GOP Presidential Candidate Ben Carson Coming To Escambia County
October 7, 2015
Republican Presidential candidate Ben Carson and his wife Candy are coming to Escambia County.
On Sunday, November 1, Carson will appear at Books-A-Million on Davis Highway to sign copies of his newly released book “A More Perfect Union: What We the People Can Do To Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties”.
The book discusses the basic principles of the Constitution and “how they relate to our everyday lives”. The event begins at 3:30 p.m. is free and open to the public.
Attendees can purchase copies of Carson’s books, which he will sign until his scheduled departure time, and get a free “thank you” photo with Carson that can be downloaded after the event. Those attendig area asked to arrive early to secure a good place in line.
Traffic: Lane Closures On County Road 97
October 7, 2015
North and southbound lanes of County Road 97, between Highway 297A and Sundance Lane in Escambia County, will experience temporary lane closures due to an Escambia County Commission road project.
The temporary lane closures will begin Wednesday, October 7, and will continue until Friday, October 23, at 9 p.m.
ECUA Responds To Shut Down Of Recycling Plant
October 7, 2015
ECUA is responding after the temporary shut down of a Montgomery facility that processes the company’s recyclables.
ECUA received an email notice this past weekend from the CEO of IREP indicating the temporary closure of the IREP recycling plant, due to a contractual disagreement between IREP and the City of Montgomery, its anchor customer.
“At this time, we have found a home for approximately 30% of recyclables collected, and we continue to seek other processing facilities for the balance of our recyclables,” ECUA Executive Director Steve Sorrell said. “Additionally, we are exploring the possible use of temporary equipment to perform basic sorting and processing of materials ourselves. As a last resort, recyclables that cannot be processed are being hauled to the Perdido Landfill.”
The construction of ECUA’S new recycling facility, scheduled for May 2016 to coincide with the termination of its contract with the IREP facility, is being expedited. The equipment for this facility has already been purchased and will be transported to Pensacola from Oregon by 67 semi trucks. ECUA hopes have that facility in operation by the first quarter of 2016.
“This is a short-term concern we will resolve as quickly as possible, and we urge our customers to continue recycling. ECUA is as committed as ever to the continued viability of our recycling program, and consider this a temporary setback in operations,” ECUA said in a prepared statement.
Click here for an earlier story.
Northview Names Homecoming Court; Plans Parade, Lunch, Pep Rally
October 7, 2015
It’s homecoming week at Northview High School, culminating Friday with a parade, the naming of class maids and homecoming queen, and football against Liberty County.
The parade will line up on the campus of Bratt Elementary School beginning at noon Friday. The parade will begin at Bratt Elementary at 12:45 p.m. and end with a pep rally in the Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium at Northview High. (The general public should not enter the Bratt Elementary campus.)
A homecoming meal will available Friday from 10 a.m. until from the football concession stand to support the Tommy Weaver Scholarship Fund. The $7 meal will include a BBQ pulled pork sandwich, chips, cookies and drink. To reserve lunch, call (850) 327-6681 ext. 248 or tickets are available in the Northview front office. Checks should be made payable to the NHS FFA Alumni.
Friday night homecoming festivities will begin at 6:00 Friday with presentation of the class maids and queen, with game kickoff set for 7 p.m. The class floats will be presented at halftime, and homecoming week winners will be announced.
Pictured: The 2015 Northview High School Homecoming Court – Morgan Myrick, junior; Brittanie McClemore, junior; Autumn Albritton, junor; Amber Freeman, senior; Celeste North, sophomore; Savanna Roux, senior; Anna Nelson, sophomore; Jadlyn Agerton, senior; Jerni Crabtree, sophomore; Danielle Robinson, senior; Gabrielle Kline, freshman; Madison Sherouse, freshman; and Ashtyn Carnley, freshman. Not pictured: Jessica Amerson, senior. Pictured below: Seniors Amber Freeman, Savannah Roux, Jadlyn Agerton and Danielle Robinson. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Flomaton Man Facing Felony Charge For Playground Vandalism
October 7, 2015
A Flomaton man has been charged with the vandalism of a town playground.
Christopher Edward Bingham, 21, was arrested Tuesday for criminal mischief in the first degree, a felony. Bingham was identified by Flomaton Police as the person responsible for the vandalism of the playground equipment at Hurricane Park sometime between July 16 and July 17.
The damage to the playground, which has been closed since the vandalism, was $6,360.
“The Flomaton Police Department will continue to investigate to determine if others were involved in the vandalism,” Police Chief Bryan Davis said.
Photos courtesy Flomaton Police Department for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sheriff’s Office Seeks Attempted Homicide, Home Invasion Robbery Suspect
October 7, 2015
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking for 25-year old Jaquest Derric Norris for attempted homicide and home invasion robbery following an incident that occurred in the 1000 block of South Fairfield Drive on Monday. If you have information on his whereabouts, you are asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
West Florida Tops Northview
October 7, 2015
The West Florida Lady Jaguars defeated the Northview Chiefs Tuesday in high school volleyball action.
In varsity play, West Florida topped Northview 27-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18. In junior varsity play, West Florida beat Northview 25-16, 25-9.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Gary Amerson, click to enlarge.
Open-Carry Gun Bill Hits Business Concerns
October 7, 2015
Floridians permitted to carry concealed handguns would be able to display firearms on the outside of their clothes, under a measure that cleared its first House committee Tuesday.
However, several lawmakers in both parties and an influential business group expressed concerns about the potential impact of the proposal on private property rights.
The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee voted 8-4 to support the measure (HB 163), filed by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, for the 2016 legislative session. It would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to openly carry firearms, something the state has banned since establishing conceal-carry rules in 1987.
Gaetz described his proposal, one of a number of firearm-related bills before the Legislature, as allowing citizens to be “armed with their own liberty.”
The Northwest Florida lawmaker pointed to certain crime rates that are lower in other states that allow some form of open-carry. But he wouldn’t go so far as to say his measure — his father, Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, is sponsoring the Senate version (SB 300) — will make Florida safer.
“I can say that the statements from some of the shrillest voices that oppose the Second Amendment that this will lead to the wild, wild west are unfounded based on any review of the crime data and statistics maintained by the (U.S.) Department of Justice,” Matt Gaetz said.
Still, the measure, backed by gun-rights groups, may need to be changed or face opposition in future committees.
Gaetz said the bill wouldn’t have any impact on a separate proposal (SB 68 and HB 4001) that would allow people to carry concealed weapons on state university and college campuses nor would it permit people to openly carry guns into private businesses that prohibit firearms. Gary Hunter, representing the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said the bill needs more clarity about private property rights.
“That’s an important issue to many businesses who feel like that’s something that could be of concern to them,” Hunter said.
Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President David Hart said outside the meeting that the business group — which hasn’t taken a formal position on the Gaetz proposal but has a board-level policy about protecting private property rights — will oppose the measure if it continues to advance without changes.
Criminal Justice Subcommittee member Scott Plakon, a Longwood Republican who also serves on the Judiciary Committee, said that while he was voting for the measure Tuesday, he hoped the property-rights issues could be worked out before its next committee appearance.
Others said the proposal needs to better define how people can publicly display handguns while openly carrying.
“What we’re talking about is allowing people to walk down a street with a firearm in their hand — pointed down, not pointed at anyone but pointed down — they can lawfully walk past a bank, past a bar, past a school, not encased in a holster,” said Rep. Dave Kerner, a Lake Worth Democrat who voted against the measure. “The right to carry a weapon irresponsibly is not a constitutionally protected right, and that is what this bill will do.”
Kerner added there is little to no instruction in concealed-weapons training courses about how to keep other people from simply taking openly carried firearms.
“The reason that police officers carry their weapons in a level-three holster is because of the fear that if they’re in a fight that weapon can be stolen, taken and used them against them,” said Kerner, a former police officer.
Gaetz said he expects concealed-weapons courses would be changed to include better instruction on how people can secure their weapons while openly carrying.
“We’ve trusted various gun-safety organizations to be able to develop that curriculum,” Gaetz said. “I think a natural consequence of this bill is it will be that that curriculum will evolve to reflect the rights people have.”
As for law enforcement, the Florida Sheriffs Association has yet to take a position. But Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey, who appeared with Matt and Don Gaetz at press conference before the committee meeting, said he supports open-carry as a crime deterrent.
“I will promise you that the best law enforcement agencies in the country has response times in minutes, but violent criminals are going to take our lives in seconds,” Ivey said.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Cloudy Timeline For Medical Marijuana Leads To Frustration
October 7, 2015
With the Department of Health unable to say when licenses will be issued in the state’s new medical-marijuana industry, a House Republican on Tuesday blasted delays in carrying out a 2014 law billed as helping children with severe epilepsy.
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, said “there’s a lot of frustration” among lawmakers who voted to approve allowing non-euphoric types of medical marijuana. He said the Department of Health received applications about three months ago from nurseries seeking licenses to grow, process and dispense the substances, but a panel is still reviewing the proposals.
“It’s been almost two years since this bill was passed, and we still don’t have any restitution for these children that are trying to get this drug that the Legislature recognized as something that is a need for the state of Florida, and I would just like some guidance from the department on, when are we going to have some movement ahead and some timeline here as to when these people (licensees) are going to be picked, when this product is going to be available to people in the state of Florida?” Steube said.
Steube’s comments came after Nichole Geary, general counsel for the Department of Health, made a presentation to the House Health Quality Subcommittee about efforts to carry out the high-profile law. During the presentation, Geary said she couldn’t give a timeline for awarding the licenses in five regions of the state, a critical step in moving forward with making the drugs available.
“At this time, we are unable to provide a date upon which the licenses will be issued,” Geary said. “The department is very mindful of the need to move forward as quickly as possible in issuing the licenses in the five … regions. The panelists have been instructed to move through the applications as diligently as reasonably possible without sacrificing the quality of the review.”
The discussion in the House subcommittee came as two key players on medical-marijuana issues — Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach — plan to hold a news conference Wednesday to talk about cannabis legislation they will bring to the Senate and House. Bradley and Gaetz were lead sponsors of the 2014 law, which became widely known as the “Charlotte’s Web” bill because of a type of medical marijuana that it allowed.
The law allows substances that purportedly do not get users high, with the types of cannabis low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and high in cannabadiol, or CBD. Parents of children with severe forms of epilepsy pushed lawmakers to approve the low-THC cannabis, believing it can end or dramatically reduce life-threatening seizures.
Under the law, the Department of Health was required to put together a regulatory structure for the new industry and faced lengthy legal challenges to its rule proposals. An administrative law judge in May approved a department rule, clearing the way for the process to select one licensee in each of the five regions.
In all, the department’s panel is considering 28 applications for the coveted licenses. But Steube and other lawmakers have been frustrated at the slow pace of the work.
House Health Quality Chairman Cary Pigman, R-Avon Park, tried to shield Geary from questions Tuesday about the license-application process, saying it remain ongoing. But Steube said he couldn’t avoid the issue and alluded to some members of the subcommittee who hadn’t even been elected when the 2014 law was passed.
“Most of this committee didn’t even vote on this bill because they weren’t in the Legislature when this bill went through,” he said. “So there’s a lot of frustration on people that supported this legislation.”
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Atmore Man Killed In Single Vehicle Crash
October 6, 2015
A single vehicle accident north of Atmore claimed the life of an Atmore man Monday night.
According to Alabama State Troopers, 19-year old James Bradley Tolbert was killed when he was thrown from the bed of a pickup truck in which he was a passenger. He was pronounced deceased on the scene of the 8:45 pm. crash on Butler Street, about eight miles north of Atmore.
The driver of the 2003 Dodge Ram, 29-year old James Patrick Godwin of Atmore was not injured.
Further details have not been released as Alabama State Troopers continue their investigation.