Century Block Party Postponed
September 4, 2008
A block party that was scheduled for Thursday in Century has been postponed.
The Century Blue Ribbon Committee had planned the block party to celebrate back to school at Carver/Century K-8 School, but is has been postponed until further notice. Organizers say the postponement is due to a planning delay caused by this past weekend’s weather.
Graphic Photos Of “Sam”
September 3, 2008
Photos of “Sam”, a pit bull dragged along Highway 113 north of Flomaton Tuesday afternoon. Photos provided by the Humane Society of Escambia County, Alabama. Click here to return to the story.
EREC, Gulf Power Head To Louisiana For Relief Effort
September 3, 2008
Dozens of area power company employees are on their way to Louisiana to help restore power to thousands left in the dark following Hurricane Gustav.
Gulf Power sent 51 employees to Lafayette, Louisiana to assist in power restoration there.
Escambia River Electric Cooperative has sent linemen and a ground crew to Houma, Louisiana, to help restore power. They will be working side by side with employees of the South Lousiana Electric Cooperative, a 17,000 member electric cooperative. All 17,000 were without power Tuesday morning.
In addition to sending manpower to aid their fellow cooperative, EREC sent ice, line hardware and equipment, canned goods, water, fuel, and other supplies and equipment desperately needed.
The process to restore those hard hit communities will be a long and tedious process, according to Sabrina Owens, spokesperson for EREC. She said EREC is committed for the long haul to provide assistance to those near Houma. The relief crews from EREC will be rotated on a weekly basis as they continue to support the relief effort.
Pictured above: EREC crewmen Wesley Clark, Glenn White, Brandon Smith, Kent Calloway, Tony Moody, Mark LeFlore and David Deese will assist the power restoration of South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association customers near Houma, Louisiana. Pictured below: EREC crewmen load line equipment and supplies as they prepare to help restore power to communities hard hit by Hurricane Gustav. Pictured bottom: EREC crews head to Houma, LA, for Gustav restoration efforts. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com.
Town Of Century Files Foreclosure Against Helicopter Technologies
September 3, 2008
The Town of Century has filed mortgage foreclosure papers against Helicopter Technologies, Inc. in Escambia County Circuit Court.
The Helicopter Technologies building in the Century Industrial Park was financed by the Town of Century in 1991 for $420,000 according to filed documents. The company currently owes the town about $450,000, Mayor Freddie McCall told the told council at the July meeting at which the council voted to begin emergency foreclosure proceedings.
The town’s attorney, Matt Dannheisser, located Helicopter Technologies owner Georges Van Nevel (pictured left, file photo) in Hong Kong and contacted him by email, McCall said.
“He answered some, but he did not respond to others,” McCall told NorthEscambia.com. In those emails, Dannheisser forwarded legal papers to Van Nevel to sign the building back over to the town, the mayor said, but Van Nevel never signed and returned the papers. The town was prepared to forgive Van Nevel’s entire debt if he signed the building back over to the town.
At the council’s July 7 meeting, the mayor told the council that Van Nevel told him that the building would be sold to a Pensacola buyer by July 11. NorthEscambia.com learned on July 10 that the sale was off and the buyer was backing out.
McCall said that a clause in Helicopter Technologies’ contract with the town gave the town the option to “take back” three lots around the building, and he said the town would take possession of those lots.
Pictured top: The inside of the Helicopter Technologies building in the Century Industrial Park earlier this year. NorthEscambia.com exclusive file photo, click to enlarge.
Chiefs Dominate ECHS On Volleyball Court
September 3, 2008
The Northview Chiefs dominated Escambia County High School from Atmore Monday night in varsity volleyball action.
Northview defeated the Blue Devils 25-7, 25-17 and 25-9.
Middle blocker Shawna Montgomery had three kills and eight aces, and middle blocker Brittney Thompson had two kills on Northview’s home court. Setter Caitlin Hall racked up 18 assists and six aces on the night.
Both the JV and Varsity Lady Chiefs will be on the road Thursday night against Pensacola Christian Academy. The JV takes to the court at 5:00 and the varsity plays at 6:00.
For a complete photo gallery, click here.
Pictured above: Two Northview players (right) go up for the block in unison Tuesday evening against Escambia County High School. NorthEscambia.com photo.
Huge Tree Limb Slams Into Molino Trailer; Resident Uninjured
September 3, 2008
No one was injured when a large oak tree limb crashed down onto a Molino home Tuesday afternoon.
The resident of the mobile home in the 5000 block of Cedartown Road said she was in the other end of the trailer about 3 p.m. Tuesday with her grandchild when the limb crashed into the roof. They were not injured.
“I just thank the Lord we were not in there in this end of the house,” she told NorthEscambia.com. “The Lord saved us. My house, my stuff can be replaced. I just thank God we were OK.”
There was no wind or rain in the area at the time the limb fell, but neighbors say they think the tree might have been damaged in some of the Hurricane Gustav related storms that moved over the area on Monday.
The resident said the inside of the mobile home was heavily damaged, with much of the ceiling falling to the floor.
The Molino Volunteer Fire Department responded to call.
Flomaton JV Downs Georgiana
September 3, 2008
The Flomaton Junior Varsity downed the Georgiana Panthers 28-14 Tuesday night in their season opener.
The ‘Canes scored twice before the Panthers first score. The Hurricanes led 28-6 at the half.
During the second half, some of the younger JV Canes got time on the field. The Panthers would put eight more on the board for a final score of Canes 28, Panthers 14.
The next Flomaton JV game will be next Tuesday, September 9 at home against the Excel Panthers. Game time is at 6:00.
Click here for more photos of the Flomaton JV win over Georgiana.
Submitted by Mike Newton.
Pictured above: The Huricane’s David Williamson brings down a Panther for a loss of yards. Photos courtesy Mike Newton Photography for NorthEscambia.com.
Town Of Century Needs To Find A Quarter Million Dollars..Fast
September 3, 2008
The Town of Century needs to find a way to save a quarter million dollars, and they need to do it fast.
The town’s accountant, Robert Hudson, told the town council at their Tuesday night meeting that they need to approve a budget early next week in order to hold a public hearing on that budget by September 11.
The budget for the next fiscal year has a $255,000 deficit, according to Council president Ann Brooks. “We have a much larger shortfall than we’ve been having,” she said.
The $255,000 shortfall assumes the council chooses a cheaper health plan for town employees. The town currently pays about $161,000 a year for health benefits, but that number would rise to $212,000 if they council did not make a health benefit change. Brooks said one plan being considered would cost the town about $150,000 per year.
The town council will hold a workshop meeting at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, September 9 to finalize their choice of health insurance plans, and to insert numbers they are getting from quotes for workman’s comp, liability and life insurance into the budget. They will hold a special meeting immediately following the workshop to approve the budget.
A first public hearing on the budget will be held at 5:01 p.m. on Thursday, September 11 for public input on the budget.
In other business Tuesday night, the Century Town Council:
- Approved a five year schedule for capital improvement grant applications for the Anthony Pleasant Sports Complex, Fischer’s Landing and water, sewer and stormwater improvements. That schedule was made part of the town’s comprehensive plan.
- Postponed public hearings on grant application for the Anthony Pleasant Sports Complex and Fischer’s Landing because the public hearings were not properly advertised. The public hearings were postponed to the council’s next regular meeting on September 15.
- Heard from council member Gary Riley who said the council needs a comprehensive plan for dealing with disasters, not just hurricanes.
- Approved a separate bank account for funds related to the Veteran’s Memorial Wall.
The meeting, which was moved to Tuesday because of Monday’s Labor Day holiday, was held in near record time…about 30 minutes. For the first time since taking office, Mayor Freddie McCall had nothing for his “mayor’s report” portion of the meeting.
The Tropics: After Gustav, There’s Hanna And Ike And Josephine
September 2, 2008
Gustav is expected to fade away into a rainy low over Texas and Oklahoma this week, turning attention to the next round of tropical systems…Hanna and Ike and now Josephine.
Hurricane Hanna was located near the southern Bahamas. A category one hurricane, Hanna is expected strengthen this week and head west then northwest toward the U.S. Coast. Hanna is expected to make landfall on the South Carolina coast near the Georgia line Friday afternoon as a category two hurricane.
From his location in the middle of the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Ike is forecast to become a category two hurricane moving west toward southern Bahamas by the weekend. Long range forecast models have Ike potentially moving toward southern Florida or even the Gulf of Mexico by early next week.
Behind Ike is Tropical Storm Johsephine, just off the coast of Africa. Preliminary forecast models have the area approaching hurricane status in three days. But those models also have it beginning a turn out to the middle of the Atlantic and not becoming a threat to land anywhere.
Pictured above: A satellite image showing Gustav making landfall in Louisiana (left) and Hurricane Hanna over the southern Bahamas (right).
Gustav Lacks Gusto In North Escambia
September 2, 2008
Hurricane Gustav rained out more than a few Labor Day Barbecues in North Escambia, but overall it led to few problems in our immediate area.
Rain bands from Gustav contained storms that were observed rotating on radar, prompting the National Weather Service to issued about a half dozen different tornado warnings Monday morning. Possible tornadoes were observed on radar near Molino, Barrineau Park, Walnut Hill, Molino, Enon and Cantonment, but funnel clouds were never reported to have reached the ground in the area. There were no injuries or damage reported from the possible tornadoes.
A weather station in Molino reported a wind gust of 37 mph, while a weather station at Century reported a wind gust of 29 mph. Rain totals were from half an inch to almost two inches across the area.
Scattered power outages were reported across North Escambia by both Gulf Power and Escambia River Electric Cooperative. Most outages were brief in duration, with power crews able to quickly restore service to most customers.
No other major problems were reported across the North Escambia area.