Byrneville Students Check Out Hurricane Hunter Planes
May 3, 2010
A group of Byrneville Elementary School students toured two hurricane hunter aircraft at the Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport last week.
The Byrneville fourth and fifth graders were able to see an an Air Force C-130J and a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft — the first time the two hurricane hunter aircraft were on public display together.
With hurricane season beginning June 1, the hurricane hunters pushed hurricane preparedness while teaching the students about the science of hurricanes and hurricane hunting. From dropsondes — those devices dropped from the planes into hurricanes for measurements — to millibars and eyewalls, the students learned about how the hurricane hunters measure up a storm.
The NOAA hunter hunter plane has an airspeed of 210 knots and has flown into 88 different hurricanes with 713 eye wall penetrations.
Obama: Oil Spill A ‘Potentially Unprecedented’ Disaster
May 2, 2010
Calling the Gulf of Mexico oil spill a “potentially unprecedented” disaster, President Barack Obama pledged a “relentless” effort by the federal government to clean up. At the same time, Obama said the cost will be the responsibility of BP.
“BP is responsible for this leak. BP will be paying the bill,” Obama said Sunday afternoon in Louisiana after touring the slick over the Gulf — which is now only about nine miles offshore.
At the same time, Obama said, the federal government is working full steam to mitigate the oil’s impact.
“From day one, we have prepared and planned for the worst,” Obama said. ”Your government will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to stop this crisis.”
“We’re dealing with a massive and potentially unprecedented environment disaster,” the president said. “It could extend for a long time. It could jeopardize the livelihoods of thousands of Americans who call this place home.”
Commercial And Recreational Fishing Closed From Pensacola To Louisiana
May 2, 2010
NOAA is restricting fishing for a minimum of ten days in federal waters most affected by the BP oil spill, largely between Louisiana state waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River to waters off Florida’s Pensacola Bay. The closure was effective Sunday.
Fishermen who wish to contact BP about a claim should call (800) 440-0858.
“NOAA scientists are on the ground in the area of the oil spill taking water and seafood samples in an effort to ensure the safety of the seafood and fishing activities,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Administrator, who met with more than 100 fishermen in Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish on Friday night. “I heard the concerns of the Plaquemines Parish fishermen as well other fishermen and state fishery managers about potential economic impacts of a closure. Balancing economic and health concerns, this order closes just those areas that are affected by oil. There should be no health risk in seafood currently in the marketplace.”
“We stand with America’s fisherman, their families and businesses in impacted coastal communities during this very challenging time. Fishing is vital to our economy and our quality of life and we will work tirelessly protect to it,” said Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke. NOAA is a bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The federal and state governments have strong systems in place to test and monitor seafood safety and to prohibit harvesting from affected areas and keeping oiled products out of the marketplace. NOAA Fisheries is working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the States to ensure seafood safety, by assessing whether seafood is tainted or contaminated to levels that pose a risk to human health.
“There are finfish, crabs, oysters and shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico near the area of the oil spill,” said Roy Crabtree, NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Administrator. “The Gulf is such an important biologic and economic area in terms of seafood production and recreational fishing.”
According to NOAA, there are 3.2 million recreational fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico region who took 24 million fishing trips in 2008. Commercial fishermen in the Gulf harvested more than 1 billion pounds of finfish and shellfish in 2008.
NOAA is working with the state governors to evaluate the need to declare a fisheries disaster in order to facilitate federal aid to fishermen in these areas. NOAA fisheries representatives in the region will be meeting with fishermen this week to assist them. The states of Louisiana and Mississippi have requested NOAA to declare a federal fisheries disaster. BP will be hiring fishermen to help clean up from the spill and deploy boom in the Gulf of Mexico. Interested fishermen should call (425) 745-8017.
NOAA will continue to evaluate the need for fisheries closures based on the evolving nature of the spill and will re-open the fisheries as appropriate. NOAA will also re-evaluate the closure areas as new information that would change the dimension of these closed areas becomes available.
Details can be found here: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/
North Escambia Area Students Graduate From UWF
May 2, 2010
Saturday was spring semester graduation day at the University of West Florida.
The following North Escambia area residents received degrees:
CANTONMENT
ASSOCIATE OF ARTS DEGREES: April Davidson, Laura Ghiorso, Adam Knight, Anthony Manzi, Emily Olivie
BACHELOR’S DEGREES: Heather Berry, Janet Branch, Gregory Breaux, Tina Carr, Dorothy Carr, Jessica Cascone, Laurie Corley, Michelle Digirolamo, Russell Dominick, Samantha Ervin, Thomas Ford, Kimberly Fox, Angela Garcia, Brittany Green, Tadessa Ham, Tiffany Harvey, Matt Hawkins, K. Hawthorne-Jennings, Christopher Henderson, Angela Hensel, Christopher Henseler, Robert Herman, Shannell Hill, Torin Howland, Thomas Huber, Patricia Jones, Jodi Laird, Kevin Lapointe, Jacqueline Lee, Brian Lyle, Falethea Marquis, Joel McDonald, Kelley McDowell, Rebecca McLellan, Heather Miller, David Norton, Renee Paulson, Autumn Price, Katherine Pursell, Bonnie Rieland, Timothy Sanders, Kaleb Showalter, Jessica Smith, Chris Snow, Jeffery Stanfill, Carol Stevens, Joshua Temple, Allen Thompson, Ryan Whited, Jonathan Wiggins, Heather Wiscombe
MASTER’S DEGREES: Gail Atkins, Matthew Blackburn, Ashley Brewster, Charles Cather, Jennifer Chambers, Marc Churchwell, David Faircloth, Steven Gallagher, Melissa Grace, Michael Johnston, Christina Kavanagh, Thomas Myers, Amber Sherouse, Kimberly Sinkkanen, Cole Yuknis
SPECIALIST’S DEGREES: Jenni Brian, Ron Steiner
CENTURY
BACHELOR’S DEGREES: Heather Cooper, Brittany Holley, Jessica Killam, Shannon Little, Amanda Montgomery, Amy Moye, Forrest Scott, Derek Stone
MASTER’S DEGREES: Deanna Hendrix, Julie Majors
SPECIALIST’S DEGREE: Philip Gilman
MCDAVID
BACHELOR’S DEGREE: John Chavers
MOLINO
BACHELOR’S DEGREES: Shana Brown, Audrey Coleman, Michael Laursen, Crystal Yu
MASTER’S DEGREE: Christen Glover
JAY
BACHELOR’S DEGREES: Ashleigh Campbell, Cassandra Emmett, Kristopher Head, Melody Helms, Erin Jones, Lukas Sasser, Dawna Walther, Kristen Wilkinson
MASTER’S DEGREE: Sarah Lee Cassady
For a complete UWF graduate list from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, click here.
Not About The Catch: Pen Wheels Fishing Rodeo Held In North Escambia
May 2, 2010
“I caught one! I caught one!”
The sounds of excitement were all around Saturday for the 36th annual Pen Wheels Fishing Rodeo in Walnut Hill.
Over the 35 year history of the fishing rodeo, it has been held at locations ranging from Ft. Pickens to the Three Mile Bridge in Pensacola. Since 2001, it has been held at Jantz’s Catfish Pond on South Highway 99, just off Highway 97.
Dozens of volunteers stood ready Saturday to help the disabled fish. They baited hooks, tossed a line and offered words of friendly encouragement. Many of the volunteers were from the Walnut Hill Mennonite Church.
About 60 disabled people were registered in Saturday’s fishing rodeo. They were from around the area, including Pensacola and Century. Several residents from the Century Care Center participated. Everything, including lunch, in Pen Wheels Fishing Rodeo is provided to the disabled for free as a project of the Pensacola Fiesta of Five Flags organization.
For the Century Center residents, a morning snack of sardines on Ritz crackers and Vienna sausage brought memories of fishing trips gone by.
“They love sardines and Vienna sausage when they fish,” said Century Care Center Activities Director Mae Hildreth. “This is what they remember having on their fishing trips; they just love it.”
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the event, click here.
Pictured: Scenes from the 36th annual Pen Wheels Fishing Rodeo in Walnut Hill Saturday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Oil Spill Response Limited On Saturday
May 2, 2010
The surface area of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has tripled; President Barack Obama is expected to visit the Gulf Coast today, and local emergency operations centers in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are in operation.
The response to the Deepwater Horizon incident continued on Saturday with only limited operations due to rough weather in the Gulf.
The National Response Team (NRT), an organization of 16 federal departments and agencies responsible for coordinating emergency preparedness and response to oil and hazardous substance pollution incidents was quickly activated and a coordinated group of federal partners-including the United States Coast Guard, Departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency-immediately began directing and overseeing BP’s response.
Coastal protection and booming operations under the direction of the Unified Command Mobile are ongoing, actively deploying as rapidly as possible as part of the strategic plan across Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle, Unified Command Mobile said today. The protective measures are targeting the barrier islands and prioritized environmentally sensitive areas.
Additional areas will be designated for booming as trajectories are updated each day.
Overall, the combined response has deployed 275,580 feet of boom, staged 316,470 feet, and has on order an additional 250,000 feet. About 55,000 feet of the boom has been deployed in the waters of Escambia County.
“The Unified Command is working diligently to ensure that all possible resources are being employed in the response to the oil spill,” said Coast Guard Capt. Steven Poulin, commander of Coast Guard Sector Mobile.
Pictured above: U.S. Environmental Services’ workers move oil containment boom onto a supply boat in the Gulf of Mexico. Staging areas have been set up along the Gulf Coast, including Pensacola Naval Air Station, to actively identify, target and protect environmentally and economically sensitive areas. U.S. Coast Guard photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Approves Final Budget
May 2, 2010
Lawmakers approved a $70.4 billion state budget Friday, ending a two-month, election-year legislative session shaped by a massive budget shortfall and the stunning defection of Gov. Charlie Crist from the Republican Party in his race to U.S. Senate.
In the House, the measure was approved 77-43, with most Democrats opposed. The Senate voted 33-4, setting the 2010-11 plan for the year beginning July 1.
But it was an uneven ending to the often combative session. The House adjourned at 6:59 p.m., with the Senate not calling sine die to the session until 8:47 p.m. Gov. Charlie Crist, who separated himself from the GOP on Thursday, didn’t make a public appearance on the Legislature’s final night.
For the fourth straight year, the budget was mostly about cuts. The spending plan includes just slightly more than an extra buck for a kid in a Florida classroom, while there are higher tuition rates for college and university students, and rate reductions for hospitals, nursing homes and hospices.
But such big-ticket programs as KidCare, Medically Needy, and Medicaid Aged and Disabled programs were sustained, while lawmakers also salted away at least $1.4 billion in reserves – bracing for what is certain to prove an even tougher financial picture next year when federal stimulus dollars are slated to end.
“The budget – it’s lean, but it’s not mean,” said Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey.
The spending plan buttoned-up Friday includes $2.3 billion in stimulus – the last installment of more than $15 billion in federal cash helping prop-up Florida the past three years.
Also helping lawmakers offset a $3.2 billion shortfall was $433 million from the Seminole gambling compact, a $507 million draw from agency trust funds, and $270 million from an anticipated extension of federal Medicaid spending.
“These are difficult times,” said Senate budget chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales. “The economy is likely to have a slow recovery. We can’t budget with blinders. We must consider the future, and this budget does that.”
Republicans in both the House and Senate united in praising the spending plan, saying that unlike last year, lawmakers cobbled it together without any tax or fee increases. Rep. Esteban Bovo, R-Hialeah, said lawmakers did what voters wanted this election year.
“We don’t have the ability to run to the ATM and take out cash without their permission,” Bovo said.
But Democrats didn’t like it, generally.
Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, said the budget misdirects federal aid and lawmakers were wrong to not consider means to expand the state’s tax base to pull in more revenue.
“We had a responsibility to prepare for next year, by looking at new resources,” Rich said.
Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, also criticized the spending blueprint for not looking ahead.
“We keep seeming to bale out water without plugging the holes,” Gelber said.
The budget vote and the conforming bills that go with it were the last act of the 2010 session. While the recession-damaged spending plan dominated much of the two-month session, it also will be remembered for some major mileposts.
Anticipation of Crist’s Thursday move to bolt the Republican Party to qualify for Senate as a no-party-affiliated candidate seemed to slack the wind in the Legislature for much of the session’s final week.
With Crist cutting himself free of party ties, the governor is unpredictable on both the budget and bills. He could choose to heavily apply his veto pen to the spending plan – in an attempt to both bolster state budget reserves and underscore his independence from a Legislature he could soon begin campaigning against as part of an establishment he now scorns.
Legislation approved Friday by lawmakers that would require women seeking abortions to be asked if they want to view a required ultrasound image was expected by many to be vetoed by a governor eager to burnish his credentials as a political moderate.
Crist’s split with the party may have proved a fitting metaphor for a session marked by surprising results.
For all the legislative anxiety over Medicaid – which will absorb about one-quarter of all state spending – lawmakers never got close to consensus on two widely divergent plans emerging from the House and Senate.
While both approaches relied heavily on steering low-income Floridians into managed care health plans, HMOs ended the session with no significant expansion – despite contributing heavily to the Florida Republican Party and Republican leaders political committees in the weeks leading up to the session.
Another storyline that took an unexpected twist – offshore oil-drilling.
House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, led a House council through hours of testimony mostly from industry experts on the prospect of lifting the state’s 20-year ban on drilling within state waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
The panel concluded its work with a report and a proposed bill for the 2011 Legislature, unveiled one week before an oil-rig off Louisiana exploded, triggering a massive spill that continued to threaten Florida’s coastline as the session ended.
On Friday, Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum, the frontrunner to succeed Crist as governor, suggested oil-drilling would not be part of the state’s future.
“Until technology advances, we must continue to be extraordinarily cautious with our consideration of any proposal that would further jeopardize our beaches and our environment for future generations,” McCollum said.
Another Republican-leaning interest, the insurance industry, saw the session end without any significant gains. The industry’s sought-after authority to raise premiums by as much as 20 percent without state approval faded early in the face of a Crist veto threat.
Despite Republican dominance in the Legislature, unions may have been among the session’s biggest winners. In what is likely the session’s most seismic moment, the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, gained a Crist veto of a bill abolishing teacher tenure. The veto became a prelude to his declaration of political independence.
The Democratic-allied American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) also dodged House-proposed pay cuts for state workers and the prospect of major layoffs. A proposal requiring public employees to contribute to their pension fund to stave off a looming deficit also was denied.
While state workers are forced to absorb a fifth straight year with no pay raises, one of the few organizations standing by Crist’s non-party candidacy, the Florida Police Benevolent Association, successfully got a roughly 10 percent pay raise included in the budget for Florida Game & Fish Commission officers.
The provision brings these law enforcement officers to the level of Florida Highway Patrol officers, with an annual starting salary of about $34,000, said David Murrell, a PBA lobbyist. It also looks veto-proof.
“We’re standing by Charlie,” Murrell said. “It’s going to be an interesting year.”
By John Kennedy, The News Service Florida
Photo Gallery: Celebrating Mayfest
May 2, 2010
From beautiful babies, arts and crafts, entertainment and plenty of fun, Mayfest 2010 had a little bit of something for everyone Saturday at Tom Byrne Park in Atmore.
Hundred attended the annual event, including many North Escambia residents.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from Mayfest in Atmore, click here.
Pictured above: A Mayfest crowd enjoys twirlers Saturday morning in Atmore. Pictured: inset: One of the contestants in a beautiful baby contest. Pictured below: Mayfest in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Atmore’s 5K For A Cause; Jay’s Dobson Wins Fiesta 5K
May 2, 2010
About 40 people took part in the second annual Atmore Community Hospital Relay for Life 5K Run/Walk Saturday morning in Atmore. The male overall winner was Keith Bell of Atmore with a time of 20:13. The female overall winner was Georgia Geotter of Bratt with a time of 25:27.
In Pensacola, Matt Dobson of Jay was the overall male winner in the 36th Annual Fiesta of Five Flags 5K. His time was 16:26.
Pictured top and bottom: About 40 runners took part in the second annual Atmore Community Hospital Relay for Life 5K Run/Walk Saturday morning in Atmore. Pictured left: Overall winners Keith Bell of Atmore and Georgia Geotter of Bratt. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino Homemakers: Needlework Project
May 2, 2010
The ladies of the Molino Homemakers club will spend the next several months working on a needlework project in hopes of capturing a top prize at this fall’s Pensacola Interstate Fair.
[Submitted by Terri Brown, Molino Homemakers Club]
This month’s main topic was our Fair Booth project. Each year the Molino Homemakers vote on a project to enter at the Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds 4-H building. This would be a hand needlework project. Hand needlework includes, sewing quilts, knitting, crocheting and cross stitching. Several members take on a project and work on it during the next few months.
In October when the items are completed, they are strategically placed in the fair booth as to draw attention especially to the judges for a good score. A good score means a ribbon and money for the club when it places in the top three. The Molino Homemakers have been entering the fair as long as they can remember and enjoy showing off their beautiful handiwork.
Several members bring items they have been working on throughout the month and share during show and tell. Becky Dortch showed a beautiful throw she had been working on. The stitching was done by machine. She hopes to have it finished in the near future.
Dot Halstead’s cross stitched “Brave Night” took about 4 weeks to complete. She tries to complete one every month and has completed four this year.
Nancy Holland showed a Monkey quilt she had been working on and plans to have it completed soon.
The Molino Homemakers meet at 10 a.m. on the first Wednesday of each month in the fellowship hall of Molino First Assembly of God Church. Visitors are welcome.
Pictured top: Nancy Holland with one of her needlework pieces. Pictured below: Dot Hallstead (left) and Becky Dortch with their work. Submitted photos by Terri Brown for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
