Century’s Newly Hired Town Clerk Leaving
August 3, 2010
Century’s newly hired town clerk is leaving, just a few weeks after the assistant town clerk called it quits.
Darlene Peters, who was hired back in June, is leaving because her husband accepted an out-of-state job, according to Mayor Freddie McCall. She will remain on a part-time basis temporarily as she works to complete a degree at an area college while the town works to hire another clerk.
McCall said he has a “couple of good” prospects to fill the position from the recemt pool of applicants from which Peters was hired. He said Monday night that he was not yet ready to recommend a replacement for Peters.
On August 16, the town council will consider paying consultant Debbie Nickles to work two days per week to keep the town current on grant applications while they are without a full-time clerk.
Deputy Town Clerk Karen Hughes resigned her position prior to the July 5 town council meeting. Christina Wood, a nine-year town employee, was promoted to deputy clerk.
In one other employment related action Monday night, the town voted to use a temporary agency to find a staffer to fill in for an employee that is currently pregnant and missing work on a regular basis.
Illinois Man Arrested In McDavid Battery Tries To Escape Deputy’s Car
August 3, 2010
An Illinois man is facing charges after getting into an altercation in North Escambia and then trying to escape from a deputy’s car.
Cecil Thomas Bolter, 29, is being held without bond in the Escambia County Jail on two counts of battery and one count of resisting an officer.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a disturbance in the 3400 block of North Camp Road in McDavid Sunday night. Bolter was accused by witnesses of hitting at least two women, ages 25 and 30. On ran from the residence with her kids, with Bolter allegedly in pursuit
The victims told deputies the argument began after a trip to the store to buy milk. Bolter told one victim to purchase beer with money belonging to the second victim, but she would not.
After being taken into custody, Bolter slammed his head into a patrol car window multiple times, according to deputies. He also used his feet in an apparent attempt to break-out a window in the ECSO cruiser.
“He attempted to kick myself and the other deputies at which time he was taken out of the vehicle and assisted to the ground where he was placed in leg irons,” according to an arrest report by Deputy Steve Kay. Once secured by the leg irons, Bolter started kicking the vehicle door again.
Bolter is due to make his first court appearance on August 25.
Escambia, Alabama Schools Fail To Make Adequate Yearly Progress
August 3, 2010
Accountability reports released Monday by the Alabama Department of Education showed that the Escambia County (Ala.) School District did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as identified by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
At the individual school level, Escambia County High School, Escambia County Middle School, W.S. Neal Middle School and W.S. Neal High School did not make AYP. After remaining the “school improvement” category for a fourth year, Escambia County High School will be forced to participate in a school choice program — allowing ECHS students to transfer to high performing schools in the district.
Across Alabama, there were 342 of 1,375 school that failed to make adequate yearly progress. Only 127 schools were designated as being in the school improvement category.
Flomaton Elementary School, Flomaton High School, Huxford Elementary School, Pollard-McCall Junior High School, Rachel Patterson Elementary School, A.C. Moore Elementary and W.S. Neal Elementary did make adequate yearly progress, according to the Alabama Department of Education.
AYP rankings are determined by a variety of factors, including reading and math test scores.
Barrineau Park Road Widening, Resurfacing Project Underway
August 3, 2010
A nearly $1.2 million project to widen and resurface a portion of Barrineau Park Road is now underway.
The $1,193,868.75 project was awarded in June to low bidder Roads, Inc. of NWF. Barrineau Park Road will be both widened and resurfaced from the Penasula Creek Bridge east to Highway 29. The project will also include culvert extensions and guardrail improvements. The improvements will be funded with Local Option Sales Tax funds.
Roads, Inc. will be required to keep two-way traffic open during all non-working hours and close one lane at a time during working hours.
Three other companies bid on the project: APAC Mid-South, Inc. at $1,330,480.91; Panhandle Grading and Paving at $1,417,775.67; and Gulf Atlantic Constructors, Inc. at $1,549,062.05.
Pictured: Crews work on Barrineau Park Road Monday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Century Can’t Pay Some Bills After Councilman’s Decision
August 3, 2010
Some of Century’s bills will go unpaid because one council member would not vote to approve the town’s bill list.
Council member Henry Hawkins said Monday night that he was not satisfied with bills presented by Fabre Engineering, the town’s primary engineer firm. He would not second a motion to pay the bills on the town’s “bill list”. With council members Sharon Scott and Nadine McCaw absent, the body was unable to get the quorum needed for approval.
According to Council President Ann Brooks, budgeted items such as the town’s power bills will be paid. Other bills will be tabled for approval until the council’s next meeting on August 16.
Work Begins On Century’s Budget
August 3, 2010
The town of Century’s budget process got underway Monday morning, with department heads instructed how to present their “wish lists” to the town council for possible inclusion in the upcoming 2010-2011 budget.
The Town of Century’s current 2009-2010 budget is $4,587,744 — a $1.4 million increase over the previous year’s $3,154,355 budget. The increase this year was due to $1.83 million for a water infrastructure project funded by a grant.
Escambia Tax Collector Unveils New Website
August 3, 2010
Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley has released an updated and expanded version of her department’s www.EscambiaTaxCollector.com web website.
First launched in the early 1990’s to expand the reach of the tax collector’s office by featuring a wide array of services and information online, the site now includes several new features.
The redesigned and enhanced site features improvements in appearance, navigation, functionality, and accessibility to online public records. The “Latest News” section provides current information on changes to property taxes, driver licenses, motorist services, business tax receipts, hunting and fishing licensing, office closings and more.
The home page features a slide show of eye-catching images of local historical sites, introducing online visitors to Escambia County’s amazing beauty and rich heritage. Other new aspects include a “Featured Items” section and an RSS feed to put important tax collector information at users’ fingertips. Future improvements will include an online appointment calendar and a YouTube page where video content will be posted, according to Holley.
Heat Wave Continues
August 3, 2010
There is a heat advisory in effect for Wednesday, with a slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 96. Heat index values as high as 106. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.
- Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly cloudy, with a high near 96. Heat index values as high as 106. South wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 95. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.
- Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 96. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 96.
- Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
- Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny and hot, with a high near 98.
- Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 77.
- Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 96.
Lightning Causes Local Problems; Including Strikes At Two Schools
August 2, 2010
Heavy lightning from afternoon storms caused problems across North Escambia Monday afternoon.
Several strikes at or near Ernest Ward Middle School activated the school’s fire alarm. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responded. No fire was found.
A lightning strike also activated the fire alarm at Byrneville Elementary School. The Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responded. No fire was found, however a problem was reported with the school’s emergency lighting
On North Highway 99 near Highway 97, lightning sparked a brush fire and also set a part of a fence on fire. The fire was quickly extinguished by the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue with the help of heavy rain.
At the NorthEscambia.com offices, lightning led to a power failure and telephone and Internet problems. Frontier Communications and Escambia River Electric were able to restore the services in a short period of time. The NorthEscambia.com website, which is hosted a server in the Northeast, was not impacted by the outages.
Numerous power outages were reported across the area. Some customers with without power for several hours.
Escambia Tries Again For Half Million State Dollars For Molino Library
August 2, 2010
For the fourth year running, Escambia County is hoping to receive a half million dollar grant from the state towards the construction of a new public library in a portion of the Molino Elementary School.
Escambia County has applied for a $500,000 grant for the past four years but no library construction funding was provided by the Florida Legislature. The county has already committed $513,500 in matching local option sales tax funds toward the $1,013,500 total library cost.
In March 2007, the commission authorized the submission of an application for a state library construction grant to provide $500,000 towards the construction of a public library in a 4,930 square foot portion of the old Molino Elementary. That 2007 application was ranked number two for funding among 23 applicants, but the state did not provide any funding.
The same application was again re-submitted in 2008 and ranked number three, but due to funding constraints, the Legislature did not fund any projects
Again, in 2009, Escambia County applied for the half million grant. Again, the Legislature provided no funding for the library construction program.
The State Library has requested that if Escambia County intends to continue to pursue this project, the existing approved grant application on file with the state be updated for consideration and re-submission to the next session of the State Legislature for funding consideration in 2011. The Escambia County Commission is expected to approved that resubmission at their Thursday night meeting.
In addition to a library, plans call for the old Molino school to become a community hub, possibly including a museum highlighting Molino history, a small health clinic, a business incubator, renovation of the cafeteria and one additional building for community events and private party rental along with other uses. The school campus includes four buildings — the largest of which is 16,630 square feet.
Pictured top: District 5 Escambia County Commissioner Kevin White and Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley discuss potential plans for the old Molino School in the auditorium of the facility in early 2010. Pictured bottom inset: This end of the old school will be converted into a library. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.