Crabtree Church Widening Canceled, Funds Moved To Muscogee Road Project
November 5, 2015
Funds that were set aside to construct paved shoulders along Crabtree Church Road in Molino are being shifted to make improvements on Muscogee Road in Cantonment.
The Florida Department of Transportation provided $1,388,244 in funding to construct the paved shoulders on Crabtree Church Road from Sunshine Hill Road to Highway 97. The lowest bid received by Escambia County for construction was $2,320,000 plus construction engineering and inspection costs of $232,000. The left a difference of $1,163,756 between the project cost to the county and the funded amount from the state.
Escambia County requested that FDOT terminate the Crabtree Church project due to lack of local funding for the difference.
Now, the Escambia County Commission is shifting the $1,388,258 in state funds to a Muscogee Road widening and drainage project. The project includes widening travel lanes on Muscogee Road, not four-laning.
The Escambia County Commission will vote on the funding shift tonight.
Veterans Day Programs Planned For Century, Ernest Ward, Northview
November 5, 2015
Ernest Ward Middle School – Friday, November 6
Veterans are invited to attend a special assembly in honor of Veterans Day in the gymnasium at Ernest Ward Middle School on Friday, November 6 at 9:45 a.m. The program will include patriotic music and special presentations from students and staff members. The address will not be from one main speaker, but there will be personal stories from several area veterans. Refreshments will be served following the program.
Northview High School – Tuesday, November 10
Northview High School will have its annual Veteran’s Day program on Tuesday, November 10 in the school’s theater. There will be two programs with the first program starting at 9:35 am. The second program will start shortly after the completion of the first program at approximately 10:30 am.
The guest speaker will be Captain Carl Mock, United States Navy, retired. Captain Mock served 38 years before retiring in June 2005. During his 38 years of service he rose through the ranks from E-1 to O-6. His final active duty tour was as Commanding Officer, Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training, NAS Pensacola . All veterans, their families and community members are invited to attend.
Town of Century, Tuesday, November 10
Century will celebrate veterans on Tuesday, November 10 at 10 a.m with guests Rep. Mike Hill, the Byrneville Elementary School Chorus and the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association. The event will be held in Nadine McCaw Park on North Century Boulevard.
Pictured: Last year’s Veterans Day program at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
FluMist Vaccinations Begin Monday At North Escambia Schools
November 5, 2015
The FluMist vaccine will soon be offered in Escambia County Schools. beginning with several in the North Escambia area. This is the second year the vaccine is being made available.
The FluMist vaccine will be available at no out of pocket expense to parents, but parents will be asked to provide insurance information to help offset the cost. But students without health coverage will still receive the vaccine at no cost.
“Last year the FluMist program was offered to the school district by Healthy Schools and over 5,000 students were vaccinated against the flu using the FlueMist product,” explained Martha Hanna, ECSD Health Services coordinator. “It is hard for us to measure the effect this had, but we are confident that it helped save some students from getting the flu, or at least helped reduce the severity of their case. We hope to see even more families sign their children up to participate this year.”
The FluMist vaccine will be administered November 9 to November 19, with Northview High, Bratt Elementary, Ernest Ward Middle, Molino Park Elementary and Jim Allen Elementary scheduled for the first round of vaccinations on November 9.
For more information or to download a permission form, visit http://escambiaschools.net/health_services or call your child’s school.
IP Hosts Informational Meeting for 2016 Grants
November 5, 2015
International Paper (IP) Pensacola Mill will award $50,000 in Foundation Grants in 2016 and is hosting a one-hour meeting Friday, November 20 at 1:30 p.m., to review the application process with qualifying non-profit organizations, schools and state and local government entities. The meeting will take place at the mill’s Employee Development Center, located at 375 Muscogee Road in Cantonment and will focus on eligibility, criteria and restrictions. Grant committee members will be available for questions.
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, visit www.ipgiving.com. To reserve your seat at the workshop, contact Janice Cooper Holmes, communications manager, by email janice.holmes@ipaper.com or call 850-968-4203. Reservations to attend the meeting are required as space is limited; however, attendance is not mandatory to apply.
No Major Damage In Byrneville Kitchen Fire
November 5, 2015
Escambia Fire Rescue responded a grease fire in the kitchen on a mobile home on Raines Road in Byrneville just after 5 p.m. Wednesday. There were no injuries and no major damage reported. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Pine Meadow Elementary Students Honor Veterans
November 5, 2015
Students at Pine Meadow Elementary School presented their annual Veterans Celebration Wednesday morning. The patriotic program honored those who have served or are on active duty. Courtesy images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Deputies Seek Man That Witnessed Murder
November 5, 2015
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a man they say was a witness to a Forest Creek homicide in February. Cornelius Robinson, 22, also has two active warrants for his arrest for failure to appear and grand theft. Anyone knowing his whereabouts should call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Florida Lawmakers Float Boater Safety Bill
November 5, 2015
Boaters who take a safety precaution could get slight discounts on their annual vessel-registration fees, under bills crafted after the tragedy of two 14-year-olds going lost at sea this summer.
The bills (SB 746 and HB 427) would provide discounts of about 25 percent on annual registration fees if boaters have purchased and registered emergency locator devices.
Backers said the proposal is a better way “to accomplish good” than pushing to increase the minimum age for operating boats in Florida waters.
“My preference is to leave that to the discretion of the parents,” said Sen. Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican who is sponsoring the Senate version of the bill.
Rep. MaryLynn Magar, a Tequesta Republican sponsoring the House version, agreed.
“Many of these kids that are in our waterways, they’re better off out there fishing, having a good time, than they would getting in trouble somewhere else,” Magar said. “It’s a great lifestyle. They just need to be safe about it.”
Negron and Magar, working with Blu Stephanos — whose son Austin was one of the two teens who went missing after going out of the Jupiter Inlet in July — introduced the legislation on Wednesday.
Under the proposal, the discount would be given to anyone who currently has or buys an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) device.
“Your cell phone won’t work out there,” Stephanos said during a news conference with Negron and Magar in the Capitol. “The only thing that is going to work is one of these devices. And at that time, it’s more about rescue, not so much searching. And for that, can you put a price on it, really?”
The devices cost between $200 and $1,500, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. To be activated, a device must be registered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Negron said the cost, in relation to most boats, is “modest.”
“I think ultimately it will save Florida money because these rescue operations are extraordinarily expensive,” Negron said.
Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, both from northern Palm Beach County, vanished after exiting the inlet together in a 19-foot boat. The disappearance set off an eight-day search in the Atlantic.
“I want to protect anyone from … having to go through what I’m going through,” said Blu Stephanos, who intends to use a foundation he set up in his son’s name to promote the use of the beacons.
The legislation is expected to save boaters about $5 million by dropping the annual fee based upon the size of each boat.
Under the bill, the annual fee for boats between 12 and 16 feet would drop from $16.25 to $11; for boats between 16 and 26 feet, the fee would go from $28.75 to $20.40; and for boats between 26 feet and 40 feet, the fee would fall from $78.25 to $57.50.
Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, last month introduced a proposal (SB 644) that would increase the minimum age from 14 to 16 to operate personal watercraft in most Florida waters.
“Right now, it’s just personal watercrafts,” Ring said when he filed the bill. “We’re looking deeper into boats as well, but that’s a bigger lift. So, we’re not saying it won’t be a part of this bill, but we’re just not quite there yet. We do feel very strongly in getting this started, and a great start is with the personal watercrafts.”
Ring’s proposal, which has yet to attract a House companion, has been referred to three Senate committees.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Campus Carry Measure Advances In Florida House
November 5, 2015
A proposal that would allow concealed-weapon permit holders to bring handguns onto college and university campuses continued moving forward Wednesday in the state House, despite opposition from academic leaders.
The Higher Education & Workforce Subcommittee voted 10-3, with Tallahassee Democrat Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda joining nine Republicans, to advance the bill (HB 4001), which would allow the state’s 1.45 million concealed-weapon permit holders to carry guns while on state campuses.
Rehwinkel Vasilinda, a co-sponsor of the bill, said people already have guns illegally on campus, and “our campuses are open and not as safe and idyllic as we’d like to believe.”
Still, the fate of the bill spearheaded by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, likely remains with the Senate, where an identical measure (SB 68) must get through its next scheduled stop at the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bills are filed for the 2016 legislative session, which starts in January. Committees are taking up bills in advance of the session.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, said Tuesday no decision has been made about whether to bring up the campus-carry bill, adding the measure won’t be on the agenda for the committee’s next meeting.
A similar measure died during the 2015 session after not getting through the Judiciary Committee. In the spring, Diaz de la Portilla said he decided to scuttle the measure after polling members of the Senate and finding a lack of support for the bill backed by gun-rights groups.
The measure is one of a number of legislative proposals that would expand the rights of people who have concealed-weapons licenses. Leaders of the state university system have opposed the campus-carry proposal.
Rep. Ed Narain, a Tampa Democrat who is chairman of the Legislature’s black caucus, told the Higher Education & Workforce Subcommittee on Wednesday the 26 members of his caucus oppose any proposal that “will increase the number of guns on campus.”
Steube said permit holders who must be at least 21 years old and demonstrate competency with firearms should “be able to carry anywhere.”
Eric Friday, general counsel of the gun-rights group Florida Carry Inc., questioned an estimate by the 28 schools in the Florida College System that they would have to spend $74 million to upgrade security, training and equipment because of the campus-carry proposal.
“If we allow law-abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms on our campuses, suddenly we’re going to need armed security and police that we don’t have now, where there is nothing keeping criminals off of our campuses with guns,” Friday said. “If you believe criminals don’t have guns on campus now, you’re naive.”
Opponents of the bill said a better solution to increasing safety on campuses would be to boost funding for law enforcement.
“This is not a bill that addresses rape on campus,” said subcommittee member Kristin Jacobs, D-Coconut Creek. “This is a bill that allows certain people to carry guns and others not to. If we really want to address the issue of rape on campus, then what we need to ensure is that we have a greater number of officers on campus that can continue to protect women in that environment.”
Florida State University senior Daniela Fernandez told the panel that the bill could impact learning on the state’s campuses.
“The intellectual integrity of our institutions are at risk here,” Fernandez, who is from Miami, said. “Education is a debate process. Students and faculty will be less inclined to debate, to learn if guns are allowed on campus.”
Wednesday’s vote came less than a week after the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected arguments by Florida Carry Inc. in a lawsuit seeking to overturn a University of Florida ban on firearms in residence halls and other university housing.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Update: FHP Releases Details In Cantonment Crash That Injured Three
November 4, 2015
Three people were injured in a two vehicle crash on Highway 29 in Cantonment Wednesday morning.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 69-year old Jackie Roscoe Helton of Walnut Hill was southbound on Highway 29 just past Highway 95A when he crossed the median into oncoming traffic. His 2012 Ford F150 collided with the front of a 1999 Dodge Durango driven by 71-year old Cecil Wayne Carnley of Okeechobbee, FL.
Carnley and his passenger, 63-year old Robin Jeanean Carnley of Pensacola, were critically injured in the crash. Cecil Carnley was trapped in his vehicle about an hour while firefighters worked to free him from the wreckage before he was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital. Robin Carnley was also transported to Sacred Heart in critical condition. Both Carnleys were wearing their seat belts, troopers said.
Helton was airlifted to Baptist Hospital in serious condition. He was also wearing his seat belt, according to the FHP.
The FHP said alcohol was not a factor in the wreck. Any charges in the crash are pending further investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Highway 29 in Cantonment was complete shut down just over an hour by the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.