Dine Out This Weekend, Help United Way
March 16, 2012
You can “Dine Out for United Way” and give back to the community this weekend. From March 16-18, several Pensacola area restaurants will donate 10 percent or more of their net proceeds to the United Way of Escambia County.
Over the last two years, United Way’s caring restaurant partners have raised $10,000 to support local people who find themselves unexpectedly challenged with financial, health or education-related hardships. In just those two years, dollars raised by restaurant partners were enough to provide 52,000 hot meals during natural disasters; 3,000 special needs shelter spaces; 43,000 meals to the elderly; and 208,000 crisis line calls answered. This year marks the third year for United Way’s Dine Out fundraiser.
“We deeply value the support of the many restaurants that are choosing to participate this year,” says Andrea Farage, President/CEO of United Way of Escambia County. “We encourage everyone to show their appreciation by dining out at these establishments on St. Patty’s Day weekend. This fundraiser is a perfect opportunity to eat out at some of your favorite restaurants and give back to the community you love!”
Participating restaurants include: Becky’s Eatery, Cajun Specialty Meats, City Grocery Deli & Wine, The Global Grill, The Grand Marlin, H2O, The Happy Pig, The Honeybaked Ham, Moe’s Southwest Grill, New Yorker Deli & Pizzeria, Nippon Express, O’zone Pizza Pub, Peter B’s Sports Grill at DeLuna Lanes, Sake Café, Slips Restaurant, Tropical Smoothie Café and Varona’s.
Softball Photo Gallery: Holmes County Defeats Northview
March 16, 2012
The Northview Lady Chiefs fell to Holmes County/Bonifay 5-1 Thursday evening in varsity softball action.
The Lady Chiefs will be in varsity action again Friday against Freepot. Then it’s a long Spring Break for the Chiefs, who return to play March 27 across the river in Jay.
For a photo gallery from Thursday’s game, click here.
Pictured top: Lauren McCall defends second for the Northview Lady Chiefs as they take on Holmes Thursday in Bratt. Pictured inset: Misty Doran pitches for NHS. Pictured below: Mallory Ryan stretches for a catch at first base. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Academy Beats Clarke Prep
March 16, 2012
Escambia Academy defeated Clarke Prep Thursday in seven, 9-3.
EA scored four runs in the sixth on an error and RBI single by Clayton Dyess. Austin McGhee scored one run and an RBI, while Reid Bell, Jarrett Hadley, Austin McGhee, Cameron McGhee and Dyess each had hits for the Cougars.
The Cougar’s Michael Thompson pitched seven in Grove Hill allowing two earned runs on four hits, striking out five and walking three.
Man Wanted For Questioning In Death Investigation
March 16, 2012
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigators are searching for a person of interest in connection with the death of man whose body was found last weekend.
Deputies want to talk to Richard Lee Campbell because they believe he has information about the death of Everett James Bass IV.
“Investigators believe that Campbell may have information that could assist in the investigation,” according to Sgt. Mike Ward, spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office.
Bass’ body was discovered March 10 as two people were walking in a wooded area near the intersection of Airport Boulevard and Memory Lane.
Investigators are awaiting autopsy results from the Medical Examiner’s Office as to the official cause of death. Results are not expected until sometime next week.
Anyone who has information on the whereabouts of Richard Lee Campbell is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers (850) 433-STOP (7867).
Atmore Christian Beats West Fla Baptist 13-1
March 16, 2012
Atmore Christian School beat West Florida Baptist in Milton Thursday afternoon 13-1 in five innings. ACS will next face Calvary Christian in Ft. Walton Beach.
Pictured top: Christopher Gehman (left), Zach Burnham and Dalton Hart at bat Thursday afternoon for Atmore Christian. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Missing Man Located
March 15, 2012
The body of a man last seen in Cantonment was located today in Baldwin County.
Terry Snelson, 42, was last seen alive on March 9 in the 900 block of Candy Lane.
He was found deceased in Baldwin County today, according Sgt. Mike Ward, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Officials with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office declined to provide additional details as their investigation continues.
Ernest Ward Registration Underway, Forms Due Friday
March 15, 2012
Registration for Ernest Ward Middle School is underway.
Registration cards for the 2012-13 school year were sent home with students on Wednesday with current EWMS sixth and seventh grade students.
Students have previously selected elective courses for next school year. Parents should read the entire card (front and back) and discuss courses with the student. Changes in course selections may be indicated on the card. Parents have until June 15, 2012, to make changes. After June 15, changes will be made only for administrative reasons.
Along with the registration card a paper titled “Directions for Middle School Academy” was also sent home with students. It gives directions for applying online for the Culinary Academy, Electrical Academy, and Graphic Arts Academy at Ernest Ward. Application for an academy must be made online before April 1. Parents should sign and complete the registration card and the “Directions for Middle School Academy Registration” and return them to EWMS by Friday, March 16. If assistance is needed in applying for an academy, the parent may indicate this need by marking the appropriate reply on the bottom of the sheet.
For more information, call (850) 327-4283 and ask for Mrs. Murphy or Mrs. Hanks.
Charges Upgraded To Attempted Murder In Century Shotgun Shooting
March 15, 2012
Charges have been upgraded to first degree attempted murder against a 55-year old man accused of shooting a man as he ran across busy North Century Boulevard last December.
Willie James Floyd of Atmore was booked into the Escambia County Jail Tuesday evening on a charge of attempted premeditated first degree murder with a weapon. He remains behind bars with bond set at $87,000. He had previously been released from jail on a $13,000 bond for lesser charges.
Floyd is accused of shooting 30-year old Deririck Medlock of Hoover, Ala., December 6 as he ran across the 8100 block of North Century Boulevard.
Medlock told deputies he was traveling north on North Century Boulevard (Hwy. 29) about 3:50 p.m. when a white four-door vehicle swerved in front of him, cutting him off. Medlock said he pulled into the Century Quick Stop at 8130 North Century Boulevard to calm down after the near-accident.
Medlock said he was outside his vehicle talking on his cellphone when Floyd then pulled into the parking lot and confronted the him, according to an arrest report. Floyd then retrieved a shotgun from his car and fired into Medlock’s car, striking it with birdshot at the roof line above the rear passenger door (pictured below left).
The victim then ran across North Century Boulevard when Floyd fired again, striking the victim in the leg with birdshot. Birdshot was also lodged in his wallet in his back pants pocket. Medlock hid behind a tree across North Century Boulevard from the store, where he watched Floyd drive away. Medlock then drove to the Southern Panhandle Restaurant just north of the store and called 911. He was evaluated there by Escambia County EMS, and he refused transport to the hospital.
Other witnesses confirmed the details given by the victim, and at the shooting was captured on the store’s surveillance video. That video has not been released by prosecutors.
For more photos from the scene, click here.
Pictured top: Deririck Medlock of Hoover, Ala., explains how an Atmore man shot him with shotgun December 6 in Century as Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Frank Way listens. Pictured inset: Damage to the victim’s car. Pictured below: A December afternoon shooting outside a Century convenience has led to first degree premeditated murder charges against the suspected gunman. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Senate Begins Work On Changing New Evers, Gaetz Districts
March 15, 2012
Senators began looking Wednesday for ways to respond to the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to throw out the upper chamber’s redistricting maps, including districts that include Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
A northern district across Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton and Bay counties held by Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker and the southern portion of the counties making up a district held by Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville were among the eight tossed the Supreme Court.
The court did not like how the counties were split because it said lawmakers could not justify dividing the Panhandle into two districts that ran east-to-west, dividing a number of counties, instead of a north-south alignment.
Wednesday, Senate leaders reiterated their stance, which has come under criticism from some Democrats, that the Supreme Court affirmed the lion’s share of the Senate map by specifically citing just eight districts in its ruling. Any changes are likely to be narrowly aimed at fixing those districts, they said.
“If you know that 32 seats have met the criteria, why upset those 32 if you possibly can (avoid it)?” said Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island.
But the chamber was also colliding with the reality that any change to the eight districts singled out are likely to ripple across the state, as the requirement that districts be relatively equal in size mean that adjustments in one set of lines will cause another to shift.
“We shouldn’t go remedying things that were not pointed out as problems,” said Gaetz. “Having said that, I don’t think that you can only affect eight districts.”
And Democrats, some of whom warned that the first draft of Senate maps did not meet the anti-gerrymandering Fair Districts amendments approved by voters in 2010, were pushing for more. They have insisted that simply tweaking the existing maps won’t do the job.
“Just because facially, the court didn’t say that this district or another district had some issues doesn’t mean that there aren’t some issues there that we could not possibly address,” said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston.
Aside from the incumbents who could see their lines significantly altered, the thorniest potential issue was how to unwind a system for numbering districts that justices also found unconstitutional. All 40 Senate districts are up for re-election this year, meaning that some senators will be elected to two-year terms and some to four-year terms.
But because of the way the state’s term-limits laws work, the districts can be numbered in such a way that most members of the chamber could serve for up to 10 years — longer than the constitutional, eight-year limit for lawmakers. The system adopted by the Senate, which would have allowed that, was struck down by the court for favoring incumbents.
The question now is how to allocate the numbers. Among the alternatives being weighed by the Senate: numbering the districts to ensure no one serves more than eight years; arranging numbers randomly, at least in relation to the odd-even split that determines the length of terms won in 2012; using geography to decide the numbers; or finding some other “orderly pattern” to assign them.
“My own view is that the system ought to be as random as possible,” Gaetz said after the meeting.
But members seemed divided on the question.
Sen. Gwen Margolis, D-North Miami Beach, advocated trying to limit extra time as much as possible, because of the intent of term limits.
“It seems to that the people voted for ‘Eight is Enough,’ and that’s probably what we should be looking at,” Margolis said.
Others were less certain. Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, complained that giving four-year terms to lawmakers who got only two in the 2010 elections, could also fatigue voters if they had to return to polls again in 2014.
“It’s not just the incumbent that I think we should focus on, but it’s the question of the community and citizens themselves,” Montford said. “How many elections should they have to endure?”
House members met briefly Wednesday but will not return again until the week of March 26 to approve a redistricting plan. Redistricting Chairman Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said his committee could meet March 26, with the plan going to the full House the following two days.
The News Service Florida contributed to this report.
Ransom FFA Takes Part In ‘Ag On The Hill’
March 15, 2012
Five Ransom Middle School FFA chapter members recently participated in “Ag on the Hill” day in Tallahassee.
Anabella Garcia, Connor Groff, Patra Miller, Rachel Grammer, and Ashley Stokes were among the FFA members that had the chance to see government in action and promote agricultural education at the state capitol.
Participants were introduced by Rep. Clay Ingram to the Florida House of Representatives in the House Chamber Gallery during a legislative session and were addressed in special chambers by Agriculture Commissioner Adam H. Putman.
The Florida Association of Agricultural Educators (FAAE) in conjunction with the Florida FFA Association and the University of Florida’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), hosted the event.
Pictured top: Ransom Middle School FFA members Rachel Grammer, sentinel; Patra Miller, creed speaker; Anabella Garcia, president; Connor Groff, treasurer; and Ashley Stokes, secretary.