Escambia To Make Drug Discount Card Available To All County Residents
April 11, 2008
A free drug discount card will be available to Escambia County residents beginning Saturday. The card will offer a discount up to 20 percent on common prescription drugs for those with no or inadequate insurance.
To get the free card, you must be a legal resident of Escambia County and provide proof of no or inadequate insurance. There are no enrollment fees, no forms to fill out, no age or income requirements, and no medical condition restrictions. The entire family is covered with just one card and virtually all commonly prescribed medicines are covered.
The card will be accepted at about 65 pharmacies in Escambia County. Century Pharmacy on Mayo Street in Century will accept the card, according to Pharmacist Julie Booth-Moran.
The drug card is the NACo Prescription Drug Discount Card from the National Association of Counties. Escambia commissioners were first going to cut membership in the association, but decided to continue to pay the $5,000 membership fee in order to make the discount card available to Escambia residents.
There is no cost to the county, county taxpayers, or consumers to participate. Caremark negotiates the discounts directly with participating pharmacies. Neither NACo nor the participating counties receive any revenue from the program.
The discount cards are provided free to residents living in participating NACo member counties across the country. A national network of more than 57,000 retail pharmacies honor the card.
The drug discount cards will first be available during the National County Government Week event Saturday, April 12 at the Pensacola Civic Center.
The will also be available at Escambia County Community Services, 2257 N Baylen St., and at the Escambia County Governmental Complex, 221 Palafox Place in the first floor lobby beginning Monday.
Century Sawmill Pageant Today
April 11, 2008
The 17th annual Miss Century Sawmill Pageant will be held at 1:00 Saturday at the Carver/Century K-8 School. The event is sponsored by the Century Lions Club.
The pageant is open to all children ranging in age from 0 – 18.
For more information contact Charlyn Madison at 256-6380 extension 234.
Ernest Ward FFA Students Bring Ag To Bratt Elementary Classrooms
April 11, 2008
FFA students from Ernest Ward Middle School brought ag to the classroom at Bratt Elementary School Thursday morning.
FFA members Devin Bell, Harley Caraway, Wes Chancery, Tyler Hester, Dustin Parker, and Lydia Weaver participated in Florida Ag in the Classroom at Bratt.
These students read “These Florida Farms” to the third and fourth graders. The FFA members also spoke with the fifth graders about their future attendance at Ernest Ward Middle School.
Florida Agriculture Literacy Day is an annual event held each spring in which hundreds of agriculture industry representatives read a designated children’s book about agriculture in elementary school classrooms around the state.
The event is a partnership between Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc. and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Pictured above and below: Ernest Ward FFA students participated in Florida Ag in the Classroom at Bratt Elementary School on Thursday. Principal Sheryl Pomeroy joined the EWMS ag students. Submitted photos. (Scroll down for additional photos.)
Unified Fire County Services Plan Presented To Escambia Commission
April 11, 2008
The first draft of the Escambia County Fire Services Unification Plan was presented to the Escambia County Commission Committee of the Whole Thursday.
On March 20, the commission voted to consolidate all fire departments outside the City of Pensacola into one unified county fire department. That vote required Escambia County Fire Chief Ken Perkins and Escambia County Volunteer Firefighters Association President Robbie Whitfield to present this plan to the commission by April 10.
The plan outlines 23 items that must be addressed prior to the planned implementation of the unified department on October 1. Those items include such things as the organization of the department, department goals, policies and procedures, job descriptions, career and volunteer annual evaluations, standardized training and record keeping, and a fire station staffing plan for both high and low volume stations.
“In approaching the unification process, 3 to 5 issues will be addressed each month, and final decisions will be documented through countywide guidelines, rules, policies, procedures, and/or directives. Routine weekly meetings will ensure that progress is maintained and issues are addressed quickly as possible,” the written plan states.
“It went really well; it’s coming together,” District 5 Commissioner Kevin White told NorthEscambia.com. “I’m very encouraged. I think we are on the right track.”
Perkins and Whitfield will return to the commission in about a month to update progress on the plan.
To read the complete plan as obtained by NorthEscambia.com, click here:
Escambia County Fire Services Unification Plan (pdf)
Pictured above: A McDavid Volunteer Fire Department truck on scene at a recent accident in Walnut Hill.
This Is Wildfire Awareness Week
April 11, 2008
The second week of April has been designated as Wildfire Awareness Week in recognition of Florida’s devastating 1998 wildfire season, when more than half a million acres burned and 337 homes and other structures were damaged or destroyed by wildfires statewide.
“March, April and May are usually the most active months of Florida’s year round wildfire season,” Bronson said. “We have been fortunate in the amount of rainfall we have received up to this point this year, but there is a very good chance that we will see an increase in wildfire activity over the next few months.”
The Division of Forestry responds to an increased number of escaped yard debris fires this time of year. Bronson urges residents to use caution when burning yard waste and to follow the guidelines set by the Division of Forestry.
- Burning yard waste does not require an authorization from the Division of Forestry, but you should check with your local city or county officials to see if there are any restrictions in your area
- Your fire must be contained in an 8 foot diameter pile or non combustible barrel and must be at least 25 feet from forests, 25 feet from your house, 50 feet from a paved public road and 150 feet from other occupied buildings
- Don’t burn on windy days or when the humidity is below 30%
- Never leave a fire unattended, and make sure it is out before you leave
- Keep a shovel or water hose handy
- If your fire escapes, you may be liable for suppression costs and damage to the property of others
Since January 1st, 2008, 776 wildfires have burned 14,523 acres in Florida. Most of these fires were caused by human carelessness.
“Floridians can take additional precautions to help prevent wildfires by reporting all suspicious fires to 911 or their local DOF office, never leaving a campfire unattended, disposing of cigarettes properly and making sure all vehicles and equipment have properly working spark arresters,” Bronson said.
Contact your local Division of Forestry office for more information on fire prevention tips and burning rules and regulations, or visit the Division of Forestry’s website at www.fl-dof.com.
West Fraser McDavid Sawmill Cutting 80 Jobs
April 10, 2008
Just over a year after taking over the McDavid Sawmill from International Paper, West Fraser is laying off about 80 employees.
The company announced Wednesday that it is cutting one shift from the North Escambia sawmill, all part of money saving plan. The Canadian based company blames the cuts on the poor housing market and the rising cost of timber.
West Fraser purchased the mill about a year ago, one of 13 sawmills purchased from International Paper.
New NorthEscambia.com Feature: An Events Calendar; Submit Your Events
April 10, 2008
Beginning today, there’s a new feature on NorthEscambia.com — a community events calendar listing. To see the community events page, simply click “EVENTS” in the bar near the top of the page, or click here.
We will be happy to run your church, civic or other non-profit community event taking place in North Escambia at no charge. Please submit your event(s) as early as possible prior to the event date to news@northescambia.com or click here for our contact form.
Escambia County Withdraws As Summer Feeding Program Sponsor
April 10, 2008
Escambia County will not serve as a sponsor for 2008 Summer Feeding Program for children in the county, including four sites in the North Escambia area.
For many years, the Board has, with permission from the Escambia County School District, voluntarily served as the sponsor for this program. The program has traditionally operated on grant funding, but during the last two program years, the School District has had to offset the operational deficit.
Summer nutrition for children under the Ms. Willie Ann Glenn Act requires each school district to develop a plan to sponsor summer nutrition programs. The schoolboard will offer a program to students via its cafeteria services facilities.
“The Board of County Commissioners regrets this decision but, due to the projected amount of reimbursements for the 2008 program, it will be extremely difficult to operate the program without additional funding,” the county announced Wednesday.
Last year’s program provided nutritionally balanced meals at 37 sites across the county, including the Carver Community Center in Century, Carver/Century K-8 School, the Quintette Community Center and Ransom Middle School. Those four sites all served breakfast last year, and the Carver/Century school site served a breakfast each day.
The school district’s plan for the summer feeding program have not yet been announced.
Dirt Road Committee Discusses Upcoming North Escambia Paving Projects
April 9, 2008
Paving miles and miles of dirt roads in North Escambia won’t be an easy task, and doing it on a limited budget will make it a lengthy process.
The Escambia County Dirt Road Paving Committee met Tuesday morning in Molino to address that status of paving the county’s dirt roads, most of which are in the northern District 5.
District 5 Commissioner Kevin White said that about 18 miles of dirt roads had been paved in the district since he took office.
There is about $1 million budgeted in 2008 for dirt road paving, $1 million in 2009, $1.5 million in 2010 and $1.7 million in 2011.
While a million dollars sounds like a lot of money, it will only pave about one mile of the average dirt road in the county. It is not a simple process of putting asphalt down on a ne existing dirt road. Right of way easements must be obtained, and there is a lot of engineering work to design the road and a drainage system that will meet state and local specifications. All of that must take place prior to getting bids on a road.
White says he hopes his fellow commissioners will provide more funds, but acknowledges that it is not likely to happen since there are almost no unpaved county roads in the other four commission districts.
Former District 5 Commissioner Wilson Robertson pledged that if he is relected, he will do all that he can to support District 5. Robertson, who served District 5 from 1988 to 1992 and again from 1996 to 2000, is currently running for the District 1 commission seat held by Commission Chairman Mike Whitehead.
“Basically you don’t have dirt roads in any other district other than District 5,” Robertson said. “If I get back on the commission, I promise the people of District 5 my support.”
“I even gave up playing golf today on my golf day to attend this meeting,” Robertson joked with the committee, in apparent reference to a published report that his opponent Mike Whitehead played golf rather than attending an anniversary celebration at the Myrtle Grove Volunteer Fire Department just over a week ago.
This year’s million dollars is being used to pave East Chipper Road south of Molino and Nicholson’s Drive off Molino Road, and any leftover funds will go to start the design process for paving Brickyard Road in Molino.
Right of way acquisition is also underway along Fairgrounds road, with four property owners that still have not deeded the necessary land to the county. Two of the four are expected to do so soon, but the other right of way land may have to be taken under legal eminent domain proceedings.
Dirt Road Paving Committee member Leroy Wiggins asked if there any progress toward paving Pelt Road in Walnut Hill. Pelt Road runs from Highway 97 to Pine Forest Road, a distance of almost exactly one mile.
“It is a very used through road,” Wiggins said. “School buses, mail carriers, people going to Ernest Ward (Middle School) use that road a lot. Plus there are seven houses on that road. We have all of the right of way easements on that road.”
Wes Moreno from the county’s engineering department said that Pelt Road was “not high on the current list”, but he would look into it.
“The objective is the same for all of us,” Wiggins said. “I want to see all of the dirt roads in this county paved.”
Pictured above: Pelt Road in Walnut Hill runs one mile from Highway 97 to Pine Forest Road. It was one of the roads discussed Tuesday morning at a meeting of the Escambia County Dirt Road Paving Committee. NorthEscambia.com photo.
Gas Prices Continue To Rise
April 9, 2008
Gas prices continue to rise across North Escambia, remaining more than a dime higher per gallon for regular unleaded than the cheapest Pensacola prices.
Tuesday morning, at least eight major Pensacola gas stations were at $3.21 per gallon for regular unleaded. The best price we found in the North Escambia area was $3.32 per gallon at the Tom Thumb at Highway 28 and Highway 97 in Molino. Prices in Davisville and Century were running about $3.35 per gallon of regular unleaded.
Diesel prices across North Escambia were approaching the four dollar mark Tuesday, with a gallon of self serve diesel at $3.89 at the Tom Thumb in Molino, once again the cheapest station we found in the area from Quintette Road to the Alabama state line. Other stations in the area we surveyed were at about $3.92 per gallon.
Pictured above and below: The Tom Thumb in Molino had the cheapest regular unleaded and diesel prices we could find in the North Escambia area on Tuesday. NorthEscambia.com photos.
