Escambia Sample Ballots In The Mail
August 13, 2016
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David H. Stafford has announced that sample ballots for the August 30 Primary Election were mailed to Escambia County voters this week. The sample ballot includes a ballot image, the voter’s polling location and information on the three ways to vote: early, vote-by-mail, and on Election Day. A sample ballot is also available at EscambiaVotes.com.
Voters have three different ways to cast their ballot:
· By Mail: Voters may vote by mail using a vote-by-mail ballot, which can be requested through the online form at EscambiaVotes.com, or by contacting the Supervisor of Elections by mail, phone (850) 595-3900, e-mail (votebymail@escambiavotes.com), or fax (850) 595-3914. Requests must include the voter’s date of birth and the address, and must be received no later than Wednesday, August 24. Voted ballots must be received in the Elections Office no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day and may not be returned to a polling location. Vote-by-mail voters may track the status of their ballot at EscambiaVotes.com by clicking Track My Ballot.
· Early Voting: Early voting will be available Saturday, August 20 through Saturday, August 27 at seven different locations. Early voters will cast paper ballots through our digital scanners.
Early voting will be held at the following locations and times:
o Supervisor of Elections Office, 213 Palafox Place, Second Floor, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
o Main Library, 239 Spring Street, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
o Molino Community Center, 6450-A Highway 95A, Molino, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
o Genealogy Branch Library, 5740 B, 9th Avenue, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
o Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
o Bellview/Saufley Early Vote Site, 916 W. Michigan Avenue, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
o Escambia County Extension, 3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
· At Your Precinct: The third option for voters is to cast a paper ballot at their precinct on Election Day, August 30. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. An AutoMARK ballot marking device is also available at each polling place and early voting site for persons with disabilities.
Florida is a closed primary state. In a primary election, voters may only vote for candidates in their party of registration unless there is a universal primary contest, a nonpartisan contest, or other issue on the ballot.
Jay Man Gets 41 Years For Fatal DUI Crash
August 13, 2016
A Jay man was sentenced Friday to 41 years in prison for a 2014 fatal DUI crash just hours after he was released from jail.
Melvin D. Hawthorne was convicted by a Santa Rosa County Jury of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, driving while license cancelled suspended, or revoked with careless or negligent operation of a vehicle resulting in death, DUI with serious bodily injury, and DUI with property damage.
Hawthorne was sentenced as a habitual felony offender and as a prison releasee reoffender.
Hawthorne was released on bond from the Santa Rosa County Department of Corrections at approximately 9:00 a.m. on August 17, 2014.
About 12 hours later, Hawthorne was speeding in his stepfather’s black 1998 Nissan Frontier pickup truck east of Berrydale on Highway 4 when he attempted to pass a Ford F150 towing a boat that was traveling at 55 mph. Hawthorne side-swiped the Ford and continued down Highway 4. Hawthorne then ran the stop sign at the intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 87 and continued to speed. He failed to turn and crashed into a railing. Hawthorne then backed up and again sped down Highway 4. He rear-ended a Dodge Neon carrying five people.
A passenger sitting in the rear of the Neon, 13-year old Shawn McLaughlin of Baker, was entrapped in the Neon and died at the scene of the crash. Another passenger sitting in the rear seat of the Neon, Raistlin Bunch, age 14 of Baker, was also entrapped in the vehicle and suffered a severe leg fracture.
A blood sample was taken from Hawthorne and tested positive for high levels of methamphetamine. Hawthorne was identified as the driver of the Nissan truck through forensic evidence as well as witness statements.
Florida Sending Crews To Fight Wildfires In Colorado
August 13, 2016
Florida is sending 40 firefighters to help battle a series of blazes in mountainous areas of Colorado, the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced. The Florida Forest Service crews, working in five-member units, will receive their assignments Friday as they join firefighters from Alabama, Georgia and Puerto Rico in battling the fires. “This type of work can be exhausting and hazardous due to the extreme terrain and intense flames found in Colorado,” Florida State Forester Jim Karels said in a prepared statement. “By assisting other states, our wildland firefighters build their expertise and enhance their capability to protect Florida from approximately 4,000 wildfires every year.” The deployment brings to 70 the number of Forest Service workers helping with wildfire suppression and management operations in eight states.
by The News Service of Florida
Fans Meet The Aggies
August 13, 2016
Tate High School held a “Meet The Aggies Night” Friday night with a chance for fans to meet the 2016 football team, coaching staff and cheerleaders.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Sweep Doubleheader With Tennessee
August 13, 2016
Pensacola second baseman Alex Blandino slid head first into home and appeared to be out easily. But Blandino lifted his left arm over the tag by the catcher and slapped home plate to give the Blue Wahoos another walk-off win in the first game of a doubleheader.
With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Pensacola right fielder Sebastian Elizalde slapped a line drive into short right field. It scored center fielder Brandon Dixon with the tying run and Blandino with the winning run to give Pensacola a 4-3 victory over the Tennessee Smokies. Elizalde’s hit extended the Blue Wahoos franchise record to 10 walk-offs this season.
Elizalde said he didn’t know what pitch was thrown to him on his walk-off single. He went 4-9 in the doubleheader and his season batting average has rebounded to .263.
“I was ready to hit the ball,” Elizalde said. “Everything over the plate, I’m going to swing.”
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly was happy to see Elizalde getting the clutch hit after batting .172 last month—his lowest average for a month this season.
“He had a tough month of July,” Kelly said. “He’s been one of our better hitters all year. It’s nice to see him back on track.”
In the second game at Blue Wahoos Stadium, Pensacola jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning when shortstop Zach Vincej rounded the bases on a deep fly ball in the right center gap that Tennessee right fielder Ian Happ chased down but then dropped while on the run. Happ compounded his drop with a throwing error that allowed Blandino, left fielder Phillip Ervin and Vincej to all score on the play.
Pensacola catcher Kyle Skipworth added a two-run homer to left field and the Blue Wahoos ended up sweeping Friday’s doubleheader with an 8-0 victory over Tennessee.
The Blue Wahoos are now 23-24 in the second half, while the Smokies are 19-27.
Meanwhile, in the first game Tennessee went back on top, 3-2, in the sixth inning when first baseman Victor Caratini hit a two-run rocket into the Hill Kelly Dodge berm in right field that also scored second baseman Happ.
The Smokies left two runners on base in the fifth through eighth innings and stranded pinch hitter Daniel Lockhart on second base after he hit a leadoff double in the ninth inning.
Pensacola picked up where the game ended Thursday with two on and two outs in the bottom of the second inning before rain drowned out the opener of the five-game series. Pitcher Tyler Mahle, who pitched two perfect innings, had just bounced a groundball down the first base line into right field for his second RBI of the season when Vincej came around to score and give Pensacola a 1-0 lead.
When the game resumed Friday the Blue Wahoos lead was short lived. Tennessee left fielder Kelly Dugan smashed a first pitch fastball from Pensacola reliever Barrett Astin just left of dead center to tie the game, 1-1, in the top of the third inning.
Pensacola’s Astin made up for allowing the homer with a single past the shortstop, who was playing on the grass, to drive in Ervin from third to put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 2-1, in the bottom of the fourth inning. It was Astin’s first career hit and RBI.
Blue Wahoos reliever Kyle McMyne pitched two scoreless innings to improve his record to 4-3 this season. McMyne has pitched 9.1 scoreless innings in his last seven relief appearances.
“That guy was our closer last year,” Kelly said. “He has had his struggles early on. But that 94 mph sinker is a really good pitch.”
In the second game, Pensacola starting pitcher Jackson Stephens continued to look like a Southern League All-Star. He worked his first complete game shutout, although it was seven innings because of the doubleheader. Stephens also set a new career-high with 10 strikeouts and is now third in the Southern League with 115 strikeouts on the season. He improved his record to 8-10 and lowering his ERA to 3.01.
Stephens has thrown seven innings in each of his past three starts allowing just two runs on 15 hits, two walks, while striking out 22. His last out Friday was a strikeout of Tennessee’s second baseman Lockhart.
“It was like icing on the cake when I got that out,” Stephens said. “I felt like he was the last batter I would face. I didn’t care if it was a strikeout, fly out or ground out. I just wanted to get him out.”
Suicide Inside Escambia Administrative Building
August 12, 2016
One person, reportedly an Escambia County employee, died Friday afternoon from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside the Escambia County Administrative Complex 221 Palafox Place in downtown Pensacola.
The incident happened just before 2:30 p.m. A local woman told NorthEscambia.com that she was entering the main floor of the building when alarms sound and officers went running. She said the building was evacuated, and she was escorted out of the building.
The Pensacola Police Department said that foul play is not suspected in the man’s death. Police were dispatched after receiving a call that at least one gun shot was heard from an office on the second floor where the man’s body was found.
The building is secure, with all visitors required to pass through security and weapons check. But employees reportedly enter the building through a garage and do not pass through a daily search.
The Pensacola Police Department is heading up the investigation and is expected to release more information. Additional updates will be published as they become available.
No Injuries In Highway 97 Crash In Walnut Hill
August 12, 2016
There were no serious injuries in a two vehicle crash Friday morning at the intersection of Highway 97 and Arthur Brown Road, near Ernest Ward Middle School.
Both drivers refused ambulance transport to the hospital. A small dog in one vehicle was also uninjured.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Further details were not released.
Atmore Ambulance and the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Aerial Views: Work Continues On Hwy 29, I-10 Interchange Improvements
August 12, 2016
Work is continuing on the Highway 29, I-10 interchange.
Pictured above is the I-10 eastbound bridge over the ramp from Highway 29 north to the I-10 westbound where crews are driving concrete piles that will support the wider overpass. The widening at this location will create a through travel lane for the U.S. 29 south to I-10 eastbound on-ramp. Once the widening work is completed, traffic from U.S. 29 south will no longer have a left-side merge onto I-10 eastbound.
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Pictured above is an aerial view of I-10 eastbound, near exit 10B, where pile driving is underway. In addition, construction teams are excavating for a new stormwater retention pond (left of photo). A new pond will be constructed to comply with drainage requirements.
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Above is a wider view of I-10 east and westbound looking east. Palafox Street and the CSX railroad overpass are seen crossing over I-10 at the top of this picture. The construction team has shifted I-10 westbound traffic to the outside in advance of widening the interstate for the new ramp configuration. When the interchange improvements are completed, I-10 westbound traffic destined for U.S. 29 north and south will exit the former exit 10B. Exit 10A (I-10 westbound to U.S. 29 south) will be removed and the new ramp will be designated “Exit 10″.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Evers, Hill Oppose Shifting Money Away From Protecting Local Waters
August 12, 2016
Two Panhandle lawmakers and a county commissioner objected Thursday to a $2.4 billion proposal by incoming Senate President Joe Negron to buy 60,000 acres of farmland south of Lake Okeechobee to help reduce toxic algae blooms in Southeast Florida waterways.
In a joint release, state Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, state Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola Beach, and Santa Rosa County Commissioner Bob Cole announced plans to build a coalition against what they see as a potential shift of money away from protecting waters in North Florida.
“Water issues are critical to Florida’s future,” Evers said in a prepared statement. “We need plans that address our entire state’s water issue and not just one area. Sen. Negron’s proposal is shortsighted; it will cost billions of dollars, take decades, and still not fix South Florida’s problem. It will, however, put the rest of the state’s conservation dollars at risk.”
Evers, who will not be in the Senate next year, is running for Congress. Hill is seeking to replace him in the Senate.
In the announcement, they called on “all elected officials and business leaders in North Florida to stand up for North Florida’s water and North Florida taxpayers.”
The proposal, announced Tuesday by Negron, R-Stuart, would buy sugar-industry land as part of an effort to store and clean water and reduce releases from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries.
The plan would require a 50-50 funding match between the state and federal government to buy the land, with the state’s portion involving the bonding of $100 million annually from documentary-stamp tax revenue in the Land Acquisition Trust Fund. Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2014 to set aside money in the trust fund for 20 years to finance the purchase and preservation of state lands.
The proposal is intended to reduce the toxic algae blooms that have appeared in waterways in Negron’s East Coast district as a result of the releases from the lake.
In making his announcement, Negron acknowledged that the money would have to come from other parts of the state budget.
Florida Crystals Corp., which is the largest land owner in the parcels targeted by Negron, along with the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, said in a release they are reviewing the proposal.
A concern for the growers is that more than 100,000 acres have already been removed from farming during the past two decades.
“Taking another 60,000 acres of productive and sustainable farmland out of the EAA (Everglades Agricultural Area) will without a doubt close down our sugar mill and put us out of business,” Barbara Miedema, vice president of the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, said in a release. “Sen. Negron’s plan means losing a thousand or more jobs in the Glades communities, not to mention the impact to businesses in the community that provide services to us.”
by The News Service of Florida
ECSO Seeks Car Burglary Suspect
August 12, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is seeking a man caught on camera during a vehicle burglary in the Nine Mile Road area. Investigators say the man stole ammunition, guns and other items Wednesday morning in the 1400 block of Sturbridge Place off Ashland Avenue. Anyone with information is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP. Courtesy images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
