Escambia Health Dept. Launches Healthy Choices Restaurant Program
March 20, 2012
The Escambia County Health Department, in partnership with local restaurants, has launched the Healthy Choices Restaurant Program. This program aims to provide Escambia County residents and visitors with more options for making healthy decisions when dining away from home.
Restaurants that offer Healthy Choice Options will be recognized and promoted in the community as a Healthy Choices Restaurant. Nine local restaurants have already stepped up to the plate to participate in the program. Participating restaurants must be locally owned, and must agree to offer and promote at least three of the Healthy Choices Options for adult and child entrees.
The Healthy Choice Options are:
- Take Half Home- box half of a customer’s meal, upon their request before it is served,
- Healthy Substitutions- offer healthy alternatives, such as steamed vegetables or salads, to fries and similar high calorie side items,
- Cook to Order- allow customers to request items to be grilled, steamed, or roasted instead of fried,
- Complimentary Items Require Your Request- bring complimentary items, such as chips or bread, to customers’ tables only when requested, and
- Post Nutritional Information- provide basic nutritional information for customers to review before choosing a menu item.
Currently, six out of ten Escambia County adults and one out of four children are obese or overweight, according to Florida Health Statistics and Community Health Data. In an effort to reduce these high obesity rates, the program encourages families to change their behavior while dining out simply by choosing healthy options.
“With over one-third of family meals consumed away from home, the ability to select healthy options at restaurants can make a big difference in the total number of calories and fat consumed, “says Versilla Turner, registered dietitian and director of the Community Health Education and Nutrition division at the Escambia County Health Department. “We encourage more restaurants to join the program to make healthier dining experiences more widely available.”
A Healthy Choices Restaurant logo is displayed at the entrance of each participating restaurant. The first restaurants to commit to the program include Captain Joey Patti’s Seafood Deli, Dog House Deli, H20, Lillo’s Tuscan Grille, Lost Treasure Grill, Nacho Daddies, Native Café, Portabello Market, and Wildman’s.
Body Found In Escambia Bay Tentatively Identified
March 19, 2012
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office has made a tentative identification of the body found floating in Escambia Bay on Saturday.
The body had a GPS ankle monitor attached to it, which led investigators to the tentative identification. The GPS manufacturer was able to check the serial numbers assigned to the unit, and found that it was registered and assigned to Patrick Willingham, 29, from Pensacola.
Willingham was on GPS monitoring through State Probation in Escambia County due to his being a registered sex offender. The GPS ankle monitor was intact on Willingham and had not been tampered with at the time of his discovery.
Willingham was reported missing to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office on December 22 by his family after his vehicle was discovered abandoned on the I-10 Escambia Bay Bridge by the Florida Highway Patrol on December 21. Willingham’s family was also concerned due to some recent comments that Willingham had made and believed that he was depressed.
Willingham’s GPS monitor last transmitted at 9:00 on December 20 from the top of the Escambia Bay Bridge. At that time, State Probation received a notification that Willingham had traveled too far away from his base unit, which was found located inside his vehicle. Once Willingham’s ankle monitor was out of range from the base unit, the ankle monitor could not be tracked. Willingham had not been heard from or seen since that time.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit checked the area by boat on December 22 with no result. On December, Fish and Wildlife was contacted and also checked the waterways for signs of Willingham. This was also met with negative results.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is continuing the investigation, however foul play is not suspected at this time. A positive identification will have to be confirmed through further analysis of the remains.
Everyone Wins: Welcome To The Miracle League
March 19, 2012
Every game ends in a tie. Every player hits; every player scores. There are no strikeouts, no errors. Everybody wins.
Welcome to the Miracle League.
Olivia Bush, 8, of Cantonment is blind, able to see just a little light with her left eye. She suffered frequent seizures until a portion of her brain was removed in February of 2010 at Miami Children’s Hospital. During the surgery, doctors removed a seven centimeter portion of her brain — basically taking out the bad, non-functioning portion and leaving behind the good, healthy tissue. She has been seizure-free since and has become much more independent.
But Saturday morning on the Miracle League field on Nine Mile Road, Olivia (pictured left) was just a regular kid…playing first base and, with the help of a buddy, getting a strong hit toward center field.
“It means a lot to Olivia to be able to participate in a sport,” mom Amber Bush said as she watched Olivia play. “It means a lot to us as parents to see her play.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
“I still tear up at times,” Miracle League volunteer Packy Mitchell said Saturday morning as he watched the kids of the Miracle League.
It’s a baseball league for disabled and special needs persons of all ages. Some of the players are in wheelchairs and walkers. Some handicaps are mental, some are physical. It’s a place for miracles.
In the end, the first game of the year between the Rockies and the Phillies was tied, just as every game has ended in a tie for the past 11 seasons. The stats for each of the 100 plus players will be the same at the end of the season — perfect.
Players and volunteers come from not just Pensacola, but Mobile, Crestview, Brewton and points in between. Everybody is a volunteer that participates with the Miracle League. The are paid only in smiles.
“On my Saturdays this time of the year, I’m here,” Mitchell said. “It’s the best thing for kids that I’ve every been totally involved in.”
“The smiles on their faces just makes it all worth it,” he added.
Each of the two Pensacola Miracle League fields is made up of 180,000 pounds of recycled tires formed into tiles painted to match a regular field. It provides a softer landing spot for a hard fall, while still providing a good bounce for the hollow core ball that is also designed to lesson injury potential.
The Miracle League needs more volunteers to serve as buddies, work the concession booth, pickup trash and many more tasks around their area of the Nine Mile Road ballpark.
The public is always welcome and encouraged to cheer on the players.
For more information on Miracle League, or to volunteer, visit www.miracleleaguepensacola.org.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured top: A buddy helps a Miracle League of Pensacola player take a swing at the ball Saturday morning. Pictured top inset: Olivia Bush of Cantonment, who is blind, up to bat for the Diamondbacks. Pictured bottom inset: A player for the Cubs scores. Pictured below: A Miracle League player watches the ball while playing catch in the dugout. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Is Freezing Weather Gone? History Says – Maybe Not
March 19, 2012
High’s in the 80’s are becoming the afternoon norm along the Gulf Coast. Spring begins Tuesday. Does that mean that the threat of freezing weather is over? No necessarily, if history is any indicator.
Here’s a look at the average and the record last freeze dates for select weather stations across the area:
Pensacola
- Average: February 22
- Record: 3-27-55
Jay
- Average: March 7
- Record: 4-11-73
Atmore
- Average: March 11
- Record: 4-13-40
Brewton
- Average: March 30
- Record: 4-30-92
Source: National Weather Service
Spring Break Weather: Sunny Start, Rain Later
March 19, 2012
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- This Afternoon: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. South wind between 10 and 15 mph.
- Tonight: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Breezy, with a southeast wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
- Tuesday Night: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 59. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Wednesday: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 82. Breezy, with a southeast wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
- Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. Southeast wind between 5 and 15 mph.
- Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. South wind around 5 mph.
- Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. South wind around 5 mph.
- Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.
- Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 81.
- Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 58.
- Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.
Photos: Rodney Atkins, Travis Tritt At Beulahfest
March 19, 2012
Thousands attended the annual Beulahfest over the weekend. Friday night, Travis Tritt headlined the event, with Rodney Atkins the featured entertainment Saturday night.
For a photo gallery from Day 2 with Rodney Atkins, click here.
For a photo gallery from Day 1 with Travis Tritt, click here.
The festival Friday and Saturday featured not only great music, but plenty of fun, rides, and of course those delicious sausages. Beulahfest attracts thousands each year, with proceeds benefiting the Beulah Volunteer Fire Department and other local charities.
Pictured above: Rodney Atkins performs Saturday night. Pictured below: Grammy Award winning country star Travis Tritt performs Friday night at Beulahfest. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith/Kennedys Photography, click to enlarge.
Elections Office To Provide Outreach Services In North Escambia
March 19, 2012
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David Stafford will hold an outreach event to give North Escambia residents a chance to verify and update their voter information, register to vote, pick up a voter guide or become a poll worker.
Staff from the elections office will be in Century on Thursday at two locations:
- 9-11 a.m. — Century Care Center, 6020 Industrial Boulevard, in the Activity Room
- 1-3 p.m. — Century Branch Library, 7991 North Century Boulevard
Florida residents 18 years of age and older can register to vote, change their address, update their signature, change party affiliation and sign up to vote by mail. Individuals 16 or 17 years old can preregister to vote.
The elections staff will also have poll worker applications available. Poll workers are hired and trained to work Election Day at precincts throughout Escambia County. “Standby” workers are also needed in the event that someone is unable to serve at the last minute.
For more information about outreach opportunities or serving as a poll worker, contact the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections office at (850) 595-3900.
Tate Trumpet Player Places Fourth In The Nation
March 19, 2012
A Tate High School senior was named the nation’s fourth best high school trumpet player Sunday afternoon in Washington, D.C.
Chris Snyder took fourth among high school players in National Trumpet Competition.
Each year, candidates from across the nation submit a video audition of themselves performing a difficult classical composition. He was one of 30 high school students selected out of hundreds of applicants who auditioned for the opportunity.
Snyder was able to attend Master Classes led by artists the likes of Doc Severinsen, longtime band leader for the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and various other trumpet professional players from top symphonies across the United States.
Snyder, the son of Mark and Sonya Snyder, is a member of the Celebration Orchestra at Olive Baptist Church. For the past six years, he has studied trumpet privately from Darryl Evans and Tom Savage, both faculty members at Olive’s School of Performing Arts.
Pictured: Chris Snyder practices at the Olive Baptist Church School of the Performing Arts. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Portion Of Jefferson Avenue To Close
March 19, 2012
A portion of Jefferson Avenue is Century is expected to be closed Tuesday and remain closed for 10 days.
Jefferson Avenue will be closed from the Barnwell Lane intersection and east about 200 feet beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday. The closure is due to the Jefferson Avenue and Pond Street drainage improvement project.
The road is expected to re-open by 5 p.m. on March 30.
Jim Allen 1st Graders Present ‘BUGZ’
March 19, 2012
First grade students at Jim Allen Elementary School recently presented the musical “BUGZ” with plenty of singing and dancing. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
