Men’s Breakfasts Sunday Morning
January 17, 2009
The men at two Molino churches will their monthly breakfasts Sunday morning, and all area men are invited to attend.
The monthly Brotherhood Breakfast at Highland Baptist Church in Molino will be at 7:00 Sunday morning. Highland is located on Highway 95A just south of Molino Road.
The United Methodist Men at Aldersgate UMC will hold their monthly breakfast at 7:15 Sunday morning. Aldersgate is located on Highway 29 just south of Highway 97.
New Football District For Northview: NHS And Jay Now Both In 1A
January 17, 2009
The Northview Chiefs and the Jay Royals might just become big football rivals now that the two teams are in the same football district.
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) has released the final district alignments for both the 2009 and 2010 football seasons.
In preliminary district alignments released in December, Northview remained in District 1-2B. Under a FHSAA rule that allows schools to “play down” one district, the Chiefs requested to be moved down one district to District 1-1A, the same district as the Royals.
“I’m excited for our kids and our program,” Northview Heach Coach Cody Keene said after the FHSAA district announcements Friday. “There will not be as much travel, and I think that will be good for our program.”
In addition to Northview, District 1-1A also includes Baker, Bozeman (Southport), Freeport, Holmes County (Bonifay), Sneads, South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach) and Vernon.
“Some of the schools are still a good distance, but it will be better for us,” Keene said. “We will be able to focus more on football. It will be a very competitive district.”
Keene said that he hopes Northview can develop a few strong rivalries within the district, like the Jay Royals.
Class 1A is Florida’s smallest, comprised primarily of schools with 521 or fewer students. Northview had 544 students during the October week used by the FHSAA to determine the new classifications, but schools in the lower 10% of the population breakdown of each classification have the option of playing down one classification if it is deemed more suitable for district travel reasons.
Football fans in Pensacola will likely see a few more rivalries develop under the new classifications. District 1-4A will include Crestview, Escambia, Milton, Pace, Pine Forest and Tate. Class 4A includes schools with 1,740 to 2,014 students.
No More Icicles: Overnight Lows ‘Warming’ To The 30’s
January 17, 2009
We are going to get a reprieve from super cold nights in North Escambia, with overnight lows returning to the 30’s.
Your Saturday will be partly cloud and cool, with a high of 52. Tonigh’s low will be 42.
Sunday will be mostly cloudy and not as cool with a 70 percent chance of showers. Sunday’s high will be 62.
Sunday night will be partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain and a low of 35. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day will be sunny with a high of 52.
Pictured above: The Nona Hightower Fountain at the Century Care Center was nearly frozen over, complete with icicles, Friday morning. The fountain is named in honor of former Century Care resident Nona Hightower. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com.
Carver/Century Students Discover Dance With Ballet Pensacola
January 17, 2009
Ballet Pensacola presented their outreach program “Discover Dance” Friday morning at Carver/Century K-8 School. From “choreography” to “point shoes”, students learned words and phrases while getting a taste of modern and traditional ballet. Friday’s Ballet Pensacola presentation at Carver/Century was made possible through the support of Escambia County Bank, Jay Hospital and Century Pharmacy. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Every Child A Reader In Escambia Receives 700 Books
January 17, 2009
Every Child a Reader in Escambia recieved over 700 books donated by Barnes and Noble customers.
The presentation was made Friday to ECARE’s new program “Illiteracy is an Injustice”. ECARE’s new mascot, the wacky, fun-loving, reading dolphin Readmore Books was on hand to help celebrate this wonderful donation.
“Illiteracy is an Injustice” is the brainchild of local attorney Margaret Stopp, who is also an active member of ECARE. Stopp and local legal community participants all sport beautiful new backpacks with the program name embroidered in brightly colored child-like letters. Attorneys, courthouse personnel and others may be seen sporting the backpacks, which contain a variety of new hardback books geared toward children between the ages of zero and five.
“As members of the legal profession who frequent court proceedings where we see children five and under accompanying their parents or guardians, we have a unique opportunity to offer these children’s books,” explained Stopp. “As we all can agree, readiness for kindergarten is fostered by exposure to books and all they have to offer.”
Stopp stated that by providing these books, legal professionals are addressing, in one small way, the issue of illiteracy in the community. Although not all of the children who are brought to court are from functionally illiterate families, many are. It is the program’s goal that each child receiving a book from will benefit. It will also be a positive experience for the child who visits the courthouse.
Participants are asked to wear the backpack as often as possible at the courthouse because it is a manifestation of the legal community’s commitment to supporting efforts to impact the county’s literacy problem.
Forestry Officials: Don’t Burn Today
January 17, 2009
Officials with the Florida Division of Forestry’s Blackwater Forestry Center are advising the public that outdoor burning Saturday should be conducted with extra care or postponed, if possible, due to low humidity and winds.
“At this time of year and for the next several months, even after recent rain, it only takes a couple windy days with low humidity to dry out accumulated dead leaves, grass, pine straw, and other fine fuels. This makes it easy for a fire to escape and spread rapidly. It’s better to wait until humidity rises and the wind dies down,” according to Ben Wolcott, operations administrator for the Division of Forestry,
“If you must burn, it’s your responsibility to have the necessary manpower and equipment to control the fire, and remember, if the fire escapes, you may be responsible for the cost of putting the fire out and for damage to the property of other persons,” Wolcott added.
In 2008, 171 wildfires in Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties consumed just over 1,736 acres.
For more information about outdoor burning rules, contact the Florida Division of Forestry at 850-957-6145 or visit www.fl-dof.com.
NorthEscambia.com Will Have Barack Obama Inauguration Coverage And Photos From Washington, D.C.
January 16, 2009
Join NorthEscambia.com next week for coverage from Barack Obama’s Inauguration from Washington, D.C.
A reporter and producer will be in Washington providing the coverage for NorthEscambia.com. We’ll have more details posted next week.
If you are from anywhere in the local area and are attending the Inauguration next week, please email us ASAP at news@northescambia.com and let us know.
Carver/Century Not The Only Escambia School To Close
January 16, 2009
Carver/Century K-8 is not the only elementary school in Escambia County that Superintendent Malcolm Thomas wants to close to save money.
Thomas released a list of four West Pensacola area elementary schools on Thursday, one of which he says he intends to close. NorthEscambia.com was the first media to report the impending closure of one West Pensacola schools last week after an exclusive interview with Thomas.
Edgewater, Navy Point, Warrington and West Pensacola elementaries are on Thomas’ short list. He has not yet announced which school will be the one closed.
The West Pensacola area school closure will put the district’s total savings at at least $1.1 million.
The state legislature has cut another $5.4 million in addition to $16.1 million that was cut prior to the first day of school.
Thomas told NorthEscambia.com last week that he would begin a serious of cost-cutting measures that might eventually include teacher layoffs.
He announced a hiring freeze earlier this week, and implemented a travel restriction for employees. That restriction does not extend to student field trips.
Thomas has personally cut his travel; he’s funding mandatory trips out of his own pocket rather than district funds.
Legislative Delegation To Once Again Consider Unified Goverment Plan
January 16, 2009
Another meeting of the Escambia County legislative delegation has been scheduled to discuss the plan by the group Escambia All For One to consolidate Escambia County government.
The meeting will held on Friday, January 23 at 6 p.m. at the Amos Performing Arts Studio at Pensacola Junior College. A spokesman for Rep. Greg Evers’ office says that final language for a legislative bill calling for a consolidation commission should be ready before the meeting.
Evers, Rep. Dave Murzin, Sen. Durell Peaden, Sen. Don Gaetz and Rep. Clay Ford are the local legislative members invited to the meeting.
Murzin spoke out somewhat in favor of exploring the the unified government plan at a legislative delegation meeting in early December. His spokesperson says that he is in favor of exploring the issue to determine potential benefits. Evers, and Peadin did not support the Escambia All For One proposal, saying that they still had questions about it. Gaetz did not attend the meeting because he was still in Tallahassee. Ford missed the meeting because he was ill.
Escambia County, the City of Pensacola and the Town of Century all passed resolutions in favor of the consolidation. But the Town of Century later backed out and rescinded their support, with town officials saying that they were misled by All For One.
Commissioners Name ‘Hot Topics’ In Each District
January 16, 2009
Escambia Commissioners detailed their “hot topics” at a Thursday morning meeting, with commissioners laying out the issues they believe are the most important in their districts.
The following is the “hot topic” list from commissioners:
Kevin White, District 5 (including all of North Escambia)
- Budget reduction and economic development
- Countywide transportation roads, including paving and resurfacing
- Land Development Code (LDC) re-write. “It’s the poorest document I’ve ever seen.”
- Code enforcement attitude.
“These people need to become more proactive instead of reactive. When they go to see a citizen, instead of dropping the hammer…give them a chance to do something,” White said about the county’s current code enforcement. “I get just as many complaints about code enforcement and the way people are treated as I do ‘I need my road graded or a pothole patched’.”
White said he had discussed the code enforcement issue with County Administrator Bob McLaughlin.
Wilson Robertson, District 1
“I’m just going to zero in on one because like a lot of this issues are like my number one is really going to countywide,” he said, mentioning items like the LDC and economic development. But issue number one for Robertson was:
- Cleanup, leveling and repair of the old Saufley Landfill. He called it a “health hazard” where area residents must wear masks when going outside.
Commissioners White, Valentino and Robinson committed funds from their own LOST monies for the cleanup. But county attorney Allison Rogers said the county could not cleanup the site at the present time because it is still privately owned.
Gene Valentino, District 2
- Economic development is priority number one, the commissioner said.
- Expansion of Escambia Fire-Rescue Station 19 with Local Option Sales Tax dollars and some grant funding, including a helicopter pad on the building rooftop. The project is currently in the design phase.
- Sidewalk project on old Gulf Beach Highway with LOST money.
- Regional transportation planning.
- A proposal of a Waterfront Development Authority, similar to the Santa Rosa Island Authority to manage development along the entire coast of the county, plus inland bays and rivers.
Grover Robinson, District 4
- Budget reductions including addressing ECAT funding.
- Solid waste consolidation and integration.
- Pensacola Beach issues, including drainage and core development
- Olive Road improvements
- Land Development Code (LDC) re-write
- Selective District 4 code enforcement issues
“These people need to become more proactive instead of reactive. When they go to see a citizen, instead of dropping the hammer…give them a chance to do something,” White said about the county’s current code enforcement. “I get just as many complaints about code enforcement and the way people are treated as I do ‘I need my road graded or a pothole patched’.”White said he had discussed the code enforcement issue with County Administrator Bob McLaughlin.
The county’s Internet video streaming of Thursday morning’s meeting failed before District 3 Commissioner Marie Young was able to relate her “hot topics”.