Northview Student Selected For 2009 Ambassador Trip To Italy, Greece
October 16, 2008
A Northview High School student has been selected as a student ambassador to Greece and Italy, and she needs your help to get there.
Alexis Roach, a 16-year old sophomore, was selected for the government sponsored People to People ambassador program. Students are selected to participate in the program based upon outstanding scholastic merit, civic involvement and leadership potential.
The People to People program provides international travel opportunities to students in a State Department program that was founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. Student Ambassadors experience hands-on learning opportunities and immerse themselves in the arts, sports and family life of cultures around the world.
Alexis will take part in a program called “Modern and Ancient Civilizations” for 19 days beginning June 13. She will visit Italy and Greece, including Rome, Naples, Mount Etna, Athens and Crete.
“This trip isn’t about going on vacation,” she said. “I will be earning credits for high school and college.”
On the trip, she will learn about local cultures, visiting landmarks and museums along the way.
“I’m looking forward to learning about other cultures, what they have and don’t have,” Alexis said.
In order to participate in the program, Alexis must raise about $7,000 to cover her travel expenses. She plans to raise the money in a variety of ways, including fund raisers like fish frys.
“It’s a blessing to me to have an opportunity like this,” Alexis said.
Anyone wishing to support Alexis Roach’s trip to Italy and Greece can make a donation at any branch of Gulf Winds Federal Credit Union, including branches in Pensacola or Atmore.
A Mile-Long Sunflower Show
October 16, 2008
Two long rows of sunflowers are putting on a mile long show in Oak Grove.
The rows of sunflowers, if placed end to end, would stretch about a mile. They are located in a soybean field in the Oak Grove community. The field is bordered by North Highway 99, Highway 164 and Melvin Road, making it possible to drive all the way around the field. The closeup sunflower photos here were taking along the Highway 164 end of the field Wednesday afternoon.
Pictured above: A bee sits on a sunflower in Oak Grove Wednesday afternoon. Pictured below: More photos of the sunflowers. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Four Years After Ivan: Steeple Returns To Walnut Hill Church
October 15, 2008
Fours years after Hurricane Ivan ripped the steeple from the top of Annie Jones United Methodist Church, a new steeple now sits atop the small concrete block church.
The steeple was installed Tuesday morning at church, which is located on Arthur Brown Road near Highway 97 in Walnut Hill.
For more photos from the steeple installation at Annie Jones United Methodist Church, click here.
Pictured above: A new steeple was installed under beautiful blue skies Tuesday morning at Annie Jones United Methodist Church in Walnut Hill, four years after the church lost its previous steeple to Hurricane Ivan. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Some photos in the gallery are courtesy Sherry Digmon.
A White Hummingbird?
October 13, 2008
Cindy Voorhees in Davisville reported a strange little visitor recently.
The pictured hummingbird, which is mostly white, visited her feeder at her home on Highway 4 for several days.
She said the bird is all white, except for darker areas on his wings, tail and head. She said he was shy compared to her other birds.
Submitted photos.
Northview NJROTC Gets High Marks In Annual Inspection
October 9, 2008
Northview High School’s NJROTC Annual Inspection was held Wednesday at the school, with cadets undergoing a face to face inspection with a Navy commander.
Commander Merlin Ladner, USN (Ret) conducted the inspection. The day’s events began with a personnel inspection, drill demonstration and a pass-in-review in the school gym. Other events Wednesday included a financial record review, briefings, administrative inspections, supply inspections and more.
One by one, Cmdr. Ladner went face to face with each cadet, asking them questions about their NJROTC experience and conduction a complete inspection of their uniform.
Click here for a complete photo gallery.
“I will spend 20 to 25 seconds with each cadet, asking them questions,” Lander told the audience. “You won’t hear what I have to say to them, but it will help me get a sense of the unit’s health and how it’s going.”
“Yes, sir,” the cadets answered as they faced the questions about their NJROTC service, their ribbons, the shine on their shoes and some less than expected questions that left some cadets trying not to crack a smile.
“You play football?” Ladner asked one freshman cadet.
“Yes, sir,” he replied, obviously relieved at the easy question.
“Are you a freshman?” he asked another.
“Yes, sir,” she answered.
“That’s tough sometimes,” Ladner said.
“I want you all to know how proud I am of how you look this morning,” Ladner, who conducts annual inspections at about 60 high schools in the Southeast, told the entire group following his inspection.
He said it had been two years since he was last at Northview, and “it’s a pleasure to see how they have progressed in two years.” A visiting officer conducts inspections during the years Lander does not visit Bratt.
“Our cadets have the option,” he said, “to perhaps join the military.”
Ladner said the voluntary military service, and a voluntary Navy JROTC program is a good thing for the United States.
“I don’t think I’d want to be in a foxhole with someone that did not want to be there,” he said.
Three cadets — c/PO1 Monica McLain, c/PO3 Cardean Smith and c/SR Melissa Moretz –were presented with an “Exemplary Appearance Ribbon” for their efforts in Wednesday morning’s inspection.
Northview’s NJROTC received high marks in the review, including personnel inspection, pass in review, financial and property inventories and unit operations.
To view the program for the event, which includes a list of all Northview NJROTC cadets and officers, click here.
Northview’s NJROTC is under the command of Senior Naval Science Instructor Charlie Code and Senior Chief Lee Coleman. The unit is led by Company Commander LCDR Amanda Sellars and Executive Officer Cadet LT Dalton Cummings.
Pictured above: Commander Merlin Lander, USN (Ret), inspects Admin Officer c/ENS Clinton Davis Wednesday morning at Northview High School. Pictured below: First Lieutenant, c/LTJG Harrison Whitehead stands with his platoon awaiting their inspection. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Jay Peanut Festival Attracts Thousands
October 5, 2008
Thousands of people attended the 19th Annual Jay Peanut Festival this weekend at Gabbert Farm in Jay.
The festival featured something fun for everyone including arts and crafts, antiques, inflatable rides, rock climbing wall, pony rides, hay rides, train rides and much more. The Gabbert’s 1930’s Farm Museum was also open for tours.
There was plenty of food available…kettle corn, BBQ, hamburgers, roasted corn, apple dumplings and more.
And, of course. peanuts were the star of the festival, and this year there were plenty of green peanuts and boiled peanuts as well as fried, roasted and candied peanuts.
The event is dedicated to the memory of Melissa Caroline Gabbert, who died of cancer in 1990.
For a complete photo gallery from the Jay Peanut Festival, click here.
The event had free admission and free parking.
Pictured above: Large crowds attended the annual Jay Peanut Festival on Saturday. Pictured below: The bungee jump was a popular attraction. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Middle’s Got Talent; Pie In The Face
October 4, 2008
Eighth grader Angel Mitchell received top honors Friday night in Ernest Ward Middle School’s Talent Explosion 2008.
Nineteen acts, ranging from singing and dancing to pies in the face, participated in the program.
Angel performed a dance routine to “Got Me Going Crazy” by the Jonas Brothers.
For a complete photo gallery with each act, click here.
For a video with some of the performances, click here.
NorthEscambia.com will have a video from the talent show posted Monday morning.
Performers in the talent show were;
- Ashton Gibbs, 8th grade, singing and playing guitar “Bring Me Down”
- Morgan Ward, 6th grade, human video to “Gone Without Goodbye”
- Arielle Ford, 8th grade, singing “Our Song”
- Harley Caraway and Hanna Ziglar, both 8th grade, singing “Leave the Pieces”
- Josh Ingram, playing original guitar piece
- Tamara Wise, 6th grade, singing “Stay Beautiful”
- Rachel Presley and Lauryn Walker, both 7th grade, dance routine
- Lily Townsend, Mason Solchenberger, Danielle Steadham, all 7th grade, comedy, “Redneck Game Show”
- Reagan Bell, 6th grade, singing “Never Alone”
- Shalmali Bhadkamkar, 6th grade, singing “Alana Nita Nana” (Portugese Lullaby)
- Cory Hester, 7th grade, singing and playing guitar “Freebird”
- Gregory Diggs, 6th grade, dance routine to “Soldja Boy” remix
- Skye Brown, Jenny Spears, Katelynn Zisa, singing “MyHeart Will Go On”
- Alison Bardin, 8th grade, singing “I Need You to Love Me”
- Taiquesha Mitchell, Teamber Moorer, Kassey Redmond, dance routine
- Joselynn Wiedel, 6th grade, singing “If We Were a Movie”
- Dezarae Turner, 8th grade, singing “Pressure”
- Angel Mitchel, 8th grade, dance routine to “Got Me Going Crazy”
- Danielle Scott, 7th grade, singing “I Am”
Pictured above: Angel Mitchell performs a dance routine to Jonas Brothers song Friday Night during an Ernest Ward Middle School talent show. Pictured below: The “Redneck Game Show” routine included pie in the face. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Movie With A Message: Locals Fireproof Their Marriages
October 2, 2008
Critics are calling the movie “Fireproof” remarkable, and at least one local pastor is already using the film as a tool in his church, teaching couples to strengthen their marriages.
The action-packed inspirational movie “does have its commendable elements, including that rarest of creatures on the big (or small) screen: characters with a strong, conservative Christian faith who don’t sound crazy,” according a New York Times review.
“For a Christian audience and non-Christians, it is absolutely a movie you should see,” Pastor Ted Bridges of the Walnut Hill Baptist Church said. About 20 adults and 10 youth from the church watched the movie on Saturday, opening weekend. The film opened at number four in the country, despite a limited release on just 839 screens across the U.S.
At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter’s adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules. After seven years of marriage, Caleb and Catherine Holt have drifted so far apart that Catherine wishes she had never married. Neither one understands the pressures the other faces–he as firefighter and she as the public relations director of a hospital.
Regular arguments over jobs, finances, housework, and outside interests have readied them both to move on to something with more sparks. As the couple prepares to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb’s father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day experiment he calls “The Love Dare.” Wondering if it’s even worth the effort, Caleb agrees, but more for his father’s sake more than for his marriage.
“The movie is a very good depiction of how the enemy (the devil) works against the sanctity of marriage,” Bridges said. “It speaks to a lot of the pressures of our society like finances, and even things like Internet pornography.” (The pornography, Bridges said, is implied, not shown on screen.)
“A wife can see areas from her side of the marriage and learn; men can walk away with how we can live our lives better in our marriage,” he said. Even the youth from Walnut Hill Baptist that attended the movie walked away having learned things from the movie, he said.
Fireproof, starring Kirk Cameron, was produced by Sherwood Pictures and Sherwood Baptist Church in Georgia with an all-volunteer 1,200 member cast and crew. But it’s not a bad production nor a “B movie”, Bridges said.
“It’s not boring; it’s not a bad production,” Bridges said. “There are a lot of fire scenes that are well done and exciting.”
The couples from Walnut Hill Baptist that attended the movie went out to eat following the show, holding a discussion about marriage. Each couple signed a certificate rededicating themselves to their marriage, and the men presented their wives with a single rose.
“It was touching,” Bridges said. “Even the big ole tough fellows were standing around talking about the movie, asking each other if they cried. ‘Yeah, I cried,’ they said.”
The movie is not belittling toward non-Christians, nor does it “preach”, the pastor said. “It’s not Christians on a soapbox,” he said.
Bridges said he hopes to see more Christian movies that are good entertainment coming out of Hollywood.
Fireproof is the third movie from Sherwood Pictures. Their first movie, “Flywheel”, had only a very limited release on DVD in 2003. Their underdog football team movie, “Facing the Giants”, grossed over $10 million despite being produced on a $100,000 budget in 2006.
Fireproof is showing at the Rave Theater at W Street and Highway 29 in Pensacola. For more information about the movie, visit www.fireproofthemovie.com.
Northview Names NJROTC Officers
October 2, 2008
Northview High School has named NJROTC officers for the 2008-2009 school year.
They are front row, left to right:
- Company CDR, c/LCDR Amanda Sellars
- Weapons Officer, c/SCPO Daniel Jordan
- Operations Officer, c/LTJG Deniece Jordan
- Supply Officer, c/ENS Miranda Scott
- Command Master Chief, c/MCPO Jessica Bloodsworth
- Executive Officer, c/LT Dalton Cummings
Back row, left to right:
- Athletics Officer,c/CPO Katie Mann
- First Lieutenant, c/LTJG Harrison Whitehead
- Admin Officer, c/ENS Clinton Davis
- Public Affairs Officer, c/CPO William Conway
- Chaplin, c/CPO Zachary Lamb
The Northview High NJROTC is under the command of Senior Naval Science Instructor Charlie Code.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Students Of The Month Named At North Escambia Schools
September 29, 2008
The students of the month for Escambia County have been selected. From North Escambia schools, they are:
Bratt Elementary: Lydia G. Smith, second grade; Claudio A. Santander, fifth grade.
Carver/Century K-8: Markayla D. Bradley, fourth grade; Martavious A. Odom, fourth grade.
Molino Park Elementary: Cheyenne R. Gray, fifth grade; Haley D. Brown, fifth grade ; Demarcus J. Dukes, fifth grade; Tasashera L. Granderson, fifth grade.
Ernest Ward Middle School: Charmayne M. Fountain, sixth grade; Courtney A. Weaver, seventh grade.
Northview High School: Luke F. Killam, senior; Jessica M. Mothershed, senior.
The students of the month are awarded certificates from the Escambia Association for Administrators In Education.
Pictured above: Luke Killam (left) and Jessica Mothershed, both seniors at Northview High School, were among the North Escambia students of the month named by the Escambia Association for Administrators in Education. Submitted photo.