Escambia (Ala.) To Lose One VA Office
April 26, 2010
One of the two Veterans Administration offices in Escambia County, Alabama, will be closing, perhaps as soon as next week.
Currently, there are two VA offices in the county — one in the Highway 31 satellite courthouse in Atmore and the second in the courthouse annex in Brewton. The Atmore office is currently open on Mondays and Friday; the Brewton office is open on Thursdays. Both are served by Veterans Affairs Service Officer Mike Hanks who also divides his time with two days each week in Monroe County.
According to a Horton, VA spokesperson, the decision to close one of the offices is purely financial due to the economic downturn. He said officials in Atmore and Brewton would be notified as early as this week as to which office would be closing.
Jay Boy’s Track Team Places Third In Regionals
April 26, 2010
The Jay High School Boy’s track and field team placed third in the Class 1A Regional Championship Meet held at Bolles High School in Jacksonville.
The following athletes scored points during Friday’s competition. Those placing in the top four will proceed to the State Championships in Winterpark this Friday.
- 4×800 m relay – 5th place – Drew Kennedy, Dusty Kennedy, Chad Phillips, Jeffery Fischer
- High Jump – 4th place – Justin White (5′ 10″)
- Pole Vault – 1st place – Chris Carrigan (14′), 3rd place – Dakota Boughton (12′), 7th place – John Daniel Golden
- Discus – 3rd place – Andrew Polk (128′ 8″)
- 3200 m run – 3rd place – Drew Kennedy (10.47.31), 4th place – Dylan Nadsady (10.48.46)
- 110 m hurdles – 7th place – Steven Brabham
- 300m hurdles – 6th place – Steven Brabham, 8th place – Ben Shorb
Students Of The Month Named
April 26, 2010
Escambia County Students of the Month for April have been named by the Escambia Association for Administrators in Education. The awards are presented monthly to two students from participating schools.
The following students were named from North Escambia area schools:
- Bratt: Emilee A. Cabral, pre-kindergarten; Jeremiah D. Woods, third grade
- Jim Allen: Dove D. Tucker, fourth grade; Latoya L. Williams, fourth grade
- Molino Park: Jerry K. Calvert, second grade; Shadonavon M. Young, first grade
- Ernest Ward: Courtney B. Weekley, sixth grade; Decordic D. King, seventh grade
- Ransom: Jordan A. Lammens, eighth grade; Christopher A. Payne, eighth grade
- Northview: Tori D. Reid, 10th grade; Chad M. Smith, ninth grade
- Tate: Kaleigh L. Blackmon, 10th grade; James L. Sherrill, 11th grade
Pictured top: Tori Reid and Christopher Payne, Northview High School’s Students of the Month for April. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Medicaid Overhaul Dead, Budget Talks Continue
April 26, 2010
House and Senate leaders confirmed Sunday what had become increasingly obvious in recent days: The proposed Medicaid overhaul is dead for this year.
“I still believe it is good policy,” said Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Lake Placid, chairman of the House Health Care budget committee, and an architect of the sweeping House proposal that would push the state’s 2.7 million Medicaid recipients into managed care over the next five years.
“We will just have to bring it back next year,” Grimsley said.
The ambitious Medicaid rewrite faded into history Sunday as budget-writers struggled to conclude budget negotiations. While not having much of an immediate impact on spending, the disputed Medicaid plan stood as an obstacle that needed to be cleared from the budget landscape, lawmakers conceded.
“It’s where we expected it” to end, said Senate budget chief J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales.
But even with Medicaid out of the picture, dozens of spending provisions separated House and Senate budget negotiators, with some issues that appeared settled remaining officially open to further talks. And the talks went on – with a 5 p.m. deadline between Alexander and his House counterpart, Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, scrapped in favor of continued negotiations between the budget leaders.
The pair set midnight Sunday for sending any remaining issues to Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, and House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala. But even that deadline looked fluid – with both budget chairmen conceding they could continue working through Monday.
Budgets will likely have to be on the desks of lawmakers sometime Tuesday to assure an on-time finish to the session Friday.
Meanwhile, budget negotiators Sunday settled a host of issues, including a 7 percent reduction in the state payment rate to hospitals treating indigent patients – a $96 million reduction that followed a $76.7 million cut in payments to nursing homes, and a $39.3 million general revenue reduction for HMOs.
An effort to exempt from the 7 percent cut rural hospitals and St. Petersburg’s All Children’s Hospital and Miami’s Children’s Hospital remained in play between the House and Senate going into Sunday night.
In education, state funding and terms for a revamped Bright Futures scholarship program was approved. The Legislature is moving to increase the SAT requirements for both the top and secondary awards, as lawmakers try to rein-in the cost of the scholarship program which covers tuition for about half of the state’s college students.
Budget negotiators haven’t settled public school financing, but are working to keep per-pupil spending close to its current, $6,866-level. That’s roughly a middle-ground between the House’s proposal to cut school dollars by $52-per-pupil and the Senate looking to boost spending by $38 for each child in a classroom.
The two sides Sunday also agreed to exclude from the budget revenue from the $7.50 saltwater fishing license fee approved just last spring. The fee was expected to be paid by some 120,000 anglers – but drew widespread criticism from Florida’s cane-pole fishing community, leaving lawmakers to push for repeal this year.
Even with some areas of agreement, the House and Senate continued to scrap over myriad details with dollars attached and “proviso” language that describes how money must be spent.
The Senate hasn’t surrendered in its effort to give school boards authority to increase property taxes by .25 mills without a voter referendum. The House rejects the idea and has already pushed back the Senate’s bid to build into school budget allocations money from these increased property taxes, which 42 of the state’s 67 counties approved last year.
Sometimes, the disputes took on a personal touch.
Rivera, a candidate for Congress, said the House will not retreat in its push to exclude human stem-cell research from such science carried out at state universities, sending the Senate back to effectively take it or leave it. He also is pushing to include a budget provision that would ban state-sanctioned travel to countries considered a “sponsor of terrorism,” a move similar to legislation he earlier sponsored aimed at banning university travel to Cuba.
While Rivera promoted those measures, Alexander said he was satisfied with budget language that puts the Department of Management Services under the authority of the governor and Cabinet – a heightened level of oversight for a state department he earlier wanted broken apart and scattered among other agencies.
Alexander has turned into a fierce DMS critic after the agency was unable to provide a list of state-owned property. Other budget bills now being advanced require DMS to provide such an inventory no later than Sept. 15 each year.
Alexander also endorsed a budget bill provision that gives the University of South Florida-Polytechnic priority to lease vacant land and buildings at the state’s former G. Pierce Wood mental hospital in DeSoto County. Alexander, a major advocate for USF-Poly in his home Polk County, denied Sunday he was positioning for a branch campus of the school, but instead is looking to help the school obtain new facilities at an underused site.
But the biggest move Sunday – the official end of the Medicaid rewrite — was in the makings for weeks.
Indeed, the Medicaid proposal was probably doomed when House leaders unveiled the plan with just a scheduled three weeks remaining in the legislative session. The Senate had already approved its own effort to overhaul Medicaid which, although dramatic, paled compared to the House approach.
Neither side worked toward a real consensus, but it wasn’t until Sunday that leaders took the idea off the table.
“You’ve got to start this type of thing early,” said Sen. Durell Peaden, the Senate’s Health and Human Services budget chief. “It’s going to take educating everybody up and down the state to work.”
by John Kennedy, The News Service Florida, for NorthEscambia.com
Weekend In Photos: Relay In Atmore, Century; Sawmill Day; Ernest Ward Sports; EREC
April 26, 2010
It was a busy weekend across North Escambia, and our NorthEscambia.com cameras were there, bringing you the photos from Relay for Life Events in Atmore and Century, Sawmill Day in Century, the Ernest Ward Middle Sports Banquet and the EREC Annual Meeting in Bratt.
For photos from the Century Relay for Life, click here.
For photos from the Atmore Relay for Life, click here.
For photos from Sawmill Day in Century, click here.
For photos from the EREC Annual Meeting in Bratt, click here.
For photos from the Ernest Ward Middle Sports Banquet, click here.
Pictured: In one of the most unique of our weekend photos, Paula Jernigan (top) and Nadine McCaw pose at the Century Relay for Life. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Century Wreck Claims One Life Sunday Afternoon
April 25, 2010
An elderly Century man was pronounced dead following a Sunday afternoon wreck in Century.
The accident happened about 3:20 p.m. at the intersection of North Century Boulevard and Henry Street. Cary Watkins, 83, was transported by LifeFlight to Jay Hospital where he pronounced dead at 4:25 p.m.
Authorities said it appeared Watkins suffered some sort of medical problem before prior to the accident.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Watkins was northbound on Highway 29 when he traveled to the outside edge of the roadway, struck the concrete curve and then traveled back across both the north and southbound lanes of the roadway. He traveled onto the grass shoulder at the northwest corner of Highway 29 and Henry Street where his 1995 Buick Park Avenue struck a palm tree and came to a final rest.
The accident completely blocked Highway 29 for about 30 minutes due to the helicopter landing.
The Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Atmore Ambulance and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the call.
Pictured above: Cary Watkins, 83, of Century was flown to Jay Hospital by LifeFlight following a Sunday afternoon crash in Century. Pictured below: Watkins’ vehicle sustained only minor damage. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Area Fights Cancer With Relay For Life
April 25, 2010
Communities from across the area joined together Saturday and early Sunday morning for Century’s Relay for Life.
The event, which benefits the American Cancer Society, was held from noon Saturday until early Sunday morning at the Old Century High School gymnasium — forced indoors by Saturday’s stormy weather.
Click here for a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the event.
“It is a community joining together for a common goal — celebrating life, remembering those lost to cancer and fighting back against the disease” Paula Jernigan, Century’s Relay chairperson, said.
During Saturday’s opening ceremony, Tri-City Ledger Publisher Joe Thomas (pictured) spoke about his battle with prostate cancer during the past year — and his victory over the disease due to early intervention and technology made possible in part by the American Cancer Society.
Participating teams included the Alger-Sullivan Historical Society, Tina’s Journey, The Mud Bugs, Ernest Ward Middle School, Emerald Coast Hospice, Byrneville Elementary School, Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church, Century Correctional Institution, Students Stomping and the Century Library.
Pictured top: The Century Relay for Life gets underway Saturday afternoon with a Survivors Lap at the old Century High School. Pictured inset: Tri-City Ledger Publisher Joe Thomas speaks about his battle with prostate cancer. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Atmore Holds Relay For Life
April 25, 2010
Rain forced the Atmore Relay for Life indoors this year but did not dampen the spirit of those working to fight cancer.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the event, click here.
Teams participating in the 2010 Atmore Relay for Life included Atmore Community Hospital, Atmore First Assembly, Atmore News, Atmore Nursing Care Center, Elaine’s Team, First National Bank & Trust, Gulf Winds, Liberty Belle’s, Masland Carpet, Poarch Creek Indians, Team Hope, United Bank, Walgreens and Winn Dixie.
The fund raising goal for this year’s Atmore Relay for Life was $65,000, with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.
Pictured above and below: The Atmore Relay for Life was forced indoors Saturday. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Jay Lady Royals Take Seventh In Regional Track Meet
April 25, 2010
The Jay High School Lady Royals captured seventh pace in the Class 1A Track Finals in Jacksonville on Friday. Six members of the Lady Royals teams qualified to advance to the state competition with finishes in the top four.
The team members achieved personal records in nearly every event in which they qualified.
Robin Blackman led the Royals by scoring in four events and advancing to the state level in three of those. Blackman, along with Caristyn Golden, Jessica Thornton, and Leely Trevino placed third in the 4 x 800 relay with a time of 10:43.
Blackman also placed sixth in the long jump with a personal best jump of 15’ 4.75”. In the 800-meter race Blackman, who was initially ranked sixth, placed second with a personal best time of 2:32.
In the 4×400 relay, the Royals advanced to the state level with a third place finish and a time of 4:17. Team members were Shelby Thomas, Caristyn Golden, Janna Ellis, and Robin Blackman. All four members ran personal records to achieve the team’s best finish in over five years.
Janna Ellis placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a season best time of 17.79 seconds. Shelbie Barnhill achieved a personal best while capturing tenth place in the 3200 meters. Gloria Raney achieved her season best in the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:48. Caristyn Golden also finished seventh in the 400-meter dash, and Leely Trevino finished seventh in the 1600-meter race.
“The Royals had a banner day while making dreams come true. The Royals now hope to finish the season with still more records and medals at the state level,” Coach Stan Blackman said, adding that it has been years since the team had such an impressive finish.
Local Elementary Students Were Named Shining Stars
April 25, 2010
The Greater Escambia Community Foundation and WSRE, PBS for the Gulf Coast, presentedthe Shining Star Award to 36 Escambia County elementary students in a ceremony Sunday afternoon at WSRE’s Jean & Paul Amos Performance Studio on the main campus of Pensacola Junior College.
Area principals and teachers selected the winners based on good citizenship, community service and adherence to the core values of the Escambia County School District: equality, responsibility, integrity, respect, honesty and patriotism. Each winner was awarded a certificate of achievement and a new bicycle and helmet. In addition, the winners autographed a billboard which has been erected in their honor and is proudly displayed on 9th Avenue, south of Hayes Street in Pensacola.
North Escambia area Shining Star Award winners are:
- Jada Tucker, Bratt Elementary School
- Shellie Harrelson, Byrneville Elementary School
- Olivia Guntner, Jim Allen Elementary School
- April Payne, Molino Park Elementary School
Former Florida State Representative DeeDee Ritchie and Mayor Mike Wiggins was the Masters of Ceremonies. Escambia County Superintendent Malcolm Thomas spke at the festivities. Principals and teachers from each school, as well as the winners’ families and friends, were invited to attend.
Students honored this year provided a variety of inspiration. Some honored WWII Veterans by raising money for the Emerald Coast Honor Flight; some forged friendships with the elderly in a local assisted-living facility; and others worked in their school’s garden, volunteered to push a classmate’s wheelchair, participated in Jump Rope for Heart, or reached out to their peers with help and encouragement.