Visit Gulf Islands, Other National Parks Free
August 14, 2010
Gulf Islands National Seashore will join with other National Park Service sites around the country and offer fee-free entry into the park this weekend.
At Gulf Islands National Seashore, all entrance fees will be waived for visitors to the park on Saturday and Sunday. At this time of the year, entrance fees are collected at two of the park’s units: Fort Pickens and Perdido Key.
Acting Park Superintendent Nina Kelson states, “This is such a good opportunity to reconnect with all the natural and historic features of the national seashore as well as its ranger led programs.” Park entrance stations will have Senior and Annual Passes available for those who wish to purchase them. Kelson points out that faster moving lines makes this an excellent time to acquire annual passes for those visitors wanting to take advantage of what the park offers year-round. For a full description of the facilities and programs currently available, visit the park’s web site at www.nps.gov/guis or contact the Naval Live Oaks Visitor Center at (80) 934-2600.
Pictured: Fort Pickens in the Gulf Islands National Seashore. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Fall Veggies Are Cool To Grow In North Escambia Area
August 14, 2010
In Northwest Florida, vegetable lovers can enjoy harvests from their backyard gardens throughout the year. However, to ensure a productive and enjoyable vegetable garden, you must understand and abide by planting times.
In general, vegetable crops can be grouped into warm-season and cool-season varieties. Warm-season crops do not grow well at temperatures below 50 degrees F and are killed by frost. Cool-season crops are those that grow at lower temperatures, are not injured by light frost, but can’t take the heat.
In late summer and early fall, North Florida gardeners experience a unique opportunity. You can still plant another round of warm-season crops and/or start your cool-season vegetables.
Planting of warm-season vegetables gets to be more critical with the fall garden because we have an end point—frost and freezes. When planted too late, plants will grow, but may not provide enough of a harvest to make the effort worthwhile. Examples are peppers, eggplants and tomatoes. These vegetables can easily take up to two months from transplanting to producing the first fruit. All the time, the fall is getting shorter in day length and cooler in temperatures. That’s really tough on “warm-loving,” full-sun plants.
Since timing is so important with the fall crop, choose warm-season crops that will produce well within a short time. Look for fast-maturing and determinant or bush-type cultivars to ensure a good yield before frost.
Crops to plant outdoors in August include bush and lima beans, cauliflower, collards, cucumbers, onions, southern peas, peppers, squash, tomato and turnips.
In September, you can set out beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, endive, kale, kohlrabi, mustard and radish.
The cooler temperatures of October are better for planting Chinese cabbage, lettuce and spinach.
To find specific recommendations on when to plant vegetables in Florida, read the UF/IFAS “Vegetable Gardening Guide”. It’s online at edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh021
The leafy crops excel in the fall. Some of the more popular leafy crops are Swiss chard, collards, spinach, mustard, turnip greens and lettuce. Endive, escarole, kale, arugula and the greens of mesclun mix also do very well during the cooler months.
Garden lettuces can be divided into three classes based on habit of growth – leaf or loose-leaf types, semi-heading types (such as butterhead and romaine) and heading or crisp-head types.
Crisp-head lettuces, such as the iceberg types available in supermarkets, are more of a challenge to grow here, so its recommend you stay with the leaf and semi-heading varieties. Other than generally avoiding the heading types, feel free to try just about any variety that strikes your fancy.
Leaf lettuces are the most decorative and least-demanding. They also are among the most heat-tolerant lettuces. This type of lettuce grows in a loose rosette of foliage, and the leaves can be smooth or crinkled, pointed, lobed, curled or ruffled. Foliage color runs from deep ruby red to dark green to pale greenish yellow, with just about every combination in between.
Collards will withstand wide ranges of temperatures if properly conditioned. They may be direct seeded and or plants can be transplanted. Collards may be harvested by cutting the whole plant or by “cropping” individual leaves.
Onions are generally grown from sets or plants. Sets and plants will require about six to eight weeks to reach eating size. Bulbing onions will not be ready to harvest until spring.
Radishes are fast growers and fun for the kids. Many are ready to harvest 25 to 30 days after planting.
So take the leap and “fall” into vegetable gardening.
Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County
Funeral Services Set For Principal Killed In Police Chase
August 13, 2010
Funeral services have been scheduled for Saturday for Donald Wayne “Coach Rotch” Rotch, 60, of Brewton.
Rotch, principal at T.R. Miller High School, was killed when his vehicle was hit head-on by a car involved a high-speed chase with Brewton Police. He was assistant principal for nine years and principal for 10 years at T.R. Miller High School.
Visitation for Rotch will be held Saturday, August 14, from 2 until 4 p.m. at Brewton First United Methodist Church. Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 14, at 4 p.m. at Brewton First United Methodist Church with Dr. Ed Glaize officiating. Burial will follow in Union Cemetery with Williams Memorial Chapel Funeral Home directing.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donation by made in memory of Donnie Rotch to the Donald W. Rotch Scholarship Fund, Greater Brewton Foundation, P.O. Box 469,Brewton, AL 36427.
For the complete obituary, click here.
Man Found Dead By Highway 29 In McDavid Was In Prison 10 Days Prior
August 13, 2010
The man found dead by Highway 29 in McDavid on Tuesday had been released from a Florida prison just 10 before his body was discovered.
The body of Donald Freeman, 49, was found by a road crew near the West Fraser McDavid sawmill.
“We have ruled out any blunt force trauma, and there are no signs of foul play,” said Sgt. Ted Roy, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Roy also said there were no obvious signs of trauma that would indicate Freeman was struck by a passing vehicle. His death is no longer being treated as a homicide.
Freeman was believed to be walking toward Century were he had friends or relatives, Roy said.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Freeman was released July 31 from the Apalachee Correctional Institution, West Unit in Sneads. He was sentenced to state prison in 2006 for aggravated assault with a weapon without the intent to kill and cocaine possession.
Authorities are still trying to piece together what happened in the hours leading up to Freeman’s death, and Roy said the cause of Freeman’s death is still unknown. He said the department is still waiting for toxicology and additional test results.
Click here for a photo gallery from the scene.
Click here for raw news video from the scene.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
We’ve Got The Beat: Northview Band Summer Practice Photo Gallery
August 13, 2010
The Northview High School Tribal Beat band is wrapping up summer practice this week.
Band director Scott Slay said the band is preparing a Beatles halftime show for this year’s football season plus several rock songs to perform from the stands.
For a photo gallery from Thursday morning’s Northview Tribal Beat practice, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Strict Pursuit Policy In Effect In Escambia County
August 13, 2010
Following Wednesday night’s deadly crash in Brewton following a police pursuit, NorthEscambia.com is taking a look at the pursuit policy in place in North Escambia.
“We are very restrictive in our pursuit policy,” said Commander Eric Haines of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. “We probably have the strictest policy in the area.”
Haines said the department’s policy allows vehicle chases only for forcible felonies and DUI’s but only when the risk of not stopping the driver is greater than if they are not stopped.
“Let’s say your family is in that car that might be hit by the pursuit. Is it worth it for your wife to die because someone threw out a bag of crack?” is a question Haines said he presents to deputies as he explains the pursuit policy.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says about 360 people are killed each year in police chases. That’s an average of one every day.
“Police officers want to catch what they chase. The adrenaline gets pumping, and it’s hard to stop,” he said. That’s where supervisors come in, deciding in real time if any pursuit that might happen in Escambia County is allowed to continue.
When an officer does become involved in a pursuit in Escambia County, it is reviewed as seriously as if he discharged his weapon.
“That patrol car is a several thousand pound weapon flying down the street,” Haines said.
The officer’s immediate supervisor will review the pursuit, along with a patrol captain and perhaps other senior officers. If it is found that the pursuit was not justified, the deputy can receive a letter of reprimand or even be suspended from the force.
The policy also provides for limitations on forcible felonies when the danger to the public is too great. Officers are taught to carefully weigh their options before becoming involved in a chase. Many times, Haines said, officers know the identity of a driver and a warrant can be issued for their arrest at a later date, rather than becoming involved in a pursuit.
Pursuits can’t be based on “if’s”, he said, such as “what if” an unknown driver that runs a stop sight might actually be a wanted felon.
“Perhaps it is valid argument with ‘what if you could have caught them’ when someone goes on to commit a serious crime. But you are responsible for the knowledge you have at the time,” Haines said, not the various “what if” scenarios.
Simply failing to stop for a deputy is not a pursuit, according to Haines. In the event a driver fails to stop but does not pose a danger to the public, deputies are allowed to continue to attempt a traffic stop until the person takes a dangerous evasive action.
“If we had someone that failed to stop — say a drunk or someone having a medical problem — but they otherwise drove within the law, we would follow them as long as it takes.”
NorthEscambia.com graphics.
Local Woman’s Jewelry Featured On Vogue Magazine Cover
August 13, 2010
It really sounds like an unlikely combination. An Atmore woman, handmade jewelry, a Vogue magazine cover and rubber bicycle inner tubes. But add it all together, and you have a high fashion success story.
The August cover of Italian Vogue magazine features recycled rubber jewelry handcrafted in Atmore by Kathleen Nowak Tucci. Tucci has been creating art for 25 years and has recently begun working with recycled bicycle inner tubes. Kathleen has shown her work in private, corporate, and university collections nationally and internationally. Her latest interest in recycled rubber has landed her in some of the most exclusive boutiques across the country.
Tucci, whose recent artistic accomplishments includes a successful line of one-of-a-kind lamps, said she was intrigued with rubber. She tried creating art from industrial gaskets, but that “was a total flop”, she said. But then her artist’s eye took a long look at the seemingly unlikely rubber bicycle inner tube.
“It was an interesting material to play with,” Tucci said. “As a material, I was totally drawn to it.”
“Art deco style, swirls and curves…I’ve always love them,” she said of her jewelry’s design.
And thanks to the marketing eye of her sister, Margaret Nowak Dobos, the high fashion world was drawn to her creations. Dobos lives in Orange County California and serves as the marketing representative, distributor, photographer and stylist for Kathleen’s accessories.
“It’s unbelievable to be sold in Beverly Hills,” she said.
It’s only been six months since inner tubes were first recycled by Tucci from trash to fashion treasure on the website mysistersart.com. Italian Vogue found the website and contacted the sisters in June to say they were looking for rubbery jewelry for a photography shoot. They shipped Tucci’s jewelry to New York City. They knew it was used in the magazine photoshoot, but they also knew the odds were very slim that the jewelry photos were ever make the printed magazine.
“It was an honor just to know that Steven Meisel took the photos,” Tucci said. “He’s one of the world’s best known photographers.” Meisel, without a doubt, has an eye for fashion — he’s credited with discovering or promoting the careers of models like Linda Evangelista, Naomi Cambell and Christy Turlington, as well as taking rather famous photos of his friend Madonna.
Then Tucci visited the Italian Vogue website to see the preview of the August magazine. There, on the cover, she found her jewelry.
“It was amazing,” she said.
Tucci and her sister Annie Nowak, owner of Annie’s Community Cup, looked at cover image appear on the Vogue website over and over.
“I never aspired to this,” Tucci said. “It is beyond my wildest dreams.”
Pictured top: Kathleen Nowak Tucci at work on her bicycle inner tube jewelry, courtesy Ben Twingley. Pictured top inset: The August cover of Italian Vogue magazine, courtesy Vogue. Pictured middle and bottom inset, bottom of page: Tucci’s jewelry, as photographed by her sister Margaret Nowak Dobos.
School Board To Hold Meeting At Northview
August 13, 2010
Mark your calendars — the Escambia County School Board is hitting the road for a North Escambia town hall meeting.
The school board will hold the town hall meeting at the Northview High School theater on August 26 at 5:30 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to provide a presentation and engage in discussion about class size reduction requirements.
An agenda will be available at a later date and will be made available on the school district’s website and here on NorthEscambia.com.
Sales Tax Holiday Underway
August 13, 2010
Florida shoppers won’t pay sales tax on many items from Friday through the weekend thanks to a Legislature hoping to spur the economy, give weary consumers a break and maybe land a few votes.
The three-day event is expected to save taxpayers $26 million by exempting qualified items from the state’s 6 percent sales tax on a host of items from pencil and paper to backpacks and shoes, although history suggests many of them will end up spending more on taxes on other items than they otherwise would have.
For complete details on exempt items in Florida, click here (pdf).
The holiday will translate into a loss of $21.2 million in state sales tax revenue and $4.8 million for local governments, according to House estimates released earlier this year.
The sometimes annual event, versions of which are now in place in 19 states, remains popular despite criticism by some tax watch groups that say the events are more politically savvy than economically sound.
But Gov. Charlie Crist on said even a little bit of extra shopping may help the retail sector, as well as strapped parents with kids going back to school.
“I am pleased that students and families will have the opportunity to save their hard-earned money as the new school year approaches,” Crist said in a statement following an appearance at the Dadeland Mall in Miami to tout the holiday. “It is always a priority to ensure our children have the resources they need to be successful and competitive in the classroom.”
Cash strapped lawmakers earlier this year approved the sales tax holiday, a three-day event beginning at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Consumers will not pay sales tax on books, clothing and footwear that cost $50 or less and school supplies that cost $10 or less.
The Legislature first enacted a back-to-school sales tax holiday in 1998 and has since had eight such periods ranging from a week to 10 days. Cash strapped lawmakers didn’t set aside money for the holiday for the past two years during the economic downturn that caused a budget crisis at the Capitol. During more flush times, the state has also offered sales tax breaks on hurricane supplies, which lawmakers didn’t give out this year.
Mark Robyn, an economist with the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit research group that advocates for transparency and broad based rates for state and federal taxes, says the holidays merely shift the time in which consumers choose to purchase back-to-school items and therefore don’t result in either increased revenue for businesses or significant savings for consumers.
“There are better ways to use tax incentives,” Robyn said. “(The holidays) are more a political gimmick.”
Small businesses can actually be hurt by the holiday as it can slow sales before and after the event, a shift that effects cash flow, Robyn said. Small retailers are also less able to have enough staff needed to handle the increased demand.
Retailers say such opposition is ill-founded because the sales tax holiday translates into increased revenue not only for retailers who offer back-to-school items but to other merchants who sell taxable items as well during the period.
Rick McAllister, president of the Florida Retail Federation, said tax analysts who say the holiday has little or no impact on sales should talk to the retailers who annually lobby lawmakers to offer it.
“The people who know are the retailers, McAllister said. “If it didn’t make a difference why would they want to do it? It’s more work for them. If it didn’t translate into higher sales they wouldn’t want to go to the trouble.”
Retailers in the past have said that because of increased sales of other items, the sales tax “holiday” actually ends up increasing the amount of tax revenue coming into state coffers during the period.
Lawmakers Have Ideas Ready For Potential Special Session
August 13, 2010
There’s no timetable for when lawmakers may return to Tallahassee and take up remaining issues related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill – if they do return at all – but several proposals are being drafted by lawmakers that could lead to property tax rebates, additional money for tourism development boards and heightened powers for the statewide prosecutor.
Lawmakers stopped by Tallahassee last month for one day to shoot down Gov. Charlie Crist’s proposal to allow voters to make the ultimate decision on whether the state should ban offshore oil drilling. But they also failed to address any economic issues related to the oil spill.
Senate leaders bemoaned the fact that the House wouldn’t stay and work on other legislation related to the effects of the spill, which a committee of senators had already started examining. House Speaker Larry Cretul instead appointed his own committees to tackle issues associated with the spill and told Senate President Jeff Atwater that if necessary, lawmakers could return to the Capitol in September to take up ideas brought by both House and Senate members.
Sen. Don Gaetz said members of the Senate are trying to prioritize the issues into three categories – ones that need to be handled immediately, those that could be handled in the organizational session that will be held in November and ones that can wait until the regular legislative session in the spring.
“We’re trying to rack and stack the issues,” said Gaetz, R-Niceville, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on the Economy.
The House committees, meanwhile, have begun to meet by conference call.
The big question remains when and if a special session will ultimately be called, bringing legislators back to Tallahassee before the November election. Cretul has said he wants lawmakers to first figure out whether there even needs to be a special session through committee meetings, and if so, what needs to be done. A spokeswoman for Cretul reiterated that position to the News Service Thursday.
Senate President-Designate Mike Haridopolos told reporters last week that there would be a session if “we have a conclusion” on what to do, and Gaetz acknowledged that the Senate had to “have a dance partner” in the House to pass legislation.
“The worst thing is going into a special session and not knowing how you’re going to end it,” he said.
Gaetz said that the select committee’s ideas are in legislative drafting now and he is hopeful the House will soon produce its own proposals as well. The Senate proposals so far include:
-A multistate compact among the other Gulf of Mexico states that lays out needed regional environmental protections
-Legislation strengthening the role of the statewide prosecutor, particularly when it comes to environmental crimes.
-Property tax relief that could include property tax rebates similar to payments made in 2007 to Central Florida residents whose homes were destroyed or heavily damaged by tornadoes.
-A law that would authorize a matching program from funds in the Restaurant and Lodging Trust Fund so that Panhandle tourism boards could promote the area, particularly during the winter months when there are fewer visitors.
-Economic incentives to companies, unrelated to tourism or the military, who want to move to the region.