Northview’s Austin Reid Signs With Northwest Florida State College
May 12, 2010
The Northview Chief’s Austin Reid signed a letter of intent Tuesday with Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.
Reid pitched 78 2/3 innings this season for the Chiefs, giving up just 17 earned runs and walking 30. He recorded 102 strikeouts and a 1.51 ERA. Reid’s senior year record for Northview was eight wins and three losses.
Pictured top: Austin Reid (center) signs a letter of intent Tuesday afternoon. Looking on are (sitting) his parents Glen Reid and Tammy Reid and (standing) Northview Head Coach Sid Wheatley (left) and Northwest Florida State College Assistant Coach Nick Fletcher. Pictured below: The Northview Chief’s seniors: John Sellars, Brad Lowery, Aaron Chancery, Austin Reid, Heath Burkett, Austin Lowery, Heath Burkett and Dakota Stuckey. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Going Out Of Business: All Movie Gallery Stores To Be Closed
May 12, 2010
Movie Gallery will soon be a memory with all stores — including Atmore and Flomaton set to close. The Cantonment store is already nearing shutdown.
Already in bankruptcy, the company filed papers with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Virginia on Monday announcing the once profitable chain will close every store.
“It is in the best interests of the company and other parties to wind down the business,” the company said in the court filing.
Dates for the store closures in Atmore and Flomaton have not been announced. The Cantonment store no longer rents movies; the store’s inventory is being sold off.
When the company went public in 1994, Movie Gallery had 324 stores in nine states, stock was at $14 per share and sales were at $38 million per year. By 2003, Movie Gallery operated 2,200 stores coast to coast and sales were at nearly $700 million. In 2005, stock hit a high of $33.43 per share.
Movie Gallery stock was removed from public trading in 2008 after a share’s value fell to less than a penny. Movie Gallery’s bankruptcy court filings show assets up to $50 million and debts up to $1 billion.
The company has not released more information about its shutdown. The company provides a recorded message to the media saying that it will not take questions.
Industry analysts say the company’s demise was due to the surge in popularity over the online, through the mail service Netflix and the standalone Redbox kiosks.
Close Call? Pictures Appear To Show Blimp Almost Hitting Water Tower
May 12, 2010
Pictures we shot over the weekend appears to show the Wind Creek Casino blimp hitting a radio antenna on top of a water tower in Walnut Hill. The pictures, shot with a zoom lens from nearly a mile away, are optical illusions; the blimp was simply passing behind and above the water tower. The series of photos at the top (L-R) shows the blimp passing the tower. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Molino PTA Golf Tournament, Chance To Win A Car
May 12, 2010
There is still time to register for the First Annual Molino Park Elementary School PTA Golf Tournament that will be held next weekend.
Golfers will have the chance to win a new vehicle from World Ford in the tournament on May 22.
Registration will be at noon and tee off will be at 1 p.m. at the Cypress Lakes Golf Course (formerly Solutia) in Cantonment.
The cost is $55 per person on a team of four; the cost includes 18 holes of golf and a golf cart. There will be goody bags and door prizes. Special events will include a putting challenge, longest drive and closest to the pin contest. Proceeds benefit the Molino Park PTA.
To register, contact Tina Pendleton at (850) 982-1615 or (850) 587-5002. Business sponsors are also needed.
Golf attire is required. No steel spikes are allowed on the course. All participants must be at least seven years old with an adult participating.
U.S. Marshals Locate Fugitive Child Sex Offender Living With His Mother
May 11, 2010
Monday morning, a convicted child sex offender that had been living with his mother in Century for the past three months was busted after he was located by U.S. Marshals.
Billy Ray Square, 54, of Century, was booked into the Escambia County Jail a a felony charge of sex offender violation/failing to register as required. He was released from jail on $5,000 bond.
Square was convicted in 1993 of indecent liberty with a minor in Wilson County, North Carolina, according to court records. He was later incarcerated in Florida and released in October, 2009, at which time he moved to New York. Early this year, he moved back to Century to live with his mother, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
On February 5 of this year, his New York state benefits card was used at T.C. Foods on West Cervantes Street in Pensacola. It was used again on March 1.
Monday morning, the U.S. Marshal’s Service Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force made contact with Square at 506 North B Street in Pensacola. While he was being interrogated by federal agents, Square admitted that had been living with his mother at 8815 Blackmon Street in Century for the past three months, according to the ECSO report.
Records checks revealed that Square had not registered the address with the State of Florida, as sex offenders are required to do upon moving to the state.
Square is due to appear in Escambia County Circuit Court on June 3.
About 250 Hired For Oil Spill Jobs, Over 4,000 Apply
May 11, 2010
More than 4,000 people applied for oil cleanup jobs through Workforce Escarosa during the past week, including about 300 that applied in Century.
Some of those people will go to work as early as today or tomorrow. Many of the first 250 new hires were individuals with OHSA Hazwoper certification. If the need for employees expands, those with expired OHSA certifications, TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Creditial) cards or previous oil spill cleanup experience will likely be the next hired.
Most of those being offered jobs received phone calls on Monday.
Advanced Employment Solutions (AES), a Texas based workforce development and talent acquisition company, partnered with Workforce Escarosa to fill positions such as general laborers, crew leaders, site supervisors, site safety representatives and lead safety representatives.
AES General Manager James Fries said the duration of the jobs will depend upon the amount of damage and the cleanup time, however he predicts the process will take between 3-18 months. Positions will range from $10 to $18 an hour and may involve extensive travel depending on the landfall of the spill.
Pictured: Area residents apply for oil cleanup jobs last Wednesday morning in Century. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
New Map Shows Updated Hurricane Evacuation Zones
May 11, 2010
A new interactive map shows new hurricane evacuation zones in Escambia County that reach inland all the way to the North Escambia area.
The Escambia County Division of Emergency Management has worked with the County’s Development Services Bureau planning staff, Geographical Information Services Division, Office of Transportation and Traffic Operations and the West Florida Regional Planning Council to derive new, more refined evacuation zones for Escambia County based upon news storm surge data estimates from the state.
“Zoning changes may affect flood insurance requirements for homeowners in these areas. Please check with your insurance agent now if you are in an evacuation zone,” said John Dosh, Escambia’s emergency management chief.
To view the new evacuation zones, visit click here.
The old evacuation zones stretched as far north as just north of Nine Mile Road along the Perdido and Escambia Rivers only for category 3 or greater storms. The new evacuation zones stretch as far north as North Barth Road along the Escambia River and Vantage Road on the Perdido River — locations that are prone to flooding.
“The new map reduces the overall size of evacuation zones, while more accurately depicting low-lying areas,” Dosh said.
The new plans will eliminate evacuation zone references based up the category of the storm. Rather than the category evacuation zones, the county will instead identify evacuation zones with an A, B, C, D, and E reference.
While the new evacuation zones stretch further inland into North Escambia based upon storm surge date, the overall number of people that would be ordered to evacuate will be reduced.
“In turn, this may reduce the financial burden and hardship that evacuations bring to local businesses and citizens that will no longer need to evacuate,” Escambia County Fire Chief Frank Edwards wrote in a memo to the Escambia County Commission.
Residents that are in the new evacuation zones have received, or will soon receive, a postcard in the mail during the month of May.
Valentino Trial Moved To Okaloosa
May 11, 2010
An Okaloosa County judge will hear the criminal case of an Escambia County commissioner facing campaign related charges, according to an order issued Monday by Escambia Chief Judge Terry Terrell.
Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino pleaded not guilty last week in Escambia County Circuit Court. He is charged with the solicitation of a political contribution in a building owned by a governmental agency.
Valentino is accused of accepting a campaign donation at his county office from Pensacola developer Dan Gilmore on November 5, 2009.
The charge is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in the county jail and a $1,000 fine. Valentino is due back in court for a jury trial in late June.
Pictured: Commissioner Gene Valentino’s Escambia County Jail booking photo, click to enlarge.
10 Alleged Gang Members Busted In Drug Sweep
May 11, 2010
About half of the members of a local gang are now behind bars after a Monday roundup by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office Gang Unit and agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement filed charges against eight known gang members and two gang associates. They were all, according to authorities, members of a criminal street gang known as the “Garnet Circle Boys”, a group that operates primarily out of Brownsville.
Arrested were:
- George Davis, 22, two counts sale of cocaine, bond $200,000.
- Myron Dale, 18, two counts sale of cocaine, bond, $100,000.
- Kareem Black, 21, counts sale of cocaine, bond, $150,000.
- Joseph F. Booker, 20, one count sale of cocaine, bond, $50,000.
- Aaron Booker, 18, three counts sale of cocaine, bond, $150,000.
- Cordeal Hawthorne, 23, two counts sale of cocaine, bond, $100,000.
- Lawon Dale, 16, two counts sale of cocaine. Juvenile so no bond.
- Alvin Brock, 19, three counts sale of cocaine, bond $150,000.
- Darrius Gaston, 15, three counts sale of cocaine, two counts shoplifting, bond, $150,000. (associate member)
- Dequian Watson, 16, two counts sale of cocaine. Juvenile so no bond. (associate member)
The Gang Unit and FDLE Agents said they believe that there are over 20 documented gang members or associates with this gang and that well over half are now in jail or have active warrants for their arrest.
During the round-up of the suspects, which began about 1:00 Monday afternoon, over $1,200 in cash along with a quantity of cocaine, marijuana and a vehicle were seized. The operation continued through afternoon and evening, with the last suspect being booked into the Escambia County Jail just after 11 p.m.
“This is further proof of the commitment to clean up not only Brownsville but other communities within our county with the continued work by not only our agency but FDLE to eradicate gang activity,” Sheriff David Morgan said.
This investigation still remains open and more arrests are expected as the investigation continues, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Log-A-Load Bass Tourney Benefits Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital
May 11, 2010
The 14th Annual Log-A-Load for Kids Bass Fishing Tournament was held this past weekend to benefit Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital.
Ken Sessions and Greg Sessions won the tournament with a total catch of four fish at 13.32 pounds and a second lunker of 5.09 pounds. For the win, they received $5,352. Second place went to Larry Bullock and Roger Caldwell with 8.9 pounds with a lunker at 5.09 pounds. Third place went to Joey Mann and Jack Jenkins with 8 pounds.
More than $12,000 in cash and prizes were awarded at the tournament.
There were 88 boats in the benefit bass tournament at the Swamp House Marina and Landing in Pensacola. All proceeds will benefit children in need at Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital.
Pictured: 14th Annual Log-A-Load for Kids Bass Fishing Tournament winners Ken Sessions and Greg Sessions. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.