In Detail: Pensacola State College Lease At Old Carver/Century School

August 17, 2011

Pensacola State College is leasing a portion of the former Carver/Century K-8 School in Century, with plans to offer workforce education and college courses.

PSC is leasing the middle school portion of the former school on Hecker Road — about 26,000 square feet on 10 acres – from the Escambia County School District. The middle school buildings were constructed in 2003 and have been empty since the school closed in 2009.

Pensacola State’s rent will be $60,000 per year, payable at $5,000 month. The three year lease can be extended up to three additional years under the current contract. Beginning in 2014, the rent increases each year, up to $5,566.17 per month in 2016.

“We believe this lease and Pensacola State provide a good opportunity for the north end,” Escambia School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said. “It is great to see the building involved in education again.”

Click here to read more about PSC’s plans for Century.

Pictured top: A small, temporary sign marks the new location of Pensacola State College’s Century center at the old Carver/Century K-8 School. Pictured below: The interior of the building as seen Tuesday, August 16. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Preseason Poll: Northview Chiefs Number One In Florida 1A

August 17, 2011

The Northview High School Chiefs are the top-ranked Class 1A football team in Florida, according to rankings released by the national website maxpreps.com.

Maxpreps ranked Northview No. 1 in Class 1A, followed by Jefferson County (Monticello) at No. 2 and Holmes County at number No. 3.

Freeport — the Chiefs’ October 21 opponent — is ranked at No. 5. Other ranked 1A teams that Northview will faced this year are Vernon  at No. 7, Chipley at No. 12,  Baker at No. 17, South Walton at No. 20.

The Chiefs will begin play with a Fall Classic against Bay High School on August 26. Northview begins regular season play September 9 on the road at Marianna.

Pictured: Two Northview defenders take down a Trinity Christian Conqueror in the Class 1A Semifinals last December. NorthEscambia.com file photo.

Flomaton Man Busted With 300 Pot Plants

August 17, 2011

An Alabama man was arrested after admitting ownership of about 300 marijuana plants found on his property Monday.

A law enforcement aircraft operating in Escambia County, Alabama, located the marijuana plants in the area of Crabtree Road off Lambeth Road northwest of Flomaton.

Agents with the 21St Judicial Drug Task Force and deputies with the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office were contacted and responded to the scene where they were met by the property owner, Donald Huie. Authorities said Huie admitted that the plants were his.

Agents executed a search warrant and found about 300 marijuana plants ranging in height from four inches to seven feet in the immediate vicinity of Huie’s residence. They also reported finding a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia inside his residence.

The 62-year old Huie was booked in the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton on charges of first degree unlawful possession of marijuana , second degree drug manufacturing and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Overcoming Handicaps: Molino Artist Instructs Century Care Residents

August 17, 2011

A physical handicap should not stand in the way of art — that’s what residents of the Century Care Center learned Tuesday from a Molino artist.

Shawn Rudd, 38, suffers from muscular dystrophy. He can barely left his right arm without the assistance of his left. Unable to reach up to a traditional easel, he paints with his canvas flat on a table.

“The residents can’t use the ‘I can’t do that, I’m handicapped excuse’,” Activities Director Mae Hildreth said of Rudd’s new painting class offered to Century Care Center residents each month.

Tuesday, residents learned about watercolor technique from Rudd, adding color to black and white sketches he prepared.

“If it goes as well as I believe it will, we will have a gala art show in a few months,” Hildreth said.

For more photos from Tuesday’s art classes, click here.

Pictured above and below: Century Care Century residents learn about watercolor painting Tuesday. Pictured inset:  Molino artist Shawn Rudd. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Back To School: School Bus Schedules

August 17, 2011

School begins Monday in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

Escambia County has released its school bus routes and schedules for the upcoming school year. Santa Rosa County does not provide their routes and schedules publicly due to privacy concerns. Santa Rosa County parents can contact their child’s school or call (850) 983-5100.

The following are the bus schedules for North Escambia area schools:

The following are the bus schedules for all Escambia County Schools:

Elementary Schools

Middle Schools

High Schools

Other Routes

Louisiana Man Indicted For Escambia Murder

August 17, 2011

A Louisiana man has been indicted for murder by an Escambia County grand jury.

Christopher Eugene Stallworth, 25, was  indicted for first degree murder, burglary while armed, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and grand theft auto.

On July 24, 2011, the badly beaten body of Jerry Wayne Ledden was found at his home on Mitchell Lane  by his sister and brother-in-law.

Ledden’s Cadillac, guns, and cell phone were missing from the residence. Stallworth has been behind bars since July 27  on suspicion of homicide in connection with the death of the 65-year-old man. He will be arraigned on August 18, 2011.

Former Escambia Contractor Wanted In Five States For Fraud

August 17, 2011

Authorities are looking for a  former Escambia County man wanted in five states  for contractor fraud.

The St. Charles Parish (Louisiana) Sheriff’s Office is looking for Philip Livesay, 64, because they say he was paid a $6,150 deposit to do concrete work at a fire department there.

Livesay allegedly showed up for work a couple of days, doing very little work, and then disappeared. The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office said the work was never completed, the money was not refunded and no one can find Livesay.

Livesay has outstanding warrants in Escambia County for grand larceny and fraud, and he is also wanted for similar crimes in South Carolina, Michigan and Virginia.

He is a former resident of Old Corry Field Road in Escambia County.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Philip Livesay is asked to call their local law enforcement agency.

No Injuries In Brewton Plane Crash

August 17, 2011

There were no injuries in an aircraft mishap Tuesday morning in Escambia County, Alabama.

The pilot of a fixed wing single engine Piper plane apparently experienced mechanical problems as he was landing at the Brewton Municipal Airport and ran off the runway into a ditch.

The plane had taken off from Grouby Field in Prattville, Alabama, about 7:14 a.m. with a planned destination of Brewton, according to tracking site Flightaware.com. The pilot’s identity was not available. The aircraft, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, is registered to William Hereford of Pell City, Alabama.

Florida’s Top Transportation Officials Tour Escambia County

August 17, 2011

Florida’s top transportation officials toured several Escambia County locations Tuesday to understand the area’s transportation needs.

Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad and District Secretary Tommy Barfield toured the Port of Pensacola, the Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport, and the GE Turbine Manufacturing facility during a daylong tour of the Escambia County area.

Officials said the main focus of the visit was to gain better knowledge on how transportation plays a major role in the day to day operation of sea and airports in Escambia County and Northwest Florida.

“Today’s port and airport visit highlights the interconnected nature of transportation and the need to make critical investments in infrastructure to unleash private sector investment and job creation,” Prasad said.

“Our visit to Pensacola is a reminder of the role we play in a three way partnership between the City of Pensacola, Escambia County and the department. This partnership continually encourages investment into job creation in Northwest Florida,” Barfield said.

Jury Picked In Double Murder Trial Of Cantonment Man

August 16, 2011

A jury was seated Monday morning in the double murder trial of Phillip Arnold, the Cantonment man accused in the stabbing death of a pregnant Cantonment woman and her baby last summer.

The 66-year old Arnold, is facing two first degree premeditated murder charges for the stabbing deaths of Angela Castella Brown, 44, and her newborn child on July 5, 2010, in Cantonment. Arnold’s trial is set to begin Thursday and is excepted to last two days.

Brown, who was six months pregnant, underwent an emergency C-section after she was stabbed. The newborn, later named Angela Chambers, died just over seven hours after being delivered.

Arnold, 65, of 349 South Chipper Road, fatally stabbed Brown in the chest, according to the State Attorney’s Office. Arnold and Brown were neighbors, and that was their only known connection, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were dispatched to the stabbing at a mobile home at 349 South Chipper Road about 8:35 p.m on July 5. When they arrived, witnesses told deputies that Arnold fled into a nearby wooded area. As deputies were arriving in the area, EMS personnel advised they had seen a black male running down the railroad tracks on South Chipper Road.

Witnesses at the scene reported observing a black male known to them as Arnold running from the scene moments before they discovered the victim, according to the Sheriff’s Office. K-9 officers attempting to track Arnold discovered a knife that was believed to be the murder weapon. As deputies were surrounding the area to search for Arnold, he called sheriff’s dispatchers about 9:10 p.m. Arnold said he was at a home at 2473 Stacey Road and that he wanted to turn himself in. He was taken into custody without incident.

Brown was the mother of seven other children ranging in age from an infant to 18-years old.

Arnold remains in the Escambia County Jail without bond.

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