Don’t Miss: Weekend Events
September 18, 2010
Here are some of the weekend events planned for the North Escambia area:
Taste Of The South
The 2010 Taste of the South will be held from 6-10 p.m. Saturday at Heritage Park in Atmore. Food samples from various vendors, $10 each for five tastes.
Back To School Blast
Aldersgate UMC in Molino will host a Back To School/End of Summer Blast on Sunday, September 19 from 2-6 p.m. Waterside, games, refreshments. Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for the family at 5:00. Side dishes for the cookout are welcome. Everyone is invited.
NWE Officer Elections
Elections for the new 2011 board of directors for Northwest Escambia Little League will be held on Sunday, September 19 at 2:30 p.m. at Bradberry Park. Anyone interested in joining the board or becoming an officer must attend this meeting. For more information, email pamb.chris03@yahoo.com
Tonight’s Prep Football Schedule
September 17, 2010
Here is a schedule of area prep football games tonight in the North Escambia area.
Remember, if you are attending a game, we encourage you to email us scores, stats and/or photos tonight to news@northescambia.com.
Florida
- Jay Royals at Freeport
- Crestview at Tate (live on NewsRadio 1620 AM / newsradio1620.com, 7 p.m.)
- West Florida at Pensacola
- Washington at Escambia
- Navarre at Pensacola Catholic
- Pine Forest at Niceville
- Northview is off.
Alabama
- Flomaton at Mobile Christian
- W.S. Neal at Escambia County (Atmore)
- Escambia Academy at Prattville Christian
- Montgomery Academy at T.R. Miller
Pictured top: The Northview Chiefs practice Thursday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Open House Tonight At Ernest Ward, Ransom
September 16, 2010
Open house will be held this evening at Ernest Ward and Ransom Middle schools. The open house events will begin at 6 p.m.
In addition, Ernest Ward Middle School is seeking members for their School Advisory Council and PTSA. Both groups will meet on Monday, September 20 — the SAC at 4:00 and the PTSA at 4:30. Interested persons are encouraged to attend.
Council On Aging Caregiver Meeting Tonight
September 16, 2010
The Council on Aging of West Florida will host a Century Caregiver Support Group Meeting at 6:00 Thursday evening.
There is no cost and the public is invited. Reservations are not required. The meeting will be held at Century Care Center at 6020 Industrial Blvd. 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 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 (850) 432-1475.
The Council on Aging of West Florida is a local, independent 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that has served seniors and their families since 1972. Council on Aging of West Florida helps seniors in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties live healthy, safe and independent lives in their own familiar surroundings by providing community based, in-home programs and services such as Meals on Wheels and Alzheimer’s respite care.
Escambia, Santa Rosa Students Allowed To Hear Obama Speech
September 14, 2010
Last year, students in Escambia and Santa Rosa schools were not allowed to a watch a live back to school speech by President Barack Obama. This year, teachers and principals at individual schools will be allowed to decide if their students will watch the speech live today.
To read the entire speech, click here.
In addition to the live broadcast, both the Escambia and Santa Rosa school districts will record today’s speech and make it available to teachers to show at a later date.
The speech begins at noon today from the Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia, Pa. In addition to many cable news stations, the speech will be available with live steaming on whitehouse.gov at noon local time.
Last year, Obama’s back to school address encouraged students to study hard and do their best in school. The U.S. Department of Education released teacher lesson plans to go along with the speech. That lesson plan last year originally called for students to write a paper about how they can “help the president”, but that part was removed after considerable public outcry — especially from Republicans — that the White House was trying to indoctrinate students into supporting his policies.
Open House Tonight At Northview High School
September 14, 2010
The annual open house will be held this evening at Northview High School.
The Open House will a bit different than in years past. Parents will report to the theater at 6 p.m. for a brief opening presentation and then attend mini-sessions in the school.
There will be four mini-sessions as follows:
- Parent Portal — the online parent portal will be demonstrated in the media center
- Vocational — in the cafeteria, with refreshments
- Reading, math, science, history, reading, language arts — Room 218
- Music, art, ROTC, P.E., Journalism — theater
Parents will be given instructions on attending the mini-sessions during the opening presentation.
Pictured: Parents and students attend Open House last year at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Century Relay For Life Committee Meeting Tonight
September 14, 2010
A Century Relay for Life committee meeting will be held tonight.
Anyone interested on serving on the committee is welcome to attend. The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Century Library.
Teams may also sign up online at www.CenturyRelay.com. For more information, contact event chair Jacke Johnston (850) 336-2091.
Vinson To Hear Federal Health Care Lawsuit Beginning Today
September 14, 2010
Escambia County will take center stage this week in the fight over the federal health care law that consumed Congress for the better part of a year, and along with it, so will a Pensacola judge who is no stranger to hot button issues.
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, a Reagan nominee to the bench who presided over two high profile abortion clinic violence cases in the 1980s and 1990s, will hear oral arguments on the U.S. Department of Justice’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed against the health care law by Florida and 18 other states on Tuesday.
The arguments will include Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Pensacola courtroom.
The plaintiffs, the states, argue that the health care law illegally requires all citizens and legal residents to have health care coverage or pay a tax penalty, which they say is a violation the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause. The plaintiffs also say the law runs afoul of the states’ rights guaranteed in the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The defendant, the U.S. Justice Department, counters that overturning the health care law would unduly expand judicial review of Congress and other government branches. More specially, the DOJ argues that Congress has the power to determine how federal money appropriated for Medicaid may be spent and can give states an option of setting up their own health exchanges or having the federal government do so.
Sorting it all out will be Vinson, a senior judge at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Pensacola.
Vinson, who was nominated to the federal bench in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, has indicated he knows the legal world will be waiting for his verdict, but that it will almost certainly be immediately appealed no matter which way he comes down. The case is widely expected to end up at the U.S. Supreme Court, which means a final legal decision could take years.
Other than the timing and allowing the arguments on the merits of the case to be heard, Vinson has not said much about the non-jury proceeding. But Ben Gordon, a Fort Walton Beach lawyer who clerked for him from 2000-2002, said Vinson will likely keep the lawyers from both sides on their toes.
“He will be a very intelligent judge who does a lot of his own work,” Gordon said, which made clerking for Vinson “interesting because he wouldn’t just rely on what I and other clerks told him.”
“He’ll educate himself and have read all the key cases,” Gordon said. “I anticipate he’ll ask probing questions on both sides. It’ll be interesting to watch. I believe he will have some questions the lawyers might not anticipate. He’ll be that engaged in this.”
Vinson, 70, is no stranger to cases involving issues at the center of national debates. In 1985, Vinson sentenced two men, Matt Goldsby and James Simmons, to 10 years in prison for their role in bombing an abortion clinic, though he made them eligible for early parole and gave Goldsby’s fiancée and Simmons’ wife, who were convicted of conspiracy, to five years probation. Nobody was killed in the bombing.
Vinson also presided over the federal trial of Paul Hill, who was convicted and later executed for the 1994 murders of a Pensacola abortion provider and a volunteer escort at an abortion clinic. Hill was sentenced to death in state court, but Vinson sentenced him to two additional life terms for violating the federal clinic access law. Hill was executed in 2003.
In 1988, Vinson also made news when he overturned an Escambia County ban on the film The Last Temptation of Christ.
Vinson also dismissed a case in 1998 that was brought by Medal of Honor winner Bud Day of Fort Walton Beach, who sued the government on behalf of military retirees who said they weren’t getting promised adequate medical care.
More recently, Vinson has been a visiting judge in Texas, where he has heard the case of a federal judge in Houston who was charged with sexually harassing female court employees.
By Keith Laing
The News Service Florida
Record Heat Sunday, Cooler Weather This Week
September 13, 2010
After record high temperatures along the Gulf Coast Sunday, there will be a little heat relief this week after the passage of a weak cold front.
Mobile set a record high temperature Sunday of 95 degrees, while Pensacola set a record high of 96. Around the North Escambia area, high temperatures on Sunday were: Walnut Hill – 94; Bratt – 95; Molino – 94; Atmore – 94; Jay 95.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming east between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 66. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. East wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. East wind around 5 mph becoming south.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.
- Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66.
- Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
- Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 69.
- Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.
Century Meetings Tonight: Grant Application And Council
September 13, 2010
The Town of Century will hold a public hearing tonight at 6:30 at the town hall to consider a recommendation from the Century Recreation Advisory Committee to submit a grant application for Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program funds to complete development of the Anthony Pleasant Sports Complex (formerly known as the Showalter Park Expansion Project).
The hearing will also be to solicit public input and comment regarding the submission of the grant application in order to enhance recreational opportunities for the residents of the town.
The meeting will precede a regular council meeting at 7:00. Tonight’s council meeting was rescheduled from September 6, the Labor Day holiday.