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.
Troopers Remain Out In Force
December 27, 2015
The Florida Highway Patrol remains out in force on the highways to provide assistance to motorists, as well as to get impaired drivers off the road during the holiday weekend.
If you need help or see someone driving who you think might be impaired, call *FHP (*347) on your cell phone.
Over 2,000 crashes per day occurred on Florida roads in the days before Christmas last year as people traveled for the holidays.
To make sure you get to your holiday destination and back home safely, FHP has the following travel tips:
- Your seat belt is your vehicle’s best safety feature. Buckle Up!
- Don’t drink and drive. If you are planning to have drinks, make sure you have a designated driver to make sure everyone gets home safely.
- Don’t drive distracted. Keep your eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and mind on driving.
- Get plenty of rest before you head out on your journey. Drowsy driving can be just as dangerous as drunk driving.
- Obey the speed limit and practice courtesy on the highway. You’re not the only one trying to get somewhere for the holidays.
The holiday enforcement campaign continues through January 3, 2016.
Pictured: A FHP traffic stop in Century. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Putnam Seeks Money For Rural Lands, Firefighter Raises
December 27, 2015
Florida’s agriculture commissioner wants raises next year for state forestry firefighters, as well as money to buy and maintain active farm land — items not included in Gov. Rick Scott’s recommended budget.
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, outlining his priorities to reportersk, said he is lobbying lawmakers to include $25 million to keep the Rural and Family Lands Protection program active. Also, he wants lawmakers to provide $2,000 raises for the nearly 1,000 forestry firefighters and support staff, an idea that Scott vetoed earlier this year.
“They are deserving of this pay increase,” Putnam said during a meeting with reporters Wednesday at the Capitol. “They put themselves at risk to protect lives and property in our state. And I hope we can work that through the process.”
The raises are part of a $10 million request regarding the forestry department. The majority of the money would help the agency update firefighting equipment.
Overall, Putnam’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has made a request for a 4 percent increase in funding, which includes $18.7 million to help the citrus industry and $26 million for water-quality projects and to implement and monitor agricultural “best management practices” statewide. The request also seeks to add the equivalent of eight full-time employees to oversee the agricultural “best management practices.”
Putnam is also seeking $25 million for the Rural and Family Lands Protection program, which allows farmers and ranchers to continue using their land while the state is able to keep those parcels from being developed.
“It really has accounted for the bulk of the conservation purchases that have been made the last several years,” Putnam said.
The current year’s budget includes $15 million for the rural lands program, but Scott didn’t include the program in his proposed $79.3 billion budget for the fiscal year that will start July 1.
Scott is asking for $62.8 million for the land-acquisition program Florida Forever, $188 million for work to improve the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee and another $50 million to help maintain the state’s natural springs.
Earlier this year, the Legislature put about $1.6 million in the 2015-16 budget for forestry raises, but the line item was cut by Scott.
Scott told reporters after signing the overall budget in June that he has advocated for performance bonuses for state employees. However, at the same time, Scott defended $2.6 million in pay increases that were included in the budget for employees of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles as “they’re seeing a shortage of applicants, and so that was the rationale.”
Putnam, who is widely expected to run for governor in 2018, said he doesn’t take vetoes personally.
“(Scott’s) got to make a lot of difficult decisions,” Putnam said. “Sometimes you like them. Sometimes you’re disappointed in them. And we’re just going to continue to work hard and make our case.”
Putnam is backing a compromise water-policy proposal (SB 552 and HB 7005) that is expected to be among the first issues brought up for votes in the House and Senate when the regular session begins Jan. 12. He also is seeking $15 million to help improve water coming into and out of Lake Okeechobee and $7 million for the northern Everglades and the state’s natural springs.
The northern Everglades and springs funding would be tied to cost-sharing programs with farmers to better manage runoff and to conserve water, Putnam said.
Putnam also defended the Legislature’s plan this year for carrying out a voter-approved initiative that calls for setting aside money for land and water conservation.
The initiative, known as Amendment 1, requires 33 percent of an existing tax on real-estate documents to go to land buying and maintenance.
Two lawsuits have been filed that contend the legislature’s use of $237 million of the Amendment 1 money in the current year was improperly diverted from conservation purposes to agency staffing and operational expenses.
Putnam said Amendment 1 shouldn’t be “a candy jar,” but that people should expect that some money will be used for the upkeep of public lands.
“In managing a world-class state park system, there is an expectation that the bathrooms will work, that the roads will be in passable shape for the average minivan not to get stuck, that hiking trails will be safe, that bridges — where there are bridges — will be safe,” Putnam said. “Those are legitimate Amendment 1 expenses.”
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Saturday Night Traffic Stop Nets Drugs, Cash
December 27, 2015
The Flomaton Police Department recovered a quantity of drugs, drug paraphernalia and cash during a routine traffic stop Saturday night.
After receiving an alert from an assisting K-9 unit from the Castleberry (AL) Police Department, officers found methamphetamines, marijuana, synthetic marijuana or spice, and digital scales in the vehicle. The driver was arrested and booked into the Escambia County Detention Center Brewton.
The name of he driver and the exact charges have not yet been released by the Flomaton Police Department as they continue their investigation.
Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Gulf Power Donates To Veterans Organizations
December 27, 2015
Gulf Power CEO and President Stan Connally recently presented checks to three organizations — Members of Building Homes for Heroes, the University of West Florida’s Military & Veterans Resource Center and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Each of these organizations supports veterans and their families. The charity proceeds were raised during the third annual Clay Shoot event in November at the Santa Rosa Shooting Center. More than $90,000 was distributed. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sheriff’s Office Seeks Two For Questioning In Murder
December 27, 2015
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking to speak with two people after a recent murder.
Kelvin Dwayne Clemson (pictured left) and Clifford Bernard Gandy, both 25-years old, are wanted for questioning only in the homicide of Raymond Stokes. Stokes was shot and killed on West Jackson Street on December 22.
If you have any information on their whereabouts or the shooting, call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9630 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.