Safety Panel Backs Allowing Armed Teachers In Florida
December 14, 2018
A controversial law that allows trained “guardians” to bring guns to public schools didn’t go far enough — gun-savvy teachers also should be able to have weapons in the classroom.
That’s the near-unanimous view of a state panel created to make recommendations to beef up school security in the wake of one of the country’s deadliest mass school shootings on Valentine’s Day in Broward County.
“You’ve got to have somebody there who can swiftly and effectively neutralize the threat, and that means killing the killer. The only way you are going to do that is if you have a good guy with a gun who can take that action,” Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who chairs the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, said in an interview Thursday.
Max Schachter, whose 14-year-old son, Alex, was among the students slain at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and who serves on the panel, was the lone holdout in a 13-1 vote on the proposal Wednesday.
“I understand the sheriff’s point that we do need more good guys with a gun on campus,” Schachter said, adding, “nobody understands that wish … more than myself.”
But he said he doesn’t think teachers should carry guns.
“I think they have enough on their plate,” he said.
Debbi Hixon, a teacher agreed. Her husband, Chris, was the Parkland school’s athletics director and wrestling coach and was among the victims.
Teachers already have to prepare students for standardized tests and are responsible for their emotional and physical well-being, Hixon said.
“To add the burden of knowing that you’re responsible for taking out a shooter if they come into your room, even if a teacher thinks they are up to that task, I just think it is unfair to have that expectation for them,” she said Thursday.
Under the proposal, which would require legislative action, teachers who have concealed-weapons licenses — just like school “guardians” already authorized in the law — would be able to get extra training and bring guns to school.
The commission has spent months delving into the Feb. 14 catastrophe, in which 14 teenagers and three faculty members were killed and 17 others were injured.
Confessed killer Nikolas Cruz, a former student at the school, had a lengthy history of interactions with law enforcement and mental-health professionals.
The commission — which spent eight months delving into details about Cruz’s background, the response to the shooting by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and local police departments and crafting recommendations — met Wednesday and Thursday in Tallahassee to finalize a sweeping report that deals with everything from failings in law-enforcement communications systems to the need for bullet-proof windows in school buildings.
The report was highly critical of the manner in which state, local and federal officials dealt with, or neglected to deal with, Cruz. The recommendations include a number of items focused on better coordination between mental-health, education and law-enforcement agencies, something that was also required in a 2018 law passed in response to the shooting.
Also included in the law — quickly passed and signed by Gov. Rick Scott, weeks after the shootings — was the controversial guardian program, which drew pushback from educators, parents and others. Lawmakers eventually settled on a compromise requiring school districts and sheriffs to approve the program for it into go into effect in counties.
The commission’s approval this week of the recommendation to allow armed teachers on school campuses quickly drew criticism from gun-rights advocates.
Allowing teachers to have guns is “a bad idea,” the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence said in a news release.
“Instead of arming teachers, whose only job should be to teach our children, we call on the Legislature and Gov.-Elect (Ron) DeSantis to allocate proper and recurring funding for programs that include much-needed counseling and intervention services for young people along with de-escalation techniques and better environmental designs for Florida’s schools,” the group said.
But Gualtieri defended expanding the law.
“There are simply not enough cops to go around. So, if there are not enough cops to go around, then the best way to comply with that is to use the law to its maximum and allow the guardians to perform that function,” he told reporters during a break in Thursday’s meeting.
Under the law, school districts are permitted to hire guardians — people who have special training by county sheriffs but who are not full-time classroom teachers — to patrol school campuses. School boards must approve guardian programs by a majority vote, but sheriffs are not required to provide the training.
The law also requires each school in the state to have at least one school resource officer, which is usually a sheriff’s deputy, or a guardian.
About two dozen of the state’s 67 districts have opted for the guardian program as a cost-saving measure, because deputies are more expensive. Other sheriffs maintain they lack the manpower or funding to assign a resource officer to each school because the law enforcement training is more intensive than the training for guardians.
Decisions by some sheriffs to not implement the guardian program, even after county school officials said they wanted it, frustrated several members of the commission, which was finalizing a 407-page draft report in advance of a Jan. 1 deadline for recommendations to be complete.
Some sheriffs are refusing to train the guardians because their insurance providers have warned about potential liability, according to commission member Grady Judd, sheriff of Polk County.
“What we have right now is the St. Bernard-tail wagging the chihuahua dog,” Judd said. “I’m dadgum passionate about this. … I’m recommending that we change ‘may’ to ‘shall,’ at the request of the majority of the school board.”
The commission unanimously approved the recommendation, which was supported by Schachter and Ryan Petty, whose 14-year-old daughter, Alaina, was one of the slain Parkland students.
“I don’t think anyone should have, including the sheriffs of this state, should have any wiggle room to get around the legislative intent of (SB) 7026,” Petty said, referring to the legislation that passed earlier this year. “Sheriffs shall establish a guardian program.”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
ECSO: Cantonment Man Caught With Dozens Of Driver’s Licenses
December 13, 2018
A Cantonment was jailed after he was allegedly found with dozens of driver’s licenses in his possession.
Brett Henry Barlow, 27, was charged with five counts of possession of a fictitious Florida driver’s license, possession of drug paraphernalia and giving a false name to a law enforcement officer.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a prowler complaint on Unity Court near Lincoln Park where Barlow was allegedly sitting on someone’s back porch. When deputies approached Barlow and asked for identification, he reached down and grabbed one of several identification cards that were at his feet. The photo on the card not appear to be Barlow, according to arrest report, and he verbally provided a false name and date of birth.
Inside Barlow’s satchel, deputies reported finding 36 driver’s licenses from 19 different states and five Florida driver’s licenses. The Florida licenses were not valid, and the the identifications from the others states were “noted to a have numerous suspicious errors,” the arrest report states.
Deputies were able to contact the person listed on a military identification card, two bank cards and a matching New Mexico driver’s license also found in the satchel. The victim told deputies she had left her wallet in a public bathroom at a motel on Barrancas Avenue.
Barlow also had two syringes in his possession, one of which was filled with a brownish liquid that tested negative for heroin, according to the Sheriff’s Office. It is being forwarded to a laboratory for further testing.
Once Barlow provided his correct name to deputies, they determined he had an outstanding warrant from Escambia County for failure to appear on a petit theft charged and Georgia warrant for a probation violation.
Barlow remained in the Escambia County Jail Thursday morning.
Deputy Cleared In Shooting Of Jay Man; The Man Shot Is Now Jailed
December 13, 2018
A deputy has been cleared in the shooting of a Jay man, and the man that was shot has now been arrested.
The State Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday they have completed their review into the October 20 shooting by a Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office deputy at a home on Highway 4 in Jay.
Glen Dillon Phillips, 26, was shot after he pointed a crossbow at deputies. He has now been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
The incident began when the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Officer received a call from a man that said Phillips was threatening to kill him with the crossbow. Phillips refused to exit the Highway 4 residence for over an hour after deputies arrived.
Officers eventually made entry into the residence where they found Phillips naked and armed with a crossbow, according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report. He then pointed the crossbow at the deputies, with a deputy firing a single shot that struck Phillips under the right armpit.
Three days later, Phillips told investigators that he was naked on the floor, praying to his “Earth and native God”. He advised that he pointed the crossbow at deputies, but once they identified themselves as law enforcement he threw the crossbow onto a couch before he was shot.
He said “that he believed that people or aliens may be coming to take a meteorite he had previously located because he believed it was worth a lot of money,” the FDLE report states.
He told officers that he had not used narcotics prior to the incident. However, his hospital records indicate that he tested positive for amphetamines, cannabinoids, and benzodiazepines. During subsequent television interview with WEAR 3, Phillips said he had been using methamphetamine prior to the incident.
One Injured In Highway 29 Wreck
December 13, 2018
One person was injured in a two vehicle accident Wednesday evening on Highway 29 at Archer Road. The driver of a car apparently rear-ended a pickup truck and trailer. The trailer was loaded with a tractor. The 5:50 p.m. crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Tate Alumni Association Collects Food For Molino Ministry
December 13, 2018
The Tate High Alumni Association collected food items at their Wednesday meeting for the mission program at the Cross Roads Thrift Store in Molino. The food was delivered by Grace Howard Paulcheck (pictured). Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Prison Visitor Caught With Marijuana
December 13, 2018
The Florida Department of Corrections continues their zero tolerance policy for any type of contraband.
Sunday, the Century Correctional Institutions K-9 team alerted on a visitor’s vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, the visitor admitted to possessing marijuana. Their visitation was terminated
Whenever contraband is recovered on a visitor, local law enforcement is also contacted and makes the determination whether to make an arrest. No information was provided by the FDOC on any arrest in connection with Sunday’s incident.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Photo Gallery: Santa Claus Visits Molino Branch Library
December 13, 2018
Santa Claus visited the Molino Branch Library Tuesday night, and he will be visiting the Century Branch Library today at 5:30 p.m where he will read a story and hear Christmas wishes.
For more photos from Santa’s visit to the Molino Branch Library, click here.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Hurricane Michael Could Put Dent In Florida Budget
December 13, 2018
Florida’s budget will face increased pressure from the impact of Hurricane Michael, a new report reviewed Wednesday by the Senate Appropriations Committee showed.
The state’s costs for emergency-relief and recovery efforts related to Michael, a major storm that struck the Panhandle in October, will exceed the costs for Hurricane Irma, a 2017 storm that damaged a larger portion of the state, the report said.
The hurricane impact and factors showing slower economic growth are enough for state analysts to now project that a potential $223 million budget surplus for 2019-2020 — outlined in a September report — “has likely disappeared.”
“The projected discretionary balance identified in September has gone to zero (in the best case scenario) or is negative by as much as $250 million (in the more realistic scenario), as a result of Hurricane Michael and the (revenue-estimating) conferences held to date,” according to the revised long-range financial outlook.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said the new report means lawmakers will have to be “even more diligent in making sure that we are very, very conservative” in their approach to the new state budget and revenue projections. Lawmakers will work on a 2019-2020 budget during the annual session that starts in March.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” Bradley said after Wednesday’s meeting. “Hurricane Michael was devastating for the people of the Panhandle and the people of the state of Florida. But it also adds real enduring effects on our budget this year and in future years. And we need to be mindful of that as we build our budget.”
The financial impact of Michael has been amplified because it struck a largely rural portion of the state that was already “economically challenged” prior to the storm, with lower wages and higher poverty than many areas in Florida, the report said.
“Their capacity to recover from Michael is probably less than counties that were most affected by Irma,” Amy Baker, coordinator for the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research, told the Senate committee.
She also said a larger portion of homes in the region did not have mortgages — 14.8 percent have mortgages, compared to a statewide average of 23 percent — meaning homeowners were more likely to lack property insurance to help them rebuild after the storm.
The absence of insurance is one of the reasons why state analysts are not projecting a short-term boost in sales tax revenue from Michael as residents rebuild and make major purchases, such as for appliances.
“We are not anticipating there will be a discrete positive adjustment to the sales tax,” Baker told the senators.
In contrast, after Irma, Baker said analysts projected a $354 million boost in the short-term sales tax collections.
Eventually, some of the state’s storm recovery costs will be reimbursed by the federal government. But Baker said that based on the experience with Irma, it will take time.
The report showed the state spent some $776 million in general revenue and trust fund money for Irma that may be reimbursed.
But through August, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had only provided $69.6 million to the state, with another $47.6 million in September to pay for students displaced by Irma and other storms.
“We’re waiting on a lot of money to come back, but it’s not yet in the state’s coffers. I point that out to say it’s a long time from when the state makes its initial investment to when it gets reimbursed,” Baker said.
Other factors that could impact state revenues in the next three years are a residential construction industry that has not reached its pre-recession peak and the impact of a stronger U.S. dollar on international tourism, the report said.
Baker said a stronger dollar could make Florida less attractive to foreign visitors, which could impact tourism expenditures that account for about 13 percent of Florida’s annual sales tax collections.
On the positive side, the state budget includes $3.5 billion in reserves that could help mitigate some immediate financial challenges, the report said.
The revenue forecast will be further impacted as state analysts finish projections for school enrollment and expenditures related to Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for poor and disabled people, Baker said.
Next Tuesday, state analysts will meet to make another projection of the state’s general revenue funds, which amount to more than $32 billion in the current state budget The overall budget is just under $90 billion.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Jay Woman Passes Away Following Molino Wreck
December 12, 2018
A Jay woman has passed away following a wreck Tuesday evening on Highway 29 at Highway 97 in Molino.
Benny Ray Wolfe, age 76 of Jay, was northbound on Highway 29 in a Chrysler van about 5:50 p.m. when he made a left toward Highway 97. Wolfe did not see an approaching southbound Chevrolet pickup driven by 58-year old David Lamar Wade of Pensacola, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Wolfe pulled directly into the path of the pickup, causing the pickup to collide with the van. The pickup came to rest in a culvert.
Wolfe’s passenger, 71-year old Johnnie Riene Wolfe of Jay, was airlifted by LifeFlight to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola where she was later pronounced deceased. Benny Wolfe was transported by Escambia County EMS with minor injuries, and Wade received minor injuries but was not transported to the hospital.
Benny Wolfe was cited for failure to yield right of way by the FHP.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
What Can Be Done About Trains Blocking Roads In Cantonment?
December 12, 2018
What can be done about trains blocking Highway 29 and other roads in Cantonment?
That’s an issue the Escambia County Commission will tackle during a Committee of the Whole meeting on Thursday.
The big issue lies with the fact stopped trains will block Highway 29 or neighborhoods for extended periods of time.
Express your ideas in the comment section below, or on our NorthEscambia.com Facebook page. We’ll pass your comments along to Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry.
Pictured: A CSX train on the Highway 29 crossing at International Paper. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.