Escambia Schools Need Subs
March 4, 2013
The Escambia County School District is in need of substitute teachers.
Superintendent Malcolm Thomas recently established a Substitute Teacher Committee Task Force to seek solutions for meeting the constant need for substitute teachers within the Escambia County school system. The Task Force gathered information and researched strategies to improve the district’s ability to have substitutes available when they are needed.
The following recommendations were implemented as of last Friday:
- Limit workshops requiring substitute teachers to Tuesday through Thursday. A maximum of 50 workshop participants district-wide will be allowed to ensure classroom coverage. Once the substitute teacher pool adds additional members to increase the fill rate, the number of participants permitted to attend workshops will increase as well.
- Assist principals and secretaries with setting up preferred substitutes for a school and ensure individual teachers understand how to set up preferred substitutes that will expedite the job fill rate at that school and/or classroom.
- Ensure all schools and teachers are following the set AESOP protocol and not securing substitutes from outside the system.
- Permit individuals with AA degrees into the substitute pool for all schools for day to day substitute positions.
- Provide classroom management training by Human Resources for AA degreed substitutes.
- Work with principals, ESE and ESOL departments as well as ESE and ESOL teachers to schedule ESE and ESOL paper days on low request substitute teacher days.
- Strengthen plans with principals and teachers to schedule parent conference days on low request substitute teacher days.
- Support principals to ensure the contract is followed with regard to the use of personal leave on high substitute teacher request days.
For more information, contact Bill Threadgill at (850) 429-2914.
Perry Byars Named Northview High Teacher Of The Year
March 4, 2013
Perry Byars has been named Teacher of the Year at Northview High School. Byars has been teaching for 25 years and currently teaches Agriscience. While attending the University of Florida,Byars earned both his Bachelors degree and Masters degree in Agriculture. He also earned an Associates degree from Lake City Community College. He is the sponsor of the National FFA Organization at Northview. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Carver Community Center Receives ‘Power Of Service’ Award
March 4, 2013
Gulf Power Company recognized four community service organizations at its second annual “Power of Service” awards ceremony recently. The company started the “Power of Service” awards in 2012 as a way to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy of service and recognizes organizations that are dedicated to improving the lives of others.
The organizations recognized included Carver Community Center Association, Inc. in Century, Sickle Cell Disease Association of Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties, A Will & Way, Inc., and Community Enterprise Investments, Inc. Each organization was given a grant from Gulf Power and an inscribed award.
The Carver Community Center Association has been a big part of the Century community for many years. The center was started by a group of Senior Citizens in 1992, spearheaded by Leola Robinson, the mother of Marilyn Robinson, who now serves as the director. The center provides a safe place for children to go after school and during the summer and offers year-round tutoring and other programs.
The Carver Community Center on Jefferson Avenue provides food for 70 to 100 children Monday through Thursday and serves as a Satellite office for Catholic Charities, United
Ministries and Community Action.
“Gulf Power is proud to recognize these organizations and the good work they do to strengthen our communities,” said Sandy Sims, Gulf Power’s manager of Community Development. “Dr. King lived a life of service to others and these organizations have that same commitment.”
Pictured: Carver Community Center’s Henry Hawkins (center) accepts the Power of Service award from Gulf Power CEO and President Stan Connally (left) and Gulf Power District Manager Gary Sammons. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
It’s National Invasive Species Awareness Week
March 4, 2013
Escambia County Extension and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (UF/IFAS) are drawing attention to invasive species during National Invasive Species Awareness Week, March 2 to March 8. Invasive species are non-native or exotic species that do not naturally occur in an area and cause economic, environmental harm or harm to human health.
Invasive exotic plants and animals cause many challenges for natural resource managers of timber, wildlife and recreational uses. Invasive species can displace native plants and wildlife affecting fire regimes, water flow and biodiversity. Private and public lands are in need of frequent treatment to eradicate these invasive species. Invasive species do not know boundaries and as a result public and private lands are affected as well as natural and man-made water bodies and associated watersheds.
For more information on prevention and containment of invasive species contact Escambia County Extension at (850) 475-5230 or click here.
Pictured: Cogongrass, considered one of the 10 worst weeks in the world, occurs throughout Florida, displacing native species. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Paving Projects Completed
March 4, 2013
Work to resurface several Century streets has wrapped up.
Roads, Inc., under a contract rate established with Escambia County, paved the following:
- Maple Street, $10,090.05
- Parking at Nadine McCaw Park, $4,356.55
- Front Street, $25,022.55
- Jefferson Avenue, $41,764.45
- Salters Lake Road, $17,522.30
- Ivy Street (near Hwy 29), $2,000
Prior to this year, Century completed paving projects totaling about $308,000 on Freedom Road, Old Flomaton Road, Hecker Road, Elm Street, Hilltop Road, West Cottage Street, Academy Street, Pleasant Hill Road, Ramar Street, Bonwell Lane, Gifford Lane, Barnwell Lane, Field Road and Sellars Road.
The projects began with a priority list created by the Century Town Council back in 2010.
Pictured top: The recently resurface Front Street as seen from the Pinewood Avenue intersection in Century. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Sunday Smoke Plume Visible For Miles
March 4, 2013
A large smoke plume was visible for miles Sunday afternoon in the North Escambia area. According the Florida Forest Service, the smoke was from a 205-acre controlled burn on Highway 168 near Wiggins Lane, about two miles northeast of Northview High School in Bratt. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Residents Take Part In Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee
March 4, 2013
Numerous Escambia County residents joined Vice President Joe Biden and a host of U.S. House and Senate members in the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee. The annual event commemorating the beating of voting rights marchers on “Bloody Sunday” in 1965 during which the marchers were turned around as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge on their march from Selma to Montgomery. Speakers at the Martin and Coretta King Unity Brunch at Wallace Community College prior to the bridge crossing included Eddie Tullis, former chief of the Poarch Creek Indians. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Two ‘Heroes’ Save Woman That Flipped Vehicle Into Creek
March 3, 2013
Two men are being called heroes for pulling a young woman out of a creek after she flipped her vehicle off a bridge into the cold waters below.
Something out of the ordinary caught the eye of Danny Wilson and his son Chris Wilson as they cr0ssed a bridge over Brushy Creek Saturday afternoon — clothes were scattered in the trees. They stopped and discovered a vehicle had flipped off the bridge embankment, sailed through a tree and crashed into the opposite creek bank below the bridge on Deere Creek Road west of Atmore and just north of the Florida line.
They discovered 23-year old Kayla Stewart of Rabun, Ala., mostly submerged in the creek next to her vehicle. The Wilsons climbed down through the creek embankment through thick brush and pulled Stewart from the water.
“If they hadn’t got her out of the water when they did, she would probably be a lot worse off or dead,” Atmore Chief Gerry McGhee. “They saved her life.”
It was not immediately clear if Stewart was ejected from her vehicle, or if she crawled out following the crash.
She was transported in critical condition by Atmore Ambulance to the Walnut Hill Fire Station and then airlifted by LifeFlight to a Pensacola hospital. Her injuries were not believed to be life threatening, official said.
The accident remains under investigation by Alabama State Troopers.
Pictured top: First responders check a vehicle that flipped into Brushy Creek on Deer Creek Road outside Atmore Saturday afternoon. Pictured inset and below: Two men are being called heroes for pulling the driver out of the creek following the crash. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Motorcyclist Killed In Saturday Afternoon Crash
March 3, 2013
A motorcyclist was killed Saturday afternoon in a Santa Rosa County crash.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 57-year old Steven Michael Cobbett of Milton was westbound on Red Rock Road near Pleasant Home Road south of Munson when he lost control in a curve and slid off the road.
Cobbett was wearing a helmet, according to the FHP. He was pronounced deceased at the scene following the 3:50 p.m. crash.
North Escambia Bee Association Holds Annual Workshop
March 3, 2013
The annual North Escambia Bee Association Workshop was held Saturday at Northview High School.
The event featured a variety of workshops and demonstrations as beekeepers from across the area gathered.
Participants learned about caring for their hives, pesticides, honey production and more.
Pictured: The annual North Escambia Bee Association Workshop was held Saturday at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
