Exclusive: ‘Project Tread’ Could Bring 40-60 Jobs To Century By Next Year
September 9, 2011
A new economic development project dubbed “Project Tread” could bring 40 to 60 new jobs to Century by next year.
Century Mayor Freddie McCall said the Town of Century, the Century Chamber of Commerce and the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce have worked to lure the company “from up north” to relocate to a 15-acre parcel in the Century Industrial Park.
“It’s a doable project that can and will work,” McCall said Thursday night. “We’ll have an industry here and working three shifts, 24 hours a day.”
McCall declined to name the company or the exact nature of the business, citing the sensitive nature of the business negotiations between the town and the industry. He also declined to say if the company might deal in any chemicals or products that would require them to secure a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The company is asking the town to give them the 15 acres in the industrial park, and McCall said the town is willing — with a catch. In exchange for the 15 acres, the company will be required to place $100,000 in an escrow account. If the company performs and creates at least 40 of the promised jobs, their money will be returned. If they fail to create the jobs within a time limit not yet specified, the $100,000 will go to the Town of Century to pay for the land.
Some of the new jobs will be “experts” that will move to the Century area to run the company, the mayor said. The rest will be local area hires.
McCall said the company has a $30 million federal grant lined up that will require them to be up and running next year.
The mayor said the company is not connected whatsoever to Century Lumber and Land, or any other other associated industries that announced plans last year to open in the old Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company building. The Century Lumber and Land project has yet come to fruition, despite the company holding a ribbon cutting ceremony and taking hundred of employment applications.
McCall will return to the Century Town Council in the coming weeks with a contract with the ‘Project Tread” company for council approval.
Resurfacing Begins Monday On Hwy 29 From McDavid To Century
September 9, 2011
Work will begin Monday on a $7.7 million project to resurface about 16 miles of Highway 29 in North Escambia.
The project will consist of resurfacing the roadway, drainage upgrades and placement of new pavement markings from north of Champion Drive in McDavid to the Alabama state line in Century.
Contractor APAC Mid South will begin work on the southern part of the project, according to Tanya Sanders Branton, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation. Motorists can expect minor traffic delays; However, one northbound lane will remain open to traffic. Branton said drivers are reminded to use caution and obey the posted speed limit when traveling through the work zone.
The $70 billion budget signed in May by Gov. Rick Scott included $7,709,279 to resurface the 15.5 mile section of Highway 29 in North Escambia.
Portions of Highway 29 have deteriorated severely, leaving lots of loose rocks — and lots of broken windshields — behind.
Back in February, a Florida Department of Transportation Geotechnical Foundation Investigation crew performed pavement tests on the roadway, and high-powered blowers have been used since in an effort to remove the loose rocks from the crumbling highway.
Pictured above and below: A crew from Transfield Services uses a high power blower to remove loose rocks from Highway 29 near McDavid last month. Work to resurface nearly 16 miles of Highway 29 will begin Monday. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Man Enters Plea In Molino DUI Death, Faces 20 Years
September 9, 2011
A Navarre man has entered a plea in a 2010 drunk driving accident in Molino that left a woman dead.
Terry Eugene Lee entered a no contest plea to charges of DUI manslaughter, felony driving on a suspended license and DUI causing property damage. He faces up to 20 years in state prison and will be sentenced by Judge Linda Nobles at a later date.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Lee was traveling on Omega Drive about 6:15 p.m. November 10, 2010, when his Toyota car left the roadway, traveled through a wooden fence and across a pasture before hitting another fence and a tree. Lee’s passenger, Brandee N. Scott, 49, of Pensacola, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. She was reportedly impaled by a wooden board from the fence.
According to State Attorney Bill Eddins, Lee was driving with a blood alcohol level of .26/.27.
Lee, who was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital following the crash, told Florida Highway Patrol troopers that he was not involved in the crash.
For more photos from the scene, click here.
Pictured: A Navarre man has pleaded no contest and faces up to 20 years in prison for this November 2010 DUI crash in Molino. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Century Gives Nod To 51%, $1.7 Million Budget Increase
September 9, 2011
The Town of Century has given preliminary approval to a $5 million 2011-2012 budget that is up almost $1.7 million from last year — thanks to $1.9 million in grants.
The $5,032,816 budget includes grant income and expenditures of $1,913,000. The grant funds are from state and federal sources — not local revenue or taxes.
“It’s money in and money out,” Mayor Freddie McCall said of the budget increase for the grants. “If we did not have the grants in there we would be less than the previous year’s budget,” Robert Hudson, the town’s accountant, added.
The $1.9 million in grants included in the budget are:
- CDBG Housing Grant, $650,000
- Energy Grant, $100,000
- Residential Construction Mitigation Program Grant, $100,000
- FEMA Hazard Grant, $823,000
- Housing Preservation Grant, $50,000
- Sewer Filter Grant, $190,000
There will be no increase in ad valorem taxes this year to meet the budget for fiscal year 2011-2012, which begins October 1.
The Century Town Council will give final approval to the new budget at their September 19 meeting.
To view a summary of the budget in pdf format, click here or the image below.
Pictured: Century council member Sandra McMurray Jackson reviews the town’s 2011-2012 budget during a special hearing Thursday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Molino Resident Charged With Painting Graffiti On Restaurant
September 9, 2011
A Molino man was arrested after police say they caught him painting graffiti outside a Pensacola restaurant.
Andrew Plenkers, 19, of Richardson Road was charged with criminal mischief after Pensacola Police Department Sgt. Steve Rankin observed him walking through a parking lot on North Davis Highway to the 500 block of East Cervantes Street.
During a search of the suspect, Rankin found a large blue marker in his right front pants pocket. Officers said they also found several cans of spray paint inside Plenkers’ car.
A freshly painted design that contained the words “BEZ” (for “be easy”, according to police) was found on the east wall of the Coffee Cup restaurant at 520 East Cervantes.
Sgt. Chuck Mallett, who is focusing investigations on graffiti in the downtown area, said Plenkers is a suspect in other graffiti cases.
Plenkers was released from the Escambia County Jail on $250 bond.
Hundreds Attend Elementary Open House Events
September 9, 2011
Hundreds attended the annual open house events at Bratt, Molino Park and Jim Allen elementary schools Thursday evening.
Byrneville, the other elementary school in North Escambia, has an open house scheduled for September 20 at 6 p.m.
Pictured: Students attending the open house at Bratt Elementary School Thursday night took part in an art class project to build a robot out of recyclable materials with the help of art instructor Meredith Roberts. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
One Injured After Slamming Into Parked School Bus
September 9, 2011
One person was injured after running off the roadway and hitting a parked school bus Thursday night in Bratt.
A 51-year female was transported to an area hospital by ambulance following the crash; her condition was not immediately available.
The accident happened about 8 p.m. on West Highway 4 near C.W. Caraway Road. The woman, who officials said might have been experiencing a medical problem, ran off the road, into a yard and struck an Escambia County School bus parked in the private driveway at the home of a bus driver. There was no one on the bus at the time of the crash.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol; further details have not yet been released.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Atmore Ambulance also responded to the call.
Pictured: A woman slammed in to school bus parked in a private driveway in Bratt Thursday night. NorthEscamba.com photos, click to enlarge.
Louisiana Man Faces Death Penalty For Escambia Murder
September 9, 2011
State Attorney Bill Eddins announced Thursday that prosecutors will seek the death penalty against 25-year old Christopher Eugene Stallworth of New Orleans for the death of Jerry Wayne Ledden.
On August 16, a Grand Jury indicted Stallworth, for first degree murder, burglary while armed, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and grand theft auto.
On July 24, the badly beaten body of Jerry Wayne Ledden was found at his home on Mitchell Lane in the Bellview community by his sister and brother-in-law. Ledden’s Cadillac, guns, and cell phone were missing from the residence. On July 27, Stallworth was arrested on suspicion of homicide in connection with the death of the 65-year-old man.
Where Were You On 9/11?
September 9, 2011
Where were you September 11, 2001? What were your thoughts as you watched the Twin Towers burn in New York? As the Pentagon was hit? As the world stopped and watched the horror?
Share your memories, your thoughts and feelings. We will compile your stories and submissions into a special feature that we will publish on Sunday.
Please keep your submissions under about 300 words. Email your submission along with any photos you might have to news@northescambia.com or post in the comments section below. Your comments on this story will *not* appear today; they will be compiled into our story on Sunday. Please include your name, your community of residence at a phone number (not for publication).
If you were actually in New York or at the Pentagon on 9/11, feel free to write something longer, and we would love talk to you — just contact us at news@northescambia.com.
Tonight’s Prep Football Schedule
September 9, 2011
Here’s a look at Friday night prep football around the North Escambia area:
Florida
- Northview at Marianna, 7 p.m.
- Tate at Fort Walton Beach, 7 p.m.
- Holmes County (Bonifay) at Jay , 7 p.m.
- West Florida at Washington, 7:30 p.m
- Greenville (Miss.) Weston at Pine Forest, 7:30 p.m
- Escambia at Crestview, 7 p.m.
- Pensacola High at Navarre, 7:30 p.m
- Niceville at Pace, 7:30 p.m
- Milton at Rutherford, 7 p.m.
- Gulf Breeze at Catholic, 7:30 p.m
Alabama
- Flomaton at J.U. Blacksher
- Escambia County at UMS Wright
- Escambia Academy at Marengo
- T.R. Miller at Excel
- W.S. Neal at Jackson