Teachers Head Back To School
August 12, 2008
Teachers headed back to school in Escambia County Tuesday.
They will spend the rest of the week preparing for the return of students on Monday morning.
Most area schools will hold orientation and “meet the teacher” times on Thursday or Friday. For more information, contact your child’s school.
Charter School Application Started After Stallworth “Stepped Forward”
August 11, 2008
The charter application that has been filed for the Charter Magnet School at Century began when local Baptist minister Irvin Stallworth stepped forward to help save the town’s school, according to the charter application.
The application’s narrative reads, in part:
“With govermental financial pressures mounting, a rumor spread rapidly that the administration of the county school district was to propose the closure and consolidation of the K-8 school.
“Like a lightning bolt the prospect of closure galvanized the community behind the school, and a local Baptist minister stepped forward at the request of the town’s Mayor Freddie McCall to help the town keep a school.
“Several years earlier, the Baptist minister has seen a need in the community. He founded a church in Century, and then in the aftermath of a major hurricane, formed a Public-Private-Faith based nonprofit to help the community find its vision and purpose. The nonprofit was called the Century Community Development Partnership, Inc.
“Century Community Development Partnership, Inc. was founded by Rev. Irvin Stallworth in 2005 in response to a need for critical community infrastructure, especially affordable housing…especially affordable housing in the catastrophic wake of Hurricane Ivan and many long years of poverty in the community.
“The need for other elements of community infrastructure quickly became apparent, such as daycare, urgent medical care, local public transportation, communications and improved schools. Working closely with the mayor and town council, Rev. Stallworth helped organize a “Blue Ribbon Committee” to make sure the Town of Century would have a school. The Mayor and Town Council named Rev. Stallworth as chairman of the committee.”
The narrative ends with:
“At the request of Rev. Stallworth a new nonprofit corporation will be filed to hold the charter of the Charter Magnet School at Century. The corporation is being named the “The Charter Magnet School at Century.”
Stallworth is pastor of New Life Baptist Church in Century.
The Town of Century’s Blue Ribbon Committee referenced above in the charter application is not the same as the Century Blue Ribbon Committee on Education that prepared the charter application, according to Century Mayor Freddie McCall and other members of the town’s Blue Ribbon Committee. For more information on that story, click here.
Stallworth’s Nonprofit Files Charter Applicaton For Carver/Century; Town Of Century Not Involved
August 11, 2008
A charter school application has been filed for the Carver/Century K-8 School by a Century foundation and the Century Blue Ribbon Committee on Education. But that’s not the same blue ribbon committee than the one appointed by the Town Council to save the school.
The application was filed minutes before the Escambia County Schools Department of Alternative Education closed on August 1, the deadline to apply for charter school status for the 2009-2010 school year. It was the only application filed. Superintendent Jim Paul has indicated that he plans to recommend the closure of Carver/Century at the August 19 school board meeting.
According to the application, it was “Prepared by the Century Blue Ribbon Committee on Education and The Century Community Development Partnership, Inc.”. It was filed by “James Sutton as organizer of the Charter Magnet School at Century in organization” and “Irvin Stallworth as President/Executive Director of CCDP”.
The Town of Century formed its own Blue Ribbon Committee on May 19 and named several area residents to the committee, including Stallworth. That committee appointed by the town is not the committee that filed the charter school application, according to Century Mayor Freddie McCall.
“No sir, it is not it; it is not the same,” McCall said when contacted over the weekend. He did not want to comment further until he had the opportunity to further “study” the situation.
“The committee is unaware of this application,” Century Blue Ribbon Committee member and vocal Carver/Century supporter Laura Nelson said. Nelson was the organizing force behind a prayer walk and rally in support of the school on May 3. “We did not lay eyes on the application prior to it being filed. The committee had no part in that application.”
Century Blue Ribbon Committee member Brenda Spencer said the committee did not vote on anything related to a charter school application when they last met on July 31, one day prior to the application being filed with the school district.
“But if someone had the forethought to file this application before the deadline, at least we won’t miss our chance to keep our school if they vote to close it,” Spencer said. “It is always good to have a ‘Plan B’. If we don’t need to use it, that is good. But we needed another option.”
James Sutton, the man who is listed on the application as the organizer of the Charter Magnet School at Century, told NorthEscambia.com that he was called by Stallworth and asked to help save the school. Sutton is not a member of the town’s blue ribbon committee.
“Hopefully we don’t need it, but we had to have the application filed by August 1,” he said. “If we did not, and they voted to the close the school, the children would have been bused somewhere else. It would be hard to bring them back to Century if they had been gone for a year.”
When NorthEscambia.com asked Sutton if he knew that the Century Blue Ribbon Committee on Education and the town’s Century Blue Ribbon Committee were not the same group, he said, “I was not aware of that, but I have been told that since. It was my understanding at the time that it was the same group, but at the time I did not give it a lot of thought.”
“Regardless, we want the town to come forward to help the town and to help the school,” he said. “We lose our community if we lose our school.”
The charter application was officially filed by the Century Community Development Partnership, Inc., a nonprofit headed by Stallworth. But Stallworth is very clear in the cover letter of the application that the CCDP does not intend to be the corporation running the school. The letter reads:
“In an effort to expedite the process and to move forward as rapidly as possible with the application of the Charter Magnet School at Century, Florida, the Century Community Development Partnership, Inc. is allowing this application to be filed under their name and their established 501(c)3; however, the Century Community Development Partnership, Inc. will not be the Florida Corporation that will ultimately hold the Charter of the CMS@Century. This interim use of CCDP in this application is pending the CMS@Century obtaining a 501(c)3 designation. The Charter Magnet School at Century is in organization as a Florida nonprofit corporation.”
501(c)3 is the designation given by the Internal Revenue Service to officially designate an approved nonprofit organization.
If the school board votes to close Carver/Century, the charter application does not necessarily mean that the group will get the charter to operate the school, according to Vickie Mathis, director of the Department of Alternative Education that administers the charter school program in Escambia County.
“It is a lengthy process that must have input from every department in the system, including all four assistant superintendents,” she said. “They review the application very close, including the budget and curriculum. The main thing we are concerned about is the education of the children.”
NorthEscambia.com obtained the application for “The Charter Magnet School of Century, Florida” late Friday afternoon following a public records request submitted to the school district. The detailed 81 page application document spells out the plans for the school, which hopes to 150 students enrolled in grades K-8 in its first year, 175 in its second year and 200 by year number three of the charter.
“Our Charter Magnet School Vision will facilitate the building of a community where any American can live and accomplish good, moral works, enjoy and revel in an abundant life, while looking forward with excitement and interest to what the future will bring,” the applications says.
Mathis pointed out to NorthEscambia.com that of the application was missing required signatures, and the application was not a “complete, official application until both signatures are acquired”.
Editor’s note: NorthEscambia.com attempted to contact Stallworth late Sunday, but we were unable to reach him. He was presumably unavailable because he is the pastor of a Century church and services would have been schedule at his church Sunday evening.
Local Church Gives New Pastor A Pounding, And A Little Sugar Too
August 11, 2008
The members of one local church gave their new pastor and his wife a pounding Sunday night. And they gave him a little sugar too.
Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church in Bogia gave new Pastor Nathan Brown and his wife Danielle a pounding following their Sunday evening service.
A pounding is an old fashioned tradition celebrated in many churches were a new pastor is welcomed to the church with gifts of food. Traditionally, a pounding would provide a pastor and his family with a pound of staples, such as a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound of butter and a pound of other basic items.
The Ray’s Chapel pounding for their new pastor was perhaps a bit more modern, with items such as Easy Mac, 100 calories packs of Oreo cookies, Kool Aid, Hamburger Helpers and snack items. The boxes of food also include handwritten recipes for many homemade dishes.
Nathan and his wife Danielle are from Dutton, Alabama, near Scottsboro in the northern part of the state.
He is a recent graduate with a master’s degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he interned at Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola.
He officially began his service as Ray’s Chapel new pastor on August 1.
Poundings, we are told, are sometimes also given in a church to provide food for needy families in the community.
Pictured above: Danielle and Rev. Nathan Brown were given a pounding at Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church in Bogia Sunday night. Pictured below: Some of the food items in the pounding. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FHP Plans Monthly Checkpoint On Highway 97
August 11, 2008
The Florida Highway Patrols says that it is planning a driver’s license and vehicle safety checkpoint somewhere on Highway 97 between now and Thursday. The checkpoints on Highway 97, according to the FHP, are becoming a routine monthly event.
Recognizing the danger presented to the public by defective vehicle equipment, troopers will concentrate their efforts on vehicles being operated with defects such as bad brakes, worn tires and defective lighting equipment. In addition, attention will be directed to drivers who would violate the driver license laws of Florida.
The patrol has found these checkpoints to be an effective means of enforcing the equipment and driver license laws of Florida while ensuring the protection of all motorists.
Do You Know Anything About These Beads? Hint: They Are Very Old
August 10, 2008
The Teaspoon Foundation in Century seeks your help if you know anything about the local use of beads like those pictured below.
The following was submitted by Jack Moran from the Teaspoon Foundation:
Back in the 1700’s the French, English, and Spanish traders would bring glass beads like these chevron trade beads that were made in Venice, Italy, to be traded with the Native Americans, African slaves, African Freedmen, Rivermen, trappers and Buckskinners. The French, English and Spanish would trade the beads, cloth, knives, axes, traps, and salt for pine pitch, dried corn, deer skins, potatoes, and jerked-dried meat that would be shipped back to Cuba, Spain and Europe via Pensacola or Mobile.
Trade companies like the Leslie-Paton Company in Pensacola paid with beads and wampum (shell) and with Spanish silver as well as with the beads and trade goods. There is a lot of history on these types of trade beads. These beads were cherished by women, especially for hair decoration. If you have or remember having seen any VERY OLD beads of this or other types, The Teaspoon Foundation is interested in hearing from you. We are collecting historical items related to Teaspoon.
If you know stories about the Rivermen who worked on the Escambia or Mobile Rivers a very long time ago, we want to hear them. If you remember stories about coming to Teaspoon to trade stuff, or if you know stories about making pine-pitch, or if you know stories about the old freedmen pine-wood villages or old home-places or cemeteries known to have been located in the woods of North Escambia, Florida, and South Escambia, Alabama, we want to hear those stories too. We will respect your private information.
Please email me at jack@teaspoonfoundation.com
NHS Chiefs Release Football Schedule; Will Travel Many Miles
August 9, 2008
The Northview Chiefs have finalized their 2008 football schedule, and NHS fans that attend all of the games will rack up over 1,200 miles during the season.
The season will kickoff September 5 on the road at Pensacola Catholic. The first home game won’t be until September 19 against Walton County, and the first district game won’t be until September 26. The complete schedule is below.
The longest road trip will be to Blountstown, a 344 mile round trip from Bratt. Three other games — Chipley, Holmes County and Marianna — are over 200 miles round trip. The total round trip miles from Bratt to all of the away games will be about 1,260.
NorthEscambia.com is looking for a reporter/photographer to help us cover Northview High School football this fall, along with some other sporting events. If you are interested, or know someone that might be, email news@northescambia.com with your information.
Are You Missing A Small Black Dog?
August 9, 2008
Pensacola veterinarian is hoping to find the owner of a small black dog hit by a car on Highway 29 north of Cantonment and return the dog back to North Escambia.
“I witnessed a small black dog get hit by a man in a black truck. I stayed with the dog until the animal control officer arrived. The dog was taken to Safe Harbor Animal Hospital for treatment,” Karen Ensley emailed NorthEscambia.com. The dog’s unfortunate accident happened on Highway 29 just south of the produce stand between Molino and Cantonment Wednesday.
Ensley has gone to great lengths to find the owner of the dog. From putting up flyers at Grocery Advantage, to calling other veterinarians and groomers in the area, to calling local radio stations asking for announcements. But, as of Friday evening, the dog has not been reunited with its family.
It was taken to Safe Harbor Animal Hospital on Creighton Road in Pensacola. Veterinarian Gina Forgey said the dog is recovering well.
“It’s a wonderful little dog, the sweetest dog ever,” Forgey said. While the dog was injured with a possible broken pelvis, Forgey said it is expected to make a complete recovery. “It will be completely back to normal in no time,” she added.
Forgey said Safe Harbor hopes to locate to dog’s owner and reunite them. If the owner is not found in five days, the dog will be put up for adoption. It will not be euthanized, she said; it will be kept until a suitable home is found.
If you believe this is your dog, or if you might know the owner of this dog, call Safe Harbor Animal Hospital at 476-5571.
Jean Webb, Former Ernest Ward Staffer, Held Book Signing
August 9, 2008
Jean Webb, a former teacher and administrator at Ernest Ward High School in Walnut Hill, held a book signing Friday. In the end, the books were all sold and many friends were together sharing stories of their days as Golden Eagles.
Webb signed copies of her new book “Feet of Clay” at the main branch of the First National Bank of Atmore Friday afternoon.
Set in Richmond, VA, and Mobile during the 1880’s, “Feet of Clay” is a family saga, a historical romance, a murder mystery, a courtroom drama and a study of human behavior all rolled into one.
“There are no perfect heroes here, only men with feet of clay,” she said of her book. “They have been wronged: They have done wrong, but are honorable men with all too many human flaws.”
Webb, who spent 35 years as an English teacher and administrator at Ernest Ward High School, is currently a member of the Wetumpka Fine Arts Club and the Episcopal Church. Her interests include reading, writing, and following sports…especially football and basketball. She has four children: Letha, Rick, Jean, and Pellar. She now resides near Wetumpka, Alabama.
Click here to order “Feet of Clay” online.
Superintendent Hopeful Thomas Speaks Out On Carver, Ernest Ward
August 8, 2008
Malcolm Thomas, candidate for Escambia School superintendent, brought his campaign message to Walnut Hill Thursday night, saying that Escambia County deserves better in its school system.
“I am running to make this school system better,” Thomas told the Walnut Hill Ruritan Club. He is a former Escambia County teacher of the year and a finalist for Florida teacher of the year; he now serves the district as director of evaluation services.
Thomas said he never set out to enter the education field. But in school he was the poor kid “without the designer alligators” on his shirt. A teacher took interest in him, he said, and became his encourager.
“I could never forget what that teacher did for me,” he said. “I became a teacher of learning disabled students because I wanted to make a difference.”
“At Bratt Elementary, they are getting it done,” he said, referring to Bratt’s school grade from the Florida Department of Education being the top score of any school in the county.
When asked about the expected recommendation by current Superintendent Jim Paul to close Carver/Century K-8 School, Thomas said “My biggest concern with Carver/Century is the fact that is has a little over 30 students in sixth through eighth grade.”
“You can’t build a program with so few students,” he said, pointing out that over the 400 elementary and middle school age students in the Carver/Century district, over half choose to attend schools like Bratt Elementary, Byrneville Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle School.
“If the people in their own community won’t attend their own school, how can we as a district support it?” he asked.
On rumors that Ernest Ward Middle School might be slated for closure in the future, Thomas said he sees a different need at Ernest Ward.
“I think we’ve got some facility problems there,” he said. “It’s getting older, and it is about full. I think we are looking at some type of construction project there in the future.”
Thomas said the district needs a long range plan that addresses which schools might be closed or consolidated and which schools might need construction and expansion.
Thomas is the only Republican candidate remaining the race for Escambia’s superintendent; the other Republicans have dropped out of the race. In November, he will face the winner of a three way race between Claudia Brown-Curry, Myra Simmons and Cary Stidham for the Democratic nomination.
NorthEscambia.com photo.