Cantonment Woman Busted After Fleeing From Deputy
December 20, 2016
A Cantonment woman is facing charges after allegedly fleeing from deputies attempting a traffic stop.
An Escambia County deputy observed a vehicle driven by 25-year old Erica Shavanne Raily at the intersection of Booker and Robinson Streets. The deputy attempted a traffic stop with lights and siren for seat belt and window tint violations. Raily refused to stop, but did slow her vehicle down long enough for a black male to jump out and run. The deputy pursued the black male on foot, but was unable to apprehend him.
Another deputy caught up with Raily at the Raceway gas station at the corner of Highway 29 and Muscogee Road. There, she refused to tell deputies that name of the man that ran from her car, but deputies were able to find his identification card in the vehicle. They determined that he has an active felony warrant for violation of probation, and they are still looking for him.
Raily was charged with fleeing and eluding and obstructing justice without violence. She was also ticketed for not wearing a seat belt, illegal window tint and no proof of insurance. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $6,000 bond.
Raily’s vehicle was seized by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Electors Go For Trump Amid Protests
December 20, 2016
With more attention than usual — following the most-unusual presidential campaign in recent memory — Florida’s 29 electors met Monday to formally cast their votes to send Republican Donald Trump to the White House.
A last-ditch effort in Florida, and across the nation, tried to get members of the Electoral College to bolt from Trump and throw the election into the U.S. House, where supporters hoped that a more mainstream Republican could prevail.
But the effort largely fizzled, with only four defections reported Monday in Washington state and two in Texas. Three of the Washington electors voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and another voted for Native American leader Faith Spotted Eagle. One Texas elector voted for former Republican Congressman Ron Paul, while another voted for Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
In Florida, the votes for Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, were never really in doubt. The slate of electors was made up of GOP stalwarts, from fundraisers to activists to elected officials.
None of them voiced any doubt about voting for Trump, despite the fact that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the popular vote nationally by more than 2.5 million votes. That, Trump’s supporters pointed out, is not how presidential elections are decided.
“The strategy was to spend all of your money in these truly swing states that decide the presidency,” said state House Appropriations Chairman Carlos Trujillo, a Miami Republican and elector. “That was the strategy that both sides invoked. Obviously, one was successful and one wasn’t.”
Outside the Senate chamber at the state Capitol, where the electors gathered, about 100 protesters asked Trump’s supporters to look elsewhere for a president. Signs referred to Trump as racist, sexist or xenophobic.
“Trump Has No Conscience. Do You?” read one poster. Another, alluding to Florida’s role in the disputed 2000 election that saw Republican George W. Bush elected despite losing the popular vote, said: “I can’t believe I have to protest this again.” As the electors voted, protesters chanted “Love Trumps Hate.”
In addition to the argument that Clinton won the popular vote, some protesters portrayed Trump as the kind of dangerous demagogue that the Electoral College was meant to prevent.
“This is the time,” said Anne Timoner, a self-described liberal Democrat who said she would join a movement against the Electoral College if Trump won. “And I’ll say another thing to them: If (the electors) don’t do it now, they do not deserve to exist. … I think this is their life-or-death moment.”
Some electors said they didn’t hear or didn’t pay attention to the chants of the protesters outside the chamber. But it was hard to ignore a torrent of messages leading up to the votes. Some of them were belligerent and included death threats.
Republican Party of Florida Chairman Blaise Ingoglia said he received about 55,000 emails, pieces of mail and Facebook messages asking him to change his vote.
Ingoglia, who is also a state representative from Spring Hill, thanked electors after the vote for persevering.
“I know it was a long, hard haul and I know over the past couple of months you have been inundated with a lot of sometimes harassing messages asking you to switch your vote,” Ingoglia said. “And I know that for many of you, if it was like me, it was an intrusion on your privacy, and it took away some family time.”
Others didn’t seem to mind. Senate President Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican who served as an elector, said he also heard from thousands of people inside and outside of Florida wanting him to back another candidate.
“I viewed the public input a little differently, as redress of grievances,” Negron said. “And so I didn’t really object to the vast majority of people that wrote or contacted us (who) were reasonable.”
He also shrugged off the less-tolerant messages.
“It was such a small percentage that I don’t think it’s worth noting,” Negron said.
Ingoglia said he believed that the protests would lead to a wider movement, of the sort described by Timoner.
“I think that this is a start of a narrative that the left wants to have from now up until the next election cycle and the election cycle after that for a push for a national popular vote, which obviously our government was never intended to do that,” he said. “We’re a constitutional republic; we’re not a democracy.”
The opponents made clear they want to have such a discussion.
“We’re here to say we don’t want that system anymore,” said Maxwell Frost, state organizer for Democracy Spring, which planned demonstrations against the electoral vote in all 50 states. “And we’re here to tell those electors that they should vote with the United States of America, which is against Trump.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Obama Commutes Sentences, Two Northwest Florida Men Included
December 20, 2016
President Barack Obama pardoned 78 people and shortened the sentence of 153 others convicted of federal crimes Monday. It’s the most number of individual clemencies in a single day by any president.
The sentences of two Northwest Florida men were reduced:
Willie Brazile – Pensacola, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (two counts); Northern District of Florida
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (September 10, 1996)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months’ imprisonment.
Maurice Davon Cawthon – Milton, FL
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of a mixture and substance containing cocaine base; possession of a shotgun in relation to a drug trafficking offense; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession of an unregistered firearm with an overall length of less than 26 inches, including a barrel of less than 18 inches; Northern District of Florida
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; eight years’ supervised release; $600 fine (December 17, 2004)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.
Obama has now pardoned a total of 148 people during his presidency and has shortened the sentences of 1,176 people, including 395 serving life sentences.
Vehicle Fire Threatens Home
December 20, 2016
Firefighters were able to extinguish a vehicle fire Monday in Cantonment with minimal damage to a home just feet away. The fire on Millet Circle off West Roberts Road melted some vinyl siding on a garage. There were no injuries. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jim Allen Fourth Graders Donate Pet Food
December 20, 2016
Cheryl Massey’s fourth grade students at Jim Allen Elementary School collected pet food for the Pensacola Humane Society. This was the 10th year Massey has sponsored a pet food donation. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sixth Red Bulb Added In Wreath Fire Safety Campaign
December 19, 2016
A fire on the 8300 block of Gardenia Circle represents the sixth red bulb on the “Keep the Wreath Green” fire safety wreath. Escambia County Emergency Communications received a call for a multi-residential structure fire Friday, Dec. 16 at 9:32 p.m.
Crews arrived on scene to find light smoke showing from a kitchen fire in the single-story duplex. The fire was called under control at 9:55 p.m., with severe fire damage to the kitchen and some damage leading to the attic. No one was injured in the fire, but two adults were displaced. Escambia Fire Rescue Stations 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, NAS Pensacola Fire Truck 34 and EMS responded.
The “Keep the Wreath Green” fire safety campaign is a collaborative initiative with the city of Pensacola to promote fire safety during the month of December. During the month-long campaign, five-foot wreaths are on display at 18 county fire stations and five city fire stations, with wreaths also placed outside Escambia County’s Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building downtown, the Escambia County Public Safety Building, Pensacola City Hall and Cordova Mall near the food court entrance. Each time firefighters respond to a residential fire with damage, a green light bulb will be replaced with a red one to remind citizens of the dangers posed by fires in residential home.
Couple Defies Odds Of Survival; Thanks The Heroes That Saved Them
December 19, 2016
A couple that doctors say probably should not be alive took the time to say “thank you” to the first responders that helped saved their lives a year ago.
The morning of November 4, 2015, was a beautiful, blue sky kind of day. Cecil and Robin Carnley were traveling on Highway 29 just past Hoghway 95A when a pickup truck crossed the median and slammed into their 1999 Dodge Durango.
The firefighters from the nearby Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue were among the first on the scene. They were joined by the Ensley, Brent and Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and LifeFlight in a lengthy and extensive rescue effort. Mr. Carnley was trapped in his vehicle and required extensive extrication lasting nearly an hour.
The doctors gave them less than a three percent chance of survival. Mr. Carnley lost his leg and spent most of the past year in the hospital and rehabilitation. Both are still recovering and face a long road ahead.
There were handshakes, hugs and tears as the family brought the Carnley by the Cantonment fire station, a long with a thank you card and goodies.
“Thanks to we are able to live to celebrate our 1 year of life on 11-4-16,” a handwritten note said. “We are so grateful to call you our heroes. All our love.”
Courtesy and NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Driver Uninjured After Missing Bridge, Rolling Down Embankment
December 19, 2016
A driver was uninjured after driving his pickup truck off the roadway and rolling down an embankment next to a bridge.
The accident happened about 9 p.m. on Rockaway Creek Road just north Nokomis Road. First responders learned that the pickup truck driver had left the scene in a private vehicle. He reportedly suffered only minor injuries.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Atmore Ambulance also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
New Record: Navy Federal Donates 1,600 Toys For Christmas
December 19, 2016
Employees and members of Navy Federal Credit Union are helping make the holidays brighter for children in Escambia County. Recently, members of the United States Marine Corps Reserve visited Navy Federal’s campus in Beulah to collect more than 1,600 toys and a dozen bicycles.
“I am so proud of our employees and members for continuing their generous tradition of donating so more children in our community can benefit from their kindness,” said Debbie Calder, executive vice president of Navy Federal’s Greater Pensacola Operations.
Navy Federal has been collecting the new, unwrapped gifts since November 14. In addition to the toys that were collected, Navy Federal donated $1,500 to the Toys for Tots foundation.
“This effort is the highlight of the Christmas season for me and many of our team members,” said Donald Belcher, Navy Federal training supervisor.
The primary goal of the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program is to help less fortunate children experience the joy of Christmas. Once they are collected by the Marines, the toys are then distributed into the communities where the toys were collected.
In addition to its support of Toys for Tots, Navy Federal employees in Pensacola also donated more than 1,550 items to the Council on Aging’s “Adopt a Senior” program and employees are currently supporting the “Adopt a Family” program though the Escambia County School District.
Hermine, Matthew Damages Near $1.6 Billion
December 18, 2016
Hurricane damages in Florida have reached at least $1.59 billion from the two storms that hammered parts of North Florida and the East Coast this year, according to the latest numbers from the insurance industry and the state.
The numbers don’t include agricultural losses and some damages that local governments are handling without state assistance. Also, the director of the state’s Division of Emergency Management said the numbers remain preliminary and depend in part on future state funding.
Still, the costs tied to Hurricane Hermine and Hurricane Matthew, for which the state expects to receive substantial reimbursements from the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, are the highest for disasters since the much more expensive 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, Division of Emergency Management Director Bryan Koon told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
“That’s to be expected. Hurricanes are our most expensive disasters,” Koon said as he outlined damages to government entities.
Damages from Hurricane Hermine, which made landfall in a sparsely populated part of the Big Bend and swept through Tallahassee in early September, stand around $213.6 million. The total includes $147 million in individual property-damage claims that have been reported to the Office of Insurance Regulation.
The more-powerful Hurricane Matthew, which stayed offshore but caused damage Oct. 6 and Oct. 7 in Northeast Florida, clocks in at $1.376 billion.
By comparison the University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research has placed damages from the 2004 hurricane season, in which four hurricanes hit the state, at $45 billion.
The Matthew total includes 112,000 individual property-damage claims, representing $729 million in value. Volusia, Duval, Brevard, St. Johns and Flagler counties represented most of the claims.
The Matthew figure also includes $430.8 million in damages to government facilities and structures, including damage to a 1.3-mile section of Florida A1A in Flagler Beach that caused Gov. Rick Scott to order expedited repairs.
Koon said the state’s share of storm-damage costs is expected to be offset by money from the federal government and local contributions.
Hermine is expected to directly cost the state about $9.6 million, from emergency protective actions to debris removal, with local government contributions reaching more than $5 million.
Matthew may require about $130.3 million from the state, a figure that includes $77 million being sought from the Legislature in 2017 for an estimated $217 million in beach, dune and park repairs from Duval through Indian River counties.
“First, we do want to focus on the immediate protections needed for structures, we want to look at projects that can be implemented in a timely manner,” said Alex Reed, program administrator for the Department of Environmental Protection’s Beach Management Funding Assistance Program. “The cost estimates are going to be refined as we get more data, and we identify the federal funding as local sponsors prepare their storm-repair plans.”
The state expects to receive $90 million to $100 million from the federal government for projects to harden infrastructure from future disasters, Koon said.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida