Ernest Ward Names Students Of The Month
December 11, 2008
Ernest Ward Middle School recently named their students of the month for November. They are (L-R) Ashlynn Clemmons, Lily Townson, Harold Harrison and Austin Cunningham. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com.
New Program At Atmore, Flomaton Libraries To Allow Families To Talk To Deployed Relatives
December 11, 2008
Area families that have loved ones deployed overseas in the military will soon be able to visit public libraries in Atmore and Flomaton and visually communicate with video conferencing software.
Alabama Governor Bob Riley announced the “Connecting Families” program Tuesday. Families who have loved ones deployed overseas will be able to visit public libraries across the state and visually communicate with them using computers equipped with video web cameras.
The new program puts the video webcams and computers in more than 100 libraries throughout the state. The cameras and computers will soon be installed at the Atmore Public Library and the Flomaton Public Library. Families will be able to make appointments with the libraries when they can come in and use the technology to see and talk to their deployed family members.
“We’re grateful not only for our troops but also for the families who serve by their side, even though thousands of miles often separate them. Like our soldiers, the families sacrifice so much. Anytime we have an opportunity to help our brave troops and their families back home, we must take it,” Governor Riley said.
Rebecca Mitchell, director of the Alabama Public Library Service, said Alabama is the only state in the nation with this program.
Connecting Families is a partnership between the public library service and the Alabama Broadband Initiative that Governor Riley launched earlier this year. The program got its start thanks to grant funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
But the program’s real impetus came from Chief Warrant Officer Randy Hickman, who was unable to communicate via webcam with his family in Elmore County while he was serving in Iraq. The problem wasn’t due to a lack of broadband access at his base in Iraq, but rather because his home 20 miles outside Montgomery didn’t have high-speed Internet access.
Hickman contacted Governor Riley’s office, which got the Broadband Initiative involved. The Governor and Mitchell announced Connecting Families at the Wetumpka (Ala.) Public Library, with Hickman and his family in attendance.
The project got its first demonstration today at the Wetumpka library when Col. Christopher Morgan, who is currently serving in Afghanistan, visited with his wife Leslie and their children via the video hookup.
Pictured above: Alabama Gov. Riley stands with the family of Col. Christopher Morgan in front of a computer at the Wetumpka (Ala.) Public Library as they communicate with Col. Morgan, who is serving in Afghanistan, by means of the “Connecting Families” program launched Wednesday. The program will soon be available at the Atmore and Flomaton libraries.
Strong Winds Damage Agricultural Facility South Of Jay
December 10, 2008
Strong winds damaged several buildings at the West Florida Research and Education Center south of Jay this morning.
The facility received over $30,000 in damage, including a destroyed canopy, siding torn from a greenhouse, and a portion of the roof on an office building.
The winds, which employees of the facility at 4523 Experiment Road off Highway 182 say sounded like a tornado, struck just before 7:30 this morning.
There were no injuries reported.
Atmore Councilman, Mayor Pro Tem Passes Away
December 10, 2008
Atmore City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Eldred Pritchett passed away early Wednesday morning.
The Atmore News reports that Pritchett died at about 4:00 Wednesday morning after a long battle with cancer.
For more on this story, visit atmorenews.com.
Renovation Of The Old Molino School On County’s Legislative Wish List
December 10, 2008
The renovation of the old Molino Elementary School appears on a wish list that the Escambia County Commission will soon present to the Florida legislature.
The county will request funding to renovate the old school into a multiuse/multipurpose community center and branch library for the Molino area.
The proposal says that the facility could be used for disaster response and recovery, agribusiness, health services, a library, education, economic development, transportation and recreation.
Phase one of the project is estimated to cost $2 million. If approved, it would include a community center, possible educational partnerships with the Escambia County School District’s vocational programs, possible community college uses, a full use branch library, agricultural services, a visitor’s information center or chamber of commerce satellite location and more.
The library portion of the project is currently ranked number three in the state for a half million dollars in funding from the state. The grant, if awarded, would require the county to use the facility as a library in Molino for a minimum of 20 years.
The school closed in 2003 when the new Molino Park Elementary School consolidated Molino Elementary and Barrineau Park Elementary. The school, which sits on nine acres along County Road 95A just south of Molino Road, first opened in 1939.
North Escambia Area Now Appears On Google Maps Street View
December 10, 2008
Google has expanded their Street View service to provide 360 degree ground level photos on their Google Maps service.
What exactly is Street View? It is exactly that, a street level panorama view from a large number of public roads in North Escambia, along with all of the surrounding communities. With Google Maps, you can view a map of your house and a satellite view of it from space. Now, with Street View, you can view an actual photo of your house and turn around 360 degrees in your front yard.
The inclusion of North Escambia was part of a major addition of cities, towns and rural areas to Street View on Tuesday.
“With just 22 days left in the year, I can’t help but think back to where Street View was at the beginning of 2008. At that time, we had imagery for 23 cities in the United States, and we had just released embeddable panoramas. Although Street View was still in its infancy, we were excited about the user feedback we had gotten and the creative uses we were seeing,” Google Product Manager Stephen Chau wrote in the official Google Blog.
“So we started 2008 with a clear, simple goal: bring Street View to more people in more places. Every time we add imagery for a new city or town, we’re not just benefiting its citizens, who now can preview their driving route or check for parking meters outside their dentist’s office, but anyone traveling to that place or teaching about it or simply curious to see more of the world,” Chau wrote.
It appears that the Google Street View photos in an around North Escambia were taken in the last half of February or the first half of March 2008. We based that conclusion on a few clues:
- There were no leaves on the trees.
- There were no Christmas decorations is Atmore, Flomaton or Century.
- The movie being show at the theater in Atmore was not released until February 14, 2008.
- The gas pumps at the Tom Thumb in Molino are missing; they were replaced in the last half of February 2008.
We did find a several roads in North Escambia that were not photographed by Google, but some of the most remote locations in the area were included.
To try Google Street View for yourself, visit maps.google.com
If you find something interesting in Google Street View around the area, let us know about it in the comments section below. You can click the “link” button in street view and paste a link to your interesting find below.
Pictured above: The Google Street View of the library and town hall in Century. Pictured below: In this Google Street View photo looking toward the Highway 29 and Highway 97 intersection in Molino, you can see a shadow of the vehicle used to take the photos. Note the pole with camera on top. You can also see to people out for a morning walk that were captured by the Street View cameras.
Escambia County Bank Makes Christmas Contribution To Century Care Center
December 10, 2008
Pictured above: The Escambia County Bank in Flomaton recently made a donation to the Century Care Center to help fund the center’s annual Christmas party. Pictured above: J.R. Jones (left), president of the Escambia County Bank, presents the check to Don Ripley, Century Care Center administrator. Pictured below: Flomaton Mayor Dewey Bondurant visits with Santa Clausduring the bank’s annual Customer Appreciation Day. Pictured bottom: More pictures from the Escambia County Bank Customer Appreciation Day. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com.
IP Announces Downtime At Cantonment Mill, But No Layoffs Planned
December 10, 2008
International Paper in Cantonment has joined the list of area companies scaling back because of the declining economy, but no one at IP is losing their job as a result.
Instead, the company announced downtime for its “#4″ and “#5″ paper machines.
The “#5″ machine stopped production on December 6 for eight days, and the “#4″ machine will stop production on December 22 for 14 days.“The economic slow down the country is experiencing has resulted in a reduction in customer orders,” said Chris Read, mill manager. “The Pensacola mill is committed to managing our supply to meet the needs of our customers.”
“We understand the impact of current economic conditions on our employees and their families, and we will do all we can to assist them during the downtime period,” added Read.
Company spokesperson Jessica Morris said the downtime will impact a total of 81 employees.
“We do not expect any layoffs at this time,” Morris said.
The company will allow affected employees to use any unused vacation or personal holidays during the downtime to help offset the financial impact to them and their families.
Accident On The Alabama-Florida Border Injures One
December 10, 2008
One person was trapped in their vehicle for over half an hour in an accident on the Alabama-Florida border north of Bratt Tuesday night.
The accident happened about 10:25 p.m. at the intersection of State Line Road and North Highway 99 on the border of the two states. The driver of a Kia Sedona apparently failed to stop at a stop sign at the end of the State Line Road, slid across Highway 99 an into a ditch. The vehicle was in the ditch with one side being supported by a large stump.
It took firefighters just over half an hour to stabilize the vehicle so that it did not slide further into the deep ditch and to remove the driver. The male driver was transported to Atmore Community Hospital. His injuries were not believed to be life threatening.
The vehicle came to rest literally just a few feet from being in Alabama.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, the Atmore Fire Department, Atmore Ambulance, the Escambia County Sheriff’ Department and the Florida Highway Patrol responded to the call.
The accident is still under investigation by the FHP.
Pictured above: Firefighters work to stabilize this Kia Sedona so that it does not slide further into a ditch on the Alabama-Florida border Tuesday night. Pictured below: More views of the accident scene. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Bogia Highway 29 Accident Injures One Early Wednesday Morning
December 10, 2008
A one vehicle rollover accident in Bogia injured on person early about 2:25 Wednesday morning. The accident happened near the intersection of Highway 29 and Cotton Creek Road, about a half mile north of Bogia Road.
Authorities say a Florida Highway Patrol trooper was northbound on Highway 29 when he discovered the Honda Accord upside down in the woods off the roadway. Firefighters had to cut down several small trees in order to get the driver out of the vehicle.
The McDavid and Century Stations of Escambia Fire-Rescue responded to the call. The accident is still under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Pictured above and below: One person was injured in this one vehicle rollover accident in Bogia about 2:25 Wednesday morning. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
