Rebuilding Plans Begin For Burned School Library
June 20, 2011
Summer classes will resume tomorrow for Pollard-McCall School, and plans are underway to replace the media center destroyed by fire last Wednesday.
The summer program will return Tuesday, June 21, at the nearby Catawba Springs Baptist Church.
After insurance adjusters complete their work, work will begin on the demolition of the burned structure, which was built in 1998. Officials hope the demolition will be complete before school begins August 15. Then, work will begin to replace the media center and classrooms.
The cause of Wednesday’s fire remains under investigation, but preliminary information points toward an electrical problem.
Pictured top: This is all that remains of the Pollard-McCall Media Center. Pictured below. An adjacent classroom in the same building suffered heavy smoke and water damage. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
School Inventories Normal At Northview, Molino Park, Jim Allen
June 20, 2011
Routine inventories at three North Escambia schools found just one item unaccounted for out of 1,677 items.
No items were missing from Northview High School or Molino Park Elementary School. At Jim Allen Elementary, one 2005 computer destined to be thrown away was not located.
According to Jim Allen Principal Rachel Watts the non-working computer was labeled for discard and may have been accidentally placed in a dumpster by a custodian rather than being returned to the district’s surplus department.
The outdated computer was the only missing item in Jim Allen’s inventory of 566 items with an original cost of $761,657.56. All of Molino Park’s 583 items with an original cost of $948,708.01 were located, as were all of the 528 inventory items with an original cost of $924,343.75 at Northview High School.
The Escambia County School District routinely audits property at schools in the county.
Northview, Jay Announce Band Camp Days; Jay Names Officers
June 20, 2011
Band camp dates have been announced for Northview and Jay high schools.
The Northview High School Tribal Beat Band will hold band camp for current and incoming members beginning in late July.
NHS Camp Dates
- Music and Fundamentals — July 26-28, 7-11 a.m.
- Marching Fun and Music — August 1st-5th, 7-11 a.m.
- Halftime Show and other Music — August 8th-11th, 7-11 a.m.
The Jay High School Royal Blue Band has announced summer band camp dates and named new officers for the 2011-2012 school year.
JHS Camp Dates
- Leadership Camp: July 25-27
- Rookie Camp: July 28-29, August 1-2
- Varsity Camp (required for all): August 3-5, August 8-12
JHS 2011-2012 Officers
- Captain: Noah McCarthy
- Lieutenant: Mike Kelley
- Secretary: Gena May
- Quartermaster: David Herring
- Chaplain and Drum Major: Allison Blair
- Uniform Officers: Rachel May, Tabitha Hoomes, Austin Herring
- Librarian Crew: Chanda Hawthorne, Makayla Patterson, Cody Girardeau
- 8th Grade Rep: Chandler Sedlacek
- Assistant Drum Major: Becca Macks
- Guard Captain: Dallas Belanger
McDavid Mystery: Steamboat Pulled From The Escambia River
June 19, 2011
A McDavid mystery was pulled from the Escambia River Saturday — what the discoverers believe is the remains of a late 1800’s era steamboat.
The boat was first discovered by L.B. Malone barely sticking out of sand and debris near McDavid, and it was pulled to a sandbar by the Greenwell family.
Mark Greenwell believes, based upon some of his research, that the hull is from the late 1800’s, partially based upon the square nails used in the construction and an area of the hull that would have contained the large steam pipe.
“When you look at it up close, you can tell what (the steam pipe) would have been there. The steam side is on the part of the boat that had deteriorated the worst,” said Cindy Greenwell.
The family hopes that they will be able to find an expert to further identify the vessel and that an area museum will be interested in preserving their find.
“It was exciting for all of us,” Cindy Greenwell said.
For a photo gallery from the discovery, click here.
Pictured above and below: Remains of a boat pulled from the Escambia River at McDavid on Saturday. Pictured inset: Mark Greenwell and Timothy Greenwell with their discovery. Submitted photos by Cindy Greenwell for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
WSRE To Cut Jobs, Programming After Scott Funding Veto
June 19, 2011
WSRE will eliminate employees and cut programming after Gov. Rick Scott vetoed $4.8 million in funding for public television in Florida.
Station officials said the veto will cost WSRE about $307,000, forcing the station to cut five of their 27 employees. Staff reductions will be made in the production area, donor services, SightLine reading service and broadcast engineering as of June 30 when the current fiscal year funding ends.
Some local productions will also be going on hiatus, and the “The Lawrence Welk Show” will be pulled from WSRE’s schedule to save programming costs.
The station said viewers can still expect to see core PBS programming such as Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow and NOVA. In addition, the station’s educational services and events for the community will continue.
“The difficult decision to cancel programs and eliminate the jobs of valued WSRE employees was made after an exhaustive review of our entire organization, and with the greatest reluctance,” said Sandy Cesaretti Ray, WSRE’s general manager. “With all of our remaining revenue sources under pressure, these actions were necessary to responsibly ensure the long-term sustainability of the organization and put WSRE on a realistic financial path for the future. We are counting on the increased support of our viewers, corporate support partners, and private foundations to help WSRE rebound from this loss while continuing to retain our award-winning prominence in public media.”
Have Your Say In Redistricting Florida
June 19, 2011
The redistricting process is underway in Florida, and there’s only one meeting in the area if you want to have input into the process.
The Florida House and Senate redistricting committees will hold their first round of joint public meetings in Pensacola on Tuesday.
These meetings will give the public an opportunity to start the conversation about redistricting and share their ideas directly with Florida legislators. For more information on the Florida House of Representatives’ redistricting efforts, visit FloridaRedistricting.org.
A Public Redistricting Meeting will be held Tuesday from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the WSRE TV Amos Studio at 1000 College Boulevard in Pensacola.
Local Students Attend Arkansas Leadership Forum
June 19, 2011
Three local students recently attended the 55th annual National National Leadership Forum at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.
The North Escambia area students attending were Elizabeth Wright, Northview High ; Mary Andre, Tate High and Caleb Curl, West Florida High.
The delegates were sponsored by the Pensacola Civitan Club, along with local businesses and individuals. The students were instructed in the values and qualities of leadership and how our country has developed its leaders. They also addressed contemporary issues facing young leaders in high school.
The event was attended by 300 students from five states.
Sherrill Soloist In Berry College Performance
June 19, 2011
Kate Elizabeth Sherrill of Walnut Hill recently performed as a soloist in the Berry College Concert Choir’s spring oratorio.
Sherrill was featured with guest soloist, internationally renowned baritone, Elias Mokole, in Anotonin Dvorak’s Te Deum, Opus 103.
She also performed in the Berry College theater department’s spring production of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, a modern remake of the ancient Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice. Sherrill played the title role.
Sherrill is a senior vocal performance major with a minor in theater. She is the daughter of Kent and Anne Sherrill of Walnut Hill and the granddaughter of Dean Graham of Atmore.
Pictured: Kate Sherill of Walnut Hill following her performance in Eurydice in which she was dipped in the “river of forgetfulness”. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
For The Birds And Bees: It’s National Pollinator Week
June 19, 2011
This week goes to the birds and the bees – and to all of the other pollinators that keep our world growing and productive. June 20-26 is National Pollinator Week, and its intent is to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators to plants, animals, and humans.
As pollinators gather nectar and pollen for their survival, they are responsible for the reproduction (the production of fruits, seeds, nuts, etc.) of 70 percent of all flowering plants and two-thirds of crop plants. This ecological service is worth $14.6 billion annually in the United States, quite a chunk of change for this diverse batch of insects, birds and mammals.
Unfortunately, many of the world’s pollinators are at risk. Studies have shown that about a third of the nation’s managed honeybee colonies are lost each year, a trend that has held steady for the past five years. Pesticides and other toxins have also reduced the number of butterflies and other crucial pollinators.
But it’s not all gloom. An army of agencies and nonprofit groups have assembled to help restore and protect pollinator populations. And there are things you can do in your very own yard to help pollinators flourish.
First, you can incorporate pollinator friendly plants into your landscape. A diverse planting of mostly native plants is typically best. By diverse, we mean use of flowers with different shapes, colors and times of bloom. Natives include beardtongue, coreopsis, black-eyed susan, native sunflowers, purple coneflower, beebalm, tropical sage, and milkweed.
You can also provide nesting sites for bees, called bee blocks. To make a bee block, start with preservative free lumber and drill holes 3/32 to 3/8 inches in diameter. Holes should be spaced 3/4 inches apart, and they should only be open at one end.
Avoid using pesticides. While pesticides kill those pesky bugs, they take out a lot of beneficial bugs, too. Explore non-pesticide options when protecting yourself and your plants. Planting certain plants can ward off unwanted bugs or attract those good bugs to ward them off for you.
You can also promote pollinator habitat in your community. Greenspaces like parks and golf courses can provide valuable habitat for pollinators. As urbanization continues to deplete natural lands, these green spaces can serve as sanctuaries for pollinators. Encourage your local leaders and golf course owners to use landscaping and pesticide management best suited for pollinators.
Roadsides are another resource for helping pollinators. American roadsides have 10 million acres of land that could be ideal habitat. Ask your local and state highway officials to plant or allow native vegetation to colonize roadsides, creating an aesthetically pleasing vista for motorists as well as helping pollinators.
USDA and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recognize the importance of pollinators. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack designated this week as National Pollinator Week as a way to honor pollinators, “which provide significant environmental benefits necessary for maintaining healthy, biodiverse ecosystems,” Secretary Vilsack wrote in his proclamation. The NRCS promotes pollinator habitat in its cost-share programs, which gives landowners incentives to establish nectar corridors and pollinator nesting habitat.
Pollinators on the Web
For information on NRCS programs, visit www.fl.nrcs.usda.gov.
For information on pollinators, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/pollinators .
For a copy of NRCS’ “Be Kind to Pollinators” brochure, call 1-888-526-3227.
For information on National Pollinator Week, visit www.pollinator.org.
Some other helpful sites are www.xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/ and www.abfnet.org.
Joshua McElhaney is a District Conservationist with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). He works in the Molino (Escambia County) Field office. For additional details contact the Escambia County, FL USDA NRCS office at (850) 587-5404 ext. 3. Located at 151 Hwy 97, Molino (Escambia County Farm Bureau Building).
Florida Weekly Gov’t Roundup: Worries About Drug Test Problems, Granny Dumping
June 19, 2011
Florida health care officials hit the road this week to hold hearings about the new Medicaid overhaul — and got an earful about “granny dumping” and endangered mom-and-pop pharmacies.
The Agency for Health Care Administration, which held 10 hearings from Pensacola to Fort Myers, can do little about many of the objections. In passing the overhaul, lawmakers required that seniors enroll in managed-care plans and decided against giving special treatment to independent drug stores.
But the hearings are a prelude to AHCA seeking all-important approval of the overhaul from the Obama administration. The objections could offer fuel for opponents who want the federal government to reject the Legislature’s plan.
Gov. Rick Scott, meanwhile, accomplished a priority this week when he signed a bill combining agencies into the new Department of Economic Opportunity. The bill includes dismantling the Department of Community Affairs, a move that is already starting to ripple through growth decisions.
But word also got out this week that Scott has delayed moving forward with a plan to require drug testing for state employees. He decided not to implement the plan while the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida challenges its constitutionality in federal court.
MEDICAID ROAD SHOW:
AHCA faces an Aug. 1 deadline for submitting a detailed proposal to the federal government to carry out the Medicaid overhaul, which calls for almost all beneficiaries to enroll in managed-care plans by October 2014.
That short time frame sent agency officials barreling across the state this week to hold public hearings. They held as many as four in one day — hitting Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami Gardens on Thursday.
Hundreds of people turned out for the hearings, with many critical of the overhaul. During a hearing Monday, Pensacola resident Julia Pearsall warned of glitches in moving to the managed-care system.
“What happens in the short run can be a matter of life and death to the recipients,” said Pearsall, who has long worked on social-service issues.
It was also clear from the hearings that some of the opposition was well-organized. Community pharmacy operators, for instance, turned out en masse because of concerns that HMOs will use mail-order pharmacies to fill prescriptions for Medicaid beneficiaries.
“With unemployment and the economy the way it is, it seems illogical to put more stress on independent business,” said David Enfinger, of A&E Pharmacy in Pensacola.
Another common refrain came from people opposed to requiring seniors to enroll in managed care. An oft-repeated sound bite: The overhaul will lead to “granny dumping,” with HMOs trying to keep seniors out of nursing homes.
Managed-care industry officials, however, argued that they will improve the care of Medicaid beneficiaries.
“We’re not managed costs,” said William McHugh, president of Amerigroup Florida. “We’re managed care.”
JOBS AND BODILY FLUIDS:
Florida got a glimmer of good news Friday, with the announcement that May’s unemployment rate was 10.6 percent — down 0.2 percent from April.
But Gov. Rick Scott made the biggest jobs-related news, when he signed a bill to create a new economic-development agency and acknowledged putting off drug tests for state workers.
The new Department of Economic Opportunity will merge agencies such as the Agency for Workforce Innovation and the remnants of the Department of Community Affairs.
Scott said the bureaucratic changes are intended to help create jobs. Dismantling the Department of Community Affairs, for example, largely eliminates state oversight of local growth decisions, removing a potential roadblock to development.
“The bill I signed today provides us flexibility to seize opportunities created by developing markets and effectively respond to the changing needs of the businesses that grow our economy,” Scott said in a prepared statement.
State workers, meanwhile, got at least a temporary reprieve from Scott’s drive to start requiring drug tests. Scott issued an executive order in March calling for the tests but put them on hold amid an ACLU lawsuit.
Scott and his staff denied that he was backing away from the tests. “We’re going forward with it,” the governor said. “We’re going forward, it’s just a process.”
But ACLU officials described the decision as a “retreat” and said the executive order is a violation of state employees’ rights.
“We are pleased that this new order has delayed subjecting thousands of state employees to demeaning, invasive and illegal tests of their bodily fluids,” ACLU legal director Randall Marshall said. “But it does not change our constitutional challenge.”
2012 AND BEYOND:
The 2012 legislative session is still seven months away, but a battle is already building about redistricting.
After supporting 2010 constitutional amendments that created new redistricting standards, several groups this week called on lawmakers to speed up the once-a-decade process of drawing new political lines. The process is scheduled to start in January, though the groups fear that will lead to chaos in candidate qualifying for the 2012 elections.
Also, the groups — including the state NAACP, the League of Women Voters of Florida, Hispanic advocacy group Democracia and Common Cause Florida – asked the House to drop out of a lawsuit that challenges one of the amendments.
“Please let us know that you will do your duty, abide by your oaths to enforce the Florida Constitution, and comply with the Fair Districts amendments,” the groups said in a letter to legislative leaders dated Tuesday.
Republican leaders, who have long opposed the amendments, said they think many of the complaints are politically motivated and aimed at helping Democrats.
“While I would hope that is not the case, how else can we interpret their suggestion that members of the public have less time to speak and to offer input prior to the maps being drawn,” said House Redistricting Chairman Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, who is scheduled to become speaker after the 2012 elections.
Democrats, meanwhile, also have longer-term political concerns as they try to figure out who might be a good gubernatorial candidate in 2014. Among the possibilities: unsuccessful 2010 nominee Alex Sink, Sen. Jeremy Ring of Margate, former Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach — and maybe even former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who is a man without a party.
“”Never underestimate Charlie Crist’s ability to shake things up,” Democratic campaign operative Steve Schale said.
KID STUFF:
It was a rough week for some students, both young and old.
The Florida Department of Education directed numerous school districts to investigate suspicious test scores on FCAT and end-of-course exams because of high numbers of erased answers. The districts are Broward, Miami-Dade, Duval, Flagler, Gadsden, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lee, Leon, Manatee, Orange, Palm Beach, Polk and Seminole.
Meanwhile, college students will get hit in the wallet again, as state universities looks to plug budget deficits. All of the state’s universities are expected to seek 15 percent increases next year in undergraduate tuition.
But on the bright side, Florida kids got a high-profile backer this week, when First Lady Ann Scott became the state’s new Chief Child Advocate.
Roy Miller, president of the Children’s Campaign, an advocacy and watchdog group, said he would have preferred to see a full-time child advocate along with the First Lady. But he also expressed optimism.
“We understand the importance of pillow talk to helping children, and we’re looking forward to working with her,” he said.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The Agency for Health Care Administration held hearings throughout the state, as it prepares to submit a detailed Medicaid overhaul to the federal government.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “There are members of my community, of the African-American community, who are sick and tired of a bleached Parole Commission,” said Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, after Scott and the Cabinet decided against reappointing Cassandra Jenkins to the Parole Commission, leaving it with no African-Americans.
By Jim Saunders
The News Service of Florida