Northview Could Clinch Playoff Berth Tonight
November 5, 2010
The Northview Chiefs are looking to take the sting out of the Vernon Yellow Jackets tonight and lock up a playoff berth.
With a win over the Yellow Jackets (7-1,7-1), the Chiefs (7-1, 6-1) will clinch the runner-up berth in District 1-A. Freeport (7-1, 7-0) currently holds the top spot in the district and is favored to defeat Holmes County (4-4. 3-4) tonight.
The Chiefs and the Yellow Jackets kick off at 7 p.m. tonight in Bratt.
Deputy Shootings Started With Suspect’s Demands For Ring
November 5, 2010
The home invasion incident that led to the shooting of three Escambia County deputies last Friday started when a Mississippi man forced his way into his former girlfriend’s home demanding a ring be returned.
Deputy Jeremy Cassady, 36, remains in intensive care at Sacred Heart Hospital in critical condition after being shot by Phillip Monier, 47. Monier remains in the Escambia County Jail on $2 million bond.
Cassady was shot by Monier at the Bayview Circle home of his ex-girlfriend Jackie Rosenbloom. Cassady was struck in the side. Deputy Sam Parker was hit in the chest, and Deputy Chad Brown was hit in the arm.
Rosenbloom has been upgraded to fair condition at Sacred Heart Hospital. She was shot several times, including in the legs and pelvis.
She called 911 while Monier forced his way into her home looking for the ring. He took Rosenbloom hostage and ignored orders to drop his weapon as deputies entered the home. Monier used Rosenbloom as a human shield, but he was struck by at least one round in the hand. He was eventually talked out of the home by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and hostage negotiators.
Monier’s trial will be held in Escambia County before Okaloosa County Judge John Brown; all of Escambia County’s judges were disqualified from the case due to their previous involvement with Cassady. He had worked court security for nine months before returning to patrol just four days before he was shot.
A blood drive will be held in honor of Cassady this Saturday from 11-2 in Walnut Hill during the annual Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department Catfish Fry. Cassady has received over 200 units of blood during the past week.
Northview Mini Cheerleading Clinic Is Saturday
November 5, 2010
The annual Northview Mini-Cheerleading Clinic will be held this Saturday, giving area girls the chance to cheer at an upcoming Northview Chiefs game.
The clinic will be from 8:30 until 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the school gym. Registration begins at 8:00. The clinic is open to children three-years old through the sixth grade. Cost is $15 per person. The girls will perform during first and second quarters of the November 12 Northview Chiefs football game at home against West Florida High School. They girls will receive free admission to the game, a t-shirt and a goodie bag.
For questions, call Anna at Northview at (850) 327-6681.
Pictured: Last year’s Northview Mini-Cheerleading Clinic at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Friday Night Football Schedule
November 5, 2010
Here’s a look at the schedule for tonight’s prep football games in the North Escambia area. For Northview, tonight is a chance to clinch a playoff berth, while round one of the playoffs begin for Alabama schools.
Florida
- Vernon at Northview
- Baker at Jay
- Navarre at Tate
- Escambia at Pine Forest
- J.R. Arnold at Washington
- Rutherford at West Florida
- Pensacola at Bay
- Catholic at Chipley
Alabama (Round 1 Playoffs)
- Escambia County (Atmore) at Andalusia
- Daleville at T.R. Miller
Prayer Vigil Held For Jay Native Injured By Suicide Bomber In Afghanistan
November 5, 2010
The Jay community gathered Thursday night to pray for a native son injured during a suicide bombing earlier this week in Afghanistan.
Miles Baker of Jay was severely injured by a suicide bomber Monday in Afghanistan. Shrapnel was removed from the left arm and stomach of the Army infantryman. His wife, Brittany, was able to talk to him for the first time Thursday, just a few hours before the candlelight prayer vigil at the Jay City Park.
Thank you everyone for the prayers,” she said. “You have no idea what it means to me. Please continue to pray. They are not sending him home right now.”
Miles Baker joined the Army right after graduating from Jay High School. He and wife Brittany have one child, Zaiden, age two months. Miles Baker will celebrate his 20th birthday on November 17.
Gulf Coast Showcase Of Champions Marching Band Competition Saturday At Tate
November 5, 2010
Tate High School will host the Ninth Annual Gulf Coast Showcase of Champions Marching Band Competition on Saturday.
Preliminaries begin at noon and finals begin at 6 p.m. Eleven bands from around the Southeast will perform, including the Northview Tribal Beat at noon.
The Tate “Showband of the South” will perform an exhibition after the preliminaries and also after the finals. The University of Mobile’s RamCorps will perform at 3:30.
Admission is $7 for the preliminary competition and $10 for the final competition.
One Injured In Highway 4 Crash; Driver Charged
November 4, 2010
One person was injured in a two vehicle crash this afternoon east of Northview High School.
The accident happened about 12:45 p.m. on West Highway 4 near Vaughn Road when Scott Mahoney, 26, of Pace, attempted to turn his 2010 Ford exterminator company truck into a driveway. He turned into the path of 2004 Toyota Camry driven by Selena Hutton, 34, of Walnut Hill. The Toyota came to rest in the westbound lane of Highway 4, while the pickup truck came to rest in a ditch.
Hutton was transported by ambulance to Jay Hospital with minor injuries. Mahoney refused transport to the hospital at the scene. There were no passengers in either vehicle.
The Florida Highway Patrol cited Mahoney for violation of right of way.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Atmore Ambulance also responded to the crash.
Pictured above and below: A two vehicle accident Thursday afternoon on West Highway 4 near Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Seeks Advice Before Moving Forward On $30 Million Biofuel Plant
November 4, 2010
The Town of Century may be taking a cautious step toward luring a $30 million biofuel plant after plans to located in Jay failed to materialize without the backing of the Town of Jay and Santa Rosa County.
Integrated Energy Partners asked the Town of Century to sign off on a memorandum to back the issuance of revenue bonds to finance the facility — essentially using the town’s name to obtain a credit rating with obligation to the town.
The council approved sending the IEP request to the town’s attorney, Matt Dannheisser, for review prior to taking any action on the bond agent request.
“Mr. Matt did not agree to get involved with it whatsoever as it was,” Century Mayor Freddie McCall said of Dannheisser’s recommendation. The attorney recommended that IEP front $5,000 to hire a financial advisor recommended by Dannheisser to “walk the city through” a decision.
McCall indicated that IEP’s Jeff Ates had indicated that he was willing to provide the funds for the financial advisor.
“We don’t have anything to lose; we are not losing a dime,” McCall said. “We will be using this man’s money.”
Integrated Energy Partners had asked the Santa Rosa County Commission to back the issuance of revenue bonds to finance the facility in the Jay Industrial Park. Since the county’s name would be used to obtain financing for the company, Commission Chairman Gordon Goodwin told a company official at a July meeting that he wanted more information before making a decision about a project using the county’s name. Weeks later, Santa Rosa County still had not received the additional IEP financial information.
The Integrated Energy Partners (IEP), Inc. facility would use agricultural products to create biodiesel fuel, kerosene, propane and electricity. The plant would provide about 30 jobs and eventually employee about 50 people in five years.
McCall said IEP would potentially join Century Lumber and Land, LLC, Railmark Holdings and Milton Timber in the old Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company complex. After two delays in financing, Century Lumber and Land, LLC is cut the a ceremonial ribbon and began making improvements at the old lumber facility last month.
According to documentation provided by Integrated Energy Partners to the Santa Rosa County Commission, the company would use seeds from the Camelina plant in the winter and other traditional year-round crops, including cotton seed, to produce their biofuels. In addition, municipal and other waste products would be used as fuel.
The company said it has secured purchase agreements with farmers involving about 10,000 acres in the Florida Panhandle and has an “in principle” agreement with a municipality for their waste.
The company is not dependent on local farmers; instead, “IEP can exist in any industrial park that has adequate and infrastructure,” according to the company. IEP emphasizes the word “offering” in their presentation to the commission about a potential relationship with local farmers by offering a market for their production under a U.S Department of Agriculture.
The company also said that there will not be any permitting problems in locating the plant because they will not need an air discharge, wastewater discharge or wastewater treatment system permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
At startup, the IEP planned to have a 5-12 megawatt electricity generation capacity. They would be able to produce, according to documents provided to the commission, a yearly output of 3 million gallons of biodiesel, 9 million gallons of kerosene, 353 thousand gallons of cellulosic alcohol, 437 thousand gallons of propane and 47.8 MWH of electricity.
IEP stated in documents presented to the Santa Rosa commission that federal law stipulates that a local utility must purchase electricity offered by an independent power producer. The company states that a local utility is “ready to purchase all of our power production”. IEP is also in negotiations to sell their liquid fuel to wholesalers.
Freeze Watch In Effect
November 4, 2010
A freeze watch has been issued for Friday night and early Saturday morning with a light freeze forecast in some parts of North Escambia.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 37. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 60. Northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
- Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 31. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 60. Calm wind becoming north between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 31. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 65. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.
- Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 35. Calm wind.
- Monday: Sunny, with a high near 70. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
- Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 39. Calm wind.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 74.
- Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 46.
- Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 77.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51.
- Veterans Day: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 76.
Kids Vote: Area Students Take Part In Mock Election (With Results)
November 4, 2010
Students in Escambia County’s public middle and high schools on Tuesday cast a secure, online ballot in a simulated election through the Kids Voting “DoubleClick Democracy” initiative.
The students chose Republican Rick Scott as governor over Democratic Alex Sink. And, much like the real world results, it was a close race with about 2-percent more favoring Scott. Among North Escambia schools, Scott was victorious at Ernest Ward Middle, Ransom Middle, Northview High and Tate High.
The students made a different choice for U.S. Senator than adults in Florida, with Kendrick Meek receiving the most votes in the Kids Voting program. Marco Rubio, the actual winner on Tuesday, was the second choice among the middle and high school students in Escambia County.
Amendment 8, the class-size amendment, did not pass among the students, with 54.77 percent voting yes. A 60-percent approval was required for passage.
To see complete results from Escambia County’s schools, click here.
The Kids Voting “DoubleClick Democracy” program combines civic learning in the classroom with an authentic voting experience which includes a ballot that mirrors their local precinct ballot, according to Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David Stafford.
The program also offers teachers diverse interactive curriculum that meets Florida Sunshine State Standards, and has at its center an interactive website for all grade levels K-12 that includes activities and discussion topics for students, as well as a site specifically designed for students. The curriculum is civics-based, and geared toward encouraging young voter participation and deepening students’ knowledge of how democracy works in America. Materials are made available via the website to all teachers interested in utilizing the curriculum.
On Tuesday, many schools conducted mock elections throughout Escambia County. Students in Escambia County’s public middle and high schools had an opportunity to cast a secure, online ballot as part of the initiative. Students were issued a unique number to enter online to cast their ballot; to ensure that students vote only once, the number became invalid after it was used. Students’ ballots were specific to their district and they cast votes for U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governor & Lt Governor, Attorney General and local races.
Escambia County’s Kids Voting “DoubleClick Democracy” is used at no cost in a partnership with several Florida counties, including the originator of the program, KidsVoting Tampa Bay, as well as the Escambia County school system.