Ernest Ward Beats TR Miller (With Photo Gallery)
October 7, 2016
Ernest Ward Middle School beat T.R. Miller 28-22 Thursday night. Ernest Ward will wrap up their season next week as they host Atmore in Walnut Hill.
For a photo gallery click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Leak Reported At Jay Oil Well, Schools Shelter In Place
October 7, 2016
Jay schools sheltered in place Thursday as an oil well operator reported a leak.
Breitburn Operating LP, which operates the Jay Field, reported that approximately three barrels of hot water and steam were released from a water injection pipeline about 9:20 a.m.
“The water was promptly vacuumed up, and at no time was there any risk to public health, safety or welfare. The water was contained at the location and did not have any impact outside the boundaries of the area where the incident occurred,” according to a statement the company provided to NorthEscambia.com.
“The produced water escaped through a small pinhole in a four-inch water injection line and pooled in an empty, harvested peanut field,” the company said.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, local government agencies and the property owner were notified of the leak.
School officials said students were sheltered in place after the schools were notified of a salt water line leak by the Santa Rosa County Emergency Operation Center which did not cause a threat to the schools.
Northview Volleyball Celebrates Senior Night Win
October 7, 2016
The Northview Lady Chiefs volleyball team celebrated senior night with a win over the Escambia Gators Thursday.
The varsity Chiefs defeated Escambia 24-26, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17, 15-7. In junior varsity action, Escambia defeated the Chiefs 25-13, 15-25, 15-17.
Northview seniors honored Thursday night were Courtney Grim, Gabrielle Hawkins, Jamia Newton, Victoria Amerson and Brittanie McLemore.
The Chiefs will travel to West Florida next Tuesday before wrapping up their regular season Thursday night at 4:00 with a special Dig Pink event for breast cancer awareness along with Flomaton, Escambia County (Atmore) and W.S. Neal.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured top: Chiefs JV volleyball action from Thursday night. Pictured below: Northview senior volleyball players are honored. NorthEcambia.com and Kayleen Amerson photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Several North Escambia Schools Placed On Lockdown
October 6, 2016
Several North Escambia area schools were on lockdown for a brief time Thursday afternoon due to a car theft.
The schools were placed on lockdown as the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office was searching for the vehicle theftsuspect who was spotted several times in the North Escambia area. Lipscomb, McArthur and Ransom were among the schools placed on lockdown.
The suspect was eventually taken into custody in Alabama.
NorthEscambia.com will have complete details on the search for the suspect and a high-speed chase that ended with a crash coming up Friday morning. We will also have photos and even a video of the car chase.
Lawyer’s Fees Top $3,000 In Defense Of Century Sunshine Law Violation Case
October 6, 2016
Legal bills have exceeded $3,000 for four Century volunteer task force members charged with noncriminal violations of the Florida Government in the Sunshine Law. The four faced possible maximum fines of $2,000 total.
The Century Town Council voted to hire attorney Kim Skievaski, a former circuit judge, at $300 per hour to represent Alfonzie Cottrell, Helen Mincy, Sylvia Godwin, and Robert Mitchell , who were charged by the State Attorney’s Office with having a public meeting that was not properly advertised. On July 26, a meeting was advertised to begin at 4:00 p.m. The meeting was actually held at 2:00 p.m. preventing the public from attending.
Kievaski’s firm, Sellers, Skievaski and Kuder, billed the Town of Century $3,070 for their work on the case. A town official said additional fees are expected but not yet billed by town attorney Matt Dannheiser for his work on the issue.
Kievaski billed the town for 60 minutes to review the case, 90 minutes to meet with Mayor Freddie McCall and Matt Dannheiser, 240 minutes to travel to Century to meet with the four defendants and 44 minutes to appear at the arraignment, confer with the State Attorney’s Office and review a deferred prosecution agreement, and 180 minutes to return to Century to meet with the defendants. That totaled 614 minutes, or 10.23 hours.
The former members of a Citizens Advisory Task Force — Alfonzie Cottrell, Helen Mincy, Sylvia Godwin, and Robert Mitchell — pleaded not guilty to a noncriminal violation of the Florida Government in the Sunshine Law. Each accepted a deferred prosecution agreement under which charges and a possible maximum fine of $500 will be dropped if the defendant has no violation of the law and resigns their position on the Citizens Advisory Task Force or completes an online training course regarding the Sunshine Law. If the individuals meet the conditions, the charge will be dropped in six months. The State Attorney’s Office said any fees or costs in connection with the case will also be waived. In letters from defense attorney Kim Skievaski to Century Mayor Freddie McCall and the Century Town Council, each of the four task force members resigned their positions effective September 12.
The council voted to hire Skievaski on August 30. In an interview conducted that night and published the following morning, the State Attorney’s Office confirmed that the four would be offered deferred prosecution.
The State Attorney’s Office has continued to contend that “there was a clear violation of the Sunshine Law by hold a public meeting at a time other than what was advertised in a public notice”. The SAO said deferred prosecution was offered due to mitigating circumstances included the age of the defendants, their willingness to resign from office and the “considerable responsibility of the Town of Century in allowing the violation to occur”.
For an earlier story with more information, click here.
Pictured top: CATF members Helen Mincy, Robert Mitchell and Sylvia Godwin during a CATF meeting on Thursday, July 28. Alfonzie Cottrell was not present at the July 28 meeting. Pictured inset: Attorney bill for $3,070. Pictured below: The Century Town Hall was locked and the parking lot empty just after 4 p.m. Tuesday, July 26, the time of a publicly noticed town task force meeting. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Sunny And Warm Into The Weekend
October 6, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 65. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 68. North wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 89. North wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 63. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 86. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 59. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Columbus Day: Sunny, with a high near 84.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 58.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 84.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85.
Health Officials Investigate Escambia County Scabies Case
October 6, 2016
At least one case of scabies has been recently-diagnosed in a resident of Escambia County. The Florida Department of Health in Escambia County advises residents to contact their physician if they suspect themselves to have scabies.
Scabies is an infestation of the skin by the human itch mite. Scabies is found worldwide and affects people of all races and social classes. Scabies can spread rapidly under crowded conditions where close body and skin contact is frequent. Institutions such as nursing homes, extended-care facilities, and prisons are often sites of scabies outbreaks. Child care facilities also are a common site of scabies infestations. Scabies mites are too small to be seen with the naked eye and are usually spread by direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies.
The most common symptoms of scabies are intense itching and a pimple-like skin rash. Symptoms of scabies infestation may take up to six weeks to appear, however, an infested person can spread scabies even before they experience any itching or rash. The itching and rash may affect a person’s entire body or may be limited to one or more areas or body parts. The rash also can include tiny blisters and scales. Scratching the rash can cause skin sores; sometimes these sores become infected by bacteria. A less-common symptom may be tiny raised and crooked grayish-white or skin-colored lines on the skin surface, made when the mites tunnel just beneath the skin.
A more severe form of the infestation, that can occur in persons with poor immune function, is Norwegian (also called crusted) scabies. This more-contagious version of scabies causes thick crusts of skin to appear on the infested individual. These thick crusts of skin contain large numbers of mites and eggs which are very easily spread by both by direct skin-to-skin contact and by contamination of items such as their clothing, bedding, and furniture. Persons with crusted scabies should receive quick and aggressive medical treatment for their infestation both to minimize their personal risk for bacterial infections and to prevent outbreaks of scabies.
A person who thinks they might have scabies should contact a doctor. The doctor can examine the person, confirm the diagnosis of scabies, and prescribe an appropriate treatment. Products used to treat scabies in humans are available only with a doctor’s prescription. Anyone who is diagnosed with scabies, as well as his or her sexual partners and other contacts who have had prolonged skin-to-skin contact with the infested person, should be treated. Treatment is recommended for members of the same household as the person with scabies, particularly those persons who have had prolonged skin-to-skin contact with the infested person. All persons should be treated at the same time to prevent reinfestation.
Everyone Wins: Welcome To The Miracle League (And How Tate Students Can Help)
October 6, 2016
Every game ends in a tie. Every player hits; every player scores. There are no strikeouts, no errors. Everybody wins.
Welcome to the Miracle League.
Every child, no matter their disability or ability, is just a regular kid…playing the field and getting a good hit.
It’s a baseball league for disabled and special needs persons of all ages. Some of the players are in wheelchairs and walkers. Some handicaps are mental, some are physical. It’s a place for miracles.
In the end, Saturday’s game between the Cardinals and the Phillies was tied, just as every game has ended in a tie for the past 14 seasons. The stats for each of the 100 plus players will be the same at the end of the season — perfect.
Players and volunteers come from not just Pensacola, but Mobile, Crestview, Brewton and points in between. Everybody is a volunteer that participates with the Miracle League. The are paid only in smiles.
Each of the two Pensacola Miracle League fields is made up of 180,000 pounds of recycled tires formed into tiles painted to match a regular field. It provides a softer landing spot for a hard fall, while still providing a good bounce for the hollow core ball that is also designed to lesson injury potential.
The Miracle League needs more volunteers to serve as buddies, work the concession booth, pickup trash and many more tasks around their area of the Nine Mile Road ballpark.
The public is always welcome and encouraged to cheer on the players.
For more information on Miracle League, or to volunteer, visit www.miracleleaguepensacola.org.
Tate High School students are collecting a donation this week for the Miracle League in honor of senior and varsity football honoree Markus Baxley. Collection bins are located throughout the school, and donations will be accepted during the Pace at Tate football game Friday night.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured top and below: Game action Saturday at Miracle League. Pictured below: Northview High School SGA members volunteer as Miracle League buddies Saturday were (front, L-R) Morgan Myrick, Kayla McKillion, Alyssa Borelli, Brianna Smith, Delaney Reynolds, (back, L-R) sponsors Laura Johnson and Anna Barry.
FWC Law Enforcement Report
October 6, 2016
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending September 29 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officers on board the vessel FinCat conducted 33 hours of offshore patrol over a four‑day period. A total of 12 violations were documented with federal charges. The violations included undersized mingo/vermillion snapper, undersized scamp, possession of red snapper and greater amberjack during closed season, and failure to allow inspection.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officer Hutchinson was patrolling the Blackwater State Forest when he made contact with two subjects in possession of alcoholic beverages where they are prohibited. He asked the subjects for their identification and followed them to their vehicle to get the IDs. While standing next to the passenger side door of their vehicle, Officer Hutchinson could smell a strong odor of cannabis emitting from the vehicle. After further investigation, he found a glass pipe with cannabis residue in it and a plastic bag containing cannabis inside of the vehicle. Both subjects were charged with possession of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia. They were issued warnings for the alcohol violations.
Northview Accepting Entries For Homecoming Parade, Orders For Meal
October 6, 2016
The annual Northview High School Homecoming Parade has been set for Friday, October 14.
The parade will line up at noon and travel from Bratt Elementary School to Northview High. Entries are being accepted now; there is no cost to enter. For a printable entry form, click here. Entries are due by October 10.
Contact Perry Byars at (850) 327-6681 ext. 248 for more information.
A homecoming meal will available Friday from 10 a.m. until from the football concession stand to support the Tommy Weaver Scholarship Fund. The $7 meal will include a BBQ pulled pork sandwich, chips, cookies and drink. To reserve lunch, call (850) 327-6681 ext. 248 or tickets are available in the Northview front office. Checks should be made payable to the NHS FFA Alumni.
The Northview Chief’s homecoming game will kickoff at 7 p.m. on October 14 against the Jay Royals.
Pictured: A float in the 2015 Northview High Homecoming Parade in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.