Keep It Green – Recycle Your Christmas Tree For Free
January 3, 2009
Now that Christmas is gone, you can be “green” with your natural Christmas tree and recycle it in one of several ways.
Trees that are recyled must be natural — no artificial trees — and be clean of all decorations including tinsel so that the trees may be ground for mulch.
In Escambia County, natural trees can be dropped off for recycling at the Oak Grove Convenience Center on North Highway 99, the Perdido Landfill, the John R. Jones Atheletic Park on Nine Mile Road or the Equestrian Center on Mobile Highway.
Natural trees, clean of all decorations, will be accepted at no charge. A fee of $8.66 will be assessed for trees arriving at any of the locations that are not organic or free of decorations.
Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA) and Allied Waste Customers may leave trees curbside as regular yard waste. Trees should not be placed in the trash can. For more information, contact Allied Waste at 433-7425 or ECUA at 937-2160.
Christmas trees and clean yard waste (limbs and branches with no plastic bags) are mulched at the Escambia County Perdido Landfill and given to the public free of charge. Customers must load their own mulch and are responsible for properly securing mulch in their own vehicles.
Year In Review North Escambia’s Biggest Stories Of 2008: August
January 3, 2009
NorthEscambia.com is looking back at 2008 with our “Year in Review” series. Each day, we will review the biggest stories of 2008. Today, we take a look at the biggest stories of August 2008.
Fire destroyed a Walnut Hill home on Highway 97 (pictured above). NorthEscambia.com was first on the scene, and had exclusive photo coverage as firemen arrived on scene and began to battle the blaze. Read more…
We looked at the question “Could North Escambia become part of the City of Pensacola?”. The entire North Escambia county area, including the Town of Century, would join the rest of Escambia County and the City of Pensacola under one unified government if a new political organization gets its way. The new combined government would form the fourth largest city in Florida. Read more…
One of the biggest meth labs in recent Escambia County history was discovered in Molino. It took deputies and a hazardous materials team about 15 hours in to cleanup the methamphetamine lab in the 800 block of Nancy Lane off Highway 95A, about a quarter mile behind Highland Baptist Church. Read more…
A freak accident sent a tree crashing into a van on Highway 97. Read more…
Several thousand Frontier Communications in the Walnut Hill and Molino telephone exchanges were without phone service for over an hour Wednesday afternoon following a cable cut in Davisville. An unknown number of cellular phone users in the area were also unable to make calls for a short period of time due to the cable cut. Read more..
Escambia County deputies spent a couple of hours searching for a burglary suspect in the Christian Home community after a woman came home to discover someone in her house. Read more…
Malcolm Thomas, candidate for Escambia School superintendent, brought his campaign message to Walnut Hill saying that Escambia County deserves better in its school system. Thomas would go on to win the seat in November. Read more… The same night Thomas was in Walnut Hill, sheriff candidate and eventual winner David Morgan also spoke to the Walnut Hill Ruritan Club. Read more…
New Life Baptist Church has never paid a utility bill since it moved into the old Century High School in August of 2004. That’s what Pastor Irvin Stallworth acknowledged during an exclusive interview with NorthEscambia.com. NorthEscambia.com was first to reportthat utility bills on the building were being paid by the school board. New Life leases the old school from the Escambia County School Board for $1 a year. Read more…
A charter school applicationwasfiled for the Carver/Century K-8 School by a Century foundation and the Century Blue Ribbon Committee on Education. But that’s not the same blue ribbon committee than the one appointed by the Town Council to save the school. Read more…
The members of one local church gave their new pastor and his wife a pounding on an August Sunday night. And they gave him a little sugar too. Read more…
The Escambia County School District has discovered that it had been paying utility bills to the Town of Century on a building the school system does not own. Read more…
Over two dozen Molino Park Elementary School students took to the hallways of the schooto ask for the Lord’s blessing on their upcoming school year. Read more…
A Byrneville man lost his granddaughter on Thanksgiving day 2005 at the intersection of Byrneville Road, Bluff Springs Road and Highway 29. It’s a tragedy that he says could have been prevented with a traffic signal, and he is on a mission to save other lives from being lost at the North Escambia intersection. Read more…
Gas prices began to decline from their over $4 summer high. By mid-August, gas was down to $3.58 a gallon in North Escambia. Read more…
School started with a few problems reported. Students at Ernest Ward Middle School were over 30 minutes late leaving campus due to bus scheduled problems. Read more…
Ernest Ward Middle School and the Quintette Community Center were among the recipients of grants from the International Paper Pensacola Mill. The grants, totaling $50,000, were presented to 15 groups in the area. Read more…
The Escambia County School Board did not vote to close Carver/Century K-8 School at their August meeting, but they did vote to begin the process of deciding where to send students once the school closes. The board voted 4-1 to have the School Attendance Zone Advisory Committee (SAZAC) rezone the Carver/Century school zone to send the children to other North Escambia schools including Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle School. Board member Claudia Brown-Curry cast the lone no vote. Read more…
Two Century families were homeless after a tree fell into their mobile homes, pushed over by the winds of Tropical Storm Fay. Read more…
After 24 years on the Escambia County School Board, Pete Gindl, Sr. was voted out of that office. Gindl finished third in the District 5 School Board race in August, behind Bill Slayton and Tom Harrell. Slayton and Harrell would face each other on the November ballot. Read more…
Republican challenger David Morgan beat incumbent Escambia County Sheriff Ron McNesby in August by over three thousand votes. Morgan would face Democratic challenger Larry Scapecchi in November. Read more…
The ACLU and two students filed suit against the Santa Rosa County Schools over prayer, and NorthEscambia.com learned that the ACLU has requested documents concerning prayer from Escambia County Schools. Read more…
Bratt Elementary School showed off their new media center an their annual fall open house. Read more…
The Century Town Council talked code enforcement , with some members admitting that it was going to be a touchy political subject. Read more…
2008 Persons Of The Year: Cyndi, Danny, Drew Marlow
January 2, 2009
Cyndi , Danny and Drew Marlow of Molino have been named as one of our NorthEscambia.com Citizens of the Year. Cyndi suffered the loss of her child and husband in a tragic vehicle accident in early 2008, and she stepped forward to turn that tragedy into “Drew’s Field”, a t-ball field under construction at Walnut Hill’s Bradberry Park.
Each day through Monday, NorthEscambia.com will name another person as a NorthEscambia.com Person of the Year.
Our communities cried for and with Cyndi over her loss of husband Danny and two-year old son Drew. We published a memorial message board where our communities expressed their thoughts. You read that here, and a blog post “Go Home Truck” here.
We hugged our children and our spouses and told them they we loved them, as we were reminded just how fragile life can be. But through the pain, Cyndi decided to make Drew’s t-ball dream a reality for other children in our area with Drew’s Field. It was an act of amazing courage, and a testament to the community spirit that makes North Escambia such a great place to live.
We think the story of Drew’s Field is best told by an article that we first published on April 15, 2008. That article is below.
T-ball Field To Be Named In Memory Of Drew Marlow
Cyndi Marlow stood alone in the middle of a simple, unfinished dirt t-ball field Monday afternoon. A cold wind blew across the nearby wheat field as she stood holding a small, child-size Florida Gator bat.
It was Drew’s bat. A brightly colored little bat, with scuff marks on its fat end where Drew played hard with it.
It was Drew’s dream to play t-ball. And Drew’s dad dreamed of the day he would see his son give that ball a good strong whack off a tee at the ballpark. It does not matter if a little fellow gets to first base in that first game. Dads will cheer; dads will smile with pride anyway for their sons. It’s just what dads do. Danny Marlow looked forward to that day with great anticipation.
But Monday afternoon, Cyndi Marlow stood alone on that field at the back of Walnut Hill’s Bradberry Park. She did not hold the bat dangling from her hand or just in the middle like most people hold a bat. She held the bat close to her heart with both hands before posing for a picture with Drew’s bat. On Drew’s Field.
(story continues below photo)
Drew and Danny will never see that field. Two year old Drew Marlow and his dad Danny Marlow died January 28 in an accident on Highway 97.
The Northwest Escambia Little League has voted to name the new t-ball field at the back of Bradberry Park “Drew’s Field” in honor of Drew’s dream.
“We were going to go play t-ball,” Cyndi said with a smile. “That’s all Drew talked about. “
“He would play and play with this bat, his very own Gator bat,” she said of her son, gently rubbing a finger along the handle where Drew would hold the bat.
She laughed a little. “Well, it was more like golf when he played with it. He could not really hit the ball unless it was on the floor, or unless Danny held it is his hand and let him hit it.”
Drew and Danny spent hours playing with that blue and orange bat. Dreaming of that big t-ball opening day they both just knew would come when that little boy with a big number “3” on his jersey stepped to the plate.
Danny had it all planned out, down to the jersey number. Drew was Cyndi and Danny’s “miracle baby”…he was their third attempt at in vitro conception.
“We were just so excited. But then we went to the doctor. They rate the chances of the embryo surviving on a scale of one to five. A four or below has a small chance of surviving.”
“The doctor rated the embryo as a three that was Drew. A three out of five. We knew it was all in God’s hands.”
And God blessed the Marlows with a healthy sandy blonde baby boy they named Drew.
“That’s where the jersey number ‘3’ came from. Danny always said ‘could you imagine if he was a five’,” Cyndi said. “He always wanted Drew to wear ‘3’ in his first t-ball game.”
“I kept thinking that I wanted to do something so that they would be remembered. My family was always at almost every ballgame. I wondered if they (NWE) would let me make a field and call it ‘Drew’s Field’.” When she approached the NWE Board, they agreed to make her dream a reality.
Now the rush is on…the plans call for Drew’s Field to be ready for dedication on closing day, June 6. The biggest expense, Cyndi said, will be the memorial marker for the field.
“We have quite a few volunteers ready to help us on making this happen,” she said. “I’m so excited. I have mixed emotions. I’m still sad, but I’m really excited about it. It is quite an honor for it to be named after him.”
“I still cry every day,” she said. Up this point, she has fought back the tears during our interview. Now she wipes the tears from her eyes. “It’s been hard.”
“I was overwhelmed with your printed comments,” Cyndi said, referring to a Memorial Message Board and a blog that was published here on NorthEscambia.com. Dozens and dozens of people from the community posted their thoughts and comments about the tragedy.
“I’m really sad. But it makes me feel good that he touched so many lives,” she said.
“There was this family that told me they started going to church. There was this lady that bought Bibles for her children. Drew’s story has changed so many lives.”
“Everything is for His glory,” Cyndi said. “I’ve been asked why I am not mad at God.”
“But I am not mad at God. I don’t understand it,” she said, fighting back her emotions. “I know God has a purpose. And I try to think about the good losing my husband and my child has done for others. To bring glory to God.”
“I was blessed to have him two and a half years,” she said of Drew. She paused and took a deep breath to get the words out. “I love him. I really miss him.”
Additional funding is still needed to make Drew’s Field a reality. If you would like to help build Drew’s Field, donations can be made at any Gulf Winds Federal Credit Union in Escambia or Santa Rosa counties in Florida or at the Atmore, Alabama, branch to the “Drew’s Field” account.
ECUA’s First Trash Pickups Will Be Today, Saturday In North Escambia
January 2, 2009
ECUA’s residential trash service began Friday in North Escambia.
Emerald Coast Utilities Authority sanitation service will assume collection of all routes currently collected by Allied Waste in North Escambia. Customers whose residential garbage was picked up by Allied Waste on Thursdays hadtheir final, twice-weekly pickup Fridayday. Customers with Friday pickup will have their final, twice-weekly pickup on Saturday.
ALL ECUA customers, including North Escambia customers, will begin receiving once weekly garbage, recyclable and yard waste pickup beginning Tuesday, January 6. For customers in the North Escambia, the pickup day will be Tuesday. The collection service includes once weekly garbage pickup, once weekly pickup of recyclables, and once weekly yard waste pickup. In addition, bulky waste pickup service is available, free-of-charge, once each calendar month. Residential garbage service rates are being reduced to $17.99 a month, effective January 1, 2009.
Most ECUA customers who have registered for recycling have received their recycling container, and those who have not yet received their container can expect delivery by January 10, according to an ECUA news release.
“ECUA will be working on January 2-3 to distribute as many recyclables containers as possible. Let’s see how things look after that. I hope that we will see that many customers’ requested cans will be provided by the end of day Saturday,” Larry Walker, ECUA District 5 member, said in a posting on NorthEscambia.com in response to a story that few, if any, North Escambia residents have had their recyclables container delivered.
Customers who have not registered for recycling can do so by emailing ECUA at support@ecua.org and requesting service, calling ECUA Customer Service at 476-0480 or visiting www.ecua.org, printing out a request form and mailing it.
The ECUA sanitation service does not include residents in the Town of Century. Century residents will continue to be served by Allied Waste under an agreement with the town.
Wreath Fire Safety Campaign Ends With 11 Red Bulbs; One For North Escambia Fire
January 2, 2009
The “Keep the Wreath Green” fire safety campaign in Escambia County ended with 11 red bulbs, one of which represented a fire in North Escambia.
On December 1, 2008, Escambia County Fire-Rescue and the City of Pensacola Fire Department kicked off “Keep the Wreath Green,” a holiday fire safety campaign.
Five-foot wreaths lit with 25 green lights were placed at 22 locations throughout the county. During the month-long event, 11 of the green bulbs in each wreath were replaced with red ones, representing residential fires that occurred in the county over the holiday season. The 2007 fire safety campaign also concluded with 11 house fires.
One bulb represented a December 14 fire that destroyed a mobile home on Nokomis Road near Highway 97 in Davisville.
Last year, two red bulbs were lit for North Escambia fires, one on Still Road and one on Backwoods Road.
Escambia residents can call 595-HERO for fire safety information and information about obtaining a free smoke detector.
Pictured above: A December 14 fire in Davisville that destroyed a mobile home. Pictured left: The “Keep the Wreath Green” display at the McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue. NorthEscambia.com file photos.
Year In Review North Escambia’s Biggest Stories Of 2008: July
January 2, 2009
NorthEscambia.com is looking back at 2008 with our “Year in Review” series. Each day, we will review the biggest stories of 2008. Today, we take a look at the biggest stories of July 2008.
A major drug raid was held in Century early on the morning of July 11 (pictured above). NorthEscambia.com was there, with complete coverage. We had photos here, the only local coverage of the sheriff’s news conference here, video of the raid here, and a complete story here.
The Fourth of July was celebrated in many ways around the area, including a big celebration at the Century Branch Library with a watermelon seed spitting contest. Read more…
Roads, zoning, taxes and economic development topped discussion at a town hall meeting at Molino Park Elementary with top Escambia County leaders. Read more…
We reported that changes could be coming at the Solutia Plant in Cantonment, including the possibility that the entire facility could be for sale. Read more…
Escambia Sheriff Ron McNesby brought his campaign message to Walnut Hill Thursday, talking budgets, crime and more. “If I stood up here and told you what I am going to do the next four years, you would have to ask me what I did the past eight years,” McNesby told the Walnut Hill Ruritan Club. Read more…
Gas jumped over $4 a gallon, just in time for the Fourth of July weekend. Read more…
Royal Pizza and Subs in Century was destroyed by fire the first Sunday of July. The fire was reported just before 3:30 a.m. The first firemen on the scene moments later reported heavy smoke when they arrived. It took firefighters just over an hour to bring the fire under control. Read more….
The Town of Century dedicated its new Veteran’s Wall of Honor on the Fourth of July at the town’s Roadside Park on Highway 29. Read more…
A zebra was spotted in Walnut Hill on the Fourth of July. In one of our most fun stories every, we teased for a few days that a zebra had been spotted in Walnut Hill. And he was with a grizzly bear. People across the area were guessing what we were making up. But, in fact, the zebra was spotted with brown bear. Seriously. Read more…
Water problems on Backwoods Road continued to plague the Town of Century as the council debated the future of a $1.5 million project. Read more…
Carver/Century K-8 School got the official news during the July that the school had improved from an “F” to a “B” rating with the Florida Department of Education. Read more…
The owner of Helicopter Technologies told the mayor of Century the company’s building will be sold by mid-July, and the town council has voted to file emergency foreclosure against the company in the event the sale does not take place. Read more…
The sale of the Helicopter Technologies building did not take place; the owner backed out, saying that he did not realize that he would have to partner with the Town of Century in order to complete the deal. Read more…
In response the failed sale of the Helicopter Technologies building, the Town of Century filed foreclosure proceedings against the company. Read more…
In ratings released by the Florida Department of Education. Bratt Elementary School was named the number one school in Escambia County. Read more…
An explosive situation in Walnut Hill: NorthEscambia.com had exclusive coverage when the bomb squad was called to blow up an explosive liquid found in Walnut Hill. Read the story, and see the photos…
It’s more than some people can bear to go to the dentist and see the assortment of tools that a modern dentist uses. But a complete dentist kit in a box donated to a Century museum makes modern dentistry seem a bit more pleasant. It was a treasure chest of dental history. Read more…
A Jay man was arrested for growing marijuana after deputies found him leaving a wooded area in the Brownsdale community southwest of Jay with the tools of the trade in his possession. Tharon “Buckshot” Godwin, 66, was was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver, a third degree felony. Read more… A few days later, more pot was found near Jay. Read more… A few days after that, even more pot plants were discovered near Jay.
Where exactly is the Town of Century? The town council has determined that it did not exactly know, and they might need to turn to an engineering firm to find out. Read more…
Two Foley men were arrested for burglary after a manhunt in McDavid. Read more…
A Flomaton man was arrest for firing a shotgun into a trailer with children inside a Wawbeek Road trailer. Read more…
Our neighbors in Flomaton saw their downtown evacuated at the end of July due to a gas leak. Read more…
The Southern Pit Stop on North Century Boulevard was robbed. Read more…
Gulf Power was granted a rate increase in July. The increase was to take effect in September. Read more…
Baptist Purchase Of West Florida Hospital A Dead Deal
January 2, 2009
The $245 million dollar purchase of West Florida Hospital by Baptist Health Care is a dead deal.
A statement released Thursday by Baptist says the deal was the victim of a weak national economy and the financial meltdown that left the hospital unable to obtain financing for the purchase.
Hospital Corporation of America, the parent company of West Florida, notified Baptist on Thursday that it was exercising a contact option to terminate the sale. HCA says that West Florida is no longer on the market.
Closer to North Escambia, Baptist operates Atmore Community Hospital, Jay Hospital, Century Family Practice and Lakeview Center in Century.
Pictured above: Artist rendering of the new cancer center that was to be located at the new location of Baptist Hospital on Davis Highway.
Blog: 2009 Predictions; 2008 Reflections
January 1, 2009
Out with the old; in with the new. Black eyed peas and football. Resolutions, weight loss plans and diets. Can’t figure out the date to write on checks. Must be the New Year.
We have worked a bit on a set of predictions for 2009. Those are a little later in this post. But first, we want to look back at 2008 and take a look at some predictions we made a year ago today.
On New Year’s Day 2008 we thanked you for making NorthEscambia.com a success. We were proud that during the two months we were online in 2007, we posted 200 stories, 800 pictures and had over half million page views in two months.
We are humbled to look back at 2008 and tell you that we posted about 2,500 stories and over 10,000 pictures from North Escambia. We now average over 2 million page views per month. During 2007, we served over 20 million pages. While we spend our days crafting the words to tell you the stories we report, words can’t begin to describe our gratitude to you for welcoming NorthEscambia.com into your life and making it the number one source for local news in the area. Thank you.
Now, looking backing out the predictions we made a year ago for 2008:
- We predicted a lot of bickering among the Escambia commission. King Mike Whitehead resigned as chair of the commission before the other commissioners gave him the boot. Whitehead got the boot from the commission, as voters voted him right out of office.
- We predicted “the county commission just might notice that “north Escambia” extends beyond 10 Mile Road”. Now they know. They read and they learn from NorthEscambia.com. Commissioners have been seen at events in North Escambia. A former District 5 commissioner, Wilson Robertson, now holds Mike Whiteheads seat. Some of them have been up here enough they don’t even need their GPS.
- “Things will get hot concerning volunteer firefighters in the county. There are those that are pushing for end of our volunteer departments. The McDavid, Century, Molino and Walnut Hill volunteer fire departments are a vital part of our communities. We, as the communities of North Escambia, will not stand by and let them be closed, or our volunteers replaced with a few paid firefighters,” we wrote on January 1, 2008. We wrote several editorials and offered a lot of coverage on the issue. In the end, North Escambia was not forgotten, nor were the volunteers.
- “We’ll see an expansion of leisure services in North Escambia. Perhaps a new park will be announced, and the county will move forward on the conversion of the old Molino Elementary into a community center,” we predicted a year ago. A new park was announced in Bratt, and the county has named the Molino community center a top priority. That one is just waiting on the dollars to make it a reality.
- “The Escambia County School Board will feel the budget crunch. The district will consider closing at least one North Escambia School,” we predicted. The budget crunch is on, the the board pretty much had key in hand ready to lock the doors at Carver/Century K-8.
Now for 2009 predictions:
- We predict that our predictions are going to be harder this year. We are living in uncertain times. Recession. Budget crunches. Layoffs. Bailouts. Closures. They are words that we have not used in a long time in our country, and those words are filtering down to North Escambia. It’s going to be a rough ride, but we are a tough people. We will prevail.
- We predict that the opening of the Wind Creek Casino in Atmore will impact North Escambia. But we may not like what we get. Increased traffic. More accidents. Crime will increase. Casinos are not just the glitz and glamour we see in Wind Creek’s advertising. If a casino’s payout is 10 percent, that means 90 percent of the money that heads up Highway 21 will be lost. Divorce lawyers and bankruptcy lawyers are going to love that place. Times are tough. People can’t afford to be losing money at a casino. “Hellhole” is the word Dr. Ted Traylor, the pastor of Olive Baptist used to describe Wind Creek. All that glitters is not gold.
- We predict that you will not see an advertisement for the casino on NorthEscambia.com. We will refuse them. Their ads are everywhere you look or listen. But not on our site. If you choose to head to the casino, that’s your business and we won’t be judging you. But we know enough about elementary school math to know it’s just a bad idea, and we are not going to promote something where 90 percent lose. It’s bad math.
- We predict that county leaders will continue to remember that North Escambia exists. We will not let them forget, nor will we be second rate cousins to the rest of the county.
- We predict that major changes in North Escambia schools are not over. We will continue to hear talk of closing Carver/Century K-8 School. But if it closes, don’t expect the building to be empty. Don’t be surprised to see the school district offer the charter on the school to the current Byrneville Elementary. Dee Wolfe-Sullivan and the other folks at Byrneville have done some amazing things.
- LHS EV…the electric car company planned for Century with hundreds of jobs. It’s not the great picture that has been painted. This one is going to be a stinker.
- The budget crunch is not over. From county government, to businesses to our dining room tables.
- There will be two named hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and they will both head toward Texas or Mexico. Well…everybody else offers predictions, so we thought we’d toss one in there too. We can guess as good as the next guy.
- NorthEscambia.com will continue to grow and serve you in 2009. We have several new features planned and a few fun things also.
- We’ll all learn a little more about our community by visiting here at NorthEscambia.com. There’s so much more here than the things we mentioned so far in these predictions. Predictions aside, we know that North Escambia will continue to be a great place to live and work. That’s why we call this area home. Thanks again for being part of the NorthEscambia.com family.
Work For Minimum Wage? You Got A Pay Raise
January 1, 2009
If you work for minimum wage in Florida, you got a pay raise Thursday.
Minimum wage in the state jumped from $6.79 to $7.21 on January 1.
It was part of a 2004 measure approved by voters that raises the minimum wage in the state in each year. In July, the federal minimum wage goes from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour.
Year In Review North Escambia’s Biggest Stories Of 2008: June
January 1, 2009
NorthEscambia.com is looking back at 2008 with our “Year in Review” series. Each day, we will review the biggest stories of 2008. Today, we take a look at the biggest stories of June 2008.
A Flomaton teen died a in fiery crash in Bryneville. Cody Ray Gafford, 16, of Flomaton died in the crash (pictured above). Read more…
The Town of Century will greatly reduce a Century woman’s $3,000 sewer bill, but only because they had to do so. The council said Leola Robinson would have to pay up$624. The council also voted not to help pay for Fourth of July fireworks in Flomaton. Read more… The Century council also turned down an offer by Allied Waste to feed the entire town. Read more…
Molino Park Elementary fourth grade teacher Sharon Smith was set to retire Friday, June 6. She stood outside the school, waving goodbye on the last day of school to her students. She turned back toward her Molino Park Elementary school and lost her breath. Sharon Smith, 57, passed away a short time later. Read more….
Escambia County School Board Member Jeff Bergosh received a handwritten letter from a Carver/Century K-8 School student opposed to closing the school, and he responded with a handwritten letter of his own. Bergosh explained why he felt Carver/Century K-8 School should be closed. Read more…
Byrneville Elementary School has scored an extra ten grand for its P.E. department compliments of the governor. James “Coach Mac” McDaniel, Byrneville’s physical education teacher, received a $10,000 check from Governor Charlie Crist as part of the Governor’s Fitness Challenge. The money will be used to purchase new P.E. equipment for the charter school. Read more…
Century businessman Georges Van Nevel and council member Henry Hawkins got into a verbal argument at a Century Town Council meeting, calling each other “crooked” and “corrupt”. Read more…
Smoke could be seen from miles away the first Friday afternoon of June as an accidental fire raged through a harvested wheat field on Highway 164 near Oak Grove. It made for interesting pictures. Read more and see the photos…
Mike Whitehead stepped down as chairman of the Escambia County Commission Thursday night before District 5 Commissioner Kevin White had the chance to call for his removal because of his “arrogance”. Read more…
The space shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station were visible June 7 as they moved across the skies of North Escambia. We had the photo…
About 1,500 people attended a 39 team softball tournament in Molino. Read more…
Closing ceremonies were held for Northwest Escambia Little League. Read more…
Many North Escambia churches held Vacation Bible Schools. Read more…
An apparent lighting strike sparked an electrical fire at a well house belonging to the Walnut Hill Water Works. The fire was confined to the power meter and electrical box on the outside of the building. The outside of the concrete block structure was blackened by the fire, but was otherwise undamaged. Read more…
About 70 Century residents rallied behind Carver/Century K-8 School at a public forum. Read more…
Escambia County voted to makea $2 million offer to purchase the old Wedgewood Middle School property in Pensacola and the old Molino Elementary School. Plans call for the old Molino school to become a community hub, possibly including a 5,000 square foot library, a museum highlighting Molino history, a small health clinic, a business incubator, renovation of the gym and one additional building for community events and private party rental along with other uses. Read more…
Perhaps the most “a-maize-ing” entertainment in the North Escambia area in June was in Bratt, and it is a challenge that few could meet. It was just plain “cornfusing”. “Bratt’s A-maize-ing” cornfield maze is once again open on Highway 4 near Bratt. It was an elaborate maze cut into a six acre cornfield. Read more…
NorthEscambia.com was the first media to break the story that Carver/Century K-8 School would not be closing for the 2008-2009 school year. Read more…
The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation recently honored the restoration project of the old Walnut Hill School House. During the Trust’s 2008 Preservation Awards ceremony, the Walnut Hill School House project was awarded Outstanding Achievement in the Restoration/Rehabilitation Awards category. Read more…
A local pastor was among the 7,000 gathered at the Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis, where the man nominated by another Escambia County preacher was named president of the 16 million member group. Read more…
Rather than going to court, Century decided to settle a billing dispute with the Florida Department of Corrections for about $282,000, far less than the $569,000 they had originally hoped to receive. Read more…
An Escambia County deputy was involved in a two vehicle accident in Bratt, slamming his patrol car into a power pole while trying to avoid another vehicle. Read more…
It was the end of an era in late June at Cooper’s Store in Bratt as the store’s gas pumps and tanks were removed. Read more…
A girls’ week in New York City ended with a North Escambia woman getting a surprise complete makeover on national television Friday morning. Cheryl Golson of Davisville was selected from the crowd at Rockefeller Plaza in New York for a “Plaza Ambush Makeover” from NBC’s Today Show. Cheryl received a complete makeover…hair, makeup and new designer dress. Read more…
Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church named a new pastor. Read more…
The first weekend of summer was not be one that emergency responders in the area soon forgot. In the span of less than 72 hours, four people died and at least 13 were injured in vehicle accidents and a structure fire in the North Escambia area. Read more…
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library kicked off in Century, with plans to provide a free book every month for every child under five years old. Read more…