Amendment 1 Backers To Rally For Land Purchases
May 27, 2015
Environmentalists plan to hold rallies across Florida this weekend, again calling on lawmakers to boost the amount of money for land acquisition, Everglades restoration and natural-springs protection.
Supporters of the 2014 ballot initiative known as “Amendment 1″ have announced 10 locations — Bradenton, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Melbourne, Miami, Ocala, Orlando, Sarasota County, Stuart and Tampa — where they intend to hold rallies Saturday. That is two days before lawmakers start a special legislative session to negotiate a budget.
“Hopefully legislators will see that people care about how Amendment 1 dollars are spent,” Audubon Executive Director Eric Draper, a lobbyist on environmental issues, said in an email.
Land buying wasn’t a priority for Republican legislative leaders during this spring’s regular session, which ended abruptly last month with the House and Senate at an impasse on health-care issues.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, was among lawmakers noting that the Amendment 1 funding will be addressed during budget conference talks during the special session.
Draper will participate Wednesday in a media call with officials from the Everglades Trust and the Florida Oceanographic Society to discuss how the state could move forward in buying land south of Lake Okeechobee.
The South Florida Water Management District Governing Board voted May 14 to terminate an option to purchase 46,800 acres in the Everglades from U.S. Sugar Corp.
Environmentalists had called the land vital in helping to reduce pollutants out of Lake Okeechobee and to bring more water through the Everglades.
Similar land-buying calls, which included a brief concert outside the Capitol in April featuring musician Jimmy Buffett, were attempted with little success during the regular session.
The voter-approved Amendment 1 is projected to generate more than $700 million during the upcoming next fiscal year for land and water conservation, about $200 million more than what lawmakers allocated for such uses in the current year.
The House and Senate have proposed using large chunks of the money to continue the daily operations of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
As for land acquisition, during the regular session the House proposed selling $205 million in bonds for the Florida Forever program, with about half of the money going toward water resources, the state’s natural springs, Kissimmee River restoration, and ranchland preservation.
The Senate offered $37 million for land acquisition, which included Kissimmee River restoration and springs preservation.
While environmental sought more money for land-buying, they also have other concerns about the legislative proposals.
Janet Bowman of The Nature Conservancy had hoped for a higher base level of funding to manage existing lands in state hands.
“In evaluating Amendment 1 spending it is important to look at the specific functions funded with Amendment 1 money and whether the functions are integral to achieving the purposes set forth in the amendment,” Bowman said in an email. “For example, DEP can’t buy land under the Florida Forever program if it doesn’t have staff to process the land deals and manage the program. Similarly, increasing the amount of prescribed fire on conservation land requires additional equipment and personnel costs to accomplish.”
The House has pitched $18 million for water-management districts to manage land, while the Senate didn’t specify a similar proposal in its spending plan during the regular session. The House also offered a $25 million line item for the Rural and Family Land Protection Program, an item that the Senate didn’t include in its proposed budget.
Meanwhile, the Senate proposed $38.5 million to control invasive plants, with the House offering $24.8 million.
“The folks that voted for Amendment 1 expect new land and water resource protection beyond the status quo and the Florida Legislature still has the opportunity to meet this expectation in a number of ways — through increased funding above 2014 levels for land management, Rural and Family Lands and Florida Forever funding and springs protection,” Bowman said in the email.
Supporters of the 2014 constitutional amendment pitched it as a 20-year funding plan to replenish the Florida Forever program. Florida Forever, which uses bonds backed with revenue from the documentary stamps, authorizes lawmakers to spend up to $300 million a year for preservation.
The special session will start Monday and could last through June 20.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Rain Chances Continue
May 26, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday
Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Wednesday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Thursday
Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Thursday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. East wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Saturday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.
Saturday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Sunday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.
Sunday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 68.
Monday
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 87.
National Missing Children’s Day: Search Continues In North Escambia Case
May 26, 2015
A Tate High School student last seen over a dozen years ago in North Escambia was among those remembered Monday on National Missing Children’s Day.
President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25 as National Missing Children’s Day in 1983 and the nation observes this day each year.
During 2014, Florida law enforcement agencies received 35,038 reports of missing children and FDLE’s Missing Persons and Offender Registration unit provided direct assistance in the recovery of 76 missing children last year.
Danielle Arion Bell, then 14, was last seen at a party in September 2001 in the 500 block of Cedar Tree Lane, between Highway 29 and Highway 95A in Cantonment. Witnesses told authorities that Bell left a party with a man that was in his mid-twenties at the time. Escambia County deputies later questioned that man and searched his home, but he was never charged in connection with the case.
During the summer of 2007, Alfredo Gomez Sanchez, Jr. was charged with providing law enforcement with false information about his whereabouts at the time Bell disappeared. He was not implicated in her disappearance.
In October 2010, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit served a search warrant at the home.
As part of that search warrant, a septic tank behind the residence was pumped out, and dogs from Escambia Search and Rescue were also used to search the area. Investigators said nothing was found, and they would not say what new information might have led to the search.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Danielle has a scar on her right forearm and blue eyes. She had brown hair at the time of her disappearance. Danielle, whose nickname was “Dani”, was a member of the Tate Aggies cheerleading squad. The popular teen enjoyed dancing and drawing.
Anyone with information about Bell is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit at (850) 436-9580 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
FDLE invites the public to sign up to receive Missing Child Alerts and AMBER Alerts via email or text message by visiting www.missingchildrenalert.com. To view photos of missing children, visit www.fdle.state.fl.us.
Pictured top: Investigators pumped and searched a septic tank at this home on Cedar Tree Lane in Cantonment in October 2010 in the case of missing teen Danielle Arion Bell. Pictured below: A search and rescue K-9 team was also on site. Pictured bottom: A septic tank company employee prepares to pump a septic tank at the home. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Memorial Day Services Honors The Fallen (With Photo Gallery)
May 26, 2015
Over 100 people gathered in Atmore Monday morning for a Memorial Day service to recognize those that have served and paid the ultimate sacrifice from Atmore, Walnut Hill, Bratt and surrounding areas.
Members of American Legion Post 90 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7016 took part in a solemn ceremony, reading aloud the names of each deceased service member that appear on a spire-shaped monument. A bell was tolled in honor of those that served.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Among the latest names memorialized was LCpl Travis Nelson of Bratt, who was killed in a action in August 2011 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. It was just two weeks after his 19th birthday and only about a month after he arrived in Afghanistan.
Pictured: A Memorial Day service Monday morning in Atmore, honoring those that served from Atmore and North Escambia. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
State Health Department Shuts Down Escambia Unlicensed Massage Therapists
May 26, 2015
The Florida Department of Health, with support from local law enforcement agencies, carried out Statewide Operation Trigger Point to stop the dangerous practice of providing health care without proper licensing.
The state service 64 cease-and-desist notices served to individuals and establishments practicing massage or operating a massage establishment without a license. Four of those individuals and establishments were in Escambia County:
- Allegria Therapeutic Massage
- Amanda Lynn Blocker
- Herbs & Things
- Laurie Ann Neeld Dino
Providing health care without a license is a felony-level criminal offense in many instances; treatment by an unlicensed provider is dangerous and could result in further injury, disease or even death, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Fischer Awarded Gandy Memorial Scholarship
May 26, 2015
Clayton Thomas Fischer has been named the winner of this year’s Gandy Memorial Scholarship.
With a grade point average of 3.83 while attending Jay High School, Thomas has played varsity football, basketball and baseball. He has been a member of the Student Government Association, National Honor Society, Senior Beta, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the FHSAA Academic State Championship Team and the Spanish Club.
In his spare time, Thomas has logged over 300 volunteer hours helping with mini-basketball camps, the Jay Pro Rodeo, Sacred Heart Children’s Hospitals, the Ronald McDonald House Service Project, and he is also very active in his youth group at Mt. Carmel Methodist Church, where he yearly serves as Bible School crew leader.
A part of the criteria for the Solon Lee Gandy Scholarship is to demonstrate the love of nature in a collegiate essay. In his essay, Thomas claims that his involvement in the Alabama Coastal Clean Up has helped foster his love of nature. The scholarship committee appreciated his quote which said, “I have spent many hours helping my grandfather and father clean up the Escambia River. Coastal Clean-Up has been very dear to my family for many years. Although what we do on the waterways is small in the big world, it matters to the wildlife that has their habitat in and around the rivers, creeks, and streams we strive to keep clean.” Thomas said that is one of the reasons he is majoring in environmental science.
The Solon Lee Gandy Memorial Scholarship was established in 2008 in memory of Solon Gandy, a 1990 Flomaton High School graduate who also attended Jay Elementary and Middle schools before transferring to Flomaton his freshmen year. The scholarship was established to help foster a love of nature and sports in a deserving senior. It is available to both Jay and Flomaton seniors who meet scholarship criteria.
Clayton Thomas Fischer is the son of Junia and Jeff Fischer, and the grandson of Elena and Jerry Fischer, and Judy and Woodrow Courtney.
Pictured: Corry Baggett, nephew of Solon Gandy, presents the 2015 Solon Lee Gandy Memorial Scholarship award to Jay High senior Clayton Thomas Fischer. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Teacher Receives Surprise Visit From Soldier Son (With Video)
May 26, 2015
Ernest Ward Middle School teacher Connie Chamberlin received a lunchtime surprise, as her soldier son popped into the school cafeteria Friday. Aaron Gaff, U.S. Army CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) Specialist was home on leave from Ft. Bragg. He is also a former Ernest Ward student and a Tate High graduate.
The video is below (if you don’t see it, it is because your home, work or school firewall is blocking YouTube videos).
Wahoos Recognize State Champion Tate Lady Aggies
May 26, 2015
The Class 7A softball state champion Tate Lady Aggies were recognized Monday evening by the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. They also had the opportunity to meet golfer and Wahoos minority owner Bubba Watson, and Tate Coach Melinda Wyatt tossed out a ceremonial first pitch. Photos by Barrett McClean Photography for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jim Allen Elementary Recognizes Students For Six Years Of Perfect Attendance
May 26, 2015
Jim Allen Elementary School is recognizing two students for perfect attendance — for the last six years. Carris McLaughlin and Trinity Normal have not missed a day of school from kindergarten all the way through fifth grade at Jim Allen. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Clinch Series Against Jackson
May 26, 2015
If you believe 11-year veteran minor leaguer Ray Chang, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos victory over the Jackson Generals was never in doubt.
Trailing 6-0 after four innings, the 31-year-old Chang and his teammates just had a feeling they weren’t going to lose.
With four runs in the eighth, Pensacola pulled out an improbable, 8-7, series clinching win over the Generals in front of 4,149 fans at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium on Memorial Day.
Kyle Skipworth scored on a wild pitch thrown by Jackson reliever Matt Anderson to score the winning run, after Ryan Wright had tied the game, 7-7, with a one-out, bases loaded double into the gap in right center.
“We looked at each other after (pitcher) Wandy (Peralta) got hurt and the game had a weird feeling to it,” said Chang, who went 2-4 with two singles and scored twice. “We just looked at each other and knew we were going to win this ball game. It was such a great feeling to come back from that deficit.”
Chang is now hitting .366 in May (15-41) for the Blue Wahoos and .321 this season to be among the Pensacola hitting leaders.
The win improved the Blue Wahoos to 20-25 on the season headed into a crucial 10-game road trip against Mississippi Braves and Mobile BayBears, who lead the Blue Wahoos in the Southern League South Division standings.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said his team needed Monday’s victory after losing the past two games on late-inning heroics by Jackson. The Blue Wahoos scored four runs in the fourth to cut the lead and then four more in the eighth to win it.
“That’s why you play nine innings,” Kelly said. “Wandy gets the first two outs on four pitches and then loses it.”
In fact, Peralta ended up allowing four runs on three hits, two walks and an error in the first inning. The big hit came by left fielder Dario Pizzano who singled in Jordy Lara and D.J. Peterson.
However, in the top of the third inning Jackson center fielder Gabby Guerrero, who’s eighth inning single gave the Generals a, 6-5, win Sunday night, led off with a bullet off of Peralta’s left pitching hand. He threw some test pitches after a walk around the infield but Kelly called in reliever Layne Somsen.
Somsen pitched four innings giving up four hits, three walks and two runs, including a solo blast by Jabari Blash to left field to lead off the sixth inning that made the score, 7-4.
“(Peralta) felt like he could pitch but that’s a very valuable left arm,” Kelly said. “I didn’t feel like it was worth it.”
Chang was the instigator of getting shaving cream all over Wright in the post-game celebration when he walked off the field. Wright, who went 2-5 with a double and drove in three runs, has a nine game hitting streak. Wright is batting .325 (13-40) with eight RBIs two doubles.
Wright ended the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 0-22 hitless streak with the bases loaded Sunday and then got a double again Monday with the bases loaded for the Blue Wahoos, who are now 2-28.
“He has been so clutch all year,” Chang said.
Kelly said lucky for the Blue Wahoos the wind shifted around the sixth inning carrying Wright’s ball away from the Generals’ Guerrero in center and more to right toward Lara where it dropped in.
“If he drove the ball to right center with the wind blowing in we might not have scored,” Kelly said. “Guerrero was catching everything. But Lara didn’t have a good jump on it.”