Lady Chiefs Improve To 4-0; NHS JV, Varsity Baseball Beat Freeport
February 27, 2013
The Northview Lady Chiefs improved to a perfect 4-0 on the young season with an 11-1 defeated of Catholic High School Tuesday in Pensacola. The Lady Chiefs will be in action again Friday as they host Freeport. First pitch for the junior varsity is 4:00, followed by the varsity at 6:00.
In baseball, the JV Chiefs beat Baker 11-3 and the varsity Chiefs downed the Baker Gators 10-0. The Chiefs will host Freeport Thursday, with the JV playing at 4:00 and the varsity at 6:30.
Pictured: Northview’s JV defeated the Baker Gatos Tuesday afternoon in Baker, 11-3. Submitted photos by Ramona Preston for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Dortch Road Bridge Closed For Repairs
February 27, 2013
The Dortch Road Bridge in North Escambia closed Wednesday for repairs, according to the Escambia County Public Works Department. It is estimated that the bridge, which was constructed over Beaver Dam Creek in 1965, will be closed for about 60 days. Dortch Road is located off Highway4 west of Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Area Students Visit Space, Rocket Center, Science Lab
February 27, 2013
Fifth graders from Escambia Academy in Canoe, Ala., recently took their annual field trip to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville.
The students from Elizabeth McDonald’s class learned the history of space travel, participated in chemistry labs, rode flight simulators and went rock climbing.
The students also stopped at the McWane Science Center in Birmingham where they were able to pet sharks and stingrays, learn about bugs and birds and get hands-on with a variety of scientific equipment.
Pictured top: Escambia Academy fifth graders at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville: (front, L-R) Olivia Lamb, Ragon Lassiter, Madison Hammons, Makenzie Rolin, Malorie Parker, Abby Stewart, Rachel Donald, Madelyn Smith, Mary-Stuart Lewis, Lily Woods, (middle row) Chase Bell, Gracie Girby, (back row) Troy Fountain, Shivam Bhakta, Chaz McGhee, Sam Smith, Bryant Quimby, Hart Taylor, Parker Reynolds and Matthew Ray. Pictured below: Troy Fountain, Shivam Bhakta, Sam Smith and Matthew Ray get a close look at a lunar rock. Pictured inset: Chase Bell and Madison Hammons conduct a science experiement. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Deputies Seek Man For Escape And As Possible Homicide Witness
February 26, 2013
Escambia County Sheriff’s investigators are looking for a man wanted on an outstanding warrant for escaping from work release and who may also be a witness in homicide.
Investigators said Andre Deanthony Rivers, 28, may have witnessed the homicide of Alfred Watson, who was killed in a wooded area in the 3400 block of Jordan Street on December 17.
Rivers is known to dress as a woman and go by the name “Camellia”. He frequents the Brownsville area and works as a prostitute. Rivers is 5-foot, 4-inches tall, weighs 171 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. River may also wear a wig.
Anyone that knows the whereabouts of Rivers is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Blue Angel Parkway Crash Claims One Life
February 26, 2013
An Escambia County woman died in a wreck on Blue Angel Parkway at Saufley Field Road early Tuesday morning.
The Florida Highway Patrol said vehicles driven by 60-year old Darlene McNew Renee and 44-year old Peter A. Amador, both of Pensacola, collided in the intersection about 1:20 a.m. The FHP said it was unclear which driver ran the red light at the intersection.
Renne was pronounced deceased following the crash; Amador was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital with minor injuries.
Pensacola Council Backs Gas Tax For ECAT; Barry Talks Vote To Rescind
February 26, 2013
The Pensacola City Council has voted, in spirit, to send the proceeds of a four-cent gas tax increase to the Escambia County Area Transit system.
There had been unofficial word from Mayor Ashton Hayward’s office, announced County Commissioner Gene Valentino at a county meeting, that Pensacola might instead use the additional gas tax funds as incentives for Project Stallion, — ST Aerospace with 500 jobs that is considering a location at the Pensacola International Airport. Pensacola is expected to collected over $700,000 annually from the gas tax.
Monday’s vote by the city council is not binding. Instead, they must vote in an official meeting to approve a written agreement with the county to turn over the four cent tax collected within the city limits to the county. The tax won’t go into effect in the city or the county until 2014.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in Molino Monday night, Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry said he would vote to rescind the gas tax altogether, but after the city council’s vote Monday he considered unlikely that two additional commissioners (for a majority) would vote to rescind the tax.
“We are disproportionately burdened by the tax in District 5,” Barry said, citing the limited number of ECAT routes serving much of the district. The Escambia County Commission approved the tax increase the day before Barry took office.
The Town of Century has also refused to agree to remit their portion of the tax to the county, claiming it would potentially force the three gas stations in Century to close as drivers cross the state line and purchase cheaper gas in Flomaton.
Century asked the Escambia County State Legislative Delegation to support a bill exempting Century from the tax, but that idea failed because Florida law won’t allow the exemption. Century is now considered a push for a constitutional amendment to nix the tax in Century.
Pictured top: Pensacola City Council President P.C. Wu at Monday’s meeting of the council. Pictured inset: Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry addresses the ECAT gas tax during a town hall meeting in Molino Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
U.S. Supreme Court Sends W.D. Childers Case Back To Appeals Court
February 26, 2013
Nearly a decade after former Florida Senate President W.D. Childers was convicted on a bribery charge, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday gave him at least a procedural victory in a challenge stemming from arguments that he didn’t receive a fair trial.
The Supreme Court, in a brief order, sent Childers’ case back to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta for further consideration. The challenge has been pending in the Supreme Court since 2011, and Childers, 79, already has been released from prison after serving nearly three years.
Amy Adelson, an attorney for Childers, said the Supreme Court order offers another chance to get the conviction vacated, which she said would be “great vindication.”
The colorful Childers, who represented Pensacola in the Senate for 30 years, was convicted on bribery and unlawful compensation charges that arose during his later stint on the Escambia County Commission. Childers left the Senate in 2000 because of term limits.
Childers was accused of paying another county commissioner, Willie Junior, for a vote to support buying a soccer complex. Junior reached a plea agreement in which he was required to testify against Childers and the owner of the property involved in the deal, Joe Elliott.
Attorneys for Childers contend that Junior changed his testimony to more-directly implicate Childers, after Elliott received an acquittal. They alleged in court documents that Junior changed his testimony because of concerns about losing the plea deal.
Childers, who was accused of giving Junior a cooking pot filled with money, was convicted in April 2003 and was in prison from 2006 to 2009, according to state corrections records.
Monday’s Supreme Court order relates to long-running arguments about whether Childers’ attorneys were able to fully cross-examine Junior and whether Florida courts properly dealt with the former senator’s claims that his federal constitutional rights had been violated. The claims were based on the Sixth Amendment “confrontation clause,” which focuses on the ability of criminal defendants to cross-examine witnesses.
Childers’ attorneys contended that the state 1st District Court of Appeal, in upholding Childers’ conviction, did not address the federal constitutional issue. In 2011, a majority of the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected those arguments, prompting the challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s order does not detail the reasons for sending Childers’ case back to the federal appeals court, but it cites another Sixth Amendment case from California that was decided last week.
By The News Service of Florida
Youth Tour To Washington Winners Announced
February 26, 2013
Two local students have won the Escambia River Electric Cooperative Youth Tour to Washington contest.
Taylor Brook from Northview high School and Kayla Flowers from Jay High School will represent EREC on the Washington Youth Tour in June. While in Washington, Brook and Flowers will see the sights, learn about the nation’s capital and rural electrification while making new friends from across the country.
Students from across the EREC service area interviewed with an independent panel of judges. Contestants were judged on their knowledge of EREC and the history of rural electrification. Personal attributes of each candidate such as character, academic ability, personality and leadership abilities were also considered.
Pictured top: Youth Tour to Washington winners Kayla Flowers (left) from Jay High School and Taylor Brook from Northview High School.
Town Hall: Gas Tax Hike, Hwy 29/97 Traffic Light, And Do Roosters Crow?
February 26, 2013
A gas tax hike, chickens, whether or not roosters crow, 100 mph log trucks and, yes, a traffic light at Highway 29 and Highway 97 were among the topics of discussion Monday night as Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry took county government on the road to a town hall meeting in Molino.
Accompanied by numerous department heads, the meeting at the Molino Community Complex was the first for Barry since taking office late last year.
GAS TAX
Numerous citizens questioned Barry about a four cent gas tax hike to fund ECAT mass transit, which was passed the day before he was sworn in. Residents expressed their displeasure, claiming the tax was unfair burden to District 5 residents were there is limited access to ECAT services. “We are being taxed to death,” one resident said, while another claimed the tax would cost her small business $200 per month once it goes into effect in 2014.
Barry responding with a desire, albeit unlikely, that the commission would rescind the tax in light of a Pensacola City Council vote on Monday. [Read more...]
CHICKENS AND ROOSTERS
A few residents addressed the county commission ongoing discussion about regulating chickens. Chickens are currently permitted in agricultural zones, while an ordinance is in the works to allow, but regulate chickens in other zones if the property meets minimum size requirements that are yet to be finalized.
“Changes would actually reduce zoning to allow chickens in additional zones,” Code Enforcement Director Sandra Slay said, adding that reading comments on NorthEscambia.com has shown that the public remains confused on the issue. She said a new ordinance might require chickens outside agricultural areas to be in a coop, property to be of a certain size, and other “less restrictive” conditions.
“How do you get chickens with no rooster?” a citizen asked, referring to a previously proposed ordinance that would have banned roosters outside agricultural areas.
“I like to hear a rooster crow in the morning,” one citizen said, leading a discussion about roosters and what time of day they might crow.
“I’m confused if they crow,” Barry said, admitting that raising chickens was not his area of expertise. “Perhaps they do.”
HIGHWAY 97 TRAFFIC LIGHT
As the Florida Highway Patrol worked a traffic crash on Highway 97 near Highway 29, less than two miles from Monday night’s town hall meeting, a resident questioned if a traffic light could be installed at the intersection to improve safety.
Assistant County Administrator Larry Newsom said it was a “high hazard intersection” and the county had almost “begged” the Florida Department of Transportation for a traffic light to no avail. “We will not stop until DOT does something,” he said.
90-100 MPH LOG TRUCKS
A resident of Highway 95A asked what could be done about log trucks that speed past her home at “90 to 100 mph”. She said she has never seen a DOT officer or Sheriff’s deputy patrolling for the high speed trucks.
Barry said the question would be passed along to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for possible followup.
DON SUTTON PARK, CRABTREE CHURCH RD.
A resident questioned why Crabtree Church is being widened, and why the Don Sutton Park is often locked.
Public Works Chief Wes Moreno said plans to widen the shoulders on Crabtree Church Road is completely a Florida Department of Transportation project, with all funding from the state. Parks boss Michael Rhodes said county parks are often locked to prevent vehicular access and vandalism, but a walk-thru gate will be installed to allow pedestrian access to the park.
Pictured top: Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry (right) listens as Assistant County Administrator Larry Newsom. Pictured insets and below: A District 5 town hall meeting at the Molino Community Complext Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Blue Jacket Jamboree Less Than Two Weeks Away
February 26, 2013
The Northview High School FFA Alumni Blue Jacket Jamboree is less than two weeks away.
This year’s lineup includes musical entertainment from local artists, along with an entire day of car shows, crafts, food, games, and more. The proceeds from this event will fund scholarships for graduating Northview seniors and promote agricultural education and FFA in Northwest Florida.
Featured music will include Shane Harrell and The Major Moves Band with a mix of Southern rock, classic rock, blues and country; and Denean Workman and her hope-centered music.
The Blue Jacket Jamboree will be held from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 at Northview High School. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children 10 and under, at the gate.
Arts and crafts vendor booths (except for food) are still available. For more information, contact (850) 256-5831 or (850) 327-6681 ext. 248..
The Blue Jacket Jamboree is sponsored in part by NorthEscambia.com.
Pictured top: Shane Harrell and The Major Moves Band. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.