Former Ernest Ward Teacher Now Selling Her Book Online
July 20, 2009
Jean Webb, a former teacher and administrator at Ernest Ward High School in Walnut Hill, is busy these days promoting her book, and now she has a web site where her book is available.
Set in Richmond, VA, and Mobile during the 1880’s, “Feet of Clay” is a family saga, a historical romance, a murder mystery, a courtroom drama and a study of human behavior all rolled into one.
“There are no perfect heroes here, only men with feet of clay,” she said of her book. “They have been wronged: They have done wrong, but are honorable men with all too many human flaws.”
Webb, who spent 35 years as an English teacher and administrator at Ernest Ward High School, is currently a member of the Wetumpka Fine Arts Club and the Episcopal Church. Her interests include reading, writing, and following sports — especially football and basketball. She has four children: Letha, Rick, Jean, and Pellar. She now resides near Wetumpka, Alabama. She was recently been nominated to be inducted into the Alabama Senior Hall of Fame.
Webb’s new web site is jjwebb.com. Feet of Clay is also available at amazon.com.
Pictured top: Former Ernest Ward Middle School teacher J.J. Webb autographs her book at a signing event last year the First National Bank & Trust in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Fort Pickens Once Again Open After Ivan
July 19, 2009
Escambia County’s Fort Pickens is once again open and accessible to the general public by car.
The seven-mile road to Fort Pickens reopened just a few weeks ago for the first time since Hurricane Ivan, once again bringing accessibility to the fort that was completed in 1834.
Services in the park are still limited, with diesel generators providing electricity to some areas including the visitor’s center, some restrooms and the snack bars store near the fishing pier. Campgrounds are open, but campers must supply their own power and water.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery of Fort Pickens from Saturday, click here.
About 35,000 vehicles passed through the Fort Pickens gate in June, up from 25,000 the June before Ivan. Park officials estimate that 105,000 people entered the park in June.
Fort Pickens is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., except for registered campers. The visitor’s center is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. Lifeguards are on duty at Langdon Beach in the park from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
“It is important that visitors understand there is still much work to be accomplished within the Fort Pickens Area and, upon reopening, full visitor services will not be available,” said Jerry Eubanks, superintendent of Gulf Islands National Seashore.
The entrance fee is $8 per vehicle for a seven-day pass. However, there will be a free admission weekend August 15 and 16 at National Parks nationwide.
The speed limit on the road from the park entrance to the ranger station is enforced at 15 mph to protect shorebirds nesting alongside the roadway. Once nesting season is over, the speed limit will be increased to 35 mph.
Visitors should also bring cash — due to no telephone lines, the ability to use debit and credit cards is sometimes not available.
“We regret that services will be limited, however, we understand how anxious our visitors are to return and to experience once again this wonderful resource,” said Eubanks.
Pictured top: Visitors took advantage of a free admission day Saturday at Fort Pickens in the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Limited electricity at the fort is provided by the generator in the photo. Pictured below: One of the large cannons that overlooks Pensacola Pass. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Rescue Zone: Kids Get Up Close With The Fire Department
July 15, 2009
Dozens of children in Bluff Springs had the opportunity to learn about firefighting up close and personal Tuesday evening.
It was all part of the “Rescue Zone: Saved by God’s Power” Vacation Bible School at Faith Bible Baptist Church in Bluff Springs. The Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue gave the children the opportunity to see a 55-foot ladder truck and a fire engine. The children also had the opportunity to try their hand a fire hose.
Monday night, the children had the chance to talk with an Escambia County deputy. Wednesday night, Escambia County EMS will show off an ambulance at the VBS.
VBS at Faith Bible Baptist Church in Bluff Springs continues through Thursday from 6-8:30 p.m. for ages 5-12. For more information, call the church at (850) 256-5483.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured top: Giving a fire hose a try. Pictured left: Touring a firetruck at Faith Bible Baptist Church in Bluff Springs Tuesday evening. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Blue Angels Soar
July 12, 2009
Tens of thousands of people — many of them from the North Escambia area — packed Pensacola Beach Saturday for the annual Blue Angels air show.
The main parking lot at Casino Beach was full by 7 a.m., and the parking lots at Fort Pickens and Quietwater Beach were full by 10. At one point, traffic was reported to be backed up from the beach all the way back to the Pensacola Civic Center.
Despite the large crowds, emergency officials reported few problems. About half dozen people were transported to the hospital, and deputies said they made just a handful of arrests.
Click here for more photos from the Blue Angels over Pensacola Beach from Mike Newton, Alisa Hart and Brandy Gafford.
Pictured above: The Blue Angels over Pensacola Beach Saturday afternoon. Pictured below: Thousands packed Pensacola Beach as seen in this photo from the Hilton. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com by Alisa Hart and Brandy Gafford for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Names New Tribal Beat Band Director
July 6, 2009
Northview High School has named Scott Slay as the school’s new band director and Tadd Corder as an assistant band director.
After graduating from Northview in 2000, Slay attended the University of West Florida where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Teacher Education with a specialization in Jazz. Slay has four years of teaching experience. Last year, he sponsored Northview’s guitar ensemble, theatre productions, chorus and the jazz band. He will remain Northview’s Performing Arts instructor.
Corder is transferring from the closed Carver/Century K-8 School to a teaching position at Ernest Ward Middle School, but he will volunteer his time as an assistant band director at Northview. Corder has a music minor, and he was a member of the UWF symphonic band.
“We are both Northview drum line alumni under Mr. Buck,” Slay said. “We are both looking forward to leading the band where we used to march.”
Slay plans to make a few changes with the Tribal Beat band — new music, a local focus and new instruments. He also plans to use technology more in the band program, tossing out the cassette tape players that were a mainstay in the program.
While he would not say exactly what new music he is looking to add to the selections played by the band on Friday nights, during football season, he did mention Earth, Wind & Fire, the Temptations, and the addition of about a half dozen new cadences at games. But traditionalists need not worry; he plans to keep some of the traditional cadences for Friday nights. There will also be new music added to the halftime show.
“Students will be able to identify with music and enjoy it, but it probably won’t be music that they would have bought for themselves,” he said.
Slay plans to add a “pit crew” to the band, with a electric guitar, axillary percussion instruments, xylophone and bells to support the woodwind instruments.
The Tribal Beat will take on more of a local focus, the new band director said, marching and participating in local events and parades. For now, distant competitions and events are out while Slay works to improve and build the program. “It will be more of a focus of serving our communities,” he said.
If all goes as planned, a second assistant band director is in the works for the program, a person with years of experience working with marching bands in the area. Corder and the second assistant band director will be volunteers, “working out of the goodness of their heart”, Slay said.
“We will have a quality program,” Slay said. “I want our band members to feel like they are part of a good group, part of something special and that we play good music.”
Slay said he is also looking forward to working with the Northview Band Boosters, and Northview Band Booster President Norma Halteman said the feeling is mutual.
“We are looking forward to this year and providing continued support for the band,” Halteman said. “We hope it grows, and we are looking forward to a lot of exciting things.”
Corder said he is looking forward to working with Slay and the Tribal Beat.
“This was an opportunity to become involved and do something,” Corder said. “There is a lot of renewed excitement in the program right now. So far, at least 10 new kids are coming back to the band. It’s exciting. The fans will see some fruits in this year, but there will be a lot more in the future as we work with the program. We are going to keep the quality and make it better.”
“I’m excited about the new band year,” new Tribal Beat Drum Major Melissa Moretz (pictured left) said. “It will be a great opportunity to bring all of these musicians together as a team and set goals.”
Students must also pay band dues to the booster club or attend every band boosters fundraiser until band dues are paid. The next band fundraiser is this Saturday morning, with a car wash at Advance Auto Parts in Atmore beginning at 8:00.
Band camp begins the last week of July with different days for different sections of the band. Full band camp will be the first two weeks of August, from 8 until 4:30 daily.
Former NHS Band Director Charles Tucker will remain at Ernest Ward Middle School as their band director, according to Nancy Gindl-Perry. Slay said the middle and high school bands would not be marching together or holding joint concerts this year.
Slay said it is not too late for students to join the Tribal Beat Band at Northview. Basic requirements for Northview students include a previous involvement in a high school or middle school band program and band camp attendance. For more information, call Lisa Chancery in the Northview office at 327-6681 ext. 238 or Slay at 261-5954.
Pictured top: New Northview Tribal Beat Band Director Scott Slay (left) works with Drum Captain Colton Sims. Pictured middle: Drum Major Melissa Moretz files music. Pictured bottom: Majorette Captain Kolbi Cobb organizes old Tribal Beat music. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Eli Needs A Foster Home
July 6, 2009
Eli needs a foster home — quickly.
The sweet two-year old Tennessee Walking Horse gelding is easy to handle and gets along well with other horses, according to Panahandle Equine Rescue President Diane Lowery.
Lowery says that PER needs someone to provide a foster home for Eli as soon as possible; the group’s facility is full and no other horses can be rescued until they make room.
Panhandle Equine Rescue’s mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and provide adoption services for abused, neglected and abandoned equines. The non-profit PER group is authorized by the Escambia County court system to investigate equine reports in the county.
Anyone interested in providing foster care for Eli should contact Lowery at at (850) 393-9793 or 587-2754.
Pictured above: Eli needs a foster home soon so that Panhandle Equine Rescue has space for other rescued horses. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Memorial Was Dedicated Saturday To Honor Flomaton Grad Killed In Iraq
July 5, 2009
A Flomaton High School graduate killed in Iraq was honored on the Fourth of July with a a memorial dedicated in his honor.
Cpl. Christopher Winchester joined the U.S. Marine Corps in February 2003, just three years after graduating from Flomaton High School. About two years later, he shipped off to take part in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Winchester, 24, was working border patrols near Jordan on July 14, 2005, when he was killed by roadside bomb. He would have come home in September of that year.
He was vice president of his senior class, president of the JAGS program and voted by the senior class as most attractive. He loved baseball, and spent many days playing baseball in East Brewton where he lived when he was younger.
At 4 p.m. on the Fourth of July, a memorial was dedicated in his honor at the RT Johnson Park on Williamson Street. A full military service, complete with a Marine Corp color guard, honored Winchester as the memorial was dedicated. (Pictured left: A Marine hugs Winchester’s mom Gail Wiliams during the dedication service Saturday in East Brewton.)
An inscription on the memorial quotes John 15:13 — “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”.
The memorial was funded by community donations and fund raisers held by the family. Winchester’s memory is also honored by the Christopher Winchester Memorial Scholarship presented each year by the Tri-Cities Rotary Club to a deserving Flomaton High School senior.
Pictured above: A memorial was dedicated Saturday in East Brewton to honor a Flomaton High School graduate killed in Iraq. Photos courtesy WEAR for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino Church Ends VBS With 284 And A 50-Foot Banana Split
July 4, 2009
A Molino church wrapped up their Vacation Bible School Friday night in a really big way — a 50-foot long, double row banana split for over 200 kids.
Highland Baptist Church had set a lofty goal of 200 enrolled in their VBS this week. One of the ways they decided to promote their “Boomerang Express” VBS was with signs along several Molino roads. A day after they signs were placed around Molino — included in private yards and on church property — every sign had been stolen. The signs were remade and put out Monday afternoon, only to be stolen again Monday night.
Between word of mouth, news stories and advertisements on NorthEscambia.com about the stolen signs and mentions of the story on WXBM radio, the Highland Baptist finished the week with 284 enrolled in VBS.
“The Lord is so good,” Pastor Brian Calhoun said. “He took the bad and turned it into a really good week for the children.”
The 50-foot banana split was assembled Friday night with military precision. Volunteers sliced 120 bananas, added 20 gallons of ice cream, eight large cans of whipped cream, seven pounds of M&Ms and over a gallon of chocolate syrup.
The total time from 200 plus spoons hitting the banana split to the first mop on the floor to cleanup was just over 10 minutes.
Click here for a complete NorthEscambia.com photo gallery.
Pictured above and below: Highland Baptist Church in Molino wrapped up their Vacation Bible School Friday night with a 50-foot long banana split. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Fresh From Steve’s Farm: Sweet Corn, Beans, Peas, Catfish And More
June 30, 2009
In 2002, Steve Hiebert and his family planted six acres of sweet corn on their Walnut Hill farm. It was the start of a booming business that now offers a variety of fruits and vegetables, and even a little fishing down on the farm.
Steve said he always wanted to farm. But the traditional crops like cotton and catfish were not appealing on his relatively small farm because it is hard to compete with cheap catfish from China or cotton from India.
“We were looking for a niche,” he said. “I was not looking at leasing more land than I already owned. I was a farmer at heart and wanted to remain a farmer. The sweet corn was what I could do.”
The idea to grow sweet corn and retail on the farm came from a friend in Arkansas. After that first year, Steve realized that specializing in produce farming was what he wanted to continue to do. Along the way, his wife suggested peas and customers requested butter beans.
This year, Steve has 30 acres of sweet corn, 20 acres of peas and 20 acres of butter beans.
Today, Steve’s farm is a far cry from that first six acres of corn that was hand picked, hand sorted and hand bagged. The corn is graded on a mechanical conveyor line; the butter beans are machine picked — it’s hard to find someone willing to pick butter beans, Steve said, and the beans and peas are available mechanically shelled. No more sore fingers from shelling — the peas and beans are perfectly shelled in minutes with almost no debris remaining in them.
This time of year, they are picking 70-80 bushels of peas per day, but Steve’s claim to fame is still his Steve’s Homegrown Sweet Corn.
“There is no fresher or better tasting sweet corn than corn that is picked the morning you buy it,” Steve said. “It does not spend days on a truck from California, plus there’s not all of the fuel spent to haul it. It just makes sense to get it from the local guy.”
Some of the produce is sold wholesale, but most is sold at retail farm fresh from the Hiebert barn in Walnut Hill. In addition to the corn, butter beans and peas, Steve’s Farm also sells cantaloupe, watermelons and other seasonal produce.
And then there’s the fishing.
Steve’s pond is open and stocked with farm raised catfish.
“It’s not just fishing; it is the experience,” Steve said. “Dad’s don’t need a new boat and a trip to the river to fish with the kids. They get tired, and they might not catch anything. But here, they love it. The kids almost always catch fish, and they always have a good time.”
Anglers can bring their own bait and tackle, or Steve “will rent you the poles, sell you the bait, clean your fish, sell you a cheap ice chest and you can head home with your fillets and your happy campers”.
Steve’s Farm and his catfish pond are located at 1201 South Highway 99 in Walnut Hill, about a mile and half off Highway 97. The farm and the catfish pond are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday until the end of September. For more information, call (850) 327-4020 or visit www.StevesFarm.net online. Steve says to call ahead if you are driving very far if you want a specific item; the corn, peas and beans can sell out quickly some days. He does take orders.
Pictured above: Some of the fresh produce available at Steve’s Farm in Walnut Hill. Pictured below: An automated butter bean picker at work Monday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
UWF Digging For The Past In Molino; 2,000 Year Old Artifacts Found
June 29, 2009
Archaeologists from the University of West Florida are hard at work this summer uncovering the past in Molino, looking hard for a mission settlement dating back to the 1750’s. So far, they have not found definitive evidence of the village, but they have uncovered evidence of prehistoric life in Molino.
The Pensacola Colonial Frontiers Survey Field School, led by archaeologist John Worth, centers on the search for outlying communities associated with Pensacola’s three Spanish presidios including Native American villages and farmsteads. The students are searching an area along and near the Escambia River in Molino for a missions settlement that is believed to have included a Spanish missionary church and a small Apalachee Indian village.
The Mission San Joseph De Escambe was established upriver along the Escambia River — which actually took its later name from the mission near Molino. The Apalachee Indian settlement with about 75 residents is well documented, according to archaeologist John Worth. It was established in the 1740’s. A Franciscan missionary was stationed by the Spanish at the village along with 15 members of a Spanish cavalry unit until about 1757.
The village was led by Apalachee Chief Juan Marcos Fant until it was destroyed during a Creek Indian raid on April 9, 1761. The village and the church were at least partially burned during the raid. Following the raid, the residents moved down the Escambia River to what is now downtown Pensacola.
The Apalachee Indians created pottery for trade with the Spanish in Pensacola, and Worth would like nothing more than to find some of that pottery. If he’s lucky, Worth also hopes to find evidence that the Apalachee Indians also traded with the Upper Creek Indians of Alabama and directly, or indirectly with the French, even though the French and Indian War (1756-1763) was underway.
“Historical documents have narrowed our search for Pensacola’s lost Spanish missions, but now our students are conducting the archaeological fieldwork designed to locate them on the ground and learn more about this chapter of our local history,” said Worth.
Worth is fairly certain that he knows where the mission was located along the Escambia River in Molino, and his field school students have spent most of the last month digging meticulously for the evidence. That evidence will likely be period pottery, Worth said, created by the Apalachee Indians. If he finds the pottery, or perhaps the remains of the burned out mission church, it will be an important link in colonial Florida history.
There have been several historic pieces discovered. The first day of the project uncovered a piece of Brown Salt Glazed stoneware pre-dating 1775 and fragments of free-blown olive green glass possibly also from the colonial period.
“All these are tantalizing signs of the missing chapters of early colonial history in this region, but much more work remains,” Worth said.
Worth hopes to find remains of the village fairly intact; he said that evidence indicates that the immediate area he is searching has never been plowed or farmed. His students dig small test holes, noting their exact location via GPS and logging the contents, if any, found in the hole. It’s a slow careful process, with small scoops of dirt shaken through a screen to collect any items that might be hidden.
Last week, as the students moved from residential backyards into a thickly wooded area closer to the river, shovel tests found small pottery fragments believed to have dated between 1,000 and 2,500 years ago — the first ever prehistoric evidence of occupation in North Escambia.
This past Friday, the UWF students uncovered a small concentration of Native American pottery sherds that appear to be from the 18th-century, several lead shot pellets consistent with those found at Spanish presidios in that period, more lead shot pellets and other items including a melted lump of copper or brass.
They also found more prehistoric pottery, evidence dating to the first millennium A.D., of settlements along the modern-day Escambia River in Molino.
NorthEscambia.com will continue to follow the search for Mission San Joseph De Escambe near Molino, and we will keep you updated over the next few weeks. We will have more photos from the site, and we will let you know what the archaeologists find.
Click here for more photos from the dig site.
Editor’s Note: While we have mentioned that the archaeological dig is in the Molino area of North Escambia, we are not revealing the exact location at this point. It is all on private property (public access would be trespassing), and UWF wishes to protect the area until their work is done and to not compromise the integrity of any artifacts that might be in the area. Once the project is complete, we will publish an article with the exact location of the dig.
Pictured above: UWF Archeology students carefully sift through soil while search for artifacts near Molino. Pictured below: A piece of possibly 19th century pottery that was found during our visit. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
