Locals React To Move Toward Closing School
August 20, 2008
Century residents in attendance at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Escambia County School Board were not pleased with the board’s decision to begin the process to rezone the school’s students away, a potential move toward closing the school.
“Disappointment” was the recurring word in the hallways of the J.E. Hall Center in Pensacola following the board’s decision. To read about the board’s decision Tuesday night, click here.
“I’m extremely disappointed in our District 5 representative,” Century Council President Ann Brooks said of board member Pete Gindl’s vote to begin the rezoning process. “How can we make the kids come back? They (the school board) made them leave.”
“He (Gindl) does not even know how to get up there to Century, to the school,” Brenda Spencer, a member of the town’s Blue Ribbon Committee, said. “He had to call for directions. But this is not over. The board is going to meet with us.”
“I am disappointed,” Century Mayor Freddie McCall said. “It happened tonight as I expected. With all the improvements we’ve made, we can’t give up now. Mr. Paul left the door open.”
Principal Jeff Garthwaite said there were 226 students sitting in his school on Tuesday. He said he’s doing all that he can to improve that number, but’s it is a hard thing to do.
“As long as we have the cloud of closure hanging over our heads, it is less likely for us to bring the kids back to the school,” Garthwaite said.
“And there are some community issues and hurdles that have to be addressed,” he said. “The community is fighting to keep its identity.”
First Step In Closure: Rezone Carver/Century Students To Other Schools
August 20, 2008
The Escambia County School Board did not vote to close Carver/Century K-8 School Tuesday night, but they did vote to begin the process of deciding where to send students once the school closes.
The board voted 4-1 to have the School Attendance Zone Advisory Committee (SAZAC) rezone the Carver/Century school zone to send the children to other North Escambia schools including Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle School. Board member Claudia Brown-Curry cast the lone no vote.
“This is not closing the school”, board member Patty Hightower said. “This is just a step to take us there.”
She, along with Superintendent Jim Paul, said the only hope to save the school would be an increased enrollment. “You have time to build up your enrollment,” Hightower told the two dozen or so Carver/Century supporters at Tuesday night’s board meeting.
As of Tuesday, there were 125 enrolled in the elementary at Carver/Century, six more than the district had projected. There were 95 students in middle school, 18 more than the district’s projected enrollment.
A K-8 school with just over 200 students, now that’s inefficient,” board member Jeff Bergosh said.
“This is not an easy decision,” Bergosh said. “I think the students will have more opportunities,” he said, adding that he believes Carver/Century students will improve once they are exposed to more opportunities at top rated Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle.
Bergosh commented that closing Carver/Century would not really be closing the last school in Century. “I believe Bratt Elementary has a Century address,” he said. Bratt Elementary does have a Century mailing address, according to the school’s website, but it is nine miles outside the Century town limits.
“We have to be more efficient,” Bergosh said. “Those children (at Carver/Century) don’t have the opportunities that they will have at Ernest Ward.”
“I feel like closing that school is taking the life out of that community,” board member Claudia Brown-Curry said.
“I gave them another year,” Paul said. “Those students can come back on their own choice. I’m still hoping to see that. There are enough students in Century to bring that school back.”
Several Century residents attended the board’s meeting in Pensacola Tuesday evening, and a few addressed the board.
“Give us a chance, please don’t close our school tonight,” Century Mayor Freddie McCall told the school board members.
“Does this seem like prejudice to you?” Century resident Annie Savage asked. “We are not happy at the north end of the county because you show us no respect.”
Savage said she owns four pieces of property in Century ,and she pays school tax on each. But if the board closes Carver/Century, she plans to refuse to pay those taxes.
Century Council President Anne Brooks told the school board that they had changed their reason for closing the school several times. First, she said, the board was going to close the school because it was an “F” school. But, she said, that changed after the school’s grade improved to a “B”. Then, she said, Century residents were told the school was closing due to money.
But then, she said, the district was discovered to be paying tens of thousands of dollars of utility bills on a building leased for $1 per year to New Life Baptist Church. She called that “gross mismanagement” of district funds.
Then, Brooks said, the reason became low enrollment. “The county and the state allowed them to go elsewhere,” she said. “The answer is to send the students back to the school where they came from.”
“You are going to destroy our town,” Brooks told the board.
Century businessman Jack Moran told the board that closing the school would take away the only approved hurricane shelter in the area, presenting a potential problem for the community.
The process toward closing the school begins with SAZAC creating the new school attendance zones. Hightower said that at least one of the upcoming SAZAC meetings should be held in Century to allow area residents to attend the meeting. If the board is to eventually vote to close the school, she said that at least one school board meeting should also be held in Century to allow public input.
Pictured top: School Superintendent Jim Paul (left) listens as Century Mayor Freddie McCall pleads Tuesday night with the Escambia School Board to save Carver/Century K-8 School. Pictured middle: Century resident Annie Savage address the school board in support of Century’s school. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
District Changes Mind On Middle School Walk Policy
August 20, 2008
The Escambia School Board is changing its mind on the their new middle school walk zone policy, going back to the old policy. The new walk zone had middle school students two miles away walking to school. The old policy, which is being reinstated, decreases that distance to 1.5 miles.
Several parents, many with students attending Tate High School or Ransom Middle School, told the school board Tuesday night that they feared for the safety of their children.
Expressing the potential dangers of crossing a busy Highway 29 to children walking past dozens of registered sex offenders living near Tate High, parents wanted the district to return to the old walk policy. The district did just that, making an immediate change back to the 1.5 mile walk zone.
The state provides funding to transport students that live more than two miles from school, but not within the two mile limit for middle or high school students.
Some parents complained that their children were forced to walk in ditches due to the lack of sidewalks near the schools.
“I encourage you to go to your county commission and make the same plea,” board member Patty Hightower said.
“It’s going to mean being involved with the people in Tallahassee,” board member Gerald Boone said. “I know I wouldn’t let my children or grandchildren walk in situations like that.”
Pictured above: A concerned citizen holds a sign protesting the Escambia County’s school walk policy at the school board’s Tuesday night meeting. NorthEscambia.com photo.
Another $3 Million Plus In Pot Found Near Jay
August 20, 2008
Deputies in north Santa Rosa County have discovered another almost 2,000 pot plants near Jay.
The 1,900 plants, valued at more than $3 million, were found in five different areas just outside Jay Tuesday.
Deputies did not say if the marijuana plants found Tuesday were related to several large discoveries earlier this year. About 5,000 plants were found in March, 1,100 marijuana plants were found and destroyed in late July, and another 250 plants were discovered a short time later.
Tharon “Buckshot” Godwin, 66, of Jay was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver, a third degree felony in connection with one field. Authorities have not said if he was connected to any of the other fields.
Today Is Last Day To Request Mailed Absentee Ballot; Early Voting Continues
August 20, 2008
Wednesday is the last day for voters to request an absentee ballot be mailed to them for the August 26 Primary Election, and early voting is continuing in the county.
Voters wanting an absentee ballot must request their ballot no later than close of business today. Voters can make their request by contacting the Supervisor of Elections by mail, phone (850-595-3900), e-mail (absentee@escambiavotes.com), fax (850-595-3914), or by using the online form at www.EscambiaVotes.com. Requests must include the voter’s date of birth and the address where the ballot should be mailed.
Voters will still have the ability after Wednesday to pick up an absentee ballot in person from the Elections Office, up to and including Election Day. Voted absentee ballots must be received in the Elections Office no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, August 26th.
Early voting is offered in four locations in the county until Saturday; the closest to North Escambia is in Cantonment. Early voters can cast paper ballots using the county’s new optical scanners, and can choose any of the four sites.
The sites for early voting are:
- Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 213 Palafox Place, 2nd Floor
- Supervisor of Elections Annex, 292 Muscogee Road, Cantonment
- Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway
- Tyron Branch Library, 5740 North 9th Avenue
Early voting began Monday and will continue each day through Saturday, August 23rd from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m..
By the end of the day Tuesday, about 2,700 people had cast early ballots in Escambia County.
CrossTies Tales From The Junction Promo Video
August 19, 2008
Ernest Ward Students Over 30 Minutes Late Leaving School; Few Other First Day Problems Reported
August 19, 2008
Few problems were reported across North Escambia as students headed back to school on Monday. There were some transportation problems, with Ernest Ward Middle School students leaving campus over half an hour late.
“It really was not that big of a problem,” said Nancy Gindl-Perry, Ernest Ward principal. “Middle school is the last on the buses, and we always have a little problem every year.”
Ernest Ward was to have dismissed at 3:10 with buses pulling out at 3:15. But many buses were late, with some not arriving at the school until 3:30. Buses finally pulled out of the school about 3:50.
Perry said the buses were late because of typical first day of school problems getting elementary school students home. She said that the situation should improve as the week goes on.
“But overall, it was one of the smoothest opening days I’ve ever had,” she said.
School students across North Escambia all now have different start and dismissal times.
Most elementary schools in Escambia County have a morning start time of 7:30 and an afternoon dismissal time of 2:00. The earliest students can be dropped off at the elementary schools, including Bratt and Molino Park, is 7:05.
Carver/Century has an 8:55 a.m to 3:25 p.m. day for both elementary and middle school students, with an early drop time of 8:30. Byrneville Elementary has a start time of 7:45 a.m. with an early drop time of 7:15. Dismissal time at Byrneville is 2:00.
At Ernest Ward Middle School, the morning start time is 8:30 and the afternoon dismissal time is 3:10. The earliest student can be dropped off at is 8:15. Most of the other middle schools in the county are running 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
At Northview High School, the school day is now 7:40 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. The earliest students will be allowed on campus is 7:25 a.m. Most other high school in the county have an 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. day.
Pictured above: Buses were still arriving on campus at 3:30 Monday afternoon at Ernest Ward Middle School. Students were to have boarded their buses at 3:10 to leave campus at 3:15, but it was about 3:50 before the buses pulled away from EWMS. NorthEscambia.com photo.
Tax Collector Cutting Hours, Moving Driver License Services From Century
August 19, 2008
Driver license services will no longer be offered at the courthouse in Century after September 11, and the tax collector’s hours in Century are being cut back to just three days a week.
NorthEscambia.com has learned that Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley will announce on Tuesday that her office in the Billy G. Ward Courthouse in Century will no longer offer driver license services next month. Those services will be transferred to the Cantonment office on Highway 29.
“The service is being transferred from the Century Tax Collector Office in order to provide easier access to a greater number of citizens in the northern part of Escambia County,” the press release to be issued today from Holley’s office says.
Both the Century and Cantonment tax collector offices will be closed on Friday, September 12 to transfer computer systems. The Century branch will reopen on Tuesday, September 16 with new hours of operation…Tuesday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The office is currently open 8:30 to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Cantonment branch will continue their same hours of operation from 8:30 until 5:00 Monday to Friday with extended hours unti 6:00 on Wednesdays. The driver license services will be available by appointment only by calling 438-6500, extension 252.
“In this reorganization, we have reallocated our services in order to reach the most citizens while reducing the cost of providing these services,” Holley said. “We expect to save about $100,000 annually in operational costs and reduction in staff.”
Holley was in Century Monday and met with Mayor Freddie McCall and council President Anne Brooks to explain the changes to them prior to making the public annoucement on Tuesday.
“We are very fortunate that it’s a reduction, not a closure,” Brooks said. “She was nice to let the town know about it first.”
Funeral Services Announced For Flomaton Player
August 19, 2008
Funeral services have been announced for a former Flomaton High School football player that collapsed and died Friday following football practice at Huntington College in Montgomery.
The funeral for Sam Collins, 18, will be at 10:00 Saturday morning at Flomaton High School. The Rev. John Evangelista of the First United Methodist Church of Flomaton will officiate.
Huntington College will dedicate a chapel service to Collins. That chapel service will be held at the school in Montgomery on September 3.
A memorial fund has been established to assist the family with final arrangements. Donations may be sent to the Office of External Affairs, Huntingdon College, 1500 E. Fairview Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama, 36109. Checks may be made payable to Huntingdon College and designated to the Sam Collins Memorial Fund.
For more information on Collin’s death, click here to read a Sunday story from NorthEscambia.com.
Frontier DSL And Dialup Internet Outage Reported; Some Out Nearly A Day
August 19, 2008
Frontier Communications experienced a DSL outage Monday night, and that outage continued for some customers in Walnut Hill and Molino, and for most customers in Atmore for about 19 hours.
From Walnut Hill to Molino in Florida to Atmore, Monroeville and Camden in Alabama, Frontier digital subscriber line (DSL) high speed internet and Frontier dialup access was out for the better part of Monday evening. Service for some customers, particularly in Florida, returned by midnight Monday, but many were still without internet access until Tuesday afternoon.
The outage was scattered in Walnut Hill and Molino, but was widespread in Atmore, according to Karen Miller, communications manager for Frontier. She said the outage was caused by an AT&T equipment failure in Mobile.
The NorthEscambia.com site was not impacted by the outage; our server is in a secure data facility in the northeast that is not served by Frontier. Internet service to our servers is provided by six companies on circuits that range in speed from GigE to OC-48. An OC-48 connection is a fiber optic connection with a speed that is almost 2,500 times faster than a Frontier residential DSL connection.