Suspect in PJC sexual assault faces competency hearing

 

ASHLEY TOMPSON

The Corsair

The suspect in a sexual assault on the Pensacola campus last spring will go before a judge on Nov. 30 to determine whether he is mentally competent to stand trial, according to the state attorney’s office.

Jaworski Lee Simmons, 28, was charged with forcible sexual battery, battery and kidnapping/false imprisonment following the April 22 incident in a women’s restroom in building 1, home to mathematics and developmental studies at PJC.

According to police reports, the suspect allegedly forced a young woman into sexual contact in a restroom stall about 12:45 p.m.

The female student told police she had just bought her lunch when she decided to use the restroom. Leaving her purse, food and phone in her car, she encountered a “soft-spoken” black male, approximately 5′7” in the vicinity of the restroom.

The suspect approached her and asked if she had a boyfriend and if he could have her number. She replied “yes [I have a boyfriend]” and “I can’t [give out the number].”

The suspect persisted, saying, “Let me get your number; he’ll never know.”

“I’ll know,” she recalled saying.

She then entered into the restroom, located at the north end of building 1, and the suspect followed her in. According to the police report, she told him several times to leave.

When she thought he had gone, she entered the stall. Then she saw a pair of white shoes under the stall. 

Again, she told the man to leave.

“Let me get your number,” he said as he started to crawl under the door. The victim began screaming as the two struggled. After entering the stall, he forced her into sexual contact, the police report said.

The suspect then fled the bathroom, and the victim immediately ran to the PJC Police Department in nearby building 5 and told officers what had occurred.

On the day of the assault, according to PJC Police Sergeant Lisa Van Natter, five women other than the victim reported being approached by a man similar to the suspect’s description, all between 11:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. One woman was in building 21 (about 11:30 a.m.), one in building 8 (11:45), two in building 4 (about noon) and one in building 1 (12:35).

During an investigation over the next three days, at least two other men were picked up in connection with the crime but were later released.

The suspect was selected from a photo lineup by several witnesses. He was picked up on April 25 and taken to Escambia County jail for questioning.
According to police, the suspect initially denied ever being at PJC but later said he was there and did have consensual sex with the victim. Then he recanted, saying he never had sexual contact with the victim at all.
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Simmons was booked into the jail and held on $425,000 bail. A court later determined that he was mentally incompetent to stand trial at that time and sent him to Florida State Hospital for evaluation.

This is not the first time Simmons has been found incompetent to stand trial, nor the first time he has faced sexual assault charges.

In 2003 and in 2008, Simmons was charged in separate incidents with sexual assault. These cases were “nolle prossed,” according to court records.

Nolle prosequi is a Latin term used in the court system to represent the state’s willingness to no longer prosecute. It may be used in cases in which charges can no longer be proved or in which evidence has shown innocence on behalf of the accused.

 

 

Ft. Hood tragedy ‘terrorism’ debate is irrelevant

by Paul Smith

The recent tragedy at Ft. Hood in Texas where Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a Palestinian-American and Army psychiatrist, senselessly killed 13 people and wounded 30 others has inspired a ridiculous national debate of over the definition of terrorism.

Fox News (of course) recently ran a poll on its website asking whether the Ft. Hood tragedy was the worst act of terrorism since 9/11. The respondents overwhelmingly voted that, indeed, it was.

But, what the Fox News respondents and the other countless people currently engaging in this irrelevant national debate fail to realize, is that the Ft. Hood massacre does not reasonably fit any metric for classifying terrorism.

We could split hairs over semantics all day about what the word “terrorism” really means, but perhaps we should just go to official sources for the definition.

The United States Law Code currently defines terrorism as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.”

The Department of Defense’s Dictionary of Military Terms defines terrorism as “the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.”

The evidence so far suggests the Ft. Hood tragedy does not even come close to fitting these criteria.

There is no evidence to suggest Hasan was a “clandestine agent” or part of a “subnational group.” And while he may have been partly motivated by religion, there is no evidence to suggest he intended to coerce or intimidate government or society.

The Ft. Hood incident actually has far more in common with the U.S. Postal employee workplace shootings that used to occur than with any form of terrorism.

The only reason the word “terrorism” is being batted around is because Hasan was a Muslim and his victims worked for the military.

Now, do I think religion was a large part of Hasan’s reason for going on this senseless rampage? Absolutely – I think the evidence suggests his mind was poisoned by religion to a large extent, but religion is certainly not the only excuse people have to go on killing sprees.

Hasan was also a psychiatrist who had to constantly hear about the horrors his fellow soldiers experienced at war and the difficulty of post traumatic stress they had to deal with once they returned.

Hasan was about to be spent to Afghanistan, and his fear of being deployed coupled with the psychological perils he experienced because of his religion caused something inside him to snap.

It was a sickening and horrific act of violence that should be condemned by all – but there is no current evidence to suggest it was an act of terrorism.

Ultimately, I fail to understand why we’re even having this debate. Let’s say we do find out that Hasan committed this terrible act because he was politically motivated, had some sort of tangentially related co-conspirators egging him on, and was hoping to intimidate the American populace and change government policy – so what?

Well, then we could certainly call this terrorism, but does it really matter? Would it in any way change the way we look at this tragedy just because we used a different word to describe it?

I fail to comprehend why are so many are insisting we call this terrorism. I find something about this insistence not only strange, but a bit disturbing and disgusting.

The Ft. Hood tragedy is the story of a man who snapped, just like every other mass shooting that has taken place. People are obviously free to call it whatever they want, but to engage in this debate and insist we must call it terrorism is a myopic distraction and does a disservice to the people who died that day.

It was a tragedy by any definition – any everything else in this debate is just pointless semantics.

Whatever happened to manners?

by Justin Otto

As I live my life day to day, I am faced with this question. This is an especially perplexing question as I am from Pensacola, FL – which, in case you aren’t up to date on your geography, is in the Southeastern United States.

The reason I bring this up is because of a phrase that is thrown around a lot, but is very seldom actually put into action these days by the majority of the population in this Podunk hamlet. The phrase is Southern Hospitality, but what it really boils down to is having a sense of manners.

I am still a “yes, sir,” “no, ma’am” type of guy. I hold doors for people; I say “thank you” and “you’re welcome.”

I also notice that it is very often that I hold a door for someone and don’t get the obligatory “thank you” for my efforts… I mean, is it that hard to stop for 1.8 seconds and say “thanks?” It took me longer to hold the door than it takes just to say it.

I see motorists stranded on the side of the road very often, and while I don’t ALWAYS stop to help them, I have been known to change a tire or two for random strangers.

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe the people that were brought up with some sense of actual morality are a dying and finite breed.

Have you ever gone over the Bob Sykes Bridge and just paid for the person behind you as well? Well, I have. And it only cost me one extra dollar to make someone’s day – one dollar to show someone that not everyone out there is a self-absorbed automaton. Most of you people spend more than that on your morning triple cream macchiato with a raspberry splash or whatever the hell kind of coffee you people drink nowadays.

It gets especially bad around this time of year when people have the Kris Kringle-lust in their beady eyes and start drooling like the loup-garou at the sight of whatever the new big seller of the season is as you kick and claw your way through the lines of other delightful shoppers with the same “Christmas Spirit.”

Is it that hard to just be nice to people? I’m no Christian, so I won’t go espousing Christian theology at you, but is it so hard to live by the maxim: “do unto others as you would have done unto you?”

Would you like to be stranded on the road without help or have a door unceremoniously slammed in your face for no other reason than the person in front of you just doesn’t care? I wouldn’t think so, but I’m not you. I’m me.

So this Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or whatever strange yuletide holiday you get to suffer through with your family and friends, just endeavor to be a little nicer. And mean it. Hold a door for someone; don’t get into a fit of blind rage in a traffic situation; just be a moral human being for once. It’s really not that hard, and at the end of the day you might actually feel like a better person for it. I can’t guarantee that, but it might just work.

I suppose this is what happens in a town that thinks it is far larger than it actually is and tries to be “progressive.” People change as the times change, and people lose sight of what is really important. What makes a town are the people, and at this point most of you make me sick. But that’s just my opinion.

What am I doing at Sluggo’s?

by Timm Schowalter

I was trapped in a room full of 50 or so other kids that would look like aliens compared to the button-down oxford-type so typically exemplifying our species. I could find no way to escape, which was incredibly ironic because the only thing I could focus on was the filthy half-glowing “exit” sign precariously perched at a dangerous angle over the backdoor.

The hopeless green saucer lights hanging from the walls (that prehistoric uncultured Pensacolians decided many years ago was the only hip way to facilitate light in a place that prides itself as such a pop-culture hotspot; in other words, a vegan restaurant) did nothing but wash everything and everyone in a vomit haze.

But there it was: EXIT.  Screaming as if the neon wanted to explode out of the letters and consume this little shenanigan being labeled as a show.  It was the one thing I wanted and the one thing I could not have.

This highway of thought stretched out before me like a zoo lion watching little children walk past its cage.

Some creature disguised as a girl was on the stage.  She was all alone.  No - I was all alone.

She and all the other people here were in the same place, something they’d consider to be musical nirvana. And although all these snobby scene kids may have been in harmonious Elysium, I saw no golden fields.

She was the only person on stage. Ill Ease was the apropos name of the girl’s band (if you can call it that).  She was probably about 25 years old, wore a camo shirt and had hair that was so unkempt only Bigfoot could love it.

Her voice was a hyperactive raspy monotone shout that will cause linguists 1000 years from now to quit their jobs. And she kept saying things in between songs that only made sense to the well inebriated in the crowd.

She used a looping-pedal that allowed her to record what she played over a certain amount of time and then repeat it over and over again.  Basically she would pick up an instrument, get a riff going, and then move on to another one. It was like watching a mad scientist create sonic poison.

“What am I doing here,” I thought.  This was terrible - on par with what Beethoven might have thought of a Nickelback concert.

“ANDREW!  What’s up man?” someone said from the crowd.

“Timm,” I replied.

“Oh, you’re right, man.  Andrew’s my name.  I’m so drunk right now I called you my name.”

A friend (well sorta) I had known for the past four years had just addressed me by his own name. Later on it dawned on me that this is the guy currently leading the bike rides around police stations protesting the death of Victor Steen.

“Is this what music is coming to?” I thought.

I was boiling over with frustration, because not even half an hour before, I was watching an excellent two-man band, The Evergreens, play on the very stage that was now being desecrated by Ill Ease.

The most subtle drummer (who informed me afterwards that he was only 17 years old) I’ve come across in quite some time was hashing it out on his two-piece drum set beneath the gorgeous vocals and simple guitar of his musical counterpart.

The two guys were so plain. They weren’t using some crazy pedal to create some kind of pseudo music that isn’t worth the effort it took to create, and you could easily understand what they said without having to down the Pabst Blue Ribbon everyone in the Sluggo’s crowd is so fond of. They were just playing guitar and drums, and it was working for them.

But, unfortunately, what wasn’t working for them was the crowd.  Consisting of me, a good friend, some drunk dude making a fool of himself, and the singer’s girlfriend with a few of her friends, the eight-person crowd was not accomplishing much to encourage the hopes of this un-dynamic duo.

I thought, “How does something so good procure such a small crowd, while something so terrible gets the attention of a horde of needy college students?”

While pondering this question, trapped somewhere between the exit sign, cross-dressers and the most unpleasant sound-waves my ears had ever endured, a small beautiful pinprick of light tore through the puke mist of the stage-room at Sluggo’s, and I came to a realization.

I was witnessing the answer to my query: The crowd for Ill Ease may have been large, but, man, did they suck. The awful music was getting the awful crowd it deserved.

The bimbo in the corner accidently bumping the guy next to her private parts and then laughing it off with a careless, “Whoops!” certainly was not intellectually sound enough to engage in the beauty of subtlety, nor was the goon next to her who took the initiative to scoot in a little closer to his bird-brained new friend.

After my epiphany had faded I beheld the most uplifting scene thus far.  The one-woman-band of Ill Ease was breaking down her equipment and getting off the stage.

While this was going on, two new dudes were setting up some drums and a piano.  This awkward instrument combination sparked my interest.

Making a few calculations about the congested environment, I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so I might as well just stick around.

Due to the crowd preventing me from escaping, I was able to bear witness to some totally enigmatic music.

These guys played some amalgamation between chip-tune (music that sounds like old 8-bit video games) and the melancholic synthesized electro-pop of the band HEALTH, or imagine Radiohead meets Nintendo, if you will.

Although it was, at times, repetitive and a little underdone, the chord progressions and vocal extremities paired up with the intricate simple drumbeats was something that made your insides melt and start to drip out of your eyeballs.

Yet, before the set had time to get over-played or boring, they stopped.  15 minutes of musical paradise was my reward for enduring an hour of trash, but I had no time to be angry about it.

Finally an opportunity had presented itself, and I raced through the tiny opening in the crowd to that cockeyed glowing sign which read to me like the bright star must have to the shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth.

The crowd swelled around me on each side like two giant balloons being filled by the lungs of some monstrous creature.

I persevered.

At last I made it to the exit.  Exploding out the door and into the freezing cold night with not but a small spot of beer dripping down my sweater, I began to praise the Lord for my timely escape.

After spending a night of musical ups and downs, drunk people with bad  teeth, cross-dressers, hippies, sluts, and a thousand of society’s other misfits, I was able to come a conclusion: Sluggo’s is not for everyone, and just like the wise King Solomon pointed out, the end of a thing is truly better than the beginning.

To some of you reading this now, I imagine I may sound like a jerk that needs to get over himself, and the events described above may seem like Disney World did when you were 11 years old.  If this be the case, then you may very well be on your way to becoming an integral part of the Sluggo’s society - May God help you.

PJC plans to build in Gulf Breeze

ASHLEY THOMPSON

The Corsair

PJC, in conjunction with the Santa Rosa School District is set to begin building a new facility in the Midway area of Gulf Breeze.

This facility, called PJC South Santa Rosa Center, will house multiple areas of study and will include labs and classrooms, as well as an administrative area, and will house different types of studies.

This area is located at 5075 Gulf Breeze Parkway, adjacent to the intersection of Highway 98 and Nantahala Beach Rd.

The first phase of the project will be a 33,000 square foot building that is set on 110 acres of land, 30 of which are wetlands that are scattered throughout the grounds. Initially, only one building is being built, however there is room for 10 or more to be built as needed.

The $9.4 million, two-story, multi-use building will include a conference room, general classrooms, biology lab, multiple science labs, computer lab, administrative/admissions area, financial aid and bursar offices, faculty offices, student services, a library and bookstore.

 “The building will be designed and built to maximize energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts,” said PJC’s physical plant director, Walt Winter.

Construction is set to start in the second quarter of 2010 and will be PJC’s first “green” building. The South Santa Rosa Center is being designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certification.

The LEED certification has been around since 1998 and has a rating scale which ranges from Certified to Platinum and a system with 69 available points, grading things like ventilation and sustainable building materials.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2011. The funding comes from the Florida’s Public Education Capital Outlay fund, a tax revenue that is dedicated to the construction, repair and expansion of the state’s schools ranging from elementary to college.
“Having Santa Rosa School District as a joint use partner helped secure the initial funding for the project,” Winter said.

Students in Santa Rosa County will also have limited access to the center for things like dual enrollment courses.

Women ranked No.2 in the state

 

 DAVID CLARK

 

The Pensacola Junior College Women’s basketball team has high hopes coming into the 2009-2010 season.  Judging by the way they have been playing pre-conference (5-1), PJC fans have reason to be excited too.

The Lady Pirates beat the fifth-ranked junior college team in the nation, Trinity Valley Community College (Texas), Nov. 13, by a score of 96-93 in overtime. They lost to 14^th ranked, Monroe Community College (NY) the next day by two points.

As a result of recent tournament play, the previously unranked Lady Pirates are now No. 2 in the Florida state polls, and sophomore Deana Allen was named Florida Community College Activities Association player of the week.

“I am in love with this team,” Rigby said. “I think it is the best I have ever had.”

Just a season ago, the Lady Pirates had high hopes, as well, and early on it looked as if they would fulfill those hopes.

After winning 11 consecutive games to open the season, the Lady Pirates fell to Santa Fe Community College. But that would not stop PJC.

The Lady Pirates looked every bit the part of a championship contender early in Panhandle Conference play, even defeated 14-time defending conference champion Gulf Coast Community College and ending their 54-game winning streak.

The Pirates cooled off as the season progressed, with injuries and bad bounces, and they finished one game short of a state tournament bid with a 22-8 overall record.

All seven sophomores from the 2008-2009 team received offers to play at the next level, and all will continue their academic and basketball careers on scholarships at a four-year university.

Most consider the Panhandle Conference the toughest conference in the nation. Just two seasons ago, conference foe Gulf Coast won the national championship. Chipola College won the state championship last season and was third in the nation.

Coming into this season, Northwest Florida State College is considered to be the team with the most talent, and in turn, the team to beat in conference play. They were ranked No. 1 in the recent FCCAA state poll.

“They (Northwest Florida State) have the most outright talent,” Rigby said. “They have two of the top five players in the nation.”

The Lady Pirates are led by four sophomores; three that are returners and a transfer from Louisiana Tech University.

Allen, a point and shooting guard, was the leading scorer for the Lady Pirates a year ago, averaging more than 14 points per game.

She is joined by Izzy Chilcott and Jazmond Stringer as the three players returning from last year’s squad. DeAngela Sword is the sophomore transfer.

Allen was not pleased by the way the season ended for the Lady Pirates last year, and promised to not have a repeat.

“This year we will not skip a beat,” Allen said.

According to Rigby, this freshman class is one of the best she has ever recruited.

It is led by dual-sport star Jasmine Scott. Scott is on both the volleyball and basketball team for PJC. 

Meghan Perkins (5’11”, G/F), Jessica Merritt (5’6, G), Lori Fletcher (6’0”, G) Natalie Burke (5’9”, G), Najat Quardad (4’11”, G), Olivia Lanus (6’0”, G/F), Ashley Larkin (6’3”, F) and Karneshia Garrett (6’2”, F) rounds out the freshman class for the Lady Pirates.

Keeping up with the Lady Pirates will be as easy as ever.

Panhandle Sports Broadcasting will stream conference games live on the Internet for fans to watch.

Panhandle Sports Broadcasting is led by three PJC alumni; Bill Brownell, Derek Marshman and Joe Paschal.

This will be the third season that Panhandle Sports Broadcasting has video streamed the conference games for the Lady Pirates, as well as the men’s team.

“This is such a high level of competition week in and week out,” Marshman said. “It is also a joy to bring these games back to fans that could not make the trip, as well as parents and family members from across the country.”

 

 

 

Warrington builds Green, “Thanks to Lowes”

KATIE COSEO
The Corsair

On Tuesday at Warrington Campus, faculty, staff, students and administration gathered together for the ribbon cutting of the Green Education Module.

For the past several months students passing the old fire truck garage on Warrington campus have been hearing the drills and saws of construction. When passing the garage students could see the making of a house….but inside.

The house is actually green made from reusable material and new technologies to save energy. “We’re developing triads for the technology of the future,” said Mr. John O’Connor Chairman of PJC Board of Trustees.

Skills USA and Lowe’s Charitable and education Campus Improvement Grant are what made the six hundred square foot green house possible. Lowe’s has donated 1.5 million dollars and is the largest corporation contributor received by Skills USA.

The Electrical, HVAC/Refrigertaion Instructor Arnold Pearson who has been in the construction industry for forty years said. “This is the cutting edge of today’s services. This is how students are going to learn.”

The module is a 3 bedroom two bathroom six hundred square foot house. It was built by using renewable resources and equipment. Electrical student Thomas Rangel explained that the project of building the house began back in the beginning of the semester and how his class was able to work with greener products such as CFL (compact fluorescent lighting) that gives off the same amount of light using only 13 watts compared to a commercial light bulb using 60 watts.

Jennifer Ponson, the coordinator of student and program outreach as well as region one advisor of skills USA announced that “Thanks to Lowes we were able to build the module classroom.” Lowe’s donation to PJC was over nine thousand dollars. The module will be continued to be used by future students about using new technologies that will help save energy. This is one of the few times that the programs for HVAC, electrical, refrigeration, and construction were able to come together for a project as large scale as this.

“I’m proud to announce we will be keeping our building green and be getting greener thanks to Gulf Power,” announced Jennifer Ponson. The ribbon cutting was performed and those attending were treated to refreshments as well as a tour of the green house.

Elisabeth von Trapp uses family history of song to inspire the audience

ANDREA MCMILLIAN
The Corsair

“Gesang ist dasein – To sing is to be,” quoted Elisabeth Von Trapp after she had finished her performance in the Ashmore Fine Arts Auditorium.

Elisabeth Von Trapp is the granddaughter of Maria and Baron Von Trapp, whose story inspired the play The Sound of Music.  Throughout her life, she sang and played music.  Trapp began taking piano lessons when she was just eight years old. By the time she was sixteen she was performing with the guitar.

“I’ve been singing and making music my whole life. I’ve had many, many years of practice,” Trapp said.

Elisabeth Von Trapp has brought her music many places. On Nov. 18, she brought it to PJC. 

Trapp wasn’t alone on stage.  Erich Kory was by her side playing on the cello. Kory, an Ohio native, has been playing the cello most of his life. He is currently touring with Trapp.

“The cello sound is mesmerizing,” audience member Lavonne McGrath said. “It adds so much to the performance.”

At the end of her performance of “Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, Trapp said, “Now you guys are beginning to see what Erich does with that cello.”

The audience agreed in unison.

“He is absolutely amazing,” Terrence Hillis, whose wife is a big fan of The Sound of Music, said.

During the show, Trapp performed many of the classic songs from The Sound of Music.  The audience cheerily sang along with Trapp during many of these songs, including “My Favorite Things” and of course “The Sound of Music.”

“It was a very delightful evening and very informative.  The songs did bring out the struggle that her family had. And her voice is delightful, I enjoyed it very much,” Trudie Sherwood, voice instructor at PJC, said.

PJC and Manna help feed the community for the holidays

KELCI PASCOE
The Corsair

On Friday, Nov. 13, PJC and our local Manna food bank came together to host the third annual Throw a Bowl for Manna event, held in the Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts. This event had a wonderful turn out and the promise of an equally excellent turn out for Manna’s companion event, Fill a Bowl for Manna, which will be held in Jan.

According to Timothy H. Evans, executive director for Manna Food Pantries, people were able to “walk into the clay room and try their hand at pottery, enjoy the art, and get a little information about what Manna does in the community.”

Manna Food Pantries began in 1983 due to the extensive need to fight hunger in our community, and make sure that no mouth was left unfed. Manna’s work is done through collaboration between employees and volunteers. They annually distribute over 600,000 pounds of groceries to local families and individuals in need.

Throw a Bowl for Manna, which began in 2006, is one of the great ways people can get involved with supporting our local community.

Lori Ripps, on the board of directors for Manna, and chairing Throw a Bowl for the second year, said, “We started this event three years ago in honor of the 25th anniversary of the foundation of Manna Pantries. We wanted to have an event that brought in the community to see what Manna stands for and to help Manna out.”

During Throw a Bowl for Manna, people had the opportunity to throw a bowl at the potter’s wheel assisted by PJC art faculty such as Bill Clover and many art students.  Anyone who wanted to try pottery, whether for the first or hundredth time, was more than welcomed to do so.

Wanda Boyels visiting from Weatherford, Texas, threw a bowl for the very first time.

“Two of my friends that live here that work with many community events told me about this and asked if I would like to go, and I said ‘ok lets go’ I am totally new to this, but I have had some great assistance this evening,” Boyels said.

After the bowls were shaped it was time for the art faculty and students to take over.

“The bowls are wet tonight. They will be numbered, and labeled with the artists or novices name and phone number. Each creator of their bowl will get to pick out a glaze color tonight and then those bowls will be glazed and fired by the art faculty and students,” Ripps said.

Throw a Bowl for Manna is not only good for the individuals involved, but also for PJC.

“This event is good for the junior college by bringing in people to their art facility and really boosting their reputation, and it’s also good for Manna because it gives us an opportunity to get in front of people to remind them how we need their help at the beginning of this season of generosity. It’s a win-win situation for both organizations,” Evans said.

The PJC Jazz Ensemble was center stage at Throw a Bowl for Manna, and provided some great entertainment for the guests at the event.

“It has been really nice having the Jazz band play in one of the halls here, and it gives an opportunity for the community to see the quality of instruction offered by PJC. After our first Throw a Bowl event, many of the caterers heard the PJC Jazz Ensemble and thought ‘gee this is a real band and these kids can really play.’ Out of that they have booked a few shows on the beach,” Evans said.

A companion event to Throw a Bowl called Fill a Bowl for Manna will be held in Jan.

“Each person who made a bowl at Throw a Bowl for Manna will get a phone call about a week before the event in Jan., and after paying the $25 admission will get their finished bowl back. Even if they hadn’t made a bowl they can come to Fill a Bowl and purchase a bowl with the $25 admission fee,” Ripps said.

At Fill a Bowl for Manna, people will get to walk around, taste soups, enjoy a silent auction, and hear music performed by St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Gospel Choir.

“At Fill a Bowl for Manna, we invite people to come down to Manna Food Pantries and for $25 they will get their bowl returned to them from Throw a Bowl and they will get to taste a large assortment of soups from twelve different restaurants, each providing a signature soup. In Jan., soup is just right and after paying $25 they can fill their bowl with as many soups as much as they want,” Evans said.

Many bowls will be created before Fill a Bowl for Manna in Jan.

“Generally at Throw a Bowl we produce about 100 bowls, and then the PJC arts faculty and students make another 300 to 400 bowls between now and Jan. Fill a Bowl usually has between 400 and 500 people, so we go through a lot of bowls,” Evans said.

These two companion events generate a lot of donations for Manna. Throw a Bowl, which is donations only, raised around $1500 in donations last year and Fill a Bowl, which is both donations and admission, raised over $18,000.

The greatest part about raising all of this money is that all of it goes directly to Manna’s cause of feeding the hungry. 

“Every bit of the money goes to Manna Food Bank feeding the hungry. None of it goes towards food expenses or operational funds,” Ripps said.

Manna cannot meet the local hunger needs on their own.

“We have had so much more demand this year, keeping pace with the local hunger needs has been very difficult so we need donations now more than ever,” Matthew Hoffman, president of Manna Food Pantries said.

The number of people in need of food is greater during the holiday season, but number of donations is usually greater as well.

“It’s worse in the Christmas season, but fortunately during this time people tend to make donations. A lot of people give donations in honor of people,” Ripps said.

People have many reasons for donating during the holidays.

“I think it’s important to make sure everyone has a good holiday season and everyone gets to enjoy the holiday season and traditions,” Kristen Carrol, PJC duel-enrollment student, said.

Manna Food Banks will also be hosting an event during the Thanksgiving holiday called Fill the Mayflower.

“Fill the Mayflower will be at Cordova Mall in front of World Market, and we will probably have Cat Country do a radio spot. There will be large Mayflower moving trucks, donated by one of the local Mayflower Moving Companies, and we will be trying to fill up as many of those as we can. We will accept money and food donations,” Hoffman said.

This event will be from 7-8 am Nov. 23-24, and 7-12 am Nov. 25.

“Just look for the big truck on the corner,” Hoffman said.

Phi Theta Kappa, Theta Chi Chapter, an honor society on the PJC campus, is also working to help Manna.  PTK is holding a food drive on the Pensacola campus until Dec. 1 to help Manna during the holiday season.  Students and faculty can get involved by donating food to the bins located in buildings 4, 6, 14, and 17.

Evans well sums up one of the most important aspects of all of the Manna events.

“The thing is, we can’t afford a generation gap in our community. We work a tremendous amount with people who are retired because most of their days are free. It’s important however, for students to start developing the habit of volunteerism. When retired people move beyond their capacity to help there has to be another cohort of people to move right into their place. The more we can get the generation that are now students to develop the habit of giving back, the better it will be for everyone. There are benefits to giving back, and you will never know that until you give,” Evans said.

If you would like to know more about Manna Food Pantries, want information on Fill a Bowl for Manna, or wish to get involved with helping them out, call 432-2053, or go to mannafoodpantries.org.

J.J. Abrams directs the newest version of the legendary “Star Trek”

Wade Manns - The Corsair

“Star Trek”
Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Karl Urban
Genre: science fiction.
Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content.

Regardless of how old one is, almost everyone has been affected by, or at least heard of, the phenomenon that is “Star Trek.” Whether we’ve only seen the original series, or grew up, as I did, on “The Next Generation” and subsequent series, “Star Trek” holds a special place in the hearts of many.

For my part, I also developed quite a bit of liking for the original series, so as to equal my liking for “The Next Generation,” which until then was my favorite series. The exploits of Capt. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest filled me with excitement as I watched them, as they, with very few exceptions, offered up heaping helpings of satisfying science-fiction week after week and day after day.

It was with this in mind that I approached J.J. Abrams production of “Star Trek” (which I saw in theaters earlier this year, but was released on DVD Nov. 17) with a fair bit of trepidation laced with excitement. I read that they were going to reboot my beloved series. Sure, this had worked well with Batman, but this was Star Trek. Totally redefining the continuity of the series that so many have developed a fondness for over the years, and giving us a whole new set of actors to have to relate to–the task seemed near impossible.

Fortunately, there was a crew up to the task. J.J. Abrams as director, and Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof as producers, and their team that worked on the ABC series “Lost” were totally successful in bringing this venerated series up to date with a fresh new cast and great storyline. And, they even did it viably within the universe of “Star Trek.”

A renegade Romulan, known as Nero, has come from the future bent upon revenge against the Federation. We follow James Tiberius Kirk (played by Chris Pine who shines in this role), from his birth, through his misspent adolescence, through his enlistment in Starfleet, through his time to take command of the USS Enterprise after a few particularly harrowing moments involving Spock (portrayed with some rather excellent acting from Zachary Quinto, who is better known as Sylar from the NBC series Heroes, and with some exciting work from the original actor, Leonard Nimoy).

Karl Urban, a Kiwi actor who has been around quite a bit (Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Return of the King, among many others), has the awesome role of Dr. McCoy, surprisingly authentic to the original DeForest Kelly role. Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Simon Pegg as Scotty, Anton Yelchin as Chekov, John Cho as Sulu, and Eric Bana as our villain, Nero, round out the main cast and together with the supporting actors, really make us feel at home in this new, re-imagined “Star Trek” universe.

All in all, I am very proud to call this one of my favorite movies, standing right up there with the best of the original “Star Trek” movies such as “The Wrath of Khan” or “The Undiscovered Country.” I’ll give this a five star rating, and I would immediately recommend this to anyone who is a “Star Trek” fan, or anyone who isn’t.

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