Master Gardeners Winter Plant Sale Saturday In Cantonment
October 5, 2018
The Escambia County Master Gardeners will hold a Winter Vegetable Plant Sale Saturday from 8:30 until 10:30 at their demonstration garden at the Escambia County Extension Service, 3740 Stefani Road in Cantonment. Available selections will grow very well in containers. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Investigates Sexual Abuse By Priests
October 5, 2018
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has launched a statewide probe into sexual abuse by Catholic priests, following a Pennsylvania grand jury report this summer that found more than 1,000 children were molested over decades by hundreds of priests whose wrongdoing was covered up by church leaders.
Bondi, whose office is investigating all seven Catholic dioceses in Florida, said Thursday she launched a tip site “to allow victims and anyone with information about priest abuse to report what they know.”
“Any priest that would exploit a position of power and trust to abuse a child is a disgrace to the church and a threat to society,” she said during a Tampa press conference.
Victims or people with information about past abuse can contact Bondi’s office through a special hotline or submit information on the internet.
“If you call in, please know, we want to help you. We want to counsel you, and we want to get to the bottom of anything that could have happened in our state,” said Bondi, who has made combating human trafficking and protecting victims among her top priorities during eight years in office. “Please share your story with us. Even if you’ve previously reported it to the church, to anyone, report it to us now.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is assisting Statewide Prosecutor Nick Cox with the probe, Bondi told reporters.
Bondi said she ordered the Florida statewide inquiry after the August release of the Pennsylvania grand jury’s chilling report of decades of child sexual abuse by priests whose crimes were protected by church leaders.
“When the case about Pennsylvania aired, I couldn’t sleep that night. The next morning I talked to my statewide prosecutor and said, ‘We have to look into this,’ and he wholeheartedly agreed,” said Bondi, adding that she has five lawyers working on the investigation.
The grand jury report revealed that 300 Catholic priests abused more than 1,000 identified child victims, but thousands more may have been affected. Senior church officials, bishops and monsignors “helped cover up priest abuse,” Bondi said.
“The citizens of Pennsylvania played a major role in reporting this by providing investigators vital stories about past abuse and potential coverups. We have reason to believe there are similar stories in Florida. I know it’s painful for you as a survivor to discuss past abuses. But your story will help bring justice to prevent future abuse,” she said.
Bondi, who is leaving office in January due to term limits, said it is too early to know how many Floridians, former residents or visitors may have been molested.
“As far as how widespread this is, frankly we have no idea right now,” she said. “We love the Catholic religion, the Catholic church. We love youth organizations and we love schools. But abuse is abuse.”
The seven Catholic dioceses in Florida “have been in dialogue with the statewide prosecutor and are cooperating with the investigation,” Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops spokeswoman Michele Taylor said in an email.
Several bishops issued statements expressing support for Bondi’s inquiry.
“This has been a very painful period for all Catholics. I hope the outcome of this investigation and other acts of transparency by the dioceses in Florida will bring about greater trust in the Church. Our goals are similar — to ensure the safety of all children and vulnerable adults and to prevent perpetrators of abuse from serving in active ministry,” Bishop Felipe Estévez, who heads the Diocese of St. Augustine, said.
Bishop Gregory Parkes of St. Petersburg said he welcomes the investigation “and want to assure the public that the Diocese of St. Petersburg has been and continues to be proactive in its efforts to keep children safe, which should be a priority for everyone.”
“We denounce all forms of sexual abuse by any person or any institution as a reprehensible crime and believe that perpetrators should be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Parkes said in a statement.
Bondi said her office is issuing subpoenas and conducting interviews.
“We’re moving very fast, because, again, if this is going on in our state, we want to know and we want to know now,” Bondi said, while assuring victims that information will be kept confidential. “Getting the word out there is what it’s going to take.”
Bondi’s office said tips about past abuse can be reported at MyFloridaLegal.com/StopAbuse.
by Dara Kam The News Service of Florida
Former Inmate Charged With Stalking Century Prison Employee
October 4, 2018
A former Century Correctional Institution inmate is accused of stalking and damaging an employee’s vehicle in the prison’s staff housing area.
Ronald Wayne Boone, Jr. 41, was charged with stalking and felony criminal mischief with property damage.
Boone is accused of breaking the back glass out of the victim’s vehicle while it was parked in the staff housing area. He then allegedly returned about an hour later, yelling from his vehicle that has soon as the window was fixed, he would break it again.
Boone was previously an inmate at Century CI, but the victim said they had no issues during the incarceration. The victim said he believed the problems were because after he broke up with his girlfriend in March, and she married Boone in April, according to an arrest report.
Boone was released from prison, according to Florida Department of Corrections records, in December 2017 after serving five years on Escambia County charges of escape, grand theft and depositing a check with intent to defraud.
I-10, Highway 29 Interchange Improvements Are Complete
October 4, 2018
Construction is complete on a $8.5 million project to improve the I-10, Highway 29 interchange in Escambia County.
The improvements include removing the I-10 westbound exit ramp to U.S. 29 south (Exit 10B), constructing a new exit ramp (Exit 10), installing a traffic signal on U.S. 29 for I-10 westbound traffic connecting to U.S. 29 southbound, and widening the bridge on I-10 eastbound to eliminate the left-side merge from U.S. 29 southbound.
The speed limit on I-10, near Exit 10 (U.S. 29) will remain 60 mph.
New Climbing Wall Installed At Carver Park In Cantonment
October 4, 2018
A new climbing wall was installed Wednesday at Carver Park in Cantonment.
The two-acre neighborhood Carver Park features a covered pavilion, playground, volleyball court, basketball courts, security lights, benches and picnic area. The park also has a small community building and some of the most historic oak trees in Escambia County. The park is located at 20 Webb Street.
For reservations and rental information, call (850) 393-9870.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
FWC Hunter Safety Courses Offered In Molino, Cantonment, Jay
October 4, 2018
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is offering free hunter safety courses in Molino, Cantonment and Jay.
Online completion courses will be held as follows:
Classes will also be held
- October 10 (6 to 10 p.m.) & October 27 (7 to 10 a.m. )
- Molino Community Center
- 6450 Highway 95A N. in Molino
- October 16 (6 to 10 p.m.) & October 27 (7 to 10 a.m. )
- Langley Bell 4-H Center
- 3730 Stefani Road in Cantonment
- October 24 (6 to 10 p.m.) & October 27 (7 to 10 a.m.)
- Jay Community Center
- 5259 Booker Lane in Jay
Students who have taken the online course and wish to complete the classroom portion must bring the online-completion report with them.All firearms, ammunition and materials are provided free of charge. Students should bring a pen or pencil and paper. An adult must accompany children younger than 16 at all times.
Anyone born on or after June 1, 1975, must pass an approved hunter safety course and have a hunting license to hunt alone (unsupervised). The FWC course satisfies hunter-safety training requirements for all other states and Canadian provinces.
Contact Paul Averill, Florida Fish and Wildlife hunter safety instructor at (850) 982-8070m or visit MyFWC.com/HunterSafety for more information.
Jim Allen Elementary Hosting Fall Carnival Friday
October 4, 2018
Jim Allen Elementary School will host a Fall Carnival Friday from 3-6 p.m.
There will be games and prizes, special guests Argie and Kazoo and food including hamburgers, hotdogs and pulled pork plates. All proceeds will be used for classroom supplies.
Media Groups Fight ‘Jane Doe’ Request In Gun Law Case
October 4, 2018
Media organizations from across the country are urging a federal appeals court to reject an attempt to allow two teens to remain anonymous in a challenge to a new Florida gun law.
A brief filed last week on behalf of 21 organizations argued that allowing the teens to take part in the challenge as Jane Doe and John Doe would hinder public access to court proceedings. The National Rifle Association filed the challenge in March to a law that increased from 18 to 21 the minimum age to buy rifles and other long guns in Florida.
“(The NRA and teens’) allegations in this case are — as they themselves argue — significant matters of public concern, especially because their challenges are framed as an assertion of their constitutional rights, and seek ultimately to invalidate legislation,” said the 40-page document, filed by attorneys for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “The testimony by and concerning Does (the teens) could very well affect the ultimate outcome of this case. Open litigation, with full disclosure of the parties’ identities, will allow the public to better understand and assess the parties’ competing claims, and their credibility, and to make informed judgments about the administration of justice in this case.”
The filing at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta is the latest move in a case that stems from lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott approving gun restrictions after the February mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people.
The NRA quickly filed a federal lawsuit challenging the age change for purchasing guns and later sought to add a 19-year-old Alachua County resident as a plaintiff and identify her as Jane Doe. It also sought to add to the case allegations related to another 19-year-old identified as John Doe.
But Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office has fought allowing the teens to take part in the case anonymously, and U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in May agreed with the state’s legal position. That prompted the NRA to take the anonymity issue to the appeals court. The underlying lawsuit challenging the gun law remains pending.
The NRA has argued in court documents that anonymity is needed because of concerns for the safety of the teens. As part of its case, the NRA has cited threatening and often-vile emails received by longtime NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer.
“Jane Doe and John Doe, two 19-year-old Florida citizens, seek to participate in this lawsuit challenging Florida’s age-based ban on the purchase of firearms anonymously, based on the reasonable, documented fear that they would suffer harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence if their true identities and participation in this controversial litigation were made public,” said a brief filed in June by the NRA’s attorneys. “Under the standard for pseudonymous pleading established by this court’s precedents, Jane and John Doe should clearly be allowed to remain anonymous.”
The attorneys for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed the friend-of-the-court brief Friday on behalf of organizations ranging from the American Society of News Editors to The Dallas Morning News. Among the organizations were The McClatchy Co., which operates the Miami Herald and Bradenton Herald newspapers, and South Florida’s WPLG television station.
In addition to raising arguments about public access to court proceedings, the media organizations disputed the NRA’s argument that the teens need to remain anonymous for safety reasons.
“Put simply, the record before this court is devoid of any factual basis on which to conclude that there would be a legitimate risk of retaliation against Does themselves if their identities were revealed in this litigation,” the brief said. “Permitting Does to proceed pseudonymously in this case would provide grounds for any plaintiff asserting a ‘controversial’ claim to do so. Such broad use of pseudonymity is impermissible.”
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Northview Names Homecoming Court; Plans Parade And Friday Meal
October 4, 2018
Northview High School has named their 2018 homecoming court, and there are several big events planned for homecoming.
Homecoming court members are: seniors Shelby Bashore, Hannah Ellis, Kherstin Johnson, Aubree Love, Madison Sherouse; juniors Raeleigh Woodfin, Briana White; sophomores Franki Daw, Hailey Harigel, Kenna Redmond, freshmen Anna Adams, Grayson James and Mia Starns.
The parade will line up on the campus of Bratt Elementary School beginning at 12:30 p.m. Friday. The parade will begin at Bratt Elementary at about 1 p.m. and end with a pep rally in the Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium at Northview High. (The general public should not enter the Bratt Elementary campus.)
A homecoming meal will available Friday from 10 a.m. until from the football concession stand to support the Tommy Weaver Scholarship Fund. The $7 meal will include a barbecue sandwich, chips, dessert and a drink.. To reserve lunch, call (850) 327-6681 ext. 248 or email pbyars@escambia.k12.fl.us.
Pre-game festivities will begin at 6:00 Friday night, including the presentation of the homecoming court and the naming of the queen.
The homecoming game against Jay High School will kickoff at 7:00.
Pictured are: (L-R) Mia Starns, freshman; Anna Adams, freshman; Franki Daw, sophomore; Raeleigh Woodfin, junior; Aubree Love, senior; Madison Sherouse, senior; Kherstin Johnson, senior; Shelby Bashore, senior; Briana White, junior; Hailey Harigel, sophomore; Grayson James, freshman; Kenna Redmond, sophomore.Not pictured: Hannah Ellis, senior. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Molino Bridge That Collapsed In June Now Open
October 3, 2018
A new $1.97 million Molino bridge that partially collapsed on June 30 has opened to traffic.
On June 30 at the Highway 196 bridge over Jacks Branch, concrete for a bridge deck span was being poured into temporary forms when a rod and temporary truss failed. That caused two deck spans of concrete that had not hardened to fall into water below.
Earlier in June, crews were attempting to place concrete in another deck form that failed, causing the deck and truss under the form to sag, he said. That section of bridge deck was removed by the contractor.
“The safety of the state’s bridges is a top priority of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Due to our comprehensive bridge maintenance program, Florida has some of the safest bridges in the country,” said Ed Seifert, interim communications director for the FDOT, told NorthEscambia.com after the collapse. “Before any bridge is opened to the public, a thorough safety inspection is undertaken by FDOT.”
GDB-US Constructors, Inc. of Parish, FL, is the contractor on the project, the lowest of four bidders. This was their first bridge project in FDOT District 3, which includes Pensacola to Tallahassee. The bridge is owned by Escambia County; however, the replacement project is being constructed with federal dollars administered by FDOT.
Highway 196 had been closed since January for the bridge replacement.
Pictured: A look back at a June partial bridge collapse on Highway 196. Photos obtained by NorthEscambia.com and NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge
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Pictured below: Sections of concrete bridge deck removed from the bridge after it began to sag three weeks ago can be seen to the right of the bridge.
