Rain In Forecast, Then Sunny Week
March 13, 2011
Rain moves into our forecast for Monday night, otherwise a great sunny week is in store.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 48. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Monday: Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming south between 10 and 15 mph.
- Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday: A slight chance of showers before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 76. South wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 45. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 75. North wind around 5 mph.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 79. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south.
- Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 80.
- Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 49.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 80.
- Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 51.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 78.
Time Change: Spring Forward (And Don’t Forget The Smoke Alarm Batteries)
March 12, 2011
Don’t forget to “spring forward” and set your clocks ahead one hour before heading off to bed Saturday night. Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, making use of longer summer days, allowing people to rise early and spend more of the day working or playing.
As you “spring forward” with the change to daylight-saving time, Escambia County Fire Rescue wants to remind residents to make another change that could save lives — changing the batteries in smoke alarms.
The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when most families are sleeping, according to Escambia Fire Rescue.
It is also recommended that residents test smoke alarms by pushing the test button, planning “two ways out” and practicing escape routes with the entire family. Families should also prepare a fire safety kit that includes working flashlights and fresh batteries.
Communities nationwide witness tragic home fire deaths each year. An average of three children per day die in home fires and 80 percent of those occur in homes without working smoke alarms. Non-working smoke alarms rob residents of the protective benefits home fire safety devices were designed to provide. The most commonly cited cause of non-working smoke alarms: worn or missing batteries.
Tragically, fire can kill selectively. Those most at risk include:
- Children — Approximately 1,000 children under the age of 20 die each year in home fires. Children under age five are at twice the risk of dying in a home fire. Eighty percent of fatal home fire victims who were children were killed in homes without working smoke alarms.
- Seniors — Adults over age 75 are three times more likely to die in home fires than the rest of the population; those over 85 are 4.5 times more likely to die in a home fire. Many seniors are unable to escape quickly.
- Low-Income Households — Many low-income families are unable to afford batteries for their smoke alarms. These same households often rely on poorly installed, maintained or misused portable or area heating equipment — a main cause of fatal home fires.
Changing smoke alarm batteries at least once a year is one of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce these tragic deaths and injuries. In fact, working smoke alarms nearly cut in half the risk of dying in a home fire. Additionally, the International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends replacing your smoke alarms every ten years.
For more information about fire safety, call Escambia County Fire Rescue at 850-475-5530 or visit our web site at www.myescambia.com.
For information about obtaining a free home smoke alarm call 850-595-HERO (4376).
Great Weather Weekend
March 12, 2011
We have a pretty good weather weekend in store as we spring forward to Central Daylight Time — don’t forget to set your clocks ahead one hour before heading to bed Saturday night.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 41. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Sunday: Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.
- Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming south between 10 and 15 mph.
- Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 46. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 77.
- Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 52.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 80.
- Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51.
Good Times: Carnival Saturday In Flomaton
March 11, 2011
Looking for some weekend fun? The Tri-City Rotary Club and the Flomaton Area Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring a Spring Carnival Saturday.
The Spring Carnival includes rides, games and food for all ages. The carnival is located at the intersection of Highway 113 and Highway 31 in Flomaton. Gates will be open from noon until on Saturday.
Arm bands are available, or pay as you ride.
The Tri-City Rotary Club serves the Century, Flomaton and Jay areas.
Free Dental Care Available Saturday During Give Kids A Smile Day
March 11, 2011
Children from low income families can receive free dental care at a Saturday clinic.
An estimated 400 or more children will receive free dental services ranging from preventative care such as cleanings, sealants and fluoride treatment, to fillings and extractions as part of National Give Kids A Smile Day.
Give Kids A Smile is a nationwide program sponsored by the American Dental Association (ADA) and locally implemented by members of the Escambia-Santa Rosa Dental Society. Approximately 30 local dentists, over 100 dental hygienists and dental assistants, and numerous student and community volunteers will donate their time and skills to provide these free services to eligible children between the ages of 4 and 18 who cannot otherwise afford dental treatment.
The event will take place at the Pensacola State College Warrington Campus located at 5555 U.S. Highway 98 West .Treatment is on a first-come first-served basis.
ECAT will provide free rides on regular routes to the Pensacola State College campus for patients and their families. For a flyer that will serve as your ECAT ticket, click here.
For more information, contact Amy Smith, coordinator, at (850) 478-884 or email amy@shehee.com.
Flood Warning: Escambia River
March 10, 2011
The National Weather Service in Mobile has issued a flood warning for the Escambia River near Century The flood warning is in effect from Friday evening until Saturday evening.
At 11 a.m. Thursday the stage was 14.8 feet. The NWS said minor flooding is forecast.
Flood stage for the Escambia River near Century is 17 feet. The river forecast to rise above flood stage by late Friday evening and continue to rise to near 17.1 feet by early Saturday morning. The river will fall below flood stage by early Saturday afternoon.
At 17 feet, considerable flooding of lowlands will occur, according to the National Weather Service.
National Weather Service To Determine If Damage Was Tornado
March 10, 2011
Officials with the National Weather Service Office in Mobile will survey damage in McDavid today to determine if a tornado was responsible for destroying several homes Wednesday.
Even with all of the technology available to meteorologists today, the weather service still relies on a personal visit to ground zero to analyze the damage to make a final determination. The technical data will be combined with the eyes-on-the-ground observations, using the criteria of the Fujita Scale, to classify the strength of a tornado – or determine if the damage was from just thunderstorm winds.
They will work to determine if all of the debris is running in one line or scattered. With the damage in a line across McDavid preliminary data would lean toward a possible minor tornado.
Once the National Weather Service determines the cause of Wednesday’s damage, we will post their findings here on NorthEscambia.com.
Today’s Jay, Northview Baseball Game Moved To Jay
March 10, 2011
Today’s planned baseball games between Northview and Jay high schools have been moved from Bratt to Jay.
The games were scheduled to take place at Northview, but school officials were unsure if Northview’s field would be ready for play after Wednesday’s rains. The JV game between the Chiefs and the Royals will begin at 4:00, while the varsity game will begin at 6:00 in Jay.
An April 15 game between Jay and Northview has also been moved — the game will now be played at Northview rather than Jay at 6 p.m.
Teacher Merit Pay Bill Ready For Senate Vote
March 10, 2011
The Florida Senate is likely to approve a bill this week that offers sweeping changes to how Florida pays and evaluates its public school teachers.
The measure (SB 736), brought to the Senate floor on Wednesday and put in position for a vote as early as Thursday, sets up an evaluation system for teachers that depends on student test scores and eliminates the use of multi-year teacher contracts.
“Our current teacher evaluation system is broken,” said Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, the sponsor of the bill.”We need to measure effectiveness of a classroom teacher based on what a student learns.”
It is expected to easily win approval in the Senate and with approval also expected in the House, it could be one of the earliest measures to go this year to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott, who has indicated his willingness to sign it.
The Florida Education Association, the statewide teachers’ union, opposes the bill because it eliminates teacher tenure, requires one-year contracts, mandates more tests and gauges teacher performance on those tests “using some value-added model that is untrustworthy,” said FEA spokesman Mark Pudlow.
The bill reverses a long tradition in public schools of basing salary on seniority.
Senators spent hours on Wednesday discussing the measure on the floor, though formally, debate is scheduled for Thursday.
Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, pressed Wise on whether Florida could afford a plan that requires the development of more tests and promises better salaries for test score improvement.
Wise said the cost of developing new tests would be paid for with money from the federal Race to the Top program. Florida was awarded $700 million in Race to the Top funds.
Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, tried to amend the bill so that teachers who are rated highly within a certain time frame are allowed to receive three-year-contracts.
His amendment was voted down. “To me, this was a good compromise that allowed those teachers who have been highly effective to be given a sense of job security over a three-year period,” Montford said. “We need to recognize that the vast majority of teachers do a great job.”
This teacher merit pay bill is similar to a controversial measure passed by the Florida Legislature last year that tied teacher pay to test scores. That bill was vetoed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist after his office was inundated with calls, e-mails and letters from thousands of angry educators and Crist expressed doubts about the fairness of linking pay to the test scores of students whose difficulties may be beyond the control of the classroom teacher.
This year, there has been a more muted response from teachers and the FEA.
That’s due in part to the participation of the FEA and local school districts in submitting Florida’s Race to the Top application. Part of that application included attaching more significance to a teacher’s performance through test scores. There is some overlap between what Race to the Top and the teacher merit pay bill are trying to achieve.
The bill would grandfather in current teacher pay plans, but set up a new merit-based plan for teachers hired after July 1, 2014. More immediately, teachers hired after July 1, 2011 will not be able to receive multi-year contracts and instead will have one-year contracts.
The bill also establishes an evaluation process in which 50 percent of a teacher’s performance evaluation is based on test scores and whether students had “learning gains” from previous school years. Teachers are ranked anywhere from “highly effective” down to “unsatisfactory.”
A breakdown of each school’s teacher ratings will be posted annually on the Department of Education website and parents will learn the rating of their children’s teachers. The bill would also strengthen a principal’s ability to refuse to hire or not renew a teacher’s contract based upon unsatisfactory ratings.
Local school boards, are given some leeway in determining how teachers are evaluated. Unlike last year’s bill, other factors such as student attendance and disciplinary factors can be considered.
The bill is not only backed by many Republicans in the Legislature, but also powerful groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce and former Gov. Jeb Bush’s education advocacy group, the Foundation for Florida’s Future.
By Lilly Rockwell
The News Service of Florida
EREC Restores All McDavid Customers In Undamaged Homes
March 9, 2011
Power has been restored to all undamaged homes in McDavid following a possible tornado this morning.
Escambia River Electric Cooperative spokesperson Nick Jackson said all customers were back on by about 2 p.m., except for a few customers in damaged homes where it would be unsafe to restore electricity.
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