Blue Bell Ice Cream Returns After Recall
December 15, 2015
Blue Bell Ice Cream returned to store freezers Monday in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida and across south and central Alabama.
Blue Bell has been absent from stores since a voluntary recall April 20 due to a listeria outbreak that was linked to 10 illnesses in four states, including three deaths.
For now Blue Bell is producing five flavors of ice cream in the half gallon and pint sizes: Buttered Pecan, Cookies ’n Cream, Dutch Chocolate, Homemade Vanilla and The Great Divide. More flavors will be added in the future. 12-pak Homemade Vanilla Cups and 12-pak Homemade Vanilla and Dutch Chocolate Cups are also available in stores.
Pictured: Blue Bell Ice Cream was back in the freezer at the Piggly Wiggly in Davisville on Monday. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Gambling Deal Could Be End Of The Road For Dog, Horse Racing
December 15, 2015
Once posh destinations drawing A-list socialites, celebrities and gangsters, Florida’s dog and horse tracks are now at the center of a dispute over whether they should be allowed to do away with live racing altogether.
The issue, known as “decoupling,” is one of several key items lawmakers and industry leaders are trying to work out as they cobble together gambling legislation for the session that begins next month.
Eliminating dog and horse racing at the state’s pari-mutuels would be allowed in a $3 billion, seven-year agreement, called a “compact,” signed by Gov. Rick Scott and the Seminole Tribe of Florida last week.
But the Legislature needs to sign off on the deal, almost certain to be modified in order to get the votes required for passage in the House and the Senate.
Decoupling remains a thorny issue for lawmakers and the industry. Under current law, live races — or offering jai alai games — are required for tracks to have more lucrative operations like poker rooms or, in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, slot machines. The number of racing days varies widely.
Doing away with money-losing greyhound racing has drawn repeated legislative debates in recent years, as dog tracks are widely viewed as a dying industry, kept afloat by tax breaks and poker rooms — or slots — that put the facilities in the black.
But across-the-board decoupling of dogs and horses, as permitted under the compact, is more complicated, according to House Regulatory Affairs Chairman Jose Felix Diaz, the chamber’s chief negotiator on the gambling deal with the Seminoles and the lead on gambling legislation.
“There’s some (legislators) that would be OK with decoupling all horses. There’s some that would be OK with decoupling most horses but not thoroughbreds. It does get a little stickier when it comes to horses,” Diaz, R-Miami, said.
Only three tracks — Gulfstream Park, Calder Race Course and Tampa Bay Downs — now run thoroughbreds.
Last year, The Stronach Group, the company that runs Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, took over racing operations at Calder, owned by Churchill Downs, in nearby Miami Gardens. Calder leases its racetrack to The Stronach Group, which operates racing under Calder’s permits.
But now, Calder wants to get out of the horse-racing business altogether, while keeping its slot machines and hoping to re-establish its card room.
Calder would continue to steer money from its slot machine earnings toward purses for horse races, pursuant to its contracts with the horsemen and breeders, according to Calder lobbyist Wilbur Brewton.
Attendance for the horse races is down dramatically at the Miami Gardens track, Brewton said.
“It’s just wrong to continue to require racing at facilities so they can lose a substantial sum of money doing it. It’s like you have two franchises for McDonald’s and one is losing money and the other isn’t, but they say you have to keep both of them open,” he said.
But the horse industry is dead set against the idea of letting tracks drop the races.
“This is just a money grab by the casinos. That’s all it is,” said Joe Pennacchio, executive director and president of the Florida Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association. “Maybe if they traded horses for blackjack tables, they may make more money. But that’s not how they got their permit. They got their permit because they agreed to race horses. My point is if you don’t want to race horses, that’s fine. Just give the permit back.”
In Central Florida, the horse breeding and training industry provides thousands of jobs and injects billions of dollars into the state’s economy, Pennacchio said.
“There are some legislators who are emotionally invested in getting rid of the dog racing. I understand that. But to even think for a second that you would lump horses in with that is preposterous,” he said.
The economic and political heft of the horse industry is likely to doom across-the-board decoupling.
But Diaz said that any legislation would “take care” of Calder, if horse decoupling is not included in the bill.
“I look at it as a matter of equity. It’s difficult to decouple everybody except for one and not listen to the one that is being excluded. So if everybody gets decoupled except for thoroughbreds, then there needs to be some considerations for those tracks that are not being decoupled but would like to be,” he said. “I think it would be unjust to start picking winners and losers. So if that’s what ultimately happens because that’s where the votes are, then those losers would need to have something done that would alleviate some of their concerns if we want to pass an equitable deal.”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Century To Consider Forming Community Redevelopment Agency
December 15, 2015
The Town of Century will early next year consider forming a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).
Upon declaration of an area as blighted, the CRA works to improve conditions. As property tax values rise, any increase is funneled back into the redevelopment area for further improvements. Additional tax incentive and redevelopment funds are available within a CRA.
There are currently eight other redevelopment districts in Escambia County — Barrancas, Brownsville, Cantonment, Englewood, Ensley, Oakfield, Palafox and Warrington — and three within the City of Pensacola.
The Century Town Council will hold a special meeting on January 14, 2016, at 5:30 p.m. to learn more about possibly forming a CRA.
Grinch Steals Salvation Army Red Kettle Cash
December 14, 2015
This is a true story about a Grinch who stole Christmas.
Around 5 p.m. on Saturday , a man tried to pick up a Salvation Army kettle filled with money near the entrance to Cordova Mall. The man told a volunteer he was collecting the kettle on behalf of the Salvation Army, but when the volunteer asked for identification, the man left and didn’t return.
But the suspect wasn’t done.
Around 5:20 p.m. Saturday he went to Sam’s Club and collected two kettles from volunteers. The suspect, who was wearing a red apron similar to one worn by Salvation Army volunteers, said he was early because the Army’s van had broken down.
According to Officer Amanda Woods, the suspect even joined in singing along with the volunteers in an effort to not raise their suspicions.
The suspect was described as a black male wearing a red apron. He was about 5 feet 8 inches tall and medium size in build.
The two kettles contained an undisclosed amount of cash.
Anyone having information on the incident is asked to contact the Pensacola Police Department at (850) 435-1900 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Suspect Arrested, Details Released In Cantonment Double Murder
December 14, 2015
Two people were shot and killed inside a Cantonment home Sunday night, and a suspect is now jailed for the double murder.
Chad Mark Fontenot, age 45 of Cantonment, was charged with two counts for first degree premeditated murder.
After receiving a 911 call about 8:15 p.m. reporting the shooting, deputies arrived at the home in the 900 block of Jacks Branch Road to find Fontenot standing the garage where he was taken into custody without incident.
Inside the home, deputies discovered the bodies of Wendell Dwayne Nichols, age 50 of Cantonment, on the living room couch and Kim M. Boswell, age 46 of Cantonment, in a bedroom. Both were pronounced deceased at the scene.
Fontenot was transported to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to be interviewed after telling he deputies that he knew what he did and was willing to cooperate, according to an arrest report. He requested a lawyer once at the Sheriff’s Office, ending the interview.
Nichols’ girlfriend told deputies that she had been dating him for about two weeks and he was living with Boswell while he recuperating from a recent injury. The witness said Boswell and Fontenot were in a relationship, but they were constantly arguing and that Fontenot was very controlling and aggressive with Boswell. Nichols’ girlfriend said she received a text from him about 4 p.m. saying that he was sick of hearing Boswell and Fontenot argue and that he wished he had never moved in.
Nichols’ girlfriend called him at 8 p.m. and spoke for him for just under eight minutes. She told investigators that she heard a loud bang, a woman screaming and then the phone disconnected. She attempted to call Nichols and Boswell several times without success.
When investigators searched the home, they found a revolver sitting on top of freezer in the garage. The revolver contained four spent casings and five unspent casings, according to an arrest report.
Fontenot remains in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
For additional photos from the scene, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Molino Falls In Love With ‘KC The Library Cat’
December 14, 2015
Molino has fallen in love with KC MeowMeow the Library Cat…the resident cat at the Molino Branch Library.
He goes by the nickname “KC” and, well, basically rules his outdoor domain around the library. He’s quite the hit with library and Molino Community Complex visitors. During his NorthEscambia.com photo shoot, several children arrived at the library with their parents. The first stop was not the children’s book section, but around the outside of the library calling KC for a little love and attention. Once the children gained his approval for a petting well done, the kids were off for the library’s children’s section.
Library employees and patrons have raised the money for KC’s care and daily feedings. He has been to the vet where he was neutered and has had all of his shots. When we had our last cold weather, patrons became concerned that he was out in the cold, but a donor provided him with a small heated house.
KC provides outdoor security and mousing services for the library and can often be found at the side entrance serving as official greeter.
KC is also a hit with the children at the neighboring Head Start program.
Pictured above and below: KC The Library cat at the Molino Branch Library. Pictured bottom (submitted photo): A heated cat house was donated to keep KC warm on cold Molino nights. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
County Moving Forward Toward New Beulah Fire Station
December 14, 2015
Escambia County is moving forward toward new fire station for the Beulah community.
The Escambia County Commission has approved the purchase of the current 6,000 square foot fire station on six acres on West Nine Mile Road from the Beulah Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. for $300,000. The purchase price was the average of two appraisals for the county.
The county plans to replace the aging Beulah Fire Station with a modern facility, using Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) funds.
Unless most other county fire stations, the Beulah station has no showers, no bunk room or other facilities for firefighters to sleep as they man the station.
Current firefighters describe the station as a “big shed” that proved its inadequacies during the flooding last year and previous hurricanes. Many of Beulah’s 20 volunteer firefighters were crammed inside with no showers and no place to sleep.
Pictured top and inset: The current Beulah Fire Station on West Nine Mile Road. Picture below: Paint peels from the aging ceiling over trucks in the department’s bays. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lawmakers Have Little Interest In Escambia, Santa Rosa Dispute With DJJ
December 14, 2015
After additional court rulings in a long-running dispute between the state Department of Juvenile Justice and dozens of Florida counties — including Escambia and Santa Rosa — over the costs of detaining juvenile offenders, a key lawmaker says the Legislature isn’t likely to wade back into the dispute during the upcoming 2016 session.
The dispute stems from a 2004 law that requires counties to pay “pre-disposition” costs associated with juveniles waiting for cases to be resolved in court. The department pays the costs of detaining youths whose cases have been decided — known as “post-disposition.” But the two sides have never agreed on what those terms meant. Instead, they’ve been embroiled in a series of legal battles about how to carry out the law, with the counties arguing they have been overcharged.
The latest rulings came last week from the 1st District Court of Appeal, which rejected the arguments of counties. The rulings themselves dealt with relatively minor amounts in which counties objected to state calculations.
The debate over the charges reached the Legislature in 2014 and 2015. Lawmakers came close to an agreement to split the costs 50-50 — but the deal fell apart when the counties held out to be reimbursed for previous overpayments, which amounted to tens of millions of dollars.
Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican who led earlier negotiations, said this week that the counties pay about 57 percent and the state pays about 43 percent under the current formula for determining the costs of detaining juvenile offenders.
“Last year the (Department of Juvenile Justice) promulgated rules for dividing up the cost-sharing between the state and the counties, and those rules were challenged, and they were ultimately upheld,” Bradley said. “So we have a legal framework in place for cost-sharing for juvenile detention. And in taking the temperature of my colleagues, with that being the case, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of appetite to do anything further at this point in time.”
However, Florida Association of Counties spokeswoman Cragin Mosteller said the latest rulings demonstrate why lawmakers should intervene.
“Ultimately, this is a flawed system that needs a statutory fix,” she said. “We would love to see the Legislature take action so that counties are billed on the actual expenses occurred and not the estimated expenses.”
Thirty-five counties split juvenile-detention costs with the state. The remaining counties are considered “fiscally constrained” and are not required to contribute. Those that contribute have taken cases to the state Division of Administrative Hearings, which has ruled several times in their favor.
In the rulings last week, the appeals court essentially upheld the process by which the Department of Juvenile Justice corrected earlier errors in calculating the counties’ shares of juvenile detention costs. Counties involved in the cases were Alachua, Orange, Escambia, Duval, Bay, Seminole, Okaloosa, Pinellas, Brevard, Hillsborough, Santa Rosa, Hernando, Miami-Dade and Broward.
Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Christy Daly said she was pleased with the appeals court’s ruling, which she said “affirmed that the department did adhere” to an earlier ruling from the Division of Administrative Hearings.
“DJJ’s focus is on ensuring that youth held in secure detention receive appropriate and necessary services,” Daly wrote in an email. “As the courts continue to review challenges related to shared costs for secure detention, DJJ remains committed to working with the counties and the Legislature to find a resolution that best serves Florida’s youth and their families.
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
Lawmakers Consider More Florida Student Testing Changes
December 14, 2015
Less than a year after lawmakers overhauled public-school testing following the botched rollout of the new Florida Standards Assessments, the debate over how to measure student learning is far from over.
A leading senator on education issues is working on legislation that would allow schools to use tests other than the statewide standardized exams, which are used in some graduation and promotion decisions, teacher evaluations and school grades.
Democrats and education groups continue to call for the state’s accountability system to be suspended, with test scores being used instead to help set learning goals for schools to be measured against. Some have recommended giving schools a grade of “I,” or incomplete, in the meantime.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, declined to rule out any options during a breakfast meeting with reporters this week. He noted that the State of Board of Education will also soon approve “cut scores” setting out how scores on the tests will relate to different achievement levels.
“I think all of those probably are up for discussion,” Gardiner said. “You have a board that still has to make some recommendations as well.”
In the Senate, the issue has been taken up by former President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville. Gaetz, who now chairs the Senate committee that oversees education spending, said Wednesday he’s working on legislation that would allow school districts to use alternative tests for the same purposes that the Florida Standards Assessments are used for now.
Gaetz, who said a bipartisan group of senators would be involved with the legislation, said “brand names” would be offered as the alternative tests, but no final decision has been made on which exams could be used. He also stressed that using different tests would be optional.
“The idea is not to take the place of the Florida Standards Assessment,” Gaetz, a former Okaloosa County schools superintendent, said. “The idea is to prove an alternative for districts and for students.”
Lawmakers tried last year to soothe some of the angst over the new assessments and the feelings of parents who said their children spend too much time on standardized tests. The Legislature put a hold on the use of student test data for school grades, teacher evaluations and student promotion to fourth grade until the Florida Standards Assessments, or FSA, could be validated — something that happened in September.
It also scrapped a law requiring school districts to come up with end-of-course tests in classes where the state doesn’t administer such exams; capped the amount of time students can spend on state and school-district tests at 45 hours a year; and reduced the portion of a teacher’s evaluation tied to student performance from the current 50 percent to one-third.
But the changes did little to end the debate about testing. About three weeks after the independent review said the tests were valid for most of the purposes they’re used for, the Florida Association of District School Superintendents said its members had “lost confidence” in the state’s accountability system.
“We have a credibility problem with the FSA,” Gaetz said Wednesday.
Gardiner did not directly answer a question about whether there are still too many tests in Florida, instead pointing to the changes lawmakers made last year.
“I think a lot of parents still believe there are,” Gardiner said.
Other ideas have already begun to crop up. Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, this week filed a bill (HB 903) that would suspend the use of scores on the state tests for school grades or decisions about student graduation or promotion for the current school year and the next.
Jones said the state needs to pause and gather information on how well students do on the tests, then use that data to measure how much scores improve in future years. He said the current debate over testing is unlikely to fade quickly.
“It’s not going to go away,” Jones said. “Not until we give confidence to our teachers and our parents.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Toyz For Kidz Bike Ride Provides For Needy Kids (With Photo Gallery)
December 13, 2015
Santa had some very special helpers Saturday as the LA Bikers rolled through Bratt, Flomaton and Atmore making sure that about 60 needy kids had presents for Christmas this year.
It was the 15th annual Toyz For Kidz Ride organized by the LA Bikers.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Dozens of children received new bicycles and helmets, clothes, shoes and lots of toys. About 150 bikers took part in the event with stops at Bratt Elementary, the Arrington Auto Parts in Flomaton and Atmore City Hall.
Pictured: Children received Christmas gifts from Santa Claus Saturday morning thanks to the LA Bikers Toyz For Kidz Ride. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
