Atmore Man Claims $233K Prize For Lottery Ticket Sold In North Escambia
November 5, 2016
An Atmore man has claimed a $233,372.65 prize for a winning Florida Lottery Fantasy 5 ticket sold last weekend at a Davisville store.
William H. Parker purchased the ticket at the Korner Kwik Stop at 10481 Highway 97. The ticket was the only winning ticket sold for last Saturday night’s drawing.
The 358 tickets matching four numbers won $95.50 each. Another 12,024 tickets matching three numbers are worth $8.50 each, and 107,923 tickets holders won a Quick Pick ticket for picking two numbers.
The Saturday, October 29 winning numbers were 07-11-18-20-22.
The winning ticket last Friday night’s drawing was sold at the Winn Dixie in Cantonment. Click here for details. That winner has not yet stepped forward to claim their prize.
Today Is Final Day Of Early Voting; Over 50K Early Vote So Far
November 5, 2016
Today is the final day of early voting in Escambia County, where 50,055 people had already early voted as of Friday.
With over 35,000 votes also cast by mail, a total of 85,609 Escambia County voters had cast their ballots. A majority of those voters — 43,214 of them — are Republican, followed by 29,549 Democrats and 12,763 others.
Voters can choose any one of seven sites to vote early from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. today in Escambia County:
Molino Community Center, 6450 Highway 95A North
Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway
Genealogy Branch Library. 5740 N. 9th Avenue
Main Library, 239 N. Spring Street
Bellview-Saufley, 916 W Michigan Avenue
Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 213 Palafox Place, Second FloorOn Election Day, Tuesday, November 8, the polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Voters must present a valid photo and signature ID and must vote at their home precinct on Election Day. Voters are encouraged to be sure to know where to vote on Election Day by checking their Voter Information Card, sample ballot, the precinct finder at EscambiaVotes.com, or by contacting us by phone or e-mail prior to Election Day. Any voters who need to change their address should contact the elections office prior to Election Day.
Vote-by-mail ballots must be received in the elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. The Postal Service recommends voters mail ballots at least one week before the due date. Vote-by-mail participants may track the status of their ballot at EscambiaVotes.com.
Pictured: Early voting at the Molino Community Center. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Sunny Saturday
November 5, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 79. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 47. Calm wind.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the morning.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. East wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. East wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77.
Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Veterans Day: A 40 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 74.
Time Change: Fall Back, Replace Smoke Alarm Batteries
November 5, 2016
Don’t forget to “fall back” and set your clocks back one hour night before heading off to bed Saturday night as daylight savings time comes to an end.
Escambia Fire Rescue is also reminding residents that it’s time to make another potentially lifesaving change — replace the batteries in your smoke alarm.
“Most home fire fatalities occur overnight when most families are sleeping,” according to Escambia Fire Rescue. “Changing the batteries in your smoke alarms and performing other maintenance is a simple, effective way to reduce home fire deaths. Children and senior citizens are most at risk and a working smoke alarm can give the extra seconds needed to get out safely.”
In addition to checking smoke alarms, residents should plan “two ways out” and practice escape routes with the entire family. Families should also prepare a fire safety kit that includes working flashlights and fresh batteries.
Each year more than 3,000 people lose their lives in residential fires. The majority of these deaths are a result of unattended cooking. It is strongly recommended that someone always be present when cooking on top of the stove and that smoke alarms be located properly and in working order. Test the smoke alarm monthly and change the batteries at least every six months.
For more information about fire safety, Escambia County Fire Rescue at 475-5530 or visit www.myescambia.com. For information about obtaining a home smoke alarm call 850-595-HERO (4376).
Escambia Man Gets 30 Years For Child Molestation
November 5, 2016
A 27-year old Escambia County man has been sentenced to three decades in prison for molestation.
Kelvin Osborne, entered a plea Friday to lewd or lascivious molestation. Escambia County Circuit Judge Scott Duncan sentenced Osborne to 30 years in state prison. After his release from prison, Osborne will be on lifetime sexual offender probation. Osborne was also designated a sexual predator and will be required to register as a sexual predator and comply with all statutory requirements for the remainder of his life.
The investigation revealed an ongoing pattern of sexual abuse by Osborne on a young child. Osborne was arrested on April 25, 2016.
Hundreds Enjoy Annual Molino Park Elementary Fall Carnival (With Gallery)
November 5, 2016
Hundreds attended the annual Molino Park Elementary School Fall Carnival Friday evening at the school. The event featured games, food, entertainment and lots of great family fun.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Fire At Santa Rosa County Jail
November 5, 2016
About 7:15 Friday night, a small fire broke out at the Santa Rosa County Jail facility located on East Milton Road.
Sheriff’s deputies and detention personnel responded to an alarm in the laundry facility where a dryer was on fire. The fire was quickly extinguished with the assistance of local fire departments and SRSO staff. There were no indications of foul play.
The laundry facility is in a separate wing from inmate populations. No inmates were in the area during the course of this incident and there were no evacuations.
One Santa Rosa detention deputy was taken to a local area hospital as a precautionary measure for smoke inhalation. That deputy is going well, according to a department spokesman.
No services to the facility were disrupted and the facility remains in full operation.
Pictured: The dryer that burned inside the Santa Rosa County Jail Friday night. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Justices Reject Effort To Block Solar Amendment
November 5, 2016
The Florida Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a pair of legal moves aimed at striking down a solar-energy ballot initiative backed by major utilities.
In terse, single-line statements, justices 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 the next few days on keeping the proposal from reaching the 60 percent voter approval needed for passage during Tuesday’s election.
“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.”
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.
“This was nothing more than a political stunt to deter voters’ attention in the final days of the election,” Bascom said in a statement.
The opposition groups filed the requests Wednesday, hoping justices would reconsider a 4-3 decision in March that approved the ballot language for Amendment 1.
The Supreme Court must sign off on the language of proposed constitutional amendments before they can go on the ballot. The court does not rule on the merits of proposed constitutional amendments. Instead, it considers wording requirements, such as whether proposals are limited to a single subject and are unambiguous.
Former Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero, representing Consumers for Smart Solar, argued in a court filing late Thursday that the requests should be dismissed because the only new information the opposition groups used was an audio tape that emerged last month “in which third parties allegedly describe the sponsor’s political motivations.”
Florida Solar Energy Industries Association and Floridians for Solar Choice, which have long contended that Amendment 1 is misleading, based their requests on a 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.
In asking the court to dismiss the requests, Cantero argued that the critics were “reckless to accuse Consumers for Smart Solar of ‘fraud or other misconduct on the court’ based on newspaper articles citing the statements of a third party.”
“The motion alleges no facts specifying a fraud by the sponsor,” Cantero argued. “And even if the statements about the sponsor’s political motivations were accurate — they are not — a sponsor’s political motivations are irrelevant to whether a proposed amendment’s ballot summary and title should be placed on the ballot.”
The Tallahassee-based James Madison Institute has asserted that Nuzzo misspoke. Consumers for Smart Solar said the James Madison Institute wasn’t involved in planning or drafting the proposed constitutional amendment.
The Consumers for Smart Solar amendment 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 provides 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.
Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy, Tampa Electric Co. and Gulf Power have spent a combined $20.2 million in support of the amendment.
Friday Night Football Final Scores
November 5, 2016
Here are Friday night football scores from around the area:
FLORIDA
- South Walton 56, Jay 27
- West Florida 31, Washington 12
- Trinity Christian Academy 45, Pine Forest 22
- PACE 41, Catholic 7
- Escambia 31, PHS 16
- Baker 49, Liberty County 0
- Gulf Breeze 37, Crestview 13
- OFF: Northview, Tate
ALABAMA
- Escambia Academy 49, Evangel Christian Academy 6
- Wicksburg 34, T.R. Miller 28
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Fire Department Fish Fry Is Today
November 5, 2016
The Annual Catfish Fry at the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department is today from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Walnut Hill Fire Station on Highway 97. Plates will be $8 each with your choice of catfish fillets or grilled chicken, plus baked beans, cole slaw, hush puppies, homemade bread and cake. There will also be drawing for door prizes beginning at 1 p.m. and a live auction. There will be bounce house and fire safety house for the kids. The Bloodmobile will also be on hand for a blood drive.