Walnut Hill Man Arrested For Beating Son With Stick
June 17, 2010
A Walnut Hill man was jailed on child abuse charges for allegedly beating his son with a stick.
Andrew Kelly Freeman, 41, is facing child abuse, aggravated battery and battery charges. He was released on $11,000 bond.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Freeman’s 14 and 17 year old sons, who live in Georgia with their mother, have been visiting Freeman at his home in the 7000 block of Occie Phillips Road.
The victim told deputies that he and his brother had grown tired of watching Freeman, their father, “verbally arguing and constantly staying drunk”, according to the Sheriff’s Office arrest report. The two boys decided to walk to a nearby house to call their mother to pick them up.
On the road to the neighbor’s house, Freeman reportedly pulled up in his pickup truck behind the boys and told them to put their bags in the truck and return to his residence. When the 14-year old victim refused, Freeman reportedly struck him multiple times on the back with a stick, breaking the stick. Freeman also grabbed the boy and punched him in the face with closed fist, the report states.
Deputies reported finding multiple abrasions on the victim’s back and a bruised and swollen area on the side of his face.
The boys returned to Georgia with their mother, according to the report.
Freeman is due to be in court July 8 for an arraignment hearing.
Jay Varsity, JV Cheerleaders Win Top Honors At Auburn Camp
June 17, 2010
The Jay High School cheerleaders recently won top honors at a Universal Cheerleaders Association camp at Auburn University.
Both the varsity and junior varsity squads received superior scores for their cheer and dance routines. On the final day of camp, a “Camp Champs Competition” was held with about 30 squads.
The Jay junior varsity squad won first place in the JV Division for “Best Cheer”. The Royal varsity squad won second place in “Overall Best Cheer” and second in “Overall Best Dance” in the Large Varsity Division.
Tessa Hendricks, a member of the Jay varsity team, was named to the All-American Cheerleading Squad and received a pin for her leadership skills at camp.
Members of the Jay varsity cheerleading squad are: Katie Borders, Crystal Brown, Bethany Diamond, Camille Driver, Kyrah Dunsford, Ashton Edwards, Katheryn English, Tessa Hendricks, Sha Kinder, Morgan Lewis, Sierra Mills, Carly Owens, Meredith Owens, Jody Paramore, Abby Raney, Hannah Roberts and Summer Simmons.
Members of the Jay junior varsity cheerleading squad are: Kaitlyn Aguirre, Brittani Ashworth, Makenzie Bray, Launa Burkhead, Savannah Dubose, Kayla Flowers, Danielle Harrington, Summer Joyner, Leslie Kinder, Samantha Pearson, Alisha Roberts, Alaina Smith, Paige Smith, Brittany Tegenkamp, Brooke Tegenkamp, Jessica Thornton, Kendra Wells and Emily Wright.
Mid-Qualifying Week: List Of Escambia Candidates
June 17, 2010
It’s qualifying week for candidates in Escambia County, except for those that will seek office in the Town of Century.
Candidates that had prefiled must still file their qualifying paperwork by noon on Friday for county offices. Qualifying for Town of Century offices will take place July 26-30.
The following candidates had qualified by the close of business Wednesday:
County Commissioner, District 2
Dave Murzin (Qualified 6/16/10)
Gene M. Valentino (Qualified 6/15/10)
County Commissioner, District 4
Dennis Green (Qualified 6/14/10)
Danny Lewis (Qualified 6/14/10)
School Board, District 1
Jeff Bergosh (Qualified 6/14/10)
Luke Keller (Qualified 6/16/10)
D. Hosea Pittman (Qualified 6/14/10)
School Board, District 2
Gerald W. Boone (Qualified 6/14/10)
Virginia R. White (Qualified 6/16/10)
School Board, District 3
Linda F. Moultrie (Qualified 6/14/10)
Charlie Nichols (Qualified 6/14/10)
ECUA, District 2
Lois Benson (Qualified 6/16/10)
Stephen Burand (Qualified 6/14/10)
ECUA, District 4
Dale Perkins (Qualified 6/16/10)
Ronald Ward (Qualified 6/14/10)
Escambia Soil & Water Conservation District, Group 2
(none to date)
Escambia Soil & Water Conservation District, Group 4
Lynn L. Laird (Qualified 6/14/10)
Escambia Soil & Water Conservation District, Group 5
(none to date)
Santa Rosa Island Authority
Thomas Campanella (Qualified 6/14/10)
City of Pensacola
Mayor
Ashton Hayward (Qualified 6/14/10)
Diane Mack (Qualified 6/14/10)
Mike Wiggins (Qualified 6/14/10)
City Council At-Large A
Megan Benson Pratt (Qualified 6/16/10)
City Council At-Large B
Sam Hall (Qualified 6/16/10)
City Council, District 1
Steve Fulford (Qualified 6/16/10)
P.C. Wu (Qualified 6/14/10)
City Council, District 2
Sherri Myers (Qualified 6/14/10)
Courtney B. Peterson (Qualified 6/14/10)
City Council, District 3
Maren Laycock DeWeese (Qualified 6/15/10)
City Council, District 4
Larry B. Johnson (Qualified 6/16/10)
City Council, District 5
(none to date)
City Council, District 6
Jewel Cannada-Wynn (Qualified 6/15/10)
City Council, District 7
(none to date)
Northview Announces Summer Hours
June 17, 2010
Northview High School has announced hours of operation for the summer.
Northview employees are working a condensed scheduled from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m., Monday – Thursday. The school is closed on Friday of each week, except for Friday, July 9, from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
Regular hours will resume on August 2.
George And Mary Nell Gibbs To Celebrate 50th Anniversary
June 17, 2010
George and Mary Nell Gibbs will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on Friday, June 18, 2010.
Their sons, Eddie, Jake and John and their families, invite friends and family to their anniversary celebration. Festivities will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 18 at the Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church in Jay.
George and Nell were married June 18, 1960 and were blessed with three boys. They moved to Dixonville, in 1967. George was employed with the Civil Service at Whiting Field for 36 years, ad Nell was a devoted stay-at-home mom to her boys. The couple has seven grandchildren.
The couple is looking forward to celebrating this occasion with their family and friends. For directions, call John at (850) 675-1104.
BP To Put $20 Billion In Escrow For Oil Spill Payments
June 17, 2010
Facing increasing pressure to back up its public statements of support with real money, BP on Wednesday agreed to put $20 billion into escrow to pay for oil spill damage as the company-owned well continues to spew up to 60,000 barrels a day into the Gulf.
Less than a day after President Barack Obama addressed the nation on the environmental and economic catastrophe that is unfolding offshore, BP executives met with the president behind closed doors before announcing creation of the fund to aid businesses, individuals and governments affected by the biggest oil spill in US. history.
Meanwhile, Florida emergency response officials continued efforts Wednesday to prepare for significant coastal impacts that so far have not befallen the state despite major oil plumes looming ominously near Florida’s Panhandle coast.
State responders say they will increase deployment of Florida National Guard personnel as the state tries to assert itself more aggressively into the combined response effort that has taken heat for being too bureaucratic, disorganized and slow to act.
“We’re looking at recon assets, some air assets and some command and control assets out in the field,” David Halstead, director of the Division of Emergency Management, said of the Guard’s anticipated role.
Skimmers remain a priority of local, state and federal responders. Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday urged Obama to do all he could to make it easier to use foreign-flagged ships and foreign crews to assist in efforts to scoop up oil before it reaches shore.
Favorable winds and currents have been credited for keeping most of the oil off the coastline.
The federal government, Florida and BP are looking for more skimmers to keep the battle off shore, but it is highly unlikely that such efforts are going to keep state beaches oil-free, officials concede.
“We need to have reasonable expectations,” Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole cautioned responders Wednesday. “There is going to be an ongoing discharge probably through August or the middle of August that we’ll be fighting. So we are going to have impacts.”
Washington attorney Kenneth Feinberg has been charged with overseeing the BP escrow account. He is well-schooled in such matters, having overseen payments to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and families of victims of the mass shooting that killed 32 at Virginia Tech in April 2007.
Florida officials have begun setting up procedures to gather the documentation needed to send BP a bill for lost local and state revenue. Halstead said a statewide claims representative will soon be housed at the state Emergency Operations Center to provide more information to local governments scrambling to get reimbursed for recovery efforts already undertaken.
“That should help us assist (local governments) in setting up claims and smoothing the waters a bit,” Halstead said.
So far, BP has paid 13,978 Florida claims, a 34 percent increase from a week ago. Payments for Florida claims now total $11.2 million, up 40 percent from a week ago.
The oil-spill focus Wednesday also went beyond the gulf coast. Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, pushed Crist to approve a request for $5.25 million in emergency aid to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau to help with marketing and advertising to offset an expanding slump in tourists.
“At a time when Florida’s economy is still reeling from the effects of the national economic downturn, it is imperative that we support efforts to spread the word to tourists that Miami-Dade County beaches are open for business,” Lopez-Cantera said.
By Michael Peltier
The News Service Of Florida
A Brighter Century: ‘It’s The Little Things Sometimes’
June 16, 2010
Sometimes it’s the little things that can brighten a town.
“The town is shining bright,” Century council member Gary Riley announced at the most recent Century Town Council meeting.
For months, Riley has, arguably in a very friendly fashion, repeatedly questioned Mayor Freddie McCall about why streets lights around the town were out. The town pays Gulf Power each month for each light, Riley has pointed out, so he said he thought the town should have working street lights.
Riley, McCall and perhaps other council members have driven around town, on the hunt for dark lights and attempted to find the pole numbers required by Gulf Power to report the non-working lights.
For the first time in about a year, Riley expressed real satisfaction about the lights.
“It is our obligation to do whatever we can to keep the city safe,” he said.
That prompted a reaction from council member Sharon Scott. “Let’s stop having that tunnel vision and see the big picture,” she said. Scott said she hates the sometimes the never-ending battles at the council table. “We can work together and do good things.”
Scott has been a champion for Marie McMurray Park at recent meetings, expressing her pride to see ballgames keeping kids off the streets. She often speaks up for the little things needed for the park — bathrooms unlocked, additional trashcans for waste, or more frequent grass cuttings.
On the subject of little things, council member Nadine McCaw thanked McCall for taking care of aging flags and for cleaning the sidewalks in front of the town hall and library just in time for the children attending the Century Branch Library’s summer reading programs.
“It’s the little things sometimes,” Riley said.
FHSAA Creates Small School Rural Division: Jay In, Northview May Be Out
June 16, 2010
The Florida High School Athletic Association has approved a new rural school classification for schools like Jay High, but Northview may not be included.
Schools in the rural division would compete within their own division and have their own playoff series for boys and girls basketball, baseball, football, softball and girls volleyball, and boys and girls soccer.
“I’m very ecstatic,” said Jay Athletic Director Elijah Bell. “We’ve been working on this a long time in the pursuit of equality for small, rural schools.” Bell served on the FHSAA Urban/Rural Committee that drafted the proposal approved Tuesday.
An invitation to participate in the new rural classification will be extended to the 32 smallest schools that would be eligible — which would include Jay at number 13 but not Northview at number 39 by enrollment.
The FHSAA will next meet with the 32 small schools to determine which might choose to join the new “Division II” league. If any choose not to join, the next-smallest schools will be offered a slot to ensure the league has 32 teams as required for a state series. There are six school in line ahead of Northview that would have the option of joining the rural division.
“I hope we get in,” Northview Athletic Director Sammy Day said after learning the proposal passed the FHSAA board. If Northview does not make the division, it will create great hardship for the school, Day said.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that Northview is rural,” Bell said, “as are other schools like Bozeman, Chipley and Perry. But we had to draw the line somewhere on the district, and that was the 32 (needed for a playoff series).”
Most of Northview’s past district opponents will be offered membership in the division — Jay, Sneads, Baker, Vernon, Holmes and Freeport. If they all become rural division schools and Northview does not, it will mean a lot of travel time for the Chiefs to play district teams.
“We may have a tough time unless we play much bigger schools,” Day said, adding the Chiefs would likely end up with schools like Catholic, Walton and Chipley on the schedule.
But Day is not giving up hope that Northview will make the 32-team rural Division II. Most of the schools on the list are in the Panhandle, while some are located much further south in Florida. Due to the travel time for those schools past Tallahassee, Day said he does not believe they will join the rural district. And some of those schools — like Peniel Baptist Academy just 44 total students — may not join the district.
“We will just have to wait and see,” he said.
Bell agreed that some of the schools on the small-32 list might not join the district. He cited Marathon High in Key West as an example. “It would be 200 miles on way for them to play a district game,” he said. “But we are still going to invite them to join.”
The FHSAA Division II for rural schools will be a pilot program for the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons. The final list of 32 eligible schools will be based upon fall 2010 enrollment, Bell said.
Those numbers could make a difference for Northview. According to Day, Northview had an enrollment of 560 in the fall of last year, but that number was down to 525 by the end of hte year.
“We had to draw a line somewhere,” Bell said the list of 32 small schools. He said he had hoped to see a small and larger division in the rural district, but that was not possible this year.
“I certainly hope we can do the small and large in the near future, he said.”It’s not over; we still have work to do.”
For now, Bell said he is happy to see the Rural Division become a reality; he’s been advocating such a plan since about 1990.
Pictured top: Brandon Sheets tries to avoid Jay defender Chris Carrigan during last year’s meeting of two rural schools. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Free Sacred Heart Health Screenings Thursday In Molino
June 16, 2010
Sacred Heart Health System will provide free health screenings Thursday in Molino for the poor, elderly and uninsured.
Sacred Heart staff will provide heart-health screenings to measure blood pressure, blood sugar and total cholesterol and to screen for anemia. The screenings are helpful in diagnosing conditions that put people at high risk for heart attack, stroke, diabetes and other health problems.
Sacred Heart’s Mission in Motion staff will provide screenings for adults from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday at Scott’s Pharmacy at 6505 North Highway 29 in Molino.
Mission in Motion is a community service provided by Sacred Heart Health System in Pensacola. For more information, call (850) 416-7826.
Tri-County 8-9 Year Olds Beat Niceville-American
June 16, 2010
The Tri-County All-Stars beat Niceville-American Tuesday night 11-4 in Chumuckla.
The 8 and 9-year old boys will advance to play the Niceville-National team at 7:30 Thursday as the All-Star tournament continues in Chumuckla. The Tri-County boys will be competing against five other teams for the tournament championship.