Severe Thunderstorm Warning: Escambia Alabama And Florida
December 24, 2009
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOBILE HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR…
EXTREME NORTHEASTERN ESCAMBIA COUNTY IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA…
EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL SANTA ROSA COUNTY IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA…
SOUTHWESTERN CONECUH COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA…
ESCAMBIA COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA…
THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF BREWTON…
SOUTH CENTRAL MONROE COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ALABAMA…
* UNTIL 715 PM CST
* AT 617 PM CST…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS OVER 60
MPH. THESE STORMS WERE ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM NEAR URIAH TO 5
MILES SOUTH OF MALTA…OR ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 19 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF MONROEVILLE TO 20 MILES EAST OF BAY MINETTE…AND
MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.
* THESE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR…
WAWBEEK…VOCATION AND LITTLE ROCK BY 625 PM CST…
SARDINE BY 630 PM CST…
I65 AND AL 113 AND BARNETT CROSSROADS BY 635 PM CST…
FLOMATON…WAHL AND OSAKA BY 640 PM CST…
RANGE BY 645 PM CST…
FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS.
MOVE INDOORS IMMEDIATELY! LIGHTNING IS ONE OF NATURES NUMBER ONE
KILLERS. REMEMBER…IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER…YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO
BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.
NorthEscambia.com Tracks Santa’s Trip
December 24, 2009
On Christmas Eve, NorthEscambia.com teamed up with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to track the progress of Santa Claus around the world.
The map below shows Santa’s trip around the world as provided by NORAD.
Click the Santa on the map for a photo or video. Click any video symbol to watch a video from that location, or click any present for a photo or video.
For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s Christmas Eve flight.
The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.
In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command for North America called the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, which then took on the tradition of tracking Santa.
Since that time, NORAD men, women, family and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to Christmas Eve phone calls and emails from children. In addition, we now track Santa using the internet. Last year, millions of people who wanted to know Santa’s whereabouts visited the NORAD Tracks Santa website.
For more, visit www.noradsanta.org
Updated Forecast
December 24, 2009
All watches and warnings have been canceled for North Escambia, except for a wind advisory in effect for winds gusting to 35 mph tonight. As for a white Christmas…there’s no chance of that, but it will be cooler by Christmas Day.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before midnight, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between midnight and 3am, then a slight chance of showers after 3am. Some of the storms could be severe. Low around 42. Windy, with a southeast wind 20 to 25 mph becoming west 10 to 15 mph. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
- Christmas Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 51. West wind between 5 and 15 mph.
- Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
- Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. South wind around 5 mph becoming north.
- Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. Northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 53. North wind between 5 and 15 mph.
Tate Band Makes Appearance On National TV
December 24, 2009
The Tate High School’s Show Band of the South appeared on national television this morning on ABC.
The Tate Band was the only high school band in the country invited to perform in the annual parade that aired earlier this morning on WEAR.
The 155 members of the Tate Band traveled to Orlando the first weekend of December for the parade that was filmed December 6 in Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park for the Christmas morning showing. The band was also invited to participate in opening scenes for the parade.
The band performed a medley of Christmas favorites, including “Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” and “Jingle Bells.”
Several of the band members and parents had the opportunity to be “extras” in the audience as the Jonas Brothers performed.
Each year, Disney invites bands to apply for the chance to appear in the nationally televised parade. Tate Band Director Joe Hooten submitted an application back in January based upon the band’s 37 years of superior rates, their 2008 appearance in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland as well as video footage and pictures from local events.
Pictured top: The Tate High School Show Band of the South performs in the Disney Christmas Parade on December 6. The parade will air on national television Christmas morning. Pictured inset: Tate band member Nick Kelly (gray shirt) reaches toward Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Did Consolidation Committee Members Violate Sunshine Law?
December 24, 2009
A Pensacola blog is reporting that emails between members of the Escambia County Consolidation Study Commission may have violated Florida’s Sunshine Law.
ProgressivePensacola.com, a blog that typically focuses on Pensacola city issues, reports “The emails, between Commission members Ken Bell, Janet Lander, and Ed Fleming — all members of an ECCSC committee charged with drafting a charter for a consolidated city-county government — show extensive discussion of consolidation issues which have yet to be voted on by either the draft committee or the full commission.”
The blog’s owner, Dereck Cosson continues “It’s unlikely that the three members of the drafting subcommittee could argue ignorance — all three are lawyers”. In several of the emails, the three discuss the need to wait for a public meeting to continue their partial discussions.
An email from Bell to Lander and Fleming even discusses if Century should be included in the consolidation proposal. “Do we want to recommend that the consolidated government include the Town of Century?” Bell wrote on December 15.
The blog reports that in a December 5 email, Bell emailed a copy of the draft charter document to Fleming and Lander, noting “that he’d made ‘corrections’ and ‘notes’ in order to ‘assist in the deliberations at our next Draft Committee meeting.’ Justice Bell then went on to list several issues he planned to raise at the meeting.”
To read the ProgressivePensacola.com article, click here.
Pictured: Consolidation Committee members (L-R) Janet Lander, Ed Fleming and Ken Bell.
Exclusive Interview: Santa Talks About Tonight’s Visit To North Escambia Area
December 24, 2009
Tonight’s the big night for the jolly old elf, with Santa Claus expected to visit all the good little boys and girls in the North Escambia area tonight.
NorthEscambia.com spoke to Santa Claus by phone late Wednesday from the North Pole, and we learned that he has a long list of girls and boys to visit tonight in area.
“There have been a lot of good boys and girls around North Escambia this year,” Santa Claus told us. “I’m going to be making a lot of deliveries. Let’s see…Molino, Century, Walnut Hill, Bratt, McDavid, Bogia, Christian Home, Davisville, Barinneau Park, Dogwood Park, Gandyville, Atmore, Flomaton, Cantonment, Byrneville, Cottage Hill…they are all on my list tonight.”
“The boys and girls at Bratt Elementary, Molino Park Elementary, Byrneville Elementary, and Ernest Ward have been so good in school this year. Even most of the big kids at Northview have been good this year,” Santa said with a chuckle.
What kind of toys will Santa have in his sleigh this year? Most everything he said.
“Wii, Wii, Wii. Ho, Ho, Ho,” Santa said with a grin. “There will be a few of those on the sleigh. Star Wars toys, Zhu Zhu pets, Webkinz, Barbie, mp3 players, laptop computers, toy trucks and tractors, makeup and even a few clothes will be on the sleigh tonight. But, best of all, there will be a lot of surprises!”
Santa’s funniest request from North Escambia this year came from a lady in Dogwood Park. She asked for a rich husband.
“I won’t have any rich husbands on the sleigh tonight,” Santa Claus said. “I emailed her request over to Cupid. I think he might fix her up for Valentine’s Day.”
Santa said he won’t be able to bring everything that every boy and girl asked for this year, but he’ll do his best.
“Sometimes kids ask for things I just can’t bring to them,” Santa Claus said. “But I always try to surprise them with something I know they will enjoy. I know the boys and girls will enjoy Christmas morning.”
Santa spent a lot of time in North Escambia this year. From riding fire trucks around neighborhoods, to the ballpark in Molino, to the library in Century, to the parades all around, Santa said he enjoyed meeting all the boys and girls in person.
In our exclusive interview, Santa let NorthEscambia.com into a little secret. That red light you see blinking in the sky around here might not be a big radio tower. It might be Santa’s most famous reindeer of them all.
“I really enjoy visiting down there in the summer,” Santa Claus said. “I like to take the reindeer down there to enjoy the warm weather. I have a buddy in Walnut Hill. We fly down, and the reindeer get to run around the woods there in Walnut Hill. Then we head over to Bluff Springs and do a little fishing. I like to visit the diner in Molino for lunch, in a disguise of course, and then head up to Century and get some ice cream.”
The most important thing for all the children in North Escambia to remember tonight is to get to bed early. Santa said he expects to be in North Escambia pretty early this year.
NorthEscambia.com has teamed up with NORAD to track Santa all day. To see Santa’s latest location, click here.
If you have Google Maps on your cell phone, you can track Santa by visiting m.noradsanta.org
Christmas Recipes: Apples, Sweet Potatoes And A Quick Breakfast Brunch
December 24, 2009
We are continuing our Christmas recipe series today with a couple of desserts and a quick breakfast.
Today’s recipes feature an Apple Caramel Pudding and a Sweet Tater Cheesecake. We also have a Farmer’s Omelet Casserole that’s easy to cook and would provide a hearty Christmas morning breakfast or brunch for everyone.
To submit your recipes to share with our readers, email them to news@northescambia.com.
Farmer’s Omelet Casserole
by Terri Brown
- 3 cups frozen cubed hash brown potatoes
- 1 cup chopped green pepper, divided
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 18 large eggs, beaten
- 2 1/3 cups chopped cooked ham
- 1 1/4 cups chopped tomato, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (coarse grind is best)
- 1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
Cook potato, 3/4 cup green pepper and onion in oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, stirring constantly, 8 min. or until tender. Cool potatoes if preparing the night before. Combine potato mixture, eggs, ham, 1 cup tomato, salt and black pepper in a large bowl; stir well. Pour mixture into a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Bake, uncovered at 325 for 40 minutes or until golden. Top with remaining 1/4 cup green pepper and 1/4 cup tomato. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake 5 more minutes until cheese melts.
Apple Caramel Pudding
by Janet Smith
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups chopped peeled apples
Combine first five ingredients; then add apples and milk. Blend thoroughly and pour into 8″ square pan.
Combine:
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup boiling water
Mix sugar, boiling water and butter and pour over the batter already in pan. Bake
at 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Seeve warm with ice cream or whipped cream. Very simple but rich dessert. Serves 4 to 6
Sweet Tater Cheesecake
- 4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 cup whipping cream (cool whip will work if no cream handy)
- 1 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, mashed (NOT CANNED)
.
Graham Cracker-Pecan Crust
- 2 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
- Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 425°.
Crust:
Combine crust ingredients thoroughly; press into a 10-inch springform pan.
Beat cream cheese, sugar, and eggs until smooth; beat in flour, cinnamon, and ginger. Beat cream and well-mashed sweet potatoes in on medium speed of a hand held mixer just until well-combined. Pour the batter into the prepared crust. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes; lower heat to 275° and bake 1 hour longer. Turn heat off and leave in the oven to cool for several hours, or cool on a wire rack. Serve with sweetened whipped cream or caramel sauce.
Holiday Closings, Trash Schedules
December 24, 2009
The following will be closed in observance of the Christmas holiday:
- City offices in Century, Jay, Atmore, Flomaton and Pensacola will be closed Thursday and Friday.
- All county offices in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties will be closed Thursday and Friday.
- All county offices in Escambia County, Ala. will be closed Thursday and Friday.
- Alabama state offices will be closed Friday.
- All Florida state offices will be closed Friday.
- West Florida Public Libraries, including the Century Branch, will be closed Thursday and Friday.
- All Santa Rosa County libraries, including Jay, will be closed Thursday and Friday.
- There will be no ECAT bus service on Friday.
- U.S. Postal retail windows will be closed from noon Thursday through Sunday. Regular mail will not be collected or delivered on Friday. Express Mail will be delivered Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Trash Collection
ECUA’s Friday residential routes for trash, recycling and yard trash will be collected on Saturday. ECUA’s Friday commercial routes will be picked up on Thursday. All other routes will remain as normal.
Watch: Escambia Commissioners In Christmas Barn Dance, Disco Videos
December 24, 2009
It seems that even the Escambia County Commission can get into the Christmas spirit. We ran across a couple of videos online showing commissioners dressed as elves at a Christmas barn dance and at a Christmas disco party.
We were not able to verify the authenticity of the videos, but if you’ll pay attention to District 5 Commissioner Kevin White in the disco video, it looks like he’s done that before.
The videos are below. (If don’t see them, it is because your employer or personal firewall is blocking them.)
.
Deputies Release ID Of Cantonment Murder Victim
December 23, 2009
Authorities are investigating the murder of 57-year old man Monday night in Cantonment.
Early Wednesday night, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigators identified the victim as Douglas Edwin Norton, 57. Deputies are still looking for Norton’s family.
“Investigators hope that by releasing the name someone will be able to help locate a family member,” Sgt. Ted Roy, ESCO spokesperson, said Wednesday.
The incident was reported about 10 p.m. Monday on Cooper Road, just north of Muscogee Road. Several deputies and two crime scene units from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department responded to the area.
Norton was reportedly discovered inside the residence at 106 Cooper Road by his roommate. Roy said Norton had been shot to death.
No suspect has been named or arrested in the case.
The Cooper Road murder was the 17th in Escambia County this year. There have been 14 in the unincorporated areas of the county, and three in Pensacola.
NorthEscambia.com will update this story as more information becomes available.