Pack A Better School Lunch
August 31, 2014
by Dorothy Lee, Escambia County Extension
It’s that time of year again. With kids off to school they are again faced with the important question: What’s for lunch? With childhood obesity on the rise, having a nutritious lunch is an important part of an overall healthful diet. Since most kids consume one-third of their daily total calories at lunch, here are some tips on helping them eat more super-nutritious foods:
- Plan ahead. It helps to have all the right ingredients on hand for making the best lunch. You might even consider coming up with a weekly menu. Involve the kids in planning whenever possible.
- Avoid last-minute rushing by preparing all or part of lunch the night before.
- Use cookie cutters to make fun shapes with sandwiches, etc.
- Make sure you always include at least one fresh fruit or vegetable – both is even better.
- Hide special notes or cards in the lunch box.
- Best beverage bets include skim milk, water or 100% fruit juice.
- Try to use more low-fat snack and cookie items – see the list below for ideas.
- Remember food safety. It is better if you keep foods chilled in insulated lunch boxes with either an ice pack or frozen juice box.
And consider options when choosing ingredients for lunches:
Dorothy C. Lee, CFCS, is an Extension Agent, Family & Consumer Sciences with the Escambia County Extension Service.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: The Inevitable Battle Begins
August 31, 2014
With the unofficial beginning of campaign season just around the corner, Florida voters headed to the polls this week to choose their nominees for governor and seats in the Legislature.
Or, at least, to finish the predetermined coronations in many of those races. There never seemed to be any real danger that either of the leading gubernatorial candidates would lose their primaries. And virtually every incumbent on the ballot Tuesday was still standing on Wednesday.
But the election wasn’t the only battle that moved into a new phase. As candidates began to turn their attention to the broader electorate, opponents of the state’s de facto school-voucher program were going from the court of public opinion to the actual courts. Almost four months after the Legislature followed through on a promise to expand eligibility for the voucher program, groups opposed to the move filed a lawsuit that could lead to the entire system being overturned.
NOW FOR THE MAIN EVENT
For the most part, there were few surprises in the primaries Tuesday night. Republican Gov. Rick Scott and former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, now a Democrat, cruised through primaries against lesser-known candidates.
Crist easily defeated former Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich and was officially welcomed by his new party as its nominee. Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a congresswoman from Broward County, praised Crist and running-mate Annette Taddeo as working-class champions.
“Charlie and Annette have embraced policies that will help Florida’s middle-class families, a stark contrast to the current governor, Republican Rick Scott, who is beholden to special interests and radical tea party ideology,” she said in a statement.
Scott handily defeated two obscure GOP opponents, Yinka Abosede Adeshina and Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder. But the Scott team’s primary focus has long been on Crist.
“The next few months are about talk versus action,” Scott said. “That means Florida will have a choice between a governor who sent our state into a tailspin and a governor who gets results.”
In a marginally competitive statewide race, former Department of Children and Families Secretary George Sheldon beat House Minority Leader Perry Thurston in the Democratic primary for attorney general.
“I believe the attorney general is the people’s lawyer, not the governor’s lawyer, and not the Legislature’s lawyer,” Sheldon told supporters during a victory party at the Wine Loft Wine Bar in Tallahassee. “Help me give Pam Bondi the job she really wants, as an anchor on FOX News.”
Bondi wasted little time in both congratulating Sheldon and challenging him to a debate.
“The voters will have a clear choice between candidates in this election, and they deserve to hear directly from us on the distinct difference in visions and leadership that each candidate will offer to the attorney general’s Office,” Bondi said in a prepared statement.
Races in the House provided the sole state-level incumbent to go down and the usual bit of Florida elections drama.
In Central Florida, Rep. Ricardo Rangel, D-Kissimmee, was defeated in his bid for a second term by John Cortes, vice chairman of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida. State Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant seemed just fine with Cortes beating the incumbent.
“From his time as a police officer to his extensive work as an activist in Osceola County, John has always put his fellow community members ahead of himself,” Tant said in a statement. “I look forward to working with John to ensure that the residents of District 43 continue to have representation that puts the middle class first this fall.”
Meanwhile, the costly and bitterly fought Republican primary in Duval County’s House District 15 turned into a nail-biter between Jay Fant, a tea party-style candidate, and Paul Renner, who had much of the local establishment behind him. Fant, who loaned his campaign $375,000, ended up with a two-vote margin of victory after a manual recount and is now almost certain to replace Rep. Daniel Davis, R-Jacksonville.
SCHOOLING THE ELECTORATE
Scott didn’t wait until he had officially dispatched his challengers to start rolling out what will clearly be one of the central themes of his campaign. He unveiled an education agenda Monday that included promises to review the number of tests being administered to Florida students and to take further steps to rein in the cost of college if he wins a second term in November.
“We want to make sure that our students have every opportunity to succeed in the classroom and in their careers, and we want to make sure our teachers have every tool they need to make that possible,” Scott said.
The call for an investigation of standardized testing is noteworthy, given that Republicans interested in education reform have long looked at assessments as a way to judge how well schools are educating children. In 2011, Scott signed a bill that more closely tied teacher pay to student performance on standardized tests
A brochure outlining Scott’s proposals seemed to place the blame for the amount of testing on local school districts.
But Kathleen Oropeza, co-founder of the advocacy group Fund Education Now, said blaming local school districts was disingenuous, because many of the tests they require are tied to state laws. Districts will have to create tests for some courses under the teacher-pay law that Scott signed, Oropeza said.
On higher education, Scott said he would push for a requirement that colleges outline the costs of textbooks and other materials before students register for classes.
In his official capacity, the governor joined Education Commissioner Pam Stewart on a jaunt across the state to welcome students back to school. Crist’s campaign cried foul on that.
“Floridians should not be fooled by Rick Scott’s shameful, taxpayer-funded campaign events this week,” spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said in a statement. “Scott’s back-to-school tour should be an apology tour for the $4.8 billion he wanted to cut and the $1.3 billion he did cut from education.”
WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT
“That’s all I can stands; I can’t stands no more,” the cartoon character Popeye used to say — and a coalition of groups including the state’s largest teachers union essentially said the same thing this week in launching a legal assault on Florida’s de facto school-voucher program.
The lawsuit comes after the Legislature approved a bill this spring that would expand eligibility for the program and increase the value of scholarships given to participating students. While one of the central claims of the lawsuit — that the program gets in the way of the state’s responsibility to provide a quality education to all children — could have been made for years now, those filing the challenge said the expansion forced their hand.
Ron Meyer, an attorney for the groups, said while education advocates were willing to allow the program to go forward initially, “this has become an industry.”
“It’s a money-maker for scholarship-funding organizations,” Meyer said. “And it’s a program that we think is a dereliction of the constitutional requirement (to provide public education).”
The Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which could raise as much as $357.8 million this year, provides tax credits to companies that donate money to nonprofit entities that pay for children to go to private schools.
Without the scholarship program, critics say, those tax dollars could be used to help fund public education. But supporters say the program provides better opportunities for low- or middle-income children trapped in failing public schools.
Republicans, who led the charge to institute and then broaden the voucher program, saw things a bit differently. Those attacking the scholarships were actually the special interests.
“This lawsuit is just the latest attack on parental choice by an entrenched education establishment more concerned about protecting the status quo than providing families the opportunities afforded by a great education,” said former Gov. Jeb Bush, who signed the legislation creating the program and is still an influential figure in the state’s education debates.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Primary elections cleared the way for general elections, including the long-awaited battle between Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Charlie Crist for control of the Governor’s Mansion.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “We’re not the Rick Scott campaign. We can’t go whenever and whatever we want on TV. We have to make choices. So why would we make the choice to go spend a bunch of money in a primary that we know we’re going to win?”—Steve Schale, a consultant for the Crist campaign, on why the former governor essentially ignored primary opponent Nan Rich.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Wahoos Drop Second Straight 6-3
August 31, 2014
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos (27-41, 58-80) fell for the second straight night to the Birmingham Barons (31-37, 60-78) 6-3. With the win, the Barons take a two games to one lead in the series.
The Wahoos benefitted from a couple of errors to get on the board in the first inning. Yorman Rodriguez reached on an error, stole second and third, and a throwing error by the catcher allowed him to score. The Barons would take a 3-1 lead into the sixth thanks in part to solo home runs from Dan Black and Kevan Smith.
Pensacola cut into the lead on a two-out RBI single from Travis Mattair in the sixth. They would add one to tie the score at three when Ryan Wright followed Juan Silverio’s triple with an RBI single.
The big blow came once again off the bat of Joey DiMichele, who singled home Kevan Smith off of RHP Kyle McMyne in the bottom of the eighth inning. Trayce Thompson put the game away with a two-run double down the right field line to give the Barons a 6-3 lead. McMyne took the loss for the Blue Wahoos.
RHP Kevin Vance earned the win in relief for the Barons. Vance struck out six batters over 2.2 innings and surrendered just one hit. Gulf Breeze native Ben Lively made his final start of the season for the Blue Wahoos. Lively got the no decision going 5.0 innings and allowing three runs on five hits. He added five strikeouts to his season total of 171 and finished the night tied for second in the minor leagues in punch-outs.
Sunday’s game marks the penultimate contest in the Blue Wahoos season and starts at 3:00 p.m. at Regions Field. The Wahoos will send Cincinnati’s top prospect RHP Robert Stephenson (6-10, 4.93) to the mound. Terance Marin (0-1, 9.00) will start for the Barons.
by Tommy Thrall
Body Found After Suspicious Fire
August 30, 2014
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating suspicious death following structure fire about 9 p.m. Friday.
An unidentified body was found in the vicinity after a suspicious structure fire in the first block of East Herman Avenue near a homeless camp, and homicide investigators were called to the scene.
At this time, the cause of death is undetermined and the victim has not been identified, the Sheriff’s Office sad. Investigators said early Saturday afternoon that they were looking for an orange or red two-door Pontiac bearing Florida license plate 318NTQ which was observed in the area at the time of the incident.
The vehicle was spotted being driven in an erratic manner Saturday afternoon near Davis Highway. Two black males reportedly fled from the vehicle after the driver stopped at Happy Nicks at 2499 North Palafox Street.
A manhunt followed, with one person taken into custody. That person was later released after it was determined that they had no part in the incident.
Anyone with any information should call the Escambia County Sheriffs Office at (850) 436-9620 or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
ECUA Approves Rate Increases
August 30, 2014
Emerald Coast Utilities Authority customers will see rates increases on their bills after October 1.
The ECUA board has approved a 3 percent increase in water and wastewater rates. The board also approved a 3.5 percent, or 66 cent, increase in the sanitation rate, a direct pass-along of increased tipping fees at the Escambia County owned Perdido Landfill.
The water and wastewater increase will be used to cover the cost of over $50 million in capitol improvement projects.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Construction Activities Suspended For Labor Day Weekend
August 30, 2014
To promote safety and reduce congestion over the Labor Day weekend, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is suspending normal road construction activities on all major roads in Northwest Florida. There will be no work on state roads requiring lane restrictions from Friday through Monday. Work on projects requiring lane closures will resume Tuesday, September 2. All major roads will be open to normal traffic.
If an emergency situation occurs during the upcoming holiday weekend requires a lane closure, repairs will continue until that lane is reopened to the traveling public and all safety issues related to the traveling public have been addressed.
Motorists are reminded to use caution while traveling through work zones around barricades and equipment on current projects. Travelers can access Florida’s 511 service from cell phones, landlines, and at www.FL511.com to receive updates on travel in the area.
Flomaton Storms Past Jay 42-20 (With Photo Gallery)
August 30, 2014
A storm was brewing Friday night in Jay as the Flomaton Hurricanes beat the Jay Royals 42-20.
In a game that saw a 15-minute lightning delay at a packed Merle North Stadium, Flomaton’s Jamel Grace and Jamal Brown combined for three touchdowns with about 140 yards each. The Hurricane’s Tripp Vickery completed three passes to Andrew Cash for two touchdowns on a total of 109 yards.
Flomaton (2-0) will play their home opener next Friday night at 7:00 against Washington County (1-1) of Chatom, AL. The Jay Royals (0-1) will travel to Rocky Bayou (0-1).
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate Aggies Beat West Florida Tech (With Photo Gallery)
August 30, 2014
The Tate High School Aggies had a little revenge on their minds Friday night as they beat West Florida in Cantonment 19-7, a far cry from last year’s 45-3 loss to the Jaguars.
Tate controlled the first half on the scoreboard, with a 10-0 lead at the half that they expanded to 17-0 with about eight minutes to go in the third. The Aggies were led by Alondo Thompkins with 35 yards, four of which came in the second half on a touchdown run.
The Aggies will head down to Pensacola High School next Friday night at 7:30, while West Florida will be at Milton.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Photos by Gary Carnley for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Rolls Past The Bozeman Bucks, 49-7
August 30, 2014
The Northview Chiefs rolled into Panama City Friday night and left the Bozeman Bucks behind with that deer in the headlights look as the Chiefs opened their season with a powerful 49-7 rout.
The Chiefs were first on the board with a play that left the Bucks standing in disbelief. Cameron Newsome called for a fair catch on a punt in the first quarter, but there was no whistle. Newsome then took off, scoring on a 70-yard run.
Northview expanded their lead to 14-0 with just a minute in the first with a 35-yard pass from Gavin Grant to Jacob Dunsford and a good kick from Chasen Freeman. The Chiefs added another 14 in the second quarter with a 40 yard pass from Grant to Dunsford, and an an 84-yard interception return from Newsome for a 28-0 lead at the halftime buzzer.
In the third, Grant found senior Nick Lambert with a 24-yard touchdown pass, and with a two-point conversion from Dunsford, the Chiefs were up 35-0. And to round out the third with no time on the clock, Keondrae Lett scored on a 10-yard pass, 43-0.
The Bucks added their only seven with 3:30 to go in the game on a two-yard run. And with just 30 seconds to go, the Chiefs scored again on a 55-yard kickoff return from Lett.
The Northview Chiefs (1-0) will play their home opener next Friday night in Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium at 7:00 against the Bulldogs of Marianna (0-0).
Wahoos Fall 1-0
August 30, 2014
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos (27-40, 58-79) fell 1-0 to the Birmingham Barons (30-36, 59-77) at Regions Field Friday night. It was a game dominated by pitching with both starting pitchers going 7.0 innings.
RHP Tim Adleman started for the Wahoos and lowered his ERA as a starter to a miniscule 2.38. He pitched 7.0 strong innings and allowed just one run in the fifth. Adleman added five strikeouts and walked just one batter, but still took the loss for the seventh time this season. Rangel Ravelo led off the fifth inning with a triple to right field and Jason Coats followed it with an RBI single. It was all the Barons would need to prevail.
Birmingham did not leave a single runner on base and went 1-for-1 with runners in scoring position. By contrast, the Wahoos were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left nine batters on base. Yorman Rodriguez, Ryan Wright and Kyle Waldrop were the only Wahoo players with hits and Waldrop had the only multi-hit game for Pensacola.
RHP Mike Recchia earned the win for the Barons and spun a gem. Recchia did not allow a run over 7.0 innings and surrendered just four hits in the contest. RHP Braulio Ortiz earned his first save of the season for the Barons. The Wahoos would once again put multiple runners on base in the ninth, but Ortiz got Brodie Greene to fly out to right field to end the contest.
RHP Drew Hayes pitched a perfect bottom of the eighth while striking out one Baron batter. He’s posted a 1.72 ERA during the month of August and hasn’t allowed a hit over his last 4.0 innings pitched.
Pensacola’s series continues with Birmingham on Saturday. The Blue Wahoos will look to take control of the series in game three at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night at Regions Field. The Blue Wahoos will send RHP Ben Lively (3-6, 3.76) to the bump on Friday. Terance Marin (0-1, 9.00) will start for the Barons.
by Joey Truncale