Northview Remembers 9/11
September 11, 2008
Northview High School held a moment of silence and recognition for September 11 this morning. Captain Charlie Code, the Naval Science Instructor for Northview’s NJRTOC unit, penned the following for this morning’s reading:
September 11, 2001
A moment of silence-
To remember the men and women who lost their lives in an attack on American soil. Over thirty six hundred individuals died at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania.
To remember the four thousand seven hundred eighty three soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen who have died as a result of the global war on terrorism.
To remember and give thanks for all that you have, to the dedicated men and women who today continue to sacrifice and serve in our fight for freedom not only for America, but the people of the world who want that same freedom. Our fighting men and women have sworn to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Remember that freedom has a price!
That freedom has been paid so you can attend the school of your choice, to worship in the faith of your choosing, to shop where you want, to go where you want to go without having to explain why. The simple things in life that many in the world can only dream of.
Douglas MacArthur said, “no man (or woman) is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he is vigilant in its preservation”.
Remember that freedom has a price!
Blog: Where Were You That September Morning?
September 11, 2008
September 11, 2001. It’s been seven years today. We’ll all ask each other today, “where were you”. So here’s my story.
Life, at least when that morning began, seemed good. I’ve always been a work at home dad, so I was home with my two girls. The youngest was almost four months old, and the oldest was approaching her fourth birthday. It was a normal morning. The little one was asleep, “fat and happy” as we used to say, after a morning bottle. The oldest was in the living room just a few feet from my office watching PBS Kids on the TV as I worked on a project for a client.
Then this arrived in my inbox:
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 08:52am– World trade center damaged; unconfirmed reports say a plane has
crashed into tower. Details to come.
I got up, walked to the living room and flipped the TV to CNN. They were talking about how a pilot could make such an error, hitting such a large building. They were speculating that it was just a small plane. But then as the TV news helicopters zoomed their cameras in closer, the anchors were beginning to notice what I had already thought….those holes the tower were to big to have been a small plane.
I called my wife at work in Atmore. She had seen the breaking news email, and had tried to visit the CNN website to see the story. If you remember trying to use the internet that morning, it was near impossible to get a news website to load; they were all overloaded. She was unable to see the pictures. I was describing what I saw on the TV to her.
I managed to grab a picture from CNN via my web server and then download and email it to her. We were speculating about how it could happen when the second one hit.
I remember saying “wait, hold on, wait…”. I told her what I just watched on the TV. The second plane had hit the other tower. We quickly decided that we were at war as the anchors on TV speculated again that perhaps there was a problem with some navigational system, causing jetliners on a beautiful, clear morning in New York to fly into some of the tallest structures in the world.
Another breaking news email arrived:
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:21am– Second plane crashes into World Trade Center.
She and I began to speculate ourselves that we were at war. What would we do? What should we do? What about the kids? It was not panic, understand, but just that protective momma and daddy instinct, I suppose. Prayer. That was a good idea. Maybe go to the bank and get out a little cash. That seemed like a good idea. How would you prep for a war on American soil? We were not sure.
I continued to relay information about what I was seeing on TV to my wife at work, who, in turn, would relay the information to her coworkers. They had a TV, but no cable service or antenna. They ended up fashioning a homemade antenna to see a fuzzy picture.
Meanwhile, the breaking news emails kept arriving…
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:32am– Sources tell CNN one of two planes that crashed into World Trade
Center was an American Airlines 767.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:42am– President Bush calls plane crashes at World Trade Center a
terrorist act.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:45am– Significant fire at the Pentagon. Details to come.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:46am– White House evactuated. Details to come.
The Pentagon on fire? The White House evacuated? Notice that in CNN’s email they were in such a hurry that they misspelled “evacuated”. One sentence at a time, the situation became more grave.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:55am– CNN confirms a plane hit the Pentagon
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 10:03am– One of World Trade Center towers collapses; fire forces
evacuation of State Department
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 10:30am– Second World Trade Center tower collapses in Manhattan
Over and over, we watched those towers collapse on TV, and we watched our Pentagon burn.
Our almost four year old asked a lot of questions. “Were people hurt? Did they need a Band-aid?” The magnitude of the event was lost on a four year old. Looking back at those first few hours, I think the magnitude of the event was lost on all of us.
Like many Americans, I sat glued to the TV that day, continuing to watch the video of the towers falling. Our almost four year old asked if another building fell down or if it was the same one. It was time to change the channel on the TV.
You might remember that many of the entertainment TV stations ran network news feeds. Others just simply ran screens about the day’s events. There was no USA network, no ESPN, no MTV. But on PBS, we found children’s programming at a time it was not normally on. For a little while, sitting in the living room floor holding my kids, the world stopped turning that September day, as we watched Big Bird and the Cookie Monster.
Country artist Alan Jackson later wrote a song “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?”.
Some of those lyrics:
Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cryDid you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don’t know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left belowBut I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
Where where you when the world stopped turning that September day? Your comments are welcome below.
That’s A Big Rattlesnake: Six-Two
September 11, 2008
This rattlesnake was killed near the intersection of Tungoil Road and Highway 97 south of Walnut Hill Wednesday by Adam Dortch of Bratt. The snake was six feet two inches long. It had 14 rattles and one button. The snake’s head was four inches wide. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com.
Century Man Recalls Flying On September 11
September 11, 2008
Seven years ago this morning, Freddie McCall of Century and his son were preparing their small plane to fly to Texas. It was a major business decision for the McCalls…should they bid on a contract for the Texas company, or should they not? They knew that landing the contract for their company, Brewton Aviation, would mean hiring a new pilot or perhaps one of them moving to Texas. It would be a day that would change their lives. But little did they know how much the lives of all Americans were about to change that morning…September 11, 2001.
McCall flew out of the Brewton airport early that morning, headed for brief stops in Mobile and Baton Rouge before heading to Texas. Plans quickly changed, as the weather became too foggy to fly. The McCalls set their small plane down on a grassy strip near Jay to wait for the fog to burn off. They had no communications… no cellular phone and their radio was not turned on.
We all know the sequence of events that most people saw unfold on live television before our eyes. At 7:45 our time, a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. Television anchors were talking about the terrible accident, speculating how a pilot could make such a grave mistake. As millions watched the TV, a second plane hit the second Twin Tower at 8:03. We all knew…we were under attack.
But McCall and his son still had no idea of the horror unfolding in New York. A world away, the fog had lifted in Jay. They took off, flying under the level of airport radar, toward Mobile. Their biggest concern was still the trip to Texas and the business deal.
At 8:40 local time, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights in the United States, for the first time in American history. Brewton Avation’s plane continued toward Mobile. They had no idea that they were flying in increasingly empty skies .
“Our big concern that day was the contract for our company in Texas,” McCall said. “I had thought long and hard about it, and we had prayed about it.”
As they approached Mobile, McCall contacted the Mobile Regional Airport to let them know they were approaching at about 500 feet, still below the level of the airport’s radar.
“A voice came back real prompt like and asked where we were,” he said. “They told us to fly directly to the airport and get that plane down as fast as we could.”
McCall and his son knew something was going on, but they had no idea what.
Upon landing in Mobile, the Brewton Aviation plane was met by authorities who told them to get anything out of the plane they ever wanted to see again. McCall said that he still did not know what was going on in New York, and by that point, at the Pentagon in Washington.
McCall and his son were escorted to a room that had a TV. They watched the replays of the towers being hit again and again.
They called their wives to get rides back home. Their plane was held by federal authorities for a week before it was released.
Post-9/11 business has changed in many ways for Brewton Aviation and McCall. Insurance is up 20 times what it was before the terrorist attacks. Flight plans are required by Homeland Security and the FAA.
“The Lord was good to us, increasing our contracts in other ways,” McCall said of his business, post-9/11. “We have kept our head above water, and we have survived.”
“And our country has survived; the Lord took care of all of us,” he said.
McCall now serves as mayor of Century.
JV Canes Down Excel
September 11, 2008
The Flomaton JV Canes hosted the Excel Panthers Tuesday night in game number two of their regular football season. The younger players started off the night by playing one ten minute quarter. The Canes came out on top of that by a score of 8-0.
After that, the regular JV team took the field for their game. The final of that game was 22-0. The JV Canes are now 2-0.
The JV Canes travel to Uriah next Tuesday to take on JU Blacksher. These two teams met a few weeks ago in a preseason game that saw the Canes victorious in that game also.
For more photos from the game, click here.
For even more photos, visit www.mikenewtonphotography.zenfolio.com.
Pictured above: The Flomaton JV Canes versus Excel. Submitted photo by Mike Newton Photography for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
School District: New Life Baptist Owes $73,000; Water, Gas Still In District’s Name
September 11, 2008
The Escambia County School District has reached a dollar figure they say New Life Baptist Church owes for electric bills on the Old Century High School, and the Town of Century has totaled gas, water and sewer bills on the building.
NorthEscambia.com was the first to report on August 7 that the Escambia County School District had paid water, sewer and gas bills for the old Century High School since it was leased by the Century church in 2004. New Life Baptist Church leases the building from the Escambia County School District for $1 per year. In an exclusive interview with NorthEscambia.com shortly after the story broke, New Life Pastor Irvin Stallworth acknowledged that the church had never paid any utility bills since moving into the building.
The Gulf Power electric account for the building was switched into the name of New Life Baptist on September 1, according to Ronnie Arnold, school district spokesman. The total amount Arnold says New Life owes the district for electricity for the four year period is about $73,000.
“We are in discussions with Rev. Stallworth and his trustees to develop a monthly payment plan for the church to make restitution,” Arnold said.
The gas, water and sewer accounts at the building remain in the school districts name, according to Century Mayor Freddie McCall.
An account history obtained by NorthEscambia.com shows that the water, sewer and gas bills from the Town of Century totaled $123,488.81 for the period from August 2004 to August 2008.
Arnold said those accounts would be switched to New Life’s name after the town installs new meters. The current meters serve both the old high school building leased by the church as well as the gym and football field that are still used by the school district.
McCall confirmed that the district had spoken with the town about installing the new meters and town employees had met with a district maintenance man to located lines. But he said the district had not yet initiated a work order to have the meters installed.
Budget Public Hearing Today
September 11, 2008
The Century Town Council will hold a public hearing on the town’s proposed budget at 5:01 this afternoon at the town hall.
The public is invited to attend and offer their input into the $2.5 million budget.
Learn To Read Meeting At IP
September 11, 2008
Learn to Read of Northwest Florida will host an informational orientation meeting this afternoon at International Paper.
The meeting will be from 3:00 until 4:00 this afternoon at the International Paper Employee Development Center, room 109, in Cantonment.
This meeting will educate prospective volunteers on tutoring and various other rewarding opportunities.
Learn to Read of Northwest Florida is a non-profit adult literacy program in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties, that provides free, one-one tutoring for adults who need help with reading and writing,
To reserve your place and for directions, contact Lise at 432-4347 or email info@learntoreadnwf.org. For more information about Learn to Read, visit learntoreadnwf.org.
Northview Holds Open House
September 10, 2008
Northview High School held its annual open house Tuesday evening.
Parents had the opportunity to visit with their child’s teachers, tour the school and learn more about what Northview High School has to offer.
Pictured above: NJROTC welcomed parents to the annual open house Tuesday at Northview High School.
Century Finalizes Budget: Keeps Bonuses, Cuts Non-profits, Changes Insurance Plans
September 10, 2008
The Town of Century finalized their budget for next year at a Tuesday night meeting, keeping bonuses and cost of living salary increases for employees, changing insurance plans and cutting funding for several of the town’s non-profits.
The council started a long workshop meeting needing to make up a $308,000 defect.
A majority of the three hour meeting was devoted to discussing changes in the town’s health insurance program. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama had notified the town that the premiums on their current insurance plan were increasing from about $160,000 last year to $215,000 this year. That sent the council in search of a new BCBSAL plan.
In the end, the council chose a plan that will mean increased deductibles for the 19 employees in the plan. It will cost the town about $150,000 a year rather than the $215,000 the new plan would have cost.
Currently, the town pays 100 percent of the insurance cost for the employee and 77 percent of the cost for dependents and spouses. Council member Ann Brooks wanted to cut the 77 percent to 50 percent. That proposal brought fire from other council members and town employees in the audience. Brook’s proposal could have cost some town employees another $60 to $70 a week.
“We have a Cadillac (insurance) policy,” Brooks said. “We cannot afford to be so generous.”
“A lot of our guys have their families insured, but that can’t afford another $70 a week for their families,” Town Clerk Dorothy Sims said.
Two council members, Henry Hawkins and Gary Riley, called for the council to cut about $26,000 a year the town current spends for health insurance for Mayor Freddie McCall and council members Nadine McCaw and Brooks.
“I think we should drop the council and the mayor,” Hawkins said. “I don’t think we should drop our employees’ pay (by making them pay more for insurance) when we are not paying them enough now.”
“It is a possible chance that the mayor and council may not be here that long,” Riley said. “Some of the employees have been here for 25 years.”
“You are going to be hurting the council people and me if you take away the insurance,” McCall responded. “There ought to be some incentive for elected officials. But I’ll survive.”
Council member McCaw said that she was against charging employees more for their insurance. “If you start taking out of their paychecks every week,” she said, “then you are hurting their families.”
After much discussion, the council decided to continuing making insurance available to the council and mayor, and to keep the town’s share at 77 percent of the cost for family and dependent coverage. They also voted to drop dental coverage for a savings to the town of another $12,000 a year.
Next year’s budget includes a 2.3 percent cost of living pay increase for employees. The council also left a bonus of $250 per employee, $4,250 total, in the budget.
The council voted to cut funding by half for non-profits that they support. Instead of $2,000 per year, organizations that include Century Little League, the chamber of commerce, the Carver/Century Community Center and the Alger-Sullivan Historical Society, will receive$1,000. A budgeted $1,000 for Fourth of July fireworks was also cut.
Riley, Hawkins and McCaw supported cutting one half of the funds from the non-profits. Sharon Scott supported not cutting their funding, while Brooks supported cutting all of the funding for non-profits.
The council expects to see an increase of about $44,000 a year in the water department once a consultant completes a rate study. It is expected that the minimum charge for water in the town will increase from $9 to about $13.
The council voted to include the anticipated $44,000 water revenue in the budget, move $55,000 in sales tax revenue to the budget, use $45,000 in interest income, cut $6,500 in non-profit contributions, add an anticipated $6,000 a year in additional garbage funds, add an increase of $4,000 a year in building rental fees and an add estimated $60,000 in property taxes in an attempt to balance their budget.
The building rental increase will come from a vote to double the rental fee for the town’s Ag Building on Highway 4. The $60,000 millage property tax increase will come from a plan to increase the property tax millage from .787 mils to 3 mils. The town’s tax rate in 1979 was 3 mils.
The council voted to take up to $162,500 from local option gas tax money from the town’s reserves to meet this year’s budget. That number will be $102,500 if they are legally able to raise the millage rate by the $60,000 per year.
Hudson will present his final draft of the budget a special budget public hearing at 5:01 Thursday afternoon. The public is invited to attend and offer their comments on the budget.
Pictured above: Century council members Sharon Scott (left) and Henry Hawkins listen to town accountant Robert Hudson Tuesday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.