Atmore Man, Flomaton Couple Among Those Indicted For Child Abuse
November 20, 2008
Four Escambia County (Ala.) residents, including two from Flomaton and one from Atmore, have been indicted on child abuse charges.
Escambia County (Ala.) authorities say Buddy Jackson and Rhonda Jackson of Highway 31 Flomaton were indicted by an Escambia County Grand Jury in late October and arrested last week for torture or willful abuse of a child in a case involving a 16 year old child. Their bond was set at $50,000 each.
Timothy Odom of 6th Avenue, Atmore, was arrested for rape, first degree in a case involving a 13 year old child. His bond was set at $100,000.
Corey Beasley of Ridge Road, Brewton, was arrested for fondling a child less than 12 years old. His bond was set at $100,000.
Pictured above: Buddy Jackson (L) and Rhonda Jackson (R)
Pictured above: Timothy Odom (L) and Corey Beasley (R)
Ernest Ward Boys, Girls Beat Pollard
November 20, 2008
Both the girl’s and boy’s basketball teams at Ernest Ward Middle School beat Pollard-McCall Tuesday night.
The boy’s team won by a score of 41-29. Leading the scoring for the Eagles was DaMichael Fountain with 14 points. Ladareus Franklin score hald dozen, and LaMichael Banks and Kevin Vaughan score five each.
The girl’s team beat Pollard-McCall 16-12.
Dazarae Turner and Danielle Steaham scored four each. Morgan Payne and Jazzlyn Franklin had three points each, and Kaitlyn Gunn scored two points for the Eagles.
Ernest Ward will take on Carver/Century Thursday at Ernest Ward. The girls tip off at 5:00, and the boys play at 6:00.
Molino Park PTA Fund Raiser
November 20, 2008
The annual PTA fund raising drive at Molino Park Elementary School is a little bit different this year. Basically, it’s a no fund raiser, fund raiser.
Rather than asking the children and their parents to sell something like in past years, Principal Alice Woodward says the school’s has simply asked parents, grandparents, guardians and their friends and families to make a contribution to the school.
The math is simple, Woodward said. With over 400 children, if each gathers about $20 in donations each, the school will quickly reach its goal of $8,000.
Donations should be sent to school with Molino Park students by early next week, or donations can be made in the school office.
Some of the recent projects funded by the PTA include SuccessMaker software, supplies and materials for each of the school’s teachers, grandparent’s day, field day and more.
As of Wednesday, donations were at $700 of the $8,000 goal.
$1.85, And Dropping
November 20, 2008
Gas in North Escambia dropped as low at $1.85 a gallon on Wednesday at a Molino station.
The price of a gallon of regular unleaded at the Tom Thumb in Molino was $1.85.
Meanwhile, that same gallon of gas at the Sam’s Club in Pensacola was down to $1.79.
Analyst says that gas prices could continue to drop a few cents per gallon by the Thanksgiving holiday weekend next week.
Pensacola Chamber Working For Century Too
November 20, 2008
The Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce does not just work to promote growth in Pensacola, it is hard at work for Century too.
That was the message from Charles Wood, senior vice president for economic development for the chamber. He said the chamber had shown Century and Century locations to about a dozen potential businesses in the past year.
“You guys have some of the larger buildings that are available right now,” Wood told the Century Town Council. The Pensacola chamber features the Helicopter Technology building, the Alger-Sullivan Lumber building and the Century Industrial Park on their web site.
He said the chamber had brought about 2,000 jobs to Escambia County in the past year, with an average salary of $36,000 each.
“We are focusing on industries that are going to be high growth,” he said.
Tate FFA Students Honored
November 20, 2008
Lynsey Meharg and Austin Courson, Tate High FFA members, were honored at last night’s meeting of the Escambia County School Board for state-level achievements garnered at the 80th Annual Florida FFA Convention this summer in Orlando.
Courson, a senior, was the winner of the State Forage Production Proficiency Award in addition to the Ryan Rimmer Memorial Leadership Award. Meharg, a junior, received the State Star Greenhand Award.
The National FFA Organization, formerly known as Future Farmers of America, is a national organization comprised of over 500,000 students throughout the United States. Over 15,000 students in 320 chapters throughout Florida are engaged in a wide range of agricultural education activities, leading to more than 300 professional career opportunities in the agricultural industry.
Thanksgiving Lunch For Seniors Today
November 20, 2008
If you are senior citizen in the Byrneville or Poplar Dell communities, there is a free Thanksgiving meal and some great fellowship waiting for today.
Beulah Chapel Assembly of God will be hosting their Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon for Seniors in the Byrneville and Poplar Dell communities, at 11:00 this morning. All Pastors and seniors in these communities are invited to attend for great fellowship and a Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings.
Beulah Chapel is located at 2311 Hwy 4A in Byrneville.
School Board Rejects Century Charter School Application
November 19, 2008
The Escambia County School Board has rejected a charter school proposal for the Charter Magnet School of Century.
“The application did not meet basic requirements,” Ronnie Arnold, school district spokesperson, said. “For instance, it was missing a budget.”
The application was filed minutes before the Escambia County Schools Department of Alternative Education closed on August 1, the deadline to apply for charter school status for the 2009-2010 school year. It was the only application filed to essential take over the Carver/Century K-8 School if it closed
Then Superintendent Jim Paul had indicated that he planned to recommend the closure of Carver/Century prior to leaving office, but that recommendation never came.
“We have to pause a minute on closing Carver/Century,” newly-installed Superintendent Malcolm Thomas told NorthEscambia.com hours after winning election. “It is not that I am in opposition to closing that school, but I don’t want to close it now to find out that we just have to reopen it next year.”
Project Green Leaf could the school’s saving grace. The electric car manufacturing facility with up to 1,100 jobs proposed for Century could drastically change the future of Carver/Century. “I want specific answers, not just the (Project Green Leaf) sales pitch before making a decision. I want the facts,” Thomas said. “That does not mean that it is over. It just means we are pressing the pause button on closing the school.”
According to the application, it was “Prepared by the Century Blue Ribbon Committee on Education and The Century Community Development Partnership, Inc.”. It was filed by “James Sutton as organizer of the Charter Magnet School at Century in organization” and “Irvin Stallworth as President/Executive Director of CCDP”.
The Town of Century formed its own Blue Ribbon Committee on May 19 and named several area residents to the committee, including Stallworth. That committee appointed by the town is not the committee that filed the charter school application, according to Century Mayor Freddie McCall.
The charter application was officially filed by the Century Community Development Partnership, Inc., a nonprofit headed by Stallworth. But Stallworth is very clear in the cover letter of the application that the CCDP did not intend to be the corporation running the school.
Entire sections of the application were left blank in the 81 page application document. The names, backgrounds and references for each person in the corporation was blank, except for the statement “This information to be determined”. The most notable missing information was a budget, with that section of the application labeled as “pending”.
New Superintendent Wants Input In Survey; Writes Letter To All Employees
November 19, 2008
Newly-installed School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas sent an email to district employees Tuesday, and made a call to all parents, asking for input into running the district.
In his letter to employees, Thomas encouraged all employees to be role models for students in the county with a positive attitude that is “worth catching”.
The survey, which should be complete by December 5, can be accessed by clicking here.
The full text of the new superintendent’s letter to employees is below.
November 18, 2008
Open Letter to Escambia School District Employees:
I am excited about the opportunity to serve as your Superintendent of Schools. As employees of the school district we are all expected to be role models to our students. As role models, our attitude matters. Therefore, I pledge to you that I will model a respectful, dignified and positive attitude as we work together to meet the challenges that face
our district.
Realizing that we can accomplish more working together, I am asking that you join our team. Every employee in our district is important and I welcome everyone’s ideas, opinions and thoughts about how together we can make our students exemplary, thereby making our school system better.
To determine our most important priorities, a short survey has been constructed to collect your input. This survey can be accessed through the Escambia School District web site www.myescambiaschools.com. A paper version of the survey is available for individuals who do not have access to the internet. I will appreciate your downloading and distributing to anyone you know without internet access. It is important that a wide range of Escambia citizens participate and provide feedback. Responses will remain anonymous unless an individual chooses to be identified.
Completing the survey by Friday, December 5, 2008 will insure responses can be compiled in a timely manner with results being shared with everyone. If you believe, as I do, that the best days of our school district are ahead of us, please join me in making this vision a reality. Together we will create an outstanding school system: where students want to attend school and strive to the best of their abilities; where employees feel ownership and valued; where local businesses work cooperatively with the schools and are confident that
qualified and trained employees can enter the work force upon graduation; thus providing a transparent and accountable system where taxpayers realize a positive return on their investment.
Most importantly, attitude not only impacts your happiness and success, it also can impact the happiness and success of all the people around you . . . your family, your friends, and your peers at work. Remember, our attitudes are contagious, and from time to time we need to ask ourselves. . . “is mine worth catching?”
Respectfully,
Malcolm Thomas
Superintendent
Gindl Completes 50 Years Of Service To Escambia Schools
November 19, 2008
An 50 year era in Escambia County education quietly slipped into the history books Tuesday as Peter Gindl, Sr. was, once again, no longer on the Escambia County School Board.
Gindl was fresh out of college back in 1957 when friends first convinced the political newcomer to run for the school board. He was a product of the Escambia School District, a graduate of Auburn. But he really did not know much about the office that was about to propel him into a lifelong quest to help children succeed.
“I was just fresh out of college, a single fellow, when a group of friends convinced me to run for the school board. I had a college education, and the other guy did not,” Gindl said Tuesday. “I didn’t know anything about the school board, but I ran. And I won — by 36 votes.”
Election after election, he continue to win, remaining on the school board for twenty years before deciding to “retire” and teach. He then spent 18 years in the classroom before “retiring” from teaching in 1996. While he supported the family as a farmer (he held an agricultural education degree, after all) for nearly 50 years, the second retirement was not forever. Education was just in his blood somewhere.
In 2004, he returned to the school board in District 5, ousting Linda Finkelstein from her seat. Gindly had plans to return to the board for another term in 2008, but District 5 voters had another plan, as they elected Bill Slayton to Gindl’s seat.
Gindl is not bitter about being defeated by Slayton. He said that if he had to lose the seat to anyone, Bill Slayton would have been his choice.
Slayton and the rest of the new board are going to have their work cut out for them, Gindl said. Budget cuts and school closures are going to be the major issues the new board will face, he said.
“I’d be happy to offer input if they would like to hear what I have to say,” Gindl said. Education really is in his blood.
“I’m going to miss it,” he said Tuesday from his Molino home, just hours before his term officially came to an end. “I’ll miss working with the parents, the educational personnel, everyone that cares about the kids. It has always been about the children.”
Will this retirement be his last from education in Escambia County? He admits, sadly, that he will likely not ever run for the school board again. At 72, his health is just not what it used to be.
“But I will always, always be here to do what I can to help the children. I just love the children.”