Chief Challenge 5K Run/Walk Is Saturday Morning
October 7, 2011
The Second Annual Chief Challenge 5K Run/Walk is 8:30 Saturday morning at Northview High School.
Awards will be broken down to each grade level for males and females, as well as awards for adult, master and grand master. For a registration form and more details, click here. Late registrations will be accepted Saturday morning.
Over 140 runners and walkers took part in last year’s Chief Challenge.
The Chief Challenge 5K Run/Walk is sponsored in part by NorthEscambia.com, Pepsi and Atmore Family Medicine.
Pictured: Over 140 runners and walkers took part in last year’s Chief Challenge at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Reward Offered In Murder Of Domino’s Pizza Driver
October 7, 2011
A $3,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the person responsible for the murder of a 19-year old pizza delivery driver outside an Escambia County Domino’s Pizza.
Tyler John Hinkle, a 2010 West Florida High School graduate, was attacked outside the Domino’s Pizza at 27 North Navy Blvd. at around 10:40 p.m. on September 24. Hinkle (pictured) was able to walk into the restaurant to seek help from co-workers before he collapsed. He died a short time later at Baptist Hospital.
Investigators said there were no witnesses at the time of the attack and they have not yet identified a suspect. They believe robbery was a motive in the death of Hinkle. Friends said that Hinkle had just returned to the pizza restaurant after making a delivery.
The Domino’s Corporation is offering a $2,000 reward and the local Domino’s is offering a separate reward of $1,000.
Anyone who may have information related to this case is asked to contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Munson Festival Will Celebrate Community Heritage
October 7, 2011
This weekend’s Munson Community Heritage Festival will take a look back at the way things used to be throughout northern Santa Rosa, Escambia and Okaloosa counties.
Vendors and exhibitors will bring back a life and time gone by with crafts and displays ranging from true Florida Cracker lifestyles, basket making, shoe cobbling and more.
The idea of the Festival is to bring alive the history of the area, demonstrate the old time ways of the Deep South as well as to promote culture. There will be live country, bluegrass and gospel music both days as well as wood-fired stove cooking and other food for sale. There also will be more modern merchants on hand representing the local business community. A working sawmill and live lumberjack competition will touch on tour area’s origins as a logging and timber community.
New for 2011 will be the Heritage Treasure Hunt. Children, adults and families can track clues and answer questions located throughout the Festival grounds to try to win various prizes while learning something about the rich heritage all around them. It’s one part game and one part history lesson.
There is a $5 parking fee per car for the event on Saturday and Sunday at Krul Lake Recreation Area in Munson. For more information, visit www.munsonheritagefestival.com.
Barrineau Park Music Night
October 7, 2011
There will be plenty of good entertainment on stage tonight in Barrineau Park — and it’s free. The monthly Barrineau Park Music Night will be tonight at the Barrineau Park Community Center. The featured local groups tonight are Southern Sounds and bluegrass group High Cotton.
The singing starts at 6:30 p.m. Food and refreshments will be available beginning at 6 p.m.
The event is a family-friendly — no alcohol is permitted on the property, and no smoking is allowed in or near the building.
For more information, call (850) 587-5575. The Barrineau Park Community Center is located on Barrineau Park School road, about three miles west of Molino.
Pictured. High Cotton (above) and Southern Sounds (below) will perform tonight during the monthly Barrineau Park Music Night. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Post Oil Spill: Task Force Releases Gulf Coast Restoration Plan
October 6, 2011
A year after its creation, a federal task force on Wednesday released a draft report outlining a strategy to restore the ecosystem along the Gulf Coast, which has been ravaged by years of development and neglect.
The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, chaired by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, is requesting public comment before turning in its final report to the President Barak Obama.
Major areas of concern involve reducing nutrient flows into the Gulf, restoring wetlands and providing economic development options to coastal communities from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.
The task force was formed in response to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The public comment period ends October 26.
Health And Hope: New Clinic Offers Free Medical Care
October 6, 2011
A new clinic is providing health and hope for North Escambia residents unable to afford medical care.
The Health and Hope Clinic has opened in the old health department building at 501 Church Street in Century. It is the second location for the clinic, which was first established in Pensacola back in 2003 by the Pensacola Bay Baptist Association to meet the needs of uninsured and medically underserved in Escambia County. The clinic is entirely volunteer and donor supported.
“It’s a real blessing,” Tammy Lewis of Bratt said on a recent visit to the new Century Health and Hope Clinic. “I found out about it from the church. It’s great to see doctors and people that will see you anyway without insurance.”
Since 2003, the Pensacola Health and Hope Clinic has provided over $8.5 million in healthcare services and 12,000 patient-provider visits as it carries out its mission of “providing health and hope to the hurting”.
Through the primary Pensacola location, the new Health and Hope Clinic offers primary medical care, preventative care, specialty care – including rheumatology, neurology, women’s health, chiropractic services and minor office surgery, full laboratory services, prescription assistance and pharmacy services and referrals to community social services.
The new Health and Hope Clinic in Century is open on Tuesdays from 5-8 p.m. For appointments, call (850) 256-6200 or (850) 479-4456. For more information on the Health and Hope Clinic and services, visit www.healthandhopeclinic.org.
Pictured top: The new Health and Hope Clinic is located in the former Escambia County Health Department building in Century. Pictured top inset: Nurse Michelle Benauer checks the blood pressure of Tammy Lewis of Bratt on a recent visit to the new Health and Hope Clinic in Century. Pictured bottom inset: An exam room at the clinic. Pictured below: Executive Director Rick Hollis discusses clinic details with volunteer Billy R. Ward of Bogia. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
New Senate Districts Will Keep Rural Voice For Panhandle
October 6, 2011
Senate mapmakers will draw legislative districts that run east to west as they carve new political boundaries for the Panhandle, members of the Senate Reapportionment Committee agreed Wednesday.
The bipartisan consensus answers the tricky question of how to divide Northwest Florida, where rural residents from the northern part of the region feared having their votes diluted by more urbanized coastal areas. Some residents at public meetings had pushed for districts that run north to south, only to encounter pushback from rural interests.
The current districts are already horizontal, an arrangement the Senate panel decided to continue with.
“I think it’s our responsibility to do everything we can to respond to the wishes of these people, and draw the district lines horizontally,” said Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla.
But the free-flowing, lengthy discussion about the nature of the compactness required by the new Fair Districts amendments and what it meant for often-sprawling districts in sparsely-populated areas in the Panhandle also showed how tricky it could be for lawmakers to agree on even the least contentious issues.
“There are different definitions of community,” said Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee. “But to me, that’s what’s most important.”
By The News Service of Florida
Dig Pink Volleyball Today; Coach Is Cancer Survivor
October 6, 2011
High school volleyball teams from Northview and Flomaton will meet on the court in Bratt this afternoon to raise awareness and aid breast cancer research.
For one coach, today’s Dig Pink games will be especially meaningful.
Northview Assistant Coach Barbara Luker is a breast cancer survivor. Diagnosed in 2001, Luker has beaten the disease. Last year, she was among the organizers of the first Dig Pink matchup between Northview and Flomaton.
“It means a lot to see them out here playing for the cause,” Luker said. “But it means so much more to know they have learned a lot this week about breast cancer and how to get checked.”
In fact, Luker said, some of the girls learned during last year’s event that breast cancer has already stricken some of their classmates.
“It’s a much more common thing than most people realize,” she said. “I’m so glad they have had the opportunity to learn about it.”
The Dig Pink games will take place this afternoon with the Flomaton and Northview junior varsity playing at 5:00 and the varsity at 6:00 in the Northview High School gym. Survivors will be admitted for free and a survivor’s hospitality room will be provided.
Everyone that attends the games is encouraged to wear pink as both volleyball teams wear pink in an attempt to “pink out” the gym.
Donations are also accepted online at the Dig Pink website.
Pictured top: Northview High School Assistant volleyball coach Barbara Luker, a breast cancer survivor, at last year’s Dig Pink breast cancer awareness matches against Flomaton. Pictured inset: Dig Pink volleyball action from last year. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Update: Lambert Bridge Repairs Expected To Be Complete By Oct. 28
October 6, 2011
Repairs are expected to be completed by the end of the month on the bridge on Lambert Bridge Road.
The bridge was closed September 14 after an inspection revealed decay in support pilings on the 43-year old bridge. Repairs, which began September 28, are now expected to be completed by October 28 at a cost of $34,300, Sonya Daniel, Escambia County public information officer, said Wednesday.
Lambert Bridge Road remains closed from Velor Road to North Pine Barren Road.
Pictured top: The bridge on Lambert Bridge Road is closed for repairs until the last week of October. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Camp Fire Kids Visit Fire Station
October 6, 2011
Students from the Camp Fire USA Century Youth Learning Center visited the Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue Wednesday to learn about fire safety and firefighting.
Pictured: Campfire USA students visited the Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue on Wednesday. Submitted photos byMarion Miller for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
