Byrneville Principal Takes Issue With Comments In PNJ; Says School Is Not Racial Biased
March 2, 2009
The principal of Byrneville Elementary School is speaking out after a Sunday article in the Pensacola News Journal that includes terms like “white flight” to describe the predominantly white school.
The article quotes Sandra Edwards, director of the county’s school choice office as say that white children in the Carver/Century K-8 School attendance zone would “find a reason” to transfer to Byrneville or Bratt.
About 12 percent of Byrneville’s students are minorities; at Bratt, that number is 21 percent. The PNJ articles states that of the 130 students in the Carver/Century zone that attend Byrneville, only four are black.
“Sandra Edwards’ remarks about the pending closing of Carver Century School, quoted in the article in the Pensacola News-Journal March 1 edition, imply that Byrneville Elementary School, Inc., a charter school, is racially biased. That is false,” Byrneville Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan told NorthEscambia.com Sunday evening.
Wolfe-Sullivan points out that figures that state 130 students are leaving Carver/Century to attend Byrneville are misleading. When the district voted to close Byrneville, it became a charter school ran by a board of directors rather than directly by the Escambia County School Board. The former Byrneville district was eliminated; students that lived near Byrneville Elementary suddenly were with the Carver/Century zone.
“Edwards’ statement that 130 of our students are in the Carver Century zone is misleading. The zone for Carver Century was expanded by the District to include the old Byrneville zone the same year the District closed Byrneville and we opened as a charter school. Our students never left the Byrneville zone to attend Carver Century,” Wolfe-Sullivan said.
NorthEscambia.com was unable to reach Edwards for comment Sunday night due to the school district office being closed.
Wolfe-Sullivan stressed that Byrneville is not a racially biased school in any manner.
“Since we opened as a charter school we have admitted the children who came to us, black, Native American, Latino, Asian, and white,” she said.
What Will Happen To Byrneville Elementary?
In an exclusive story on January 22, NorthEscambia.com explored how Byrneville might be impacted by the closure of Carver/Century K-8 School. That closure is expected to be finalized at a March 17 meeting of the Escambia County School Board.
The facts are simple: Only about 44 percent of the students in the Carver/Century district actually attend the school. On the elementary level, 126 attend Carver/Century, 130 attend Byrneville Elementary and 32 attend Bratt Elementary. But where will the 126 elementary children at Carver/Century end up next year?
The official answer is Bratt Elementary, because Century will become part of Bratt’s district.
But Dee Wolfe–Sullivan, principal at Byrneville, feels like many parents and guardians may choose to send their children to her school rather than having them bused to Bratt. Byrneville Elementary is a charter school ran under district guidelines but under its own set of rules; those rules would allow Byrneville to accept Carver students.
“Some of those parents will want to enroll their children here,” Wolfe-Sullivan said. “But the issue becomes if we have room or not.”
There are currently 166 students at Byrneville, and the school only has a capacity of about 200.
“It is possible that applications may exceed our capacity next year if Carver Century is closed. We will continue to follow our own board’s admissions preference policy, which does not regard race or minority status. That policy gives first preference to students who live in the original (District system) zone; then dependents of staff and board members; then siblings of students; and then any Florida student,” she said.
In our January 22 story, NorthEscambia.com presented a “what if” scenario to Wolfe-Sullivan. “What if the school board closed Carver/Century and then offered the Carver/Century facility to Byrneville Elementary?” we asked.
“We have not discussed the Carver/Century building, so I would have no comment at the present time,” she said.
“If parents want to send their child to Byrneville, we certainly welcome them,” Wolfe-Sullivan added. “We are a small school. Every teacher knows every child, and they know most of the families. It is a great atmosphere.”
Pictured top: Byrneville Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan at lunch with a group of students. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Mayor Says Something Must Change After Century Loses Car Plant
March 2, 2009
Century Mayor Freddie McCall knows it won’t be easy to find another company willing to invest millions in his town and provide a 1,000 good jobs.
When LHS EV found out last week that they were not getting a $2.5 million state grant, they promptly announced that they were no longer considering Century for their electric car assembly plant.
Company officials announced that they were still considering an Alabama location for the plant, and that did not surprise McCall.
“We all know that Alabama is more free with money for industry than Florida,” the mayor said. “Something has got to change if Florida is going to compete with Alabama.”
McCall said he is disappointed that the town lost LHS EV and their promised jobs. But taking the roll of the eternal optimist, the first-term mayor is not yet waiving the white flag of defeat.
“We are still willing to work with them (LHS), but I understand if it does not work out,” McCall said. “But we are not going to give up. We are going to look for somebody else to bring jobs to Century.”
While he would not mention specifics, McCall said there was another company considering Century.
“We are going to keep our fingers crossed right now on another company,” he said.
Cutoff Date Approaching For Three Farm Bill Programs
March 2, 2009
The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced March 13, 2009, as the cutoff date for three Farm Bill conservation programs.
All applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), and the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) will be accepted until close of business on March 13, 2009.
EQIP and WHIP offer financial and technical assistance to install structural and management practices on eligible non-federal lands to address natural resource concerns and wildlife habitat restoration. Conservation treatment activities for EQIP and WHIP are carried out in accordance to a conservation plan that is developed with the landowner or manager.
State-wide priorities for EQIP include erosion control, water quality, water quantity, animal / plant health and confined livestock operations. Priorities for WHIP include habitat restoration on scrubby flatwoods, pine rocklands, tropical hammocks, and native grasslands for bobwhite quail. Individual county priorities may vary slightly due to locally established objectives.
The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) is a voluntary program that provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners and Tribes to restore, protect and enhance wetlands in exchange for retiring eligible land from agriculture.
For additional details on these Farm Bill programs and for specific eligibility requirements to participate, contact the Escambia County, FL USDA NRCS office at (850) 587-5404 ext. 3. Or stop by 151 Highway 97, Molino (Escambia County Farm Bureau Building).
Northview Groups Helps Gulf Coast Kid’s House
March 2, 2009
Northview High School’s FCCLA program recently conducted a fundraiser to support the Gulf Coast Kid’s House. The FCCLA worked in conjunction with the Escambia Farm Bureau Women’s Committee.
FCCLA (Family, Career, & Community Leaders of America) members sold Valentine Grams to students at Northview High School. The funds were then used to purchase personal care items for the Kid’s House.
The Gulf Coast Kid’s House is a center where abused and neglected children receive services from a number of agencies. While the Kid’s House is located in Pensacola and serves all of Escambia County, a fair number of the children served are from our area.
The FCCLA is the leadership program of the Family & Consumer Science Department at Northview High School.
Pictured above: FCCLA members Kayla Rentz and Allie Vidak organize items purchased for the Gulf Coast Kid’s House. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blog: Our ‘Snow Chaser’ Mission To Find The White Stuff, Snow Photos
March 2, 2009
NorthEscambia.com took our coverage all the way to Montgomery Sunday afternoon on a “Snow Chaser” mission, and we’ve posted a photo gallery of our trip.
If you’ve ever lived north of Birmingham, you might as well not read beyond this point, because you are probably going to laugh.
My children have never seen real snow. Born in Florida, raised in Florida and being less than 16 years old, they are not old enough to remember the “Big Snow of 1993″ that we had here in North Escambia.
We read the forecast with great anticipation Saturday night when the National Weather Service mentioned snow in our forecast here across the northern part of Florida. But by Sunday morning, the word “snow” was gone from the forecast. Looking at the temperatures and radar, we knew that snow was not going to happen in our part of the world.
But looking at the radar, we saw that snow was headed for Montgomery. But would it stick? We were not sure. I watched live video cameras on a Montgomery TV station’s web site. Not sticking. Keep checking back over the next hour or so. Hmm…the ground in Montgomery was turning white. There it was, just 140 short miles from our house was that snow. The mere mention of snow makes my two girls giddy with excitement. Here was the chance to be super dad.
“Girls…bundle up! We are headed to Montgomery to see snow!” I said. The screams of excitement were deafening. Better than Christmas morning.
If you have ever seen “Storm Chasers” on the Discovery Channel, that was my family Sunday morning. We were prepared. We had the laptop out in the car (pictured left), watching the weather radar as we headed up I-65 at a speed we won’t mention.
Near Georgiana, Ala., (the birthplace of Hank Williams, Jr., in case you didn’t know) we hit S-N-O-W. This was not that little stare to see a flake kind of snow, but what any Florida resident would call a flurry. It was coming down at an incredible rate. The kids were very impressed. Mom and dad were impressed. We don’t have photos to share, because the camera was in the trunk. Sorry.
We stopped at the next exit, Greenville, and the kids go to play in the falling snow for the first time in their lives. It was better than Disney World.
While there, I failed as a reporter. I was so excited taking pictures of the kids playing in the snow, I only took one photo of the snowfall without the kids. That’s the one I’ve shared at the top of the page.
The snow in Greenville was not sticking to anything, so we decided to head further north. Just a couple of miles north of Greenville, the snow was one the ground and stuck to the windward side of trees. Very pretty. We’ve posted photos in the gallery linked at the bottom of the page. Some of the photos are little blurry because they were taken at 80 mph.
We stopped at the next exit, Ft. Deposit (home of Priester’s Pecans), where the girls had a chance to make real snowballs and toss them at each other. They were amazed.
Based upon the radar images we were watching in the car, we tried to get to the east side of Montgomery before it stopped. We did not know about the 8.5 foot wide lanes and the road construction on I-65. Oops. We hoping to find something like the picture to the left. Roy Tarbutton, who lives in Maryland but has a home in Walnut Hill, sent us this picture this morning of the five inches of snow on his Maryland deck. He’s expecting more snow today, delaying a planned trip to Walnut Hill.
While Montgomery saw a good bit of snow on the ground prior to our arrival, we just managed to see a lot of grassy areas with snow and many neighborhoods where rooftops were totally white. By the time we caught up with our snowstorm we were chasing on the east side of Montgomery, there were just a few flurries.
We did manage to scrape snow off another person’s car in a parking lot and make a few more snowballs.
While our photos are not as impressive as the ones you no doubt saw on the TV news of Alabama’s snowfall, I just wanted to share our little NorthEscambia.com “Snow Tracker” mission. There’s something about snow that just brings out the kid in all of us as we watch in amazement.
As for when the “Big Snow of 1993″ will repeat here in Florida, we don’t know. But our fingers are crossed….
Click here for photo gallery from our trip.
Pictured top: Snow falling in Greenville, Ala. Sunday. Pictured top middle: Our “Storm Chasers” setup, watching the radar in the car as the snow falls outside on I-65 south of Montgomery. Pictured bottom middle: Roy Tarbutton, who lives in Maryland but has a home in Walnut Hill, sent us this picture this morning of the five inches of snow on his Maryland deck Pictured below: Snow cover the side of I-65 near Ft. Deposit, Ala. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Deputies Warn Of Scam Letter Sent To North Escambia Residents
March 1, 2009
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department is warning area residents not become victim of a scam that has cost North Escambia residents thousands of dollars.
The scam begins with a letter with a Canadian postmark, according to Senior Deputy David Preston. The letter states that the recipient is the third grand prize winner in a National Geographic sweepstakes with a $100,000 prize. The official looking letter even provides a certified cashier’s check number.
The envelope also contains a check for $3,085 that “covers insurance, handling, duty and taxes fees”. The letter asks the recipient to call a phone number with a 514 area code in Quebec, Canada. An Internet search indicated that the number is a Canadian cell phone.
When victims call the phone number, they are told to deposit the check into their bank and then return the $3,085 right away. The check bounces, and the victim is out the $3,085.
The check appears real and to be drawn on Regions Bank from a company called “Continental Traffic Service” in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a real company that specializes in supply chain management, but they have nothing to do with the check or the prize.
“It’s a scam,” Preston said. “People need to know not to do this because all they are going to do is lose money.”
The scam has been received by at least six people in the McDavid 32568 and Century 32535 zip codes in the past few days, Preston said.
Preston said that people should not be required to deposit checks and send money back to a company in order to win a prize.
Anyone that receives such a letter should contact Senior Deputy David Preston at 436-9620.
Click here to see the scame letter (pdf).
Pictured top: A copy of a $3,085 scam check received by a local resident. Note that the word “VOID” that is slightly visible in the image is because this is a copy; the “VOID” would not be noticeable on the actual check. Pictured above, left: A copy of the letter. Submitted by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Teaspoon Festival Celebrates Heritage
March 1, 2009
The third annual Teaspoon Heritage Festival was held Saturday in Century.
The weather moved the day’s events inside the New Life Baptist Church. The event included a special performance by Ballet Pensacola and other groups, food, arts and crafts and more.
The festival celebrated the heritage of African slaves that escaped from Colonial plantations in the Carolinas and Georgia to settle in the community of Teaspoon, now modern day Century.
The free festival was sponsored by The Teaspoon Foundation and New Life Baptist Church.
Pictured above: One of the arts and crafts vendors at Saturday’s Teaspoon Festival in Century. Pictured above left: A dancer from Ballet Pensacola performs. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Blog: The Rest Of The Story
March 1, 2009
And now for a little “shop talk”…that’s what radio legend Paul Harvey would say on his “Paul Harvey News” show when he was about to discuss some news event in the world of media.
That shop talk Saturday night turned to the death of the iconic voice that was our trusted friend. Paul Harvey passed away Saturday at the age of 90.
What does the death of Paul Harvey have to do with NorthEscambia.com? Perhaps more than you realize.
“You know what the news is, in a minute, you’re going to hear…the rest of the story.”
“Stand by for news!” he would say. I remember hearing that booming Paul Harvey voice from the radio. I was pretty young, perhaps in elementary school. The hot summer air on granny’s porch in rural Alabama would be filled with that Midwestern voice that would bring us the news. The news might be the latest national headlines from the president, or it might be the story of a little old lady in Chicago that did something just a bit different than the rest of us.
Whatever the story, it always sounded equally important and interesting, regardless of the subject. Paul Harvey taught us that every person has a story, and, if you will just take the time to listen, that story can be intriguing no matter how mundane it may seem.
He was very plainspoken, weaving the story without being sensational. Sometimes he would interject his commentary, and somehow you would almost always agree with that voice from the little speaker.
As that young guy who spent those 15 minutes each day with that voice from Chicago, I had no idea what career path I would take. But this radio thing seemed pretty interesting. After all, this Paul Harvey guy must have made a pretty good living reading those ads for those big companies. Remember “Bankers Life and Casualty Company”? They sponsored Paul Harvey News for 30 years, from the 50’s to the 80’s.
I grew up in a small Alabama town, and I remember when FM radio came to town. It was much like modern day 2009, with the conversion to digital tv and the needed converter boxes. Our family car, a Ford LTD, had only an AM radio with those black selector push buttons. The new FM station was coming to town, and we where not going to be able to hear it in the car without one of those converters.
I remember the excitement of getting the FM converter box to hear the new station in town in our car. We had an FM radio in the house. We were far enough away from the next largest city that the new local FM was about the only FM station we could hear.
And there was Paul Harvey in that new FM radio format, that commanding voice sounding even stronger. But along with Paul Harvey, that new local station in town did local news right before Paul Harvey. There it was on the radio…local news about the people and places in our little town. It was no longer that AM radio station from the next big city with big city news, it was local news on our local FM.
I found that all very intriguing, and continued to think that having a job like Paul Harvey would be cool. But at that age, astronaut seemed pretty interesting too.
“Page…two…”
Fast forward to my senior year in high school. For me at that age, radio was for music and Casey Kasem’s American Top 40, not for Paul Harvey. He was no longer that friend that I listened to each day, but rather just a distant memory. But radio was about to become my friend.
The writer at our local weekly newspaper quit. The editor called the high school English teacher, hoping to find a graduate that might still be in town that could write. The odds of that were slim; graduating high school was usually followed by leaving our little town.
That English teacher recommended that the editor talk to me about writing for the paper. So there I was, a high school senior and now the one and only staff writer for the local paper. Understand that the local newspaper was very different then than local papers are today.
The presses would rumble the building every Wednesday afternoon, and the smell of ink would permeate the building. You could hear the presses outside the building, a rumble like a distant train shaking the ground. In the meantime, back on the main street of town, a lone paper box stood. People would line up, quarters in hand, to buy the paper. Sometime they would wait hours for those first copies to be put in the box. The editor of the paper would take the papers to the box himself; that was the most important job in the world every Wednesday afternoon, and he would do it himself.
One of my early writing assignments was to visit the local radio station to write a story about something they had done, or something they were doing…it escapes my memory what the story I wrote was even about. But the moment is still vivid.
There I was in the broadcast studio of the radio station, interviewing the radio host for the now forgotten story.
Buttons and knobs. I must admit that I’ve always loved buttons and knobs. The studio had plenty of those. This whole radio thing look pretty interesting, mostly due to the buttons and knobs.
“You have a good voice,” an employee of the station told me. “Here, read this,” he said, handing me a AP news story off the dot matrix printer. I read.
The next thing I knew, my first ever job at the newspaper had led to my second ever job doing news at the local radio station. Now I was covering stories in both print and on the air, my own little small town media empire. At the high stakes rate of about $5 an hour at the radio station, I was making two salaries for covering the same news story. I had found the ultimate way to make cash. It was a teen’s dream.
The radio station were I was working was not that first station in town I mentioned earlier. I was working for the competitor, and you had to listen to your competitor to know what they were doing.
There was that Paul Harvey guy, probably a decade after I first heard him, on the competing station. “Stand by for news!” was once again part of my daily life. If I were going to read the news on the radio station, I wanted to read it half as good as Paul Harvey. I’d listen to his style, his delivery technique and the way he crafted his words. His words were never fancy, never those big long “I’m smarter than you” words. They were simple words, like a brush they would paint a picture in your mind over the airwaves.
With simple words and long, dramatic pauses, he did not deliver the news. He pulled you into the news, making you part of each and every story.
Suddenly, this whole radio station “gig” became more than just a cash cow, it had become a passion. At 18-years old, I had discovered that small town news — where everyone has a story — was where I wanted to be.
I spent a few years at that small town radio station, reading the news — telling the daily story of what was going on in our small town. I eventually left the radio station and went to work for a newspaper in a larger town. The editor that had given me that first job while I was still in high school was right. In the newspaper business, you get ink in your veins and just can’t stay away.
Over the years, there were more newspaper and more radio stations in my future, along with other jobs that were usually media related in some way.
Thinking back to what the newspaper editor would say about ink in the veins, he might have been a little off, at least when it comes to my veins. I ended up with a passion for small town news, telling the stories that otherwise would never be heard.
All that eventually led you and I to be here today on NorthEscambia.com. That “itch” for small town news just never went away. I’ve always been a follower of technology, so the Internet just seemed to be logical place for our local news.
Paul Harvey began his career on AM radio. Then FM. Eventually, those Rest of the Story broadcasts were streamed on the Internet. But regardless of the delivery method, it was still a personal approach to the news.
Those hot, humid summer days listening to Paul Harvey were my early inspiration to become a storyteller of local community news. In that indirect way, Paul Harvey is responsible for NorthEscambia.com.
And now, you know…the rest of the story.
Paul Harvey . . . Good day.
It’s Going To Be Really Cold Today
March 1, 2009
It’s going to be downright cold today.
Today’s high will struggle to top out at 45. A northwest wind 15 to 25 mph and gusting to 35 will make it seem even colder. There’s even a very slight chance of a few snowflakes today before the clouds clear. The chance of snow is much greater in Central Alabama where places like Montgomery are expecting an inch or two of snow today.
A wind advisory is in effect for today due to the high winds.
Strong north winds gusting up to 25 mph will make tonight’s low of 25 seem much colder.
Here’s your North Escambia weather foreast for the rest of the week:
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 52. Wind chill values between 20 and 30 early. North wind between 5 and 15 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 27. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 64. Calm wind becoming east between 5 and 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 34. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 70. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 47. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 54.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 55.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.
Softball Returns To Century
March 1, 2009
Dwindling interest and competing leagues led to not having a girls’ softball team participate in Century Little League last season. But a renewed effort from Century Little League’s Board of Directors has brought back the fun.
Submitted by Joel Borelli
When asked what obstacles needed to be overcome league president and Century resident Kevin Merchant, said “It wasn’t easy, especially given the fact that last year we didn’t have a team. Sometimes it’s harder to get something back after you lost it than it might be to start something new.” He went on to explain that a lot of children go to school at Bratt or Walnut Hill and make friends there. It’s only natural for them to want to play sports with their friends and that’s okay, but the unfortunate result is that some children end up playing for the Northwest Escambia League and not Century.
He was quick to point out that, “We still have a lot of children available to us. The key was finding the right person to coach the team, an enthusiastic person, willing to go the extra mile and go out there and recruit. And we found that with Coach Tara Jones.”
When I caught up with Coach Jones on her second day of practice she agreed it wasn’t easy, especially with no team to draw girls from last season. She reiterated though, that the simple act of recruiting made all the difference.
“Talking with friends, neighbors, everyone I know,” she says was the formula for her success. And although it’s still early, she’s excited about her team. “I’ve got three girls who played minor league ball with the boys last year. I’m really counting on those girls to come out and do their best and to help the others that don’t have the experience. We’ve got some girls that can hit the ball too,” she added . And while she believes her team will compete well, she admits she has a ways to go in putting it all together. “I’ve got my starting shortstop, my catcher, and a few other positions, but I’m still trying to identify the rest, especially pitcher.”
The impact of the return of softball in Century goes well beyond the city limits. Around the league teams are, “Tickled, excited,” says Kevin. “It’s a win-win situation. The additional team added to schedules helps the entire tri-county league and improves the competition. It also helps the league when it comes to All-Stars. An expanded talent pool results in more girls to choose from so the league can field the best possible All-Star team.” His excitement doesn’t end there either. “I don’t see why we can’t get two or three girl’s softball teams going and sustain them,” he states.
So how does that happen? What does the future hold for Century softball and what has to be done to sustain the hard work already done in laying this foundation? Like all non-profit, volunteer-run organizations, Century Little League must rely on support from the community. In Century, that starts with the city’s participation. Kevin made it perfectly clear how great an asset Century has been to the league. “Century is a fantastic partner with us, there’s so much that they do. Every year they donate money and they don’t charge us to run the field lights, among other things. These go a very long way to making Century Little League a success. They also allow us to operate the concessions ourselves which really helps us raise additional funds.”
Beyond the city’s help, Kevin recognizes that the citizens themselves must pitch in, be they parents of children or just those that want to volunteer, and he reached out to them a few weeks ago. “We recently hosted a Fun Day at Showalter Park.” The day sported games the kids could play, a home run derby, fast pitch competition, races, and those types of things. “We opened it up to the whole town too. We didn’t want it to be for just the kids playing baseball or softball. We wanted whole families to come out and have a good time.” In spite of the bad weather the turnout was good and he’s looking to build on it for next year. Cheerfully doing his part to raise money, Kevin took a good soaking in the dunk tank that day, despite the chilly weather.
As for the business community, Kevin states, “We receive a lot of support from local businesses, which really helps, but we could always use more. In this economy especially, there are parents out there who just can’t afford to pay the registration fees and that’s just too bad.” When asked about other suggestions for community involvement he had a unique idea. “I think the churches might help us some and I plan on contacting them. There are over 30 churches in Century and if each one sponsored just one child’s registration fee that would get thirty-plus more kids out here having fun, playing ball, and the positive impact sports has on children is worth the investment.”
When asked to give us a prediction on Century’s success around the league this year, he said, “Coach Wes’ National League Tee Ball team has a real good chance to win it all. We have two really good minor league teams and then Coach Jones’ softball team looks like it has a shot too.” And Coach Jones got in on the fun too, saying with a smile, “I’m seeing some wins for us this year.”
While Kevin and I were talking I took the opportunity to ask him about the rest of Century Little League and according to him the outlook is good. Tee Ball participation is way up and this year Century is fielding two minor league teams as well, but he was quick to say that kids are still welcome to come out and play, especially eleven and twelve year olds, the weakest turnout age for Century this season. If you have a child 12 and under you can bring them by the park any Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. to sign up.
Joel Borelli serves as a board member for the Century Little League.
Pictured top: Catcher Cheyanne Merchant and Coach Tara Jones practice. Pictured inset: Shortstop Samanta Bathea. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com.