Tonight’s The Night For The Lady Chiefs
April 22, 2010
Today will be a really good day for Northview High Softball Coach Sammy Day if his Lady Chiefs can beat Baker for the third time this year.
The No. 1 seed Lady Chiefs (23-3) will face the Baker Gators(15-7) at 6 p.m. for the District 1-2A championship. No. 2 Baker advanced to the finals with a 10-8 win over Freeport Tuesday afternoon.
It will be the third time the two teams have met this year — Northview has beat Baker twice this season, 13-1 and 8-0. The Gators are hungry for a district win; they have won the district crown three years running.
“It’s going to be tough. It’s really hard to beat a good team three times in one season. We are going to have to play the best game we have played all year,” Day said.
Not only will Baker need to overcome an all-around tough Lady Chief’s team, they will also need to deal with a freshman on the pitcher’s mound. Misty Doran, 14, is 17-3 on the season and a perfect record in the district. She even pitched a no hitter against Ponce de Leon.
With a win Thursday night, the Lady Chiefs will be home for the regionals, a loss would put them on the road.
“We want to win the district championship; we want to play at home,” Day said.
Members of the Lady Chiefs are Aimee Clarke, Kolbi Cobb, Candice Greenwell, Amber McMillan, Miranda Burkett, Ashley Digmon, Kara Hardin, Shaniqua Jones, Sarah Killam, Shawna Montgomery, Hayley Simpson, Emily Vickrey and Misty Doran. Manager is Brook Schlobohm. Head coach is Sammy Day, and Assistant coach is Bobby Simpson.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Century Man Arrested On Outstanding Drug Warrants
April 22, 2010
A Century man was arrested late Wednesday afternoon on two outstanding narcotics warrants.
Sammy Maurice Myles, 24, of Old Flomaton Road, Century, was booked into the Escambia County Jail at 5:56 p.m. He was arrested on a felony warrants for marijuana possession and manufacturing narcotics to sell.
Myles is being held in the Escambia County Jail on $25,000 bond.
Family Fun: Jay Pro Rodeo Is This Weekend
April 22, 2010
The 8th Annual Jay Pro Rodeo is coming to Ted May Arena Friday and Saturday nights.
Gates open at 6 p..m. and the rodeo begins at 8 p.m. each night. There will be musical entertainment, plus free moon bounces and activities for the children. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children 2-12 and children under 2 are free.
The Jay Pro Rodeo is sponsored by the Jay Quarterback Club, Jay High SGA, FRIENDS (a community service organization) and the Ted May Arena. All proceeds will benefit local youth and Relay for Life.
Pictured: The artwork for this year’s Jay Pro Rodeo poster was designed by Jay High School senior Leely Trevino, click to enlarge.
Century To Set Election Dates
April 22, 2010
Three Century Town Council seats will be on the ballot this fall, and the current council is working to get election dates and requirements set.
The Council has approved an ordinance that will require candidates to file their campaign finance disclosure statements electronically on the Internet as is done in other races in the county — as opposed to filling out a paper form.
At their next meeting on Monday, May 3 at 7:15, the council will hold a public forum on an ordinance that will set election dates for 2010.
According to David Stafford, Escambia Supervisor of Elections, Century is being asked to approve election-related dates as follows:
- Per the Town of Century charter, the primary election is scheduled for October 5, 2010. The charter states that the primary election should be 30 days prior to the November election, but that date falls on Sunday, October 10. As a result, the date is moved to October 5. Per Florida statute, registration books will close on September 7, 2010 because September 6th is Labor Day.
- Per the town charter, the general election/runoff is scheduled for November 9, 2010, the second Tuesday in November. Registration books will close on October 11, 2010.
- Per Florida statute and proposed ordinance, qualifying will take place the week of July 26 – July 30, 2010. Qualifying papers can be accepted by the elections supervisor up to 14 days prior, which would begin July 12.
Council seats three, four and five are on the ballot this year — the positions currently held by Henry Hawkins, Gary Riley and Sharon Scott.
Fire Units Respond To Toaster Fire
April 21, 2010
Fire units from across the area were dispatched to a home reportedly filling with smoke about noon Wednesday in Century.
When firefighters arrived at the residence in the 7000 block of Baptist Church Road, they found a toaster on fire. The fire was quickly extinguished.
There were no injuries and no major damage.
Draft Plan Calls For Large Stretch Of Highway 29 To Become Six Lanes
April 21, 2010
The state has big plans for Highway 29, including six-laning some portions of the major north-south artery.
Tuesday, the Florida Department of Transportation and engineering firm Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. presented a draft Highway 29 “action plan” at meetings in Pensacola and Century.
Tentative plans for Highway 29 include six-laning from Burgess Road north to 10 Mile Road by 2015, six lanes from 10 Mile Road to Kingsfield Road by 2020 and expanding to six lanes from 10 Mile Road to Muscogee Road in Cantonment by 2030. None of the preliminary plans call for widening Highway 29 north of Muscogee Road through the year 2030.
In addition, plans call for numerous median crossovers to be closed along the entire stretch of roadway to Tedder Road in Century. Some of the remaining crossovers will have turn lanes added.
“Everything is just a projection and plan at this point,” engineer Ryan Wetherell of Kimley-Horn said. Public input will drive changes that might be made to the draft plan prior to its finalization in the next two months. Additionally, funding is not yet concrete for any of the projects to begin.
As any North Escambia driver knows, one of the major traffic bottlenecks currently on Highway 29 is the railroad crossing in Cantonment where slow moving trains can tie up traffic for long periods. The draft improvement plans for Highway 29 do not address the Cantonment paper mill railroad crossing, Wetherell said.
“There are a lot of challenges to moving an existing railway because of the nature of rail,” he said. “They can be very difficult to move, and often times they have been in place longer than the roadway itself.”
While the entire plan was presented on numerous easel-mounted displays Tuesday at meeting in Century and Pensacola, Wetherell declined to provide NorthEscambia.com with an electronic copy of the draft plan that could be posted online. He said in an email that the design team wants to incorporate any changes before making a complete copy of the plan available online.
Printed draft documents will be on display through Friday at the Escambia County Extension Office in Pensacola and the Century Town Hall.
Pictured top: Century councilman Gary Riley inspects a draft plan for Highway 29 improvements Tuesday afternoon at the Century Town Hall. Pictured inset: Residents discuss changes to Highway 29 near Chance Road in Molino. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
School Board Approves Ernest Ward Electrical Academy
April 21, 2010
Ernest Ward Middle School will be home to a new IBEW Electrical Academy next school year, the first such program in the nation at the middle school level. The Escambia County Board approved the academy 5-0 Tuesday night.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers will work with the school district to create the Electrical Academy. Middle school career academies are small, personalized learning communities within a school in which select students and teachers participate during a two or three-year span. A career academy involves teachers from different subjects working together as an interdisciplinary team.
“The career academy is an exciting thing for Ernest Ward,” Escambia Superintendent of Education Malcom Thomas said. “It will engage students in a relevant way, while preparing them for the workforce and their future.”
In the EWMS Electrical Academy, the students will be introduced to electrical systems, learn the theories of electricity and gain valuable hands-on experience in various projects, according to Carl Leiterman, director of Workforce Education for the Escambia County School District. While students will work with AC (household type) electrical systems, most projects will use DC (battery type) voltage for safety reasons.
“They will take the theory and expand it to the application,” Leiterman said.
One focus of the program will be “green” power — wind and solar generation systems. “It’s one of the fastest growing and most in demand career fields right now,” he said. “The future is in green technology. These kids at Ernest Ward are going to have a tremendous opportunity to get a head start on a very well-paying career.”
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers curriculum will be adapted to meet Florida standards. The program, which will begin with the 2010-2011 school year, will be open to students from across Escambia County in grades seven and eight with at least a 2.0 GPA and few discipline referrals.
By 2012, the current Construction Academy at Northview High School is expected to be expanded to include an Electrical Academy, Leiterman said. After high school, students could transition into the workforce with certifications offered by the George Stone Technical Center or into college program including electrical engineering.
“It is an excellent opportunity for our communities and Ernest Ward,” Principal Nancy Gindl-Perry said. “With it being the first program like this in the nation, it will make Ernest Ward an even better opportunity for our students that we already are.”
New Law Makes It Harder To Graduate In Florida
April 21, 2010
High school students will find it more difficult to graduate under a bill signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Charlie Crist.
The governor signed SB 4, which creates additional science and math requirements for students to graduate, while phasing out some of the FCAT exams in favor of end-of-course exams.
The new law will eventually require students to take geometry, two years of algebra, biology, chemistry or physics and an additional “rigorous” science course in order to graduate.
Florida Department of Education officials will also create and eventually implement end-of-course exams.
The bill enjoyed relatively widespread support in the Legislature and from the education community, though some groups noted there were a few aspects of the measure that still need to be worked out. Some educators have worried that it could impact graduation rates because students now graduate without such high level courses and the Florida Education Association has cautioned that teachers may need additional assistance.
“Teachers are going to need some more training to handle the capacity of these courses and support these higher level teachers,” said Mark Pudlow, a spokesman for the FEA.
Specifically, the legislation that became law Tuesday –
Increases high school graduation requirements, beginning with students entering grade 9 in the following years, to include:
- Geometry (2010-2011 school year);
- Biology I ( 2011-2012);
- Algebra II ( 2012-2013);
- Chemistry or Physics (2013-2014);
Requires students to pass a statewide, standardized end-of-course (EOC) examination in the following courses for students entering grade 9 in specified school years:
- Algebra I (2011-2012);
- Biology I and Geometry (2012-2013);
- Algebra II and Chemistry or Physics (2014-2015);
The new law also requires students to pass district, standardized EOC assessments for other courses, when they are developed; and discontinues the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) for mathematics (Grades 9 and 10) and science (Grade 11), as EOC assessments are implemented.
Lady Chiefs Beat Jay In District Tournament
April 21, 2010
The Northview Lady Chiefs are regional playoff bound after a big 14-3 win in six over the Jay Royals Tuesday night.
The top seed Chiefs (23-3) will play Baker (15-7) at 6 p.m. Thursday for the District 1-2A championship. No. 2 Baker advanced to the finals with a 10-8 win over Freeport Tuesday afternoon.
“We hit the ball, and we hit the ball hard for the most part” Day said. “The defense played well, and pitching did real well.”
Freshman Misty Doran (17-3) took the win on the mound for the Chiefs, with five strike outs and three walks. Day said he was proud of his freshman star Tuesday night.
“I had to go out there and calm Misty down because they hit that line drive and she got mad,” he said with a laugh. “But as soon as I calmed her down, she threw strikes after that…but she was mad.”
For the Lady Chiefs Ashley Digmon was 1-4 with a double; Shawna Montgomery was 2-3 with a triple; Kolbi Cobb was 2-3; Misty Doran was 3-4 with a double; and Haley Simpson was 2-4.
For the Royals, Olivia Wright was 1-3 with a triple.
Northview has beat Baker twice this season, 13-1 and 8-0. The Gators have won the district crown three years running.
With a win Thursday night, the Lady Chiefs will be home for the regionals, a loss would put them on the road..
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the game, click here.
Pictured: The Northview Lady Chiefs beat the Jay Royals Tuesday night to advance to the District 1-2A championship game Thursday night. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Toddler Dies After Being Backed Over In Driveway
April 21, 2010
Authorities in Alabama are investigating the death of a toddler struck by a vehicle in a private driveway.
According to Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Grover Smith, his department responded Saturday to a report from the Atmore Police Department that an infant had been struck by sport utility vehicle backing out of the driveway of his Freemanville Drive home about 7:15 p.m.
The 18-month of child, Kemonte Williams, had been transported to Atmore Community Hospital by private vehicle and then transferred by LifeFlight to the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile. Williams succumbed to his injuries Monday morning.
The Sheriff’s Office said there were other children in the yard at the time a family friend was backing out of the driveway. Williams reportedly walked behind the Ford Explorer. That male family friend and Williams’ mother transported the child to the hospital in same Explorer that hit him. The identity of the driver was not released.
The case is still under investigation by the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office and the Escambia County (Ala.) Department of Human Resources. No charges have been filed; deputies said it appears the incident was a tragic accident.
Freemanville drive is located just northwest of downtown Atmore, south of I-65.