Ride Benefits Tate Student Battling Rare Form Of Cancer (With Photo Gallery)
July 29, 2012
A benefit motorcycle ride was held Saturday for Halee Boyd, a 17-year old Tate High School student battling cancer.
Halee is fighting Alevola Rhabdomyosarcoma , ARMS for short, a rare cancer of the muscles that are attached to the bones. There are only a few hundred new cases per year in the United States. She is undergoing regular treatments at Shands Children’s Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville..
Saturday, Halee was along for the ride, her smile outshining her fluorescent green sunglasses as the motorcycles traveled from Tate High to Walnut Hill and back to a lunch at Heritage Baptist Church in Cantonment.
For a photo gallery, click here.
In April, Halee started having severe headaches, followed by blurry and double vision. Within 10 days her right eye was swollen, and the Boyds headed to a hospital emergency room. On April 29, they learned she had a tumor.
“It is still hard to hear myself say that she has cancer, the words catch in my throat and tears well up in my eyes and my heart stops. It’s not that it’s affected my life so much; it’s that from April 29, 2012, her life changed so drastically in a hallway in an emergency department,” her mother Mardi said in an earlier interview.
“I think it is just surreal,” Mardi added. “It all seems like a bad dream, I just get up each day and get through it and lean on my faith in God. I have been through some things in life that were bad, but those all made me strong enough to face this. Halee is incredibly strong and we are able to feed off of that.”
Halee does not currently have health insurance. Donations are also being accepted for Halee through the family’s church, Heritage Baptist Church, 3065 Highway 297A, Cantonment, (850) 478-3316.
Pictured top: Tate High student Halee Boyd on a motorcycle ride benefiting her medical expenses as it passes through Walnut Hill. Pictured inset: Halee talks to a young friend waiting for the start of the ride Saturday morning at Tate High School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate High photos contributed by Kristi Smith for NorthEscambia.com.
Photos: King Of The Jungle In Molino
July 29, 2012
Children at Highland Baptist Church presented “King of the Jungle” Sunday evening The children attended a daily music camp last week — Camp Quarternote — to prepare for the presentation.
Pictured: Scenes from “King of the Jungle” at Highland Baptist Church. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
School Shopping? Here Are The Supply Lists You Need
July 28, 2012
School starts Monday, August 20 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Here are the school supply lists from each elementary school and middle school in Escambia County, plus the North Escambia area schools in Santa Rosa County.
(High schools typically do not have a general supply list. Students are advised of their supply needs in each class.)
North Escambia Area Schools:
- Bratt Elementary
- Byrneville Elementary
- Central School
- Chumuckla Elementary
- Jim Allen Elementary
- Molino Park Elementary
- Jay Elementary
- Ernest Ward Middle
- Ransom Middle
Complete Escambia County Lists:
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
- Bellview Elementary
- Beulah Elementary
- Blue Angels Elementary
- Bratt Elementary
- Brentwood Elementary
- Byrneville Elementary
- Cook Elementary
- Cordova Park Elementary
- Ensley Elementary
- Ferry Pass Elementary
- Global Learning Academy
- Hellen Caro Elementary
- Holm Elementary
- Jim Allen Elementary
- Lincoln Park Elementary
- Lipscomb Elementary
- Longleaf Elementary
- McArthur Elementary
- McMillan Pre-K
- Molino Park Elementary
- Montclair Elementary
- Myrtle Grove Elementary
- Navy Point Elementary
- Oakcrest Elementary
- Pine Meadow Elementary
- Pleasant Grove Elementary
- Scenic Heights Elementary
- Semmes Elementary
- Sherwood Elementary
- Suter Elementary
- Warrington Elementary
- Weis Elementary
- West Pensacola Elementary
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
- Bailey Middle
- Bellview Middle
- Brown Barge Middle
- Ernest Ward Middle
- Ferry Pass Middle
- Ransom Middle
- Warrington Middle
- Woodham Middle
- Workman Middle
A Hero’s Welcome: Hundreds Welcome Wounded Marine Home (With Photo Gallery)
July 28, 2012
A local Marine was given a hero’s homecoming Friday morning in Pensacola.
Lance Cpl. Joseph Daniel Palmer, along with his wife Becky and his two young children, arrived at Pensacola Aviation just after 11:00 this morning to a large crowd of well wishers, many dressed in patriotic clothing and waving American flags.
“I wasn’t expecting this many people to be here,” Palmer said as he addressed the crowd. “It’s awesome to see that I’m coming home to a community that actually cares.”
“It lifts my spirit, and I know it probably lifts my wife’s spirit as well. All I can say, really, is thank you for your support,” the 26-year old Marine said. “Stay in the fight. Because there’s still Marines over there doing the same thing I was doing and going to come back the same way I come back. Keep them in your prayers. If you see them on the street, don’t hesitate to come say hello.”
“It’s just a blessing. We feel very, very blessed…to be able to come home,” he said, looking at his wife Becky and choking back tears. “Just thank y’all.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
Dignitaries including Congressman Jeff Miller, Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward, Santa Rosa Commissioner Don Salter and Milton Mayor Guy Thompson were on hand to welcome Palmer and his family back to the area. After the ceremony, a motorcade led by law enforcement at the Patriot Guard traveled to a newly renovated home for the Palmers at the Whiting Pines military housing in Milton. The first three months of rent at the home will be paid by the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Foundation.
Palmer suffered extensive combat related injuries in Afghanistan. His right leg was amputated below the knee, and he endured more than a year of medical rehabilitation in North Carolina.
Palmer is a 2004 graduate of Central High School. He joined the Marines in October 2008 and was deployed to Afghanistan in January 2010. He has several relatives in the North Escambia area, including his sister.
Pictured: Lance Cpl. Joseph Daniel Palmer and his family returned home to Pensacola just after 11:00 Friday morning. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge. Photos include reader submitted photos from WEAR 3, Shaun Moye, Kristi Smith and P.C. Wu.
Photos: Storms Clouds Roll
July 28, 2012
NorthEscambia.com received numerous reader-submitted photos of rather unique cloud formations moving across the area Friday evening. Click any of the images on this page to enlarge. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jay Grad Performs At Olympic Opening Ceremony
July 27, 2012
A 2009 Jay High School performedwith fellow University of Florida Band members at the opening ceremonies of the London Olympic Games.
Kimmy Hudon is a native of Santa Rosa County. She has been a part of the Fighting Gator Marching Band for three years.
The Gator Marching Band is the only American band invited to play at the Olympics. They played the Star Spangled Banner as the U.S. team entered the stadium and “God Save the Queen” for the British team during the Parade of Nations.
Hudon is the daughter of Kathy and Aubrey Penton and Rick and Shelley Hudon.
ECAT Gets $1 Million Grant To Replace Vehicles
July 24, 2012
Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) will receive just over $1 million in funds from a $787 million transit grant announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The $1,053,401 for ECAT will replace paratransit vehicles that have met or exceeded their useful lives. The new vehicles will be equipped with a vehicle camera technology safety system. ECAT will also purchase scheduling software to manage a fleet with zero spares.
All total, Florida will receive more than $50 million in federal transportation funds for 14 projects to revamp and renovate aging public transit systems.
In addition to ECAT in Escambia County, the list of approved projects includes $15 million to renovate transit facilities in Gainesville and $5 million for a new transit facility in Fort Myers.
The Florida projects were included in a group of 255 projects in 48 states. Since 2010, the federal program has pumped $1.8 billion in funding to replace aging transit facilities and vehicles around the country “to meet the growing demand from millions of riders across the country.”
Featured Recipe: Easy, Zesty Chicken Nuggets The Family Will Love
July 22, 2012
The humble chicken nugget isn’t just for kids anymore. And there’s no more frozen with this zesty homemade version.
Featuring six different seasoning blends plus Italian bread crumbs, these bite-sized delights are packed with flavor. Frying them fresh means they’ll be extra crunchy – perfect for dipping in a favorite sauce like barbecue or honey mustard. But be careful – they’re addictive.
For a printable pdf of today’s featured recipe, click the image below.
Molino Resident Named Florida’s Social Worker Of The Year
July 22, 2012
A Molino resident has been named the Florida Social Worker of the Year.
Rikki Vidak received the award from the Association of Social Workers, Florida Chapter after she was first named the Social Worker of the Year for the Northwest Unit. She will now be in the running for the national Social Worker of the Year award.
Vidak is a behavioral science coordinator for the Family Residency Program at the Navy Hospital in Pensacola where she has faithfully served Pensacola’s military and their families for decades.
She is also the unit chair for the Northwest Unit of the NASW-FL, and has been a strong leader building community among social workers in Northwest Florida. She was selected as Social Worker of the Year because of her leadership, her service to the community, and her outstanding professionalism, according to the group.
Cruisers Unlimited Shows Off, Grills Out For Ronald McDonald House
July 22, 2012
The Cruisers Unlimited car and truck club of Atmore recently provided a grilled dinner for the family staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Pensacola. The group also had a few of their classic vehicles on hand for small car show for the residents.
The local Ronald McDonald House provides a home away from home for family members of children who travel from their homes to receive medical treatment in Pensacola.
Each of the 26 rooms at the Ronald McDonald House has been full for most every night for the past two weeks, leaving the RMH in need of items that are used on a daily basis. Some of the items on the RMH wish list include:
- Paper plates, napkins and plastic utensils
- Large boxes of cereals
- travel/trial size deodorants
- 13-gallon trash bags
- kitchen and bathroom sponges
- brownie mix
- one and two gallon zip top bags
- ranch dressing
- breakfast bars
- 8.5 x 11 copy paper
- dryer sheets
- stamps
The Ronald McDonald House is located at 5200 Bayou Boulevard in Pensacola. For more information, contact (850) 477-2273.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
