Blog: Century Council’s Actions Were Just Plain Stupid
March 18, 2009
Irresponsible. That’s probably the best word to describe the actions of the Century Town Council at their Monday night meeting. At least it is a better word than stupid.
The Century Town Council spent more time debating and put more apparent thought process into hiring a man to clean ditches with a shovel than they did to hire an attorney to take on the Escambia County School Board.
Less than 24 hours before the school board was to make the final vote to close Carver/Century K-8 School, the council listened to a short presentation from Leroy Boyd of the group Movement for Change. Boyd told the council that they could hire lawyer Jeffery Toney for $7,500 to $8,000 to file an injunction against the school board in an attempt to save the school.
Boyd told the council that he had been “asked to come here”, but declined to say who asked him to speak to the council. He told them that the school board had already made their decision, and in order to save the town’s only school “you will have to file a legal challenge”.
With that little information, the council was ready to whip out the checkbook and sign a blank check over to an attorney they apparently did not know; Council President Ann Brooks even had to ask Boyd how to spell Toney’s name.
Boyd cautioned the council that the up to $8,000 to file the injunction might not be the end of their expenses. He warned the council that Toney had told him to expect an appeal on whichever side lost the injunction hearing, plus if an injunction were obtained there were be additional fees for fighting a case and any appeals.
At no point did any council member or the mayor ask what the legal basis for an injunction against the school board might be. At no point did any council member or the mayor ask about Mr. Toney’s qualifications or experience as an attorney.
It took a question from NorthEscambia.com, not the council, for Boyd to say he did not know what the legal basis for a court case might be, other than “it won’t be race”.
It was nearly a year ago that NorthEscambia.com broke the story that Carver/Century could be targeted for closure, nearly a month before the topic was brought up at a school board meeting. We even ran an investigative piece in May that detailed where students that live in the Carver/Century attendance zone actually attend school, one of the primary sets of data used by the school board in their closure decision.
The council has known for at least almost one year the the school board would eventually vote to close the town’s only school. But the council decided to hire an attorney they knew very little, if anything, about less than 24 hours before they knew the ax would fall on the school.
We are not going to discuss the school closing; what is done is done. We are making no insinuations about the legal expertise of Mr. Toney; we frankly know very little about him. It’s not about Mr. Toney’s rates for his services; he’s got as much right to make a living as the next guy. And we are indifferent toward Movement for Change, also knowing little about their group. This is not an opinion about whether or not the council should be fighting the school board, that’s why you get legal advice before deciding if you should announce you’ll try to seek an injunction against somebody. (Oops.)
Our problem with the Century council’ s stupid (sorry — irresponsible) actions Monday night would be the same if the lawyer were Mr. Toney or Pensacola’s Fred Levin, the well known attorney for which the law school at the University of Florida is named.
The council spent nearly 10 minutes discussing if they should hire a laborer to clean ditches. The candidate, chosen from a field of 28 applicants, had qualifications that the mayor and department supervisor felt were adequate for the job. The mayor and a supervisor interviewed him. The gentlemen passed his criminal background check. The mayor recommend that the council hire him.
But after much discussion, the council decided that they wanted to meet the man that will clean their ditches for $10 an hour before they hired him.
But when it came time to hire an attorney to file for an injunction against the Escambia County School Board for legal reasons unknown to the council, the council made a quick and irrational decision 5-0 to hire Toney for perhaps $8,000 plus. But wait…don’t fill in that check yet because there might be appeals and other expenses. We think the legal terminology is “blank check”.
This is the same council that, also at Monday night’s meeting, was unable to approve a $500 donation to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life until they could find a budget category where they had the money. The council has made a great effort this year to play by their own rules and spend no money until it was in a budgeted category. There was no discussion where the council will get the funds to pay Mr. Toney.
Perhaps there is enough money in the town’s legal expense category. The council does, after all, have a town attorney. And they did save money by not bothering to discuss their legal concerns over the school closure with their own attorney. Why would you know there was an issue for a year and not discuss it with your own attorney, but instead hire someone unknown to you 24 hours before the school’s D-day?
Where was the thought process on the part of the council? They apparently did not learn from their past mistakes that making quick decisions of a major nature based upon a fast presentation can come back to bite them.
A few months ago, the council approved a resolution supporting the creation of a commission to study consolidated government in Escambia County. A special interest group make a slick presentation, and they were soon smiling and signing a resolution they had never seen before that was prepared by that special interest group.
It was not long before they learned that perhaps what they had signed so quickly might not have been what they thought it was, and they were soon rescinding the resolution much to the delight of the Pensacola media that made them look worse than foolish.
Let’s hope the young man that has applied for the $10 an hour job to clean and dig ditches in Century passes the scrutiny of the of Century council and gets his job. He’s willing to bust his butt to have a job if he’s willing to clean ditches for $400 a week. What a responsible man.; we like him already. And he can be proud to know that he will undergo more review than a lawyer hired on an unbudgeted whim by the council.
The council’s actions were not irresponsible, the first word we used in this blog. It’s that second term we should have used — stupid.
We welcome your appropriate on-topic comments below.
Deputies Looking For Shooting Suspect
March 17, 2009
Escambia County deputies are looking for a suspect in the shooting of a Pensacola man last week.
Investigators are looking for Tracy Lynn Konewko, 45, in the shooting of 81-year old Charles Moore.
Moore was shot last Thursday inside his home on Emory Drive in an early afternoon robbery.
Deputies say Konewko (pictured) is considered a suspect in this case.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department at 436-9620 and ask for Investigator James O’Hara, or call Crime Stoppers at 433-STOP.
Escambia River Flood Warning Canceled
March 17, 2009
The National Weather Service has canceled a flood warning for the Escambia River at Century.
At 10 this morning, the river was at 14.6 feet. Flood stage is 17 feet.
Deputies Bust Major North Escambia Burglary Ring
March 17, 2009
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department has busted up a major burglary ring operating in the North Escambia area, arresting three people and recovering perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise.
Three people — a female and two males — were arrested Monday by deputies after an attempted burglary on Clymil Drive, just south of Williams Ditch Road in the Cottage Hill area. Deputies say at least two more people are expected to be arrested in connection with the burglaries. In all, the suspects are believed to be responsible for about 25 burglaries in the area.
“We recovered a lot of merchandise,” Lt. Tony Jordan of the Escambia Sheriff’s Department told NorthEscambia.com. Property recovered from an apartment complex on Olive Road in Pensacola included a long list of big screen TVs, jewelry, games systems, DVDs, computers and more.
The arrests came Monday after the Clymil Drive resident came home to find a vehicle backed to his home and called for help. Deputies located the vehicle and made their arrests, but not before the female suspect reported that she had been carjacked, Jordan said.
The persons arrest Monday are possibly linked to 25 similar burglaries across the area this year, according to the Sheriff’s Department. In the typical burglary, one suspect would knock on the front door of the home. If no one answered the door, the suspects would back their car up to the home and kick in the backdoor, Jordan said. Most of the took place in isolated areas, often at homes where trees or shrubbery block the view of the home from the road.
In an incident last week, a man returned to his home in the 4000 block of Chestnut Road in Molino to find one of the burglars inside his home.
Most of the burglaries took place in the Cantonment and Molino areas, Jordan said. Deputies have not been able to determine if an incident late last week on Morgan Road in Walnut Hill was related. In that incident, the resident told deputies that he arrived at his home to find two black males in a white work-type truck in his backyard. They told the resident that they were there to fix a refrigerator.
The names of the suspects taken into custody Monday were not released by deputies due to the ongoing investigation and pending arrests.
More details on this story when they become available.
Century To Join Activist Group To Seek Court Injunction To Stop Carver/Century Closure
March 17, 2009
The Century Town Council has voted to join forces with the Pensacola activist group Movement for Change in seeking a court order to block the closure of Carver/Century K-8 School.
The Escambia County School Board is expected to vote tonight to close the school at the end of this school year. Leroy Byrd, president of the group, told the Century Town Council Monday night that the courts were their only hope of saving the town’s only school.
“The school district has already made a decision without announcing that decision. The outcome is already known,” he said. “You will have to file a legal challenge; it will not make a difference what you say.”
During his presentation to the council, Boyd never specified on what grounds the group would seek the injunction, other than to mention that the school district has “no compassion for poverty”.
When NorthEscambia.com asked what the basis for the injunction would be, Boyd simply replied that, “It won’t be race.”
He estimated that it would cost the council $7,500 to $8,000 in legal fees to hire attorney Jeffery Toney to file the injunction, and he cautioned the council that there could be additional appeals filed regardless of which side prevailed in court that would result in additional costs.
After making his case to the council, Boyd left the meeting and was not present for the council’s discussion or vote.
“The only way we could have a possible chance is to file that injunction,” said council member Gary Riley. “I feel it is worth it.”
“Whatever we can do to save our school, I’m all for it,” council member Sharon Scott said. “We’ve got to do everything,” council member Nadine McCaw added.
“The injunction should get us out of this dog fight altogether,” council member Henry Hawkins said. But without support and programs for the school, he said “we are going to have the same fight next year.”
The council voted 5-0 in favor of joining Movement for Change to seek the injunction to block the closure of Carver/Century.
When Boyd began his presentation to the council on behalf of Movement for Change, he told the council that he wanted 100 percent support from the town to save the school.
“There are some in this community who do not want to save Century,” he said. “We think to save Century, you have to have a school.”
“We want to see one Century come together to save Century,” Boyd added. “Not a racial divide, but one Century.”
Century Mayor Freddie McCall acknowledged that a small group of people in the town may want to acquire a charter school, but the group is a very small minority working contrary to the efforts of the town and its Blue Ribbon Committee that was formed to look at ways to save Carver/Century. The town has not even discussed opening a charter school, the mayor said, and they will not until the school board has actually voted for the closure.
McCall said the small minority wanted a charter school in Century for “handicap school or something”, and “I wasn’t part of it.”
“The majority of Century is on board to save our school,” the mayor said.
Pictured above: Leroy Boyd from Movement for Change addresses the Century Town Council Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
8th Graders Check Out Northview High School
March 17, 2009
Eighth graders from Carver/Century K-8 and Ernest Ward Middle School had the chance to learn more about Northview High School, and they had a little fun doing it.
Freshmen Orientation for incoming Northview High School freshmen was held Monday evening at the school.
A quiz show game “Are You Ready To Be A Northview Chief” gave participants and the Northview students and their families on the importance of reading and high school success.
The quiz show was comprised of two teams — the Garnet and the Gold — that answered questions with a little help from the audience.
Students and their parents also had the opportunity to tour the school and learn more about classes and programs that are offered. The sports teams and clubs from the school also provided information. Teachers were on hands to answer questions from the incoming freshmen.
Click here for a photo gallery.
Pictured above and below: “Are You Ready To Be A Northview Chief” gave incoming freshmen a fun look at what high school has to offer during an orientation Monday night at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Lucky 7: Chiefs Work To Keep Winning Streak Alive
March 17, 2009
The Northview High School varsity baseball team has been on a huge winning streak, winning their last seven.
“Our hitting and run production was not very good at the start of the season. Generally, hitting is ahead of the pitching early,” said Northview Head Coach Sid Wheatley. “Recently though, I feel like we’ve been seeing the ball better and having better swings at the plate. It has helped us to produce more runs. We’ve also been aggressive on the bases and have been able to get some bunts down.”
Four Northview players having batting averages of .333 or better — junior Dakota Stuckey, sophomore Dabney Langhorne and senior Scooter Hamilton.
The Chiefs, now 7-2, are only about two-thirds of the way through the season. Seven straight wins is a good thing, but Wheatley realizes his team has more work to do to keep the wins rolling in.
“I’m pleased at what we’ve done so far, but I also realize we have a lot to work on and improve on. The players realize this, as well. We’re not satisfied with what we’ve done so far, we realize there is much more that we need to improve on,” Wheatley said.
Northview batting averages after nine games:
Dakota Stuckey .348
Dabney Langhorne .333
Scooter Hamilton .333
Austin Reid .310
Austin Arrington .286
Pictured above: Sophomore Austin Arrington at bat for the Chiefs. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
In Depth: Possible Nuclear Plant In North Escambia
March 16, 2009
On Saturday, NorthEscambia.com broke the exclusive story that Gulf Power was purchasing property in North Escambia for a potential power plant — one that might be nuclear — in the Cox and Roach road areas between McDavid and Bratt.
Gulf Power Manager of Public Affairs Sandy Sims told us that the plant could be nuclear, natural gas powered or even an advanced technology like wind or solar. “We really can’t rule out any possibility right now.”
Today, we are going to take a closer look at some possibilities.
Nuclear Power Plant?
In 2007, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist issued an executive order calling for electric utilities to use renewable energy sources to generate electricity and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In August of last year, CEO Susan Story told the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce that nuclear energy and biomass — items such as wood waste, wood, municipal waste and other forms of waste — would become viable options, according to a report in the Panama City News Herald. That article also said Story commented that once Gulf Power picked a site, it could be 2020 before a nuclear plant would begin producing electricity.
Story told the newspaper that Gulf Power was looking at potential nuclear power sites in Northwest Florida “as we speak”.
At Gulf Power’s annual economic symposium in the fall of 2007, Story said “Nuclear may not be a critical option, it may be the only option.” She added that the earliest a nuclear plant could happen would be 2020.
New applications for nuclear power plants increased in 2008, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
During 2007, there were five new applications for eight new reactors. Two of those sites were new; the other six reactors were to be expansions of existing nuclear power plants.
In 2008, the number of applications more than doubled to 12, for a total of 18 new reactors. Four of those reactors were to be located at two brand new nuclear power plants; the rest were to be located at current plants.
The NRC says that at this time, there are three known applications for five reactors expected to be filed in 2009. Additional applications could be filed during year.
The nearest nuclear reactors to North Escambia is outside Dothan, Ala. The Farley Nuclear Plant is about 130 miles from North Escambia.
Is The Land Area Large Enough For A Nuclear Plant?
It would appear from the reports of area residents that Gulf Power is looking to purchase a very large area of land.
The Farley Nuclear Plant near Dothan sits on 1,850 acres. That is about 2.9 square miles.
Residents near the intersection of Cox Road and Bratt Road have reported that they were contacted by a Gulf Power representative seeking to purchase their property. Those homes are about 2.8 miles from the land already purchased by Gulf Power on Roach Road.
Sims would not confirm how many acres the utility was looking to purchase, but she did confirm that the company’s land acquisition department did make contact with one of the residents we spoke with near the intersection of Cox Road and Bratt Road — 2.8 miles away.
Natural Gas?
It becomes interesting to note that there is a natural gas pipeline about one mile north-northwest of the property purchased by Gulf Power on Roach Road. The pipeline is situated almost in the middle of the area between Gulf Power’s property and the residents contacted by the utility 2.8 miles away. The pipeline is indicated by the red line on the map at the top of the page.
Natural gas would not be considered a renewable energy source.
Other Possibilities
Wood and wood product were one of the biomass, renewable energy possibilities mentioned by Story. North Escambia is, obviously, surrounded by wood products industries.
Online date from the U.S. Forest Service indicates that if Gulf Power were to attempt to replace the 945 megawatt generating capacity of their Crist Plant in Pensacola with wood fuel, the plant would need over 10 million tons of wood fuel per year.
Pictured top of page: These graphics show the location of the property that has been purchased by Gulf Power. Resident as far away as Cox Road and Bratt Road have reportedly been contacted by the utility. Pictured middle: A small house sits on the Gulf Power property. Pictured bottom: A pipeline runs through the area. NorthEscambia.com graphics/photos, click to enlarge.
Casino No Economic Jackpot For Atmore So Far; Another Town Plans Big I-65 Development
March 16, 2009
With the Wind Creek Casino opening earlier this year and businesses beginning to grow in the city’s Rivercane business development, Atmore has hedged a big bet for economic growth on Highway 21 and I-65, an area annexed into the city just a few years ago.
But so far, Atmore has not hit the jackpot. And recent announcements indicate that Atmore’s two aces in the hole may not be the only ones in the game. Another major casino could open an hour away, and another major I-65 development is in the works about half an hour away.
Atmore has not been immune to the economic downturn that has hit the nation, joining the ranks of cities that have been forced to cut back and layoff employees.
Atmore recently announced the layoff of six employees with the parks department and beautification department. The winter workload for the positions was minimal, and cutting the jobs had no great immediate impact on the city, Atmore Mayor Howard Shell said recently.
For anyone that is accustomed to traveling through Atmore, or even Highway 97 in North Escambia for that matter, it is obvious that the opening of the Wind Creek Casino & Hotel at Highway 21 and I-65 has increased traffic. While a few business people we spoke to along Atmore’s Main Street report an increase in foot traffic and sales, overall sales tax collections in the city are down slightly.
“There has not been an large upward trend in sales tax collections,” Mayor Shell told NorthEscambia.com. “They are almost at a level position and holding, but they are down a little bit from this time last year.”
Between Montgomery and Mobile, Greenville has the only exit with major retail development — a Wal-mart, numerous hotels, a host of restaurants and an eight-screen movie theater all within sight of I-65.
Atmore’s Rivercane 643-acre development at Highway 21 and I-65 is the announced home for a Hardee’s restaurant and a few hotels. The city hopes to lure more business to the development to drive sales tax revenue. The Poarch Creek Indians pay no taxes to Atmore on their casino and hotel operations, so the casino has not directly increased the city’s sales tax.
And now another nearby town has announced they are working on developing both of their I-65 exits. Evergreen, Ala., has announced that several new businesses are on the way to their exit developments — a Love’s Travel Stop and Country Store, a Vista Inn, a Sleep Inn and a Huddle House restaurant.
Also, a developer has announced he is working to build a casino and resort on the beach at Perdido Key in Escambia County, Florida, in conjunction with an Indian tribe. He has told Escambia leaders that it will be larger than the Atmore casino.
It’s the worst national economic climate Shell said he has seen during his 22 years as Atmore’s Mayor. It has caused concern in the city, he said, but for now it is business as usual in their push for economic development.
“We are working to be good stewards of the city’s finances. We are taking all the measures we can to be economically minded about how we spend money,” the mayor said. “Each time we have to be mindful about how we spend our dollars.”
“We are holding our own, and we are working everyday on ways to increase revenue,” he said. “I just hope it doesn’t get any worse.”
Escambia Sheriff’s Dept. To Shine The LITE On Crime
March 16, 2009
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is launching The Law Enforcement Initiative to Educate (LITE) Program, which will feature several public campaigns to educate members of the community about crime prevention and public safety.
Beginning in March, the Sheriff’s Office will debut the Shine the LITE on Crime campaign which brings crime prevention techniques to light and empowers community members to become more vigilant against crime.
The Shine the LITE on Crime campaign will target various areas of crime such as home invasions, residential burglaries, assaults, and sexual assaults, in an attempt to educate the community on ways to avoid becoming a victim of such crimes. The sheriff’s office will produce public service announcements and create promotional items to get the message out concerning crime prevention.
In addition to the Shine the LITE on Crime campaign, the sheriff’s office will be launching several other campaigns in the coming months to promote awareness concerning domestic violence, cyber safety and beach safety.