Free Farm Safety Program This Afternoon
May 2, 2009
The Northview High School 4-H Club will sponsor a Farm Safety Day for children and their families this Saturday.
The meeting will give participants the opportunity to learn what dangers exist on farms, how to prevent injuries and ways to educate others about dangers on the farm.
A guest speaker from the Iowa group Farm Safety Just 4 Kids will present the program.
The afternoon’s events will include:
- Travel reimbursement (gas card) based on distance driven (must register for this incentive)
- Educational farm safety and health resources to use when presenting in your community
- Door prizes
- Fun learning activities for youth
- The opportunity to make connections with other farmers in your area
- Free lunch
- Mock Teen CERT disaster drill
- Farm safety equipment will be given to farmers
- Bring the kids —Jump House —-Hands on activities
The free Farm Safety Day event will take place Saturday from noon until 4:30 p.m. at the Langley Bell 4-H Camp on West Nine Mile Road. For more info, click here.
To register for the event, call Tess Estes 256-3804 or e-mail 4hgisfl@bellsouth.net.
The event will be presented by the Northview 4-H Club with a grant from the Florida State 4-H Foundation.
Century Welcomes New Store
May 2, 2009
The ribbon was cut officially opening the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store on North Century Boulevard Friday morning. The store is located in the old Country Bumpkin building. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Life, Ministry Of North Escambia Woman To Be Honored
May 2, 2009
The life and ministry of a North Escambia woman will be honored Sunday morning.
Pine Forest Assembly of God in Cantonment will honor Mrs. Nell Green at 10:30 a.m. Sunday for her 90th birthday. Mrs. Nell and her late husband, Rev. George Green, pastored many churches in Northwest Florida and South Alabama in the mid-1900’s including Oak Grove Assembly, Ensley Assembly and Ashland Park in Pensacola.
They were also the founding pastors of Laurel Hill Assembly and Walnut Hill Assembly now known as New Life Fellowship.
They had six children: George Wendell Green, Bobby Gene Green, Darlene Marie Harden, Glenda Evelyn Burleson and Rita Frances Kornegay. They also raised their niece and nephew Shirley Grant and Michael Kilpatrick. The Greens also had 26 foster children come through their home. Mrs. Green also served many years in ministry through Brownsville Assembly of God, until her health would no longer allow her to do so.
The public is invited to attend the service at 10:30 Sunday morning at the Pine Forest Assembly of God at 3125 Pine Forest Road. A lunch reception will follow the service. For more information, call (850) 476-1378.
Pictured above: Nell Green at the Walnut hill Assembly (now the New Life Fellowship) in an undated photograph. Pictured below: Nell Green at the Oak Grove Assembly of God. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Saturday Is Registration Deadline For Miss Blueberry Pageant
May 1, 2009
Applications are being accepted until Saturday from girls that wish to complete in the first Miss Blueberry Pageant on June 12 at the county’s Blueberry Jamboree in Barrineau Park.
A Miss Blueberry Blossom will be named from girls in the sixth to eighth grade, and Miss Blueberry will be named from competitors in grades 9 to 12. Girls must be residents of Escambia County.
Applications and non-refundable $30 entry fees must be submitted in person on Saturday, May 2 between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. at the Barrineau Park Community Center at 6055 Barrineau Park School Road at which time applicants will receive information packages. Checks and money orders should be made payable to Escambia County Recreation. Event coordinators will explain judging procedures, rules and regulations, and answer questions at 9 a.m. Alternative arrangements are available for applicants who cannot attend registration by calling pageant coordinators prior to May 2.
Miss Blueberry is expected to participate in the Blueberry and Bluegrass Jamboree festivities on Saturday, June 13. She must also attend the 2010 Miss Blueberry crowning and will be asked to attend several other local community events. Miss Blueberry Blossom is exempt from mandatory attendance at community events.
The Blueberry and Bluegrass Jamboree is sponsored in part by Escambia County Neighborhoods and Community Services Bureau, University of Florida IFAS Extension Services, NorthEscambia.com, EREC, Escambia County Farm Bureau Insurance and A&N Blueberries.
For more information and registration contact pageant coordinators, Stacey Ward at (850) 336-0223 and Sarah J. Miller at (850) 341-9767 or click here.
Dept. Of Justice Probe Leads Sheriff To Take K-9 Units Off Streets
May 1, 2009
The Escambia County Sheriff has pulled his department’s K-9 units off the streets following findings released in a Department of Justice investigation.
“The problem was not so much with the K-9 officers,” Morgan told NorthEscambia.com. “It was as much or more with the administration at the time not following up on bites and other other paperwork.”
Sometimes, Morgan said the DOJ investigation found, the previous administration would treat it “like it was just a dog bite, a part of the apprehension. The documentation was not done as it should be.”
The K-9 stand down includes the use of dogs for both suspect apprehension and drug searches. But that does not mean Escambia County is totally without the assistance of K-9 officers.
Morgan said the City of Pensacola has offered the assistance of their K-9 officers when needed. In North Escambia, he said deputies can still request the assistance of the K-9 unit from Century Correctional Institute.
The sheriff said the K-9 unit will remain off the streets for three to six weeks. The dogs and handlers will continue to train during that time. He said that training will include new policies and procedures to avoid the types of problems that led to the DOJ findings. The 14 K-9 handlers in the department will also patrol the streets during the down time without their dogs.
“I am very confident that we can quickly handle the corrections and get the K-9’s back to work,” Morgan said, promising a top to bottom investigation into the K-9 program.
The DOJ investigation into the sheriff’s department, which the DOJ announced three days after Morgan was sworn into office, stemmed from allegations of excessive force during the administration of former Sheriff Ron McNesby.
Chiefs Fall To Catholic; Jay Royals Win In Playoffs
May 1, 2009
Catholic High defeated the Northview Chiefs Thursday night, while the Jay Royals beat Ponce de Leon.
The Chiefs lost to the Crusaders 13-3 on the road in Defuniak Springs in the District 1-3A Championship.
Catholic (24-3) will host the runner-up in District 2-3A, while the Northview Chiefs will travel to Bonifay on Tuesday to play the Holmes County Blue
Devils in the first round of the Class 3A State Playoffs. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Hitters for Northview were Scooter Hamilton, Patrick McPherson, Brad Foster and Dakota Stuckey.
Catholic took an early 4-2 lead by the end of the first. The Crusaders scored three runs in the second and half a dozen in the third for a 13-2 lead going into the fourth. The Chiefs had one more fun in the fourth, making the score 13-3.
Also Thursday night, the Jay Royals beat Ponce de Leon in the District 1-2A Championship in Freeport.
Jay (17-4) will host Sneads on Tuesday in the regional quarterfinals
Sheriff Plans To Re-open Walnut Hill Precinct
May 1, 2009
Escambia County’s sheriff says he’s ready to re-open the department’s Walnut Hill Precinct.
The precinct on Highway 97 in front of the Walnut Hill Community Center has sat empty since it was rebuilt following Hurricane Ivan.
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said furniture has been ordered for the building. The sheriff plans for the precinct to be open about three days week once the furniture arrives.
North Escambia Men Honored As Fathers Of The Year
May 1, 2009
Two North Escambia men where honored Thursday night as Fathers of the Year.
Gary Killam was named Father of the Year in the 9th-12th grade division of the Pensacola Fatherhood Initiative’s 10th annual Father of the Year essay contest. An essay about Killam was submitted by his daugther, Northview High School tenth grade student Sara Killam.
Allen Stacey was named Father Figure of the Year in the 3rd-5th grade category. An essay about Stacey was submitted by his great-nephew Tristan Qualls, a third grade student at Byrneville Elementary School.
There were other nominees from North Escambia, including third grader Jarrid Davidson of Carver/Century K-8 School who wrote about his father Sherman Davison. In the grandfather category, Michael Jones, also a third grader, wrote about Michael Jones, Sr. From Byrneville Elementary, first grade student Skyler Busbee wrote about his deceased father Johnny Busbee.
The awards were presented at a banquet Thursday night at New World Landing in Pensacola.
Ice Hockey To Return To Escambia County — Maybe
May 1, 2009
The Escambia County Commission approved a deal in a special meeting Thursday to return hockey to the civic center — but there is one little catch.
For the agreement to continue, hockey organizers must sell 1,250 season tickets in a 90 day period beginning May 15. Without the advance season ticket sales, the commission says the deal is off.
Under the agreement approved unanimously by commissioners Thursday, the Southern Professional Hockey League will bring hockey back to the Pensacola Civic Center, which was known as the “Hanger” for 12 years while it hosted the Pensacola Ice Pilots.
The majority owner of the team would be former winger for the Philadelphia Flyers Tim Kerr. Kerr owned the Ice Pilots for two years before it was sold in 2005. Kerr says he will write a $1 million check to get the team started.
Each time less than 2,500 fans attend a game, the Civic Center will get $1. In addition, the franchise owner will pay $2,000 for each game, considerably less than the $3,500 paid by the Ice Pilots per game.
The return of ice hockey to the Pensacola Civic Center is not without a price tag for the county; it will cost about $250,000 to upgrade Civic Center equipment for ice hockey.
Florida Sports To Continue; Alabama Games Canceled Over Swine Flu Fears
May 1, 2009
The Alabama High School Athletic Association has suspended all high school sports, including playoff games, over swine flu fears. In Florida, the Florida High School Athletic Associations says that high school sports will continue for now.
The AHSAA canceled all high school sporting events until at least Tuesday after two swine flu cases were found in North Alabama and a third was identified in Montgomery.
The FHSAA says that games will go on since there are no confirmed swine flu cases in Florida.
“The Association is in contact with the state health department, and will address the issue if/when a case(s) are confirmed,” according to FHSAA. “The FHSAA understands the severity of the situation and wants to keep the student-athletes, coaches, officials and spectators safe.”