Mary Ann Branson Carnley
November 19, 2010
Mrs. Mary Ann Branson Carnley, 67, passed away on Thursday, November 18, 2010, in Flomaton.
Mrs. Carnley was a native of Jay, a former resident of McDavid, and a resident of Flomaton for the past five years. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend and attended the Calvary Deliverance Temple. She passed away after a courageous battle with cancer and is preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Thelma Branson and a daughter, Belinda Lynn Carnley.
She leaves behind her loving husband of 49 years, Daniel C. Carnley; two daughters, Teresa Chavers (Kevin) Davis of Pensacola, and Pamela Carnley Baldree and fiance’, Jeff Potoczek of Century; three grandsons, Ryan K. Chavers, Lucas R. (Heather) Chavers and Joel I. Baldree; 4 great-grandsons; three brothers, Walter Branson, Jr., John Lee Branson and Paul Branson, all of Jay; his stepbrother, Bascomb E. Branson of Palatka, FL; her sister, Ella Mae Branson of Century; special family members, Tudi Stevens, Mary Branson, Randy Chavers, and Mose Baldree; her most faithful companion, R.D. Brusser; and many nieces, nephews, and special friends whom are part of our family. We know our mother has shared many precious memories with you all.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, November 20, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with the Rev. Paul Enfinger and Sister Letha Carnley officiating.
Burial will follow at Cora Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Friday, November 19, 2010, from 6-9 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Randy Chavers, Mose Bauldree, Charlie Johnson, Wayne Blackmon, Tommy Havard and Jerry Gay.
Clarence Elbert “Boe” McKinley
November 19, 2010
Mr. Clarence Elbert “Boe” McKinley, 79, passed away on Wednesday, November 17, 2010, in Little Rock, AL.
Mr. McKinley was a native and resident of Atmore for the past 18 years, and a former resident of Chicago, IL. He was an employee of K-Mart and Winn Dixie for many years, a retired employee from MacLean Fogg after 30 years, and attended the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. Preceded in death by his Wife, Lucille McKinley.
Survivors include a son, Douglas McKinley of Chicago, IL; three daughters, Darlene Lott of Waveland, MS, Debbie Melcarek of Highland, IN, and Denise Cox of Little Rock, AL; six grandchildren; two brothers, James McKinley of Pensacola, and Levon McKinley of Gulfport, MS; and a sister, Margie Wasson of Pensacola.
Funeral services will be held Sunday, November 21, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with the Rev. Charlie McGhee officiating.
Burial will follow at Serenity Garden Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Saturday, November 20, 2010, from 6 until 9 p.m.. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Showtime: Northview Chiefs Take On Blountstown Tonight
November 19, 2010
The Northview Chiefs will hit the road tonight in the first round of the playoffs against Blountstown.
It’s just the second year for Head Coach Sid Wheatley. He’s compiled a 16-4 record with a team that was 2-8 just three years ago. Last year, Northview was 7-3 with two district losses to playoff bound teams. This year, the Chiefs were 9-1 with their only loss to Freeport by a score of 27-13. Freeport also has one district loss to Holmes County, a team the Chiefs beat 39-14.
Freeport (8-2) takes on Liberty County (9-1) tonight, a rematch of last season’s District 1-A finals which was won 35-20 by Freeport. The winner will advance to take on the winner of tonight’s Northview game.
Tonight’s game marks the eighth playoff appearance for the Chiefs who have only ever won just one playoff game. It’s the first playoff game for Northview since back-to-back appearances from 2005 to 2007.
Since losing to Freeport, the Chiefs dominated their last four games, giving up just three touchdowns and winning each game by at least 21 points. Two of the games — against Jay and Sneads, were both shutouts.
With playoff wins tonight and next Friday night, things would get much tougher for the Chiefs — they would likely face a South Florida private school that heavily recruits in round three.
The Chiefs are riding on the strength of impressive performances across both the offensive and defensive lines.
PASSING: Quarterback Brandon Sheets is 38 of 89 this year for seven touchdowns.
RUSHING: Dustin Yuhasz has 688 yards on 56 attempts with six touchdowns. Roderick Woods has 603 and nine touchdowns on 106 carries. La’Mikal Kyles has gained 597 yards on 86 attempts for seven touchdowns, and Brandon Sheets has 548 yards and nine touchdowns on 60 attempts.
RECEIVING: Yuhasz has nine receptions for 304 yards and a couple of touchdowns. Woods has three receptions for 96 yards and one touchdown.
KICKING: Lance Bushaw is 35 for 39 on point after attempts and four of six on field goals. He’s added 47 points this year.
Tonight’s game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. in Blountstown. For driving directions, click here.
Pictured top: Northview quarterback Brandon Sheets dives over a West Florida defender last Friday night in Bratt. Pictured inset: Dustin Yuhasz gains yardage for the Northview Chiefs. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Authorities Seek Help To Solve Decades Old Century Murder
November 19, 2010
Authorities are looking for information in a 20-year old unsolved Century murder.
On, Saturday, October 27, 1990, sixty-two year old white male Dawyan Willie Lee Warrick was found deceased at his residence in the area of Cottage Street and Old Flomaton Road in Century. Investigators determined that Dawyan Willie Lee Warrick was murdered.
Warrack was seen by a Century police officer about 9:00 the previous night when he responded to a prowler complaint at Warrick’s address.
He was described by family members as a World War II veteran, where he received injuries that led to him being disabled.
Investigators are still looking for the person or persons responsible for Warrick’s murder. Anyone with any information regarding what might have happened to Dawyan Willie Lee Warrick, or anyone familiar with Dawyan Willie Lee Warrick during the time frame leading up to October 27, 1990, is asked to contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office’s Major Crimes Unit at (850) 436-9580, or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Editor’s Note: An October 29 NorthEscambia.com story incorrectly named the victim of this crime based upon incorrect information provided by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Bratt Students Enjoy Lunch With Parents
November 19, 2010
Students at Bratt Elementary School were joined by their parents, grandparents and guardians for lunch on Thursday and Friday as the school celebrated American Education Week. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Does The IRS Owe You Money? Check The List
November 19, 2010
The IRS may be looking for you — and that’s a good thing. The IRS has undelivered refund checks for 151 residents of Escambia counties in Florida and Alabama, and Santa Rosa County. In total, local taxpayers are due refunds of about $130,000, with the average refund of about $850.
In the North Escambia area, the following taxpayers are owed an undelivered refund check:
- Milagros Maldonado, Cantonment
- Courtney L. Moore, Cantonment
- Ibrahim A. Selmane, Cantonment
- DeWayne Snow, Cantonment
- Justins Stearns, Cantonment
- Ella M. Branson,Century
- Deja Jackson, Century
- Tarrance J. Wright, Century
- Shon O. Owens, Jay
- Willie J. Jackson, Atmore
- Steven R. Slack, Atmore
A taxpayer only needs to update his or her address once for the IRS to send out all checks due. Undelivered refund checks average $1,471 this year, compared to $1,148 last year. Some taxpayers are due more than one check.
The average dollar amount for returned refunds rose by just over 28 percent this year, possibly due to recent changes in tax law which introduced new credits or expanded existing credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.
If a refund check is returned to the IRS as undelivered, taxpayers can generally update their addresses with the “ Where’s My Refund?” tool on IRS.gov. The tool also enables taxpayers to check the status of their refunds. A taxpayer must submit his or her Social Security number, filing status and amount of refund shown on their 2009 return. The tool will provide the status of their refund and, in some cases, instructions on how to resolve delivery problems.
Taxpayers checking on a refund over the phone will receive instructions on how to update their addresses. Taxpayers can access a telephone version of “Where’s My Refund?” by calling 1-800-829-1954.
While only a small percentage of checks mailed out by the IRS are returned as undelivered, taxpayers can put an end to lost, stolen or undelivered checks by choosing direct deposit when they file either paper or electronic returns. Taxpayers can receive refunds directly into their bank, split a tax refund into two or three financial accounts or even buy a savings bond.
The IRS also recommends that taxpayers file their tax returns electronically, because e-file eliminates the risk of lost paper returns. E-file also reduces errors on tax returns and speeds up refunds. E-file combined with direct deposit is the best option for taxpayers; it’s easy, fast and safe.
The public should be aware that the IRS does not contact taxpayers by e-mail to alert them of pending refunds and that such messages are common identity theft scams. The agency urges taxpayers not to release any personal information, reply, open any attachments or click on any links to avoid malicious code that will infect their computers. The best way for an individual to verify if she or he has a pending refund is going directly to IRS.gov and using the “ Where’s My Refund?” tool.
New Teacher Merit Pay Details Emerge
November 19, 2010
The highly contentious teacher merit pay proposal that was shot down by Gov. Charlie Crist last spring has re-emerged, but with some preliminary concessions to teachers and also perhaps to Gov.-elect Rick Scott, who as the father of a special education teacher voiced concerns about the proposal’s fairness to some educators.
A draft of new legislation that would base half of teacher pay raises on student test scores, similar to the bill vetoed last year by Crist, is circulating among education advocacy groups in Tallahassee and potentially setting up a replay of last spring’s politically-charged debate over how teachers should be compensated.
But the new draft language contains some major concessions to the last year’s opponents and possibly Scott, who though supportive of teacher merit pay as a candidate, acknowledged he thought the original bill could have been improved. In particular, the new draft language directly states that teachers of students with disabilities would not be evaluated by their students’ performances on standardized exams, but rather on measures outlined in individual student education plans.
Special education teachers were a significant part of the opposition to the original vetoed bill, known as SB 6. Crist cited the issue – whether a teacher should be punished because their students had disabilities and had a harder time improving on exams – in rejecting the bill. That veto was one of a couple last year that solidified the break between Crist and the Republicans in the Legislature, resulting in Crist’s departure from the party at the end of the session.
Scott has mentioned his daughter’s career as a special education teacher throughout the campaign and said several times that he felt that any bill dealing with merit pay had to be fair to all teachers.
Trey Stapleton, a spokesman for the Scott transition, said Thursday that he did not believe Scott had spoken to anyone in Tallahassee about the pending new legislation, but that the issue of education and merit pay were at the top of his priority list.
“He’s very much into monitoring and ensuring that people are productive,” Stapleton said. “He’s definitely about accountability and holding people accountable.”
The original bill generated a mountain of controversy and infuriated teachers across the state who challenged the notion that their effectiveness should be based on students’ test scores. In particular, teachers questioned whether students with special needs or students of lower socioeconomic status, who might have a harder time learning, would harm a teacher’s earning ability – in turn, making it harder to find teachers willing to work with such children.
The bill also had significant political undertones. The proposal was a pet project of former Gov. Jeb Bush’s education foundation, the Foundation for Florida’s Future, and it was directly opposed by the teachers’ union, which largely funded Bush’s 2002 gubernatorial opponent Bill McBride. It was also sponsored by the head of the Republican Party, Sen. John Thrasher and supported by many Republican-leaning groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
Florida Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Edie Ousley said that the Chamber expects to be fully involved in the issue again during the 2011 legislative session and that while the state has made strides in education reform, the state’s schools still were not good enough.
“The state has very strong English arts and math standards, good charter school laws and accountability standards,” she said. “But we’ve got a lot of work to do to make sure students are prepared for college and prepared for the workforce.”
The draft language also contains some other changes from the original SB 6. The bill vetoed by Crist required that the state hold back 5 percent of a school district’s budget to pay for the teacher raises. The new version being floated this week in Tallahassee says nothing about where the money will come from.
The new draft also addresses the issue of tenure, which underpinned the debate over SB 6.
Under the draft language, a newly hired teacher would be put on a probationary contract for one year, during which he or she could be fired at any time. Then for three years, teachers would be placed on annual contracts, where after the end of a school year, administrators could choose whether or not to renew the contract.
After those three years, a teacher is eligible for a professional contract, which runs for three years before the teacher is subject to renewal.
Newly elected state Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, who is also executive director of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, said a group of superintendents began meeting over the summer to discuss their own ideas for a merit pay measure. The group objected to SB 6, but has been generally in favor of teacher merit pay. It has not yet developed any draft legislation, but the group has also been meeting with Bush’s education foundation to discuss possible tweaks to the draft before it is officially filed with the Legislature.
“We knew this was coming back,” he said.
So far, no lawmaker has been officially attached to the bill as a sponsor, and Thrasher did not return calls seeking comment.
By Kathleen Haughney
The News Service Florida
Northview Awards Cross Country Runners
November 19, 2010
Northview High School’s Cross Country team held their annual banquet Thursday night, presenting awards to many members.
The following awards were presented:
- Jim Ross Memorial Award: Aaron Rausch
- Junmi Ross Award: Sara Killam
- Most Valuable Runner: Josh Scott
- Most Valuable Runner: Georgia Goetter
- Most Improved: Madalyn Coon
- Most Improved: Jacob Boswell
- Junior Chiefs: Seth Killam, Patton Goetter, Natalie Goetter, Bethany Reynolds
Pictured top: Members of the Northview High School Cross Country team. Pictured below: “Junior Chiefs”. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Photos: Poarch Creek Indian Pow Wow Club Performs
November 19, 2010
The Poarch Creek Indians’ Pow Wow Club performed Thursday at the Century Branch Library and Century Care Center.
Several dozen children enjoyed the performance at the library. For a complete photo gallery, click here.
The Century Branch Library and the other libraries in the West Florida Public Library system will be closed November 26 and 27 for Thanksgiving.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Evers Named Transportation Vice Chair
November 19, 2010
Sen. Greg Evers was named vice chair of the Senate’s transportation committee on Thursday.
Evers represents Senate District 2, which includes portions of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. He is a Republican from Baker. He previously represented the area in the Florida House from 2001-2010.