Today Is Last Day To Request Mailed Absentee Ballot; Early Voting Continues
August 20, 2008
Wednesday is the last day for voters to request an absentee ballot be mailed to them for the August 26 Primary Election, and early voting is continuing in the county.
Voters wanting an absentee ballot must request their ballot no later than close of business today. Voters can make their request by contacting the Supervisor of Elections by mail, phone (850-595-3900), e-mail (absentee@escambiavotes.com), fax (850-595-3914), or by using the online form at www.EscambiaVotes.com. Requests must include the voter’s date of birth and the address where the ballot should be mailed.
Voters will still have the ability after Wednesday to pick up an absentee ballot in person from the Elections Office, up to and including Election Day. Voted absentee ballots must be received in the Elections Office no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, August 26th.
Early voting is offered in four locations in the county until Saturday; the closest to North Escambia is in Cantonment. Early voters can cast paper ballots using the county’s new optical scanners, and can choose any of the four sites.
The sites for early voting are:
- Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 213 Palafox Place, 2nd Floor
- Supervisor of Elections Annex, 292 Muscogee Road, Cantonment
- Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway
- Tyron Branch Library, 5740 North 9th Avenue
Early voting began Monday and will continue each day through Saturday, August 23rd from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m..
By the end of the day Tuesday, about 2,700 people had cast early ballots in Escambia County.
CrossTies Tales From The Junction Promo Video
August 19, 2008
Ernest Ward Students Over 30 Minutes Late Leaving School; Few Other First Day Problems Reported
August 19, 2008
Few problems were reported across North Escambia as students headed back to school on Monday. There were some transportation problems, with Ernest Ward Middle School students leaving campus over half an hour late.
“It really was not that big of a problem,” said Nancy Gindl-Perry, Ernest Ward principal. “Middle school is the last on the buses, and we always have a little problem every year.”
Ernest Ward was to have dismissed at 3:10 with buses pulling out at 3:15. But many buses were late, with some not arriving at the school until 3:30. Buses finally pulled out of the school about 3:50.
Perry said the buses were late because of typical first day of school problems getting elementary school students home. She said that the situation should improve as the week goes on.
“But overall, it was one of the smoothest opening days I’ve ever had,” she said.
School students across North Escambia all now have different start and dismissal times.
Most elementary schools in Escambia County have a morning start time of 7:30 and an afternoon dismissal time of 2:00. The earliest students can be dropped off at the elementary schools, including Bratt and Molino Park, is 7:05.
Carver/Century has an 8:55 a.m to 3:25 p.m. day for both elementary and middle school students, with an early drop time of 8:30. Byrneville Elementary has a start time of 7:45 a.m. with an early drop time of 7:15. Dismissal time at Byrneville is 2:00.
At Ernest Ward Middle School, the morning start time is 8:30 and the afternoon dismissal time is 3:10. The earliest student can be dropped off at is 8:15. Most of the other middle schools in the county are running 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
At Northview High School, the school day is now 7:40 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. The earliest students will be allowed on campus is 7:25 a.m. Most other high school in the county have an 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. day.
Pictured above: Buses were still arriving on campus at 3:30 Monday afternoon at Ernest Ward Middle School. Students were to have boarded their buses at 3:10 to leave campus at 3:15, but it was about 3:50 before the buses pulled away from EWMS. NorthEscambia.com photo.
Tax Collector Cutting Hours, Moving Driver License Services From Century
August 19, 2008
Driver license services will no longer be offered at the courthouse in Century after September 11, and the tax collector’s hours in Century are being cut back to just three days a week.
NorthEscambia.com has learned that Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley will announce on Tuesday that her office in the Billy G. Ward Courthouse in Century will no longer offer driver license services next month. Those services will be transferred to the Cantonment office on Highway 29.
“The service is being transferred from the Century Tax Collector Office in order to provide easier access to a greater number of citizens in the northern part of Escambia County,” the press release to be issued today from Holley’s office says.
Both the Century and Cantonment tax collector offices will be closed on Friday, September 12 to transfer computer systems. The Century branch will reopen on Tuesday, September 16 with new hours of operation…Tuesday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The office is currently open 8:30 to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Cantonment branch will continue their same hours of operation from 8:30 until 5:00 Monday to Friday with extended hours unti 6:00 on Wednesdays. The driver license services will be available by appointment only by calling 438-6500, extension 252.
“In this reorganization, we have reallocated our services in order to reach the most citizens while reducing the cost of providing these services,” Holley said. “We expect to save about $100,000 annually in operational costs and reduction in staff.”
Holley was in Century Monday and met with Mayor Freddie McCall and council President Anne Brooks to explain the changes to them prior to making the public annoucement on Tuesday.
“We are very fortunate that it’s a reduction, not a closure,” Brooks said. “She was nice to let the town know about it first.”
Funeral Services Announced For Flomaton Player
August 19, 2008
Funeral services have been announced for a former Flomaton High School football player that collapsed and died Friday following football practice at Huntington College in Montgomery.
The funeral for Sam Collins, 18, will be at 10:00 Saturday morning at Flomaton High School. The Rev. John Evangelista of the First United Methodist Church of Flomaton will officiate.
Huntington College will dedicate a chapel service to Collins. That chapel service will be held at the school in Montgomery on September 3.
A memorial fund has been established to assist the family with final arrangements. Donations may be sent to the Office of External Affairs, Huntingdon College, 1500 E. Fairview Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama, 36109. Checks may be made payable to Huntingdon College and designated to the Sam Collins Memorial Fund.
For more information on Collin’s death, click here to read a Sunday story from NorthEscambia.com.
Frontier DSL And Dialup Internet Outage Reported; Some Out Nearly A Day
August 19, 2008
Frontier Communications experienced a DSL outage Monday night, and that outage continued for some customers in Walnut Hill and Molino, and for most customers in Atmore for about 19 hours.
From Walnut Hill to Molino in Florida to Atmore, Monroeville and Camden in Alabama, Frontier digital subscriber line (DSL) high speed internet and Frontier dialup access was out for the better part of Monday evening. Service for some customers, particularly in Florida, returned by midnight Monday, but many were still without internet access until Tuesday afternoon.
The outage was scattered in Walnut Hill and Molino, but was widespread in Atmore, according to Karen Miller, communications manager for Frontier. She said the outage was caused by an AT&T equipment failure in Mobile.
The NorthEscambia.com site was not impacted by the outage; our server is in a secure data facility in the northeast that is not served by Frontier. Internet service to our servers is provided by six companies on circuits that range in speed from GigE to OC-48. An OC-48 connection is a fiber optic connection with a speed that is almost 2,500 times faster than a Frontier residential DSL connection.
Council Talks Grants, New Life Church, Helicopter Technologies And More
August 19, 2008
The Century Town Council held a public hearing with no public input, discussed Helicopter Technologies, New Life Baptist Church, and changes aimed at improvement at a length session Monday night.
The council started a two and a half hour evening with a public hearing at 6:30 to discuss the continued development of both the Anthony Pleasant Sports Complex (formerly the Showalter Park Expansion) and Fischer Landing and to solicit public input regarding submission of a Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) grant application. Each grant could be worth up to $200,000 to the town. If the recreation grant for Fischer Landing is approved, it would fund the construction of a fishing pier and boat dock. The one minute public hearing ended with no member of the public speaking.
The council heard from Mayor Freddie McCall about the status of Helicopter Technologies during their two hour regular meeting. He said that Matt Dannheisser, the town’s attorney, had emailed a deed for the Helicopter Technology building to owner George Van Nevel in France in hopes that Van Nevel will sign the building back over to the town. The town had threatened forclosure action against the company, but opted to attempt to regain control of the building outside of the court system.
“I hope he (Van Nevel) is going to do what he said and sign it back to us, McCall said, adding that if there is a foreclosure he would hate to see the town “lose it on the courthouse steps to someone else”, referring to a public sale that might follow foreclosure proceedings.
Council member Gary Riley said he had received complaints that items were being moved out of, or away from, the Helicopter Technologies building “late at night”.
“They have heard a lot of scraping and scrubbing,” Riley said of the complaints received from neighborhoods near the Industrial Park where the building is located.
Council member Henry Hawkins complained to the council that some members have overstepped their bounds by making comments in the media about New Life Baptist Church. The Escambia County School District says they have paid tens of thousands of dollars in utility bills on the old Century High School building leased by New Life when the $1 per year lease on the building explictedly says New Life will pay those utility bills.
“We shouldn’t be getting involved with other people are doing that is none of our business,” Hawkin said. “We need need to be a little more tactful with what we do.” He suggested that New Life might sue council members or others in the town for their comments to the media.
“As long as we are not representing the town in what we do, we have the right to our views,” council President Anne Brooks said. “I think the county has been grossly mismanaging our money. I am proud to have a part in pointing it out.”
Century resident Annie Savage agreed.
“I’m very unhappy over the whole deal. They should have been paying their bills,” Savage said. “I am a taxpayer, and I don’t think the school board should have paid their bills.”
Another Century resident, Leola Robinson, disagreed. She said the school board should pay New Life Church because church members and Rev. Irvin Stallworth work to clean up trash around the old stadium. “I feel like the town is indebted to Rev. Stallworth.”
Robinson also offered her thoughts about the proposed closure of Carver/Century K-8 School.
“If they move our school to Walnut Hill, I want them to cut off my school taxes,” Robinson said. “I’m not going to pay them.”
Century Looks At Financial Record Keeping And Code Enforcement
August 19, 2008
A major change could be coming in the way Century keeps its financial records, and a the town could return to the code enforcement business.
Those were just two of the items discussed at a lengthy town council meeting Monday night.
The town’s accountant, Robert Hudson, recommended that the council look at switching from the account software Great Plains to Quickbooks.
“It is much, much easier than what they are utilizing now,” he said of Quickbooks. The town spent between $40,000 and $50,000 to get into the Great Plains software package years ago, Hudson said, and it continues to pay for software updates. Quickbooks, he said, would cost under $2,000 for a five user license.
A switch to Quickbooks, Hudson said, would allow better reporting of the town’s financial situation to the council, and it would offer a much easier to use system for town employees.
“I see less Robert if we switch,” Council President Anne Brooks said. Currently, the town pays Hudson to convert Great Plains financial reports generated by the town into simplier Quickbooks reports. That step could be eliminated, Brooks said, saving the town money spent on accountant services. Century has paid Hudson over $20,000 this year for a variety of financial services.
Hudson reported that the town’s budget process would continue with a public meeting Tuesday morning to discuss the budget with department heads. Another such meeting will be held on Monday, August 25 before the final budget is presented to the council on Tuesday, September 2. Public hearings on the budget will be held at 5:01 p.m. on September 11 and September 25.
It was reported that the town has a $380,000 deficit across all accounts.
“We are going to have to sharpen our pencils,” Brooks said.
The council also scheduled a workshop for 9 a.m. on August 28 to discuss code enforcement in the town.
Blood Drive Held In Walnut Hill; Appeal Made For Help Prior To Disaster
August 19, 2008
A blood drive was held in Walnut Hill Monday, as the Northwest Florida Blood Center has issued an appeal for blood donors so the center can be prepared for storm emergencies.
Blood Center officials said Monday that there is a major need for donors to increase the blood supply to be prepared for a disaster like a hurricane. Their announcement came as Tropical Storm Fay churned toward the south and central parts of Florida.
Not only can donors give the gift of life, they can be entered into a drawing for a brand new Kia or a gas card by donating at any blood center location or blood drive.
The main location of the blood center is at 1999 East Nine Mile Road in Pensacola, east of the Target shopping center. The Ninth Avenue Center is located at 2209 North Ninth Avenue . Both locations are open Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
All donors at the two locations will be entered into a drawing for a 2008 Kia Optima, just like those that donated blood in Walnut Hill on Monday. The second place winner of the drawing will win a $500 gas card and the third place winner will receive at $250 gas card. The drawing will be from all entrants across the area in January 2009.
Complete rules on the KIA contest and more information on giving blood can be found at www.nfbcblood.org.
Pictured above: The Northwest Florida Blood Center Bloodmobile at the Walnut Hill Farm Supply on Monday. NorthEscambia.com photo.
New Northview Student Traveled 7,000 Miles This Weekend To Attend School This Morning
August 18, 2008
There is a new sophomore at Northview High School this morning, and she traveled about 7,000 miles this weekend to get there.
Her name is Seira Kosakai, 15, and she is an exchange student from Tokyo, Japan. She arrived in the United States Saturday night. She’ll be spending her tenth grade year at Northview while living with her host sister Mallory Bell, the daughter of Alan and and Gail Bell. Mallory is also in the tenth grade at Northview.
Seira is fluent in English. She enjoys music, especially guitar and piano; cheerleading; Disney movies; animals and studying the English language. And, like most 15 year olds, she likes shopping. She hopes to one day become a “music star”.
Alan said Mallory’s arrival at the Mobile airport Saturday night was preceding by an amazing sequence of events.
He said not only was daughter Mallory reading the newspaper just a few short weeks ago, an unusual event for her, she was reading the classifieds. It was there that she saw an ad looking for host families for exchange students.
“Gail and I were very apprehensive about this, and considered it to be a passing interest that Mallory wasn’t really committed to being a ‘host sister’,” Alan said. But Mallory did all of the research and registered the family only as a host family. The American Intercultural Student Exchange organization called the Bells on August 2 to begin the process of getting an exchange student to the Bells in the United States.
Seira will become part of the Bell family for the next 10 months, through June of next year. The exchange program expects host families to treat the exchange students as family, even so far as to call each other host mom, host dad, etc. In the AISE exchange program, the host family provides room and board for the student, while the student’s family provides money for clothing, souvenirs, health insurance, etc.
After the August 2 phone conversation, Mallory went to the AISE website at aise.com and found four girls with similar interests. At the website, the Bells could see each student’s school transcripts, pictures and personal interests. All that led the family to choose Seira.
While in the U.S. under the AISE program, Seira will visit area middle and elementary schools to share her culture with other students in the area. She will also attend the First Baptist Church of Bratt with Mallory and the rest of the Bell family.
During the school year, NorthEscambia.com will check in with Seira and the Bell family and keep you updated on Seira’s life in America and school in Bratt.
Pictured above: Mom Gail Bell, Seira Kosakai, Mallory Bell and Alan Bell at home. Pictured below: Mallory Bell, family friend Bailee Deese, Seira Kosakai, Alan Bell and Gail Bell at the Mobile Airport Saturday night. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
