Photos Show Morning Tornado
December 28, 2015
There were no injuries reported as multiple tornado warnings were issued for the North Escambia area Monday morning. Here are photos of the storms from NorthEscambia.com –
Pictured above: Looking toward Molino, reader photo by Christopher Dell.
Pictured above: This photo was taken as radar showed a rotation crossing over I-10 in Beulah as the storm headed toward Molino. NorthEscambia.com photo by Ramona Preston.
Pictured above: Looking toward Molino, reader photo by Travis Hill.
Pictured above: View from Salter Road in Chumuckla, reader photo by Tanner Lunsford.
Pictured above: Gulf Power works on a downed line near the intersection of Chavers and Molino roads in Molino. NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Price.
NorthEscambia.com photos.
IP To Award $75,000 In Community Grants
December 28, 2015
Interntional Paper Pensacola Mill (IP) will award $75,000 in Foundation Grants in 2016, in honor of the mill’s 75th anniversary. The foundation normally awards $50,000 per year, but the amount was increased this year due to the anniversary.
The deadline for all 2016 grant applications is Monday, January 11, 2016.
Grants are awarded by the IP Foundation in Memphis which focuses on environmental education, literacy, employee involvement, and critical community needs. Applicants must be a registered 501c3 non-profit organization, school, or qualifying government entity to apply.
For more information about the Foundation and/or to apply online, interested applicants should visit www.ipgiving.com.
For more information on the grant process, contact Janice Cooper Holmes, communications manager, at 850-968-4203 or e-mail janice.holmes@ipaper.com.
Suspect Arrested For Dollar General Robbery
December 28, 2015
A suspect has been arrested for the armed robbery of a Dollar General store Sunday afternoon.
The armed robbery was reported about 3:12 p.m. Sunday at the Dollar General on Pine Forest Road near Highway 297A, near the rear of the Publix store on Nine Mile Road at Pine Forest.
Norris Ray Harvey, age 33 of Nine and a Half Mile Road, was booked into the Escambia County Jail on an armed robbery charge. He is being held on a $100,000 bond.
Deputies were on the scene moments after the robbery was reported, establishing a perimeter to search for a suspect. There were no injuries reported.
Pictured top and bottom: The scene shortly after an armed robbery at the Dollar General on Pine Forest Road just north of Highway 297A. Pictured directly below: Deputies, like this one on Pine Forest Road at Trailwood Drive, quickly established a perimeter around the store. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
2015 In Photos: January
December 28, 2015
Today, we begin a look back at the year 2015 in photos with a look at January:
The Pensacola Pelican Drop celebration in downtown Pensacola signaled the start of 2015.
Fire destroyed a home on Cedartown Road near Molino.
An eagle on a cold January morning outside our NorthEscambia.com office.
The Tate High School varsity cheerleaders won first place at the FHSAA regionals.
Molino Park Elementary School students “Read Like Crazy” during January.
Firefighters battled several brush and grass fires in January 2015.
Sara Calhoun was honored by the Escambia County School Board as the Florida Reading Association’s Elementary School Teacher of the Year.
Firefighters successfully revived two cats rescued from a travel trailer fire.
Century residents gathered to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Huge crowds turned out in Atmore for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade.
Members of CrossFaith Church in Molino shared cardboard testimonies.
Gas prices in the North Escambia area finally dropped below $2 at several stations in January.
The Florida Forest Service and Escambia County Forester distributed free longleaf pine seedlings in Century and Walnut Hill in recognition of Arbor Day.
Benjamin Boutwell, the newest member of the Century Town Council, was sworn in during a January meeting.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott was sworn in for a second term.
An icy January morning, with a little help from a sprinkler system.
NorthEscambia.com photos.
Man Recovering After Being Stabbed At Strip club
December 28, 2015
A man is recovering after being stabbed at an Escambia County strip club early Sunday morning.
The incident occurred around 1:45 a.m. in a parking lot at Babe’s, 4024 North Davis Highway. Pensacola Police Detective Lisa Alverson said a suspect fled the scene after stabbing a 44-year-old man. The victim was hospitalized in critical condition.
Further details have not been released as Pensacola Police continue their investigation.
Anyone having information on the incident is asked to contact the Pensacola Police Department at (850) 435-1900.
Man Killed In I-10 Wreck
December 28, 2015
A Milton man was killed in a two vehicle wreck Sunday morning on I-10.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 34-year old Maurice Kent Martin, Jr. was traveling east on I-10 at the 21 mile marker when his 2003 Ford Explorer drifted onto the shoulder. Martin over-corrected, causing the vehicle to overturn and collide with a concrete traffic barrier. The vehicle to rest on its roof in the outside lane where it struck by a 2006 Hyundai Elantra driven by 26-year old Jenny Emma Gresens of Pace.
Martin was transported to West Florida Hospital where he later passed away, while Gresens received minor injures.
There were no charges filed.
Bill Would Allow For Unemployment Cops To Pursue Benefit Violators
December 28, 2015
Two Central Florida lawmakers havey filed bills that seek to crack down on fraud in the unemployment system, including by allowing the state Department of Economic Opportunity to employ law-enforcement officers.
The bills (HB 1017 and SB 1216), filed by Rep. Mike La Rosa, R-St. Cloud, and Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, are filed for the legislative session that starts January 12.
In part, they would allow the Department of Economic Opportunities’ Division of Workforce Services to employ certified law-enforcement officers whose primary duties would be to investigate and enforce laws related to the unemployment system. The bills also would toughen penalties for people who fraudulently obtain unemployment benefits.
They would be disqualified from receiving benefits for five years after a first fraud-related incident, 10 years after a second incident and would receive a lifetime ban after a third incident, according to the bills.
by The News Service of Florida
Ernest Ward Middle School Names Students Of The Month
December 28, 2015
Ernest Ward Middle School recently named Students of the Month. The are (L-R) John Bashore, sixth grade; Libby Pugh, seventh grade; and Keaton Brown, eight grade. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Children’s Health Program To Resume Eligibility Screenings
December 28, 2015
After months of legal wrangling, the Florida Department of Health in January will resume screening and enrolling kids with complex medical conditions into the specialized Children’s Medical Services program.
The department on Tuesday filed a new rule for the eligibility screening process, which will go into effect Jan. 11, spokeswoman Mara Gambineri said.
The move follows months of turmoil over the question of eligibility for the Children’s Medical Services program, which provides coordinated care for children with “chronic and serious” medical conditions.
Since May, when a new eligibility screening process went into effect, 9,000 children have been dropped from the program. In September, an administrative law judge found that the department had been using the screening tool without first holding a rule-making process. The screenings stopped in late September, and rule-making began.
“Now the Department of Health has done the right thing,” said Paolo Annino of the Public Interest Law Center at Florida State University, who filed the administrative complaint. “They’ve gone through rule-making, there’s a new standard, and it’s going to be used for the future — prospectively.
“But we still have the issue of the 9,000 children who’ve been excluded.”
The dispute springs from the state’s transition to Medicaid managed care, which was completed last year. Under the new system, the Children’s Medical Services Network became a “specialty plan” serving Medicaid beneficiaries. In May, when its eligibility screening tool was introduced, it consisted of a five-question survey taken by parents over the phone. Critics said the questions were confusing, especially to non-English speakers. But no input from physicians or other medical professionals was allowed.
Annino represents a handful of children who — despite significant disabilities — lost their eligibility under that screening tool. He contends that the Department of Health should have adopted the instrument as a rule, especially before using it to screen children out of the network. State agencies often have to adopt detailed rules to carry out broader policies.
However, Annino praised the screening tool that will go into effect next month as “far superior” to the old one. It will include the five-question parent survey, but also what’s called an “attestation form,” for physicians to attest to a diagnosis, and a list of diagnoses that qualify children to enroll in the program.
Additionally, the Department of Health has pledged to revisit the screening tool and diagnosis list in three months.
But as Annino is trying to get the handful of kids he represents reinstated in Children’s Medical Services, he’s worried about others who lost their eligibility and were referred to Medicaid managed-care plans.
The Department of Health contends that special-needs kids receive the same care either way, but critics dispute that.
Annino is pushing the Department of Health to notify families that they might be able to get reinstated to the Children’s Medical Services program.
“The agency has (all the children’s) contact information,” he said. “Even if the parent decides, ‘No, I like my new doctor. I don’t want to go back to CMS’ — well, that’s their choice. But what I’m hearing from kids who’ve been denied (is) they do want to go back to the same providers they’ve been having for many, many years.”
The Department of Health has established a Children’s Medical Services hotline (855-901-5390) for parents. Also officials say the families of kids who lost eligibility should apply for reinstatement at local Children’s Medical Services offices.
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
Holiday Travel Up As Gas Prices Head Down
December 27, 2015
Gas prices for this Christmas weekend were below $2 per gallon for the first time in seven years, according to the latest numbers from AAA.
The average price per gallon of regular unleaded gas was $1.99 Saturday in Escambia County, compared to $2.29 one year ago and a slight increase from $1.96 one month ago. Several stations in Escambia County were as low as $1.89 per gallon on Saturday.
AAA projects the number of year-end holiday travelers will top 100 million for the first time on record. Nearly one in three Americans will take a trip this holiday season, with 100.5 million expected to journey 50 miles or more from home. This represents a 1.4 percent increase over last year and the seventh consecutive year of year-end holiday travel growth. The year-end holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, December 23, 2015 to Sunday, January 3, 2016.
The increase in holiday travel this year is being driven by continued improvement in the labor market, rising incomes and low prices, including gas prices that remain well below last year’s levels. This is helping boost Americans’ disposable income, but some consumers continue to remain cautious about their finances as they head into the holiday season.