Birth: Chandler And Chasten Headden

August 4, 2013

Ryan Headden and Amanda (Aldridge) Headden of Flomaton are pleased to announce the birth of their twin boys, Chandler and Chasten Headden.  They were born July 5, 2013, at 12:25 p.m., at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. Chandler weighed 5-pounds 9-ounces and was 18½ inches long.  Chasten weighed 4-pounds 12-ounces and was 17½  inches long.

Maternal grandparents are Chuck and Gayle Aldridge of Century. Paternal grandmother is Tammy Headden of Chattanooga.

Great grandparents are the late Pete and Mary Mathis of Century, the late Leon Aldridge and Louise Moye Gardner of Century,  and Robert and Rossie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN.

Chandler and Chasten were welcomed home by their big brother Carson who is two-years old.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News 

Cantonment Man Jailed On Multiple Burglary Charges

August 3, 2013

A Cantonment man is behind bars facing several felony charges for burglarizing a couple of storage sheds.

Cory Wayne Driver, 24, was charged with two felony counts of burglary of an unoccupied structure, grand theft, dealing in stolen property and criminal mischief.

Driver allegedly burglarized two sheds in the 1200 block of Jacks Branch Road, stealing vehicle batteries, radiators and numerous other automotive items. He then allegedly sold several of the items at a garage on Nine Mile Road for $137. The owner of the garage is good friends with the victim, recognized some of the items and notified the property owner of the theft, according to an arrest report.

The property owner was able to pay the $137 and recover his belongings.

Driver remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $13,000.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News 

Pensacola Fair Awards Educational Grants

August 3, 2013

The John E. Frenkel Sr. Educational Grants awarded by the Pensacola Interstate Fair have been announced.

The grants are awarded to 30 graduating high school seniors from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties that have been actively involved in the fair. To date, over $955,000 has been awarded to more than 1,000 participants.

The latest recipients are:

  • Northview High School: Jessica M. Baldwin.
  • Tate High School: Wes J. Chu, Khaid W. Eqab.
  • Jay High School: John D. Atkins Jr., Chanda J. Hawthorne, Robert L. Lambeth, Justin B. Moye, Ryan J. Nadsady, Hannah C. Roberts, Alison B. Russell, Sarah R. Whitehead.
  • West Florida High School: Taylor M. Gantt.
  • Washington High School: Angel M. Mitchell.
  • Escambia High School: Hien T. Nguyen.
  • Pensacola High School: Talyah C. Foster.
  • Milton High School: Caleb M. Connell.
  • Gulf Breeze High School: Anamarie F. Wright.
  • Catholic High School: Nathan W. Craney.
  • Trinitas Christian School: Alex H. Price and Amy K. Gross.
  • Homeschooled: Jacquelyn M. Grosjean and Rebekah A Mobley.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Features, News 

23-Year Old Faces Felony Sex Charges After Plans To Meet Minor

August 3, 2013

A Pace resident was arrested Thursday afternoon after a Pensacola Police Department investigation determined he drove to Pensacola under the pretense of having pre-arranged sex with a 13-year-old female.

Eric Crist, 23, of 4626 Live Oak Lane, was charged with traveling to meet a minor and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate the felony.

Detective Jeff Brown began investigating Crist on July 23 after reading an advertisement Crist had placed on the internet seeking a female sex partner. In the ad, Crist said that age, size and race were unimportant.

Brown then contacted Crist via email and asked if he would be interested in having sex with his 13-year-old “daughter”.  After several communications between them, Crist said he wanted to have sex with the juvenile, according to police.

Brown and Crist arranged a meeting for August 1. Crist was taken into custody without resistance at the scene.

The investigation is continuing, Brown said.

Members of the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force assisted the Pensacola Police Department with the investigation.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News 

Escambia County Back To School Immunization Information

August 3, 2013

The Escambia County School District is reminding parents that students need to be up-to-date on their immunizations before the first day of school.

Before attending school in Florida, students enrolling in kindergarten through 12th grade are required to be current on all their immunizations. In addition, seventh grade students are required to have a Tdap booster vaccine before starting school on August 19.

Students who have medical insurance that will cover vaccinations should see their private provider, according to the school district.

Students who do not have health insurance coverage for immunizations may receive free vaccinations at the Escambia County Health Department at one of the locations listed below. Vaccinations are by appointment only.

  • 1295 W. Fairfield Drive, (850) 595-6554
  • 8390 North Palafox Street, (850) 484-5151

For additional information or to schedule an appointment, contact the Escambia County Health Department at one of the listed numbers.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News 

Fans Attend America’s Got Talent Going Away Party For Chloe Channell

August 3, 2013

A going-away party for “America’s Got Talent” contestant Chloe Channell was held Friday night at the Pace Community Center.

The 11-year old will perform live from Radio City Music Hall in the quarterfinals of  the NBC series in the coming weeks. She was not listed as one of the acts scheduled to perform next Tuesday, meaning she will appear during the 8 p.m. show on August 13 or August 20.

Friday night, Chloe received going away presents from friends and family. Fish dinners were available to help the family with expenses, and Chloe had the chance to meet with her fans and sign autographs.

Pictured: “Amercia’s Got Talent” contestant Chloe Channell at a party in her honor Friday night in Pace. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News 

Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: An Outrageous Summer In Tallahassee

August 3, 2013

Outrage has become the latest trend during the long, hot summer days in Tallahassee.

http://www.northescambia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/floridaweeklly.jpgDemocrats found themselves outraged over the past actions of now-former Education Commissioner Tony Bennett, who was himself outraged at “politically motivated” reports about grading policies in Indiana. The Rev. Jesse Jackson stopped by to express his outrage during protests aimed at overhauling the state’s self-defense laws and other policies.

And Jackson’s comments — where he seemed to compare Florida to Selma and South Africa, and Gov. Rick Scott to George Wallace — drew well over a dozen statements of outrage from Republicans.

By the end of the week, it seemed that many people in the Capitol could use something to help them calm down. And John Morgan was more than happy to help.

UNTIL YESTERDAY

In less than eight months on the job, Bennett had already shown a flair for the ambitious. He continued work to put the national “common core” education standards in place. He began work on a reorganization of the Department of Education. And instead of waiting for poor school grades to be unveiled — a mistake that tripped up his predecessor, Gerard Robinson — Bennett acted to curb the damage when superintendents first raised warnings of a possible public-relations disaster.

But it was something from Bennett’s past that took less than a week to end his time as the top education official in Florida.

On Monday, an Associated Press report out of Indiana said that Bennett, while the elected superintendent of public instruction in that state, and his employees “frantically overhauled” the Hoosier State’s school-grading system in 2012 in a way that benefited one of Bennett’s political contributors.

The changes came after state officials realized that Christel House, a school founded by Christel DeHaan, might get a grade as low as a “C” in the first edition of state report cards to use the letter-grade system. As a superintendent fighting for strong accountability measures, Bennett had touted Christel House’s success.

“They need to understand that anything less than an A for Christel House compromises all of our accountability work,” Bennett wrote in one email obtained by the AP.

Bennett defended himself Tuesday, saying Christel House’s grade raised legitimate concerns about the grading system in Indiana. While the AP reported that the emails it obtained pointed to algebra results as part of the problem, Bennett said education officials figured out it was largely because Christel House’s high school and 12 others hadn’t yet added an 11th or 12th grade.

The rule governing grades in Indiana, though, required graduation rates to be included in high school grades.

“That calculation unfairly penalized those 13 schools,” Bennett said during the 40-minute conference call. “We found that and we fixed that in order to give a true, transparent grading model for Indiana schools.”

By that point, some Democrats already sensed blood in the water. A trio of lawmakers called Wednesday for Bennett to resign, including a pair of House members who held a conference call to pressure the commissioner.

“I think we deserve to know if he’s brought his pay-to-play tactics to Florida also,” said Rep. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, even as she conceded that there was no evidence that he had.

The next day, Bennett’s detractors got their wish. Saying he didn’t want to be a distraction, Bennett resigned Thursday even as he continued to defend his actions. He stepped aside despite reported pressure from Scott and State Board of Education Chairman Gary Chartrand to stay.

“The decision to resign is mine and mine only because I believe that when this discussion turns to an adult we lose the discussion about making life better for children,” Bennett said.

Bennett became at least the 11th department head hired during Scott’s term to have resigned; the governor is also on his third chief of staff and is still looking for a replacement for Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll. The next education commissioner, who will technically be selected by the State Board of Education, will be the fourth permanent head of the agency to serve under Scott.

The turmoil has fueled calls for the state to go back to electing its schools chief.

“For more than a decade the office has been relegated to a political appointment, and as we have just seen, is subject to the latest political whims,” said Florida Education Association President Andy Ford. “The appointed commissioner is not accountable to parents, not accountable to students, not accountable to educators and not accountable to taxpayers.”

On Friday, the board tapped Pam Stewart to serve as interim education commissioner, a job she held before Bennett was hired in December.

STILL STANDING THEIR GROUND

Meanwhile, a sit-in at Scott’s office aimed at sparking a special session to review the state’s self-defense laws neared the three-week mark with no signs of dissipating. Scott returned to the Capitol on Monday, but largely maintained a busy travel schedule that has kept him out of the office for most of the sit-in.

The governor did not meet with the protesters, but they did get a couple of visitors. One was unlikely; Rep. Halsey Beshears, R-Monticello, stopped by despite disagreeing with the protesters on whether the state should call a special session to review the controversial “stand your ground” law.

Beshears said that any review could wait until the Legislature comes back for its regularly scheduled session in 2014.

“I agree with ’stand your ground,’ it’s a good law,” Beshears said. “I think it has great intention. I disagree with the application in some cases. But like any good law, there is always some bad applications, but they’re very minor.”

Scott has said repeatedly that he will not call a special session to appease the protesters, who also want the state to end zero-tolerance discipline policies in schools and approve initiatives to combat racial profiling.

The protesters began the part-vigil, part-siege protest after George Zimmerman was acquitted of second degree murder in the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The law was not used as part of Zimmerman’s defense, but has become associated with the incident.

On Tuesday, the Dream Defenders, a group leading the protest, got a visit from a higher-profile figure and a veteran of the civil-rights movement: the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Jackson invoked Selma in remarks to reporters, telling them that “massive non-violent resistance” was justified until Florida changed its behavior. And he seemed undaunted by Scott’s repeated insistence that the governor has no intention of calling the special session.

“We hope that the moral appeal and the urgency of the matter will change his mind,” Jackson said. “We’ve seen Southern governors before have to change their minds.”

Jackson listed infamous segregationist George Wallace, a former governor of Alabama, as one of those officials who had to change his mind. Combined with the Selma remark and an earlier reported comment calling Florida an “apartheid state,” Jackson set off a firestorm.

Scott didn’t address the Wallace slam, but demanded Jackson apologize for the Selma and South Africa comparisons. Jackson refused, drawing another statement from Scott.

“It’s disappointing that Jesse Jackson refused to apologize yesterday for his insulting and inflammatory comments about Floridians. Instead, he doubled down on his divisive and reckless remarks,” Scott said.

Other members of the GOP also kept up the pressure, with the Republican Party of Florida sending out daily emails with new lists of lawmakers making sure that the press was aware of their outrage. One of the first to speak out, though, was Pensacola Rep. Mike Hill, the only black Republican in the Legislature.

“When Jackson uses language that describes us as an apartheid state and compares our governor to one of history’s most notorious bigots, he is either hopelessly out of touch or purposefully dishonest,” Hill said.

By the end of the week, the ground seemed to be moving ever so slightly, but not in a way that indicated action. House Minority Leader Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, issued a formal request for a special session, though it was exceedingly unlikely that Thurston’s effort would lead to lawmakers being called back to Tallahassee. And House leaders said they would hold a hearing on the law, though the panel’s chairman made it clear he didn’t favor a change.

The protesters weren’t satisfied.

“Ultimately you’re still ignoring the root of the issue, at least in terms of the Zimmerman verdict, and that is the criminalization of our youth, the way that young people are looked at in Florida, black, white and brown, and that’s due to the school-to-prison pipeline and racial profiling that’s perpetuated throughout law enforcement,” Dream Defenders Political Director Ciara Taylor said.

HEMP VOTES

The week was not all about anger. Orlando attorney John Morgan — whose personal-injury firm employs former Gov. Charlie Crist — traveled to Tallahassee on Thursday to pitch his plan to legalize medical marijuana. He told the Capital Tiger Bay Club that he learned about the magic weed’s therapeutic power when his father was dying of esophageal cancer 20 years ago.

“I know it works because I have seen it,” Morgan said. “Are we going to do what’s right, or are we going to get hung up on the word ‘drug?’ ”

The attorney denied his efforts had anything to do with the possible political future of Crist, a Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat who could be on the ballot in 2014, when Morgan hopes voters will decide the future of cannabis.

Others weren’t so sure. Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida, said putting hot-button issues on the ballot as constitutional amendments can mobilize potential supporters.

“And that’s why, historically in Florida, both parties have often turned to some of these kinds of issues to get non-traditional voters — and we’re spelling out here, young voters — to the polls,” she said.

STORY OF THE WEEK: Education Commissioner Tony Bennett resigns after reports that he altered the school grading formula in Indiana in a way that benefited a school founded by a political contributor.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I don’t intend to move one damn comma on the ’stand your ground’ law.”–Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, chairman of the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee, which will review the law.

By Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News 

Reverend Chester Bolton, Jr.

August 3, 2013

After a brief illness, the Reverend Chester Bolton, Jr. met his Lord and Savior on August 2, 2013.  What a glorious day!

Dad was born in Mobile on April 1, 1929, to Chester and Ruth Bolton.  He and his brother, WD, played and excelled in all sports, and he became an accomplished gymnast, boxer and baseball player.  After playing college and minor league baseball, he went to Millsaps College where he met the love of his life, Norma Harrell.  They were married in 1952 and enjoyed almost 61 years of marriage.  Dad was called to the ministry and completed Emory Seminary in 1956 and was ordained a Methodist minister.  He continued to preach and teach throughout the rest of his life.  In addition to duties in his church, he also sought to encourage moral and ethical practices in local government and to encourage godly leaders.  He was one of the founders of the annual governmental prayer breakfast that has honored governmental leaders since 1970.  He touched many lives through this and his other ministries.

He was the father of Stephen, Michael and David; the father-in-law of Nanette, Debra and Marie; the grandfather of Megan, Brett, Brittany, Lindsey, Tommy, and Melonee; the great-grandfather of Peyton; the uncle of Elizabeth and the brother-in-law of Bobby.  He will be missed by all.

A celebration of his life will take place on Tuesday, August 6, 2013, at 11 a.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North with Reverend Fred Stallworth officiating.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.  Interment will follow at Bayview Memorial Park.

Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Obituaries 

Back To School: Supply Lists

August 3, 2013

School starts Monday, August 19 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Here are the school supply lists from each elementary school and middle school in Escambia County, plus the North Escambia area schools in Santa Rosa County.

(High schools typically do not have a general supply list. Students are advised of their supply needs in each class.)

North Escambia Area Schools:

Complete Escambia County Lists:

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News 

Wahoos Pound Barons 16-8

August 3, 2013

The Blue Wahoos bats awakened in the first trip to Regions Field to the tune of a franchise-record 16 runs in a 16-8 win over the Birmingham Barons on Friday night. In addition to setting the franchise record for runs scored, Pensacola also broke the franchise record with 17 hits.

Pensacola fell behind early in the contest on a second-inning homer from Dan Black but responded in a big way in the third inning. Facing Scott Carroll, a minor league rehabber, the Wahoos put up five runs in the third inning. All five runs scored with two outs as Yorman Rodriguez smashed a two-run bases loaded double to right before Donald Lutz launched a three-run homer to right to make it 5-1. For Lutz, it was his first homer since April 21 for Pensacola.

Birmingham responded with a solo homer from former Wahoo Cody Puckett in the last of the third before taking the lead in the fourth with a five-spot of their own to take a 7-5 lead. All five runs were charged to starter Jon Moscot, who in his Double-A debut, gave up seven runs on seven hits in 3+ innings. Chris Manno came on to restore order with three scoreless frames, improving to 3-2 on the year.

Trailing 7-5 heading to the fifth, Pensacola put up 10 runs over the next three frames. In the fifth, Mike Costanzo’s two-run, two-out double tied the game up at seven. An inning later, Devin Lohman brought home another pair of runs with a two-out single that doubled the lead to make it 9-5.

The Wahoos blew the game open in the seventh inning, batting for the cycle as a team. Pensacola scored six runs on seven hits, including four doubles, a triple, and homer. Travis Mattair drove home two with a triple, Brandon Short and Ryan LaMarre brought home a run with doubles and Lohman capped things off with a two-run blast, his seventh of the season.

The teams traded runs in the last of the eighth and top of the ninth to account for the final two runs of the contest.

All nine hitters recorded at least a hit and scored a run in the offensive outburst while seven players recorded an RBI. Lohman (3-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI) led the charge along with five other players that record multi-hit games: Costanzo (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI), Rodriguez (2-for-6, R, 2 RBI), Lutz (2-for-6, 2 R, 3 RBI), LaMarre (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI), and Chang (3-5, 3 R).

J.R. Ballinger (1-1) took the loss for Birmingham, allowing five runs on four hits with three walks in an inning and a third. Caroll received a no-decision despite allowing five runs on five hits in 3.1 frames.

The Blue Wahoos remain four games back of the Jacksonville Suns, with each of the South Division foes picking up wins on Friday night. Pensacola and Birmingham battle again on Saturday night from Regions Field. Daniel Renken (5-7, 3.37) gets the ball for Pensacola against Birmingham’s Stephen McCray (9-7, 3.49). First pitch is scheduled from 6:30 p.m.

story by Kevin Burke

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports 

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