Boil Water Notice For Some Cottage Hill Water Works Customers
February 25, 2014
A precautionary boil water notice has been issued for some customers of the Cottage Hill Water Works System.
The following areas are included in the notice: McKenzie Road, Handy Road, Chavers Road, Smyers Road, Grenelefe Drive, Cottage Park Raod, Elna Road and the Huntington Subdivision.
The notice was issued following a water main break. Residents are advised to boil water for one minute at a rolling boil or to use six drops of regular unscented household bleach per gallon of water for water drinking or cooking purposes. Bacteriological sampling is underway and the advisory will be lifted as soon as possible.
A crew has repaired the main and is flushing out the lines. Residents are advised that there is a possibility of discolored water as a result of the break and flushing, and to flush their home’s plumbing by running their taps for a few minutes. If you have questions, contact the Cottage Hill Water Works, office at (850) 968-5485.
Pedestrian Struck And Killed
February 25, 2014
A pedestrian was killed in an accident Monday night in Escambia County.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 49-year old Bettie Jill Joseph of Pensacola was northbound on Hollywood Avenue about 6:15 p.m. when a pedestrian failed to yield and stepped in front of her 2007 Dodge Charger. The pedestrian, identified as 53-year old Eric Glen Tate of Pensacola, was transported to Baptist Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
No charges were filed against Joseph.
Tate Band Members Receive Superior, Excellent Ratings At Bandmasters Event
February 25, 2014
Numerous members of the Tate High School band students received superior and excellent ratings at the Florida Bandmasters Association District 1 Auxiliary Solo and Ensemble MPA event Friday night at Gulf Breeze High School. Tate was well represented, with the second most entries of any school in Northwest Florida.
Tate had 65 students earn a Superior rating, the most in several years.
Students listed below in bold type performed a Grade 5 piece or higher. Their Superior rating on this difficult music qualifies them to advance to the FBA State Solo and Ensemble MPA on March 24-25 in Gainesville.
Solos
- Angel Chu – Flute (Superior)
- Taylor Ertel – Flute (Excellent)
- Tiana Hendricks – Flute (Superior)
- Toye Johnson – Flute (Excellent)
- Toye Johnson – Piccolo (Superior)
- Madison Rondeau – Flute (Superior)
- Jordan Rynders – Flute (Excellent)
- Katie Woods – Clarinet (Superior)
- Ashton Nelson – Bassoon (Superior)
- Jacob Howard – Trumpet (Superior)
- Ethan Millet – Trumpet (Superior)
- Zach Vranich – Trumpet (Superior)
- Tristan Workman – Trumpet (Superior)
- Amber Brock – Trombone (Excellent)
- Noah Heitz – Trombone (Superior)
- Erica Earnest – Marimba (Superior)
- Honya Richbourg – Marimba (Superior)
- Kaitlin Sainata – Xylophone (Superior)
Duets/Trios/Quartets
- Victoria VanScyoc & Topanga Tucker – Flute (Excellent)
- Toye Johnson & Madison Tourney – Flute (Superior)
- Lillan Jensen & Jordan Rynders – Flute (Excellent)
- Lillian Jensen, Logan Royer, & Jordan Rynders – Flute (Excellent)
- Josh Chism, Cameron Caulder, Jacob Norre, & Brennan Infinger – Saxophone (Excellent)
- Bryce Coots, Eric Esselburn, Kendall Sainata, & Ashton Nelson – Saxophone (Superior)
Percussion Quintet (Excellent)
Landon Benson, Emily DeRise, Kyle Irps, Ethan Jensen and Will Talley
Percussion Choir (Superior)
Erica Earnest, Tristan Hacker, Madison Metcalf, Paxton Metcalf, Honya Richbourg, Kaitlin Sainata, Danae Smith and Ryan Tanton
Woodwind Choir (Superior)
Madison Rondeau, Toye Johnson, Steffany Brown, Ana Lowe, Madison Philley, Jenna Brooks, Natalie Wright, Julie Menah, Marissa Constantakos, Lexi Dixon, Stephen Cleary, Bryce Coots, Kendall Sainata, Kayla Dixon, Geoff Nagle, Eric Esselburn, Jessica Merritt, Kathryn Howard and Ashton Nelson
Brass Choir (Superior)
Jacob Howard, Zach Vranich, Mariah Constantakos, Jacob Hall, Joel Pryor, J. D. Franklin, Hannah Chism, Molly French, Chad Ratliff, Jessica Gainey, Chandler Cotton, Zach Humphries, Aaron Gavin, Jacob Charles, Matt Hardy, Darren Gulsby and Nick Krostag
Cantonment Man Convicted Of Drug Trafficking, Possession
February 25, 2014
Another North Escambia resident has been convicted in connection with last year’s Operation Blister Pack 2.
William Bradley Edmonson, age 26 of Booth Avenue, Cantonment, was sentenced to a minimum mandatory seven years in state prison by Judge Terry Terrell for amphetamine trafficking and possession of a listed chemical. He was also ordered to pay $106, 618 in costs and and fines.
Operation Blister Pack 2 targeted nearly 80 individuals on methamphetamine and pseudoephedrine related charges. Many of those arrested were involved with drug groups dubbed “The Village Group”, centered around “The Village” area of Forrest Street and Lakeview Avenue in Cantonment; and “The Ayers Group”, a group centered around Ayers Street in Molino, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
DOE Releases Teacher Data
February 25, 2014
The Florida Department of Education released reams of data Monday on how well teachers did in increasing student learning — but both the agency and the state’s largest teachers union cautioned parents against reading too much into the numbers.
The dizzying array of spreadsheets made public under court order included results for schools, districts and individual teachers. As a result, some of the documents were dauntingly lengthy — in one case, a spreadsheet including results for the state’s math teachers contains 133,580 rows of results.
Compounding the difficulty parents might have sifting through the data: the complicated mathematical formula that the department uses to calculate scores under the “value added” model, which spits out a number for each teacher.
A positive number means that student achievement grew more than would be expected when certain social and demographic factors are taken into account; a negative number means that student learning didn’t do as well as it would be expected to do.
Those numbers are later combined with other elements, such as a principal’s observation of a teacher, to come up with an evaluation for each teacher.
The Department of Education and the Florida Education Association fought to keep the data from being released, but lost a court battle to The Florida Times-Union in November.
“In addition, because these data are intended to be used in conjunction with other information about classroom practice to form a complete evaluation, looking at this information in isolation can lead to misunderstandings about an individual teacher’s overall performance,” Kathy Hebda, chief of staff at the Department of Education, told reporters in a conference call Monday.
The “value added” model was created as part of a performance-pay bill that passed the Legislature in 2011. The FEA, which waged a ferocious fight against the performance-pay measure, maintains that the formula is so flawed and complicated that it is essentially useless.
“Assessments of teachers, like assessments of students, must be valid, transparent and multi-faceted,” FEA President Andy Ford said in a statement Monday. “These VAM calculations are none of these. … They cannot measure the value of an individual teacher”
In November, a unanimous three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal sided with the Times-Union and overturned a Leon County circuit court ruling sealing the records.
The appeals court rejected arguments by the state and a teachers union that the documents should be exempt under a part of state law that shields teacher evaluations from public view until the end of the following school year.
“Had the Legislature wanted any matter material to a teacher’s evaluation to be exempt from disclosure, the Legislature would have exempted personnel files as a whole,” Judge William Van Nortwick wrote for the court. “To the contrary, personnel files of public school teachers are generally subject to disclosure.”
by The News Service of Florida
Northview NJROTC Cadets Shine At FAMU Drill Competition
February 25, 2014
The Northview High School NJROTC excelled during a drill competition last Saturday at FAMU in Tallahassee.
Northview’s NJROTC placed sixth of 16 teams overall. They won first in Color Guard, fifth in Personnel Inspection and Armed Exhibition drill. Elijah Harbison was in the top four cadets in individual drill competition out of over 200 cadets.
Pictured top: Northview NJROTC cadets pose for a candid photo Saturday with their trophies at FAMU. Pictured inset and below: Cadets competed in the drill meeting Tallahassee on Saturday. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Homeless Can Get State ID Cards Today At Waterfront Mission
February 25, 2014
Today, the Florida Department of Highway Safety’s mobile unit will be at the Waterfront Rescue Mission located at 348 West Herman Street in Pensacola. The Department of Highway Safety will be issuing “on the spot” Florida ID Cards to the homeless or those in need.
Any individual in need of an identification card is encouraged to come to the Mission between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.. Individuals will need to bring their birth certificate and social security card with them to obtain the ID.
Molino Woman’s Border Collie Named Top Dog At National Show
February 25, 2014
Molino resident Victory Hulett was recently honored at the “Purina Pro Plan Show Dogs of the Year” awards banquet held in New York City in conjunction with the Westminster Kennel Club.
Hulett was awarded the 2013 Top Dog of the Year, an award given to honor the top obedience dog for the year 2013. She and her canine partner, OTCH Companion’s He Reigns
in Victory UDX9 OGM (called just “Reign”) earned the highest number of OTCH points during the various 2013 national obedience competitions.
Reign is owned and handled by Hulett and co-owned by Renea Windley. Reign was also the number one herding dog at the AKC 2013 National Championship and second runner-up, All Breed.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
One Injured In Highway 97 Crash
February 25, 2014
One person suffered minor injuries in a single vehicle accident late Monday night in Walnut Hill.
The driver of a Chevrolet Avalanche told first responders that his wheel struck something on or near a bridge on Highway 97 near Wiggins Lake Road. He lost control, ran off the roadway and overturned into a concrete culvert about 11:55 p.m.
The 61-year old male driver was transported by Atmore Ambulance to West Florida Hospital.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Public Workshop Tonight On Nine Mile Road Widening Project
February 25, 2014
The Florida Department of Transportation will host a public workshop this evening concerning the reevaluation of a study for widening Nine Mile Road from two to four lanes beginning at U.S. 90/Mobile Highway to Pine Forest Road.
The meeting will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Plainview Baptist Church, 1101 West Nine Mile Road, Pensacola. There will be no formal presentation. Maps, drawings and other study information will be on display and FDOT representatives will be available to answer questions.