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The Creek The Changed Course: Nature Class Learns About The Big Escambia

A Florida Master Naturalist conservation class learned about the Big Escambia Creek restoration project near Century last week. The class was presented by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist. The class is an adult education program created by the University of Florida/IFAS intended to promote awareness and understanding of Florida’s unique environment.

Big Escambia Creek is a major tributary of the Escambia River located approximately 29 miles north of Escambia Bay. Over 30 years ago conditions along the lower reaches of the creek changed when a sand mining operation digging too close to the creek combined with an intensive rainfall event caused the creek to change its course and follow the path of least resistance through the sandpits. Since the creek changed its course, the estimated 900 acres of wetlands in and around the old creek channel now had no base flow and were reverting to an upland type habitat. In addition, tons of sediment began to flow downstream into the Pensacola Bay System.

A $7.7 million project was implemented to eliminate the delivery of the sediment and to restore the productivity of the floodplain by diverting the creek back into its original channel. Construction on the project began in 2003 and was completed in 2005.

Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Escambia County Public Meetings This Week

Here is the schedule of public meetings for Escambia County this week:

Escambia County Names New Human Resources Director

The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners welcomes Eric Kleinert as the new Director of Human Resources, joining Escambia County from Carmel, Indiana, where he most recently served as the human resources director for the Indiana Department of Transportation. Kleinert’s responsibilities with Escambia County will include supervising the Human Resources Department, mentoring and evaluating staff, advising the county administrator on the needs of the department and representing the department before the board of county commissioners. Kleinert’s first day with Escambia County was Friday.

Kleinert graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with a Master’s Degree in human resources management and from Indiana University with a Bachelor’s Degree in political science. With 20 years of experience in the field of human resources, Kleinert has also earned his Senior Professional in Human Resources certificate from the HR Certification Institute and Senior Certified Professional certificate from the Society for Human Resources Management.

As the director of human resources for the Indiana Department of Transportation, Kleinert served more than 3,500 employees, directing a human resources team working in affirmative action, benefits, disability, employee relations, leave administration, recruiting and workers’ compensation. Prior to his position at IDOT, Kleinert was the human resources director for the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles from January 2014 to June 2015, serving approximately 1,750 employees. Kleinert has also served as the human resources director for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the regional human resources director for the Indiana Department of Corrections.

Kleinert grew up in Mishawaka, Indiana, and became interested in human resources while working at a temp agency shortly after graduating college. Kleinert said he was drawn to the way human resources could impact and support an organization, and he soon entered the field through an entry-level HR position.

The prospect of becoming Escambia County’s human resources director interested Kleinert not only because of the county’s mission and values, but also because of the area’s attractive lifestyle. Kleinert’s wife, Melanie, and two daughters, Gabi and Madi, will be relocating along with him.

“I think it’s a combination of the opportunity to continue in public service as well as the quality of life in the county,” Kleinert said. “We’ve visited the county several times over the past 15 years, and it’s an area we targeted as a place we’d like to relocate to.”

In his new position as the county’s human resources director, Kleinert said he plans to take time to analyze any HR-related issues in Escambia County and develop relevant, timely and sustainable solutions as needed, operating under what he calls a “coaching” management style.

“It’s adaptable based on the employee,” Kleinert said. “I will push employees in certain situations and challenge them to grow. In others, it will be hands-on, especially as they’re new to processes, and try to grow them in a more applied manner.”

Kleinert said he’s looking forward to continuing the county’s human resources mission while supporting the mission and vision of the board of county commissioners.

“It’s something that I can relate to,” Kleinert said. “The fiscal responsibility, the commitment to customer service – in my current organization, those are some of our core values, as well.”

Wahoos Drop Second In A Row

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos took a short-lived, 2-1, lead in the first inning of Saturday’s game when Devin Mesoraco blasted his first homer in two seasons out of Blue Wahoos Stadium into Pensacola Bay.

However, the Tennessee Smokies regained the lead in the second inning and Smokies pitcher Trevor Clifton set down the next 13 Pensacola batters he faced, as Tennessee went on to a 9-2 victory in front of the third straight sellout crowd of 5,038.

The two-run shot by Mesoraco also scored Pensacola shortstop Blake Trahan, who had walked. It was Mesoraco’s first home run since Sept. 23, 2014 against the Milwaukee Brewers. Mesoraco, an All-Star catcher with the Reds in 2014, is playing in Pensacola as part of his rehabilitation from two hip surgeries and a shoulder surgery that limited him to play just 39 games with the Cincinnati Reds in 2015 and 2016.

Pensacola manager Pat Kelly pointed to his bulletin board where he pinned the schedule for Mesoraco’s playing time. By the middle of next week, the Reds’ want him to play in back-to-back 9-inning games. He played six innings in the Blue Wahoos’ season opener, sat out the second game, and was pulled after 7 innings Saturday.

“They don’t let me make those decisions,” Kelly said, chuckling.

Mesoraco impressed him with his long ball in the first inning.

“He hit that ball good,” Kelly said. “We talked earlier in the day at batting practice and he’s still not feeling comfortable yet. But he jumped all over that 3-1 fastball. He’s knocking that rust off.”

The Blue Wahoos stayed within two runs of Tennessee until the sixth inning when the Smokies sent nine batters to the plate and broke out with five runs.

The big hit in the inning came from Tennessee first baseman Yasiel Balaguert who with two outs and the bases loaded hit a sizzling ground ball past the shortstop into centerfield that made a close 4-2 game, 6-2, as both pinch hitter Ian Rice and left fielder Charcer Burks scored. Balaguert was 2-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs.

“Offensively, this lineup is going to hit,” Kelly said. “It just takes time. We got some power. We’re going to hits some home runs.”

Kelly expects one of the Blue Wahoos’ power hitters, Aristides Aquino, who hit 23 homers last year to get on track. Aquino is 0-11 after getting a hit in his first at bat Thursday that drove in a run.

“He’s going to show us why he’s so highly rated,” Kelly said confidently of Aquino, the sixth ranked Red’s prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

Tennessee scored in the first inning to go up 1-0, when Burks started the game with a double. He then scored when second baseman Davis Bote hit a sharp grounder down the right field line.

After Mesoraco’s two-run bomb, the Smokies came back with two more runs in the second inning when catcher Cael Brockmeyer doubled and scored on a triple by shortstop Andrew Ely, who smacked a line drive into the left center gap to tie the game 2-2. Ely then scored when Tennessee righty Clifton singled up the middle to give Tennessee a 3-2 lead.

Making his Double-A debut Clifton, who MLB Pipeline ranks the seventh best prospect in the Cubs organization, retired the next 13 Blue Wahoos hitters until first baseman Angelo Gumbs smacked a line drive single to right center in the fifth inning. Clifton was named High-A Carolina League Pitcher of the Year after going 7-7 with a 2.72 ERA for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and holding hitters to a .225 average.

He finished the game allowing just two hits and two runs in five innings, while walking one and striking out four.

“In that first inning, we needed to take advantage of him,” Kelly said. “He started getting his breaking ball over and seemed to settle in.”

Pensacola right-hander Keury Mella also made his Double-A debut Saturday. The 23-year-old Mella, who is the No. 19 ranked prospect by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, also lasted five innings, giving up three runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out four. After giving up three runs in the first two innings, Mella threw better, blanking the Smokies and limiting them to two hits, one walk and striking out two over the next three innings.

“Those last three innings, I thought he threw fairly well,” Kelly said.

Hunter Safety Courses Offered In Molino, Cantonment

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is offering free hunter safety courses in Escambia County. (List follows.)

Students who have taken the online course and wish to complete the classroom portion must bring the online-completion report with them. Traditional course students must complete the entire course in person.

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.

The locations and times are:

Online-completion Courses

April 19 (6 to 10 p.m. CDT) and May 6 (7 to 10 a.m. CDT)

Molino Community Center
6450 Highway 95A in Molino

April 24 (6 to 10 p.m. CDT) and May 6 (7 to 10 a.m. CDT)

Langley Bell 4-H Club Center
3730 Stefani Road in Cantonment

Traditional Course (must complete all days)

April 24, 26 & May 1, 3 (6 to 10 p.m. CDT) and May 6 (7 to 10 a.m. CDT)

Langley Bell 4-H Club Center
3730 Stefani Road in Cantonment

Those interested in attending a course can register online and obtain information about future hunter safety classes at MyFWC.com/HunterSafety or by calling the FWC’s regional office in Panama City at 850-265-3676.

Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: All About The Benjamins

In real estate, it’s “location, location, location.” In the legislative session, it’s “budget, budget, budget.”

And the all-important budget process — the one thing lawmakers are constitutionally required to complete every year — started moving from the outline phase to the endgame this week. The House and Senate will officially approve their spending plans next week, but little is likely to change between now and then.

Including, apparently, the attitudes of those responsible for hammering out a compromise allowing everyone to go home. Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, and House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, were among the leaders already laying out what they considered to be non-starters in the negotiations. Turns out, the budget is full of non-starters.

“It’s $4 billion, so there’s plenty of starting points,” said House Appropriations Chairman Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, of the differences between the budgets. “We just have to pick the right one.”

Finding it and following through will be the story that shapes the rest of the regular session.

WHAT’S $4 BILLION AMONG FRIENDS?

The $4 billion amount is a bit inflated, as it includes things like federal payments to hospitals that might not materialize. The Senate has roughly $600 million in the spending plan for that, and the House doesn’t; whether the money appears will go a long way to resolving that.

But $4 billion is closer to reality than a bottom-line look at the chambers’ budget proposals. The House plan (HB 5001) is $81.2 billion, while the Senate proposal (SB 2500) is officially $83.2 billion. However, the Senate doesn’t include nearly $2 billion in university tuition that does show up in the House proposal.

Accounting sleights of hand were not the main topics of discussion as the House and Senate budget-writing committees met this week to discuss their competing proposals. Each side received an overwhelming vote in favor of its plan. The Senate Appropriations Committee signed off unanimously, while the generally more partisan House Appropriations Committee approved its blueprint by a 24-2 margin.

Not that there wasn’t some controversy. Senators were trying to figure out what to do about a proposed $1.3 million cut — currently in both budgets — to the office of State Attorney Aramis Ayala, elected last year as the top prosecutor in Orange and Osceola counties.

Ayala recently announced she would not pursue the death penalty in capital punishment cases, drawing criticism from state Republican leaders and prompting Scott to shift 22 cases away from her office.

“State Attorney Ayala’s complete refusal to consider capital punishment for the entirety of her term sends an unacceptable message that she is not interested in considering every available option in the fight for justice,” Scott said Monday, as he removed Ayala from 21 of the cases.

Lawmakers say the budget cut would account for the fact that Ayala’s office wouldn’t be handling those cases.

But Kamilah Perry, Ayala’s chief of staff, told the Senate committee that her office is covering many of the costs of the transferred cases. And she said the cut would actually affect efforts to combat human trafficking.

“Less than 1 percent of all of our cases are death penalty, so the caseload is not going to be (reduced) that much,” Perry said.

An amendment that would have restored the money — proposed by Criminal Justice Chairman Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando — was withdrawn after Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, promised to look for a compromise.

“I think one thing that’s clear is, none of us really know exactly how these costs are going to break down, and how we can correctly apportion them. … I don’t want to be responsible for lessening our enforcement in human trafficking,” Latvala said.

But Latvala conceded after the meeting that he didn’t know exactly what that compromise might include.

Meanwhile, Democrats in the House were trying to decide whether or not to vote strategically. All of them had misgivings about the plan, but Rep. Jared Moskowitz, the ranking Democrat on the committee, suggested his vote was about keeping leverage in a potential standoff between Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature.

“I would also remind my Democratic colleagues and my Republican colleagues that, should what we’ve been reading about for the last couple of months happen, where the governor decides to send our budget back with a veto, the override of the veto runs through the Democratic caucus in the House,” said Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs.

Spring often brings to Tallahassee as much talk of Scott vetoing the budget as it does pollen in the air, and so far there’s been no such standoff.

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

One potential stumbling block got a little smaller — even if it didn’t go completely away — when the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a scaled-back version of Negron’s plan to create a water storage project south of Lake Okeechobee.

The $1.5 billion measure (SB 10), which relies on federal money to cover half the costs, is designed to reduce polluted water discharges from Lake Okeechobee that have been tied to toxic algae in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries east and west of the lake.

Negron, who has made the issue one of his top priorities, agreed to reconfigure the proposal after the House and some area residents balked at a $2.4 billion version that targeted farmland south of the lake for a reservoir.

Acquiring farmland remains on the table, but the plan now first would use a smaller amount of state-owned land to construct a deeper storage area.

“We’re not done yet, but this is his vision,” bill sponsor Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said of Negron. “He’s put it all on the line, and the political courage he has shown is something we can all emulate.”

The proposal has faced strong criticism from Glades-area residents, politicians and landowners since being proposed last year. Opponents have included powerful players in the sugar industry.

That doesn’t mean that the House is now copacetic to the plan, even if Corcoran sounded positive about the changes so far.

“The more the Senate works on it, the happier we are,” he told reporters Thursday.

A key philosophical difference remains: whether to increase state debt through bonding voter-approved money. The House has resisted that idea throughout the talks over Negron’s bill.

“We’re not bonding. Bonding is an issue,” Corcoran said. “I didn’t say we’re going to go along with it. I said it’s getting better and better.”

The same day, Negron insisted that the project needs to include bonding to bulk up funding for the work.

“I think we need to have bonding authority in Senate Bill 10 to accomplish the goals in a short period of time,” Negron said. “And I think that issue of bonding for environmental purposes, I think that’s a settled question by the voters.”

The bill proposes $64 million for the water-storage project next fiscal year, delaying for a year plans to increase the state’s share through bonding.

Money for Negron’s water project would come from the state’s Land Acquisition Trust Fund, funded through a portion of an existing real-estate tax. Voters in 2014 approved setting aside money from the fund for land and water conservation.

“We’re all entitled to our points of view on bonding, but when the voters speak and send us a directive to do bonding for environmental land purchases, I think we’re obligated to honor that constitutional imperative,” Negron said.

IN OTHER NEWS

Not everything was about the budget — or at least not directly. The House and the Senate remain divided over what to do with a measure to shift to the state the burden of proof in some self-defense hearings.

The proposals would force prosecutors to carry the day in pre-trial hearings involving the state’s controversial “stand your ground” self-defense law. The House wants prosecutors to overcome the self-defense immunity through “clear and convincing evidence.”

The Senate version of the proposal (SB 128) sets a higher standard known as “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

“I’ve said from the beginning, if the government wants to convict you of a serious crime and send you to prison, they should have the burden of proof at every stage of the proceeding beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt,” Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, told reporters on Thursday. “It’s the highest legal standard in the world. It’s served us well. And in order for the government to prevail in the underlying criminal case they’re going to have to prove beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt. ”

House sponsor Bobby Payne, R-Palatka, told reporters the clear-and-convincing-evidence threshold was a “reasonable and fair place to land” after hearing from numerous groups regarding how the 2005 law should be interpreted.

“We need to consider the opportunity for encouraging victims to come forward in those particular situations,” Payne replied when asked why he supported the “clear and convincing” language.

Lawmakers were also working on two more symbolic but still weighty measures. One would apologize to victims of decades-old beatings and sexual abuse at the now-shuttered Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, a state reform school that operated from 1900 to 2011.

Another would apologize to and urge the consideration of a pardon for four black men accused of raping a white woman in June 1949. Two of the men were killed by law enforcement, while two more were convicted. Many of those who have studied the case seriously doubt or outright dismiss the men’s guilt.

“This resolution is us simply saying we’re sorry, understanding that we will never know nor be able to make up for the pain we have caused,” said Rep. Bobby DuBose, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat and sponsor of the House version of the proposal (HCR 631).

The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the Dozier apology; the House Judiciary Committee unanimously approved both measures.

STORY OF THE WEEK: Key budget-writing committees approved both the House and Senate budget plans, setting up the next stage of the critical negotiations aimed at closing out the 2017 legislative session.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “”It’s been said that this workers’ compensation issue and the bill that we have before us today in general is an egg on a spoon on a tightrope over a whole bunch of molten lava.” — House Insurance & Banking Chairman Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, who is spearheading the proposal.

by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida

Scott Visits Local Leaders At Navy Federal

Gov. Rick Scott was at Navy Federal in Beulah Friday for financial round table with local government officials and business leaders.  Pictured top: Debbie Calder, executive vice president of Navy Federal, addresses the group including Gov. Rick Scott (seated light blue shirt), Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward (seated, right) and Century Mayor Henry Hawkins (standing, right). Pictured below: Enterprise Florida’s Mike Grissom talks about the importance of partnerships in diversifying and stregthening Florida’s economy. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click toe enlarge.

Man Convicted Of Armed Robbery Of Cantonment Couple

An Escambia County man has been convicted of robbing an elderly couple at gunpoint in Cantonment during an armed home invasion.

Aray Donell Levine, 22, was convicted by an Escambia County jury of robbery with a firearm, theft from a person 65 years of age of order ($10,000 or more but less than $50,000), aggravated battery while actually possessing a firearm, two counts of aggravated assault (actual possession of a firearm) and grand theft auto.

Deputies arrived at the victims’ home on Pelican Pointe Drive after a reported invasion on May 7, 2016. They found one victim lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen and a second on the floor in a back bedroom. Levine and two other perpetrators  forced their way into the home after ringing the doorbell. They were armed with firearms and demanded money and guns from the victims.

One victim was pistol whipped while two more were threatened at gunpoint.

Prior to fleeing the scene the perpetrators stole nearly $20,000 in cash as well as the elderly victims’ 2008 Cadillac.

Levine is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2 before Circuit Judge Gary Bergosh. He faces up to life in state prison with a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in state prison.

Bond Denied For Former Coach Accused Of Sex Crimes

A former Tate High School football coach and church youth leader facing 42 sexual assault charge has been denied bond during a hearing Friday. He is due back in court next week for an arraignment hearing.

Charlie Hamrick, 54, is charged with abusing four victims. He faces a total of 42 counts of sexual abuse, including 36 counts of capital sexual battery. Upon conviction, each capital count carries a minimum mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Eight additional people have come forward as possible victims in the case. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating those claims. So far, no additional charges have been filed.

Those new allegations include claims that Hamrick gave unlicensed physical exams to athletes at Tate High School during is 2012-2015 tenure there as a supplemental football coach. Those physicals, it is alleged, may not have been limited to just football players.  The physicals included genitalia exams.

Hamrick was paid a supplement as a football coach at Tate High School from August 1, 2012, to September 14, 2015. He was not a teacher and did not have students under his watch in a classroom. He passed all of the background checks at the time.

For a previous story, click here.

Dry Weather Creates Increased Fire Potential

Officials with the Florida Forest Service’s Blackwater Forestry Center are issuing words of caution as high winds and low humidity have all but negated the effects of this week’s rainfall.

Thursday brought winds upwards of 25 mph in much of  the three-county area and the forecast calls for extremely low humidity through Sunday. When combined, these factors dry out smaller vegetation such as grass, shrubs and small limbs and debris that while great for backyard burning of yard trash, can increase the chances of a wildfire.

“We’re certainly not in an extreme fire situation, we’re simply urging caution,” said David Smith, operations administrator for Blackwater. “Spring is the peak of Florida’s fire season and we want people to be aware of the potential.”

There are no burn bans in effect in our area but residents must still follow certain requirements: Burning piles of yard debris less than 8 feet in diameter is allowed if it is 25 feet from and wooded area or combustible structure, 25 feet from your house, 50 feet from a paved public road and 150 feet from other occupied dwellings.

Piles greater than 8 feet require a burn authorization from the Florida Forest Service and must meet more stringent standards. For more information about authorizations, call Blackwater  Forestry Center headquarters at (850) 957-5701.

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