Escambia Emergency Boss: Time To Prep For Hurricane Season
May 30, 2018
After a near-miss with Subtropical Storm Alberto, John Dosh, Escambia County’s Emergency Management director, says residents should focus on preparing for a hurricane season that begins Friday.
For days, the National Hurricane Center forecast said Alberto would make a landfall in or near Escambia County, bring a foot of rain and flash flooding. Escambia County responded, making sand for sandbags available and warning residents of the flooding danger.
“We were very, very fortunate that Alberto did not bring us lots of rain. Forecasts and storms change,” Dosh said. “It’s always best for people to continue to prepare and not let their guard down.”
Escambia County Emergency Management and the National Weather Service of Mobile will host a Tropical Town Hall today from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Escambia County Public Safety building, located at 6575 N. “W” St. in Pensacola.
Everyone is invited to attend this free event, which will feature a presentation from the NWS on hurricanes, hurricane-related weather conditions and the associated hazards, as well as a presentation from Escambia County Emergency Management on disaster preparedness and local information. The town hall setting will give attendees an opportunity to ask NWS forecasters and Emergency Management staff their hurricane and disaster preparedness-related questions.
Now That’s a ‘Scary Looking Cloud’
May 30, 2018
This photo was taken near Jay Tuesday afternoon, and it is a scary looking cloud. But it was not a tornado or any kind of severe weather.
“It’s just a scary looking cloud (aka a scud cloud),” the National Weather Service in Mobile told NorthEscambia.com. There were no tornado warnings or severe thunderstorm warnings.
The NWS defines a scud cloud as “small, ragged, low cloud fragments that are unattached to a larger cloud base. These clouds are often seen behind thunderstorm gust fronts. These clouds are generally associated with cool moist air, such as thunderstorm outflow.”
Reader submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Rep. Byrne Discusses Rural Hospital Issues During Atmore Visit
May 30, 2018
Alabama Rep. Bradley Byrne visited Atmore Community Hospital Tuesday to discuss challenges facing Alabama’s rural hospitals.
Byrne said at least twelve 12 hospitals have closed in Alabama since 2011, and another dozen are in danger of closing in the next two years.
Byrne said he is working with his Alabama colleagues in Congress to solve problems relating to the Medicare Wage Index, which severely hurts Alabama’s hospitals. Alabama has the lowest Medicare reimbursement rate in the country. He said Alabama hospitals are reimbursed as much as 21 percent below the national average and at rates considerably lower than neighboring states.
“This is a fight I am going to keep up because the issue is so very important,” he said.
Officials from hospitals throughout Southwest Alabama, local elected officials and community leaders joined Byrne in the Atmore meeting.
Byrne also visited a local pharmacy.
“I’m committed to making sure Alabamians have reliable access to necessary medications,” he said.
Community Flea Market Saturday In Cantonment
May 30, 2018
St. Monica’s Episcopal Church in Cantonment will host a Community Flea Market on Saturday, June 2 beginning at 8 a.m.
Spaces are available for $25. Those selling new or used wares, vegetable or plant growers, retailers or non-profits, artists and craftsmen are all welcome. Food and beverages will be available on-site.
The church is located at 699 South Highway 95A in Cantonment.
For more information: www.st-monicas.org/flea-market.
Tourism Boost Sought After Alberto
May 30, 2018
As winds and rains let up from Subtropical Storm Alberto, Florida officials Tuesday were quickly spinning ways to draw tourists to areas that may have missed out on Memorial Day crowds.
State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Gov. Rick Scott, during an appearance at the Walton County Emergency Operations Center in DeFuniak Springs, expressed a need for Visit Florida, the state’s public-private tourism arm, to emulate post-Hurricane Irma promotional efforts for the Panhandle and other parts of the state.
“This weekend should have really been the second busiest weekend of the whole year,” said Patronis, whose family runs Capt. Anderson’s Restaurant in Panama City. “We, the restaurant, we did 40 percent of what we should have done.”
Scott said he would call Visit Florida President and CEO Ken Lawson. But before the half-hour appearance at the emergency operations center was complete, Lawson called Patronis, who handed the phone to Scott.
“The Legislature gave us $76 million again this year (for Visit Florida), and part of that money is to work on when we have something like this, to let people know we’re back open for business,” Scott told reporters after the appearance. “A lot of people are very dependent on tourism here. And a lot of people are getting paid just based on how many tourists show that day. They’re tied to tips and things like that. So, we have to get the tourists back.”
Stephen Lawson, a spokesman for Visit Florida who is unrelated to Ken Lawson, said even though there was little on social media from Florida travelers about Alberto, steps are being taken “in an abundance of caution” to show locations across the Panhandle remain unfazed by the storm.
“We’ll be spotlighting the Panhandle across our social channels later this week to show that they are 100 percent open for business,” Lawson said.
A Facebook live event will also be held from Sandestin later in the week.
The promotional effort won’t require a special ad campaign similar to the $5 million spent to highlight the Florida Keys after Irma.
Otherwise, officials called Alberto a good tune-up for the six-month Atlantic hurricane season, which begins Friday.
Few roads were impacted by flooding, with Panhandle officials telling Scott that almost all roads, bridges and beaches were open Tuesday morning. Officials were waiting to see total amounts of rain that Alberto dumps into rivers in Alabama.
The storm also appeared to cause relatively few power outages.
At 3 p.m. Monday, 9,861 electricity customer accounts in the state were without power, according to the Florida State Emergency Response Team. That total indicates 99.91 percent of all power customers had electricity.
By 9 a.m. Tuesday, just over 1,000 accounts had not been restored.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: Pensacola Beach on Saturday. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Middle, High School Report Cards Won’t Be Ready For Weeks
May 30, 2018
Middle and high school report cards in Escambia County won’t be mailed to parents for several more weeks.
School districts across the state will not receive final end of course exam scores from the state until late June or early July. Final grade calculations for many courses cannot be complete until the end of course exam scores are received from the state.
Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said the district anticipates middle and high school report cards will be mailed out in early July.
Students grades, minus end of course exams, are available online at the “Focus Parent Portal” (click here).
Search Continues For Baldwin County Man Missing For Two Weeks
May 30, 2018
The search is continuing two weeks after a Baldwin County man was reported missing.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency issued a Missing Senior Alert for Steve Keszthelyi.
Keszthelyi is a 79-year old white male and may be suffering from a condition that may impair his judgement. He was last seen wearing red shorts , white t-shirt and a red hat at his residence in Elberta, May 16. Anyone with any information regarding the whereabouts of Steve Keszthelyi is asked to contact the Elberta Police Department at (251) 986-5300 or call 911.
The search has included areas in Escambia County, FL.
Motorcyclist Killed In I-110 Crash
May 29, 2018
A motorcyclist was killed Tuesday on I-110 in Escambia County.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 29-year old Michael Del Viscovo, Jr. was traveling north on I-110 on the curved exit ramp to Davis Highway when he ran off the roadway onto the paved shoulder. He was thrown from the motorcycle and into a guardrail fence. He was pronounced deceased following the 10:20 a.m. crash.
Student Arrested After Bomb Threat Made Against Jay High School
May 29, 2018
Jay High School and Jay Elementary School were evacuated Tuesday afternoon due to a a bomb threat against the high school, and a student has been arrested.
About 1 p.m., a Jay High School school resource officer was notified by school staff of a bomb threat, and additional deputies responded to the school.
“A text message was received by another student in which the sender advised of a bomb threat to the school. After a thorough investigation and within 30 minutes, a suspect was in custody,” said Sgt. Rich Aloy, public information officer for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.
“The threat was unfounded and the individual who sent the text was discovered to be a student who was supposedly playing a joke,” Aloy said.
The juvenile suspect was arrested on charges of making a false bomb threat and disruption of a school function. The SRSO has not yet released the suspect’s name.
Final CRA Plan Ready To Improve ‘Blighted’ Area Of Century
May 29, 2018
Finals plans for a Century CRA — Community Redevelopment Agency — are complete.
Once the CRA is in place and operating, it will work to improve conditions within the area. As property tax values rise, most of the increase is funneled back into the redevelopment area for further improvements.
The CRA area is 510 acres, bounded by Jefferson Avenue to the south, Jefferson Avenue to the east, East High 4 to the north and the center line of North Century Boulevard to the west. It also extends north on the east side of North Century Boulevard to include commercial properties up to, and including, the former Burger King. Click here for a detailed map (pdf).
The plan is tentatively scheduled to be presented to the Century Town Council on June 18 with adoption vote for the plan ordinance tentatively planned for July 2.
Community Redevelopment Objectives
- Enhance quality of life by partnering with public or private, profit or non-profit organizations to develop and implement facilities, programs and services that are based on and support inclusivity, tolerance, and safety in the Century CRA.
- Promote self-sufficiency and resiliency through partnerships with stakeholders that facilitate instructional opportunities for residents and business owners/entrepreneurs in the Century CRA.
- Initiate economic development opportunities that are customized to the distinctive attributes and possibilities unique to the Century CRA.
- Capitalize on the Century CRA’s historic and natural resources to support the area’s unique identity as well as promote a greater sense of neighborhood pride.
Strategies for CRA
- Invest in public facilities and infrastructure
- Sewer, stormwater management
- Transportation;
- Streetscape and pedestrian features; and
- Public and community areas.
- Expand economic development opportunities
- Improve housing conditions with repair and affordable home ownership opportunities;
- Highlight historic and natural amenities; and
- Identify targeted development sites.
Short Term Implementation Plan
- 2-Year Action Plan (2018-2020)
- Activities and tasks that are smaller, incremental and set the foundation for encouraging long-term private investment in the CRA
- Funding Resources: primarily Town, County, regional agencies, and non-profit organizations
Long-Term Implementation Plan
- •10-year Action Plan (2018-2028)
- Builds upon activities and tasks from the short-term action plan and begins to implement the more costly capital improvements and services that require utilization of revenues to leverage TIF funds
- Funding Resources: primarily regional and state agencies, and large grant organizations
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
