IMPACT 100 Names 15 Grant Finalists. 11 Of Them Will Receive $106K Each.
September 10, 2020
IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area, a women’s philanthropic organization, has announced 15 grant finalists selected for 2020.
In October, 11 of the 15 nonprofit finalists will each receive a grant of $106,000 at the IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area Annual Meeting. The recipients will be selected by a membership vote
The 15 finalists selected by IMPACT 100’s Focus Area Committees are as follows:
ARTS & CULTURE
- Ballet Pensacola, Inc. – Project: Ballet Pensacola LED Wall
- Pensacola Little Theater, Inc.- Project: A Stage for all Stages: Restoring the Little Theatre’s Big Rigging
- Pensacola Opera, Inc. – Project: IMPACT Opera: In Perfect Harmony
EDUCATION
- Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge, Inc. – Project: Education Across the Human Spectrum
- Every Child a Reader in Escambia, Inc. dba ECARE – Project: Get Our Children and Families Ready for Kindergarten
- Gulf Coast Kid’s House, Inc.- Project: Protecting Our Children During a Time of Uncertainty
ENVIRONMENT, RECREATION & PRESERVATION
- Keep Santa Rosa Beautiful, Inc. dba Panhandle House & Nature Center – Project: Panhandle Butterfly House and Nature Center
- Tennis-4-Everyone, Inc.- Project: Oakcrest Elementary/Ebonwood Tennis Complex
- Veteran’s Memorial Park Foundation of Pensacola, Inc. – Project: Accommodating Veterans Memorial Park Events
FAMILY
- AMR at Pensacola, Inc. – Project: The Phoenix Project – Tiny Home Communities
- Feeding the Gulf Coast, Inc. – Project: Feeding the Florida Panhandle
- FoodRaising Friends, Inc. – Project: FoodRaising Friends Foundational Food for Families
HEALTH & WELLNESS
- Ecomfort, Inc. – Project: Food as a Tool: Impacting lives in the Community Mentally, Physically and Spiritually
- Equality Florida Institute, Inc – Project: Safe and Healthy Schools Program
- Pensacola United Methodist Community Ministries, Inc. dba Bright Bridge Ministries – Project: Updated Kitchen, Uplifted Lives
Escambia Commission Honors Molino Teen For Saving Lives Of Her Family From House Fire
September 10, 2020
The Escambia County Commission recently honored a Molino teen for saving the life of her family from a fire that destroyed their home on Crabtree Church Road.
Destany McKim, 14, saved her mother and grandmother from the fire about 12:30 a.m. on January 25, 2019.
Destany, who was 12 at the time of the fire, said she was up late doing homework, and smelled a little smoke. At first, she thought her mother was cooking.
“As soon as I looked over at the living room, the extension cord just burst into flames,” Destany told NorthEscambia.com. She immediately went to wake her mom and grandmother as the house began to fill with dark smoke.
“My mom is a smoker, so she didn’t smell the smoke. It didn’t wake her up, and my grandmother wears a CPAP machine, so couldn’t have smelled it,” she said. There were no working smoke alarms in the home.
As she got her mother and grandmother out of the home, she had the forethought to close the doors to slow the spread of the fire. Her grandmother went back in with a fire extinguisher, but the flames spread rapidly.
“It just spread everywhere, and the windows had just burst.” She worked to save the three family dogs, including a 65-pound basset hound that she ultimately had to tote away from the burning home.
“I don’t feel like I am a hero. I feel like I did what anybody else would have done in that situation because I just thought of my family. If I had gone into panic mode, there was no keeping my mother out of panic mode,” Destany said. “I don’t feel like a hero, but I’m flattered.”
“She’s a hero. A real hero. She saved her lives,” Destany’s mother Datanya Wells said recently.
Destany, who will attend Northview High School this year, may have a future in firefighting. She’s applying to be an Escambia County Fire Rescue junior firefighter.
Last month, she received the Girl Scout Bronze Cross for Valor for saving her family.
Pictured: The Escambia County Commission honored Destany McKim for saving the life of her family from a 2019 house fire in Molino. NorthEscambia.com and courtesy photos, click to enlarge.
National Museum Of Naval Aviation To Reopen For Active Duty Military, Their Families
September 10, 2020
The National Naval Aviation Museum, in alignment with the phased reopening of activities on board NAS Pensacola, will reopen to active duty personnel and their dependent family members beginning on Tuesday, September 15, at 10 a.m.
This is an important first step for us,” said Museum Director CAPT Sterling Gilliam, USN (Ret.). “In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the staff has worked diligently to institute measures to keep our visitors safe while still preserving the world-class experience they have come to expect.”
Active duty visitors and their dependents must bring their own masks and wear them at all times while inside the museum. Visitors can expect a different look when they arrive. There are defined paths around the aircraft and some exhibits will remain closed to ensure social distancing. The Naval Aviation Museum Foundation will operate its giant screen theater at reduced capacity and there will be limited refreshments available. The popular Cubi Bar Café will not be open at this time.
We look forward to serving our active duty personnel, a large number of whom have been confined to base since March and anxiously await the eventual return of all our loyal patrons,” Gilliam said.
Hours of operation will be Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m beginning September 15.
Cantonment Man Charged With Aggravated Battery With Deadly Weapon On His Girlfriend
September 9, 2020
A Cantonment man is facing felony charges after allegedly swerving into his girlfriend’s vehicle following an argument.
Nicholas Blake Hughes, 34, was arrested on outstanding warrants for aggravated battery using a deadly weapon and criminal mischief with property damage.
His girlfriend told deputies that she and Hughes got into an argument at mutual friend’s house on Casey Lane. She said she tried to walk away, but Hughes continued to verbally assault her. She said she drove away from the residence, but Hughes ran out to his vehicle and followed her at a high rate of speed, according to an arrest report.
The victim stated Hughes passed her and intentionally swerved into her vehicle before fleeing on Highway 95A, the report states. She provided deputies with a photo related to the incident.
Deputies noted about $2,000 in damage to her vehicle including a damaged fender and bumper, in addition to a white paint transfer from the vehicle driven Hughes.
Hughes remained in the Escambia County Jail Wednesday without bond due to an additional charge of failure to appear in a felony case involving weapons and narcotics charges.
Century Council Forced To Cancel Meeting After Zoom Calls Fail
September 9, 2020
The Century Town Council was forced to cancel their regular meeting Tuesday night because their virtual software was not allowing telephone connections.
During the pandemic, and executive order from Gov. Ron DeSantis has allowed governmental bodies to meet virtually. The Century council switched to Zoom in July for meetings, and everything has worked almost flawlessly since.
While most people think of Zoom as a video conferencing service, there are plan options that allow users to join meeting audio by making an ordinary telephone call. Council members and the public have mostly joined the meetings by telephone, with only just a few using the Zoom app or website. The council has not been broadcasting video.
Tuesday night, callers were met with a message that telephone service was not available for the Century council zoom meeting. It was not immediately known if that was a Zoom technical glitch, or Century’s account was no longer configured or if the fee was properly paid for the “Zoom Phone” options.
The only participants to join the meeting via the Zoom app Tuesday night were the mayor, the interim city manager and an administrative clerk that were physically at town hall, council member James Smith and NorthEscambia.com. The other council members and public all apparently tried to use the telephone method and that failed.
Due to the failure, the meeting was canceled. It is expected to be rescheduled.
ECSO Seeks Beulah Area Vehicle Burglary Suspects
September 9, 2020
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking for three individuals caught on surveillance video near the scene of several vehicle burglaries.
The burglaries happened early Tuesday morning, September 8 on Blackhorse Circle north of Mobile Highway, not far from the area of Beulah Elementary School.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Need Work? Re-Employ Escarosa Job Fair Will Be Thursday
September 9, 2020
Looking for work? Dozens of businesses will take part in a virtual job fair this week.
The Re-Employ Escarosa event will take place on Thursday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. The employers will be on hand to meet virtually with potential employees.
You can pre-register, view participating employers and see a list of a available jobs by clicking or tapping here.
CareerSource Escarosa partnered with FloridaWest, The Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, The Gulf Coast Minority Chamber, Studer Community Institute, Pensacola Young Professionals, and Fleet and Family Support Center to host the event.
Tate, PHS Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists
September 9, 2020
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has named semifinalists in the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million that will be offered next spring.
Local students named National Merit semifinalists are Michael R. Dixon and John T. Semple from Tate High School; and Sydney Dodson, Calla Endacott, Kendall Frazee, Owen Ides, Maxanthony Mateer, Alyssa Pascoe, George Prettyman, Mai Tran, Ashley Wu and Amy Zhang from Pensacola High School.
Gulf Of Mexico Offshore Drilling Protection Extended
September 9, 2020
Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced he is extending the Prohibition of Offshore Drilling in the Eastern Gulf that was set to expire soon. Trump’s extension comes days after Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson sent a letter to the president requesting an extension explaining how critical this prohibition is to the culture, economy, and way of life in Northwest Florida.
“Whether the tourism that services visitors from across the nation or the military bases that protect us all, the people of Pensacola and Northwest Florida are connected to the Gulf of Mexico for our way of life and the continued exclusion of drilling,” said Mayor Robinson. “Florida’s economy and culture are again dependent, both for the military and tourism, on the extension of the current drilling prohibition.”
In this speech in Jupiter, Florida, Trump credited Pensacola and its support for the extension, saying, “As long as I am President of the United States, we will conserve this wondrous national inheritance. From Key West to Key Biscayne, from Tampa to Tallahassee, from the Pensacola — beautiful Pensacola. I love Pensacola. I think it was 97 percent; that’s one of the reasons I like them. (Laughter.) They said, “How’d you do in Pensal- — Pensacola?” I said, “Was that — maybe 95, 97?” Right up there, so that helps. It’s amazing how that can help, isn’t it? Right here to Jupiter, which I know very well. And we’ll preserve this glorious land for our children, for our grandchildren, and for every generation of American to come.”
Pictured: President Donald Trump mentions “beautiful Pensacola” during a speech in Jupiter, Florida, on Tuesday.
FDOT Studies Widening Nine Mile To Six Lanes, But Four Lanes Aren’t Done. Escambia Commissioner Questions Why.
September 8, 2020
The $46 million four laning of Nine Mile Road won’t be completed until late spring next year, but the Florida Department of Transportation already has a study underway to consider widening it again to six lanes from Pine Forest Road to Mobile Highway.
An Escambia County commissioner wants to know why it’s taken so long to complete four lanes and why six lanes are under consideration.
For a photo gallery, click here.
“Why the hell is the current project so badly over-budget and behind schedule? That is the question residents I represent want to know,” Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh wrote on his blog Monday, saying he plans to address Nine Mile Road during a Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization meeting this week.
“….this project is tracking to be nearly 24 months behind schedule—residents that I represent want to know why this FDOT project is not a 24 hour a day, weekends and nights, priority for completion? I want to know this too, so I will be asking this question SPECIFICALLY at the TPO meeting we will be having this Wednesday,” Bergosh continued.
“So with this as the backdrop—why are we even talking about making 6-lanes on this road NOW?? Who is pushing this? Did an outlandish, expensive ($74 million), and inefficient “special interest” idea get laughed out of a room full of Tallahassee deciders a few months back, and is this the “new” project this special interest group now is pushing? Gosh I hope this is not the new “we gotta have this” project because there are MUCH MORE important projects that need to come first that will have greater impact on the issues out here than talking about 6-Lanes through Beulah,” the District 1 commissioner wrote.
Bergosh said FDOT needs to address other issues before six laning Nine Mile, beginning with fixing I-10 and the Pine Forest Road exit to two lanes now and add a dedicated turn lane on westbound I-10 because vehicles are currently stacking up on the shoulder of the interstate for about a mile.
He said FDOT needs to get to work on the Beulah Interchange project. “If you pull HALF the Beulah traffic off of 9-Mile Road north to Isaacs lane and what will eventually be our interchange there—-this lightens the traffic load on the heavily-congested portion of 9-Mile Road through Beulah on 9-Mile Road in front of NFCU. Hello?!? Duh??”
And there’s one more thing, Bergosh wrote. The capitalization is his…”FDOT, for the love of God, MAKE YOUR CONTRACTOR FINISH THIS CURRENT 4-LANE PROJECT IN BEULAH BETWEEN EXIT 5 AND MOBILE HWY. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH WITH THREE DAY NO WORK WEEKENDS AND LAME EXCUSES WHEN THIS PROJECT IS TRACKING 24 MONTHS BEHIND!!!”
As NorthEscambia.com first reported last week, the Florida Department of Transportation has credited a virtual update on the Nine Mile six lane study. The virtual project update, interactive map, virtual tour and a comment form are available by clicking or tapping here. The deadline to submit comments is October 15.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured: A look at the construction on Nine Mile Road. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
