Northview Grad Deploys To Africa In Command Of Arkansas Guard Unit
January 6, 2017
A Century native has deployed for Africa in command of his Arkansas Army National Guard Unit.
Capt. Tony Stallworth of the Echo Company 39th Brigade Support Battalion is a 2002 graduate of Northview High School.
The unit’s 66 soldiers will first go to Fort Bliss in Texas for about a month to prepare for a 10 to 11 month mission in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, providing logistical support for an American airbase.
Stallworth is the son of the late Anthony Stallworth, Sr. and Beverly Stallworth. He and his wife Shieisha Stallworth have two daughters, Amaya and Anya Stallworth.
Pictured top: The Echo Company 39th Brigade Support Battalion deployed from Warren, AR. Pictured inset: Capt. Tony Stallworth. Photos courtesy the Saline River Chronicle News, Saline for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
GED Classes Begin Monday In Molino
January 6, 2017
Adult Basic Education/GED classes will be starting Monday, January 9th at the Molino Community Center. Tuition is $30 per semester and students may enroll anytime as there is an open enrollment policy.
George Stone Technical Center is partnering with the Molino Community Center to offer ABE/GED classes every Monday and Thursday from 6-8 p.m. Classes are actively taught by two certified teachers and personalized instruction is given based on each student’s academic level. Tutors are also available during the class in case extra help is needed.
GSTC also offers GED classes at Ensley Elementary every Tuesday and Thursday from 4-6 p.m with no tuition charge. Classes are also offered at Pathways For Change every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. until noon. Free childcare is also provided at the Pathways For Change site.
Judge Rejects Poarch Creek Gretna Track’s Bid To Change Gambling Ruling
January 6, 2017
A federal judge has rejected a request from a tiny Northwest Florida pari-mutuel operated by the Poarch Creek Indians of Atmore to reconsider his decision in a legal battle between the Seminole Tribe and the state about gambling at tribal casinos.
More than a month after U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled in favor of the Seminoles, Gretna Racing in Gadsden County, operated by the Poarch Creek Indians of Atmore, sought in December to intervene in the long-running case.
Hinkle’s ruling in November allowed the tribe to continue offering “banked” card games, such as blackjack, at most of its casinos.
The ruling addressed issues related to “designated player” card games, also known as “player banked” games, that have been offered in recent years at pari-mutuel facilities across the state. Hinkle ruled that the games violate a 2010 agreement that gave the Seminoles exclusive rights to conduct blackjack and other banked games.
Part of the 2010 agreement authorizing banked card games expired in 2015, prompting the legal dispute. By ruling that the designated-player games violated the agreement, Hinkle cleared the way for the tribe to continue offering blackjack and the other games.
Pari-mutuels — allowed by state law to conduct games only in which players compete against each other — first launched the designated-player games in 2011. Florida gambling regulators approved a rule governing the games in 2014.
The state’s lawyers insisted that the games, in which a player acts as the “bank,” do not violate the Seminole agreement — also known as a compact — or state law, even if the manner in which they are being played at some cardrooms might.
But Hinkle, siding with the tribe in his November order, disagreed.
“The essential feature of a ‘banked’ game is this: The bank pays the winners and collects from the losers,” he wrote.
Gretna is among the numerous pari-mutuel cardrooms in the state that offer the player-banked games, which have eclipsed traditional poker in popularity.
In a motion filed on Dec. 15, lawyers for Gretna argued that Hinkle’s ruling could put the small facility and its operators at risk.
“Any form of player banking … could be construed to be a crime subjecting Gretna’s officers to potential criminal prosecution and possible imprisonment,” wrote attorneys David Romanik and Marc Dunbar, who are also part-owners of the Gadsden County facility.
But on Wednesday, Hinkle — who last month also turned down a request by lawyers for the state asking the judge to revamp his decision — flatly refused to reconsider his ruling, saying Gretna had no right to intervene in the case.
“And even if Gretna could have qualified for permissive intervention on a timely application — not an obvious proposition — I would exercise my discretion to deny intervention at this late date as both untimely and otherwise inadvisable,” Hinkle wrote in the two-page order.
Hinkle, however, indicated his ruling in the dispute between the state and the tribe does not affect Gretna.
“The judgment in this case has no binding effect on Gretna, and the order explaining the judgment will have a practical effect only to the extent a future tribunal finds the reasoning persuasive,” Hinkle wrote. “If, as Gretna seems to believe, it has additional evidence that will persuade a judge to reach a different result, Gretna will be free to present the evidence if ever its own interests become the subject of a judicial or administrative proceeding.”
Meanwhile, Gretna is awaiting a decision from the Florida Supreme Court in a lawsuit filed after state gambling regulators refused to grant the track’s request for a slot machines permit.
Gretna sought the permit after Gadsden County voters approved a referendum allowing slots at the pari-mutuel.
The Gretna case is focused on whether gambling operators can add slots if county voters give the go-ahead, even without the express permission of the Legislature. The court’s decision could have far-reaching implications: Voters in seven other counties — Brevard, Duval, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Washington — have also approved slots at local pari-mutuels.
Amid the legal wrangling, Gov. Rick Scott’s administration and the tribe are again trying to negotiate a revised compact after the Legislature last year failed to approve an accord. Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, recently told reporters that he has made it a priority to get a compact ratified, a move that would require legislative authorization.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Diapers, Baby Wipes Could Get Tax Break
January 6, 2017
Two Democratic lawmakers have filed proposals that would provide sales-tax exemptions for diapers and baby wipes.
Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, filed the tax-break bill (SB 252) on Thursday, slightly more than a month after House Minority Leader Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, filed the House version (HB 71). The proposals, which will be considered during the legislative session that starts March 7, would provide tax exemptions for baby diapers, adult diapers and baby wipes.
Lawmakers during the upcoming session also are expected to consider bills (SB 176 and HB 63) that would provide sales-tax exemptions on feminine hygiene products such as tampons.
by The News Service of Florida
Tate Wrestling Team Wins Holiday Invitational Tournament
January 6, 2017
The Tate High School wrestling team won the recent Tate High Invitational Tournament.
Several Tate Aggie wrestlers received medals. They were:
- Jacob Cochran
- Lee Pedicord
- Alex Porter
- Matthew Blalock
- Kendall Townley
- Isaiah Brill
- Juan Alvarez
- Jeff Rafuse
- Alex Young
- Orlando Milhouse
- Azaya Purifoy
- Jacob Neales
- Jacob Nowling
Second place at the tournament went to Dora, AL and third place was Fultondale, AL.
Pictured: The Tate High School wrestling team. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Judge Denies Bond Reduction For Century High Speed Chase Suspect
January 6, 2017
A Century man that led law enforcement on a high speed chase from Pensacola to Baldwin County last October will remain in jail.
At a hearing this week, Judge Thomas Dannheisser denied a motion to reduce bond for 29-year old Roosevelt Lamont Dixon. He remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set $162,600. He is charged with fleeing and eluding law enforcement at a high speed, knowingly driving with a suspended license second offense, cocaine possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, fleeing and eluding law enforcement, robbery, driving with a suspended license first offense, aggravated battery and carjacking.
On October 20, an Escambia County deputy in an unmarked vehicle first spotted Dixon on Pensacola Boulevard near I-10 in a Dodge Charger. Dixon took I-10 to Davis Highway as deputies worked to get marked units in the area in order to conduct a traffic stop. He continued to Creighton Road. A traffic stop was attempted in the Rooms-To-Go parking lot on Davis Highway at Airport Boulevard. Dixon allegedly fled north on Davis Highway to I-10 back to Pensacola Boulevard.
The pursuit traveled north to Cantonment and Molino at speeds over 100 mph. The vehicle was chased into Alabama and Highway 112 before Florida deputies lost sight of it. Baldwin County law enforcement located the vehicle near the Foley Beach Expressway and I-10. Dixon was apprehended in a wooded area following a K-9 search.
Several schools in the North Escambia area were place on lockdown during pursuit as a precaution.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, this was not the first time Dixon had run from them.
On June 16, deputies conducted on a traffic stop on a Hyundai Sonata with no tag on Tulip Street near Century, just yards from the Alabama state line. The deputy reported that after the Sonata came to a stop, Dixon allegedly pushed the female driver out of the car, jumped into the car and fled, nearly running over her and taking her vehicle without her permission. Dixon fled into Alabama.
Dixon was also wanted since 2015 on drug charges after the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit and a SWAT team executed a search warrant at his home and recovered items including crack cocaine and spice.
Dixon remains in the Escambia County Jail without bon
One Injured In Tate School Road Crash
January 5, 2017
One person received minor injuries in a two vehicle crash about 3:50 this afternoon on Highway 95A and Tate School Road. The injured party was transported to an area hospital by Escambia County EMS. The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Further details were not available. NorthEscambia.com
What Was The Strange Noise In Cantonment Last Night? Not A Fire Breathing Dragon
January 5, 2017
Numerous readers contacted NorthEscambia.com about a strange, loud noise in Cantonment Wednesday night. A couple of readers even described the noise as sounding like a “fire breathing dragon”.
NorthEscambia.com tracked down the source of the noise, and no, it was not a fire breathing dragon. It was the International Paper plant in Cantonment literally letting off a little steam.
“Noise may occur if our boilers vent steam to bring our equipment back to service. We are back operating today,” said Janice Holmes, spokesperson for IP, adding that the plant was in compliance with all laws regarding noise levels.
“We always want to be great neighbors by listening and responding to community concerns as quickly as possible,” Holmes added.
Always better neighbors than a fire breathing dragon, we presume.
The sound can be heard from a distance in the video above, and from near the plant in the video below. Reader submitted videos by Alisha Sloan and Brittany Seale.
Pedestrian Struck And Killed By Cantonment Man On Nine Mile Road
January 5, 2017
A pedestrian was struck and killed on Nine Mile Road late Wednesday night.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 52-year old Ricky W. Polk of Saucier, MS, was walking west on Nine Mile Road near the intersection of Cove Avenue when he was struck by a 1999 Dodge pickup driven by 56-year old Marlon K. Shelton of Cantonment. Polk was pronounced deceased on the scene of the 11:19 p.m. crash.
Shelton pulled over to the shoulder of the road following the crash.
The FHP is investigating to determine if Polk was in the roadway or on the shoulder at the time of the crash. Any charges against Shelton are pending the outcome of the investigation.
Teen Hit By Vehicle On Chemstrand Road
January 5, 2017
A teen pedestrian was struck by a vehicle Wednesday morning on Chemstrand Road.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 15-year old Jacob Gallawa was walking along the shoulder of Chemstrand Road when he stepped into the path of a 206 Dodge Ram driven by 49-year old Cynthia Williams of Pensacola.
Gallawa transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in critical condition. Williams and her 8-year old passenger were not injured. No charges were filed in the crash.