Photos: Canada Geese At Lake Stone
March 13, 2016
A rainy Saturday afternoon was a great time for a couple of Canada geese to check out Lake Stone in Century. The park contains the only freshwater lake maintained by Escambia County. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Students Earn Honors At PI Math Competition
March 13, 2016
submitted article for NorthEscambia.com
The Pensacola Invitational (PI) is a local math competition for elementary and middle school students of Escambia and Santa Rosa County. It was founded with the goal of exposing local students to competitive math in a structure similar to that found at the high school level. Math teams from each school across the county are categorized by their current math class and top contenders for each category are awarded based on their performance in both individual and team round.
For the past seven years, Pensacola High School students have succeeded in making PI a completely student-run event. Because our students run the competition, we are able to make it free to all participants. A former PHS IB student founded the competition in 2009. Following in his footsteps, the organizers of PI have attended some of the top schools in the country. The first year the competition hosted about 30 students; it has since grown into a highly anticipated, 400+, two-county, student event, held this year on March 5th.
“Not only has this competition provided invaluable experience to middle and elementary school students in our area, it has also provided a beneficial leadership role for the students running it,” said PHS Math Teacher and the organization’s sponsor, Jan Sales. “The event runs from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. so PI organizers, Anish Gupta and Carla Dias, even found sponsors so to help them provide lunch to 400 competitors – and that was a lot of pizza!”
What’s next for the members of PI? Preparations for National Pi Day, of course. March 14 has become known as Pi day (3.14159265359…). They will be setting their alarms for 3:14 a.m. to take a moment and welcome in the day. They also urge everyone to treat themselves to something round to eat on Monday, such as a pizza pi, or an apple pi!
4th Grade
Individual
Honorable Mention
Jay- Presley Smith
Pea Ridge- Bradley Allen Kruger
W.H. Rhodes- Justine Stillings
SS Dixon- Tucker Ricks
SS Dixon- Noah Helms
WH Rhodes- Ben Kennington
Jay- Alyssa McKinley
Jay- Mallory Hagan
SS Dixon- Abigail Pettus
WH Rhodes- Bailey Underwood
1st-10th
10th place- WH Rhodes- Ethan Koivn
9th place- Pea Ridge- Haley Hernandez
8th place- Pea Ridge- River Foster
7th place- SS Dixon- Piper Bullock
6th place- SS Dixon- Blake Panepinto
5th place- SS Dixon- Jack Strother
4th place- WH Rhodes- Haydn Baker
3rd place- SS Dixon- Abby McMath
2nd place- WH Rhodes- Carly Goodman
1st place- Pea Ridge- Tori Froman
Team
3rd place- Pea Ridge Team 1
2nd place- SS Dixon Team 4
1st place- WH Rhodes Team 5
5th Grade
Individual
Honorable Mention
SS Dixon- Bethany Dean
SS Dixon- Abigail Henry
SS Dixon- Andrew Fendley
SS Dixon- Hudson Strotner
WH Rhodes- Jacob Gagné
SS Dixon- Isaac Bondurant
Jay- Adam Jones
SS Dixon- Dominic Caruso
WH Rhodes- Jesse Clark
EDS- Nicollete Redmond
1st-10th
10th place- Jay- Jody Godwin
9th place- SS Dixon- James Walker
8th place- WH Rhodes- Jackson Farless
7th place- Bagdad- Jerard Gilmore
6th place- Pea Ridge- Donovan Amann
5th place- Gulf Breeze- Sandra Tu
4th place- EDS- Elizabeth Owens
3rd place- SS Dixon- Meghan Thacker
2nd place- Pea Ridge- Piper Haney
1st place- Gulf Breeze- Brandon Collins
Team
3rd place- EDS Team 1
2nd place- SS Dixon Team 1
1st place- Pea Ridge Team 1
Elementary School Sweepstakes
3rd place- S.S. Dixon
2nd place- Pea Ridge
1st place- W.H. Rhodes
Math I
Individual
Honorable Mention
CLA- Dima Alsheikh
Woodlawn- Andrew Zouloufos
Jay- Megan Bethea
Ransom- Abby Gryskiewicz
Woodlawn- Maliya Gibson
Woodlawn- Samuel Fulton
CLA- Keiji Boozer
Sacred Heart- Scout Tillman
Sacred Heart- Joseph Hauerstein
St. Paul- Tyler Dejong
1st-10th
10th place- Brown Barge- Haden McBroom
9th place- CLA- Marco Ghiglino
8th place- CLA- Davyn Pan
7th place- Jay- Shawn Thompson
6th place- Ferry Pass- Nataniel Agustin
5th place- CLA- Arthur Odom
4th place- Ransom- Andy Tran
3rd place- EDS- Colin “King” Gold
2nd place- CLA- Wassim Khabou
1st place- Ferry Pass- Jason Konopka
Team
3rd place- Woodlawn
2nd place- Jay Team 1
1st place- Brown Barge
Math II
Individual
Honorable Mention
Woodlawn- Leah Elliott
Woodlawn- Dawson Higginbotham
EDS- Graybill Partington
Woodlawn- Carly Russ
Ransom- Liliana Rollins
CLA- Adele Dorion
Jay- Bethany White
EDS- Claire Litvak
CLA- Akeelah Reeves
CLA- Fares Rifai
1st-10th
10th place- CLA- Abigail Asmar
9th place- Woodlawn- Madison Jordan
8th place- Jay- Brody Johnson
7th place- CLA- Hima Humeda
6th place- Workman- Josiah Alexander
5th place- Workman- Kendall Frazee
4th place- Workman- Amara Schoppmann
3rd place- Ferry Pass- Mei Adcox
2nd place- EDS- Noelle Dorvault
1st place- CLA- Annie Pratt
Team
3rd place- EDS Team 1
2nd place- Woodlawn Team 1
1st place- CLA Team 1
Algebra I
Individual
Honorable Mention
CLA- Mehul Kapur
King- Isabella Carpenter
Ferry Pass- Amiyah Green
EDS- Lindsay Lurate
Brown Barge- Zander Preston
EDS- Georgia Seacrest
Brown Barge- Amy Zhang
Ferry Pass- Haylee Dove
Ferry Pass- Vyna Nguyen
Workman- George Thomas Prettyman
1st-10th
10th place- Woodlawn- Allison Linkous
9th place- Workman- Samuel Duong
8th place- CLA- Nicholas Skoufis
7th place- EDS- Hanh-Nhan Tran
6th place- Brown Barge- Rashidi Joseph
5th place- CLA- Luca Benny
4th place- Jay- Jacob Gonzalez
3rd place- EDS- Jett Zhang
2nd place- Brown Barge- Michael Dixon
1st place- Woodlawn-Tanner Struck
Team
3rd place- CLA
2nd place- Woodlawn Team 2
1st place- Brown Barge Team 1
Middle School Sweepstakes
5th place- EDS
4th place- Ferry Pass
3rd place- Brown Barge
2nd place- Woodlawn
1st place- CLA
Riot At Holman Prison; Warden And Guard Stabbed, Fires Set
March 12, 2016
There was an uprising overnight at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore that has now ended with the stabbing of a corrections officer and the warden. The situation is now under control.
Videos and photos posted to social media from inmates show fires burning inside a dorm control area an inmates roaming a general population dorm area freely with their faces covered, some with large pieces of metal being held as weapons.
“Attention: We need yall help here at Holman Correction Facility Prison. The police down here beating on and jus treating us any kind way. We down here fighting for are lifes. Please contact the News, Newspaper, Radio station. NCAAP. Help please,” stated one Facebook post.
According to the Alabama Department of Corrections, the first assault happened at approximately 9:15 p.m. Friday, when the correctional officer responded to a fight between two inmates in one of the prison dorms. The officer was stabbed when he tried to detain one of the inmates involved in the fight. He was reportedly stabbed as many as nine times, sources tell NorthEscambia.com.
When Warden Carter Davenport and other officers entered the dorm to assess the situation, Davenport was stabbed. Davenport remained at the prison and was treated on-site for his injuries. The injured officer was transported to an offsite medical facility. Davenport and the officer’s injuries are reported as non-life threating. No other officers were injured.
After the assaults, inmates gained access to a hallway just outside the housing unit and started a fire. In response to the situation, the Alabama Department of Corrections deployed three Correctional Emergency Response Teams (CERT) to the prison. The CERT teams were able to successfully enter the dorm about 5:00 a.m., detain the inmates, and secure the area. It is estimated that approximately 100 inmates were involved in the disturbance.
The uprising was limited to a single dormitory style open housing unit, and there were no issues in the remainder of the prison, our source said. Death row and other highly secured inmates remained quiet during the night.
The Department of Corrections acknowledged that some inmates inside the prison were able to publish photos of the disturbance using social media. Corrections officers and the CERT teams are conducting a complete search of the prison for illegal cell phones and other contraband.
The inmates who were responsible for assaulting the officer and warden, and other inmates involved in the disturbance, have been segregated from the prison’s general population. Investigators from the ADOC Investigations and Intelligence Division are on site at the prison to assist the CERT teams and to conduct a thorough investigation into the disturbance.
Criminal charges are pending against the inmates who were involved in the incident.
The prison is secured and will remain on lockdown until ADOC completes its investigation.
Numerous photos and videos were leaked to Facebook and other social media. A video (LINK WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE) allegedly shows the inside of the dormitory with the uprising. It purports to show inmates moving freely about and a fire burning in a central control station.
ABOUT HOLMAN
The William C. Holman Correctional Facility was constructed in 1968 and 1969. The facility was officially open in December, 1969, at a cost of five million dollars. The first prisoner was received on December 15, 1969.
The Holman Correctional Facility houses Death Row inmates and is the only facility in the state that carries out executions.
The present population of Holman C. F. consists of minimum through closed custody inmates, including life without parole and Death Row inmates. The living quarters have a total capacity of 998 available beds. There are 630 population beds with Housing Units A-D having a capacity of 114 each and Housing Unit E with a capacity of 174. There are 7 infirmary beds. There are 200 segregation unit beds and Death Row has a capacity of 194 for a total of 1031 beds.
Holman is located ten miles north of Atmore, Alabama, just east of Highway 21 on Ross Road. The perimeter of the security compound is surrounded by two fences. The inner fence is taut wire fence with the outer fence being chain link. The compound has six towers and two perimeter vehicles, which operate twenty four hours a day. During the hours of darkness, the perimeter is fully lighted.
In 2007 the housing units in general population were remodeled with single beds and an updated bath room area.
State Awards $2.1 Million In Housing Aid For Tornado Victims
March 12, 2016
Housing assistance money is on the way to help some impacted by the February 15 EF-3 tornado in Century and the February 23 EF-3 tornado in Pensacola.
The Florida Housing Finance Corporation notified Escambia County today of approval of $2,058,028 in State Housing Initiatives Partnership, or SHIP, disaster funds for the two tornadoes that struck Escambia County in February. Funds will be appropriated to assist with owner occupied housing rehabilitation, replacement, and disaster mitigation as outlined in the county’s Local Housing Assistance Plan.
While appreciated, Century Town Planner Debbie Nickles aid the $2.1 million split between Escambia County, Pensacola and Century won’t go very far, restoring housing for just a small number of those that lost homes during the tornadoes.
Century alone suffered $3.9 million in damage, plus another $18 million in Pensacola, she said. There were over 100 homes in Century that were destroyed or suffered major damage. About 75 percent of the structures were uninsured.
“There are going to be so many applicants,” she said. “How do we decide who gets their house rebuilt and who doesn’t,” she said. Ultimately, it will be up to the Century Town Council to decide the formula for funds distribution in Century.
Century won’t be able to to take applicants for housing assistance until April — the funds will first be dispersed to Escambia County and an interlocal agreement between the county and the town must be amended to cover the new funding.
Once available, funding may only be utilized for households directly impacted by one of the two storms and income restrictions will apply, see chart below. Household members seeking repair assistance will be required to provide proof of homestead exemption, income, assets, mortgage (if present), and insurance (if present) to certify eligibility.
For more information on disaster-related owner occupant housing repair or home replacement assistance:
- Unincorporated areas of Escambia County – County Neighborhood Enterprise Division at (850) 595-0022.
- City of Pensacola – City Housing Office at (850) 858-0350
- Town of Century – SHIP applications are expected to be accepted in April, for more information call (850) 256-3208
Pictured top: A destroyed home in Century. Pictured below: Housing assistance applications have already been accepted by Escambia County for residents in the unincorporated areas. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Early Voting Ends Today
March 12, 2016
This afternoon at 5:00 is the deadline for early voting for the March 15 Presidential Preference Primary.
Voters may choose any one of the seven early voting locations Saturday; polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.:
- Escambia County Extension Services, 3740 Stefani Road
- Molino Community Center, 6450 Highway 95A North
- Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway
- Genealogy Branch Library, 5740 N. 9th Avenue
- Main Library, 239 N. Spring Street
- 5 Flags Speedway, 7451 Pine Forest Road
- Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 213 Palafox Place, Second Floor
As of the close of early voting on Friday, 11,536 early vote ballots had been cast in Escambia County.
Students Learn About Ag During Fresh From Florida Event (With Gallery)
March 12, 2016
About 800 students from across the area took part in the annual Northview High School FFA “Fresh From Florida” program Friday morning at the school in Bratt.
Formerly known as the “Food For America program”, the event gave students the chance to learn about agriculture first hand up close and personal with farm animals, farm equipment and more to learn how food gets from the farm to their tables. Students were even able to make and enjoy eating their own fresh butter.
The Northview High School FFA “Fresh From Florida” program has been honored as the best in Florida numerous times, and the chapter was recently name one of the best in the United States by the National FFA Organization for a second year.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Massive Educaton Bill Approved On Final Day
March 12, 2016
A wide-ranging education bill dealing with everything from funding for high-performing universities to high-school membership in athletic associations made it through the final day of the legislative session Friday, despite the long odds that such policy “trains” often face.
But in the process, lawmakers cut a provision aimed at ensuring that taxpayer-provided construction dollars for charter schools don’t end up enriching private companies, causing angst in both the House and the Senate.
The legislation (HB 7029) passed the Senate on a 29-10 vote after a debate that included arguments about the charter-school provision and an issue dealing with whether schoolchildren have to remove their headdresses during the Pledge of Allegiance. The House then approved the bill in an 82-33 vote.
Supporters of school choice applauded the bill, which would also allow parents to transfer their children to any public school in the state that isn’t at capacity. The “open enrollment” provision, once a marquee part of education proposals during the session, largely faded into the background as the charter-school fight took center stage.
“The best educational fit for a child may be a public school less than a mile down the road,” said Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future, a nonprofit organization that backs education choice. “But if a district boundary line intersects that road, the school might as well be in China. It is time to tear down invisible barriers that block students from attending schools that best meet their needs, even when there is available space.”
The bill would also add to state law performance-funding formulas for colleges and universities; allow private schools to join the Florida High School Athletic Association or other organizations on a sport-by-sport basis; and give charter schools that serve lower-income students or those with disabilities a bigger slice of the construction funding doled out by the state.
The measure would send additional funds to “emerging pre-eminent” universities — possibly the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida. Those schools are approaching the pre-eminent status that provides extra money to the University of Florida and Florida State University.
Much of the debate Friday, though, centered on whether to require “arms-length” transactions for charter schools that use taxpayer money for leases or construction. Recent news reports have included allegations that some charter school management companies have used state construction dollars to improve privately owned facilities owned by entities closely related to the school companies.
The Senate had pushed the proposal to crack down on the practice, but backed off in the face of opposition from the House. Opponents of the language argue that there are some legitimate reasons for related companies to use state money.
Sen. Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican who handled the bill in the Senate, asked lawmakers to vote for the legislation despite widespread discontent with the charter-school changes — something he said was a consequence of checks and balances in government.
“This is a solid education funding bill,” Gaetz said. “Of course we didn’t get everything we asked for; that was never James Madison’s intent.”
But some House members also objected to the change.
“There are some good charter schools; they’re engaging in innovation,” said Rep. Dwight Dudley, D-St. Petersburg. “Many of the charters are engaging in imitation and bringing nothing new to the game except to plunder the public treasury.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Time Change: Spring Forward (And Don’t Forget The Smoke Alarm Batteries)
March 12, 2016
Don’t forget to “spring forward” and set your clocks ahead one hour before heading off to bed Saturday night. Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday, making use of longer summer days, allowing people to rise early and spend more of the day working or playing.
The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when most families are sleeping, according to Escambia Fire Rescue.
It is also recommended that residents test smoke alarms by pushing the test button, planning “two ways out” and practicing escape routes with the entire family. Families should also prepare a fire safety kit that includes working flashlights and fresh batteries.
Communities nationwide witness tragic home fire deaths each year. An average of three children per day die in home fires and 80 percent of those occur in homes without working smoke alarms. Non-working smoke alarms rob residents of the protective benefits home fire safety devices were designed to provide. The most commonly cited cause of non-working smoke alarms: worn or missing batteries.
Tragically, fire can kill selectively. Those most at risk include:
- Children — Approximately 1,000 children under the age of 20 die each year in home fires. Children under age five are at twice the risk of dying in a home fire. Eighty percent of fatal home fire victims who were children were killed in homes without working smoke alarms.
- Seniors — Adults over age 75 are three times more likely to die in home fires than the rest of the population; those over 85 are 4.5 times more likely to die in a home fire. Many seniors are unable to escape quickly.
- Low-Income Households — Many low-income families are unable to afford batteries for their smoke alarms. These same households often rely on poorly installed, maintained or misused portable or area heating equipment — a main cause of fatal home fires.
Changing smoke alarm batteries at least once a year is one of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce these tragic deaths and injuries. In fact, working smoke alarms nearly cut in half the risk of dying in a home fire. Additionally, the International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends replacing your smoke alarms every ten years.
For more information about fire safety, call Escambia County Fire Rescue at 850-475-5530 or visit the web site at www.myescambia.com.
For information about obtaining a free home smoke alarm call 850-595-HERO (4376).
Showers, Thunderstorms Likely Today
March 12, 2016
Here is your official NorthEscambia area forecast:
Saturday: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 72. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Saturday Night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before midnight, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 58. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 59. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 78. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 78.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 74.
Thursday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56.
Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 69.
Florida Legislative Sessions Ends As Budget Is Approved
March 12, 2016
.After a last-minute episode of intrigue eight years in the making, the 2016 legislative session came to an end Friday night, as lawmakers approved an $82.3 billion budget, a tax-cut package a fraction of the size suggested by Gov. Rick Scott and a raft of other legislation.
Despite the late flurry of bills on everything from education to health care to transportation, the endgame was more orderly than the chaotic implosion of last year’s session, which saw House lawmakers leave the Capitol without finishing a budget — a move that sparked a special session.
Instead, both chambers approved the spending plan for the year that begins July 1 by broad, bipartisan margins. The House voted 119-1 to pass the proposal (HB 5001); only Rep. John Tobia, a Melbourne Beach Republican who usually opposes the budget, voted against it. Moments later, the 40-member Senate voted unanimously to send the package to Scott.
And despite the fact that lawmakers curtailed or scuttled his two main priorities — a tax cut package and $250 million in economic development incentives — Scott suggested he wouldn’t extract vengeance on lawmakers with his line-item veto.
“I’m going to clearly go through the budget and make sure that we don’t waste any money, look at ways we can save money,” Scott said after the session ended. “But I think it’s a good budget.”
The spending plan approved Friday bumps up per-student spending on public schools by 1 percent, moving it to a record amount. It spends more than $713.5 million on education construction projects and funds $151 million for restoration of the Everglades and an area lawmakers are calling the Northern Everglades.
At the same time, lawmakers approved a $129.1 million package of tax breaks (HB 7099), a sliver of the $1 billion proposal that Scott had sought. Combined with a proposal to hold local education property taxes down despite rising real-estate values, lawmakers spent $400 million on tax relief of some sort.
Scott nonetheless declared victory on a 2014 re-election campaign promise to reduce taxes by $1 billion over the first two years of his second term. He counted the education tax fix — a Senate priority — as $428 million, the amount that property owners will actually save on their bills. And he rolled together an array of other tax cuts and holidays approved over the last two sessions into the number.
“Everybody comes up here with their ideas,” Scott said. “I doubt that there’s any tax I wouldn’t like to cut … What’s important is we’re giving money back.”
Scott announced plans to visit five cities Monday as part of a “Million, Billion Jobs Victory Tour,” an allusion to the size of the tax cuts and the million private-sector jobs that have been created since he took office in 2011.
Critics saw things very differently, noting that Scott’s priorities were largely gutted by the Legislature as questions began to circulate about whether the second-term governor was now a lame duck.
“The 2016 legislative session may well go down in the history books as the year that the Florida lawmakers formally declared their independence from Gov. Scott,” said Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa.
Even friendly legislators like Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, seemed to hint that it took some creative math to say Scott had accomplished his objectives on tax cuts.
“As you’ve seen from the presidential campaign trail, sometimes political accounting, what goes on the bumper sticker and what is actually impactful to the people is a different number,” Lee told reporters after the session.
What the Legislature approved also proved to be too much for others. Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, highlighted a variety of areas where, he suggested, Florida didn’t spend enough.
“If I’m going to choose where I want us to spend our public tax dollars and what I want us to do with our money, it’s to fix all these problems and not to give tax breaks, which include pear cider this year,” Clemens said.
The end to the session also survived an injection of suspense, as the Senate continued to work on an insurance change for those with Down syndrome while the tax package languished. The insurance measure — a priority of Senate President Andy Gardiner, an Orlando Republican whose son has Down syndrome — would require health plans offered by large employers to cover the condition.
Patients with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities had been left out of a similar piece of legislation in 2008, when Gardiner was in the House.
“Eight years ago, we ended session with an issue that was not resolved. It got resolved tonight,” he said proudly.
But the session went later than expected as lawmakers bounced the bill including the provision (HB 221) back and forth between the chambers. Afterwards, Gardiner said the House and Senate were simply trying to get the language right.
And he denied rumors that the tax cut package or a House bill on the environment, known as “Legacy Florida,” hinged on the success of the Down syndrome legislation.
“There was no holding of anything … We always intended to do the tax package and Legacy Florida,” Gardiner said. “We just wanted to get that (insurance bill) done.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida