Tate Aggie Freshmen Beat Navarre
March 12, 2019
The Tate Aggies and Navarre played to a 5-5 tie Monday night in Navarre.
Warren Henke, Saxon Hill and Dagan Guy each had two hits for the Aggies. Paul Whitson, Kirk Mosley, Wiley Griffin and Tucker Griffin had one hit. Tucker Griffin, Saxon Hill, Kirk Mosley, Wiley Griffin each had a double.
A Mild Day Without Rain
March 12, 2019
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 75. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph after midnight.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. South wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Thursday Night: Showers and thunderstorms. Low around 58. South wind around 10 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. North wind around 10 mph.
Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. North wind around 10 mph.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 59. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 40.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 64.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 44.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 69.
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.
