Century Council Honors Late Member Annie Savage, Discusses Replacement
November 8, 2016
The Century Town Council paused Monday night to remember Council Member Annie Savage, who passed away recently at age 75.
A black ribbon marked Savage’s place at the council table Monday night, the first meeting since her death. The council paused for a moment of silence in her honor.
The council also discussed a temporary appointment to the seat. The council decided that council members will accept names of those interested in serving and discuss a replacement at their November 21 meeting. A special election will also be scheduled for a permanent appointee to fill Savages unexpired term of just over four years.
Pictured top and bottom: A black ribbon marked the place of late council member Annie Savage Monday night in Century. Pictured inset: A file photo of Savage. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FDLE Agent Accused Of Abusing Third Young Boy
November 8, 2016
A third victim has surfaced in the case of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement special agent accused of child sex crimes.
Charles “Chuck” Calvin McMullen was arrested on an additional charge of lewd and lascivious behavior and held without bond in the Santa Rosa County Jail.
He was first arrested on two counts of sexual battery on a victim under 12 and two counts of lewd lascivious behavior victim less than 12 years old.
The mother of the third victim contacted the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office after reading about McMullen’s first arrest. She became concerned because her child spent “almost every other weekend” at McMullen’s home, and she questioned her son.
The son told his mother and investigators that McMullen touched him in and inappropriate sexual manner.
McMullen investigated similar cases during his five year employment with the FDLE. He previously worked as Chief of the Cybercrimes Unit for then-Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and for the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office.
For more information about his previous arrest, click here.
Pictured top: Charles Calvin McMullen. Courtesy WEAR 3.
Ransom Middle Academic Tigers Move on to Nationals
November 8, 2016
Students from Ransom Middle School have once again qualified to compete at the national level at the Middle School National Championship Academic Tournament.
The members of the Ransom Academic Team participated in the Second Annual Lewis Falcons Middle School Academic Tournament in Valparaiso on November 5. They competed against 28 middle school teams from across the Florida Panhandle.
The matches in the tournament challenged team members to work together to answer complex academic questions more accurately than an opposing team. To gain an advantage each team tried to answer more quickly than the other team.
Clarissa Brown and Lucinda Bateman coached the teams for Ransom Middle and explained that the tournament questions are so much more than quick “trivia” questions.
“They have a pyramidal structure, where the questions begin with more difficult clues, slowly progressing to more familiar information. It rewards the more knowledgeable students for their ability to answer quickly while only using less, and more difficult, high-level information,” Brown explained.
Members of Ransom Middle’s teams were: Ransom Team A – Captain Maggie Brown, Carter Pitts, Abby Gryskiewicz, and Maggie Shaffer. Ransom Team B – Captain Lili Rollins, Ian DeLay, Owen Painter, and Saahil Soni.
Ransom’s Team A finished fifth overall, qualifying them for the 2017 Middle School National Championship Tournament. Brown ranked #8 overall out of 124 players.
“We are so proud of their outstanding and enthusiastic effort, and how well they continue to represent Ransom Middle School and Escambia County Schools,” Bateman said.
The 2017 Middle School National Championship Academic Tournament will be held May 12-14 in Dallas.
Pictured top: Ransom Academic Team members (front, L-R) Carter Pitts, Owen Painter, Saahil Soni, Ian DeLay, (back, L-R) Maggie Shaffer, Abby Gryskiewicz, Lili Rollins, Maggie Brown. Pictured below: Team A ready to complete (L-R) Gryskiewicz, Shaffer, Brown and Pitts. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pollution Notification Plan Continues To Draw Objections
November 8, 2016
Despite some changes to reassure the business community, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection continued to hear objections Monday to a pollution-notification rule proposed in the wake of high-profile incidents in Pinellas and Polk counties that raised questions about state environmental regulations.
The proposed rule, ordered by Gov. Rick Scott, would require any business, county or city government responsible for a pollution incident to notify the public within 24 hours. It was developed after a major St. Petersburg sewage spill and after a sinkhole at a phosphate plant south of Lakeland sent toxins into the Floridan Aquifer and threatened drinking water.
Some revisions to the rule were released Friday after members of the public — primarily advocates for utility companies — testified at a series of workshops about concerns the proposal would saddle them with undue regulatory burdens and substantial new compliance costs.
Within 24 hours after the initial public notification, according to the revised language released Friday, the responsible parties would have another day to release specifics of the pollution’s likely effects.
The revisions also specify exactly how the news media would have to be notified: at least one local newspaper, by email or hand-delivered notice, and at least one local network television station, also by email or written correspondence.
The department also released a statement of economic impact to the affected industries.
The proposal “will not have a direct or indirect adverse impact on economic growth, private-sector job creation or employment, or private-sector investment of $1 million” over five years, according to the department.
But that prediction did not quell the worries of industry groups, which said business or local government in-house press shops were ill-equipped to handle the public notification aspect of the new rule.
“This is, I think, an undue burden on these companies. … We feel like notifying DEP and letting DEP notify the local governments would be the best course of action,” said Tisha Keller of the Florida Trucking Association.
David Childs, representing the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council, stressed that the department should notify the public, as it has “toxicologists, biologists and communications staff, as well as the bully pulpit of the executive branch of state government,” unlike businesses and small local governments that might not have the resources to provide the notice.
Another consistent complaint from municipal and industry interests was that the rule had simply moved too quickly. Scott ordered the rule’s drafting in September.
Despite the ongoing concerns, the department has indicated it will continue according to its plan to begin finalizing the rule immediately after 5 p.m. Wednesday, when a public comment period formally ends.
“We certainly will take the comments that were previously provided, as well as those today, and the department will make a final decision on what the final rule will look like,” said Robert Williams, chief deputy general counsel at the department.
Pictured: The Town of Century had 500 gallon sewage spill into this ditch near the Century Woods Apartment on West highway 4 on October 20. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Driver Cited After Electrifying Crash
November 8, 2016
A Cantonment driver was cited after hitting a utility pole Monday afternoon.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 35-year old Timothy M. Wickam was westbound on 9 1/2 Mile Road at 2 p.m. when his 1994 Nissan left the roadway and struck a traffic sign and a power pole, causing multiple lines to fall and spark a grass fire. His vehicle then continued into an AT&T warning pole and multiple large bushes.
Wickham was transported by Escambia County EMS to Sacred Heart Hospital with minor injuries. He was also ticketed by the FHP for failure to maintain lane.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Krist Barbour, click to enlarge.
Sewage Leak Reported At Century Woods Apartments
November 7, 2016
The Town of Century has cleaned up a sewer leaking into an apartment complex driveway.
A lift station stopped pumping and filled sewer lines, which caused about 25 gallons of sewage to leak from a manhole onto the driveway pavement of the Century Woods Apartments on West Highway 4. The leak was reported by apartment management about 9 a.m. The lift station alarm was working property but due to the time of the day, no one reported the alarm. The “tenants were at work,” according to a public notice.
The lift station was repaired and the area was disinfected. “There is no potential risk to the public health, safety or welfare,” the town said.
Shots Fired At Escambia Deputies In Cantonment; Sheriff Issues Warning For Suspect
November 7, 2016
There was a massive manhunt today in Cantonment after shots were fired at Escambia County deputies. There were no deputies hit or injured.
The deputies were working to serve a felony warrant in the 900 block of Booker Street area when someone in a silver Dodge Charger or a black Chevrolet Impala drove by and shot at them, according to Amber Southard, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
“We have reason to believe that someone attempted to ambush our deputies in Cantonment,” Escambia County Deputy Sheriff David Morgan said.
Deputies were attempting to serve warrants on Jeffrey Jermaine Purifoy (pictured left) for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill and aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony at the time the shots were fired.
“Mr. Purifoy, I am looking for you. I request that you turn yourself in. This is Escambia County, FL. Unlike other places in the United States of America, when shot at, we shoot back. Or especially when we have cowards who attempt to ambush our officers. You entered into a very deadly game young man,” Morgan said. I recommend that you turn yourself in.”
Morgan requested that the citizens of Cantonment provide any information on Purifoy’s whereabouts. “Do it now, before someone gets hurt,” Morgan said.
Anyone with information on Purifoy’s whereabouts should call (850) 436-9620 or 911.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Century Awarded $1.3 Million In Housing, Tornado Recovery Grants
November 7, 2016
The Town of Century has been awarded $1.3 million in state grants for tornado recovery and other housing assistance.
“I’m excited about this,” Century Mayor Freddie McCall said. “This is going hand and hand with what we need right now for long term recovery.”
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity made $600,483 in emergency funding available for recovery efforts following the February 15 EF-3 tornado. The application process for Century was basically a formality…the state announced that Century is the only local government eligible to apply for the funds.
Century was also awarded $700,000 small cities Community Development Block Grant for housing rehabilitation and replacement that can be used for tornado recovery but it not limited to such.
“I am going to keep my eye on these grants and work to make sure they benefit our people in Century as much as possible,” McCall said.
Pictured: Century Mayor Freddie McCall. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Utilities Continue Pouring Money Into Support Of Solar Amendment
November 7, 2016
Four major electric utilities have surpassed the $20 million mark in combined contributions to support a proposed constitutional amendment on solar energy.
Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy last week dropped nearly $3 million into the “Consumers for Smart Solar” initiative — Amendment 1 on the ballot — that has been opposed by most major environmental groups in the state.
The latest money came as ads from Consumers for Smart Solar proclaim that Amendment 1 is “solar done right.” But backers of the initiative also have been grappling with a controversy stemming from the release of a tape in which a policy director for a Tallahassee-based think tank claimed to outline the utility industry’s efforts to deceive voters.
The latest contributions, $2 million on Oct. 24 from FPL and $999,998 last Tuesday from Duke, brought to nearly $20.2 million the amount the state’s four largest private utilities have spent on the amendment.
FPL has directed $8.055 million to the amendment. Duke Energy is at $6.7 million. Tampa Electric Co. has provided $3.2 million, and Pensacola-based Gulf Power is at $2.2 million.
Overall the Tallahassee-based Consumers for Smart Solar has received $25.78 million, of which $21.1 million has been spent. The group also has received $341,100 in-kind contributions.
By comparison, the state’s most expensive constitutional amendment campaign, the 2004 trial lawyer-backed Floridians for Patient Protection effort that pushed ballot initiatives opposed by the Florida Medical Association, spent $28.65 million.
Sarah Bascom, a spokeswoman for Consumers for Smart Solar, pointed to high advertising costs during this year’s elections.
“Due to the presidential election, Florida has remained a battleground state throughout the 2016 election cycle, making media costs more than we originally anticipated,” Bascom said in a statement on Monday.
FPL President Eric Silagy has said the Juno Beach-based company is backing the solar-energy amendment to guarantee consumer protections that now could be usurped by local and state government rule changes.
“I know it’s a popular story line to say this is just the utilities that are trying to protect a monopoly, but we don’t have a monopoly on rooftop solar, ground-mounted solar or anything else,” Silagy said when asked about the amendment earlier this month during a Florida Chamber of Commerce event in Orlando.
A company spokesman on Monday referred to prior comments in an editorial by Silagy.
The Consumers for Smart Solar amendment would enshrine in the Florida Constitution existing rules regarding the use of solar energy by private property owners. The proposal also includes a more-contentious provision, which states that people who haven’t installed solar on their property “are not required to subsidize the costs of backup power and electric grid access to those who do.”
Proponents say the second provision provides consumer protections for people who don’t install solar panels. Opponents, such as the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, say it could result in “discriminatory charges” against rooftop solar users and limit the desire of people to go solar.
Critics of the amendment upped their efforts this month after the Miami Herald reported on an audio tape in which James Madison Institute Vice President of Policy Sal Nuzzo described how to use a “little bit of political jiu-jitsu” by promoting solar to win support for desired changes in policy.
Nuzzo’s comments came while speaking Oct. 2 at the “Energy/Environment Leadership Summit” in Nashville, Tenn.
“It should now be clear to all that Amendment 1 is a manipulatively designed tool for the utility industry to continue to dominate the energy market in Florida,” Tory Perfetti, chairman of Floridians for Solar Choice, an opposition group, said in a release Monday. “There is no other reason to dedicate roughly $25 million in an attempt to pass this anti-consumer, anti-solar, anti-free market amendment.”
The James Madison Institute asserted that Nuzzo misspoke. Consumers for Smart Solar said the James Madison Institute wasn’t involved in planning or drafting the proposal.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
I-10/Highway 29 Interchange Project Reaches Milestone
November 7, 2016
Crews reached a milestone last week on the I-10/Highway 29 interchange improvement project by setting the six beams needed for the new, wider I-10 eastbound bridge. Widening the bridge will eliminate the left-hand merge from Highway 29 north to I-10 eastbound and create a through travel lane. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.