Packy Mitchell Recovering After Traffic Accident
April 24, 2009
Friends and family members tell us that Packy Mitchell of Cantonment is continuing to recover following a serious accident near Montgomery Wednesday.
Mitchell reportedly swerved to avoid a truck, rolling his truck two or three times. Mitchell suffered broken ribs, a chipped bone in his neck, a separated shoulder and other non-life threatening injuries, according to family members.
Mitchell ran unsuccessfully in the 2008 race for the Escambia County Commission District 5 seat.
Molino Man Busted For Indecent Exposure After Incident With Woman, Underage Girl
April 24, 2009
A Molino man has been arrested and charged with indecent exposure after exposing himself to a local woman and her underage daughter.
Shawn Bovain Blackshear, 33, of the 5900 block of Highway 95A, was charged with two counts indecent exposure, a first degree misdemeanor.
Deputies received a complaint from a female resident on Highway 95A near Marge Lane that a black male was exposing his private organs and giving a “free show” late Wednesday afternoon, according to Lt. Tony Jordon with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department.
The woman decided, Jordan said, to provide deputies with evidence of the crime. She hid in a nearby barn and took several “really good” pictures of the incident, and she provided deputies with the photos. Deputies identified Blackshear from the photos, and an arrest was made. The victim that took the photographs was able to positively identify Blackshear, Jordan said. Her underage daughter, who also witnessed the exposure incident, was not able to make a positive identification. If the underage victim had been able to identify the suspect, he could have faced felony charges.
“He (Blackshear) told us that he was urinating,” Jordan said, “but that is not what the victim told us he was doing.”
Deputies say Blackshear may have exposed himself 20 or more times since June of last year, based upon complaints from the area. Most of the time, the suspect has been wearing a hood or other covering over his head at the time of the incident. In a recent incident, someone matching his description exposed themselves to a postal worker delivering mail in the area.
Blackshear was booked into the Escambia County Jail on $20,000 bond.
Lady Chiefs Fall In District Tourney
April 24, 2009
The Northview Lady Chiefs came up short in the District 1-3A Softball Tournament Thursday night.
The Lady Chiefs fell to South Walton, 4-1.
Hitters in last night’s game were Candice Greenwell, Shawna Montgomery and Kolby Cobb.
Northview will play Holmes County on Tuesday The Lady Chiefs record stands at 11-11 for the season.
Northview won their first game in the district tournament Tuesday. For a photo gallery from that game, click here.
Northview Performs ‘Willy Wonka The Musical’
April 24, 2009
The Northview High School Theater Department presented “Willy Wonka the Musical” Friday night at the school.
The group will present the play again on Monday for elementary school students from Bratt, Carver/Century, Byrneville and Jim Allen elementary schools.
Pictured above: The cast of “Willy Wonka the Musical” at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
The cast and crew of “Willy Wonka the Musical” included:
PARENTS
Mrs. Teavee– Kayla Dempsey
Mrs. Beauregarde– Danielle Martin
Mrs. Gloop– Sophie Anderson
Mr. Salt– Ty Randolph
KIDS
Mike Teavee– Jared Adams
Violet Beaurgard– Allie Bryan
Augustus Gloop– Cory Hester
Vuruca Salt– Olivia Bryan
BUCKET FAMILY
Grandpa George– Cody Cousin
Grandma Georgina– Caitlin Hall
Grandpa Joe– Jamichael Carson
Grandma Joesephina– Lanie Eubanks
Mr. Bucket– Jackson Smith
Mrs. Bucket— Gretchen Boughner
Charlie Bucket– Jace Stone
CANDYMAN KIDS
Miranda Scott, Jennifer Martin, Amanda Nahkala
Kiani Okahashi, Mallorie Okahashi
Pamala Dockens, Haliegh Perkins, Tori Rigby
Phineous Trout– Elizabeth Wright
Wonka/Candyman– Brandon Coburn
OOMPA-LOOMPAS
Nathan Taylor, Jessica Taylor, Taylor Rigby,
Ashley White, Carley Hetrick
SOUND
Sound Operator– Justin Purvis
Sound Crew– Aaron Hammond and Jeremy Flota
STAGE CREW
Candyman Kids
Stage Manager– Miranda Scott
Director– Scott Slay
Assistant Director– Bryan Coburn
Choreographers- Mallorie Okahashi, Carley Hetrick, and Miranda Scott
LIGHTS
Light Operator– Ricky Craig
Light Crew– Lindsay Hedgepeth, Brian Flowers, and Devon Dries
SPECIAL THANKS
Thomas Meehan, Industrial Arts Department
Jennifer Castor, Art Department
Heather Jernigan
Tracy Slay
Dawn Taylor
Jessica Mothershed
Blimp Spotted Over North Escambia
April 24, 2009
A blimp was spotted over North Escambia mid-afternoon Thursday.
Emails and phone calls that we received indicated the blimp traveled over Molino headed toward Enon and then into Baldwin County, Alabama.
NorthEscambia.com managed to snap the picture above from Highway 97A just south of Arthur Brown Road. The photo was taken looking southwest toward the Perdido River. We estimate the blimp was about 5 miles away in this photo taken with a high-power zoom lens.
Back in November, we snapped the picture below of the DirecTV blimp as it passed over the same area.
NorthEscambia.com: Don’t Miss Us This Weekend
April 24, 2009
Don’t miss NorthEscambia.com this weekend. We will have complete coverage from several events across the area.
We will have complete photo galleries from Arts Day at Molino Park Elementary School, the Century Relay for Life and the 70th Annual Meeting of Escambia River Electric Cooperative.
Plus, we will have all the local news from the North Escambia area. That’s all this weekend on NorthEscambia.com.
Traffic Delays On Nine Mile Road At Ballpark
April 24, 2009
Construction of a turn lane is underway on Nine Mile Road, and that will lead to some traffic delays. The lane will turn right into John R. Jones Ballpark.
Single lane closures will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, and flagmen will be used to control traffic.
The construction of the turn lane is phase two of a project started over two years ago which also included the installation of a traffic signal at Nine Mile Road and Hummingbird Boulevard. The improvements were necessary due to increased traffic flow in the area.
The project is being funded by Escambia County Local Option Sales Tax and the State County Initiative Program.
School Progress Reports Today
April 24, 2009
Check your child’s book bag this afternoon — it is time for progress reports.
The fourth nine-weeks period for Escambia Schools is half over, and progress reports will be sent home this afternoon.
If you have any questions, contact your child’s school.
Live Tonight: Financial Expert Dave Ramsey To Offer Message Of Hope About Economy
April 23, 2009
Personal finance expert Dave Ramsey is hosting a nationally broadcast Town Hall for Hope tonight at 7.
Its purpose is to help viewers deal with their fears and anxieties during challenging economic times and he will deliver an inspirational and practical message.
According to the town hall meeting’s website, Dave will carefully explain where we’ve been, where we’re going and what you should do with your money during this time.
This will be broadcast on big screens in several area churches, including Olive Baptist in Pensacola and Unity Baptist in Atmore.
NewsRadio 1620 is partnering with Olive Baptist Church to present the event at that church. The Dave Ramsey Show is aired on NewsRadio 1620 from 1 to 4 p.m. daily. The free program begins at 7:00 at Olive Baptist Church, located at the corner of Olive Road and Davis Highway in Pensacola.
The program will also be on the big screen at Unity Baptist Church on Highway 31 east of Atmore. The church is located near the Atmore Airport.
Northview, Jay, Other Schools Consider New Independent Sports League
April 23, 2009
NorthEscambia.com Exclusive
Northview and Jay high schools are among about 20 high schools in the Florida Panhandle that have met to discuss forming a new independent athletic league outside of the Florida High School Athletic Association, NorthEscambia.com has learned.
“We all just want to see our teams have a level playing field,” Northview Principal Gayle Weaver told NorthEscambia.com.
The problem lies with smaller schools in the FHSAA that are forced to compete at the playoff level with private schools and academies. Those private schools are able to recruit the best players with scholarships and other incentives, making the chances of a small public school winning a state playoff unlikely.
“Sometimes out students say we are playing for second best,” Weaver said, “because they know that they could never win state.”
In addition, the current FHSAA brackets had the Chiefs on the road for over 1,200 miles last football season. The team’s game in Blountstown was a nearly 350 mile round trip.
“It is a hardship during the regular season for families to follow our teams,” Weaver said. “And it takes away from our community because there are no local rivalries.”
The smaller independent league would mean more games closer to home for most member schools.
In addition, schools like Northview and Jay lose financially when hosting an event like a football game where the opponent is from a long distance away. A long distance for the visiting teams equates to poor attendance, and poor attendance equals money lost.
There are about 20 small rural high schools from Northview to Sneeds that are considering the formation of the independent athletic league and the separation from the FHSAA. They range in size from Monroe High School with 106 students to Walton with 699 students. Northview has 554; Jay has 200. Baker, at 435 students, is the only other Escambia or Santa Rosa County school currently in talks about the new league.
Weaver said that it would be hard for a school like Northview to get past the quarter finals in a state competition when paired against private academies that recruit so heavily that they are considered “feeder schools” for college teams.
“It is disheartening to see our kids unable to complete on that level playing field,” she said. “We want what is fair for our students. We don’t want them to be beat by teams that are almost like semi-pros.”
An official from the Florida High School Athletic Association was at Wednesday’s meeting, Weaver said. That official promised the group that the FHSAA would form a committee to address the small schools’ concerns, and that committee would also take a look at how small schools fit into the statewide athletic associations in nearby states.
The small schools, including Northview and Jay, will meet again soon to discuss the formation of the independent athletic association.
Weaver said the independent league is not likely to be formed before August, so Northview, Jay and the other schools will likely play under the FHSAA one more year.
“After that, we’ll just see what happens,” she said.
“The schools would still be members of the FHSAA. The membership carries a lot of resources, but it also would require the schools to follow the FHSAA rules. The FHSAA Handbook is published each year, and the handbook explains things such as eligibility, sports seasons, rules for officials,” Weaver said.
Schools that are considering the independent league are (along with the student population of some schools):
- Monroe (106)
- Graceville (214)
- Cottondale
- Wewahitchka
- Jay
- Franklin Count
- Liberty County
- West Gadsden
- Freeport
- Port St. Joe
- Sneads
- Vernon
- Blountstown
- Baker
- Holmes County
- Bozeman
- Northview (554)
- South Walton
- Chipley (616)
- Walton (697)
Pictured above: Northview Head Coach Cody Keene prepares the Chiefs before last year’s season opener against Catholic High. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.