Hundreds Attend Annual Walnut Hill Ruritan Auction (With Gallery)
February 24, 2013
Hundreds of people attended the 39th Annual Walnut Hill Ruritan Club Farm Equipment Auction Saturday in Walnut Hill.
Items sold included farm equipment, lawn and garden equipment, household items and more during the event, which is held each year on the last Saturday of February. All proceeds from the auction benefit the Walnut Hill Ruritan Club’s community service projects in the Walnut Hill area.
Pictured: Hundreds attended the annual Walnut Hill Ruritan Club farm equipment auction Saturday in Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Health And Hope Clinics Seek Donations From ‘Wish List’
February 24, 2013
The Health and Hope Clinics in Pensacola and Century provides well over $1.5 million worth of free medical care each year.
The clinic was first established in Pensacola back in 2003 by the Pensacola Bay Baptist Association to meet the needs of uninsured and medically underserved in Escambia County. The clinic is entirely volunteer and donor supported.
The Health and Hope Clinics are currently in need of donations on their “wish list”. Items needed are:
Household items
- Paper towels
- Paper plates
- Plastic utensils
- Trash bags, 13 or 30 gallon
- Batteries, AAA or AA
Cleaning supplies
- All purpose cleaner
- Antibacterial wipes
- Glass cleaner
- Bleach
Office supplies
- 8.5 x 11 copy paper, white
- Postage stamps
- Avery labels, 5160
- Staples
- Ink pens
- Highlighters, all colors
- Paper clips
- Scotch tape refills
- Sharpie markers, black
Medical supplies
- 1CC insulin syringes
- True Track glucose meters
- True Track meter strips
- Urine sample cups
- Blank patient charts
- Powder free latex exam gloves
- Sharps containers
- Antiseptic towelettes
- Bandaids, all sizes
Gift cards
- Grocery stores
- Fast food restaurants
Any items to be donated can be dropped off at either clinic location:
- Century, 501 East Church Street, (850) 366-4100
- Pensacola, 9999 Chemstrand Road, (850) 479-4456
Pictured top: The Health and Hope Clinic location in Century. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Weekend Gardening: Early Flowering Trees Are Ushering In Spring
February 24, 2013
Warmer temperatures have raised the spirits of gardeners in Northwest Florida. Although we know from experience that we still have a good chance of another cold snap or two, nicer weather is always a welcomed foray into spring.
Warmer weather also means that some trees and shrubs burst into bloom producing flowers that brighten otherwise drab winter landscapes. Several members of the rose family are currently in bloom in Northwest Florida and sure to grab your attention.
Flowering Quince
During Colonial times a quince tree was a rarity in the gardens of wealthy Americans, but was found in nearly every middle class garden. The fruit—always cooked—was an important source of pectin for food preservation, and a fragrant addition to jams, juices, pies, and candies. However, by the early twentieth century quince production declined as the value of apples and pears increased. Its popularity has plummeted and it is now a rarity in contemporary landscapes.
Quince has been cultivated in the Middle East for centuries, and may have even been the fruit of temptation in the story of the Garden of Eden. The ancient Biblical name for quince translates as “Golden Apple.” In ancient Mesopotamia, now Iraq, cultivation of quince predates the cultivation of apples.
This small, thorny, deciduous tree is one of the first to bloom in late winter. It is a member of the rose family and explodes with typical rose-type flowers in February each year. The single, white flowers are 1½ to 2 inches across and grow on current season growth.
The fruit is a fragrant, many-seeded pome about three inches in diameter. The fruit’s shape ranges from round to pear-like and the flesh is yellow. Several references refer to it as “hard and rather unpalatable.”
If you would rather not deal with the fruit, non-fruiting cultivars exist. Since most quince cultivars are not well-adapted to Florida because of their high chilling requirement, choose your cultivar carefully.
Apples
Another pome-type fruit that embellishes our landscapes in late winter is the apple tree. Along with the quince, it too is a member of the rose family. It is older in cultivation than the rose and is sometimes referred to as the prince of the rose family.
Relatively few cultivars of apples (Malus domestica L.) can be grown successfully in Florida.
Most apples have a high chilling requirement. Chilling requirement is defined as the number of hours less than or equal to 45 degrees F during the winter. Apple cultivars suitable for North Florida have a chilling requirement of less than 600 hours.
Only a few cultivars meet Florida’s low-chill requirement. Recommended cultivars include ‘Anna’, ‘Dorsett Golden’ and ‘TropicSweet’. ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorsett Golden’ originated in Israel and the Bahamas, respectively. ‘TropicSweet’ is a patented cultivar from the University of Florida. These cultivars each have a chilling requirement of 250 to 300 hours.
For more information on low-chill apples, review the University of Florida/IFAS online publication at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg368.
Flowering Cherry
While we may not be able to produce beautiful, delicious cherries in Northwest Florida, we can enjoy a few ornamental, flowering cherry trees.
One species that does well in Northwest Florida is Prunus campanulata or the Taiwan cherry. The Taiwan cherry grows to 20 to 25 feet and spreads nearly as wide as it matures. Single, drooping rose-type flowers appear in late winter and will last for about ten days.
For other recommendations on flowering trees to add to your landscape, contact your local Extension Office.
Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County. The use of trade names, if used in this article, is solely for the purpose of providing specific information. It is not a guarantee, warranty, or endorsement of the product name(s) and does not signify that they are approved to the exclusion of others.
Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.
Northview Orientation Monday For Incoming 9th Graders
February 24, 2013
Northview High School is offering orientation for incoming ninth grade students on Monday.
The program will help incoming ninth grade students to become more aware of the goals and expectations for each of them to become more successful as a freshman. The program will including information on calculating a GPA, courses with end of course exams, Gold Seal, impact of absences on grades, and more.
The program will take place from 6-7 p.m. at the school. For more information, call (850) 327-6681.
Extension Service Offers Cool Season Grass, Winter Forage Plot Tour
February 24, 2013
Escambia County Extension is conducting a 17 variety winter forage plot tour, followed by a workshop on Thursday in Jay.
Program speakers will be Dr. Anne Blount, UF IFAS Forage Specialist and Dr. Cheryl Mackowiak, UF IFAS Soil and Fertility Specialist.
Cool season grasses like wheat, ryegrass, oats, triticale and rye provide valuable winter and spring grazing when the warm season perennial grasses are not growing. The most efficient use of these grasses may be for younger animals or gestating brood cows that need higher quality forage than required by mature animals. This program is open to anyone with any interest in forage for any animals.
The program takes place Thursday at Jerry Jones’ Barn, 12011 Highway 89, in Jay. The group will meet on the south side of Jerry Jones’ Barn at 3:30 p.m. The plot tour will begin at 4:00 p.m. followed by a meal and a meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Reservations are strongly recommended; please do so by calling Janis at the Jay Extension Office at 850-675-6654 by 12 p.m. on Monday, February 25.
Cothran Appointed To Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County
February 24, 2013
The Escambia County Commission has affirmed District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry’s appointment to the Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County.
Barry nominated Robert Cothran to the position that runs concurrent with Barry’s term on the commission ending in November 2016 or at his discretion.
Cothran is a founding member of Collector Solutions, Inc., in Pensacola, serving as both its president and senior software architect. He holds a BS in computer science from the University of West Florida and attended graduate studies at the University of Alabama, Huntsville majoring in software engineering.
Baby Chicks Perish In Overnight Semi Trailer Fire
February 23, 2013
A semi-trailer loaded with baby chicks burned overnight at the Florida Welcome Center on I-10.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the semi truck and trailer were parked in the Welcome Center about 12:30 when the fire broke out in the trailer. The driver, who had been asleep, was able to separate the cab from the trailer to prevent the fire from spreading.
The driver, 43-year old Gromico Mendez Womack of Mendenhall, MS, was not injured. An unknown number of chicks perished in the blaze.
Pictured: An unknown number of chicks perished in this fire at the Florida Welcome Center on I-10 early Saturday morning. NorthEscambia.com reader submitted photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia To Reconsider Chicken Regulations
February 23, 2013
The Escambia County Commission has made a temporary about face on a new ordinance regulating the raising of chickens in the county. Earlier this month, the commission decided against a new chicken ordinance mostly because the estimated enforcement cost would be too high.
But after hearing from pro-chicken groups, the commission decided to delay their official decision to consider options.
Last year, the City of Pensacola passed an ordinance that regulated chickens within the city limits. After observing if the ordinance would fly in the city, the county commission took up the issue during a committee meeting on February 14.
The ordinance considered by the county would regulate chickens to lots at least one acre is size, no more than eight chickens per residence, no roosters, require coops to protect the chickens from predators, and not allowed the sale of chickens.
County staff had estimated the cost to enforce the ordinance at $115,425 to hire three new animal control officers, $134,505 for three additional animal control vehicles and additional costs since the county animal shelter currently has no way to keep chickens.
At the February 14 committee meeting, commissioners voted not to support a new chicken ordinance, instead sticking with the county’s current ordinance that allows chickens only in areas zoned agriculture or rural. But now, a new ordinance is expected to come before the commission for reconsideration that would apply only outside agricultural zones.
Stand Your Ground Panel: Keep Law Mostly Unchanged
February 23, 2013
The panel charged by Gov. Rick Scott with reviewing the state’s ’stand your ground’ self-defense law did not recommend any major changes to the statute, although it did make suggestions for tweaks by the Legislature in the upcoming session. The basic premise of the law isn’t challenged in the final report released Friday. Scott’s Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection included lawmakers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, representatives of minority communities and law enforcement.
Scott appointed the panel amid outrage over last year’s shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen who was killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Sanford. Zimmerman wasn’t arrested for months, until after national protests.
Senate Democratic Leader Chris Smith, who asked to be on the task force but wasn’t appointed, said he’d expected this result.
“When you put a task force together of people who wrote the bill and full of people who support ’stand your ground,’ I knew that the task force wouldn’t come up with anything earth-shattering,” he said.
The law basically allows those who feel their life is in danger in public to meet the threat with deadly force. If they claim that was the situation, they can go to a hearing before a judge and get a ruling on that issue without ever going to trial.
The task force issued a draft report in December that urged lawmakers to look more carefully at a few areas of the law that might be vague.
Smith, who convened his own task force after being left off Scott’s, has maintained that the law gives cover to those who attack others for revenge or as part of a crime.
“Anyone who looks at all of the data and all of the misuses of ’stand your ground’ – from Miami, where people are chasing someone down the street and stabbing them to death, to Tampa, where people are getting shot on playgrounds, all the way to Tallahassee, where gangs are using ’stand your ground’ as they shoot up the streets – anyone who looked at that data realistically would have come out with stronger recommendations, as my task force did,” Smith said.
Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, the original sponsor of the bill and a member of the task force, said the statewide hearings and public debate helped to clarify that the law doesn’t cover those who assault someone they have pursued.
“The greatest benefit of the task force was a thorough review of what our self-defense law is and is not. I think it has brought understanding,” Baxley said. “I think moving forward, we’ll all see ways to make clearer application.”
The panel wants lawmakers to look more carefully at the part of the law that says the presumption of justifiable self-defense doesn’t apply when the person who uses defensive force is engaged in “unlawful activity.” Also at issue: how law enforcement officers should proceed in situations in which shooters claim to have stood their ground in self-defense.
Baxley said people will always try to claim that ’stand your ground’ covers their cases.
“And there will always be close calls near the foul line no matter where you put that line,” he said. ”But to automatically arrest people and detain them and they have to go on defense and prove their innocence is not consistent with our standard of legal care, which says you are innocent until proven guilty of something.”
Smith said Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs and a co-sponsor of the law who also sat on the task force, will file a bill to make minor changes in the upcoming session.
The panel held a public meeting in Pensacola on November 13, 2012.
By The News Service of Florida
Ernest Ward’s ‘Got Talent’
February 23, 2013
Ernest Ward Middle School students proved they’ve “Got Talent” during a talent show Friday night.
The first place winner was Seth Killam for his guitar, harmonica and singing performance of “I Won’t Turn Back”, and second place went to Brianna Smith’s baton routine to “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.
Additional awards were presented to Morgan Pope for selling the most tickets and Kaylin Glenn.
Pictured: Brianna Smith and Seth Killam, winners in the Ernest Ward Middle School’s “Got Talent” show Friday night. Submitted photo by Jacke Johnston, click to enlarge.