Open Houses Scheduled For Northview, Ernest Ward
September 18, 2009
Open house events will be held next week at both Northview High School and Ernest Ward Middle School.
Open House at Northview will be held Tuesday at 6 p.m. Activities will begin with refreshments in the cafeteria; parents and visitors will then have an opportunity to visit the school’s campus and classrooms. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend.
Open House at Ernest Ward will be held Thursday from 6 until 7 p.m. Parents will begin the evening in their student’s homeroom where they will receive a copy of their student’s schedule. If parents attend without the student, they should ask the student the name of the homeroom teacher. The homeroom with largest percent of parents who sign the homeroom sheet will win an ice cream party.
Parents will then follow their child’s schedule to each class where they will have the opportunity to ask general questions about school activities and curriculum. This is not a time for a conference with any faculty member about an individual student. The staff and facility look forward to meeting all parents, school officials said.
Lay, Freeman Not Guilty In School Prayer Case
September 17, 2009
Frank Lay and Robert Freeman have both been found not guilty on criminal charges that they prayed in violation of a federal court order.
The order was issued this evening from U.S. Judge Casey Rogers. The judge did make it clear that her order stands — no prayer or pushing religion in school.
“I want to thank my (Pace High School) Patriot family, but above all, I want to thank the chief counsel, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit,” Lay said after exiting the federal courthouse Thursday evening.
Both men could have faced up to six months in jail and fines of $5,000 each if they had been found in contempt of court.
Lay told the judge that the
Pace High School Principal Frank Lay asked the school’s athletic director, Robert Freeman, to bless a meal where sports boosters had gathered to celebrate the completion of a new field house.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in federal court almost a year ago against the Santa Rosa School District, Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and then-Santa Rosa Superintendent John Rogers. The suit alleged that Santa Rosa County Schools “persistently and persuasively promote their personal religious beliefs in the public schools and at school events”.
The federal court order issued earlier this year by Rogers prohibited, among other things, any prayer in schools, “reading from a sacred text”, “calling upon a deity to offer guidance, assistance or a blessing” and religious services such as baccalaureate services. There are circumstances were student-led prayers are permissible, but school employees are prohibited to participate in the prayer, even prohibited from “a posture or manner that is likely to be perceived as an endorsement of prayer, e.g. bowing their heads, kneeling or folding their hands”.
River Annex Road Washed Out
September 17, 2009
A portion of River Annex Road has washed out and is closed, according to Escambia County Spokesperson Sonya Daniel.
The Escambia County Road Department is working to repair the road. An updated will be posted when the road is reopened.
River Annex Road runs from Jacks Branch Road to Muscogee Road.
Change Of Plans: Army Airborne’s Delivery Of Northview Game Ball
September 17, 2009
The game ball for one of this year’s Northview High School football games will still be delivered from above, but there’s been a slight change of plans.
The United States Army’s parachute demonstration team the Silver Wings from Ft. Benning, Georgia, will deliver the game ball to Northview’s Senior Night on October 30. But instead of Blackhawk helicopters as first announced, plans now call for the parachutists to jump from a fixed wing aircraft.
SFC Bobby Ewing, an Army recruiter in Pensacola, said that two to four members of the Silver Wings are scheduled to jump from a fixed wing aircraft at least 5,000 feet over the Northview stadium. They will bring down a United States flag, a POW/MIA flag, an Army flag and the official game ball. One jumper will land on the 50-yard line to deliver the game ball for the game against Sneads.
“It will be exciting, and a great way to begin Senior Night,” Northview Principal Gayle Weaver said.
A ground crew will drive the Silver Wings jumpers back to Ft. Benning. But before they leave, they will be available to meet with fans, and they will be happy to talk about joining the Army, Ewing said.
“Their mission will to be to deliver the game ball, get their gear and move out of the way for the game and Senior Night,” he said.
The Silver Wings’ mission is to perform live aerial demonstrations in support of the United States Army, and Ft. Benning public relations and recruiting.
The Silver Wings is comprised of Soldiers from throughout the Fort Benning airborne community. They have diverse backgrounds and various military specialties. The average age is 33 years old and the average number of free fall jumps range between 200-2500 per team member. The team represents the professionalism and dedication of the specially trained Soldiers that are products of the United States Army Infantry Center and Schools, to include Airborne, Pathfinders, and the Army elite Rangers.
Photos courtesy U.S. Army for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
FHP Checkpoints Planned, Including One On Highway 97
September 17, 2009
The Florida Highway Patrol says they may be conducting drivers license and vehicle safety checkpoints this week on Highway 97 in North Escambia.
The FHP says troopers will concentrate on vehicles being operated with defects such as bad brakes, worn tires and defective lighting. Troopers will also be looking for drivers in violation of the state’s drivers license laws.
Other checkpoints planned this week in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties include:
Massachusetts Avenue west of Hollywood Blvd.
Tonawanda Drive east of 61st Avenue
Border Street at SR10A overpass
Avery Street west of “W” Street
Hancock Road east of Old Palafox Highway
Pipeline Road south of Rambler Drive
Jernigan Road south of 9 Mile Road
Patricia Drive north of Fairfield Drive
Guidy Lane north of Nine Mile Road
Nicholes Lake Road east of State Road 87
West Spencerfield north of U.S. 90
Ward Basin Road at the Fire Department
Berryhill Road east of Chumuckla Highway
State Road 87 in Holley-Navarre
School Board Approves Personnel Changes At North Escambia Schools
September 17, 2009
The Escambia County School Board has approved numerous North Escambia teacher and staff transfers, resignations, and rehires.
The following changes below were approved by the school board at their September regular meeting:
Appointments:
- Brittellen Luciano, teacher, Ernest Ward Middle
- Erin M. Pritchett, teacher, Bratt Elementary
- Thomas McBride, part-time teacher, Ernest Ward Middle
- Elizabeth W. Waring, part-time counselor, Molino Park Elementary
- Heather R. West, teacher, Molino Park Elementary
- Bettie W. Williams, teacher, Tate Hig
Transfers
- Angelia E. Bodiford, from Ensley Elementary to Molino Park
- Brian J. Hackett, from Pensacola High to Jim Allen
- Bobbie T. Harrison, from Tate High to ESE/Hall Center
- Katherine Oglesby, from Tate High to Ferry Pass Elementary
- Brendaleen A. Wood, from Byrneville Elem. to West Pensacola Elem.
Other Appointments
- Laura E. Jackson, Jim Allen Elementary
- Illaina M. Johns, Tate High
- Elaine M. Kelly, Ransom Middle
Retirements, Resignations and Other
- Carla D. Cobb, teacher Bratt Elementary
- Tadd Corder, teacher Ernest Ward Middle
- Marilyn C. Crowell, teacher, Molino Park Elementary
- Charles Keene, Jr., teacher, Northview High
- Sandra Spence, food services, Tate High
Leaves of Absense
- Julie C. Kent, teacher Molino Park Elementary
- Julia A. Lister, food services, Bratt Elementary
- Susan Steadham, food services Bratt Elementary
Temporary Promotions
- Karen E. Brown, from Admin Clerk II to School Data Specialist, Bratt Elementary
- Kristine McCaskill, from Admin Clerk II to Admin School Secretary III, Ransom Middle
- Teresa B.Pace, from Admin Clerk II to School Data Specialist, Molino Park Elementary
Atmore Woman Arrested For Robbing Grocery Store Customer
September 17, 2009
An Atmore woman has been arrested for robbing a man in a grocery store parking lot.
Britney Lafaye Barnes, 19, of Ridgley Street, Atmore, was charged with second degree robbery after an incident occurred Wednesday at the Winn Dixie in Foley, Ala.
Police say Barnes displayed a gun and demanded the wallet of man that was loading groceries into his car. The man told Barnes that he did not have a wallet, and she reportedly ran to a vehicle and fled. A description from the victim allowed Foley Police to locate Barnes and her vehicle.
She was taken into custody along with the vehicle’s driver, James Ellis Brown, 26, of Bay Minette. He was also charged with second degree robbery.
Bond for Barnes and Brown was set at $15,000 each on the robbery charge. Both remained in the Baldwin County Detention Center early Thursday morning.
Strike It Rich: Oil At An Area Prison?
September 17, 2009
Could there be a goldmine of oil under an Atmore prison? The Alabama Department of Corrections hopes there is.
The prison system has inked a five-year contract with Foote Oil & Gas Properties of Gulf Shores to look for oil near the G.K. Fountain Correctional Facility in Atmore. The company has already paid the department $400,000 for the chance to explore for oil. If they do strike oil or natural gas, the state will receive a 25 percent royalty and $300 per acre.
Engineers think seismographic surveys show potential oil or natural gas around the prison’s 800 acres, part of an area of crude oil that extends northward from the Mobile area. Two 16,000 foot deep test wells at the prison did not find oil, and a third is being drilled now. Each well costs Foote about $1 million.
Foote has also signed exploration contracts with several private property owners in the same area.
Robbery Suspect Arrested For Tire Thefts Was Due In Court At Same Time
September 17, 2009
During the 9:00 hour Monday that a Century man was being arrested for allegedly stealing tires, he was actually due to be in an Escambia County courtroom on a concealed weapons charge.
Antonio Demetrius Ewing, 19, of West Highway 4, Century, was charged with burglary, escape and larceny in connection with the tire incident Monday morning on Alger Road in Century.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies found Ewing trying to fit tires onto a Pontiac Firebird with no tag in the parking lot of the Gospel Light Temple on Alger Road in Century about 9:20 Monday morning. The Firebird — the alleged getaway car from the robbery of the Tom Thumb in Molino at 6:10 a.m. — had a flat tire. Deputies said Ewing had taken the tires and tools from a nearby shed, and he was trying to fit tires onto the Firebird — including tires that had no rims.
Escambia County court records show that Ewing was arrested February 15 and charged with carrying a concealed weapon. He was released the next day on $2,500 bond. He pleaded not guilty about a month later. He was back in court on July 2, and he was due back Monday morning at 9:00 for a jury trial on the concealed weapons charge.
Because he did not appear in court Monday, a felony warrant for Ewing’s arrest was issued by Judge Frank Bell.
Ewing is facing the escape charge after he ran as deputies were walking him out of the Century Precinct to place him a cruiser to take him to jail. Deputies said Ewing ran across Highway 29 toward Century Woods Apartments where he lives. After a brief foot chase, Ewing was taken back into custody.
Deputies have named Ewing as one of two suspects in the Monday robbery of the Tom Thumb in Molino.
For the original NorthEscambia.com story on the incident, click here.
Pictured top: Escambia County Sheriff’s Investigator Frank Way photographs a vehicle located in Century Monday morning that may have been used in a Molino robbery earlier in the morning. Pictured bottom inset: Ewing in the back of a patrol car on Alger Road in Century shortly after his arrest. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
I-10 Reopened After Hazardous Materials Tanker Wreck Cleared
September 16, 2009
(Updated) A nine-mile stretch of I-10 has been reopened in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties following an accident in which an 18-wheeler hauling anhydrous ammonia overturned this monring.
The truck overturned on Avalon Boulevard at I-10 in Milton. The accident has now been cleared, and all roads are open again.
“No leaks were detected as a result of the accident or when up righting the vehicle. The truck was carrying anhydrous ammonia and was in route to Tamico when the accident occurred,” according to Joy Tsubooka, Santa Rosa County PIO.