Carver/Century Students Visit Ernest Ward, Bratt For A Day
April 24, 2009
Over the past three days, Carver/Century K-8 students have shadowed their Ernest Ward Middle or Bratt Elementary counterparts to learn more about what school life will be like next year.
The Escambia School Board has ordered Carver/Century closed and the students transferred next school year to Ernest Ward or Bratt. The Carver/Century students “shadowed” a Bratt or Ernest Ward student for a day, attending their classes and activities such as lunch. It was a hands on personal orientation to middle school life at EWMS or elementary life at Bratt.
“They had a great time, and many of them became best buddies,” said Ernest Ward Principal Nancy Gindl-Perry. “They are all looking forward to school next year.”
The plan to move the middle school students from Carver/Century K-8 School to Ernest Ward and Bratt Elementary has been put into motion. It’s a detailed 84 page document that details each aspect of the move, down to the last box.
The next part of the transition plan will take place on April 28 when the PTSA and School Advisory Council at Ernest Ward hosts a parents night for parents and guardians of incoming students from Carver/Century.
Then, on April 29, staff from Ernest Ward will travel to Carver/Century to personally hand-register each student one on one.
A full orientation night for the parents and guardians of all incoming Ernest Ward students will be held on May 7. Prior to that event, the teachers and staff at Ernest Ward will host a reception for the school’s new staff members that will be transferring from Carver/Century.
A modular building with five classrooms, two closets, and one 24 by 36 foot restroom facility will be installed sometime in May at Ernest Ward for a total cost of $543,391. Plans also call for five classrooms with included restrooms, five sinks and two closets to be installed at Bratt Elementary at a total cost of $440,006.
Once school is out, the physical move of property and supplies between the schools will begin.
Pictured above: Carver/Century student Grady Floyd and Ernest Ward student John Helmken talk after lunch Thursday in the Ernest Ward cafeteria. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Packy Mitchell Recovering After Traffic Accident
April 24, 2009
Friends and family members tell us that Packy Mitchell of Cantonment is continuing to recover following a serious accident near Montgomery Wednesday.
Mitchell reportedly swerved to avoid a truck, rolling his truck two or three times. Mitchell suffered broken ribs, a chipped bone in his neck, a separated shoulder and other non-life threatening injuries, according to family members.
Mitchell ran unsuccessfully in the 2008 race for the Escambia County Commission District 5 seat.
Molino Man Busted For Indecent Exposure After Incident With Woman, Underage Girl
April 24, 2009
A Molino man has been arrested and charged with indecent exposure after exposing himself to a local woman and her underage daughter.
Shawn Bovain Blackshear, 33, of the 5900 block of Highway 95A, was charged with two counts indecent exposure, a first degree misdemeanor.
Deputies received a complaint from a female resident on Highway 95A near Marge Lane that a black male was exposing his private organs and giving a “free show” late Wednesday afternoon, according to Lt. Tony Jordon with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department.
The woman decided, Jordan said, to provide deputies with evidence of the crime. She hid in a nearby barn and took several “really good” pictures of the incident, and she provided deputies with the photos. Deputies identified Blackshear from the photos, and an arrest was made. The victim that took the photographs was able to positively identify Blackshear, Jordan said. Her underage daughter, who also witnessed the exposure incident, was not able to make a positive identification. If the underage victim had been able to identify the suspect, he could have faced felony charges.
“He (Blackshear) told us that he was urinating,” Jordan said, “but that is not what the victim told us he was doing.”
Deputies say Blackshear may have exposed himself 20 or more times since June of last year, based upon complaints from the area. Most of the time, the suspect has been wearing a hood or other covering over his head at the time of the incident. In a recent incident, someone matching his description exposed themselves to a postal worker delivering mail in the area.
Blackshear was booked into the Escambia County Jail on $20,000 bond.
Lady Chiefs Fall In District Tourney
April 24, 2009
The Northview Lady Chiefs came up short in the District 1-3A Softball Tournament Thursday night.
The Lady Chiefs fell to South Walton, 4-1.
Hitters in last night’s game were Candice Greenwell, Shawna Montgomery and Kolby Cobb.
Northview will play Holmes County on Tuesday The Lady Chiefs record stands at 11-11 for the season.
Northview won their first game in the district tournament Tuesday. For a photo gallery from that game, click here.
Northview Performs ‘Willy Wonka The Musical’
April 24, 2009
The Northview High School Theater Department presented “Willy Wonka the Musical” Friday night at the school.
The group will present the play again on Monday for elementary school students from Bratt, Carver/Century, Byrneville and Jim Allen elementary schools.
Pictured above: The cast of “Willy Wonka the Musical” at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
The cast and crew of “Willy Wonka the Musical” included:
PARENTS
Mrs. Teavee– Kayla Dempsey
Mrs. Beauregarde– Danielle Martin
Mrs. Gloop– Sophie Anderson
Mr. Salt– Ty Randolph
KIDS
Mike Teavee– Jared Adams
Violet Beaurgard– Allie Bryan
Augustus Gloop– Cory Hester
Vuruca Salt– Olivia Bryan
BUCKET FAMILY
Grandpa George– Cody Cousin
Grandma Georgina– Caitlin Hall
Grandpa Joe– Jamichael Carson
Grandma Joesephina– Lanie Eubanks
Mr. Bucket– Jackson Smith
Mrs. Bucket— Gretchen Boughner
Charlie Bucket– Jace Stone
CANDYMAN KIDS
Miranda Scott, Jennifer Martin, Amanda Nahkala
Kiani Okahashi, Mallorie Okahashi
Pamala Dockens, Haliegh Perkins, Tori Rigby
Phineous Trout– Elizabeth Wright
Wonka/Candyman– Brandon Coburn
OOMPA-LOOMPAS
Nathan Taylor, Jessica Taylor, Taylor Rigby,
Ashley White, Carley Hetrick
SOUND
Sound Operator– Justin Purvis
Sound Crew– Aaron Hammond and Jeremy Flota
STAGE CREW
Candyman Kids
Stage Manager– Miranda Scott
Director– Scott Slay
Assistant Director– Bryan Coburn
Choreographers- Mallorie Okahashi, Carley Hetrick, and Miranda Scott
LIGHTS
Light Operator– Ricky Craig
Light Crew– Lindsay Hedgepeth, Brian Flowers, and Devon Dries
SPECIAL THANKS
Thomas Meehan, Industrial Arts Department
Jennifer Castor, Art Department
Heather Jernigan
Tracy Slay
Dawn Taylor
Jessica Mothershed
Blimp Spotted Over North Escambia
April 24, 2009
A blimp was spotted over North Escambia mid-afternoon Thursday.
Emails and phone calls that we received indicated the blimp traveled over Molino headed toward Enon and then into Baldwin County, Alabama.
NorthEscambia.com managed to snap the picture above from Highway 97A just south of Arthur Brown Road. The photo was taken looking southwest toward the Perdido River. We estimate the blimp was about 5 miles away in this photo taken with a high-power zoom lens.
Back in November, we snapped the picture below of the DirecTV blimp as it passed over the same area.
Traffic Delays On Nine Mile Road At Ballpark
April 24, 2009
Construction of a turn lane is underway on Nine Mile Road, and that will lead to some traffic delays. The lane will turn right into John R. Jones Ballpark.
Single lane closures will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, and flagmen will be used to control traffic.
The construction of the turn lane is phase two of a project started over two years ago which also included the installation of a traffic signal at Nine Mile Road and Hummingbird Boulevard. The improvements were necessary due to increased traffic flow in the area.
The project is being funded by Escambia County Local Option Sales Tax and the State County Initiative Program.
Northview, Jay, Other Schools Consider New Independent Sports League
April 23, 2009
NorthEscambia.com Exclusive
Northview and Jay high schools are among about 20 high schools in the Florida Panhandle that have met to discuss forming a new independent athletic league outside of the Florida High School Athletic Association, NorthEscambia.com has learned.
“We all just want to see our teams have a level playing field,” Northview Principal Gayle Weaver told NorthEscambia.com.
The problem lies with smaller schools in the FHSAA that are forced to compete at the playoff level with private schools and academies. Those private schools are able to recruit the best players with scholarships and other incentives, making the chances of a small public school winning a state playoff unlikely.
“Sometimes out students say we are playing for second best,” Weaver said, “because they know that they could never win state.”
In addition, the current FHSAA brackets had the Chiefs on the road for over 1,200 miles last football season. The team’s game in Blountstown was a nearly 350 mile round trip.
“It is a hardship during the regular season for families to follow our teams,” Weaver said. “And it takes away from our community because there are no local rivalries.”
The smaller independent league would mean more games closer to home for most member schools.
In addition, schools like Northview and Jay lose financially when hosting an event like a football game where the opponent is from a long distance away. A long distance for the visiting teams equates to poor attendance, and poor attendance equals money lost.
There are about 20 small rural high schools from Northview to Sneeds that are considering the formation of the independent athletic league and the separation from the FHSAA. They range in size from Monroe High School with 106 students to Walton with 699 students. Northview has 554; Jay has 200. Baker, at 435 students, is the only other Escambia or Santa Rosa County school currently in talks about the new league.
Weaver said that it would be hard for a school like Northview to get past the quarter finals in a state competition when paired against private academies that recruit so heavily that they are considered “feeder schools” for college teams.
“It is disheartening to see our kids unable to complete on that level playing field,” she said. “We want what is fair for our students. We don’t want them to be beat by teams that are almost like semi-pros.”
An official from the Florida High School Athletic Association was at Wednesday’s meeting, Weaver said. That official promised the group that the FHSAA would form a committee to address the small schools’ concerns, and that committee would also take a look at how small schools fit into the statewide athletic associations in nearby states.
The small schools, including Northview and Jay, will meet again soon to discuss the formation of the independent athletic association.
Weaver said the independent league is not likely to be formed before August, so Northview, Jay and the other schools will likely play under the FHSAA one more year.
“After that, we’ll just see what happens,” she said.
“The schools would still be members of the FHSAA. The membership carries a lot of resources, but it also would require the schools to follow the FHSAA rules. The FHSAA Handbook is published each year, and the handbook explains things such as eligibility, sports seasons, rules for officials,” Weaver said.
Schools that are considering the independent league are (along with the student population of some schools):
- Monroe (106)
- Graceville (214)
- Cottondale
- Wewahitchka
- Jay
- Franklin Count
- Liberty County
- West Gadsden
- Freeport
- Port St. Joe
- Sneads
- Vernon
- Blountstown
- Baker
- Holmes County
- Bozeman
- Northview (554)
- South Walton
- Chipley (616)
- Walton (697)
Pictured above: Northview Head Coach Cody Keene prepares the Chiefs before last year’s season opener against Catholic High. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Morgan Won’t Deal On Budget, Will Go To State If BOCC Won’t Provide
April 23, 2009
The Escambia County Commission wants Sheriff David Morgan to cut another $4 million from his budget before it is submitted to the BOCC for approval in a few days, but the sheriff says he has cut all that he intends to cut. And if the commission does not approve his budget, Morgan says he is taking it to the governor.
“What you see is what you get,” Morgan said of his $4 million in cuts. “I have to stand before the public and defend what we do.”
Cutting more from his budget would impact public safety, the sheriff said, and that’s a move he is not willing to make.
If the Escambia Commission will not approve his $78 million budget, Morgan say he will, as the law allows him to do, take the budget to the state to force the county to commit the funding he needs. The commission wants Morgan to cut $2.5 million more, for a total of $6.5 million.
Morgan’s budget, the largest of any department in the county, includes about $33 million for the county jail. He said the sheriff’s department is not required to operate the jail; providing for a jail is actually a constitutional requirement of the county commission.
“I believe that corrections is a law enforcement function that should remain with the sheriff,” Morgan said. “But that is what makes my budget the larges in the county.
Morgan questioned the commission’s motives for wanting him to cut more funds, when, he said, he is already operating a department more efficiently than the BOCC operates.
“I have one attorney; the BOCC has five,” Morgan said. “I have seven people in human resources; the BOCC has 23 for about the same number of employees.”
“I’ll stack up lean and mean against anyone in Escambia County government,” the sheriff said of his budget.
He has achieved his $4 million in cuts through several steps. He plans to eliminate the jail’s health services contract with an outside firm, providing jail health services in house for a $1.8 million savings. He recently grounded the ESCO’s helicopter unit for an $800,00 a year savings.
The elimination of the air unit has led to some complaints, he said. Other departments and counties that made use of the helicopter are also left without any type of air support after the cost-cutting grounding of the unit.
“But I didn’t have anyone pony up and write me a check like I asked for,” Morgan said.
Morgan’s proposed budget is due to the Escambia County Commission by May 1.
The sheriff’s comments were delivered to the Tri-Cities Rotary Club Wednesday afternoon. Morgan spoke to the club as the invited guest of NorthEscambia.com.
Pictured: Escambia Sheriff David Morgan addressing the Tri-Cities Rotary Club Wednesday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Middle Students Shine On College Prep Tests
April 23, 2009
Several Ernest Ward Middle School students participated in the Duke University Talent Identification Program.
In order to take part in the program, the students must have earned excellent FCAT scores. After meeting the qualification criteria, the students had the opportunity to take either the SAT or ACT college entrance exam. College-bound students do not usually take the SAT or ACT until they are high school juniors.
Dale Brown, Anna Donald and Jeremy Stacey earned state recognition for achieving a score of 20 or higher on the ACT. Other Ernest Ward students participating the Duke University Talent Identification Program were Kent Smith, Jennifer Spears and Courtney Weaver.
“The faculty, staff, and administration at EWMS are very proud of these students for the outstanding achievement,” said Gayle Hanks, Ernest Ward guidance counselor.
Pictured above: Ernest Ward students (L-R) Dale Brown, Jeremy Stacey and Anna Donald were recognized by the state for high scores in the Duke University Talent Identification Program. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.