New Nursing Home Approved For Escambia County, New Beds For Santa Rosa
March 19, 2015
The state Agency for Health Care Administration said Wednesday it has given final approval to new or expanded nursing homes in a dozen counties — including a new facility in Escambia County and new beds in Santa Rosa County.
The approval process involves issuing what are known as “certificates of need,” and the agency’s tentative decisions were subject to legal challenges. The agency said Wednesday it had issued certificates of need for projects that went unchallenged.
Those projects, totaling 762 nursing-home beds, include new $19 million, 90-bed facility to likely be located in the general area of Nine Mile Road and and the University of West Florida. The agency also approved a $3.3 million, 30-bed addition to a current 60-bed facility on Glover Lane in Milton.
The approvals, through what is known as the “certificate of need” process, came after lawmakers last year approved a measure to lift a new bed moratorium in place since 2001.
Crist Says He Won’t Run For Office In 2016
March 17, 2015
After losing a bid to unseat Republican Gov. Rick Scott in November, Democrat Charlie Crist ended speculation Monday that he could run for the U.S. Senate in 2016.
“As members of the Florida Democratic Party, we stand for something — fairness, growing the middle class, and policies that strengthen future generations,” Crist, who lost a 2010 Senate bid to Republican Marco Rubio, said in a Facebook post. “I will not be seeking office in 2016, but I will be working alongside you. Too much is at stake for our beautiful Florida to be on the sidelines.”
The 2016 Senate race is drawing heavy speculation, as Rubio weighs whether to run for the presidency or to seek re-election. U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., has emerged as a potential Democratic candidate, but questions swirled around Crist, who was elected governor as a Republican in 2006 and later became an independent before running last year as a Democrat.
by The News Service of Florida
Byrneville Elementary School Releases Honor Roll
January 28, 2015
Byrneville Elementary School has released their honor roll for the second nine weeks:
Kindergarten: Mrs. Barberree’s Class
All Satisfactory
Nathan Carter
Autumn Coleman
Clay Everly
Gabrielle Hawsey
AKeylah Jefferson
Caleb Levins
D’Angelo Phifer
Jase Portwood
Will Sloan
Isaiah Therrell
Zachary Weaver
Cannon Whorff
Allison Yoder
Kindergarten: Mrs. Coleman’s Class
All Satisfactory
Kaidance Blalock
Keiyon Brown
Kayden Harwell
Haley Kamm
Wesley Lambeth
Aleah Therrell
Kindergarten: Ms. Rice’s Class
All Satisfactory
Camden Borelli
Kallie Harwell
Layla Jordan
Brayden King
Jamahri Simpson
Bonnie Trump
James Victor
First Grade: Mrs. Dawson’s Class
All A’s:
London Brooks
Luke Godwin
Jaycee Harvell
Evelyn Smith
A’s and B’s:
Brodie Coleman
Christian Velazquez
First Grade: Ms. Thornton’s Class
All A’s:
Wade Bailey
Elizabeth Coleman
Katherine Johnson
Ryder Lee
A’s and B’s:
Mary-Clayton Dawson
Savannah Hudson
Makenzie Levins
Easten Odom
Andrew Plant
Bree Robertson
Charlee Weaver
Second Grade: Mrs. Linton’s Class
All A’s:
Kelan Jurey
Riley Long
Evin Matlock
Mia Turner-White
A’s and B’s:
Ayden Atallah
Gavin Beasley
Jaci Jackson
Alli Odom
Second Grade: Mrs. Weaver’s Class
All A’s:
Logan Bevins
Maddie Mae Driskell
Madison Levins
Addisen Miller
Jayden White
Brian Yoder
A’s and B’s:
Madeleine Atallah
Luke Diamond
Tyler Gilmore
Braden Glick
Zachary Herndon
Mia Kornegay
Blake Shaw
Third Grade: Mrs. Dunsford’s Class
All A’s:
Sarah Bailey
Alexa Castro
Riley Dawson
Madalyn Grimes
Meredith Johnston
Tyson McBridge
Tyler Riggs
A’s and B’s:
Adrianna Atallah
Kaylie Glick
Nolin Godwin
Kaylee Hamilton
Takayla Lewis
Aydan Smith
Joe Wright
Fourth Grade: Mrs. Gilmore’s Class
All A’s:
Drake Allen Driskell
Bradley Hamilton
Emily Levins
Kaden Odom
Tiana White
Blake Yoder
A’s and B’s:
Hunter Barnes
Briana Dunsford
Marina Franklin
Eli Jackson
Emily Lambeth
Bailie Merchant
Dreama Wright
Fourth Grade: Mrs. Marshman’s Class
All A’s:
Aloysia Dortch
Kayla Johnson
Jolee Sloan
Abby Weber
A’s and B’s:
Leah Anderson
Josh Diamond
Johnnie Howell
Sarah Long
Fifth Grade: Mrs. Johnston’s Class
All A’s:
Hunter Borelli
Kaitlin Gafford
Jace Gifford
Torka Mills
Shelby Rice
A’s and B’s:
Cody Adams
Tanner Boone
Dusty Carnley
Taylor Levins
Harley Walker
David Ward
Anthoni Weaver
Burglars Strike Three Schools
January 28, 2015
Three Escambia County schools were burglarized early Tuesday morning.
The burglars hit Pine Forest High School, West Florida High School and George Stone between 4 and 5 a.m. At least two iPads and two laptop computers were taken from Pine Forest and George Stone, while baseball equipment was reported missing from an outside shed at West Florida High.
Authorities said bolt cutters were used to gain entry. The Escambia County School District has surveillance video of the suspects, but that video has not yet been made public by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
All three schools are adjacent on Longleaf Drive.
Anyone with information on the burglaries is asked to contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Video: Molino Park Elementary Reading Flash Mob
January 27, 2015
For the complete story, click here.
If you do not see the video above, it is because your home, work or school firewall is blocking YouTube videos.
Miracle League Registration Information
January 22, 2015
www.miracleleaguepensacola.org
Spring Registration 2015
Saturday, January 24th 9 am to 3 pm
Saturday, January 31st 11 am to 4 pm
Sunday, February 1st 10 am to 3 pm
MLP Park 9 Mile Road
Pensacola, Florida
(Across from Hillcrest Baptist Church)
Registration Fees: $40.00 4 to 11 years
$45.00 12 to 18 years
$50.00 19 and older
The Miracle League of Pensacola provides physically and mentally challenged individuals a safe and spirited program in which they can hit, run, and catch on a baseball field. MLP offers a unique and memorable opportunity for these exceptional people to experience baseball.
Volunteers Welcome!
James Daryl Cook
January 22, 2015
James Daryl Cook of Molino, age 69, went to be with the Lord on January 20, 2015. James grew up in Georgianna, Alabama. He was known as an avid hunter and fisherman. He also enjoyed playing the guitar and had a passion for old cars. Most importantly he enjoyed spending time with his family and taking care of his beloved wife. James was looking forward to meeting his new grandson and great-granddaughter.
He is survived by his cherished wife, Jinnie “Marguritte”; son, Daryl (Marsha); daughter, Joanie (Jim) Poston, and son Wade (Krysten); his grandchildren, River, Hunter, Brook, Eric, Aaron, and Nathan; and his sister, Frances (Billy) Davis.
James was preceded in death by his parents, Rufus Merrel Cook and Janie Bell Cook; brothers, Donald Ray Cook and Rufus Tommy Cook; and sister, Margaret Jean Cook.
Pallbearers will be John Edmonson, Bill Motley, Josh Johnson, Matt Milstead, Joseph Dutcher, and Dray Daughenbaugt.
Honorary pallbearers are Rodney Busby, Willie Stephens, and George Pate.
Funeral services will be held Friday, January 23, 2015, at Faith Chapel North at 11 a.m. with Bro. Rusty Knowles officiating. All are welcome to gather one hour prior to the service.
Burial will follow the service at Little Flock Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Molino.
Arrangements entrusted to Faith Chapel North.
Northwest Escambia Registration Information
January 20, 2015
Registration information, as provided by Northwest Escambia’s Bradberry Park:
REGISTRATION DATES:
(this will be @ NWE in the field house)
Saturday, January 31 from 9am-1pm
Friday, February 6 from 5:30pm-8pm
Saturday, February 7 from 9am-1pm
COST:
7 Years old and older (baseball and softball)
1st Child – $100
2nd Child – $85
3rd Child – $75
(This includes Registration fee, Jersey and Hat, and Concession)
TeeBall (Ages 4-6)
1st Child – $95
2nd Child – $80
3rd Child – $70
(This includes Registration fee, Jersey and Hat, and Concession)
WeeBall (3 1/2-4)
$45.00 per child
(This includes Registration fee, t-shirt, and hat)
Please bring a copy of your child’s birth certificate to registration.
If you are interested in Managing or coaching a team please contact Thomas Long at 850-529-7502 as soon as possible!
We are always in need of volunteers. If you would like to volunteer please sign up during registration. We also offer volunteer hours to responsible high school students. If you need volunteer hours, contact Ashley Long (850-982-0683).
Governor Rick Scott’s Inaugural Address As Prepared For Delivery
January 6, 2015
For a news story about the inauguration, click here.
First and foremost, thank you to the people of Florida. Without your confidence and support, we would not be here today. I certainly would never have made it here, or made it through any of the exciting adventures in my life without the love and support of my beautiful wife, Ann. Who would have thought when we got married 42 years ago we would be here today? You are the best, I love you.
I have been very blessed in my life; and our daughters, Allison and Jordan, are no doubt the sweetest blessings of all. Allison, Jordan – I love you and I am very proud of you and the incredible mothers you are. I also want to thank my son-in-laws, Pierre and Jeremy, for being here today and for giving Ann and me the gift of three wonderful grandsons – Auguste, Quinton and Sebastian. Being a grandpa is probably the only job in the world better than being your Governor.
Thanks to Governor Rick Perry for being here today and Governor Chris Christie. I would also like to recognize Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Attorney General Pam Bondi, CFO Jeff Atwater, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, Senate President Andy Gardiner, Speaker of the House Steve Crisafulli, and members of the Florida Senate and the Florida House; our honorable law enforcement, military members and our Supreme Court justices. Looking out at the audience, there are many of you I would like thank for your support and counsel.
Let me start today by reiterating something I said on election night – the campaign is over. Of course you all know that already. But my point is this – it was a hard fought campaign, but now we must all turn our focus toward governing, and toward serving the people of Florida. And that means all the people. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, all of Florida’s nearly 20 million citizens.
Sure, there will be differences of opinion. There will be robust debates on the best direction for Florida. That’s not a weakness in our system. That is our strength. But there are many things that we can come together on, and we should not let partisan politics, or any politics for that matter, get in our way. Today, we embark on an incredible mission together, for the benefit of Florida families.
700,000 JOBS
Four years ago, I stood here and we set our sights on the ambitious goal of helping Florida create 700,000 jobs in seven years. Today, it is just four years later and I am proud to say that Florida businesses have in fact created more than 700,000 jobs! That is incredible! When we set this goal in 2010, Florida’s economy was losing jobs, housing prices were dropping and many predicted it would take far more than seven years to pull out of the downward spiral of job loss and increased debt.
But, we proved them wrong, and when I say that “we” proved them wrong, I mean the hard working people of Florida proved them wrong. Over the last four years – Florida’s businesses and the hardworking people of our state have created more than 700,000 new jobs! This may simply be a number to many– but every job, every one of the 700,000 jobs we are talking about, represents a family. Families like those of Danny Reyna, Paul Bumiller and Sunday Delgado – who you heard from today. One new job doesn’t just help one person. Every job transforms a family.
A lot of people ask me why I ran for Governor. My friends from business don’t understand. They don’t know why I am not in retirement…off fishing somewhere. But, I ran for Governor to change lives by giving people better opportunities. I can tell you from watching my parents struggle for work that if you want to change a life –get someone a job!
If I can make Florida the worldwide location where families who have struggled to make ends meet can get a job, then I have fulfilled my goal as Governor because a job is the number one way to change a life. A job helps families put food on the table, pay the rent and buy a car. A job gives families hope for the future. The importance of continual job creation is something that we can all agree on. Jobs and opportunities are good for all of us.
You have heard me constantly talk about jobs since I ran in 2010. I want to promise you I will never stop. I will be working to make Florida number one in job opportunities and growth right up to the last day I serve as your Governor. Jobs for Florida families have been my focus every single day for the last four years… and jobs will continue to be my mission for the next four years.
TOP DESTINATION FOR JOBS
While we are focused on growing jobs in Florida- we must realize that positions our state as a fighter in a great movement against the silent growth of government. Many States, like Florida, are fighting to limit the growth of government and grow opportunity instead. If you don’t believe Florida is right in the middle of this national battle – I want to share some facts with you…
Over the last 20 years, millions of people have escaped from states with climbing tax rates to move to states with lower taxes. Why does this matter? For starters, estimates say individuals who escaped these high tax states have taken with them around $2 trillion in adjusted gross income. They are voting with their feet…
They are leaving states like New York, which lost $71 billion in adjusted gross income from 1992 to 2011. And, they are leaving Illinois, which lost $31 billion in adjusted gross income over that same period. The people that left New York and Illinois had one thing in common – their number one destination was Florida. Florida has inherited over $26 billion in adjusted gross income from New York and Illinois during that time. In total, Florida has inherited over $100 billion in adjusted gross income. To put that in perspective, that is more than 1/8th of our entire GDP last year. And, we’ve inherited 1.7 million residents during that time.
We are first for families deciding where they can live the American Dream.
When people move here, they spend their money here, they bring their businesses here, they support our charities and they create more jobs and opportunities for others in our great state. In fact, this national battle against growing government so intensely affects Florida that we just recently surpassed New York as the third largest state in the nation.
In Florida we are proving that government can do better without getting bigger. We have two choices: we can pretend this migration would have happened regardless of our tax burden or what government policies we enact, or we can acknowledge Florida’s very serious advantage over other states in not just this last decade – but the next decade to come.
If there is one thing I hope you remember from this message today, I hope it is this: Florida must stay committed to smaller government and lowering taxes to become the top destination in the world for jobs! I know there is a great temptation in government to think that you can spend people’s money better than they can. But, if that were true, more than one million people would not have left New York and Illinois over the past 20 years for Florida and other lower tax states.
In the next four years, we will build on our legacy of cutting taxes more than 40 times. We will cut another $1 billion in taxes in the next two years and continue to roll back the business tax while permanently eliminating the tax on manufacturing equipment. As Florida businesses are better able to compete globally, we will have more and more jobs.
Why will we do this? For one reason and one reason only: to provide more and better opportunities for every single person in Florida, especially for families who are struggling to make ends meet.
I have a message today to the people of New York, Illinois, California, Pennsylvania and others: move to Florida! We want you to keep more of the money you make because we understand it’s your money. We want your businesses to grow and succeed. We want to compete globally and win. Over the next four years, I will be traveling to your states personally to recruit you here. In Florida, we are in the business of growing opportunity for families, not growing government.
KEEP FLORIDA WORKING
In addition to cutting taxes, we have an ambitious agenda to KEEP FLORIDA WORKING and become the global leader for job creation by the year 2020. We know the workers of tomorrow are in our classrooms today – and that is why this year we will increase per-pupil K-12 education funding to the highest level in Florida history. And as we do that, we will be ever mindful of the fact that more money alone does not guarantee success in education. Florida has led the nation in education reforms, providing equal opportunity in education for all, and we will continue to do that. We will also compete globally for jobs by investing in workforce training programs that focus on science, technology, engineering and math.
Keeping our costs low doesn’t end with tax cuts – it also includes lowering the cost of higher education opportunities as well. That is why we have already worked with the Legislature to stop tuition increases in our undergraduate programs. And, to make higher education even more affordable in the next four years, we will increase the number of $10,000 bachelor degrees offered at our state colleges; while also holding the line on graduate school tuition.
Today, Texas is our number one competitor for jobs – but we will unseat Texas within the next four years for this top spot and we will compete globally for business investment. To become the GLOBAL leader in job creation, it’s critical that we invest $1 billion in our ports over our time in office. We must also make it a priority to invest $25 billion in our roadways over the next five years to further our economic growth.
Investments in our infrastructure must be partnered with environmental improvements to ensure we keep Florida beautiful. Over the next 10 years, we will work to invest $1 billion to restore our springs and help develop water supplies. I realize that all candidates for public office talk about how important the environment is to the health of our people and our state. But talk is cheap. We have to make the investments necessary to turn talk into reality. We have made great environmental strides and we will continue to do so.
I began this speech with a confession that our goal of creating 700,000 jobs in 7 years was ambitious. In closing, I will admit to you that our new goal of unseating Texas and becoming the global leader in job creation is equally ambitious.
But, if we accomplish our priorities – invest in education, cut taxes, lower the cost of higher education and improve workforce development – we will continue to be the #1 destination for people looking to escape big government all across the country…and the world.
The number one threat to our success is complacency. Don’t let anyone tell you government policies don’t matter. Don’t let anyone convince you that jobs just create themselves. Florida gets stronger each year because we are fighting against a bloated federal government and their increased regulations and higher taxes. Florida is getting stronger each year because we are dreaming of more opportunities for our families – not more roles for government red tape.
Florida: we cannot give up this fight. We cannot let go of this dream. We have more work to do. But, I know we can do it together.
Let’s commit today that we will keep cutting taxes so we can create more growth and opportunity.
Let’s commit today to keep higher education affordable.
Let’s commit today to invest in our growing infrastructure.
And let’s commit today to work together to keep Florida working.
Thank you. God bless America and God bless Florida.
Elma Malese Johnson
December 26, 2014
Mrs. Elma Malese Johnson, age 94 of Flomaton, passed away on Thursday, December 25, 2014, at her home.
She was a native and lifetime resident of the Flomaton area where she was a homemaker and a member of Bethel Baptist Church. Mrs. Johnson was preceded in death by her husband, Woodrow W. Johnson; daughter, Pearl McCurdy; son, Jerry Johnson; and daughter-in-law, Gloria Johnson.
She is survived by her children, Wilson (Mavis) Johnson of Flomaton, Bettie (Clayton) Armstrong of Pace, Jeanette Johnson of Flomaton, Katherine (Bob) Reid of Byrneville, Charles (Faye) Johnson of Flomaton, Ronald (Brenda) Johnson of Flomaton and Donald (Linda) Johnson of Flomaton.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, December 28, 2014, at Flomaton Funeral Home Chapel from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, December 29, 2014, at Flomaton Funeral Home Chapel at 2 p.m. with Bro. Michael Johnson and Bro. Phil Armstrong officiating.
Interment will follow in Flomaton Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Keith Reid, Heath Johnson, Cory Johnson, Bart Johnson, Travis Johnson, Steven Johnson, DeWayne McCurdy, Steve Turner.
Flomaton Funeral Home Directing.