Langley Bell 4-H Center Could Be Sold To Navy Federal Credit Union
March 21, 2011
Escambia County could sell the 240-acre Langley Bell 4-H Center in Beulah to Navy Federal Credit Union to grow its customer service center campus.
Within weeks, Navy Federal will employ over 3,000 people at its facility on Nine Mile Road, directly adjacent to the Langley Bell 4-H Center. To expand, Navy Federal, the largest credit union in the U.S., has begun talks to purchase the 4-H property for $2.5 to $4.5 million.
A public meeting was held Tuesday evening at the Langley Bell 4-H Center with a history of the facility, perspective from the Bell family, the current proposal, a Pensacola Chamber of Commerce/Navy Federal presentation and an open period for comments.
4-H supporter Dr. M. Langley Bell, Jr. donated 400 acres to Escambia County for the Langley Bell 4-H Center. The center, which is now 240 of the original 400 acres, is used for events such as 4-H camps, retreats, timber projects, livestock projects, and as a meeting site for extension agents. The Langley Bell 4-H Center comprises about 240 acres of the original 400 acres. Four cabins, a kitchen, meeting hall, nature trails, forestry and livestock educational areas, barns, pastures, a 5-acre lake, and a campfire circle are part of the 4-H center’s learning environment.
Pictured top: Students from Ernest Ward Middle and Northview High schools attend a Forestry Field Day at the Langley Bell 4-H Center in 2009. A construction crane at the Navy Federal campus can been seen in the background behind the lake. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
PBS ‘History Detectives’ Look For Clues In Pensacola
March 21, 2011
Investigators from the popular PBS television series History Detectives followed clues from Illinois to the Pensacola National Naval Aviation Museum over the weekend.
History Detectives host Elyse Luray came to Pensacola with a 1940’s airplane propeller found along a rural airstrip in Illinois, hoping museum experts could help her place the propeller in its proper historical context.
Saturday, Luray interviewed Hill Goodspeed, curator of the museum, and Bob Bothfield who served as an engineer in World War II, about the mystery propeller.
Working beside a rural airstrip, an Illinois man dug up the intriguing find: an eight-foot long wooden airplane propeller. A little research online made him believe that his propeller might be from a TDR-1 plane, a pioneering U.S. assault drone plane from World War II. Various websites say the TDR-1 were the first drones, the prototype of the unmanned assault planes used today in Afghanistan and Iraq.
On the History Detectives episode filmed partially in Pensacola Luray will investigate whether this propeller is an important piece of American military history or simply fell off a local prop plane.
The drone propeller story will air during History Detective’s ninth season during the summer of the year. History Detectives is seen locally on WSRE, channel 23.
Pictured top: Bob Bothfield who served as an engineer in World War II, and History Detectives host Elyse Luray pose in front of a TDR-1 drone on display at the Pensacola National Naval Aviation Museum. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview, Ernest Ward FFA Members Attend Ag On The Hill
March 21, 2011
Students from the FFA chapters at Northview High and Ernest Ward Middle schools attended the annual “Ag On the Hill” event last week in Tallahassee.
The seven students were among about 150 from the state’s 15,000 FFA members chosen to take part in the event that introduces the students to state leaders and the Legislature.
The local FFA members were able to visit with Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam, Sen. Greg Evers and Rep Doug Broxson. They were also introduced on the floor of the Legislature by Broxson.
Students attending from the Northview FFA were Lydia Weaver, Stephanie Solari, Allyson Bullard and Devin Bell, along with student teaching intern Anthony Cannon and FFA Advisor Perry Byars.
Students attending from Ernest Ward Middle School were Haylee Weaver, Allison Woodfin and Bethany Reynolds, with EWMS FFA Advisor Cindy Wilson.
For a photo gallery from the event, click here.
Ag on the Hill is presented annually by the Florida Association of Agricultural Educators, The University of Florida and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Pictured top: Northvew FFA members Stephanie Solari, Lydia Weaver, Allyson Bullard and Devin Bell; Sen. Greg Evers; Ernest Ward FFA members Allison Woodfin, Haylee Weaver and Bethany Reynolds at “Ag On the Hill. Pictured inset: Bullard and Bell on the floor of the Florida Legislature. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Students Awarded In Century Lions Sawmill Pageant Poster Contest
March 21, 2011
Two Escambia County (Ala.) Enrichment Program students were awarded for taking part in a poster contest to promote the 20th Annual Century Sawmill Pageant sponsored by the Century Lions Club. The winners were Mary Deese and Katelin Salter, both fifth graders at W.S. Neal Middle School.
The 20th Annual Century Sawmill Pageant sponsored by the Century Lions Club will be held Saturday, March 26 at 10 a.m. at the former Carver/Century School.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia SWAT Team Ends Stand-Off
March 20, 2011
The Escambia County Sheriff’s SWAT team arrested an Escambia County man this morning when he barricaded himself in his trailer following a disturbance with his live in girlfriend.
At around 5:44 a.m. Escambia County deputies responded to a disturbance at the Timberlake Mobile Home Park on West Michigan Ave. When they arrived, they found an injured victim outside the suspect’s trailer.
The 55-year old victim told deputies that her boyfriend woke her and accused her of stealing his new cell phone. When the victim denied the accusation, her boyfriend grabbed her and shoved her in a corner; he then began to repeatedly shoot her with a BB gun.
Deputies attempted to speak with the suspect, identified as Henry Paul Martin, 41 (pictured), but Martin refused to open the door to the trailer. He shouted out that if anyone tried to come in he would kill them. The victim had told deputies that Martin had rifles, shotguns and a crossbow in the trailer.
After unsuccessfully trying to communicate with Martin, the SWAT team was called.
“Shortly after our SWAT team’s arrival the suspect was taken into custody quickly and efficiently,” said Sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Chris Welborn. “They were able to make the arrest without injury to the suspect or any member of the team.”
Martin was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and aggravated battery. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail where is was held without bond.
Funeral Services Tuesday For Tate Freshman
March 20, 2011
Funeral services will be held Tuesday for Gabriel “Gabe” Kent Carter, the 15-year Tate High School student who collapsed and died Thursday.
The funeral will be at noon Tuesday at the St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church in Cantonment. Visitation was held Monday night at Faith Chapel North Funeral Home in Cantonment.
Gabe began experiencing a seizure in a classroom and collapsed Thursday. The freshman was transported from the school by LifeFlight to West Florida Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Grief counselors were made available at the school Thursday and Friday for Tate students.
Photo Gallery: NWE Opening Day (With NWE And Molino Game Photos)
March 20, 2011
Saturday was opening day for Northwest Escambia Little League, and NorthEscambia.com was there.
We have over 250 photos in our photo gallery, including action from almost every game with teams from both NWE and Molino.
For the photo gallery, click here.
Don’t forget — we’ll be happy to run your youth sports photos here on NorthEscambia.com all during the season Just email them as soon as possible after the game to news@northescambia.com or contact us on our Facebook page with your Facebook gallery.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Did You See The Saturday Night ‘Super Moon’?
March 20, 2011
The full moon brightened the Saturday night sky as the biggest full moon seen in almost two decades.
The moon was at perigee, its closest point to Earth – only 221,565 miles away. The last time the full moon coincided with an extreme perigee was March 8, 1993.
The moon appeared 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter in the sky than lesser full moons — when the moon is farthest from the Earth. But to the casual observer, it was difficult to tell the difference without comparing the moon to a nearby object as in the top photo.
Pictured top: The moon rises behind the Lincoln Memorial in Washington Saturday night (courtesy NASA). Picture inset: The moon rises in Walnut Hill, NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Florida Weekly Government Roundup: Merit Pay Forward, Budget Backwards
March 20, 2011
Once you’re over a billion, a couple hundred million more is barely noticeable.
Still, when you’re trying to erase a budget deficit that’s more than $3 billion, you’d prefer to have new numbers come along that make that smaller, getting you closer to your goal.
All in all, a bad week for budget balancers – which is everyone in the Legislature by constitutional mandate.
They must now erase a $3.75 billion deficit in the next six weeks, instead of $3.6 billion. Economic forecasters agreed late Friday that sales tax collections have remained slower than previously expected and that will leave the state with more than $100 million less in incoming tax dollars than lawmakers thought they would have when they started the session.
If the above sounds like the beginning of a question on the FCAT, perhaps that’s appropriate.
Some teachers this week may have wondered whether they may be able to forecast an increase in revenue in their household budget. Teachers with students who do well on standardized tests may soon be able to look forward to the prospect of a merit pay increase thanks to legislation that passed the House this week and went to Gov. Rick Scott.
Then again, they may not.
While the new law – Scott has said he will sign it – will allow districts to give merit pay raises for teachers whose students do well on tests, the change doesn’t come with any money to pay for those raises (see above paragraphs about the budget shortfall.)
The notion that nobody is really likely to get much of a raise anyway didn’t blunt complaints from many teachers or their union that the merit pay bill is unfair. Many said much about student performance is beyond their control, and their ability to make more money may now hinge on whether Johnny ate breakfast on test day, or whether Susie’s parents bothered to make her do her homework.
The merit pay bill was the high profile item of the week, in part because the measure has been so controversial the last two years, in part because it is a huge change in the way teachers are paid, ditching the tenure system in place for years – and in part because it was the first bill this year to go to Scott, the new governor, and the first he will sign.
The jobs governor – who came into office promising to focus on job creation almost at the expense of just about anything else – will likely not sign an economic development measure into law first, but rather a bill some teachers say may make them look for a job out of state. Scott and other backers of the legislation say that good teachers need not worry, only those who can’t find a way to make students learn, which is their job, will see their earning ability hampered.
Some may also see themselves forced out of teaching, as well. The bill also removes a job protection by allowing districts to hire on one year contracts. The bill also will do away with the last in, first out way of laying off teachers, which meant that eager, new teachers were the ones to go when schools have had to shed jobs.
BACK TO THE STATE BUDGET
While the teachers union would say lawmakers were hard on teachers this week, the Senate looked intent on going easier on schools than previously feared, and easier than Gov. Rick Scott would. The Senate spending proposal for education, as it emerged this week, would cut about 2.3 percent per student from its main school budget, which is far less than a more than 7 percent per student cut in early House plans and a roughly 10 percent cut proposed by Scott.
Sen. David Simmons, who writes the Senate’s PreK-12 budget called his plan “roughly level” and said it was a significant statement of the Senate’s belief in the importance of investing in education.
The Senate may be trying to ease the pain for the current users of the education system, but future users got a shock this week when another Senate committee proposed spiking the popular Florida Prepaid program that lets parents lock in tuition and pay it in advance. It’s far from a done-deal, but the idea of closing it to new enrollees was floated in the Senate Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee this week.
Doing so would have absolutely no impact on the budget and wouldn’t help lawmakers balance it, because the program gets no state dollars.
But Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, said the state would be on the hook should the program go into the red. There’s no indication that it might, but Lynn noted that the stock market hasn’t been doing very well of late.
“With assets exceeding liabilities every year since inception, the program continues to remain financially and actuarially strong with a funding ratio of 105 percent,” Prepaid program officials said in a statement.
Overall, the Higher Education budget isn’t spared the tough cuts facing other parts of the budget. Because of the ending of federal stimulus money, Lynn’s committee is looking to reduce the higher education spending plan by $320 million. A number of Florida high school students also count on the Bright Futures program that makes it easier for many to pay for college. Lawmakers said again this week they are looking to save money by making it harder to get that scholarship.
The governor ended this week as he says he spends much of every day – trying to drum up economic development to create jobs in the state. Scott left the country for his first “trade mission,” visiting the Central American nation of Panama. One of Scott’s bigger job-creating announcements so far was his earmarking of state money earlier this year for an expansion of the Port of Miami with plans to have it get calls from the larger ships that will now be sailing through the Panama Canal, which is being enlarged. Scott checked on that while in Panama this week, along with meeting with government officials there.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The Legislature passes and sends to Gov. Rick Scott his first bill, a measure tying teacher pay to student performance, which Scott says he’ll sign. Also this week, the size of the state’s budget shortfall grew as economists reduced their forecast for incoming revenue.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Just because a cat crawls into an oven and has a litter of kittens, you shouldn’t confuse the offspring with biscuits. Don’t confuse teaching with testing,” Rep. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, on the possibility that some teachers may improve students’ lives even if those students don’t do well on tests.
By David Royse
The News Service Florida
Featured Recipe: Bite-Size Bacon Wraps
March 20, 2011
This weekend’s featured recipe from Janet Tharpe is Bite-Size Bacon Wraps. They may be tiny, but brown sugar and bacon packs a big taste.
To print today’s “Just a Pinch” recipe column, you can click the image below to load a printable pdf with a recipe card.
