Chipley — Foley Products, a concrete pipe manufacturer based in Newnan, Ga., has purchased 70 acres in Washington County Industrial Park to build a $12.75-million plant, expected to provide 150 jobs with a $5.1-million annual payroll. The county will use approximately $3 million in grant funds to build a CSX rail spur and an industrial-grade road to the site.
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Jefferson County — The Florida Department of Education appointed a two-year advisory board to oversee Jefferson County School District’s recovery from its “financial emergency.’’ DOE estimated the district’s deficit at the end of the school year at $747,000.
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Northwest Florida — New 1,500-foot piers are replacing three wiped out by hurricanes Ivan and Dennis in the past five years. Construction, to take about a year, recently started on an $8.43-million pier at Navarre Beach and a $7.6-million county-owned pier at Panama City Beach. A city-owned pier at Panama City Beach, also a $7.6-million project, is scheduled to open this month.
» Southern Family Markets closed two Florida Bruno’s Food Stores, located in Gulf Breeze and Miramar Beach, following its $46.5-million purchase of 56 stores in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle in the Bruno’s chain bankruptcy sale.
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Pensacola — The National Naval Aviation Museum Foundation board will begin building the $26.5-million National Flight Academy, being co-located with the museum at Pensacola Naval Air Station. When it opens in May 2011, the academy will provide math, science, technology and engineering camps for students in grades 7-12.
» The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition is launching a technology-growth program to spur regional research enterprises. IHMC will recruit post-doctoral scholars and advanced degree students as apprentices for its research scientists and engineers, training up to 25 prospects. The $375,000 program received a $150,000 grant from Florida’s Great Northwest economic development agency.
» Sacred Heart Health System is partnering with Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine to create a three-year residency program for physicians in internal medicine, starting this month. The program will offer scholarship and incentive programs to recruit physicians to practice in the region. Funding includes a $1-million state appropriation, $312,000 from the hospital and a $200,000 grant from Florida’s Great Northwest.
» Chain Reaction, a teen-directed 1,000-member volunteer center started in 2003, is holding its first annual convention, “Unleashing Your Power,’’ July 7-8 at the University of West Florida Convention Center. Members volunteer in 79 non-profit agencies, with 220 volunteers donating three hours each in a typical week, says executive director and founder Kristin Fairchild, who patterned the center after Manatee County’s ManaTEEN Club.
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Tallahassee — A four-year, $2.2-million grant from the National Institutes of Health will enable a researcher with the Florida State University College of Medicine to explore the growing problem of childhood obesity. Suzanne Johnson, department chair in medical humanities and social sciences, will work with 12 Leon County elementary schools to explore the impact of school-based screening on student fitness and parental behavior.
» J. Ocie Harris, former College of Medicine dean at Florida State University and a professor of clinical sciences, has received the National Rural Health Association’s 2009 Distinguished Educator Award, recognizing his work in increasing healthcare access in rural areas.