House Puts Candy, Chips, Soda Back In Public Assistance Bill
February 14, 2012
A bill moving through the Legislature that has drawn national attention is shaping up as a showdown between the House and Senate.
The Senate version, sponsored by Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, would keep Floridians from using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, funds to buy unhealthy food such as candy, ice cream, sodas and chips – or from using the money in gambling, liquor and other adult establishments.
The original House version (HB 1401) by Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, did the same.
But on Monday the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee took out the food restrictions by a vote of 9-5. The amendment deleting that language was proposed by Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, and backed by Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples and the panel’s chair.
Hudson said he opposed the limits for reasons of “personal freedom…And so if that language should appear again, I can tell you that I will certainly rise in support of someone who would amend that off and I will vote against the bill on the floor should that language appear again.” Rep. John Wood, R-Winter Haven, said the taxpayers have every right to set such limits.
“We are talking about a government benefit,” Wood said. “And therefore, in my mind, we can restrict how that benefit is utilized.”
The bill in the Senate (SB 1658) still contains the food constraints, however. “The biggest opponents I have right now are Coca Cola, the soda companies, the chip companies and the convenience store operators,” Senate sponsor Storms said in an interview last week with Fox News.
The dueling bills each face one more committee before heading to their respective floors.
By The News Service Florida
Convicted McDavid Sex Offender Arrested Monday
February 14, 2012
A convicted sex offender from McDavid that was recently released from prison was arrested Monday afternoon for violating his probation.
Nathan Arron Mack, age 20 of 403 Railroad Street, was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond on the probation violation charge.
In January 2011, Mack was convicted of the sexual battery of a 14-year old girl. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, with credit for time service awaiting trial, followed by 18 months probation. Under the terms of his probation, he was forbidden to have unsupervised contact with any minor and enter a sex offender counseling program.
Mack, a registered sex offender, was released from the Okaloosa Correctional Institution on November 30, 2011.
The victim’s stepfather told Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies that the 14-year old, who had been reported as a runaway, was at Mack’s residence on Railroad Street. When deputies arrived at the residence, they found Mack and the teen girl.
According to a Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Mack admitted to having intercourse multiple times with the 14-year old. He admitted that he had picked up the Pensacola girl at the Winn Dixie on Nine Mile Road because he knew the victim’s mother would not allow the two to be together. The young girl corroborated Mack’s story, according to the report.
When deputies contacted the victim’s mother, she advised that she wanted to pursue criminal charges against Mack. The mother stated that she had retrieved her daughter from Mack at the McDavid Mini Mart the week prior and had forbidden him from having any contact with her daughter.
Love Baseball? Chiefs Diamond Club To Meet, Seeks Members
February 14, 2012
The Northview High School Diamond Club will meet Thursday and is looking for new members.
The Diamond Club supports Northview’s JV and Varsity baseball programs by purchasing equipment, maintaining or improving the facilities, providing transportation and meals, volunteering at the concession stand and participating in fundraisers.
“We need parents’ involvement for Northview to continue to have successful seasons and programs,” said Diamond Club member Tricia Vaughan.
Membership dues are $10 per family. All parents are encouraged to attend and to volunteer.
The Northview Diamond Club will meet Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Northview Media Center. For more information about the Diamond Club, contact Tricia Vaughan at (251) 359-4209.
‘Inspirational Message’ Bill Passes Florida House Panel
February 14, 2012
A controversial measure allowing students to deliver “inspirational messages” at public school events passed the House Education Committee on Monday, leaving it one stop away from what could be the final vote on the House floor.
The bill (SB 98) passed the committee on a party-line, 9-6 vote, with Republicans arguing the measure would boost freedom of religion and speech while Democrats said it could become a vehicle for divisive messages and hate speech.
The measure — sponsored in the House by Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Keystone Heights — does not specifically reference prayer at school events, but would allow that as a kind of inspirational message, along with just about anything else. Adults would have no say over what could be said by students under the bill.
Van Zant acknowledged it would allow any type of speech – but admitted it was aimed, in part, at protecting students who want to give a prayer and have felt they’ve been unable to do so publicly.
“When we took school prayer … out of school, it’s clearly documented that school discipline – disciplinary cases went up, that we had a lot more school vandalism, that we had a lot more disrespect for schools, including the physical plant as well as school personnel, teachers and principals,” Van Zant said.
Still, he said, the primary reason for the legislation was to allow students to exercise their free-speech rights.
But critics argued the measure would instead leave students as young as kindergartners in charge of what is inspirational, since teachers are not allowed to have a roll in preparing or delivering the message.
“What inspires me may not inspire you,” said Rep. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami.
Bullard and other Democratic members said that there was nothing to prevent a student from presenting a racially-charged inspirational message, even one that contained racial slurs. Bullard grew emotional as he recounted his own experience when a schoolmate called him a racial slur when he was in elementary school.
“What this bill does is open up the possibility of messages of hate,” he said. “Whether you like to believe it or not, hate is inspirational.”
Republicans argued that allowing students to air views that others find offensive in an open forum might actually prove beneficial.
“It is better that some young man or woman espouses those views in public so the issues can be properly debated,” said Rep. Jimmie Smith, R-Inverness.
But Rep. Cynthia Stafford, D-Miami, said she wasn’t convinced it would spark a healthy debate.
“It may start a fight,” she said.
Other groups, meanwhile, were worried that the danger lies in the potential for infringing on the rights of other students, who would be forced to listen to prayers or messages they don’t agree with.
“What would happen in your school district if the prayer was to Allah, to Buddha, to HaShem — which is how we say ‘God’ in Judaism — or another faith in which children were not brought up?” asked David Barkey of the Anti-Defamation League of Florida.
Republicans countered that not allowing students to voice their beliefs itself amounted to a form of discrimination.
“That tolerance goes both ways,” said Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach.
The measure now heads to the House Judiciary Committee. If it clears that panel and the House floor without an amendment, it would go to Gov. Rick Scott for his signature.
By The News Service of Florida
Nuclear Option: Possible North Escambia Power Plant
February 13, 2012
Last week, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the construction of two nuclear reactors in Georgia, paving the way for Southern Company — the parent company of Gulf Power — to build the nation’s first new nuclear power plants in more than 30 years.
The NRC certified the use of a Westinghouse reactor design known as the AP1000 for 15 years, after a lengthy review that included looking at safety issues. The design approved can be built at any suitable location in the United States.
The design could potentially be used for a nuclear plant in North Escambia. Gulf Power is in the process of purchasing about 4,000 acres near McDavid for a power plant that company officials say might be a nuclear plant. So far, Gulf Power’s $13 million in land purchases are approaching 2,700 acres.
The Florida Public Service Commission could decide later this month whether Gulf Power Company customers will pay $93.5 million more a year for electricity — partially to fund the land purchases near McDavid. A customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity would see their bill jump about $8 per month.
While Gulf Power says it is justified in seeking money for the land purchase, state Associate Public Counsel Joe McGlothlin said the company has not taken initial regulatory steps for a nuclear plant.
“In this case, the cart is about a city block in front of the horse,” said McGlothlin, whose office represents consumers in utility issues.
Top executives told the state Public Service Commission that Gulf Power has not received a base-rate increase in nearly a decade and needs to collect more money to continue upgrading its system in Northwest Florida.
“We asked for what we thought we needed,” Gulf Power President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Crosswhite told the Florida Public Service Commission in December. “We didn’t pad it.”
There has been no official announcement about Gulf Power’s plans for their North Escambia property.
(story continues below photo)
Gulf Power spokesman Jeff Rogers said the company knows it will eventually need the land. He said the company is keeping its “options open” until forecasts show a need for developing a power plant, which could be nuclear, gas-powered or some other type of facility.
“You can’t meet the need without the very first thing in place, and that’s the property, the land,” Rogers said.
PSC rate-case documents indicate Gulf Power started considering a nuclear project in 2007, after former Gov. Charlie Crist issued executive orders designed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants.
The rate-case documents say Gulf Power considered more than two dozen potential sites in Northwest Florida before settling in 2008 on what is known as the North Escambia site that is bordered roughly by Bratt Road, Cox Road, Byrneville Road and Highway 29. The site is along the Escambia River, which could provide a crucial water source for a power plant, and has been owned largely by timber companies.
Pointing to such changes, Gulf Power official Rhonda Alexander said in written testimony that the company decided to defer moving forward with trying to get a license and permits for a nuclear-power plant. But she said it still needed to buy the land.
“Gulf had learned from its extensive site investigation that there was only one acceptable nuclear plant site in Northwest Florida,” said Alexander, who served as nuclear development manager from 2008 to 2010. “If Gulf was going to preserve the nuclear option for its customers, the North Escambia site needed to be secured by Gulf. If Gulf lost the ability to use that site, it would be precluded from building nuclear in the future.”
Pictured top: An artist rendering of an AP1000 nuclear plant. Pictured middle: One of the first pieces of property purchased by Gulf Power Company for a North Escambia power plant.
The News Service Florida contributed to this NorthEscambia.com report.
Man Charged With Passing Stolen Check At Grocery Store
February 13, 2012
A Century man is facing felony charges for allegedly passing stolen checks at a Century grocery store.
Kenneth Erwin Heinz, 48, was charged with passing a forged instrument and grand theft. He remained in the Escambia County jail Monday with bond set at $10,000.
Heinz allegedly provided his driver’s license and passed a check for $922.86 at the Food Giant on North Century Boulevard, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’ Office arrest report. Late last year, the checks had been reported as stolen to the Flomaton Police Department by S&S Construction in Flomaton.
Heinz told deputies that he knew that check was stolen when he cashed it, and that he was paid $100. The Sheriff’s Office has not released the name of the person that allegedly paid Heinz to cash the check as their investigation continues.
Rain Becoming Likely Tonight, Tuesday
February 13, 2012
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Scattered showers and thunderstorms between 9pm and midnight, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after midnight. Patchy fog after 9pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 46. South wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Tuesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
- Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 49. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday: Isolated showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming south between 10 and 15 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Wednesday Night: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 59. South wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Thursday: Showers likely before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. North wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 48. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
- Friday Night: Isolated showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Saturday: Scattered showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 67. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Saturday Night: Isolated showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 68.
Do You Need An ‘Extreme Farm Makeover’?
February 13, 2012
A conference, “Extreme Farm Makeover: Maximizing your farm’s potential” will be presented this Thursday at the Chumuckla’s Farmers Opry House.
Lecture topics will include produce marketing, Florida’s new cottage-food laws, fruit orchard management, as well as produce marketing and silvo pasture conversion. An afternoon session will be held at the University of Florida’s West Florida Research and Education Facility, where attendees will have the opportunity to learn about different hydroponic growing systems for produce and small ruminant marketing. Continuing Education Units will also be available.
One special speaker at the conference will be Bryan Cave of Pilot Mountain Pride (PMP), a produce-marketing association based out of Surry County, North Carolina which has similar goals and operations as local organization Panhandle Fresh Marketing Association (PFMA). PMP opened its doors in May 2010 with a goal of bringing in $30,000 to $50,000 in first-year sales. Instead, they pulled in more than $250,000.
Cave explains how PMP’s success can be a model for local farmers hoping to utilize PFMA.
“I think it’s a universal issue, the market for locally grown produce. For the farmer, the barriers are the same: the need for someone to evaluate the market and sell the produce is the same, and not all farmers have the time, resources or experience for that.” Produce marketing associations fill that gap and makes locally grown produce a viable option for farmers and consumers.
Many farmers have reservations about diversifying their operation because they have already specialized in certain crops. However, with the help of the University of Florida, West Florida Research and Education Center, County Extension Services and the PFMA, any farm can undergo an extreme makeover and learn to maximize their profits by getting the most eggs out of the most baskets.
Farmers looking to diversify their operation and learn about their options are encouraged to attend the Agribusiness Conference. Registration is now open, with a pre-registration fee of $20.00 before February 14th; afterward, the fee increases to $25. To see a complete listing of speaker topics or to register online visit Miltongators.com
Register Now For Northview DCT Coed Softball Tournament
February 13, 2012
The Northview High School DCT will sponsor a coed softball tournament in March, and there is a discounted registration fee available through Wednesday.
The DCT Coed Softball Tournament will be held beginning at 8 a.m. on March 3 at Northwest Escambia’s Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill. Fee is $100 per 9-12 member team if paid by February 15. Late registrations will be accepted February 16-27 for $150 per team. Registration fees can be paid at Northview from 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., ask for Raylin.
Team members must be 14-years of age or older, and there must be three females on the field at all times. There is a 10 team limit.
For more information, call (850) 327-6681 or (251) 294-1947.
The concession stand will be open the day of the event. No coolers please.
Nettie Elizabeth Bell
February 13, 2012
Mrs. Nettie Elizabeth Bell, 74, passed away on Sunday, February 12, 2012, in Atmore.
Mrs. Bell was a native and lifelong resident of Atmore and attended the Nokomis Baptist Church.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Rufus and Ola Mae Dulaney, two brothers, Jim Kirby and Rayford Kirby, and three sisters, Virgie May Taylor, Hazel Gorum and Mary Lou McDonald.
Survivors include her husband, Russell F. Bell of Atmore; her daughter, Charlene and Ron Moxness of Walnut Hill; two grandchildren, Lindsey Moxness and Ronald Dawayne “Bubba” Moxness, Jr., both of Walnut Hill; a great-granddaughter, Lakelynn Grace Moxness Ikner of Walnut Hill; a special nephew, Doodle McDonald; and numerous nieces and nephews, whom she loved very much .
Funeral services will be Wednesday, February 15, 2012, at 2 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home in Atmore with the Rev. Henry Wilson officiating. Burial will follow at the Oak Hill Cemetery.
Visitation will be Tuesday February 14, 2012, from 6-8 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Mark McDonald, Jason McDonald, Nathan Bell, Brenton Bell, Dennis Bell and Andrew Gorum, Jr.