Ernest Ward FFA Students Serve Breakfast Friday Morning
February 22, 2008
FFA members at Ernest Ward Middle School celebrated National FFA Week Friday morning by cooking breakfast for the faculty and staff.
“Blue Jackets, Bright Futures” is the theme of National FFA week this year. It embodies the best about FFA members, from the most recognizable symbol of the organization, the blue corduroy jacket. More than half a million members across the nation will participate in National FFA week this week.
Students prepared a breakfast of eggs, bacon, grits, biscuits, French toast sticks and sausage for the Ernest Ward faculty and staff.
The FFA began in 1928 as the Future Farmers of America.
Commission Extends Volunteer Fire Department Contracts, Changes Rules
February 22, 2008
The Escambia County Commission voted Thursday night to extend their contract with the county’s volunteer fire departments for another year, along with forgiving overpayments and changing the rules on firefighter certification letter requirements.
The volunteer firefighter association’s contract for the 15 volunteer fire departments in the county expires on September 30. The vote extended that contract until September 30, 2009, at which time a unified county fire department is expected to be in place.
The commission also forgave $24,575 in stipend overpayments to individual firefighters, under the condition that the Escambia Volunteer Firefighters Association provide the county with a “memorandum of understanding” supporting a consolidated fire department “with a unified command”.
The county also changed the way the county requires firefighter certification. Currently a firefighter without formal training but an adequate level of experience can obtain an exemption letter from the State Fire Marshal. That exemption letter is currently the equivalent of Firefighter I certification, but that was changed Thursday night. The amount of the monthly stipend that firefighters are eligible for is based on their certification level.
“Any volunteer holding an exemption letter on the date of the adoption of this policy shall be permitted to collect a stipend at the level of Firefighter I until September, 30, 2008,” the county said. “Any volunteer receiving an exemption letter after the date of adoption of this policy shall only be entitled to receive a stipend at the level of Firefighter Trainee until the volunteer has met the state certification requirements of Firefighter I.”
The Thursday night vote follows a recommendation that the county developed and voted in support of at their Committee of the Whole meeting back on February 12. To read NorthEscambia.com’s report from that meeting, click here. The commissioners made no comment on the issue at their Thursday night meeting.
Four Legged Officers Visit Century Library
February 22, 2008
Two Escambia County Sheriff’s Department K-9 officers and their dogs paid a visit to the Century Branch Library Thursday afternoon.
Deputy Ricky Taylor and his K-9 Sam (pictured bottom of page), a full blooded American German Shepherd, and Deputy Reggie Bruster and his K-9 Gunner explained police dog work to children at the library.
Sam is trained as a explosives detection dog. His job is to sniff out explosives and sit. His reward is a rolled up towel and a game of tug of war with Taylor. Sam’s resumé is impressive…hundreds of hours of training and countless hours on the job. He even worked to secure the motorcade route for President George Bush’s last visit to Pensacola. When he’s not working, Sam enjoys catching footballs, basketballs, jumping on his trampoline and playing with his cat Cuddles.
Sam, who will be three years old in June, demonstrated his bomb finding abilities to the children at the Century Branch Library by finding a hidden explosives detonation cord (there were no actual explosives in the library).
Sam wears a collar with an Escambia County Deputy badge inscribed with his name and is afforded many of the same protections under Florida law as his handler.
Deputy Bruster introduced Gunner, age 2, to the boys and girls at the library. He explained that Gunner (pictured top of page with Deputy Bruster) is still in school and has not yet earned his police badge. He will finish his training in about a month.
Gunner, a full blooded Labrador mix, is a trained narcotics detection dog. Once he finishes his training, Gunner and Deputy Bruster will be assigned to drug searches in the county’s schools.
There are currently 18 K-9 officers in the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department. Besides narcotic and explosive detection dogs, other dogs are trained as patrol and apprehension dogs. The patrol dogs are also typically cross trained in narcotics detection.
For a photo gallery from the K-9 visit to the Century Branch Library, click here.
Commissioner Thanks Volunteer Fire Departments, County Road Prision
February 22, 2008
At Thursday night’s meeting of the Escambia County Commission, District 5 Commissioner Kevin White offered his thanks to the emergency responders to Sunday’s tornado in Molino. He also thanked the county road prison for their work in uncovering the old Molino jail last week.
“I want to thank the volunteer firefighters in the response to the tornado victims on Sunday,” White told the commission. “They did a very outstanding job.”
Volunteer fire departments that had a part in Sunday’s response where Molino, McDavid, Century, Walnut Hill, Ferry Pass, Cantonment and Ensley.
Many other agencies also responded to the storm aftermath. For details, click here for an earlier NorthEscambia.com story.
White also thanked Escambia County Road Prison Superintendent Jeff Bohannon and his corrections officers for the job they did last Friday uncovering the old Molino jail on Brickyard Road. For detail on the historic jail, click here to a read a NorthEscambia.com story about it from last week..
New Photos Of Molino Tornado, Sunday Storm Clouds
February 22, 2008
NorthEscambia.com has received new Molino tornado storm cloud photos from Joyce Garrett. If you have photos of Sunday’s storm, you can still email them to news@northescambia.com. More of Garrett’s photos appear below. More reader submitted photos are here.
Highland Baptist Offers Praises Following Tornado
February 21, 2008
“I’m so glad that God protected us through it all Sunday,” Pastor Brian Calhoun began the Wednesday night service at Highland Baptist Church, the first service in the church since Sunday’s tornado ripped the steeple off the church.
Several church members knew Sunday that the weather was forecast to be bad. The church organist received a call early on from a member who was sick at home. The TV weatherman was saying that bad weather was headed toward North Escambia.
Calhoun had just finished his sermon and was about to give the invitation. The organist received another call; this one telling her that a tornado was headed toward Molino. She quietly informed the music director. A decision was made, and worshipers were directed from the sanctuary with its huge stained glass windows to the fellowship hall, a brick building with no windows.
A few decided to leave. One lady did, only to find herself trapped in her car as the tornado neared. She saw the flying debris, and decided to return to the church. She pulled up under an awning at the church. The pressure from the approaching storm was so great that she was unable to open the doors of her car.
Meanwhile, inside the fellowship hall, the power was out, and it was dark except for emergency lighting. The children began to complain that their ears were popping due to the pressure. Mrs. Sara, the pastor’s wife and leader of the church’s Wednesday night Kids Klub, told the kids to pretend they were chewing bubble gum to unstop their ears. When that did not work, she led them in songs to comfort them as they huddled under tables.
The adults waited. And prayed.
When they emerged, they found destruction around them. Trees down. Metal in the trees. Windows blown out of cars. The church steeple on the ground in pieces, and smashed cars that were in its path down next to it.
They did not know that in one direction, homes were destroyed on Crest Lane. In the other direction, homes were destroyed on Molino Road.
“People have asked me ‘Were people screaming and stuff?’,” Calhoun said Wednesday night. “There were people crying. Sure. Some recalled Hurricane Ivan and the terror it brought. But there was a calming presence of the Lord that was there with us.”
After the storm, church members tried to cover the hole left in the roof where the steeple was ripped off. There were three men that did not attend the church that stopped by and helped.
Now the church is reaching out to the community. On Tuesday, Calhoun was walking around the Crest Lane area talking to storm victims. On Wednesday, Highland fed 15 people that were still without power.
“This has given us the opportunity to reach out to families whose homes were damaged in the storm,” he said. The Red Cross has left the area, but Highland continues to look for those in need. Two families from the Brickyard Road area have contacted the church so far looking for assistance.
“Anybody that still needs help should give us a call,” Calhoun said. “We will try to help them and minister to them at the same time.” The church can be reached at 587-5174.
Wednesday night, church members offered their praises to God for His protection during Sunday’s tornado.
The owner of the white car smashed by the steeple (pictured left), offered a simple praise. “It was all the Lord’s hand how it worked out,” he said. “I am just thankful that we were not sitting in that car.”
“I praise God for the calmness as we went to the fellowship hall,” another said. “We did not actually know that the tornado was just outside the door.”
“We are thankful that You looked out for us and did not let anyone get hurt,” a church member prayed. “We pray for all those in our community that lost their homes. Lost their vehicles. Give us all patience as we rebuild, and we rejoice that You had a hand in it.”
“Help us understand the needs of those around us, so we can reach out to them,” another prayed.
“We thank You for Your Spirit to calm us,” Calhoun prayed. “We thank You; we praise You.”
Highland Baptist Church suffered up to about $100,000 in damage in Sunday’s tornado, according to Calhoun. A structural engineer has determined that it is safe for the church to continue to hold services in the sanctuary. The damages include the steeple, portions of the roof as well as other structural damage around the church complex.
Pictured top: The cross from the top of the Highland Baptist Church steeple. Pictured below:The broken steeple in the parking lot. NorthEscambia.com photos; click to enlarge.
Arnold, Brown-Curry Enter School Board Race; Paul Withdraws
February 21, 2008
Two prominent Escambia County School officials have entered the race for Superintendent of Schools.
Ronnie Arnold, a name familiar to the public as the school board’s spokesperson, has prefiled as a Republican. Arnold’s official job is the school district’s assistant superintendent of interagency and public affairs. This is Arnold’s first ever run for office; his current position with the school system is appointed.
Claudia Brown-Curry has entered the race as a Democrat, her second run for the school system’s top job. Brown-Curry currently represents District 3 on the Escambia County School Board.
Two-term incumbent Jim Paul announced last week that he will withdraw from the race following his DUI arrest just over a month ago. He made that withdrawal official Wednesday afternoon.
The school district’s assistant superintendent for human resources, Alan Scott, has prefiled as a Republican. Democrats Myra Simmons and Cary Stidham have announced their candidacy as Democrats. Stidham is a former school board member.
Brush Fire In Century
February 20, 2008
Fire units from Century, McDavid, Walnut Hill and the Florida Division of Forestry responded to a large brush fire in the area of the old sawmill and the sewage treatment plant in Century.
The fire near Jefferson and Pond Streets was reported just after 3:30. At 4:54, the fire was reported to be out.
A red flag warning was in effect 5:00 Wednesday afternoon. A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are occurring. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures creates explosive fire growth potential.
Updated: 5:00 p.m.
School Board Votes On Fall Break; Approves Compromise Calendar
February 20, 2008
The Escambia County School Board took the middle ground on a school calendar for the 2008-2009 school year at their Tuesday night meeting.
There were two proposals on the table. One option includes eliminating fall break, which would put middle and high school semester exams before the Christmas holiday.
The other option would keep fall break, forcing middle and high school students to take semester exams when they return to school after the long Christmas break. Fall break would be the three days prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, giving students a full week out of school the last week of November.
But the board went with a compromise third option; one that will turn the Thanksgiving break into a three day holiday and put semester exams before the Christmas break for middle and high schools students.
2008-2009 Escambia School Calendar
Board member Jeff Bergosh was the only vote against the proposal. He said liked the idea of the five day fall break.
In other business related to North Escambia schools, the board approved the appointment of Lisa Albritton as teacher at Bratt Elementary, effective 1/25/08 and approved the purhcase of new floor covering for Bratt Elementary.
Northview Celebrates National FFA Week With Faculty/Staff Breakfast
February 20, 2008
FFA members at Northview High School celebrated National FFA Week Tuesday morning by cooking breakfast for the faculty and staff.
“Blue Jackets, Bright Futures” is the theme of National FFA week this year. It embodies the best about FFA members, from the most recognizable symbol of the organization, the blue corduroy jacket. More than half a million members across the nation will participate in National FFA week this week.
Students cooked a breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes, grits, biscuits and sausage for the NHS faculty and staff.
The FFA began in 1928 as the Future Farmers of America.
For more pictures from the National FFA Week breakfast at Northview High School, click here.