Megan Walters, Candidate Escambia County Commission District 5
August 14, 2020
NorthEscambia.com asked the three candidates for Escambia County Commission District 5 to answer a series of questions. In alphabetical order, here are candidates with a link to their video and written answers.
Steven Barry
John Reading (did not respond)
Megan Walters
Early voting continues through Saturday, and the polls will be open Tuesday, August 18 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Candidate: Megan Walters, Escambia County Commissioner District 5
Occupation:
Sales and Marketing. Community Advocate. Humanitarian. Wife. Mother.
Education:
AA Business Management. Work in progress: Bachelors Organizational Leadership.
Criminal Record (traffic citations excluded):
None.
Top Five Priorities:
Properly fund Infrastructure construction coupled with future maintenance; Improve public safety; Managed growth so as not to destroy the things special about Escambia County while implementing school and road concurrency; Support existing small businesses, especially those in District 5 by working to get adequate sewer and internet capabilities; Restore public trust by better transparency and education on issues that are important to the citizens, as well as representing them in Tallahassee and having quarterly meetings in District 5.
What , if anything, can you do to help ensure access to broadband internet access for residents of District 5, and ensure that the providers maintain an acceptable quality of service?
I will partner with the Florida Association of Counties and the State with their “Broadband for Rural Florida” initiatives, as their goals are to bring gigabit speeds to most rural parts of Florida. I will also lobby the other commissioners for their vote to use some of the nearly 1 Billion of Triumph money sitting in a bank account untouched. This is one of my top priorities as I see it as something achievable and because many in District 5 are now working from home and doing virtual school. The internet is no longer a luxury, but instead a needed utility for everyday life. I believe that by having the broadband available, it will improve the quality of service by the providers. I would also like to foster more competition for internet services in the Northern parts of District 5.
What more can be done by the District 5 commissioner about trains stopped for long time periods across Highway 29 and/or Becks Lake Road in Cantonment?
Our country was founded around the railroads. To halt the 15 minutes a day we are inconvenienced by the train in Cantonment, a domino effect would occur that would hinder the whole country. County and state officials have invested countless hours into this issue, ultimately the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA, which is a part of The US Department of Transportation) is the governing body. In asking the FRA to change the times the trains run through Cantonment, the domino effect previously mentioned would directly affect the railroad commerce in Atlanta and ripple across the country. Between the FRA and our local county officials, who do you think would win that argument? Long term, I believe an overpass would be an asset to the community. However, in building an overpass, many of the small businesses in the area of Muscogee/29 would have to relocate, which I don’t believe is a viable option at this time as there are greater needs in our district and county. I think that continuing to negotiate with commercial property owners in the area around the tracks to allow emergency access for Fire and EMS vehicles to pass through is crucial. CSX has indicated that they are willing to uncouple some of the cars that block all neighborhood accesses if they experience a mechanical failure that will take a long time to resolve.
What will you do, if anything, to improve roads and bridges in District 5? How do you fund improvements?
Stop using Local Option Sales Tax funds to pay for bringing new companies here when we are not treating our existing businesses right if we don’t fund the proper infrastructure for them. I would advocate for fully funding road maintenance and repair budget needs. I will make cuts to outside agency requests unless they specifically perform a government function that the county needs to provide. I will lobby to do away with discretionary funds so that we could use that amount for even the smallest projects that would make a difference to the majority of the county and district 5.
How do we improve public safety in District 5, both fire and EMS? How do you fund any improvements?
I would advocate using one of the salary studies/comparisons done within the past two years to see what comparable public safety agencies are paying their public safety employees and what benefits they give. It makes no sense to go through the costliest and least productive years of training of new recruits, only to lose them and their valuable experience when they leave for better pay and working conditions after they have experience under their belt. I would make hands on training and safety equipment a top priority to protect and show how valued our first responders really are to our community. Talk is cheap and we have had a whole lot of talk the last eight years. I would support appropriate wage increases executed in a timely manner to stop the exodus of our experienced Public Safety workers to other agencies. The BCC needs to find economies within the present budget and remove the ‘nice to have things’ to fund these priorities. Home values have gone up and the County has received more revenue each year but we continue to find other things that supplant what should be our main priorities.
Should any tax or MSBU be raised, and for what purpose?
No. If we cut out the frivolous spending, then we should be able to properly fund all the many things in the county. We should exhaust every possible means we can before we ever approach the subject of raising taxes. I will lobby to have ECAT paratransit assist EMS with non emergency patient transports which would generate revenue for our county.
What will you do, if anything, to continue dirt road paving in District 5? And what dirt road do you believe will be the very last paved in D5?
I would like to see a public road prioritization list made public based on what the majority of citizens utilize and based on what would be needed for school transportation and public safety services. The last dirt road to be paved in District 5 will probably be mine as I do not believe anyone wants it paved nor do they want to make it a public road.
How will you manage growth and development in District 5?
Please address your answer in at least two parts — the more populated areas of the district and the more rural, agricultural areas. We need to have professional and strategic master plans done for all areas of the county that work together in a coordinated way to plan future growth in our county. These plans need to be good for both the residents and the developers by providing consistent and predictable plans on which people can base their business and personal decisions without wondering if they will only be altered for a favored few. In the more populated and developed areas, we need to manage growth so that our roads and other infrastructure, as well as our public safety departments and schools can be ready for development as it hits the ground. In the more rural areas of District 5, we need to preserve some of the uniqueness of Escambia County and keep the special places and attributes that made many of us want to live here. We should incentivize urban infill in the developed areas to get more vacant and blighted properties back on the tax rolls and at the same time prevent costly sprawl. We also should plan to protect the agricultural areas that provide both economic benefit and stormwater conveyance, as well as recreational opportunities and wildlife protection. Good planning doesn’t have to be burdensome, it just has to be well thought out, with much public input, and consistently applied.
How does Escambia County react and prepare for economic impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Like many household budgets, the county budget will need to be tightened to focus on our essential duties and postponing those things that are non-essential. We need to continue to make sure we have enough reserves to deal with any emergencies as we have seen so many situations happen in the past few years that emphasize the need to be ready for anything. By getting back to the “main thing” of infrastructure and public safety, we will create great places to live and make great places to do business in. I have a boundless amount of hope and optimism for our area and, with a disciplined approach, I will show the citizens of Escambia County that we can get through this present and any future crises by working together and being diligent. I will model the concern and care that I hope to inspire in others and will work for the betterment of my community with service and not self promotion.
What can Escambia County do to ensure the continued success and growth of smaller businesses in D5, especially in light of the pandemic?
Provide small businesses more opportunities to grow and expand their business locally, regionally, and nationally, if they so desire. Escambia County can make sure that their permitting, licensing, policies, and procedures are not confusing and overly burdensome. In relation to Covid 19, we should be helping businesses to provide safe, healthy environments to continue to prosper instead of finding roadblocks to shut them down. The county should make sure that small businesses have the tools to be successful and that starts with good infrastructure, as mentioned earlier, including adequate roads, utilities, including internet access. County procurement should be proactive in putting things out to bid that our area’s small businesses can fairly compete for and on larger projects, Escambia County should facilitate larger contractors using area subcontractors to win public contracts. I think that the County should stop subsidizing large out of state, or even out of country, businesses and think about investing in local small businesses with micro grants as a form of economic development. Escambia County can develop partnering relationships with the Small Business Development Center and UWF’s Entrepreneur programs to foster more local entrepreneurs, especially in our “pockets of poverty” areas.
Do you support or oppose the Escambia Children’s Trust?
No. There’s too many other things that need funding first. Before I would support an additional taxpayer assessment for something like this, I would consider a dedicated fund for public safety. The Escambia Children’s Trust, while noble in mission, would add another layer of unelected bureaucracy to administering funds to nonprofits. Those nonprofits that perform government mandated duties should be annually accountable in the Budget Hearings to the BCC Board. I do not believe that we need another dedicated funding source outside of the general budget because the BCC always uses this as an excuse to spend more of the General Fund dollars on new things, instead of getting back to the priorities that we should have. With the Library and ECAT dedicated funds, we saw no real improvements to infrastructure and public safety, did we?
Century has had their obvious share of economic and infrastructure problems in recent years. How can/should Escambia County assist?
I will establish a relationship with the Century Mayor and Town Council, while also being easily accessible to them. By having a strong working relationship, we will be able to see which resources we can utilize to turn things around in Century.
Your Top 5 favorite spots in D5 to spend time for enjoyment when you are not working:
Northwest Florida Water Management Area along the Perdido River, Escambia River Wildlife Management Area along the Escambia River, Crossroads Thrift Store, Cantonment Mercantile, and Antique Marketplace.
Your Top 5 bingeable shows:
It took me from the summer of 2017 to the shelter in place time this year to watch Criminal Minds from beginning to end, so I’m not really a binge watcher. I typically listen to podcasts from my pastor and youth pastor that I had growing up, Respective Podcast, and I have watched the different meetings on ECTV. If I were to binge watch, the five I’d probably pick would be MASH, I Love Lucy, Friends, Grey’s Anatomy, and Golden Girls.
Your Top 5 favorite songs on your current playlist:
Just Me by Roy Jones Jr; History Makers by Delirious; Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys; Rise Up by Andra Day; One Shot by 2piece featuring Roy Jones Jr
Top 5 favorite foods (and restaurant name, if it’s a restaurant dish):
Smokey’s cole slaw, anything at EL Tapatio (Mexican restaurant on Muscogee Road), fresh subs at Captain Smiley’s (right next to Jimmy’s Grill in Molino), Pork Sandwiches at The Cantonment Mercantile (AKA the feed store at 29/Muscogee), steak cooked by my husband that is Barrineau Park grown beef, and fresh made pork rinds from Kynette’s Place (formerly Watson’s) in McDavid. (yes I know it’s 6, I just couldn’t leave any out!)
Best kept secret of District 5:
Now if I said that, it wouldn’t be the best kept secret anymore! But I do like to rinse the dust off at the “car wash” at the paper mill, and Lava Java is better than Starbucks, and most don’t know that.
Tropical Storm Josephine Forms
August 13, 2020
Tropical Storm Josephine formed Thursday in the Atlantic.
Josephine is forecast to strengthen over the next couple of days as it moves west northwest. But by the weekend, the storm will move into an area with high wind shear that should weaken it.
Josephine is no threat whatsoever to the Gulf Coast.
Escambia COVID-19 Cases Pass 10,000; Seven New Deaths In Two-County Area
August 13, 2020
THIS STORY IS OUTDATED. SEE NORTHSCAMBIA.COM FOR THE LATEST.
The number of reported COVID-19 cases in Escambia County passed the 10,000 mark Thursday as seven new deaths were reported in the two-county area, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Escambia County cases increased 104 to 10,053 with four new deaths. An additional 35 cases brought the Santa Rosa County total to 4,088 with three additional deaths.
Of the 889 tests results returned on Wednesday in Escambia County, 9.9% were positive, and 7.9% were positive from 387 tests in Santa Rosa County. Over the past week, the overall average positivity rate for Escambia County is 16.3%.
There were 193 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Escambia County as of Thursday, according to data from the three local hospitals.
Of the 141 deaths in Escambia County, 74 have been long-term care facility residents or staff. There have been 44 deaths in Santa Rosa County, at least seven of those at the Blackwater River Correctional Facility and nine in a long-term care facilities.
Statewide, there were 557,137 cases including 551,232 Florida residents. There have been 32,537 hospitalizations* and 8,913 deaths. The Florida Department of Health does not have a clear standard or definition of “recovered” and does not report a number of recovered individuals.
Escambia County cases:
Total cases — 10,035 (+104 since Wednesday)
Non-Florida residents — 906
Pensacola —7,308 (84)
Century — 862 (+2)
—-including at least 759 Century prison inmates (+6)
Cantonment — 691 (+6)
Molino— 114 (+3)
McDavid — 51
Walnut Hill — 13
Bellview — 10
Gonzalez — 7
Perdido Key — 5
Current hospitalizations: 193 (-5)
Deaths — 141 (+4)
Male — 4,442
Female — 4,579
Youngest — 0
Oldest — 105
Median Age — 38
Santa Rosa County cases:
Total cases — 4,088 (+35 since Wednesday)
Non-Florida residents — 35
Milton — 2,263 (+14)
Gulf Breeze — 591 (+4)
Navarre — 484 (+6)
Pace — 315 (+5)
Jay — 109 (+1)
Bagdad — 9
Cumulative Hospitalizations — 202*
Deaths — 44 (+3)
Male — 2,329
Female — 1,715
Youngest — 2 months
Oldest — 101
Median Age — 39
Florida cases:
Total cases — 557,137
Florida residents — 551,232
Deaths — 8,913
Hospitalizations — 32,537*
*“Hospitalizations” in the statewide and Santa Rosa County totals is a count of all laboratory confirmed cases in which an inpatient hospitalization occurred at any time during the course of illness. These people may no longer be hospitalized. This number does not represent the number of COVID-19 positive persons currently hospitalized. The FDOH does not provide a count of patients currently hospitalized. The Escambia County number is current data compiled each day from the local hospitals.
**Data Sources: Florida Department of Health, Escambia County, City of Pensacola, local hospitals.
Molino Girl Scout Honored For Saving Lives Of Her Mother And Grandmother In House Fire
August 13, 2020
A Molino Girl Scout was honored as a hero Wednesday afternoon for saving her family from a January 2019 house fire on Crabtree Church Road.
Destany McKim, 14, was presented with the Girl Scout Bronze Cross for Valor for saving her mother and grandmother from the fire about 12:30 a.m. on January 25, 2019. The award is the highest honor given by the Girl Scouts for saving a life.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Escambia County Fire Prevention Officer Ray Melton said, “If this young lady had not acted the way she did that night of that fire, this would have been a very tragic fire for Escambia County.We would have lost three lives. But her bravery carried her through. She used her fear as a tool — which we try to teach our kids — and she pulled through.”
Destany, who was 12 at the time of the fire, said she was up late doing homework, and smelled a little smoke. At first, she thought her mother was cooking.
“As soon as I looked over at the living room, the extension cord just burst into flames,” Destany told NorthEscambia.com. She immediately went to wake her mom and grandmother as the house began to fill with dark smoke.
“My mom is a smoker, so she didn’t smell the smoke. It didn’t wake her up, and my grandmother wears a CPAP machine, so couldn’t have smelled it,” she said. There were no working smoke alarms in the home.
As she got her mother and grandmother out of the home, she had the forethought to close the doors to slow the spread of the fire. Her grandmother went back in with a fire extinguisher, but the flames spread rapidly.
“It just spread everywhere, and the windows had just burst.”
She worked to save the three family dogs, including a 65-pound basset hound that she ultimately had to tote away from the burning home.
“Most people run out of a building that is burning. Well, she ran back into that building. That is exactly what a hero Destany is,” Escambia County Public Safety Director Jason Rogers said during a ceremony Wednesday at the Molino Fire Station. “You can’t teach courage. Courage is in here, and you have it within you. So, today Destany, you are our hero, and we honor you.”
“I don’t feel like I am a hero. I feel like I did what anybody else would have done in that situation because I just thought of my family. If I had gone into panic mode, there was no keeping my mother out of panic mode,” Destany said. “I don’t feel like a hero, but I’m flattered.”
“She’s a hero. A real hero. She saved her lives,” Destany’s mother Datanya Wells said.
Destany, who will attend Northview High School this year, may have a future in firefighting. She’s applying to be an Escambia County Fire Rescue junior firefighter.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Flomaton Police Department Appoints Three Chaplains, Including Century’s Mayor
August 13, 2020
The Flomaton Police Department appointed three chaplains Wednesday, including Century’s mayor.
The chaplains are supervisor Alvin Bethea, who is pastor at Flomaton Pentecostal Holiness Church; Jonathan Hill, pastor at Little Escambia Baptist Church; and Century Mayor Henry Hawkins, pastor at Damascus Missionary Baptist Church in Flomaton.
“I am so blessed to have these three great men serving for my department as chaplains. This is going to be a great service to our community and town, through the service of some of our church leaders! God bless our town,” Flomaton Police Chief Charles Thompson said.
On the recommendation of the Mayor Dewey Bondurant, the Flomaton Town Council approved the chaplain program for the police department.
Pictured below: Flomaton Police Chief Charles Thompson, Flomaton Mayor Dewey Bondurant, Pastor Jonathan Hill, Pastor Alvin Bethea, Pastor Henry Hawkins, and Assistant Police Chief Bennie Stokes. Pictured below: Each pastor was presented his chaplain badge Wednesday. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Is Your Student Enrolled in Escambia County Remote Learning? The ECSD Want To Hear From You About Lunch
August 13, 2020
When school begins on August 24 in Escambia, parents of children that enrolled in remote learning can pick up a school lunch. The Escambia County School District needs input now from those parents to decide how the program will work.
To help the ECSD Food Service Department plan how many meals to prepare, they need to know how many families plan to utilize this resource. In order to designate pick-up locations, they would also like to know learn from parents which school locations would be the most convenient.
Parents with students who have picked distance learning are asked to go into their Focus Parent Portal Account by Monday, August 17 and complete a meal pick up form for each students. The feedback received will help the Food Service Department determine the final distribution sites based on need.
Here’s some information to help parents make their decision:
- Meal pick up is only for students enrolled in the Escambia County School District.
- Breakfast and lunch food items will be distributed together in the same visit.
- Pick-up times vary based on school sites: Tentative times are: elementary school sites will be open 6:30 – 7:00 a.m., middle school sites will be open 7:30 – 8:00 a.m. and high school sites will be open 7:00 – 7:30 a.m.
- Meals do not have to be picked up from the school the student is enrolled in.
- Parents can pick up for all students at one location.
- All schools with the exception of Ransom Middle School and West Florida High School (they do not have breakfast programs) are on the list with the pick-up time next to it.
A final plan with school sites and the hours for pick-up will be available around August 21 and will be published here on NorthEscambia.com.
Students that are attending traditional brick and mortar school this fall will receive lunch as usual at school, with students at 44 schools receiving free lunches without any application needed. Click or tap here for a list.
Meals are not provided for students that chose the Florida virtual school option.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Scattered Showers And Storms Today, Otherwise Hot
August 13, 2020
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Thursday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Calm wind.
Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
By The Numbers: General Downward Trend In Local COVID-19 Hospitalizations
August 13, 2020
The latest daily COVID-19 local hospitalization numbers show a general decrease over the last few days.
The data in the chart above, compiled by the City of Pensacola, reflects the current combined number of patients hospitalized on the listed date at Ascension Sacred Heart, Baptist Hospital and West Florida Hospital.
“We are starting to trend downward overall, but we are not out of this yet. Please keep taking preventative actions, including wearing a mask, social distancing and washing your hands often,” Mayor Grover Robinson said Wednesday.
Fire Heavily Damages Ensley Home; No Injuries Reported
August 13, 2020
One person lost their home in a fire Wednesday afternoon in Ensley.
Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the residential structure fire in the 700 block of Prichard Avenue shortly afternoon. They arrived to find heavy fire coming from the attic of the single story brick home. The fire was brought under control in about half an hour.
The attic and kitchen of the home suffered heavy fire damage, and the was smoke damage throughout the entire house.
There were no injuries reported.
The Florida Bureau of Fire and Arson is investigating the cause of the fire.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Over 6,000 Have Voted Early In Escambia County. You Can Too At These Locations.
August 13, 2020
Over 6,000 people have taken advantage of early voting so far in Escambia County.
As of Wednesday, 6,383 early voting ballots had been cast in Escambia County and 20,770 mail ballots had been returned.
With 27,156 ballots cast, turnout for the August 18 primary election was at 15.53% in Escambia County.
Early voting continues through Saturday in Escambia County at the following locations:
- Escambia County Extension, 3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment
- Molino Community Center, 6450-A Highway 95A, Molino
- University of West Florida Conference Center, Building 22, University Parkway
- Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds, 6655 Mobile Highway
- Genealogy Branch Library, 5740 B, 9th Avenue
- Supervisor of Elections Office, 213 Palafox Place, Second Floor
- Pensacola Library, 239 N Spring Street
- Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway
- Brownsville Community Center, 3200 W. DeSoto Street
Each location will be open from from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., with the exception of the Supervisor of Elections Office which will be open 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.