Students Remember Principal In Morning Prayer Vigil
August 12, 2010
T.R. Miller High School students and faculty gathered before school this morning to remember longtime Principal Donald Rotch, who died in a head-on collision Wednesday night about two miles north of the school.
Tears were flowing as the student prayer vigil remembered the man had led the school for more than a dozen year and had devoted much of his life to Brewton’s T.R. Miller and Tiger sports. He was often described as the T.R. Miller’s biggest fan.
For more on the accident that claimed Rotch’s life, click here.
Photos courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
School Principal Dies When Hit Head-on By Man Fleeing Police; Suspect Also Dead
August 12, 2010
T.R. Miller High School Principal Donald Rotch was killed Wednesday night when his vehicle was hit head-on by a man fleeing Brewton Police in a high-speed chase.
(Read an update to this story by clicking here.)
Samuel Martin Reid, the man being chased by police, also died in the crash on Highway 31 north of Walmart near Old Castleberry Road.
Brewton Police reportedly attempted to pull over Reid, but he fled in what was described as a “high-speed” chase that lasted for about three miles shortly after 8 p.m. The chase reportedly began after a domestic dispute in the parking lot of the Brewton Police Department. the chase reportedly reached speeds over 100 mph on Highway 31.
Rotch (pictured) was southbound on Highway 31 toward Brewton when his vehicle was struck by Reid. The accident site was less than two miles from T.R. Miller High School.
There were no passengers in either vehicle. The accident is still under investigation by Alabama State Troopers.
Rotch had served as T.R. Miller’s principal for about 10 years. Known fondly as “Coach Rotch”, he served as the head baseball coach and assistant football coach during his long career at the Brewton school. Rotch, who joined the T.R. Miller staff in 1974, was on the coaching staff that led the Tiger’s to a state football championship in 1984 and 1991.
Word quickly spread through Brewton that T.R. Miller’s beloved principal had been killed. Within hours, a memorial Facebook page eulogized Coach Rotch.
“From the Freshmen Class all the way out to our Alumni, Coach Rotch was there. He was a mentor, a principal, a coach, and a friend to all. His name will forever be remembered in the halls of T.R. Miller High School. He changed so many peoples lives with his guidance. He will forever be in the hearts and minds of everyone who knew him. Rest in Peace Coach Rotch, and we will miss you,” the Facebook memorial stated.
Photos top and bottom courtesy WEAR TV for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Sales Tax Holiday Begins Friday
August 12, 2010
Friday will mark the first day of Florida’s 2010 Sales Tax Holiday, offering shoppers the chance to stock up on school supplies and clothing without paying sales tax.
The school sales tax holiday runs from 12:01 a.m. Friday until midnight Sunday. After a two-year hiatus, consumers are excited about the return of a holiday that provides a break at the cash register for families during a time of year when their expenses climb.
Retailers across Northwest Florida are gearing up for a big weekend, stocking up on merchandise and planning for a boost to their bottom line. In addition to locals, retailers are expecting to see a lot of Alabama tags in their parking lots as Alabama residents cross the state line to save a few extra dollars this weekend.
In general, Florida’s sales tax holiday will apply to “the sale of books, clothing, wallets, or bags, including handbags, backpacks, fanny packs, and diaper bags, but excluding briefcases, suitcases, and other garment bags, having a sales price of $50 or less, or on sales of certain school supplies having a sales price of $10 or less for the period beginning 12:01 a.m., August 13, 2010, and ending at midnight, August 15, 2010,” according to the Florida Department of Revenue.
For complete details on exempt items in Florida, click here (pdf).
Florida defines books as “a set of printed sheets bound together and published in a volume.” Newspapers, magazines, other periodicals and audio books are not books and will be taxable during the holiday.
Clothing is defined as any article of wearing apparel, including all footwear (except skis, swim fins, roller blades and skates) intended to be worn on or about the body. Clothing does not include watches, watchbands, jewelry, umbrellas, handkerchiefs or sporting equipment.
School supplies include pens, pencils, erasers, crayons, notebooks, notebook filler paper, legal pads, binders, lunch boxes, construction paper, markers, folders, poster board, composition books, poster paper, scissors, cellophane tape, glue, paste, rulers, computer disks, protractors, compasses and calculators.
The state also has a rule about where purchases can be made or, more importantly, where they can’t be made.
For example, eligible items are not exempt from sales tax if purchased at a theme park or entertainment complex. So, a T-shirt with a cartoon character on the front purchased at Disney World would be taxable, although a similar T-shirt purchased at a department store would be exempt.
Eligible items also lose their tax-exempt status if purchased at a public lodging establishment, aka a hotel, motel, resort, beach cottage, or airport.
Weather Permitting: Watch Year’s Best Meteor Shower Tonight
August 12, 2010
If the weather cooperates, you can look skyward in the North Escambia area tonight for the year’s best celestial fireworks show.
Tonight is the peak viewing night for the Perseid Meteor Shower. With no clouds and a dark viewing location, you can see a meteor every two to three minutes, especially from midnight until dawn, according to Dr. Wayne Wooten, Pensacola State College astronomer. They will seem to come out of the constellation Perseus, rising in the northeast just before midnight.
If you miss tonight’s meteor show, the Perseid Meteor Shower will continue through August 24.
Astronomers say it will be a good show as earth passes through a swarm of dust shed by periodic comet Swift-Tuttle.
“Earthgrazers are meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond,” explains Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. “They are long, slow and colorful—among the most beautiful of meteors.” He notes that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.
Pictured top: Looking northeast around midnight Tuesday, the red dot is the Perseid radiant. Although Perseid meteors can appear in any part of the sky, all of their tails will point back to the radiant. Image courtesy NASA and Spaceweather.com.
Thieves Steal Copper From Church Air Conditioners
August 12, 2010
Copper thieves hit a church near Flomaton, ripping apart all the church’s air conditioners.
Three air conditioning units at Friendship Freewill Baptist Church on Friendship Road were dismantled, with the bandits cleaning out the copper coils. Church members said the theft occurred sometime between 5 p.m. Tuesday and 9:45 Wednesday morning. Two of the units were used to cool the church’s main sanctuary, while one was used to cool their fellowship hall.
The Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office is investigating the theft. Anyone with information on the crime should contact the Sheriff’s Office at (251) 809-0741.
Crist Stumps For $700 Million In Federal School Funds
August 12, 2010
Gov. Charlie Crist’s pitch was simple: Florida is united this time, from school boards to unions, in its bid for up to $700 million in federal education stimulus funds.
The governor and a delegation of Florida educators hope that the everyone-on-board message puts them over the top in a stiff, 19-state competition for the windfall – part of the federal Race to the Top grant program. The Florida group made its pitch in a 90-minute meeting Wednesday with U.S. Department of Education officials in Washington.
Florida is vying for a share of $3.4 billion in remaining education-reform money, which would be used to improve the state’s chronically poor graduation rates, lift low-performing schools and develop performance-pay plans for teachers.
“I think the big difference is the level of support, and frankly that’s one of the first topics that we addressed,” the governor said. “Broad support by the Florida Education Association and the unions around the state is significantly higher than the first time around. That cooperation, that collaboration, bodes well.”
If Florida wins the grant, half will go to county school districts and half will stay in Tallahassee, at the Department of Education, to develop statewide initiatives.
Winners will be announced later this month or in early September.
The Race to the Top program is part of President Obama’s $800-billion-plus stimulus plan passed in 2009. The money is doled out to states that show plans to use data-driven approaches to improve teacher quality and turn around failing schools.
In the first round of federal awards, announced in March, only Delaware and Tennessee won grants. Florida was a finalist – and widely considered a frontrunner – but finished fourth, out of the money.
Only five of Florida’s 67 local teacher unions supported that first bid. Fifty-eight of those locals now back the second, said Florida Education Association President Andy Ford, who was on hand at Wednesday’s meeting to support Florida’s application.
Florida’s Race to the Top application includes a merit pay plan for teachers – a lightning rod in state politics. But the proposal wouldn’t judge teachers solely on student test scores. It allows districts to weigh other factors such as socioeconomic conditions and family problems that can hinder learning gains.
The Republican-run state Legislature caused a stir in the spring legislative session by passing SB6, a bill to base teacher pay and job security mostly on student test scores, but Crist vetoed it.
“Every time (merit pay) comes up it’s controversial, but we’re getting closer,” said Ford. “If we can come up with a system that people believe in, the fear goes away.”
Crist said the lack of union support was the main factor in torpedoing Florida’s first bid for funds. “When you come in fourth out of 50, that’s pretty darn close. Just a little bit more effort should be enough to let Florida prevail.”
The delegation presenting Florida’s case included Crist, Ford, Miami-Dade schools superintendent Alberto Carvalho and Education Commissioner Eric Smith. The president of the Miami Dade teachers union, Karen Aronowitz, also traveled to Washington for the meeting.
The presence of Ford and other union leaders at Wednesday’s meeting, the governor said, “makes a real statement.”
Florida was one of six states to go before U.S. Department of Education officials Wednesday, along with Arizona, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Illinois. Each state made their presentations in private, closed-to-the-press meetings in hotel conference rooms. Only two governors made personal appeals, Crist and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.
The other 13 finalists made their pitches Tuesday.
By Josh Hafenbrack
The News Service Florida
Molino Park, Other Local Schools Use Facebook In Race For $500,000
August 11, 2010
North Escambia schools are using the power of Facebook for an competitive edge in a race for a half million in free money.
Kohl’s Department Stores will give $500,000 to each of 20 schools this year, for a total of $10 million, in recognition of the company’s 10th anniversary of its Kohl’s Cares philanthropic program that supports children’s health and education. During the contest, Kohl’s Facebook fans, currently more than one million strong, can vote for public or private schools that serve K-12 students by visiting www.facebook.com/kohls.
“Our school could use the money in so many ways to support our children,” said Pamala Maraman-Barnes about Molino Park Elementary School.
“If Molino Park wins, we would like to put in a walking/running track and buy a web based Accelerated Reading program for the students,” said Rebecca Hatch, a fifth grade teacher at Molino Park. “What a great way to help them learn and encourage reading.”
” I would love to see a track out there,” said Brandie Ratcliff. She said Molino Park currently has a jogging club that meets after school once a week to encourage physical fitness.
While every school in the North Escambia area is eligible to participate, parents and supporters of Molino Park Elementary School have organized a Facebook drive to garner votes for the school. As of late Tuesday night, Molino Park had received over 1,115 votes — far more than any other local school.
“Our theater definitely needs to be bigger. It isn’t even big enough to hold the student body,” said Megan Carroll, a Northview teacher, in her Kohl’s Care idea posting. “There are so many things that Northview could use this money for.” Carroll also suggested that a year-round computer lab would serve the students well. Northview’s ideas had 125 votes as of Tuesday night.
Here’s a look at the other North Escambia schools, listing their half million dollar idea and the number of votes received by Tuesday night:
- Bratt Elementary – 25 votes, no ideas listed
- Byrneville Elementary — 15 votes. Ideas include expanding the library and computer lab improvements.
- Ernest Ward Middle School — 123 votes, no ideas listed.
- Flomaton High School — 0 votes, no ideas listed.
- Jay High School — 26 votes, no ideas listed.
- Jay Elementary — 15 votes, no ideas listed.
- Tate High School — 232 votes. Ideas include new library computers, upgrade ROC equipment, support for academic groups and clubs
- Jim Allen Elementary — 144 votes. Ideas include library improvements and more books.
- Ransom Middle School — 189 votes. Ideas include funding for the school’s chorus and band.
“At Kohl’s we are excited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our Kohl’s Cares philanthropic program by giving back to the communities that we serve. As kids and parents think about the new school year, we want everyone to dream big about how half a million dollars could impact their favorite school,” said Julie Gardner, Kohl’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “We believe that when communities thrive so does business. We feel so strongly about this program and the positive affect it could have that we have made it the cornerstone of the company’s Back-to-School campaign.”
Kohl’s Facebook fans can submit their ideas for what the school could do with half a million dollars. A winning school must have a least one submission about how the funds might be used. Fans can also vote up to 20 times for their favorite elementary, middle or high schools during this time, with a maximum of five votes for any individual school. The top 20 vote-getting schools, that meet contest criteria as outlined in the official rules and have school officials provide information on how the school will use the money to support educational programs or initiatives, will win $500,000 each. Winning schools will be announced in late September.
To vote for your favorite school(s), visit www.facebook.com/kohls.
Pictured top: Molino Park Elementary School Principal Alice Woodward presents an award to Ashliegh Ratcliff last year. Pictured inset: Molino Park parent and volunteer Brandie Ratcliff with Camren McLemore. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Under Fire: New Law Requires Septic Tank Inspections
August 11, 2010
A new Florida law that requires septic tank inspections is coming under fire as being too expensive in a tight economy.
Florida Senator Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee and a candidate for Congress, sent a letter to Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, asking that legislation to repeal the requirement be brought up if lawmakers return later this year to address economic issues.
Most homes in North Escambia, except those in Century, have septic tanks. Lawson claims the new septic tank inspections could set homeowners back as much as $500 every five years.
“Tallahassee simply cannot impose such a high financial burden on homeowners at this time,” he said. “To do so would likely push a great many of them over the edge.”
There are 2.6 million known septic tanks in the state and the Department of Health said at least 15 percent aren’t adequately keeping sewage out of groundwater. Constantine said only 17,000 were inspected last year. The new requirement would be phased in starting next year, but many people wouldn’t be required to have an inspection for a few years.
Lawson said he is worried that most people on septic systems live in rural areas, and many of them tend to be poor.
“We hear the Republicans talking a lot about government ‘living within its means,’” Lawson said. “They need to stop forcing Florida homeowners to live beyond theirs.”
The sponsor of the springs legislation, Sen. Lee Constantine, said inspections, which will be phased in, will cost less because of the requirement – which will cause inspection companies to jump in number, with the resulting competition driving prices down. A number of them will likely be aggressive in offering deals to get the business, he said.
“We will be protecting Florida waters, that is something people are forgetting about – so we continue to have economic development and growth,” said Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs.
By David Royse
The News Service Florida
Teen Pleads Not Guilty To Dumping Gun That Shot Deputy’s Tire
August 11, 2010
A 16-year old charged as an adult has entered a not guilty plea in an incident where he allegedly dumped a firearm into the middle of a North Escambia street, eventually leading to a shot being fired into a deputy’s tire.
Ladarrious Tamiraye Lett of Ivey Street, Century, is facing charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted delinquent under 24 years of age, tampering with evidence and culpable negligence.
He entered a not guilty plea before Judge Joel Boles and is now scheduled for trial in October. He remains in the Escambia County Jail on $21,000 bond.
Lett was originally charged as a juvenile in connection with the July 14 incident, but his case was transferred to Escambia County Circuit Court.
The incident began at 3:23 a.m. on July 14 when Deputy Scott Rivkin conducted a traffic stop on a black Eagle Talon with no headlights near North Century Boulevard and Henry Streets. The driver of the vehicle was given a warning for failing to use his headlights. Lett was reportedly the passenger in the vehicle. Both left the area.
About five minutes later, Rivkin was traveling on North Century Boulevard in the same area as the traffic stop when when he heard what he believed to be a gunshot. Upon investigation, he discovered a .22 caliber pistol in the middle of North Century Boulevard. When the right rear wheel of the deputy’s cruiser rolled over the weapon, it had fired a round, flattening the tire. Next to the revolver, the deputy discovered one empty shell casing and five live rounds of ammunition.
While Deputy Rivkin was still parked on North Century Boulevard, he noticed the driver from the previous traffic stop and Lett approaching him on foot. The two were separated and questioned as the Flomaton Police Department responded for backup.
The driver told authorities that Lett had dropped the gun out of the vehicle’s window just prior to the traffic stop and that the pair had returned to the area to retrieve the gun. The 16-year old told deputies that he had purchased the gun from an individual, and he provided a bill of sale. Lett admitted to dropping the gun out of the vehicle window, according to his arrest report.
Back To School Orientations Next Thursday, Friday
August 11, 2010
New and incoming student orientations will be held next Thursday and Friday at North Escambia schools.
Orientations will be held as follows:
- Bratt Elementary: Thursday, August 19 from 9-10 a.m. for Pre-K; Friday, August 20 from 8-10 a.m. for K-5
- Jim Allen Elementary: Friday, August 20, 9-10:30 a.m. for all grades
- Molino Park Elementary: Thursday, August 19 from 9:30-10:30 Pre-K; Friday, August 20, 9-9:30 a.m. for K-2 and Friday, August 20, 9:30-10 a.m. for 3-5
- Ernest Ward Middle School: August 19, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. for new and incoming students
- Ransom Middle School: August 19, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. for new and incoming students
- Northview High School: Orientation for ninth grade and new students will be Thursday, August 19 at 8:30 a.m.
- Tate High School: Orientation for ninth grade and new students will be Thursday, August 19 at 8:30 a.m.