Top Five Finalists Named For Escambia Teacher Of The Year
January 28, 2015
The top five finalists for Escambia County Teacher of the Year have been named.
Anna Barry (pictured) of Northview High School is a top five finalist, as are Krystal Gibson of Beulah Elementary School, Andrew Rehwinkle of Pensacola High School, Sheila Hall of N.B. Cook Elementary and Doreen Wells of Ensley Elementary School.
The Escambia County Teacher of the Year will be announced February 26 at the Golden Apple Awards Dinner, sponsored by the Escambia County Public Schools Foundation.
Woman Gets 15 Years For Trying To Kill Ex
January 28, 2015
Surina Seal was sentenced by Circuit Judge Terry D. Terrell to 15 years in state prison followed by 15 years of probation for two counts of first degree premeditated attempt murder, aggravated battery with great bodily harm, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, leaving the scene of an accident with injuries and two countys of child neglect. Seal previously pleaded no contest to the charges.
On April 26, 2014, Seal was driving and saw her ex-husband riding a motorcycle with his new girlfriend. Seal chased down the two victims and hit them on the motorcycle with her car. The motorcycle broke into several pieces and the two victims were thrown from the motorcycle. Seal then got out of her car and attacked both victims before witnesses pulled her off.
She then fled the scene in her car. Seal’s two minor children were in the vehicle at the time of the incident. Seal’s ex-husband had six broken bones and was in the hospital for three months, while the female victim sustained minor injuries.
Cyberthon Presents Cybersecurity Challenges For High School Students
January 28, 2015
“You got pwnd. We own you.” For most people working with information technology, seeing this message on a computer screen would cause panic. However, not for Diego Zepeda, he knew just what to do. He knew he needed to immediately access backup information and when that didn’t work, he quickly called on his team for ideas.
“Brandon Thurston came up with the idea that worked and in seconds, we posted a message that our web site would be down for a maintenance period,” said Zepeda. “As soon as that message was up, we were able to access our backup information. From there, we were able to identify the two corrupted folders. We isolated those folders and had everything else back up and running.”
Zepeda explained this phase of Cyberthon 2015, a competition that was locally created to test the internet security skills of two teams of local high school students, as calmly as he might give someone directions to the nearest video game store. Zepeda is a junior at Pine Forest High School and a member of their new Cybersecurity Academy. Thurston is a senior at Pine Forest, also in his first year in the academy.
“Cyber warfare is about a tiny, little attacker trying to take control of the web assets of a monster-sized defender,” explained Doug Underhill, Escambia County Commissioner, District 2, and a key organizer behind the creation of Cyberthon. “The attacker, or hacker, wants to take control and force the larger defender to have to react to his every move. By creating a maintenance window, the defender maintains control and then has time to detect the source of the attack, defend against the attack, and restore their web services to their consumers.”
“By constantly refreshing their team’s webpage and email, Zepeda showed us that he has already figured out the importance of continuous monitoring and found a human solution,” explained Underhill. “Their quick thinking gave Blue Team 1 their best win of the day.”
The Blue teams’ participants in Cyberthon came from Pine Forest High School, Pace High School, Spanish Fort High School and Catholic High School. The members of the Red Team (aka The Bad Guys) were volunteers from a variety of IT companies and government agencies. Additional volunteers acted as mentors for the members of the Blue Teams. Cyberthon was sponsored by the local chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. (AFSEA) and it was hosted by the Naval Flight Academy, located aboard NAS Pensacola, giving the competitors a chance to utilized the Flight Academy’s Joint Information Bureaus, rooms filled with state of the art computers, and smart technology.
The Red Team’s role was to launch attacks known to IT security training specialists as MSELs, pronounced “measles”, which are activities on a Master Scenario Event List. MSELs incorporate various METs– Mission Essential Tasks. The first MSEL was a missing folder. The students said that was easy to recover and only took them a few minutes to locate and restore. With each round and each new MSEL, it got harder. Their web sites crashed, but they got them back up. They were also attacked by a DDoS – a Distributed Denial of Service (pronounced dee-doss), which is an effort to overload a site until it crashes.
“We used Splunk, an application that shows everything happening in your network. It let us see the attack source and block it,” Alec Le, a Pine Forest High School, 9th grader, explained casually, like this is something he does every day.
These attacks led up to the event described above when they were “pwnd” (pronounced powned), which meant their site had been taken over.
Both teams figured out how to regain their control, but Team 1’s extra quick thinking impressed the Red Team as well as their instructor, Angela Irby.
“They all did an awesome job this weekend; they have been learning these skills in concept and theory. Cyberthon let them tie it all together like fitting together the pieces of a puzzle. I also think they are having a lot more fun than they imagined,” said Irby. “Another positive aspect of Cyberthon is they are getting to meet people in the industry, both civilian and military, and hear some amazing speakers.”
“Cybercrime is an exponentially growing threat,” FBI Special Agent John Windness, told the students. He explained the variety of cybercrimes and that it isn’t like what you see in the movies with a guy sitting alone on his computer in a basement somewhere attacking the world’s computers. “Today, hackers are incredibly professionally run organizations.”
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan, a sponsor of the event, also spoke to the students explaining that he was honored to assist in making this event happen. He also made a point of telling the students that the money his office donated to help fund the weekend-long competition came from drug seized money. “Those drug dealers, whose money we are spending here today, are not sitting here today; they are in jail.”
Morgan also pointed out the volunteers in the room, people gathered there to coordinate the competition and mentor the students as they worked through the cyber attacks. “These mentors care enough about all of you to give you their time.”
Underhill told the students, “I joined the Navy in 1991 and I worked in counter-intelligence. But cybersecurity is more exciting for me because it has a real impact on protecting my own family. I can’t imagine a more rewarding career path.”
Zepeda sat with his friends Angelo Mayorga (PFHS, 9th grade) and Alec Le (PFHS, 9th grade) comparing notes on how they handled the various attacks. They all knew that after the“pwnd” event that those two corrupted folders were filled safely away, but still there.
“Tonight I plan to try to find a way to deal with them next time,” said Zapeda.
“I used to think that one person could handle defending a computer system, “ explained Mayorga, “Now I see that it takes a team.”
They also talked about what they are learning and how it is affecting their perspective on how to handle their personal computer equipment. Le said, “I was always careful, but now I will be even more careful.”
“I have never worried about it,” said Mayorga.” “I downloaded lots of stuff.”
“Man, you have got to be more careful,” urged his cybersecurity academy classmates. They should know.
All of the high school students who participated in the 2015 Cyberthon received certificates and many offers from mentors to be there to help later with recommendations for jobs or on college applications. They also received limited edition Cyberthon Challenge coins.
“These coins are a military tradition, given by commanding officers to commemorate an exceptional performance,” Underhill explained to the students. “You have joined a pantheon of exceptional people this weekend. We all expect you to continue to perform at an exceptional level in school, and we challenge you to stay involved in science, technology ,engineering or math (STEM) classes and we hope you will persue a career path in a STEM field.”
The 2015 Cyberthon security warriors stood in front of a room filled with local leaders, business owners, military service people, school district personnel and IT specialists who had served as their mentors and their attackers who all joined together to give the kids a standing ovation. That was the only time, all weekend, that they looked the least bit frazzled.
by Kim Stefansson for NorthEscambia.com
Photos by Ed Barker, NETC Public Affairs, for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Senate Bill Targets Florida Prison Safety
January 28, 2015
With Florida’s corrections system under scrutiny because of inmate deaths and alleged misconduct, a Senate committee next week will take up a wide-ranging bill aimed at improving prison safety and addressing issues such as the use of force by guards.
The 29-page bill is slated to go Monday to the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, which heard testimony last week from newly appointed Corrections Secretary Julie Jones. During that testimony, Jones pointed to problems including understaffed prisons and a lack of training for guards who deal with mentally ill inmates.
One of the prominent themes of the bill (SPB 7020) is trying to increase the focus on safety in prisons. Current law emphasizes the role of the Department of Corrections in maintaining the security of prisons, but the bill would put into law a similar focus on ensuring the safety of employees and prisoners.
In part, it would require periodic inspections and audits to look for safety problems in prisons. As an example, audits of prison buildings would be required to “include the identification of blind spots or areas where staff or inmates may be isolated and the deployment of video monitoring systems and other monitoring technologies in such areas.”
A series of events during the past year has led to investigations and widespread questions about the prison system. Much of that scrutiny started after the Miami Herald reported last summer about the death of mentally ill inmate Darren Rainey at Dade Correctional Institution. Rainey died after guards allegedly forced him to shower in scalding water as punishment.
The scrutiny also has included probes of inmate deaths by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and a whistleblower lawsuit by a group of corrections investigators.
The Senate bill would try to address several of the key issues that have emerged. For instance, when correctional officers are being taught about the use of force, they would be required to receive specialized training “for effectively managing in non-forceful ways mentally ill inmates who may exhibit erratic behavior.”
Also, guards who have been written up twice for incidents involving inappropriate use of force would not be able to work closely with inmates who are mentally ill or on psychotropic medications.
The bill also would address a frequently cited issue about prison staff being afraid of retribution from co-workers if they report wrongdoing.
One part of the bill would allow staff members to make anonymous and confidential reports to the Department of Corrections’ inspector general if they witness abuse or neglect of inmates but fear retribution.
In addition, the bill would require the department to establish a policy to protect inmates and employees from retaliation for reporting physical or sexual abuse or for cooperating with investigations.
The policy, in part, would have to include “multiple protection measures, such as housing changes or transfers for inmate victims or abusers, removal of alleged abusive employees or alleged abusive inmates from contact with victims, and services for employees who fear retaliation for reporting abuse or for cooperating with investigations.”
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Century Offers Cash Prize For New Slogan
January 28, 2015
The Town of Century is looking for a new slogan, and they are a holding a contest with a small cash prize to find one.
The town is accepting new slogan ideas through February 13, with the town council to consider a winner at their regular meeting on February 16. Century Mayor Freddie McCall is personally contributing a $50 prize for the winner.
The town council has previously voted to eventually remove “Welcome to Century” signs that welcome visitors into Century from the north and south on Highway 29. The signs, dedicated two years ago, were built by Century Correctional Institution and feature a giant saw blade with the town’s most recent slogan “The Dawn of a New Century.”
“Our image needs to change,” Century Mayor Freddie McCall said recently, noting that the town’s sawmill has been closed for over 50 years. “We are not a sawmill town anymore.” He said the signs would be donated to the local Alger Sullivan Historical Society for use in their museum.
To submit a slogan idea for the Town of Century, click here for an entry form.
The change is coming after a recommendation from Brice Harris of the University of West Florida’s Haas Center, author of the town’s new strategic plan.
NorthEscambia.com photos.
Tate High Chaparrals To Present Winter Guard Show Preview Thursday
January 28, 2015
The Tate High School Chaparrals will hold a winter guard friends and family “True Colors” show preview Thursday at 8 p.m. in the school’s new gym. Their winter guard season begins Saturday in Fairhope. Chaparrals members are Katie Dupre, Celina Dyess, Breanna Langley, Megan Leonard, Katy Luebke, Jo Jo O’Steen, Michaela Overbey, Madison Philley, Brenn Repine, Kelsey Strength, Virginia Vaughn and Savannah VonStein.
Pictured: The Tate High School Chaparrals ready for winter guard competition. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
New Coast Guard Display Opens At Naval Aviation Museum
January 28, 2015
The Coast Guard Aviation display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola was refreshed and rededicated with a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday. The Coast Guard aviation section has new displays of older Coast Guard aircraft spanning the nearly 100 years of Coast Guard aviation.
Pictured top: Rear Adm. Jake Korn, commander, 7th Coast Guard District (center), cutters the ribbon for the refreshed Coast Guard Aviation display at the National Aviation Museum Tuesday. Pictured inset: Korn stands with Jeff Drew, one of the last living Coast Guard World War II veterans. Vice Commandant John Currier, retired (left), Frank Leamy, Jr., Capt. George Krietemeyer, retired and Rear Adm. Jake Korn stand in from of a restored Douglas RD Dolphin fixed-wing aircraft after a dedication ceremony of the Coast Guard aviation section at the National Naval Aviation Museum. Photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Write A Letter For An Absolutely Incredible Kid
January 28, 2015
Celebrating its 18th anniversary this year, Camp Fire’s Absolutely Incredible Kid Day will honor our nation’s youth by asking adults to write simple letters of encouragement and inspiration to the incredible kids in their lives and community. It is a simple, meaningful way to let youth know how much they are appreciated. Lives are changed by this simple act of love and kindness.
“We know about Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Women’s History Month. We celebrate adults on special days, but why not youth?” said La-Vonne Haven, executive director of Camp Fire Gulf Wind Inc. “We ask every adult to join us. Take five minutes and write a letter to a child, tell them they matter, that they always will. If a youth hears it enough and believes it, he or she will be more prepared to face the complicated issues confronting them every day.”
Absolutely Incredible Kid Day was developed by Camp Fire, a national youth organization and will be celebrated across America. Absolutely Incredible Kid Day is celebrated annually on the third Thursday in March. This year, Camp Fire Gulf Wind, will celebrate on Thursday, March 19, 2015.
“The students were so excited to receive the special letters and shared them with friends,” said Coach Julie Madison-Tompkins, teacher at Warrington Middle School. “It meant so much to see the smiles on the student’s faces.”
Anyone can participate—parents, siblings, grandparents, teachers, coaches, executives, etc… The goal is for every kid in America to receive a letter. Just imagine the impact of encouraging letters in lunch boxes, left on pillows, tucked into backpacks and placed on desks.
To participate, visit http://www.campfirekids.com/ to get the Absolutely Incredible Kid Day letterhead and wonderful ideas to write an encouraging letter to a child, or call (850) 476-1760 to have the letterhead mailed to you. Letters received by March 12, 2015, will be delivered to K-6th grade students in our local schools.
Bye Bye $2; Local Gas Prices On The Increase
January 28, 2015
Gas prices were up on Tuesday in the NorthEscambia.com, leaving behind the sub-$2 mark seen last week. Pictured: Gas was $2.07 at this Cantonment gas station Tuesday morning. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Study To Determine If A Hotel Or Motel Would Be Feasible In Century
January 27, 2015
Would it be economically feasible to open a hotel or motel in Century? Town leaders want to find out.
The town’s recently developed economic development plan from the University of West Florida’s Haas Center identified a lodging business might be need for Century to capitalize on visitors that pass through the town on a daily basis.
The Town Council voted Monday night to spend $12,500 in recently awarded state economic development grant funds to conduct a feasibility study for a lodging business. If the feasibility study determines a hotel or motel in Century would be a good idea, the town hopes to use the study to lure a lodging business to town.
For travelers on a north-south route along I-65 to Pensacola along Highway 29 through Century, the nearest hotels or motels are near I-10 in Pensacola an in Evergreen, AL.
Pictured: Gas stations on Highway 29 already capitalize on a steady stream of traffic through Century. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.