Upper 50’s Tonight
October 21, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 82. East wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 58. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. East wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61. Calm wind.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. East wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. East wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 83. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. East wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73.
Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77.
Evers: ‘There Is A Need’ – Three Gun Measures On The Move In Senate
October 21, 2015
People with concealed-weapons licenses would be able to openly display handguns in Florida and would be able to carry firearms on state college and university campuses, under measures approved by separate Senate committees Tuesday.
One of the committees also supported a measure that might make it easier for people to claim they have stood their ground in self-defense when shooting others.
The three proposals, which still have additional committees to clear in both the House and Senate, are advancing because “there is a need,” said Sen. Greg Evers, a Baker Republican whose campus-carry proposal (SB 68) was backed 5-3 along party lines by the Senate Higher Education Committee.
“The reason you’ve got those three or four guns bills is because of issues that’s happened over the past several years,” Evers said after the meetings. “There’s a glitch for each one of those bills that really needs to be passed in order to give folks the ability to exercise their 2nd Amendment (right) and not be prosecuted for being a licensed-carry holder.”
Evers also chairs the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, which voted Tuesday to support allowing Floridians with concealed-weapons licenses to openly carry firearms (SB 300) and to shift the burden of proof to the state in cases involving Florida’s “stand your ground” law (SB 344).
The “stand your ground” law says people can use deadly force and do not have a duty to retreat if they think it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm.
Each of the bills drew emotional testimony from people on both sides of the issues.
Florida State University student Shayna Lopez-Rivas told the Higher Education Committee of being sexually assaulted on campus two years ago and pointedly noted that “if I had a gun I wouldn’t have been raped.”
Lucia McBath, whose 17-year-old son Jordan Davis was shot to death while listening to music in a car at a Jacksonville gas station last year, implored the Criminal Justice Committee to reject what she called a “dangerous” expansion of the “stand your ground” measure that “would make it even harder to protect communities from gun violence.”
“Stand your ground laws create a culture of shoot first and ask questions later,” McBath said. “These laws embolden individuals to settle their conflicts by reaching for their firearms instead of using their words. And that is not what Florida needs. It needs common-sense gun laws.”
While the Florida Sheriffs Association hasn’t taken a position, Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith gave his support to the measure that would allow people to openly carry guns. That measure is sponsored by Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville.
“I believe in the right of a person to protect themselves and their family the way they best feel comfortable,” Smith said. “Some people don’t like guns. I’m OK with that. Get a can of wasp spray if it works for you.”
Others in law enforcement offered a differing view.
“Unfortunately, some people want to be police officers like George Zimmerman did,” said Javier Ortiz president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police. “We don’t need George Zimmermans walking around with firearms exposed. There are a lot of law-abiding citizens out there, but unfortunately, there are some people that shouldn’t have firearms. You are tying the hands of law enforcement, and you are putting our communities at stake.”
Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford when he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012. Zimmerman, later acquitted in Martin’s death, said he shot the teen in self-defense but did not ask for the “stand your ground” legal immunity.
Approval of the three bills came a day after the release of a University of South Florida-Nielsen Sunshine State Survey that indicated 48 percent of Floridians believe the state’s gun laws aren’t restrictive enough, with another 42 percent considering the existing rules “about right.”
Of the remaining people surveyed, 7 percent consider Florida “too restrictive” and the other 3 percent provided no opinion during the survey, which was conducted from July 30 to Aug. 16.
Numbers released earlier from the survey showed almost three-quarters of Floridians — 73 percent — oppose allowing students with concealed-weapons licenses to carry guns on campus.
Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, said she wasn’t sure why lawmakers weren’t giving more credence to such polling.
“I don’t see the folks who come up or send me thousands of emails that are supportive of the gun legislation, they never address how we can reduce gun violence or how any of these bills reduce gun violence,” Jackson said. “None of them do.”
The measure that may shift the burden of proof to the state in cases involving the “stand your ground” law was filed after the Florida Supreme Court ruled that people who use the controversial defense have the burden of showing they should be shielded from prosecution. In such cases, pre-trial evidentiary hearings are held to determine whether defendants are immune from prosecution under the law. The measure instead would place the burden of proof on prosecutors in the evidentiary hearings and would apply retroactively to pending cases.
Bill sponsor Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said he doesn’t see the proposal as expanding “stand your ground.”
“It’s simply incorrect to suggest that the bill would result in otherwise guilty individuals going free,” Bradley said. “If the state has sufficient evidence to successfully prosecute a defendant at a jury trial, the state will prevail in the immunity hearing before the judge and the judge will permit the case to go to trial.”
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Concert Raises $1,300 For Molino Park Elementary Music Program
October 21, 2015
A benefit piano concert Sunday night at Highland Baptist Church raised $1,300 for the the music program at Molino Park Elementary School.
The school partnered with the Gulf Coast Steinway Society to present a performance by Kadisha Onalbayeva along with a special performance from Molino Park students.
“We are very grateful to all those who came out to support the program, and are excited to use these donations to further the goal of bringing the music program into the 21st century and giving every student the tools necessary to express
themselves through music,” said Katherine Powell, Molino Park’s music teacher.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Panhandle Ag Team Represented At “North America’s Premier Farm Show”
October 21, 2015
Known as “North America’s Premier Farm Show”, the 38th Annual Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition is going on this week in Moultrie, GA. The annual event has more than 1200 exhibitors showcasing the latest in farming technology. The Expo’s unique site has a 100-acre exhibit area adjoining a 600-acre working research farm.
Pictured: Panhandle Ag Extension Team member Libbie Johnson of Escambia County talks to visitors to the UF/IFAS barn at the Sunbelt Ag Expo Tuesday about native Florida wildlife. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
It’s a Tradition: Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere
October 21, 2015
Looking for a pumpkin? The Allen Memorial United Methodist Church Men’s Pumpkin Patch is open once again this year at the corner of Highway 29 and Neal Road. Pumpkins of all shapes and sizes are available, with some priced as low as $1. The pumpkin patch is open daily from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Organizers said hundreds of pumpkins have been sold far this year.
The church’s Fourth Annual Fall Festival will be held at the pumpkin patch this Saturday, October 24 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. There will be free activities for the children including visits from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit in the morning, the Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, games, crafts and more. The Methodist Men group will be selling smoked turkey legs, pulled pork sandwiches and baked goods. Admission is free. Vendors are welcome; call Candace at (850) 525-7216 for information.
Pictured: The Allen Memorial Pumpkin Patch in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Two Wanted For Escambia Attempted Murder, Robbery Home Invasion
October 21, 2015
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is seeking two men in connection with a an attempted murder and a robbery home invasion that occurred October 5 at 1000 South Fairfield Drive.
Darrell Williams Jr. and Ja’Quest Norris are both wanted in connection with the incident. Investigators said Williams sometimes goes by the nickname “Jerk”.
Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 733-STOP.
Lawmakers Sort Out Details Of Oil Spill Money
October 21, 2015
With billions of dollars coming to Florida in reparation for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a Senate panel Tuesday tried to get a better feel for how the money will be spent.
Drew Bartlett, deputy secretary for ecosystem restoration at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, told members of the Senate Agriculture Committee that the money will flow through several channels.
The 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico directly damaged the state’s tourism and fishing industries as well as its environment, but also had indirect effects as far away as the Florida Keys.
That’s partly why senators were interested in one of the buckets of money Bartlett described, $364 million that Florida counties will divide under what is known as the federal RESTORE Act. Seventy-five percent of the money, or $273 million, goes to the eight hardest-hit counties — Escambia, Okaloosa, Bay, Walton, Santa Rosa, Franklin, Gulf and Wakulla.
The other 25 percent, or $91 million, goes to 15 counties, ranging from Taylor to Monroe, along the coast.
“The environmental damages were largely seen in the Panhandle area,” Bartlett said. “But when you get to recreation and economic damages, during that time when the newscasts were showing the oil spill … a lot of vacations were canceled. We saw a lot of loss of economic revenue in counties throughout the Gulf.”
“Was it fear, or actual economic damage to those counties?” asked Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood.
“In the southern counties, it was fear,” he replied.
Committee Chairman Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, asked whether any of the money was earmarked for county commissions to make their own decisions about projects to fund.
“Who blesses these decisions?” he asked.
Under the RESTORE Act, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has a direct relationship with the coastal counties, said Mimi Drew, a Florida trustee for the National Resource Damage Assessment and a representative to what is known as the RESTORE Council.
“The coastal counties develop the plan, send it to Treasury,” Drew said. “When Treasury is comfortable with the plan, then the funding goes directly to those counties.”
The deadly explosion aboard the drilling rig owned by BP and operated by Transocean is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the industry. It killed 11 people and sent millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, taking months to cap and seal the well.
“We lost more than 50,000 birds, more than 50,000 sea turtles,” Bartlett said. “Much of the shoreline was impacted by oil, and a slick was detected the size of Virginia.”
Florida will collect $680 million from the National Resource Damage Assessment and $356 million from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for restoration projects. It will also net at least $676.5 from the RESTORE Act, formally known as the 2012 Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act.
Much of the money will be paid over a 15-year period. Both BP and Transocean will contribute to each fund.
Additionally, the state will receive $2 billion for economic damages, which will flow through the Attorney General’s Office.
Triumph Gulf Coast Inc., a non-profit corporation created by the Legislature in 2013, will help the eight Panhandle counties most economically impacted by the spill. It is expected to award 75 percent of the economic-damages money over 30 years for recovery efforts, while the Legislature will distribute the rest. Under the agreement, Florida will receive an initial payment of $400 million next year, with subsequent disbursements of about $100 million annually through 2033.
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
Facing Eviction, Century Doctor Looks To Town Council For Help
October 20, 2015
A doctor ordered out of the old Century hospital by a state agency turned to the Century Town Council for support Monday night.
In a letter dated August 26, Century Health Care Access (CHCA) and Dr. Christian Bachman, president of CHCA and physician for Mayo Street Medical, were ordered to vacate the old Century Hospital facility by September 30 by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, current owners of 25,000 square foot building on Mayo Street.
Bachman has refused to budge, continuing to operate his medical practice, which will see patients regardless of their ability to pay and even make house calls.
“What we are trying to do is ask for community support and any advice that we can to try to keep health care in Century,” Bachman told the Century Town Council.
In the letter to Bachman, Cheryl C.McCall, chief of the Bureau of Public Land Administration Division of State Lands for DEP, wrote that the eviction was due to violations of the terms of his 50 year lease, including violations of the Florida Life Safety Code and National Fire Protection Code. McCall’s letter also listed numerous lease violations, including purpose, unauthorized use, insurance and maintenance. (Cheryl McCall is no relation to Century Mayor Freddie McCall.)
Bachman does not deny that some terms of the lease may have been violated, but he said he has followed “the heart of the contract, which was to take care of the building and to look after, to provide medical services.”
“Have we fulfilled every single letter of that contract? No,” he said Monday night.
Freddie McCall, mayor, said he supports Bachman and his practice.
“We need a doctor in town. I need the citizens to speak up and do what they can and try to work through our senators and representatives so they can hopefully pull some strings for the man to stay here,” the mayor said.
While Bachman is the only doctor that practices in town on a regular basis, Baptist Medical Group, formally Century Medical Center, operates a primary care facility in Century that is staffed by nurse practitioner Georgia W. Agrait, GNP.
The DEP said recently that the department is determining its next step.
Pictured top: Century council member Ben Boutwell (background) listens at Dr. Christan Bachman addresses the Century Town Council Monday night. Pictured inset: Mayor Freddie McCall. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Molino Event To Mark 10th Anniversary Of Death Of Fallen Hero J.R. Spears
October 20, 2015
The 10th anniversary of the death of a local hero will be marked with a special event in Molino on Saturday.
Cpl. Jonathan Ross “J.R.” Spears (USMC) was killed in action, Ramadi, Iraq, on October 23, 2005.
Spears, the son of Tim Spears and the late Marie Spears, grew up in Molino. He spent many years playing baseball at Don Sutton Ballpark in Molino. He was a 2002 graduate of Tate High School, where he played football. His number 62 jersey was retired by the school to honor their former lineman.
“He was very determined to be a United States Marine. After losing over 80 poounds and passing boot camp, he did it. The proudest moments of his life were in his dress blues. He wanted nothing more than to protect his country, and he gave his life doing so,” his father Tim said.
The event Saturday will begin at 2 p.m. at Don Sutton Ballpark in Molino. Food and drinks will be provided. There will be a few speakers on behalf of J.R. Spears and the entire Spears family. The event will conclude with a release of balloons to honor Spears, other fallen heroes and those still fighting for freedom.
The event is free and open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. Donations for Cpl. J.R. Spears Memorial Scholarship Fund will be accepted.
Frequently Incarcerated Century Man Now Headed To State Prison
October 20, 2015
A Century man with a lengthy arrest history is headed to prison for the next five years.
Ronald Berlan Newton, 54, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault was sentenced by Circuit Judge Ross Goodman as a prison releasee reoffender, and a three-strike offender. As a releasee reoffender, Newton is not eligible for gain time and must serve the entire five years in prison.
On June 21, 2015, Newton was involved in an altercation with his brother and other family members at the family’s home on Blackmon Street in Century. Later in the day, Newton returned to the home and was again asked to leave the property. Newton became angry and threatened to kill his brother before picking up a sharp metal garden tool and swinging it at his brother’s head.
Since 2007, Newton has been arrested on a long list of charges that were dropped or dismissed included aggravated assault, criminal mischief, battery, lewd and lascivious behavior victim under 18, indecent exposure, disorderly conduct and contempt of court.
Newton was released from state prison in April 2012 after completing a 22 month sentence for stalking after being arrested more than a dozen times in a year. Newton was first found incompetent and remanded into the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families for evaluation, but was later found competent to stand trial.
Newton was again sentenced to prison in October 2013 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated stalking. After being released from prison, he was once again arrested for contempt of court for willfully violating an domestic violence injunction. He was released from jail on April 4, 2015.