Byrneville Elementary Team Wins In “Battle Of The Books”
May 23, 2012
The Escambia Reading Teachers’ Association sponsored their first Battle of the Books recently. There were over 250 elementary, middle and high school students competing in the Battle — including a winning team from Byrneville Elementary School.
Battle of the Books is a district-wide program designed to increase reading motivation and comprehension. The goals are to encourage reading for enjoyment, broaden reading interests, increase reading comprehension, and promote cooperative learning.
Battle of the Books began in August 2011 with teachers telling students about the event and introducing books to students. In September 2011, students began reading books and continued reading until February 2012. Team members were chosen in March 2012, with teams practicing in April for the May event.
From the North Escambia area, Byrneville Elementary School took second place among fourth graders. Byrneville fourth grade team members were Ian Gifford, Dadrian Washington, Nicky Trump, Alex Glidewell and Lainey Ward.
Pictured above: Byrneville Elementary School fourth grade Battle of the Books team members (top row, L-R) Ian Gifford, Dadrian Washington, Nicky Trump, (bottom, L-R) Alex Glidewell and Lainey Ward. Submitted photo for NortheEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Names May Students Of The Month
May 23, 2012
Ernest Ward Middle School has named their Students of the Month for May. They are (pictured L-R) Fisher Spence, sixth grade; Harmoni Till, eighth grade; and Mitchell Singleton, seventh grade. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Home Sales Steady, Price Up, Backlog Down
May 23, 2012
Florida home sales fell slightly in April, but state Realtors were quick to say Tuesday that median price and pending sales rose dramatically during the month.
Figures compiled by the Florida Realtors also showed the inventory of homes available for sale shrunk further as buyers continued to whittle away at the state’s post-crash backlog of existing homes.
“Here in Florida, we’re seeing some strong numbers that show positive momentum for the state’s housing recovery and our economy,” said 2012 Florida Realtors President Summer Greene, in a statement.
Sale closings of existing homes fell 0.7 percentage points from April 2011, while condominium sales were off about 4.9 percent.
Nationally, sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 10 percent in April from a year ago.
“A return of normal home buying for occupancy is helping home sales across all price points, and now the recovery appears to be extending to home prices,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, in a statement. “The general downtrend in both listed and shadow inventory has shifted from a buyers’ market to one that is much more balanced, but in some areas it has become a seller’s market.”
Median prices for homes rose significantly in Florida. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in April was $144,350, up 10.2 percent from the year-ago figure. The statewide median for townhome-condo properties was $108,000, up 16.1 percent over April 2011. Nationally, median prices increased by 1.9 percent.
Part of the increase in home prices is due to a shrinking inventory of homes and condos on the market, said Florida Realtor chief economist John Tuccillo. The backlog of available single family homes fell to a supply of just under six months – in most cases less than half what it was in late 2007.
Inventories in the Tampa area fell more than 30 percent between April 2011 and last month. Inventories in Orlando and Miami fell 27 percent and 23 percent respectively during the same period.
“The housing numbers for the state of Florida continue to signal recovery,” Tuccillo said in a statement. “Sales in 2012 are above where they were in 2011, a harbinger of a third straight year of improvement.”
Pending sales were also up sharply, climbing 38 percent statewide from a year ago. Pending sales are those deals that are signed but have yet to close, a process that usually takes one to three months.
The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.91 percent in April 2012, down from the 4.84 percent average during the same month a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac.
By The News Service of Florida
Tate Grad Zach Price Soaring Academically In Patriot League
May 23, 2012
Army senior second baseman Zach Price is the 2012 Patriot League Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and the Tate High School graduate one of 10 student-athletes named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team.
The Academic All-Patriot League Team was added for all sports beginning in the 2010-11 season to honor additional student-athletes who excel both on and off the field.
“I came to West Point to challenge myself as a person and become the man that God has called me to be. I also came to strive toward my academic and leadership goals. West Point is the best leadership institution in the world, and one of the best academic institutions in the nation. The life lessons learned and friendships made here will last a lifetime,” Price said.
Price becomes the seventh student-athlete from Army and the fourth consecutive Black Knight to win the prestigious Scholar-Athlete award. He also becomes a member of the Academic All-League Team for the second time in his career.
Price, a native of Cantonment, has a 3.732 GPA in systems engineering. He has been named to the Dean’s List every semester since arriving at West Point (earning 3.0 GPA or better each semester). He received the Superintendent’s Award (top 20 percent of his class) each semester and he’s currently ranked 157th of 1,037 cadets in the West Point senior class. Price was named a Distinguished Cadet (GPA of 3.67 or better) each semester and he’s a member of the New York Alpha Zeta Chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon, the National Honorary Mathematics Society.
He was a member of the inaugural All-Patriot League Baseball Academic Team and has been named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll each of his first three seasons. Price is a finalist for this year’s Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award and he was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America District I second team each of the past two seasons.
Price earned All-Patriot League First Team honors for the third time in his career, ranking eighth in the League with a .323 batting average. He led the League with 44 runs scored and ranks third in stolen bases with 14. He also has 23 RBIs.
Price is the son of Lesa and Greg Price.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Two People Pushing Pickup Struck By Vehicle On Hwy 29
May 22, 2012
Two people pushing a vehicle on Highway 29 in Ensley were critically injured when they were struck by a SUV Monday night.
Matthew William Faessel II, 22, and Nicholas Ray Snelson, 18, were pushing a 1997 Ford Ranger in a Highway 29 turn lane at Broad Street. The vehicle was rear-ended by a 2000 Ford Explorer driven by Eric Lee McCuistion, 36, about 11:15 p.m.
Both pedestrians were transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital where they were listed in critical condition. McCuistion suffered only minor injuries.
Charges are pending in the crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Century Chamber Can’t Afford 4th Fireworks, But The Show Will Go On
May 22, 2012
The Century Chamber of Commerce can’t afford their share of a planned Flomaton-Century Fourth of July Fireworks show, but the show will go on. The Town of Century is stepping up and paying the chamber’s portion of the cost.
Back in March, the towns of Century and Flomaton agreed to chip in $1,500 each toward a $5,000 fireworks show to be held at Century’s Showalter Park. The remaining $2,000 cost was to be split between the Flomaton and the Century chambers of commerce.
“The Century Chamber is broke,” Mayor Freddie McCall told the Century Town Council Monday night as he asked the town to cover another $1,000 for the show. McCall said the other option would be to ask for business donations, but he did not like that idea because businesses are “dollared to death” with others asking for money.
The Century council voted 5-0 to pitch in another $1,000 on top of their previously approved $1,500 for the show, bringing the town’s total contribution to $2,500. The additional $1,000 will be re-appropriated from the town’s telephone expense account, which is expected to run over $1,000 less than budgeted this fiscal year.
McCall also announced that the show will be held Tuesday night, July 3, at Century’s Showalter Park because Flomaton was concerned about Wednesday, July 4 being a “church night”.
Pictured: The 2011 Fourth of July Fireworks Show at Hurricane Park in Flomaton. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Wanted Flomaton Man Busted For Drugs, Resisting Arrest In Florida
May 22, 2012
Deputies in Florida say they found drugs and thousands in cash on a Flomaton man as they arrested him on an outstanding warrant from Alabama.
The Escambia County (FL) Sheriff’s Office responded to Mapleleaf Circle to arrest Bryan Daniel Griffis, 23, on an outstanding Alabama felony warrant. When the deputy identified him and put his hand behind his back, Griffis “turned around in a fighting stance, therefore Griffis was taken to the ground”, according to an arrest report. After being handcufffed, Griffis began pulling away from the deputy, and Griffis was once again taken to the ground.
Inside his left front pants pocket, deputies reported finding three baggies with 6.3 grams of methamphetamine and a glass pipe with residue. In the same pocket, deputies reported finding about $4,200 in cash.
Griffis was charged with possession of methamphetamine with the intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest without violence. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond. He will also face extradition to Escambia County, Ala., to face a felony domestic violence assault charge.
Man Sticks Up Gas Station With Tree Branch
May 22, 2012
An Escambia County Man has been charged with robbing a gas station with a tree branch as a weapon.
Deputies were on patrol when they were flagged down at Trisha’s One Stop on Mobile Highway by an employee that said she had just been robbed, and the suspect was still inside the store.
Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 42-year old Christopher Ray Faulkner at gunpoint as he exited the store. He was charged with aggravated battery using a deadly weapon, criminal mischief and robbery with a deadly weapon. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $25,000.
Deputies said Faulkner entered the store carrying a large tree branch and struck the clerk in the head and ordered her to the counter where he purchased a cigar, according to an arrest report.
The female clerk, according to an arrest report, then punched the robber in the chin with her fist and ran out of the store, screaming for help. Faulkner then grabbed the cash register and slammed it to the ground, according to the report.
The incident was captured on the store’s surveillance video.
‘Vicious and Delicious’ And ‘Ross’s Gang’ Win NHS Scalpball Tourney
May 22, 2012
Winners in the recent Scalpball volleyball tournament at Northview High School were “Vicious and Delicious” in the teen division and “Ross’s Gang” in the adult division.
The tournament last Saturday in Bratt benefited the Northview High School volleyball program.
“We want to thank all the teams for coming out and supporting our volleyball team,” Coach Betty Heaton said.
Pictured: Vicious and Delicious (above) and Ross’s Gang (below). Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bear Wandering Around Apartment Complex Next To Elementary School
May 22, 2012
A young bear has been spotted several times at a Cantonment apartment complex, right next to a school.
The young black bear was first seen on Sunday, walking about the Wild Oak Farms Apartments, just north of the Grocery Advantage on Highway 29. The apartment complex property is directly adjacent to Jim Allen Elementary School.
“That’s a lot of people in danger as long as this bear is still around,” said resident Nicki McLaughlin. “People in the area should know about this.”
An officer from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission responded to the apartment complex on Sunday. He described the bear as a young male, probably less than 125 pounds and about two years old.
The FWC says it’s actually a bit rare for bears to be spotted as far west as Cantonment. While the FWC said the bear does not seem dangerous, the public should not approach or provoke the animal.
The management of the Wild Oak Farms Apartments distributed a letter to tenants on Monday, asking them to leave the bear alone.
During his Sunday visit, the bear reportedly tore into trash and rummaged through a dumpster, but many apartment residents described him as otherwise seeming “friendly”.
FWC officers were back at the apartment complex on Tuesday with plans to capture the bear, but they were unable to locate him.
Pictured: A young black bear is roaming around a Cantonment apartment complex. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
