208.
The Twin Cities First Annual Watermelon Festival is sponsored in part by NorthEscambia.com.
Pictured: Hannah, Shelby and Maegan Godwin model their Twin Cities Volunteers 2014 Watermelon Festival shirts. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
