Complete Election Results For Escambia County
November 4, 2020
These are complete, but unofficial election results from Escambia County with 80 of 80 precincts reporting.
Florida Voters Approve Minimum Wage Increase To $15 By 2026
November 4, 2020
Florida voters have approved raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026.
Amendment 2 received about 61% of the vote, greater than the 60% needed to pass.
The current minimum wage of $8.46 a hour will increase to $10 an hour on September 30, 2021. It will then increase by a dollar per year until reaching $15 an hour in 2026.
About 56% of Escambia County voters for for Amendment 2, while 44% were against.
Voters Approve New Escambia Children’s Children’s Trust And Small Property Tax Increase To Fund It
November 4, 2020
Escambia County voters approved a new Children’s Services Council (CSC).
Complete, but unofficial, totals show 97,625 Escambia County residents (60.90%) voted in favor of creating the Escambia Children’s Trust, while 62,689 (39.10%) voted against
The Escambia Children’s Trust is the proposed name for the CSC in Escambia County. The sole purpose of a CSC is to invest in the well-being of children by maximizing resources and ensuring accountability.
The trust will not deliver service. Instead, it will fund community providers who can demonstrate measurable desired outcomes through a competitive review and accountability process.
The Escambia Children’s Trust will receive a new 0.5 mill county property tax that will cost the average Escambia County homeowner $40 per year. Other property owners will pay an average of $67 per year. The additional half mill will not be collected until 2022.
Of the funds collected, 90% of funds will go into direct programing, 4% will be paid to the Escambia County Tax Collector for collecting the funds, and 6% will be used by the trust for administrative costs.
The trust will have an initial 10 year life before it must go back to the voters.
A 10-member board will govern the Escambia Children’s Trust. Five members will be appointed by the governor. The other five members will be the superintendent of schools, one school board member, the district administrator for the Department of Children and Families; one member of the Escambia County Commission and a a judge assigned to juvenile cases.
The board will be required to submit quarterly and annual reports to the Escambia County Commission.
According to supporters, the Escambia Children’s Trust was needed in Escambia County because:
- The substantial needs in Escambia County, especially now with the negative impacts of COVID-19, dwarf the resources of the service providers working in early childhood education, detection, prevention, and wellness.
- We are 4th in the State in reported child abuse cases and 3rd in the arrest of Black males under 18.
- Escambia County is 47th out of 67 counties in child well-being, an index of 16 areas that look at children’s overall quality of life. Santa Rosa County ranks 8th.
- The Trust would provide additional success-based investments in programs to meet the critical needs of all of our children with evidenced based proven expanded and new programs.
- The Trust would also have trained, experienced staff to help coach existing service providers and their staff in creating systems and processes to set programmatic success metrics and capture the data required to measure and report successes.
- The Trust will have a significant advantage in that it will have a sustainable, recurring revenue stream with a ten (10) year life that is controlled locally.
- Its funding comes directly to the Trust and is not dependent upon fluctuating annual governmental appropriations or the strength of the economy, which is particularly important in unstable times like these when contributions to service providers can drop while demand for services increase.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Leonard White Elected To Seat On Century Town Council
November 4, 2020
Political newcomer Leonard White has been elected to a seat on the Century Town Council.
White, with 58.37% of the vote, defeated Shelisa D. McCall (41.63%) for the seat formerly held by Ben Boutwell who ran successfully for mayor.
Dynette Lewis Defeats Century Council President Ann Brooks
November 4, 2020
Dynette Lewis has defeated incumbent Century Town Council President Ann Brooks.
Lewis received about 58% of the vote to 42% for Brooks.
Brooks, the current council president, was first elected in 2007. Lewis has 28 years experience in the financial services industry.
In the primary election, Brooks garnered the most votes in the race against two challengers, but Century’s charter requires a candidate to receive one more than 50 percent of the vote in order to be declared the winner. In the primary, Brooks received 148 votes (44.85%), followed by Dynette Lewis with 122 (36.97%) and Calvin Kenneth Cottrell, Jr. with 60 (18.18%) of the vote for the non-partisan seat.
Complete Election Results For Santa Rosa County
November 4, 2020
Here are Santa Rosa County complete but unofficial election results from NorthEscambia.com.
Doug Broxson Reelected To Florida Senate District 1 Seat
November 4, 2020
Incumbent Doug Broxson will win reelection for the Florida Senate District 1 seat.
With most precincts reporting, Broxson had 65% of the vote to 35% for Democratic challenger Karen M. Butler.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Escambia Sheriff’s Deputy And Mechanic Honored For Hurricane Sally Flood Rescues In Bristol Park
November 3, 2020
Attorney General Ashley Moody has presented Back the Blue Awards to Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Captain Jeremy Small and mechanic Chris Leverett for their efforts in rescuing nearly 120 people from Hurricane Sally flooding in Bristol Park.
Small responded to an emergency call to assist a family that had fled to the roof of their home to avoid the rapidly rising flood waters, and Leverett assisted.
Small and Leverette responded in the Sheriff’s Office high water rescue vehicle. While traveling to the Bristol Park Subdivision, they encountered multiple hazards including partially downed power lines, trees across the roadway, and an occupied vehicle that was stuck in rising water. As they approached the bridge that spans over Eleven Mile Creek, the bridge was not visible due to rising water rapidly flowing over it.
At Bristol Park, Small and Leverette were met with downed trees and a rapidly flowing current that was four-foot-deep and flowing through residences within the neighborhood. Small and Leverette immediately began assisting families from their homes. During these rescues, Leverette lost his footing, and the current caused him to fall backwards, and pulled him under for a few tense seconds. Leverette was ultimately able to make it back to the truck.
Small and Leverette located a tow strap and a floating kayak, and used these items to assist with continued rescues within the subdivision.
During the course of their rescues, Small and Leverette encountered a family of five that were already in a boat. The family was contemplating using the boat to escape the rapidly rising waters. They assisted the family into the high-water rescue vehicle. The high-water rescue vehicle was full to capacity and they decided to take the flood victims to higher ground so that additional families could be rescued.
Their vehicle suddenly became inoperable. As time passed, the rapidly flowing water continued to rise, to the point that it was entering the cab of their vehicle. At that moment, there was a deep concern for the safety of the families they had just rescued. Fearing that the water may continue to rise, coupled with the fact that there were no other rescue personnel on scene, a decision was made to use the boat to get the flood victims to higher ground.
Small used a kayak as a makeshift bridge to get to the roof of an SUV, where he jumped to another vehicle, and ultimately waded through chest deep water to retrieve the boat. Small maneuvered the boat off the trailer and navigated his way to the high-water rescue vehicle. They began loading the flood victims onto the boat, while fighting fierce winds, heavy rain, and a racing current. All the flood victims were eventually removed from the high-water rescue vehicle and transported to higher ground. They continued using the boat to make multiple rescues within the subdivision throughout the morning.
“Thank you, Captain Jeremy Small and Chris Leverett, for your courageous efforts, risking your own lives to save the lives of others. Capt. Small is a shining example of what it means to be a Florida law enforcement officer, putting service over self to protect your community. Mr. Leverett also showed true courage in the face of danger volunteering to assist on this dangerous job and backed the blue by supporting law enforcement in this rescue mission,” Moody said.
“I am incredibly proud of Capt. Small, Mr. Leverett and the good Samaritan who offered his boat to carry nearly 120 people to safety as Hurricane Sally ravaged the panhandle. This story has many heroes and is a testament to the strength, resiliency and sense of community shared among the people of this great state. No matter what challenges we may face, I know Floridians can weather any storm when we come together,” the attorney general continued.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also awarded the Medal of Courage and Life Saving Award to Small, and the Civilian Service Medal to Leverett.
Sheriff David Morgan said, “The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is honored that Attorney General Moody would recognize the heroic actions of Captain Jeremy Small and Chris Leverett. Their actions responding in the midst of Hurricane Sally are only indicative of the courage of all the men and women at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.”
Blue Angels Local Flyover Wednesday To Be The Last Before Transition To Super Hornets
November 3, 2020
The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, will conduct a final flight on the F/A-18 A/B/C/D “Legacy” Hornets on Wednesday from 4-4:30 p.m. over parts of Escambia, Santa Rosa and Baldwin counties.
The final flight of the Legacy Hornets signifies the official transition of the Blue Angels to the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet platform.
The final flight will take-off and land at NAS Pensacola and will last about 30 minutes. Flyover locations (map below) include, but are not limited to:
- Ferry Pass
- Pensacola Beach
- Perdido Key
- Community Maritime Park
- Palafox Street in downtown Pensacola
- Navarre Beach
- Orange Beach
- Gulf Shores
- Fort Morgan
The Blue Angels will be visible from many locations throughout the Pensacola area and along this route.
“We are incredibly honored to have the opportunity to salute those teams who have flown, maintained and supported this platform for over three decades of service,” said Cmdr. Brian Kesselring, U.S. Navy Blue Angels commanding officer and flight leader. “We deeply appreciate the expertise and operational knowledge Blue Angels past and present have brought to the team and we look forward to enhancing our operations as we fully transition to flying the Super Hornet.”
The 2020 show season marked the end of the service life of the aircraft the team has flown for 34 years. The 2021 show season will be the Blue Angels’ first year flying the Super Hornet platform as well as the 75th anniversary of the team.
“Undoubtedly, 2020 presented the team with unprecedented challenges. That said, the unique nature of this year also allowed our team to deepen our interaction with past teams, in particular, those teams that transitioned to new aircraft during their tenure,” said Kesselring. “This engagement has helped us lay the foundation for a safe and effective transition for our team’s pilots, support, and maintenance personnel as well as postured us to take on the high operating tempo of the team’s highly anticipated 2021 air show season and 75th anniversary.”
The Blue Angels are scheduled to begin their winter training syllabus over NAS Pensacola beginning Nov. 16. The team will return to its winter training facilities in El Centro, CA in January. Training will continue through April in preparation for the 2021 show season
Since 1946, the Blue Angels have performed for more than 500 million fans.
NorthEscambia.com photo by Perry Doggrell, click to enlarge. Click map below for a larger version.
Ronald Peebles Sworn In As Atmore Fire Chief
November 3, 2020
Ronald Peebles was sworn in as chief of the Atmore Fire Department Monday afternoon.
Peebles, a resident of Bratt, had served as acting fire chief since July 2015.
He was promoted from captain to acting fire chief after the retirement of then chief Gerry McGhee. Peebles has served with the Atmore Fire Department for about 20 years.
Pictured: Ronald Peebles was sworn in as Atmore fire chief Monday afternoon. He had served as acting chief since 2015. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.