Jim Allen’s Lacey Brown Named Escambia County’s Teacher Of The Year
January 28, 2017
Lacey Brown of Jim Allen Elementary school named Escambia County’s Teacher of the Year Friday night at the Escambia County Public Schools Foundation’s Golden Apple Dinner. She is now in the running for the state teacher of the year.
Brown teaches third grade at Jim Allen Elementary School and is in her third year of teaching.
“Teachers, we don’t do this to be recognized. No teacher in this county does this job to be recognized. I’m just so inspired to be around these amazing educators. This is awesome,” Brown said after being named Teacher of the Year.
“I hope that my students will come away from my classroom with two things. First, I want them to know how valuable they are and how much they have to offer the world. My goal is to have encouraged them so much throughout the year that when they leave my classroom they know that they are important and that they have contributions to make to society,” Brown said previously.
“Secondly, I hope that my students leave my classroom with a love of learning. Everything that I do in my classroom, from engaging technology to flexible seating, is designed to make students enjoy the learning process. If they come away from my classroom knowing they are valued deeply, realizing they are important, and looking to their future with excitement, then I know I have done my job well,” Brown concluded.
“Lacey Brown has been involved in many leadership roles at our school,” Jim Allen Elementary School Principal Rachel Watts said. “he is an integral part of our faculty who goes above and beyond her required duties and she is willing to help any student, teacher, support staff or parent any time.”
Flomaton Man Arrested On Assault, Drug Charges
January 28, 2017
A Flomaton man was arrested on multiple charges after a domestic violence incident on Friday.
The suspect was witnessed going into a residence on College Street but would not immediately exit as police called him on the phone and public address system. The suspect, later identified as 40-year old Matthew Reaves, eventually exited the home and was detained.
When officers searched the home, the found “bloody evidence” of a domestic violence incident, according to Flomaton Police, along with methamphetamines, heroine, glass pipes and other drug paraphernalia.
Reaves was charged with two counts of possession of controlled substance methamphetamines and heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia, and domestic violence assault third degree. He was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton.
Ensley Man Found Shot To Death In His Front Yard
January 28, 2017
An Escambia County man was found shot to death in his yard Friday morning in Ensley.
The homicide happened just before 7 a.m. in the 600 block of Warner Avenue. Deputies arrived at a “man down” called to find 50-year-old Victor Cannon dead from a gunshot wound in front of a residence.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said a preliminary investigation showed the shooting appeared to be drug related.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Word Play: Molino Park Celebrates Literacy Week (With Gallery)
January 28, 2017
Molino Park Elementary School continued their Celebrate Literacy Week with vocabulary hats, a bulletin board contest and big kids reading to little kids.
For a more photos, click here.
Photos by Savanna Calhoun ECSD for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
IP Explosion: Cleanup Area Expands Into New Areas; Commissioner Meets With Victims
January 28, 2017
The cleanup and remediation area around the International Paper Mill in Cantonment had expanded into two new neighborhoods by Friday, as a county commissioner vowed to hold the paper company responsible for the needs of his constituents.
“As a result of the events at the International Paper mill Sunday evening, I am greatly concerned about the well being and the livelihoods of my friends, neighbors and constituents who have been negatively impacted by the explosion,” District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry, who represents the area, said.
Barry joined NorthEscambia.com’s publisher in walking Woodbury Circle and Woodbury Place Friday morning, observing the cleanup efforts and talking to residents that remained behind.
“I can’t afford to leave home,” one resident said. “They (International Paper) will pay you back for a hotel, but I don’t have the money to pay for it up front,” one resident said. He said was generally pleased with IP’s cleanup efforts in his neighborhood, but he did have health concerns after the area was covered by with a mixture of black liquor and wood pulp during Sunday night’s explosion.
International Paper has said short term skin irritation was the most common concern with exposure to the material. Individuals with health concerns were urged by IP to contact their primary care physician.
The IP-funded cleanup started days ago in the Woodbury area. By Friday, teams had fanned out into two other neighborhood on Countri Lane and Kathleen Avenue, power washing streets. IP said more than 160 people were working at a faster rate that initially anticipated to “restore” the neighborhood. Full-scale remediation efforts were underway on 10 houses, and more than three miles of roadways have been cleaned.
Residents with concerns following the IP explosion are asked to call the Joint Information Center 24 hours a day at (850) 968-4208. On Saturday from 2-4 p.m., International Paper will host a Community Open House for residents and businesses in the affected area. The open house will take place on the Cantonment Mill lawn (large white tent), located at 375 Muscogee Road.
Pictured top: Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry meets with a resident of Woodbury Circle Friday morning in the area impacted by the Cantonment International Paper explosion. Also pictured: By Friday, the cleanup had expanded to Countri Lane (pictured inset) and Kathleen Avenue (pictured below). NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Byrneville Elementary Eyes Possible Building Project
January 27, 2017
Big improvements could be on the horizon for Byrneville Elementary School with the construction of a new building.
Currently, over one-half of Byrneville’s classrooms are located in eight aging wooden portable buildings with administration, a lunchroom and a few classrooms located in a wood frame brick building constructed in 1941.
Byrneville has been a “conversion charter” school since 2002 when the Escambia County School District closed the existing Byrneville Elementary School and converted it into charter school operated under its own board of directors.
Funding for the school is still provided by the state and local government, with the local school district providing the campus and major maintenance services.
Now, longtime Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan says it is the time for Byrneville to become a full charter school, taking over building ownership and becoming eligible to construct a new permanent building to replace the portables.
“It’s almost like the final snap of the apron strings,” she said. The school would become more directly responsible for its finances, including funding the building construction, but the funds would still come from the county and state coffers. Essentially the change would mean little, she said, other than Byrneville could construct facilities using capital outlay funding that they do not currently receive.
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“Financially, we shouldn’t go broke, right?”, Byrneville board of director member Michelle Driskell asked at a board meeting Wednesday.
“I don’t see us having a problem,” Sullivan replied.
Sullivan said that a new building would allow space for the approximate 200-student elementary school to expand enrollment within class size limits.
“Plus it will be a better learning environment, and much safer. What if that tornado had hit these portables,” Sullivan said, referring to the February 2016 EF-3 tornado that devastated an area of Century about four miles from the Byrneville Elementary School campus.
The new building, if approved by the board of directors and if financing is approved, would be constructed on the Byrneville Elementary School’s current four acre property at 1600 Byrneville Road. While there is no construction timetable in place at this time, the building could open within about two years of final approval.
The school will organize a public meeting to further explain the process to parents and answer any questions. No date for that meeting has been set.
Pictured top: The main building at Byrneville Elementary was constructed in 1941. Pictured below: One of the portable classrooms on the Byrneville Elementary campus. Pictured middle: Principal Dee Wolfe Sullvan addresses the Byrneville Elementary Board of Directors. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Changing Uniform Companies, Saving Thousands
January 27, 2017
Newly elected Century Mayor Henry Hawkins switching the town’s uniform supplier, a move that will save several thousand dollars per year.
The town currently utilizes Aramark Uniform Services at an annual cost of $8,026. Most of that contract will be dropped, and the town will purchase utility department uniforms from Reflective Apparel Factory for a one-time fee of $4,410.
Under the new arrangement, employees will be responsible for washing their own uniforms, rather than receiving cleaned uniforms from Aramark.
A small portion of the contract with Aramark will be retained for rugs used by the utility department.
Escambia Man Faces Life Sentence For Armed Robbery
January 27, 2017
An Escambia County jury has found Demeko Sims guilty of robbery with a firearm and petit theft.
On October 24, 2015, the Kwik Mart on Fairfield Drive in Pensacola was robbed by two masked gunmen who stole money from the cash register. Sims and his co-defendant, Joseph Vaughn, were developed as suspects. On November 2, 2015, Sims and Vaughn were detained while riding together in a truck A search of the truck returned the firearms and clothing from in the robbery.
A search warrant of the apartment where Sims and was staying returned additional clothing Sims wore during the robbery. Sims confessed to the robbery when interviewed at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Sims qualifies as a prison releasee reoffender and will serve a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Sentencing is scheduled for March 10 before Judge Joel Boles.
Late last year, Vaughn pleaded and was sentenced to 10 years in state prison.
Suspect Arrested In Nine Mile Road Shooting Death
January 27, 2017
A suspect has been arrested into connection with a January 6 shooting death off East Nine Mile Road.
Shaquille Kushun Jordan was charged with the homicide of Allen Ray Elliott. Elliott died from a gunshot wound to the head after what the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office described as a drug deal gone bad he was found face down in the parking lot of an apartment complex behind Vannoy’s Tires.
Authorities say the suspect and his girlfriend made up a story about being carjacked in order to create an alibi for the crime.
Jordan is being held without bond in the Escambia County Jail.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is still looking for another unknown suspect in this case. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or the ECSO at (850) 436-9620.
NorthEscambia.com file photos.
New Radio Station Takes To The Airwaves
January 27, 2017
The area’s newest radio station took to the airwaves Thursday afternoon for their first official broadcast.
WGYJ-LP, The Light is a low power station broadcasting at 93.5 FM in Atmore. The station, owned by Gospel Light Church, is operating at a diminished power at the present time. Once a tower and new equipment are installed in the coming months, the station will broadcast with a power of 100 watts from 100 feet high…giving it expected coverage area of Atmore, Poarch, Canoe and small area of North Escambia around Bratt and some of Walnut Hill.
The Gehman family behind the station was synonymous with broadcasting in Atmore for a numbers of years, with brother Dale, David and Jerry operating WASG AM 550 radio beginning in November 1981 and eventually WYDH-FM before selling both stations in the early 1990’s. David and Jerry, along with other family members and friends, will be involved in the new station.
Sadly, brother Dale Gehman passed away last November unexpectedly after completing most of the engineering work to bring the new low power FM on the air. Much of the station’s first official hour on the air Thursday was devoted to remembering Dale.
The station currently broadcasts from inside the sanctuary of Gospel Light Church on Trammell Street. They plan to move into the renovated space in the church’s education building soon.
The station’s initial broadcast schedule will be 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. until additional equipment is installed. At that time, WGYJ-LP will broadcast a Christian format 24 hours a day with an emphasis on local news, weather and other Atmore information.
Pictured: WGYJ-LP 93.5 FM took to the air for its first official broadcast Thursday afternoon with David Gehman behind the microphone and guests that included his parents, Martin and Verna Lee Gehman. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
