Jay Grad To Join University Of Florida Band At The Olympics
June 23, 2012
A 2009 Jay High School graduate will perform with fellow University of Florida Band members at the opening ceremonies of the London Olympic Games.
Kimmy Hudon is a native of Santa Rosa County. She has been a part of the Fighting Gator Marching Band for three years.
The Gator Marching Band is the only American band invited to play at the Olympics. They will play the Star Spangled Banner as the U.S. team enters the stadium and “God Save the Queen” for the British team during the Parade of Nations.
Century CI Inmates Graduate With GED, Ready To Work, Thinking For A Change Certificates
June 23, 2012
Century Correctional Institution held a graduation ceremony Friday morning for inmates receiving their GED diplomas, Florida Ready to Work certificates, and completing a Thinking for a Change program.
Class valedictorian is Jason Chandler. He began an eight year sentence in February for robbery with a deadly weapon in Hernado County. Salutatorian was Joshua Dunham, serving a two-year sentence for child neglect, criminal mischief and marijuana possession. There were 10 inmates in all receiving their GED certificates Friday morning.
Also Friday morning, inmate Ronald Brooks received his Florida Ready to Work certificates. Florida Ready to Work is an innovative state-funded workforce education and economic development program that provides student job-seekers with a standard credential that certifies their workplace readiness and ability to succeed on the job.
Fifty inmates were also honored as Thinking for Change graduates. Inmates participated in daily structured activities which included a minimum of 10 hours per week of group or individual counseling on changing addictive and criminal thinking patterns and behaviors.
Friday’s graduation ceremony was the second for Century Correctional; the prison’s first graduation ceremony was held in April.
Pictured: Century Correctional GED graduates in April 2012. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Parents Should Pick Up Elementary FCAT Reports Next Week
June 23, 2012
Individual elementary school student FCAT scores are available for parents to pick up as follows:
Bratt Elementary — Parents can pick up the Parent/Student FCAT reports on Monday, June 25 or Tuesday, June 26 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Fifth grade reports not picked up will be sent to the appropriate middle school. Third and fourth grade reports not picked up will be available to parents in the fall. Parents should be prepared to show a photo identification when signing for the report.
Byrneville Elementary – Third, fourth and fifth grade Parent/Student FCAT reports are available to be picked up at the school.
Molino Park Elementary — Parents can pick up the Parent/Student FCAT reports on Wednesday, June 27 or Thursday, June 28 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Fifth grade reports not picked up will be sent to the appropriate middle school. Third and fourth grade reports not picked up will be available to parents in the fall. Parents should be prepared to show a photo identification when signing for the report.
Obama Pitches Immigration In Florida (With Reaction)
June 23, 2012
President Barack Obama brought his battle to win over Latino voters on immigration to Florida on Friday, but conservatives and the president’s GOP rival said the key issues for Florida’s diverse Hispanic communities would continue to be the economy.
In remarks to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, or NALEO, the president touted his decision to allow young, undocumented immigrants to remain in American without fear of deportation — but also kept up pressure on Congressional Republicans, saying the move was a temporary solution to a long term problem.
Obama told the group’s annual conference, being held at Disney World, that he was forced to move after Republicans rebuffed efforts to pass the DREAM Act, a measure that would achieve some of the same goals as Obama’s decision. He said some Republicans had supported the measure until Obama tried to make it a priority.
“The bill hadn’t changed,” he said. “The need hadn’t changed. The only thing that had changed was politics.”
Republicans disputed that characterization. Alfonso Aguilar, head of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, said Obama instead used a lame-duck session in 2010 to foist his version of the bill on the GOP and give them no chance of amending it.
“That was a political ploy to ensure that Republicans would vote against it, so he could say what he’s saying right now,” Aguilar said. “That is insulting and condescending to Latinos.”
Obama also hinted at Arizona’s controversial law allowing police officers to check the immigration status of some people stopped by law enforcement — a measure Gov. Rick Scott pledged to bring to Florida in his 2010 campaign but has since largely abandoned. Those measures were sparked by the national gridlock on immigration, Obama said.
“It’s given rise to a patchwork of state laws that cause more problems than they solve and are often doing more harm than good,” he said. “This makes no sense. It’s not good for America.”
The larger Florida question looming at the meeting was whether the newfound focus on immigration would change the dynamics in the Sunshine State, where a large share of the Latino population is comprised of Cubans, who are essentially granted legal status if they can make their way to America, and Puerto Ricans, who are American citizens.
For his part, Scott dodged a question on whether his position on the Arizona law had changed, and he shrugged off suggestions that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has clinched the GOP presidential nomination, was avoiding him during Florida swings.
“They’ve asked me to go to things, but it’s always at the last minute for me,” Scott said.
And U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a rising Republican star from Florida who has worked on a conservative alternative to the DREAM Act, urged partisans on both sides to stop using immigration for political reasons. At the same time, he got his own shot in at Obama during his remarks.
“I was tempted to come here and tell you, ‘Hey, he hasn’t been here in three years. What a coincidence, it’s an election year.’ I was tempted to tell you, ‘Why didn’t he make this issue a priority?’” Rubio said. “I guess I just did tell you.”
In any case, Romney’s campaign argued that the key issue for Latinos in Florida would be the same topic dominating the fall election for other voters: A slow economic recovery that has dogged Obama’s re-election effort.
“I think, again, that Hispanics are looking at what is the vision for America and for job growth,” said Ana Carbonell, a senior adviser to the Romney campaign in Florida.
Romney’s campaign and other conservatives noted that Latinos face a double-digit unemployment rate, higher than the national average and Florida’s current jobless rate.
By The News Service of Florida
Pictured top and inset: President Barack Obama speaks in Orlando Friday. Pictured bottom inset: A young boy along the rope line in Orlando salutes Obama after the President spoke at the NALEO Conference. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
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June 23, 2012
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Weekend Gardening: Time To Prune Gardenias And Hydrangeas
June 23, 2012
Hydrangeas and gardenias are two of our most beloved shrubs in the South. They are revered for their flowers and are planted in large drifts throughout Northwest Florida.
Gardenia shrubs are evergreen and produce shiny, dark green leaves. They are known for their waxy, creamy white flowers. The flower’s aroma, adored by many gardeners, is powerful and pleasant.
Hydrangeas are deciduous shrubs and produce coarse, light green leaves. Their large leaves will fall off after a freeze. Although you are left with bare sticks during the winter, the summer blooms are well worth the winter bareness. While there are many different types of hydrangeas, the mopheads are probably the most recognizable. Their large inflorescences are usually blue on acid soil, pink on alkaline soil and a dirty white on neutral pH soil.
Even though these shrubs are different in many aspects, the one thing they have in common is when they “set” their flower buds. Both shrubs develop flower buds on old (mature) wood of the previous year and open in early summer of the following year. Flower buds are formed at the terminal end of stems and, if not killed by cold or removed by inappropriate pruning, provide the showy floral display the next year.
The best time to prune gardenias and hydrangeas is after they finish flowering for the season. Pruning them at the incorrect time of the year, such as winter, will remove the flower buds.
Your pruning program should be purposeful. First, remove all diseased, weak and dead wood. It will be important to disinfect your pruning equipment after removing suspect branches. Pruning shears, loppers and saws can be dipped in a weak bleach solution to prevent spread of disease between plants.
Once all the problem branches have been removed, then think about thinning the plant. Shrubs are often thinned to reduce a top-heavy appearance or to open up a dense canopy. To thin, simply remove some of the oldest branches by pruning them down to the ground. Remove about a quarter to a third of the branches, selecting the oldest ones for elimination. When thinning, take care not to damage the nearby younger stems and foliage.
Next, cut back branches that are excessively long. Prune back to a lateral branch that is six to twelve inches below the desirable plant height, removing no more than a third of the stem. Cut each branch separately to different lengths with hand pruners. This will maintain a neat informal shrub with a natural shape. Plants sheared into various geometric shapes produce a formality not suitable for many modern, natural landscapes. Making pruning cuts down inside the canopy instead of on the outside edge will also hide unsightly pruning cuts.
Within the last several years, reflowering hydrangeas have found their way into the marketplace. Reflowering hydrangeas produce an initial flush of flowers followed by sporadic flowering or later flushes of flowers in the same growing season.
Endless Summer® Hydrangea is a reflowering hydrangea. It is very forgiving and will not suffer if left unpruned or pruned at the wrong time. In fact, young, recently planted shrubs are best left alone. Unlike other hydrangeas, your Endless Summer® will bloom on both old and new wood, branches that grew last year and the new branches from this year. Another unique feature is that this hydrangea will continue to set buds and bloom throughout the season. Deadheading, or removing the spent flowers will encourage continual blooming.
For more information, contact Theresa Friday at (850) 623-3868 or email tlfriday@ufl.edu. Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.
Wahoos Bounce Back With 4-2 Win
June 23, 2012
The Blue Wahoos bullpen worked 5.1 scoreless innings as Pensacola bounced back with a 4-2 win over the Chattanooga Lookouts to even their second half record at 1-1. Wahoos starter Tony Cingrani was lifted after just 3.2 innings after throwing 90 pitches and allowing two runs. Five Pensacola relievers followed him up by combining to shut down the Lookouts by allowing just four base runners the rest of the way.
Lookouts starting pitcher Ethan Martin put Chattanooga in front with an BRI single in the second scoring Brahiam Maldonado from third.
Pensacola was quick to answer with a run of their own in the top of the third. With two outs in the inning, David Vidal doubled home Brodie Greene from second to even the score.
Chattanooga struck again for the final time with a run in the fourth to move back in front 2-1. It was another two out hit, this time by Rafael Ynoa scoring Nick Buss from third, who led the inning off with a single.
The Blue Wahoos tied the game and took the lead with a pair of run in the seventh. It all started with a leadoff single by Brian Peacock. Didi Gregorius singled him home later in the inning for the tying run. Gregorius scored on a single by Brodie Greene a batter later to put the Wahoos in front. They added another insurance run an inning later but the combination or Mark Serrano (5-1), Clayton Tanner, Brian Pearl, Wilkin De La Rosa and Justin Freeman wouldn’t need it.
Pearl made his Double-A debut by working 1.1 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. Serrano was first in out of the bullpen and he went 1.1 innings allowing just a pair of hits. He got credit for the win in relief. Freeman pitched a perfect ninth to earn his third save of the season. Lookouts reliever Geison Aguasviva (2-5) took the loss after getting charged with two Wahoos runs, one earned, on three hits over 1.2 innings.
Offensively Ryan LaMarre (2-for-5), Gregorius (2-for-3, R, RBI), Greene (2-for-4, R, RBI) and Yordanys Perez (3-for-4, R) all had multi-hit contests leading to the Wahoos win.
By Tommy Thrall
Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
No Injuries In Quintette Trailer Fire
June 22, 2012
There were no injuries in a Friday afternoon fire that damaged a Quintette community mobile home.
The fire was reported about 2 p.m. on Stacey Road near Quintette Road.
The fire was believed to have originated in the kitchen of the single wide trailer. It was quickly brought under control by reponding fire units from Molino, Cantonment, Ensley and McDavid.
The residents of the trailer were not at home at the time of the blaze. There were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Pictured: Fire damaged this Stacey Road mobile home Friday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo , click to enlarge.
Local First Responder Killed In Motorcycle, Tractor Crash
June 22, 2012
A first responder was killed in a traffic accident Thursday afternoon south of Jay.
Nathan L. Berry, age 22 of Flomaton, died as a result of the 3:21 p.m. crash on Highway 89 north of Pineview Church Road.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Berry was northbound on a 2001 Yamaha motorcycle when he struck the left rear wheel of a mower implement attached to a 2005 John Deere tractor. The tractor, driven by 45-year old Grady Lane Faris of Brewton, was also northbound on Highway 89, partially on the paved side of the roadway and partially in the northbound travel lane.
Berry was transported from the scene to by AirHeart helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola where he later died. Berry was wearing a helmet, according to the crash report.
Charges against Faris are pending the outcome of an investigation, according to the FHP.
Berry, a certified firefighter and paramedic, dedicated his life to serving the public in emergency services. He was a former employee of Atmore Ambulance and was currently a supervisor for Lifeguard EMS in Santa Rosa County. He was a volunteer member of the Friendship Volunteer Fire Department near Flomaton, and was a firefighter for Escambia County Fire Rescue’s Century Station.
Friends said Berry was returning home after an working an EMS shift. He is survived by his wife, the former Tiffany Hanks of Bratt, a 14-month old daughter and has another child due in September.
School And District At Odds After Leak Damages Byrneville Elementary
June 22, 2012
A leaky roof caused damage inside the Byrneville Elementary School media center, and exactly who will pay for the repairs has become a point of contention between the school and the school district.
The damage happened during the weekend of June 9-10, the same weekend that flood waters caused damage to several school district properties in the Pensacola area. While parts of the Pensacola metro received up to two feet of rain, a WEAR Weathernet station located at Byrneville Elementary recorded 1.25 inches of rain on Saturday, June 9 and 3.56 inches of rain on Sunday, June 10.
The problem, according to Byrneville Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan was not flooding — it was rain pouring through the ceiling. Discovered on Monday when employees returned to work, the leak damaged ceilings, walls, carpets and bookshelves. The library’s materials collection was essentially unharmed, with the school losing about a dozen magazines. A computer lab located in the same portable building as the media center received little damage except for wet carpet.
As a charter school, Byrneville Elementary is different than most schools in the county. Byrneville — not the school district – is responsible for paying operational costs and is responsible for all of the physical contents at the school.
Upkeep and maintenance on campus buildings is the responsibility of the Escambia County School District, including what Superintendent Malcolm Thomas described as the “vintage portable” building housing the library.
But the problem lies with which party is responsible with replacing carpet in the building, and whether or not the leak was caused by poor maintenance on the building by the county, potentially making the district liable for damage to the school’s contents.
Shawn Dennis, the assistant superintendent of operations, said the school district responded after being notified of the leak. He said the district, per its contract with the charter school, will look at repairs needed to the building itself, including walls and electrical systems.
“We have a work order system, and we have been responsive to every work order on that building,” Dennis said Thursday morning during an Escambia County School Board workshop.
“Are we saying that we feel we have no responsibility? What else are we going to do?”, asked Bill Slayton, District 5 board member.
Dennis replied that he did not feel damage to the contents, including carpet, were the responsibility of the county school district.
“The carpet came with the building. It’s not like the bookcases that I could move,” Wolfe-Sullivan told the board. “I feel it is the district’s responsibility to take care of the carpet.”
Thomas said he was concerned not just about the current leak damage, but the overall status of the aging school complex.
“You’ve got a very old building; that building is not going to last forever,” he said. “We gave that building up a long time ago because it was not suitable.”
Thomas told Wolfe-Sullivan that he wants to hear plans for capital improvements at the school. “There’s got to be a better long term solution…we are going to have to think about the building and how you are going to house the students,” he added.
Wolfe-Sullivan said that the she has spoken with the Byrneville Elementary board of directors about building a new school, but that is not going to happen in the near future.
No action was taken by the school board concerning the leak at Thursday’s meeting. Instead, Wolfe-Sullivan, Dennis and other district employees will continue their negotiations.
In the meantime, Wolfe-Sullivan said she is just worried about having the building repaired by the time students return in August. And she maintains the carpet and perhaps her contents damage will ultimately be the responsibility of the school district.
“The building must not have been maintained properly if it leaked from just the rain we had,” she said. “I think the district is responsible.
Pictured top: Byrneville Elementary School Principal Dee Wolfe-Sullivan addresses the Escambia County School Board during a workshop meeting Thursday morning. Pictured top inset: Byrneville Elementary School. Pictured bottom inset: Congressman Jeff Miller speaks to students inside the now damaged Byrneville Elementary media center. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.