Students Learn About Ag During Fresh From Florida Event
March 14, 2015
Over 1,000 students from across the area took part in the annual Northview High School FFA “Fresh From Florida” program Friday morning at the school in Bratt.
Formerly known as the “Food For America program”, the event gave students the chance to learn about agriculture first hand up close and personal with farm animals, farm equipment and more to learn how food gets from the farm to their tables. Students were even able to make and enjoy eating their own fresh butter.
And at this year’s event, students were also able to learn about the importance of rain in Florida agriculture, with showers pushing most of this year’s activities indoors.
The Northview High School FFA “Fresh From Florida” program has been honored as the best in Florida for three consecutive years, and the chapter was recently name one of the best in the United States by the National FFA Organization for a second year.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FWC Law Enforcement Report
March 14, 2015
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending March 12 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Lieutenant Hahr was patrolling in a local river WMA when he observed two young women consuming alcoholic beverages. When he approached them, he discovered that the older male subject was also in possession of a small amount of cannabis. One of the women was also in possession of a small amount of cannabis. The two women were charged with possession of alcoholic beverages. The man and one woman were also charged with possession of not more than 20 grams of cannabis.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
No Escambia County report was submitted for week ending Marching 12.
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week;however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
Ernest Ward Holds Annual Dance (With Photo Gallery)
March 14, 2015
Ernest Ward Middle School held their annual Sweetheart Dance Friday night, naming a queen and her court based upon student votes. Pictured are sixth grade maiden and knight Libby Pugh and Johnathan Windham; eighth grade queen and king Hannah Ellis and Brandon Santos; and seventh grade knight and maiden Colby Burkett and Teriana Redmond.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Dept. Of Health Says Pot Rule Challenge Will Lead To Delay
March 14, 2015
Already behind in carrying out a new medical-marijuana law, the Florida Department of Health said it is concerned that a legal challenge filed this week will lead to further delay.
A Jacksonville attorney, on behalf of a 4-year-old child with an inoperable brain tumor, challenged a proposed Department of Health rule that would provide a regulatory framework for the new industry.
“This legal action will unfortunately delay the department’s attempts to deliver this product, already authorized by the Florida Legislature, to Florida’s children and patients who need it,” the department said in a statement posted on its website. “The department will review the challenge immediately and act promptly to move the process forward.”
The law allows strains of medical marijuana that are low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and high in cannabadiol, or CBD. The challenge filed this week takes issue with the way the department proposes selecting five “dispensing organizations,” which would grow, process and dispense the cannabis. It said the proposed rule lacks minimum standards for the dispensing organizations and does not provide assurances to patients about statewide access to the drugs.
But the department has defended the rule.
“We have maintained an unprecedented, open process for developing this rule framework,” Patricia Nelson, director of the department’s Office of Compassionate Use, said in the prepared statement. “The department will take every possible action to minimize the delay this rule challenge has created in getting this product to Florida’s children who need it.”
The law required the department to have selected the dispensing organizations by January 1, but a legal challenge to an earlier version of the rule created a delay.
Weekend Gardening: March Tips
March 14, 2015
Here are gardening tips for the month of March from the University of Florida IFAS Extension office:
Flowers
- Annual flowers that can be planted in March include: ageratum, alyssum, amaranthus, asters, baby’s breath, begonia, calendula, celosia, cosmos, dahlia, dusty miller, gaillardia, geranium, hollyhock, impatiens, marigold, nicotiana, ornamental pepper, pentas, phlox, rudbeckia, salvia, sweet Williams, torenia, verbena, vinca and zinnia.
- Caladium bulbs are extremely sensitive to cold soil. There is no advantage to planting early. Purchase caladiums while there is a good selection, but wait until late March or April before planting them in shady beds.
Trees and Shrubs
- Finish pruning summer flowering shrubs such as althea, hibiscus, abelia, oakleaf hydrangea and oleander.
- Delay the pruning of azaleas, camellias, spiraeas, gardenias and other spring flowering shrubs until after flowering is complete.
- Prune any cold weather-damaged plants after new growth appears.
- If needed, fertilize shrubs and small trees with a slow release fertilizer. A good general-purpose landscape fertilizer is a 15-0-15.
- Mature palms should receive an application of granular fertilizer. Use a special palm fertilizer that has an 8-2-12 +4Mg (magnesium) with micronutrients formulation. Apply one pound of fertilizer per 100 sqft of canopy area or landscape area.
- Last opportunity to spray shrubs with dormant horticultural oil.
- Pick up all fallen camellia blossoms and remove them from your property. This practice helps to prevent petal blight next season.
- Prune ornamental grasses.
- If you are in the market for specific colors of azaleas, visit the local nurseries and garden centers this month. Though this is not the most ideal planting time you are assured of the right flower color without having to wait until next blooming season.
Fruits and Nuts
- Time to finish planting bare-root fruit trees.
Vegetable Garden
- This is the month for establishing a spring vegetable garden. Early March plantings have about an even chance of avoiding a late frost.
- The warm season vegetables that can be planted this month are: bush beans, pole beans, lima beans, cantaloupes, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, southern peas, peppers, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, summer squash, winter squash, tomatoes and watermelon.
- The cool season vegetables that can be planted this month are: beets, carrots, celery, collards, endive, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, mustard, bunching onions, parsley, English peas, Irish potatoes, radish and turnips.
- More conservative gardeners might wish to wait until the middle to latter part of the month to risk tender plants such as tomatoes and peppers.
Lawns
- Remove excessive accumulation of leaves from the lawn. This will increase the effectiveness of fertilizers and pesticides applied to the lawn.
- If a preemergence lawn herbicide is needed to control summer weeds, it should be applied in early March. Make certain to choose one that is safe on your kind of grass.
- Keep lawn herbicides away from the root zones of desirable flower, shrubs and other plants.
- Fertilize the lawn only after the danger of frost has passed and when the grass has greened up. Fertilize using a complete fertilizer applied at 0.5 lbs nitrogen per 1000 sqft containing 50% soluble and 50% slow-release nitrogen.
- Service the lawn mower: include a sharpening of the blade and adjusting of the cutting height for your type of grass.
- Anyone considering establishment of centipedegrass from seed should hold off until the soil warms up and stabilizes above 70°F. Add Item Here…
Blue Bell Recall Issued After Illnesses, Three Deaths
March 14, 2015
Officials are investigating an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections (listeriosis) linked to certain Blue Bell products. Five people have been hospitalized with three deaths reported.
Blue Bell Creameries reports that it has removed the affected ice cream products from the market, but some products may remain in the freezers of consumers. If these ice cream products are in your freezer, they should be thrown away, even if some of them have been eaten without anyone becoming ill.
The recalled products include Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Country Cookie, Great Divide Bar, Sour Pop Green Apple Bar, Cotton Candy Bar, Scoops, Vanilla Stick Slices, Almond Bars, 6-pack Cotton Candy Bars, 6-pack Sour Pop Green Apple Bars and 12-pack No Sugar Added Mooo Bars.
The regular Mooo Bars, which were available at grocery stores, are not subject to recall. The recall includes only the products listed above and does not include Blue Bell cups, pints, half gallons, three gallons or the company’s other frozen snack novelties. This was the first recall in the company’s 108-year history.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, five patients who were treated in a single hospital in Kansas were infected with one of four rare strains of Listeria monocytogenes. Three of these strains, which are highly similar, have also been found in products manufactured at the Blue Bell Creameries production facility in Brenham, TX.
The FDA was notified that these three strains and four other rare strains of Listeria monocytogenes were found in samples of Blue Bell Creameries single serving Chocolate Chip Country Cookie Sandwich and the Great Divide Bar ice cream products collected by the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control during routine product sampling at a South Carolina distribution center, on February 12, 2015. These products are manufactured at Blue Bell Creameries’ Brenham facility.
The Texas Department of State Health Services, subsequently, collected product samples from the Blue Bell Creameries Brenham facility. These samples yielded Listeria monocytogenes from the same products tested by South Carolina and a third single-serving ice cream product, Scoops, which is also made on the same production line.
Appeals Court Upholds 24 Year Sentence In DUI Manslaughter Of Two
March 13, 2015
The First District Court of Appeal has affirmed a Escambia County trial court decision to send a woman to prison for DUI manslaughter for a 2012 crash on I-10 that claimed the lives of an adult and child.
Kimberly Renee Rodrigues was sentenced in November 2013 by Judge W. Joel Boles to 24.45 years in state prison for of two counts of DUI manslaughter, one count DUI causing great bodily harm and one count DUI causing property damage. She was convicted following a two-day trial, and later filed an appeal.
Rodrigues had been free since December 2013 on a $165,000 appeal bond awaiting the appellate court’s decision. After the conviction and sentence were upheld, she was booked back into the Escambia County Jail Thursday afternoon.
The Florida Highway Patrol says Rodrigues was traveling west on I-10 near the Pine Forest exit about 4:40 a.m. on October 21, 2011. Prosecutors said she was traveling approximately 86 miles per hour when she slammed into the rear of a delivery truck driven by Melissa Lynn Lyublanovits, 44, of Pensacola.
Moments later, a GMC Yukon driven by Riviera Beach resident Lovett Cummings approached in the outside lane and swerved to avoid Rodrigues pickup. Cummings barely missed Rodrigues’ truck but his Yukon then rolled several times before coming to a rest in the trees on the north shoulder of the Interstate.
His 11-year old son, Lovett Deshun Cummings II, was ejected and died on the scene, while his 71-year old father, Lovett Junior Cummings, was also killed in the crash. Cummings’ mother was seriously injured and was airlifted by Life Flight from the scene. The delivery truck driver was unhurt.
Shortly after the crash, Rodrigues’ blood alcohol content was determined to be 0.166/0.170, over twice the legal limit.
Pictured above: A pickup involved in an October accident on I-10. (Note: The tractor-trailer in the photo background was not involved in the crash.)The scene on I-10 in Pensacola where two people were killed in a multi-vehicle accident in October 2012 NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Tate Head Football Coach Ronnie Douglas Resigns
March 13, 2015
Tate High School’s Ronnie Douglas has resigned after two seasons as head football coach.
Douglas said he must take care of his outside car wash businesses. He told his coaching staff of the decision Thursday.
He led the Aggies on two trips to the playoffs in his two seasons with a 8-3 record in his first season and a 9-3 record in his second season. The back-to-back play off appearances were the first for the Tate Aggies since the 1976 and 1977 seasons. Before Douglas, the Aggies won a four total games during three seasons.
FloridaHighSchoolFootball.com also named Douglas as the All-Panhandle Coach of the Year.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Tate High Students Create Lip Dub Video
March 13, 2015
Students at Tate High School have created a lip dub video, directed by Sarah Baxter and Megan Edgar. The video was produced for the Escambia County School District Lip Dub Film Festival, which was won by Escambia High School.
If you don’t see the video above, it is because YouTube videos are being blocked by your home, work or school firewall.
House Panel Backs Abortion Waiting Period
March 13, 2015
A House panel Thursday plunged into the legislative session’s first abortion debate, approving a measure that would require a 24-hour waiting period before women could terminate pregnancies.
The battle lines were familiar: Republicans and abortion opponents on one side, Democrats and abortion-rights supporters on the other.
In the end, the GOP-dominated Health Quality Subcommittee voted 9-4 to approve the measure (HB 633), filed by Rep. Jennifer Sullivan, R-Mount Dora. Under the bill, a woman seeking an abortion would be required to meet with a physician to get information and then wait at least 24 hours before the procedure could be performed.
Sullivan said the bill would empower “women to make an informed decision versus an unexpected, rushed and pressured one.”
“It gives them the opportunity to have that face-to-face with their doctor 24 hours in advance, to be able to think through that just like any other procedure as common practice,” Sullivan said.
But opponents argued that a 24-hour waiting period is not medically necessary and that such a delay could be hardship on women who live in areas without abortion clinics. Rep. Kristin Jacobs, D-Coconut Creek, said state law does not require similar waiting periods for other procedures, including vasectomies.
“A mandatory delay is not something that should be imposed on a woman, because there are lots and lots of procedures, as we know, that happen every day with doctors and there is not a single instance in Florida law or in this country where someone is required to wait, other than having an abortion,” Jacobs said.
Republican lawmakers in recent years have incrementally increased restrictions on abortions, such as approving a law that requires women to have ultrasounds before they can undergo the procedures.
Sullivan’s bill would need to clear two more committees before it can go to the full House, while an identical bill (SB 724), filed by Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, has not received its first committee hearing in the Senate. Also this session, lawmakers could consider bills (SB 920 and HB 147) that would require doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals if they perform abortions in Florida.
During Thursday’s debate, groups such as Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union lined up with Democrats in opposing the waiting-period bill, while groups such the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Florida Family Policy Council joined Republicans in supporting it.
“The delay you are considering is not medically necessary and could in fact interfere with a woman’s health, ” said Michelle Richardson, a lobbyist for the ACLU of Florida. “Only a woman and her doctor should make decisions about what is best for her in her unique situation. Requiring two trips to a facility, regardless of a woman’s circumstances, and an override of a medical professional’s judgment places politicians between a woman and her health-care provider.”
But Rep. Julio Gonzalez, a Venice Republican who is an orthopedic surgeon, said the waiting period is medically necessary and pointed to data that he said indicates some women suffer post-traumatic stress disorder after undergoing abortions.
“I do not see this as anything else other than an attempt to protect women from a rushed decision that they may regret for the rest of their lives,” Gonzalez said.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida