Escambia County Approves $5 Million More For ST Engineering Expansion
February 8, 2019
Escambia County will contribute another $5 million dollars to the expansion of ST Engineering at the Pensacola International Airport.
The Escambia County Commission approved the increase on a 4-1 vote, with Commissioner Doug Underhill voting against. The move brings the county’s total contribution to the project to $15 million, mostly from local option sales tax funds.
The Pensacola City Council also voted this week to contribute another $5 million to their previous $10 million commitment.
The city asked Friday morning for another $12.5 million from Triumph Gulf Coast in addition to their previously committed $56 million. The Triumph board committed to additional $10 million, $2.5 million short of the ask, for a commitment of 1,325 jobs for at least seven years.
A total of $210 million in funding is needed for the project by March 31.
The project includes the construction of hangers and is expected to create over 1,300 jobs.
Atmore Explores Establishing Downtown Historic District
February 8, 2019
The immediate downtown Atmore business district could be designated as a historic district.
The City of Atmore held a public hearing Thursday evening to discuss the proposed historic district. Officials from the Alabama Historical Commission and the consulting firm of McNair Historic Preservation fielded question from a small crowd of mostly business owners and stakeholders at Atmore City Hall.
City Clerk Becca Smith said boundaries for the historic district have not yet been established, but the area currently under consideration is along and either side of Main Street downtown.
If the city moves forward, it could take well over a year before the historic district could become officially recognized.
Pictured: Downtown Atmore and a public workshop at the Atmore City Hall Thursday evening. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
North Escambia Transportation Service Explained In Century; Next Meeting In Walnut Hill
February 8, 2019
Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) held a public workshop Thursday evening in Century to provide information about the North Escambia Transportation Service Pilot Project. There is one more workshop meeting set for Monday in Walnut Hill.
The North Escambia Transportation Service Pilot Project will begin February 20 as a door-to-door on demand transportation project.
To qualify for the program, participants must live north of Quintette Road within Escambia County and complete a short application (click to download). All trips will require a 24-hour advance reservation by calling (850) 595-0501 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays. The participant’s fare will be $1 for each trip.
The project will service Walnut Hill, Davisville and Bratt on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Century, Molino and McDavid on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The service will be available from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday.
A meeting will be held at 5 p.m. on Monday, February 11 at the Walnut Hill Community Center (Ruritan Building) on Highway 97.
Pictured: ECAT Division Manager Tonya Ellis explains the North Escambia Transportation project during a meeting Thursday evening in Century. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Volleyball: Beulah Academy Of Science Tops Ernest Ward Middle
February 8, 2019
The Beulah Academy of Science Bobcats topped the Ernest Ward Middle School Eagles in middle school volleyball Thursday night.
In varsity play, Beulah defeated Ernest Ward in two straight sets, 25-21, 25-21.
In junior varsity play, Beulah Academy topped Ernest Ward in three sets. The Bobcats won the first set 25-15. The Eagles battled back to 26-24 win in the second set, followed by a decisive Bobcat 15-6 win.
Beulah Academy will travel to Beulah Middle School on Monday. Also on Monday, Ernest Ward will host Ransom Middle School.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Jay Lady Royals Beat Freeport To Win District Championship
February 8, 2019
The Jay Lady Royals beat Freeport Thursday night for the District 3-1A Championship in Baker.
The Royals dominated 46-32 for the first district title since 1996 when they went on two win the state title.
Madison Mathis led the Lady Royals with 12 points and six blocks. Hayden Burkett also added 10 for the Royals.
Jay will host Franklin County on Thursday.
Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Bids Farewell To Retiring Administrator Jack Brown
February 8, 2019
Escambia County recognized and honored retiring Administrator Jack Brown Thursday. A reception in his honor was held Thursday afternoon, and the county commission approved a proclamation in the evening.
Brown retired to take of his wife and her health issues.
He became administrator on June 8, 2014, and walked into the aftermath of flooding of historic proportions from the April 2014 flood event including relocation of prisoners after the Central Booking and Detention Center explosion and numerous infrastructure issues.
He worked to secure new sites for the Escambia County 4-H Facility in Molino and the Escambia County Correctional Facility, and he worked with the state and Navy Federal on traffic issues. He worked with the U.S. Navy on multiple issues to keep the OLF-8 and OLF-X land swap project on track.
After the Florida Department of Transportation closed several bridges in North Escambia due to structural issues, Browned worked to find a solution to replace in bridges in a timely fashion while saving taxpayer money.
Employees also received a 3-percent pay increase in annual operating budgets during Brown’s tenure.
Brown, a resident of Molino, retired to take care of his wife and her health issues.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
UWF To Be First North American University To Host Parkrun, A Series Of Free 5Ks
February 8, 2019
The University of West Florida will host the first parkrun on a college campus in North America on Saturday. A volunteer-based nonprofit, parkrun offers free, weekly, timed 5K routes at 7:30 a.m. every Saturday, year-round.
There are currently 1,400 parkruns worldwide, with three established in the state of Florida. The other two Florida-based parkrun events are in Clermont and Gainesville. The nonprofit has developed a far-reach since its start in England in 2004. After visiting two parkrun events in Ireland, Pensacola resident Robin Foley introduced the idea of parkrun to Caleb Carmichael, head coach of the UWF men’s and women’s cross country teams, and Howard Reddy, vice president for university advancement.
“I was looking for a suitable course and UWF was looking for additional ways to attract visitors to campus, so linking up was a marriage made in heaven,” Foley said.
Foley has worked with UWF in recent months to clear the trail. The idea of parkrun was a welcoming one for Carmichael—he envisioned a competition-grade cross-country course that could serve UWF, nearby schools and the community.
“I wanted people to be able to come to a home meet here, train for UWF’s cross-country teams or run on a trail on campus,” Carmichael said.
Runners and walkers of all experience levels are invited to participate in the Rec Plex North parkrun. The meeting location will be at the entrance of UWF’s Baars-Firestone Wildlife Sanctuary, located at the backside of the Rec Plex North, behind Lot Z.
For more information about the Rec Plex North parkrun, visit parkrun.us/recplexnorth. To view the UWF campus map, visit map.uwf.edu.
DeSantis Wants New Teacher Bonus Program
February 8, 2019
Four years after lawmakers started a controversial teacher-bonus program, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he wants to scrap the “Best and Brightest” program and plow nearly $423 million into a new effort to reward teachers and principals.
The Best and Brightest program has faced opposition, at least in part, because it considers teachers’ scores on SAT or ACT college-entrance exams in determining eligibility for bonuses. The use of those scores has drawn state and federal lawsuits arguing that the program discriminates against older teachers and minority teachers.
During an event Thursday at Armwood High School in Hillsborough County, DeSantis also pointed to questions about the logic of looking at college-entrance exams in evaluating teachers.
“While there were some good things to that (Best and Brightest) and some teachers got some good bonuses, the way they did the program was not just whether you were a good teacher but then your SAT scores from going into college,” DeSantis said. “And a lot of folks didn’t think that that was necessarily the best way to do it because, quite frankly, that test is one moment in time and it’s not necessarily indicative of the passion … when you’re into the classroom.”
DeSantis said the new program could provide bonuses of more than $9,000 to nearly 45,000 “highly effective” teachers at schools that showed progress on grading calculations and bonuses of up to $6,500 for principals.
“What we’re trying to do is identify those teachers that are rated highly effective and that are helping their schools move forward,” DeSantis said. “And when they’re doing that, we think they should be rewarded.”
The Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union that has been a fierce critic of the Best and Brightest program, issued a news release that said it sees DeSantis’ ideas “as a start toward fixing the discriminatory and unfair provisions of that bad legislation.” But it also suggested that higher salaries are the best way to attract and keep qualified teachers.
“There doesn’t have to be a revolutionary way to solve Florida’s problem with recruiting and retaining teachers,” Florida Education Association President Fedrick Ingram said. “We will be urging the governor and the Legislature to go one step further: We need competitive salaries for teachers and education staff.”
The governor’s proposed changes would require legislative approval during the session that starts March 5. The Best and Brightest program, which provides $6,000 bonuses to teachers, is in state law. House Republican leaders pushed for its creation in 2015 — a time when current Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran was the House appropriations chairman.
DeSantis last week released a proposed $91.3 billion state budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year that included $422.97 million for the new program.
Lawmakers set aside $234 million for the Best and Brightest program during the current year. In addition to considering performance on college entrance exams, the eligibility requirements for Best and Brightest also take into account whether teachers have been evaluated as “highly effective.”
Along with the new bonus program, DeSantis said Thursday he wants to provide $10 million a year for five years for a loan- and tuition-forgiveness program that would help recruit teachers. He said the program would provide aid to as many as 1,700 new teachers who commit to working in the state for five years.
“And the preference is going to be on areas of high need, and we have some areas of the state where the shortages are acute,” DeSantis said. “We have underserved areas. And so basically what we’re telling the folks is if you go to college, you rack up some of this debt, if you’re willing to do this and dedicate those five years, that we’ll be able to wipe that slate clean, up and to a pretty significant amount of money.”
The State Board of Education last month approved an annual report that, in part, detailed a shortage of certified science, English and math teachers in Florida’s public schools. Also, the report indicated schools that received “D” ratings for their performances over the past three years have higher percentages of out-of-field teachers than other schools.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Police Release Identity Of Atmore Man Struck And Killed By Train
February 7, 2019
Atmore Police have identified a pedestrian struck and killed by a train Wednesday afternoon in Atmore.
Eric Edwards Smith, 40, was hit about 1 p.m. by a westbound CSX train at the Martin Luther King Avenue railroad crossing, parallel to Highway 31. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Witnesses said Smith was walking or standing on the tracks at the crossing, according to Atmore Police Sgt. Robby Williams. The crossing arms were down, the signal lights were flashing and the train sounded its horn numerous times but Smith did not get out of the way of the oncoming train, Williams said.
Atmore Police and CSX are continuing to investigate.
The train came to a stop about four-tenths of a mile away, near the Second Avenue crossing. The Martin Luther King crossing remained blocked for hours.
NorthEscambia.com photos. click to enlarge.
Gulf Power Considering Conversion Of Plant Crist To Natural Gas, Pipeline Through North Escambia
February 7, 2019
EXCLUSIVE — A Gulf Power document first obtained by NorthEscambia.com shows the company is analyzing the feasibility of a proposed natural gas pipeline though North Escambia to convert Plant Crist from coal to natural gas.
“An underground natural gas pipeline to Plant Crist would give it the capability to run completely on natural gas,” the power company document states.
“We are analyzing the feasibility of a proposed underground pipeline that would deliver more natural gas to Gulf Power’s Plant Crist so that it has the capability to run entirely on natural gas. The conversion to natural gas would significantly lower carbon emissions and help lower costs to customers through lower operating costs.”
The proposed natural gas pipeline will run about 39 miles from the existing Florida Gas Transmission Pipeline near the Florida/Alabama border outside Century south through McDavid, Molino and Cantonment to Plant Crist on Pate Street just northwest of the University of West Florida. Over 85 percent of the proposed route would be located on existing corridors like Gulf Power transmission line corridors.
A project timeline shows permitting beginning by May of this year, construction beginning in early 2020 and the pipeline in service by mid 2020.
“Gulf Power is conducting land surveying to determine the best, most appropriate route for the pipeline. The pipeline will undergo a comprehensive review by numerous local, state and federal agencies to ensure it complies with all environmental and regulatory standards,” the document states.
The Gulf Power document indicates the conversion of Plant Crist to natural gas would mean cleaner energy and projected lower bills for customers. It is estimated the project would create 375 “good-paying” jobs at peak construction and $37 million in tax revenue for Escambia County during the 35-year operating life of the pipeline.
Pictured: Images from a Gulf Power document relating to a natural gas pipeline through North Escambia for the conversion of Plant Crist to natural gas. NorthEscambia.com images, click to enlarge.
