Chemical Tanker Truck Driver Arrested For DUI Near Century
January 15, 2014
The driver of a tanker truck hauling a chemical compound was arrested for DUI just outside Century.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said a citizen’s tip about 5:30 Tuesday morning about a trucker driving erratically led to deputies stopping the northbound tanker truck full of maleic anhydride on Highway 29 near Tedder Road.
The driver, 35-year old Alex Victorovich Kozlov of Milton exhibited odd behavior and an odor of alcohol was detected by deputies, the Sheriff’s Office said. He failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage.
“A half empty bottle of vodka was recovered from the cab of the truck which indicated the suspect was still consuming alcohol at time of stop,” Sena Maddison, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, said.
Maleic anhydride is the acid anhydride of maleic acid and is used primarily in the formation of unsaturated polyester resins for use in boats, autos, trucks, buildings, piping, and electrical goods. It is also used to make pesticides and other organic compounds, according to the EPA. Acute inhalation exposure of humans to maleic anhydride has been observed to cause irritation of the respiratory tract, burning in the larynx, reflex cough, lacrimation, headaches, eye irritation, and corneal burns.
Health Department Urges Residents To Get A Flu Shot Now
January 15, 2014
The Florida Department of Health in Escambia County is urging residents to protect themselves and their families by getting the flu vaccine. The recommendation comes after at least one reported death in the area from the H1N1 virus, which has been identified as the primary strain of the flu virus causing the most severe illness as well as numerous deaths nationwide.
The death of Santa Rosa County Lifeguard Paramedic Rodney Gajewski has been publicly attributed to the the H1N1 virus.
The health department said the everyone six months and older should get vaccinated, especially adults 65 and older, children 5 and younger, pregnant women and caregivers of infants under 6 months of age, and those living with chronic health conditions. Pregnant women are especially encouraged to get vaccinated. Pregnancy’s effect on the immune system can cause a more severe infection leading to poor outcomes for both mother and baby.
The flu vaccine may be given as a shot or a nasal spray. The flu shot is approved for use in people 6 months of age and older, including people with chronic medical conditions and pregnant women. The nasal spray is approved for use in people 2 through 49 years of age who do not have underlying medical conditions and are not pregnant. Flu vaccines are available at many physicians’ offices, clinics, and local pharmacies.
The flu shot is offered free of charge for pregnant women on Medicaid at the Florida Department of Health in Escambia County. For residents not covered by Medicaid, the fee is $28.00. The vaccine takes approximately two weeks to become fully effective. Children may be able to receive the vaccine under the Federal Vaccine for Children Program.
Seasonal flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness and can sometimes lead to death. Symptoms of the flu may include cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue and fever. Some people may also experience diarrhea and vomiting. Health officials advise individuals who are at risk of complications from influenza to contact their physicians immediately if flu symptoms appear. Individuals should see a physician early, as antiviral medications may be effective in reducing the severity of symptoms or the length of the illness.
Individuals can protect themselves and their families from the flu by practicing preventive behaviors. While the best way to prevent the flu is by getting vaccinated every year, frequent hand washing is another important key to prevention. Individuals can spread the flu to others before they even know they are sick. The most effective ways to avoid spreading the flu are by covering coughs and sneezes with the elbow rather than the hand and by staying home when sick. Other healthy behaviors such as avoiding close contact with those who are sick, getting plenty of sleep, being physically active, and eating nutritious foods can also help in preventing the flu.
Sea Turtles Rescued From Cold Released Again
January 15, 2014
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and several partners returned approximately 50 sea turtles to the wild Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico off Cape San Blas after the animals were rescued from last week’s cold water temperatures.
“It is very satisfying to be able to release these turtles following the exhaustive effort put in by rescuers last week,” said Dr. Allen Foley, FWC sea turtle biologist. “Our staff, partners and volunteers spent many hours braving cold conditions to search for and rescue these cold-stunned turtles.”
The sea turtles were rescued between Jan. 7 and Jan. 9, when water temperatures dipped below 50 degrees, causing cold-stunning. Cold-stunned turtles may float listlessly in the water or wash ashore, largely unable to move. In this state, they are susceptible to further effects from the weather, and to attacks by gulls that often involve eye injuries. Many of these turtles would die without human intervention.
Many of the turtles were rescued near Crooked Island and in Big Lagoon in Escambia County. The rescued turtles were all taken to Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City to allow them to recover from exposure to the unusually low water temperatures.
A water-temperature-monitoring buoy in St. Joseph Bay allows biologists to predict when sea turtle cold-stunning may occur. Thanks to this, responders were ready with a plan of action for this event. There is no forecast of cold-stunning conditions returning to the area in the near future.
The turtles were tagged before their release to allow researchers to individually identify them if any are encountered again in the future. Biologists chose to release the turtles into the Gulf at Cape Palms Park on Cape San Blas because the water is warmer and turtles released in the area in the past have returned to St. Joseph Bay, which is a known feeding area.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Five Hooter’s Employees Get Federal Prison Time For False Oil Spill Claims
January 15, 2014
Five former Hooter’s employees have been sentenced to federal prison for filing fraudulent BP oil spill claims.
Charles C. Martin, 40, and Joseph B. Doyon, 43, of Pace, and Marquis R. Seals, 34, Bernard Cook, 39, and Tremayne C. Jamison, 42, of Pensacola, were sentenced in federal court after having pleaded guilty to mail fraud and filing false claims related to the 2010 BP oil spill.
Martin, Seals, Doyon, and Cook admitted to submitting fraudulent claims to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF). They falsely inflated their income as employees of Hooters of Pensacola Beach and stated they lost money due to the oil spill in their GCCF claims. Martin, then general manager of Hooters, and Seals, then assistant manager, aided and abetted their co- workers by providing fraudulent employment documentation for their claims. Jamison filed a false claim with the National Pollution Funds Center of the U.S. Coast Guard, which included a letter from Martin stating a contract between Jamison’s company and Hooters of Pensacola Beach was cancelled due to the oil spill, when actually no such contract existed.
Tuesday, Martin was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his role in the scheme, and Doyon was sentenced to 12 months. Last month, Cook was sentenced to 12 months in prison, Seals was sentenced to nine months, and Jamison was sentenced to six months. More than $85,000 will be paid back to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust due to the restitution ordered in this case.
The cases result from an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service.
Poarch Creeks’ Barrel Racing Under Scrutiny Again
January 15, 2014
Did regulators change state policy when they approved barrel racing as a pari-mutuel activity for the first time in the nation?
That’s the question at the heart of oral arguments heard Tuesday by the 1st District Court of Appeal concerning barrel racing a Poarch Creek Indian operated facility in Gretna, FL.
Administrative Law Judge John G. Van Laningham decided this spring that, by issuing the permit in 2011, the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation effectively created a new rule regarding what constitutes a horse race without going through the necessary rule-making process. Lawyers for the Florida Quarter Horse Track Association Inc., a horse association affiliated with a Gretna pari-mutuel facility, are appealing the ruling.
Right out of the gate and throughout the Tuesday morning arguments, the three-judge panel peppered David Romanik, representing the Gretna horsemen, with questions demanding why the change in policy didn’t constitute a new rule.
Judge Nikki Ann Clark asked Romanik if barrel races had been running anywhere else in the country as a pari-mutuel activity when regulators issued the permit to Gretna Racing.
“I don’t know of any,” Romanik responded.
“So nobody in the country was doing it. You get a permit to do it and that’s not a substantial change of policy?” Clark asked. “Bottom line is it changes the game.”
Judge T. Kent Wetherell called the issue before the panel “a simple case” and referred to Van Laningham’s ruling about whether the agency’s determination that a certain type of event is horse-racing equated to a rule.
“And on that issue, isn’t that a very simple yes? Of course when an agency interprets a statute, that interpretation…is a rule,” Wetherell said.
But Romanik argued that there are no rules or statutes specifying any types of horse racing, including traditional horse races.
“So the standard against which this new activity is judged is again based on management decision. There are no rules. There are no policies. There’s no nothing. The only thing different about what we’re doing is that it’s new. That’s all,” he said.
“It’s new. But it’s a new policy,” Clark pushed back.
“It’s just a new form of the same thing,” Romanik insisted.
Since Van Laningham’s decision in May, Gretna Racing stopped the barrel races and entered an agreement with the state to hold “flag drop” matches in which two horses race against each other without obstacles.
The agency, meanwhile, is in the midst of crafting new horse racing rules after granting another quarter-horse permit for barrel racing to a track in Hamilton County.
The proposed rules appear intended to rein in barrel racing and other nontraditional horse races in a variety of ways, including requiring a minimum of six horses to race around oval tracks, barring “the racing animal to change course in response to any obstacles on the racing surface” and setting up new requirements for jockeys, including that they “wear racing silks consisting of white pants and racing colors registered with the racing secretary” and weigh less than 130 pounds. Women racing at Gretna typically dress in sparkly, rodeo-style garb.
The agency is sitting on the sidelines in the case because it did not appeal Van Laningham’s decision.
The Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association Inc., the Florida Quarter Horse Breeders and Owners Association Inc. and a horse breeder and owner originally challenged the Gretna permit and on Tuesday asked the panel to dismiss the appeal.
Steve Menton, a lawyer representing the horse men and breeders during Tuesday’s arguments, said the agency’s decision to legitimize barrel racing as a pari-mutuel activity had far-reaching implications because the horse racing permits allow tracks to operate card rooms and could open the door for slot machines.
“The ramifications of what is happening here as a result of the introduction of a new pari-mutuel activity further highlights the idea that this…represents a significant policy shift which is going to result in the expansion of gaming in different areas and it’s all being done without going through the rule-making process,” Menton said.
Owners of the Gretna track, which also has a cardroom, are hoping the quarter-horse permit will open the door for more lucrative slot machines. Voters in Gadsden County, where the track is located, approved a referendum that would allow the machines, but DBPR last month turned down Gretna’s application for slots. The track is appealing that decision.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Lower 20’s Forecast Again
January 15, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 50s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph becoming 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon.
- Wednesday Night: Colder. Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 20s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
- Thursday: Sunny. Highs in the lower 50s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.
- Thursday Night: Not as cool. Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph becoming west 10 to 15 mph after midnight
- Friday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 50s.
- Friday Night: Colder. Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 20s.
- Saturday: Sunny. Highs in the lower 50s.
- Saturday Night: Not as cold. Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 30s.
- Sunday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 30s.
- Martin Luther King Jr Day: Sunny. Highs in the mid 60s.
- Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows around 40.
Douglas Glen “Bubba” Pierce
January 15, 2014
Douglas Glen “Bubba” Pierce, age 49, of Cantonment, passed away Sunday, January 12, 2014, from a lifelong battle with chronic asthma. He was born to Glenn R. and Dell Pierce of Molino.
Glen spent his career as a truck driver using the trucker handle “lightening”. He loved to sing, play music and fish during his time off from work.
Glen is survived by his wife, Becky Pierce of Cantonment; son, Daniel (Kelly) Pierce; daughter, Heather Pierce (Steven) Moize; sisters, Lisa Gollub and Glenda “Coco” (James) Goundas; step-daughters, Kim and Kerry Weekley; numerous grandchildren, nieces, nephews and many friends.
Visitation will take place Thursday, January 16, 2014, from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North.
Services will be held Friday, January 17, 2014, at 1:15 p.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North with Pastor Gene Hudson officiating. Interment to follow at Pineville Cemetery in Walnut Hill.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with the arrangements.
Jeanette Carnley
January 15, 2014
Jeanette Carnley, 83, of Pensacola, went to be with her Heavenly Father on January 15, 2014. Jeanette was born in McCullough, AL, to Asa and Evie Wiggins. She was known and loved by many as Mama Carnley from Carnley’s Bar-B-Que where they raised their family of eight children. To have known Mama Carnley, was to love her.
Jeanette is preceded in death by her husband, Leanell Carnley; son, Gary Leanell Carnley; daughter, Brenda Blackmon; a special friend, Larry Averett and many other family members.
Jeanette is survived by Darlene (Tommy) Havard, Diane (Jerry) Gay, Sue Wyatt, Sheila Carnley, Deborah (Jay) Davis, Sharon (Harry) Creger, Wayne Blackmon and Charlotte (Larry) Dennis.
Jeanette had 20 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren; brother, Roger (Carol) Wiggins and sister, Laura Richburg.
Visitation will be held at Faith Chapel North Funeral Home Saturday, January 18, 2014, from noon until 1:00 p.m. with a funeral service immediately following at 1:00 p.m. with Pastor Gene Hudson and Reverend Jason Adams officiating. Interment will take place at Highland Baptist Church Cemetery in Molino.
Faith Chapel Funderal Home, 1000 Hwy 29 S, Cantonment, is in charge of arrangements.
Charles Kevin Ware
January 15, 2014
Charles Kevin Ware, age 43, passed away Tuesday January 14, 2014, in Atmore after a battle with cancer. Kevin was a resident of Vinegar Bend, AL, and had previously resided in Atmore and Ft. Walton Beach. He and his wife had owned and operated the Gulf Coast Painting Company in Gulf Shores. He was also a coin dealer and an avid coin collector.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents Warren and Hermione Ware of Atmore and Braxton and Anzelene Stringer of Tampa.
He is survived by his wife of 19 years, Tracey Wooten Ware; two daughters, Taylor and Courtney Ware; parents, Charles Ware of Atmore and Sandra Walters of Tampa; aunt, Janice Ware of Atmore and great aunts and uncles, Leah Ware Trawick of Milton Herman (Buddie) and Ethel Lowery of Pensacola, Ralph and Barbara Stephens of Tampa, and Fred and Sylvia Witty of Tampa.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, January 18, 2014, at 2 p.m. at the Johnson- Quimby Funeral Home Chapel in Atmore with Rev. Dale H. Vining, Jr. officiating. The family will receive friends at 1 p.m. until the service time at 2 p.m. Burial will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery.
The family has requested that those who wish can make a donation to the American Cancer Society, in Kevin’s memory, in lieu of flowers.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Scott Names Lopez-Cantera As New Lieutenant Governor
January 15, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday named Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser Carlos Lopez-Cantera as the state’s new lieutenant governor. The appointment of Lopez-Cantera, a former state House majority leader, fills a job that has been vacant for 10 months.
Scott said Lopez-Cantera would use the next few weeks to transition from his current role and begin serving as Lieutenant Governor of Florida on February 3.
“Carlos Lopez-Cantera will be a major part of our agenda to build an opportunity economy in Florida. Carlos has two daughters, like I do, and he is focused on how we can transform our economy so we aren’t just creating jobs, we are creating careers and opportunities that will be here for our children and our children’s children. I am confident that we took the right amount of time to find the right person to serve as Florida’s Lieutenant Governor. Carlos’ leadership experience will make him a vital part of ensuring the passage of our $500 million tax cut package this year. And his business experience and expertise in cutting taxes and government regulations will support small business growth and success,” Scott said.
Lopez-Cantera said, “I am honored to have been chosen by Governor Scott to serve Floridians as their Lieutenant Governor. I look forward to leveraging my experience with small businesses and government tax reform to help further Governor Scott’s mission of economic growth and job creation.”
Lopez-Cantera was elected as the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser in 2012. He previously served eight years in the Florida House. As a legislative member, he chaired the Committee on Business Regulation and the Government Affairs Committee, and served as Majority Whip from 2009-2010 and as Majority Leader from 2010-2012. He is a licensed realtor and has worked in real estate for 15 years and is also the president of a small business.
Lopez-Cantera is a graduate of Miami-Dade Community College (1994) and the University of Miami (1996) with a degree in Business Administration. Born in Spain and raised in Florida, he and his wife Renee reside in Miami with their two young daughters, Sabrina and Sofia.