Owe A Library Fine? Pay With Cash — Or Blood
June 21, 2016
The West Florida Public Libraries will now accept blood in lieu of library fines.
The library will waive fines up to $50 for participating patron in exchange for the cardholder donating blood, or making a good-faith effort to donate, at blood drives held at the West Florida Public Libraries. Following a successful blood drive at the main, blood drives will be held once at each library branch during the next year.
The blood donation credit will only apply to fines, not replacement charges for lost materials. If a patron wishes to donate their credit to another individual or family, the library will honor this request. But library patrons will not be allowed to accumulate credit on their account.
The first blood drive will be held Tuesday, June 28 at the main library to be followed by blood drive at a different library location every two months, rotating to each of the library branches in Escambia County. Donors will also receive a free t-shirt and a special edit “I Blood for Books” library card.
Evers Riles Activists With AR-15 Facebook Giveaway
June 21, 2016
Barely a week after the worst mass shooting in the nation’s history, state Sen. Greg Evers — running in a hotly contested Republican primary for a Panhandle congressional seat — drew criticism for planning to give away a semiautomatic rifle similar to a gun used in the attack that killed 49 people and injured dozens of others at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
Evers, a Baker Republican who has frequently sponsored legislation backed by the National Rifle Association, announced Monday he is giving away an AR-15 rifle to a resident of Congressional District 1 who has “liked” and “shared” Evers’ Facebook page. Killer Omar Mateen used a similar gun during the deadly assault early June 12 on the Pulse nightclub.
“With terrorism incidents on the rise, both at home and abroad, protecting our constitutional rights has never been more important,” Evers said in a prepared statement accompanying the announcement.
The winner of the “custom-built” rifle will be selected on July 4, with the contestant having to meet eligibility requirements, according to a press release and a post on Evers’ Facebook page.
But LGBT activists decried Evers’s decision to essentially raffle off the gun while funerals for the 49 clubgoers — most of them gay and Hispanic — have just begun.
“I think it is tasteless, disrespectful, disgusting, political pandering at its worst,” Stratton Pollitzer, deputy director of Equality Florida, an LGBT advocacy group that has raised more than $6 million for victims of the massacre. “The idea that he wants to put the same style assault rifle that was just used for mass murder into the hands of a random stranger is grotesque.”
Evers is running to replace veteran U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller — who announced earlier this year he will not seek re-election — in what is expected to be a brutal campaign against state Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, and James Zumwalt, an Iraq war veteran and former Miller aide.
Evers made his announcement the day before U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch is scheduled to travel to Orlando to meet with victims, first responders and other members of the Orlando community reeling from the attack on the popular nightclub in the wee hours of a Sunday morning.
Critics view Evers’ gun giveaway as a way for him to beef up support from Second Amendment backers in arguably the state’s most conservative congressional district, which abuts the Alabama border and spans Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties and includes most of Holmes County. The winner of the Aug. 30 GOP primary is almost certain to go to Washington.
“Sen. Evers’s campaign gimmick will improve self-defense for exactly one Floridian. I’ve spent a legislative career fighting for Second Amendment rights for all Floridians,” Gaetz said in a telephone interview Monday.
Evers’s gun contest comes as some, including President Barack Obama, push lawmakers to consider imposing restrictions on the purchase of assault weapons like the one used by the shooter in the Orlando massacre.
Evers defended his AR-15 contest by accusing Obama of blaming the Orlando catastrophe on guns, “when the real threat is radical Islamic terrorism.”
“Where I’m from, people ain’t gonna sit around and wait for the government to protect them, they’ll protect themselves. That’s what this is about — promoting self-reliance in the face of Islamic terrorism,” Evers said in an e-mail.
But Liz Watkins called Evers’s campaign ploy an insult, especially in Pensacola, which has courted the LGBT community and draws thousands of gay tourists each Memorial Day weekend for a major gay pride celebration.
“I think it’s criminal,” Watkins, a Pensacola LGBT activist, said. “I think he is contributing to the death of people. If he isn’t stopped by the law somehow, then Republicans need to look in this guy’s face and say you need to think about what you’re doing. … I’ve got to tell you my stomach’s turning from it.”
Pamela Goodman, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, said her group is “outraged” by Evers’s announcement.
“We do not believe that actions like that can solve the issue at hand. We need to be having discourse and conversation and action with the people of all sides weighing in on this issue,” Goodman said in a telephone conference call with reporters on Monday.
But as offensive as Evers’s giveaway might be to some, others believe it won’t hurt him in a primary where candidates are eager to flaunt their allegiance to gun rights.
“There’s a decent chance that whoever gets (the rifle), it will be their second AR-15,” said GOP strategist J.M. “Mac” Stipanovich, who splits his time between Tallahassee and Destin, which is included in the congressional district. “There’s a cultural and political divide here that’s hard for some folks to understand. What happened in Orlando, a number of people, including many people in the Panhandle, believe that is an alarm bell, a summons to arm yourself against the coming darkness, the bad guys who are out to get us.”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Escambia District High School, Middle School Report Cards On The Way
June 21, 2016
Escambia County School District high school and middle school report cards will be on the way later this week, nearly a month after the last day of school.
Grades were delayed while the school district awaited the arrival of end of course exam scores from the state. Those were received last Friday and have been verified by the schools.
According to Superintendent Malcolm Thomas, the grades have been entered and final reports cards are available for download now in the “Focus Parent Portal” (click here). Report cards will be mailed on Thursday.
Photos: The Strawberry Moon
June 21, 2016
The summer solstice coincided with a full moon Monday night — a rare event that last happened in 1967 and won’t happen again until 2062.
The strawberry moon is the nickname for June’s full moon and does not refer to the perceived color of the moon. The strawberry moon got its name from the Algonquin tribes, which interpreted it as a signal to gather ripening strawberries, according to the Old Farmers Almanac.
Pictured top: The strawberry moon shot from Walnut Hill. Pictured below: The strawberry moon rises over a field in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Man Arrested On Animal Cruelty Charges
June 20, 2016
An Escambia County man has been arrested on animal cruelty charges, one year after Escambia County animal control seized 16 animals from a property near Cantonment after it was discovered they were being kept without adequate food or water.
Paul Allen Craft, 49, was charged with four counts of unlawful confinement and abandonment of animals. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $2,000 bond.
Three pot-bellied pigs, four goats, two cows, five horses, one donkey and one mule were seized from Ridgecrest Lane off Stout Road in June 2015. Three of the horses were taken to Panhandle Equine Rescue in Cantonment, while the other animals were taken by Escambia County.
The charges, according to court documents, related to the lack of food and water for two confined horses, a foal and pigs.
Three horses were described as malnourished at the time of their seizure by Panhandle Equine President Diane Lowery.
“We appreciate the help of Escambia County Animal Control, the Sheriffs Office and the State Attorneys Office for following through by filing charges,” Lowery said Sunday.
The only horse rescue in Escambia County, Panhandle Equine Rescue was founded by a small group of concerned citizens with a mission to rescue, rehabilitate and provide adoption services for abused, neglected and abandoned equines. PER is authorized by the court system to investigate equine cruelty in Escambia County.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
County Waives Noise Ordinance For Event At Molino Bar
June 20, 2016
The Escambia County Commission has voted to approve a limited waiver of the county’s noise ordinances for an outdoor event at a Molino bar.
Th event honoring returning veterans and the July 4 Independence Holiday is planned for 10 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, July 2 at Louie’s Tavern in the 200 block of Molino Road. The all-day event will include live music in the evening.
The Building Inspections Division will issue a Special Event permit for the exemption. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office will be notified that the waiver was issued.
Driver Flips Pickup Truck Off Bridge
June 20, 2016
One person was injured when he flipped his truck off the Eleven Mile Creek Bridge on East Kingsfield Road late Sunday morning. After being extricated by firefighters, the driver was transported by ambulance to a Pensacola area hospital. The driver’s name and condition have not been released. The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County FFA Students Receive State FFA Degrees
June 20, 2016
A dozen Escambia County FFA members received their coveted State FFA Degrees last Friday during the 88th Florida FFA Convention in Orlando. The State FFA Degree is highest honor bestowed upon any regular member of the Florida FFA Assocation.
2016 State FFA Degree recipients from Escambia County Schools were:
Northview High School: Kaitlyn Nicole Kleinatland, Bethany Cheyenne Reynolds, Haylee Alease Weaver, Courtney Bryce Weekly.
Tate High School: Owen Phillip Carter, Rachel Joy Grammer, Heath Haydon Herndon, Bricen Trace Iannone, Victoria Lynnne Kent, Patra Nicole Miller, Michael Austin Rising
West Florida High School: Miranda Marie Vidak
Pictured above and below are FFA members from Escambia County at the 88th Florida FFA Convention in Orlando last week, including those from Northview, Tate and West Florida high schools and Ernest Ward Middle School. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century $400K Grant Recognized In Brownsfields Redevelopment Forum
June 20, 2016
Nearly 70 representatives from local government and engineering and environmental consulting firms joined state and federal experts to learn more about the economic and environmental benefits of Florida’s Brownfields Redevelopment Program.
During the forum, the town of Century was recognized for its recent selection by EPA to receive $400,000 in brownfields assessment grants. These funds will be used to conduct environmental site assessments within the town of Century and the neighboring town of Flomaton, Ala. After the assessment phase, grant funds will also be used to prioritize the sites, develop cleanup plans and conduct community outreach activities. This will pave the way for the former hazardous waste and petroleum sites to become safe and environmentally sound locations for redevelopment, providing economic benefits for these communities.
“The Brownfields Redevelopment Program provides incentives to help revitalize communities and foster economic development,” said Joe Ullo, director of DEP’s Division of Waste Management. “It is an honor to not only recognize the town of Century for their success on obtaining the brownfields assessment grants from EPA, but also to be a part of educating our communities about these programs that empower communities, local governments and other stakeholders to work together to assess, clean up and reuse properties previously impacted by pollutants.”
Through economic and regulatory incentives, the Brownfields Redevelopment Program encourages the restoration and redevelopment of contaminated sites, which helps create new jobs and boost the local economy. For the program’s incentives to be available to a community, a local government must designate a brownfields area by resolution.
“It is a priority for DEP to focus taxpayer resources on projects that provide a direct benefit to the environment and local communities, and the Brownfields Redevelopment Program is designed to do just that,” said Shawn Hamilton, director of DEP’s Northwest District. “Utilizing these incentives, our local communities can redevelop unused properties to meet local needs. We have seen many successful brownfields redevelopment projects in Northwest Florida and this annual forum encourages continued success.”
As of 2015, statewide, there have been 404 Brownfield Area Designations, 258 Brownfield Site Rehabilitation Agreements and 88 Site Rehabilitation Completion Orders issued since the program’s inception in 1997. More than $155 million has been invested in Florida’s communities through this program.
One Injured In Cantonment Wreck
June 20, 2016
The driver of a Toyota Tacoma was injured when he lost control and ran off the roadway on Annie Bell Driver near Jacks Branch Road in Cantonment. He was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. There were no other occupants in the truck. The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.