NorthEscambia.com Surpasses Half Million Visits
December 31, 2007
NorthEscambia.com will end 2007 with over a half million page views after being online for less than two months. As of midnight December 30, NorthEscambia.com had 533,860 page views recorded.
A page view is simply one person viewing one page on the site. That does not mean that a quarter million people have viewed the site…one person will usually view more than one page per visit. The photo gallery pages are not included in the 533,860 page view total.
There were over 210,000 page views in November, and there were over 323,000 page views in December.
Many inquiries have been received by NorthEscambia.com concerning the availability of advertising on the site. Ads are not currently available on the site, but there is a waiting list for potential advertisers. There are just a few slots remaining when advertising is available. If your business would like to be on the list to possibly advertise on NorthEscambia.com, let us know by filling out our contact form.
Some interesting facts about NorthEscambia.com visitors:
- The most viewed story involved the death of an Escambia County Deputy in Walnut Hill.
- The second most viewed story involved an accident and manhunt in McDavid.
- The third most viewed story was about the shooting of a suspect by deputies in Century.
- The fourth most viewed story was about the Molino Christmas parade.
- The fifth most viewed story was about the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department fish fry.
- The number one “referrer” (a site or link sending visitors to the site) was email…meaning many, many people emailed somebody the link to the site and they visited it.
- The second greatest source of visitors was Google. Yahoo was the second most popular search engine sending people to the site.
- Other links sending lots of visitors to the site were in the Pensacola News Journal’s forums and from the Northview High School web site.
- 77% of visitors are running Windows XP. 6% are running an Apple Mac, one person is still running Windows 95 and a handful are running Linux and WebTV.
- The most popular day of the week for NorthEscambia.com has been Monday; the slowest day has been Sunday.
- There have been visitors from Israel, Brazil, the Seychelles islands off Africa, Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan, Canada, France, England, Maylasia and Switzerland.
- The greatest number of visitors have come from the Frontier internet service (they provide dialup and DSL in Walnut Hill and Molino), followed by Cox high speed, Road Runner, Bellsouth and AOL.
- The site also popular with users within the Escambia County Schools, Wildblue satellite users, Escambia County and the U.S. Government, including the U.S. Northern Command.
- Several local media companies (TV and newspapers) visit the site on a regular basis.
In case you are wondering from all that…we don’t know who you are when you visit the site unless you fill out our form and tell us. The server knows that someone from a particular internet provider visited the site, what pages were viewed, their operating system (Windows XP, Linux, etc.) and where they came from (such as Google, another web site, etc.). Again, we don’t know who you are personally.
County Tax Discounts Ended Monday at Midnight
December 31, 2007
Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley reminds residents that the 3 percent discount on real-estate and tangible personal property tax expired Monday.
The three percent discount on Escambia County tangible personal property real estate taxes ended when 2007 came to a close on at midnight Monday.
To have received the discount and have your payment credited in December, your payment must have been made:
- in person is a tax collector’s office by the close of business Monday.
- on the after-hours automated telephone (800) 601-1055 by midnight Monday.
- made on the web site http://www.escambiataxcollector.com by midnight Monday.
If you payment is postmarked by Monday and received after January 1, it will receive the discount but will credited with a January date, as will payments left after hours in a drop box on Monday.
For more details, visit http://www.escambiataxcollector.com; call 438-6500 ext. 252, or get automated information at 438-3299.
Tax collector offices are located at Century, Cantonment, Marcus Pointe, downtown and Warrington. The Century office is located in the Billy G. Ward courthouse at 7500 North Century Boulevard. The Cantonment office is at 470 South Highway 29 (in the old Winn Dixie shopping center). The Century and Cantonment offices are open 8:30 until 5:00 Monday through Friday.
Mild on Monday; Much Colder Temps On The Way
December 31, 2007
Mild temperatures are forecast for Monday with a high near 70 in the North Escambia area. Winds will turn to the north Monday night, with a low temperature of 32.
New Year’s Day will be downright chilly with a north wind of 20 mph and a high of only 55. Strong northerly winds will continue Tuesday night with a low of 22.
Wednesday highs will rebound only to around 45, and will fall back to a low of 20 for Wednesday night. A low of 22 is expected again Thursday night. A fews spots may dip into the upper teens Wednesday night.
The National Weather Service is expected to issue a hard freeze warning and a wind advisory beginning Tuesday.
Hendersons Performed In Byrneville
December 31, 2007
The Hendersons were in concert at the Beulah Chapel Assembly of God in Byrneville Sunday night, and a chili and soup supper followed.
The Hendersons have been singing in a family ministry since 1989 and have over 70 combined years in the singing ministry. The Hendersons primarily sing traditional and southern gospel music.
The Henderson’s unique harmony has been featured on seven recored projects, including several original songs. Sunday night’s concert will feature such favorites as “I Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now”, “All Signs Are Pointing”, “I Won’t Be Satisfied” and the classic “Just Passing Thru”. Their latest radio releases “Sailing On Home” and “The Blood of Sacrifice” will also be included.
The group consists of Sonny Henderson, his daughter Lydia Henderson of Pensacola, FL, and Mark Cates of Pace, FL. Sonny’s wife, Marie, travels with the group serving as sound technician, and full time office manager.
Need A 2008 Calendar? Check Out This Molino One
December 31, 2007
With the new year here, it is now time to find a new 2008 calendar. The Molino Mid-County Historical Society has one for you that features transportation photos from days gone by in Molino.
From the cover photo of a car in front of the 1915 barbershop in downtown Molino, to horses in the late 1800’s, to early 1900’s school children in front of their bus, the calendar features historic photos that chronicle the history of transportation in Molino.
The “Our Rides of Yesterday” 2008 calendar is available for $5 at Cole’s Barbershop and Handcrafted Treasures. This is the fourth year the historical society has published calendar.
“It’s a great way to preserve our history and our pictures,” society member Donna Ging (pictured above, click to enlarge) said at a recent meeting of the group at Aldersgate Methodist Church.
“The neatest thing about doing the calendar every year is the excitement of seeing the people and the pictures, seeing relatives and their friends,” she said.
Guilty Plea In Highway 29 DUI Death
December 29, 2007
Anthony Mattheiss (pictured left) of Cantonment pleaded guilty Friday to DUI manslaughter in connection with a May 15 crash south of Molino.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the crash on Highway 29 near Booth Lake Road occurred when a Mercedes driven by Mattheiss, 45, crashed into a Chevy at about 95 mph, killing 71 year old Charles Stanton of Cantonment. The posted speed limit in that area is 65 mph.
The FHP says Mattheiss blood alcohol level was 0.16, which is twice the legal limit in Florida.
A passenger in Mattheiss vehicle, Gary Cooper, and the driver of the Chevrolet, Eddie Evans, were also injured in the crash, according to the FHP.
Mattheiss faces 15 to 20 years in prison. His next court date is currently scheduled for February 27.
Firefighters Respond In Walnut Hill After Lightning Strike
December 29, 2007
Firefighters were called to a house in Walnut Hill Saturday morning after a reported lightning strike. The Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department and surrounding stations responded to the home in the 6000 block of Arthur Brown Road in Walnut Hill just after 4:00 a.m
The residents of the home reported a lightning strike and the smell of smoke from under the house. The Walnut Hill VFD declared the fire was out shortly after arriving on scene.
A heavy rain shower with lightning was over the North Escambia area at the time. This radar picture shows a heavy shower at 4:02 a.m. over the Walnut Hill and Enon areas. It was moving easterly at about 30 mph.
Updated: 12/29/2007 4:25 am
County Survey Shows North Escambia Concerns
December 27, 2007
Escambia County has released a county-wide survey on the quality of life in county and satisfaction with services provided by the county, and several responses showed concerns about North Escambia.
When asked, “how satisfied are you with the overall quality of the job that the County is doing”, 91.6% of the residents responded with a neutral to very satisfied rating. The highest ratings when to fire services and emergency medical services.
There were 507 randomly chosen registered voters in the county that took part in the telephone survey. Several of their answers revealed common concerns about the quality of life and the concerns in North Escambia.
Comments related to North Escambia included:
- “County services aren’t good in the north end of the county. There aren’t enough parks in the north end.”
- ”I live at the north end of the county and everything goes to Pensacola.”
- Top concern: “Additional library branch in North Escambia.”
- Top concern: ”More growth and improvement in North Escambia.”
- Top concern: “Better schools for north end.”
- “Improve roads in north end. More public parks”
- ”Community center in the North of the county.”
- Problem: ”Representation in North end by people whose interest are in the South end.”
- “New library on the North side or District 5.”
- ”I think the county should be split in two- North and South. I think the interest of the North and South are so different to require the split.”
- ”I’d like to see public transportation in the northern part of the county.”
To view the survey questions in pdf format, click here.
To view a survey summary in pdf format, click here.
To view a complete survey with comments from residents like those above, click here.
Blog: That In-Between, End of Time Kind of Time
December 27, 2007
Well, this is it. It’s that last week of the year, that year ending time that it just really does not pay to be a reporter. Between Christmas and New Year’s Day, news often takes a break.
No way, you might say. It’s just an excuse to kick back and take the week off. Well, maybe, just a little. But really pay attention to the daily newspapers and the local TV newscasts. What stories are you hearing? “The Biggest Stories of 2007″, “The Year in Review”, “The Best Photos of 2007″. So you have noticed.
It’s called “filler and fluff”. It’s news that in July, well, just would not be news. But it takes up space in print and fills time on the airwaves. Channel 3 got creative this year and ran stories about people that had to work on Christmas day. Translation: “I had to work Christmas; you had to work Christmas…let’s kill some boring time together.”
Then there’s the “return something to the store” stories. That means “I have to stand in line to return the tie grandma gave me and try to get a measly $3 out of it, so I might as well do a story with the three hours I’m going to be here”.
There are have been stories about Christmas trash. Well, there’s lots of trash, and it make the news as a top story. Usually it’s some government scandal when we talk trash on the news, but that last week of the year it’s wrapping paper. Live reports from the curbside trashcan at 6:00.
The daily newspaper is filling up with the “Best Photos of 2007″. Some are really cool to look at; some are just lucky shots. Take 8,000 pictures a year for the newspaper and you will get lucky on one or two. Some of them are really good, however. More filler and fluff, but more entertaining than the guy on 3 standing in the mall trying to make a story out of people that are shopping/returning and not watching the news.
What’s the point of writing all this in my blog? Well, nothing really. It’s just a slow time of the year when nothing much happens. NorthEscambia.com is a new site, so there’s no year-in-review material to run. The kids are out of school; the wife is home from work. So I’m following the lead of the other news organizations around here and using filler and fluff. I hope you understand; I don’t want to work this week any more than the next guy. We’ve been blessed enough too that wrecks, fire and crimes have been pretty quiet also, so nothing there to write about. If “breaking news” happens, we’ll cover it.
We really are working a little bit this week at NorthEscambia.com. We are working on some of the computer code that runs the site, making changes that will make the site better for you. We are also working on a big announcement that will happen in January, but that’s all I can say right now.
Thanks again for taking the time out of your day to visit NorthEscambia.com. We appreciate you stopping by and hope to see you again soon.
— William
UWF Announces Area Graduates
December 26, 2007
The University of West Florida has announced the names of North Escambia area graduates who completed degree requirements during the fall 2007 semester. Graduates were recognized in a commencement ceremony on December 15.
North Escambia area graduated (listed by city) included:
MOLINO
Bachelor’s degree: Erin Boyd, Brandie Crabtree, Erika Fitzpatrick, Jeffrey Freeman, April Lord, Alicia Nowlin, Keesha Perryman, Sharon Powell, Lacey Resmondo, Krystal Rhodes
CANTONMENT
Associate’s degree: Chelsea Pipkins.
Bachelor’s degree: Rachel Baker, Matthew Blackburn, Stephanie Darden, Brandy Goundas, Kad Henderson, Chad Hetherington, Margaret Holloway, Charles Hoopingarner, Daniel Mishoe, Kyle Norton, Erin Quizon, Catherine Rudd, Jarrod Sears, Tinia Smith, Brigett Valier, Melissa Venable.
Master’s degree: Brenda Doss, Maryia Razumava.
Specialist’s degree: Anthony Catanese.