Navy Federal Named To FORTUNE’s ‘100 Best Companies To Work For’ List
January 17, 2013
Navy Federal was named Wednesday to FORTUNE Magazine’s 2013 list of “100 Best Companies To Work For.” This was the third appearance on the list during the last five years.
“This is an important honor for us. I believe it recognizes the enthusiasm and dedication our employees have for our mission to serve the men and women of the Department of Defense and their families,” said Cutler Dawson, president/CEO, Navy Federal Credit Union. “2012 was a record year for us—record growth in new members, loans, deposits and all our member success measures. But the real story is that we couldn’t have done this without the commitment of our employees. I am so very proud of the entire Navy Federal team.”
In 2012, the Navy Federal workforce grew to over 10,000 employees on its three campuses —Vienna, Va., Winchester, Va. and Pensacola—and 229 branches worldwide.
“We value employees who want to be part of a winning team and will embrace our corporate culture,” Dawson said. “We return that dedication by providing outstanding training, opportunities for career advancement — and excellent benefits.”
Fire Destroys Barn
January 17, 2013
Fire destroyed a large barn just east of Flomaton Wednesday night.
Fire departments from Flomaton and surrounding areas in Alabama, along with the Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Jay Fire Department, responded to the scene of a fully involved barn fire on Twin Bridges Road, just off Highway 31, shortly before 9 a.m.
No other structures were damaged, and there were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire was under investigation Wednesday night.
Field House In The Works For Northview’s Chiefs
January 17, 2013
Approaching 20 years after it first opened , a field house is in the works for Northview High School.
At their January 22 meeting, the Escambia County School Board is set to approved an architectural and engineering services contract with DAG Architects in Pensacola for $69,913.
The new field house will be about 3,500 square feet. The building will include one weight room, coaches’ offices, storage and accompanying restrooms. The construction budget is set at $490,000, to be funded with local option sales tax monies.
The new field house will be constructed near the main building where outdoor basketball courts are currently located. There is no timetable in place for the completion of the project.
Northview is the only public high school in Escambia County without a field house. The school opened in 1995.
Pictured: The Northview Chiefs prepare for a coin toss last season in their stadium. Pictured below: The Chiefs won the Florida Class 1A state football championship. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Growing Your Veggies: Dozens Attend Producers Round Up
January 17, 2013
Over 60 people attended a “Vegetable Producers Round Up” at the Jay Community Center.
The producers, distributors and supporting agencies learned about marketing strategies, new pest management techniques, and the latest in food safety. Guest speaker was Sean McCoy,extension agent at the UF/IFAS Suwannee Valley Agricultural Extension Center, who discussed marketing strategies. The event also included question and answer session with a panel of fresh produce buyers and distributors from Northwest Florida.
Pictured: A “Vegetable Producers Round Up” at the Jay Community Center. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Trayvon Martin’s Mother Calls For ‘Stand Your Ground’ Repeal
January 17, 2013
With lawmakers taking a new look at Florida’s “stand your ground” law, the mother of the young man whose death brought the law back into focus urged lawmakers Wednesday to repeal it.
“How many lives do we have to lose?” Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, asked outside the legislative chambers. “How many children have to be killed? How many times are we going to bury our loved ones and not do anything about it?”
The law – passed in 2005 – allows people who feel threatened to shoot their assailants in public.
Martin, who was 17, was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Sanford on Feb. 26 of last year. Martin was walking through a gated neighborhood where his father lived and was unarmed. Zimmerman was following him because there had been lots of burglaries in the neighborhood.
Zimmerman wasn’t arrested for 44 days following Martin’s death, until protest rallies were held nationwide. Now he faces a second-degree murder charge and a June trial. He plans to use the “stand your ground” defense, saying he felt threatened.
Fulton said the law had protected her son’s killer.
“I just don’t quite understand how someone can be a make-believe cop, pursue my son who had every right to be in that neighborhood, chase him, get in a confrontation with him, shoot and kill him and not be arrested. Something has to be done.”
Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, has filed a bill (HB 4009, ) to repeal the law. Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, who called the law “legalized vigilantism,” has said he’ll sponsor it in the Senate.
An analysis of FBI homicide data by the office of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg , co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, found that states that passed “stand your ground” laws saw a 53.5 percent increase in justifiable homicides in the three years after enactment, while states without such laws saw a 4.2 percent rise.
“Every Tom, Dick and Harry who kills somebody is saying ‘I was standing my ground,’” said Fulton’s lawyer, Benjamin Crump, of Tallahassee.
Gov. Rick Scott appointed a Safety and Security Task Force in the wake of Martin’s killing to study the “stand your ground” law and make recommendations to the governor and Legislature.
Black lawmakers were irate that none of them, including Sen. Oscar Braynon, who represents Miami Gardens, where Martin lived with his mother, was appointed to the panel.
“The only people put on there were people that were proponents,” said Braynon, a Democrat. “So we’ll be just as bold in our response as they were bold in their response to us…when they put none of us on the committee, when they refused to come to our community, and when they gave us recommendations that amounted to nothing.”
Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala and the House sponsor of “stand your ground” in 2005, took issue with that. He was one of four lawmakers tapped for the task force.
“The Safety and Security Task Force did an extensive review, heard a lot of testimony, weighed all the evidence, and decided that the overall evidence was that we had some pretty effective legislation going,” he said. “People that say we didn’t do anything, they just don’t like the outcome.”
Baxley said the law is depicted as controversial, but in fact passed the Senate unanimously and the House 94-20.
“I think most people understand it, that we want to stand beside law-abiding citizens,” he said. “And if they stand their ground and stop a violent act from occurring and prevent people from being harmed, that’s the right thing for them to do, and we should stand with them.”
Asked whether the repeal bill wasn’t “pie in the sky,” given the strength of support for the law, Williams replied: “If we didn’t file it at all, the opportunity to do anything would have been zero. You lose nothing by having an honest debate.”
By The News Service of Florida
I Always Wanted To Fly: Local Veteran Publishes Book
January 17, 2013
A local veteran has written his memoirs as a World War II flight engineer and gunman.
“I Always Wanted To Fly: Memoirs of a World War ll Flight Engineer/Gunner”, is factual account of missions flown by John Shiver, Jr.of Atmore.
From the time Shiver saw his first plane in the sky at age three, he wanted to fly. He went on to serve in several U.S. Army Air Corp groups during World War II, completing over 75 European combat missions. His heartfelt descriptions were meticulously detailed in his handwritten personal journal. Family and friends helped Shiver, now 92, share those stories in his new book.
“The Lord allowed me to fulfill my desire in a way I never dreamed I would,” Shiver said.
The book is available at Amazon.com (click here). The book will also be available at a signing event on Saturday, January 19 from 10 a.m. until noon and Friday, February 1, from 2 until 4 p.m. at the VFW Post in Atmore.
Shiver’s service included time with the 8th Air Force. 389th Bomb Group. England 9th Air Force. 98th Bomb Group. 344th Sqd. Libya 12th Air Force. 98th Bomb Group. 344th Sqd. North Africa 15th Air Force. 98th Bomb Group. 344th Sqd. Italy.
Pictured top: Atmore veteran John Shiver, Jr. and his new book. Pictured below: Shiver standing in front of the B-24 bomber “Witchcraft” in Mobile. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Friday Deadline Looms For Foreclosure Claims
January 17, 2013
Mortgage holders who lost their homes between 2008 and 2012 have until Friday to ensure they will get paid under a $25 billion national settlement with a handful of mortgage lenders. Florida’s cut of the settlement is $170 million.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi urged qualified homeowners to meet the deadline or risk not receiving the refunds to which they are entitled.
To date, about 44 percent of qualified homeowners had returned the requisite paperwork. The refunds, to be mailed out later this year will be at least $840 but some payouts are expected to be higher. Applications received after Jan. 18 will not be guaranteed payment. Qualified residents include those who had their mortgage loans serviced by Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
“We want every borrower who may be eligible for a cash payment under the national settlement to submit a claim,” Bondi said in a statement.
Ernest Ward Middle To Hold Spring Football Training
January 17, 2013
Ernest Ward Middle School will hold a “Football Spring Training” January 31 through February 14 for grades 5-7.
The first team meeting will be January 18 at 3 p.m. for anyone interested in playing football in the fall. Contact Coach Jeremy Greenwell at (850) 712-6354 for more information.
Ernest Ward is the only Escambia County, FL, middle school that offers a football program. The team finished last year with a 6-1 season.
Pictured: 2012 season action from the Ernest Ward Middle School Eagles. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Grad Named A ‘Rising Star’ By Pensacola Newspaper
January 17, 2013
A 2004 Northview High School graduate was among those named as a “Rising Star 2013″ in today’s issue of the Pensacola Independent News.
Ashley (Wallace) Spikes, 27, is the government partnership manager of the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce.
The Independent News Rising Stars program has honored Escambia and Santa Rosa leaders in the under-35 crowd since 2008. To read more, and see the 2013 Rising Stars, click here.
Man Wanted For Questioning In Homicide Turns Himself In
January 16, 2013
A Pensacola man wanted for questioning in a homicide last week turned himself in Wednesday.
Kwamane Silas walked into the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and surrendered to investigators on a warrant for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The a warrant was issued after the murder of Aquarius Devaughn on Belair Road on January 10.
Previously, Freddie Dayshen Fountain III, 23, was charged with two counts of attempted homicide, a weapons offense of firing missiles into a dwelling, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the shooting. He remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $190,000.