Social Security Benefit Checks Arriving Early
August 30, 2008
The Social Security Administration announced that benefit checks are being delivered to Gulf Coast yesterday and today, before the arrival of Gustav and ahead of the regular payment date. Nearly 400,000 people in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida will receive their Social Security checks August 29th and 30th, rather than on September 3rd, the regularly scheduled payment day. The early delivery includes North Escambia.
“It is critically important to get Social Security payments to people all along the Gulf Coast,” said Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security. “Delivering these checks early to residents from Texas to Florida eliminates one concern people might have as they prepare for the storm. As beneficiaries take steps to ensure their own safety, this is one step we can take to help them in a difficult time. In the future, beneficiaries should be mindful that Direct Deposit is a more secure and convenient way to receive payments, particularly when natural disasters strike.”
Social Security has worked closely with the U.S. Postal Service and the Department of the Treasury to make the early delivery of checks possible. People living in areas with the following first three digits in their zip codes will receive early delivery:
Alabama 364-366
Florida 323-325
Louisiana 700-708
Mississippi 393-395
Texas 770-779 and 783-785
The Department of the Treasury, through the Federal Reserve, has requested that financial institutions in the Gulf Coast states honor the paper checks as well as consider making Direct Deposit payments available as early as Friday, August 29th.
Flomaton Blows Away Calhoun; The Two Escambias Fall
August 30, 2008
The Flomaton Hurricanes blew away Calhoun High School Friday night in the first game of the season. The end was not so good for the two Escambias, Escambia County High School and Escambia Academy, both lost.
The ‘Canes cruised too a 57-7 victory on Flomaton’s home turf.
The Hurricanes scored on a run byTony Ellis on the opening kickoff of the game. That touchdown was just one of many as the first quarter came to an end over a hour later.
The clock was set at four minutes for the second quarter. The score at halftime was 57-7.
By mutual agreement of both coaches, the third and fourth quarters were only three minutes long. The final score was 57-7.
Flomaton will be on the road to Covington County next Friday night to take on Red Level.
In other Escambia County, Alabama, action Friday night:
- Patrician Academy 54, Escambia Academy 16
- T.R. Miller 22, Escambia County 21
Florida schools, including Northview and Jay, begin play next Friday night.
Pictured above and below: Scenes from the Flomaton’s 57-7 season opening win Friday night against Calhoun. Photos courtesy Mike Newton Photography for NorthEscambia.com.
Fire Units Called To Lakeview Center
August 29, 2008
The Century Volunteer Fire Department and surrounding fire departments were called to Lakeview Center in Century about 12:20 Friday afternoon.
Occupants of the building reported an electrical burning smell, but no fire was found. Lakview Center is located off Highway 4 on Industrial Boulevard.
A Corny Tale Of A Sleeping Truck Driver’s Big Oops
August 29, 2008
It’s one of those stories that almost sounds, well…corny.
The driver of the truck above says the drive shaft on his truck broke shortly after he pulled away from Escambia Grain in Walnut Hill Thursday. While waiting for someone to arrive to repair the truck, he fell asleep.
All was well, he said, until he woke up and looked behind the truck’s trailer. The tailgate release on the trailer is located next to the steering wheel. While he was was asleep, he apparently bumped the tailgate release, dumping a large amount of corn onto Arthur Brown Road. So much corn, in fact, that it blocked one lane of the highway.
“I can’t believe it did that,” the driver said. “Next time I’ll sleep in the passenger seat so I don’t bump that thing.”
Pictured above: A sleeping truck driver accidentally dumped part of a load of corn onto Arthur Brown Road Thursday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Big Truck Versus Little Truck On 29
August 29, 2008
One person was injured in a accident between a small pickup and an 18-wheeler early Thursday evening in McDavid.
The southbound driver of the small pickup slowed at attempted to make a U-turn head back north on Highway 29 at Cox Road. The small pickup was struck from the rear by the 18-wheeler, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The driver of the pickup continued north for several hundred feet before pulling of the side of Highway 29.
There were three people in the pickup at the time of the 6:00 p.m. crash, according to the FHP. One female was transported to Jay Hospital with minor injuries.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
The McDavid Volunteer Fire Department, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department also responded to the scene.
Pictured above and below: This small pickup was struck by a much larger 18-wheeler Thursday evening in McDavid. One person was transported to Jay Hospital with minor injuries. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Four People Win Tickets To Saturday’s Bull Riding Blowout in Flomaton
August 29, 2008
NorthEscambia.com and thre Tri Cities Rotary Club have randomly chosen four winners of one pass each to this Saturday night’s Bull Riding Blowout in Flomaton.
The winners are Allie Vidak of Molino, Ashely Condrey of Walnut Hill, Vivian Bell of Flomaton, and Kelly Sims of Flomaton. The winners will receive an email Friday morning with instuctions on how to claim their tickets.
The Tri Cities Rotary Club, MK Farm and Rafter L Farm will present a Bull Riding Blowout with a live concert from up and coming Nashville stars Brad Caswell and Anna Garrett on Saturday. Gates will open at 6 p.m. and the event starts at 8 p.m. at Highway 31 and Highway 113 in Flomaton, Alabama. Adult tickets are $10, student tickets are $5 and kids under six are free. Concessions will be available; and you should bring your lawnchairs.
Panic Or Preparation? North Escambia Gas Prices Jump While Supply Dwindles
August 29, 2008
Gas stations across North Escambia are selling out of gas, especially regular unleaded, as Gustav moves toward the Gulf of Mexico.
“Some people are just hoarding,” one potential customer told us at a convenience store in McDavid. “They are filling up big drums with gas, cans with gas, everything with gas.” The pump nozzles at the station in McDavid were covered late Thursday afternoon; the store was out of gas.
Customers in Century told us they were buying gas ahead of an anticipated price increase. Other said they were trying to avoid long lines that have developed following other Gulf Coast hurricanes like Ivan, Dennis and Katrina. And others said they were storing gas to power their generator in the event Gustav knocks out the power.
At the BP station at North Century Boulevard and Highway 4, signs on the pumps notified customers Thursday morning that only super unleaded and diesel were available. They were out of mid-grade and regular unleaded, the two cheapest grades.
But the signs came down shortly after a gas delivery started from an tanker truck; the station once again had regular unleaded gas. Good news, at least for a while. Bad news though in the price department, prices were to jump 13 cents a gallon after the delivery.
“It’s just crazy,” one lady in Century said.
Pictured above: This station in Century had sold out of regular unleaded and mid-grade unleaded until this delivery Thursday morning. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Bratt Elementary Holds Open House, Shows Off New Media Center
August 29, 2008
Bratt Elementary showed off a new media center Thursday night.
The annual open house was held at Bratt Elementary School. Parents and guardians joined their children to meet teachers and tour the facilities.
The highlight of the tour for many was the new school’s new Media Center. The modern building includes a library, a computer center, a closed circuit television studio and more.
Carver/Century K-8 School will hold Open House Thursday, September 11 at 6:00 at the school.
Molino Park Elementary School will hold Open House Thursday, September 11 at 6:30 at the school. Molino Park will hold a PTA board meeting on September 4 at 5:00 in the afternoon at the school.
Byrneville Elementary will hold Open House on Thursday, September 4 at 6:00 following a 5:30 PTO meeting.
For a photo gallery from open house at Bratt Elementary School and the school’s new media center, click here.
Pictured above: Students and parents tour the new media center at Bratt Elementary School Thursday evening during the school’s open house. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Century Considers Code Enforcement Again
August 29, 2008
The Century Town Council talked code enforcement Thursday, with some members admitting that it was going to be a touchy political subject.
The town severed an agreement with Escambia County to provide code enforcement in Century. Under that agreement, the county’s code enforcement officers worked Century and wrote citations that were turned over to the town for abatement. The services were provided by the county at no charge to Century.
The arrangement came under fire, with allegations that the county’s officers provided selective enforcement, citing some people but no others. That prompted the council to sever the relationship with Escambia Code Enforcement. Now, there is no code enforcement at all in the town.
But now, council members are ready to look at returning code enforcement to the town.
“I see a real need for something to be done to clean up the town, particularly dilapidated building,” Council President Ann Brooks said. She suggested one of two options: the town could return to the code enforcement business with its own code enforcement officer, or the town could once again rely on Escambia County to enforce the town’s code book.
Mayor Freddie McCall told the council that he wants to see the town use the county’s code officers and that the county has offered to return one to Century at no cost to the town.
“I plead with y’all to lets sit down with the county and work out the details,” McCall said. “We can’t afford a code enforcement officer.”
But money was not McCall’s only concern about the town having its own code enforcement officer. He said he was afraid the town doing its own code enforcement could become too political.
“This is going to be a hot bed. This is going to be political. There’s going to be some picking and choosing,” McCall said of the town having its own code officer. “I don’t think we should put ourselves in this position.”
Council member Nadine McCaw expressed her concern about small town politics coming into play if the town were to act on its own with enforcement.
“We might be more lenient to your momma or Gary’s sister,” McCaw said to Brooks. “I want somebody that doesn’t know anybody here.”
“I believe that I am as capable of voting against my mother as I am anyone else,” Brooks said later in the meeting.
The town has a clear code in place that defines violations and outlines the steps to require a property owner to bring their property into compliance.
The code outlaws any property or structure that is a nuisance due to rats, vermin, flies or other things that cause disease; a lot that has an accumulation of rubbish, trash or garbage; a building that is dilapidated or an unsafe menace; a lot with an accumulation of one or more inoperable vehicles, excluding businesses such as auto repair shops and junkyards; and overgrown vegetation except for a lot with no building in or returning to a natural state, or property that is zoned as agricultural.
Residents are to be notified of the violation and have 20 days to begin to rectify the situation or contest the citation, per the code. If the property owner does nothing, the town would have the right to clean up the property or demolish the dilapidated building and file a lien against the property. If an alleged violator wanted to appeal their citation, they would face the town council in a code hearing.
“I can’t do it; I don’t agree with it,” McCaw said about the council acting hearing code enforcement appeals.
“You don’t have to be a building inspector to look down Highway 29 at those buildings falling down,” council member Henry Hawkins said.
“If we could just enforce what we have on our books, we could be in much better shape, council member Gary Riley said.
McCaw expressed concern that a code officer hired by the Town of Century might hold a physically dangerous position.
“Their life might be at stake,” she said. “People will kill over something like that.”
The council voted to hold another public hearing at a date to be announced with officials with the county’s code enforcement division to discuss how the two might could work together.
Pictured above: A dilapidated home on Freedom Road in Century. Pictured below: An abandoned building on North Century Boulevard in the southern part of Century. Building such as these could become the target of code enforcement in Century. NorthEscambia.com photos.
NHS Football Team, Cheerleaders Prep For Season Opener
August 29, 2008
The garnet and gold has hit the green football field at Northview High School as the Chiefs prepare for the September 5 season opener on the road against Pensacola Catholic.
The first home game for the Chiefs will be September 19 against Walton County.
Pictured above and below: The Northview football team and cheerleaders practice in preparation for a September 5 battle against Pensacola Catholic. Submitted photos by Heather Leonard for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
