Charles E. Casey
March 17, 2010
Charles E. Casey died at home on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 after a long illness. He is preceded in death by his first wife, Eleanor Casey. He was blessed to have found love a second time with wife, Dorothy Gindl Lambert Casey.
He is survived by two step-children, Louis (Skip) N. Lambert (June) and Brenda Lambert Sowinski (Jim), five grandchildren; Chad Lambert (Janet), Kevin Lambert (Susan), Bridget Sowinski Davidson (Bob), Julie Anna Sowinski, Brian Charles Sowinski (Amy), three great grandchildren; Dalton Louis Lambert, Aidan Marshall Lambert and Margaret Theresa Davidson. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, March 18, 2010 from 5-8 PM at Faith Chapel North-Cantonment. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, March 19, 2010 at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, Barrineau Park with Father Thomas Koyickal and Father George Thekkummattathil officiating. Interment will be at Bayview Memorial Park, Pensacola on Saturday, March 20, 2010.
Pallbearers are Chad Lambert, Kevin Lambert, Brian Sowinski, Jim Sowinski, Bob Davidson and John Welch. Honorary pallbearers are the Santa Maria Counsel of the Knights of Columbus.
The family request that in lieu of flowers please make donations to one of the following; St. Elizabeth Cemetery Fund, 4199 Highway 95 A North Cantonment, Florida 32533, Barrineau Park Historical Society, P.O. Box 508, Molino, Florida 32577-0508 or Covenant Hospice, 5041 North 12th. Avenue, Pensacola, Florida.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North, 1000 Highway 29 South Cantonment is in charge of arrangements.
Couple Robs Brewton Bank
March 17, 2010
Authorities are on the lookout for a couple after the robbery of a bank in East Brewton around noon Wednesday
A white male and white female held up the BankTrust branch on Forest Avenue. Both were described by witnesses at wearing dark hoodies. They presented a holdup note to a teller before fleeing with an undetermined amount of money. They reportedly did not display a weapon during the robbery.
They fled the scene in a vehicle that was waiting behind the bank. Differing descriptions of the getaway vehicle have been given. The most current description is an older model pewter or gold Pontiac Sunfire with a spoiler and a Florida tag. The tag number is not known. The car may have been seen headed in the direction of Santa Rosa County and was last seen in the area of Jay Road.
It was not known if this robbery is connected to the recent bank robberies in Flomaton and Florala that also involved man and woman.
The investigation into the robbery is being handled by the FBI, East Brewton Police and the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office. Tracking dogs from Tracking dogs from Century Correctional Institution were called to assist in the suspect search but were not used since the suspects were seen by multiple witnesses leaving in a vehicle.
Anyone with information should contact their local law enforcement agency. The suspects should be considered armed and dangerous.
Pedestrian Killed
March 17, 2010
A Tuesday night accident claimed the life of a young North Dakota woman.
The accident on Highway 95A just south of West Roberts Road happened about 9:15. The Florida Highway Patrol says Sarah D. Martinsen, 21, of Minot, North Dakota, was jogging southbound on the grassy shoulder of 95A with traffic. She entered the paved portion of the road and was struck by a 1995 Jeep driven by Melissa D. Arnold, 40, of Cantonment.
Martinsen was pronounced dead at the scene by Escambia County EMS. Arnold and her passenger, 15-year old James D. Arnold, were not injured.
The accident is still under investigation.
Census Forms Arriving; Officials Stress Local Importance Of Compliance
March 17, 2010
Census forms are arriving in mailboxes in the North Escambia area, and local officials say it is very important that forms be returned. In Century, the mayor says he is especially hopeful that residents will respond.
Accurate census counts are important to local governments because over $300 billion in federal funding is allocated to communities every year based upon their population data from the census. That funding provides critical services, jobs and economic development.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 46 percent of Century residents bothered to mail their census form back to the government in 2000. That compares to the national average of 67 percent during the last census.
“It’s important to us that we get an accurate count because that affects our federal funding for this town,” Century Mayor Freddie McCall said. “I would like to encourage everybody in Century to fill out these forms and get them back in so we can get a good, true census count.”
McCall acknowledged that if 10 percent of the population in his town were to not be counted, a 10 percent reduction in funding for the town could be detrimental.
“We are not getting a true snapshot or the true count,” Tina Joshua with the Census Bureau recently said. “We want to raise awareness in the community because if we don’t have a good head count we are not going to be able to get the money into the communities where it is needed.”
If you don’t return your census form, Joshua said you can expect a knock at your door. Home visits will be conducte between May and July.
“We will not have people knocking on the door if we can just get people to send it back in,” Joshua said.
Three Century Council Seats Up For Grabs; Election Dates To Be Set
March 17, 2010
It’s an election year in the Town of Century, with three council seats up for a vote, and Escambia County’s top election boss and the town are working to get election dates set.
Council seats three, four and five are on the ballot this year — the positions currently held by Henry Hawkins, Gary Riley and Sharon Scott.
The town must approve various qualifying and election days to be in compliance with changes in state law since the town’s last election.
According to David Stafford, Escambia Supervisor of Elections, Century is being asked to approve a resolution to set election-related dates as follows:
- Per the Town of Century charter, the primary election is scheduled for October 5, 2010. The charter states that the primary election should be 30 days prior to the November election, but that date falls on Sunday, October 10. As a result, the date is moved to October 5. Per Florida statute, registration books will close on September 7, 2010 because September 6th is Labor Day.
- Per the town charter, the general election/runoff is scheduled for November 9, 2010, the second Tuesday in November. Registration books will close on October 11, 2010.
- Per Florida statute and proposed ordinance, qualifying will take place the week of July 26 – July 30, 2010. Qualifying papers can be accepted by the elections supervisor up to 14 days prior, which would begin July 12.
The qualifying fee for a Century Town Council seat is $48 — that’s $33 for one percent of the salary and a $15 qualifying fee. There is no petition qualification method for Century offices that would allow a candidate to qualify with voter signatures.
During portions of the July qualifying week, Stafford’s office will provide staffers at the Century Town Hall to accept registrations.
Stafford has also requested that the town approve by ordinance a provision for candidates to file their campaign finance disclosure statements electronically on the Internet as is done in other races in the county.
After this year’s election, Stafford said his office would conduct a manual audit of one randomly selected race. That audit will take place November 12, the Friday after the general election.
Monday night, the council tabled any action on Stafford’s proposed resolution until a future meeting.
Pictured top: Three Century Town Council member seats — currently held by (L-R) Sharon Scott, Henry Hawkins and Gary Riley — are up for election this year. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Charges To Be Dropped In Atmore Child Abuse Case
March 17, 2010
A settlement has been reached in the case of an Atmore man who was accused of child abuse along with his kindergarten teacher wife.
Terry Desmond Linam will enter a pretrial diversion program, Alabama court officials said this week. He and his wife, Tracy Linam, were indicted by an Escambia County (Ala.) Grand Jury in April, 2009, on three counts of aggravated child abuse and three counts of domestic violence.
All charges against Tracy Linam were already dropped, and charges against Terry Linam will be dropped upon his successful completion of the pretrial diversion program.
Tracy Linam is a kindergarten teacher at Rachel Patterson Elementary School in Atmore, where she was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the case. The children in the case were not her students; they were reportedly Desmond Linam’s from a previous marriage.
The Linam case was handed over to the Alabama Attorney General for prosecution because the local district attorney had a conflict of interest with the case.
Century Town Clerk Retiring
March 17, 2010
Century Town Clerk Dorothy Sims is retiring, according to Mayor Freddie McCall.
McCall said Sims will be on-staff through the end of March and will be available on an on-call basis until a replacement is hired and fully trained.
The mayor and the town’s accountant, Robert Hudson, will work to draft an advertisement for a new town clerk. Once the position ad is drafted and approved, applications will be accepted for the clerk’s job.
High School Graduation May Get A Lot Harder
March 17, 2010
A key Senate committee gave its approval Tuesday to a bill that would make it more difficult to graduate high school in Florida, putting more emphasis on high level science and math classes.
Under the bill, all students would eventually have to take geometry, two years of algebra, biology, chemistry or physics and an additional “rigorous” science course. The class requirements would be phased in over the next few years as will end-of-course examinations. The measure would still allow students who fail the exams in those classes to progress to the next grade, but they must pass it by the end of their senior year in order to graduate.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee voted in favor of the plan, which heightens graduation standards, a promise the state made in its application for Race to the Top, a $4.35 billion federal grant that could bring $1 billion in additional dollars to Florida for education reform.
“We are choosing to make courses more rigorous for college bound students and those headed into the workforce,” said Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, the sponsor of the measure.
The legislation, Detert said, would make students more competitive in a global economy. Business organizations such as the Florida Chamber have been major backers of the measure, saying that Florida needs a more educated workforce to rebuild the economy.
“Our kids are not prepared for today’s world, and all of the data we see from every source says the same thing,” Detert said.
Similar legislation passed the House last year, but faltered in the Senate with many members concerned about how to fund the changes. Some lawmakers are still not convinced that the changes can be made without a significant infusion of money.
Legislative analysis indicates it will cost $1.5 million annually to implement the new exams, and there are still several unknown budget scenarios that could affect the overall education budget.
Stimulus money will eventually run out and it is still unknown whether the state will get the Race to the Top money. There is also a movement to change the class size provision in the Constitution, which would also save the state money; however, it requires 60 percent voter approval to make that change.
With all the unknowns, said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, it would be very difficult to implement these changes without putting major stresses on the public school system.
“I perceive that to be an unfunded mandate to our schools,” Rich said.
Northview Beats Jay 9-2; JV Wins 4-3 (Updated)
March 17, 2010
Northview 9 Jay 2
Northview picked up an important district win against Jay. The Chiefs beat the Royals 9-2 on Tuesday.
Northview scored four in the third, one in the fourth, and four in the fifth to pick up their nine runs. Jay got single runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
Northview scored nine runs on 11 hits, and committed one error. Jay scored two runs, on eight hits, and committed an error.
Leading hitters for Northview were Brad Lowery, going 2 for 4, with a double, an RBI, and one run scored. Austin Lowery was 2 for 3, with 3 RBI’s and a run scored. Dakota Stuckey was 1 for 2, with a double, two RBI’s, and two runs. Austin Arrington was 1 for 4, with an RBI, and a run. Austin Reid was 1 for 4 with two runs. Dabney Langhorne was 1 for 3, with an RBI, and a run. Hunter Black was 1 for 3 with a run. Brandon Sheets was 1 for 2, and Aaron Chancery was 1 for 1, with an RBI.
The winning pitcher for the chiefs was Austin Reid, who moved his record to 3-1. He pitched six innings, gave up two runs on eight hits, walked three, and struck out eight. Brad Lowery pitched the seventh and retired the three batters he faced.
Rush Hendricks pitched four for the Royals, allowing five runs on seven hits and striking out three.
Rush Hendricks pitched four for the Royals, allowing five runs on seven hits and striking out three.<
Northview improves their overall record to 9-4. They are now 3-0 in the district.
Northview 4 Jay 3 (JV)
The Northview JV Chiefs beat the Jay Royals Tuesday, 4-3 in seven full innings.
Leading hitters for the Chiefs were Harold Harrison going 2 for 4 with two runs scored, Hunter Rigby with two singles, including the game winner in the seventh
inning, Tanner Brooks with a single. Justin Halteman had a single and scored a run. The winning pitcher was Kevin Vaughan.
Another Chance To Take Test To Qualify For Census Bureau Job
March 17, 2010
There is another opportunity this week in Jay for area residents to take the test to qualify for local U.S. Census Bureau jobs that pay up to $15 per hour.
The Census Bureau is currently hiring temporary employees to assist with this year’s census. Jobs will include census takers, crew leaders, crew leader assistant and census clerks.
Pay generally begins at $12.50 an hour, and can range up to $15 an hour, for up to a 40 hour week.
A valid driver’s license is required for most positions. Additionally, the potential Census Bureau employee must be 18 or older, pass a background check, be a U.S. citizen, pass a written test of basic skills and have a valid social security number.
The Census Bureau hires locally because local residents are knowledgeable about their neighborhood and familiar with the community, its residents, and its local customs, according to their web site.
Persons taking one of the North Escambia census tests must have their valid driver’s license and social security card. Census tests will be given in the North Escambia area for Florida residents as follows:
- Thursday, February 25, 6 p.m.: Jay Public Library
Residents of areas outside of northern Escambia and Santa Rosa counties should call (866) 861-2010 for information about testing locations in their area.
For more information on north Escambia and Santa Rosa census jobs, click here or call Tebyl Presley at (251) 253-0622. Churches or other organization that would like to host a census job testing site should call the same number.