Our View: Where Were You That September Morning?
September 11, 2014
September 11, 2001. It’s been 13 years.
Life, at least when that morning began, seemed good. I’ve always been a work at home dad, so I was home with my two girls. The youngest was almost four months old, and the oldest was approaching her fourth birthday. It was a normal morning. The little one was asleep, “fat and happy” as we used to say, after a morning bottle. The oldest was in the living room just a few feet from my office watching PBS Kids on the TV as I worked on a project for a client.
Then this arrived in my inbox:
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 08:52am– World trade center damaged; unconfirmed reports say a plane has
crashed into tower. Details to come.
I got up, walked to the living room and flipped the TV to CNN. They were talking about how a pilot could make such an error, hitting such a large building. They were speculating that it was just a small plane. But then as the TV news helicopters zoomed their cameras in closer, the anchors were beginning to notice what I had already thought….those holes the tower were to big to have been a small plane.
(continues below photo)
I called my wife at work in Atmore. She had seen the breaking news email, and had tried to visit the CNN website to see the story. If you remember trying to use the internet that morning, it was near impossible to get a news website to load; they were all overloaded. She was unable to see the pictures. I was describing what I saw on the TV to her.
I managed to grab a picture from CNN via my web server and then download and email it to her. We were speculating about how it could happen when the second one hit.
I remember saying “wait, hold on, wait…”. I told her what I just watched on the TV. The second plane had hit the other tower. We quickly decided that we were at war as the anchors on TV speculated again that perhaps there was a problem with some navigational system, causing jetliners on a beautiful, clear morning in New York to fly into some of the tallest structures in the world.
Another breaking news email arrived:
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:21am– Second plane crashes into World Trade Center.
She and I began to speculate ourselves that we were at war. What would we do? What should we do? What about the kids? It was not panic, understand, but just that protective momma and daddy instinct, I suppose. Prayer. That was a good idea. Maybe go to the bank and get out a little cash. That seemed like a good idea. How would you prep for a war on American soil? We were not sure.
I continued to relay information about what I was seeing on TV to my wife at work, who, in turn, would relay the information to her coworkers. They had a TV, but no cable service or antenna. They ended up fashioning a homemade antenna to see a fuzzy picture.
Meanwhile, the breaking news emails kept arriving…
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:32am– Sources tell CNN one of two planes that crashed into World Trade
Center was an American Airlines 767.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:42am– President Bush calls plane crashes at World Trade Center a
terrorist act.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:45am– Significant fire at the Pentagon. Details to come.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:46am– White House evactuated. Details to come.
The Pentagon on fire? The White House evacuated? Notice that in CNN’s email they were in such a hurry that they misspelled “evacuated”. One sentence at a time, the situation became more grave.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:55am– CNN confirms a plane hit the Pentagon
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 10:03am– One of World Trade Center towers collapses; fire forces
evacuation of State Department
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 10:30am– Second World Trade Center tower collapses in Manhattan
Over and over, we watched those towers collapse on TV, and we watched our Pentagon burn.
Our almost four year old asked a lot of questions. “Were people hurt? Did they need a Band-aid?” The magnitude of the event was lost on a four year old. Looking back at those first few hours, I think the magnitude of the event was lost on all of us.
Like many Americans, I sat glued to the TV that day, continuing to watch the video of the towers falling. Our almost four year old asked if another building fell down or if it was the same one. It was time to change the channel on the TV.
You might remember that many of the entertainment TV stations ran network news feeds. Others just simply ran screens about the day’s events. There was no USA network, no ESPN, no MTV. But on PBS, we found children’s programming at a time it was not normally on. For a little while, sitting in the living room floor holding my kids, the world stopped turning that September day, as we watched Big Bird and the Cookie Monster.
Country artist Alan Jackson later wrote a song “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?”.
Some of those lyrics:
Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cryDid you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don’t know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left belowBut I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
Where where you when the world stopped turning that September day? Your comments are welcome below.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Bethany Reynolds, click to enlarge.
Two Airlifted To Hospital After Oil Well Incident Near Flomaton
September 10, 2014
Two men are lucky to be alive, according to officials, after falling into two dangerous chemicals at an oil well near Flomaton Wednesday morning.
Both came in contact with xylene and hydrogen sulfide (commonly called H2S gas) at the Eagle Rock oil well on Halls Creek Road off Upper Creek Road, according to Flomaton Fire Chief Steve Stanton. Both chemicals are natural byproducts of the oil drilling process.
The men were transported by private vehicle to the Flomaton Fire Department for treatment. They were airlifted to area hospitals in critical condition. Their names and current conditions have not been released.
The chemicals were contained to the oil well and did not pose a threat to the public.
H2S gas, in high concentrations, can cause immediate collapse and death after a single breath. Excessive exposure to xylene can also also cause coma, respiratory failure and death.
Escambia Man Gets 7 Years For Hwy 29 DUI Crash
September 10, 2014
An Escambia County man has been sentenced to almost seven years in prison for a DUI crash that injured multiple people last year at Highway 29 and Tate School Road.
Curtis Francis Ward, 57, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Terry Terrell to 81.9 months in state prison followed by 98.1 months of probation for child neglect causing great bodily harm. Terrell also sentenced Ward to five years probation to be served consecutively for two counts of DUI with serious bodily injury and one count of child neglect causing great bodily harm.
The charges stemmed from a traffic crash on December 1, 2013, on Highway 29 at Tate School Road. According to the FHP, Ward drove his 2004 Jeep Liberty the wrong way on Highway 29, causing the head-on collission with a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado driven by 42-year Kimberly Hall of Brewton. Her front seat passenger, 42-year old Kenneth Hall of Brewton sustained the worst injuries, receiving multiple broken bones and has required multiple surgeries.
Ward’s two children, ages 7 and 8, were in his vehicle. One child sustained internal injuries requiring surgery.
Ward’s blood was drawn and sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, where it was found to contain a 0.173 blood alcohol content, well over the legal limit.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Local Students Named National Merit Scholarship Program Finalists
September 10, 2014
Fourteen local high school students have been named semifinalists in the 59th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
The students are Hannah E. Phillips of Tate High School; Jett P Crowdis, Claire M. Escobedo, Olivia Y. Liseth, Shayli A. Patel, Nadia H. Razek, Laurel N. Rush, Lauren E. Shumpert and Caroline E. Sullivan of Pensacola High School; Maria T. Gund, Troy Stringfellow and Case W. Wagner from Pensacola Catholic High School; Jon H. Adler of Trinitas Christian School; and Ryan A. Garmeson of T.R. Miller High School in Brewton.
About 16,000 national semifinalists were announced Wednesday. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth about $33 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
To become a finalist, the semifinalist and their high school must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record through-out high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
Former Escambia Sheriff’s Deputy Trainee Charged With Sexual Assault
September 10, 2014
A former Escambia County deputy trainee was arrested Tuesday for sexual assault.
Chris Loring Majors, 44, was charged with two counts of sexual assault and destruction of evidence. His bond was set at $100,000.
Major was terminated in July after a woman reported that he committed a non-consensual sex act with her while on a service call. Majors reportedly admitted to the act while on duty, but claimed it was consensual.
Majors was hired at the Escambia County Jail in 2008. Shortly after the transfer of the jail from the Sheriff’s Office to the Escambia County Commission last October, Majors applied to become a law enforcement officer with the ECSO. He had just completed the department’s field training program. Prior to that, he would have answered calls only with a senior officer, the Sheriff’s Office said.
VT Aerospace Contract Signed, 300 Jobs Expected
September 10, 2014
The City of Pensacola has inked a lease with VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering, Inc. (VT MAE), which will establish a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility at Pensacola International Airport, creating at least 300 jobs.
The signing ceremony, which took place immediately following a special City Council meeting where the lease was approved, was also attended by representatives from Escambia County and VT MAE.
“We are so excited to bring VT MAE, one of the world’s leading MRO companies, to Pensacola International Airport,” said Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward. “By working with VT MAE, we will be able to create good, high-paying jobs and cement Pensacola’s position as a true contender for aviation and aerospace industry investment. This partnership aligns well with our regional goals to create a robust aerospace cluster and will help create greater business and job opportunities for the citizens of Pensacola and Escambia County.”
Tuesday’s announcement concludes the nearly two-year campaign by Hayward and economic development partners, including Escambia County and the Greater Pensacola Chamber, to attract VT MAE, a subsidiary of Singapore-based ST Engineering, to Pensacola. Under the terms of the lease, the City of Pensacola will construct an aircraft hangar complex on 18.66 acres at Pensacola International Airport and lease the facilities to VT MAE for a 30-year term. The hangar will be able to accommodate two wide-body aircraft, and is expected to be ready for operations in mid-2016.
Pictured top: Pensacola Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Economic Development Scott Luth presents the VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering lease to the Pensacola City Council Tuesday. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Regulators Take Another Shot At Medical Pot Rule
September 10, 2014
State regulators have hurriedly released a revamped framework for Florida’s new medical-marijuana industry, making minor changes after a legislative panel shredded an earlier attempt.
The Department of Health’s Office of Compassionate Use on Tuesday published the revised rule governing everything from stems and seeds to serving the substance to patients. The latest version of the rule includes some tweaks dealing with who can own the five “dispensing organizations” the state will eventually license.
The organizations will grow, process and distribute products — usually delivered in paste or oil form — derived from strains of pot that purportedly do not get users high but are believed to relieve life-threatening seizures in children with rare forms of epilepsy.
A law passed this spring requires each applicant to have a valid registration from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to cultivate more than 400,000 plants, be operated by a nurseryman as defined by state law and have operated as a registered nursery in the state for at least 30 continuous years. At least 60 nurseries meet the criteria.
A preliminary rule crafted by health regulators would have allowed nurseries to have just 25 percent ownership in the entities applying for a license. That option drew a rebuke from the Legislature’s Joint Administrative Procedures Committee, which helps oversee state regulations. The original proposal also neglected to specifically address whether the nursery would be required to have a continued role in running the pot operation.
Under Tuesday’s revised proposal, a nurseryman would have to “serve as the operator,” alleviating some concerns that growers would have little or nothing to do with the grow operation despite lawmakers’ intention that the nascent pot business be controlled by companies with a long agricultural history in Florida. The proposal would require a nursery to have at least 25 percent ownership of the organization that gets a license, but also would offer another alternative that would allow “100 percent of the owners of a nursery” to fulfill that 25 percent requirement.
That ownership change appears aimed at appeasing some nursery owners who expressed concerns about financing the marijuana operations. Because pot is still illegal under federal law, nearly all banks are refusing to lend money to marijuana-related businesses. Converting other areas of operations into cash-only business could pose major problems for growers interested in participating in the medical marijuana start-ups, lawyers for Costa Farms told the Department of Health at a day-long public hearing on Friday.
“Today’s publication of a changed rule demonstrates that our focus has been to get this product to the market as soon as possible with an emphasis on patient safety. We want to avoid unnecessary delays. We want to help children with refractory epilepsy and patients with advanced cancer as quickly and safely as possible,” Florida Surgeon General and Secretary of Health John Armstrong said in a statement after the rule was published.
The proposed rule addresses some of the other questions posed last week by the legislative committee, which challenged the health department’s authority regarding nearly every aspect of the comprehensive rule, and considerations voiced by growers and others at Friday’s hearing.
After one nursery complained, the department changed the boundaries of one of the five regions to allow Martin County to be moved from the Central Florida region, which includes the Orlando area, into the Southeast region, which ranges along the Atlantic coast to Monroe County.
But overall the agency appears to have stuck to its guns and has receded little from its original blueprint. The most contentious aspect of the plan deals with the use of a lottery system to pick licensees in areas where more than one entity applies. Lawyers have threatened to sue over the use of the lottery, but health officials maintain that the process will minimize drawn-out litigation over contract awards that could delay getting the medical marijuana to patients.
The agency intends to certify the rule in 21 days and file it with the Department of State. The rule will then become effective 20 days after filing.
Seeking in part to offset a constitutional amendment that would legalize “traditional” medical marijuana going before voters in November, lawmakers this spring legalized strains of marijuana low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and high in cannabadiol, or CBD. The newly created Office of Compassionate Use within the Department of Health has until Jan. 1 to come up with a regulatory framework for the new industry.
Supporters of the low-THC, high-CBD strains of cannabis believe the substance can eliminate or dramatically reduce life-threatening seizures in children with severe forms of epilepsy. Under the new law, patients with other spasm-causing diseases or cancer would also be eligible for the strains of marijuana if their doctors order it, and if their doctors say they have exhausted all other treatments.
by The News Service of Florida
Northview Chiefs Name Players Of The Week
September 10, 2014
The Northview Chiefs have named players of the week from last Friday night’s win over Marianna. They are:
OFFENSE
- Keondrae Lett – 19 carries, 126 yards, 1 TD; 2 rec., 10 yards
- Cameron Newsome — 13 carries, 119 yards, 1 TD
DEFENSE
- Nick Lambert — 9 tackles, 2 TD saving/game winning tackles
- Jaylen Parker — 10 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF
SPECIAL TEAMS
- Toney Harrison — 1 return, 11 yards; 1 tackle on KO
DOMINATOR
- Cameron Newsome – Hit on Marianna sideline
Escambia 4-H Horse Club Lending A Hand To The Leaning Post Ranch
September 10, 2014
The Escambia County 4-H Horse Club is working this month to assist the Leaning Post Ranch in Molino with needed supplies while learning about the services the ranch offers to the community. The Leaning Post Ranch’s mission is provide equine assisted activities and therapeutic riding to individuals with disabilities and at-risk youth in Northwest Florida –offering health, hope, and healing through horses. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Rattlesnake Bite Victim Back Home, Tells Her Story
September 9, 2014
A Walnut Hill woman returned home Monday afternoon, two days after being bitten by a pygmy rattlesnake.
Saturday morning, Sandy Marsh was outside her home on Highway 97A. She was picking weeds that were popping through the rocks in her well manicured lawn. She reached under a bench to pull a small weed, and that’s when she was bitten on a finger by the poisonous snake.
“The bite was really like a little prick,” she said, sitting back on the bench Monday afternoon. “But I knew what had happened when I saw the snake. My first thought was really my dogs. So I shooed the dogs away and grabbed a shovel and killed the snake. I wanted to protect the dogs, and I knew that would want to know what kind of snake it was for the anti-venom.”
Marsh said she remained calm — a key point she said — and called 911. She told the 911 operator that she was bitten by a pygmy rattler and she was 40 miles from Pensacola.
“The person at 911 told me to put my arm down. It’s good that she said that, because I always thought you were suppose to put your arm up. She (the 911 dispatcher) was really great, telling me that you must keep it below the heart.”
Within moments of her 911 call, the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Atmore Ambulance and LifeFlight were on their way to her remote home.
In the meantime, Marsh tried unsuccessfully to call her husband; he was in an area with no cellular service. “He was up to his neck in weeds at the hunting camp in Alabama, and I was the one here in the yard being bitten by a snake. That was ironic.”
As paramedics loaded her into LifeFlight, Marsh was busy snapping cell phone photos of the helicopter and the view out the windows.
“I really did not realize the seriousness of it all until later, about half an hour later, when my arm began to swell.” Lines on her arm marked the progression of the swelling from the snake venom.
“When the swelling got to here,” she said, pointing at a spot nearing her elbow, “they decided to give me the antivenom. That was rough, much rougher than the snake bite itself. I was so nauseous and pouring sweat.” She ended up with four doses of the antivenom.
Marsh said she learned several important things during her experience –”Keep you cell phone charged. I was trying to take pictures and call my husband but my battery was dying.” Also, she said, wear gloves when working outside.
There’s still no word of any possible lasting effects from the snakebite. For now, Marsh said she’s glad to be recovered enough to return home from intensive care.
“Thank God I had plenty of people praying for me,” she said. “I keep a positive attitude because of them, and I think that really helped save my life.”
Pictured top: Pygmy rattlesnake bite victim Sandy Marsh returned home to Walnut Hill Monday. Pictured top inset: Marsh shows how she was bitten as she pulled a weed from under a bench. Pictured middle inset: Lines on Marsh’s arm Monday continued to show the progression of swelling on her arm. Pictured bottom inset: The pygmy rattlesnake the bit Marsh was just a few inches long. Pictured below: Marsh’s swollen hand and the snake in a small cup shortly after she arrived at Baptist Hospital via LifeFlight. Pictured bottom: Marsh was airlifted from her Walnut Hill home. NorthEScambia.com and courtesy photos, click to enlarge.
