Tate Aggies Clean Veterans Memorial
November 6, 2016
The Tate High School Aggies gave back Saturday at Pensacola’s memorial to those that gave all. Members of the Aggie Nation hand-cleaned the Wall South and other memorials that honor those that served our nation at Veterans Memorial Park in Pensacola. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Walnut Hill Fire Honors Firemen, Community Members During Fish Fry
November 6, 2016
The Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department honored members of the community and the department during their 47th annual fish fry Saturday.
AJ Beachy was named Firefighter of the Year, an award chosen by his fellow firefighters. Eric Koehn was named Officer of the Year and recognized for his years of service to the department. Jerry Poulson received the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department’s Community Service Award for outstanding and dedicated service to the community.
Hundreds of people enjoyed fried catfish or grilled chicken plates during the event, with proceeds to be used to provide assistance to displaced fire victims in the area. OneBlood’s Big Red Bus was also on hand for a blood drive.
Pictured below: Walnut Hill District Chief Chris Brown with award winners (L-R) Jerry Poulsen, AJ Beachy and Eric Koehn.
Cantonment Man Passes Away After Motorcycle Crash
November 6, 2016
A Cantonment man has passed away as the result of injuries he received last Thursday night when his motorcycle was rear-ended.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 87-year old Thomas James Harwell was northbound on Highway 29 approaching Diamond Dairy Road about 7:00. He failed to stop for traffic and his 1994 pickup collided with the rear of a Honda Goldwing driven by 53-year old Phillip Roger Bryant of Cantonment. Bryant was thrown from his motorcycle by the force of the collision.
Bryant was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital where family members say he has passed away.
Harwell was not injured.
Any charges are pending the outcome of a FHP investigation.
Tate Varsity Cheerleaders Win Division At Biloxi Cheer For Hope Competition
November 6, 2016
The Tate High School varsity cheerleaders won first place Saturday in the small coed division at the Cheer for Hope competition in Biloxi, MS. The squad is led coach Jess King. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pearl Harbor Survivor Shares Memories During Molino Library Program
November 6, 2016
Francis L. Emond was lined up with his fellow Navy members for morning colors on December 7, 1941, when he watched the ships in front of him sink in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The 98-year old related his memories as a Pearl Harbor survivor Saturday afternoon at the Molino Branch Library.
He was part of the band lined up on stern of the USS Pennsylvania, which was dry docked with clear view of the harbor. His memories of that morning, December 7, 1941, are very poignant.
“We could look all over Pearl Harbor and see all the ships that were anchored,” he said. “It was a beautiful sight, a very clear and nice morning. The air was very fragrant in Hawaii; you smelled flowers there all the time. A very, very pleasant place to be.
“I looked up and coming in…was a line of planes. The first one made a turn off, and something come up off the airplane. I thought the plane was coming apart, so I watched it, and the object flew down across where we were and hit the air station on the island there.
“It exploded in smoke and flames and made a big noise and startled us all of course. Looked back up at the airplanes and you could see the big red spots on the airplanes. So we knew that the Japanese were attacking. About that time, you could look up and the sky seemed to be full of them.
“It looked like they were floating in the skies, not that the jets we see today and zooming everywhere…”
“We felt the ship shake…and we knew we had been hit a bomb…”
“All had smoke and multiple fires and smoke. It was a terrible site.”
Saturday’s event , commemorated the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and was planned in conjunction with the Molino Mid-County Historical Society. The University of West Florida Historic Trust also provided a display of reproductions of WWII uniforms and other memorabilia for the event.
Courtesy images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
A Seasonable Sunday, And Showers Coming?
November 6, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. East wind around 5 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 55. East wind around 5 mph.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers before noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 80. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. East wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. East wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 76. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 77. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 51.
Veterans Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 75.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.
Eight People Involved In Highway 29 Crash; Three Injured
November 6, 2016
Eight people were involved in a three vehicle accident late Saturday afternoon on Highway 29 in Cantonment.
Three of the eight people were transported to area hospitals, while five refused medical treatment at the scene. The accident happened on Highway 29 south of Tate Road, near St. Monica’s Episcopal Church.
The conditions of those injured and other details have not been released by the Florida Highway Patrol as they continue their investigation.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Light At The End Of The Election Tunnel
November 6, 2016
Four months ago, nearly six out of 10 Americans were already feeling exhausted by election coverage, according to the Pew Research Center.
Voters were worn out long before Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump earned the nominations of their respective parties, and before stories of Russian email hacking and accusations of groping subsumed deeper topics, like the candidates’ actual stands on issues such as the economy.
But if Floridians were weary in June or July, they might be near comatose now, as the White House wannabes and their surrogates storm the state in the lead-up to Tuesday’s election.
With the presidential race in the crucial swing state too close to call, it’s no surprise that both sides are storming the peninsula in an attempt to ensure that there’s a clear winner when the results are tallied Tuesday night.
According to German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, boredom and pain are the two enemies of human happiness. Even casual observers of this year’s political season may believe that Floridians, along with the rest of the country, have had ample servings of both.
SUN, SUN, SUN, HERE IT COMES
Even the Florida Supreme Court, which typically could provide a welcome distraction from election hijinks, got stuck in the fray this week.
Opponents of a controversial solar-energy ballot initiative asked the justices on Wednesday to again review and strike down the proposed constitutional amendment largely bankrolled by utility companies.
But in terse, single-line statements Friday, the court dismissed as “moot” requests by the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association and the group Floridians for Solar Choice to reconsider the court’s approval of ballot language for the initiative known as Amendment 1.
Expressing disappointment with the rulings, the initiative’s critics maintained their view that Amendment 1 is “deceptive,” while saying they will focus on keeping the proposal from reaching the 60 percent voter approval needed for passage.
“We wanted to give the court an opportunity to clean up the mess they have made by approving this amendment for the ballot,” Stephen Smith, a member of Floridians for Solar Choice and executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said in a statement. “Now it’s game on: We have a solar uprising happening in the Sunshine State. We ask everyone to vote no on 1 and we look forward to Tuesday when we will kill this once and for all.”
Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy, Tampa Electric Co. and Gulf Power have spent a combined $20.2 million in support of the amendment, which would enshrine in the Florida Constitution existing rules about the use of solar energy by private property owners. The proposal also includes a more-contentious provision, which states that people who haven’t installed solar on their property “are not required to subsidize the costs of backup power and electric grid access to those who do.”
Proponents say the second provision offers consumer protections for people who don’t install solar panels. But opponents argue it could result in “discriminatory charges” against rooftop solar users and limit the desire of people to go solar.
The Florida Solar Energy Industries Association and Floridians for Solar Choice, which have long contended that Amendment 1 is deceptive, based their requests to the Supreme Court this week on an audio tape that included comments by Sal Nuzzo, vice president of policy at the James Madison Institute. On the tape, first reported by the Miami Herald, Nuzzo described how to use a “little bit of political jiu-jitsu” in promoting solar to win support for desired changes in policy.
Sarah Bascom, a spokeswoman for Consumers for Smart Solar, the group spearheading the initiative, said there were no surprises in the court dismissing the “frivolous” requests Friday.
“This was nothing more than a political stunt to deter voters’ attention in the final days of the election,” Bascom said in a statement.
GAMBLING PROPOSAL A ROLL OF THE DICE?
The justices on Wednesday also heard arguments about a proposed constitutional amendment that could severely limit the expansion of gambling in Florida by giving voters, instead of state lawmakers or counties, control over casino-style games.
Proponents hope to get the “Voter Control of Gambling in Florida” proposal on the 2018 ballot, but the Supreme Court first has to decide whether the ballot summary is clear and whether the measure adheres to the “single subject” requirement of citizens’ initiatives.
Much of Wednesday’s arguments focused on whether voters would know that, by endorsing the proposal, they would be taking away control of casino-type gambling decisions from the Legislature and county officials.
Lawyer Adam Schachter, who represents Voters in Charge, the committee behind the proposed amendment, pointed out that the state high court is poised to decide whether Gretna Racing, a tiny pari-mutuel in rural Gadsden County, can have slot machines. That ruling is expected to have a wide-ranging impact: Voters in five other counties — Brevard, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach and Washington — have also approved slots at local tracks or jai alai frontons.
The Gretna case — centered on whether gambling operators can add slots if county voters give the go-ahead, even without the express permission of the Legislature — exemplifies the need for the proposed constitutional change, Schachter argued.
“There is a lack of clarity on this,” Schachter told the justices. “This amendment … would provide the needed clarity.”
But attorney Marc Dunbar, who represents a non-profit organization opposed to the initiative and who owns a small share of the Gretna facility, warned that the constitutional change, if approved, would lead to “a ridiculous amount of litigation” over its interpretation.
Dunbar said the proposal is misleading because voters might not know that the measure could have a chilling effect, using as an example arcade games such as “claw” machines, which were caught up in a law aimed at shutting down internet cafes.
“Will (arcades) be frozen forevermore for any new product because they operate under a slot machine exemption?” Dunbar asked. “Will they have to go to a statewide initiative because they want a new arcade game?”
STORY OF THE WEEK: The Florida Supreme Court refused to remove from the ballot a controversial solar-energy initiative backed by utility companies.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Let’s calm down here.” — Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente, speaking to attorney Marc Dunbar as he argued against a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at giving voters control over casino gambling.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
UWF Suffers At The Hands Of North Alabama, 51-3
November 6, 2016
The seventh-ranked North Alabama football team scored the first 20 points and cruised past UWF for a 51-3 win at Braly Municipal Stadium Saturday, clinching the team’s fourth-consecutive Gulf South Conference regular-season title in the process.
UNA (7-1, 6-0) scored on the first play from scrimmage – a 63-yard pass from Jacob Tucker to Dre Hall – and defended UWF better than any team had done all season before compiling 528 yards to just 172 for the Argonauts.
“North Alabama is the number seven team in the country and they are starting 15 seniors, and they look like a playoff team,” UWF head coach Pete Shinnick said. “We were not able to match that and that’s really the end of it. Our guys were playing hard and they were working hard. I liked our preparation and liked where we were but North Alabama was just better than us today. All credit to them.”
UWF (5-5, 3-4) was unable to get its offense going beyond its lone scoring drive where it capped an eight play, 84-yard effort with a Austin Peffers 20-yard field goal. The Argos finished with 119 yards rushing and quarterback Kaleb Nobles was just 11-for-26 for 53 yards passing, while being sacked four times.
Daviante Sayles, who rushed 10 times for 76 yards, had the game’s longest play, breaking off a 58-yard scamper that put the team inside the UNA 10-yard line before Peffers’ kick late in the first quarter. Chris Schwarz carried the ball a career-high 17 times for 61 yards for a 3.6 yards per rush average.
But the Lions got big plays when they needed them and showed why they are ranked in the top 10 and appear ready to make a long run out of Super Region 2 in the NCAA Playoffs. On the kickoff following the UWF field goal, Jaylan Jackson returned it 89 yards for a touchdown. UNA converted six of its first eight third-down opportunities, including scoring runs of 41 and 21 yards to take a 48-3 lead into the locker room.
Tucker ended the game with 176 yards through the air and 52 yards on the ground, with a passing touchdowns and a pair of rushing touchdowns.
UWF will conclude its inaugural season next Saturday against West Georgia (6-4, 3-4). Kickoff at Blue Wahoos Stadium is set for noon.
Woman Charged In Early Morning Murder Outside Atmore
November 5, 2016
One person is dead and another jailed after an early morning murder in the Booneville community north of Atmore.
At 1:53 a.m. Saturday, the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office responded to a domestic disturbance on Adabell Road to find 46-year old Eric Leon Rolin dead from a single gunshot wound. He had been shot by 47-year old Kimberly Hardy Rolin, according to Chief Deputy Mike Lambert.
The couple had a history of domestic violence, Lambert said, and had been arguing before the shooting.
Kimberly Rolin has been charged with an open count of murder and is being held without bond in the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton awaiting a bond hearing on Monday.
The investigation into the murder is active and ongoing, Lambert said.