Ready, Set, Play: Playground Installed At New Bratt Park
September 24, 2009
The playground is now complete at the under construction Bratt Community Park on West Highway 4.
The playground features a large play area, a toddler swing and regular children’s swings. It also has adult size benches on the perimeter.
Editor’s note: While the playground is complete, the surrounding park is not. Walkways and parking areas are still under construction, and, with recent rains, are very muddy.
County employees are currently working to install the 8-foot wide, eight-tenths of a mile walking track around the perimeter of the 13-acre park.
The park will also include two softball fields, a full basketball court and exercise and rest stations positioned along the track. The softball fields will not be lit for night play; in fact, the park’s hours will follow that of other county parks — sunrise to sunset.
The park is being funded with $200,000 in LOST (local option sales tax) monies set aside for the park’s construction.
Pictured above: The playground at the new Bratt Community Park on West Highway 4 near the First Baptist Church of Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Santa Rosa To Pay ACLU $200,000 In Prayer Suit
September 24, 2009
The ACLU will get almost $200,000 in legal fees from Santa Rosa County in the Pace High School school prayer lawsuit.
The ACLU had said the district owned the group $400,000, but that number was cut in half during mediation hearings. The district is obligated to pay the legal fees after settling a lawsuit back in January.
The lawsuit was filed last August on behalf of two Pace High School students that claimed school officials promoted prayer and religion at the school. As part of the settlement, the school district admitted liability.
The Santa Rosa County School District’s liability insurance will pay the ACLU’s legal fees.
Tate Volleyball Hit Hard By The Flu
September 24, 2009
The flu bug has hit the Tate High School volleyball team hard, knocking most team members out of action.
The Aggies canceled their Monday game against Washington High School because a large percentage of the team was sick. Tonight’s match against Escambia is also in jeopardy, with less than a half dozen players able to make the latest volleyball practice.
Open House Tonight At Ernest Ward; Parents Can Ride Free Bus From Century
September 24, 2009
Open house at Ernest Ward School will be held from 6 until 7 tonight, and there will be a free bus for parents from Century.
Parents will begin the evening in their student’s homeroom where they will receive a copy of their student’s schedule. If parents attend without the student, they should ask the student the name of the homeroom teacher. The homeroom with largest percent of parents who sign the homeroom sheet will win an ice cream party.
Parents will then follow their child’s schedule to each class where they will have the opportunity to ask general questions about school activities and curriculum. This is not a time for a conference with any faculty member about an individual student. The staff and facility look forward to meeting all parents, school officials said.
A free bus provided by the school district will depart the former Carver/Century K-8 School at 5:30 for parents that wish to attend the Ernest Ward open house. The bus will leave Ernest Ward for Century at 7 p.m.
Changes To Deer Season? Fish And Wildlife Seeks Hunter Input
September 24, 2009
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) wants to hear from hunters around the state regarding when they think the white-tailed deer rut happens in their neck of the woods.
The FWC, along with its deer management stakeholder group, is considering making possible changes to Florida’s deer hunting zones and corresponding season dates. The first goal of the “Strategic Plan for Deer Management in Florida 2008-2018″ is to manage deer at a more local level and better align hunting season dates with peak rutting (breeding) activity.
The FWC has deer-breeding information from many counties and several of its wildlife management areas, but there are gaps in the biological data. The deer management stakeholder group would like to obtain rut information from hunters to try and close gaps in the data.
The agency recognizes the value of local knowledge and is asking hunters who are familiar with when the deer rut historically occurs in the areas where they hunt to fill out an online survey. The FWC would like to take this information to compare hunters’ perceptions of the rut with scientifically known conception data.
During rutting periods, bucks are more active during daylight (shooting) hours and often less cautious, making the chances of seeing them in the field better.
“Deer hunters want to hunt during the rut, and we want to be able to share comprehensive information about when the rut occurs with the hunting public,” FWC biologist and deer team coordinator Cory Morea said. “We realize a lot of hunters know when the rut happens in their area, and we want to take this information and compare it with our conception data to see if they are similar. It would be great to be able to use any new data to help fill in the holes in what we already know.
“At the very least, we think there is value in knowing what hunters perceive as the peak of the rut where they hunt,” Morea said.
To fill out the deer rut survey, see the latest updates on proposed deer zones and season dates or to comment on these potential changes, go to MyFWC.com/Deer.
Stimulus Funds Purchase New Computers For Area Schools
September 24, 2009
New Dell computers are on the way for reading labs at Northview and Tate high schools and Ernest Ward and Ransom Middle schools.
Ernest Ward will receive 12 student desktops and two teacher laptops. Ransom Middle will receive 18 student desktops and three teacher laptops.
Six student desktops and one teacher laptop will go to Northview High, and Tate High will receive 18 student desktops and three teacher laptops.
In all, the district will purchase 255 student desktops, 49 teacher laptops and 18 student laptops for Exceptional Student Education reading labs at a total cost of $265,820.76. The funds are from federal stimulus dollars.
Elderly Driver Escapes Serious Injury In Early Morning Accident
September 24, 2009
A 78-year old driver escaped serious injury in a single vehicle accident about 3:30 Thursday morning.
The accident happened at the intersection of Breastworks Road and Pine Barren Road near the Christian Home community. The driver missed a curve at the end of Breastworks Road, hit a utility pole and crossed over Pine Barren Road before coming to a stop. The male driver was not seriously injured; he was transported to an area hospital by ambulance.
The McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Florida Highway Patrol responded to the call.
The accident is still under investigation by the FHP.
Pictured above: The driver of this Crown Victoria escaped serious injury in this single vehicle accident at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday. Pictured below: The remains of the utility pole struck by the 78-year old driver. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Some School Progress Reports Delayed
September 23, 2009
If you were looking for your child’s progress report Wednesday afternoon — you may not have found it.
The first nine-weeks progress reports were scheduled to be sent home with students Wednesday afternoon, but many students did not receive their report due to a software problem with the school district’s grading system.
If you have any questions, contact your child’s school.
Man Charged With Worker’s Comp Fraud In Escambia, Santa Rosa
September 23, 2009
A man has been charged with workers’ compensation fraud after allegedly not correctly reporting the number or workers on job sites across Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Florida CFO Alex Sink today announced that her Division of Insurance Fraud has arrested an Escambia County man on charges of falsifying employment numbers with the intent of avoiding higher workers’ compensation premium payments.
Mauricio Martinez Soto, 33, of Mauricio Soto Concrete Construction Inc., has been charged with Workers’ Compensation Fraud, a first-degree felony. If convicted, Soto faces up to 30 years behind bars and a $10,000 fine. He remains in the Escambia County Jail on $25,000 bond.
“Injured workers can face devastating medical bills and serious financial hardship if their employers aren’t properly covered,” said CFO Sink. “I commend our Insurance Fraud investigators for exposing this criminal activity, and will continue to enforce compliance to make sure that all Floridians are protected on the job.”
Following site inspections over the past year on job sites in Escambia and Santa Rosa County, it was discovered that 32 individuals worked for Mauricio Soto Construction Inc.; however, audits and state records revealed Mauricio Soto was reporting less. When tipped off to the inconsistent number of employees reported, investigators also discovered that Soto owed nearly $660,000 in premiums for workers’ comp coverage for the over $4 million he was paid in subcontracting fees in the past three years.
As Florida’s CFO, Sink oversees the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Workers’ Compensation, which conducted nearly 30,000 onsite investigations of worksites to determine employer compliance for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.
The division also recently launched a new whistleblower web site, which makes it easier for citizens to submit complaints online about suspected non-compliance and provides real-time feedback to complainants. Examples of non-compliant workers’ compensation coverage include working without workers’ compensation, under-reporting payroll such as paying employees in cash instead of from checks from payroll, and misclassifying employees in order to receive a lower workers’ compensation rate.
For more information about CFO Sink’s Division of Workers Compensation or to submit a complaint, visit MyFloridaCFO.com.
Hundreds Of Students Join In Prayer At See You At The Pole Rallies
September 23, 2009
(Updated) Hundreds of North Escambia students gathered to pray at their schools Wednesday morning as part of the annual See You At The Pole rally.
“I pray that we take cause in God and stand up, even when nobody else does,” Rebekah Miles, an eighth grade student at Ernest Ward Middle School prayed as she stood around the flagpole with her peers.
From Ernest Ward to Northview High School to Molino Park Elementary, hundreds did the same thing Wednesday morning — bowing their heads in prayer for fellow students, their schools, their countries. Students often prayed or encouraged others to take a stand for their Lord in light of recent court rulings restricting prayer in neighboring Santa Rosa County.
“Engage: Go and pray . . ” from 2 Kings 22:13a was the theme verse for the non-denominational See You at the Pole event at thousands of schools across the nation Wednesday.
“It is our job as Christians to engage and get God back in schools,” Northview High School junior Sarah Killam said shortly before leading scores of Northview students in the song “How Great Is Our God”.
A community-wide See You At the Pole Rally was held Wednesday night at the Flomaton High School Auditorium.
For a photo gallery from Northview High, Ernest Ward Middle and Molino Park Elementary click here.
See You at the Pole is a student-initiated, student organized, and student-led event scheduled annually on the fourth Wednesday in September. This is the 20th year for the event that started in a Ft. Worth, Texas, suburb.
Pictured top: Eighth grade student Rebekah Miles leads students in prayer Wednesday morning at Ernest Ward Middle School. Pictured inset: Students pray at Molino Park Elementary. Pictured below: See You At The Pole at Northview. Pictured bottom: See You At the Pole at Ernest Ward. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Molino Park photos courtesy Candy McGahan.
