North Santa Rosa Wreck Claims One Life
March 26, 2010
A single vehicle accident claimed one life in north Santa Rosa County Thursday afternoon.
Jeffery Dwight Foster, 41, of Milton was killed in the accident on Highway 4 west of Hurricane Lake Road at 1 p.m. The Florida Highway Patrol says Foster was westbound on Highway 4 near Munson when he lost control of his 2006 Chevrolet Z-71 pickup on the wet roadway.
The passenger side of the truck struck a pine tree by the roadway. Foster was transported to Santa Rosa Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. There were no passengers in the vehicle.
The FHP says Foster was wearing his seat belt.
Creative High School Students Honored
March 26, 2010
Several area high school students were honored Thursday night at the Mira Creative Arts Awards ceremony in Pensacola.
The awards honored ten “bright stars” in the creative arts each of Escambia County’s high schools.
Winners from the North Escambia Area were:
Northview High School
- Micah Byars, Props & Set Construction
- Clint Davis, Drama
- Kayla Dempsey, Drama
- Carley Hetrick, Vocal Music
- Tyler Hunter, Drama
- Thaddeus Jones, Instrumental Music
- Parish Kelley, Graphic Art
- Mallorie Okahashi, Set Design
- Jackson Smith, Instrumental Music
- Nathan Taylor, Visual Arts
Tate High School
- Stevie Evans, Visual Arts
- Leslie Ann Godwin, Instrumental Music
- Cally Hayes, Visual Arts
- Destiny Howard, Vocal Music
- Collin Bain Metcalf, Debate
- Megan Otteni, Drama
- Kimberly R. Thompson, Ceramics
- Jakob Ian Wisdom, Instrumental Music
- Kaitlin Williams, Yearbook
- Meghan Wojdyla, Yearbook
West Florida High School
- Heather Lee, Drama
Each student honored received $200 book scholarships from Pensacola Junior College, memberships to the Pensacola Museum of Art and award medallions.
All Escambia School Web Sites To Be Down For A Week
March 26, 2010
If you need any information from your child’s school web site or the Escambia County School District web site, you need to access that information before Monday.
The school district’s web site and individual school district web sites for all Escambia County (Fla.) schools will be down for maintenance during Spring Break. The sites are expected to return by Monday, April 5.
Tate Senior Signs With Jefferson Davis
March 26, 2010
Tate High’s Brandon Blackwelder has signed a letter of intent to play for Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton.
Blackwelder will play third base and catcher for the Warhawks. For the Aggies, he has a batting average of .316 with 11 runs and 10 RBI’s so far this season.
Pictured: Brett Blackwelder, Brandon Blackwelder Dana Blackwelder, Tate Head Coach Todd Boyd, Jeff Davis Head Coach Darrell Blevins, Craig Blackwelder. Submitted photo by Deeann Lee for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pensacola Woman Set On Fire; Deputies Seek Attacker
March 25, 2010
Authorities are looking for clues after someone set fire to a Pensacola woman Wednesday night.
The 19-year old female suffered extensive second and third-degree burns over a large area of her body, according to Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. She was transferred to the burn unit at the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile where she is listed in critical condition.
The Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Lepley Road in the Ensley community for a domestic disturbance. They found that the 19-year old had been set on fire and severely burned.
She “was able to provide information that the burns to her were done intentionally and an accelerant was used. Investigators are still actively working the case and are not releasing any suspect information at this time,” according to Sgt. Ted Roy, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9630.
No Injuries When Driver Hits Pole On Highway 95A
March 25, 2010
There were no injuries in a car versus pole accident on Highway 95A just north of Quintette Road about 1:10 this afternoon. The Ensley and Cantonment stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the call. Submitted photo by Kristi Smith for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
We Sure Miss Her: A Father Speaks About His Daughter’s Murder
March 25, 2010
Danny Cain of Cantonment put new flowers on his daughter’s grave Wednesday morning.
“It wasn’t suppose to be this way,” Cain told NorthEscambia.com Wednesday afternoon. She was a rodeo star, a proud Tate graduate, and doing what she loved — working with animals at the office of a Pensacola veterinarian.
That all changed one year ago when the body of Cheryl Renee Cain, 29, of Cantonment, was found in a dumpster at an abandoned gas station at the corner of Burgess Road and Highway 29 on March 25, 2009 — one year ago today.
“It was a senseless deed,” Cain said. “There’s no way to explain it.”
Scott Joseph Thompson, 30, of Pensacola, has been charged with second degree murder for the strangulation death. He remains in the Escambia County Jail awaiting trial.
“I think about it every day; something always reminds me of her” Cain said. “There’s no way to explain it. He took her life.”
“His family can visit him in jail; we weren’t given that option to see our daughter. My tax dollars are paying for him to sit in jail. It’s pretty disgusting when you think about it for a while.”
Cain admits sometimes he thinks that he would like to sit down face to face with Thompson. “I wish I could talk to him and understand why.”
The support of friends, family and church have been important for the Cain family. A memorial in front of the gas station where Cheryl’s body was discovered has also provide a bit of solace. Hundreds of stuffed animals and handwritten notes have been left behind by the community. But nothing, Cain said, replaces the empty void created by the murder.
“We sure miss her. I wish we could have her back.”
Thompson has been held without bond since his arrest on June 9. When he was arrested on the second degree murder charges, he was already in the Escambia County Jail for violating probation on 2007 narcotics charges, according to court records, waiting for a bed to become available in a drug treatment facility.
DNA evidence from the dumpster and in Cain’s car were used to charge Thompson with second degree murder, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department. Thompson’s DNA was reportedly found in Cain’s vehicle, which was located after the murder at a Pensacola motel.
Cain’s wallet was found under Thompson’s bed, authorities said.
Thompson’s jury trial has been tentatively scheduled to begin May 10.
Pictured top: Cheryl Cain and her dog Bandit. Pictured bottom inset: Cain’s body was discovered in this Pensacola dumpster. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bottom photo courtesy WEAR.
Senate Passes Bill To Link Teacher Salaries To Student Peformance
March 25, 2010
A controversial bill that would link teachers’ salaries to student performance has passed the Florida Senate.
The legislation would base salary increases on student performance and put all teachers on annual contract. New teachers in the state would remain on probation for five years.
It would align the state’s standards to its Race to the Top application, for a piece of the $4.35 billion competitive grant the U.S. Department of Education is offering to states. Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, offered a late filed amendment that would allow school boards to consider advanced degrees as one part of a teacher’s ability to receive a pay raise. Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, who initially did not want to include recognition of advanced degrees, supported the measure.
Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton argued on behalf of the bill. “Why do we tolerate incompetent people taking the most precious thing we’ve got, the most valuable thing we’ve got, and allow them in the classroom?” he asked. Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, an opponent of the measure, said the bill was taking a “sledge hammer to the teaching profession.”
After lengthy debate, the Senate passed the bill 21-17. Four Republicans crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats in opposition to the measure.
The bill would force the Department of Education to implement some method to gauge whether students made learning gains over the school year.
“This legislation, I believe, over the years will allow our students to receive the best education,” Thrasher said. While the bill would require the
Jennifer Barnhill, a teacher at Pace Secondary School in Tallahassee, told a Senate committee last week that she feared the measure would jeopardize the salaries of teachers like her — whose classrooms include children with special needs. She said she has students who have Asperger syndrome, two who are rival gang members and three who are fathers. One student, she said, is now parenting his younger brother, because their father is in jail.
“He has no parent. He is the parent and I am his parent. No test can ever measure that,” she said.
Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith, a proponent of the so-called merit pay plan, said that “America is going in this direction” on merit pay for teachers.
“For the first time we’re actually talking about connecting issues of student achievement to evaluation,” he said.
Smith acknowledged that the department still really didn’t know how all teachers would be evaluated. He said staff has been consulting with leading researchers on the issue, but there is no template because Florida would be the first state to initiate this type of system.
Before the bill could become law, it must be passed by the Florida House.
Man Sentenced For DUI Wreck That Left 300 Without Power
March 25, 2010
A Cantonment man has been found guilty on DUI charges, and he’ll have to pay thousands to Gulf Power following an October wreck that left about 300 homes and business in Cantonment in the dark.
Joseph Paul Mathis, 28, was sentenced to 12 months probation, 50 hours of community service and his driver’s license will be suspended for a year.
He was also ordered to pay $10,774.53 to Gulf Power Company for damage to power company property in the 3:38 a.m. accident on October 21, 2009.
The Florida Highway Patrol says Mathis was westbound on McKenzie Road when he accelerated rapidly, lost control and fishtailed, leaving over 300 feet of acceleration and skid marks. He then hit about 90 feet of chain link fence at a home in the 2100 block of Eastman Lane while his 1997 Ford Crown Victoria was rotating clockwise. His car then struck and broke a utility pole, and continued another 45 feet across Eastman Lane were he hit the railroad crossing signal on the east side of the railroad tracks. After the Crown Vic came to a stop, it caught fire.
Mathis and his passenger, John W. Casey, 29, of Cantonment, exited the vehicle with only minor injuries, according to the FHP.
The power outage caused by the downed pole left 289 Gulf Power customers without power, some as long as eight hours.
In addition to the restitution to Gulf Power, the court may rule at a later date to order additional amounts be paid to CSX Railroad, Casey and private property owners that suffered damage in the wreck.
The End Of Saturday Mail Delivery
March 25, 2010
On Wednesday, the U.S. Postal Service took the first step toward eliminating Saturday mail delivery.
U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors approved management’s request to move forward with its five-day delivery proposal and to file a request for an advisory opinion with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on March 30.
Revenue from First-Class Mail – the Postal Service’s longtime bread-and-butter product — continues to decline as the use of electronic message delivery increases, according to the postal service. The Postal Service has identified the elimination of Saturday delivery as a primary method of cutting costs.
Email and other electronic media, along with the recession, are significant contributors to a continuing decline in mail volume, which in fiscal year 2009 plummeted by 25.6 billion pieces — nearly 13 percent of total volume — resulting in a Postal Service revenue drop of nearly $7 billion. The trends underlying these declines will only continue.
Current global economic conditions have put the largest users of the mail under severe financial stress. In the past, they spent millions of dollars on mailings and now many have drastically cut back on their use of mail.
Saturday is the lowest mail volume day in the country, with more than a third of U.S. businesses closed.