Still Time To Take Survey About Your Child’s School
June 27, 2009
There is still time to take an Escambia County School District survey and rank how well you believe your child’s school and its staff perform.
The survey, offered on the district’s web page, allows participants to rank many school performance areas based upon how they feel about statements such as:
- I feel welcome at this school.
- Learning is interesting at this school.
- The principal at this school communicates effectively.
- Students are challenged to their ability at this school.
- Students receive recognition for good performance in academics.
There is also an open-ended question designed to recognize outstanding persons in the school district: “Can you identify one individual in the Escambia School District who has had an impact on you or your family during this school year?”
The survey is completely anonymous with no attempt to identify the participants, the district says, and the survey asks for “frank and honest” responses.
To take the survey, click here and then click on the red “Take the School Climate survey” link near the upper right corner of the page.
Twilight Field Day Tuesday At Jay Research Station
June 27, 2009
There will be a Twilight Field Day at the West Florida Research and Education Center in Jay this Tuesday.
The program will include field and greenhouse tours and cover topics like new vegetative varieties, plastic mulch, cultural practices and trickle irrigation. Participants will learn more about crops like herbs, greens, cut flowers and tomatoes.
The Twilight Field Day will be held from 5:30 until 7:45 Tuesday at 4253 Experiment Road in Jay. For more information, contact Robin Vickers at (850) 983-5216 Ext. 113, or visit miltongators.com
D Grade: Why Did Northview Fall That Low?
June 26, 2009
How did Northview High School’s grade from the Florida Department of Education fall to a D? It is a question that many North Escambia residents have asked, and a question that Northview staff is asking.
Northview was a solid C-rated school from the 1999 to 2007. Then in the 2007-2008 school year, NHS jumped to a B rating, just a handful of points from being an A school. But for this past school year, Northview dropped all the way to that D.
NorthEscambia.com sat down with school officials to ask that question. We were not looking for excuses, and Northview’s administration made none. But we did learn that there is more to the lowest score in the school’s history than meets the eye.
“We are not making excuses,” said Bobby Simpson, FCAT coordinator at Northview. “But we were penalized with the D. We really earned a C.”
The mathematical formula that the state uses to compute school grades includes a one-letter grade drop if half of the lowest 25% of students in the school fail to make learning gains.
At Northview, 58 percent of the lowest students did make learning gains in math. But in reading, only 34 percent of the lowest performing students made learning gains, slapping the school with the one letter grade penalty. (Click graphic to enlarge report.)
A student is defined as making a learning gain with an improvement in achievement level — for instance an increase in score from a 1 to 2 on the math FCAT; maintaining at level 3,4 or 5; or demonstrating more than one year’s growth within levels 1 or 2.
“That’s what happened to us,” Simpson said. “In that lower level, where you have some students that have problems, some did not make just enough gains so that we were not penalized.”
There are really good teens in that lower quartile, Simpson said. There are those that are below average and learning disabled students. Even former Northview students that may have been removed from the school and sent to an alternative school still count against the NHS score.
Compounding Northview’s problem, Simpson said, is “typical teenagers”. There are those that “Christmas tree” the test — filling in the multiple choice bubbles and then laying down on their desks to take a nap. And, he said, many students have problems focusing on school due to technology — cell phones, Internet, email, television and the list goes on.
Under a provision in the FCAT rules, a student that makes 15 or greater on the ACT is not required to pass the FCAT. So many of those students “Christmas tree” the test too, he said. Even home bound students in the Northview district count toward the school’s FCAT scores.
The problems are not Northview-specific, but tend to statistically impact the score at a smaller, rural school more than a large city school.
He pointed out that Ernest Ward Middle School, where most Northview students attended middle school, is and has been an A school. “These are the same students capable of performing on the FCAT. Some just lost that motivation when they got to high school.”
Simpson stressed again that he was not making excuses for Northview’s D. Rather, he said, he wanted NorthEscambia.com readers to understand that the school scored enough points for a strong C but received the letter grade penalty.
In fact, the school’s total point score used to determine the school grade was the third highest in school history at 469 — well within the 435-494 range for a C. Last year’s B score was earned with 519 points, and in the 2006-2007 school year, the school earned 481 points for a C.
Overall, Northview’s percentages of students meeting high gains in writing and math were higher than the other high schools in Escambia County, including Pensacola High School that has been ranked as one of the nation’s top schools by Newsweek. (Click graphic to see comparison.)
In writing, 90 percent of Northview students met high standards in math, the highest percentage in Escambia County. In math, 77 percent of NHS students met standards, the second highest in the county.
“We know that we are not a D school,” Simpson said. “We are working on a plan, coming up with a plan to make sure we are not ranked as a D school next year.”
When NorthEscambia.com visited Northview earlier this week, a team was assembled to analyze school data and develop that plan.
“We will develop the plan, but we need parental backing and positive community support,” he said. “That is what is going to get us where we need to be.”
“I was very disappointed for the students and teachers,” Northview Principal Gayle Weaver said. “I know the grade was not a true indicator of how we did. But I think it made all of us realize that we can and will do better for next year.”
Alvin Thomas Boutwell, Sr.
June 26, 2009
Mr. Alvin Thomas Boutwell, Sr., 71, passed away on Sunday, June 21, 2009 at a Pensacola hospital.
Alvin was a native and lifelong resident of Flomaton, AL and a retired employee from Jefferson Smurfit Paper Mill after 39 years. He was an avid Alabama fan, hunter, fisherman and family man and attended the Liberty Baptist Church.
Survivors include: his Wife, Doris Boutwell of Flomaton, AL; his Son, Alvin Thomas Boutwell, Jr. of Flomaton, AL; four Daughters, Denise Darby of Irvington, AL, Diane Boutwell of Theodore, AL, Patsy and Frank Nelson of Irvington, AL, and Gabbe Boutwell of Flomaton, AL; 3 Grandchildren, Naomi Darby, Brandon Darby, and Frank Nelson; 1 Great-Grandchild, Brayden Darby; his Brother, William “Bill” and Marion Boutwell of Perdido, FL; and two Sisters, Rachel and Johnny Freeman of Smithdale, MS, and Doris and Leroy Peacock of Jay, FL.
Funeral services were held Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 10:00 A.M. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with the Rev. Tony Richburg officiating.
Burial will follow at Traveler’s Rest Cemetery.
Visitation was held Tuesday, June 23, 2009 between 6:00 and 9:00 P.M. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Milton Man Pleads Not Guilty Of Stabbing Century Man
June 26, 2009
A Milton man has pleaded not guilty in connection to the May 7 stabbing of a Century man.
William Edward Perry, 48, of Milton, remains in the Escambia County Jail on $36,000 bond in connection with the stabbing of Jerry Wall, 50. Perry was charged with battery, felony battery, aggravated battery, criminal mischief and resisting an officer with violence.
Wall was stabbed multiple times inside his home in the 100 block of McCall Road after Perry entered, according to deputies. Wall, who was cooking at the time, picked up a kitchen knife in an attempt to defend himself. Wall suffered an injury that took part of his lip, a stab wound to his back and mutiple cuts and wounds to his hands and arms from an apparent attempt to defend himself.
The suspect, Perry, was also stabbed in the incident.
While the incident was reported to have occurred in Wall’s McCall Road home, he was actually found bleeding on Hudson Hill Road while deputies located Perry nearby.
Pictured above: William Edward Perry.
Convenience Store Owner Busted By Dept. Of Revenue
June 26, 2009
A Destin businessman that owns convenience stores in Cantonment has been arrested on a charge that he failed to turn over sales taxes to the state.
James L. Richardson faces up to 30 years in prison and $15,000 in fines if he is convicted on theft of state funds charges, according to the Florida Department of Revenue.
Richardson and his companies own 12 convenience stores from Escambia County east to Bay County, including the Eight Eight Eighty-Eight, Inc. store at 111 South Highway 29 in Cantonment and the Learn How To Do, Inc. store on Pine Forest Road.
Investigators from the Revenue Department said that during portions of 2004 and 2005, Richardson “failed to remit all of the sales taxes that he had collected”. Officials did not release the amount of taxes that they allege Richardson did not remit.
“Individuals who collect tax but don’t send it in are stealing taxpayer dollars and gaining an unfair financial advantage over honest businesses,” said Lisa Echeverri, the Department of Revenue’s executive director. “It’s our job to ensure that Florida’s tax laws are administered fairly.”
Richardson surrendered at the Escambia County Jail.
The Florida Department of Revenue provided the following list of businesses operated by Richardson:
- Happy Store – 14111 Front Beach Road, Panama City, FL
- Happy Store – 1800 Thomas Drive, Panama City, FL
- Happy Store – 3534 W. Highway 98, Panama City, FL
- Happy Store – 1408 W. 23rd Street, Panama City, FL
- Happy Store – 2396 U.S. Highway 331 North, Defuniak Springs, FL
- Eight Eight Eighty-Eight, Inc. store #521 – 111 South Highway 29, Cantonment, FL
- Learn How To Do, Inc. store #517 – 8620 Pine Forest Road, Cantonment, FL
- Learn How To Do, Inc. store #5508 – 671 Harbor Blvd., Destin, FL
- First Stop – 9905 N. Highway 231, Youngstown, FL
- Emerald Express – 757 Beal Parkway N.W., Fort Walton Beach, FL
- Emerald Express – 7822 N. Davis Highway, Pensacola, FL
- Emerald Express – 436 Beverly Parkway, Pensacola, FL
First National Bank & Trust Earns Five Stars
June 26, 2009
The First National Bank & Trust in Atmore has earned BauerFinancial’s four or five star rating for every quarter that the financial services company has rated the bank.
From September, 1989 through the end of 2008, FNB&T received the four or five star financial stability rating. According to Karen L. Dorway, President of BauerFinancial, fewer than six percent of the banks in the United States have earned the “Recommended” rating since the inception of the rating program.
““I have always felt it was difficult to understand the financial industry because there are so many statistics to use to tell the story or stories. And bankers tend to use terms that mean nothing to the people that really matter, the customers. The beauty of the rating system by Bauer Financial is that it boils pages of statistics down to a simple comparison,” said Shep Marsh, president and CEO of FNB&T. “FNB&T has remained conservative in our approach to banking, building on relationships with people we know, and our current 5 Star rating has shown that to be beneficial in difficult times like these.”
Firefighters Battle Walnut Hill Shed, Boat Fire
June 25, 2009
Fire heavily damaged a metal shed in Walnut Hill early Thursday morning, destroying a boat and a four-wheeler.
The fire in the 5000 block of Lambert Bridge Road was reported about 5:20 a.m. When firefighters arrived, the boat and items inside the shed were fully involved. The shed was located several feet from a house, which was not damaged by the fire.
The exact cause of the blaze was not immediately known. There were no injuries.
The Walnut Hill, McDavid, Molino and Century stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the fire.
Pictured above: Firefighters make their first entry into a burning shed early Thursday morning in Walnut Hill. Pictured below: Firefighters cut an opening in a rolling door. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Out Of Jail Again: Man On Manslaughter Bond Involved In Flomaton Wreck
June 25, 2009
The man involved in a serious Flomaton crash in late March while he was free on manslaughter charges for the deaths of an Atmore couple is once again free on bail.
George Wesley Hauer, 61, of Old Atmore Road, Flomaton, has been released on $100,000 bond according to Baldwin County (Ala.) court records.
Authorities say Hauer was involved in an accident that injured a family of four on March 22 on Highway 31 east of Flomaton. At the time of the accident, he had been out on bond for only about two weeks after being charged with manslaughter in Baldwin County for a 2007 wreck that killed an Atmore couple. About a month later, a Baldwin County judge ordered his bond revoked and he was sent back to the county jail.
Baldwin County District Attorney Matt Simpson objected to the reinstatement of Hauer’s bond, but the judge allowed him to walk free while he awaits trial — with a few conditions. He is confined to his home except to visit his attorney, medical appointments and to attend church services.
In the March 20, 2007, wreck, Dwight Eugene Nichols, 74, and his wife Wilma Ellavan Nichols, 77, of Atmore were traveling south in a Mercedes E320 on Highway 31 near Perdido, when they collided with a northbound sports utility vehicle driven by Hauer, according to Alabama State Troopers. Both Nichols died a short time later at an area hospital. Hauer was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of manslaughter in connection with that accident.
The March 22 Flomaton accident happened just after 4:00 p.m. on Highway 31 at Old Fannie Road. Officials say the car, driven by David Smith of Flomaton collided with a truck driven by Hauer. Smith was transported to Baptist Hospital by ambulance were he was treated for a broken jaw. Hauer was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital by LifeFlight in serious condition but was soon released from the hospital.
Leigh Smith, a passenger in the car hit by Hauer, was transported by LifeFlight to Baptist Hospital in critical condition. Another passenger in the car, Samantha Bryant, a senior at Flomaton High School, was transported to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola with non life threatening injuries. Passenger Curtis Byrant refused treatment the scene. Relatives tell us that Curtis Bryant suffered a broken wrist in the accident, and Samantha Bryant suffered just minor injuries. Leigh Smith was hospitalized for a lengthy time with broken ribs, a broken shoulder and a broken knee.
Click here for a photo gallery from the accident scene.
Pictured top: The Smith family vehicle that was involved in a March 22 accident with George Wesley Hauer. Pictured below: Haeur’s truck. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Sheriff’s Department To Start Ticketing Kids
June 25, 2009
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department will announce next week that they will be ticketing kids — for making the right choices and helping others in need.
Deputies will issue “citations of right-doing” when they are caught in the act of doing good deeds. The citations can be redeemed for a free kid’s meal at Chili’s restaurant and for a free Orange Crush at any local Tom Thumb.
The program will officially be announced next Tuesday.