Northview Mini Cheerleader Camp Begins Today
August 8, 2013
The Northview High School cheerleaders will host a mini-cheer camp beginning this afternoon.
The mini-cheer camp will be held Thursday and Friday from 3-5 p.m. in the gym for ages 4-years through the eighth grade. The cost is $20 for the camp and $10 for a shirt, register at the door. The mini cheerleaders will receive free admission and perform during the first quarter of the first home football game on August 23.
Pictured: Mini cheerleaders perform during a September 2012 game at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Two Teens Arrested For Murder
August 8, 2013
Two teens have been arrested in connection with the shooting death of another teen last week at the Pines Apartment in Warrington.
Wahoos Outshine Suns
August 8, 2013
Jon Moscot fired seven shutout innings in his second Double-A start, combining with two other Pensacola relievers to shutout the Jacksonville Suns 2-0 on Wednesday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
The 21-year-old worked around bits of trouble in the first and sixth innings to keep his scoreless outing in tact. In the first inning, Yorman Rodriguez threw out Derek Dietrich at the plate when Dietrich tried to score from second on a Zack Cox single. Moscot (1-0) wouldn’t allow another hit until the fifth inning and ended up allowing four hits, all singles, in seven innings with five strikeouts and a walk.
The Blue Wahoos turned things over to Lee Hyde in the eighth, who retired the Suns in order to extend his scoreless streak to 30.1 innings dating back to May 21 between Pensacola and Louisville. Trevor Bell fired a perfect ninth to record his 12th save in as many tries for the Wahoos.
Moscot also provided a big blow on offense for the Wahoos, sparking a two-run rally with a leadoff triple in the third inning. He would come home to score on a Devin Lohman single to make it 1-0 before Lohman scored on a double play from Yorman Rodriguez to make it 2-0.
Anthony DeSclafani took the tough loss for the Suns despite allowing two runs (one earned) on 6.1 innings for the Suns. He struck out four and walked two while falling to 3-3.
With the win, Pensacola moved to within four games of first-place Jacksonville with four games remaining in the series. Daniel Renken (5-8, 3.58) is scheduled to start for the Wahoos on Thursday against the Suns’ Adam Conley (11-4, 3.04).
Florida CFO: Why Aren’t Insurance Costs Dropping?
August 8, 2013
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater wants the state’s insurance commissioner to explain why property insurers haven’t reduced premiums at a time when reinsurance costs have dropped worldwide.
“If insurance companies can justifiably raise rates on Florida families because the reinsurance market drives their costs up, they can certainly lower the costs for Florida families when reinsurance prices fall,” Atwater wrote Wednesday to Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty.
“Floridians not only deserve an explanation for why they have not seen any savings to date, they also deserve to quickly begin seeing property insurance savings in their bills.”
Reinsurance is backup insurance for insurance companies.
Atwater noted that insurance companies have claimed for years that rates have increased due to reinsurance costs. However, he said he’s read that reinsurance rates are down this year, on average 15 percent to 20 percent.
Amy Bogner, spokeswoman for the Office of Insurance Regulation, said McCarty is working on a response to address Atwater’s questions.
First Look: New Ernest Ward Middle School
August 7, 2013
An official groundbreaking ceremony will be held Thursday for the rebuild of Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill and A.K. Suter Elementary in Pensacola.
The groundbreaking at Ernest Ward will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday at the school campus, 7650 Highway 97 in Walnut Hill. The A.K. Suter groundbreaking will be held at 1 p.m. at the schoo, 501 Pickens Avenue in Pensacola. The public is invited to both ceremonies.
Both schools are being rebuilt, Ernest Ward at a cost of about $16.5 million and A.K. Suter at a cost of about $21 million. Both schools will remain open during the reconstruction process.
Both construction projects are being funded by half-cent sales tax monies. It is anticipated that the new structure at A.K. Suter will be open for the 2014-2015 school year; Ernest Ward Middle School’s construction will take approximately two years for completion.
The new two-story Ernest Ward school building will be constructed as students remain on campus in the current facility. The new schoolwill be constructed between the current building and the football stadium.
The oldest buildings at Ernest Ward, including the main classroom wing, were constructed in 1945, while portions of Suter were build in the 1920’s. Once the new building is complete, the current building will be torn down, and portables and modular buildings currently on the campus will be removed.
Pictured top: A conceptual drawing of the new Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill. Pictured below: A conceptual drawing showing the inside of the library at the new Ernest Ward. NorthEscambia.com graphics, click to enlarge.
FHSAA Pledges Review Of Drug Policies
August 7, 2013
The Florida High School Athletic Association said Tuesday it would examine its policies dealing with performance-enhancing drugs in the wake of the wide-ranging Biogenesis scandal.
Officials with the association announced the review in a conference call with reporters. But they also stressed that the association itself is not allowed to test athletes for performance-enhancing drugs, and that many school districts would have trouble coming up with the resources to do so.
In Escambia County, athletes as well as participants in non-sports extracurricular activities and clubs must consent to the possibility of being selected for a random drug test.
Roger Dearing, executive director of the association, said the organization’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee would undertake the review.
The committee’s 15 members, including medical professors and coaches, are charged with considering whether to break out the association’s drug rules into their own policy, rather than having them as part of its sportsmanship policy, and whether new rules might be needed to help crack down on the substances.
Association officials say educating parents and students about the dangers of PEDs and pushing school districts to move quickly against coaches who encourage or ignore PED use will help.
“I think it’s something that we’ve got to put on the front-burner and be vigilant about,” Dearing said.
Dearing said the recent reporting about the Biogenesis clinic in South Florida serves as a “wake-up call” about the drugs’ possible impact on high-school sports. Biogenesis is infamous for its role in a scandal currently rocking Major League Baseball; more than a dozen players have been punished for their links to the clinic, and the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez is fighting a 211-game suspension that would last through at least the end of the 2014 season.
The Miami Herald reported Monday that it “has seen a partial list of alleged clients of Biogenesis from October 2011″ that included high-school students. It did not name the players on the list.
One of the biggest challenges in trying to test students is the financing, Dearing said. The Legislature did provide funding to randomly test about 650 students several years ago, with one student testing positive, but hasn’t funded a program of testing.
The screenings cost about $150 each, meaning to test each of the 283,000 athletes in FHSAA sports would cost around $42 million, Dearing said.
He suggested that a better tack might be to have local districts partner with civic groups or others who could help pay for some testing.
“I don’t think it’s the Legislature’s responsibility to fund, and I don’t think it’s the school districts’ responsibility to fund,” Dearing said.
Dr. Jennifer Roth Maynard, an assistant professor with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, said the advisory committee would begin its review at its next meeting, scheduled for the end of the month.
by The News Service of Florida
Tonight’s Lottery Jackpot 4th Largest In History
August 7, 2013
Eleven weeks after reaching a record jackpot of $590.5 million, the Powerball Lottery is at it again with a $425 million prize in Wednesday night’s drawing, the fourth largest jackpot ever in U.S. history.
“The noise of a Powerball jackpot climbing to $425 million will grab people’s attention in every city and town across the country and bring them out to play,” said Tom Romero, chairman of the Multi-State Lottery Association’s Powerball Group.
The Powerball lottery is played in 45 states, including Florida. Tonight’s drawing is set for 9:59 p.m.
Pictured top: A billboard along the state line in Davisville, FL, beckons drivers across the state line from Atmore, AL. The Powerball prize increased to $425 million after this photo was taken. Alabama does not have a lottery. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Century To Explore Natural Gas Vehicle Conversions, Filling Station
August 7, 2013
The Town of Century will explore using natural gas to power some town vehicles and the possibility of a filling station.
The town’s council has authorized gas department head Eddie Hammond and consultant Debbie Nickles to pursue natural gas vehicle conversions and a filling station. There’s no set date by which they will report back to the town council.
There is currently one public CNG filling station in Escambia County. The station, located at 6722 Pine Forest Road, was a joint project between the City of Pensacola, Pensacola Energy (formerly Energy Services of Pensacola) and ECUA. The $1.8 million filling station opened in October 2012. It is operated and maintained by Pensacola Energy and features four “fast fill” hoses as well as 90 time-fill dispensers which can be used to refuel vehicles overnight.
The City of Pensacola also operates a private CNG filling station for their natural gas fleet, and ECUA plans to open a second site at their Ellyson Industrial Park location this fall.
Pictured: Escambia County’s first CNG filling station opened on Pine Forest Road in October 2012. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
One Chance Remains To Dump Your Kids At The Landfill For A Day Camp
August 7, 2013
There are two chances left to “Dump your Kids at the Perdido Landfill for a Day!” for a one-day summer camp.
Te excursion to the Perdido Landfill allows kids, ages 5-11, to participate in fun-filled activities designed to teach the importance of the reduction of generated waste through source reduction, recycling, reuse or composting. Activities include a tour of the Perdido Landfill, recycling education, household chemical waste education, hands-on recycling projects, arts and crafts with recycled materials, games that focus on recycling and reuse as well as an eco-walk on the Perdido Riverwalk Nature Trail.
The cost of the camp is the donation of one pair of new or gently used shoes to be donated to Soles4Souls. Campers will need to bring clothes that are appropriate to play in and be worn outside, a brown bag lunch, snacks, a reusable water bottle and drinks. (Campers should try to pack a zero waste lunch which means reusable containers.) One snack will be provided at the beginning of the day.
Remaining camp dates are Tuesday, August 6 and Thursday, August 8 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
For more information or to pre-register please contact Recycling Operations at 937-2160. Space is limited. The camp is sponsored by Escambia County Department of Solid Waste Management Waste Services.
Fire Marshal Continues Investigation Into Dump Truck Fires
August 7, 2013
The investigation into a Sunday fire that destroyed four dump trucks at a Cantonment business continues.
Over a dozen dump trucks were parked in a row in a lot at the Roads, Inc. headquarters on Stone Boulevard, just off Highway 29. Four of the trucks were totally destroyed by the fire, while others were damaged.
The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office said Tuesday that their investigation is still ongoing and released no further details about the fire, other than to say damage was estimated at $400,000 for the four destroyed trucks. The Fire Marshal’s office has not put a dollar figure on other trucks that may have been damaged by heat or smoke.
The fire was reported at 6:50 p.m. Monday, and sent a column of black smoke into the sky that was visible for miles.
Multiple fire stations from Cantonment, Molino and Pensacola responded to the blaze, working rapidly to protect and prevent other dump trucks from becoming involved the fire There were no injuries reported.
Pictured: Multiple dump trucks were destroyed by fire Sunday evening at Roads, Inc. on Stone Boulevard in Cantonment. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
