Riding For Rhonda
June 7, 2008
A benefit motorcycle ride, “Riding for Rhonda”, will take place today at the Byrneville Community Center. The event, beginning at 9:00, will raise funds for Rhonda McKindley Wright who needs a pancreas transplant.
Donations of $20 per bike will be accepted. $5 plates with pulled pork or chicken, potato salad, baked beans, bread, dessert and tea will be available beginning at 11:00. More info: (850) 572-0396 or (850) 554-2301.
Whitehead Out As Commission Chair
June 5, 2008
Mike Whitehead stepped down as chairman of the Escambia County Commission tonight. District 5 Commissioner Kevin White was prepared to call for Whitehead’s removal at the commission’s meeting, but Whitehead stepped aside before White had a chance. Whitehead remains on the commission as the District 1 representative.
Gene Valentino was named the new commission chair.
We will have the complete story Friday morning here on NorthEscambia.com.
Last Day To Register To Win Tickets To Beth Moore Women’s Retreat
June 1, 2008
NorthEscambia.com is giving you the chance to win tickets to “Loving Well”, a one day women’s retreat by Beth Moore at the Walnut Hill Baptist Church, and Sunday is your last day to register to win.
The retreat will be held June 21 from 8:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. The cost is $20 and includes a breakfast, catered lunch, tote bag, journal and other goodies. The retreat includes four video sessions from Beth Moore and live music from Leah Taylor and her band. To purchase tickets, or for more information, contact Somer at 327-6469. Registration deadline is June 7.
NorthEscambia.com will draw for two prizes of one free ticket each. The ticket will include your breakfast, catered lunch, tote bag, Beth Moore journal and admission to all the day’s events. To register to win, send your name and phone number to bethmoorecontest@northescambia.com with the subject line “Beth Moore” by midnight Sunday, June 1.
No purchase necessary. Contact NorthEscambia.com for complete rules. One ticket will be mailed to each of two different winners by the Walnut Hill Baptist Church.
ECUA Board Member To Continue Crusade Against Allied Waste
May 29, 2008
Emerald Coast Utilities Authority board member Larry Walker will continue his personal crusade against Allied Waste at an ECUA board meeting this afternoon.
He is slated to present “Lid List 7″, the seventh list of defective Allied cans he has located in North Escambia. The list contains 89 addresses with defective cans.
“This information has to do with the quality of service provided, with the acquiescence of the ECUA board, by the second-largest solid-waste corporation in the world,” Walker said in a memo to be presented to the board this afternoon.
“Allied’s service to many customers, by failing to provide them with sound containers, fails to meet industry standards. Allied’s abuse of its customers has been and remains unacceptable—except to the ECUA board,” Walker wrote in the memo obtained by NorthEscambia.com ” I am embarrassed by Allied’s poor service to many residents of my district, and I offer my personal apology to those residents for the ECUA board’s failure to protect them.”
The total number of addresses with defective cans presented to the board stands at 183 as of this afternoon. During that time, he said, he observed just two defective ECUA cans that were promptly replaced and none in the City of Pensacola. He also said he took a 26 mile trip through Lexington, Kentucky, over two days and spotted no defective containers.
Allied Waste holds the solid waste collection franchise until 2010 for North Escambia, except for inside the Town of Century, from ECUA. Allied does pickup trash in Century, but it is under an agreement with the town.
Walker has repeatedly called for ECUA to revoke that franchise. The board has purchased 11,000 residential waste containers and trucks to possibly take over the franchise, but it has failed to vote to do so.
Walker represents North Escambia as the District 5 representative on the ECUA board.
ECUA meets at 3:00 this afternoon in the ECUA board room, 9250 Hamman Street in the Ellyson Industrial Park in Pensacola.
Farmers, Forest Owners Can Learn To Profit From Carbon Credits
May 27, 2008
North Escambia farmers, ranchers and private forest owners will have the opportunity tonight to learn how to make additional profit off their land by selling carbon credits to green thinking companies across the country.
Some may be able to capitalize on a new partnership between the state’s largest general agricultural organization and the nation’s leading supplier of carbon credit aggregation services to agriculture.
There will be a special meeting open to all those interested in carbon trading in the Molino Park Elementary School cafeteria tonight. The meeting is sponsored in part by the Escambia County Extension Services Department and will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The Florida Farm Bureau Federation and AgraGate Climate Credits Corp. have agreed to partner in providing carbon credits services to farmers, ranchers and private forest owners. Producers with continuously no-tilled fields and newly established grasslands, managed reforestation or new plantings on forested land and on-farm methane digesters can earn credits based on the amount of carbon sequestered by their agricultural practices. Producers can then sell these carbon credits, also called offsets, to utilities, manufacturing companies and others who want to offset their carbon emissions.
As a contract facilitator, the Florida Farm Bureau will assist landowners in registering eligible properties and practices for carbon credits. AgraGate, a subsidiary of the Iowa Farm Bureau, collects credits from individual farmers and ranchers and combines the credits into sizable pools. The carbon credits are sold on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), with the proceeds returned to the agricultural producers.
“We’re pleased that the Florida Farm Bureau Federation has agreed to work with us as we aggregate carbon credits from farmers and ranchers in the state,” said Dave Krog, chief executive of AgraGate “The market for carbon credits offers farmers, ranchers and private forest owners a brand new revenue opportunity. It’s important to partner with people who have significant experience in the state so they can help explain both the opportunities and the risks involved in the program.”
According to Scheffer, “Farm Bureau is always looking for new ways to help keep Florida’s agricultural producers profitable. Giving them access to a voluntary market that will compensate them for their environmentally friendly practices is clearly a good thing, and it is something we are proud to be promoting.” There will continue to be opportunities for Florida agriculture to produce alternative energy and provide additional environmental benefits. We look forward to working with AgraGate, the CCX and the University of Florida-IFAS to identify other innovative projects for Florida’s agricultural producers.”
“Farm Bureau has taken the lead on this project”, said Scheffer, “because this could be a huge benefit to local farmers and ranchers”.
Carbon Sequestration Basics:
Sequestering, or holding, carbon in the soil helps reduce carbon dioxide, one of several greenhouse gases that contribute to the warming of the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide can be stored in the soil through no-till planting, restoring wetlands, converting cropland to permanent grass or trees, planting conservation buffers and using cover crops.
The carbon stored in the soil creates an offset, or credit, that can be sold on the CCX. Not only is this good for the soil and the environment, it can also help facilitate the adoption of carbon emission reductions by companies. Companies have made commitments to reduce their carbon footprint and pay farmers, ranchers and foresters for these credits.
CCX-approved third parties must verify aggregated offsets before they can be registered and sold through the CCX. More information is available at the AgraGate web site: www.agragate.com, and at the Chicago Climate Exchange site, www.chicagoclimatex.com.
AgraGate, a subsidiary of the Iowa Farm Bureau, is the leading aggregator of carbon credits from agriculture. On behalf of farmers, ranchers and private forest owners, the company has marketed carbon credits from more than 2.1 million acres in 26 states on the Chicago Climate Exchange.
FHP RemainS Out In Force For Memorial Day Holiday Weekend
May 25, 2008
The Florida Highway Patrol continues to be out in force during this 96-hour Memorial Day holiday weekend, which began Friday and extends through midnight Monday.
The Florida Highway Patrol will participate in three distinct traffic enforcement operations during this period: Operation C.A.R.E. – a Combined Accident Reduction Effort, involving all 50 state police and highway patrol organizations (May 23-26); All-American Buckle Up Week (May 19-26); and the highly publicized Click It or Ticket mobilization campaign (May 19 – June 1). All three campaigns focus on saving lives, preventing injuries, and reducing property damage associated with motor vehicle traffic crashes.
“Vehicle traffic is expected to increase significantly throughout the state during this four-day holiday period,” stated Colonel John T. Czernis, director of the Florida Highway Patrol. “We’ll be using all available resources to make Florida roadways safer. We are also reminding motorists to slow down and buckle up. This high visibility enforcement has a single goal in mind – to save lives,” emphasized Czernis.
All uniformed FHP personnel, including those normally assigned to administrative duties, will be patrolling interstates and other major state roads throughout the holiday period. This strategy is intended to increase the Patrol’s presence on major arteries throughout Florida in an effort to deter traffic violators and to provide enhanced service to motorists who break down while traveling or need other assistance.
In addition, Auxiliary and Reserve troopers will be volunteering their time to assist regular troopers during the heightened holiday enforcements. Motorists are reminded to use their cellular phones wisely and safely. FHP urges all drivers to call *FHP (*347) to report aggressive and/or drunk drivers or if they need assistance on the road. Motorists needing emergency medical services should dial 911.
Junior Miss EWMS Pageant Tonight
May 23, 2008
Seventeen girls will compete for the title of Junior Miss EWMS tonight at Ernest Ward Middle School.
The pageant will take place in the EWMS gym at 7:00 tonight. Admission is $5 and tickets will be available at the door.
For photos from Thursday afternoon’s practice, click here.
Pictured above front row (L-R): Katelyn Zisa, Rachel Presley, Danielle Scott, Jamie Cameron, Skye Brown and Ashley Cunningham. Middle row (L-R): Ashley Burke, Natasha Suggs, Chelsea Parham, Angel Mitchell, Ariel Holland and Shelby Lewis. Back row (L-R): Chelsea Ward, Montana Ard, Harley Caraway, Cheyenne Godwin and Hannah Ziglar. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Bratt 3rd Grade FCAT Results Mixed
May 22, 2008
Bratt Elementary school third graders improved the school’s scores on recent FCAT math test, with 86 percent of them scoring at grade level or above, while the school’s third grade reading scores dropped slightly t0 83 percent at or above grade level.
A score of 3.0 on both the reading and math FCAT is considered to be grade level.
Last year, 84 percent of the Bratt third grade students scored a 3.0 or more in math, and 84 percent were at 3.0 or more in reading.
Of the 64 third grade students taking the math FCAT at Bratt, six percent scored a 5 or higher. Thirty percent scored between 4 and 5, and 50 percent scored between 3 and 4. Nine percent of the students scored 2-3, and five percent scored a 1.
Of the 64 third grade students taking the reading FCAT at Bratt, nine percent scored a 5 or higher. Twenty-eight percent scored between 4 and 5, and 45 percent scored between 3 and 4. Thirteen percent of the students scored 2-3, and five percent scored a 1.
Meeting To Discuss County Budget
May 20, 2008
If you would like a chance for your two cents to be heard on next year’s Escambia County budget, tonight is your chance.
Escambia County Commissioner Kevin White will hold a District 5 budget meeting to allow residents a chance to review and voice their opinions on planned budget cuts in the county.
The meeting will be held at 6:00 tonight at Highland Baptist Church at 6240 North Highway 95A in Molino.
The meeting is open to the public regardless of their district of residence. The meeting is expected to last about two hours.
Residents will be given the opportunity to ask questions and voice their opinion on county budget recommendations.
Crossroads In Concert This Morning At NorthEnd Church
May 18, 2008
Crossroads will be in concert at 10:00 Sunday morning at NorthEnd Community Church in the Barineau Park community.
Crossroads is Kristen Sorrells, Lyndi Hardy and Brad Adkinson. They have been together just over a year, and they were quickly singing at churches across Santa Rosa County and a few churches in Alabama and Escambia County, Florida.
They have performed at the 100th Anniversary of the Southern Baptist Association, Relay for Life in Mobile and at a recent company celebration at Solutia.
Brad is a member of First Baptist Church in Milton and is employed with Solutia. He and his wife Mindy have two children. Lyndi and her husband Robbie are members at Pine Terrace Baptist Church in Milton. Lyndi is also a teacher at Milton High School. Kristen and her husband Phillipp are members at Pine Terrace Baptist Church. They have three children, and she is a stay at home mom.
NorthEnd Community Church is located at 5630 Hwy 196 in the Barineau Park community.