100% Chance Of Rain Overnight And Tuesday
January 24, 2011
There is a 100 percent chance of rain overnight and Tuesday along the Gulf Coast.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Rain. Low around 42. East wind between 5 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
- Tuesday: Rain. High near 58. North wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
- Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. West wind around 10 mph.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54. Northwest wind between 5 and 15 mph.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29. North wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. West wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 58. West wind around 10 mph.
- Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 34. Southwest wind around 10 mph.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 62.
- Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.
- Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54.
- Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30.
- Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 52.
the road to the crown: Miss Northview High 2011 Contestants
January 24, 2011
Join NorthEscambia.com this week for our annual multi-part series “the road to the crown”.
We will follow 25 young ladies at Northview High School in their quest for the crown and the title of “Miss Northview High School” for 2011. We’ll introduce you to each girl and go behind the scenes with exclusive photos for a look at the annual Northview High School pageant.
A new installment of “the road to the crown” will be posted each morning this week. Then, on Sunday morning, we’ll introduce you to the new Miss Northview High School.
The annual Miss Northview High School Pageant will be held on Saturday, January 29 at 7:00 in the school auditorium. The pageant is sponsored by the Northview High Varsity Cheerleaders.
Today, we begin with a group photo of all the young ladies participating. Their names are listed below.
Pictured top: Participants in this year’s Miss Northview High School 2011 are: (front, L-R) Courtney Weaver, Tiffany Sutton, Ashley Mooney, Caitlyn Brown, Lauren McCall, Morgan Digmon, and Jessica Warner, (middle) Mallory Bell, Allie Bryan, Abby Odom, Mariah Albritton, Lauren Cloud, Brooke Tullis, Brittany Thompson, Ashley Cunningham, and Ariel Holland, (back) Sarah Killam, Rebekah Sepulveda, Lauryn Walker, Megan Ryan, Morgan Smith, Hayley Simpson, Tabitha Steege, Clarissa Ross, and Charleigh McPherson. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Century Council Meeting Moved To Tonight
January 24, 2011
Tonight will be a regular meeting for the Century Town Council — on an irregular evening.
The council normally meets on the first and third Monday nights of each month, but last week’s regular meeting was postponed a week due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
The council will meet at 7 p.m. at Century Town Hall, 7995 North Century Boulevard.
Northview, Tate, Jay FFA Students Headed To State
January 24, 2011
Several students from the North Escambia area placed in the District I FFA Competition recently.
FFA Chapters from Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, and Washington participated in the competition. The individuals and FFA Chapters above will represent their respective school districts and District I FFA at the 83rd Florida FFA State Convention in June. They are now the top 12 of over 40,000 students statewide.
Participating members of the Northview High School Agricultural Mechanics and Agricultural Business Teams were: Lydia Weaver, Stephanie Solari, Courtney Solari, Dillian Crutchfield, Allie Vidak, Brandon Chambless and Allyson Bullard. The group participated in other FFA Career Development Events that were sent to Gainesville to be scored; those results are not yet known.
Available results are:
High School Results
Prepared Public Speaking
1. Ashley McLeod – Laurel Hill (Okaloosa County)
Extemporaneous Speaking
1. Megan Gibbs – J. M. Tate High School
Creed Speaking
1. Courtney Solari – Northview High School
Tractor Operation and Maintenance
1. Jeff Hansford – J. M. Tate High School
Parliamentary Procedure
1. J. M. Tate High School
Middle School Results
Prepared Public Speaking
1. Hannah Price – Laurel Hill
Extemporaneous Speaking
1. Savannah Maddox – Beulah Academy
Opening and Closing Ceremony
1. Bethlehem Middle School (Holmes County)
Parliamentary Procedure
1. Jay Middle School (Santa Rosa County)
Pictured top: Courtney Solari was awarded first place in Creed Speaking at the recent District I FFA Competition. Pictured below: (front, L-R) Courtney Solari, Stephanie Solari, (middle) Lydia Weaver, Allyson Bullard, Allie Vidak, (back) Brandon Chambless and Dillian Crutchfield. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Existing Home Sales Up 5 Percent Last Year
January 24, 2011
Existing home sales in 2010 were up 5 percent in Florida from the year before, a welcome sign that bodes well for homebuyers and sellers in 2011, according to Florida Realtors.
Existing home sales rose 4 percent in December from a year ago with 12 of 19 metropolitan areas showing gains, the statewide association said. Condominium sales were even stronger, with sales rising 12 percent in year-to-year figures.
“It’s encouraging to close out the year for Florida’s housing market with increased sales activity,” said 2011 Florida Realtors President Patricia Fitzgerald. “The homebuyer tax credits helped to fuel home and condo sales during the first half of 2010, while favorable affordability conditions and historically low mortgage rates continued to bring buyers into the market in the waning months of the year.”
Median home prices remained soft in December, falling to $133,000 from $139,800 a year earlier, a drop of 5 percent. Condo prices experienced a 17 percent reduction in median price to $88,100 in December. Median price means that half of homes sold above that price and half below.
For the year, existing home sales totaled 170,848 homes compared to 162,873 homes sold in 2009. Statewide existing home sales in 2010 also were 37.5 percent higher than 2008.
Nationally, existing home sales were 2.9 percent lower in December from a year ago, but were up more than 12 percent from November, a monthly increase that national observers say portends well for 2011.
“The December pace is near the volume we’re expecting for 2011, so the market is getting much closer to an adequate, sustainable level,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, in a statement. “The recovery will likely continue as job growth gains momentum and rising rents encourage more renters into ownership while exceptional affordability conditions remain.”
Of Florida’s 19 metropolitan areas, 14 reported higher existing home sales for the year.
Sales in Orlando jumped 12 percent for the year, while sales in St. Petersburg/Tampa and Pensacola were up 3 percent. Sales in Tallahassee were flat year to year.
“Looking to the future, 2011 is going to be a year of opportunity for buyers and sellers,” Fitzgerald said. “Industry analysts report seeing steady economic improvements, including more jobs and stronger consumer confidence, which will have a positive, stabilizing impact on the housing market.”
While existing home sales showed improvement, new construction did not. Nationally, housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000, an 8.2 percent drop from December 2009. December housing starts in the South were off 17.2 percent from a year earlier to a seasonable adjusted annual rate of 217,000 units.
Fire Damages Molino Mobile Home; Possible Meth Lab Discovered
January 23, 2011
Part of a possible meth lab was recovered from a Molino Road mobile home after a Sunday morning blaze.
The exact cause of the fire has not been released, but authorities said the fire may have started with garage-type propane heaters being used in a bedroom in the trailer at 275 Molino Road. The mobile home had no electrical power, but a authorities said a man did appear to be living at the residence at least temporarily. The man, James Norman Brown, 45, was not injured.
Neighbors reported hearing an explosion as the fire started at about 10:45 a.m. The fire was quickly extinguished by the first firefighters on scene.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit was called to investigate after suspicious items were found in the mobile home. Deputies said a portion of possible meth lab was removed from the trailer and that charges may be pending against a suspect as a result.
According to an offense report, firefighters told deputies they found propane bottles, aluminum foil and an open flame fish cooker along with other items consistent with a meth lab.
“Because of the sensitive nature of narcotics investigations, we are not able to release any more information concerning this case”, said Escambia County Sheriff’s spokesperson Chris Welborn.
Brown detained temporarily and questioned by deputies and a State Fire Marshal officer, but he was not arrested or charged with any crime Sunday.
The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the exact cause of the fire.
The Molino, McDavid, Cantonment, Ensley, Walnut Hill and Century stations of Escambia Fire Rescue were dispatched to the blaze.
For more photos from the scene, click here.
Pictured top: Smoke pours from a Molino Road mobile home Sunday morning. Pictured inset: James Norman Brown, the man inside the home at the time of the fire, is questioned by an officer from the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office. Pictured below: Firefighters discuss their findings with an Escambia County deputy. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Top photo credit: NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Smith.
Three People Injured In Highway 29, Highway 97 Crash
January 23, 2011
Three people were injured in a two vehicle crash Sunday night on Highway 29 at Highway 97 in Molino.
One, a 44-year old female, was transported to a Pensacola hospital by LifeFlight. Two others were not seriously injured. Their names were not immediately available.
The wreck happened about 8:40 p.m. and involved a Toyota Camry and a pickup truck. The accident is still under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Further details have not been released.
The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the accident.
Pictured above and below: Three people were injured in this two vehicle accident Sunday night in Molino. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Deputies Bust Driver In Stolen Lexus
January 23, 2011
Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies in Century were quickly able to spot a stolen car Saturday morning and arrest the driver.
Just before noon, deputies in the Century area were notified that a stolen Lexus was last seen on Highway 29 in the Nine Mile Road area headed north. A short time later, deputies stopped the vehicle on Highway 29 near Alger Road.
The driver, 34-year old Morris M. Parker of Pensacola, was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Escambia County Jail on a felony vehicle theft charge, and misdemeanor charges of driving with a suspended or revoked driver’s license, and failure to appear in an outstanding suspended driver’s license court case from 1996. His bond was set at $7,100.
Cold Tonight; Rain In Our Future
January 23, 2011
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight…Mostly clear. Lows 28 to 33. East winds around 5 mph.
- Monday…Mostly cloudy. Highs around 60. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
- Monday Night…Not as cool. Cloudy. Chance of rain in the evening…then rain likely after midnight. Lows in the lower 40s. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.
- Tuesday…Rain. Highs in the mid 50s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90 percent.
- Tuesday Night…Cloudy in the evening becoming partly cloudy. Rain likely in the evening…then chance of rain after midnight. Lows in the lower 40s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph becoming north 10 to 15 mph after midnight. Chance of rain 60 percent.
- Wednesday…Mostly cloudy in the morning then clearing. Highs in the mid 50s.
- Wednesday Night…Colder. Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 30s.
- Thursday…Partly cloudy in the morning becoming mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 50s.
- Thursday Night…Mostly cloudy in the evening becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 20s.
- Friday…Sunny. Highs in the mid 50s.
- Friday Night…Clear. Lows in the upper 20s.
- Saturday…Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s.
- Saturday Night…Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s.
- Sunday…Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 50s.
Ransom Middle Receives State Music Educators Award
January 23, 2011
The Ransom Middle School Music Department recently received the “2011 Middle School Enrollment Award” at the Florida Music Educators Conference in Tampa.
School music programs are eligible for the award if the music program includes 35 percent of the school population. The music program at Ransom includes 47 percent of the school population with 621 students involved in band, chorus, orchestra and general music.
Ransom Middle School Music Department directors are Cathy McConnell, orchestra; Janie Walker, band; Patricia Maness, band; Sharon Godwin, chorus; and Malinda Hawks, chorus.