Tate’s Grammer Receives State FFA Equine Proficiency Award
June 22, 2016
Tate High School FFA members Rachel Grammer received the Equine Proficiency Award at the Florida State FFA Convention last week in Orlando. She received first place out of four state finalists. She is pictured above (holding awards) with Tata FFA sponsor Austin Courson. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
FWC Cracking Down On Boating Under The Influence
June 22, 2016
As the summer recreational boating season gets into full swing, the FWC Law Enforcement Division is ramping up its enforcement efforts as part of a national crackdown on boating under the influence.
The annual three-day, heightened awareness and enforcement campaign, Operation Dry Water, focuses on deterring boaters from boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Law enforcement agencies nationwide will be out in force June 24-26, looking for boaters who choose to boat under the influence, and then removing them from the water. Increased awareness about the dangers of boating under the influence, along with officers focused on identifying impaired operators, aim to drastically reduce the number of accidents and deaths due to impaired boating.
“It is our job as law enforcement officers to identify and remove impaired boaters from the water so that everyone else can continue to have an enjoyable boating season and not become a victim of boating under the influence. Protecting the public goes to the heart of our mission,” said Maj. Richard Moore, FWC’s Boating and Waterways Section Leader. “Our agency is participating in Operation Dry Water, and joining thousands of law enforcement officers nationwide to decrease the number of accidents, injuries and deaths that come as a result of boaters who choose to drink and boat.”
In Florida it is illegal to operate a vessel with a BAC level of .08 or higher. The FWC wants to remind boaters to stay safe this summer by staying sober on the water. Alcohol use is one of the leading contributing factors in recreational boater deaths. During the national weekend of heightened awareness and high-visibility enforcement, boaters can expect to see an enhanced law enforcement presence and increased messaging about this dangerous and preventable crime.
Another Semi Truck Overturns In North Century Boulevard Curve
June 21, 2016
For the second time in just over a week, and 18-wheeler has overturned on North Century Boulevard near Jackson Street, just south of the Food Giant.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 30-year old Aref Alday of Miami traveled off the roadway, causing his 2000 Freightliner semi-truck to overturn. He was cited for careless driving. Aref Alday was not injured; his passenger, 53-year old Amnerys Alday was transported to Jay Hospital with minor injuries.
The truck was hauling cotton bales.
The Town of Century has complained as recently as Monday night to the Florida Department of Transportation about slope of the curve and the inability of 18-wheelers to safely navigate it at the posted speed limit.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Driver ‘Rear-Ends’ Tree In Highway 97 Wreck
June 21, 2016
An adult female driver “rear-ended” a tree in a Tuesday morning wreck on Highway 97 near Walnut Hill.
The woman was southbound on Highway 97 south of Howell Road when she apparently lost control of her Hyundai Elantra in a curve. She over-corrected and ran off off the roadway. The vehicle skidded in the ditch and rotated backwards into a tree.
The driver was transported to an area hospital with injuries that were not considered critical.
Further details, including the name of the driver, have not been released as the Florida Highway Patrol continues their investigation.
Atmore Ambulance and the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Council President Boutwell Resigns, Qualifies To Run For Mayor
June 21, 2016
Century Town Council President Benjamin Boutwell has submitted his resignation so that he may run for the office of mayor.
His resignation, required by Florida law to seek another elected office, is not effective until the end of the day on January 1, 2017.
“It’s been a privilege to serve our residents of Century and I look forward to continuing to serve my town, town workers and my neighbors,” Boutwell said in his letter of resignation.
Monday, Boutwell became the first candidate to officially qualify to seek the mayor’s office in Century. Incumbent Freddie McCall pre-filed last week, but had not completed the qualification process by the close of business on Monday, according to the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office. The qualification period ends at noon Friday.
“I love the town; I love the citizens here,” Boutwell said, adding that he said decided to run for mayor after being asked by numerous residents. “I think I could be a big asset to the town.”
Boutwell said he’s looking to bring businesses and jobs into the town.
He will retire in December after 30 plus years in the Air Force and DOD civil service.
Election Watch: Several Candidates Officially Qualify On Monday
June 21, 2016
Monday marked the first day of qualifying week for candidates seeking local office.
Those qualified as of close of business Monday for offices included the candidates listed below. Additional candidates have pre-qualified for the positions listed but did not officially qualify as of Monday. Friday at noon is the deadline to qualify for the offices listed.
Tax Collector:
- Buck Lee, Republican
- Deb Moore, Democrat
- Scott Lunsford, Republican
Sheriff:
- Rex Blackburn, NPA
- John Johnson, Republican
- Ron McNesby, Republican
- David Morgan, Republican
Supervisor of Elections:
- David Stafford, Republican
Property Appraiser:
- Chris Jones, Democrat
Clerk of the Circuit Court:
- Pam Childers, Republican
Superintendent of Schools:
- Malcolm Thomas, Republican
County Commissioner, District 1:
- Jeff Bergosh, Republican
- Jesse Casey, Republican
- Karen Sindel , Republican
County Commissioner, District 3:
- Mirza Aftab Ahmad, NPA
School Board, District 1: (Nonpartisan office)
- Kevin Adams
- Willie Kirkland, Jr.
School Board, District 4: (Nonpartisan office)
- Patty Hightower
School Board, District 5: (Nonpartisan office)
- William Slayton Jr.
ECUA, District 1:
- Vicki Campbell, Republican
- James Faxlanger, Republican
ECUA, District 3:
- Clorissti Mitchell, Democrat
- Elvin McCorvey, Democrat
- John R. Johnson, NPA
- Kennie Lyons, Democrat
- Derrick Gainer, NPA
ECUA, District 5:
- Jim Taylor, Republican
- Larry Walker, Republican
City Council, District 1: (Nonpartisan office)
- P.C. Wu
City Council, District 3: (Nonpartisan office)
- Andy Terhaar
City Council, District 7: (Nonpartisan office)
- Jewel Cannada-Wynn
Escambia County Soil & Water Conservation, District 1: (Nonpartisan office)
- Betty Ann Wilson
Escambia County Soil & Water Conservation, District 3: (Nonpartisan office)
- Anne Bennett
SRIA: (Nonpartisan office)
- Thomas A. Campanella
Century Mayor
- Benjamin Boutwell
Warm Afternoons, No Chance Of rain
June 21, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
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Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 68. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 91. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light after midnight.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 92. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 73. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 75.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91.
Century Revisits Establishing A Community Redevelopment Area
June 21, 2016
Back in February, the Century Town Council approved the formation of a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), but that effort stalled as the town recovered from an EF-3 tornado.
At Monday night’s meeting of the Century Town Council, council member Ann Brooks questioned the progress of a CRA.
“We need to get our hands wrapped back around it, and, if we are, let’s move forward,” Mayor Freddie McCall said.
Council members expressed concerns over costs to establish the CRA, and exactly how much help Escambia County might provide. “We need someone (from Escambia County) to come talk to us and explain how they might help us,” Brooks said.
McCall said he would call Commissioner Steven Barry and start those discussions.
Upon declaration of an area as blighted, the CRA works to improve conditions. As property tax values rise, most of the increase is funneled back into the redevelopment area for further improvements. An estimate provide by Escambia County showed Century might, in a best case scenario, receive about $5,300 in tax funds for the first year of a CRA that included a full maximum 80 percent of the town.
Essentially, CRAs use redevelopment funds within a deteriorating area to transform it into one that again contributes to the overall health of a community. The money can roll over year to year, up a 40-year life for a CRA.
CRA funds can be used for a variety of public purposes, including items specified in the agency’s redevelopment plan, planning and surveys, acquisition of real property, affordable housing development and community policing innovations.
In February, the council decided that Century will enter into an interlocal agreement with Escambia County for assistance in forming and managing the CRA. Their next step was to be the formation of a seven member board — the five council members plus two at-large members — to oversee the Century CRA.
There are currently nine other redevelopment districts in Escambia County — Atwood, Barrancas, Brownsville, Cantonment, Englewood, Ensley, Oakfield, Palafox and Warrington — and three within the City of Pensacola.
Pictured top: Century Council members Ann Brooks (left) and Annie Savage listen to discussion Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Owe A Library Fine? Pay With Cash — Or Blood
June 21, 2016
The West Florida Public Libraries will now accept blood in lieu of library fines.
The library will waive fines up to $50 for participating patron in exchange for the cardholder donating blood, or making a good-faith effort to donate, at blood drives held at the West Florida Public Libraries. Following a successful blood drive at the main, blood drives will be held once at each library branch during the next year.
The blood donation credit will only apply to fines, not replacement charges for lost materials. If a patron wishes to donate their credit to another individual or family, the library will honor this request. But library patrons will not be allowed to accumulate credit on their account.
The first blood drive will be held Tuesday, June 28 at the main library to be followed by blood drive at a different library location every two months, rotating to each of the library branches in Escambia County. Donors will also receive a free t-shirt and a special edit “I Blood for Books” library card.
Evers Riles Activists With AR-15 Facebook Giveaway
June 21, 2016
Barely a week after the worst mass shooting in the nation’s history, state Sen. Greg Evers — running in a hotly contested Republican primary for a Panhandle congressional seat — drew criticism for planning to give away a semiautomatic rifle similar to a gun used in the attack that killed 49 people and injured dozens of others at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
Evers, a Baker Republican who has frequently sponsored legislation backed by the National Rifle Association, announced Monday he is giving away an AR-15 rifle to a resident of Congressional District 1 who has “liked” and “shared” Evers’ Facebook page. Killer Omar Mateen used a similar gun during the deadly assault early June 12 on the Pulse nightclub.
“With terrorism incidents on the rise, both at home and abroad, protecting our constitutional rights has never been more important,” Evers said in a prepared statement accompanying the announcement.
The winner of the “custom-built” rifle will be selected on July 4, with the contestant having to meet eligibility requirements, according to a press release and a post on Evers’ Facebook page.
But LGBT activists decried Evers’s decision to essentially raffle off the gun while funerals for the 49 clubgoers — most of them gay and Hispanic — have just begun.
“I think it is tasteless, disrespectful, disgusting, political pandering at its worst,” Stratton Pollitzer, deputy director of Equality Florida, an LGBT advocacy group that has raised more than $6 million for victims of the massacre. “The idea that he wants to put the same style assault rifle that was just used for mass murder into the hands of a random stranger is grotesque.”
Evers is running to replace veteran U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller — who announced earlier this year he will not seek re-election — in what is expected to be a brutal campaign against state Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, and James Zumwalt, an Iraq war veteran and former Miller aide.
Evers made his announcement the day before U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch is scheduled to travel to Orlando to meet with victims, first responders and other members of the Orlando community reeling from the attack on the popular nightclub in the wee hours of a Sunday morning.
Critics view Evers’ gun giveaway as a way for him to beef up support from Second Amendment backers in arguably the state’s most conservative congressional district, which abuts the Alabama border and spans Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties and includes most of Holmes County. The winner of the Aug. 30 GOP primary is almost certain to go to Washington.
“Sen. Evers’s campaign gimmick will improve self-defense for exactly one Floridian. I’ve spent a legislative career fighting for Second Amendment rights for all Floridians,” Gaetz said in a telephone interview Monday.
Evers’s gun contest comes as some, including President Barack Obama, push lawmakers to consider imposing restrictions on the purchase of assault weapons like the one used by the shooter in the Orlando massacre.
Evers defended his AR-15 contest by accusing Obama of blaming the Orlando catastrophe on guns, “when the real threat is radical Islamic terrorism.”
“Where I’m from, people ain’t gonna sit around and wait for the government to protect them, they’ll protect themselves. That’s what this is about — promoting self-reliance in the face of Islamic terrorism,” Evers said in an e-mail.
But Liz Watkins called Evers’s campaign ploy an insult, especially in Pensacola, which has courted the LGBT community and draws thousands of gay tourists each Memorial Day weekend for a major gay pride celebration.
“I think it’s criminal,” Watkins, a Pensacola LGBT activist, said. “I think he is contributing to the death of people. If he isn’t stopped by the law somehow, then Republicans need to look in this guy’s face and say you need to think about what you’re doing. … I’ve got to tell you my stomach’s turning from it.”
Pamela Goodman, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, said her group is “outraged” by Evers’s announcement.
“We do not believe that actions like that can solve the issue at hand. We need to be having discourse and conversation and action with the people of all sides weighing in on this issue,” Goodman said in a telephone conference call with reporters on Monday.
But as offensive as Evers’s giveaway might be to some, others believe it won’t hurt him in a primary where candidates are eager to flaunt their allegiance to gun rights.
“There’s a decent chance that whoever gets (the rifle), it will be their second AR-15,” said GOP strategist J.M. “Mac” Stipanovich, who splits his time between Tallahassee and Destin, which is included in the congressional district. “There’s a cultural and political divide here that’s hard for some folks to understand. What happened in Orlando, a number of people, including many people in the Panhandle, believe that is an alarm bell, a summons to arm yourself against the coming darkness, the bad guys who are out to get us.”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida