10,000 Pound Food Giveaway Saturday At Nine Mile Road Church
November 17, 2022
A 10,000 pound food distribution will be held Saturday.
Empowerment Church International will host the food giveaway at 2 East Nine Mile Road (the shopping center with Harbor Freight) beginning at 9 a.m. There will be groceries and a limited number of turkeys and hams distrributed.
Nine ‘Purple Star Schools’ Designated In Escambia County
November 17, 2022
Nine schools in Escambia County have been recognized as Purple Star Schools by the Florida Department of Education for their support of children of military families
The schools are:
- Bailey Middle
- Beulah Academy of Science
- Blue Angels Elementary
- Escambia High School
- Global Learning Academy
- Jim Allen Elementary
- N.B. Cook Elementary
- Pine Meadow Elementary
- West Florida High
Additionally, the DOE will work with Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties to create a first of its kind teacher leadership program at Purple Star schools to both help veterans earn their teaching certification and help other teachers learn how to best serve military families. This program will allow Purple Star schools to fill teaching positions and help qualified teachers receive their certification more quickly.
“Purple Star schools have the tools and knowledgeable faculty needed to help children of military families succeed regardless of the obstacles they face,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “We also recognize that no one can better relate to these children than those who have served, which is why we are encouraging our veterans to teach at these schools and across the state.”
“We are so proud of our relationship with our area military bases, and welcome the opportunity to continue to work closely with them to support our military families,” stated ECPS Superintendent Dr. Tim Smith. “This recognition validates the efforts of our schools as they seek to meet the needs of our local military community.”
Purple Star campuses must meet certain requirements designed to support the unique needs of military children and their families as they transition into a new school and navigate a new community. Those requirements include:
- Designating a faculty member as the military liaison to directly support families;
- Updating the school website with resources for military students and families;
- Offering a student-led transition program to assist military students in acclimating into a school;
- Expanding staff professional development training opportunities on issues relating to military students; and
- Reserving controlled, open enrollment seats for military-connected students to utilize to ensure school choice opportunities are available to them, regardless of the time of year their military transfer takes place.
The Purple Star teacher leadership program builds on legislation signed earlier this year to allow veterans with four years of military experience and an associate’s degree to obtain a 5-year temporary teaching certificate while they work towards earning a bachelor’s degree.
Through the program, schools in Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Escambia, and Walton counties will actively recruit veterans to become teachers and then help them earn their certification directly from the school, without having to experience any delays from DOE. The program will also connect veterans with opportunities to finish their schooling at nearby colleges, getting veterans experience in the classroom and partnering veterans with mentor-teachers.
Five Injured In Wednesday Morning Wreck In Beulah
November 16, 2022
Five people were injured in a two vehicle crash Wednesday morning in Beulah.
A silver Ford van and a red Ford pickup truck collided about 6:30 a.m. at West Nine Mile Road and Beulah Road.
The driver of the van, a 38-year old man from Robertsdale, was headed east on Nine Mile when he failed to yield the right of way and turned left in front of the pickup truck, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The front of the truck collided with the right side of the van, and a trailer from the van was disconnected and blocked the intersection.
A passenger in the van, an 18-year old male from Robertsdale was in serious but stable condition. The driver of the van and a third passenger, a 17-year old male received minor injuries. The 61-year old pickup truck driver and his 63-year old male passenger, both from Pensacola, also received minor injuries.
The driver of the van was cited for failure to yield right of way while turning left and driving without a driver’s license.
Century Sets Hours Of Operation For All Parks, Closing Them At Night
November 16, 2022
Century has now established hours of operations for the town’s parks.
Tuesday night, the town council voted 3-0 to set park hours from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, seven days a week. The new hours are effective immediately at parks including Anthony Pleasant Park, Marie McMurray Park, Showalter Park and Nadine McCaw Park.
The resolution setting the hours does allow the mayor to close parks for emergencies and other problems, or extend hours for scheduled public events like ball games.
After problems with vandalism and individuals in the parks late at night, the town learned recently that the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office could not ask people to leave the parks because there were no official hours established.
“This helps us with the sheriff’s department,” Mayor Ben Boutwell said. “They can enforce now that we’ve got this.”
Pictured top:: Marie McMurray Park in Century. NorthEscambia.com file photo. Pictured below: The playground at Showalter Park.
10,000 Pound Thanksgiving Food Distribution Held In Cantonment
November 16, 2022
The Cantonment Improvement Committee held a 10,000 pound Thanksgiving food distribution Tuesday afternoon.
The distribution at Carver Park on Webb Street also included 200 turkeys.
The CIC event was made possible with contributions from Feeding the Gulf Coast, Manna Food Pantries and Ascend.
For more photos, click or tap here.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Winning $58K Fantasy Five Tickets Sold In Davisville And Pensacola
November 16, 2022
Two people are both over $58,000 richer this morning after both purchasing winning Florida Lottery Fantasy 5 tickets in Escambia County.
A winning ticket was sold at the State Line Gift Shop at 11208 Highway 97 in Davisville, in the Piggly Wiggly shopping center. A second winning ticket was sold at Publix at 1100 East Cervantes Street in Pensacola, and a third in Miami.
The winning tickets are worth $58,371.34 each.
The 326 tickets matching four numbers won $86.50 each. Another 8,424 tickets matching three numbers are worth $9 each, and 77,584 ticket holders won a free ticket for picking two numbers.
Tuesday’s winning numbers were 10-18-20-22-24.
Man Allegedly Pulls Knife On Flomaton Officer, Escapes Custody
November 16, 2022
A man that allegedly pulled a knife on a Flomaton police officer before escaping custody Tuesday morning is facing multiple charges.
The Flomaton Police Department responded to a suspicious person complaint at the Circle K on Sidney Manning Boulevard. A Flomaton officer found 36-year old Emmanuel Rabun Bethea in a bathroom and ordered him to leave the business.
Bethea refused commands and turned toward the officer, stating “he’s not leaving”, according to Flomaton Police Chief Johnny Wilson.
“Officer Pittman then drew his duty weapon and gave loud commands to get on the ground and drop the knife,” Wilson said.
The officer was able to handcuff Bethea after several minutes and was escorted outside. He continued to struggle and was able to break free and run across Sidney Manning Boulevard (Highway 29) while still handcuffed, Wilson said.
The officer pursued Bethea and was able to take him into custody with the assistance of deputies from the Escambia County (FL) Sheriff’s Office.
Bethea was charged with resisting arrest, escape third degree, disorderly conduct, menacing, and criminal trespassing third degree. He was booked into the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center without bond.
Kingsfield Elementary Holds STEM Family Game Night
November 16, 2022
Big crowds attended the Kingsfield Elementary School STEM Family Game Night at Book Fair Tuesday night. In addition to all the fun, games and education, participants also enjoyed food.
For more photos, click or tap here.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview’s Jamarkus Jefferson Receives Player Of The Year, Other Honors From State Coaches Group
November 16, 2022
Northview Chief Jamarkus Jefferson has received numerous honors from the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA).
FACA named Jefferson:
- 1st Team All District Running Back (all classifications)
- 1st Team All Star Nomination FACA District 1 MVP (all classifications)
- FACA District 1 Player Of The Year (all classifications)
In addition, Jefferson is nominated for the Florida Dairy Farmers 1R Player of the Year and Mr. Football for the State of Florida, according to Northview head coach Wes Summerford. Those honors have not yet been named.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Century’s Buck Showalter Named National League Manager Of The Year
November 16, 2022
Buck Showalter of the New York Mets was named National League Manager of the Year on Tuesday night.
Showalter took home his fourth such honor on Tuesday night, receiving eight of a possible 30 first-place votes in National League balloting. The accolade pulls him even with Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox for the most Manager of the Year Awards in history.
Showalter is the only manager to win the award with four different franchises, as well as one of eight to earn it in both leagues He previously won with the Yankees in 1994, the Rangers in 2004 and the Orioles in 2014. Showalter and Yogi Berra are the only managers to guide both the Mets and Yankees to the playoffs.
“I’m hoping, and rightfully so, that it’s something that everybody takes great pride in,” Showalter said. “It is a recognition of the organization as a whole. The challenge is to maintain and sustain that credibility that you’ve worked so hard for the organization to have. … It’s a great honor for the organization and the coaching staff and so many people that went into the year.”
Showalter owns the second-most wins in Major League history without a World Series title (1,652), trailing only Gene Mauch (1,902) in that category. He is 19th overall on the all-time MLB wins list.
Now 66 years old, Showalter joined the Mets last offseason.
Showalter’s family moved to Century in the late 1950’s. His father served as a teacher, coach and principal at Century High School and Carver Middle in Century for 23 years. Buck Showalter, know as “Nat” to the locals, played Little League ball in a thriving program in Century, and he graduated from Century High School. Century’s modern day Showalter Park bears the family name in honor of his father.