Gulf Power Work In Century
January 15, 2010
Gulf Power Company is completing a transformer project in Century this morning.
They are scheduled to be working near the intersection of East Highway 4 and North Century Boulevard. The work will cause the traffic light at the intersection to be out of service for an unknown period of time.
Some homes and businesses may lose power as well.
NWE Registration Continues Saturday
January 15, 2010
Registration for Northwest Escambia baseball and softball continues Saturday for ages 3 to 18 for Wee ball to big league.
Registration fees are: 1st child, $35, 2nd child: $25, 3rd child: free. Children will be measured and a $20 uniform deposit collected at registration. A copy of each child’s birth certificate is required.
There will also be a cleat swap…bring a pair of outgrown cleats and trade/swap while supplies last.
NWE registration will be held from 10 a.m. until noon January 16 and 23 at Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill.
Need Cheap Career Oriented Clothing? Check Out UWF Sale Today
January 15, 2010
If you are short on cash and need clothing for your career, you might want to check out the first ever Career Closet today at the University of West Florida for one-of-a-kind bargains on gently worn professional attire and accessories for both men and women.
The first every Career Closet will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Conference Center, Building 22, on campus.
With the pockets of young job hunters in mind, event organizer Laura Tissington has been collecting items on campus and from the community for weeks. She hopes to sell everything at the Career Closet for between $5 and $20 and, at the same time, raise money for her two favorite charities: the proposed Rachel Heffner Memorial Endowment Scholarship, named for Tissington’s daughter, and N.B. Cook School of the Arts, where Tissington’s son is in the fourth grade.
Tissington, assistant dean of the College of Professional Studies, decided she wanted to do something positive to help students and found the idea inside of her own closet which was stuffed with professional clothes she no longer wears. “I thought, what we can do that does not cost money and still contributes to others,” said Tissington. “Then I looked in my closet and saw all these clothes I no longer wear…I have sizes 6 to 14 in there. I say this all the time, ‘I don’t wear a 14 but I don’t wear the 6 either, I’m somewhere in between.’ But I had them all in my closet.”
Positive her idea for a Career Closet targeting UWF students entering the job market was a good one, she made an appointment to discuss it with Career Services.
“We are excited about how it will benefit students,” said Career Services director Lauren Loeffler. Her office is partnering with Tissington on the event.
Some of the items waiting for the sale include several Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft women’s suits; Coldwater Creek jackets; Isaac Mizrahi for Target ladies’ suits; several suede suit jackets; men’s dress shirts; winter coats; purses; and women’s shoes, both casual and dress. Also there are designer jeans in various sizes and a rack of school clothes for young boys, sizes 8 to 10. A special “boutique” area will feature unusual or specialty items.
Both the Career Closet and the nursing scholarship pay tribute to Tissington’s daughter, Rachel Heffner, who had cystic fibrosis. A third-year student at UWF, she died Jan. 12, 2003, just a few months shy of her 21st birthday. The scholarship in her name targets students who are female, in financial need and in good academic standing. Tissington is planning a series of events to support the scholarship; others include an exhibit at Festival on the Green, a garage sale, and a Web site with information about Heffner and the scholarship.
For more information, call Tissington at (850) 438-9940 or e-mail her at ltissington@uwf.edu or Career Services at (850) 474- 2254.
Escambia Seeks Funds To Replace Bridges, Including 50 In North Escambia
January 14, 2010
Many of Escambia County’s 128 bridges are wooden or have wooden supports, and many are 50 to 70 years old. Eleven are classified as “structurally deficient” and seven are classified as “functionally obsolete”. Now, the county is seeking $96.6 million to replace 103 of those bridges — including 50 bridges in North Escambia — within the next 10 years.
The number one bridge on the county’s wooden substructure bridge priority list is on Fannie Road at Dead Lake, just outside Century. Built in 1960, the 121 foot bridge has a 10 ton weight limit. The estimated price tag to replace the bridge is $1.48 million.
Bridges like the one on Fannie Road are not dangerous, according to county officials, but they are aging and in need of replacement before they become dangerous. While drivers see asphalt on the surface of the bridge, what they don’t see is the wood structure underneath.
Most of Escambia County’s bridges — all but 13 — are inspected every two years by the Florida Department of Transportation. The other 13 — bridges less than 20 feet wide, are inspected by a contractor hired by the county.
The county has applied for a $96.6 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant, part of the federal stimulus package, to pay for the bridge replacements for the structurally deficient, obsolete and otherwise aging bridges. The county is also asking for $6 million from the state legislature to replace the Fannie Road Bridge and six others.
Other North Escambia wooden substructure bridges that are considered structurally deficient, with date of construction and replacement cost, are:
- Beck’s Lake Road across an unnamed branch, 1968, $640,000
- Pineville Road at Long Hollow Creek, 1968, $610,000
- Tungoil Road at McDavid Creek 1969, $860,000
- Lambert Bridge Road at Pine Barron Creek, 1967, $2.24 million
- Brickyard Road at an unnamed branch, 1960, $640,000
- Bet Raines Road at Jack’s Branch, 1967, $610,000
- Occie Phillips Road at Brushy Creek, 1968, $1 million
The county needs a total of $11.8 million to replace the bridges classified as structurally deficient and an additional $7.3 million to replace the ones that are classified as being functionally obsolete.
Other North Escambia wooden bridges on the county’s priority replacement wish list, with date of construction and replacement cost, are:
- Highway 99A at Boggy Creek, 1969, $770,000
- Highway 97A at Boggy Creek, 1968, $1.48 million
- Highway 164 at Pine Barren Creek, 1958, $2.01 million
- Highway 99A at Little Pine Barren Creek, 1970, $1 million
- Highway 168 at an unnamed branch, 1968, $610,000
- Highway 168 at Reedy Creek, 1968,$730,000
- Highway 168 at Hobbs Branch, 1965, $1 million
- Nokomis Road at Brushy Creek, 1967, $1.33 million
- Molino Road at Alligator Creek, 1959, $860,000
- Schagg Road at Jack’s Branch, 1965, $890,000
- Molino Road at Penasula Creek, 1958, $610,000
- Gibson Road at Alligator Creek, 1959, $1.02 million
- Rigby Road at Beaver Creek Road, 1965, $1 million
- Chestnut Road at unnamed branch, 1967, $740,0000
- Pineville Road at Reedy Branch, 1964, $620,000
- Pine Barron Road at unnamed branch, 1964, $730,000
- McKenzie Road, 1961, $620,000
- Hanks Road at Breastworks Creek, 1968, $730,000
- Highway 99A at Freeman Springs Branch, 1968, $610,000
- Schagg Road at branch of Jack’s Branch, 1965, $620,000
- Sandy Hollow Road at Sandy Hollow Creek, 1959, $730,000
- Sunshine Hill Road at unnamed branch, unknown age, $470,000
- Stacy Road at unnamed branch, unknown age, $490,000
- Pine Top Lane at unnamed branch, unknown age, $480,000
- Chestnut Road at unnamed branch, unknown age, $480,000
- Breastworks Road at Hall’s Branch, unknown age, $490,000
Fourteen of 16 concrete or steel bridges and culverts classified as “priority two” for replacement, are in North Escambia:
- Highway 4 at Alligator Creek, 1949, $1.6 million
- Highway 196 at Jack’s Branch, 1949, $1.35 million
- Highway 4 at Canoe Creek, 1942, $2.59 million
- Highway 99 at Pine Barren Creek, 1955, $2.34 million
- Highway 196 at Penasula Creek, 1949, $1.5 million
- Highway 4 at Reedy Creek, 1942, $1.38 million
- Highway 99 at McDavid Creek, 1951, $2.1 million
- Highway 99 at Little Pine Barren Creek, 1955, $2.1 million
- County Road 4 at Beaver Creek Dam, 1940, $840,000
- Quintette Road at unnamed ditch, 1956, $580,000
- Greenland Road at Pine Barren Creek, 1955, $620,000
- Molino Road at Dry Creek, 1959, $780,000
- Highway 196 at unnamed branch, 1959, $550,000
- Highway 4 at Little Pine Creek, 1942, $640,000
There are additional concrete or steel bridges and culverts in North Escambia on a “priority three” replacement list, including:
- County Road 97 at Jack’s Branch, 1960, $1.96 million
- Highway 196 at Cowdevil Creek, 1961, $680,000
- Highway 168 at unnamed branch, 1967, $980,000
Pictured: The Highway 4 bridge at Canoe Creek was construct in 1942. Replacing the bridge would cost the county an estimated $2.59 million. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Warmer Weather, Rain In Our Forecast
January 14, 2010
After 13 straight nights below freezing, we are finally expecting some relief from Old Man Winter.
We’ll climb into the 60’s each day over the next week. There is rain forecast Friday night through Saturday night; we’ll be watching for a possible thunderstorm during the period.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 30. East wind around 5 mph.
- Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. East wind around 5 mph.
- Friday Night: Rain likely, mainly after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. East wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Saturday: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 59. East wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
- Saturday Night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before midnight, then a slight chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 47. East wind around 15 mph becoming southwest. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers before 9am. Partly cloudy, with a high near 59. West wind between 10 and 15 mph.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 34. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
- M.L.King Day: Sunny, with a high near 65. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 36. West wind around 5 mph becoming south.
- Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 64.
- Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 45.
- Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.
- Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 38.
- Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 65.
Red Cross Blood Drive Today In Flomaton
January 14, 2010
You can give the gift of life this afternoon in Flomaton.
The American Red Cross Bloodmobile will be at the First Baptist Church of Flomaton from 1-6 this afternoon. The church is located at the corner of Houston and College streets in downtown Flomaton.
One More Freezing Night, Rain This Weekend
January 13, 2010
One more freezing night — the 12th in the row — is in our forecast. Then, we will finally have nights without dripping pipes, freeze warnings and all that non-Florida stuff.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. Calm wind.
- Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 35. East wind around 5 mph.
- Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. East wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Friday Night: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. East wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Saturday: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Northeast wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Saturday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. North wind between 10 and 15 mph.
- Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61.
- Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38.
- M.L.King Day: Partly sunny, with a high near 61.
- Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.
- Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 59.
Early Dismissal For Northview
January 13, 2010
The next three days are early release days at Northview High School.
Semester exams will be held each morning for the remainder of the week, and Northview students will be released at 12:10 each afternoon.
Area elementary and middle schools will be open normal hours with no early release days.
Another Freezing Night
January 12, 2010
(Updated) Sunny and 62 — sounds pretty good right now, doesn’t it?
We are looking for temperatures in the 60’s later this week, but we still have a couple more freezing nights in store in the North Escambia area.
We are expecting lows around 20 for Tuesday night and 28 for Wednesday night.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 20. North wind around 5 mph.
- Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 54. Wind chill values between 15 and 25 early. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
- Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 31. East wind around 5 mph.
- Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a high near 61. East wind around 5 mph.
- Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. East wind between 5 and 15 mph.
- Saturday: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58. East wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41. Northeast wind around 10 mph.
- Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57.
- Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38.
- M.L.King Day: Partly sunny, with a high near 62.
- Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.
- Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.
Some EREC Customers Without Power For The Third Morning
January 11, 2010
For the third consecutive morning, some EREC customers were without power.
From Oak Grove to Walnut Hill, Enon, Bay Spring to Barrineau Park, an unknown number of Escambia River Electric Cooperative lost power about 7 a.m.
Power was restored for must customers by shortly after 8:00.
Most of the same customers were in the dark — and cold for those with electric heat — for the third morning. Saturday morning, they were without power for about four hours; Sunday morning the outage lasted about two and a half hours.