Molino Park Elementary After School Students Learn Fire Safety
February 20, 2016
Volunteers from the Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue visited Molino Park Elementary School’s after-school program Friday afternoon to teach the students about fire safety. Photos by Kayla Bedell for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Safety Tips, Laws Apply For Burning Yard Debris From Recent Storms
February 20, 2016
In the wake of recent storms and tornadoes, officials with the Florida Forest Service are encouraging people to practice safe burning if and when they began burning yard debris and blown down limbs and trees.
The Forest Service regulates burning and there are several rules, regulations and tips that residents need to follow in order to stay safe, stay legal, and avoid undesirable impacts from smoke. These rules also apply within the town limits of Century.
Click the graphic to enlarge and see setback requirements for burning.
Some tips and requirements to keep in mind before you burn yard waste include:
- Legal burning hours are between 8 a.m. and one hour before sunset.
- It is illegal to burn household garbage (including paper products), treated lumber, plastics, rubber materials, tires, pesticide, paint and aerosol containers.
- Piles greater than 8 feet in diameter will require an authorization from the Division of Forestry.
- Clear down to bare, mineral soil around your pile to prevent the fire from spreading.
- Don’t burn on windy days.
- Never leave a fire unattended – even for a moment. One gust of wind can cause a fire to escape.
- Grass fires can spread quickly. Be prepared. Keep handy a water hose, shovel or other means to put out the fire.
- Make sure the fire is completely out before leaving it – no smoke and no heat.
- If your fire escapes, call for help quickly. Several minutes may pass before a fire department or the Division of Forestry can arrive on scene.
- If your fire escapes, you might be held liable for the cost of suppression and damages to the property of others.
Minimum required setbacks to legally burn yard waste:
- 25 feet from any forested area (grasslands, brush or other wildlands).
- 25 feet from your home or other combustible structure.
- 50 feet from any paved or public roadway.
- 150 from any occupied dwelling other than your own home.
Cantonment Residents Have ‘Coffee With A Cop’
February 20, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office held a “Coffee With a Cop” this week at the Greater First Baptist Church of Cantonment.
The Coffee with a Cop event provided an opportunity for community members to ask questions and learn more about what the ESCO is doing in their neighborhood.
Coffee with a Cop is a national initiative supported by the United States Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Similar events are being held across the county, as local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and state police forces strive to make lasting connections with the communities they serve. The program aims to advance the practice of community policing through improving relationships between law enforcement and community members one cup of coffee at a time.
Pictured: Coffee With a Cop at the Greater First Baptist Church of Cantonment. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Search Warrant Uncovers Drugs, Guns; Three Arrested
February 20, 2016
Three people were arrested Friday after the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office served search warrants on two homes near Warrington Middle School.
As a result of the search, Darryl L. Penn, James Melton and Dominic Robinson were arrested on multiple charges including drug possession and intent to sell. During the searches, deputies seized firearms, cocaine, marijana and prescription drugs from both homes.
Deputies said the search warrants and ultimately the arrests were the result of concern citizen and Crime Stoppers reports.
Walnut Hill 911 Service Restored
February 19, 2016
Repairs to Frontier Communications’ 9-1-1 service in Walnut Hill are complete and residents can once again dial 9-1-1 directly for emergency services. Service was interrupted earlier Friday due to a downed trunk system.
Escambia Commission Declares Emergency; Asks For State Recovery Help
February 19, 2016
The Escambia County Commission voted Thursday night to declare a state of local emergency and ask the governor to take action following Monday’s tornado.
In a letter from Chairman Grover Robinson, the commission is asking Gov. Rick Scott to issue and executive order also declaring a state of emergency in Escambia County due to the tornado and other severe weather. The letter points out that dozens of homes and structures are destroyed or have suffered significant damage in a “severely depressed socioeconomic area and most of these structures are not insured”. The order would allow the county to access as much aid as possible, including SHIP (State Housing Initiatives Partnership program).
The Escambia Commission also voted unanimously to approve a building inspection staff person to serve at the Century Town Hall from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. this Saturday and for a two week period beginning Monday, February 22 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Century Business Center.
The county also voted to waive any fees for building permits needed for storm recovery, and allow the land use certification issued by the Town of Century to serve as the documentation needed to pull the building permits.
The Escambia Commission also approved debris pickup throughout the effected area including both the unincorporated areas of the county and inside the incorporated limits of Century.
For additional tornado recovery information, click here and here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Amtrak Train Rolls Into Atmore (With Photo Gallery)
February 19, 2016
An Amtrak inspection train rolled into Atmore Thursday afternoon in advance of the possible return of rail service to the Gulf Coast.
Amtrak’s Sunset Limited passenger train, which included service from New Orleans through Pensacola to Jacksonville, came to an end along the Gulf Coast due to damage from Hurricane Katrina. The restored rail service would breathe life back into abandoned train stations in Pensacola and Atmore and other cities along the way.
Congresswoman Corrine Brown of Florida was on board the train. She told the hundreds gathered in Atmore that she’s wants to see the service eventually extended to Orlando.
The invitation-only train arrived in Atmore on Thursday/ Passengers boarded buses to spend the night at the Wind Creek Hotel in Atmore, while the empty train continued to Pensacola.. On Friday morning, the passengers were bused to Pensacola to re-board the train at 8 a.m. and continue on to stops in Crestview, Chipley, Tallahassee and Jacksonville.
The train is a test of sorts, testing the potential route and testing the willingness of state leaders from Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana to provide millions in funding for the daily train service. If funding were to be approved, officials said it would be about two years before the train would roll again.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Lawmakers Want More Recess Time For Elementary Students
February 19, 2016
The Florida House wants to give schoolchildren a little more time to go outside and play. House members voted 112-2 on Thursday to approve a bill that would require elementary schools to provide 100 minutes of recess each week — at least 20 solid minutes a day.
But the proposal might not get out the door in the Senate, where it has not been heard in any committees with only three weeks left in the legislative session.
Republican and Democratic House members praised the bill, with Rep. Joe Geller, D-Aventura, saying children are not “little learning robots” and need recess.
“It has a huge impact on our children, and we need to make sure they have that free time,” said Rep. Bob Cortes, an Altamonte Springs Republican who helped sponsor the bill. Only Rep. Michael Bileca, R-Miami, and Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, dissented Thursday.
by The News Service of Florida
Group Distributes 5,000 Pounds Of Food, More To Flomaton Tornado Victims
February 19, 2016
Feeding the Gulf Coast, together with Flomaton Pentecostal Holiness Church and several local volunteer groups and churches in Flomaton and Brewton, distribute 5,000 pounds of free groceries, plus hot meals and clothing to families in the Flomaton area that we impacted by the February 15 tornado. The Thursday distribution took place at the Flomaton Pentecostal Holiness Church. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Backyard Gun Range, Lifetime Hunting And Fishing Bills Head Head to Scott
February 19, 2016
The Legislature sent nine bills to Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday, including a measure (SB 130) known as the “backyard gun range” bill, which is intended to curb recreational shooting in residential areas. Another bill presented to the governor (SB 228) would remove aggravated assault from a list of offenses that lead to people being sentenced under the 10-20-Life mandatory-minimum sentencing law. A third bill (SB 158) would allow people with lifetime fishing or hunting licenses or boater-safety identification cards to have a symbol added to their driver licenses displaying that lifetime status. The addition of the symbol, when the driver’s license is issued or renewed, would come with a $1 fee.
Scott will have seven days to sign, veto or allow the bills to become law without his signature.
Of the remaining measures, one bill (SB 182) would extend several public-records exemptions involving financial “trade secret” information, while a related proposal (SB 180) would make theft of trade-secret financial information a third-degree felony. Four of the measures (SB 1030, SB 1032, SB 1038 and SB 1040) involve technical changes to state statutes.
by The News Service of Florida