Sherrill, Walston Wed
May 18, 2014
Mr. and Mrs. Kent Sherrill of Walnut Hill announce the marriage of their daughter Margaret to Logan Walston, son of Mr. Alan Walston of Atmore and Mrs. Kellie Hammond of Flomaton .
Meg and Logan were married in an outdoor ceremony on Sunday, May 4, at the home of the brides’ parents. Brother Ted Bridges officiated at the 7:00 service. Family members enjoyed a reception afterward on the lawn of the family’s home.
Grandparents of the bride are Dean Graham and the late Sam Graham and Hunk and Senie Sherrill, all of Atmore. The newlyweds are at home in Birmingham.
Unemployment Rate Drops In Three County Area
May 17, 2014
The latest job numbers released Monday show the unemployment level dropping in the North Escambia area.
Escambia County’s unemployment rate dropped from 6.7 percent in March to 5.9 percent in April. There were 8,149 people reported unemployed during the period. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 7.0 percent.
Santa Rosa County unemployment also decreased, from 5.7 to 5.0 percent from March to Apriil. Santa Rosa County had a total of 3,690 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 6.4 percent.
In Escambia County, Alabama, unemployment increased fell from 8.7 percent in March to 7.9 percent in April. That represented 1,087 people unemployed in the county during the month.
Florida’s unemployment rate ticked down slightly in April.
The jobless rate was 6.2 percent last month, down from 6.3 percent in March. The rate has been relatively flat in recent months — it also was 6.2 percent in February — but it is significantly lower than the 7.6 percent rate in April 2013.
Gov. Rick Scott’s campaign focuses heavily on arguments that he has added jobs and improved the economy since taking office in January 2011. He also uses that message to attack Democratic front-runner Charlie Crist, a former governor who was in office as Florida struggled through the national economic recession.
Scott issued a statement Friday touting the new numbers, which he said included creating more than 33,000 private-sector jobs.
Despite Scott’s focus on private-sector jobs, a detailed release from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity pointed to large concentrations of government workers as helping hold down jobless rates in some areas.
“Many of the counties with the lowest unemployment rates were those with relatively high proportions of government employment,” the department said in the release.
Alabama’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, at 6.9percent in April, was up from March’s rate of 6.7 percent and was above the year-ago rate of 6.5 percent.
The jobless numbers released by Florida and Alabama do not include persons that have given up on finding a job and are no longer reported as unemployed.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
Escambia Special Olympics Held At Tate (With Gallery)
May 17, 2014
The track and field portion of the Escambia County Specials Olympics was held Friday at Tate High School.
Hundreds of athletes from over a dozen schools took part in Friday’s event. Hundreds of Tate High students also took part, running events and serving as volunteer “buddies” for the athletes.
The day included track and field events, softball and tennis ball tosses, and other competitive events — plus fun events like fishing games, a petting zoo, face painting and more.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Friday’s event had been rained out three previous times this year.
Pictured: Friday’s track and field events Special Olympics held Friday at Tate High School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Scott Appoints Two To Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County
May 17, 2014
Friday, Gov. Rick Scott announced the appointment of Richard Dodd and the reappointment of Kermit “Skip” Housh to the Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County.
Dodd, 48, of Pensacola, is a regulatory supervisor at Gulf Power Company. He succeeds Leona Bailey and is appointed for a term beginning May 16, 2014, and ending April 30, 2016.
Housh, 66, of Gulf Breeze, is a retired management consultant. He is reappointed as chair for a term beginning May 16, 2014, and ending April 30, 2017.
Escambia County Curbside Debris Removal Completed
May 17, 2014
Escambia County’s debris collector has completed its curbside collection efforts in the most heavily storm damaged areas.
Now, residents with storm-related debris will need to contact their regular waste provider:
- Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA) at (850) 476-0480
- City of Pensacola Sanitation Services at (850) 435-1890
- Town of Century – Regular bulk pickups are the first and third Tuesday of each month (no phone call required)
Escambia County will continue to offer a free debris drop off site at John R. Jones athletic park located at 555 E. Nine Mile Road. Citizens looking to drop of material at this site will need to access the park from the Airway Drive entrance.
This site is for residential use only. Commercial haulers, contractors or commercial companies are prohibited. This drop off site will remain open until further notice.
For more information, contact Escambia County Solid Waste Management at (850) 937-2160.
Weekend Gardening: Tips For The Month Of May
May 17, 2014
The Escambia County Master Gardeners offer the following May lawn and garden tips:
- Continue planting summer annuals. Try one or two that you’ve never grown and/or one that is not available in stores as transplants.
- Plant heat-resistant summer flowering annuals such as begonias, impatiens, coleus, salvia, marigolds, torenia, verbena, ornamental peppers and gaillardia.
- Bulbs: Caladium, gladiolus.
- Vegetables: Continue planting warm weather seeds and transplants (Shade those transplants!). Use transplants for cherry tomatoes, eggplant and sweet potatoes. Plant seeds of lima beans, okra, southern peas: purple hull, crowder, etc.
- Prune and shape spring flowering shrubs and trees now. Later pruning may destroy next year’s blooms.
- Good cultural practices help maintain a healthy lawn and discourage insects and disease. Mow with a sharp blade. Centipedegrass should be cut to a height of 1½ to 2 inches. St. Augustinegrass normal growth habit cultivars should be cut to a height of 3 to 4 inches.
- Climbing roses are pruned after they finish blooming. Blooms form on one-year-old canes, so any older ones may be removed to make them more tidy. Cut each flowering stem back to the first five leaflet stem to encourage them to bloom again.Spray with horticultural oil or malathion for mites, scale and white flies, if insects are present, before it gets too hot (85 degrees).
- Yellow leaves on azaleas may mean they need iron. Apply iron sulphate or chelated iron.
- Feed citrus plants using special citrus fertilizer. Broadcast under the tree canopy and water in.
- Begin planting palms while the weather is warm and rainy.
- Make cuttings of azaleas, hollies, camellias, and other choice shrubs as new growth becomes half hardened.
- Take soft wood cuttings to root: alyssum, begonia, chrysanthemum, shrimp plant, dianthus, geranium, hibiscus, hydrangea, etc.
- Dig bulbs after foliage turns brown if they need to be divided or the space is needed for other plants. If the space isn’t needed, braid the foliage.
- Cut back the vines of Irish potatoes when they begin to die but leave the tubers in the ground for about two weeks longer to toughen the skin. Handle the potatoes carefully during digging, as skinned or bruised potatoes decay quickly when stored.
- Divide crowded and vigorously growing perennials.
- Promote continued flowering of bedding plants by removing faded blooms.
- Encourage coleus to branch and produce more colorful leaves by pinching off the flower stalks as they form.
- Prune poinsettias when new growth is 10-12 inches high (back to the last four leaves). Prune new growth at the base throughout the summer.
- Stop pruning after Labor Day.
- Keep roses watered, cut out weak spots, feed every six to eight weeks or at every new flush of growth, dust.
- For insect or disease problems in your garden, use the least toxic control possible.
Northview, Ernest Ward Hold Annual FFA Banquet
May 17, 2014
The Northview High School FFA held their 17th annual banquet Friday night.
The event includes a somber retirement ceremony for the chapter’s graduating senior officer…Courtney Solari slowly removed her signature blue FFA jackets and hung it up for the last time on a coat rack.
The night also included many awards for Northview and Ernest Ward Middle school FFA members and supporters.
Awards and honors presented included:
- FFA Creed: Mitchell Singleton
- Extemporaneous Speaking: Tiffani Cruce
- Prepared Public Speaking: Courtney Solari
- Parliamentary Procedure: Courtney Solari, Courtney Weekley, Hunter Kite, Haylee Weaver, Bethany Reynolds, Moriah McGahan, Mitchell Singleton, Kaitlyn Kleinatland, Ciara Campbell, Caleb Harigel, and Matthew Smith.
- Safe Tractor Operations: Hunter Kite
- Agricultural Mechanics: Tiffani Cruce, Courtney Solari, Hunter Kite, and Tabitha Chavers.
- Livestock Evaluation and Selection: Courtney Weekley, Haylee Weaver, Grady Rigby, Mitchell Singleton, Tabitha Chavers, and Cheyenne Redditt.
- Horse Evaluation and Selection: Courtney Solari, Bethany Reynolds, Tamara Barrows, Kaitlyn Kleinatland, Ciara Campbell, Caleb Harigel, and Jacob Johnson.
- Production and Showmanship: Haylee Weaver, Austin Cunningham, and Levi Soloman.
- GCA/NRA Livestock show: Tabitha Chavers and Matthew Smith.
- Forestry: Courtney Solari, Kaitlyn Kleinatland, Tiffani Cruce, Ciara Campbell, Hunter Kite, Caleb Harigel, Tamara Barrows, Grady Rigby, Carson Bailey, Matthew Smith, Jacob Johnson, and Ricky Jones.
- Ryan Rimmer Outstanding District Officer Award: Courtney Solari will be a finalist
- FFA Alumni Essay Contest: Courtney Weekley and Mitchell Singleton wrote about what “FFA Means to Me”
- Job Interview CDE: Courtney Solari competed in the preliminary round
- 2013 State FFA Convention: Courtney Solari, Karissa Strickland, Jessica Baldwin Jeremy Stacey, Dillian Crutchfield, Haylee Weaver, Kaitlyn Kleinatland, Courtney Weekley, Bethany Reynolds, and Lydia Weaver.
- Golden Members of the Chapter: Ben Preston, Brandon Korinchak, Ciara Campbell, and Laurie Purdy.
- Honorary Members Inducted: Mark Solari and Aimee Solari, Stephanie Solari, Sue Hopkins, and Escambia River Electric Cooperative
- Greenhand Degree: Tamara Barrows, Tabitha Chavers, Brandon Korinchak, Alyssa Lewis, Mitchell Singleton, Jessica Stacey, Christopher Stevens, and Brittanee Thomas.
- Chapter FFA Degree: Hannah Edmonson, Kaitlyn Kleinatland, Moriah McGahan, Bethany Reynolds, Grady Rigby, Haylee Weaver, and Courtney Weekley.
- Blue/Gold Awards: Gene Hassebrock, Grady Rigby, Zachary Sims,
- Star Greenhand: Mitchell Singleton
- Outstanding Sophomore: Haylee Weaver
- Outstanding Junior: Tiffani Cruce
- Outstanding Senior: Courtney Solari
- FFA High Point Award: Courtney Solari
- 2014 Dekalb Agricultural Accomplishment Award: Courtney Solari
- Gylnn Key Outstanding Student Award: Courtney Solari
- Jamie Hall Memorial Scholarship: Jessica Baldwin
- Northview FFA Alumni and Friends Scholarship: Courtney Solari and Jeremey Stacey
- Tommy Weaver Memorial Scholarship: Courtney Solari
- Outstanding Member Award: Courtney Weekley, Bethany Reynolds, Hunter Kite
- Retiring President: Courtney Solari
The new Northview FFA officers named for the 2014-2015 school year were: Haylee Weaver, president; Bethany Reynolds, vice president; Courtney Weekley, secretary; Moriah McGahan, treasurer; Tiffani Cruce, reporter; Tabitha Chavers, sentinel; Mitchell Singleton, public relations; Hunter Kite, parliamentarian; Kaitlyn Klinatland; historian; Cody Kite, chaplain; and Tamara Barrows, photographer.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Pictured top: Northview FFA honorary members inducted Friday night were Kim Lambert, representing honorary member EREC, Stephanie Solari, Sue Hopkins, Aimee Solari and Mark Solari. Pictured inset: Outgoing and graduating FFA President Courtney Solari retires her blue jacket. Pictured below: FFA members and their awards. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FWC Law Enforcement Report
May 17, 2014
Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekend ending May 15.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Investigators Schafer and Hughes worked a case regarding a group, known as the Gulf Coast Jeep Club, damaging public lands and driving off designated roads in jeeps within the Blackwater State Forest and Eglin Wildlife Management Area (WMA). The investigators were able to identify several of the vehicles, drivers, and locations of the violations from surveillance videos obtained through several different sources. Six citations were issued to five individuals for operating a vehicle off of designated roads within the Blackwater State Forest and the Eglin Wildlife Management Area.
Officer Lewis was patrolling the Blackwater State Forest when he observed a large group of people on a sandbar. While approaching them, he observed one man pass something to a woman. Officer Lewis approached her and asked what she was holding. The woman stated that it was a joint. She further admitted that she had rolled several marijuana cigarettes for her canoe trip and had given several out to friends. Officer Lewis located a Ziploc bag containing 12 cannabis cigarettes along with two hydrocodone pills. The drugs were seized and the woman was issued a notice to appear for possession of not more than 20 grams of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a prescription drug without a valid prescription.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY — No information reported.
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.
Wahoos Drop Second Game of Series To The Jacksonville Suns
May 17, 2014
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos (18-24) dropped the second game of the series to the Jacksonville Suns (19-22), 3-2, at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. Home runs accounted for all the runs in the game and starting pitchers Robert Stephenson and Chipper Smith combined for 14 strikeouts.
Stephenson had his longest outing of the season for the Wahoos; he gave up 3 R/ER in 7.0 innings pitched. The Reds’ top prospect struck out eight batters and walked just one, but he took the loss. The right-hander had pitched 13.0 consecutive scoreless innings before giving up a fourth inning home run to Brady Shoemaker. RHP Drew Hayes followed behind Stephenson with a scoreless eighth inning and a strikeout. RHP Justin Freeman pitched a perfect ninth inning and struck out one batter.
Travis Mattair broke up the no-hitter in the fifth inning for the second night in a row on a single to center. Juan Duran followed behind him with the game-tying home run to left field. It was Duran’s third homer of the season.
Smith made his Double-A debut for the Suns. The left-hander gave up 2 R/ER on three hits through 5.2 innings, which was his longest outing of the season. Smith struck out six Wahoo batters and gave up just one walk. RHP Jheyson Manzueta earned the win in relief of Smith; he gave up no hits through 2.1 innings. RHP Nick Wittgren earned the save, getting Juan Silverio to ground out to shortstop Austin Nola to end the game.
The Suns were aided by a couple of home runs from their four and five hitters. Shoemaker’s two-run home run in the fourth gave the Suns their first lead of the game. Catcher J.T. Realmuto took Stephenson deep in the seventh to take back the lead.
The Wahoos will start Jon Moscot (3-2, 1.97) in the third game of the series. Marlins top prospect LHP Andrew Heaney (3-2, 2.35) will go for the Suns.
by Tommy Thrall
Escambia Commission Moves Forward On 4-H Land Purchase
May 16, 2014
The Escambia County Commission took another step forward Thursday night for toward the purchase of two parcels of property for Escambia County 4-H.
In 2012, the children and teens on the 4-H County Council voted to sell their 240 acre Langley Bell 4-H Center to Navy Federal Credit Union. Navy Federal paid $3.6 million for the property next to the credit union’s campus in Beulah, and the Escambia County Commission agreed to construct a new 4-H Center on Stefani Road.
Now, the county is set to close on the two parcels totaling about 108 acres on or near Chalker Road, with the first closing set for today and the second for next week. The county will make the land purchases to house the 4-H’s animal science and outdoor education programs and then be reimbursed by the 4-H Foundation.
Brett Ward, a member of the Escambia County Farm Bureau Board, expressed concerns over two points in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) approved Thursday night between the county and the University of Florida IFAS.
He said it should be more clearly defined as how the property might be sold in the future and be replaced with a time limit on replacing the property. “So quite frankly nobody in the future will have to through what we’ve all been through the last two and half years in this process,” he said.
Commissioner Wilson Robertson agreed. “I thought we didn’t want to through this again”.
District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry said he agreed with Ward and Robertson, but there was no time to make changes with a property closing just hours away. County Attorney Alison Robinson said making any changes to the MOU would delay, and perhaps endanger, the closings.
Ward said he also issues giving IFAS the exclusive rights in naming the property.
Escambia County Extension Director Pam Allen said it is the intent of IFAS is “to use it as a fundraising to earn additional money to put more things on the property. There’s not really a set plan in place. but 4-H wanted to retain the rights to do that.”
“Basically what we are going to do is put the name up for bid and whoever is the highest bidder, that’s going to be named after them,” Ward responded. “Why don’t we name the whole thing the Escambia County 4-H Center, and then whoever wants to sponsor individual buildings inside it…they can be named after them. But the whole center would be the Escambia County 4-H Center.”
“The children of Esambia County 4-H are the richest in the nation. They have over $4 million invested, earning interest and they are running programs off that. They have plenty of money,” Ward said. “If we can add to that, I’m all for it, but to sell the name to the whole property?”
The commission unanimously approved moving forward with the MOU with IFAS, and the land purchase. Barry said he expects an open house to be held on the property without about three weeks.
Pictured top and bottom: An existing 5,722 square foot barn on one of two parcels that may soon be home to Escambia County 4-H. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge. Pictured inset: Two parcels will provide 4-H about 108 acres near Barrineau Park. NorthEscambia.com graphic, click to enlarge.
