Wes Moreno recaps the year and discusses how he has built trust with the Board of County Commissioners.
Ben & Jerry’s, Know Your Rights Camp & Kaepernick Publishing have teamed up to raise awareness about the severity of book bans through a Banned Book Tour. They will be stopping by six cities in Florida, including Pensacola, to hand out banned books, scoops of Change the Whirled, and free downloads of Colin Kaepernick’s new book “Our History Has Always Been Contraband: In Defense of Black Studies”. Their stop in Pensacola will be at Open Books Bookstore, 1040 N. Guillemard Street, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., on Tuesday, Dec. 19.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers are cutting out 304B funds. The dollars help Community Health Northwest Florida provide services to those struggling in our community.
The fourth annual Pack the Pirate Ship food drive – presented by Krewe of Lafitte and benefitting Manna Food Bank – will be held on Friday, Dec. 15, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The general public is invited to participate by donating nonperishable food items and financial gifts that will be used to provide food assistance to children, senior citizens, veterans, families, and individuals in need in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties through Manna’s pantry and community programs.
Krewe of Lafitte – the largest men’s krewe along the Florida panhandle – will host a drop-off site at Astro Lincoln, 6350 Pensacola Boulevard. Krewe member volunteers will help offload donations while donors get a good look at the iconic pirate ship parade floats.
Manna’s most-needed food items are:
Canned Fruit in 100% Juice (20 oz. and smaller)
Canned Mixed Vegetables (16 oz. and smaller)
Chicken and Tuna (canned and pouches)
Oatmeal (boxes of single-serve packets)
Peanut Butter (1 lb. jars and individual cups)
Microwaveable Dinners (e.g. Hormel Compleats)
Canned Beans
Manna accepts and appreciates all nonperishable food donations. To ensure food safety, we cannot accept any rusty or unlabeled cans, perishable items, homemade items, noncommercial canned or packaged goods, alcoholic beverages, or items that have been used or opened.
Financial gifts (cash, credit/debit cards and checks) are also greatly appreciated. A donation of just $25.00 will provide food for five days to a veteran in need, and $50.00 will provide 30 healthy meals for a child.
The historic John A. Gibson School building has been sold and will no longer serve the Communication Action Program Committee’s Head Start program.
Gibson was an educator and community leader in his native Bahamas before moving to Pensacola in 1872. With decades of teaching and administrative experience, he became a leader in Pensacola’s new post-war education system. He taught and served as a principal at many Pensacola schools and led efforts to recruit and train African-American teachers in Escambia County. He co-founded the Institute of Colored Teachers of Escambia County, which campaigned for national policies that strengthened education for African-American students.
Before being renamed to honor Gibson, the elementary school on North C Street was Public School No. 103 because Escambia County’s segregated black schools were originally given only numbers.
For over 50 years, the John A. Gibson School served as a monument to Mr. Gibson’s great impact on African-American education in Pensacola. When it closed in 1974, the school became the headquarters of Escambia’s County Head Start Program.
The property’s sale has forced Head Start to transfer its dozens of children and families to two other locations, but transportation is a problem.
On Saturday, Dec. 30, from 10 am. – 12 p.m. at 710 North C Street, the Community Action Program Committee will host a commencement ceremony and celebration of the decades of support that the Gibson School Head Start program has offered families in downtown Pensacola. They ask any current or former student, family member, staff, or community member that has memorabilia from the Gibson School Head Start to please bring it to the farewell event. Please call 850-857-8652 ext. 202 to attend the event.
The full show: Wes Moreno, Scott Satterwhite, Darryl Miller, Dede Flounlacker, Doug Brown, and Brad Garrett.