Blog: Jim Paul, DUI, Happy Birthday And Etc.

January 23, 2008

Quit scolding me. I’m sorry. It seems that many of you have emailed to tell me to write more on my blog. I’m one of those people that will usually sit and listen with my mouth shut until I have something to say. But I suppose I’ll oblige (is that a Little House on the Prairie word or what?) and write more often.

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks since I wrote anything on my blog. That entry was Mr. Paul, Let’s Talk: My Kids Have Questions in which I challenged Mr. Jim Paul to respond to my elementary school age kids that had questions about his DUI arrest.

Hours after the blog posted, Paul did respond to the questions my girls asked in an exclusive interview with NorthEscambia.com. As far as we know, we are the only news outlet that asked him to explain himself to the kids in the district he is suppose to be running. If you happened to catch the story on WPMI (channel 15) about his comments to the media, you saw him talking on the phone with NorthEscambia.com doing that interview.

The Pensacola News Journal called for him to resign. Many of you emailed us supporting his resignation. We did not publicly call for his resignation, nor did we call for him to stay. We figured he’d be a man about it and admit his wrong doing. He did the media circus thing, granting interviews like the one NorthEscambia.com did. In those interviews, he fessed up to having a couple of drinks and driving off hours later. Short of having liver problems, various experts have said he’s lying. When asked at Tuesday night’s board meeting if he had anything to say, “No, Mam” was the best he could muster. Sounded like a kid afraid to tell momma the truth, if you asked me. Nuff said on that subject.

Former board member Cary Stidham filed today (Thursday) to run against Paul. Back when she served on the board, she pretty much opposed anything and everything Paul remotely appeared to support. She had a rough time in the 2006 election when she was easily defeated by Gerald Boone for the District 2 seat on the board. He raised many times the dollars that Stidham did. If another qualified candidate files to run against Paul, we just don’t see Stidham going very far.

Changing the subject: Happy Birthday to Mrs. Elmira Gandy Crapps! Click here to read the story about her if you have not done so yet. She turns 101 Friday.

I had the chance to sit down with her at the Panhandle in Century Wednesday afternoon. I’ve got to be honest…when she walked in, I thought she might be Mrs. Crapps daughter arriving for the little party. She does not look like, talk like, or act like a person that’s passed the century mark. She’s an amazing lady who’s not shy about giving thanks to the Lord for all of her years. Her dad lived to be 108. Happy Birthday Mrs. Crapps, and many, many more!

You’ll notice the Northview FFA story on the site. NHS teacher Perry Byars and everyone that works with the FFA at Northview deserves a pat on the back. These young men and ladies are our future, and Perry and the other sponsors work hard with them.

Thanks again for stopping by NorthEscambia.com. We appreciate each of you, each time you visit. If you are not visiting each day or so, you might consider stopping by more often. We are posting new stories just about everyday. And to those of you sending us news tips, we appreciate that too!

It does not matter if its some big breaking news story, or just an event at your school, church or club. Let us know about it; send us a picture or two. We want to know what is going on in your community!

Thanks again for visiting with us here at NorthEscambia.com. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Blog