Time Change For Friday Night’s Northview’s Got Talent Show
February 14, 2008
The start time for first round of “Northview’s Got Talent” has been changed from 6:00 to 7:oo this Friday night due to a scheduling conflict.
The finals of the talent show series will be held at 6:00 on March 1 in the Northview Theater.
NorthEscambia.com will publish a complete contestant lineup on Friday morning.
Brr! How Cold Will It Be Tonight? And Was That Sleet This Morning?
February 13, 2008
Afternoon highs Wednesday were only in the low 40’s across the North Escambia area, with a strong wind at times making it feel much colder. Winds are forecast to become light with an overnight low of 25 tonight. Highs are forecast to rebound to 62 on Valentine’s Day under sunny skies.
We received a few reports of light sleet falling Wednesday morning around the North Escambia area, including near Bratt and Bogia. The National Weather service reported some light sleet and snow just to our north Wednesday, with light snow falling north of Evergreen. There was no accumulation.
County To Extend Volunteer Firefighter Contract Another Year; Work With Volunteers
February 13, 2008
The Escambia County Commission voted Tuesday afternoon to extend the county’s contract with 15 volunteer departments for another year while discussions continue on a unified countywide department. The commission must vote to ratify their decisions at their next meeting before their recommendation becomes final.
The county’s current contract with the independent volunteer departments expires September 30 of this year, but the commission recommended extending that contract for one year until September 30, 2009. In the meantime, negotiations between the Escambia County Volunteer Firefighters Association and the county will continue toward a combination volunteer and paid department, with the negotiations set to end by February of 2009.
There has been concern among the county’s volunteers and citizens that the county’s proposal was for an all paid, career firefighter department that would eliminate the volunteers or would made them inferior to the paid firefighters.
But that’s not the case, according to Mike Whitehead, commission chairman. In the combined volunteer and career firefighter system, rank is rank he said, with a definite chain of command to be in place.
“If you are at Station 15, then you report to whoever is in charge at 15, but you are also going to report to whoever is above the food chain there,” Whitehead said, using Walnut Hill’s Station 15 as an example.
But that’s not the way the system has been working at times, according to Robbie Whitfield, president of the volunteer’s association and chief of the Ferry Pass Volunteer Fire Department.
The county currently operates a “dual” system of paid career firefighters and volunteers. The paid firefighters man select volunteer stations during the weekdays, including Century and Molino.
Whitfiled gave Whitehead the example of a paid career lieutenant that “if the fire chief of that station tells him to do something, he’s told he doesn’t work for him. Are you saying that is the way it should be?”
Whitehead said the fire chief of that station should have the authority of any paid fire chief. “If it doesn’t work that way, then that career lieutenant needs to leave and go find another place to work,” he said.
“We embody the position with the authority to make the decision whether the person in that position is a volunteer or paid,” Whitehead continued. “I don’t care. If they are qualified to be the station chief, then they are the station chief. Period. I have a hard time accepting (that is happening). If the career don’t like that, then I agree they need to leave and start over. I can deal with that.”
“I agree, but that has not been happening in Escambia County,” Whitfield replied.
“Document and we will replace administration that does not play the game,” Whitehead said, “the same way I expect volunteers to be replaced if they don’t play the game.”
“I will be the first to ask Bob (McLaughlin, county administrator) to fire him,” Whitehead said in an apparent reference to County Fire Chief Ken Perkins. “If we are not treating volunteers and career firefighters equally, then administration needs t go. Period. End of report. Because as far as I am concerned they are the same.”
“I just find it very hard to accept that we’ve go two different standards around here,” he said. “This will always be volunteer system at least until our grandkids are around.”
“The idea of 15 kingdoms, 15 different departments and 15 different regions not being accountable to one rand and file command is a problem,” Commissioner Gene Valentino said.
But commissioners and Whitfield agreed that terms could be worked out to bring the volunteers and paid career fighters together under one chain of command. And they stressed that the volunteers will never go away.
“The north end of Escambia County will never be dense enough,” Whitehead said, “to warrant paid firefighters. We will have to have volunteers.”
“I don’t think we are that far apart from where we want to be,” Commissioner Grover Robinson said. “We are still going to be a volunteer system. The vision is we have a combination system, but sometimes the fault is with both sides.”
Commissioner Kevin White, who represents District 5 and the North Escambia area, said he would support extending the volunteer’s contract for the additional year until September 30, 2009, while negotiations continue between the volunteers and the county
“I don’t believe there is a need for an extension on the contract,” Perkins told the commission. “We can work with the volunteer leadership to come up with most of our processes and policies. We can work as a combination department by October 1.”
“If there’s an ability at the station level to break off and say ‘I’m not following Chief Perkins’ rules on this’, I’ve got a problem,” Valentino said.
“Without the contract that could happen,” Whitfield said, using his Ferry Pass volunteers as an example. “Without a contract, I don’t have to answer to the association; I don’t have to answer to Chief Perkins. I can do what I want.”
After over an hour and half of discussion, the commission voted to support extending the contract the additional year. The county and volunteer association is to come back to the commission with a plan for the combination department by February 2009. The commission will then forgive $24,000 in stipend overpayments to volunteers. The new combination paid and volunteer department is expected to be in place prior the end of the contract extension on September 30, 2009.
The commission’s vote at Tuesday’s meeting of the Committee of the Whole is not binding and must be approved in a regular meeting. The next regular meeting for commissioners is at 5:30 on February 21.
Pictures above: Firetrucks on the scene of a structure fire Monday afternoon in the Bratt Community. Paid career firefighters stationed at Century and Molino joined volunteers from those departments as well as Walnut Hill and McDavid fighting the fire. To read the story about the fire, click here.
Part Three: Helicopter Technologies And Georges Van Nevel’s Future Plans
February 13, 2008
(This is the third of a three part NorthEscambia.com exclusive series. To read part one from Monday, click here. To read part two from Tuesday, click here.)
Years of battles with the Federal Aviation Administration have taken their toll on Georges Van Nevel with Helicopter Technologies in Century. Van Nevel is tired and perhaps a bit broken by the whole situation, ranging from multiple fine tooth comb inspections to a full blown federal raid with weapons drawn. That, coupled with a fatal crash late last year of a FH1100 that had just left his Century factory, has left him with many sleepless nights. But he has no intent of giving up, nor does he have any intent of leaving Century behind.
It’s not the kind of thing you smile about in the morning and move forward like nothing every happened. His customers are worldwide, far beyond the local news stories. But the helicopter industry knew of the federal raid last month. In fact, articles about the raid here on NorthEscambia.com were picked up and linked to by powerful industry sites and large publications like Rotor & Hub magazine, Vertical Reference Helicopter Forums and the Rotohub website in Europe.
So what does Van Nevel do next?
“Small businesses can’t afford high price lawyers to fight the FAA,” he told NorthEscambia.com in an exclusive interview in his office. “It’s been very difficult, but there has been a lot of support from our customers.”
“I will sue the FAA when I find an attorney; I need to be compensated for damages to my company and the threats I’ve faced,” he said. “I want to go on ‘20/20′ and ‘60 Minutes’ and let the world know what the FAA did to me.”
It’s important to mention again at this point that after years of inspections and allegations by the FAA that Van Nevel has never been charged with any crime, nor have they ever found anything significantly wrong with his operation. The exact cause of the fatal FH1100 crash last year in Lousiana has not been determined, and National Transportation Safety Board documents NorthEscambia.com has examined do not imply a fault with the helicopter.
“I’ve invited them (the FAA) to inspect me many times,” he said. “They have never found anything.”
“The told me during the raid that I was concealing something and they were going to find it. They even searched up there,” he said, pointing to an area physically above the office area of the building.
“I told them right off that I was concealing something,” he said with a laugh, pointing to a huge row of large filing cabinets, clearly labeled with alphabetized labels. “I told them it was all carefully alphabetically concealed right there; things filed away under the letter where they are suppose to be.”
“I was born in Europe,” he told NorthEscambia.com. “That’s a crime here. The Birmingham office of the FAA is an office of good old southern boys, and I’m not one of them.”
Van Nevel recently had 12 employees and always had plans to grow in Century. Now his number of employees stands at two. He’s one of those two.
The building Van Nevel occupies is owned by the Town of Century. His monthly payment for use of the building is $3,257.61. He was reported to be eight payments behind by Town Clerk Dorothy Sims at a January council meeting. That would put him $26,060.88 behind.
“The payment to the city. That one bothers me,” Van Nevel said. “I will recover and make that right. I am not leaving Century.”
“How far are we going to let him get behind before we do something,” council member Henry Hawkins asked at the January town council meeting. “We are going to have to put a stop to it somewhere…I think he needs to go.”
“There a lot of politics in this town,” Van Nevel said. “No matter who it is, no matter how good the idea, somebody in this town is going to fight it. But we have an excellent mayor now. He’ s a good man, with principals. He’s an honest man.”
Van Nevel knows that he faces a long battle to recover his business. But he says he’s ready for the fight.
He took NorthEscambia.com on a complete tour of his facility. We left his office through a central conference room that looked as if a remodel had yet to be completed. We proceeded through an engineering area, full of file cabinets after file cabinets. If the FAA were to have seized all of the records in the filing cabinets, it would appear that it would have taken a semi truck to remove them.
We see the Van Nevel Helicopters Academy classroom. It sits empty except for a few pieces of furniture and an old copy paper box full of books on a folding table.
We headed toward the factory. It was dark. Empty and quiet. His employee is off on Fridays, the day we visited last week. He stopped at a breaker panel and turned on the lights. As we entered the factory, there was the distinct smell of fuel and oil, much like an old garage.
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There’s a row of FH1100 helicopters neatly lined up. Some look like they could fly away at a moment’s notice. Other looks as if they are just skeletons, bare bones. He gives a little history of each as we move down the line. Some, he says, have an improved aerodynamic front nose area that he says looks much more modern.
He stops at one with tail number N556F. Ths bird was ready to leave the nest…it is the one he says he had sold until the FAA contacted the purchasers and told them they would not certify it. He looks over it for a moment, and slides the cover back off the shiny refurbished engine. It’s much like looking under the hood of a new car…it looks ready to go.
We continue our factory tour. Just past a large fuel truck, we see a paint booth and a room full of a machine with a series of rollers that he says is for for making rotors.
The signs on the doors back at the front of the building warns that photography is strictly prohibited in the building. But he encourages NorthEscambia.com to photograph whatever we would like in order to share with our readers.
On the way out of the factory, we pause so he can pose for photographs in front of his copters.
Back in the lobby, he admits that he’s physically tired in the weeks after the raid. He takes us back to the conference room. On a small table in the corner is his next dream. A small model of a military helicopter that he says would save the government a lot of money, being cheap and easy to produce. It’s an impressive looking model, ominous in appearance like an Apache helicopter.
As we leave, he promises to move forward.
“I’ll never give up; I don’t know how.”
Century Care Center Parties Again
February 13, 2008
The residents at the Century Care Center attended another party Tuesday. This time, they enjoyed “The Belles of Saint Rose”, a group of old time “flappers”.
One of the residents stated “it brought back memories of the days we used to dance and listen to those songs.” Many expressed similar feelings. Our residents truly enjoyed the performance, and that is what counts. Our thanks to “The Belles of Saint Rose”, said Mae Hildreth, volunteer coordinator.
The term “flapper” was coined in the 1920’s to refer to a “new breed” of young women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to the new Jazz music, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior, according to the Wikipedia.
Photos courtesy Mae Hildreth. Click to enlarge.
Watches, Warnings Expire; Few Problems Reported
February 12, 2008
Fast moving storms caused a few power outages, but few other problems were reported across North Escambia Tuesday night.
At 5:30 our office in Walnut Hill experienced heavy rain and winds were gusting about 50 mph with heavy rain. At 545, a wind gust of 45 mph was recorded in Molino. By 5:55, the heaviest weather had passed the North Escambia area. The main line of rain had cleared the North Escambia area by 6:50.
Power outages were reported across the area, including in the area of South Pineville Road, Sandy Hollow Road and Highway 4, and near Bratt. The McDavid Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to a report of power lines and a tree down on Cox Road near Highway 29 about 5:50. Cox road was reported open again about an hour later.
Cooler temperatures are in store for Wednesday. The Wednesday high is expected to only in the low 50’s. Wednesday night will be colder with a low of 28, and a high of 63 is expected on Thursday.
Walnut Hill Baptist Cancels Beth Moore Class Tonight Due To Weather
February 12, 2008
Walnut Hill Baptist Church has canceled a Beth Moore Bible study class scheduled for tonight due to weather. Classes will resume next Tuesday night.
“The Patriarchs” study will takes place Tuesday evenings at 6:00 at the church.
The study is led by Ellen Boyd, and it is open to women regardless of whether or not they attend Walnut Hill Baptist. The cost is $14.95 for the book.
The church is located at 5741 Arthur Brown Road, about about 1.5 miles from Highway 97. For more information, call 327-4595.
FCAT Writing Time Is Here
February 12, 2008
Tuesday began the writing portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test for Escambia students in grades four, eight and ten. Principals at schools across North Escambia say they were not worried that the big day has finally arrived because their students are ready.
“The teachers at EWMS have done an excellent job preparing the students for the FCAT,” said Ernest Ward Middle School Principal Nancy Gindl-Perry. “The students have worked hard preparing for this FCAT and I know our students will do their very best. ”
Ernest Ward was rated an “A” school by the Florida Department of Education last year. At Ernest Ward, 93 percent of students made high standards in writing last year. About 15 miles away at Carver/Century K-8 it is a different story. Just 61 percent of students made high standards in writing last year. Carver/Center was rated as a “F” school by the state last year.
“I feel confident that we are going to show some improvement from last year, Carver/Century Principal Jeff Garthwaite said.
“The more you learn, the more you earn” has become a common slogan among Garthwaite and his Carver students. The school recently held a “cash grab” awarding cold hard cash to students that show improvements on practice FCATS given late last calender year.
“We have taken the two practice FCATs, and all indications show that our students are improving,” he said. “We done as much tutoring as possible. We have held ‘FCAT chats’ one on one with students to explain their scores.”
“We have worked to give the students the confidence they need to do their best and to motivate them,” Garthwaite said. “And we will continue to do that right up to the time of the testing.”
At Northview High School, Principal Gayle Weaver says her tenth graders were ready for the writing FCAT.
“Our people have been working really, really hard,” she said. “We think we should be ready.”
Northview scored a “C” with the state last year, and Weaver said the students and faculty have been hard at work to improve that grade this year.
“Out continuous improvement model has all of our teachers involved for improvement,” she said. “They have looked at each student’s report and worked on ways to improve their scores.”
At Byrneville Elementary School, fourth grade students have been hard at work preparing for the writing FCAT. Byrneville scored a “B” with the state last year, with 72% of students meeting high standards in writing.
“We have been working hard to motivate the students,” Byrneville Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan said. Last Friday, Byrneville fourth graders learned more about writing from Kent and Gloria Fox and their puppet Sally. Mr. Fox was an MCA Recording artist and is a songwriter and videographer. Mrs. Fox is children’s author and illustrator, and is a nationally recognized puppeteer. They travel to elementary and middle schools motivating students to learn writing and other skills. They also recently appeared at Bratt Elementary School.
At Ernest Ward and Carver, good FCAT grades will not go unrewarded.
“EWMS will be giving away prizes for the top score in math, reading, science, and writing in each grade level,” Gindl-Perry said. The top score for the entire school in each subject area will receive a grand prize. “After FCAT is over EWMS will celebrate with grade level field days to reward all students for their hard work and dedication.”
Carver/Century plans to hold another cash giveaway following the FCATs, Garthwaite said.
At Ernest Ward, there are other reasons for doing well on the FCAT, Gindl-Perry said, with a direct message to her students.
“The FCAT is your turn to show how good you are as students,” she said to EW students. “Students please remember – your FCAT scores will determine your placement in classes next year…double block, all year, or a semester of reading and electives.”
Students in grades six, seven and nine will take the Escambia Writes! test, a district test similar to the FCAT this week.
Round two of FCAT testing, which will include reading, math and science, will begin March 11.
Pictured above: Fourth grade students at Byrneville Elementary raise their hands to answer questions last Friday morning. Click to enlarge.
Part Two: Helicopter Technologies, Van Nevel And Inside A Federal Raid
February 12, 2008
(This is the second of a three part NorthEscambia.com exclusive series. To read part one from Monday, click here.)
At the end of the day on January 8, 2008, Georges Van Nevel felt a little better about his Century business, Helicopter Technologies and his ongoing problems with the Federal Aviation Administration.
His newly hired consultant, one that he described as a “hard-nosed” former FAA inspector, had spent the day reviewing paperwork to help make sure everything was in order for a planned January 15 FAA inspection. Little did Van Nevel know, but his confrontations with the FAA were about escalate to a much higher level.
Sometime during the 5:00 hour that morning of January 9, federal officers surround the building with the help of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department. The federal team busted a window to gain entry into the building.
“They came into the offices with their guns drawn and put my employees on the floor,” Van Nevel said. “They took them outside at gunpoint like they were criminals. This is not a crack house, for crying out loud.”
A night watchman asleep in a trailer outside the building was pulled out of the trailer in his underwear and handcuffed, he said, and female officers made fun of the underwear clad night watchman on the ground.
“I arrived about 15 minutes later and there were flashing lights and policemen everywhere” Van Nevel said. “They secured me in the parking lot, searched my truck and asked if I had any weapons. They were in SWAT team outfits; I thought I was going to be thrown in jail.”
“I see a guy, an armed sniper guy coming out of the back,” he said. “They actually had an armed sniper hiding back there.”
“I was taken inside to an office and held so they could ask questions,” Van Nevel continued. “I was interrogated Gestapo style.”
The Gestapo literally meant “secret state police” during the Nazi reign in Germany. It was under the administration of the “SS” or “Schutzstaffel” operated without judicial oversight or above the law.
“They should have had a badge that said ‘SS’,” Van Nevel said in a NorthEscambia.com exclusive interview. “My father was abused by the SS in World War II. It was just like the SS used to treat people in World War II. My constitutional rights were violated.”
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“Van Nevel is suspected of improperly refurbishing helicopters and helicopter parts, selling unapproved aircraft parts, performing improper repairs on helicopters and misleading the aviation community by false advertisements,” according to federal documents from the Office of Transportation obtained by NorthEscambia.com.
Federal agents were to seize documents related to all of Van Nevel’s companies, according to federal documents. Documents to be seized include both paper documents and electronic information related to the operation of the company, including employee records, customer records, supplier records and aircraft maintenance information.
Picture above are NorthEscambia.com exclusive photographs of the search warrant documents from the federal raid, taken on January 9. The black boxes in the second photograph were added by NorthEscambia.com to obscure names and cell phone numbers there were not considered classified and not part of public record. Click either photograph to enlarge and read the documents.
“They didn’t shut me down; they told me it was ‘business as usual’,” Van Nevel said in our interview in his office. “But you can’t operate when they take everything.”
On the afternoon of the raid, the driver of one vehicle drove toward the parking lot not using the main driveway but a grassy area on the side. He was quickly approached by deputies before he entered the parking lot (pictured left, click to enlarge).
For more exclusive NorthEscambia.com photos from January 9, click here.
Van Nevel’s office still contained numerous files, a filing cabinet, a computer and dozens of document binders at the time of our interview late last week.
When asked about the remaining documents, he said “They did not take everything. They took important things like customer records, my contact list. They nearly burned up my copier making copies of things and they made copies of what was on my computers.”
“They confiscated all of my new parts, not just a sample. They took all of them,” Van Nevel said. “They took my notary stamp, personal bank accounts and my customer accounts list. They took things that are attorney-client privileged information. They took aircraft log books that do not belong to me. These people are criminal.”
“They even took my copies of my correspondence with the FAA,” he said. “They are the FAA, the ones I sent it to in the first place. It makes me wonder what’s going to happen to those documents, if they are going to tamper with them.”
“I will find a way to hold them accountable,” Van Nevel said, raising his voice slightly. “They were laughing at me.”
Pictured at top of page: A row of FH1100 helicopters sits inside Helicopter Technologies in Century. Some are nearly complete, according to owner Georges Van Nevel, and others are just a frame like the one in the photograph foreground. Click to enlarge. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos.
On Wednesday morning, we’ll look at the present and the future of Helicopter Technologies, Van Nevel and how all this relates to the Town of Century and the entire North Escambia area.
FCAT Warning For Students, Parents: No Cell Phones, No Cameras
February 12, 2008
Escambia County students in grades four, eight and ten will take the writing portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) today. Students in grades six, seven and nine will take the Escambia Writes! test, a district test similar to the FCAT.
There are several important things for students and parents to remember prior to the FCAT test, according the Gayle Hanks, guidance counselor at Ernest Ward Middle School, including the importance of a good night’s sleep tonight.
Also, students must not have a cell phone or any other electronic device “within arm’s reach” even if the device is not visible, according to Hanks. Students should not have cell phones in their pockets, clipped to their belts, at their desks, or anywhere they can be easily accessed during testing. If they do, their entire FCAT test will be invalidated.
“We have announced it over the PA and made phone calls with the ConnectEd system to let them know they can’t have cell phones and other devices with them during the test,” Northview High School Principal Gayle Weaver said.
Students can leave their cell phones or other electronic devices in the office at their school or with their teacher prior to the test, Weaver said.
Some other important FCAT points on this day before the big writing test, according to Hanks:
- If a student starts a test and leaves without finishing (for an appointment, illness, etc.), he/she will NOT be allowed to complete the test. NO EXCEPTIONS will be made once the student leaves the school’s campus.
- If a student arrives at school after the test begins, he/she will not be admitted to the testing site. The student will be required to sit in the office until testing is finished for the day.