EREC Sends Area Juniors On Tallahassee Youth Tour
February 16, 2013
Ten area high school juniors were guests of Escambia River Electric Cooperative last week in Tallahassee as they learned more about their state legislature and electric cooperatives.
Participants were Garrett Peirce from Central High School; Kayne Caraway, Kayla Flowers, Dakota Mack, Chassity McCranie, Tate Upton and Dylan Wolfe from Jay High School; and Taylor Brook, Shelena Dukes and Victoria Wright from Northview High School.
While in Tallahassee, the students met with nearly 120 other high school juniors from electric cooperatives throughout the state of Florida. EREC delegates enjoyed visiting the Challenger Museum and viewing the IMAX movie, Space Junk (3D). The group took part in a mock session in the Florida Supreme Court and participated in a mock session in the House chambers where various members of the Legislature addressed the group.
The Youth Tour program provided students an opportunity to learn more about their state government and electric cooperatives and also gives them a chance to interact
with other students from co-ops throughout the state.
“It was a great educational experience and a lot of fun for the entire group,” according to Sabrina Owens, EREC’s marketing director.
EREC Youth Tour delegates with Representative Clay Ingram. (L-R) Garrett Peirce, Dylan Wolfe, Chassity McCranie, Victoria Wright, Dakota Mack, Representative Clay Ingram, Tate Upton, Kayla Flowers, Kayne Caraway, Taylor Brook and Shelena Dukes. Pictured inset: Tate Upton enjoys the batting cage at Tallahassee’s Fun Station. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge. Pictured below: The group with Sen. Greg Evers. Pictured bottom: Taylor Brook, Victoria Wright, and Shelena Dukes look for clues to the scavenger hunt in the Challenger Learning Center.
Weekend Gardening: Best Time to Prune is Now
February 16, 2013
Now until buds break is the best time to prune, according to the UF/IF Extension Service.
Why Prune?
- Control plant size or form
- Remove damage (mechanical, disease, etc.)
- Prevent potential damage (overlapping branches, poor crotch angles, diseases, etc.
- Stimulate new growth (rejuvenate old plants, fill bare areas, increase flowering, etc.)
When to prune:
- Corrective pruning due to injury or dead tissue should be done as soon as evident.
- Avoid pruning from August 15 until plants are dormant.
- Most pruning should be done during the dormant season or immediately after flowering.
Rules of thumb – The “May Rule”:
- May defined if the plant blooms before May 1, prune immediately after flowering has ended (flowers produced on old wood or last year’s growth: Azaleas, Forsythia, etc.)
- If the plant blooms after May 1, prune during the dormant season (flowers produced on new growth: Crape Myrtles, Lilac Chaste tree, etc.).
- As with any rule there are exceptions: Oak leaf Hydrangea.
General rules of Pruning:Eddie Hand Pruners
- Local in affect (usually within 6” of cut).
- Cuts should be made ¼” above a bud or to a crotch (Lateral branch).
- Cuts should be made at angles.
Pruning Equipment: (Make sure blades are sharp)
- Hand Snips (for small branches)
- Loppers (branches > 0.75” in diameter)
- Pruning Saw (limbs > 1.5” in diameter)
- Shears (for a more formal look)
- Pruning Knife (for clean-up)
Safe Pruning Principles:
- Keep equipment clean and in good repair.
- Appropriate, properly fitted safety equipment for job (eye and ear protection, no loose fitting clothes, etc.)
- Keep equipment within your control zone. Don’t over extend, know the limitations of your equipment and yourself.
- Know your surroundings (overhead utilities, other workers, etc.).
- Be able to identify Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and other skin irritants.
Quick Tips to Remember:
- Pruning: Remove dead wood and seed pods annually during the dormant season.
- Size control should be done by cultivar selection, not by pruning.
- To promote a second set of flowers, prune away faded or spent flowers throughout the season.
Tate High FBLA Members Place At Districts, Headed To State
February 15, 2013
Fourteen Tate High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) members placed in the recent District I FBLA Competition.
District I is comprised of chapters including Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties. Competition included categories such as written, skilled and performance events. The following students placed in their respective category and are eligible to attend the state competition which will be held in Orlando in April”
- Business Calculations: Jansen White – 1st place
- Website Development: Connor Doten, Chase Green, Keenan Williams – 1st place
- Game Development: Zachary Gravitt and Andrew Stark – 1st place
- Business Decision Making: James Wright – 2nd place
- Game Development: Louis LeDue – 2nd place
- Computer Problem Solving: Darren Gulsby – 2nd place
- Computer Problem Solving: Wesley Sapp – 4th place
- Sports Management: Heath Herndon – 3rd place
- Cyber Security: Hailey McQuaid – 4th place
- Job Interview: Sayra Mauldin – 4th place
- Business Math: Kyle Dibattista – 4th place
The Tate High FBLA advisors are Janice Courson and Gene Seales.
Pictured top: Tate High School FBLA members. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Let The Good Times Roll: Seniors Celebrate Mardi Gras
February 13, 2013
Residents at the Century Care Center celebrated Mardi Gras Tuesday in grand style with both a parade and a party.
The parade featured lots of throws, including Mardi Gras beads and other trinkets. Residents in Mardi Gras costumes paraded and rolled through the hallways in their wheelchairs to the delight of other residents watching the parade.
Pictured: Celebrating Mardi Gras Tuesday at the Century Care Center. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Names Students Of The Month
February 12, 2013
Northview High School has named their Students of the Month from January. They are Courtney Peebles and Dustin Parker. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Deadline Approaching To Register For Dave Ramsey Financial Program
February 10, 2013
Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church in Bogia will offer classes from Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University beginning March 1. The registration deadline in February 15.
The nine-week course includes video classes and group discussion and has changed lives all across the country. More than 1.5 million families have completed the program at their workplace, church, military base, nonprofit organization or community group and are working toward debt freedom and financial peace.
Through common-sense principles and small-group accountability, FPU gives people the tools they need to change their behavior and succeed financially. On average families who complete FPU pay off $5,300 and save $2,700 in the first 90 days; following the class nearly 94 percent of those families budget regularly, according to Ramsey.
“FPU will not only transform the way you handle money, but also your marriage and other areas of your life,” says Ramsey. “This isn’t a boring financial class. We make learning about money fun and easy to understand so people in every situation can benefit from the information.”
Ramsey knows first-hand the pain that financial stress can cause. After creating a net worth of more than a million dollars by age 26, he quickly lost it all. Since then Ramsey has helped families and individuals across the country learn how to get control of their finances and avoid debt so they don’t have to experience the same pain he did.
After purchasing a membership each participant receives a workbook, Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money, an envelope system and an audio CD library. Participants will also have access to budgeting forms and MP3’s of all the lessons.
Classes at Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church begin March 1 and will meet each Friday at 7 pm. Registration ends February 15. The even is open to the entire community. Childcare is available for a minimal fee.
To register or more information, click here. For additional details, contact Rachel Gilmore at ((850) 572-6465 or brgilmore@frontiernet.net.
Photos: Atmore Mardi Gras Parade
February 10, 2013
The Ladies of Essence held their annual Mardi Gras Parade Saturday afternoon in Atmore with plenty of MoonPies and beads.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured: The annual Mardi Gras Parade Saturday in Atmore. Submitted photos by Ditto Gorme for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Search And Rescue Holds Meet And Greet
February 10, 2013
The volunteers of Escambia Search and Rescue held a meet and greet event Saturday at Tractor Supply Company on Nine Mile Road. ESAR is celebrating its 50th year of service, and the K-9 unit is in it s 19th year.
ESAR trains for and responds to many different types of incidents including lost children, missing hunters, drowning victims, overdue boats, natural disasters, and missing persons with Alzheimer’s, autism or other forms of dementia.
Search volunteers from Northwest Florida and South Alabama are trained in communication, rescue and recovery diving and K-9 searches.
Pictures: ESAR and some of the K-9’s held a meet and greet Saturday at Tractor Supply Company on Nine Mile Road in Pensacola. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weekend Gardening: February Tips
February 9, 2013
Here are gardening tips for the month of February from the Santa Rosa Extension Service:
Flowers
- Re-fertilize cool season flowerbeds, using a liquid or granular form of fertilizer. Be careful not to apply excessive amounts and keep granules away from the base of stems.
- Prepare flowerbeds for spring planting by adding and incorporating soil amendments like mushroom compost, manure or homemade compost. Till or spade the bed to incorporate the amendments with the existing soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Allow the prepared bed to lie undisturbed for 3 to 4 weeks before planting. This provides time for some important biological activity to take place, and new plants are less likely to suffer from stem and root rots as a result. Have a soil test done. Sometimes lime is needed. However, a lime application should be made only if the need is revealed by the test.
- Replenish mulch in flowerbeds.
- Prune rose bushes.
Trees and Shrubs
- February is possible the best month for rejuvenation of old, overgrown shrubs. When pruned now, plants have an entire growing season to recover.
- Prune summer flowering deciduous shrubs such as Althea and Hibiscus. Since they flower on current season’s growth, flowering can actually be enhanced by proper pruning
- Do NOT prune the spring flowering shrubs yet. Azaleas, Spiraeas and Forsythia flower during early spring because buds were formed last summer and fall. Pruning in February would therefore remove most of the flower buds.
- Cold damaged trees and shrubs should NOT be pruned until new growth appears. You want to preserve as much healthy plant material as possible.
- Replenish mulch in shrub beds
- Finish planting ornamental and fruit trees.
Fruits and Nuts
- Fertilize established pecan trees. Use a “special pecan fertilizer” that contains zinc. Use 2 lbs. for every year of age of the tree up to a maximum of 55 lbs. Broadcast the fertilizer evenly beneath the tree.
- Fertilize established peach, plum, pear, persimmon, apple and fig. Apply about 1 ½ lbs of a 10-10-10 (or similar) fertilizer for each year of age of the tree until a maximum of 10 to 15 lbs. per tree is reached.
- Blueberries are very sensitive to nitrogen and can be killed easily, particularly when they are young. Fertilize only if your goal is to increase yield or berry size. An annual application of 2 ounces of a special “azalea/camellia” or “special blueberry” type fertilizer per plant in February is ample fertilizer on 2-year-old plants.
- Prune muscadine grapes between mid-February to mid-March. A standard method is to allow 2 to 4 node spurs spaced every 6 inches of cordon. You may notice that pruning cuts bleed, but there is no evidence that this is injurious to the vine.
- Grapes (bunch and muscadine) should be fertilized at the rate of 1 ½ lbs of 10-10-10 for each year of age with a maximum of 5 lbs per plant applied in late February.
- Last call for planting fruit trees! Most fruit trees such as pecans, plums, persimmons, figs, peaches and nectarines are shipped bare roots and should be planted during the dormant season.
- Apply a spray containing horticultural oils emulsion to dormant fruit trees and ornamental shrubs. Follow label directions carefully.
Vegetable Garden
- Several winter vegetables can still be successfully grown by starting them this month. Plant beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, collards, endive/escarole, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, mustard, parsley, English peas, radish and turnips.
- Plant Irish potatoes. Purchase certified seed potatoes rather than using the grocery store kinds. Use 2-ounce seed pieces with eyes and plant them 3 to 4 inches deep.
- Prepare spring vegetable and herb beds for planting by adding and incorporating soil amendments like mushroom compost, manure or homemade compost. Wait 3 to 4 weeks before planting.
Lawns
- Hold off on fertilizing the lawn. It is still too early for an application of nitrogen containing product. Cold temperatures and lack of plant response would likely result in wasted fertilizer. However, your winter weeds would benefit greatly.
National Junior Honor Society At Ernest Ward Middle Inducts New Members
February 8, 2013
Just over two dozen students were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society Thursday night at Ernest Ward Middle School.
The NJHS is the nation’s premier organization established to recognize outstanding middle school students. More than just an honor roll, NJHS serves to honor those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, citizenship and character.
Students must have and maintain a 3.5 GPA for honor society membership.
New National Junior Honor Society members at Ernest Ward are: Elisabeth Amerson, Anna Belle Barberree, Alayna Brown, Dawson Brown, Korbin Bryan, Savanna Calhoun, Breanna Deloach, Jason Fischer, De’Asia Fountain, Kayla Galvan, Bailee Hinote, Madalyn Lathan, Mallory Lathan, Triston Long, Ean Lundy, Robin Nahkala, Hannah Nelson, Celeste North, Sarah Perritt, Olivia Reber, Trevor Singleton, Sabra Stewart, Destiny Watson, Jacob Weaver, Jacob White, and Tara Windham.
Ernest Ward NJHS officers are: Kayleigh Linam, president; Alyssa Borelli, vice president; Hunter Cofield, secretary; Peighton Dortch, treasurer; Mitchell Singleton, reporter; Ian Schneider, parliamentarian; and Autumn Albritton, historian.
Pictured: Just over two dozen students were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society Thursday night at Ernest Ward Middle School. Photos by Sara Calhoun for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
