Northview Student Wins Region In Statewide Severe Weather Essay Contest
March 18, 2008
Austin Lowery, a Northview High School sophomore, was a regional winner in a statewide “Hazardous Weather Awareness Week” essay contest.
Just Read, Florida!, in partnership with the Florida Department of Community Affairs, Division of Emergency Management and several other emergency management partners, conducted a statewide short essay contest aimed at high school students as part of the 2008 Hazardous Weather Awareness Week.
As Region 1 winner, Lowery received $250, a weather radio and a certificate of achievement. His teacher, Raja Atallah, was awarded $100 and a weather radio for assisting and supporting Lowery in the essay contest.
The entire text of Lowery’s essay is below. Pictured above: Northview teacher Raja Attallah, Austin Lowery and Northview Principal Gayle Weaver. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
The Storm, by Austin Lowery
“Go, Go, Go! Get in the basement the tornado is becoming outrageous.” Yes, these are the last words I heard myself say before our house was completely demolished by the furious swirling winds of the F-5 tornado. After a few minutes of realization, my brother and I began to decipher different ways to find shelter, food, and water. And nonetheless we knew we had to help out our community in some way. First, the thought of not having a house put my eight-year-old brother and me, being only sixteen, into shock. Daisy, our yellow lab, had also been with us through the whole frightening storm. To protect Daisy we kept her on a leash at all times knowing that the identification chip imbedded in her skin was useless until help arrived. Realizing the power outages and tower damage to the surrounding area, we began our hunt for food and fresh water for all of us.
The memories of the images from television reporting the slow response and crime in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina kept flashing through my head. We were able to locate a source of fresh water and food at the FEMA relief center. Next, we focused on securing a line of defense for protecting what remained. We set a perimeter line consisting of 100 pound fishing line 4 inches and 36 inches off the ground a 100 feet all around us. This was then connected to another string with a variety of tin cans and scrap metal, so when the line was tripped it would make an awful racket hopefully wakening my brother and me and scaring off the looters. Thankfully it was successful. On the second night something did trigger it. We’ll never know what it was because it ran off and never came back.
Third, after finding shelter, food, water, and setting up a line of defense, we set out to help our neighbors and friends in the community. Since all the roads were blocked we both decided walking would be the safest and best thing to do. At the end of a long day we found many families on the trail of recovery. But there was one young couple with an infant child who had been sleeping on pieces of wood. We took them back to our camp, or what was now home, and offered to share our food, shelter, and water. Through all this we became sort of a family. The emotional and physical process of cleaning up began.
In the aftermath of a disastrous storm these are the first three things I would do if my younger brother and I, along with Daisy, were home alone and an F-5 tornado hit: first, find shelter, food, and water; second, set up a line of defense in case of looters; and last but not least, assist people in my community.
To read the essays from the other regional winners and the grand prize winning essay, click here.
Century Council Proclaims”National Public Works Week”, Conducts Ordinary Business
March 18, 2008
The Town of Century has proclaimed the week of May 18-24 as “National Public Works Week” in the town.
The town council approved the proclamation at their Monday night meeting at the request of Mayor Freddie McCall.
The proclamation honors those that work with the town’s water, sewer, streets, public buildings and solid waste collection, as well as those the serve with law enforcement, the fire department and other emergency medical services in the town, McCall said.
“The health, safety and comfort of this community greatly depends on these facilities and services,” the proclamation reads. To read the actual proclamation in its entirety, click the image to the left to enlarge.
In other business, the council approved a variance request to place a used 10 foot by 40 foot mobile home on a lot located at 67 Jackson Street. The motion by Council Member Nadine McCaww passed 3-1, with Council Member Gary Riley voting against the motion and Council President Anne Brooks abstaining. The mobile home will replace one previously located on the lot, according to McCall. The variance was needed because the town’s current land use ordinances requires mobile homes to be at least 14 feet wide. McCall noted that power, water and sewer services were already available to the home’s owner because a mobile home was previously located on the lot.
The council also heard request from individual council members:
Riley noted that many streets around the town needed to have traffic markings repainted because they are difficult to see, especially when it is dark and raining. The mayor said he would look into the situation.
Council Member Henry Hawkins asked the mayor about street lights in the town, saying that at least six lights were out in the Hudson Hill area along North Century Boulevard. and that others were out on Mayo Storeet. McCall said he and a Gulf Power employee had looked in the situation about a month ago and had found five lights that were out along North Century Boulevard.. Those lights were replaced, the mayor said, and he will look into the others that are now not functioning.
Council Member Sharon Scott asked that “Children At Play” signs be placed near the Marie McMurray Ballpark and the Carver Community Center. She also asked that the town look at cleaning out ditches along Pleasant Hill Road, and that a “Deaf Child” sign be placed in a neighborhood where a deaf child resides.
Monday’s short council meeting was unusual in that no member of the public signed up to address the council during their “public forum” part of the meeting.
Power Outage In Century
March 17, 2008
Power was reported out in a portion of Century Monday night. The outage, which was attributed to a blown transformer, was reported just before 10:30 p.m. The number of customers without power was not immediately available from Gulf Power Company.
The outage included the area of Front Street and Church Street.
Highway 97 Resurfacing Project Is Now Entering Early Design Phase
March 17, 2008
The scheduled resurfacing project of Highway 97 in North Escambia has entered the design phase that should see the first new asphalt on the highway by the end of 2009.
The $1.78 million survey and design phase of the project is ongoing, said Tommie Speights, Public Information Director for District 3 of the Florida Department of Transportation. The survey work and preliminary engineering is being conducted by Volkert and Associates of Mobile. The survey is mostly complete, and the project is now entering the design phase.
“The project is scheduled to let for contract in late August 2009,” Tommie Speights, Public Information Director for District 3 of the Florida Department of Transportation, told NorthEscambia.com. “It would then take three to four months to begin actual resurfacing, so work would begin in about December of 2009.”
Budget figures show that the resurfacing project is expected to cost $17,105,652 and be completed in 2010. The entire roadway is be repaved from Country Road 95 in Molino across Highway 29 to the Alabama state line, a distance of about 23 miles. No major drainage changes are expected to the route’s 55 cross drains under the highway, with the exception of some possible changes near the intersection of Highway 97 and Crabtree Church Road.
Existing 12 foot wide travel lanes and five foot paved shoulders will be milled and resurfaced. This project does not include the four-laning of Highway 97. A four lane highway is not in any of the state’s current plans for Highway 97.
Pictured above: Survey crews work recently on Highway 97 near County Road 99 in north Escambia County. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Submit Your Church Easter Service Details For An Upcoming Story
March 17, 2008
Next week, NorthEscambia.com will run a listing of Easter services across the North Escambia area. Please submit the dates, times and location of Easter services at your church to news@northescambia.com or use our contact form.
Tate High Band Performs In Dublin Ireland Parade
March 17, 2008
The Tate High School Showband of the South took part in Ireland’s national St. Patrick’s Festival Parade in Dublin today.
About 100 students, 40 parents and a bunch of instruments headed across the Big Pond to Ireland. Over five days, 4000 performers and one million people celebrated Ireland with the big finale being Monday’s parade. Sixteen bands from Ireland, Italy, Japan and the United States took part in the parade.
A re-run of the parade can be viewed over the internet by clicking here beginning at 3:30 local time Monday morning.
“The preparation for Ireland has been completed and it is going to be a wonderful rip. A trip of this length and distance takes so many hours of work and great ttention to detail,” said Band Director Joe Hooton.
Assitant Band Director Travis Coakley did not travel to Ireland with the band. He and his wife celebrated the birth of twin girls, Sarah and Alice, on February 11, and the proud father remained stateside with his girls.
“Although I will not be traveling with the Showband, I can assure you that you are ll going to have a wonderful trip. The people of Ireland, the music of Ireland, the istory and the scenery of Ireland you will always remember once you’ve had the opportunity to experience them,” Coakley wrote in a recent band newsletter. “Have a wonderful time in Ireland and represent the “Showband of the South”, ate High School, and the United States of America proudly!”
Tate’s Showband of the South is no stranger to travel, having performed in the Orange, Fiesta and Rose Bowl parades. They’ve played the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and national celebrations at Pearl Harbor.
Speeding Crackdown All Weekend In North Escambia
March 16, 2008
A crackdown on spring break speeders began in North Escambia Friday, with at least a half dozen Florida Highway Patrol troopers putting the brakes on speeding motorists. The trooper’s show of force continued around the area for the entire weekend.
Six troopers were patrolling the Century area Friday afternoon, using laser detection to determine the speed of passing motorists, according to Trooper Rafael Streeter. The sounds of sirens could be heard around town, as dozens of motorists were stopped for violating the town’s posted 35 mph speed limit along Highway 29.
The speeding crackdown was all part of the kickoff day of Florida’s “Operation Safe Ride”, a statewide initiative to slow motorists down during spring break.
The campaign ran Friday to Sunday, to coincide with spring break activities throughout Florida. This operation was part of a series of long-term enforcement efforts that focus on top priority traffic safety issues to help ensure the safety and well-being of motorists on Florida’s roadways.
Historically, March and April have been peak months for traffic crashes in Florida. In an effort to provide the citizens and visitors of Florida with a safe driving environment during this period, the FHP conducted “Operation Safe Ride” details statewide.
All available FHP personnel participated in Operation Safe Ride. Unlawful speed violators were tracked using RADAR, LASER, motorcycles, and marked and unmarked patrol vehicles. Troopers piloting FHP aircraft were also used to spot violators from the air and then direct troopers on the ground to pull them over and initiate appropriate enforcement action. Enforcement efforts were focused on every Interstate, Florida’s turnpike, and other major state roads in Florida where speeding and aggressive driving are prevalent, including Highway 29.
The Florida Highway Patrol would also like to remind everyone to move over when approaching an authorized emergency vehicle making use of any visual signals is parked or a wrecker displaying amber rotating or flashing lights is performing a recovery or loading on the roadside.
Pictured above: Trooper Rafael Streeter issues a traffic citation Friday afternoon at the corner of Highway 29 and Hecker Road in Century. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photo, click to enlarge.
‘Sunshine Week’ Began Sunday
March 16, 2008
The following was submitted by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum:
On Sunday, we will recognize the start of Sunshine Week, a national initiative that champions the public’s right to know what its government is doing. Sunshine Week has been recognized nationally for several years but was first launched in Florida in 2002 by a group of journalists who were seeking to protect the public’s access to its government.
In Florida, every person has been granted the Constitutional right to inspect or copy any public record with some exemptions, and the Sunshine Law provides a right of access to government proceedings at both the state and local levels. Without this access there is little accountability, and accountability is vital for good government.
I am proud of the key role the Attorney General’s Office plays in keeping Florida’s government open to all Floridians. My office is charged with mediating disputes involving access to public records and provides a mediation program to that effect – a resource which can be requested by any member of the public and was put into action more than 75 times in 2007. The mediation program involves an impartial individual who encourages and facilitates the resolution of a dispute involving access to public records. By allowing parties to resolve issues in an informal mediation process, we prevent expensive and time-consuming litigation which is often not an option for a citizen who is merely trying to hold his or her government accountable and responsible for its actions.
Often, the Attorney General’s Office is not contacted by members of the public, but instead by members of the media who are standing in for the rest of Florida and holding our government to necessarily high standards. As with the initiation of Sunshine Sunday, this is an admirable objective and should be facilitated in every manner possible, and my office will continue to facilitate these resolutions in a timely and service-oriented manner. More information about services related to open records and open government is available on my website, http://myfloridalegal.com.
I invite all Floridians, members of the media and general public alike, to visit this website and learn about the tools and resources my office provides to help hold Florida’s public servants to the standards which make them deserving of recognition as leaders in the nation. Together, we can permit the values which inspired Sunshine Week to last the entire year.
Methodist Churches Continue Holy Week Services At Multiple Locations
March 16, 2008
The Northern Cluster of Pensacola District United Methodist Church is continuing to hold joint Holy Week services at the locations and times listed below. Everyone is invited to attend any or all of these services.
- Tuesday, March 18, 6:30 pm Lathram Chapel United Methodist Church
- Wednesday, March 19, 6:30 pm Farm Hill United Methodist Church
- Thursday, March 10, 6:30 pm Allen Memorial United Methodist Church
Previous services this week were held at Pine Forest United Methodist Church and Aldersgate Methodist Church.
Relay For Life Catfish Fry Held
March 15, 2008
The Town of Century Relay for Life team sold catfish plates from David’s Catfish House during lunch Friday at the roadside park on Highway 29 Friday. Plates included David’s catfish, baked beans, bread and a dessert for $6. All proceeds benefited the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.
Century’s 2008 Relay For Life will take place from 6:00 pm April 25 until noon April 26 at the old Century High stadium. Call 475-0850 for more information.
NorthEscambia.com photos. Click any picture to enlarge.
