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Have A Holly Jolly – Century Care Residents Celebrate Christmas

The Christmas season has been a busy and exiting time at the Century Care Center.

For a Century Care Center Christmas photo gallery, click here.

“We want to express our appreciation for this wonderful community, and all they do for our residents. I thought times would be tough, due to the economy. People were more generous than ever with their time and gifts. A big thank you from staff and residents at Century Care Center to all the generous and caring members of our community,” Mae Hildreth, Century Care activities director, said recently.

There were lots of gifts provided by the community and staff, a visit with Santa Claus and a big Christmas party. Century Care Center has also been visited during the Christmas season by many carolers and other visitors with cards and other gifts.

Pictured above and below: Celebrating Christmas as the Century Care Center. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Christmas Recipes: Rice Krispie Treats, Oatmeal Cookies, Hot Chocolate

We are continuing our Christmas recipe series today with some family time favorites.

Today’s recipes include Traditional Oatmeal Cookies, Crockpot Candy and Rice Krispie Treats — perfect recipes for the family to make together. And what would Christmas be without Hot Chocolate? Our quick and easy recipe can easily be increased to make enough for everyone, plus it’s easy to include some extra cocoa powder for a deeper, darker treat.

To submit your recipes to share with our readers, email them to news@northescambia.com.

Crock Pot Candy
submitted by Brooke Mixon

• 16 oz Salted Peanuts
• 16 oz UnSalted Peanuts
• 4 oz German Chocolate Bark
• 1 pkg Almond Chocolate Bark
• 1 pkg Butterscotch Morsels

Put all ingredients into crock pot. Cook on low for 2 hours. Do not stir or open lid. After 2 hours, turn off crock pot, stir candy and drop in clusters onto wax paper. Let cool and enjoy. This recipe will make 70-90 pieces of candy, depending on the size.

Traditional Oatmeal Cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 3 cups of Quaker Oats (Quick)
• 1 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Slowly stir in oats. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto an ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute on sheet, remove to wire rack.

Rice Krispie Treats

• 1/4 cup butter
  1 (10 oz., about 40) pkg. regular marshmallows or 3 cups miniature marshmallows
  6 cups Kellogg’s Rice Krispies cereal

In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows and continue to stir until the marshmallows have completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in the Kellogg’s Rice Krispies cereal coating them well with the melted marshmallow mixture. Using a buttered or silicone spatula, press the mixture evenly into a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan which has been buttered or sprayed with non-stick spray or lined with wax paper. Cut into squares when the mixture cools. Makes 24 squares.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS:

Microwave butter with marshmallows on high setting for 2 minutes in a microwave safe mixing bowl. Stir together when melted. Microwave again on high for 1 additional minute. Stir in cereal, mixing until well coated. Press into pan as above.

Hot Chocolate

• 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
  2 tbsp. sugar
  2 tbsp. water
  1 c. milk
  a bit of vanilla, if desired

Combine cocoa, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Heat it on low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the paste from sticking to the pan. After about 1 to 2 minutes, add milk and vanilla. Mix it all together until it reaches your preferred temperature.

Panhandle Roads Could Get A Little Icy

Florida Division of Emergency Management officials are urging all residents and visitors to take extreme precaution this holiday weekend when traveling on roadways as a complex weather system will bring freezing temperatures and rain to parts of Northern Florida.

“The Sunshine State doesn’t often experience the combination of cold temperatures and rain,” said Director David Halstead of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. “Therefore it is extremely important that travelers take extra precautions during this cold weather event, in case the rain causes icy roadways and hazardous driving conditions.”

A low pressure system will develop over the Northern Gulf of Mexico on Saturday and move quickly to the northeast across North Florida throughout the day. This will bring a cold front and rain through North Florida Saturday and through the Peninsula on Sunday. There is a chance in the Panhandle that this rain could freeze late Saturday night into early Sunday morning and produce black ice on roadways.

Halstead offered these safety tips for those traveling in North Florida over the holiday weekend:

• If conditions become hazardous, slow down and leave extra space between your car and the car in front of you.
• Stay on main roads and avoid back road shortcuts.
• Watch for icy surfaces on bridges. Even when the rest of the road seems to be in good condition, bridge decks will ice up first.
• Never use cruise control functions if it is raining or sleeting.
• Prepare your vehicle by topping off wiper fluid, checking tire air pressure as colder weather lowers pressure, and keep your fuel tank at least half full.
• If your vehicle does pass over ice, try to remain calm and do not overreact. Allow the vehicle to decelerate, but do not brake. Steer as straight as possible, and once you have traction, brake slowly.
• Tune into your radio, television or NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio for weather reports and emergency information.

Fire Destroys Large Shed; Nearby Barn Saved

Fire destroyed a large storage shed Friday morning in Molino, but firefighters were able to save an adjacent barn.

The blaze, which was believed to have been started by embers from a nearby trash fire, was reported about 9:15 a.m. on Crabtree Church Road just off Highway 97. The shed was a total loss, but there was little damage to the nearby barn.

There were no injuries reported.

The Molino, Cantonment, McDavid, Century and Walnut Hill stations of Escambia Fire Rescue were dispatched to the blaze.

Pictured above and below: Fire destroyed a shed in Molino Friday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

‘Squirrel Boy’ Convicted Of Selling Pot To Informant

A Century man known by law enforcement as “Squirrel Boy” has been found guilty on felony charges that he sold drugs from his front porch to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office informant.

Eric Quincy Allen, 42, was found guilty on two counts of marijuana possession with the intent to sell by an Escambia County jury. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and his driver’s license was revoked for two years by Judge Paul Rasmussen. He will also be required to perform 50 hours of community service and will be on probation for
two years, according to court records. Allen was given 30 days to report to jail to begin his sentence.

According to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Allen was sitting on his porch at his Salter’s Lake Road home when he sold marijuana to the informant in April, 2010.

Rain For Christmas, Turning Much Colder

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

• Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 33. Calm wind.
• Christmas Day: Rain, mainly after noon. High near 51. Calm wind becoming north between 10 and 15 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
• Saturday Night: Rain likely, mainly before 9pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 29. North wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 44. Wind chill values between 20 and 30. Breezy, with a north wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
• Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Monday: Sunny, with a high near 47. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 22. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
• Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 52. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
• Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 27. Calm wind.
• Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 58.
• Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.
• Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67.
• Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53.
• Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68.

Escambia Property Tax Discount Ends Next Week

If you want a three percent discount when paying your Escambia County real estate and tangible personal property taxes, you must make your payment by December 31.

All four tax collector offices will be open normal business hours on Friday, December 31, according to Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley.

In order to receive the three percent discount and have your tax payment posted with a December date, payment must be:

• received in the tax collector’s office by close of business December 31;
• made on the tax collector’s web site by midnight December 31; or
• made on the after-hours automated telephone (800) 601-1055 by midnight December 31.

In addition, payments mailed with a December 31 postmark or left in the tax collector’s 24‑hour drop boxes after hours on December 31 will receive the three discount but will be dated in January.

You may check the status of your taxes and pay online at www.escambiataxcollector.com. If you have any questions, call the tax collector’s office at 438-6500, ext. 252. (TTY users for the hearing impaired call 850-472-0031.)

Scott’s Plan For New Business Could Cost You On Your Electric Bill

With Gov.-elect Rick Scott promising to save businesses a stunning $3.2 billion on their electric bills, consumer groups are bracing for a fight, fearing his plan will push higher costs onto residential customers.

Scott’s advisers are already floating the idea of an “economic development rate,” for corporations that agree to relocate to Florida or expand businesses within the state. The level of utility cost savings would be tied to job creation, under the plan.

But Florida’s four big investor-owned utilities would not have to absorb the rate reduction – or ask investors to pick up the tab, said those familiar with the proposal. Instead, rate reductions given these companies would be offset by higher charges imposed on a utility’s overall rate base – with residential customers shouldering most of the costs.

“What’s good for businesses is going to be too bad for consumers,” said Bill Newton, executive director of the Florida Consumer Action Network. “The only thing we can hope for is that a rate increase can backfire on legislators, and they may not want to get involved in it.”

With Scott still almost two weeks from taking office, communications director Brian Burgess wouldn’t comment on the rate plan. But utility industry officials briefed on the plan by members of Scott’s economic development transition team say the proposal is designed to help him reach a central goal of his campaign: creating 700,000 jobs over the next seven years.

It also would help Scott meet a campaign pledge to “address Florida’s relatively expensive electricity costs so businesses could save approximately $3.25 billion,” part of the Republican candidate’s regulatory reform platform.

Tampa Electric Co., (TECO) and Florida Power & Light, two of the state’s largest publicy-held utilities, were among the top contributors to Florida political campaigns this fall, with each giving more than $1.2 million, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

While offering an economic development rate could help Scott meet his business cost-cutting goal – some steps also are likely to emerge to help existing Florida companies that can’t offer the lure of job creation.

“We’ve got to come up with some ways to incentivize businesses,” said Rep. Clay Ford, R-Gulf Breeze, chairman of the House Energy and Utilities Subcommittee. “But we also know that we’ve got to be able to afford them.”

Mark Wilson, president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said he is familiar with the concept behind the economic development rate, but had not been briefed by Scott’s team. Wilson, though, said the idea of asking residential customers to pay more, while reducing costs for businesses, was defensible.

“If we find out that residential customers pay lower rates and businesses pay more – that’s not fair,” Wilson said. “But if they pay a little more and that contributes to their community and brings jobs that generate revenue….then it could benefit everyone.”

Such an approach seems to be at the heart of the recommendations released Wednesday night by Scott’s transition advisers. State utilities, particularly Florida Power & Light, emerged as some of the biggest winners in the economic development push.

Scott advisers said FPL and other utilities should be free from regulatory limits to significantly generate more power from renewable energy. FPL’s Sam Forrest, vice-president of energy marketing and trading, helped craft the recommendations, which borrow heavily from the company’s own push to expand its use of solar and other alternative energy sources.

The transition team cited an industry report that claims 700 megawatts of additional renewable power could yield $8.1 billion in economic activity and 40,000 new jobs. Homeowners, though, will likely be asked to pay more for this increase.

Advisers said a survey conducted in association with Florida TaxWatch, the business-backed advocacy organization, found “more than 70 percent of Floridians believe that paying a dollar or more on their monthly utility bill is reasonable for renewable energy generation.”

“It could really attract industry,” Mark Bubriski, an FPL spokesman, said of the expanded renewable effort. “You could bring costs down for the solar industry and for companies. And it would eventually lower costs for homeowners, too.”

The economic development rate being shopped around could pit residential customers against businesses. But with Scott, businesses appear likely to get an edge because they carry the added political muscle of creating jobs.

“There’s a lot of money, potentially, on the table if this goes statewide,” said Barry Moline, executive director of the Florida Municipal Electric Association. “Sure, residential customers may pay a little bit more money. But in the end, they also might have the benefit of more jobs.”

Miller: Congressional Democrats Deaf To Voice Of People

In his latest newsletter, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller discusses the 111th Congress.

The following was submitted by Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Chumuckla for NorthEscambia.com:

On November 2, the American people spoke loud and clear. Their voices were heard from coast to coast, and the message was an overwhelming repudiation for Democrats’ big spending policies in the 111th Congress. Now as Christmas nears, the Democrat majority is, yet again, proving they are deaf to the voice of the people.

Throughout the 111th Congress, the majority has delayed and has failed to address many of the most pressing concerns of citizens, so much so, that in the final days of the legislative calendar—and in an effort to push through legislation at the buzzer—Democrats adopted a rule that allows for the consideration of legislation, at any time, with little notice. This rule exemplifies the way that the Democratic Party has chosen to do its business.

Circumventing the legislative process to push through unpopular legislation is no way to run Congress. The Founding Fathers created our system to ensure that Congress could not enact unmerited legislation. They intended for all legislation to be subject to a meaningful review process in both chambers; however, in this lame duck session we have been forced to vote on numerous bills that were rushed through the oversight process, leaving Members of Congress without the opportunity to offer amendments or remove unpopular provisions.

Allowing vital legislative business to languish for months without action is worrying. Waiting until the lame duck session to address these concerns is downright irresponsible. We have congressional elections every two years for a very good reason: so that Members of Congress will be held accountable for their voting records. Now, however, we have a large group of outgoing members voting on important pieces of legislation that were put off until the last minute. These outgoing members are no longer accountable for their actions, and yet, thanks to legislative irresponsibility, they are allowed to vote on the future path of our country.

The Democrat majority needed to get their priorities straight well before the close of the 111th Congress. Much like a college freshman, the majority leadership has put off their assigned work until the last minute. Now they are faced with the prospect of failure, and they seek to employ legislative maneuvering to ensure that important measures do not receive a complete evaluation by all Members of Congress, while the American people shoulder the burden. America and its people deserve better, and I look forward to the new Congress ahead of us. The days of the Democrat majority controlling both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue are soon to be over.

Christmas Recipes: Apples, Sweet Potatoes And A Quick Breakfast Brunch

We are continuing our Christmas recipe series today with a couple of desserts and a quick breakfast.

Today’s recipes feature an Apple Caramel Pudding and a Sweet Tater Cheesecake. We also have a Farmer’s Omelet Casserole that’s easy to cook and would provide a hearty Christmas morning breakfast or brunch for everyone.

To submit your recipes to share with our readers, email them to news@northescambia.com.

Farmer’s Omelet Casserole
by Terri Brown

• 3 cups frozen cubed hash brown potatoes
• 1 cup chopped green pepper, divided
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 18 large eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups chopped cooked ham
• 1 1/4 cups chopped tomato, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (coarse grind is best)
• 1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Cook potato, 3/4 cup green pepper and onion in oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, stirring constantly, 8 min. or until tender. Cool potatoes if preparing the night before. Combine potato mixture, eggs, ham, 1 cup tomato, salt and black pepper in a large bowl; stir well. Pour mixture into a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Bake, uncovered at 325 for 40 minutes or until golden. Top with remaining 1/4 cup green pepper and 1/4 cup tomato. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake 5 more minutes until cheese melts.

Apple Caramel Pudding
by Janet Smith

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups chopped peeled apples

Combine first five ingredients; then add apples and milk. Blend thoroughly and pour into 8″ square pan.

Combine:

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup boiling water

Mix sugar, boiling water and butter and pour over the batter already in pan. Bake
at 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Seeve warm with ice cream or whipped cream. Very simple but rich dessert. Serves 4 to 6

Sweet Tater Cheesecake

• 4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 cup whipping cream (cool whip will work if no cream handy)
• 1 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, mashed (NOT CANNED)

Graham Cracker-Pecan Crust

• 2 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• Preparation:
• Preheat oven to 425°.

Crust:
Combine crust ingredients thoroughly; press into a 10-inch springform pan.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and eggs until smooth; beat in flour, cinnamon, and ginger. Beat cream and well-mashed sweet potatoes in on medium speed of a hand held mixer just until well-combined. Pour the batter into the prepared crust. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes; lower heat to 275° and bake 1 hour longer. Turn heat off and leave in the oven to cool for several hours, or cool on a wire rack. Serve with sweetened whipped cream or caramel sauce.

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