Miss Century Sawmill Crowned
April 13, 2008
Jillian Hegyi (pictured above) was crowned the Overall 2008 Century Sawmill Queen in the 17th Annual Century Sawmill Pageant Saturday afternoon. The pageant was sponsored by the Century Lions Club.
For a complete photo gallery of all of the winners, click here.
Century Celebrates 108 Years Of History
March 30, 2008
The Alger-Sullivan Historical Society celebrated the 108th birthday of Century Saturday with a day of activities.
The day began at 9:00 with the raising of the colors. There was a “War Between the States skirmish” reenacted, as well as an authentic Civil War canon firing. Visitors had the opportunity to visit a civil war campsite, enjoy food and live music, and visit the museums. A Mayberry sheriff’s car and Barney Fife look-a-like (pictured left, click to enlarge) were also on hand.
The events took place in the area of the Alger-Sullivan Historical District at Fourth and and Jefferson streets in Century.
For a complete photo gallery from Century’s 108th birthday celebration, click here.
Pictured above: A Civil War era cannon was fired for the 108th birthday of Century Saturday. Notice the fire shooting out of the front of the cannon at the exact moment it fired. Pictured below: A Civil War camp was setup in the Alger-Sullivan Historical District in Century. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Walnut Hill Treated To Rare Full Double Rainbow
March 29, 2008
Walnut Hill was treated to a complete double rainbow Saturday just before 6:00 pm.
Complete double rainbows that stretch across the horizon are actually considered to be rare, according to the Wikipedia. With a double rainbow, a secondary rainbow is seen, which is a second, fainter arc, outside the primary arc. In the second rainbow, the colors are in the opposite order, that is, with violet on the outside and red on the inside.
It is hard to see in these photographs, but the event included another even more rare phenomenon called a complete Alexander’s band…a darker area of sky between the two complete rainbow arcs. Light reflected in the rain in this area is reflected at such an angle that the observer is unable to see it all, creating the dark band.
And, just to make this rainbow even more spectacular, it was possible to see “the end of the rainbow” here in a field at the corner of Highway 97 and Highway 99. Click this photo to enlarge.
We have also had emails that the rainbows were at least partial visible from Davisville, Bratt, Byrneville, Century, Atmore, Nokomis and Canoe.
We missed photographing the entire rainbow from side to side across the horizon. On a 35mm camera, it takes a 19mm or less lens; we only had a larger lens with us at the time. Scroll down for more photos. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Opera Visits Ernest Ward and Carver/Century With Paintball And ‘Chuck Norris’
March 29, 2008
It was like DIY, build it yourself, fill in the blank opera Friday at Ernest Ward Middle School and Carver/Century K-8 School when the Pensacola Opera presented “(Your) Opera in a Trunk”.
The traveling opera minstrels hit the stage with little more than a backdrop, a small wardrobe and a trunk full of assorted props. After a musical introduction to each voice style — the soprano, mezzo, tenor and bass — the Joker begins the one of a kind show. The Joker, who is a cross between a storyteller and a game show host, leads the audience in choosing the star of the show, the character names and the plot for the improvised opera.
“Incorporating audience suggestions, spontaneity and chance, improvisational performance truly explores the unknown. No two performances are the same as no two audiences are alike. Improvisation is cutting edge art where not even the performers know quite what is around the next corner or how the show will end,” said David Charles, creator, writer and director of the opera.
“It was real exciting; it was not like I thought it was going to be,” Ernest Ward seventh grader Kaitlyn Gunn (pictured left) said. “I really liked it. I thought it was going to be boring, but it wasn’t.”
Students at Ernest Ward first decided where their opera would be set. They had a choice of a paintball field, a busy New York street or a deserted island. They picked the paintball field… the Chuck Norris Paintball Field to be exact. Singers then chose the names of two students in the audience as their character’s names…Isaac and Rachel.
They chose for Rachel to be paintball ninja over being Chuck Norris’ number one fan or an itchy gymnast. Isaac was cast as the Paintball Ninja of Chuck Norris Paintball Field.
Then students were given the opportunity to name their “(Your) Opera in a Trunk”, and the winning name was “Splat!”. The mezzo singer was cast as Nancy the Ninja, which was picked by the students over Petunia the Paintball Referee and “Chuck Norris as a lady”. The soprano was cast as Rachel the paintball cheerleader, who later saw a pickpocketing monkey. “No one knows…the monkey is my secret,” she sang.
In the end, good of course triumphs over evil. Along the way, the action stops for the Joker to explain various opera terms to the audience, terms like aria, libretto and cadenza. They learn to say “brava” to applaud a female performer and “bravo” for a male performer.
Because the opera is improvised, this was “the very first and the very last time ever in the world this opera will be presented,” the Joker Timothy Kennedy said. The Ernest Ward performance was also the last time this group of performers will hit the stage together. All of the them except the maestro (the pianist) are from out of town, places like New York City and Chicago. They have been performing together since January at schools across the region.
“The Pensacola Opera holds auditions in Des Moines, Iowa, and New York City for these performances,” Kennedy said. “Most of them end up here from the New York auditions.”
In the production at both Ernest Ward and Carver, the performers were : Anna Steenerson, soprano; Dawn Pierce, mezzo; Todd von Felker, bass; Zechariah Baker, tenor; and Melissa Gilbert, the maestro.
Baker told the students he began singing opera just four years ago. He was serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq when someone sent him a Three Tenors CD, and he found that he was able to sing in a similar fashion. His commanding officers encouraged him to sing more, and “I decided then to become an opera singer,” he said.
One EWMS students asked if an opera star could break a glass. Kennedy explained that it was possible, but very few singers were able to product the pitch necessary to do so.
Friday’s performances were sponsored by a variety of private businesses and groups like the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arts Council of Northwest Florida and the University of West Florida.
Pictured above: The performers in “(Your) Opera in a Trunk”. Pictured below: Students at Carver/Century K-8 enjoy the Pensacola Opera. Ernest Ward photos are NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge. Carver/Century photos were submitted by the school.
1,200 Participate In Annual Northview High FFA’s Food For America Program
March 28, 2008
About 900 elementary school students from nine schools attended the annual “Food for America” program Thursday at Northview High School , with about 1,200 people total either attending or working with the program.
The program sponsored the National FFA Organization and conducted by the Northview FFA gave the students a chance to learn about agriculture firsthand as they got up close and personal with farm animals, farm equipment and more. The students even had the opportunity to make their own butter and enjoy it on crackers.
The Northview FFA has participated in the program for 13 years, placing second in the state last year. Northview has placed in the top five in the state for the last ten years.
Click here for a complete NorthEscambia.com photo gallery with over 100 pictures from the event.
About 120 FFA students from Northview and Ernest Ward Middle School conducted the program, with about 1,200 people total either attending or working with the program.
Schools scheduled to attend the Food for America program today at Northview were Bratt Elementary, Byrneville Elementary, Carver/Century Elementary, Holm Elementary, Jay Elementary, Lipscomb Elementary, Molino Park Elementary and Pensacola Beach Charter Elementary.
Participants in the FFA’s program included: the Florida Department of Agriculture Honey Inspector, local bee keepers, Escambia River Electric Cooperative, Pine Ridge Farms, theniversity of Florida, the Florida Division of Forestry, the Escambia County Farm Bureau, Hendrix Tractor Company, the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department, NHS FFA Alumni and Friends, the Florida FFA Association, Northview 4-H/Farm Safety, the Escambia County Extension Agency the National Resource Conservation Service, Stewart Grist Mill and Escambia County Parks and Recreation.
Northview Television Students Take Top Honors At State Competition
March 27, 2008
Rock, paper scissors. That’s how the major decisions are made before shows are taped at NTV — Northview Television at Bratt’s Northview High School.
When NorthEscambia.com visited Sascha Blackburn’s television production class Wednesday morning, the students were playing rock, paper scissors to decide who would run sound, who would anchor and who would do the other jobs needed to produce the announcement program to air early Wednesday afternoon on the school’s closed circuit television station.
“That is how they make their decisions,” Blackburn said. “It may seem a bit odd, but it usually works.”
The decisions for the Florida Scholastic Press Association were perhaps a bit easier in a recent competition that saw three of Northview’s TV production students receiving high honors for news segments.
Phillip Mayhair and Olivia Bryan’s (pictured left) broadcast segments were rated “All Florida”. Josh Holder received a rating of “Excellent” on his piece. The “All Florida” rating goes to segments that demonstrate the best of high school journalism across the board, while the “Excellent” rating is just a small notch below.
Mayhair’s segment was on the recent Major James Ross Memorial Run, a “package” that Mayhair said he enjoyed producing in his television production class taught by Blackburn.
“This is something I have always enjoyed,” he said. “Mrs. Blackburn has taught us a lot this year about making packages, so I give a lot of credit to Mrs. Blackburn.”
Holder’s entry in the FSPA competition was on Northview football star Nakita Myles.
“I enjoyed doing it because it allowed me to talk to someone I don’t normally speak to,” Holder said. He has enjoyed the television production class so much that he plans to continue broadcast studies in college, with the ultimate goal of becoming a weather person. But not just any weather person.
“I want to be one of those people that goes around and reports from inside the storms,” he said, “like those guys that stand out in the hurricanes.”
Brown’s All Florida award piece was about a high school radio program that she and other students do on Tuesday afternoons on WNSI in Atmore.
“I was interesting doing a story that I was part of, “Brown said. “It was difficult to do the story and get footage of myself.”
“Television is nice creative outlet,” she said. “It is nice to make something and express creativity.” She said she plans to major in marketing with a minor in communications when she gets to college.
Click here for more photos from Northview Television.
Pictured above: Northview television production teacher Sascha Blackburn (left), Eric Ickeringill and Phillip Mayhair work in the control room to produce the announcement show on Northview Television. Pictured below: Cody Parker (left) and Josh Holder play a game of rock, paper, scissors to determine who would go first in reading the announcements Wednesday on NTV’s announcement show. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Branch Library Celebrates Its First Year
March 26, 2008
The Century Branch Library celebrated a successful first year with an open house Tuesday afternoon.
Local dignitaries were on hand as Pensacola’s Impact 100 was honored for its $113,335 contribution that funded a children’s reading room and literacy center. The group, which is comprised of women that have donated at least $1,000 each, choose the Friends of the Pensacola Library as a grant recipient last year to fund the children’s programs at the new Century library.
A plaque to be placed at the library (pictured left, click to enlarge) honors Impact 100 for “outstanding vision and dedication in committing to the future of our community”.
“This is a wonderful thing,” Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Kevin White told those in attendance. “This is a good example of governments working together, with Escambia County and the Town of Century coming together on this.”
The library has issued about 900 new library cards since opening in Century, a town with a population of just 1,800, according to Bette Hooton, a board member for the West Florida Library. The Century library is a branch of the West Florida Library system and is located in the town’s former jail.
During the Century library’s first year, over 15,000 books and other materials have been checked out, and there have been over 5,000 adult uses of the public computers in the library. Hooton said 2008 kicked off with 2,008 people using the library in January of this year.
“This library I deem a success,” Hooton said.
Pictured top of page: West Florida Library Board Member Bette Hooton and Century Branch Library Director Patricia Rigel at Monday afternoon’s one year anniversary celebration at the library. Pictured below, top (scroll down to see all three pictures): Impact 100 Board Members Marny Needle (left) and Kathy Anthony (right) with the plaque honoring Impact 100 and Gene Fisher, director of the West Florida Library.
Pictured below, middle: (L-R) Gary Riley, Century council member; Sharon Scott, Century council member; Henry Hawkins, Century council member; Benny Barnes, director of the Century Chamber of Commerce; and (standing) Ann Brooks, Century council member, enjoy refreshments. Council member Nadine McCaw, who works at the library, was also present.
Pictured below, bottom: District 5 Commission Aide Susan Hendrix, Century Mayor Freddie McCall and District 5 Commissioner Kevin White at the library anniversary event. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview High Class of 2012 Visits Campus
March 25, 2008
The Northview High School Class of 2012 had the opportunity to check out the school Monday night as the school held an orientation for next year’s freshman class.
For incoming freshmen Elizabeth Wright, the move from Ernest Ward Middle School to Northview High School won’t be as huge of a step as for some. She played with the Northview Tribal Beat marching band this past year, so she already has friends at the school.
“I’m super excited to be going here,” Elizabeth (pictured left, click to enlarge) said. “There’s a huge band trip in the summer, and then I can’t wait to play at the football games.”
She plans to take band (“I would die without the band,” she says) and yearbook as her electives. She will be the only freshman on the yearbook staff.
When asked was she’s most afraid of about her freshman year, she said “The wideness of the hallways. It is just so big and wide and open here compared to Ernest Ward.”
For incoming freshman Lydia Weaver, her freshman year nervousness involves not being able to find her classes on time.
Lydia is looking forward to getting to Northview and taking part in FFA. She is this year’s president of the Ernest Ward FFA, and many of her old friends are in the Northview FFA.
“I look forward to going to school with all of my FFA friends that are already here,” she said of attending Northview in the fall. For her elective, Lydia plans to take a PE class. Lynda is pictured on the left looking on as her mom Cheryl Weaver talks to Northview FFA President Andrea Byars.
Various departments, clubs and teachers setup displays Monday night in the main halls of the Northview campus to illustrate the educational and extracurricular opportunities available to next year’s freshmen class. Parents and students had the opportunity to visit with teachers, administration and staff during the orientation.
Pictured below, from the left: Northview Tribal Beat band members Elizabeth Wright, Drum Major Jeremy Halteman, Colton Sims, Tabitha Steege and Lania Eubanks. Wright was at Northview Monday night for incoming freshman orientation. Click photo to enlarge.
Molino Sunrise Service Celebrates Resurrection
March 23, 2008
Six Molino churches came together for an Easter Morning Sunrise Service Sunday morning at Aldersgate Methodist Church.
Some wore their Sunday best and others came in jeans and t-shirts to celebrate the risen Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Over 100 braved a cold wind to sing, hear the Easter message from Bro. Jeff McKee from Victory Assembly of God, and pray.
The event included worshipers from Aldersgate Methodist Church, New Beginnings Church of God, Molino First Assembly of God, Highland Baptist church, Victory Assembly of God and NorthEnd Community Church.
For a complete photo gallery from the service, click here.
The Bible says:
Matthew 28:1-20
Resurrection Morning
1 After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached [the tomb]. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his robe was as white as snow. 4 The guards were so shaken from fear of him that they became like dead men. 5
But the angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here! For He has been resurrected, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead. In fact, He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see Him there.’ Listen, I have told you.”
8 So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell His disciples the news. 9 Just then Jesus met them and said, “Good morning!” They came up, took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see Me there.”
The Soldiers Are Bribed to Lie
11 As they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 After the priests had assembled with the elders and agreed on a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money 13 and told them, “Say this, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole Him while we were sleeping.’ 14 If this reaches the governor’s ears, we will deal with him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been spread among Jewish people to this day.
The Great Commission
16 The 11 disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped, but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
from the Holman Christian Standard Bible
Northview Student Wins Region In Statewide Severe Weather Essay Contest
March 18, 2008
Austin Lowery, a Northview High School sophomore, was a regional winner in a statewide “Hazardous Weather Awareness Week” essay contest.
Just Read, Florida!, in partnership with the Florida Department of Community Affairs, Division of Emergency Management and several other emergency management partners, conducted a statewide short essay contest aimed at high school students as part of the 2008 Hazardous Weather Awareness Week.
As Region 1 winner, Lowery received $250, a weather radio and a certificate of achievement. His teacher, Raja Atallah, was awarded $100 and a weather radio for assisting and supporting Lowery in the essay contest.
The entire text of Lowery’s essay is below. Pictured above: Northview teacher Raja Attallah, Austin Lowery and Northview Principal Gayle Weaver. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
The Storm, by Austin Lowery
“Go, Go, Go! Get in the basement the tornado is becoming outrageous.” Yes, these are the last words I heard myself say before our house was completely demolished by the furious swirling winds of the F-5 tornado. After a few minutes of realization, my brother and I began to decipher different ways to find shelter, food, and water. And nonetheless we knew we had to help out our community in some way. First, the thought of not having a house put my eight-year-old brother and me, being only sixteen, into shock. Daisy, our yellow lab, had also been with us through the whole frightening storm. To protect Daisy we kept her on a leash at all times knowing that the identification chip imbedded in her skin was useless until help arrived. Realizing the power outages and tower damage to the surrounding area, we began our hunt for food and fresh water for all of us.
The memories of the images from television reporting the slow response and crime in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina kept flashing through my head. We were able to locate a source of fresh water and food at the FEMA relief center. Next, we focused on securing a line of defense for protecting what remained. We set a perimeter line consisting of 100 pound fishing line 4 inches and 36 inches off the ground a 100 feet all around us. This was then connected to another string with a variety of tin cans and scrap metal, so when the line was tripped it would make an awful racket hopefully wakening my brother and me and scaring off the looters. Thankfully it was successful. On the second night something did trigger it. We’ll never know what it was because it ran off and never came back.
Third, after finding shelter, food, water, and setting up a line of defense, we set out to help our neighbors and friends in the community. Since all the roads were blocked we both decided walking would be the safest and best thing to do. At the end of a long day we found many families on the trail of recovery. But there was one young couple with an infant child who had been sleeping on pieces of wood. We took them back to our camp, or what was now home, and offered to share our food, shelter, and water. Through all this we became sort of a family. The emotional and physical process of cleaning up began.
In the aftermath of a disastrous storm these are the first three things I would do if my younger brother and I, along with Daisy, were home alone and an F-5 tornado hit: first, find shelter, food, and water; second, set up a line of defense in case of looters; and last but not least, assist people in my community.
To read the essays from the other regional winners and the grand prize winning essay, click here.