Flame Broiled? Firefighters Respond To Burger King
August 2, 2017
Firefighters responded to the smell of smoke in the Burger King restaurant on Highway 29 at Old Chemstrand Road early Wednesday morning. Employees reported a burning smell in the ceiling. The odor was traced to a malfunctioning air conditioning unit. There was no damage reported. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
North Escambia Native Rebekah Bydlak Running For Florida House
August 2, 2017
Republican Rebekah Bydlak of Cantonment has filed to run for the Florida House seat currently held by Clay Ingram. Ingram can’t run again due to term limits.
During the 2016 primary, Bydlak ran for Congress, taking fourth place in an eight-candidate race.
“I have dedicated my life and professional career to fighting for conservative principles as a private citizen,” said Bydlak upon announcing her run for the Florida House. “For too long we have witnessed the same politicians saying one thing at home and doing another when elected, all the while getting nothing done. I’m running to fight for our conservative values and deliver for Northwest Florida.”
Bydlak is currently the executive director of the Coalition to Reduce Spending, an advocacy organization dedicated to reducing federal spending and debt.
“I’ve been humbled by the encouragement I’ve received from family and friends alike in weighing this decision,” Bydlak said. “After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to announce my candidacy for the Florida House.”
Bydlak was home schooled her entire life before attending Pensacola State College and the University of West Florida. She holds a master’s degree in political science and public administration from UWF. She lives in Cantonment with her husband, Jonathan.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Sunny Today, Rain Moving In By Thursday
August 2, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Thursday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 83. East wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Thursday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 86. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Friday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 86. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89.
Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
New Website For West Florida Public Libraries
August 2, 2017
Tuesday, West Florida Public Libraries announced the launch of a newly-designed website.
The revamped site was created to provide a user-friendly experience that makes it easier than ever for citizens, businesses and visitors to access information about the library system from their computer, tablet or mobile phone.
The website was developed using the latest technology and a responsive design, making it compatible with all browsers and mobile devices. Users will also have the option to share information across all major social networking sites.
The site is organized to provide quick and direct access to all of the programs and services the library offers.
Some new features include:
- Upcoming events and new fiction titles available on the homepage
- An easily-fillable form for requesting a meeting room
- Access to searches for the Kids Catalog and the full catalog on the homepag
The site will be continually updated, with new features being added regularly.
Escambia School District, UWF Honor Top Summer Science Students
August 2, 2017
Future environmental health advocates from the Escambia County School District presented their Capstone projects to wrap-up the UWF Environmental Health Scholars 8-week summer program.
“This was our fourth year in this partnership and each year we have the pleasure of working with some amazing local high school students. They make me feel good about our environmental futures,” said Aisha Adkison, Health Science Specialist, in the ECSD Workforce Education Department. “These students dedicated three days a week for eight weeks of their summer vacation to learning more about our world and a vast variety of environmental challenges. They each select a research topic and prepare a Capstone project.”
The program is funded on a subcontract for over $100,000/yr for 5 years through the Gulf Region Health Outreach Program (GRHOP) administered by the Center for Gulf Coast Environmental Health Research, Leadership & Strategic Initiatives, School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, Tulane University. The grant covers training for secondary education teachers from the region, specialized equipment and supplies for those teachers’ classrooms and the summer program for students. Selected students spend three days a week at UWF with public health faculty, Dr. Enid Sisskin and Dr. George Stewart.
Project topics included, the 21st Century War on Science, GMOs, pandemics, climate change, the dangerous cumulative effect of littering, storms’ effect on the ozone layer, anthrax and a look at the U.S./Mexico border challenge from the perspective of its effect on animals. Another student took a hard look at anxiety and tied it to the other topics because, as she pointed out, how can any of us go out and fix any of these other environmental problems if anxiety keeps us trapped inside.
The results were:
1st Place: Madison Kemp, Ernest Ward Middle graduate and a Florida Virtual School student. Her topic was: The Effects of Manmade Climate Change on Global Health.
2nd Place: Tyra Williams, a rising senior in the Health Academy at Pensacola High School. Her topic was: How Facts Became Opinions: The 21st Century War on Science.
3rd Place: Tyler Motts, an Environmental Science student from Pine Forest High School, His topic was: The Environmental Impact of the US – Mexico Border.
Statements made during the presentations started with facts, data, graphs and images. But project requirements also directed the students to reach their own conclusions, reflect on what they learned and state their opinions. One student did a great job of summarizing a conclusion shared no matter what the topic, “We need to care. Humans must take a stand, because we are our own worst enemy.”
Pictured: Tyra Williams (left), second place winner, and Madison Kemp, first place winner. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Sets Budget Workshops
August 2, 2017
Editor’s note: 9 a.m. 8/2/17 – This story reflects a change made by the town in the first meeting date from August 10 to August 9.
Century will begin their budget setting process with workshop meetings August 9 and August 24, according to a public notice issued Tuesday.
In previous years, the town council has held budget workshop meetings much earlier. During the past couple of years, the town has held two budget workshops in June, followed by one or two meetings to complete the process in July.
Both the August 9 and August 24 meetings will be held in the council chambers at the Century Town Hall at 7995 North Century Boulevard. The 4 p.m. meetings are open to the public.
The fiscal year 2016-2017 budget in Century was $4.26 million.
NorthEscambia.com photos,click to enlarge.
Northview High Plans Orientation For Thursday
August 2, 2017
From Northview High School:
We will issue class schedules, hall lockers, and textbooks to returning 10th, 11th and 12th grade students on the first day of school. Ninth graders and new students will attend an August 3rd Orientation and will receive everything they need at that time. Please remember that May 24, 2017, as noted on the registration cards, was the last day to request schedule changes. There is a processing procedure which students may utilize to request schedule changes, once school has started. However, since the parent and student approved the schedule at registration time and since the master schedule and teacher assignments have been made based upon these requests, all requests must support both the student’s requested schedule and teacher assignments. Please be advised that schedule changes at this time are extremely rare and are allowed only for registration adjustments or academic requirements based on the FSA end-of- course exam scores. Students will not have the opportunity to request schedule changes during the textbook issuing time. Textbooks will be issued to correspond with the student’s printed schedule. Locker assignments will also be printed on the class schedules, so students should be extremely careful not to leave their printed course schedules unattended.
August 3, 2017
School Offices will be closed from 11:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.
1 PM – 2:30 PM 9 th Grade and New Student Orientation
All incoming 9th grade and new students in grades 10, 11, and 12 should report to the theater before 1 p.m., on Thursday, August 3. In the theater, students will have a short introduction and welcome program. Immediately afterwards, the students will be divided into groups to facilitate the processing of schedules and lockers. Orientation will include a brief tour of the Northview campus. Parent Chromebook training will be provided as well. Students with signed Cromebook contracts will be issued Chromebooks to take home after school begins. Students without a signed contract will not be issued a Chromebook but will check one out daily from the media center. The entire process should take approximately 90 minutes, so parents are asked to be prompt in picking up their students at the breezeway after the conclusion of this activity.
County Seeking Volunteer For Mass Transit Advisory Committee
August 2, 2017
The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners is seeking Escambia County residents interested in volunteering to be considered for a vacancy on the Escambia County Mass Transit Advisory Committee, or MTAC.
Escambia residents interested in serving on the Escambia County Mass Transit Advisory Committee are asked to submit a resume and letter indicating their desire to serve on the Committee by close of business on Monday, Aug. 14. Resumes should be submitted to Judy Witterstaeter, Program Coordinator, Board of County Commissioners, P.O. box 1591, Pensacola, FL 32502, or emailed to jhwitter@myescambia.com.
Please be aware that resumes submitted to a BCC agenda for consideration will become part of the official minutes and are subject to public records requests.
The board, in its regular meeting on Oct. 1, 2009, adopted a resolution establishing the MTAC. The MTAC meets quarterly, typically on the second Wednesday of the month from 3-5 p.m.
The duties of the committee include the following:
Establishing a set of benchmarks to periodically evaluate the service and management of existing public mass transit systems operating in Escambia County;
Setting short-range and long-range goals for increasing ridership, expanding routes and instituting new mass transit services;
Assisting the Board of County of Commissioners, the county administrator and Escambia County Area Transit management in developing partnerships with industry groups and employers to foster economic development; and
Identifying opportunities for inter-governmental or regional transportation alliances with entities both within Escambia County and outside of Escambia County.
Wahoos Fall To Birmingham
August 2, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning Tuesday but then were shutout the rest of the game.
Birmingham Baron’s pitchers, Brannon Easterling, Kyle Kubat and Jack Charleston combined for eight scoreless innings, five hits, no walks and six strikeouts after Easterling gave up two runs on two hits and three walks.
Birmingham centerfielder Hunter Jones blasted his second homer in three games in the sixth inning to deliver a, 3-2, Baron’s victory over the Blue Wahoos at Regions Field. Birmingham leads the five-game series 2-1.
Pensacola is now 19-18 this season in one-run games.
Pensacola third baseman Nick Senzel hit his 11th double to drive in shortstop Blake Trahan to go up, 1-0, in the first inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Blue Wahoos second baseman Shed Long walked to force center fielder Gabriel Guerrero in for the second run of the inning.
Birmingham second baseman Danny Mendick singled to center to drive in both third baseman Trey Michalczewski and catcher Alfredo Gonzalez to knot the score, 2-2, in the fifth inning.
That’s when Jones came through with his game-winning seventh homer to left center to put the Barons ahead, 3-2, in the sixth inning.
Pensacola starter Deck McGuire gave up all three runs to Birmingham over seven innings. McGuire allowed seven hits, walked two and struck out six. He earned the loss and is 9-8 with a 2.65 ERA.
Meanwhile, Kubat who has played in Low-A and High-A this season pitched in his first Double-A game and earned the victory. The reliever out of the University of Nebraska pitched three scoreless innings, allowed two hits and struck out three.
Charleston, making his second relief appearance with the Barons, earned his first save in Double-A. He tossed two scoreless innings, allowed one hit and struck out one.
Pensacola is in frst place in the Southern League South Division with a 19-19 record in the second half. Pensacola is 59-49 overall and won the first half title. Birmingham, which is in last place in the Southern League North Division, improved to 16-22 and are 42-65 overall.
Over 23,000 Business Tax Receipt Notices Headed To Escambia Businesses
August 2, 2017
Escambia County Tax Collector Scott Lunsford has mailed Business Tax Receipt (BTR) renewal notices to 23,505 businesses in Escambia County. Businesses may renew their BTRs anytime between now and September 30.
Businesses can make online payments at EscambiaTaxCollector.com.
“Paying online is easy and secure, and there is no wait time,” said Lunsford. E-checks and credit cards can be used for online transactions. Businesses also can make payments by mail or at one of four convenient offices.
Also, business owners are encouraged to take advantage of the installment plan for tangible personal property tax payments. By utilizing this plan, business owners with a tangible personal property tax bill of at least $100 can make four quarterly payments instead of one lump sum payment. Each quarterly bill will receive a different discount for early payment as prescribed by Florida Statutes. The quarterly payments are due by the last day of June, September, December and March. Paper applications are being accepted now, and businesses can apply online after November 1, 2017. The Installment Payment Plan application deadline for 2018 property taxes is April 30, 2018.
Lunsford said, “The installment program not only helps ease the financial burden on taxpayers by allowing them to spread out the payments, it also provides a discount for making payments on time.”