Extension Service Schedules Annual Green Thumb Festival
October 3, 2011
Escambia County Extension Services will hold the annual Green Thumb Festival on Saturday, October 8, from 8 a.m. until noon at the Extension office, 3740 Stefani Road in Cantonment.
Local master gardeners will discuss and demonstrate gardening techniques that will enhance fall and winter gardens. Special features will include demonstrations on butterfly gardens, raised beds, pruning and planting. The festival will also consist of a plant clinic, activities for the kids and the McGuire’s Pipe Band.
Master gardeners and local vendors will have plants and garden accessories available for purchase.
For more information contact Beth Bolles at (850) 475-5230 or email bbolles@ufl.edu.
New Budget Year Begins, $371 Million For Escambia, $5 Million For Century
October 2, 2011
Saturday was day one of a new budget year for Escambia County and also for the Town of Century.
For Escambia County, the total budget is $371.3 million. That’s down $6 million (1.6 percent) from the current 2010-11 budget of $377.3 million, and down $87.5 million (19 percent) from five years ago. Property tax rates are below the rolled back rate. [Read more...]
For Century, the 2011-2012 budget is up almost $1.7 million from last year — thanks to $1.9 million in grants. The $5,032,816 budget includes grant income and expenditures of $1,913,000. The grant funds are from state and federal sources — not local revenue or taxes. There will be no increase in ad valorem taxes in Century this year to meet this year’s budget. [Read more...]
Thousands Attend Jay Peanut Festival (With Photo Gallery)
October 2, 2011
The 22nd annual Jay Peanut Festival attracted thousands to the Gabbert Farm this past weekend.
For a photo gallery, click here.
For more than 20 years, the Jay Peanut Festival at the Gabbert Farm has been a fall tradition on the Gulf Coast — showcasing the history, agriculture, food and fun of Santa Rosa County. What started as a chance for local kids and farmers to show off their best of the season has become an annual event covering 15 acres and drawing about 70,000 people over two days.
The event included the 1930s Farm Museum, food booths, dozens of arts and crafts vendors, pony rides, games and fun. There were more than 150 vendors in all.
The Jay Peanut Festival was also a chance to try all varieties of peanuts – boiled, green, fried, candied and more.
Pictured top: Tens of thousands of peopled visited the Jay Peanut Festival on Saturday. Pictured inset: A Jay Volunteer Fire Department member serves up boiled peanuts. Pictured below: Bruce Byrd of YardenArt in Milton displays planter/party coolers made from recycled tires and rims Saturday. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
18 Middle School Students Named Take Stock in Children Scholars
October 2, 2011
Eighteen seventh grade students have been introduced as the newest Take Stock in Children scholars. Take Stock is a statewide program that operates locally under the Escambia County Public Schools Foundation.
The students will receive a Take Stock in Children four-year tuition scholarship when they graduate from high school, as long as they maintain good grades, have a record of attendance and display good citizenship, as well as remaining crime and drug free. Donations from community businesses, organizations, individuals and foundations are used to purchase scholarships using matching funds from the Florida Prepaid College Foundation. The program includes weekly meetings at school with a community mentor.
The newest Take Stock in Children scholars are Legacy Byers and Juliana Cunningham, Bailey Middle School; Tristan Helfritz and Meghan Hermance, Bellview Middle; Si’Miah Johnson and Selena Williams, Brown-Barge Middle; Alston Wiggins, Ernest Ward Middle; Deonna Lewis and De’Aja Woods, Ferry Pass Middle; Ashley Frye and Sue Ann Tucker, Ransom Middle; Jervae Cannon and Darin Rudolph Redick, Warrington Middle; Quadell Evans, Kaitlyn Negron and Maria Silva, Woodham Middle; and Taylor Lopes and Krislyn Yoakum, Workman Middle.
Dobson Takes Eighth In Disney Half Marathon
October 2, 2011
Matt Dobson of Jay finished eighth overall in the second annual Disney World Wine & Dine Half-Marathon Saturday night at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando.
Dobson, 42, finished the 13.1 mile course through Walt Disney World in 01:19:42. First place went to Anton Van Zyl of Fort Lauderdale with a time of 01:13:14.
Another area runner, Steve Harris of Pensacola, finished 19th overall with a time of 01:26:07.
There were more than 12,500 runners that took part in the night course, which began at 10 p.m. Eastern.
Dobson, a graduate of Jay High School, holds the distinction of being the only American to win the Disney World Marathon Championship with a first place finish in 2004. He finished the 2004 Boston Marathon 49th overall out of 20,000 runners and was the 16th fastest American.
Last year, Dobson finished the inaugural Disney World Wine & Dine Half-Marathon in second place.
Homemakers Craft Flower Pens For Molino Park Teachers
October 2, 2011
The Molino Homemakers made flower pens at a recent meeting to present to the teachers at Molino Park Elementary School.
Club member Terri Brown explains how to make your own flower pens as demonstrated by club member Frances Cheney:
- Depending on how many pens you would like to make will determine how many bouquets of flowers to buy.
- Ink pens and green floral tape will also be needed.
- Cut the tops of the flowers off leaving about 3 inches of stem below the flower.
- Approximately nine inches of floral tape will be used to wrap the flowers to the pen.
- Starting at the top, place flower against the pen and start wrapping the stem with floral tap until the stem is covered.
The Molino Homemakers meet on the first Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Molino. The next meeting will be October 5 . Visitors are welcome; dues are $5 per year.
Pictured top: Flower pens created by the Molino Homemakers Club for teachers at Molino Park Elementary School. Pictured inset: Molino Park teacher Rachel Venable with her flower pen. Submitted photos by Terri Brown for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weekend Gardening: Time To Plant Those Fall Vegetables
October 2, 2011
The slightest hint of fall is in the air. But this doesn’t mean that the vegetable gardening season is over. Fall is an excellent time to grow cool-season vegetables.
Florida is unique in that we have multiple growing seasons. There is something that can be grown in the vegetable garden all year round. Knowing which vegetables to grow during which season is the key to having a successful harvest.
In the summer, gardeners are somewhat limited in the different types of warm-season vegetables that can be grown and will survive the heat. Now with cooler days approaching, we have a much wider selection of cool-season vegetables to plant.
In September many vegetables can be planted in the garden including beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, mustard, onions and radish. In October, you can plant Chinese cabbage, spinach and strawberries.
These vegetables are best started from transplants but many can be direct-seeded. If you seed them directly into the soil, keep the ground moist while it’s still warm to give them a good start. Keep them well watered if you transplant, too. The later you start, the smarter it becomes to transplant to cut the time to maturity. Preparing the garden properly is as important as selecting the right plants.
Choose a sunny location. Most vegetables perform poorly in shade. An area that receives at least eight hours of sunlight per day is best. Some vegetables such as broccoli, collards and spinach will tolerate partial shade. Avoid locating your garden near hedges or trees. They not only create too much shade but also compete with the garden for moisture and nutrients.
Locating the garden near the house will make it easier to periodically check the garden for insect pests and disease. And, it is easier to keep an eye on the garden for larger pests such as birds, squirrels and rabbits. Closeness to the house will make it convenient in tending to the garden chores.
Locate the garden near a water supply so it can be watered as needed. You’ll get only moderate results if you try to grow a garden without supplemental irrigation.
Of course, it’s important to prepare beds properly before planting. To do that, clear the site of all weeds or finished vegetable plants. Turn the soil with a shovel, fork or tiller to a depth of at least 8 inches, and spread a 2-inch to 4-inch layer of organic matter (leaves, grass clippings, aged manure or compost) over the tilled soil. This helps to maintain a high level of organic matter in the soil, which encourages a strong, healthy root system, improves drainage, retains moisture, provides nutrients and promotes vigorous plant growth.
Mix the organic matter thoroughly into the soil. Turn the soil by digging with a shovel, garden fork or a tiller until the materials you’ve added are evenly distributed in the soil. When using fresh organic amendments, it’s best to wait a couple of weeks before planting your transplants or seeds.
By this time of year, insects and diseases have had all summer to build up their populations. Insects such as whiteflies, stink bugs, aphids and caterpillars are commonly seen. Since insect and disease pressure often is greater in the late summer/early fall than in the spring, watch plants carefully for problems and use appropriate control measures promptly when needed. Contact your local Extension Office for control recommendations.
Circuit Judge Blocks Florida Prison Privatization Plans
October 2, 2011
A Leon County circuit judge Friday has blocked a plan to privatize 29 prison facilities, ruling that lawmakers violated the Florida Constitution by approving the changes in the fine print of the state budget.
Judge Jackie Fulford’s ruling had an immediate effect: The Department of Corrections suspended Tuesday’s scheduled opening of bid proposals from companies that want to run the prisons.
Fulford, in a six-page order, said the constitution required lawmakers to change state law or use an already-existing department review process before privatizing the prisons. Instead, legislative leaders put the privatization plan in budget fine print, known as proviso language.
“Based on the record before it, this court concludes that if it is the will of the Legislature to itself initiate privatization of Florida prisons, as opposed to DOC (initiating it), the Legislature must do so by general law, rather than ‘using the hidden recesses of the General Appropriations Act,’ ” Fulford wrote, partially quoting a decades-old Supreme Court ruling.
Fulford’s order was a victory for the Florida Police Benevolent Association, which along with three correctional officers, challenged the plan this summer. The PBA has long fought prison privatization efforts, which eliminate state jobs.
“You’ve got 4,000 officers today (who) just breathed a sigh of relief,” PBA Executive Director Matt Puckett said shortly after Fulford released the opinion Friday morning.
An appeal is widely expected, though Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said officials were studying the ruling and “determining our options.” The department is the defendant in the lawsuit, though the Legislature approved the privatization plan.
House and Senate leaders also indicated they were reviewing the ruling. But Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and House Appropriations Chairwoman Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring, disputed arguments that legislative leaders put the prisons plan in the proviso language with little scrutiny.
“The bottom line is that the language was approved through a public and transparent process,” Grimsley said in an e-mail. “Any accounts that the language was placed into proviso at the last minute are incorrect.”
Haridopolos said, in part, that the Senate’s budget proposal included proviso language about privatizing prisons before negotiations with the House began.
“Later, that proviso language was amended during the normal conference (negotiating) process — completely in the sunshine,” Haridopolos said in a statement released by his office. “It was not, as some reports have indicated, added in at the 11th hour of the legislative session.”
Puckett said the PBA had heard rumblings earlier about privatization but didn’t expect the plan to be so far-reaching. He described Fulford’s ruling as a “pretty strong condemnation on how they did this.”
Similarly, St. Petersburg Rep. Darryl Rouson, the ranking Democrat on the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee, said a “full and fair debate is necessary” on privatization issues.
“Today’s ruling reaffirms that it is entirely inappropriate for legislative leaders to avoid a thorough debate about a controversial issue like prison privatization by tucking it in the fine print of the state budget,” Rouson said in a prepared statement.
The proviso language offered a roadmap to privatize prisons, work camps and other types of correctional facilities in 18 counties across the southern part of the state.
Jonathan Glogau, chief of complex litigation in the Attorney General’s Office, argued during a hearing Thursday that the proviso language did not ensure that privatization would occur.
The language called for the Department of Corrections to solicit proposals from private companies and then submit a plan to the Legislative Budget Commission by Dec. 1. If approved by the commission, the proviso said the department “may” award a contract to a private company.
But Fulford did not appear to buy that argument, writing that the proviso language “mandates that DOC privatize numerous facilities in a single procurement.”
Also, she said lawmakers did not follow a privatization process that already is in state law. That process gives the Department of Corrections a major role in doing analyses and deciding whether to move forward with privatization.
By Jim Saunders
The News Service of Florida
Birth: Lawyer James Sims
October 2, 2011
Wes and Kelly Sims of Uriah are proud to announce the birth of Lawyer James Sims. Lawyer was born on Wednesday, June 29, 2011, at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola at 9:02 a.m. He weighed 8-pounds, 3-ounces and was 21 inches long.
Lawyer is the grandson of Billy and Dorthy Sims of McDavid, and Charles “Chuck” and Gayle Aldridge of Century. He is the great-grandson of the late Alton Thomas and Annie Lou Sims of McDavid, Mildred Croley and the late Raymond Croley of Century, the late Leon Aldridge of Prattville, AL, Louise Gardner of Prattville, and the late James Oliver “Pete” and Mary Mathis of Century.
Lawyer was welcomed home by his two big brothers Lane and Layton and his big sister Laurel.
Sheriff’s Office, Animal Control Seize Dozens Of Farm Animals
October 1, 2011
Authorities seized dozens of farm animals from the Cottage Hill community Friday.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office livestock officer removed about 20 goats, three horses and a miniature pony from a lot located in the 900 block of Williams Ditch Road, near Chavers Road. Escambia County Animal Control removed numerous animals — including ducks, chickens and a potbellied pig — from the property.
“We had been working on this case for quite a while,” said Diane Lowery, president of Panhandle Equine Rescue.
An Escambia County spokesperson said the property owner, Jiles Moorer, could be facing animal cruelty and abandonment charges because of the health of the animals. The case remains under review by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office.
For more photos from the scene, click here.
Pictured: Dozens of animals were seized from a lot on Williams Ditch Road in the Cottage Hill area Friday. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.