Youth Livestock Grooming Clinic Saturday At New Molino 4-H Property
March 12, 2015
The new 4-H facility in Molino is ready to hosts its first event.
The Gulf Coast Agriculture and Natural Resources Youth Organization will be holding their annual Grooming Clinic on Saturday from 9 a.m. until lunch at the new 4-H property at 5701 Highway 99 in Molino.
The youth will be instructed on how to feed, groom and show their animals in preparation for the upcoming GCA and NRA Livestock Show.
The 4-H and FFA Youth will receive guidance on swine from Chris George, Eclectic AL; the Cattle Clinic will be run by Spencer Williamson, Brewton AL; and the Goat Clinic will be presented by Lori Kent, Baldwin County. The exhibitors will be able to gather valuable information from each of these experts.
The GCA and NRA Livestock show will bee held Saturday April 18 beginning at 8 a.m. Youth ages 8-18 will exhibit rabbits, poultry, swine and cattle followed by a live auction.
For more information contact GCAandNRA@gmail.com.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Ernest Ward Middle To Hold Registration Night, Dinner
March 12, 2015
A registration night will be held Thursday, March 26 from 4:30 until 6 p.m. at Ernest Ward Middle School.
Students and parents will have the chance to meet teachers, explore course offerings for the next school years and complete the registration card. A catered dinner will be served to go. To receive dinner for one child and one parent on registration night, parents must RSVP by March 13 to Mrs. Murphy at (850) 327-4283 ext. 305, or email wmurphy@escambia.k12.fl.us.
West Florida Gin Upgrading With $725K Baling Press
March 12, 2015
The West Florida Gin is expanding its capabilities with an upgraded press. The gin recently signed an agreement for an Continental Eagle press for $725,000.
The press is used to bale cotton.
“This has been a necessary addition to our gin to keep up with the continued support from our cotton growing community. We are grateful for their support over the years, enabling us to upgrade each year, improving our services as a cotton ginning facility,” said Manager Robert Earl Godwin.
Godwin (pictured second from left) was joined for the signing by (L-R) David Mrozinski, Lav Bajaj and John Kolasky of Bajaj Steel Industries, LLC, manufacturers of the Continental press.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Later Presidential Primary Sails Through House
March 12, 2015
A bill delaying next year’s presidential primary elections in Florida continued its fast-track movement through the Legislature on Wednesday, getting unanimous support from the House.
Lawmakers voted 114-0 to move the state’s primary to the third Tuesday in March, which would be March 15 next year. The bill (HB 7035), which pushes the vote back by two weeks, would allow the Republican Party of Florida to make its primary winner-take-all under the national GOP’s rules.
As a sign of how quickly the legislation is moving, the Senate Rules Committee is set to take up the upper chamber’s version of the bill (SB 7036) on Thursday morning. If that panel signs off, the legislation would be headed to the Senate floor.
The Republican National Committee’s rules for party primaries call for states that vote before March 15 in 2016 to allocate their delegates proportionally. States that wait until that date can award all of their delegates to the winning candidate — a treasure trove in a large state like Florida that could particularly come in handy for former Gov. Jeb Bush or U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, both of whom are considering bids for the White House.
The Republican Party of Florida would ultimately choose whether to go with a winner-take-all system or award delegates proportionally.
Legislative leaders have brushed off suggestions that the move is being made to benefit Bush or Rubio in a potential fight for the GOP nomination, instead casting it as something that would draw the spotlight to Florida, the nation’s largest swing state in general elections.
“I think it’s a bill about Florida being relevant, and that’s really what it comes down to,” said House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island.
Democratic delegates are rewarded proportionally regardless of when a state’s primary is held. Aside from some carping that the idea was originally offered by a Democratic sponsor in 2009 and 2013 — after early primaries led the national parties to take away some of Florida’s delegates — the minority party didn’t argue the changes.
“We didn’t hear any indication from our party in Florida or the DNC (Democratic National Committee) that it would have any impact,” House Minority Leader Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, told reporters.
State Republican Chairman Blaise Ingoglia, a state House member from Spring Hill, has signaled that he would like the state to give all of its delegates to the winning candidate.
Moving the primary back is the opposite direction of where lawmakers have tended to go in Florida. The state previously tried to move up in the order, scrambling efforts by both the Republican and Democratic parties to protect the traditional early votes in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Tate Aggies Remains Undfeated With 4-2 Win Over West Florida
March 12, 2015
Tate 4, West Florida 2 (Varsity – 8 innings)
Tate 10, West Florida 6 (JV)
Tate 8, West Florida 6 (9th)
The Tate High School Aggies beat West Florida in eight innings Wednesday night 4-2. The Aggies remain undefeated at 9-0 overall, 4-0 in the district. Michael Sherrill (2-0) took the win in relief, striking out five and only giving up three hits. Trace Penton went 3-4 with a double, while Hunter Worley was 2-3 with two RBI’s. Brandon Fryman went 2-4.
The Aggies will host Crestview on Friday with the varsity at 7:00, junior varsity at 4:30, It’s a Blackout night, with all students entering the district game for $1 with $1 hot dogs for students and door prizes each inning.
Cantonment’s TaylorMade 14U Wins Battle On The Bay
March 12, 2015
The TaylorMade 14U team from Cantonment won the recent Battle on the Bay tournament in Gulf Beeze. TaylorMade went 5-0 beating Spanish Fort for the championship. The team is currently 15-1 with two tournament wins and a second place tourney finish.
Pictured: Taylormade team members (bottom, L-R) Hunter Mclean , Gavin Coles , Dawson Kuba , Hunter Riggan, Brandon Sprout, Jalen Whitfield, (top, L-R) Head Coach Ralph Story, Jace Dunsford, Trey Lefleur, Mason Land, Hunter Rayburn, Nolan Rigby, Pat Palmer, Mack Hamrick, and Coach Rodney Story. Photo for NorthEscambia.com,, click to enlarge.
11 Dead In Military Helicopter Crash Near Navarre
March 11, 2015
Eleven service members are dead following a military helicopter crash in the Panhandle.
UH-60 Black Hawk from the Army National Guard crashed during a routine training mission on or near a remote area of beach near Navarre. The helicopter had seven Marines and four soldiers aboard. The copter was based at Camp Lejeune and the soldiers were from a National Guard unit based in Hammond, LA.
“Our thoughts & prayers are with them and their families as the search and rescue operation continues,” Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said in a Tweet.
Two National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were participating in a training exercise overnight, Eglin spokesman Andy Bourland said in a news release.
One of the helicopters, with four aircrew members and seven Marines aboard, was involved in an accident near Eglin range site A-17, east of the Navarre Bridge, Bourland said. The helicopter was reported missing at about 8:30 p.m. last night, and a search and rescue team found debris at about 2 a.m. today, he added.
Recovery efforts are underway at the accident site, and sonar has located the wreckage in the water. The second helicopter returned to Eglin, and all Marines and soldiers aboard were accounted for.
Names of the soldiers and Marines are being withheld pending notification of their families, and the accident is under investigation, Bourland said.
More details will be posted as they become available.
Old Ernest Ward Middle Fixtures, Furnishings To Be Donated To Century Prison
March 11, 2015
When students moved into the new Ernest Ward Middle School last month, everything down to desks and chairs was brand new. That left a lot of items in the old buildings, which date back to the 1940’s. The old buildings are slated for demolition, but before they go the Century Correctional Institution wants items that can be put to use at the prison.
The school district has already removed all items from the old buildings that can be repurposed within the school system. Everything that remains is considered surplus property.
Desks, chairs, file cabinets, homemade tables, ceiling tiles, water fountains, sinks, toilets and urinals are just some of long list of items that Century CI is asking the Escambia County School Board to donate to the prison system before demolishing the old EWMS campus.
Prison Warden John Sloan, in a letter to Superintendent Malcolm Thomas, said the donations will allow his facility to better manage its budget while not compromising the services provided.
Century CI already provides thousands of dollars worth of inmate labor and other services at no charge to the Escambia County School system, especially at North Escambia area schools.
The Escambia County School Board is expected to approve the recommended donations to Century Correctional Institution at their next regular meeting on March 17.
Escambia To Hold Special Meeting To Discuss RESTORE
March 11, 2015
The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners will hold a special meeting on Thursday, April 16, at 9 a.m. to discuss issues concerning the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012, also known as the RESTORE Act. The development of Escambia County’s Direct Component Plan will be discussed.
The Special BCC Meeting will be held in Room “A” on the first floor of the Pensacola Bay Center, located at 201 East Gregory Street.
Delegation From The Philippines To Tour ECUA Cantonment Facility
March 11, 2015
An international delegation from the Philippines will visit and tour the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority’s Central Water Reclamation Facility (CWRF) in Cantonment next week.
The group was invited under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program., which focuses on exposing international visitors to a variety of topics in the United States such as waste management practices. Their local visit was arranged by the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council (GCCDC).
“The group is composed of two mayors, the project director, and staff who are looking at the topic of sustainable urban development. One of their objectives is to explore programs that address sanitation and waste management, as well as study sustainable approaches to ensuring a clean water supply to a community, said Matt Rizzo, GCCDC program coordinator.
The CWRF in Cantonment was named a top-three finalist for the 2011 Global Water Reuse Project of the Year by Global Water Intelligence in Berlin, Germany, EU. The facility uses advanced wastewater treatment technology, and achieves zero-discharge through partnerships for industrial reuse of the reclaimed water. The reuse partnerships also reduce demand on the sand-and-gravel Aquifer, the sole source of the area’s drinking water.
Pictured top: The Central Water Reclamation Facility in Cantonment.