Photos: Sunshine Math Teams
May 13, 2013
Below are photos from the Bratt, Byrneville, Jim Allen and Molino Park Sunshine Math teams.
For results from the recent event, click here.
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Bratt – 4th Grade Team 2 — 2nd place Overall
Bratt Sunshine Math Team
Bratt Sunshine Math Team
Byrneville 3rd Grade Team
Byrneville 4th Grade Team
Byrneville 5th Grade Teams
Jim Allen
Jim Allen Team
Jim Allen Team
Jim Allen Team
Jim Allen Team
Molino Park 3rd Grade Team 2, 1st Place Overall
Molino Park 3rd Grade Team 1, 3rd Place Overall
Flash Flood Watch Today
May 2, 2013
There is a flash flood watch in effect for today. Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Today: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. High near 74. East wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
- Tonight: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. Cloudy, with a low around 62. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 78. Northeast wind around 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 47. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
- Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm, then a slight chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 71. Northwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
- Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 48. West wind 5 to 15 mph.
- Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. West wind 5 to 15 mph.
- Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 51.
- Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.
- Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 55.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.
National Day Of Prayer Events Today In Century, Atmore
May 2, 2013
National Day of Prayer events will be held today in Century and Atmore as follows:
Century – National Day of Prayer
A Century community National Day of Prayer service will be held at 6 p.m. at the Ag Building on West Highway 4 at Industrial Boulevard.
Atmore – National Day of Prayer
EVENING SERVICES AT TOM BYRNE PARK* – 5:00pm
Members of the Escambia Co. Middle School Chorus will present a sacred and patriotic music program.
COMMUNITY PRAYER SERVICE – 5:30pm
Meet at the gazebo.
CHILDREN’S PRAYER SERVICE – 5:30 – 6:30pm
Located at the tennis court for grades K-6 who are accompanied by an adult.
BIBLE READING – 6pm – 6:30pm
Bring your Bible to read as a prayer and blessing over our community.
Rain location for evening events is the Escambia County High School gym.
Zell Barnes Brantley
March 18, 2013
Mrs. Zell Barnes Brantley, age 91, of Flomaton, passed away on Sunday, March 17, 2013, at her home.
Mrs. Brantley was a native of Escambia County, AL and a lifetime member of the Flomaton community where she was a homemaker and a member of Century Church of Christ. Mrs. Brantley was preceded in death by her husbands, Hunter Brantley and Wade Grice, Sr.
She is survived by her sons, Jerry (Ann) Brantley, Jack Brantley, both of Flomaton; step-son, Wade Guice, Jr., of Flomaton; daughters, Wanda (Evon) Johnson and Cheryl (Randy) Turner, both of Flomaton; sister, Dorothy Carden of Flomaton; 10 grandchildren and a number of great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, at 10 a.m. until a service time at 11 a.m. with Minister Clifford Dixon officiating.
Interment will be in Hollywood Cemetery in Flomaton.
Pallbearers will be Robert Carden, Lewie Joe Smith, Mark Autrey, Josh White, Bubba Pridgen, Johnny Burkhead.
More Photos: Molino Animal Cruelty Case
March 12, 2013
The following photos document the scene that led to a Molino couple being charged with animal cruelty. For the complete story, click here.
Some readers may find the following photos disturbing.
Video: 2012 Northview Chiefs State Championship Banquet Video and Season Highlights
March 5, 2013
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If you do not see the video above, it is because your work, school or home firewall is blocking external videos from YouTube.
Video: Dusty Sanderson – Chuggin’ Along
February 27, 2013
(If you can’t see the video above, it’s because your work, school or home firewall is blocking external videos.)
Shirley H. Perry
January 25, 2013
Shirley H. Perry, age 76, of Cantonment, went to be with her Lord Tuesday, January 22, 2013. She was born January 30, 1936, in Robertsdale to the late Charles T. and Myrtle L. Hedden, Sr.
Shirley retired from Southern Bell after over 30 years of service. She was very independent, she worked hard and was a caring, loving mother and grandmother.
Survivors include her daughter, Shelia Langford; two sons, Michael (Diana) Perry, all of Cantonment; and Dennis Perry of Gulf Breeze; two grandsons, Ronnie Langford and Dylan Ross; and five brothers.
Funeral services will be Monday, January 28, 2013, at 11 a.m. at Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home with Pastor Pam Avery officiating. Interment will follow in Eastern Gate Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 10 a.m. until the service hour.
Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.
Escambia Man Gets Life In $5 Million Cocaine Conspiracy
January 10, 2013
An Escambia County man has been sentenced to life in prison on federal drug charges.
Clinton Williams, Jr. was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Lacey A. Collier to life in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Williams was also sentenced to a concurrent 360-month term for possessing with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.
The testimony at trial established that Williams was a leader in a multi-state cocaine distribution operation extending from Texas to Florida. The group was responsible for distributing approximately 150 kilograms of cocaine beginning around August 1, 2011, with a wholesale value exceeding $5 million dollars.
Throughout the prosecution, Williams continually told the court he was a “sovereign citizen” and had no “ownership interest” in the name Clinton Williams. He said he believed the charges against him were “only civil disputes” that he wished “to settle” with the “claimant.” He challenged the authority of Senior District Judge Collier to preside over the case.
The conspiracy was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, assisted by the Pensacola Police Department and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. This on-going investigation has resulted in the federal convictions of several other individuals.
The investigation has also resulted in the seizure of multiple kilograms of cocaine, over $100,000 in illegal drug proceeds, vehicles, and other assets connected with this conspiracy.
In Depth: Clerk-Elect Pam Childers Letter To Employees
January 8, 2013
The following letter was sent from Escambia County Clerk-elect Pam Childers to employees:
January 4, 2013
Dear Fellow Employees:As your incoming Clerk of Court, I would like to take this opportunity to wish each of you a Happy New Year. I trust that you and your families enjoyed the holiday season, and I look forward to getting to know you and working with you beginning Tuesday.
I am sending you this letter so that there will be no confusion or misunderstanding about my intentions for this office going forward. My goal is not to “clean house,” nor is it to make life difficult for you. My job, as the elected Clerk of Court and Comptroller, is to serve the taxpayers in a fiscally responsible and efficient manner.
I want to inform each of you about the efforts that my transition team has made since the primary election to ensure a smooth transition for you, for the taxpayers, and for the agencies we serve. I started the transition process by requesting an internal transition team; however, I was met with a response many weeks later that I could meet the leadership team consisting of five people in early November. Since that first request on August 23, 2012, I have made repeated requests for information, names and addresses of staff to initiate correspondence, meet with each of you individually, and other basic transitional access. My attempts for information were frequently delayed or not taken with priority. Communication with the outgoing Clerk was one way; never did he reach out to have a conversation to assist with the transition or provide an environment open to interaction.
In addition to these disappointing transition steps, since my election there have been several aberrant financial decisions. In summary, over $1,000,000 of additional personnel expenditures have been expended or committed during the transition period, as well as nonmonetary actions that adversely affect the ease of transition. These include:
- September 19, 2012 – Revision of the leave buyback policy from a fiscally conservative, limited policy to an unlimited plan that cost several hundred thousand dollars.
- September 2012 – Bonuses totaling $225,913 (lump sum 3% of salary), FY2012
- October 2012 – Pay raises of 4% totaling $290,000 annually (3% for management), FY2013
- November 2012 – Buyback of leave totaling $290,230, including individual requests of over 400 hours, FY2013
- Approximately 17 new hires (both full time and student positions)
- Promotions to the highest paid positions (Administrators and Directors)
- Employees physically relocated to other parts of the building.
- Long-term front office employees moved to outlying offices or transferred to other departments.
All of these transactions occurred within three months of the August 14, 2012 election, with two of the largest financial outlays taking place within weeks of that election.
Most troubling about these expenditures is the fact that none of them appear to have been part of a clear budget process. In researching the budget submissions to both Escambia County and the Florida Clerk of Court Operations Corporation (CCOC), it appears that neither the FY2012 nor the FY2013 budgets included or projected employee bonuses or raises. Moreover, the Escambia County Commission specifically asked Constitutional Officers, who are funded by county revenues, to refrain from giving raises; likewise bonuses were never expected to occur. As a result, it appears that none of these expenditures was approved by the funding agency.
Budgets for most, if not all, Florida governmental agencies have been tight for over five years. Most government employees at the state and local levels have not had raises during this period of time. In fact, only four years ago the Clerk’s office had to layoff twenty (20) upper level and key staff employees because of a fiscal crisis, making these recent expenditures even more puzzling.
It is for these reasons – a lack of transparency and full disclosure on the part of the outgoing administration, unbudgeted financial expenditures, and questionable employee policies- that as of January 8, 2013, the pay raises for Clerk’s employees given on October 8, 2012 will be suspended pending further budget review and audit. This decision is based on an effort to protect Clerk’s employees from layoffs due to these unexpected, unexplained, and imprudent financial decisions by the outgoing administration. Without adequate information and justification from my predecessor and his administration, these unbudgeted expenditures cannot continue without potentially incurring employee layoffs.
For twenty years I have worked at the City of Pensacola finance department. I have been in your shoes, I have faced the challenges you face. I know that this decision will cause difficulties for some of you, and that many family decisions are made based on financial expectations. I firmly believe that each of you is deserving of these raises, but for the sake of all of us and out of respect for the taxpayers whom we serve, we must be wise and prudent.
Hopefully this letter has given you some perspective on my decisions and my efforts to reach out to you prior to now. I would have preferred to meet with all of you personally, but unfortunately that was not permitted by the outgoing Clerk during this transition. I look forward to talking with you at an introductory meeting I have scheduled for Friday, January 11, 2013 at 7:15am to talk about my plans for the future.
Sincerely,
Pam Childers
Clerk-Elect