Atmore Moves Toward City School System; Supporters Want To End Racial Divide, Failing Schools
March 12, 2019
The Atmore City Council took the first official step Monday toward the possible formation of a city school system as supporters push for an end to a racial divide and failing schools.
The council voted unanimously to begin the process to find a consultant to study the feasibility of operating a city system, with a particular look at if it would be affordable.
“We have smart kids right here in Atmore,” Loumeek White, president of Atmore Citizens for Change, said. The group has spearheaded the drive to split Atmore’s schools away from the Escambia County (AL) Board of Education.
White said many of the “smart kids” no longer attend school in Atmore. Instead, they travel to Northview High School in Escambia County, FL, or to Escambia Academy, or schools in Flomaton (also part of the Escambia, AL, system), he said, adding it has created an obvious racial divide.
“The white kids are going to Flomaton and Northview,” he told the Atmore council and a crowd of about 75 that attended Monday’s meeting. “You’ve got to see the separation.”
According to the Alabama Department of Education, 322 of the 368 students at Escambia County High School in Atmore are black or African American.
“Our high school is on the failing list with Alabama schools, not for the first time. And our problem is we continue to fail. Why? Because we send $6 million to Brewton…Only when our leaders are faced with the possibility of losing that ($6) million are they ready to talk to us and give us crumbs,” council member Susan Smith (pictured left) said.
“The superintendent said I’m not giving Atmore anything because the schools here and the equipment belongs to the county. And yet you pay taxes,” Smith told the audience.
Atmore’s city attorney, Larry Wettermark, will bring a proposal for a feasibility consulting company back to the council, most likely at their next meeting on March 25.
As the council adjourned, city officials, council members and audience members held hands and prayed for the future of Atmore’s children.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured above: Atmore Citizens for Change President Loumeek White (left) and Atmore Mayor Jim Staff discuss a city school system during an Atmore City Council meeting Monday afternoon. Pictured below: Council member Susan Smith explains her support for a city school system. Pictured bottom: City officials, council members and audience members held hands and prayed after the meeting. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Florida Fracking Ban Advances Amid Concerns; Broxson Says Ban Could Impact The Industry
March 12, 2019
A move to ban “fracking” in Florida advanced Monday in the Senate with some oil-drilling protections for the Everglades, but not more comprehensive language sought by environmentalists.
The Senate Agriculture Committee voted 3-2 along party lines to approve a measure (SPB 7064) by Chairman Ben Albritton that would meet Gov. Ron DeSantis’ call to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which involves injecting large volumes of fluids into rock formations at a “high rate” of pressure to help release natural gas and oil.
Sen. Doug Broxson, a Gulf Breeze Republican who voted for the proposal, expressed concern that the ban could impact the industry. Broxson noted that while the fracking technique has not been employed in the state, Florida has long had oil drilling in parts of the Panhandle and Southwest Florida.
“Florida has very limited resources as far as what is in the ground,” Broxson said. “What we’ve done is safe and responsible. And let’s don’t do anything to interrupt what we’ve done right for the last 60 years.”
While adamantly opposed to fracking, environmentalists have opposed Albritton’s bill because it doesn’t address a technique called “matrix acidizing.”
The acidizing technique utilizes many of the same chemicals as used in hydraulic fracking, but it dissolves rocks with acid instead of fracturing them with pressurized liquid.
Sen. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, said by not prohibiting the acidizing technique, as well as hydraulic fracturing, the proposal continues to be a “risky proposition” for the state’s fragile ecosystem.
“I don’t understand why we are taking chances, Oklahoma has, as we heard last week, has fracking going on and for the first time in their history they’ve got 2,000 earthquakes between the years 2015 and 2017,” Rader said. “I know there is a little bit of debate that it is due to fracking or not, but the majority of the debate believes that it is.”
Before voting, the committee made a change proposed by Albritton, R-Wauchula, that would impose additional state Department of Environmental Protection reviews on oil exploration within the Everglades Protection Area, along with increasing permitting costs and penalties.
Albritton’s amendment came after the 1st District Court of Appeal last month ruled that a Broward County landowner should receive a permit for exploratory drilling on about five acres of land in the Everglades. DeSantis’ administration, Broward County and the city of Miramar are asking for a rehearing in the appeals court.
Albritton said his proposal wouldn’t prohibit the drilling permits.
“At the end of the day, the courts have ruled that they can drill there, it really doesn’t leave us with very many options,” Albritton said. “My goal with this amendment was to provide for additional cost and safety measures, if they so choose to expand the drilling in that area.”
Proposals to ban fracking have repeatedly emerged in recent years but have not passed. Groups such as the Florida Petroleum Council have opposed the proposals, contending that fracking is safe, can boost production and help hold down energy costs for consumers.
But Albritton’s proposed ban gained traction this year after DeSantis in January released a list of environmental proposals that included opposition to hydraulic fracturing.
Opponents of Albritton’s proposal, many of whom contend they will remain opposed to the current bill if it doesn’t address “all forms of fracking,” argue fracking threatens Florida’s already-stressed water supplies, can impact agricultural production and can cause environmental damage.
David Cullen, a lobbyist for Sierra Club Florida, said even the Everglades amendment includes loopholes, noting a prohibition on access corridors and drilling pads through sensitive areas would continue to allow such uses when “reasonable and prudent alternatives are not available.”
“In other words, we get to do whatever we want to do in the Everglades, one way or another,” Cullen said of oil companies.
Albritton’s proposal is similar to a House bill (HB 7029) that has started moving forward. Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, has proposed a bill (SB 314) that would ban hydraulic fracturing and matrix acidizing.”
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Driver Hits Utility Pole On Alabama-Florida State Line
March 12, 2019
A driver escaped injury Monday afternoon when he struck a utility pole and a tree on the Alabama-Florida state line.
The man failed to negotiate a 90-degree curve on Old Bratt Road just outside Atmore shortly before 4 p.m. The road runs along the state line, but the pole struck by his pickup truck is in Alabama.
Alabama State Troopers are investigating.
The Atmore Fire Department also responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Unemployment Rate Jumps In Escambia, Santa Rosa
March 12, 2019
The latest job numbers released Monday show a jump in the employment rate in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Escambia County’s seasonably adjusted unemployment rate increased from 3.3 percent in December to 4 percent in January. There were 5,788 people reported unemployed during the period. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 4.4 percent.
Santa Rosa County’s unemployment rate jumped from 3.1 percent in December to 3.8 percent in January. Santa Rosa County had a total of 3,025 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 4.2 percent.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in January 2019, a 0.1 percentage point increase from the December 2018 rate, and down 0.5 percentage point from a year ago. There were 352,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 10,320,000. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.0 percent in January.
The jobless numbers released by the state do not include persons that have given up on finding a job and are no longer reported as unemployed.
Seven Now Charged After February Shakedown At The Escambia (AL) Jail
March 12, 2019
Seven people have now been charged in connection with a shakedown February 9 at the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center in Brewton.
According to Sheriff Heath Jackson, the following individuals were all charged with promoting prison contraband first degree in connection with cellphones:
Darrell Octavius Brown, 29, Atmore
Marcus Joseph Dooms, 33, Mobile
Willie James Henry, 40, Mobile
Tamichael Vantrell Hudson, 47, Mobile
Marcus Oneal Pritchett, 26, Selma
Christopher Ladale Pugh, 26, Brewton
Kevin Lee Watson, 44, Atmore
“This is still an ongoing case and more charges are expected,” Jackson said.
The Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office and Brewton Police conducted the search. Officers located four homemade knives, 13 cellphones, six phone chargers, a quantity of tobacco, a bag of spice, four cigarette lighters, six books with hidden compartments and one tattoo gun.
For a photo gallery from inside the shakedown, click here.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Annual Branden Penegar Car Show Set For Saturday In Gonzalez
March 12, 2019
The sixth annual Brandon Penegar Memorial Car Show will held this Saturday at the Gonzalez United Methodist Church on Pauline Street.
Any make, model or year car is welcomed for the show. Car registration will be from 8:00-11:00 a.m. on March 16. The fee is $15 to only display a car, $25 to enter the car in the show. Spectator admission is free. Click here for a printable flyer (pdf) with more information.
There will be live music, door prizes and concessions available.
For more information, call (850) 393-3035 or (850) 232-1044.
Branden Penegar, known as the “Gentle Giant” was a 2011 graduate of Tate High School, an assistant coach for the freshman Tate Aggies’ football program and varsity tennis team, and a member of the Tate High School Student Hall of Fame. He passed away in March 2013 at the age of 20. Penegar was a active member of the Gonzalez United Methodist Church and youth program.
Pictured: Last year’s Branden Penegar Car Show. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Magnitude 3.1 Earthquake Reported Monday Near Flomaton; Second Quake In A Week
March 11, 2019
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was reported just outside Flomaton Monday afternoon.
According to United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred three miles north-northeast of Flomaton near Old Fannie Road and Welka Road at 1:36 p.m. The epicenter was about three miles deep.
NorthEscambia.com received reports from individuals that felt the shake from around Flomaton, Pollard, Century and Jay.
A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was reported last Wednesday night between Century and Jay, but it was centered near the surface.
There was no damage reported in either earthquake.
NorthEscambia.com graphic.
Power Pole Snapped By Truck In Molino Crash
March 11, 2019
A box truck brought down a utility pole and power lines this morning in Molino.
The driver of the truck was not injured when he struck the pole at the intersection of Highway 95A and Molino Road.
The intersection was closed in all directions following the 8:45 a.m. crash due to downed power lines. It remained closed as Gulf Power worked to make repairs.
The truck was reportedly hauling U.S. Mail to the Molino Post Office.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour and others, click to enlarge.
One Injured In Quintette Crash
March 11, 2019
One person was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries following a crash Monday morning at East Quintette Road and North Highway 95A. The Florida Highway Patrol investigated the crash. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Judge Signs With Charter Schools In Safety Fight
March 11, 2019
In a decision that could have statewide implications, an administrative law judge Tuesday ruled that the Palm Beach County School Board is required to assign safety officers to charter schools under a law passed last year.
Judge John Van Laningham sided with Renaissance Charter School Inc., which operates six schools in Palm Beach County and wanted the School Board to provide “safe school” officers. The School Board refused, leading to the legal battle.
Van Laningham, in a 43-page order, pointed to a law passed after the February 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that included a requirement for safe-school officers.
“In sum, after a thorough study of the statute’s plain language, including a review of related statutes at the board’s request to determine whether some latent ambiguity exists, the undersigned concludes that (the law) clearly and unambiguously requires school boards and superintendents — not charter school operators — to ‘establish or assign’ SSOs (safe-school officers), with the assistance of local law enforcement agencies, to every public school within their respective jurisdictions, including charter schools,” Van Laningham wrote.
The judge indicated the ruling was the first of its kind, describing the dispute as a “first-impression question of statewide interest,” as schools and districts try to comply with the post-Parkland requirements.
Charter schools are public schools that often are operated by private entities. The dispute about safe-school officers comes amid broader clashes across the state about the interplay between school boards and charter schools.
The 2018 law required placing safe-school officers at all public schools. That can include using law-enforcement officers or “guardians,” who are trained school personnel allowed to carry guns. Palm Beach County does not use guardians, according to Van Laningham’s ruling.
Renaissance requested in March 2018 that the School Board provide a full-time safety officer at each of Renaissance’s charter schools, but the board denied the request. The board also later declined a request to mediate the issue, which ultimately led to the dispute going before Van Laningham, the ruling said.
“There is no dispute in this case that, under the safety act, one or more SSOs must be assigned to each charter school facility in the district, including RCS’s (Renaissance’s) six schools,” the judge wrote. “The question is, whose duty is it to assign SSOs to charter schools? The board’s answer, clearly expressed in word and deed, is this: It’s not our job; rather, the obligation falls to each charter school to arrange police protection for its own campus, as though each charter school were a school district unto itself.”
Van Laningham said he was not deciding issues such as who is required to pay for the officers.
“While disputes concerning this financial obligation might someday be ripe for adjudication, the narrower question of law … is, simply, who must satisfy the duty to ‘establish or assign’ SSOs at charter schools,” he wrote. “The plain and obvious answer to this pivotal question is: the district school board and district superintendent.”
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida