ECUA’s First Trash Pickups Will Be Today, Saturday In North Escambia
January 2, 2009
ECUA’s residential trash service began Friday in North Escambia.
Emerald Coast Utilities Authority sanitation service will assume collection of all routes currently collected by Allied Waste in North Escambia. Customers whose residential garbage was picked up by Allied Waste on Thursdays hadtheir final, twice-weekly pickup Fridayday. Customers with Friday pickup will have their final, twice-weekly pickup on Saturday.
ALL ECUA customers, including North Escambia customers, will begin receiving once weekly garbage, recyclable and yard waste pickup beginning Tuesday, January 6. For customers in the North Escambia, the pickup day will be Tuesday. The collection service includes once weekly garbage pickup, once weekly pickup of recyclables, and once weekly yard waste pickup. In addition, bulky waste pickup service is available, free-of-charge, once each calendar month. Residential garbage service rates are being reduced to $17.99 a month, effective January 1, 2009.
Most ECUA customers who have registered for recycling have received their recycling container, and those who have not yet received their container can expect delivery by January 10, according to an ECUA news release.
“ECUA will be working on January 2-3 to distribute as many recyclables containers as possible. Let’s see how things look after that. I hope that we will see that many customers’ requested cans will be provided by the end of day Saturday,” Larry Walker, ECUA District 5 member, said in a posting on NorthEscambia.com in response to a story that few, if any, North Escambia residents have had their recyclables container delivered.
Customers who have not registered for recycling can do so by emailing ECUA at support@ecua.org and requesting service, calling ECUA Customer Service at 476-0480 or visiting www.ecua.org, printing out a request form and mailing it.
The ECUA sanitation service does not include residents in the Town of Century. Century residents will continue to be served by Allied Waste under an agreement with the town.
Wreath Fire Safety Campaign Ends With 11 Red Bulbs; One For North Escambia Fire
January 2, 2009
The “Keep the Wreath Green” fire safety campaign in Escambia County ended with 11 red bulbs, one of which represented a fire in North Escambia.
On December 1, 2008, Escambia County Fire-Rescue and the City of Pensacola Fire Department kicked off “Keep the Wreath Green,” a holiday fire safety campaign.
Five-foot wreaths lit with 25 green lights were placed at 22 locations throughout the county. During the month-long event, 11 of the green bulbs in each wreath were replaced with red ones, representing residential fires that occurred in the county over the holiday season. The 2007 fire safety campaign also concluded with 11 house fires.
One bulb represented a December 14 fire that destroyed a mobile home on Nokomis Road near Highway 97 in Davisville.
Last year, two red bulbs were lit for North Escambia fires, one on Still Road and one on Backwoods Road.
Escambia residents can call 595-HERO for fire safety information and information about obtaining a free smoke detector.
Pictured above: A December 14 fire in Davisville that destroyed a mobile home. Pictured left: The “Keep the Wreath Green” display at the McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue. NorthEscambia.com file photos.
Year In Review North Escambia’s Biggest Stories Of 2008: July
January 2, 2009
NorthEscambia.com is looking back at 2008 with our “Year in Review” series. Each day, we will review the biggest stories of 2008. Today, we take a look at the biggest stories of July 2008.
A major drug raid was held in Century early on the morning of July 11 (pictured above). NorthEscambia.com was there, with complete coverage. We had photos here, the only local coverage of the sheriff’s news conference here, video of the raid here, and a complete story here.
The Fourth of July was celebrated in many ways around the area, including a big celebration at the Century Branch Library with a watermelon seed spitting contest. Read more…
Roads, zoning, taxes and economic development topped discussion at a town hall meeting at Molino Park Elementary with top Escambia County leaders. Read more…
We reported that changes could be coming at the Solutia Plant in Cantonment, including the possibility that the entire facility could be for sale. Read more…
Escambia Sheriff Ron McNesby brought his campaign message to Walnut Hill Thursday, talking budgets, crime and more. “If I stood up here and told you what I am going to do the next four years, you would have to ask me what I did the past eight years,” McNesby told the Walnut Hill Ruritan Club. Read more…
Gas jumped over $4 a gallon, just in time for the Fourth of July weekend. Read more…
Royal Pizza and Subs in Century was destroyed by fire the first Sunday of July. The fire was reported just before 3:30 a.m. The first firemen on the scene moments later reported heavy smoke when they arrived. It took firefighters just over an hour to bring the fire under control. Read more….
The Town of Century dedicated its new Veteran’s Wall of Honor on the Fourth of July at the town’s Roadside Park on Highway 29. Read more…
A zebra was spotted in Walnut Hill on the Fourth of July. In one of our most fun stories every, we teased for a few days that a zebra had been spotted in Walnut Hill. And he was with a grizzly bear. People across the area were guessing what we were making up. But, in fact, the zebra was spotted with brown bear. Seriously. Read more…
Water problems on Backwoods Road continued to plague the Town of Century as the council debated the future of a $1.5 million project. Read more…
Carver/Century K-8 School got the official news during the July that the school had improved from an “F” to a “B” rating with the Florida Department of Education. Read more…
The owner of Helicopter Technologies told the mayor of Century the company’s building will be sold by mid-July, and the town council has voted to file emergency foreclosure against the company in the event the sale does not take place. Read more…
The sale of the Helicopter Technologies building did not take place; the owner backed out, saying that he did not realize that he would have to partner with the Town of Century in order to complete the deal. Read more…
In response the failed sale of the Helicopter Technologies building, the Town of Century filed foreclosure proceedings against the company. Read more…
In ratings released by the Florida Department of Education. Bratt Elementary School was named the number one school in Escambia County. Read more…
An explosive situation in Walnut Hill: NorthEscambia.com had exclusive coverage when the bomb squad was called to blow up an explosive liquid found in Walnut Hill. Read the story, and see the photos…
It’s more than some people can bear to go to the dentist and see the assortment of tools that a modern dentist uses. But a complete dentist kit in a box donated to a Century museum makes modern dentistry seem a bit more pleasant. It was a treasure chest of dental history. Read more…
A Jay man was arrested for growing marijuana after deputies found him leaving a wooded area in the Brownsdale community southwest of Jay with the tools of the trade in his possession. Tharon “Buckshot” Godwin, 66, was was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver, a third degree felony. Read more… A few days later, more pot was found near Jay. Read more… A few days after that, even more pot plants were discovered near Jay.
Where exactly is the Town of Century? The town council has determined that it did not exactly know, and they might need to turn to an engineering firm to find out. Read more…
Two Foley men were arrested for burglary after a manhunt in McDavid. Read more…
A Flomaton man was arrest for firing a shotgun into a trailer with children inside a Wawbeek Road trailer. Read more…
Our neighbors in Flomaton saw their downtown evacuated at the end of July due to a gas leak. Read more…
The Southern Pit Stop on North Century Boulevard was robbed. Read more…
Gulf Power was granted a rate increase in July. The increase was to take effect in September. Read more…
Baptist Purchase Of West Florida Hospital A Dead Deal
January 2, 2009
The $245 million dollar purchase of West Florida Hospital by Baptist Health Care is a dead deal.
A statement released Thursday by Baptist says the deal was the victim of a weak national economy and the financial meltdown that left the hospital unable to obtain financing for the purchase.
Hospital Corporation of America, the parent company of West Florida, notified Baptist on Thursday that it was exercising a contact option to terminate the sale. HCA says that West Florida is no longer on the market.
Closer to North Escambia, Baptist operates Atmore Community Hospital, Jay Hospital, Century Family Practice and Lakeview Center in Century.
Pictured above: Artist rendering of the new cancer center that was to be located at the new location of Baptist Hospital on Davis Highway.
Blog: 2009 Predictions; 2008 Reflections
January 1, 2009
Out with the old; in with the new. Black eyed peas and football. Resolutions, weight loss plans and diets. Can’t figure out the date to write on checks. Must be the New Year.
We have worked a bit on a set of predictions for 2009. Those are a little later in this post. But first, we want to look back at 2008 and take a look at some predictions we made a year ago today.
On New Year’s Day 2008 we thanked you for making NorthEscambia.com a success. We were proud that during the two months we were online in 2007, we posted 200 stories, 800 pictures and had over half million page views in two months.
We are humbled to look back at 2008 and tell you that we posted about 2,500 stories and over 10,000 pictures from North Escambia. We now average over 2 million page views per month. During 2007, we served over 20 million pages. While we spend our days crafting the words to tell you the stories we report, words can’t begin to describe our gratitude to you for welcoming NorthEscambia.com into your life and making it the number one source for local news in the area. Thank you.
Now, looking backing out the predictions we made a year ago for 2008:
- We predicted a lot of bickering among the Escambia commission. King Mike Whitehead resigned as chair of the commission before the other commissioners gave him the boot. Whitehead got the boot from the commission, as voters voted him right out of office.
- We predicted “the county commission just might notice that “north Escambia” extends beyond 10 Mile Road”. Now they know. They read and they learn from NorthEscambia.com. Commissioners have been seen at events in North Escambia. A former District 5 commissioner, Wilson Robertson, now holds Mike Whiteheads seat. Some of them have been up here enough they don’t even need their GPS.
- “Things will get hot concerning volunteer firefighters in the county. There are those that are pushing for end of our volunteer departments. The McDavid, Century, Molino and Walnut Hill volunteer fire departments are a vital part of our communities. We, as the communities of North Escambia, will not stand by and let them be closed, or our volunteers replaced with a few paid firefighters,” we wrote on January 1, 2008. We wrote several editorials and offered a lot of coverage on the issue. In the end, North Escambia was not forgotten, nor were the volunteers.
- “We’ll see an expansion of leisure services in North Escambia. Perhaps a new park will be announced, and the county will move forward on the conversion of the old Molino Elementary into a community center,” we predicted a year ago. A new park was announced in Bratt, and the county has named the Molino community center a top priority. That one is just waiting on the dollars to make it a reality.
- “The Escambia County School Board will feel the budget crunch. The district will consider closing at least one North Escambia School,” we predicted. The budget crunch is on, the the board pretty much had key in hand ready to lock the doors at Carver/Century K-8.
Now for 2009 predictions:
- We predict that our predictions are going to be harder this year. We are living in uncertain times. Recession. Budget crunches. Layoffs. Bailouts. Closures. They are words that we have not used in a long time in our country, and those words are filtering down to North Escambia. It’s going to be a rough ride, but we are a tough people. We will prevail.
- We predict that the opening of the Wind Creek Casino in Atmore will impact North Escambia. But we may not like what we get. Increased traffic. More accidents. Crime will increase. Casinos are not just the glitz and glamour we see in Wind Creek’s advertising. If a casino’s payout is 10 percent, that means 90 percent of the money that heads up Highway 21 will be lost. Divorce lawyers and bankruptcy lawyers are going to love that place. Times are tough. People can’t afford to be losing money at a casino. “Hellhole” is the word Dr. Ted Traylor, the pastor of Olive Baptist used to describe Wind Creek. All that glitters is not gold.
- We predict that you will not see an advertisement for the casino on NorthEscambia.com. We will refuse them. Their ads are everywhere you look or listen. But not on our site. If you choose to head to the casino, that’s your business and we won’t be judging you. But we know enough about elementary school math to know it’s just a bad idea, and we are not going to promote something where 90 percent lose. It’s bad math.
- We predict that county leaders will continue to remember that North Escambia exists. We will not let them forget, nor will we be second rate cousins to the rest of the county.
- We predict that major changes in North Escambia schools are not over. We will continue to hear talk of closing Carver/Century K-8 School. But if it closes, don’t expect the building to be empty. Don’t be surprised to see the school district offer the charter on the school to the current Byrneville Elementary. Dee Wolfe-Sullivan and the other folks at Byrneville have done some amazing things.
- LHS EV…the electric car company planned for Century with hundreds of jobs. It’s not the great picture that has been painted. This one is going to be a stinker.
- The budget crunch is not over. From county government, to businesses to our dining room tables.
- There will be two named hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and they will both head toward Texas or Mexico. Well…everybody else offers predictions, so we thought we’d toss one in there too. We can guess as good as the next guy.
- NorthEscambia.com will continue to grow and serve you in 2009. We have several new features planned and a few fun things also.
- We’ll all learn a little more about our community by visiting here at NorthEscambia.com. There’s so much more here than the things we mentioned so far in these predictions. Predictions aside, we know that North Escambia will continue to be a great place to live and work. That’s why we call this area home. Thanks again for being part of the NorthEscambia.com family.
Work For Minimum Wage? You Got A Pay Raise
January 1, 2009
If you work for minimum wage in Florida, you got a pay raise Thursday.
Minimum wage in the state jumped from $6.79 to $7.21 on January 1.
It was part of a 2004 measure approved by voters that raises the minimum wage in the state in each year. In July, the federal minimum wage goes from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour.
Year In Review North Escambia’s Biggest Stories Of 2008: June
January 1, 2009
NorthEscambia.com is looking back at 2008 with our “Year in Review” series. Each day, we will review the biggest stories of 2008. Today, we take a look at the biggest stories of June 2008.
A Flomaton teen died a in fiery crash in Bryneville. Cody Ray Gafford, 16, of Flomaton died in the crash (pictured above). Read more…
The Town of Century will greatly reduce a Century woman’s $3,000 sewer bill, but only because they had to do so. The council said Leola Robinson would have to pay up$624. The council also voted not to help pay for Fourth of July fireworks in Flomaton. Read more… The Century council also turned down an offer by Allied Waste to feed the entire town. Read more…
Molino Park Elementary fourth grade teacher Sharon Smith was set to retire Friday, June 6. She stood outside the school, waving goodbye on the last day of school to her students. She turned back toward her Molino Park Elementary school and lost her breath. Sharon Smith, 57, passed away a short time later. Read more….
Escambia County School Board Member Jeff Bergosh received a handwritten letter from a Carver/Century K-8 School student opposed to closing the school, and he responded with a handwritten letter of his own. Bergosh explained why he felt Carver/Century K-8 School should be closed. Read more…
Byrneville Elementary School has scored an extra ten grand for its P.E. department compliments of the governor. James “Coach Mac” McDaniel, Byrneville’s physical education teacher, received a $10,000 check from Governor Charlie Crist as part of the Governor’s Fitness Challenge. The money will be used to purchase new P.E. equipment for the charter school. Read more…
Century businessman Georges Van Nevel and council member Henry Hawkins got into a verbal argument at a Century Town Council meeting, calling each other “crooked” and “corrupt”. Read more…
Smoke could be seen from miles away the first Friday afternoon of June as an accidental fire raged through a harvested wheat field on Highway 164 near Oak Grove. It made for interesting pictures. Read more and see the photos…
Mike Whitehead stepped down as chairman of the Escambia County Commission Thursday night before District 5 Commissioner Kevin White had the chance to call for his removal because of his “arrogance”. Read more…
The space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station were visible June 7 as they moved across the skies of North Escambia. We had the photo…
About 1,500 people attended a 39 team softball tournament in Molino. Read more…
Closing ceremonies were held for Northwest Escambia Little League. Read more…
Many North Escambia churches held Vacation Bible Schools. Read more…
An apparent lighting strike sparked an electrical fire at a well house belonging to the Walnut Hill Water Works. The fire was confined to the power meter and electrical box on the outside of the building. The outside of the concrete block structure was blackened by the fire, but was otherwise undamaged. Read more…
About 70 Century residents rallied behind Carver/Century K-8 School at a public forum. Read more…
Escambia County voted to makea $2 million offer to purchase the old Wedgewood Middle School property in Pensacola and the old Molino Elementary School. Plans call for the old Molino school to become a community hub, possibly including a 5,000 square foot library, a museum highlighting Molino history, a small health clinic, a business incubator, renovation of the gym and one additional building for community events and private party rental along with other uses. Read more…
Perhaps the most “a-maize-ing” entertainment in the North Escambia area in June was in Bratt, and it is a challenge that few could meet. It was just plain “cornfusing”. “Bratt’s A-maize-ing” cornfield maze is once again open on Highway 4 near Bratt. It was an elaborate maze cut into a six acre cornfield. Read more…
NorthEscambia.com was the first media to break the story that Carver/Century K-8 School would not be closing for the 2008-2009 school year. Read more…
The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation recently honored the restoration project of the old Walnut Hill School House. During the Trust’s 2008 Preservation Awards ceremony, the Walnut Hill School House project was awarded Outstanding Achievement in the Restoration/Rehabilitation Awards category. Read more…
A local pastor was among the 7,000 gathered at the Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis, where the man nominated by another Escambia County preacher was named president of the 16 million member group. Read more…
Rather than going to court, Century decided to settle a billing dispute with the Florida Department of Corrections for about $282,000, far less than the $569,000 they had originally hoped to receive. Read more…
An Escambia County deputy was involved in a two vehicle accident in Bratt, slamming his patrol car into a power pole while trying to avoid another vehicle. Read more…
It was the end of an era in late June at Cooper’s Store in Bratt as the store’s gas pumps and tanks were removed. Read more…
A girls’ week in New York City ended with a North Escambia woman getting a surprise complete makeover on national television Friday morning. Cheryl Golson of Davisville was selected from the crowd at Rockefeller Plaza in New York for a “Plaza Ambush Makeover” from NBC’s Today Show. Cheryl received a complete makeover…hair, makeup and new designer dress. Read more…
Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church named a new pastor. Read more…
The first weekend of summer was not be one that emergency responders in the area soon forgot. In the span of less than 72 hours, four people died and at least 13 were injured in vehicle accidents and a structure fire in the North Escambia area. Read more…
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library kicked off in Century, with plans to provide a free book every month for every child under five years old. Read more…
New Year’s Eve Brush Fires
January 1, 2009
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to two brush fires early New Year’s Eve evening.
The first was reported on Ashcraft Road near Highway 99 about 6:45 Wednesday night. The second was reported on Breastworks Road near Hall Road about 8 p.m.
The Breastworks Road fire was reportedly started by a downed power line.
Walnut Hill was also dispatched to another brush fire before 5 a.m. Thursday on Highway 97 in the area of Highway 164, but that fire turned out to be remnants of an earlier control burn.
There were no injuries in either incident.
2008 Person Of The Year: Paula Jernigan, Those Touched By Cancer
January 1, 2009
Paula Jernigan of Bogia has been named one of our NorthEscambia.com Persons of the Year. Along with Paula, we honor all those that are cancer survivors or have been touched by cancer in the lives of someone they know.
Each day through Monday, NorthEscambia.com will name another person as a NorthEscambia.com Person of the Year.
As curriculum coordinator at Carver/Century K-8 School, Paula is one of those folks that always has a smile on her face. Speaking to the children that she passes in the hallways and breezeways, she always has a kind word, a word of encouragement for each and every one.
In 2009, Paula will coordinate Century’s third annual Relay for Life. She’s a cancer survivor, working in the fight to cure cancer.
“Seven years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer,” Jernigan said. “No one ever told me about the American Cancer Society and what they would have provided for me.”
“I don’t what that to happen to anyone else in the north end of the county,” she said.
Cancer is ugly disease that has touched most every family in North Escambia. We honor those touched by the disease, and all of those that have walked or will walk in Relay for Life, whether it be in Century or another community.
At a Century Relay for Life meeting at Carver/Century K-8 School, the lights in the cafeteria were cut and about a dozen Luminaria bags were lit as some in attendance reflected on why they walk in Relay for Life.
“I walk for my son who died from cancer,” one person said.
“I relay with the hope that no mother will every have to hear that her child has cancer,” said another.
“I relay because my father died from brain cancer,” one woman tearfully said.
“I relay because by husband died from cancer three years ago. I walk because my mother died from cancer a month ago,” another woman said.
Paula Jernigan walks for all of us, for all of our friends, neighbors and families touch by cancer. For that, we name her a NorthEscambia.com 2008 Person of the Year.
Each day through Monday, NorthEscambia.com will name another person as a NorthEscambia.com Person of the Year.
Pictured top: Paula Jernigan (far right) walks the Victory Lap as a cancer survivor at last year’s Century Relay for Life. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.