Former Broadcaster Gehman’s Funeral To Be Simulcast In Atmore
December 2, 2016
The Pennsylvania funeral service of a former Atmore broadcaster and community leader will be simulcast Saturday at a local church.
Randy Dale Gehman, age 59 of Akron, PA, passed away November 22 at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Gehman and his family members owned and operated WASG AM 550 radio in Atmore beginning in November 1981, and the family brought WYDH FM on air before selling both stations in the early 1990’s. Gehman was the popular host of the stations’ morning show for years. He was also a broadcast engineering, moving back to his native Pennsylvania to continue that career. He was involved in numerous Atmore area community events and organizations.
Gehman as a member of Poarch Band of Creek Indians and served on the Tribal Council for 13 years.
Grace Fellowship in Atmore will host a video simulcast of the funeral on Saturday. The doors will open at 9:30 a.m., and the simulcast will begin at 10 a.m.
For the complete obituary, click here.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Trans World Radio, (PO Box 8700 Cary, NC 27512 or www.twr.org/donate) in memory of Randy Dale Gehman.
Former PPD Chief Now A Chief Deputy At The Escambia Sheriff’s Office
December 2, 2016
Former Pensacola Police Chief Chip Simmons was sworn in Thursday as a chief deputy of operations at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. His job will include running the patrol, investigations and SWAT divisions. After retiring from he PPD, Simmons joined Escambia County as an assistant county administrator last year. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Santa Claus Visits Century Library (With Photo Gallery)
December 2, 2016
Santa Claus paid a special visit to the Century Branch Library Tuesday afternoon taking those special Christmas wishes.
Top requests were for tablet computers, hoverboards, iPhones, and books. There was also a request for a motorcycle, and one young lady asked Santa to make it the “best Christmas ever” for her entire family.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Santa will be back in North Escambia on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for a special Pajama Story Time with Santa at the Molino Branch Library. Children invited to wear their comfy, cozy pajamas, brink a blanket and join the library staff for a stories, milk and cookies along with a very special visit from Santa Claus. Parents are encouraged to bring their cameras.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Scott Calls For Law Enforcement Salary Increase
December 2, 2016
Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday began rolling out his budget proposals for next year’s legislative session, unveiling a plan to boost pay for law-enforcement officers by 5 percent.
Scott said the pay raise, for the spending year that begins July 1, would affect about 4,000 officers and cost $11.7 million.
“This year, Florida’s state law enforcement officers were put to the test like never before,” Scott said, underscoring the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando and two hurricanes that hit the state. ” … Through these times of adversity, our state law enforcement fearlessly answered the call and put themselves in harm’s way — standing strong in the face of danger.”
Sworn officers would be eligible for the raises if they work in agencies including the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Department of Financial Services, the Florida Lottery, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the Florida Department of Legal Affairs and the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam quickly backed Scott’s request. “Florida’s law enforcement officers put it all on the line for us, and I wholeheartedly support Governor Scott’s budget that puts them first,” Putnam said.
Scott is expected to continue releasing pieces of his budget proposal until close to the beginning of the legislative session, which opens March 7. Lawmakers will consider Scott’s proposals as they negotiate a final budget.
by The News Service of Florida
Victim Trapped In Two Vehicle Crash
December 2, 2016
One person was injured in a two vehicle crash Thursday night on Klondike Road at Wilde Lake Boulevard. Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to free the victim from their pickup truck. Their condition was not available. Further details have not been released as the Florida Highway Patrol continues their investigation. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino Christmas Parade Is Saturday; Still Time To Enter
December 2, 2016
The 14th Annual Molino Christmas Parade is set for Saturday at 11 a.m.
The parade route starts at the west end of Crabtree Church Road and ends and the Molino Ballpark were Santa ill be waiting to visit with all the good little boys and girls.
To participate in the parade, preregister at Jimmy’s Grill or register the day of the parade. Registration fees are $30 for floats; $20 for vehicles, motorcycles, tractors or golf carts; and $10 each for horses. No 4-wheelers or go-carts. All proceeds go directly back to the community to help children in need.
For more information, contact René at (850) 255-3330 or Jimmy’s Grill at (850) 754-0041. Donations such as toys and non-perishable foot items can be dropped off at Jimmy’s Grill.
The rain date will be Sunday, December 4 at 2:30 p.m.
Pictured: The 2015 Molino Christmas Parade. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Woman Stabbed, Boyfriend Arrested
December 1, 2016
A woman is recovering after being stabbed by her boyfriend Thursday morning in Cantonment.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Andrew Hobbs said a woman’s boyfriend took her car and then returned to her home on Jonah Avenue. As deputies were responding to her call about a disturbance about 9:30, they pulled up to hear the woman screaming that she was being stabbed.
Deputies made entry into the home and took 28-year old Anthony Vincent McCormick of Cantonment into custody. He is s being held without bond in the Escambia County Jail on a felony charge of aggravated battery using a deadly weapon.
Hobbs said the victim suffered multiple cuts from a knife, which was recovered at the scene. She was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with injuries that were no considered to be life threatening.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Tornado Damage Assistance Application Deadline One Month Away
December 1, 2016
Time is running out to apply for funding from the State Housing Initiatives Partnership, or SHIP, program to assist homeowners needing repair or replacement housing assistance as a result of the February tornadoes in Escambia County. Applications must be approved prior to December 31, 2016, so applicants are encouraged to contact the appropriate agency as soon as possible.
Potential applicants residing in unincorporated Escambia County, including the town of Century, should contact the Escambia County Neighborhood Enterprise Division at 850-595-3011, and those residing in the city of Pensacola limits should contact the City of Pensacola Housing Division at 850-858-0306.
Income limits apply, and the property must have been owner occupied at the time of the storm and current on property taxes to receive assistance.
Pictured: Tornado damage in Century. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Two Arrested In Motel Room With Drugs
December 1, 2016
A Cantonment woman is one of two people facing charges after deputies allegedly found a trafficking quantity of drugs in her Pensacola motel room.
Kacie Nicole Cobb, 26, was charged with first degree felony methamphetamine trafficking and possession of drug paraphernalia. A second person occupying the room at the Red Roof Inn on Plantation Road was also charged. Dalton Ray Heckman, 25, was charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia. Two other individuals in the room were not immediately charged with any crime.
Inside the room, deputies reported finding 33 grams of methamphetamine, hypodermic needles and other drug paraphernalia, a small quantity of heroin, a 12 gauge short barrel shotgun, a loaded Colt 45 caliber handgun, a Ruger 45 caliber revolver, and additional ammunition.
Cobb remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $101,000. Heckman remains jailed without bond due to an outstanding probation violation charge.
Hurricane Season Ends With First Florida Strikes In Over 10 Years
December 1, 2016
Florida ended its 2016 hurricane season Wednesday, marking the first time in more than a decade that the Sunshine State was hit by a hurricane.
When Hurricane Hermine came on shore near St. Marks, a coastal community south of Tallahassee, in the early morning hours of Sept. 2, it ended a record string of 3,966 days, or 10.87 years, without a hurricane making landfall in the state most prone to being hit by tropical storms, according to a new analysis by Colorado State University.
Prior to Hermine, a Category 1 storm, Florida was last hit by Hurricane Wilma, a 120-mph, Category 3 storm, which struck Southwest Florida on Oct. 24, 2005.
Florida also came close this year to a direct hit by a major hurricane, as Hurricane Matthew, which was the first Category 5 storm in the Atlantic basin since 2007, came within 50 miles of Florida’s East Coast, raking the state Oct. 6 and Oct. 7 before making landfall Oct. 8 in South Carolina as a 75 mph Category 1 hurricane.
Matthew’s near miss extended the United States’ streak of avoiding a landfall by a major hurricane, defined as a Category 3 storm with winds of 111 mph or higher, for 11 consecutive years, the longest streak based on records dating to 1851, according to Philip Klotzbach, the Colorado State University researcher who wrote the analysis. The last major landfall was with Wilma in 2005.
Although Matthew was a “close call” for Florida, the powerful storm caused extensive damage in coastal counties including Brevard, Volusia, St. Johns, Flagler and Duval. It knocked electrical power out for more than 1 million Florida homes and businesses.
Gov. Rick Scott, who faced his first hurricanes since taking office in 2011, said several lessons were learned from the storms. From Hermine, which plowed through Tallahassee and blacked out 80 percent of the electric power in the state capital, Scott said it underscored the need to better coordinate utility resources to restore power.
From Hurricane Matthew, which forced a number of counties to close schools for several days, Scott said the state “can work better at getting our schools opened faster.”
In terms of storm damage, the 2016 hurricane season fell far short of some of Florida’s worst seasons, including 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, which caused an estimated $24 billion in insured damages in Florida and Louisiana, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
With data reflected through October, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said Hermine resulted in $95 million in property-damage claims, with Leon County accounting for about 3,500 of the 18,222 claims.
Hurricane Matthew has resulted in more than 100,000 property-damage claims, representing $606 million in value. Volusia, Duval, Brevard, St. Johns and Flagler counties represented more than 70 percent of those claims.
Updated damage claim reports will be filed in December, according to state insurance regulators.
Citizens Property Insurance, the state-backed insurer, said it has paid out $10.7 million in claims related to Hermine and Matthew, with 84 percent of the 4,000 claims closed.
The impact was relatively light for the insurer, which has more than 472,000 policies representing $128 billion in exposure. But Barry Gilway, the Citizens president and CEO, said the 2016 storm season tested the insurer’s ability to handle hurricane claims.
“We clearly showed that Citizens is ready as we received excellent feedback for our claims handling from our customers,” Gilway said. “That said, we will continue to look for ways to improve.”
In a new analysis of the national property-insurance industry, Fitch Ratings said damage from Matthew, which also impacted other states, including Georgia and South Carolina, is likely to fall at the “low end” of estimates in the range of $2 billion to $8 billion.
The six-month hurricane season was in line with an August estimate from Colorado State University, which had predicted 15 named storms in the Atlantic basin. There were 15 storms, although the three major hurricanes and seven overall hurricanes each exceeded the estimate by one storm each.
The season began with Hurricane Alex, a rare powerful January storm that remained far out in the Atlantic. The season ended with Hurricane Otto, the latest calendar year Atlantic hurricane on record to make landfall. It hit southern Nicaragua as a Category 2 storm last Thursday.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pictured: Hurricane Matthew.