Giant Equipment Trailer Travels Through North Escambia; Parked In Century (With Gallery)
October 23, 2015
A giant piece of equipment being moved from the port of Pensacola to the Georgia Pacific mill in Brewton passed through the North Escambia area overnight and is now parked in Century, within sight of the state line.
The generator turbine is on a trailer that is 18-feet wide, almost 25-feet tall and 173.5-feet long. Along the way, utility crews were forced to lift, pull or remove and estimated 400 obstructions such as power and phone lines. Some residents were without power for an hour or two overnight due to the transport, but most the of the power lines were moved “live” without service interruptions.
The trailer left a Highway 29 weigh station in Cantonment about 9 p.m. Thursday. By 4:30 a.m. Friday, the giant generator had passed through the intersection of East Highway 4 and Highway 29, barely clearing a red light being held by a crane. By 5:30 a.m. a decision had been made not to continue into Alabama. The trailer will be parked until at least Sunday night on an empty lot in Century, just south of the state line. At last report, neither state will allow the trailer to move over the weekend, until 9 p.m. Sunday.
Another large generator is still at the Port of Pensacola awaiting transport to Brewton. On a trailer, it will be 18-feet wide, 18.5-feet high and 192.5-feet long when it passes through the area, likely sometime next week, on the same route.
NorthEscambia.com will update the story with any additional schedule details as they become available.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured: A giant generator turbine is transported through Century early Friday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Man Charged With Thefts In Century, Walnut Hill
October 23, 2015
A Century man was jailed on a felony charge after allegedly stealing a TV from a Century garage and a generator from a Walnut Hill home.
A resident of the 100 block of Mincy Court told deputies that William Edward Perry, 55, walked off with a 25-inch TV taken from her garage.
Deputies located Perry hiding behind a privacy fence at a nearby home and the TV on the other side of the fence. He told deputies that he had done yard work for the property owner on Mincy Court and that he thought the TV was junk and no good. He first told deputies that he was going to fix the TV and return it, then he said he was going to remove the transistors and sell them for money.
Perry was charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and petit theft first degree.
He was also charged with petit theft for allegedly stealing a generator from a home on Mayhaw Road in Walnut Hill. He later said he sold the generator for $150 to man in the “hood” near Pond and Jefferson streets in Century, according to a witness statement.
Perry remained in the Escambia County Jail early Friday morning with bond set at $32,500.
Over $91K In Grants Awarded To 59 Escambia Teachers
October 23, 2015
Almost five dozen Escambia County teachers were awarded an Escambia County Public Schools Foundation Committee classroom grant Thursday. Grants for Excellence is a competitive grant program through which the Foundation awards funding for classroom projects to enhance curriculum and drive student achievement in Escambia County classrooms.
The committee funded 59 projects for a total of $91,284.87. The Foundation receives funding for the Grants for Excellence program from the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations, but in order to receive the funding, the board of directors must raise matching dollars from our generous community partners.
The 59 recipients received up to $2,000 each for their innovative classroom projects in the areas of Literacy and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math:
- Derek Akhi, Bellview Middle, “Acting Up, Acting Out”
- Kimberly Andreoli, Bratt Elementary, “Listening through Literacy”
- John Auner, Escambia High, “…To the Moon”
- Edward Bauer, Booker T. Washington High, “Lionfish Prey Selection”
- Bethany Bauer, Jim C. Bailey Middle, “Operation Starry Night”
- Robin Blalock, Tate High, “Couriers of Memory”
- Michael Bloomer, Booker T. Washington High, “Advanced AP Chemistry Lab”
- Angelina Carter, Blue Angels Elementary, “Dash and Dot Makes Learning Fun”
- Brandi Cole, Longleaf Elementary, “SplashMath for Success”
- Laurie Cothran, West Pensacola Elementary, “Drama Drive: A TV Production”
- Tim Deloge, Escambia High, “NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge”
- Diedra Diettel, A.K. Suter Elementary, “Curio ‘city’: A City for the Curious”
- Stephanie Gaffney, Navy Point Elementary, “Discovery Island”
- Krystal Gibson, Beulah Elementary, “Leaders in the ‘Make’ing”
- Jeremy Gibson, West Pensacola Elementary, “Printing: The 3rd Dimension”
- Heather Gillman, Bratt Elementary, “Six Traits to Improve Writing”
- Lisa Hale, West Pensacola Elementary, “Music Makerspace”
- Anna Harageones, A.K. Suter Elementary, “Interested in Informational Texts”
- Melissa Harold, Beulah Elementary, “Literacy Tablet Lab”
- Cristen Hartley, West Pensacola Elementary, “STEM Bowling”
- Catherine Hendren, Pine Meadow Elementary, “Author Study Cross Curricular Project”
- Kelly Hered, Booker T. Washington High, “What Do Fireworks, Lasers, and Neon Signs Have in Common?”
- Pam Hicks, Booker T. Washington High, “Chemistry: How Sweet it Is”
- Blair Husted, O.J. Semmes Elementary, “STEM Out! Club”
- Sarah Ingram, West Florida High, “I Like to Print and I Cannot Lie”
- Elizabeth Isphording, Ransom Middle, “Science Studio”
- Jennifer Kemp, C.A. Weis Elementary, “STEM with Sphero”
- Emma Land, Pine Meadow Elementary, “Ready, Set, Grow”
- Marnie Lowery, West Pensacola Elementary, “The Fabrication Station”
- Dana M. Lupton, Pine Forest High, “All Terrain Robot”
- Peter N. Lupton, Pine Forest High, “A Journey to a Sustainable Tomorrow”
- Matthew MacGregor, Escambia High, “Bringing Back our Bayous”
- Sarah Mason, Blue Angels Elementary, “Makey Makey Eggs and Bakey!”
- Jill Mealy, Ensley Elementary, “Roller Coaster Engineers”
- Cathy S. Melton, C.A. Weis Elementary, “In the Wings”
- Cassie Mense, Myrtle Grove Elementary, “Fourth Grade Engineers”
- Tammy Miller, R.C. Lipscomb Elementary, “Enriching, Creating, and Reaching Others through Technology”
- Angela Mills, NAS Museum, “Understanding Earth’s Atmosphere”
- Molly O’Connor, Roy Hyatt Environmental Center, “Bringing Technology to the Outdoors”
- Jean Odom, N.B. Cook Elementary, “Project Green Screen Video Camp”
- Myra Palmer, Ensley Elementary, “Makerspace Minecraft”
- Dawn Parnell, Pensacola High, “Salty Citizen Scientists”
- Karen Potter, Ransom Middle, “Don’t Judge a Book by its Movie”
- Katherine Powell, Molino Park Elementary, “Getting’ Techie With It”
- Sharon Powers, Longleaf Elementary, “Speaking of Literacy”
- Thomas A. Roberts, Cordova Park Elementary, “Literacy and STEAM – An Unstoppable Combination!”
- Crystal K. Roberts, Ransom Middle, “Makerspace Interface: Literacy and STEAM Powers Unite!”
- Sherry Roughton, Beulah Elementary, “The LEGO Art of Storytelling”
- Milagros Sessions, Workman Middle, “Creating Fertile Spaces”
- Stephanie Phillips, Scenic Heights Elementary, “STEM Discovery with Dash and Dot”
- Tatum Tirado, Booker T. Washington High, “The Math Games”
- Julie Tomlinson, Myrtle Grove Elementary, “Kids Kitchen Conservatory”
- Kevin Turner, Booker T. Washington High, “Measuring Speciation of Tidewater Silversides”
- Rebecca Van Fleet, Bellview Middle, “Fill It Up!”
- Shawn Walker, West Florida High, “Determining Lionfish Prey by using DNA Analysis”
- Casandra Waller, Montclair and C.A. Weis Elementary Schools, “Phys Academy”
- Theresa Ward, Blue Angels Elementary, “Figurative Language?? Go Figure!!”
- Roberta Wetzel, Jim C. Bailey Middle, “Think It and Move It: LEGO Wall in Motion”
- Alisha Wilson, Booker T. Washington High, “Robotic Learning; Where STEM and Literacy Collide”
Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Yearbook Receives Top Columbia Scholastic Press Association Award
October 23, 2015
For the second consecutive year, the Northview High School Tribal Spirit yearbook staff has been honored with a Gold Medal from the nationally recognized Columbia Scholastic Press Association, affiliated with Columbia University in New York City and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.
The staff earned a total of 908 points out of a possible 1000 for their 2015 Tribal Spirit yearbook. The reference section scored 192 out of a possible 200 points.
“You and your staff worked very hard to produce a very solid outstanding publication. The staff made sure that every activity, sport, club, student life, etc. was covered. Very nice job! It was a pleasure to have been part of your community. Lots of luck for 2016,” a statement from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association to the Northview staff said.
The Tribal Spirit yearbook staff and their adviser, Alison Robinson, attended the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Convention in New York City in 2011, 2013 and 2015.
Pictured: Northview Tribal Spirit Yearbook staff members (front, L-R) Jessica Amerson, Ellie Amerson, Bethany Reynolds, (back, L-R)Celeste North, David Weber, Destiny Watson and Jordan Taylor. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Justices Give Geen Light To Solar Initiative
October 23, 2015
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday approved a proposed ballot initiative that seeks to expand the use of solar energy, moving the state one step closer to a fierce political battle next year.
Making clear they were not offering an opinion on the merits of the proposal, justices ruled 6-1 that the initiative, backed by a group called Floridians for Solar Choice, met legal standards to go before voters. The group now will have to submit 683,149 valid petition signatures by Feb. 1 to qualify for the November 2016 ballot — about 500,000 more than it had submitted as of Thursday morning.
“We are thrilled with the high court’s ruling so that voters may have the opportunity to vote on removing a barrier that currently blocks Florida’s families and businesses from greater energy choices through the power of the free market,” Tory Perfetti, chairman of Floridians for Solar Choice, said in a prepared statement immediately after the Supreme Court decision. “People power is what will get us on the ballot, and we continue to gather thousands of signatures each week from Floridians eager for solar choice.”
The proposed constitutional amendment, in part, would allow businesses to generate and sell up to two megawatts of solar power to customers on the same or neighboring properties. In doing so, it would largely shield the solar producers from state and local regulations.
The initiative has drawn opposition from a coalition including major electric utilities and has spawned a competing solar ballot proposal. That proposal, spearheaded by the group Consumers for Smart Solar, is awaiting a review by the Supreme Court.
Dick Batchelor, co-chairman of Consumers for Smart Solar, said it was “unfortunate” that justices approved the Floridians for Solar Choice proposal.
“We caution Florida voters about this disingenuous solar ballot measure that favors big out-of-state solar companies instead of Florida consumers,” Batchelor said in a prepared statement. “We simply cannot allow this seriously flawed amendment to pass. This special interest amendment puts Florida consumers, and especially our seniors, at great risk of fraud and abuse.”
The Supreme Court reviews proposed constitutional amendments to make sure they will not be confusing or deceptive to voters. That involves making sure proposed amendments deal with single subjects and that the ballot titles and summaries — the parts seen by most voters — are clearly worded.
The majority opinion, supported by Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis, Peggy Quince, Charles Canady and James E.C. Perry, said the Floridians for Solar Choice proposal met the requirements.
“Without considering the merits of the measure, we find that the title and summary clearly and unambiguously inform the voter that the amendment will prevent government and electric utilities from imposing regulatory barriers to supplying local solar electricity up to two megawatts to customers at the same or contiguous property,” the opinion said.
But Justice Ricky Polston dissented, arguing that the ballot summary is “confusing” and doesn’t accurately describe the scope of the proposal.
In part, Polston wrote that the ballot summary “leads the voter to believe that this initiative is about someone who owns a small house or small business with a solar panel on the roof and wants to sell electricity on a small-scale. However, according to the Florida Electric Cooperatives Association, a single local solar generating facility capable of generating two megawatts of electricity would span over 12 acres and could serve approximately 714 customers. The ballot summary does not provide notice to the voter that this proposed amendment provides for this scale of completely unregulated electricity generation.”
With the court’s majority approving the ballot proposal, however, the groups on both sides were clearly readying Thursday for a political fight.
Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a key supporter of Floridians for Solar Choice, quickly took aim at “big monopoly utilities” that oppose the initiative.
“We fully expect more misleading attacks from the big electric utilities and their proxy front groups in their desperate attempt to limit customer choice,” Smith said in a prepared statement.
by Jim Saunder, The News Service of Florida
Scott Wants $250 Million To Lure Businesses To Florida
October 23, 2015
Gov. Rick Scott, pressing reluctant lawmakers to fund a “nearly bankrupt” effort to recruit businesses to Florida, said Thursday he will ask for $250 million in 2016 for corporate incentives, with new rules on how the money would be approved and banked.
Scott, addressing the Enterprise Florida Board of Directors in Orlando, also ratcheted up his call for business leaders to lobby lawmakers for the money, advising them not to give in until each legislator publicly announces support for the funding plan.
“If they (lawmakers) don’t put out a press release and say, ‘I absolutely will support these reforms,’ then that’s a no,” Scott said.
Scott spoke with Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, before the Enterprise Florida meeting. But Gardiner, whose members have been skeptical of the public-private business recruitment agency’s claims about a lack of available incentive money, isn’t ready to make a decision on Scott’s request.
“The president told the governor that he was looking forward to reviewing the governor’s proposal in more detail in the coming weeks,” Gardiner spokeswoman Katie Betta said in an email.
House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said he was looking forward to seeing the details of Scott’s proposal.
“I know we all share the goal of keeping Florida a national leader in job creation,” Crisafulli said in a prepared statement.
The $250 million is part of Scott’s proposal to change the incentives-funding process under Enterprise Florida.
He also wants lawmakers to: create the Florida Enterprise Fund, a trust fund that would keep designated incentive money in the state treasury until companies reach job-creation goals; and to let the House speaker and Senate president sign off on deals that top $1 million instead of waiting for the Joint Legislative Budget Commission to give approval.
Currently, money the state promises a business for relocating to Florida or expanding in the state is placed into a low-yield commercial escrow account, with payouts made when promised new jobs and economic-development performance measures are met.
Lawmakers have been questioning the use of escrow accounts.
Gardiner has proposed the state set an annual statutory cap of $50 million to cover future economic incentive payments, which he noted have never topped $20 million in a single year.
Scott, calling his proposed trust fund the “Let’s beat Texas’ butt enterprise fund,” said the use of the treasury will give the state a better interest rate than the escrow accounts.
Florida Chamber of Commerce President Mark Wilson, an Enterprise Florida board member, called the $250 million request, with the quicker approval process, “a good start.”
“This is about diversifying the economy, which is why this organization was created,” Wilson said of Enterprise Florida.
Earlier this year, Scott asked lawmakers to set aside $85 million for business incentives. The final budget for the fiscal year that started July 1 included $53 million for Enterprise Florida, of which $43 million was for incentives and $10 million was for marketing.
Scott said his latest request is needed to compete with other states, such as New York, which has $150 million for incentives; Texas, which has $90 million; South Carolina, which has $58 million; and Georgia, which has $46 million.
“We’re not going to beat these states if we don’t reform the Quick Action Closing Fund,” said Scott, who repeated a claim he’s made since August that the fund used to complete incentive deals is “nearly bankrupt” for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends June 30.
“I don’t care what anybody says, it will in fact, run out of money,” Scott said.
Members of the Senate Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee questioned such claims Tuesday. They noted that about $141 million is currently held in escrow and that over the prior four years, $112 million that had been available for the agency’s recruitment “toolkit” went unspent.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
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Driver Charged With DUI In Nine Mile Road Crash
October 22, 2015
A man was arrested for DUI after crash with a motor scooter on Nine Mile Road.
Florida State Troopers said 24-year old Zachary Jordan Pittman was driving drunk when his 2000 Honda Accord crashed into a motor scooter occupied by 18-year old Antonio Delvalle. The accident happened about 3:30 a.m. on Nine Mile Road just west of I-10.
Devalle was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in critical condition. Pittman was charged with DUI with serious bodily injury and careless driving.
Coffee With A Cop Held In Century
October 22, 2015
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office held a Coffee With a Cop event Thursday morning at the Southern Panhandle restaurant in Century.
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 top: Coffee with a Cop in Century Thursday morning. Pictured inset: Century Mayor Freddie McCall with Deputy James Gilman during the event. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Decides To Accept Bids For Website, Marketing Services
October 22, 2015
The Town of Century has decided that a maintenance contract for a new website and implementation of other marking plan proposals will be put out for bid after clarifying that the town will be responsible for footing the bill.
Century’s current website was developed by an area marketing firm in 2012 for $5,950, part of a $11,450 package that also included a five year comprehensive marketing strategy.
In 2013, the town was awarded a technical assistance grant from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to develop an economic development strategic plan. After hearing proposals from four contenders, the town contracted with the Haas Center (the research and consulting arm of the University of West Florida) to develop the plan at no cost to the town.
The Haas Center’s detailed plan and recommendations included a new website for the town, with suggestions from the Haas Center in late 2014 that the website be created by a volunteer or perhaps UWF marketing interns.
On October 5, Dr. Felicia Morgan from the UWF Marketing Department and Johnathan “Jet” Tisdale of the Pace company White Paper Marketing presented a marketing plan with a one year contract at $1,650 per month cost for website maintenance, an email subscription drive, website and a database management and other marketing resources. Any additional costs, such as advertising purchases, would add to the bottom line.
After questions arose about whether the cost would be the sole responsibility of the town, or if any grants or other funding sources existed, the council tabled any action on accepting the proposal. A question was also raised if the the town should accept bids on the marketing plan.
This week, town officials reported that the UWF Marketing Department had already contracted directly with White Paper Marketing for $8,000 for website and logo design and those items had been accomplished.
Now the town will pay their consultant, Debbie Nickles, to create a request for proposals in order to receive bids to implement the marketing plan, including website maintenance, newsletter production, a recreational guide and formation of a young professional’s group. The town will pay for the services using economic development funds.
A timetable to accept bids has not yet been set.
Pictured top: Dr. Felicia Morgan from the UWF Marketing Department and Johnathan “Jet” Tisdale of the Pace company White Paper Marketing address the Century Town Council on October 5. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Escambia RESTORE Projects Scored
October 22, 2015
Proposed RESTORE Act projects in Escambia County have been scored and ranked by a consulting firm.
The 124 projects were scored and an estimated costs assigned. The top 10 scoring projects (listed with numerical score and cost) were:
- Restore the City Creek 78.0 $5,760,000
- Eleven Mile Creek Stream Restoration 77.0 $12,929,908
- Navy Blvd Beautification and Navy Point Restoration 76.0 $17,020,000
- Forest Creek Apartment Complex Acquisition/Demolition & Jones Creek Floodplain Restoration Project 74.0 $2,029,200
- Lake Charlene/BridleTrail 73.0 $501,923
- Beach Haven S & NE 72.0 $18,000,000
- Perdido Key Gulf of Mexico Public Access 71.0 $1,648,000
- Perdido Bay Bronson Field Living Shoreline Project 66.0 $840,000
- Jackson’s Lakes Diversion & Wakeboard Park 66.0 $930,000
- Jones Swamp Wetland Preserve Management & Ecosystem Restoration 65.0 $940,000
Five projects specifically benefiting some portion of the North Escambia area (north of Muscogee Road) were submitted. Those projects (listed with rank, numerical score and cost) were:
43. Town of Century Water Quality Improvements 50.0 $486,000
73. Cantonment Community Center 36.0 $2,000,000
89. Lambert Bridge Rd 30.0 $500,000
101. Cottage Hill Water Works Infrastructure Update and System Improvements 27.0 $3,700,000
119. Cantonment Sportsplex 9.0 $50,000
The RESTORE Advisory Committee will next review the projects and Dewberry rankings. The 11-memember committee will submit recommendations to the Escambia County Commission following three November public hearings.
Pictured top: A RESTORE project information meeting held recently in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge