Blog: Bridge Woes Continue
January 15, 2010
North Escambia’s wooden bridges that date back to the 1940’s and 50’s are not the only problem bridges in the county.
A new reported recently released by the Florida Department of Transportation now ranks the Phillip D. Beall Sr. Bridge as structural deficient. You know the bridge by its more common name — the Three-Mile Bridge.
The almost-three mile long bridge over Pensacola Bay connects Pensacola to Gulf Breeze. On an average day, 48,428 vehicles make the trip across the bridge. The bridge, built in 1960, is now structural deficient according DOT — not unsafe, just not completely structurally sound.
Just yesterday, a NorthEscambia.com article (read here) reported that 50 bridges in North Escambia were among 103 bridges Escambia County that need replacing because they too are structural deficient. Many have wooden supports that are 50 to 70 years old.
Escambia County is seeking $96.6 million in federal dollars to replace the bridges. As a “Plan B”, the county is also seeking $6 million from the state legislature to replace the six or seven worst wooden substructure bridges.
Since the Three-Mile Bridge carries U.S. 98, likely funding sources for a new mega-million dollar bridge across the bay would be the state and federal government. Escambia County is seeking federal and state money to replace the 103 bridges that are county owned.
It’s one pot of money, and a lot of bridges. Plus that pot is divided among all of Florida’s counties.
We would strongly support safety being the top priority in allocating dollars for bridges. A plan certainly needs to be developed for replacing the Three-Mile if it is in such bad shape. No arguing that the safety of those in 48,428 vehicles per day is important, as is the economic value of having the connector between Gulf Breeze and Pensacola.
We just don’t want the bridges in North Escambia to fall off the funding radar, and hope our local leaders will remember that both the Three-Mile bridge and our rural bridges are both important.
We are in plenty of federal debt these days, so the feds might as well step up and fund Escambia’s $96 million in new bridges and the Three-Mile Bridge. That would be smart stimulus.
High School Basketball: Northview, Jay
January 15, 2010
Here is a look at area high school basketball action from Thursday:
Pensacola Christian 65, Northview 36
Northview — Colton Sims 10, Lance Bushaw 9, LaDarion White 8, Dabney Langhorne 4, Austin Arrington 3, Stanley Chestnut 2.
Northview 4 12 10 10-36 PCA 21 22 16 6-65
Jay 57 Aletheia Christian 44
Jay — Dakota Walker 2, Luke Rowell 19, Hunter Boutwell 14, Bugg Fischer 1, Connor Weeks 8, Steven Brabham 10, Tyler Prescott 3
Jay 12 13 13 19-57 Alethia 9 12 7 16-44
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Northview 62, PCA 40
Northview — Sarah Killam 5,Laneicia Gomez 2, Shaniqua Jones 13, Amber McMillan 13, Angela Rodriguez 13, Kassandra Lett 3, Mallory Turner 3, Naomi Cooler 3, Megan Ryan 7
Northview 13 20 20 9-62 PCA 8 8 9 15-40
Jay 52 Aletheia Christian 37
Jay — Ginger Jennings 6, Courtney Hammac 4, Tessa Hendricks 19, Danielle Skaggs 2, Amber Steadham 4, Becca Calloway 14.
Aletheia 10 10 8 9-37 Jay 7 19 9 17-52
Investigators Seek Help With 20-Year Old Cantonment Murder
January 15, 2010
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help to solve a 20-year old Cantonment murder mystery.
During the early morning hours of January 14, 1990, the body of Jesse Lee Davis, Jr., a 25-year old black male, was found apparently murdered in the area of Highway 95A and Highway 29 in Cantonment. Davis was last seen alive earlier that morning walking northward towards his home from the area of Muscogee Road and Highway 29.
The case remains unsolved. The sheriff’s department is asking anyone with information about what might have happened to Davis to contact the Major Crimes Unit at (850) 436-9580 or Crime Stoppers at 433-STOP (433-7687).
Pictured: Photos of 1990 murder victim Jessie Davis, Jr. at about age 20 (left) and from grade school. Submitted photos from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for NorthEscambia.com, click to to enlarge.
NWE Registration Continues Saturday
January 15, 2010
Registration for Northwest Escambia baseball and softball continues Saturday for ages 3 to 18 for Wee ball to big league.
Registration fees are: 1st child, $35, 2nd child: $25, 3rd child: free. Children will be measured and a $20 uniform deposit collected at registration. A copy of each child’s birth certificate is required.
There will also be a cleat swap…bring a pair of outgrown cleats and trade/swap while supplies last.
NWE registration will be held from 10 a.m. until noon January 16 and 23 at Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill.
Escambia Academy Boys, Girls In State Top Ten
January 15, 2010
Both the boys and girls basketball teams at Escambia Academy are now ranked in the top ten among Alabama Independent School Association basketball teams.
The Lady Cougars (11-2) remain at number nine in the latest poll from the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
In the boys poll, the EA Cougars (13-3) entered the poll at number 10 this week.
Need Cheap Career Oriented Clothing? Check Out UWF Sale Today
January 15, 2010
If you are short on cash and need clothing for your career, you might want to check out the first ever Career Closet today at the University of West Florida for one-of-a-kind bargains on gently worn professional attire and accessories for both men and women.
The first every Career Closet will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Conference Center, Building 22, on campus.
With the pockets of young job hunters in mind, event organizer Laura Tissington has been collecting items on campus and from the community for weeks. She hopes to sell everything at the Career Closet for between $5 and $20 and, at the same time, raise money for her two favorite charities: the proposed Rachel Heffner Memorial Endowment Scholarship, named for Tissington’s daughter, and N.B. Cook School of the Arts, where Tissington’s son is in the fourth grade.
Tissington, assistant dean of the College of Professional Studies, decided she wanted to do something positive to help students and found the idea inside of her own closet which was stuffed with professional clothes she no longer wears. “I thought, what we can do that does not cost money and still contributes to others,” said Tissington. “Then I looked in my closet and saw all these clothes I no longer wear…I have sizes 6 to 14 in there. I say this all the time, ‘I don’t wear a 14 but I don’t wear the 6 either, I’m somewhere in between.’ But I had them all in my closet.”
Positive her idea for a Career Closet targeting UWF students entering the job market was a good one, she made an appointment to discuss it with Career Services.
“We are excited about how it will benefit students,” said Career Services director Lauren Loeffler. Her office is partnering with Tissington on the event.
Some of the items waiting for the sale include several Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft women’s suits; Coldwater Creek jackets; Isaac Mizrahi for Target ladies’ suits; several suede suit jackets; men’s dress shirts; winter coats; purses; and women’s shoes, both casual and dress. Also there are designer jeans in various sizes and a rack of school clothes for young boys, sizes 8 to 10. A special “boutique” area will feature unusual or specialty items.
Both the Career Closet and the nursing scholarship pay tribute to Tissington’s daughter, Rachel Heffner, who had cystic fibrosis. A third-year student at UWF, she died Jan. 12, 2003, just a few months shy of her 21st birthday. The scholarship in her name targets students who are female, in financial need and in good academic standing. Tissington is planning a series of events to support the scholarship; others include an exhibit at Festival on the Green, a garage sale, and a Web site with information about Heffner and the scholarship.
For more information, call Tissington at (850) 438-9940 or e-mail her at ltissington@uwf.edu or Career Services at (850) 474- 2254.
Bell Email: Consolidation Committee Dumping Records On County
January 15, 2010
Because the Escambia County Commission refused to provide assistance to the consolidation committee, Chairman Ken Bell is passing the responsibility of maintaining public records and public records request to Escambia County.
In an email to County Attorney Allison Rodgers, Bell said he intends to see the Escambia County Consolidation Committee dissolved, and, per the legislation that created the commission, all of its property and records transfer to Escambia County. The legislation did not specify on which date the committee would be dissolved, other than it must take place by July, 2010.
Shortly after its creation, the consolidation committee asked Escambia County for clerical and legal assistance, but the county denied the request.
“As the County is well aware, from the outset of our work as a public commission, we asked for clerical help (which would include Public Records), Law compliance assistance and legal guidance. The BOCC refused to provide this assistance. With no public funding, this Commission has had to operate on an entirely voluntary basis,” Bell wrote in his email. “Unfortunately, any difficulty caused by the transfer of property on Friday is a direct result of the BOCC’s decision not to provide the assistance requested. As I have stated before, I sincerely regret this fact. The ECCSC has done everything we can to overcome this BOCC’s decisions not to assist.”
Bell said the commission would be willing to index the records if the county provided assistance by Friday, otherwise the commission will just turn everything over as-is. Escambia County will be responsible for fulfilling any current or future public records requests.
Click here to read Bell’s email.
Doris Louise Howell Hancock
January 14, 2010
Doris Louise Howell Hancock entered her eternal home Wednesday, January 13, 2010. She was born in Century, Florida, on August 23, 1923. She resided most of her life in Pensacola, Florida. Doris was a member of Hillcrest Baptist Church where she attended and was involved with the Young at Heart.
In her early working experiences, she worked in a car factory in Detroit, Michigan, and later at a shoe and shirt factory in Tullahoma, Tennessee. In 1956, she moved back to Pensacola where she worked at Warrington Bank for 33 years as a bookkeeper and member service representative.
Proceeded in death, her parents, Guy and Phoebe Howell, a sister, Millie Long, two brothers, Farrell and Cordell Howell, a son-in-law, Allen Story and husband, Carl Hancock. She is survived by her daughter, Jacquelyn Story, brother, Gordon Howell, sister-in-laws, Juanita Howell, Elouise Howell and Jean Howell, two grandchildren, Ralph Story (Debra), Dolores Taylor (Johnathan), five great grandchildren, Rodney, Kasey, Brandon, Micah, and Seth, one great great granddaughter, Hannah and many nieces, nephews, aunts, and cousins.
The family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to Health Center of Pensacola and Covenant Hospice for their loving care.
The family will receive friends on Friday, January 15, 2010, at the Faith Chapel Funeral Home North at 9:30 a.m. up until the time of the service at 10:30 a.m. Chaplin Ken Griffin will be officiating. Interment will follow at the McCurdy Cemetery in Century, Florida.
Teen Driver Hits House
January 14, 2010
A teen driver was not seriously injured when he hit a tree and house this morning in Walnut Hill.
The 16-year old male driver was southbound on Juniper Street when he lost control of his Ford Mustang, struck a small tree and spun around into the porch of a wood frame house at 105 Juniper Street. The car missed a propane tank on the corner of the house by just inches in the 8:10 a.m. accident.
The driver was transported to Atmore Community hospital with minor injuries. No one in the house was injured, and there was no significant damage to the house.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Atmore Ambulance responded to the call.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Pictured: The driver of this Mustang hit a tree before hitting the porch of this house Thursday morning on Juniper Street in Walnut Hill. The damage to car visible in the photograph was caused by the tree, not the house. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Only A Few Tickets Remain For Miss Northview High
January 14, 2010
Only a few tickets remain for the 2010 Miss Northview High School event.
Tickets are $8 and are available in the school’s front office. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
The 2010 Miss Northview High School pageant will be Saturday, January 23 at 6:30 in the Northview Theater.
Pictured: Miss Northview High School 2009 Amber Holland. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.