Let The Music Play: Jay And Northview Bands (Photo Gallery)
October 7, 2013
There is plenty going on under the Friday night lights at a high school football. In addition to the gridiron action, there’s also band performances and cheerleaders leading the crowds.
For a gallery form both the Chief sand Royals cheerleaders, click here.
For a game summary and football action photos, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Thousands Flock To Jay Peanut Festival (With Photo Gallery)
October 6, 2013
The skies were sunny Saturday over Brenda Gabbert’s 56-acre farm near Jay, a far cry from the weather Tropical Storm Karen had threatened. The crowds, perhaps just a little bit smaller than most years, still made the trek to the Jay Peanut Festival.
“I describe it to people as being like an old-fashioned county fair, without the carnival rides,” said Gabbert, who has coordinated the festival with her husband, Gene, for 23 years.
“It’s all about farming and rural life. That’s what we try to show people,” she said. “It’s good for the whole family. There is something for everybody. We really cater to the kids.”
During an ordinary Jay Peanut Festival, with good weather and all, as many as 70,000 people will attend the two day event.
For a photo gallery, click here.
The festival site is a functioning farm, with 40 acres of peanuts – which is managed by a farmer who leases it from the Gabberts – and 16 acres that includes the couple’s home and a field of hay.
Their property also includes two museums – a farming museum and replica of a 1940s style John Deere dealership – as well as a fleet of restored classic tractors. All of that is incorporated into the festival.
“My husband has all of these tractors he’s restored himself,” Gabbert said. “We let other people bring their stuff if they want to show it.”
Of course, the highlight of the Peanut Festival is the versatile legume itself. The peanut plays a vital role in Santa Rosa County agriculture. In 2011, the most recent year for which statistics are available, peanuts were the most valuable crop in the county, accounting for $22 million in gross value.
At the festival, the Jay Volunteer Fire Department has exclusive domain over the sale of boiled peanuts. The department uses the money raised to help supplement its modest public funding. Other vendors will offer green peanuts – the kind patrons take home to boil for themselves – roasted peanuts, fried peanuts, peanut brittle, baked goods with peanuts and many of the other forms the protein-packed snack can take.
In all, Gabbert had, before Tropical Storm Karen’s idle threats, expected as many as 250 vendors, including crafters, businesses, churches and other non-profit organizations.
“We gain more vendors every year and more people,” she said. “It’s getting crowded.”
Both days of the festival featred live entertainment with Christian music on Sunday that followed a church service.
The festival offered pony and horse rides, stage coach rides, hay rides, a rock climbing wall, a bungee jump, a mechanical bull, train rides and inflatable attractions.
Admission and parking at the festival were free, a point of pride for Gabbert. The festival is funded solely through vendor fees.
“We get letters from people who tell us this is the only thing they can afford to come to,” she said. “They have kids and they don’t have the money to go to things that have admission. They can come here and not spend a penny if they don’t want to.”
The Jay Peanut Festival dates to 1990 when the Gabberts started the event in memory of their daughter, Melissa, a 19-year-old who died earlier that year from cancer.
The Gabberts’ other child, Mandy Gabbert Simmons, helps with the festival. Her husband, Tony Simmons, helps get ready for the festival. However, since Simmons is the Jay fire chief, he is busy with the boiled peanuts while the festival is underway.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured top: Crowds stroll through craft booths Saturday under sunny skies at the annual Jay Peanut Festival. Pictured top inset: One of the Gabbert farm museums. Pictured middle inset: The Jay Volunteer Fire Department is the sole vendor with boiled peanuts; it’s the department’s big fundraiser. Pictured bottom inset: Freshly cooked kettle corn. Pictured below: Numerous restored tractors and farm implements are on display. NorthEscambia.com photos by Michelle Gibbs, click to enlarge.
Jim Allen Students Learn About Fire Safety
October 6, 2013
Students at Jim Allen Elementary School learned all about fire safety last week.
Pictured: The Engine 4 “B Shift” from the Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue with a Jim Allen pre-school class. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Halteman, Driver Wed
October 6, 2013
Lyndon and Norma Halteman from Walnut Hill are pleased to announce the marriage of their son, Jeremy Halteman to Bethany Driver. Bethany is the daughter of Daryl and Kay Driver from Harrisonburg, VA.
The wedding was on August 10, 2013, at the Dayton Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, VA. A reception was also given in their honor on September 7, 2013, at Mennonite Christian Fellowship in Atmore.
Jeremy is a 2008 graduate of Northview High School and a 2013 graduate from St. Petersburg College. Bethany graduated from Clearwater Christian College in 2012 with a major in business administration. They are currently living in Baltimore, MD, where Jeremy is completing his two year residency program for orthotics and prosthetics.
Molino Park Elementary Students Learn Fire Safety (With Photo Gallery)
October 4, 2013
Molino Park Elementary School students learned about fire safety Thursday from members of the Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue. The students learned how to get out of their home in the event of a fire and also learned about some of the tools used by firefighters.
Pictured: Molino Park Elementary students learn all about fire safety Thursday morning. Pictured top and inset: The firemen’s helmets were a student favorite. Pictured below: Students use a camera to look for hot spots. Pictured bottom: Students had an opportunity to ask questions. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Carters Named Escambia County Outstanding Farm Family
October 3, 2013
The Matt Carter Family has been named the 2013 Escambia County Outstanding Farm Family.
Matt has been married for eight years to Dawn, and they have two girls — six-year old Emily and almost-two Jayden. They work together on their farm on Byrneville Road to being the freshest, highest quality vegetables direct to local consumers at their Matt’s Produce stand and weekly at the Palafox Market in Pensacola.
Matt grew up working alongside his father, Lance Carter at Crary Dairy. As a youth, he was a member of the Northview FFA chapter and was chapter president. He is still very active in supporting agriculture as a member of the EscaRosa Young Farmers and Ranchers.
For a number of years, he worked off the farm at the West Frazier Sawmill. But when it closed in 2008, he saw the opportunity to open his own farming operation. He saw the interest for local produce steadily increasing and knew that he wanted to be a part helping to supply homegrown vegetables to Escambia County resident. His business started small with tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and zucchini which he sold at the farmstand on Byrneville Road, but quickly joined the Palafox Market to sell his product.
Over the past five years, the Carters have expanded their operation both in acreage and product variety. Throughout the year, Matt and Dawn produce peppers, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, onions, zucchini, turnips, mustards, collards, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, and butter beans. Future plans included a certified kitchen at the product stand so they can sell value added items straight to the consumer.
“Gallery Night” Held In Century
October 2, 2013
A “Gallery Night” was held recently in Century.
The Century Care Center hosted the first-ever event for the town, featuring artistic creations by Century Care residents. Staff and family members were also encouraged to bring their own artistic creations for display.
Items on display included paintings, colorings, handcrafted items, pottery and more.
Pictured above and below: Gallery Night at the Century Care Center. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Local Church Gives New Pastor A Good Pounding
October 1, 2013
The members of one local church gave their new pastor and his family pounding Sunday night, and then they celebrated his arrival with a picnic.
It was the First Baptist Baptist Church of Bratt’s way of welcoming Pastor Delbert Redditt.
A pounding is an old fashioned tradition celebrated in many churches where a new pastor is welcomed to the church with gifts of food. Traditionally, a pounding would provide a pastor and his family with a pound of staples, such as a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound of butter and a pound of other basic items.
The FBC Bratt’s pounding for Redditt was a bit more modern, as church members filled the back of a Nissan Pathfinder with lots of food, canned goods, paper items and even a basket of fresh apples.
Redditt comes to Bratt from Faith Baptist Church in Madison, FL. He has been married to his wife Traci for 24 years. They have two children – Terra Leigh, 19, who attends Valencia College, and Cheynne Dawn, 16, who now attends Northview High School.
Redditt hold a Masters of Ministry from Temple Baptist Seminary, a Masters of Agricultural Education from the University of Florida, and a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Central Florida.
Pictured top and inset: New First Baptist Church of Bratt pastor Delbert Redditt and his wife Traci. Pictured below: Church members held a picnic to welcome Redditt Sunday evening at the Travis M. Nelson Memorial Park in Bratt. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Chloe Channell To Join Kenny Rogers Christmas Musical In Branson
September 30, 2013
Local “America’s Got Talent” sensation Chloe Channel has joined the cast of Kenny Rogers hit musical “The Toy Shoppe” at the Starlite Theatre in Branson, Missouri, opening November 1 for this Christmas season.
“I am really excited to be a part of all this. It’s going to be amazing!” said Chloe, who will do 60 shows by December 21. The show, written by Kenny Rogers and Kelly Junkermann stars country sensation Billy Dean.
“The only way you can do a play with heart, is to have a cast with heart…and that’s harder than it sounds,” said Rogers. “There are a lot of people who can sing the notes, but very few who can make you believe the passion and the joy of the musical journey. My friend Billy Dean certainly can do all of those things and when I listened to Chloe, I knew she would be very special as well.”
“The Toy Shoppe” is a place where toys come to life and children gather to hear owner Hank Longley tell stories. The audience joins Hero the Dog, Cheeseball the Mouse, Bruno the Bear and Billy Dean as Hank Longley in this story of love, faith and appreciation for the value of every individual. The story is full of old-fashioned values and is great entertainment for the entire family.
“It’s gonna be so COOL!! I can’t wait,” Chloe wrote on her Facebook page. “So make plans to come see me.”
Finding new talent has always been a trademark of Kenny Rogers shows. Garth Brook’s first national tour was opening for Kenny Rogers at Christmas.
Wilcoxon Graduates, Receives Wings At Fort Rucker
September 30, 2013
WO1 Casey B. Wilcoxon, United States Army, completed the Initial Entry Rotary Wing Aviator Course and was graduated as a pilot from the US Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, AL.
His wife, Kelley, pinned his new wings onto his uniform in a ceremony on September 19, 2013. Mr. Wilcoxon has been in the Army for seven years, formerly as a UH 60 Blackhawk mechanic, having achieved the rank of Sergeant prior to being commissioned as a Warrant Officer.
Casey and Kelley (Parham) are 2006 graduates of Northview High School. They have two daughters, Kali and Kami. The Wilcoxons will be stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC, where he will fly the UH 60 A/M Blackhawk helicopter.
Casey is the son of the late William B. Wilcoxon of Century and Erbie and Pamela Pritchett, also of Century and is the grandson of the late John Wilcoxon and Grace Wilcoxon of Century and James and Mildred Lambeth of Flomaton.
Pictured top: Casey Wilcoxon’s wife Kelley pins his new wings as daughter Kali looks on at Fort Rucker. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.