Area Schools Receive NFL Golden Footballs To Honor Local Super Bowl Players
February 11, 2016
Three North Escambia area high schools — Tate, Northview and Escambia County (Atmore) — were surprised with golden footballs from the NFL to commemorate Super Bowl 50.
High schools across the country, and around the globe, were given a Wilson Golden Football for every player or head coach who graduated from the school and was on an active Super Bowl roster.
The NFL Foundation will also provide the schools with a new character education curriculum and the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $5,000 to help support and grow their football programs. The NFL Foundation has invested $1 million towards the campaign.
Super Bowl High School Honor Roll is an initiative developed by the NFL to recognize schools and communities that contributed to Super Bowl history and positively impacted the game of football.
The three North Escambia area schoold receiving the golden footballs and their Super Bowl connections were:
- Century/Northview — Anthony Pleasant, Super Bowl XXXVI (2002) and Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004), New England Patriots
- Tate High – Fred Robbins, Super Bowl XLII (2008), New York Giants; Graham Gano, Super Bowl 50 (2016), Carolina Panthers (Gano was not part of the golden ball distribution)
- Escambia County High School (Atmore) — Don McNeal, Super Bowls XVII (1983), XIX (1985), Miami Dolphins; Ron Middleton, Super Bowl XXVI (1992), Washington Redskins
Other Escambia and Santa Rosa County schools with connections to the Super Bowl are list below. Those taking part in Super Bowl 50 were not included in the football distribution (as it was planned before the game):
- Catholic — Josh Sitton, Super Bowl XLV (2011), Green Bay Packers
- Escambia — Emmitt Smith, Super Bowl XXVII (1993), Super Bowl XXVIII (1994), Super Bowl XXX (1996), Dallas Cowboys.
- Washington — Derrick Brooks, Super Bowl XXXVII (2003); Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Horace Jones, Super Bowl XI (1977), Oakland Raiders
- Woodham — Tyronne Green, Super Bowl 50 (2016), Carolina Panthers
- Gulf Breeze — Doug Baldwin, Super Bowl XLVIII (2014), Super Bowl XLIX (2015), Seattle Seahawks; Jason McKie, Super Bowl XLI (2007), Chicago Bears
- Milton — Lawrence Tynes, Super Bowl XLII (2008), New York Giants; Elijah Williams, Super Bowl XXXIII (1999), Atlanta Falcons; Courtland Finnegan, Super Bowl 50 (2016), Carolina Panthers.
Northview High School Principal Gayle Weaver said the school hopes to hold an assembly at a future date with Anthony Pleasant. Defensive end Pleasant, who was born in Century, was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the third round fof the 1990 NFL Draft. He earned his Super Bowl rings in 2002 and 2004 with the New England Patriots. He graduated from Century High School n 1986, before Century and Ernest Ward High School were later consolidated into Northview High School.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
NJROTC Annual Inspection Held (With Photo Gallery)
February 11, 2016
Northview High School’s NJROTC Annual Inspection was held Wednesday at the school, with cadets undergoing face to face scrutiny with a Navy captain.
Captain Mark Truluck, Commanding Officer, Naval Aviation Schools Command, NAS Pensacola, conducted the inspection. The day’s events began with a personnel inspection, drill demonstration and a pass-in-review in the school gym. The captain also conducted a financial record review, briefings, administrative inspections, supply inspections and more.
Northview’s NJROTC is under the command of Senior Naval Science Instructor Captain Charlie Code and Chief Jeffrey Simpkins. The unit is led by Company Commander Cadet LCDR Moriah McGahan, Executive Officer Cadet LT SJohn Reaves and Command Master Chief Cadent CMC Uriel Codrington.
For a photo gallery from the inspection, click here.
The follow cadets earned an Exemplary Personal Appearance award/ribbon at Wednesday’s inspection:
- Kris Baxter
- Haley Black
- Emily Brown
- Leona Courtney
- Crystal Douglas
- Jasmine Elliott
- Victoria Grammer
- Triston Long
- Hannah McGahan
- Wyatt Morris
- Audriene Odom
The following cadets were promoted in rank during the ceremony:
- Rebekah Amerson
- James Ates
- Kris Baxter
- Hayley Black
- Rheanna Black
- Alyssa Borelli
- Jacob Borelli
- Katie Cmehil
- Crystal Douglas
- Lawrence Douglas
- Jasmine Elliott
- Victoria Grammer
- Jacob Harrison
- Mya Henderson
- Maggie Lane
- Triston Long
- Sara McCreary
- Hannah McGahan
- Wyatt Morris
- Audriene Odom
- Orelblis Rodriguez
- Zachary Sheldon
- Kyle Smith
- James White
Pictured: Northview High School’s NJROTC Annual Inspection Wednesday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Polar Run, Walk-A-Thon Set For Saturday At Tate High
February 11, 2016
The “Polar Run” is set for Saturday at Pete Gindl Stadium at Tate High School.
The event is a fun and fit activity for students and supporters, with all participants striving to achieve their personal best distance. Participants will set realistic lap goals based on age and development, while helping to meet a $1,000 donation to the Leukemia/ Lymphoma society by encouraging participants to get sponsors for the distance they believe they will walk or run. Registration will start at 9:30, and the laps will begin at 10:00.
There will be several other activities occurring during the Polar Run. Maverick, from the Ice Flyers, will be there at 10:00; the OneBlood Big Red Bus will be onsite so those interested can give blood to support community needs; those interested in fostering or adopting a new pet can visit with representatives from the Pensacola Humane Society who will be on site to answer questions and introduce some adorable animals in need of a forever home; and free blood pressure checks will be offered.
In addition, a silent auction will start at 10:30 a.m., with winners announced at noon. There will be games, food, music, and activities to enjoy as auction participants await results.
For a registration/sponsorship form, click here.
Escambia Man Gets 20 Years For Shooting At Woman
February 11, 2016
An Escambia County Jury has convicted Kanarriso D. Loveless of aggravated assault with a firearm, battery, and discharge of a firearm in public.
According to prosecutors, Dallas Morrell and her boyfriend, Derrell Avant, got into an argument. Dallas called her mother, Earlene Millender, who then picked her up and went to Derrell’s house to speak to his mother, Tynesha Avant. Earlene (Dallas’ mother) and Tynesha (Derrell’s mother) were having a civil conversation when Kanarriso Loveless threatened to shoot Derrell.
An argument ensued between Loveless and Tynesha and at that time, Loveless hit Tynesha in the head. When Tynesha picked up a brick to defend herself, Kanarriso Loveless pulled out a gun and fired four times at her. Earlene Millender and Karnarriso Loveless then got back in the car and left the scene.
Law enforcement located the car involved at Earlene’s house, which was registered to Kanarriso Loveless. When law enforcement presented a photo lineup to Tynesha, she immediately identified Kanarriso Loveless as the shooter.
Following the verdict, Circuit Judge Scott Duncan sentenced Kanarriso Loveless to a minimum mandatory of 20 years in state prison.
FFA Members Share Ag Message At Molino Park, Byrneville
February 11, 2016
Several students from the Northview High School FFA shared the importance of agriculture and the role agriculture plays in our daily lives with students at Molino Park and Byrneville elementary schools on Wednesday.
They were also able to speak with each classroom about the upcoming Fresh From Florida program planned for March 11 at Northview. The program is designed to make today’s elementary students more aware of the world of agriculture and how it affects their daily lives. One of the primary objectives is to promote agricultural literacy among today’s students.
Northview FFA has won state recognition for this program and is rated one the best chapter programs in the state of Florida. Last year, they reached over 1,000 elementary students.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Election Ballots Are In The Mail
February 11, 2016
The Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office has delivered more than 20,000 mail/absentee ballots to the post office for the Presidential Preference Primary election. Ballots must be received back in the Supervisor of Elections Office by 7 p.m. on Election Day, March 15. Ballots require a first-class postage stamp (49 cents postage) if returned by mail.
The deadline to request a mail/absentee ballot for the Presidential Preference Primary is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9. To request or track your absentee ballot for the Presidential Preference Primary, visit EscambiaVotes.com and click “Vote by Mail”, or contact the Supervisor of Elections Office at (850) 595-3900.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
House, Senate Ready To Approve Budget Plans
February 11, 2016
Lawmakers on both ends of the Capitol worked Wednesday to prepare spending plans for the budget year that begins July 1, with House members squabbling about funding for Planned Parenthood while senators readied a reduction in education property taxes.
Votes on the spending measures, expected Thursday, would clear the way for the annual negotiations between the House and Senate over a final budget, likely to weigh in somewhere around $80 billion.
In the House — frequently the scene of the most heated discussions about the budget — the Republican majority batted away amendments from Democrats that would have changed the basis for a bonus program for teachers and would have authorized the purchase of 153,000 acres of land in the Everglades.
But a major clash broke out over a provision in the budget that would bar any money from flowing to Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides abortion among its health-care services for women. No state revenue goes to Planned Parenthood, but a handful of county health departments have used federal funds to contract with the organization.
Federal funds are not allowed to be used to cover abortions.
Budget-writers remained guarded about their reasoning for the ban on funding for the organization. Despite repeated questions from Democrats about why the language was written into the budget, the chairman of the House’s health funding committee simply repeated that the Legislature has the ability to ban the contracts if it wants.
“This is a matter of legislative authority,” said Health Care Appropriations Chairman Matt Hudson, R-Naples. “We have a choice. … Given the fact that we had never expressly said to fund them, when you see that happening, I think it’s incumbent upon us as a Legislature to say, ‘Hey, no, that’s not what we want to do.’ ”
Democrats countered that the move was a partisan maneuver copied from Congress, which recently fought unsuccessfully to defund Planned Parenthood.
“I constantly hear how much better we are from the majority than Washington,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs. “Apparently, we are no better than them.”
The Senate debate was more measured, and a few tweaks were added.
Sen. Thad Altman, R-Rockledge, proposed a far-reaching change that called for the state to issue bonds to inject $222 million into the Florida Forever land-acquisition program. Altman said the proposal would help the state buy land that will not be available in the future, at least in part because of development pressures.
“There’s no downside to doing this,” Altman said.
But the proposal was scuttled after Republican leaders ruled that it would violate budget guidelines by knocking the spending plan out of balance.
Much of the Senate discussion of the budget involved questions and answers about details of spending on education, health and justice-system programs.
Meanwhile, after weeks of signaling that they would try to counter the natural growth of education property taxes due to increasing real-estate values, Senate leaders prepared to unveil legislation that would use state funding to hold down homeowners’ tax bills.
Those local property taxes, known as the “required local effort,” are at the center of the budgets’ much-touted record level of education funding. But senators have balked at what they call a de facto tax increase, especially given that Gov. Rick Scott has asked for $1 billion in cuts to other levies.
“As I look across the spectrum of tax relief that we’re considering, I can’t think of anything that is broader based and impacts more people currently living in this state than something like a reduction in the required local effort,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon.
The plan is scheduled to be rolled out at a committee meeting Thursday morning.
After the House’s meeting Wednesday, Speaker Steve Crisafulli told reporters that he was open to the idea of including some easing of the required local effort in the tax package, as long as it was done in a way that would ensure\ the refund made it back to property owners.
“My rationale is, unless there’s an impact on the millage or rolling that back someway somehow, then we better be writing checks back to individuals on property taxes, because local governments don’t need to have windfall profits because that money’s not coming to Tallahassee,” said Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Area Residents Encouraged To Welcome VIP Train Next Week
February 10, 2016
A special “inspection train” will ride the rails from New Orleans to Jacksonville next week in advance preparation for the possible return of passenger rail service to cities like Pensacola and Atmore.
And the City of Atmore is doing much more than rolling out the red carpet, asking residents of the Atmore and North Escambia areas to join them in welcoming the train.
The train is set to arrive at 2:31 p.m. on Thursday, February 18 at the Atmore Train Station downtown. They will greeted by music from the Escambia County High School Jazz Band, and the VIP’s will walk through a ceremonial sword arch provided by the Northview High School NJROTC.
The train will leave the passengers behind as it departs at 2:41 p.m., just before speeches from Atmore Mayor Jim Staff, Amtrak Chairman Joe Boardman and Southern Rail Commission Chairman Gregory White. The passengers will then be bused to the Wind Creek Casino for a press conference and a reception, and many will spend the night in the Wind Creek Hotel.
The passengers will then board buses to Pensacola to an 8 a.m. departure on February 19, with stops later that day in Crestview, Chipley and Tallahassee before an arrival that night in Jacksonville.
Jerry Gehman, Atmore’s self-proclaimed biggest train fan and the city’s representative on the Southern Rail Commission, is urging Atmore and North Escambia residents to turn out for the historic event.
“It’s open to the public; it is not a private event,” Gehman said. “And we’d love people to come and welcome the train and build a favorable impression of South Alabama.”
The inspection train will carry elected officials, industry representatives, community leaders and federal stakeholders. The goal of the invitation-only trip is to examine the existing CSX railroad infrastructure and to better understand rail’s economic, cultural and mobility opportunities. It it designed to provide an unparalleled perspective on reintroducing intercity passenger rail along the Gulf Coast.
The SRC recently released a study by Amtrak detailing the range of feasible service options accompanied by an analysis of ridership levels, projected revenues, and associated costs for passenger trains between New Orleans and Orlando. The models in this new study present the range of service options that will support regional economic resilience and projected population growth.
“If we will get train service, this is the first step, and I am excited about that possibility. The beginnings often lead to great ends, and we’d love that to be the success story here,” Gehman said.
Connecting the cities and towns along the Gulf Coast with passenger rail is one of the top priority projects for the Southern Rail Commission. The earliest service is projected to return is about two years from now.
Pictured top and bottom: The Atmore Train Station has been cleaned up and a temporary plywood decked added in advance of an Amtrak inspection train next week. Pictured inset: Jerry Gehman, Atmore’s representative to the Southern Rail Commission, outlined train arrival activities during a Tuesday afternoon press conference. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Feds Help Florida With Zika Tests
February 10, 2016
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sent 950 antibody tests to Florida to help determine whether people have contracted the Zika virus. A public health emergency has been declared in Santa Rosa and six other counties due to the virus.
The 950 came in addition to 475 antibody tests already on hand, giving the state a total of 1,425, according to a statement from Gov. Rick Scott’s office.
Florida has 16 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne virus. Each of the cases is believed to have been travel-related rather than acquired in Florida, state officials say. Miami-Dade County has the largest number of cases, with six.
Zika was detected last year in Brazil and has spread to other countries.
“We appreciate that the CDC sent 950 Zika antibody tests to Florida so we can better test those who have traveled to affected areas and had symptoms of Zika,” Scott said in a prepared statement. “While having these tests readily available is great progress, we are still waiting on the CDC to schedule a conference call with Florida hospital workers to ensure they fully understand the symptoms, treatments and proper precautions for Zika. We will continue to do all we can to ensure our state is prepared for the possible spread of the Zika virus.”
by The News Service of Florida
Highway 4 Railroad Crossing Closed; Dozen More Closing Next Week
February 10, 2016
The railroad crossing on East Highway 4 in Century is closed, and a dozen more crossings in North Escambia will close next week for repairs.
The Highway 4 crossing will be closed today, possibly opening temporarily overnight, and will be closed until work completion on Thursday. CSX is making crossing repairs and replacing railroad ties.
CSX will close numerous other North Escambia a crossing as part of its network-wide crossing maintenance program beginning next week, with work expected to be completed in one week.
CSX engineering crews will be laying new rail ties, resurfacing crossings and repaving them with asphalt. CSX has worked closely with local officials to coordinate the crossing closures to minimize disruption to the community and is communicating directly with residents where there are dead-end roads or no-outlet situations.
Traffic will experience temporary closures to the following road crossings during the operations period:
- Cottage Street
- McCurdy Road
- Hecker Road
- Front Street
- East Pond Street
- Jefferson Avenue
- Salters Lake Road
- Bluff Springs Road
- Courtney Road
- Mystic Springs Road
- East Bogia Road
- Cotton Lake Road
The roads listed above will be temporarily closed at different times on the maintenance schedule, according to CSX. NorthEscambia.com is working with the contractor to provide an updated schedule for crossing closures as soon as possible.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather. Motorists are reminded to travel with care through the work zone and to watch for construction equipment and workers entering and exiting the roadway.
Pictured: The East Highway 4 railroad crossing in Century was closed Tuesday, expected to reopen by Thursday. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
