Tate High School Souper Bowl And Student Gallery Night On Thursday
December 5, 2018
Tate High School will host its fourth annual Souper Bowl and Student Gallery Night on Thursday from 5-7 p.m.
Handmade ceramic bowls will be for sale for $10. The bowls will include a bowl of soup or chili and the fixings, plus a drink.
There will also be ceramic items for sale with the proceeds benefiting the ceramics program at Tate along with a percentage that will help victims of Hurricane Michael.
Tate’s Student Gallery Night will be at the same time. Tate students will be selling their original artwork, including drawings, paintings, photos, prints, ceramics and more. This is a great opportunity for holiday gift shopping.
For more information, contact Jennifer Rodriguez at (850) 937-2300 Ext. 601 for more information.
Tate Softball Seniors Decoux, McLean Sign With Coastal Alabama
December 5, 2018
Tate High School Lady Aggie softball seniors Amber Decoux and Shelby McLean signed Tuesday with Coastal Alabama Monroeville. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott Will Delay Joining Senate By Five Days To Remain Governor
December 5, 2018
Gov. Rick Scott announced Tuesday that he will serve out his full second term under an arrangement that will lead to a five-day delay in the Republican joining the U.S. Senate next month.
The 116th Congress, which includes the U.S. House and Senate, will start on Jan. 3. But Scott, who was first elected as governor in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, is scheduled to remain as governor until Jan. 8, when Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis’ term begins.
Scott, who narrowly beat Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson last month, had the option of resigning early as governor, joining the U.S. Senate on Jan. 3 and elevating Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera to the office of governor.
It would not be an unprecedented circumstance. It happened in January 1987, when Gov. Bob Graham resigned early to join the U.S. Senate, making Lt. Gov. Wayne Mixson the state’s 39th governor for a three-day period before Gov. Bob Martinez took office.
But Scott has opted to remain in office for his full term, his aides said Tuesday.
“When Gov. Scott was elected governor of Florida, he promised to fight for Florida families every single day of his term. Gov. Scott will remain governor until Jan. 8,” John Tupps, the governor’s communications director, said in a statement.
Tupps said U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has agreed to hold the Senate swearing-in ceremony for Scott on the afternoon of Jan. 8, which will be the day that inauguration ceremonies will be held in Tallahassee and DeSantis will become Florida’s 46th governor.
Scott will transition to his role as the state’s junior senator, joining U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in giving Florida two Republican senators in the nation’s capital for the first time since the Reconstruction era.
The issue of when Scott would leave office drew extra scrutiny this year when it remained unclear whether Scott or the incoming governor would appoint three new justices to the Florida Supreme Court in January.
But the issue became largely moot, when the state Supreme Court ruled that the appointment power rests “solely” with the new governor.
DeSantis, in consultation with Scott, is reviewing 11 judges and lawyers who have been advanced by a nominating commission to replace justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince. The three justices are leaving the state’s highest court on Jan. 8 because they have reached a mandatory retirement age.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
High School Basketball Roundup
December 5, 2018
Area high school basketball scores from Tuesday:
GIRLS
Northview 38, Laurel Hill 34
Northview 24, Laurel Hill 20 (JV)
Washington 62, Tate 29
BOYS
Jay 58, Baker 39
Lighthouse Christian 75,West Florida 50
West Florida 72, Lighthouse Christian 50 (JV)
State Turns Dozier School Over To County
December 5, 2018
Jackson County officials hope to revitalize their community’s economy and image through restoration of land that for more than a century housed what became a notorious state reform school.
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet on Tuesday approved proposals to transfer state-owned property at the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna to Jackson County.
Clint Pate, chairman of the Jackson County Commission, said the county is prepared to move government offices into the site, while working to attract private businesses to the land north of Interstate 10.
“What’s happened before, it’s kind of given a dark cloud to the county,” Pate said. “But we’re going to do what we’re supposed to and try to create new jobs.”
In 2017, the Florida Senate and House passed resolutions formally apologizing for the abuse of juveniles sent to Dozier and a related facility in Okeechobee.
The resolutions acknowledged that treatment of boys sent to the facilities was cruel, unjust and “a violation of human decency.” More than 500 former students have alleged brutal beatings, mental abuse and sexual abuse at the Dozier school, which closed in 2011 after 111 years of operation.
Tuesday’s action by Scott and the Cabinet — Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis — was an outgrowth of a 2017 state law that accompanied the apologies.
The law required the state to turn over about 360 acres, containing the Dozier site’s North Campus, South Campus and Boot Hill Cemetery, to Jackson County. The law required memorializing the cemetery and what was known as the “White House” on the campus.
Scott and the Cabinet also approved the transfer, at no cost, of another 919 acres that the county wants for economic-development efforts.
Former state Rep. Marti Coley, a Marianna Republican, said Tuesday it is essential to have local control of the land, which stands as a gateway to the Northwest Florida community.
“It’s been a difficult thing for the community,” Coley said. “To have this back under local control and to look at repurposing that property to bring jobs to the community is very, very crucial.”
In October, Scott awarded Jackson County $5.8 million from the state’s Job Growth Grant Fund to redevelop the Dozier campus into a regional distribution and manufacturing center. The state money also will be used for a center that will provide vocational and academic education for young people with autism.
“There are a whole lot of possibilities there, when you start bringing in companies,” Pate said. “There will be restaurants and filling stations.”
Also, Tuesday, Scott and the Cabinet agreed to spent $6.4 million to purchase what is known as a “conservation easement” on nearly 20,000 acres of timber land near the Suwannee River and Gulf of Mexico in Dixie County.
Under a conservation easement, the land would be protected from development, but the owner, Lyme Cross City Forest Company, LLC, would be able to continue timber operations.
In making the deal, the state is banking on a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund. The foundation received $2.544 billion in 2013 as part of federal plea agreements with BP and Transocean stemming from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill.
The grant is expected to cover all but $1 million of the state’s cost of the Dixie County deal, according to information provided to the Cabinet.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Farm Hill Utilities Issues Boil Water Notice For Large Part Of System
December 4, 2018
Farm Hill Utilities in Cantonment has issued a boil water notice for a large portion of their water system due to a water main break.
As a precaution, the utility is advising that all water using for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth, or washing dishes be boiled at a rolling boil for at least one minute. As an alternative bottled water may be used.
This “Precautionary Boil Water Notice” will remain in effect until the problem has been corrected and bacteriological survey shows that the water is safe to drink.
The areas impacted are: South County Road 97 south of West Kingsfield Road, West Kingsfield Road and all side roads south of Kingsfield including Pinebrook and Carmody Hill.
Injuries In Morning Highway 29 Wreck
December 4, 2018
At least two people were injured in a wreck Tuesday morning on Highway 29 at Highway 196. The crash involved a Ford Escape and a utility truck. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating; additional information has not been released. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
County Considers Contract For $24.5K Century Market Analysis
December 4, 2018
At their Thursday meeting, the Escambia County Commission will consider the final contract approval for a $24,500 market study for Century.
The market analysis will assess the feasibility of mixed use commercial and residential development in reference to various parcels and buildings within the town, according to the proposal. “The analysis will help define community needs, a profile of customers, potential for profitability and growth, as well as consider both competition and barriers to development onto the market,” it states.
The funds will come from a $95,000 economic development funding pool for the Century area that includes $55,000 from last fiscal year that was never spent, plus $50,000 from the current fiscal year. The Haas Center had proposed four additional projects that would have used the full $95,000 balance.
The marketing analysis will assess the feasibility of mixed use commercial and residential development in reference to various parcels and buildings within the town, according to the proposal.
The funds will come from a $95,000 funding pool that includes $55,000 from last fiscal year that was never spent, plus $50,000 from the current fiscal year. The Haas Center had proposed four additional projects that would have used the full $95,000 balance.
Work will begin when the agreement is reached, with a draft report due March 1. Community feedback will be solicited by April 30, and the final market analysis report will be due June 30. The agreement is between the University of West Florida and the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners and does not directly involve the Town of Century
Previously, the Haas Center presented the 2014 Six Pillar Community Economic Development Strategic Plan to the Town of Century after a successful completion of a DEO Technical Assistance Grant. The strategic plan was presented at the end of a yearlong collaboration between the Haas Center and the town.
The plan ultimately outlined a series of goals, objectives and tactics that could help facilitate change for the Town of Century. The vision was outlined as: “The Town of Century will be the model for rural economic redevelopment, excelling in cultivating its workforce, facilitating the growth of regional industry, and enhancing the quality of life for its residents and the surrounding communities.”
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Bratt Elementary School Names November Students Of The Month
December 4, 2018
Bratt Elementary School has named students of the month for November. They are:
Pre-K
Brantley Cummings
Hendrix Ward
Kindergarten
Tiffin Hubbard
Cameron Parmer
Cory Stetson
Emma Norton
1st Grade
Carrie Emmons
Bailey Campbell
Bentley Lowey
Ryan Johnson
Zoe Jantz
2nd Grade
Kimmora Thomas
Alexa Hardy
Lane Lisenby
Addison Carpenter
3rd Grade
Makinzi Roley
Jack Carpenter
Eli Franklin
Wyatt Spence
Cassie Stillwell
4th Grade
Zachary Weaver
Avery Stuckey
Annberly Dunn
5th Grade
Talaysha Curry
Emily Jarvis
Alexis White
Mya Wilson
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
FWC Law Enforcement Report
December 4, 2018
Here is the latest report from the Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties:
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officer Ramos represented FWC at Escambia High school at their annual Law Enforcement Career day where local and federal police agencies were on-hand to discuss law enforcement careers with interested students. Students enjoyed the many static displays including an opportunity to tour a FWC patrol truck and patrol vessel. Officer Ramos spoke with many curious students and explained the unique roles and responsibilities that conservation law enforcement officers serve across the state.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officer Lewis received a complaint about a baited blind in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area (WMA.) He located the baited blind and observed that it was covered with freshly cut pine trees from the surrounding area. Officer Lewis encountered a subject on a road near the baited blind carrying the blind’s storage bag. The subject admitted to cutting the trees used to cover the blind. Officer Lewis explained to the subject that cutting trees in a WMA was a criminal offense and issued the subject a notice to appear for cutting trees in a WMA.
Officers Mullins and Roberson received a complaint about the harvest of a short-horned buck in Blackwater State Forest. The officers visited a subject’s residence to speak about the illegal deer. After investigation, the subject admitted that he hid the horns in the back of a vehicle at another location. The officers located and measured the horns’ main beams which were 8 inches on both sides. The suspect admitted he harvested the illegal deer in Blackwater State Forest and was charged with the taking of the illegal deer.
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
NorthEscambia.com photo.