Century Celebrates Veterans (With Photo Gallery)
November 11, 2016
Those who have served where honored Thursday morning during a special “Century Celebrates Veterans” program.
The event included patriotic music, prayer, information on the history of veterans day and guest speaker Chief Jeffrey Simpkins who teaches in the Northview High School NJROTC program.
Simpkins (pictured left) said that he sees promise and hope from today’s young people that are in programs like Northview’s NJROTC.
“The future of our military is bright,” he said.
“The dedication is growing in our young sons and daughters,” Simpkins said. “They know what it takes; when called upon, they will be read.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Camp Fire Students Learn About Veterans, Offer Thanks
November 11, 2016
This week, the children at Camp Fire Century learned about what a veteran is and why they are celebrated on Veterans Day every November 11.
Local veterans visited with the Camp Fire children and spoke about what it means to be a veteran. The children said the Pledge of Allegiance, and sang “God Bless America” and “You’re a Grand Ole Flag”. They listened and thanked each veteran for their service.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Born On Veterans Day: Airman Lambert Graduates From Military Basic Training
November 11, 2016
U. S. Air Force Airman David A. Lambert, Jr. (A.J.) graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, TX. Lambert was born on Veterans Day, November 11, 1992.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills. Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Lambert earned distinction as an honor graduate. To receive this honor an airman must achieve at least a 90% on his/her physical fitness level during the final AFBMT physical fitness test. The AFBMT physical ftness test has four parts: 1.5-mile run time (60%), number of sit ups in a minute (10%), number of push ups in a minute (10%), and waist measurement (20%). If the trainee fails to reach a score of at least 90%, the airman is ineligible no matter how well he or she performed in other areas of basic training.
Additionally, the airman must average over 90 percent on all the written examinations, and never fail a graded inspection (graded inspections are conducted randomly after week three). In addition, the airman must never receive a negative mark in a written evaluation. Current regulations limit the number of selectees to no more than ten percent of the graduating squadron.
Lambert is the son of Aaron and Kim Lambert of Molino and the grandson of Ervin and Carolyn Thortis of McDavid. He graduated from Northview High School with honors in 2011.
Commission Honors Retiring Tax Collector Janet Holley
November 11, 2016
The Escambia County Commission presented a proclamation Thursday to Tax Collector Janet Holley congratulating her on her retirement after 44 years of public service. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Taking A Bite Out Of Hunger: Peanut Butter Drive Continues
November 11, 2016
In an effort to boost the supply of the most requested food pantry item, peanut butter, UF IFAS Escambia County Extension is teaming up again with the Florida Peanut Producers Association to help “Take a Bite out of Hunger” by participating in a local peanut butter drive.
Residents are asked to help meet the challenge of collecting 1,000 pounds of the versatile food by donating unopened jars of peanut butter at one of five locations now through Wednesday, November 23. All peanut butter collected will be donated to local food pantries in December.
Drop-off locations:
- Escambia County Administration, 221 Palafox Place, 4th Floor
- Escambia County Extension Office, 3740 Stefani Road
- Escambia County Farm Bureau,153 Highway 97, Molino
- Escambia County Public Safety, 6575 North W Street
- Gilmore Services, 31 East Fairfield Drive
Many families in our community experience food insecurities. They rely upon food pantries to supplement their family’s meals and reduce worries about running out of food. To help meet the need of providing healthy options for our residents in need, this is the fourth year UF IFAS Escambia County Extension has participated in the peanut butter drive.
Last year, more than 2,800 jars of peanut butter were donated to local food pantries.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Driver Uninjured In Crash With Church Sign
November 11, 2016
A driver refused medical treatment after plowing into a church sign Thursday afternoon at Nine Mile and Rebel roads. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
ECSO: School Bus Driver Attacks Student With Hammer
November 10, 2016
Two people have been arrested after a student reported being hit with a hammer by his school bus driver.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office reports obtaining video of school bus driver Jimmy Edwards, 55, striking the child with a hammer, then kicking the student off the bus on Highway 98 at Fairfield Drive. Edwards was charged with aggravated child abuse and child neglect.
School bus monitor Pamela Bethea, 54, was charged with failure to report child abuse after she allegedly remained in her seat during the incident and said nothing.
Edward allegedly armed himself with the hammer and said he would show the boy “he was not playing” after the victim called him an “old man”.
Video shows Edwards walked to the back of the school bus and hit the victim twice in the head with his hand. He then swung the hammer at the victim two times while the boy was still sitting down.
The victim got up and walked to the front exit of the school bus. Edwards then swung the hammer twice, nearly missing the victim’s head, while the boy was walking away.
Edwards then hit the boy’s arm with the tool before kicking him off the bus. The boy, a student at Camelot Academy, was forced to walk home without any supervision.
Edwards and Bethea have been suspended by the Escambia County School District as the investigation continues.
Two People, Including Deputy, Injured In Beulah Crash
November 10, 2016
Two people, including an Escambia County deputy, received minor injuries in a two vehicle crash early Thursday morning in Beulah.
The accident happened about 12:08 a.m. at Beulah Road and Mobile Highway. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 30-year old Daniel James Garner was southbound on Beulah Road when he failed to stop. His Honda Civic collided with an eastbound Chevrolet Tahoe, which was an unmarked Escambia County Sheriff’s Office vehicle driven by Jimmie Tatum of Pensacola.
Both were transported by Escambia County EMS to Sacred Heart Hospital by ambulance with minor injuries.
Garner was cited by the FHP for violation of a traffic control device.
The Beulah Station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the crash.
Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Veterans Program: ‘When I Hear The National Anthem Play, I Don’t Take A Knee’
November 10, 2016
Northview High School honored veterans Tuesday at their annual Veterans Day program.
Guest speaker was former Northview teacher Tom Meehan, a United States Army and Vietnam veteran. He served for four years, 1968-1972, as a helicopter pilot and reached the rank of CWO2.
Meehan told of Harry and Heath – a Vietnam war roommate killed in action and a roommate that later took his own life due to post traumatic stress disorder. And he addressed the recently controversial practice in our nation of not standing during the National Anthem.
“When I hear the National Anthem play, I don’t take a knee to protest some social injustice. I stand at attention, place my hand over my heart and with a tear in my eye think of Harry and Heath and all the other veterans throughout this nation’s history that made America the greatest country on earth,” Meehan told the Northview students.
He said all veterans deserve respect.
“All veterans, whether they served at peacetime or at war, at home or abroad, on the front lines or in the rear, have one thing in common. They all made a pledge to duty, honor, country,” he said.
The event also included the reading of essays from Northview NJROTC cadets Jacob Borelli, Hannah McGahan and Alyssa Borelli; a special recognition for local veterans and NJROTC flag detail presentation.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Trump Election Boosts Scott, Bondi
November 10, 2016
Two of Florida’s top Republican leaders are immediate political beneficiaries of Donald Trump’s surprising but decisive presidential victory Tuesday.
Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi never embraced the favorite-son presidential candidacies of former Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen Marco Rubio. That put Scott and Bondi at odds with the majority of Florida’s GOP establishment.
But Trump’s victory, which included winning Florida, has vaulted Scott and Bondi to the front of an inner circle of supporters who may benefit in a host of ways from the coming Trump administration.
Within hours of Trump’s early-morning victory speech in New York City, Scott posted a message online, drawing parallels between his initial gubernatorial campaign in 2010 as a businessman and political novice with Trump’s victory.
“I was the outsider,” Scott wrote. “The Republican Party didn’t support me, and they spent a lot of money against me, and I won anyways because Floridians wanted a change. The same was true for Americans this year.”
Scott led the Rebuilding America Now PAC for Trump, raising and spending $20 million on television advertisements in key battleground states that Trump carried, including Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Scott, who has run two hard-fought but successful gubernatorial campaigns based on an economic prosperity message, noted he had long predicted Trump would carry Florida based on a promise to create more jobs.
“It turns out that the elites in Washington have no idea what is going on in this country,” Scott said. “They are completely clueless. They are in complete shock right now. I love it.”
Scott wrote that Trump, who is a part-time Florida resident at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, has “harnessed the passion of Americans for turning Washington upside down and starting over!”
“He will have a lot of work to do. But, that’s exactly what Americans are demanding,” Scott said.
Although speculation has started that Scott could join the Trump administration, Scott said Wednesday afternoon that he plans to remain in his job as Florida’s governor, with a little more than two years left in his final term.
Many believe Scott is positioning himself for a 2018 challenge of U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the only Democrat who holds a statewide office in the nation’s third-largest state.
Brian Ballard, a Tallahassee lobbyist who was Trump’s finance chairman in Florida, said Scott will benefit from Trump’s unexpected win.
“Rick Scott has been a promoter of Donald Trump since the beginning,” he said. “He stepped out and led the super PAC at a time when a lot of people thought Trump didn’t have a chance.
“He deserves great credit. It does validate a lot of what he has said.”
As chairman of an independent super PAC promoting Trump, Scott had to keep his distance from Trump under federal election law, Ballard said.
“Trust me, we would commiserate on things, but he couldn’t get involved because he had such a high level of concern about not violating the super PAC statutes,” Ballard said.
While Scott had to remain in the background, Bondi, who endorsed Trump before Florida’s March 15 presidential primary, was the state’s most visible Trump supporter, appearing with him at key rallies in the final days of the election.
Ballard said Trump and Bondi, who is in the middle of her second and final term as attorney general, are very close.
“Her relationship with Donald Trump, which I have seen up close and personal, is incredible,” Ballard said. “He wanted her at every rally. He wanted her on the plane. He wanted her to be his lucky charm. He has great affection for her.”
Bondi’s support never wavered although she became embroiled in a campaign controversy about a $25,000 donation Trump made to her political committee and whether that influenced her office in 2013 to dismiss allegations that Floridians had been bilked by Trump University. Bondi adamantly denied any impropriety.
“When there were bad days, she always helped even if it was quiet help,” Ballard said.
Ballard said he expects Trump to consider Bondi, a former state prosecutor from Tampa, for a role in his administration.
“My guess is if she wants to play a role in the administration, she can play a significant role, and I hope she does,” he said.
While Scott and Bondi are likely to benefit from Trump’s ascension, the new president may present some challenges for Rubio, who was elected Tuesday to a second term as a U.S. senator.
Trump’s presidency makes him, barring some catastrophe, the odds-on favorite to be the GOP’s nominee in 2020, boxing out any presidential bid by Rubio, who was a viable 2016 candidate until Trump trounced him in the Florida presidential primary.
But in contrast to the animosity between Trump and Bush, Ballard described Rubio’s relationship with Trump as a “positive rivalry,” although Rubio kept his distance from Trump during the general election.
“I think they’re fans of one another,” Ballard said. “I think (Rubio) will be a leader in the Senate. He’s going to have the stature of a former presidential candidate. I think he is going to be important to the Trump administration on foreign policy issues and Latin America.”
The fact that Rubio’s chances for a 2020 presidential bid have diminished may also be a positive, Ballard said.
“He is going to be able to be a senator and make a decision on what he wants to do,” Ballard said. “I think he will be a great senator when he doesn’t have that next office to think about.”
Incoming state Rep. Joe Gruters, a vice chairman of the Florida Republican Party who was elected Tuesday to a House seat representing portions of Sarasota and Manatee counties, is another early supporter of Trump who will have access to the new president.
Gruters, who was the co-chair of Trump’s campaign in Florida, has a relationship with the incoming president that dates back to 2012 when Gruters invited Trump to an event where the real-estate developer was honored by local Republicans after being denied a speaking spot at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
Ballard is likely to benefit from the Trump presidency. Originally a Bush supporter, Ballard has a long history with Trump, representing the Trump Organization in Florida as a lobbyist.
Susie Wiles, Ballard’s lobbying firm partner from Jacksonville, played a critical role in Trump’s victory, leading the successful Florida campaign during its final two months. Wiles was also a key political strategist for Scott, helping him win his first election in 2010.
While saying Trump will be “his own man” and will make mistakes, Ballard said “people are going to love him.”
“He’s going to be much more Ronald Reagan than people really ever dreamed,” Ballard said. “He will be an immensely popular president right away.”
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida