Longtime Century Employee Eddie Hammond Retires
March 21, 2015
A longtime Town of Century employee has retired. Most recently gas department supervisor, Eddie Hammond had 33 years of service. Hammond says he plans to “fish a little” now that he has retired. Town of Century employees held a luncheon in Hammond’s honor Friday to say goodbye. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Two Busted For Meth, Over $10K In Meth, Firearms, Cash Seized
March 21, 2015
A confidential tip led Pensacola Police to the arrests of two people and the seizure of more than $10,000 worth of methamphetamine plus firearms and cash.
William Richard Lucas, 46, was charged trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of drug equipment, possession of a chemical used in manufacturing methamphetamine, and driving with a suspended/revoked license. April Sherri Vasquez, 35, was also charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of drug equipment, possession of a chemical used in manufacturing methamphetamine, and not having a vehicle registration.
The suspects were arrested after Vice and Narcotics officers served a search warrant at their residence. As officers were conducting surveillance on the residence prior to the arrests, they saw Vasquez carry a bin outside and place it in a pickup truck. Inside the container, officers found three plastic bags of crystal methamphetamine with a total weight of approximately 80.5 grams; an unopened box of Sudafed, which is a listed chemical in production of meth; multiple pipes used for smoking meth; syringes; and a plastic bottle containing one ounce of a liquid that contained meth.
Pensacola Police Sgt. Marvin Miller said a five-year-old child was in the truck when Vasquez tried to leave the scene with the bin that contained drugs and drug paraphernalia. Among items found inside the residence were cash in a safe, a digital scale, additional pipes used to smoke meth, small empty plastic bags associated with the sale of meth, six firearms, and ammunition.
Lucas was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $60,750 bond, while remained jailed with bond set at $79,000.
The suspects had been under surveillance for approximately a month, Miller said.
EA’s Brooks Signs With Huntingdon College
March 21, 2015
Escambia Academy senior running back Gordon Brooks, Jr. signed Friday morning with Huntingdon College in Montgomery. Brooks was a member of the 2014 Escambia Academy AISA state champion team, the first in the school’s history. Photos by Ditto Gorme for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Extension Service Hosts Food Plot Meeting
March 21, 2015
The Escambia County Extension Service held a wildlife food plot meeting Friday afternoon at the West Florida Research and Education Center in Jay. The free event showcased 18 different test plots that ranged in material from clover to wheat. Dr. Ann Blount, UF/IFAS Forage breeder, shared her experiences with various forages and the keys to getting the maximum production out of a plot.
Pictured: Dr. Ann Blount suggests using excluder cages when planting wildlife food plots to determine use of forage. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Impact 100 Sets Membership Record, To Give Record Grants
March 20, 2015
IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area announced Thursday that their membership drive has concluded with a record 1,060 members. That will allow the local women’s philanthropy group to award 10 grants of $106,000 each to nonprofits agencies in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties this October.
This will be the 12th year that IMPACT 100 will award grants to local nonprofit agencies. Since the inception of IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area in 2004, the organization has awarded 57 grants to 48 different nonprofit agencies for a totaling over $6.175 million.
“We are thrilled to have such a tremendous response from our community and we can’t wait to see what innovative projects the nonprofit agencies submit this year,”said Cyndi Warren, president of IMPACT 100. “Thanks to every one of our members, the Pensacola Bay Area shines once again as the largest Impact 100 organization in the world.”
Two grants will be awarded in each of the following five focus areas: Arts & Culture; Education; Environment, Recreation & Preservation; Family; and Health & Wellness.
Non-profit organizations interested in applying for a grant are invited to attend this year’s Nonprofit Education Workshop with guest speaker Keisha A. Rivers Shorty of The KARS Group/The KARS Institute. She will present “Crafting Proposals That Work: “Building Relationships Through The Art of The Ask” at First Baptist Church, 500 N. Palafox St. on Thursday, April 16 from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. All non-profit organizations in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties are invited to learn about the grant process, get tips to writing a more successful grant, be inspired to dream big and create a winning project. Letters of Intent to Apply for a grant are due April 30. Grant Applications must be submitted by June 26.
Highway 29 Crash Claims Cantonment Woman’s Life; Two Others Seriously Injured
March 20, 2015
A Highway 29 traffic accident Thursday afternoon just south of International Paper claimed the life of a Cantonment woman.
The victim was identified as 60-year old Penny Nellums. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Nellums was northbound on Highway 29 when she failed to maintain her lane and traveled into the outside lane where she collided with a 2009 GMC Sierra pickup driven by 46-year old Fred Carnley of Molino. As a result of the collision, Nellums’ 1999 Saturn SL 2 traveled across the center grassy median and directly into the path of two other vehicles.
Her Saturn struck a 2014 Lincoln MKX driven by 57-year old Sharon Holland of Georgia and a 2009 Freightliner box truck driven by 67-year old David Nettles of Pensacola.
Nellums was transported to West Florida Hospital where she passed away at the result of her injuries. Holland and her passenger, 65-year old Kathryn Robinson of Georgia, were transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in serious condition. Nettles and Carnley were not injured.
Nellums was a substitute teacher in the Escambia County School District.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
Highland Baptist Hosting Wild Game Dinner, Fish Fry
March 20, 2015
Highland Baptist Church in Molino will host its Wild Game Dinner and Fish Fry this Saturday night.
Guest speaker will be Tim Pernie, a retired Marine and avid outdoosrman.
The menu will include a variety of venison dishes and fried fish, plus sides of baked beans, coleslaw and desserts. Trophy mounts will be on display during the event.
The dinners takes place at 5 p.m., with doors opening at 4:30 p.m., at the Highland Baptist fellowship hall at 6240Highway 95A in Molino. Admission is free, but there is a suggested $5 donation. For more information, call the church office at (850) 587-5174.
Cantonment Man Charged With $17K Tool Burglary
March 20, 2015
A Cantonment man has been charged with burglarizing his former employer the day after he was fired.
Wesley Shane Wallis, 42, was charged with two counts burglary of an unoccupied structure, grand theft and criminal mischief with property damage.
The owner of a cabinet company on Interstate Circle in Escambia County reported that tools worth $17,697.25 were stolen from his business overnight on April 26, 2014, which was the night after Wallis was terminated. Deputies attempted to contact Wallis to question him, but they were unsuccessful until November 13, 2014, at which time Wallis denied any connection to the burglary.
During December 8, 2014, two large plastic bins filled with tools engraved with the cabinet company’s name were found on undeveloped property in Santa Rosa County. Deputies discovered the property belonged to Wallis, and they later found fingerprints belonging to Wallis on tape inside the bins. A warrant for his arrest was issued in February 2015.
Wallace was arrested and booked into the Escambia County Jail this week and released on a $35,000 bond.
No More Admin: Demolition Continues On Former Ernest Ward Middle
March 20, 2015
Demolition is continuing on the old Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill.
By the end of the day Thursday, the entire former middle school administration building — the high school’s former science building — was gone. Demolition on the remainder of the facility, including the main portion of school constructed in 1945, will be completed by the end of next week if the contractor receives the necessary permits as expected. Once the old school is demolished, the area will become mostly parking.
Students moved into their new $20 million state of the art Ernest Ward Middle School, located behind the old school, the first week of February.
Pictured. The administration building at the former Ernest Ward Middle School facility is now gone. The remainder of the old school is also set for demolition. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Senate Bill Looks At Testing Fallout
March 20, 2015
A Senate panel approved a revamped version of testing legislation Thursday, potentially paving the way for an audit of the botched rollout of the state’s new standardized tests and making clear that school districts would be repaid if the state recovers damages from the contractor running the exams.
The new version of the legislation (SB 616) also moves closer to a similar proposal from the House (HB 7069), lawmakers said, and provides additional flexibility for school districts when it comes to evaluating teachers.
The Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee voted 7-1 to approve the measure.
State officials still have not decided whether to pursue sanctions against American Institutes for Research, a non-profit group that signed a six-year, $220 million deal with the state to develop and administer the new Florida Standards Assessments. The first round of testing earlier this month was plagued by slow logins, other technology issues and, ultimately, a suspected cyber-attack.
But an amendment to the Senate bill by Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, would require that money be returned to school districts if the state does recover any.
“In summary, we are requesting that the DOE go after any liquidated damages that the state may be entitled to as a result of this rollout, and then that we would reimburse and funnel those moneys back to the districts to help them offset some of the costs that could have or may occur as a result of administrating any assessments,” Legg said.
Another amendment, offered by Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, calls for an audit if the testing administration “does not comply with the minimum assessment protocols and requirements established by the department.”
AIR has shouldered most of the blame for the troubled introduction of the tests, which came as lawmakers were already looking at legislation to pare back assessments amid parental complaints of over-testing.
Changes to the Senate bill would also give school districts more flexibility on some assessments and in setting standards for different levels of achievement on teachers’ evaluations. The House bill has been received more favorably by education advocates, in part because it gives districts more leeway.
Most of the original provisions of the Senate bill remain. The proposal would cap at 5 percent the share of students’ time that can be spent on testing and scrap a law requiring school districts to come up with end-of-course tests in classes where the state doesn’t administer such exams.
It would also allow schools and school districts to seek waivers from being assigned letter grades due to implementation issues with the state’s new test — if they give up school recognition funding — and would reduce from 50 percent to a third the portion of a teacher’s evaluation tied to student performance.
“It’s fewer, better, flexible, more transparent and more-timely tests, and I think that’s something that we need to move towards for our students,” Legg said.
But it still falls short of what some members of the public and lawmakers want. Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, called for additional changes, including allowing parents in some cases to request their students be given a paper and pencil version of computerized tests. All of Bullard’s amendments were defeated.
Bullard, who was the only member of the committee to vote against the bill Thursday, said it was improving.
“Unfortunately, I still think we have about a Grand Canyon’s-wide chasm between where we need to be and where we are,” he said.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida