Photo Gallery: Chief Spirit (And Goat Kissing)
October 9, 2010
Northview High School’s second every homecoming parade ended with a huge pep rally Friday afternoon.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the pep rally, click here.
Pictured above: Northview High School Dean Gary Mattes kisses a goat during a pep rally Friday afternoon at the school. Pictured below: The Class of 2013 cheers during the pep rally. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Photo Gallery: Northview Homecoming Parade
October 9, 2010
Click here for a photo gallery from Friday afternoon’s Northview High School Homecoming Parade.
Pictured: The Northview High School Homecoming Parade rolls through Bratt Friday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Bratt Elementary Students Learn Fire Safety (With Photo Gallery)
October 9, 2010
Students at Bratt Elementary School learned about fire safety Friday from the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue.
Pictured above and below: Walnut Hill District Chief Chris Brown explains fire safety to a group of Bratt students. Submitted and NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Weekend Gardening: Strawberries
October 9, 2010
In many parts of the country, strawberries are a summer crop, but here in Florida they grow best during the cooler months of the year. Plant yours between October 15 and November 15 to enjoy tasty berries in the spring.
Temperatures between 50 and 80 degrees F and less than 14 hours of daylight are required for the development of flowers and fruit on most strawberry varieties. This combination of day length and temperature exists for much of the fall, winter and spring in Northwest Florida.
Strawberry plants are perennial; they can live for several years. However, because of their susceptibility to diseases, we normally grow them as annuals here in Florida. To be successful with strawberries, it’s important to plant the right variety, protect the flowers from freezing weather and manage pests.
The first step in successful strawberry production is choosing adapted varieties. Currently, the University of Florida suggests three varieties for the Florida home garden: ‘Camarosa’, ‘Sweet Charlie’, and ‘Festival’. All three varieties produce attractive, flavorful berries suitable for eating fresh or for freezing.
‘Camarosa’ has been the most productive variety in North Florida. It produces a blocky, dark red berry.
‘Festival’ is the number one variety in Florida. It has good red color and is a firm, conical shape berry with medium sweetness. It is an excellent choice for eating.
‘Sweet Charlie’ is a University of Florida variety. Although it is an older variety, consumers still like it. Its soft sweet fruit is an orange red color.
Strawberries grow best in a location receiving at least eight hours of direct sunlight per day. If a full sun location is not available, try to choose a spot that is sunny during the morning and early afternoon. The soil should be well drained and slightly acidic with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5.
Strawberries can also be planted in growing boxes, strawberry pots, barrels and other containers. For best results, fill your container with a high-quality potting media—do not use garden soil.
Strawberry flowers and fruit can be injured by air temperatures below 32 degrees F. However, if properly planted, the plant itself will not be damaged unless the temperature falls to the low 20’s. If a frost or freeze is predicted, cover the plants with a lightweight blanket. This will help prevent the flowers or fruits from getting damaged.
The key to successful pest management is to begin with healthy, disease-free transplants. If problems do arise, be sure to contact your local Extension Agent for advice and recommendations. Additional advice is available in an online publication located at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs403.
The first berries should be ready to pick roughly 90 to 110 days after planting. The harvest season usually stretches through May with fruit yield peaking around March.
Pick berries when at least three-fourths of their surface has turned red. The fruit quickly deteriorate once it becomes totally red. So, it is best to harvest regularly—every two to four days.
Once picked, the berries will not sweeten any further. Freshly picked strawberries generally keep for only a few days, so be sure to eat them soon after harvest. If you have a surplus of berries, you may freeze them.
Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.
Fire Damages Century Home
October 8, 2010
A kitchen fire damaged a Century Friday morning.
The fire was reported about 9:40 a.m. on Glover Road, just west of North Century Boulevard and was quickly brought under control by first responders.The blaze reportedly started in the home’s oven.
There were no injuries reported.
The Century, McDavid and Walnut Hill stations of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Flomaton Fire Department responded to the fire.
Scott’s Pharmacy Robbery: Woman Charged With Driving Getaway Car
October 8, 2010
A Cantonment woman has been charged in connection with the September 20 armed robbery of Scott’s Pharmacy in Molino.
Krystal Lynn Collins, 24, was charged with robbery with a firearm. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on $25,000 bond.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, deputies believe Collins drove the getaway car for Joseph Daniel Flowers, 56, who remains in the Escambia County Jail on $60,000 bond. Flowers was arrested September 23 and charged with robbery with a firearm, grand theft, possession of a firearm in pharmacy, and wearing a mask while committing a felony.
For a photo gallery from the robbery scene and the suspect’s home, click here.
About 1:15 the afternoon of September 20, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department believes Flowers robbed the pharmacy at Highway 29 and Molino Road at gunpoint while wearing boxer shorts on his head.
The bandit was described by witnesses as a white male in a navy blue bathrobe, blue jeans, black house slippers, yellow kitchen-type gloves, and with boxer shorts on his head. He entered the store and announced that he was robbing the business. Employees said he was armed with a revolver that was wrapped in a plastic bag and pointed at a store employee as he demanded prescription narcotics. Flowers threatened to kill witnesses if the police responded, the report states.
Flowers fled the store with a large quantity of narcotics worth several thousand dollars in two plastic bags, according to the ECSO report.
A witness saw Flowers get into a silver, mid-size vehicle parked behind the pharmacy after the robbery. He was unable to get the tag number from the car, but he did note two stickers, one red and one white, on the vehicle.
Scott’s Pharmacy personnel told deputies that they believed Flowers, a pharmacy customer, was the robbery suspect, based upon recognizing his voice and a unique gait due to a back injury. Deputies found a silver Honda Civic at Flowers’ residence in the 400 block of Molino Road that matched the description given by the witness.
Collins was present at the home on Molino Road, according to the Sheriff’s Office. She told deputies that she had driven Flowers to a Dollar General Store near the pharmacy prior to 11:00 that morning and she had not gone anywhere else. Surveillance video from the Dollar General placed Collins in the store between 1:06 and 1:08 p.m. — just prior to the pharmacy robbery.
She purchased a bottle of Coca-Cola and a Mountain Dew at the Dollar General, according to deputies. Flowers dropped the red cap from a bottle of Coca-Cola inside the pharmacy during the robbery, deputies said. A Coca-Cola bottle without a cap was discovered in the vehicle at Flowers’ residence.
Inside the home, deputies recovered a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver matching the description of the one given by store employees, according to the report.
Pictured top: Krystal Lynn Collins’ mugshot from the Escambia County Jail. Pictured middle inset: Collins (then with blond hair) was briefly taken into custody after the robbery before being released. Pictured bottom inset: The alleged getaway car with two stickers as noted by a witness. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
JV Chiefs Chomp Baker (With Photo Gallery)
October 8, 2010
The Northview Chiefs chomped the Baker Gators 46-32 Thursday night in junior varsity football.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the game, click here.
The Chiefs took the lead less than three minutes into the game with a 26-yard touchdown from Dy’shun White. Chad Smith was in for the two point conversion, and NHS was on top 8-0. With 56.7 second to go in the the first quarter, Baker tied it up 8-8. The Chiefs struck again seconds later with a 70-yard touchdown run from LaMikal Banks. The Chiefs’ point after attempt failed, and they held a 14-8 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Gators tied the game up 14-14 less than a minute into the second quarter. Then with 6:04 remaining in the half, sophomore Kevin Vaughan had three-yard touchdown dash for Northview. White was in for the two-pointer, and the Chiefs held a 22-14 advantage that would stand heading into halftime.
The Gators scored again in the third quarter, 22-20. Then with 37.2 seconds on the clock in the third, Chad Smith scored for the Chiefs. Northview was successful with a two point attempt, with Vaughan tripping his way across the goal line for a 30-20 lead.
Vaughan added another TD in the fourth quarter. The point after attempt was no good, 36-20. Baker answered with another touchdown, but their point after pass was picked off by Tyler Gifford, 36-26 with 6:14 to go in the game.
With 2:17 on the clock, Gifford grabbed an attempted Gator touchdown pass in the end zone for a safety, 38-26. Sophomore Aaron Floyd added another Chiefs’ touchdown with Tullis successful on the two point conversion, 46-26.
The Gators drove to second and goal with 20.5 seconds on the clock, but they were stopped by a host of Chiefs.
The Northview JV Chiefs will host West Florida Tech next Thursday night at 6:00 before wrapping up their season in Atmore against the Escambia County Blue Devils on October 25.
Pictured: Northview beats the Baker Gators Thursday night in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Court: Class Size Amendment To Stay On The Ballot
October 8, 2010
The Florida Supreme Court will allow voters to weigh in on the state’s class size law in the November election, rejecting a challenge Thursday from the statewide teachers’ union that the proposal was misleading.
The Florida Education Association attempted to persuade the court’s seven justices that the Legislature’s attempt to soften the class size provision in the constitution was not being accurately portrayed in the ballot summary that voters will read on Election Day. The language clearly explained that the actual number of students in Florida classrooms could change, union lawyers said, but it did not say that schools would likely receive fewer dollars because of it.
The court, in a unanimous opinion only a day after hearing the case, acknowledged that the funding for schools could change because of the amendment but they disagreed that the ballot language was defective.
“We note that a voter would be able to draw a common-sense conclusion from a review of the ballot summary that the amount of funding needed to sufficiently fund the revised class sizes will likely be reduced,” the court wrote in an unsigned opinion.
In effect, that’s the point. School districts, including Escambia County, have said that in a tight economy they need a little flexibility to make classes larger in some cases. If they have to add a teacher to meet the strict interpretation of the class size law, the school would need more money.
In 2002, voters passed a constitutional amendment that capped individual classrooms at 18 students in kindergarten through third grade, 22 in fourth through eighth grade, and 25 in high school. The limits have been phased in since the amendment was passed. The hard numerical caps went into effect this year.
But it’s been problematic from the beginning for lawmakers and school district officials. As revenues declined, the state could not pump the needed money into the schools and administrators, in turn, voiced concerns they might not be able to comply with the law.
The amendment put on the ballot by lawmakers would allow class size caps to be calculated at a school-wide average, rather than on a per-classroom basis.
The court’s decision marked a victory for legislative leaders, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and some education groups that have been lobbying for passage of the tweak. Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, who sponsored the Senate version of the amendment, said now the battle transfers to the public sphere where supporters have to persuade 60 percent of voters to favor the measure.
“Sixty percent is a very high threshold and the unions are pouring millions of dollars into a campaign to misinform the public,” Gaetz said. “I think it’s going to be up to the grassroots parents’ groups, teacher groups.”
The Escambia County School Board has held public meetings — including one at Northview High School — to encourage support for Amendment 8. The district also released a position statement: “The School Board of Escambia County, Florida, recognizing the need for smaller classes and the need for flexibility at the school level in providing the best education for students of this District, encourage citizens to support proposed Amendment 8 in the 2010 general election.”
Ron Meyer, the lawyer for the Florida Education Association, said that he was disappointed that the court had voted down the union’s challenge, but said that the court’s opinion was not a total loss.
“The Supreme Court didn’t deny the fundamental premise that we brought forward: that passage of Amendment 8 will seriously reduce the amount of money that the Legislature will give to public schools,” he said.
Pictured: The Escambia County School Board lobbied for Amendment 8 during an August meeting at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Baldwin County Man Convicted Of Murdering Atmore Woman
October 8, 2010
A Baldwin County man was convicted Thursday of the capital murder of his mother-in-law, 53-year old Kathy Allison of Atmore, in August 2008. He was sentenced to life in prison.
James Morgan Dorriety blocked Allison’s truck on a Baldwin County road near the Lottie community and then used a rifle to shoot her multiple times. He then traveled to a nearby country store to call authorities and report that he had killed his mother-in law.
A Baldwin County jury returned the guilty verdict against Dorriety in less than 30 minutes. Under a plea agreement, Dorriety admitted to the capital murder charge to avoid the death penalty.
Photo Gallery: Northview Vs. Baker Volleyball
October 8, 2010
The varisty Northview Lady Chiefs had a district loss Thursday night to Baker, while the JV Lady Chiefs pickup up a win.
For a photo gallery from the varsity games, click here.
Varsity
Baker def. Northview 25-23, 15-25, 23-25, 25-9, 8-15.
“We had a lot of up and down play tonight. It is something we have been working on fixing. Next week are two more district games. We need to come out and play hard to secure a top place for the district tournament,” Head Coach Betty Heaton said.
Northview Stats
Shawna Montgomery, Kills-8, Blocks-4, Digs-4, Aces-3, Assists-2
Sarah Killam, Assists-9, Kills-2, Aces-1
Kara Hardin, Aces-4, Kill-2, Digs-2
Ashley Digmon, Kills-1, Assists-10, Aces-1, Digs-2
Morgan Payne, Kills-1, Aces-2, Blocks-4
Misty Doran, Kills-8, Blocks-1
Ashton Gibbs, Digs-8
NHS Varsity (5-14, 3-3)
Junior Varsity
Northview def. Baker 25-22, 25-21
“The JV did a great job staying positive,” Heaton said. “They played hard and came away with a big win.”
Northview Stats
Madison Arrington , Kills-2, Aces-1, Assists-5
Danielle Steadham, Kills–3, Aces-2
Lana Clayton, Kills-5, Aces-1
Alison Bardin, Digs–4
Paeton Hadley, Kills-1, Assists-5, Aces-2, Digs-1
NHS JV (5-8)
Pictured top: Ashton Gibbs (left) and Kara Hardin wait for a serve Thursday night as the Northview Chiefs faced the Baker Gators. Pictured inset: Shawna Montgomery goes up for the Chiefs. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.