Tornadoes Kill At Least 7 In Alabama; Few Problems In North Escambia Area
April 16, 2011
At least seven people died in Alabama tornadoes Friday night, while the North Escambia area escaped any reported injuries. But Escambia County, Alabama did suffer damage from an apparent twister.
Washington County (Ala.) Emergency Management reports three fatalities in the Vinegar Bend/Deer Park area. The fatalities were a mother and her two children. The father and two other children in the same family were seriously injured. Vinegar Bend is north of Citronelle, Alabama, about 50 miles from Walnut Hill, Florida.
A man also died in Marengo County, Alabama, when his mobile home was tossed about by another tornado, and three people died in Autagua County, Alabama.
Across the North Escambia area, scattered power outages were reported, but there were no reports of significant damage or injuries.
Tornado sirens sounded in Atmore and Poarch as radar indicated a possible tornado passing near Holman Prison. Atmore Police officers near I-65 and Highway 21 reported seeing a possible funnel cloud just north of the city, but no damage was reported.
As that same storm system moved across Escambia County, a possible tornado was spotted near I-65 and Highway 113 north of Flomaton, and a possible tornado was reported near Appleton.
In Escambia County, Alabama — trees were downed on Wildfork Road in Barnett Crossroads and Appleton; multiple structures were reported damaged on or near Highway 31; and a tree was reported down on a home with occupants trapped inside on Damascus Road. No injuries were reported.
Latest Local Unemployment Numbers A Bit Of Good News
April 16, 2011
The latest job numbers released Friday showed a decline in the number of unemployed in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Escambia County’s unemployment dropped almost a half percentage point — from 10.7 percent in February to 10.3 percent in March. That represented 514 people no longer seeking employment, for a total Escambia County unemployment of 14,347 people. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 10.8 percent.
Santa Rosa County also recorded a half point drop in unemployment— from 9.6 percent in February to 9.1 percent in March. Santa Rosa County gained 314 jobs during the period, with a total of 6,485 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 9.6 percent.
Escambia County, Alabama, had experienced over a full percent drop in unemployment — from 11.4 percent in Feburary to 10.2 percent in March. Escambia, Alabama, gained 159 jobs during them month-long period, with 1,466 still out of work.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in March 2011 is 11.1 percent, the lowest since November 2009 when the rate was also 11.1 percent. This represents 1,030,000 jobless out of a labor force of 9,251,000.
The state’s rate is down 0.4 percentage point from the February 2011 rate of 11.5 percent and is 0.2 percentage point lower than the March 2010 rate of 11.3 percent. This is the first over-the-year decline in Florida’s unemployment rate since November 2006.
“The continued decline in the unemployment rate paired with very positive job growth provides a strong signal that Florida’s economy has turned the corner,” said Agency for Workforce Innovation Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo. “While there are still too many Floridians out of work, our economy is clearly heading in the right direction with Governor Scott’s emphasis on job creation and economic development.”
Alabama’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, at 9.2 percent in March, was down slightly from February’s rate of 9.3 percent and was below the year-ago rate of 10.0 percent.
Chiefs Beat The Royals For Top Spot In District
April 16, 2011
The Northview Chiefs beat the Jay Royals 4-3 Friday afternoon in Jay to claim the top seed in the upcoming District 1-2A baseball tournament.
The Chiefs are 12-7 on the season, 7-2 in the district, while the Royals are 12-7, 6-3 for the second seed in District 1-2A.
Northview was led at the plate by Josh Scott. He was 2 for 3, with a double, and 2 RBI’s, including the game winner in the bottom of the 6th to score Kevin Vaughan with the winning run. Kevin Vaughan was 2 for 3 with a run scored, and an RBI. Tyler Brooks was 1 for 3 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI. Dabney Langhorne was 1 for 3 with a run scored for the Chiefs, as well.
Colton Sims was the winning pitcher for Northview running his record to 7-3 on the season. He pitched 7 innings, gave up 3 runs on 5 hits. He walked one and struck out one.
Northview improved it’s district record to 8-2 on the season. The Chiefs return to action Monday, April 18, for Senior Night beginning at 6 p.m. vs WS Neal.
The district tournament begins Monday, April 25 in Jay and continues April 26 with the championship game set for Thursday, April 28.
Cantonment Couple Involved In Crash With School Bus
April 16, 2011
Two Cantonment residents were involved in a crash with a loaded school bus Friday afternoon in Pensacola.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Marvin Beck, 77, was northbound on Pine Forest Road near West Detroit Boulevard about 3 p.m. when he changed lanes into the path of a northbound school bus driven by James Burleson, 32, of Pensacola.
The school bus driver and 28 students on the bus were uninjured. A passenger in Beck’s vehicle, Laura Beck, 75, of Cantonment, was also uninjured.
Beck was charged with improper/unsafe change of lane in the accident that caused little damage to the bus or Beck’s Nissan.
Math-A-Thon Adds Up: Bratt Elementary Raises $2,300 For St. Jude Children’s Hospital
April 16, 2011
The students at Bratt Elementary School raised just over $2,300 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by participating in the Math-A-Thon program.
The Math-A-Thon program includes a free math curriculum supplement for grades K-8 that students complete after obtaining sponsorships from family and friends.
The funds raised by the students benefit St. Jude, where doctors and scientists work to eradicate childhood cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases.
St. Jude designed Math-A-Thon to supplement a teacher’s existing curriculum, while also teaching students the importance of helping others. To participate, students ask family and friends for pledges to solve math problems in the Math-A-Thon Funbook.
House Votes To Repeal Mandatory Septic Inspections
April 16, 2011
The Florida House voted overwhelmingly on Friday to repeal a program mandating septic tank inspections that was passed as part of a springs protection bill last year. The measure passed 110-3.
Backers said the inspection requirement, which was crafted last year in the Senate, created an undue financial burden on septic tank owners and its sponsor, Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna, also said it was a property rights issue. The state has overstepped in requiring the inspections, she said.
“Every day, citizens lose personal property rights,” said Coley.
Voting against the bill were Reps. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth and Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach. The bill (HB 13) still needs Senate approval.
Evers’ Open Carry Gun Bill Passes Senate Committee
April 16, 2011
An open carry law opposed by law enforcement and backed heavily by the National Rifle Association passed the Senate Rules Committee Friday on an 8-4 vote, but some committee members said their support may evaporate on the floor.
The measure sponsored by Rep. Greg Evers allows people with concealed license permits to carry their guns in full view in stores but not at schools and other prohibited areas.
The bill now travels to the floor. The House version was approved by the House Judiciary Committee and awaits action on the floor.
By The Numbers: Using Fertilizer On Your Lawn
April 16, 2011
Many people think a beautiful lawn is unattainable, but that is not necessarily true. A good lawn can be achieved if you develop a good understanding of proper fertilization, watering, pest control and mowing.
Larry Williams, Horticulture Extension Agent in Okaloosa County, provides some basic facts relating to fertilizing a Florida lawn:
Many popular lawn fertilizers have too much nitrogen and too little potassium. A common example is 29‐3‐4. These numbers represent the percent nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), respectively. A 29‐3‐4 fertilizer has a lot more nitrogen (29%) than potassium (4%). Despite the fact it’s readily available, it’s not a good choice for a Florida lawn.
It’s better to select a fertilizer where the first and third numbers are equal or close to equal and the center number is very low. A few examples found locally include 15‐0‐15, 16‐2‐16 and 18‐0‐18.
You may be able to produce an attractive lawn for three, four, five years or so using a high nitrogen and low potassium fertilizer such as 29‐3‐4. But at some point in time, your lawn will begin to decline. This is the misleading part. When the lawn begins to deteriorate, most people blame mole crickets or something else. They never realize the true cause for the decline in their lawn. The excess nitrogen creates a nice green lawn short term (for a few years). But the lawn needs adequate amounts of potassium and other essential plant nutrients, which are not provided by a 29‐3‐4 or similar analysis fertilizer. As a result, the lawn declines with time.
Of the three primary nutrients (N, P and K), potassium is second only to nitrogen in utilization by lawns. Adequate potassium has been linked to reduced disease problems,
improved drought and cold tolerance and enhanced root growth.
Lawn grasses use much less phosphorus (center number) than nitrogen and/or potassium. Because of this and because phosphorus has been implicated as a cause for
problems in our surface waters, it’s recommended to base phosphorus rates on the results of a reliable soil test. In the absence of a soil test, select a fertilizer with 2% or less phosphorus. For a newly planted lawn, choose something like 8‐4‐8 or 10‐4‐10 when a soil test indicates a need for extra phosphorus.
Finally, look for slow release lawn fertilizers. It’s best to purchase a lawn fertilizer with at least half the nitrogen in a slow release form. Usually in very small print beneath the guaranteed analysis you can find a statement about the amount of slow release nitrogen. The words water insoluble, slowly available or slowly available soluble nitrogen or coated are types of slow‐release nitrogen.
Then, some calculations are necessary. If, for example a 10‐10‐10 fertilizer says it contains 5% slow‐release nitrogen, divide the 5% by the total percent of nitrogen (10% in this example) and multiply by 100 to get the percentage of nitrogen that is in slow-release form. In this example it is 5/10 x 100=50%.
Choosing a fertilizer with the right numbers is an important part of maintaining a healthy long lasting Florida lawn. For additional information on this topic, contact your
local UF/IFAS Extension Office or visit http://hort.ufl.edu/yourfloridalawn/ .
Thrower Announces He Will Seek Atmore Mayor’s Office In 2012
April 16, 2011
Just days after Atmore Mayor Howard Shell announced that he will not seek re-election in 2012, a local resident has committed to seeking the office.
Chad Thrower, a gaming agent at the Poarch Creek Indians Tribal Gaming Commission, announced this week on his Facebook page that he has committed to compete in the 2012 mayor’s race.
“We must find ways to bring in more manufacturing companies and grow our retail and service industries as well,” Thrower said. “Once we accomplish that and fight to keep the businesses here we can start an economic cycle of prosperity for Atmore.”
Thower, 27, said he also has an issue with the “massive debt the city has assumed by purchasing the Rivercane property”.
Thrower is currently politically active with Congressman Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty organization. He currently manages six counties, including Escambia, as the group’s Alabama Campaign for Liberty Region I Coordinator.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino Woman Hospitalized Following Dog Attack
April 15, 2011
A Molino woman is recovering after being attacked by two large dogs Friday afternoon.
The incident happened about 2:15 p.m. outside a home in the 5000 block of Chestnut Road in Molino. The woman, who was in her 60’s, suffered bites to her legs, arms and back, according to Deputy Chris Welborn, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
She was transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. Her name and condition were not available.
The dogs, which were described as “large and aggressive”, were later captured by Escambia County Animal Control. They will be quarantined at the Escambia County Animal Shelter.
After the attack, the woman managed to retreat back inside the home.
Her cat was reportedly killed by the dogs.