School Board Honors Northview FFA’s Best In State Program
August 22, 2013
The Northview High School FFA was honored by the Escambia County School Board for having the top Fresh From Florida Food Advocacy Program, formerly known as the Food for America Program, in the entire state.
The Fresh From Florida Advocacy Program is an educational program focusing on agricultural literacy in elementary schools and communities. It is a program developed to assist FFA members and all agricultural education students in leadership skill development as they reach out to youth, peers and their entire communities by sharing the world of agriculture.
Planning began in the fall of 2012 with FFA members setting goals and establishing working committees for the spring 2013 event. Through the efforts of 100 FFA members and community support, approximately 1,000 mostly elementary level students participated in agriculture awareness through hands-on exhibits and activities. Exhibitors included the
Florida Department of Agriculture, Escambia County Extension Agency, Florida Forestry Service and many other outside agencies.
In addition, members of the Northview High School FFA officer team visited several area elementary schools to read agriculture-related books to students.
The Florida FFA Organization has honored Northview High School FFA Food for America program at the state level multiple years.
Pictured: The Northview High School FFA was honored by the Escambia County School Board Tuesday night for having the top “Fresh from Florida” program in the state. Pictured top: Northview FFA President Courtney Solari, 2nd Vice President Haylee Weaver, Vice President Courtney Weekley, Parliamentarian Mitchell Singleton, past-present Jessica Baldwin; Supertindent Malcolm Thomas, NHS FFA sponsor Perry Byars, board member Linda Moultrie, board member Bill Slayton, (back row) board member Jeff Bergosh, board member Gerald Boone and board member Patty Hightower. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
New Map Shows Where The Power’s Out
August 22, 2013
Gulf Power has a new online map to provide customers with real-time information on power outages.
The new interactive map gives you a quick view of the Northwest Florida area and the ability to zoom down to where you live. Small triangles show where the power’s out and if you hover over them with your cursor, a pop-up window provides more information, like the estimated time of when the power will be restored.
The pop-up window tells you how many customers are affected and whether a Gulf Power crew is on the way, or already on location making repairs.
“Studies across the country show customers want this type of information from their utility,” Natalie Smith, Gulf Power spokesperson, said. “This map, which is also accessible via mobile devices, provides estimated times when customer’s power will be restored. It’s an important tool that offers customers a new way to get information about outages, restoring power and storm information as well.
“Customers can see the outages on the map, but you can also report that your power is out or check on the status of restoring your power,” said Smith.
To view the live online map, customers should visit MyGulfPower.com.
Hurricane Season A Bust? Not So Fast
August 22, 2013
Almost halfway finished, the 2013 hurricane season has been a breeze in Florida.
But Craig Fugate, the federal government’s top emergency manager, looks at things a little differently. His question: “Have we started playing college football yet?”
Fugate and Bryan Koon, director of the state Division of Emergency Management, held a news conference Wednesday to reinforce the message that Florida is just entering the thick of hurricane season in late August and September — which, coincidentally is when college football starts.
The folksy Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, knows what he is talking about. He formerly served as Florida’s top emergency manager, including during the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, when seven hurricanes plowed into the state.
Despite the memories of those devastating years, Fugate and Koon expressed concerns that Floridians will not take steps such as heeding evacuation orders if a storm comes.
“I think it’s in our DNA — we go through denial,” said Fugate, who started his career as a fire-rescue worker in Alachua County.
Florida has been spared hurricane damage during the past several years and has not been seriously threatened this year. But the emergency managers said late August and September are considered high points of the hurricane season because of warm water temperatures that help fuel the storms.
Koon noted that Saturday is the 21st anniversary of Hurricane Andrew slamming into Miami-Dade County and said it “only takes one” hurricane to cause massive damage. The hurricane season started June 1 and lasts through Nov. 30.
The emergency managers focused heavily on the need for Floridians to follow evacuation orders. Fugate said the public becomes too fixated on the category of the storm — with Categories 1 through 5 delineating strength — and that much of the worst damage often comes from issues such as storm surge and flooding.
“Don’t focus on the number, focus on the impacts,” Fugate said. “The category of a storm does not tell you all the impacts.”
Koon said evacuations and forecasts are not an “exact science” and that sometimes people will be told to leave areas that, in the end, don’t need to be evacuated. But he said emergency officials are focused on saving lives.
Florida also could face increased damage if a hurricane hits this year because of heavy rains that have already saturated many areas. Koon said that could lead to problems such as increased flooding, more trees falling down and roads washing out.
by The News Service of Florida
Change Of Venue Motion On Hold In Atmore Man’s Capital Murder Trial
August 22, 2013
A change of venue request in the capital murder trial of an Atmore man is on hold as jury selection in the case is set to begin next month.
Trial is set for September 16 for Cedric Jerome Floyd in Escambia County, Ala. He is accused of the January 2, 2012, murder of Tina Roshell Jones, 43, inside her 5th Avenue residence in Atmore.
Floyd was in court Wednesday morning in Brewton as Circuit Judge Bert Rice heard a change of venue motion from his attorneys, Charles Johns and Kevin McKinley. The defense attorneys say it’s not possible for Floyd to receive a fair trial in Escambia County, Ala., due to pretrial publicity.
Rice said he believes that it will be possible to seat an impartial jury in Escambia County despite pretrial publicity, and he won’t consider the change of venue motion until a jury is seated. Calling the case “complex litigation”, Rice said a large number of potential jurors will be called “from one end of the county to the other”.
The defense attorneys had subpoenaed several area newspaper publishers for Wednesday’s hearing, but they were dismissed without being called to the stand. Subpoenaed were Kerry Whipple Bean, publisher of The Brewton Standard and former publisher of The Atmore Advance; Joe Thomas, publisher of The Tri-City Ledger in Flomaton, Ala.; William Reynolds, publisher of NorthEscambia.com; and Sherry Digmon, publisher of The Atmore News. Digmon was unable to attend Wednesday’s hearing and had submitted requested information by affidavit.
Not Really The Sunshine State?
August 22, 2013
The “Welcome to Florida” signs may say “The Sunshine State” , but daily showers and thunderstorms will continue. Pictured above is the “Welcome to Florida” sign along Highway 97 in Davisville Thursday afternoon as a heavy thunderstorm approached.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.
- Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
- Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
- Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
- Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
- Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Edge Stars In 11 For Fifth Straight Win
August 22, 2013
Pensacola claimed their fifth straight win by sneaking past the Huntsville Stars 1-0 in 11 innings on Wednesday afternoon at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville.
Ryan LaMarre scored on a wild pitch from David Goforth (L, 4-3) with two outs in the top of the 11th for the game winning run. He singled to start the inning, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and moved up to third on a groundout allowing him to score when the pitch to Yorman Rodriguez got away.
Both teams had opportunities to score earlier in the game. Corey Wimberly was thrown out at home in the third inning when he tried to score on a throw to first base behind LaMarre who had just singled. That was the second out of the inning, but LaMarre was stranded at second. Huntsville looked like they had a run in the seventh, on what seemed to be a sacrifice fly. With the bases loaded and one out, Hector Gomez flew out to LaMarre in deep left-center field, appearing to score Jason Rogers from third, but the throw to third was in time to get Shawn Zarraga trying to advance from second, and the plate umpire ruled that the out at third was before Rogers crossed home from third base.
Both starting pitchers were outstanding. For Pensacola, Josh Smith fired 6.1 shutout innings with four strikeouts and only one walk in a no decision. Ariel Pena also took a no decision for Huntsville. He worked seven scoreless with eight strikeouts. The Blue Wahoos bullpen preserved the shutout between 2.2 innings from Jaime Walczak, a scoreless 10th inning from Drew Hayes (W, 4-3) and a scoreless 11th from Trevor Bell (S, 16).
Hayes earned the win two strikeouts in the 10th before Bell tied a Blue Wahoos record with his 16th save of the season. The Wahoos closer worked around a two-out single to match Justin Freeman’s record of 16 saves from 2012. The 11th was Goforth’s only inning of work in the losing effort.
The Blue Wahoos will keep an eye on the Jacksonville-Chattanooga game in Chattanooga, Tenn. later Wednesday night. With a Suns loss, Pensacola will only be 3.5 games out of first place.
The Blue Wahoos will go for the series sweep on Thursday night in Huntsville. Pensacola will turn to RHP Robert Stephenson (0-1, 3.00) for his second Double-A start against RHP Books Hall (2-4, 4.53). First pitch is slated for 6:43 p.m. in Huntsville.
Need A Job? One Of The Area’s Largest Jobs Fairs Is Thursday
August 21, 2013
The Fleet and Family Support Center at Naval Air Station Whiting Field will host its 24th annual Job Fair on Thursday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The annual event will be held in Sikes Hall onboard Naval Air Station Whiting Field.
More than 70 local, regional and national businesses will be seeking prospective employees on site. The job fair is free and open to the public.Job seekers attending this event are encouraged to bring several copies of their resume with them to this event.
Job Fairs provide a unique opportunity for the employer and those seeking employment to actually discuss the job possibilities available. More than 1,000 prospective employees attended the 2012 fair with greater than 600 interviews and 110 hires occurring during the day. The event is regularly lauded by businesses as one of the largest and best organized in Northwest Florida.
Employers who have confirmed for the event include: Florida Highway Patrol, FlightSafety International, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Colonial Life, Gulf Power, Home Depot, Ingalls Shipbuilding, Navy Federal Credit Union, SECORP Industries, Wells Fargo, Ropella Group, Pep Boys Auto, Lowes, UT Aerospace Systems, and many more.
The Thunder Rolls
August 21, 2013
Thunderstorms like the one pictured above near Walnut Hill Wednesday afternoon will continue into Wednesday night, but rain chances the rest of the week will be slightly lower. Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the morning.
- Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Light and variable wind becoming east 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Pictured: A thunderstorm near Walnut Hill Wednesday afternoon created an ominous sky. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Trio Charged With Having Phony Money, Real Drugs
August 21, 2013
A Cantonment man and two Pensacola residents are accused of passing phony money and having real drugs in their vehicle when they were arrested.
Scott Thomas Toto, age 44 of Cantonment, Dexter Jermor Campbell, 27, and Jessica Tera Tipton, 26, were each charged with uttering a counterfeit Federal Reserve note, possession of ten or more counterfeit Federal Reserve notes, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of crack and powder cocaine.
Deputies were tipped off by the Barnes Dollar Store on Pace Boulevard after Toto allegedly tried to spend a fake $10 bill. When the clerk realized the bill was phony, Toto took it back and fled the store. The store clerk was able to provide a description of the vehicle, along with a partial tag number.
Less than an hour later, deputies conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle on Hollywood Boulevard near Hernandez Street. Campbell, the driver, and Toto were detained right away, but Tipton reportedly refused commands from the deputy. She began to fight with the deputy, hitting him at least twice, before fleeing on foot. She was later taken into custody after a manhunt utilizing a K-9 unit.
A K-9 alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicle. Inside the car, deputies reported finding crack and powdered cocaine and numerous drug paraphernalia items. Deputies also reported Tipton dropped a cigarette package during the struggle with the deputy; inside the package they found crack cocaine and marijuana.
Also in the vehicle, deputies reported finding a package of paper consistent with the type used to print counterfeit money, a copier-printer and other items used to allegedly make the fake cash. Deputies also found receipts from multiple stores were items were recently purchased.
Campbell was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $16,000 bond, while Toto remained in jail early Wednesday with bond set at $51,000.
Tipton was also charged with resisting a law enforcement officer with violence, battery on a law enforcement officer, possession of marijuana and trespassing. She is being held in the Escambia County Jail without bond due to an outstanding warrant for violating her probation in a grand theft auto case.
Molino Woman Claims Self Defense In Shooting Death Of Her Husband
August 21, 2013
A Molino woman accused of shooting her husband Saturday night was in court Tuesday, claiming she shot him in self defense. And her daughter told the court that her father had a history of violence.
“He did shove me . He punched holes in my doors. I’m sure the cops could go now and still see them there,” the daughter testified.
Rebecca A. Rogers, 43, made her first court appearance via video Tuesday afternoon. She is charged with second degree murder for the death of her husband, 42-year old Jason Lee Rogers. She allegedly shot him twice in the back and once in the head the couples home in the 3400 block of Highway 29 in Molino about 10:45 p.m. Saturday. He died from his injuries Monday afternoon.
The couple had four daughters together, one of which testified Tuesday that her father had several guns in the home.
“As far as I know, he was going to get them and he was…my mom believed he was going to kill her. So, she was protecting herself,” she said.
Rogers remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $550,000.
For an earlier story, click here.
Pictured top: Rebecca A. Rogers made a court appearance by video Tuesday afternoon. Pictured inset: Rogers’ daughter testified that her father had a history of violence. Images courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.