Escambia Schools Progress Reports Went Home Friday
February 15, 2008
Third nine weeks progress reports were sent home with students today from all Escambia County Schools. Next Wednesday will be an early release day for all elementary and middle school students. Wednesday will be a late start day for high school students.
For more information, contact your child’s school.
Northview’s Got Talent Series Round One Will Be Tonight
February 15, 2008
Move over American Idol, because Northview’s got talent. And they’re going to prove it.
A talent show series entitled “Northview’s Got Talent” will continue at 7:00 tonight in the school’s theater. In the spirit of American Idol, three judges will offer a critique of each performer.
Judges are Todd Corder, an area musician; Landon Manning, band director at T.R. Miller High School in Brewton; and Luke Manning, band director at Brewton Middle School.
Entrants range from soloists, to a complete bands, to storytellers and twirlers, to an appearance by “President George Bush”.
The finals will be held at 6:00 on Saturday, March 1 in the theater. Admission is $5 for each performance.
Entrants for tonight’s Northview’s Got Talent are:
- Matt Ziza and “PeaceLess” — Band
- Sarah Killam and Chelsea Sims — Dance
- Zach Lamb — Telling Bible Stories
- Codaryl Lowery — Dance
- Hayley Simpson and Caitlyn Brown — Twirling
- Racheal Baurer — Singing
- Olivia Godwin — Singing
- Allie Bryan — Singing
- Harrison Whitehead — Comedy
- 12 Gates — Band
- Carley Hetrick — Singing
New Communications Tower Tops Off Thursday
February 15, 2008
One of the tallest structures in North Escambia was topped off on Thursday. A new communications tower near Gobbler Road and Still Road in Oak Grove hit 330 feet on Thursday afternoon.
The tower is owned by Alabama Electric Cooperative and is used for communications between rural electric cooperatives. The new tower was constructed directly adjacent to a 280 foot tall tower also owned Alabama Electric Cooperative. The old tower, constructed in 1987, will be taken down in the new few weeks.
The new tower will actually reach to a height of 348 feet when the antennas on top are counted in the measurement.
It was constructed by Tower Systems South, Inc. of Winter Park, Florida, using individual 30 foot high sections. The sections were raised one at a time using a temporary steel mast extending above each section to hoist sections up. Four people were up on the tower to assist in the lift and to bolt each section together.
This tower is the third highest in the North Escambia area. A tower owned by Escambia County at 7955 Bratt Road tops out at 370 feet. A cellular tower owned by Pinnacle Towers at 381 Highway 164 near Highway 29 in McDavid is 353 feet high.
A large American flag was gently waving in the wind at the top of the construction mast above the tower as it was being constructed.
For a photo gallery of the tower construction, including photos of the workers on the tower, click here.
Pictured top of page: An American flag waves over 300 feet above Oak Grove Thursday afternoon while a worker climbs to the top of a new communications tower. Pictured left side of page: A new 330 foot high communications tower being constructed Thursday afternoon. In this photo, the tower is at 300 feet before the last 30 foot section is added. The old tower (with antennas to the left in the photo) is 280 feet high, not counting the antennas. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos. Click either photo to enlarge.
What’s Love Got To Do With It? Tonight At Northend Church
February 15, 2008
The NorthEnd Community Church will present a night of food, games, music and more entitled “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” Friday night. The event for middle and high school students will also include door prizes and more “free stuff”.
The guest speaker will be the Rev. Jeff Walker from Christ Community Church Baptist Church. The entertainment will be led by Daniel Torrez from Cottage Hill Baptist Church.
It takes place tonight from 6:30 to 8:00 at the church at 5630 Hwy. 196 (Barrineau Park Road). It’s five miles west of Highway 29. For more information, call 587-3868 or see excitingnorthend.com online.
Valentine’s Day: They Are Still Sweethearts
February 14, 2008
It was a happy Valentine’s Day Thursday at the Century Care Center, with two couple celebrating Valentine’s Day together.
Jessie and Elma Lambeth (pictured above) have been married since 1990 and were crowned Valentine’s King and Queen. Mr. Lambeth says they are “still sweethearts”. They are both residents of Century Care Center.
One other pair of lovebirds attended today’s Valentine’s party. Vaudean and Henry Sheffield (pictured below) enjoyed the day’s events. Mr. Sheffield is a Century Care resident.
Northview High Students Place In FBLA District Competitions
February 14, 2008
Students from Northview High School competed a district FBLA contest on Wednesday. Pictured are winners, front row (left to right) Diamond Herrera, Ashley Snow, Kayla Hall and back row (left to right)
Melissa Garrett, Brett Hanks, Caitlin Roley, Gretch Boughner, Jessica Bloodsworth and Zack Lamb.
Northview is celebrating National FFA week all this week.
Submitted Photo: Annie Gilmore, Northview High School
The Race Is On: Who Will Be Northview’s Fastest Typist?
February 14, 2008
Students at Northview High School are participating in National FBLA Week this week. Thursday they have the opportunity to take a timed typing test for the title of Northview’s fastest typist. The keyboard race will actually be played all day during individual classes. Interested students will key a passage using a program that records their keyboarding speed and errors.
Results from the day’s events will be available after all the students have taken the test and results are tabulated.
Pictured above: Eric Ickeringill and Mark Shipps take the timed typing test Thursday morning at Northview. Below: Raven Knapp (left photo) and Alisha Copeland (middle photo) participate in the keyboard race. Right photo: Students in Mrs. Annie Gilmore’s first period class participated in the FBLA week timed typing race. Click any photo to enlarge. NorthEscambia.com photos.
After A Cold Start, It Will Turn Sunny And Warmer By Valentine’s Afternoon
February 14, 2008
After a cold, frosty start to Valentine’s morning, it will turn sunny a bit warmer by afternoon. The afternoon high is expected to be around 64, with sunny skies and a light wind from the south by later afternoon. Tonight’s low is expected to be 35.
It will be even warmer on Friday and Saturday, with a high of 72 each day. Rain is in the forecast for Sunday.
The overnight low was 26 in Century Thursday morning, 26 in Walnut Hill and 27 in Molino. There was a heavy frost reported across the area.
Deputies Recover Stolen Alabama Police Chief’s Car, Arrest Suspect Out Of Gas
February 14, 2008
Escambia County deputies recovered a stolen unmarked East Brewton, Alabama, police car Wednesday morning and arrested the man they found sitting in it.
Curdy Dortch (pictured left), 33, of Smiths Station, Alabama, was found sitting in the unmarked police car alongside Highway 29 about 6:00 Wednesday morning where he had run out of gas. Dortch first told deputies various stories about who he was and who the police car belonged to, but it was determined that the car belonged to East Brewton Police Chief B.C. Cooper.
Deputies first received a call from a passerby that reported what appeared to be an unmarked police car with an Alabama municipal tag sitting on the shoulder of Highway 29 just south of Pine Barren Road about 6:00 Wednesday morning. When Sgt. David Preston arrived, he found Dortch inside the car.
Preston said Dortch told him that he was in East Brewton Tuesday and got into the unlocked car because he was cold and it was raining. He told deputies that he noticed the key was in the car, and he decided to go to Pensacola.
“It was cold and raining and I just got in it. I didn’t know it was no police car,” Dortch told NorthEscambia.com as he sat in custody in Preston’s cruiser.
Escambia County (Alabama) Sheriff’s Lt. Kenneth Brazille said the vehicle was taken about 6:00 Tuesday night from DJ’s Paint and Body in East Brewton. He said there should have been two weapons in the trunk of the vehicle, but Preston said deputies did not find any weapons in the vehicle.
Brazille said the car was located outside the body shop; the body shop employee was going to place it inside the shop last night after he returned from getting something to eat. It had a broken windshield that was to be repaired because the police chief had collided with a buzzard, Brazille said.
Dortch was transported to the Escambia County Florida Jail where he was charged with dealing in stolen property, driving while license suspended or revoked and providing false identification to police. His bond was set at $5,000 on the driver’s license charge. He is expected be extradited back to Alabama where he will face charges for stealing the car, most likely to include grand theft auto.
The car was released to the East Brewton Police Department.
NorthEscambia.com was the first media on the scene Wednesday morning. For more exclusive photos, click here for a photo gallery. Click any photo on this page to enlarge.
Multi-State Farm Day Held In Walnut Hill Wednesday
February 14, 2008
A multi-state Farm Day was held Wednesday at the Walnut Hill Community Center. About 150 farmers and agriculture industry members attended the event sponsored by the University of Florida IFAS Extension Office, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service.
The day’s events included presentations by several industry experts, as well as the opportunity for attendees to earn continuing education and commercial applicator credits. There were also representatives on hand with information booths from several agricultural related companies.
The day’s speakers included Dr. Dale Monks from Auburn University on “Cotton Varieties and Production”; Dr. David Wright and Dr. Amanda Gevens from the University of Florida on “Corn Production in the Coastal South” and “Wheat:What to Do Now to Finish the Crop”; Dr. Dennis Delaney and Dr. Ed Sikora from Auburn on “Soybeans-Production and Disease Control”; Dr. John Beasley from the University of Georgia on “Peanuts: Varieties, Disease Control, and Cost-Cutting Measures”; Dr. Ron Smith from Auburn with a “Cotton Insect Update”; and Dr. Marshall Lamb from the ARS Peanut Research Lab on “Economics, Marketing and a Crystal Ball Look into 2008 Prices”.
Dr. Smith (pictured left), an entomologist with Auburn, told those in attendance that the increase production of wheat across the area will lead to a increase in stinkbugs (that’s any of numerous hemipterous insects of the family Pentatomidae for those of you in the know).
“There’s going to be a lot more stink bugs this year because of the wheat,” Smith said, “and possibly even more in 2009.”
Stink bugs live about two months and reproduce several times per year. They love to follow a progression from wheat fields, to corn to cotton and finally to late season soybeans; so they post a threat to most crops grown in the area.
Smith stressed the importance of monitoring new cotton bolls for stink bugs because they can destroy the boll very quickly.
Dr. Marshall (pictured top of page) from the ARS Peanut Research Lab said peanut prices are up, and now is the time for farmers to book at least half of their crops. Booking a crop involves setting the price in advance that the purchaser will pay once the crop is harvested.
“If you haven’t contracted your peanuts yet, now is the time to make money,” he said. “Get contracted now or you expose yourself.”
Marshall expects peanut prices to remain high to satisfy demand, and additional acreage needs to be planted.
Soybean prices also are looking up for 2008, he said. “But we encourage people not to put soybeans into a peanut rotation. But at $11-$12 per bushel it will happen.”