Northview High Football Coach Keene Resigns
July 14, 2009
Northview High School Head Football Coach Cody Keene has resigned, leaving the school to head to Hooper Academy in Montgomery.
Keene announced his decision to his football team at a Monday morning practice and then met with the team’s seniors to stress the importance of good leadership to them. After that meeting, he sat down exclusively with NorthEscambia.com to talk about his decision.
“I was presented with another challenge that will allow us to be closer to my wife’s family, and closer to my kids,” Keene said, adding that his wife’s family is from Montgomery. “It is an opportunity that we have been praying about for months.”
Keene will be the fifth head coach at Hooper Academy in the past six years. But that does not bother him; he was the seventh coach in nine years at Northview.
He said he is proud of where the Chiefs have gone in his five seasons as head coach. Three of those six years were winning seasons, including back-to-back winning seasons from 2005 to 2007. One undefeated regular season. Two district championships. Three trips to the playoffs. Three Northview players gone on to college careers. Keene is proud of the numbers. But he’s prouder of the kids.
“I’m proud of these guys, and I am proud of where this program is,” he said.
There’s a bond between a coach and his players, one that Keene takes very seriously.
“It was hard on me; it was hard on them,” he said about his announcement to the players Monday morning. “But the kids are great kids. They will be fine.”
He is looking to the seniors to provide leadership for the rest of the team.
“There are some good leaders in that group, and they will lead the team through the transition,” he said, adding that he has faith that the remaining coaching staff will be able to lead the team until his replacement is announced. “One of them (the coaches) will step up to the challenge until a decision is made. They are good coaching team.”
Keene said this year will be an exciting one for the Chiefs. In a new district, Northview will face teams like Jay, Freeport, Sneeds and Bonifay. “All teams, except Jay because we didn’t play them, that we beat that 9-0 year,” he added with a smile.
“They are kids more like us — rural, small schools,” he said. “There will be real competition again for us in the district. Northview will have the opportunity to compete, the opportunity to win.”
Keene is confident that Northview will have a good season with the new district and talented assistant coaches.
“They are going to be fine,” he said. “I appreciate the support we have had from the fans, and I ask that they continue to support us.
While Keene said everything about Northview and his departure was positive, there was one major negative he wanted NorthEscambia.com to point out. You can read about it in another story by clicking here.
Northview Principal Gayle Weaver said Keene will be missed.
“He has been one of the best things that’s ever happened to Northview High School,” she said. “He has been the players’ friend, academic adviser and mentor.”
“He instilled a work ethic in the players on and off the field,” Weaver said. “He built a wonderful football program at Northview High School. He will be missed.”
Monday was Keene’s last day physically at Northview. He will be taking accumulated leave days until his official resignation date of August 14.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Billings Family Releases Statement
July 14, 2009
The family of Byrd and Melanie Billings, the couple shot to death last week in Beulah, has issued the following statement:
We would like to start by thanking everyone for their support, especially the good people of Escambia County and the surrounding community. We would also like to thank the investigative agencies involved in this matter.
The family cannot begin to find the words to adequately express the pain and disbelief of these last few days. To know there are people among us capable of this type of violence and with this magnitude of hate and evil in their lives is sickening.
Our Mom and Dad only had love in their lives. Since the day they met, 19 years ago, they knew they were soul mates. They chose a life that many people did not understand.
Together they decided to adopt a child, which turned into the adopting of many children. They had a calling to adopt, and to provide love to children that most did not see as normal. To my Mom and Dad their children are perfect. In their eyes their children had no disabilities and presented no challenges. They saw them as angels that God provided to them and Mom and Dad knew they would love them eternally. Mom and Dad had the ability to provide their children with lives full of fun, joy, patience and love. Though they have 17 children, love was never scarce, never withheld. They loved and cherished each child as much as a person is possibly capable.
My mother always told me some people grow up wanting to be doctors or lawyers or teachers. She wanted to be a mommy. She had patience that is simply undescribable. If you would have had the chance to meet her, you would know the radiance of her spirit. She never met a stranger. Her life long dream was loving her babies and being a voice for them.
Our father is the smartest person I have ever known. He taught through example. He had a passion for life and was absolutely crazy about my Mom. There was not a day that went by that he failed to tell her how much he loved her. Our Mom and Dad spent most of their time together. They shared the daily duties of getting the children ready for school, getting the children off the bus in the afternoon, always preparing and eating dinner as a family.
Instilling values and traditions in their children was very important to them. Those who have met any of the Billings children now how well behaved and well mannered they are. Our parents taught us to love despite differences in people.
Christmas has always been the favorite holiday in the Billings home. Our mom never left anything out. Every year, on Christmas Eve, there was one present opened by each child, and then Christmas morning started about 4:30 a.m.
My mother and father touched many, many lives around the country and we plan to carry on their legacy. We, the children, have experienced a loss that is unimaginable. As a family we will pull together and take each day, one day at a time drawing strength from each other. Our most important concern right now is fulfilling the wishes of my parents. In the event anything ever happened, their wishes were to keep the children together and show the children the love they would have shown them. The family is completely capable of following through with these wishes.
We are coping as a family and request that everyone continue to pray for our strength. We ask that everyone please keep our privacy in mind while we grieve. Again, thank you for all the support. We hope that all people use our parents as an example.
We know that our parents are watching over us now and are reunited with their three angels. Mom and Dad will give us the strength to make it through the hard times, and with their love we hope to make the world a better place, just as they did during their short time on earth.
Third Person Arrested In Billings Murder; Several More Suspects
July 14, 2009
A third person was arrested Monday and charged with an open count of murder in the killing of a Beulah couple that had adopted dozen children.
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan announced Monday night that Gary Lamont Sumner, 30, was arrested following a traffic stop in Okaloosa County. Sheriff David Morgan said he was one of the people seen in a Walmart surveillance video with Leonard Gonzalez, Jr. (Story here.) Morgan said Sumner is believed to be one of the suspects that entered the Billings home. He was described by law enforcement as a day laborer and a friend of other suspects in the case.
Three persons of interest, two black males and one white male, are still being sought by authorities. One of the persons of interest’s identity is currently known to investigators and an arrest is expected in the near future, the sheriff’s department said. Monday night, the sheriff said the arrest in “imminent”.
“We hope to bring all the suspects we have identified to justice very shortly,” he said.
Morgan confirmed Monday that surveillance video from the home of Byrd and Melanie Billings showed a total of five men entering and leaving the Beulah home. He said Wayne Coldiron and Leonard Gonzalez, Jr. — both of which have been arrested and charged with open counts of murder — entered the home from a red van while one person, Leonard Gonzalez, Sr. (pictured left) remained in the van as the getaway driver. Gonzalez, Sr. has been charged with tampering with evidence for trying to alter the appearance of the van, but he has not been directly charged with the murders. A third person that has not been arrested is also believed to have entered the home from the van.
At least two more people, one of them Sumner, entered the home from another side, Morgan said, from a metallic blue flake or gold flake Cadillac Escalade parked close to Mobile Highway. It was not clear, he said, if a getaway driver remained with that vehicle. Some of the suspects, the sheriff said, were dressed in black ninja garb and masks.
One of the persons in custody was the “mastermind” of the crime, Morgan said, but he would not identify that person.
Tuesday morning, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department was search for as many as four additional suspects.
There were nine developmentally disabled children in the home at the time the Billingses were shot in their bedroom. Three of the children, Morgan said, witnessed the intruders in the home. One ran to a neighbor’s to get help. He declined to say if cameras caught the actual murder on video.
The total time from the van entering the property to when it left was about 10 minutes. The total time in the house was about four minutes. “It leads me to believe that this was a very well planned and methodical operation,” the sheriff said.
One motive for the crime was robbery, but Morgan refused to speculate on any additional motives. “We have a motive of robbery … that is a motive,” Morgan said. “We believe there are other motives.”
Coldiron and Gonzalez, Jr. are due to appear in court today. Gonzalez. Sr. appeared in court Monday with Escambia Circuit Judge Thomas Johnson ordering his bond doubled to $500,000 to a long criminal history that includes a long list of traffic infractions, worthless checks, marijuana possession and providing a false name to law enforcement.
NorthEscambia.com will continue to provide the latest updates on this developing story.
Coach: Why Doesn’t Northview Get A Field House Too?
July 14, 2009
Northview High School Head Football Coach Cody Keene says his departure from Northview High School is all about the positives — except for one little thing.
Every high school with a football program in Escambia County has a field house, except for Northview, and Keene says that is downright unfair.
Keene announced his departure as Northview’s head coach Monday morning. Read that story here.
At Pensacola High School, a field house was due to be completed in 2005 for $3 million, but it was delayed by Hurricane Ivan. When it was completed this year, the total price tag was $5 million. In the PHS field house, there are different wings for boys’ and girls’ sports, coaches’ offices, locker rooms for boys and girls, and even 52-inch flat screen televisions.
At Northview, there is no field house. Football players use the cramped PE locker rooms.
“How can the schools in Pensacola all have field houses and Northview doesn’t? How can the district leadership spend $5 million on a field house at Pensacola High and there is nothing here?” Keene said. “It’s not right. All of the students are Escambia District students. How can our board leave Northview out? We work just as hard. Why can’t they have a field house?”
Keene was clear that he was not criticizing Pensacola or the other high schools in the county; rather, he said he just wanted to point out that Northview’s program was lacking what had been provided to every other high school football program in the county.
“They deserve at Northview what everybody else gets,” Keene said. “We are a smaller school. Maybe we don’t need a $5 million field house. We could take a smaller field house.”
Pictured top: Northview High School Head Football Coach Cody Keene. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Discussion: Eliminate The Flomaton Police Department
July 14, 2009
Days after the town’s police chief was released, Flomaton residents and some of the city’s council members were discussing eliminating Flomaton’s police department all together and turning law enforcement over to the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Department.
The discussion at a Flomaton City Council meeting Monday night had nothing to do with Mayor Dewey Bondurant’s decision last week to release Flomaton Police Chief Tim Hardage during his six month probation period. Rather, the discussion centered around funding.
Council member Buster Crapps said that Flomaton is in poor financial shape, and turning law enforcement over to the county would be a big savings. He also mentioned eliminating the town’s dispatchers are relying on the Escambia Sheriff’s Department to radio dispatch officers.
Sheriff Grover Smith told the council that his department would not able to enforce city ordinances, and that his current dispatch center is at capacity.
Smith said a centralized dispatch in Escambia County had been discussed for at least 15 years. The sheriff said he is currently working to move his dispatch center out of the county’s detention center and install improved equipment.
“We are maxed out on what we can safely control,” Smith said. “If our numbers rise, it would not be safe.” He said his department currently answers about 65 percent of the county’s 911 calls and dispatches not only his deputies but 17 volunteer fire departments, Brewton’s ambulance service and the county’s rescue squad. But he added he would do what was necessary for his dispatchers to help anyone in the county that needed his department’s help.
But Smith said his department currently responds to calls in Flomaton under just two circumstances — the Flomaton Police Department asks for assistance or the district attorney asks him to take an action in Flomaton.
“I respect the police chief and the people at the table,” Escambia County’s top cop said at Monday night’s Flomaton City Council meeting. “It’s smarter that we get along isn’t it?”
In the event Flomaton decided to turn their law enforcement duties over to the Escambia Sheriff, Smith said, “I will not be able to patrol and enforce city ordinances. I won’t be able to assign someone to just Flomaton.”
The council was unable to act on any business at their regular meeting Monday night with three of five council members absent due to illness. That prompted Mayor Bondurant to open the meeting into a public forum, allowing open discussion among those present. That public forum lead to the discussion about the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department taking over dispatch and perhaps law enforcement in Flomaton.
Bondurant said moving law enforcements duties from the town to the county was something just mentioned, not a proposal that the council has ever considered.
As for the town’s finances, the mayor said the town lost $93 in March and $157 in April. In the month of May, Flomaton had a $9,929 positive cash flow.
“Just because we have a net profit does not mean that we have a good cash flow,” Bondurant said. “We don’t have enough cash flow; that’s our problem.
Last week, Bondurant released Police Chief Tim Hardage (pictured left), telling NorthEscambia.com that the two did not see eye to eye. Monday night, Bondurant said he released Hardage during a six month probationary period, reiterating that he was not “fired” but “released”.
“I told him I would give him a positive reference,” Bondurant said of the former police chief. “In fact, he’s already been hired by Brewton.”
Terri Tolbert, Flomaton’s school resource officer, has temporarily taken over the chief’s duties, the mayor said, while a decision about the positions future is made.
At Monday night’s city council meeting, council members James Johnson, Roger Adkinson ahd John Samson were absent. Bondurant said he knew Johnson and Samson were out sick, and he believed that to be the case with Adkinson. Council member Buster Crapps and Clemente Brooks were present, but that did not provide the council with the quorum they needed to legally conduct business.
Pictured top: Flomaton Mayor Dewey Bondurant addresses the audience at Monday night’s Flomaton City Council meeting while Council member Clemente Brooks looks on. Pictured top inset: Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith speaks to the council. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
WEAR-TV’s Parent Company Could File Bankruptcy
July 14, 2009
Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., the company that owns Pensacola television station WEAR, has warned that the company may be forced to file bankruptcy.
In a filing with the securities and exchange commission, Sinclair cited declining advertising revenues and high debt could force the bankruptcy. The company’s SEC filing said “the continued deterioration of the automotive industry will result in a decrease in our advertising revenue for 2009 as compared to 2008, which will likely have an adverse impact on our business and results of operation.”
Another problem reported by Sinclair was increased competition from other advertising mediums, including other television stations, radio and Internet content providers.
The company is also deep in debt, with $1.33 billion in outstanding total debt. Sinclair may be forced to buy back about $500 million of that debt in the next 18 months, a move the company said it can’t afford.
“In addition, under certain circumstances, creditors may file an involuntary petition for bankruptcy against us. Due to the possibility of such circumstances occurring, we have begun planning for such potential restructurings,” Sinclair’s SEC filing stated.
In addition to WEAR, Sinclair Broadcasting operates 57 other television stations in 35 markets.
ECUA Offers Instructional Videos
July 14, 2009
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority launched a series of instructional video features on the www.ecua.org web site.
The first video addresses preferred trash bagging techniques in an effort to prevent wind-blown garbage and recyclables from littering the streets of Escambia County.
Nathalie Bowers, spokesperson for ECUA, said that trash blowing out of collection trucks is more of a problem in North Escambia than in some others areas. That is because, she said, trucks in rural areas tend to move at higher highway speeds than those in urban areas. Baffles have been installed on the trucks to help the situation, she said.
Topics soon to follow will include proper water purification methods when precautionary boil water notices are in effect, the general guidelines for the ECUA Residential Recycling Program, and the Fats, Oils and Grease Program.
To see the proper trash bagging video from ECUA, click here.
Messy Color Fun Today At The Century Branch Library
July 14, 2009
The summer reading program at the Century Branch Library concludes at noon today with some colorful fun.
Kids are invited to join Miss Lois for some messy finger-paints and learn how to make greens and purples and more today at the Century Branch Library. Children of all ages will leave with a treat and learn about rainbows of color at the same time.
The library is located at 7331 North Century Blvd. Call 256-6217 for more info.
Escambia (Ala.) Deputy Still In Hospital After Four-Wheeler Accident
July 14, 2009
A part-time Escambia County (Ala.) deputy remains hospitalized following a four-wheeler accident on Saturday.
Sheriff Grover Smith said Monday night that Cary Barton is still unconscious at a Mobile hospital following the accident. Barton is expected to recover from his injuries; his injuries were not considered life threatening.
Barton also serves as a city councilman in Brewton.
Another Person Charged With Billings Murder
July 13, 2009
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department has arrested another person and charged him with an open count of murder. Four of seven suspects are now in custody, according to the ECSO in the murder of the Billings couple in Beulah.
Gary Lamont Sumner, 30, was arrested in Okaloosa County following a routine traffic stop. Sheriff David Morgan said he was one of the people seen in a Walmart surveillance video with Leonard Gonzalez, Jr. (Story here.) Morgan said Sumner is believed to be one of the suspects that entered the Billings home.
Three persons of interest, two black males and one white male, are still being sought by authorities. One of the persons of interest’s identity is currently known to investigators and an arrest is expected in the near future, the sheriff’s department said.
Morgan said he is not planning to release any more information on the case tonight, but we will continue to follow this story with any updates this evening. NorthEscambia.com will have a complete story with all of the latest developments Tuesday morning.