Work Begins On Drew’s Field In Memory Of Little Drew Marlow
November 10, 2008
With the rumble of a bulldozer, the dream of Drew’s Field took another major step forward during the past week. For the first time since Cyndi Marlow dreamed of Drew’s Field, it’s a bit easier to look at the upper area of Bradberry Park and see the dream of Drew’s Field.
For the past week, a lone bulldozer has moved tons of dirt at Bradberry Park, carefully carving Drew’s Field out of the land.
Two year old Drew Marlow and his dad Danny Marlow died January 28 in an accident on Highway 97. A short time later, the Northwest Escambia Little League voted to name a new t-ball field at the back of Bradberry Park “Drew’s Field” in honor of Drew’s dream to play ball.
The total price tag for all of the dirt work to build Drew’s Field? Nothing. A Cantonment contractor took over the entire construction process — from pulling permits to erosion control studies to the actual hands-on labor to build in the park — for free.
The Poarch Creek Indians have donated fencing for the project. Now, Cyndi said, she needs to find funding or donations for sod. And about $15,000 for lighting. If all goes as planned, Drew’s Field will be ready for opening day in the spring.
“It’s exciting to see it come together,” Cyndi said. “I’m so happy to see things happen.”
In the meantime, the monument is done that will stand at Drew’s Field. It’s a little over five feet tall. The top reads “Welcome to Drew’s Field” and the bottom features a quote from Danny. “Always let your Light shine,” it says. That’s what Danny would always tell players after ballgames that he coached.
The middle of the monument features a little boy and man walking hand in hand toward the sunset with baseball caps and a bat. The back of the boy’s jersey says “Drew” and has the number “3″ and the man’s jersey says “Drew’s Dad” and has the number “3″ too.
Drew and Danny spent hours playing with a blue and orange Florida Gators bat. Dreaming of that big t-ball opening day they both just knew would come when that little boy with a big number “3” on his jersey stepped to the plate.
Danny had it all planned out, down to the jersey number. Drew was Cyndi and Danny’s “miracle baby”…he was their third attempt at in vitro conception.
“We were just so excited. But then we went to the doctor. They rate the chances of the embryo surviving on a scale of one to five. A four or below has a small chance of surviving.”
“The doctor rated the embryo as a three that was Drew. A three out of five. We knew it was all in God’s hands.”
And God blessed the Marlows with a healthy sandy blond baby boy they named Drew.
“That’s where the jersey number ‘3’ came from. Danny always said ‘could you imagine if he was a five’,” Cyndi said. “He always wanted Drew to wear ‘3’ in his first t-ball game.”
“We were going to go play t-ball,” Cyndi said. “That’s all Drew talked about. “
Drew will never get to play on his field at Bradberry Park. But Cyndi hopes that it will be ready to dedicate on next year’s opening day. “And we are hoping to have a team in the league called ‘Drew’s Dream Team’,” she said.
Additional funding is still needed to make Drew’s Field a reality. If you would like to help build Drew’s Field, donations can be made at any Gulf Winds Federal Credit Union in Escambia or Santa Rosa counties in Florida or at the Atmore, Alabama, branch to the “Drew’s Field” account.
For more information, or to volunteer to help, email jessc@frontiernet.net
To read our story from April about Drew’s Field, click here.
Pictured top: Drew Marlow’s Florida Gator bat on first base at what will become Drew’s Field. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge. Pictured middle: An artist’s drawing of the memorial to be placed at Drew’s Field. Pictured bottom: Drew Marlow, submitted photo.
Exclusive Interview: Ala. Gov. Bob Riley Talks To NorthEscambia.com About Opening Of Highway 113
November 10, 2008
The ribbon will be cut Wednesday official opening the newly widened Highway 113 from Flomaton to I-65. NorthEscambia.com recently spoke with Alabama Gov. Bob Riley about the joint Alabama-Florida project to provide a better hurricane evacuation route for both states.
“Highway 113 is really going to be an asset to both Alabama and Florida,” Gov. Riley told NorthEscambia.com in an exclusive interview. “There’s the obvious, with the hurricane evacuation route, and there are the potential economic benefits.”
The four lanes on Alabama Highway 113 from Flomaton, Alabama, to I-65 will provide a four lane evacuation route from Highway 29 in Pensacola and North Escambia all the way to the interstate.
The 14 mile widening project broke ground on September 11, 2007. Escambia County, Florida, contributed $4 million to the project. Flomaton and Escambia County, Alabama, each contributed $500,000 with the state of Alabama and the federal government picking up of the rest of the nearly $23 million tab.
“This all started with the request of an Alabama mayor,” Riley said of the project that began with Mayor Dewey Bondurant in Flomaton. “Now people all over the country will point to this project as an example of cooperation between states. Both Alabama and Florida truly worked together to get this done.”
“This is a project have immense benefits to both Alabama and Florida,” Riley told NorthEscambia.com. “I think you will begin to see economic growth in both states as a result of this project.”
The ribbon cutting for Highway 113 will take place Wednesday morning in Flomaton, with Riley and a host of other state and local officials from both Alabama and Florida.
Pictured top: These barrels on Highway 113 at Highway 29 are now gone. Pictured inset: Alabama Gov. Bob Riley just before his exclusive interview with NorthEscambia.com. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Order Smoked Turkeys, Smoked Butts And Sweet Potatoes For Thanksgiving
November 10, 2008
Time is running out to order smoked turkeys, smoked Boston butts and sweet potatoes in time for Thanksgiving from two local schools.
Northview FFA — Smoked Turkeys Or Boston Butts
The annual Northview High School FFA Alumni Smoked Turkey and Boston Butt Sale is drawing to a close, and Ernest Ward Middle School’s FFA is selling fresh Baldwin County sweet potatoes.
In the annual fund raiser, you can choose either a seven to nine pound smoked Boston butt or a 10-12 pound smoked turkey for $25 each. The deadline to order is Tuesday, November 11. Boston butts will be available for pickup on Monday, November 24, the the smoked turkeys will be available for pickup on Tuesday, November 25.
Proceeds from the sale will go to benefit the Northview High School FFA Scholarship Fund. The sale is sponsored by Archie’s Catering Smokehouse in Molino.
For a printable order form that you can mail to the school with your payment, click here. For more information, call (850) 327-6681 extension 248.
Ernest Ward Middle — Baldwin County Sweet Potatoes
The Ernest Ward Middle School FFA is selling 20 pound bags of fresh Baldwin County sweet potatoes for $7 each. They are available in white or red. For more information, contact the school at (850) 327-4283 or order from any member of the EWMS FFA.
The sweet potatoes will be delivered in time for Thanksgiving.
North Escambia Weekend In Pictures
November 10, 2008
From football to a fall festival to Veterans Day programs, NorthEscambia.com posted photo galleries over the weekend from several local events.
Click any headline below to read the story and see the photo gallery:
- Seahawks Beat Northview Chiefs 31-0 In District Game
- Tearful Service Honors Veterans; EWMS To Sponsor Honor Flight
- Bratt Elementary School Honors Local Veterans
- Poplar Dell Baptist Holds Fall Festival
Big Mo Tonight At Victory Assembly Of God
November 10, 2008
The Second Annual Winter Campmeeting continues tonight at Victory Assembly of God in Molino.
Services will be held Monday through Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
The guest speaker will be evangelist “Big Mo”. Big Mo is a Dove Award nominee, soloist of the year, songwriter of the year and musician of the year. For more information on Big Mo, click here for his web site.
NWE Midgets Beat Myrtle Grove, Advances To Round Two Of Playoffs
November 9, 2008
The Northwest Escambia Midgets beat Bellview 36-0 to advance to the second round of the Gulf Coast Youth Alliance Football tournament.
NWE avenged a regular season defeat to Bellview with a strong running performance by Dalton Daniel. Daniel had three touchdown runs of 60, 54 and six yards, and finished with a total of 231 yards.
Brannon Freeman intercepted a Bellview pass and returned it 34 yards for a TD.
Next week, NWE (7-2) travels back to to Myrtle Grove to face a tough 8-1 Milton team.
ECUA To Revisit Trash Pickup, Recycling Program Set To Begin In January In North Escambia
November 9, 2008
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority will take a look at its sanitation and recycling program that is set to being in the county, including North Escambia, next year.
ECUA will take over the current Allied Waste franchise in North Escambia on January 1. Their current plan calls for a slight decrease in service cost, with one trash pickup and one recyclable pickup per week.
The ECUA board has already acted twice on the details of the new residential sanitation program, first in April and then again in October. The board will review its October plan at the special meeting Monday and may make changes in details of the planned program.
Allied and ECUA signed a contract on November 5 for ECUA to take over Allied’s North Escambia residential customers on January 1, terminating the Allied franchise that was set to expire in March of next year. Allied will take over ECUA commercial customers in the south part of Escambia County.
“No coercion was involved. Due to the county commission’s 2008 enactment of a flow-control ordinance that prohibits Allied from taking its collection to its own landfill near Brewton, Allied’s financial picture has changed for the worse, and it is happy to reach an agreement with ECUA,” Larry Walker, District 5 ECUA board member, said. “The business agreement between ECUA and Allied offers some attractive elements to Allied, which it is pleased to obtain.”
Walker said that he is pleased to see the end of the Allied franchise, as he personally received complaints about Allied service from over 900 households in four years.
“Allied has served some customers well: ECUA will serve all customers well,” he said.
Currently, both Allied and ECUA provide twice a week garbage pickup in their respective areas for $19.62 per month plus a fuel recovery charge. The current ECUA plan calls for a once-a-week garbage pickup and an optional once-a-week recyclables pickup for $17.99 per month. A second garbage can would be available for $3 per month, with both garbage cans being picked up on the same day.
“I wish to get the charge down to the lowest possible amount,” Walker said. “I also do not think that recyclables collection should be subsidized through the base rate for service.”
At Monday’s meeting, Walker will propose a monthly garbage rate of $17.52 with a subscription charge of 75 cents per month for the recyclables pickup. The combination of once-a-week garbage collection and once-a-week recyclables collection will offer 180 gallons of pickup per week — two 90 gallon cans — for a charge of $18.27. In total volume of pickup, that compares to the current service of 180 gallons of pickup — two 90-gallon cans — for $19.62.
ECUA’s services and rates in North Escambia will be exactly the same as they are in the rest of Escambia County.
Walker (pictured left) said that over half the customers he’s spoken with indicate that they can get by with a single weekly garbage pickup, especially when combined with the recyclables pickup.
“A sizable minority of customers think that once-a-week garbage pickup will not be adequate for their needs, even if they also utilize the recyclables pickup,” he said. “Some of these customers will discover that they can get by with one garbage pickup and one recyclables pickup: Others will genuinely need twice-a-week garbage pickup.”
Nationally, Walker said the trend is a move to once-a-week service rather than twice-a-week due to rising fuel costs; large garbage trucks get about two miles to the gallon.
“The rate reduction made possible by dropping from twice-a-week to once-a-week is universally disappointing. Believe it or not, the cost difference between twice-a-week garbage pickup and once-a-week pickup is only about $2.00 per month. This is true not just of ECUA but of all garbage collectors,” the District 5 ECUA board member said.
Walker said the Town of Century has always had once-a-week service, and that he was recently told by a town official recently that Century officials receive no complaints that the level of service is insufficient to meet household needs.
ECUA’s service will also include the pickup yard debris such as grass clippings and small limbs cut to four foot lengths. Special pickups will be made of bulky items such as refrigerators and sofas at no charge. For the bulky item pickups, customers will be required to call ECUA and request the service.
As for the recyclables pickup, participation will not be mandatory. Customers that do not wish to recycle will not be required to do so. Those that do can continue to recycle in their current manner.
“On the other hand, use of the recyclables collection will help most households to reduce the volume into their regular garbage to a manageable level,” Walker said.
“One NorthEscambia.com reader asked for information about what ECUA will do with the collected recyclables,” Walker stated. “Part of the multi-faceted agreement between ECUA and Allied is that Allied will buy ECUA’s collected recyclables. Allied will then dispose of these materials by selling them in the recyclables markets. The revenue that ECUA will gain from the sell of recyclables to Allied will offset about three-fourths of ECUA’s cost of collecting recyclables.”
Walker said he invites NorthEscambia.com readers with comments or questions to contact him directly by emailing larry@larrywalker.com or calling 723-6094.
Poplar Dell Baptist Holds Fall Festival
November 9, 2008
The annual Fall Festival was held recently at Poplar Dell Baptist Church.
The event included a variety of fun and games, volleyball and plenty of food.
For a complete photo gallery from the Poplar Dell Baptist Church Fall Festival, click here.
Pictured above and below: Scenes from the annual Fall Festival at Poplar Dell Baptist Church. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino Gas Prices Fall Saturday
November 9, 2008
Gas prices fell again on Saturday, at least in Molino.
At the Tom Thumb, located at the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 97, gas prices fell 12 cents per gallon on Saturday. A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.14 a gallon Saturday morning. By Saturday night, that price had fallen to $2.02.
Just a handful of Pensacola stations had a lower price on Saturday. One such station, at Sams Club on Airport Boulevard, the price had fallen to $1.99 a gallon.
Analysts expect gas prices to continue to fall the next few weeks.
Picture left: The gas price sign outside the Molino Tom Thumb Saturday night. NorthEscambia.com photo.
Ride The Bus For Free: Just Donate Canned Goods To Food Bank
November 9, 2008
ECAT riders can help the hungry and get a free bus ride at the same time.
Beginning Monday and continuing through December 7, Escambia County Area Transit riders who donate at least two cans of food on the bus will receive a free ride, including one transfer. For donations of two or more canned goods made at the ECAT office at 1515 West Fairfield Drive in Pensacola, a free ride ticket will be given.
Donations of 10 or more canned goods will receive a free 20 ride ticket. The donations of 10 or more must be made at the ECAT office.
For more information, call Nancy at 595-3228, extension 218.
All proceeds will benefit Manna Food Bank.