Escambia County Gives Two Tons of Shoes to Soles4Souls
November 15, 2009
As a part of the Shoe Reuse & Recycling Program, the Escambia County Solid Waste Management Division recently delivered 5,040 pounds of new and used shoes to Souls4Souls, a non-profit group that facilitates the donation of shoes to needy persons worldwide.
Shoes donated to Soles4Souls are sorted by size, condition and type, and separated by the age or gender group for which they are designed. The charity then delivers shoes to the underprivileged in both large, general quantities as well as small, specific orders. Ladies’ dress shoes are frequently requested as they are in high demand at women’s shelters across the United States. Shoes that are not wearable are recycled to be used as material for projects such as basketball courts and running tracks.
To donate shoes to this ongoing project, rubber-band your gently worn shoes in pairs and bring them to one of three county collection points, the Perdido Landfill, 13009 Beulah Road; Escambia County Parks and Recreation, 1651 E. Nine Mile Road; or Escambia Extension, 3740 Stefani Road.
For more information about the program or how you can help, call (850) 937-2160.
Early Morning House Fire Seriously Injures One
November 14, 2009
One person was severely injured in an early morning house fire just north of 10 Mile Road.
The fire was reported at 12:12 a.m. in the 700 block of Bison Road, near the intersection of 10 Mile Road and Chemstrand Road. A 911 caller reported fire shooting out of a back window of the home, and the first fire units on scene also reported a working fire when they arrived just minutes later.
One person was found inside the home. That person was transported by ambulance to West Florida Hospital. Their condition was not immediately known but was believed to be serious.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshal.
The Ensley, Cantonment, Ferry Pass and Brent stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the blaze.
Northview’s Winning Season Ends With Loss To West Florida
November 14, 2009
The Northview Chiefs finished their regular season Friday night at 7-3, a far cry from last year’s 2-8, and that makes first year Head Coach Sid Wheatley proud.
“Walk with your heads up, you won seven ballgames this year,” Wheatley told his Chiefs after their 14-17 loss to West Florida Tech. “I thought you played with tremendous effort.”
“I hate that it ended tonight the way that it did. The same group won two ballgames last year,” he said. “I’m so proud, so proud of what they have accomplished.”
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery with nearly 200 photos, click here.
The West Florida Jaguars (4-6) jumped out to the lead with about two minutes to go in the first quarter with a 47-yard Kyle Faxlanger pass to Al Harris. With a good extra point from Luke Jackson, the Jags held a 7-0 lead with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter.
With two and a half minutes to go in the half, Northview tied the game with a 5-yard Brandon Sheets pass to Brad Lowery and a gook kick from Lowery. Headed into the locker rooms at the half, the game was tied 7-7 in Pensacola.
With 45 seconds to go in the third, the Jaguars managed a 28-yard field goal from Jackson to take a 10-0 lead.
A Lowery to La’Mikal Kyles handoff was good for a 4-yard touchdown with 6:02 in the third. Lowery’s kick was through the uprights, putting the Chiefs back in the lead 14-10 in fourth quarter.
But 1:15 to go in the in the game, a 31-yard pass from Faxlanger to Harris was good for a touchdown, capping a 70-yard drive. A good kick from Jackson put the Jags back on top 17-14.
“It was a hard fought ballgame; both teams played extremely hard,” Wheatley said. “We only gave up 17 points, and on most nights, that would be enough to win.”
Offensively, the Chiefs had 243 yards on 51 plays, almost evenly matched to West Florida’s 268 yards on 50 downs.
Roderick Woods had 10 carries for 62 yards for Northview, and Sheets was 8 for 13 for a touchdown and 85 yards.
The regular season is over for the Chiefs; they did not make the district playoffs. But the Chiefs will play again next Saturday, November 21, during a post-season North Escambia bowl game against Tate. The game kicks off at high noon at Pete Gindl Stadium.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery with nearly 200 photos, click here.
Pictured above: Action from West Florida High versus Northview Friday night in Pensacola. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Pack Of Wild Dogs, Not Coyotes, Likely Killed Two Dozen Molino Goats
November 14, 2009
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission now says about two dozen goats found dead earlier in the week were not killed by coyotes but by a pack of wild dogs, and animal control officers are warning area residents to be careful.
FWC officers said that coyotes will not typically attack animals larger than themselves, and other evidence in the Brickyard Road pasture pointed at dogs, not coyotes.
Molino pet owners are urged to take small pets inside at night at not leave them outdoors.
Wednesday night, Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies, Escambia County Animal Control and the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife were dispatched to a pasture in the 6000 block of Fairground Road in Molino.
The owner of 20 goats — 12 adult and eight babies – reported the animals to have been missing or dead in their pasture. Deputies were able to locate the bodies of all eight baby goats and a few of the adult goats. While deputies Heath Cheatham and his partner were investigating, they saw what they believed to be two coyotes in the field.
“While in the pasture looking for the goats, we observed two coyotes to be walking through the wood line area of the pasture,” Cheatham sad in his report. “All of the goats that were located appeared to be killed as a natural act of predation by coyotes.”
A family’s domestic dog was also reportedly killed by the pack of wild dogs.
North Escambia Bowl: Northview To Play Tate Next Weekend
November 14, 2009
Call it the North Escambia Bowl — Northview and Tate will meeting a post-season football game next Saturday at Tate.
Neither Northview (7-3) or Tate (7-3) made the playoffs this year, so they decided to play the bowl game. The game will benefit local charities; more information will be announced next week.
The game at Pete Gindl stadium kicks off at noon.
Jay Beats Wewahitchka 28-6
November 14, 2009
The Jay Royals finished their season with a 28-6 win Friday night over Wewahitchka.
Seniors Rush Hendricks and Chris Carrigan were one yard shy of 200 Friday night, and two touchdowns each to lead the Royals to victory in their final game of the season.
Wewahitchka jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but it was all Royals after that, with Jay scoring 28 unanswered points.
Hendricks had 112 yards on 23 carries, and Carrigan had 87 yards on a dozen carries for Jay, including a 40 yard touchdown dash. Quarterback Steven Brabham, senior, carried the ball seven times for 25 yards.
Old Molino Jail Restoration Celebrated
November 14, 2009
Area history buffs gathered in Molino Friday morning to celebrate the restoration work done on the old Town of Molino Jail — a nearly 100 year old single-cell structure that was hidden away for years.
The jail was built about 1915 and repaired in 1927, said Lil King of the Molino Mid-County Historic Society. The faint outline of the 1927 date written in the concrete doorway at the time of the repair is still visible today. The jail was repaired in 1927 after an explosion took off the door, possibly in an escape attempt, King said.
The jail, located on Brickyard Road, a short distance northwest of Molino Road, had been hidden away behind thick growth for years before being “uncovered” in February, 2008. Since that time, inmate carpenters and craftsmen from the Escambia County Road Prison have worked to restore the jail.
“It still looks old,” said Tom Helms, member of the Molino Mid-County Historic Society. “All work was done without giving a new look to any of it. Even the new facing rafters were stained to look weathered.”
The small brick building was remarkably good shape when county crews uncovered it in 2008. The tongue and groove wood ceiling looked virtually undamaged. The roof needed some minor repair; and there was some water damage to wood around the bar-covered windows. But all of that damage has now been repaired by the road prison inmates.
There is just a single room in the old jail. It contains a single cell in the room, with a small area to walk around three sides of the cell. The door of old cell still swings freely, and does not even squeak. There is no obvious sign that the building was ever heated in winter.
The Town of Molino was established in 1913 and was dissolved after hard financial times during the Great Depression. In 1933, the Florida Legislature abolished the town and distributed the assets of the town to Escambia County.
In the document pictured to the left, known as House Bill 322, the Legislature directed the county to keep the fair grounds as a public park and that “the jail and city hall be maintained by the said County of Escambia for the use of peace officers of the said county”. Click the photo to the left to read a copy of the document.
The city hall was believed to be located directly in front of the old jail, but it is no longer standing.
It was after King located this document while researching Molino history in Tallahassee that they historical society was able to get the county to clean up the lot around the jail since it became clear the county owns the property.
Pictured top: The single cell inside the old Town of Molino Jail. Pictured top inset: A side window of the old building. Pictured bottom inset: House Bill 322 directed Escambia County to maintain the jail. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Academy’s Playoff Bid Ends With Loss To Monroe
November 14, 2009
Escambia Academy’s dream season came to an end Friday night with a quarterfinal playoff loss to Monroe Academy.
It was the first time in Escambia Academy’s history that the school had advanced to round two of the playoffs. But the trip to Monroeville spelled an end to the Cougars’ season.
Monroe Academy beat Escambia Academy 20-0. The Cougars finished their season at 8-5.
Monroe Academy (9-3) advances to the AISA Class AA championship game next Friday night at Troy State University.
Tate Beats Crestview 44-15
November 14, 2009
The Tate Aggies racked up nearly 500 yards as they pounded the Crestview Bulldogs Friday night, 44-15.
The Aggies had 422 rushing yards with 38 carries on the ground and 73 yards on two successful passes Friday night. The Aggies were led by Petey Jones with seven carries for 161 yards and one touchdown. Deauntay Johnson had half a dozen carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
Ernest Ward Honors Veterans, Presents $2,580 To Honor Flight
November 14, 2009
A tearful service honored veterans Friday morning at Ernest Ward Middle School, as the school presented $2,580 to Emerald Coast Honor Flight.
“Today we honor you for the sacrifices you have given for our country,” Ernest Ward Principal Nancy Gindl-Perry told the dozens of veterans in attendance at the annual program.
Walnut Hill resident Billy G. Ward, who recently took an Emerald Coast Honor Flight to the World War II Memorial in Washington, told the students that the Honor Flight was an experience that he will never forget.
“There was a fountain out there; that was beautiful,” Ward said about the World War II Memorial. He also related the experience of returning to the Pensacola airport to see hundreds of people providing a hero’s welcome for the 102 veterans on the recent honor flight.
The two words he will most remember about the entire Honor Flight, he said, were “mail call”.
“It was two words that I had not heard in such a long time,” Ward (pictured left) said of the mail call aboard the flight bound for Washington. “Every soldier knows those two words.”
During the mail call aboard the honor flight, the veterans were presented with letters and cards from area schoolchildren, thanking the men for their service to our country.
Gindl-Perry announced Friday that Ernest Ward take part in “Penny Wars” again this year with goal of sending at least two more veterans on an upcoming Honor Flight next April.
When Ward took the Honor Flight to Washington, he had a NorthEscambia.com camera with him. To read about his trip and see his pictures, click here.
Pictured top: Ernest Ward Middle School Drama Club members reenact a scene from the Vietnam Ward. Pictured top inset: Students portray an modern-day scene from Iraq. Pictured bottom inset: Veteran Billy G. Ward recently took an Emerald Coast Honor Flight to Washington. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.