Escambia County’s Newest Fire Station Opens
September 26, 2013
A ribbon cutting was held Wednesday morning at Escambia County’s newest fire station.
The Perdido Key Fire Station, Visitor Information Center and Community Center is located is located at the site of the previous Perdido Key Fire Station at 15500 Perdido Key Drive and will house the Escambia County Fire Rescue Station 19, the Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce, and visitor information center and a community center. Offices, meeting space and a helicopter landing pad for EMS and disaster recovery use are also featured at the facility.
The $5.7 million project was funded with local option sales tax funds.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Walnut Hill Ruritan To Hold Spaghetti Supper, Auction
September 26, 2013
The Walnut Hill Ruritan Club will hold a spaghetti supper and auction this Saturday.
The spaghetti supper will be from 4-6 p.m. with the auction to follow at 6 p.m. at the Walnut Hill Community Center, 7850 Highway 97 (just north of Ernest Ward Middle School). All proceeds from the spaghetti supper and auction benefit the Walnut Hill Ruritan Club’s community service projects in the Walnut Hill area, including the annual recognition of outstanding students in local schools.
Pictured: The Walnut Hill Ruritan Club has served the Walnut Hill Community since it was chartered in 1947. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Tate Looking To Continue Winning Streak Against Pine Forest
September 26, 2013
When the Tate Aggies faced Pensacola High earlier in the season, not many people gave Tate a chance to win. History was not on their side, with no Aggie defeating PHS in the past 20 years. A first year coach was not on the Aggies’ side. Truth be told, perhaps not many fans were on their side after several losing seasons. The Aggies have faced many challenges through the season so far, but no one told the players. Tate went on to a historic win against PHS.
Now Tate faces the same historic challenge as earlier in the year with a game against Pine Forest High School. Coach Ronnie Douglas said “none of the (Tate’s) coaches could remember when the last time Tate won a game against them (Pine Forest)”. (We checked the record books back to 2004, and Tate has lost nine of their last nine games against Pine Forest, including painful 39-0 and 63-0 shutouts the past couple of years.)
Pine Forest’s 0-4 record headed into Friday night’s game against Tate is not typical of the Eagles’ records of years past. Douglas said he warned his team to “not to pay any attention to their record”.
“We know that they are going to be well coached, they have a lot of talent and they are going to be tough,” Douglas said.
Players To Watch
Douglas named Shadow Singleton and Brian Davis as players to watch this week.
Junior Shadow Singleton (#55), 7A – District 1 leading defensive lineman, said he was “glad that the defense was able to get a shutout in last weeks game We have worked really hard during the off season and now the results are showing it.”
Senior receiver Brian Davis (#4), who had three catches for 25 yards last week, stated that this season “is a big change” from the past three years he has played for Tate. The Aggies, he said, “been working hard, putting in a lot of work and playing hard” to get results.
Tate High (3-1) faces Pine Forest High Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Tate’s Pete Gindl Stadium in Cantonment.
by Darryl Singleton
Escambia School Teachers, Support Personnel Receive Raises
September 26, 2013
The Escambia County School District, the Escambia Education Association and Union of Escambia Education Staff Professionals have reached an agreement on pay raises for the current 2013-2014 school year.
The Escambia Education Association and the district agreed to a possible 4.92 percent raise for teachers, depending on how the teacher scored on their performance evaluation during the 2012-2013 school year. All teachers will receive a minimum salary increase of two percent.
Salaries for educational support personnel will increase by 4.2 percent. In addition, the parties agreed to a new evaluation system that is evidence-based for educational support personnel.
All raises will be effective retroactively to July 1, 2013.
State Funds To Provide New Sidewalks For Flomaton
September 26, 2013
The Town of Flomaton will receive new sidewalks under a state transportation funding program just announced.
The Alabama Department of Transportation has approved $137,822 in funding for the sidewalks along Highway 29, Palafox Street, Church Street, Houston Street and Poplar Street in Flomaton, as part of the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).
Also in Escambia County, Brewton will receive $166,934 in funding for sidewalks along Tiger Drive, adjacent to T.R. Miller High School.
Authorized by the Federal Highway Administration’s Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act TAP provides funding for projects defined as transportation alternatives, including on- and off-road pedestrian and bicycle facilities, infrastructure projects for improving non-driver access to public transportation and enhanced mobility, community improvement activities, and environmental mitigation.
Doris J. McNeil
September 26, 2013
Mrs. Doris J. McNeil, 73, passed away on Tuesday, September 24, 2013, in Mobile.
Mrs. McNeil was a native of McCullough and had resided in Atmore for most of her life. She greeted customers at McNeil Alignment. Her Husband, T.E. “Mac” McNeil, precedes her in death.
She is survived by two sons, Curtis (Sharon) Crook of Atmore and Eric (Renee) McNeil of Bay Minette; two daughters, Tracey (Dale) Caraway and Kim (James) Brown both of Atmore; two brothers, Fred Johnson of Atmore and James Johnson of Waynesboro, MS; one sister, Olga Barton of Summerdale; eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be Friday, September 27, 2013, at 2 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Diane Everette officiating.
Burial will follow at the Oak Hill Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Tyler Brown, Chris Robinson, Brandon Henderson, Joe Barber, Al Cobb and Dale Caraway.
Honorary pallbearers will be Eleanor Lucas, Jean Clark, Eleanor Flowers and Dorothy Henderson.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes is in charge of all arrangements.
Cantonment Man Arrested On Child Porn Charges
September 25, 2013
A Cantonment man has been arrested on child pornography charges investigators after determined he had downloaded sexually explicit pictures and movies of children from the internet onto his home computer.
Jason Scott Bergen, 40, of 806 Chesapeake Trail was charged with six counts of possession of obscene material/child pornography. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail on a $12,000 bond, according to Pensacola Police Detective Chris Wilkinson.
Agents with the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force initiated a search warrant at Bergen’s residence on Tuesday after he was identified via the internet as downloading child pornography.
Additional charges are pending, and the investigation is continuing to determine if he transmitted files or downloaded additional child pornography, Wilkinson said.
Task force members from the Office of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Walton County Sheriff’s Department assisted the Pensacola Police Department with the investigation.
Pictured top and bottom: Law enforcement executes a search warrant in Cantonment Tuesday. The suspect’s address, 806 Chesapeake Trail, is the house to the far right (foreground) of the bottom picture. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Hundreds Of Students Gather To Pray At The Pole (With Photo Gallery)
September 25, 2013
Hundreds of students gathered at their schools across the area Wednesday morning during the annual See You at the Pole event.
Students gathered as school began to pray in the non-denominational event. See You at the Pole is a student-initiated, student organized, and student-led event. Students prayed for their school, friends, teachers, government and the nation.
For photos from Northview High, West Florida High, Jay High, Ransom Middle, Ernest Ward Middle and Molino Park Elementary, click here for a photo gallery.
Have See You at the Pole photos? Email them to news@northescambia.com.
Pictured top: See You at the Pole Wednesday morning at Ernest Ward Middle School. Pictured inset: SYATP at Northview High School. Pictured below Molino Park Elementary, West Florida High School, Ransom Middle School, Jay High School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Lottery Store Murder Suspect Enters Plea, Faces Up To 30 Years
September 25, 2013
One of the two men involved in the robbery and shooting death of a Davisville lottery store owner last November has entered a plea.
Brent Dewayne Lambeth, 21, has pleaded no contest to second degree murder. Under his plea deal, he will receive no more than 30 years in prison, provided he testifies against his co-defendant and alleged triggerman, 25-year old Malcolm McGhee Jr.
McGhee’s trial in set to begin in November on charges of premeditated first degree murder and robbery with a firearm for the shooting death of 74-year old Thomas “Tommy” Kroll during a robbery on November 6, 2012, at the State Line O’ Yes Lotto on Highway 97.
Investigators said McGhee and Lambeth targeted Kroll’s business because they had previous purchased “Spice” there and the duo intended on robbing the store of more of the synthetic marijuana.
Pictured top and bottom: The scene outside the State Line O’ Yes Lotto on Highway 97 following the murder of store owner Thomas Kroll on November 6, 2012. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Approves $354.5 Million Budget, Pay Raises
September 25, 2013
The Escambia County Commission has approved a balanced $364.5 million budget for fiscal year 2013-14, which begins October 1.
The new budget includes a three percent cost of living raise for all county employees, including constitutional offices and the Sheriff’s Office. The raises are the first for all county employees since 2007 and will cost about $2.6 million.
The $364,520,055 budget is 2.36 percent more than last fiscal year’s budget of $356,102,136.
The tax millage rates approved are 6.6165 for the County-wide millage rate, .3590 for the Library Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) and .6850 for the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU).
The total millage rate proposed for Fiscal Year 2013-14 is 0.12 percent below the “Rolled Back Rate” certified by the property appraiser. This represents the percentage decrease in property taxes tentatively adopted by the county commission. The “Rolled Back Rate” is a computed millage rate that would generate the same amount of ad valorem tax dollars as the prior fiscal year, based on the proposed year’s tax roll, excluding new construction.