North Escambia Fans Turn Out For ‘The Hunger Games’
March 23, 2012
Many North Escambia residents were at the midnight premiere of the movie “The Hunger Games” last night.
While most were at a Pensacola theater with comfy chairs and high definition screens and sound for the midnight showing, Brittney Peebles of Bratt was at camp and decided to “rough it” at the Our Place Youth Center and Family Theater in Monroeville, Ala.
“Since the Rave is over two hours away from the camp we came to a make shift one in Monroeville! The tickets? Yeah, they are rocking the construction paper, the actual theater is a tin building and the chairs are actual chairs! Insane? I think it’s safe to say I really wanted to see this movie,” she said, about a half hour before the film began.
For a photo gallery of some of North Escambia’s “Hunger Games” fans, click here.
Pictured top: (L-R) Megan Ryan, Kolbi Cobb, Kendal Cobb and Mallory Ryan await the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games in Pensacola. Pictured inset: Kara Hardin (left) and Haley Simpson with their tickets. Pictured below: (L-R) Charleigh McPherson, Lauren McCall and Taylor Rigby at a pre-screening party. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Little Named New Escambia (Ala.) School Boss
March 23, 2012
The Escambia County (Ala.) School System named Randall Little as their new superintendent Thursday.
Little’s appointment was approved by the school board 6-1, with Chairman William Grissett voting no.
Little has serve as interim superintendent since former Superintendent Billy Hines retired late last year. He previously served the school system as an assistant superintendent.
There was only one other applicant for the position — Zickeyous Byrd, principal at Escambia County High School in Atmore.
Tate Beats Hueytown In 10
March 23, 2012
The Tate Aggies beat Hueytown (Ala.) High School in the Acentria Aggie Classic Thursday night.
With the 2-1 win in 10 innings, the Aggies improved to 12-1 on the season.
The Tate Aggies will be in action again next Tuesday with a short road trip to Pensacola High School. Game time is 7:00.
True Giant: Bigfoot Visits Area; Driver Climbing The Ladder
March 23, 2012
Bigfoot — one of the true giants in the monster truck world — made a stop at sponsor Alto Products in Atmore Thursday afternoon.
Bigfoot #10 is a 4-wheel drive behemoth that achieves its superior power from Atmore-made Alto Products transmission clutch plates. It is a methanol-fueled fiberglass truck sitting on eight custom nitrogen charged shocks with 66-inch Firestone tires. Over 700 hours of computer design work went into Bigfoot #10.
COMING SATURDAY: Coming up Saturday morning on NorthEscambia.com, we’ll learn more about the role Atmore’s Alto Products plays in Team Bigfoot and the rest of the monster truck industry.
For a photo gallery, click here.
The truck’s driver is JR Adams, a 32-year old Madison, Indiana, resident and father of one. Adams (pictured left) arrived at the Bigfoot team in February of 2011 as a bit of an unknown variable. He had, for a short while, been a driver for the Paul Shafer Motorsports team out of Portage, Indiana. A handful of former PSM drivers have gravitated to the Bigfoot organization (including current star driver Larry Swim) to take a shot at working towards one of the most desirable positions in the monster truck industry: driving for Team Bigfoot.
This had become the case for Adams as well. His time spent away from the monster truck industry had only fueled his drive to get back on the road, and when he heard through the grapevine that Team BIGFOOT was in need of a new display truck driver for their Firestone Bigfoot #8 display program, Adams made a call to St. Louis.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking being the new guy at a place that’s as well respected as Bigfoot,” said Adams. “This place has a heck of a professional reputation, so you’re thinking to yourself ‘Wow, I better bring my A-game’.”
Adams started off his career at Bigfoot assisting some of the team’s drivers at first-quarter indoor events, before transitioning to the role as the driver of the BIGFOOT #8 display truck, one of the team’s most vital positions.
As Bigfoot VP of Sponsorships & Business Development Bob Trent explained, “Our Firestone display program is the cornerstone of our business, and has been for some time. We depend on our display drivers as much as our race drivers to represent our team and our sponsors all across North America. It’s not a job to be taken lightly!”
Adams’ performance operating Bigfoot #8 continually met the team’s expectations, in addition to pleasing the scores of Firestone retailers that he and the truck visited throughout 2011. As the year began to draw down, a realignment in the team’s race driver roster set the stage for an early opening during the first quarter of 2012. Adams made sure he was in place to make the next great leap forward in his career, particularly as the normal route calls for two or three years of display and car crush experience first.
“When I found out that I might have the opportunity to step into one of the team’s race trucks already, I wanted to be sure I was ready. I finally got to do my first car crush performance (in Bigfoot #10) at a Firestone retailer in San Marcos, Texas, in November. It was a great time, and the truck felt amazing – and I knew I definitely wanted to get back into the driving seat.”
Now in the driver’s seat of Bigfoot #10, Adams is now climbing the driving ladder which typically consists of several months of exhibition car crushing and freestyle performances, a path that numerous championship Bigfoot drivers have traveled. Needless to say, Adams is excited about the opportunity.
“I feel like I’ve worked hard to get here, and it is incredibly exciting to have this opportunity in front of me,” Adams said. “I owe a huge thanks to everyone at Bigfoot for giving me a chance and helping me learn and grow and get to the point I’m at now. I’m enjoying every minute of this, but it’s still kind of hard for me to believe that I’m already here.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured: Bigfoot #10 paid a visit to sponsor Alto Products in Atmore on Thursday. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
State Worker Drug Tests To Wait Until Legal Fight Ends
March 23, 2012
After Gov. Rick Scott signed a controversial law that would allow state-worker drug testing, his administration said it will hold off on starting the tests until a legal battle is resolved.
Jesse Panuccio, Scott’s acting general counsel, sent a memo Tuesday to agency heads and lawyers citing a federal lawsuit that opponents filed last year after the governor tried to impose drug tests by executive order.
That lawsuit, which remains pending, led to Scott suspending the tests in June 2010 except for the Department of Corrections. It remains unclear when a judge in Miami will rule on the constitutionality of the tests, but the ruling also would have implications for the new law.
“Because the legal case remains unresolved, the practical and logistical issues involved with implementing drug testing across all agencies remain the same,” Panuccio said in the memo, which was sent to reporters after 6 p.m.
The memo said Scott remains confident in the constitutionality of drug tests and that once “the lawsuit is resolved in the state’s favor, the governor will direct agencies to implement” the executive order and the new law (HB 1205).
Earlier Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida blasted Scott for signing the law. The ACLU has helped lead the challenge to the executive order and made it clear during the recently completed legislative session that the new law also would be challenged.
“(When) this matter lands in the courts, we expect they will make it clear once again that government cannot subject people to suspicionless searches just because it wants to,” ACLU Executive Director Howard Simon said in the statement. “People do not lose their constitutional rights just because they work for the state of Florida.”
The new law, which was overwhelmingly approved by the Legislature, would allow agencies to conduct random testing every three months. Agencies would use a computer system to choose employees to be tested, with the total not exceeding 10 percent of the agency workforce.
Lawmakers did not require drug screening and also would make agencies pay for the tests out of their overall budgets. But Scott made clear Tuesday that agencies under his control would conduct the tests.
“I think it’s the right thing to do for the state,” he said. “Just like a private company, we want to have a productive workforce.”
The law doesn’t take effect until July 1. But Panuccio’s memo said Scott is prepared to defend the executive order and the law at the appellate level, which could signal the possibility of a lengthy fight.\
By The News Service of Florida
$202K To Rehab 4 Homes, Including 105 Year Old, $11K House In Flood Zone
March 22, 2012
The Town of Century has been awarded $202,704 in grant-funded contracts to rehabilitate four private homes in the town — including a 1907 home located in a floodplain.
The town was awarded a $650,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) last year to rehabilitate or replace about nine homes that are currently occupied by persons of low or moderate income. The town also received $100,000 in Residential Construction Mitigation Program Funds for hurricane retrofits.
A 105-year old wood frame home (pictured top) at 541 East Pond Street is among the four selected by the town for rehabilitation. According to the Escambia County Property Appraiser’s website, the home owned by Roy and Rosie Pearl Hale has a taxable value of $10,960, while the rehab cost will be $81,850.
According to the town, the 1,456 square foot East Pond Street home is located in a floodplain — so demolition and reconstruction is not allowed. “The only assistance available to the homeowner is substantial rehabilitation of the existing unit and the homeowner will be required to purchase flood insurance upon completion of the substantial rehabilitation,” according to town documents.
Other homes selected for rehabilitation will range in cost from $34,611 for a home at 210 East Street to $51,701 for a home on Mayo Street (pictured inset). The project for each of the homes is detailed in the graphic below.
Back in November, the town awarded $230,567 in contracts to rehab four other homes.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate Gets Tourney Win; EA Girls Beat Sparta
March 22, 2012
Here’s a look at baseball and softball action from around the area:
Tate 10 — McAdory (Ala.) 5
After suffering their first loss of the season Tuesday, the Tate Aggies bounced back with a win Wednesday.
The Aggies beat the McAdory (Ala.) Yellow Jackets 10-5 in the Acentria/Aggie Classic. The Aggies are now 11-1 on the season. Tate dropped to Pinson Valley 3-2 in eight innings Tuesday.
Tate will play the Hueytown Golden Gophers at 7 p.m. Thursday at Tate (this is a location change) for fifth place in the tourney.
SOFTBALL
Escambia Academy 14 – Sparta 0
The Lady Cougars of Escambia Academy shut out Sparta on Tuesday, 14-0. Sydney McGhee was 3-4 at bat with a single, double and triple. Megan Duncan was 3-3 with 2 RBIs.
Escambia Academy 2 — Sparta 1
In junior varsity play, Escambia Academy defeated Sparta 2-1. Kennedy McGhee and Autumn Corley had doubles for the JV Lady Cougars, while Victoria Sawyer, Anna Catherine Sasser and Carson Barnett had singles.
Race, Morality Enter Senate Redistricting Fight
March 22, 2012
Racial and even moral conflicts entered the already-contentious redistricting process Wednesday as a key Senate committee sent a proposed map to the floor despite Hispanic and conservative Christian disagreements with some elements of the plan.
The maps passed the Senate Reapportionment Committee on a day that at times veered between the unusual and the surreal.
District numbers for the upper chamber’s new redistricting plan — necessary because the Florida Supreme Court threw out the maps — were selected in part by a raffle-style drawing. That prompted one Senate Republican to accuse the panel of breaking the state’s gambling laws.
And the racial politics of Miami-Dade County, which had been relatively muted throughout the redistricting process, have begun to boil over in a battle over whether to create a fourth majority-Hispanic district in the county.
The most unique flare-up of the day came when senators essentially raffled off odd and even seats. Because of the way the state’s term limit laws work, an odd or even seat can mean the difference between a lawmaker serving an eight-year term or getting an extra two years.
The original Senate map gave almost every incumbent in the chamber an opportunity to serve as long as 10 years, one of several aspects of the plan that the Florida Supreme Court said violated the anti-gerrymandering Fair Districts amendments approved by voters in a 2010 referendum.
But the raffle upset some lawmakers who are opposed to gambling and said the new system sent the wrong message.
“I believe that there are people all across the state of Florida that will be very, very deeply offended by the Florida Senate casting lots to make a decision,” said Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico.
Storms later called a point of order and asked for an opinion by Attorney General Pam Bondi during the raffle, saying Senate staff might be committing a misdemeanor by running the operation. Senate Reapportionment Chairman Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, rejected the point but said Storms was free to ask for an opinion from Bondi.
“This isn’t a lottery,” he told reporters. “This is the minority leader and the majority leader advising me as to what they believe ought to be put in the amendment that describes the assignment of senatorial district numbers.”
Storms said she would file an amendment to reorder the districts and make sure incumbents serve no longer than eight years — though she admitted the measure was likely to fail. The current way, she said, would damage the institution over the long term.
“Even though these particular 40 Senators are serving, I think that we have diminished the decorum and the stature of the state of Florida by twirling balls around in a basket and having the secretary of the Senate call out numbers,” Storms said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla said he would take his fight to create a fourth majority-Hispanic seat in Miami-Dade County to the Senate floor. Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, would turn the district represented by Sen. Gwen Margolis, D-North Miami Beach, into one where non-black Hispanics would comprise 66.2 percent of the voting-age population.
But he brushed aside claims that the effort was meant to help his brother, Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who has filed to run for Margolis’ seat.
“Whoever wants to run for that district, that potential fourth Hispanic seat, will have to run and compete with a number of other people, because it will be an open seat,” Miguel Diaz de la Portilla said.
Margolis, in a debate with Diaz de la Portilla in front of reporters, dismissed those claims and said Diaz de la Portilla’s amendment could lock whites out of the county’s delegation.
“This amendment, if it makes a fourth seat in Dade County a protected seat, disenfranchises every Anglo,” said Margolis, who is white. “There will never be an Anglo member of the Florida Senate from Dade County if this amendment passes.”
Diaz de la Portilla portrayed Margolis as an incumbent attempting to cling to power and said deciding not to create the fourth district could open the map up to a challenge under the federal Voting Rights Act.
“You have incumbency protection on the one hand versus enfranchising language minorities on the other,” he said.
The map ultimately passed on a 21-6 vote, with Margolis and three other Democrats joining every Republican in approving the plan. In a separate vote, five Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Gary Siplin of Orlando, opposed renumbering the districts through the raffle.
Democrats who opposed the overall plan said it didn’t go far enough to address justices’ concerns about eight districts, the numbering system and the division of the city of Lakeland.
“We have fixed a few things,” said Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich, D-Weston. “But I think the map simply does not fix a number of the things that the court suggested to us that needed to be corrected.”
Republicans, though, said the map was a success despite the arduous process.
“This is as good a product as you can possibly get,” said Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice.
By The News Service of Florida
Tate High Mock Trial Team Wins State Championship
March 22, 2012
Tate High School recently won the Florida High School Mock Trial Championship in Orlando.
Teams from 18 judicial circuits competed for the state title. Each competed in multiple rounds on the way to the state title. Judges and attorney from across the state evaluated each team.
Tate High School competed in four rounds of competition and then faced off against the Community School of Naples in the fifth and final round to win the state championship title. Tate will represent Florida in the national championship to be held in New Mexico.
Members of the Tate team were:
Asia Cravens, Sarah Barlow, Tanner Newman, Hannah Malone, Matthew Bailey, Chance Sturup, Tatiana Teate, Amy Sapp, Brianna Riddell, Andrew Belt and Ryan Colburn.
Cravens also won “Best Attorney” for her performance throughout the competition.
The Tate High Mock Trial Team is led by teacher Angie Sapp and their attorney-coach Travis Johnson of Meador and Vigosdky.
Justice Harry Lee Anstead (Retired) served as keynote speaker for the program and administered the Lawyer’s Oath to students to be temporary members of the Bar during the program. He addressed issues of professionalism and civility and encouraged students to be friendly and ethical throughout the competition.
This was the 22nd year of the state program administered by the Florida Law Related Education Association, a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan civic education organization.
Pictured top: Members of the state championship Tate High School Mock Trial Team.Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
U.S. Marshals Capture Escambia Child Sex Abuse Suspect
March 22, 2012
The U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested an Escambia County man wanted locally for three sexual assault charges on a person under 18 years old.
Anthony Cherry was captured Wednesday morning around 11:00 while he tried to hide in a bedroom of a house on the 700 Block of N. G Street. Cherry is wanted by Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for sexual battery by a custodian on a victim over 12 and under 18 years of age, soliciting an act of sexual battery by a custodian on a victim under 18 years old, and lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim 12 years old and up to 16 years of age.
According to police reports, Cherry allegedly committed these acts between March 8 and March 11 of this year. Reports also alleged that on one of the occasions he held the female victim’s arms down behind her while performing sexual acts.
Cherry, 36, was arrested without further incident by Task Force members form the U.S. Marshals, Escambia and Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office along with help from Escambia patrol deputies. Cherry was transported to the Escambia County Jail where he was held with bond set at $52,500.