All-Star Cheerleaders To Compete
February 18, 2010
The Panhandle All-Star Cheer Team will perform Saturday at the Orange Beach Nationals.
The All-Stars, which include girls from across the area, recently placed second in the Saltwater Championship All-Star Level 2 that was held at the Pensacola Civic Center.
The 22 team members will take part in Saturday afternoon’s competition at the Wharf in Orange Beach.
Team members are: Samantha Bethea, Kamryn Brock, Qumesha Brown, Chasity Burt Fatimah Carter, Tiffany Chavers, Sierra Dortch, Kaile-Anne Gumapac, Dajionae Hetherington, Jarelle Hooks, Keyvinana Johnson, Trinity Johnson, Dinesha Jones, Shaniqua Jones, Shaquanna Jones, Jamia Newton, Lizzy Nicholls, Skye Nolan, Danielle Suggs, Raylin Wesley, Tatyanna White, and Tylia White.
Coaches are Tara Jones, head coach and director; Sharon Robinson, assistant coach; Rene Dortch-Wesley, assistant coach and administrator; Kanisha Knight, junior assistant; and Shakeria White, junior assistant.
Pictured (L-R): Kneeling: Jarelle Hooks, Fatimah Carter; front row: Kaile-Anne Gumapac, Raylin Wesley; middle row: Danielle Suggs, Keyvinana Johnson, Samantha Bethea, Jamia Newton, Tylia White, Kamryn Brock, Shaquanna Jones; back row: Tatyanna White, Tiffany Chavers, Shaniqua Jones, Chasity Burt, Sierra Dortch, Skye Nolan, Trinity Dixon, Dinesha Jones, Qumesha Brown, Dajionae Hetherington, and Lizzy Nichols.
NHS Softball Opens Season With Wins Over Atmore; Plus Tate, Jay, NHS Scores
February 17, 2010
Northview 19 Escambia County 4
The Northview Lady Chiefs opened their softball season Tuesday night with a 19-4 win over the Escambia County High School Blue Devils.
Northview had eight hits, while Atmore had three. Amy Clarke was 2-3, Candice Greenwell had a double, and Emily Vickery had a triple for the Chiefs.
While softball season is often associated with spring, NHS Assistant Coach Sammy Day said the game was anything but spring-like, with the temperature at 33 by the end of the game.
Northview 18 Escambia County 1 (JV)
The JV Lady Chiefs opened their season with a strong 18-1 win over Escambia County High School of Atmore.
Key offensive leaders were Ashton Gibbs with two hits, Morgan Payne with a double, Tori Reid with a double, and Taylor Byrd with a triple. Shaquanna Jones pitched a no-hitter for two innings and struck out six Atmore batters. The next game for the JV team is at Jay this Friday.
Jay 9 Pace 8
The Jay Royals opened their season with a 9-8 softball win over Pace in an extra-inning game.
Nine inning pitcher Alicia Ashworth; she drove in the winning run with a two out single for the win. Ashworth allowed eight hits and had six errors during her complete game on the mound.
Amber Steadham was 5-5, with one run and a couple of RBI’s. Olivia Wright has three RBIs and two runs for the Royals.
Niceville 4 Tate 3
Niceville handed Tate a 4-3 loss Tuesday. Shelby Myers had two runs and two RBIs. Heather Schaff was 2-4 with one RBI for the Aggies.
BOYS BASEBALL
Pensacola High 11 Northview 7
Northview opened their season with a loss to Pensacola High on Tuesday, 11-7. The Chiefs opened with one in the first inning, but Pensacola High answered with two runs in the second and eight in the third.
Tate 4 Escambia 0 (JV)
The Tate JV team beat the Escambia Gators 4-0. The Aggies will play Niceville Wednesday night.
School Board Approves Pay Raises
February 17, 2010
The Escambia school district has approved pay raises for teachers and staff members that amount to about 2.42 percent for 2009-2010.
The plan includes a higher starting salary — $32,500 — for new teachers, a small raise for teachers with up to four years of experience, and annual 2 -percent raises for teachers with five or more years of experience. The 2 percent raise ends at year 26 and then provides a $500 annual bonus beginning in year 27.
The salary deal will be retroactive to July 1, 2009, now that it has been ratified by the Escambia County School District and the Escambia Education Association.
Professional and administrative employees will receive a raise that averages 2.71 percent.
The salary increases will cost the school district about $3.7 million.
Molino’s Dark Sunday: Today Is Anniversary Of Destructive Tornado
February 17, 2010
Today marks the second anniversary of the Molino tornado that destroyed four homes, caused heavy damage and ripped the steeple off a church with worshipers inside.
The E-F1 tornado destroyed four homes in Molino about noon Sunday, February 17, 2008. Escambia County officials say at least 60 other structures were damaged by the twister along at least a two and a half mile path. At least 20 of those structures suffered major damage. There were no injuries reported.
Many homes in the Crest Lane area were damaged, with at least one house destroyed. Other suffered significant roof damage. As the tornado continued on a path to the northeast, it took the steeple off Highland Baptist Church and caused roof damage to the sanctuary. The steeple landed in the church parking lot, damaging at least four cars.
Church members said the service was about to end when they got word of the approaching tornado. Everyone evacuated the sanctuary and sought shelter in the church fellowship hall, a brick building with no windows. They prayed and sang songs as the storm approached, a church member said. (Click here to read more about Highland and the tornado from February 21, 2008.)
On Molino Road, near Brickyard Road, several more homes were damaged. The roof was completely gone from several houses and the Masonic Lodge building. One mobile home was flipped upside down and others were heavily damaged.
Gulf Power company cut power to about 4,500 people in the Molino area as a safety precaution. Power lines were down all around the area with many poles snapped in half.
Dozens of emergency responders conducted a door to door search in the areas with heavy damage, checking to make sure residents were not injured. Firefighters also drove all of the roads around the area, looking for any additional damage.
For cleanup photos from February 19, 2008, click here.
Pictured above: One of the homes destroyed by 2008’s Molino tornado. Pictured below: Another home under repair February 17, 2008. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Man That Allegedly Made Up Shooting Story Now Charged With Shooting Teen
February 17, 2010
The Cantonment man that reported multiple times that someone had been shooting at his home when deputies say he made it all up is facing additional charges for shooting a teen.
John Horace Bryant, 33, was arrested Tuesday on two child cruelty charges for a shooting the teenager in the leg as part of what deputies say was a fabricated story.
In a report aired on WEAR TV, Bryant said that someone had shot at his Sundance Lane home or his truck on at least eight different occasions in the past couple of months. In the televised report, Bryant even showed the reporter the bullet holes in his truck. The Cantonment man had also filed several police reports on the alleged shootings.
Braynt was arrested earlier this month and charged with aggravated stalking and obstruction of justice for making up the shooting stories in an attempt to frame his ex-wife. He remains in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Story Clarification: Molino Rezoning For Mobile Home
February 17, 2010
We need to clarify a story that was posted this morning on NorthEscambia.com.
Early this morning, we posted the story: “Rezoning Approved So Molino Man Can Put Mobile Home On Family Land”. This story was prematurely posted due to our error.
Escambia County’s planning board has approved rezoning a piece of property at at 51 Highway 97 in Molino to allow a mobile home. The Escambia County Commission has schedule a public hearing and vote on the rezoning for their March 4 meeting. But the commission has not yet voted to rezone the property.
We often pre-write stories to be posted at a future date, and this story was to have been posted if the BOCC approved the rezoning on March 4. Due to our error, the story was accidentally scheduled to run this morning.
We regret the error.
Tate High Getting Health Science Academy For North End
February 17, 2010
The Escambia County School Board voted Tuesday night to establish the Tate High School Health Science Academy to serve students in the north end of the county.
Tate Health Science Academy students will take four years of curriculum that supports various health occupations. Students will be instructed by a licensed health care provider and certified teacher. While enrolled in the academy — essentially a school within a school – students will participate in clinical training at West Florida Hospital and have the opportunity to earn industry certifications.
The goal of the academy will be to prepare students for employment or advanced training in the health occupations industry.
During the 2010-2011 school year, the first year of the program, at least 30 students will be needed in the program. Upon completion of the four year academy, students can apply to attend the George Stone Technical Center’s Patrient Care Technician program. Upon completing the George Stone program, students can immediately take Florida’ certified nursing assistant exam.
Students interested in the Tate Health Science Academy should contact the Office of School Choice. The academy is open to any qualifying high school student in Escambia County, not just students at Tate.
A similar health sciences academy is already in place at Washington High School.
Ernest Ward Students Take Part In World’s Largest Middle School Drama Competition
February 17, 2010
Seven Ernest Ward Middle School drama students took part in the world’s largest middle school drama competition this past weekend.
Samantha Barrow, Shalmali Bhadkamkar, Kamryn Brock, Morgan Packer, Rachel Presley, Chelsea Turner, and Lauryn Walker competed in the Florida State Junior Thespian Festival in Fort Lauderdale, an event that draws over 2,000 middle school students.
“Our drama girls competed against some really strong performers and in front of judges, many of whom were professionals in the fine arts field. The judges were tough, but the Ernest Ward students held their own,” said Katie Ward, EWMS drama team sponsor.
Presley, Barrow and Bhadkamkar all received “Excellent” ratings. Presley placed for her monologue “Cinderelly from the Valley”, while Barrow and and Bhadkamkar placed in their duet scene, “Common Scents”.
“We are very proud of all the hard work each student put in to even make it to state. Considering this was our school’s first time ever attending this competition, they represented our school well,” Ward said.
Pictured above: (L-R) Chelsea Turner, Lauryn Walker, Samantha Barrow, Rachel Presley, Shalmali Bhadkamkar, Kamryn Brock and Morgan Packer
Agribusiness Conference To Be Held Thursday
February 17, 2010
The University of Florida IFAS Extension and Team Santa Rosa will host the 2010 Gulf Coast Agribusiness Conference on Thursday in Santa Rosa County for agricultural producers from across the area.
Family farms are continually facing new challenges in today’s economy. To address these concerns, speakers from the Southeast region will provide our area farmers with ideas for new crops and business models. A trade show will be held at the conference, with space for vendor booths and equipment displays. Participants will also have an opportunity to learn about the Panhandle Fresh Marketing Association, a cooperative that helps area farmers sell through produce in stores like Walmart.
The program begins at the Farmer’s Opry in Chumuckla and ends at the University of Florida’s West Florida Research and Education Center near Jay greenhouse, pellet mill, bio-fuel and fruit orchard demonstrations and tours.
Several vendors will take part in the day-long program, including K&R Tractor of Atmore, United Bank, Farm Credit of Northwest Florida, Smith Tractor, Crop Production Services, Gulf Power and Kingline Equipment.
The target audience for this conference is producers of all types of crops in the Western Panhandle of Florida and Baldwin and Escambia Counties in Alabama. It will also serve as an informational seminar for prospective new farmers. Other conference topics will include “New Crops and Growing Methods,” “Estate Planning,” “Marketing Options: Most Successful Marketing Tools,” and more.
For more information on obtaining registration & sponsorship information contact Robin Vickers at rvickers @ ufl.edu or (850) 983-5216 x 113 or Jennifer Walters at jwalters@teamsantarosa.com or (850) 623-0174. Also click here.
Chumuckla’s Farmers Opry House is located located at 8897 Byrom Campbell Road.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Councilman: Faulty Gas Meters Cause High Gas Bills; Mayor Says It Was Cold Weather
February 16, 2010
One Century council member believes faulty equipment is to blame for citizens receiving high gas bills, while the town’s mayor says the problem is simple — two weeks of sub-freezing overnight lows.
“We had 15 days of cold weather,” Mayor Freddie McCall said. “The people simply used the gas.”
For some Century gas customers, their bills were also higher than normal because their billing cycle was as long as 42 days due to meter problems. The problem was only with how long it took to read the electronic meters, not how the meters measure gas flow, the mayor said. He said that the meters on problematic accounts had been reread by a gas department employee to verify accuracy.
“I can’t with good conscience make these people pay these high gas bills when we have faulty equipment,” said council member Henry Hawkins.
“People elected me to safeguard this money,” McCall said. “If you want to vote tonight to give gas to everybody in Century — do it…But when the gas has gone through the meter, what can we do?”
Two weeks ago, Century resident Helen Mincy told the council that she saw her bill increase about fourfold. She told the town council that she only used her gas heat three days during the cold weather and that she could not understand why her bill was so high.
But Monday night, McCall presented a daily graph of Mincy’s gas usage. The graph showed an obvious near-daily usage for most of a month, including a large spike in usage January 2 to January 16 — which coincides with the two weeks of coldest weather in January.
“I survived the cold without the heat,” Mincy told the council Monday night about her $131 bill. “I still disagree with that,” she said of the mayor’s usage graph produced by her electronic gas meter.
“Everybody’s chart looks like this during those 15 days,” McCall said, referring to the highest usage occurring on the coldest days.
Later in the meeting, Mincy said that she had used some gas everyday due to having a gas stove, but it “was not that much”.
“If I don’t use it, I don’t use it,” she said.
As for the 42 day billing cycle problem, McCall said the town’s gas department would adjust bills to include 31 days of usage and carry the extra 11 days forward to the following month.
McCall said he would change out Mincy’s gas meter and have the old meter tested for accuracy.
Pictured top: This graph shows the daily gas usage of Century resident Helen Mincy, who claims a problem with her gas bill. Century’s mayor says the high usage on the account coincides with low temperatures. McCall has written the overnight low temperatures on the top of the graph over the days of highest usage, showing that most usage occurred on the days with the lowest temperatures. Submitted for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.