Ernest Ward Middle Placed On Lockdown Due To ‘Suspicious’ Item
October 12, 2010
Ernest Ward Middle School was placed on lockdown Tuesday afternoon after suspicions were aroused by an item found in the cafeteria.
“Because of our desire to provide a safe and wholesome learning environment, the school was placed on lockdown,” said Norm Ross, deputy superintendent. The item was not a weapon of any kind, drug related, or a specific threat, according to Ross. “It’s not something we want to get into,” he said.
The school and students were searched as a precaution, he said. “We found absolutely nothing,” Ross said, “in a school of over 500 students.”
Gates to the school were unlocked at 3:40, and parents were allowed to enter the campus for afternoon dismissal. Buses were slightly delayed in leaving campus.
Pictured above: Parents line up outside Ernest Ward Middle School Tuesday afternoon as the gates are opened following a lockdown. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Timothy John Watts
October 12, 2010
Timothy John Watts, 53, of Cantonment, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Sunday, October 10, 2010. Tim was born on March 20, 1957, in Pensacola, Florida. He was an active member of Heritage Baptist Church where he enjoyed singing in the choir. Tim was a “die hard” Gator fan!
He was preceded in death by his parents, Reverend Howard and Eva Watts.
He was a loving and devoted husband, dad, and grandfather. Tim is survived by his wife and best friend, Rhonda Watts; his little princess, Kacy (Cory) Mothershed; his sons, Aaron (Jenny) Watts, Jeff (Kelly) Ervin, beloved granddaughter, Lauren Watts; and foster child, Makayla Hamm.
Tim is survived by his sisters Connie (Bob) Echols, Shirley (Buford) Kidd; a brother, Howard “Bubba” Watts (Gloria); a sister in law Beth (Randy) Carmichael; and his parents in law, Bill and Joann Brown. He is also survived by several nieces, nephews, and a large, loving extended family.
A celebration of Tim’s life will be held at Heritage Baptist Church on Thursday evening at 6 .pm. Visitation will be on Wednesday evening at Faith Chapel North from 5 p.m. to 8p.m.
In lieu of flowers, please give to Hope Center for Teens, PO Box 19024, Pensacola, Fl 32523 or Bethany Christian Services, 1716 East Olive Rd, Pensacola, Fl 32514.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North-Cantonment, 1000 Highway 29 South, is entrusted with the arrangements
Barrineau Park Construction Zone Wreck Injures One (Updated)
October 12, 2010
One person was injured when a pickup truck collided a sweeper in a construction zone on Barrineau Park Road Tuesday morning.
The accident happened about 7:10 a.m. just west of Schifko Road when a 1996 GMC pickup driven by William Findley, 69, of Molino collided with a street sweeper operated by Jaime Rodriguez, 24, of Pensacola. Both vehicles were eastbound on Barrineau Park Road when Findley struck the rear of the slow-moving construction vehicle, according to the FHP.
Rodriguez was transported to a West Florida Hospital by ambulance with minor injuries; Findley suffered minor injuries but was not transported to the hospital.
Findley was cited with careless driving by the FHP.
The force of the impact pushed the Broce Broom sweeper operated by Roads, Inc. onto the shoulder of Barrineau Park Road. The pickup came to rest in the middle of the roadway, shutting down Barrineau Park Road for about an hour.
The accident was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol. Engine 1819 from the Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded to the morning crash.
Pictured above and below: A road sweeper driver was injured in this crash with a pickup truck Tuesday morning on Barrineau Park Road. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Little Found During Daily Drug Dog Searches In Escambia Schools
October 12, 2010
Drug dogs have been used daily in Escambia County’s schools since August, and, so far, very few illegal substances have been found.
Each day, at least one middle or high school in the county is randomly visited by a canine officer and his dog. The North Escambia schools — Ernest Ward, Northview, Ransom and Tate — have each had five random searches since the first day of school. Nothing has been found at any of the North Escambia schools, according to data obtained Monday by NorthEscambia.com. (See the complete report at the bottom of this page, click to enlarge.)
Of the 17 schools searched, only three have had positive searches — Escambia High, Washington High and the Judy Andrews Center. At Washington High, the K-9 has alerted on three of five visits, including finds of two grams of marijuana in a men’s bathroom, an empty baggie that smelled of marijuana and a third find of a trace amount of marijuana.
The most searched schools have been Workman Middle and West Florida High School with six canine visits each, while Jim Bailey Middle and Pensacola High School have been searched just twice. The Judy Andrews Center, which provides career, technical and adult programs, has only been searched once.
The Escambia County School Board implemented the random drug dog searches this school year, as part of an aggressive anti-drug and alcohol policy. Only one person at the district office, Manager of Protection Services Steven Sharp, knows which school will be visited in advance. The canine officer reports to the principal’s office upon his or her arrival and is accompanied during the search by an administrator or their designee.
Students are not being searched, and they are removed from any classroom that is searched. Searches also include hallways, lockers, parking lots and other common areas.
The district is spending $36,000 from its general fund over the course of a year for the program. Two dozen off-duty canine officers from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the Pensacola Police Department are utilized for the searches.
Pictured above: Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Master Deputy Wayne Gulsby performs a drug dog search late last week at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Thief Strips Copper Wiring From County Radio Tower In Molino
October 12, 2010
Copper wiring valued at over $3,000 was reported stolen Monday from a county radio tower in Molino.
A technician for CES Team One Communications, the company that maintains the radio tower for Escambia County, told deputies that the theft occurred sometime between September 1 and his service visit Monday morning.
The technician told Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigators that someone cut a gate lock on the fence surrounding the tower, which is located behind the Escambia County Health Department on Highway 29.
The thief took two copper bars about three feet in length and cut nine, two-foot sections of copper wire; and ten, six-foot sections. The items were valued at $3,450.
According to Escambia County officials, the wiring was part of the tower’s electrical grounding system and no county communications systems were taken off the air by the incident. Spokesperson Cameron Johnson said the missing wiring would place the tower and equipment at a higher risk of damage from lightning, and replacement items are on order.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the incident is continuing.
Sample Ballots Mailed
October 12, 2010
Sample ballots for the upcoming November 2 General Election have been mailed to Escambia County voters, according to Supervisor of Elections David Stafford.
The sample ballot includes an image of both sides of the ballot, the voter’s polling location, instructions on marking their ballot, and information on early voting, absentee voting, and voting at the polls on Election Day. A sample ballot is also available at EscambiaVotes.com.
Escambia County voters have three different ways to cast their ballot:
BY MAIL: Voters may vote by mail via an absentee ballot by contacting the Elections Office by mail, phone (850-595-3900), e-mail (absentee@escambiavotes.com), fax (850-595-3914), or using the online form at EscambiaVotes.com. Absentee requests must include the voter’s date of birth and address, and must be received no later than Wednesday, October 27th. Voted ballots must be received in the Elections Office by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. Absentee voters may now track their ballot status by clicking the Track My Ballot link on EscambiaVotes.com.
EARLY VOTING: Beginning Monday, October 18th, voters may cast their ballot early at any one of four area locations:
Elections Office, 213 Palafox Place, 2nd Floor;
Elections Office Cantonment Annex, 292 Muscogee Road;
Genealogy Branch (formerly Tryon Branch) Library, 5740 North 9th Avenue;
Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway.
Early voting dates and times are as follows:
Monday, October 18 through Friday, October 22: 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 23: 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 24: 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
Monday, October 25 through Saturday, October 30: 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
AT YOUR PRECINCT: The third option for voters is to cast their ballot at their precinct from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.
Citizens Insurance Rates Headed Up
October 12, 2010
Premiums for homeowners who get their property insurance through the state-run program will see rates rise 10.4 percent beginning in January, after state insurance regulators on Monday approved rate hikes higher than those requested last week by Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
Citing the need to move toward actuarially sound rates, the Office of Insurance Regulations raised premiums higher than the 9.8 percent requested by Citizens. Commercial condominium rates will rise 8.1 percent. OIR also approved rate hikes of 11 percent for residential wind-only condominium association insurance and 11.3 percent for residential condo association without wind coverage.
Lawmakers have capped rate hikes at 10 percent per year, but Citizens can exceed that cap to help build up the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. The panel approved a 3.4 percent CAT fund build-up rate. Citizens is the state’s largest property insurer with more than 1.2 million policies in place
Mexican Venture Buying Out Area Concrete, Gravel Companies
October 12, 2010
Mexican company Cemex SAB is buying out its joint venture partner Ready Mix USA, including cement plants in Cantonment, Flomaton and Atmore, as well as a sand and gravel pit in Century, for about $360 million.
The joint venture operated by Ready Mix USA owns 10 sand and gravel pits, 149 concrete plants and 20 block plants located throughout the South — including Southeastern Sand & Gravel in Century, Pensacola Ready Mix in Cantonment and Atmore Ready Mix.
Ready Mix USA will continue to manage the joint venture until the closing of the transaction, which is expected to be in September, 2011. Cemex, based in Monterrey Mexico, already owns 49.9 percent of the joint venture controlled by the family of Paul “Bear” Bryant’s son.
Cemex is a global building materials company that provides high-quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries throughout the world.
Vote For Northview’s Roderick Woods For TV 3 Play Of The Week
October 12, 2010
Once again, a Northview High School football player’s outstanding moves have him nominated for a WEAR TV 3 Play Of the Week.
In the Play of the Week nominee video, Roderick Woods catches a pass from NHS quarterback Brandon Sheets. Woods is tackled by a couple of Holmes County Blue Devils, only to roll off of them and sprint almost 70 yards to about the Blue Devil’s five-yard line. The play resulted in a one yard touchdown dive from the Chiefs’ Levi Gideons.
To view the video and vote for Northview’s Roderick Woods as the WEAR TV Play of the Week, click here. (It’s video number one.)
Northview’s La’Mikal Kyles recently won a WEAR 3’s Prep Football Final Play of the Week for swiping the ball from a surprised Bozeman Buck on a fumble and carrying it 32 yards for a NHS touchdown.
Pictured above: Northview’s Roderick Woods rolls over two Holmes County Blue Devils to continue nearly 70 yards Friday night in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
NHS Students Win George Washington Honor Medals
October 12, 2010
Northview High School students Katelyn Garrison and Dixie Carnley have been chosen to receive the George Washington Honor Medal for their essays on “What Is Your American Dream?”. The Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge essay contest was part of Lorenzo Jones’ history class last year at Northview.
The medals will be presented to Garrison and Carnley later this year by the Pensacola Freedoms Foundation Volunteer Chapter.
Pictured above: George Washington Honor Medal winners Katelyn Garrison and Dixie Carnley. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.