Fall In The Air? Great Weather Continues
August 23, 2009
Our great weekend weather continues today. Low daytime humidity, and cool nights will continue.
Here is your official North Escambia weather forecast:
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 88. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 59. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Monday: Sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
- Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 64. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph.
- Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 65. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph.
- Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 90.
- Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 69.
- Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89.
Express Your Thoughts On Health Care Reform: Congressman Holding Town Hall Meeting
August 20, 2009
Thousands concerned about health care reform have packed town hall meetings this week with Alabama Congressman Jo Bonner. Area residents will have the opportunity to discuss health care reform and other issues with Bonner during a town hall meeting today on the Poarch Creek Indian Reservation.
Bonner’s town hall meeting, open to residents of both Alabama and Florida, will be held at the PCI Family Services Building behind the Poarch Creek Fire Station. The meeting will be from 10 to 11 this morning.
An estimated 2,000 people attended four Bonner town hall meetings in the Mobile area Monday, according to the Mobile Press-Register. Most, the paper reported, were concerned about the Obama administration’s health care reform plan.
Danceworks Registration Tonight
August 20, 2009
Student registration will be held tonight for the return of Heather Leonard’s Danceworks.
Before announcing her retirement, Leonard taught dance for 14 years to hundreds of girls from North Escambia and surrounding areas. The business is reopening and classes will begin September 9, under the Heather Leonard’s Danceworks name. Leonard will serve as the administrator and adviser, while Chelsea Sims will teach the dance classes.
“I always wanted to teach dance,” Sims said. “I felt like this was where God was leading me. I’m very excited.”
“I’m so glad it worked out this way,” Leonard said. “There were so many girls that had put so much into dance; I wanted them to have a chance to continue.”
Sims (pictured left) is a 2009 graudate of Northview High School, where she was a majorette for two years and a varsity cheerleader for two years. She was named Miss NHS 2008, was a homecoming maid as a freshman and sophomore and was homecoming queen her senior year. She was one of Leonard’s dance students for 14 years.
Tonight’s registration and the dance classes will be held at the Byrneville Community Center. Registration is from 6:00 to 7:30 tonight. For more information on Heather Leonard’s Danceworks, call (850) 256-0948.
Council On Aging Caregiver Support Group Meets
August 20, 2009
The Council on Aging of West Florida will host a Century Caregiver Support Group meeting at 6:00 tonight.
There is no cost and the public is invited. Reservations are not required. The meeting will be held at New Life Baptist Church at 700 East Hecker Road. The group meets on the third Thursday of each month at the same time and location. County residency is not required to attend.
The support group is part of new Council on Aging of West Florida programs designed to reduce stress, increase coping skills, provide strategies for effective management of care giving tasks and enable caregivers to provide high quality care in the home. The programs are sponsored by Council on Aging of West Florida, the State of Florida Department of Elder Affairs and the Northwest Florida Area Agency on Aging. For more information, call 432-1475.
Orientation Thursday At Ernest Ward, Northview
August 20, 2009
Orientation for incoming sixth graders and new students will be held Thursday morning at Ernest Ward Middle School, while Northview will hold orientation for freshmen and new students.
Ernest Ward
The orientation begins in the school’s gym at 10:00 and will continue until about noon. After an introductory program in the gym, there will be a complete school tour.
Principal Nancy Gindl-Perry said parents are encouraged to attend the orientation too; she said the program is as much or more for parents as it is for students.
For more information, call Ernest Ward Middle School at (850) 327-4283.
Northview High
Freshman and new student registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the theater.
Students will be issued schedules, lockers, and textbooks as part of the orientation process. They will also receive information about some of the many opportunities that are available to Northview students. There will also be a brief tour of the Northview campus.
The entire process should take approximately 90 minutes; parents are asked to be prompt in picking up their students at the breezeway after the conclusion of this activity. A
Avoid I-10 At I-110, Davis Highway Area; Wreck Kills One, Slows Traffic
August 18, 2009
Drivers should avoid the area of the I-10 and I-110 in Pensacola. Traffic is expected to remain backed up for hours due to a serious accident with a fatality.
A tractor-trailer truck hauling tar overturned off an overpass area from I-110 to I-10, crashing down onto the Davis Highway exit. The driver died in the crash. Tar was reported to be leaking onto the Davis Highway exit. The Florida Highway Patrol is unsure how long the exit will be closed.
Motorists are asked to avoid the area.
More details will be posted as they become available.
Orientation Begins Today At Northview
August 18, 2009
Orientation sessions for all incoming students at Northview High School begin today and continue on Thursday
Northview High School orientation sessions will be as follows:
- Seniors: Tuesday, August 18, 8:30 a.m., cafeteria
- Juniors: Tuesday, August 18, 10:00 a.m., cafeteria
- Sophomores: Tuesday, August 18, 1:30 p.m., cafeteria
- Freshmen and New Students: Thursday, August 20, 8:30 a.m., theater
For complete information on Northview orientations, click here (pdf).
The first day of school is Monday, August 24.
Flash Flood Warning Extended
August 17, 2009
The National Weather Service in Mobile has extended flash flood warning until 1:45 this afternoon for the eastern part of Escambia County and all of Santa Rosa County. Two to three inches of rain per hour are falling in portions of the area.
Heavy rains have been falling all morning over parts of southeast Alabama and northwest Florida as the remnants of Tropical Depression Ana continue to move inland.
Locations in the warned area include Molino, McDavid, Jay, Barrineau Park, Cantonment, Beulah, Gozalez, Ferry Pass, Ensley and Cottage Hill.
Precautionary/preparedness actions…
There is a high risk of rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour in the warned area. Excessive runoff from heavy rainfall will cause flooding of small creeks and streams, highways and underpasses.
Additionally, country roads and farmlands along the banks of creeks, streams and other low lying areas are subject to flooding. Most flood deaths occur in automobiles. Never drive a vehicle into water covered roadways. Only a few inches of flowing water can sweep a vehicle off the road. Turn around — don’t drown.
Claudette Weakens; Flood Warning Issued; Hurricane Bill In Atlantic
August 17, 2009
(Updated 1:00 p.m.) After making landfall early this morning neat Ft. Walton Beach, Claudette has weakened to a tropical depression. All tropical weather warnings for our area have been discontinued. A flash flood warning was issued for North Escambia and surround areas.
Trailing showers and thunderstorms from the remains of Claudette are bringing heavy showers to North Escambia and surrounding areas today with some areas already receiving three to five inches of rain. Several more inches of rain are possible, prompting a flash food warning.
Tropical Depression Ana
Tropical Depression Ana was located near latitude 17.3 north, longitude 66.2 west or about 75 miles south of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Ana was racing toward the west near 28 mph. A turn toward the west-northwest is expected during the next couple of days. This motion could bring the center of Ana near the Leeward Islands on Monday. Maximum sustained winds were at 35 mph with higher gusts. Little change in strength if forecast the next 24 hours.
Ana is likely to degenerate into a tropical wave later today.
Hurricane Bill
The season’s first hurricane — Hurricane Bill — form in the Atlantic early Monday morning.
The center of Hurricane Bill was located near latitude 14.1 north, longitude 45.2 west or about 1,080 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. Bill is moving toward the west near 16 mph. Maximum sustained winds have increased to 90 mph with higher gusts.
Pictured top: What is expected to become Tropical Storm Claudette is forecast make landfall in Northwest Florida. Pictured below: National Hurricane Center forecast paths for Ana (top) and Bill (bottom). Click to enlarge.
Funeral Today For Area Marine Killed In Afghanistan
August 17, 2009
Funeral services for Lance Cpl. Bruce “Bubba” Ferrell Jr., 21, will be held today in Bay Minette. The marine from Perdido, Ala., was killed a week ago Sunday night in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb.
His body arrived by plane Sunday morning at the Mobile Regional Airport. The body was escorted back to the Bay Minette Civic Center by the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and the Patriot Guard. Hundreds lined the route, waving flags and homemade signs honoring Ferrell for his military service.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 Monday afternoon at the Bay Minette Civic Center. Burial will follow at Bryars-McGill Cemetary near Perdido.
Ferrell joined the Marine Corps in November 2007, and was promoted to rank of lance corporal. His unit deployed to Afghanistan in May of this year as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
He was a gradate of Baldwin County High School where he was an honor student and a member of the JROTC program.
Ferrell was a member of Fox Company, a rifle unit of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment of the Marine Corps. His tour of duty was scheduled to be just seven months.
He was recently engaged to be married.