Honey Bee Workshop To Be Held Saturday In Molino
February 22, 2017
“Keeping Our Bees Alive” will be the main emphasis for the North Escambia Beekeepers Association’s Annual Honey Bee Workshop Saturday in Molino.
Aimed at helping prospective and experienced beekeepers succeed, the event will be held from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Molino Community Complex, 6450 Highway 95A North.
Considered the most successful beekeeper in the Pensacola area, Shelby Johnson, president of Escarosa Beekeepers Assn., will explain the necessity of annual re-queening, and how to prevent swarming. Most beekeepers are losing their bee colonies while Johnson continues to maintain his hives in good health. Johnson produces nucleus colonies for new beekeepers as well as to replace those which others have lost. He will discuss skills to keep bees alive while enjoying ever-increasing honey production.
Workshop speakers include Dr. Jamie Ellis, Associate Professor of Entomology at University of Florida, who will address what is killing bees, controlling honeybee pathogens, and nutrition. Andrew Finch, Florida State Apiary Inspector, will discuss Varroa mite and SHB control.
Last year over 165 people attended, so registration is required. Lunch and door prizes are included in the cost of $25 for adults; $12.50 for ages 13-18; and under 12 is free. Paypal accepted at www.northescambiabees.com or call Danny Woods at 850-777-4129 or dawoods@frontiernet.net.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
One Injured In Cantonment Wreck
February 22, 2017
One person was injured in a single vehicle rollover accident Tuesday night in Cantonment.
The crash was reported just after 9 p.m. on East Kingsfield Road near Riddle Road, about a mile from Tate High School. The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol; further details have not yet been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Northview Celebrates National FFA Week With Breakfast
February 22, 2017
FFA members at Northview High School are celebrating National FFA Week with a variety of events.
Tuesday morning, the FFA officers and members prepared a homestyle breakfast for teachers, staff and invited guests that support the FFA program. Northview’s FFA program has been recognized as one of the top chapters in both the state and the nation.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Authorities Arrest Alabama Man For Child Sex Abuse
February 22, 2017
The Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Brewton man on child molestation charges.
William Douglas Smith, Sr., 56 year old W/M, of 1904 Sowell Road, was charged him with two counts of sexual child abuse of a child less than 12-years old. The alleged victims ha\e been interviewed by a forensics interviewer and provided cause for an arrest according to deputies.
The case is still under investigation and anyone with any further information is asked to contact the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office at (251) 809-2154.
Sen. Richard Shelby Tours Atmore Manufacturing Plant
February 22, 2017
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, (R-Ala) toured Alto Products in Atmore on Tuesday.
Alto has manufactured over a billion friction clutches & powertrain components for automotive, high-performance, heavy-duty, marine and motorcycle applications. Approximately 300 people work at the Atmore facility.
Pictured: U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (in suit) tours Alto Products in Atmore with company president David Landa. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
No Injuries In Molino Crash
February 22, 2017
There were no injuries in a two vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon on Highway 95A at Adams Road near Molino. Further details on the crash have not been released by the Florida Highway Patrol. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Tate, Northview Softball And Baseball Games Rescheduled
February 21, 2017
All Northview and Tate high school softball and baseball games for today have been rescheduled
- NHS softball rescheduled for Wednesday
- NHS baseball rescheduled to Thursday
- Tate softball rescheduled to Wednesday, March 8
- All Tate baseball games rescheduled for Wednesday, same sites and times.
FHP Seeks Century Hit And Run Driver
February 21, 2017
Update: The hit and run driver has been located. Further details have not been released.
Authorities were looking for a hit and run driver after crash at the Food Giant in Century this morning. The driver of red Nissan reportedly hit a speed limit sign and a concrete sign pedestal in front of the store just before 7 a.m. Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call the Florida Highway Patrol at (850) 484-5000 or *FHP from a cell phone. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Mayor Under Fire For Granting Time Off, Pay Raises Without Approval
February 21, 2017
Century Mayor Henry Hawkins came under fire Monday night after it was revealed that he give town employees paid time off and across the board pay raises, all in apparent violation of the town charter.
Hawkins admitted that since taking office in January, he has given each town employee a 53-cent per hour pay increase and has allowed each employee to take four paid hours per month off. The changes, he said, were to boost employee morale.
The information came to light during the public forum period of Monday night’s town council meeting as resident Edna Earle Barnes questioned Hawkins about “rumors” that she heard.
“It’s a morale booster,” Hawkin said.
“Well it’s not boosting the morale of the citizens of the town,” Barnes replied.
“My job is take care of the employees,” the mayor said, “and the employees with take care of the town.”
“No,” Barnes interjected, “Your job is to take care of the town.”
The money to fund the 53-cent per hour pay increase for each employee came from the salary of street department employee that quit in January and was not replaced. Hawkins said that since the funds were already budgeted for salaries, he simply divided the salary among the remaining employees.
But council president Ann Brooks said Hawkin’s actions were wrong and in excess of a $500 spending limit imposed by the town charter. She said employee raises and policies are to be approved by the council.
“We are suppose to approve any spending over $500,” Brooks said.
Hawkins openly came under verbal attack by local residents in attendance at the meeting. Several expressed displeasure that the behind the scene pay raises were granted during a time Hawkins has said the town needs to raise water, sewer and gas rates in order to remain financially viable.
“You are building morale with your employees, but you are not doing it with the citizens of the town,” Barnes said. “You are suppose to be looking out for us.”
On a motion from council member Kevin Stead, the council voted to remove the pay raise and eliminate the newly granted paid time off for each employee. Stead also called for any such future action by the mayor be subject to council approval.
Pictured top: Mayor Henry Hawkins listens to a discussion Monday night as Town Clerk Leslie Howington takes notes. Pictured inset: Century resident Edna Earle Barnes addresses the council. Pictured below: The Century Town Council discusses pay raises granted to employees without their permission. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Florida Death Penalty Cases Allowed To Move Forward
February 21, 2017
that death penalty cases can proceed, even with an unconstitutional law still on the books.
The order came as the Legislature prepares to address a pair of Florida high court rulings last fall that struck down the state’s most recent death-penalty sentencing scheme as unconstitutional and effectively halted capital cases.
In a pair of October rulings, the state court ruled that a new law — passed in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case known as Hurst v. Florida — was unconstitutional because it only required 10 jurors to recommend death “as opposed to the constitutionally required unanimous, 12-member jury.”
The October majority opinion in the case of Larry Darnell Perry also found that the new law “cannot be applied to pending prosecutions.”
But in a reversal of that decision Monday, the majority ruled that capital cases can move forward, even before lawmakers fix the statute.
Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the ruling, saying in a statement it “provides our courts with the clarification needed to proceed with murder cases in which the death penalty is sought.”
The majority in the 5-2 decision was comprised of Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and justices R. Fred Lewis, Charles Canady and Ricky Polston, along with newly seated Justice Alan Lawson, who joined the court at the end of December.
The ruling sent public defenders scrambling and prompted cheers from prosecutors.
A spate of death penalty-related rulings by the Florida court in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in January 2016 in Hurst “created a great deal of paralysis and uncertainty in the system,” House Judiciary Chairman Chris Sprowls, a former prosecutor, told The News Service of Florida in an interview Monday.
Monday’s decision in the consolidated cases of Patrick Albert Evans and Juan Rosario came as courts have been split on how to handle cases in which prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
A Pinellas County judge last fall wanted to move forward with Evans’ trial, while a judge in Rosario’s Orange County case decided that the state could not pursue the death penalty.
The majority on Monday decided that the new law can be applied to pending prosecutions — and is constitutional — “if 12 jurors unanimously determine that a defendant should be sentenced to death.”
But in her dissent, Justice Barbara Pariente argued that what could be a “temporary” fix, until lawmakers address the issue, could lead to more litigation.
“Such concerns are precisely why it is for the Legislature, not this (Supreme) Court, to enact legislation curing the act’s fatal 10-2 provisions, assuming the Legislature intends for the death penalty to continue to be imposed in Florida,” Pariente wrote in a dissent joined by Justice Peggy Quince.
But Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, said the decision “finally” tells lower courts they can proceed with capital cases.
“That is what I think people within the criminal justice system would expect. What they did not expect is to have a paralysis created and that’s what the court had done. Today they have alleviated that paralysis by at least allowing cases to proceed,” he said.
Defense lawyers, however, took a harsher view.
“As a society, we rely upon court precedent to determine how to interpret and apply the laws. The (Supreme) Court’s about-face within these opinions is confounding. They also seem incongruent with the court’s unanimous plea, in (a case known as) Steele, to the Legislature to fix what the court said it couldn’t,” 10th Judicial Circuit Assistant Public Defender Pete Mills, who also serves as chairman of the Florida Public Defenders Association Death Penalty Steering Committee, told The News Service.
Mills was referring to a 2005 opinion in State vs. Steele in which the court urged the Legislature to require a unanimous jury vote, rather than the previous simple majority vote, in capital-case proceedings.
While Monday’s opinion may have resolved questions about how the courts can proceed for now, it likely won’t slow down the Legislature’s rush to address the issue early in the session that begins March 7.
“We still want to move it rapidly, get it up and out to make sure there’s no question that this is what the statute says and that we have a working death penalty scheme in the state of Florida,” Sprowls said.
Sprowls’ committee is slated to consider a measure (HB 527) Tuesday that would do away with the 10-2 jury recommendations and instead require unanimity for death sentences to be imposed. A Senate panel will give a final vetting to a similar proposal the following day. The issue only deals with the sentencing phase of death-penalty cases, after jurors unanimously find defendants guilty of crimes.
House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, and Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, told The News Service — before the court’s decision Monday — they wanted to send a death penalty measure requiring unanimous jury recommendations to Gov. Rick Scott by the end of the session’s first week.
“My position on it is that you have about 200 death penalty cases that are in abeyance right now, because of the Supreme Court’s ruling, and I can’t think of anything more important to the family of victims and also to a person charged with a capital felony that their cases proceed justly and with due process through the criminal justice system,” Negron said Wednesday. “To me, it’s our responsibility as legislators to make sure that the law is appropriately enforced. That would be a top priority.”
The cases “in abeyance” referred to more than half of Florida’s Death Row inmates who are eligible for new sentencing hearings under a separate state court ruling addressing retroactivity of the Hurst decision, which was predicated on a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case known as Ring v. Arizona.
The legislation being considered by the House and Senate would not have any impact on retroactivity and would likely only affect future capital cases or those already underway.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida