Tate Grad Hubbard Graduates From Basic Training
November 7, 2013
Air Force Airman 1st Class James A. Hubbard graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Hubbard earned distinction as an honor graduate.
He is the son of Lesley Hubbard of Deedra Avenue, Pensacola.
The airman is a 2002 graduate of Tate High School, Cantonment. He received a master’s degree in 2010 from Stony Brook University, New York, N.Y.
First Baptist Bratt Will Serve As Operation Christmas Child Central
November 6, 2013
Volunteers will soon be busy at the First Baptist Church of Bratt during “National Collection Week” for Operation Christmas Child. For the 20th year, the simple, gift-filled shoe boxes will bring Christmas joy and evangelistic materials to children in over 130 countries across the world.
National Collection Week for OCC is November 18-25. The First Baptist Church of Bratt will be the official OCC Relay Center for the north end of Escambia County, Florida. The FBC Bratt will also accept boxes from individuals, groups or churches in and Escambia County, Alabama, again this year.
“This is not about the FBC of Bratt”, says Student Pastor Tim Hawsey, Relay Center coordinator. “This is about being a blessing and bringing God’s love and hope to children in poverty around the world that would not receive it otherwise. We have gone through the intense process of been approved as a church to be a Relay Center to collect the boxes from individuals, families, and churches of our area, document and pack them into special cartons and take them to the next level for Samaritan’s Purse, and we are blessed to do it.”
Collection hours at the First Baptist Church of Bratt will be:
- Monday, Nov. 18: 8 a.m. – noon, 4-6 p.m.
- Tuesday, Nov. 19: 8 a.m. – noon
- Wednesday, Nov. 20: 8 a.m. – noon, 4 PM – 6 PM
- Thursday, Nov. 21: 8 a.m. – noon
- Friday, Nov. 22: 8 a.m. – noon
- Saturday, Nov. 23: 8 a.m. – noon
- Sunday, Nov. 24: 8 a.m. – noon, 4-6 p.m.
- Monday, Nov. 25: 8 a.m. – 11 a.m.
The boxes collected this year at FBC Bratt will go through the Atlanta Processing Center then will be shipped to the countries of Belize, Botswana, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Haiti, Macedonia, Madagascar, Niger, Seychelles, Suriname, Trinidad, Tobago, and the Ukraine.
Operation Christmas Child boxes should be packed in a specific manner, and there are changes this year. For more information, call Hawsey at the First Baptist Church of Bratt at (850) 327-6529, visit www.samaritanspurse.org/occ, or call (800) 353-5949. Resources are available for churches that wish to participate.
Students Dress To Impress
November 6, 2013
Northview High School recently held a “Dress To Impress” day, with students skipping jeans and t-shirts and wearing their favorite dress clothing instead. Submitted photos for NorhtEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Peanut Butter Drive Continues
November 4, 2013
The Escambia County Extension office, the University of Florida Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), the EscaRosa Young Farmers and Ranchers and the Florida Peanut Producer Association are collecting peanut butter now through mid-November to help take a bite out of hunger.
The groups are accepting donations of unopened jars of peanut butter to be donated to local food pantries during Farm-City Week.
“Let’s keep children eating locally grown peanuts in healthy, nutritious, and yummy peanut butter,” is a slogan being promoted for the drive. The extension service said the average child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before graduating high school.
Unopened jars of peanut butter of any brand can be dropped off until November 15 at any of the following locations:
- Escambia County Extension office, 3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment
- Escambia Farm Bureau, 153 Highway 97, Molino
- Escambia County Public Safety, 6575 North W Street, Pensacola
- Escambia County Community & Environment Dept. 223 Palafox Place, 3rd Floor, Pensacola
- Gilmore Services, 31 East Fairfield Drive, Pensacola
For more information contact Escambia County Extension at (850) 475-5230.
Pictured top: Local peanut grower Rodney Helton and his granddaughters. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Three Escambia Students Awarded Prestigous American FFA Degree
November 4, 2013
Three Escambia County students have been awarded the American FFA Degree, which is awarded to FFA members who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to FFA. The award is presented after the FFA member graduates from high school.
Northview High School FFA graduate Lydia Weaver accepted her degree on stage during the annual National FFA Convention Saturday morning in Louisville, KY. West Florida High School FFA graduates Jake Scott and Justin Ryan Hall were also awarded the American FFA Degree but did not attend the convention.
Less than half of one percent of all FFA members receive the American FFA Degree, making it one of the organization’s highest honors. The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 579,678 student members in grades seven through 12 who belong to one of 7,570 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Pictured: Northview High School FFA graduate Lydia Weaver accepts her American FFA degree on stage during the annual National FFA Convention Saturday morning in Louisville, KY. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: Northview Senior Night; Band and Cheerleaders
November 4, 2013
Friday night was Senior Night for the Northview Chiefs.
For a Senior Night, band and cheerleader photo gallery, click here.
(High quality prints are available of the Senior Night photos from the photo gallery, plus additional sword arch photos are available of most seniors. For information, email news@northescambia.com.)
Seniors honored Friday night were:
2013-2014 Northview Chief football Team
Tristan Creamer, Football, two years
Daulton Ray Daniel, Football, four years
Andrew Edwards, Football, four years
Brandon Freeman, Football, four years
Marvin A. Haynie, Jr., Football, four years
Holden Moore, Football, one year
Baccari Ramer, Football, one year
Neino Robinson, Football, two years
Nathan Ships, Football, two years
Danny Slay, Football, four years
Jeffrey Taylor II, Football, four years
LaQuan M Thomas, Football, two years
Daulton Tullis, Football, four years
2013-2014 Northview Cheerleading Team
Mariah Laine Albritton, Cheerleading, four years
Madison Brooke Arrington, Cheerleading, three years
Katelynne Nicole Calloway, Cheerleading, four years
Anna Elizabeth Fisher, Cheerleading, four years; Dance Team, three years
Chloe Vanessa Leonard, Cheerleading, four years; Dance Team, three years
Ali Martin, Cheerleading, four years
Olivia Neal, Cheerleading, one year
Courtney Weaver, Cheerleading, three years
2013 -2014 Tribal Beat Band
Donald Baity, Band, two years; ROTC, four years
Taylor Brook, Band, four years
Mashama Codrington, Band, one year
Hunter Dettling, Band, two years
Morgan Digmon, Dance Team, three years
Anna Elizabeth Donald, Band, one year
Cory Hester, Band, four years
Jessica Lowery, Dance Team, three years
Jasmine Maher, Band, two years
Brittany Nicole Martin, Band, two year; ROTC, four years
Shelby Nielsen, Band, three years
Rachel Presley, Dance Team, two years
Hilery Danielle Scott, Dance Team, three years
Rebekah Mary Sepulveda, Dance Team, one year
Kent Smith, Band, four years; ROTC, three years
Jeremy Logan Stacey, Band, three years
Lily Ann Townson, Dance Team, three years
Kendrick Walker, Band, two years; ROTC, four years
2013-2014 Northview NJROTC
Kasie Braun, ROTC, four years
Jessica Ann Brown, ROTC, four years
Kira Cartwright, ROTC, four years
Zacarra Davis, ROTC, four years
Casey Godwin, ROTC, three years
Courtney Jones, ROTC, three years
Shauna Walker, ROTC, four years
Victoria Wright, ROTC, four years
Blue Angels Fly Together Again
November 4, 2013
The Blue Angels returned to the air over the weekend for their first public flight appearance since their funding was cut back in April. They flew over Notre Dame Stadium in Indiana before Notre Dame edged Navy 38-34.
Capt. Michael Ryan, commanding officer of the University of Notre Dame’s Navy Reserve Officer Training Candidate (ROTC) unit, presented a University of Notre Dame football helmet to the Blues and Flight Leader Cmdr. Tom Frosch. The helmet was a gift from Notre Dame Football Head Coach Brian Kelly.
The Blues still have not announced any change to the cancellation of their Homecoming Show, originally set for this past weekend, at Pensacola Naval Air Station.
U.S. Navy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Robotics Competition Brings Out The Best In Young Scientists
November 3, 2013
Young scientists from 11 area middle and high schools — including Tate and West Florida — tested robots they built in the pressure-cooker of real competition at the sixth annual Emerald Coast BEST Robotics competition Saturday at the University of West Florida.
Each student team had six weeks to design and build a remote-controlled robot to solve a problem or perform a specific function. The year’s theme, Gatekeeper 2013, tasked robots to build a CPU (Central Processing Unit) to upgrade the BEST robot, Squeaky, to Squeaky 2.0. The students designed a prototype robot to build the mock CPU through three fabrication stages.
Each team was judged on its robot performance, marketing presentation, team exhibit, technical notebook and spirit and sportsmanship. The top two overall teams and the team with the top robot advance to regional competition Dec 7-8 at Auburn University.
Seaside Neighborhood School took the overall competition, and will be joined by Woodlawn and Woodham middle schools to represent the Emerald Coast BEST hub at Auburn.
Gulf Power Company has sponsored the BEST Robotics competition for the past six years. The event teaches teamwork, problem-solving, project management and pride in task completion.
BEST Robotics Inc. — Boosting Engineering Science and Technology — is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization whose mission is to inspire students to pursue careers in engineering, science, and technology through participation in a sports-like, science and engineering-based robotics competition.
“Gulf Power supports the annual competition because it provides local students the opportunity to learn practical engineering, science and math skills, which are critical for their future,” said Jeff Rogers, Gulf Power spokesman. “Events like the BEST Robotics competition also help promote interest in high-quality technology careers down the line for these students.”
Gulf Power has recently ramped up efforts to increase the availability of skilled technicians in Northwest Florida by helping form the Northwest Florida Manufacturers Council earlier this year. The council will help local manufacturing companies work together to compete in a global marketplace with a special emphasis on having a skilled workforce.
Area schools have been competing in BEST since 2004, when Gulf Power sponsored eight local teams to compete in the BEST hub in Mobile, Ala. The funding of hub operations depends entirely on corporate and individual sponsorships. Materials kits to build the robots are provided to the teams by the hub. No fees are paid by students or schools participating in BEST robotics.
AWARD CATEGORIES
Advancing to Regionals at South’s BEST – Auburn University on Dec. 7-8
1: Seaside Neighborhood
2: Woodlawn Middle School
3: Woodham Middle School
Robotics Award – Awarded to the teams whose machines finish first, second and third in the tournament bracket.
1: Seaside Neighborhood
2: Woodlawn Beach Middle School
3: Tate High School
BEST Robotics Finalist – Awarded to the team whose machine finished 4th
Pine Forest High School
Founders Award for Creative Design – awarded to the team that makes best use of the engineering process in consideration of offensive and defensive capabilities in machine design; awarded in recognition of BEST founders Steve Marum and Ted Mahler.
Seaside Neighborhood
Most Robust Machine – Awarded to the team whose machine requires the least maintenance during and between matches and is generally the sturdiest machine in the competition.
Pine Forest High School
Most Photogenic Machine
Woodlawn Beach Middle School
Gulf Power Blood, Sweat and Duct Tape Award
Bethlehem School
Best T-Shirt Design
1: Woodlawn Beach Middle School
2: Sims Middle School
3: Seaside Neighborhood
Web Page Design Award – Awarded for the best team website; based on page functionality, creative use of the game theme, information about team members and community efforts.
Sims Middle School
Best Spirit and Sportsmanship – Recognizes the vigor and enthusiasm displayed by team representatives and the outward display of sportsmanship (e.g., helping other teams in need), grace in winning and losing, and conduct and attitude considered befitting participation in sports.
1: Sims Middle School
2: Woodham Middle School
3: Seaside Neighborhood
Best Team Exhibit and Interview – The purpose of this category is to communicate through a display, and through discussion with judges, information about the team’s efforts to promote BEST in the community and schools; Foster BEST spirit, camaraderie, and participation and give evidence of sportsmanship.
1: Seaside Neighborhood
2: Woodham Middle School
3: Sims Middle School
Best Project Engineering Notebook – The purpose of the notebook is to document the process the team used to design, build, and test their robot.
1: Newpoint Pensacola High
2: Seaside Neighborhood
3: Woodham Middle School
Best Marketing Presentation – Teams should view themselves as employees of a “company” that is marketing their “product” (robot) to a potential buyer (judges). This marketing team is an integral part of the engineering team that has designed a specialized robot.
1: Seaside Neighborhood
2: Woodham Middle School
3: Newpoint Pensacola High
BEST Award – The BEST Award is presented to the team that best embodies the attributes associated with “Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology” in its development which include teamwork, diversity of participation, sportsmanship, creativity, ethics, positive attitude/enthusiasm, school/community involvement and exposure to and use of the engineering process.
1: Seaside Neighborhood
2: Woodlawn Middle School
3: Woodham Middle School
Pictured top: The Emerald Coast BEST Robotics competition Saturday at the University of West Florida. Pictured inset: The West Florida High School Robot. Pictured below: Seaside Neighborhood School took the overall competition. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weekend Gardening: Fill Voids In Landscape With Shrubs
November 3, 2013
Occasionally gardeners will lose a shrub in their landscapes. This typically results in an unsightly void. Or perhaps you chose a beautiful shrub but put it in a location which it quickly outgrew. Fall is the best time of the year to plant new shrubs and transplant those that may need a new home.
When planting new shrubs, take the time to choose plants that will meet your design requirement and will be the right size for your location. Trying to artificially manipulate a plant’s size or height by pruning should be avoided in the landscape, unless you are an expert at topiaries.
Another consideration when choosing shrubs is their leaf-retaining characteristics. Evergreen plants always have green leaves on the plant; however, they do drop foliage throughout the year. Deciduous plants drop all of their leaves at one time of the year, usually late fall.
Deciduous plants typically add beautiful floral displays to the landscape. Evergreen plants will provide the backbone of the design. The well-designed landscape will contain both deciduous and evergreen shrubs.
Northwest Florida gardeners can choose from a wide variety of beautiful shrubs. Some popular choices include azaleas, camellias, hydrangeas, cleyera, holly and gardenias. For more options and information, refer to a University of Florida publication titled “Selected Shrubs for North Florida.” It’s available online at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg344 or by calling your local Extension Office.
The best time to add new shrubs to the landscape is when we experience cooler weather, fall through early spring. To ensure success, be sure to follow proper procedures when planting the shrub. Correct planting and proper aftercare will prevent problems in the future.
Begin by digging a hole at least twice as wide as and no deeper than the root ball. After digging, ensure that about one to two inches of the root ball is raised above the level of the surrounding soil. Remember the old saying, “Plant it high, it won’t die. Plant it low, it won’t grow.”
Probably one of the most overlooked steps is correcting root problems prior to planting. Shrubs that are planted with circling roots will always have circling roots and can abruptly fall over in high winds. Use your hands or a knife to loosen any roots that have been matted while growing in the container. Also, cut through any circling roots.
After you backfill the hole with the soil you removed, water-in the plant to release any air pockets. Mulch with three inches of organic mulch such as pine straw after planting is completed, but never on top of the root ball.
If you have decided to transplant a shrub, consider the following. Shrubs have better transplant tolerance than trees, deciduous plants better than evergreens, shallow rooted species better than deep rooted species, and younger plants better than older plants. Plants which are already in advanced stages of decline are likely to succumb to transplantation stress.
Dig as large a rootball as you can handle and follow the normal planting procedures. Aftercare is critical to a transplanted shrub’s survival, with proper watering perhaps the most important practice. Remember that sprinkler systems are not designed to establish trees and shrubs, so hand watering or a slow-drip system is recommended. Talk to your local Extension Agent for specific instructions.
You can have better success with planting or transplanting shrubs when you do it in the fall. Just be sure to follow established procedures and tend to the shrub for several months after planting.
Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.. Photo credit - David Marshall.
Birth: Ruth Ann Bryan
November 3, 2013
Heath and Shelby Bryan are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Ruth Ann Bryan, born October 10, 2013, at Thomas Medical Center.
Ruth Ann weighed 6-pounds, 11-ounces and was 19.75 inches long. Grandparents are Ricky and Cheryl Golson, and Terry and Sheila Bryan of Bratt. Great-grandparents are Marlene Forester and the late Curtis Forester, the late Walter Lee Golson and Doris Oline Hopkins, Pansy Bryan and the late Preston Bryan, Dillard and Rochelle Bankston, and the late Billy Macks.
Ruth Ann was welcomed home by her big brother, Forest.