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June 23, 2012
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Weekend Gardening: Time To Prune Gardenias And Hydrangeas
June 23, 2012
Hydrangeas and gardenias are two of our most beloved shrubs in the South. They are revered for their flowers and are planted in large drifts throughout Northwest Florida.
Gardenia shrubs are evergreen and produce shiny, dark green leaves. They are known for their waxy, creamy white flowers. The flower’s aroma, adored by many gardeners, is powerful and pleasant.
Hydrangeas are deciduous shrubs and produce coarse, light green leaves. Their large leaves will fall off after a freeze. Although you are left with bare sticks during the winter, the summer blooms are well worth the winter bareness. While there are many different types of hydrangeas, the mopheads are probably the most recognizable. Their large inflorescences are usually blue on acid soil, pink on alkaline soil and a dirty white on neutral pH soil.
Even though these shrubs are different in many aspects, the one thing they have in common is when they “set” their flower buds. Both shrubs develop flower buds on old (mature) wood of the previous year and open in early summer of the following year. Flower buds are formed at the terminal end of stems and, if not killed by cold or removed by inappropriate pruning, provide the showy floral display the next year.
The best time to prune gardenias and hydrangeas is after they finish flowering for the season. Pruning them at the incorrect time of the year, such as winter, will remove the flower buds.
Your pruning program should be purposeful. First, remove all diseased, weak and dead wood. It will be important to disinfect your pruning equipment after removing suspect branches. Pruning shears, loppers and saws can be dipped in a weak bleach solution to prevent spread of disease between plants.
Once all the problem branches have been removed, then think about thinning the plant. Shrubs are often thinned to reduce a top-heavy appearance or to open up a dense canopy. To thin, simply remove some of the oldest branches by pruning them down to the ground. Remove about a quarter to a third of the branches, selecting the oldest ones for elimination. When thinning, take care not to damage the nearby younger stems and foliage.
Next, cut back branches that are excessively long. Prune back to a lateral branch that is six to twelve inches below the desirable plant height, removing no more than a third of the stem. Cut each branch separately to different lengths with hand pruners. This will maintain a neat informal shrub with a natural shape. Plants sheared into various geometric shapes produce a formality not suitable for many modern, natural landscapes. Making pruning cuts down inside the canopy instead of on the outside edge will also hide unsightly pruning cuts.
Within the last several years, reflowering hydrangeas have found their way into the marketplace. Reflowering hydrangeas produce an initial flush of flowers followed by sporadic flowering or later flushes of flowers in the same growing season.
Endless Summer® Hydrangea is a reflowering hydrangea. It is very forgiving and will not suffer if left unpruned or pruned at the wrong time. In fact, young, recently planted shrubs are best left alone. Unlike other hydrangeas, your Endless Summer® will bloom on both old and new wood, branches that grew last year and the new branches from this year. Another unique feature is that this hydrangea will continue to set buds and bloom throughout the season. Deadheading, or removing the spent flowers will encourage continual blooming.
For more information, contact Theresa Friday at (850) 623-3868 or email tlfriday@ufl.edu. Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.
Wahoos Bounce Back With 4-2 Win
June 23, 2012
The Blue Wahoos bullpen worked 5.1 scoreless innings as Pensacola bounced back with a 4-2 win over the Chattanooga Lookouts to even their second half record at 1-1. Wahoos starter Tony Cingrani was lifted after just 3.2 innings after throwing 90 pitches and allowing two runs. Five Pensacola relievers followed him up by combining to shut down the Lookouts by allowing just four base runners the rest of the way.
Lookouts starting pitcher Ethan Martin put Chattanooga in front with an BRI single in the second scoring Brahiam Maldonado from third.
Pensacola was quick to answer with a run of their own in the top of the third. With two outs in the inning, David Vidal doubled home Brodie Greene from second to even the score.
Chattanooga struck again for the final time with a run in the fourth to move back in front 2-1. It was another two out hit, this time by Rafael Ynoa scoring Nick Buss from third, who led the inning off with a single.
The Blue Wahoos tied the game and took the lead with a pair of run in the seventh. It all started with a leadoff single by Brian Peacock. Didi Gregorius singled him home later in the inning for the tying run. Gregorius scored on a single by Brodie Greene a batter later to put the Wahoos in front. They added another insurance run an inning later but the combination or Mark Serrano (5-1), Clayton Tanner, Brian Pearl, Wilkin De La Rosa and Justin Freeman wouldn’t need it.
Pearl made his Double-A debut by working 1.1 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. Serrano was first in out of the bullpen and he went 1.1 innings allowing just a pair of hits. He got credit for the win in relief. Freeman pitched a perfect ninth to earn his third save of the season. Lookouts reliever Geison Aguasviva (2-5) took the loss after getting charged with two Wahoos runs, one earned, on three hits over 1.2 innings.
Offensively Ryan LaMarre (2-for-5), Gregorius (2-for-3, R, RBI), Greene (2-for-4, R, RBI) and Yordanys Perez (3-for-4, R) all had multi-hit contests leading to the Wahoos win.
By Tommy Thrall
Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
No Injuries In Quintette Trailer Fire
June 22, 2012
There were no injuries in a Friday afternoon fire that damaged a Quintette community mobile home.
The fire was reported about 2 p.m. on Stacey Road near Quintette Road.
The fire was believed to have originated in the kitchen of the single wide trailer. It was quickly brought under control by reponding fire units from Molino, Cantonment, Ensley and McDavid.
The residents of the trailer were not at home at the time of the blaze. There were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Pictured: Fire damaged this Stacey Road mobile home Friday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo , click to enlarge.
Local First Responder Killed In Motorcycle, Tractor Crash
June 22, 2012
A first responder was killed in a traffic accident Thursday afternoon south of Jay.
Nathan L. Berry, age 22 of Flomaton, died as a result of the 3:21 p.m. crash on Highway 89 north of Pineview Church Road.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Berry was northbound on a 2001 Yamaha motorcycle when he struck the left rear wheel of a mower implement attached to a 2005 John Deere tractor. The tractor, driven by 45-year old Grady Lane Faris of Brewton, was also northbound on Highway 89, partially on the paved side of the roadway and partially in the northbound travel lane.
Berry was transported from the scene to by AirHeart helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola where he later died. Berry was wearing a helmet, according to the crash report.
Charges against Faris are pending the outcome of an investigation, according to the FHP.
Berry, a certified firefighter and paramedic, dedicated his life to serving the public in emergency services. He was a former employee of Atmore Ambulance and was currently a supervisor for Lifeguard EMS in Santa Rosa County. He was a volunteer member of the Friendship Volunteer Fire Department near Flomaton, and was a firefighter for Escambia County Fire Rescue’s Century Station.
Friends said Berry was returning home after an working an EMS shift. He is survived by his wife, the former Tiffany Hanks of Bratt, a 14-month old daughter and has another child due in September.
School And District At Odds After Leak Damages Byrneville Elementary
June 22, 2012
A leaky roof caused damage inside the Byrneville Elementary School media center, and exactly who will pay for the repairs has become a point of contention between the school and the school district.
The damage happened during the weekend of June 9-10, the same weekend that flood waters caused damage to several school district properties in the Pensacola area. While parts of the Pensacola metro received up to two feet of rain, a WEAR Weathernet station located at Byrneville Elementary recorded 1.25 inches of rain on Saturday, June 9 and 3.56 inches of rain on Sunday, June 10.
The problem, according to Byrneville Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan was not flooding — it was rain pouring through the ceiling. Discovered on Monday when employees returned to work, the leak damaged ceilings, walls, carpets and bookshelves. The library’s materials collection was essentially unharmed, with the school losing about a dozen magazines. A computer lab located in the same portable building as the media center received little damage except for wet carpet.
As a charter school, Byrneville Elementary is different than most schools in the county. Byrneville — not the school district – is responsible for paying operational costs and is responsible for all of the physical contents at the school.
Upkeep and maintenance on campus buildings is the responsibility of the Escambia County School District, including what Superintendent Malcolm Thomas described as the “vintage portable” building housing the library.
But the problem lies with which party is responsible with replacing carpet in the building, and whether or not the leak was caused by poor maintenance on the building by the county, potentially making the district liable for damage to the school’s contents.
Shawn Dennis, the assistant superintendent of operations, said the school district responded after being notified of the leak. He said the district, per its contract with the charter school, will look at repairs needed to the building itself, including walls and electrical systems.
“We have a work order system, and we have been responsive to every work order on that building,” Dennis said Thursday morning during an Escambia County School Board workshop.
“Are we saying that we feel we have no responsibility? What else are we going to do?”, asked Bill Slayton, District 5 board member.
Dennis replied that he did not feel damage to the contents, including carpet, were the responsibility of the county school district.
“The carpet came with the building. It’s not like the bookcases that I could move,” Wolfe-Sullivan told the board. “I feel it is the district’s responsibility to take care of the carpet.”
Thomas said he was concerned not just about the current leak damage, but the overall status of the aging school complex.
“You’ve got a very old building; that building is not going to last forever,” he said. “We gave that building up a long time ago because it was not suitable.”
Thomas told Wolfe-Sullivan that he wants to hear plans for capital improvements at the school. “There’s got to be a better long term solution…we are going to have to think about the building and how you are going to house the students,” he added.
Wolfe-Sullivan said that the she has spoken with the Byrneville Elementary board of directors about building a new school, but that is not going to happen in the near future.
No action was taken by the school board concerning the leak at Thursday’s meeting. Instead, Wolfe-Sullivan, Dennis and other district employees will continue their negotiations.
In the meantime, Wolfe-Sullivan said she is just worried about having the building repaired by the time students return in August. And she maintains the carpet and perhaps her contents damage will ultimately be the responsibility of the school district.
“The building must not have been maintained properly if it leaked from just the rain we had,” she said. “I think the district is responsible.
Pictured top: Byrneville Elementary School Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan addresses the Escambia County School Board during a workshop meeting Thursday morning. Pictured top inset: Byrneville Elementary School. Pictured bottom inset: Congressman Jeff Miller speaks to students inside the now damaged Byrneville Elementary media center. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Woman Convicted Of First Degree Murder
June 22, 2012
An Escambia County woman was convicted Thursday of the 2010 fatal beating and burning of a 19-year old woman.
It took a jury only about an hour to return the first degree murder conviction of Tina Lasonya Brown, 41. Brown faces life in prison or the death penalty.
Brown is one of three women accused of brutally beating and burning 19-year old Audreanna Zimmerman in an Ensley field. Zimmerman lived for 16 days after the attack.
Man Upset Over Traffic Ticket Threatens To Blow Up Sheriff’s Office
June 22, 2012
An Escambia County man apparently upset over a traffic ticket was arrested Thursday for threatening to blow up the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Ronald Harrell, 23, received a ticket about 4 a.m. Thursday after running a red light at I-10 and Avalon Boulevard in Milton. After receiving his ticket, deputies said Harrell drove to a nearby residence and called 911 five times, using profanity in reference to the traffic ticket.
Deputies were dispatched to the home from which Harrell was making the 911 calls. According to an arrest report, he then began to rant about the ticket and that he was “not going to stand for it”. He then said he was going to get three deputies, blow up the Sheriff’s Office and then kill himself. “Somebody has to make a statement over this injustice,” he said, according to the report.
Harrell was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail for threatening to discharge a destructive device and misuse of 911. His bond was set at $20,500.
Photo: Giant, Two Ton Cow
June 22, 2012
A giant, 13-foot tall, 2-ton cow paid a visit to the Tom Thumb in Molino Thursday afternoon. The beefy Holstein’s visit was part of a Turkey Hill brand promotional tour with free ice cream and lemonade, and free prizes in a spin game.
Pictured above: Gracen Brook, Danny Baity and Kylie Brook pose with a giant Turkey Hill cow Thursday afternoon at the Molino Tom Thumb. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
UWF Tuition Hiked 14 Percent; Other State Universities Going Up Too
June 22, 2012
A 14 percent tuition increase for the University of West Florida was approved Thursday by the Florida Board of Governors of the State University System.
But UWF is not alone in higher education rate hikes in Florida, with 11 of the state’s 12 public universities following a chaotic meeting that featured changing votes and shifting coalitions.
Only four universities — Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, New College and the University of Central Florida — won approval for the full 15 percent allowed under the state’s “differential tuition” law; eight had originally requested it. The University of West Florida got 14 percent; Florida State University and the University of North Florida won approval for 13 percent; and Florida A&M University got 12 percent.
Florida Gulf Coast University, which requested 14 percent, also got 12 percent. The University of South Florida got the 11 percent increase it requested, while the University of Florida got the 9 percent boost it asked for. The new Florida Polytechnic University did not make a tuition request.
Board members spent about two hours debating the changes, and some university presidents were left wondering whether to use a so-far unused appeals process to try to get the board to change its mind.
The voting showed the extent and limit of Gov. Rick Scott’s influence on the board. Scott has long said he wants to hold tuition down. While the increases were less than what several universities asked for, Scott issued a statement afterward saying he was disappointed with the result.
“It is my priority to keep the cost of living low for Floridians and have an education system that produces the most competitive, highly skilled workforce in the world,” Scott said. “And I expect our universities and the Board of Governors to seek those same goals.”
Scott has the power to appoint or reappoint most of the members of the board.
Board Chairman Dean Colson, though, said he believed Scott’s concerns clearly resonated with some board members. No university had ever lost a differential request before Thursday.
“You’re crazy not to listen to what your governor has to say,” Colson said. “He’s the governor.”
Board members opposed to the larger increases said they were concerned about the effects of boosting tuition during a down economy, especially after three years of across-the-board 15 percent increases.
“Today is about a family that has been going through a recession, and we have continuously been beating on them and giving them a 15 percent increase,” said Vice Chairman Mori Hosseini.
Others countered that the increases were necessary to offset years of lagging state funding for higher education, including a $300 million reduction for this year that lawmakers have said will be a one-time cut.
And they said that rejecting the increases could lead to reductions in a number of courses that students need to graduate — causing those students to stay in school longer.
“The worst thing we can do is not have adjunct professors, not have professors, not have associate professors, and not have course sections, so these students can’t graduate,” said board member Tico Perez. “That’s a tuition increase — half a year out of their life, a year out of their life, a year out of the workforce.”
The News Service Florida contributed to this report.