Highway 97 Traffic Detoured Onto Temporary Bridge In Walnut Hill
July 22, 2015
Traffic on Highway 97 in Walnut Hill was transitioned to a temporary roadway and bridge on Tuesday. It’s part of the replacement of a 75-year old Highway 97 bridge over Little Pine Barren Creek.
Work started on the temporary bridge back at the end of March.
The work is part of a $2.5 million contract which consists of replacing the existing structurally deficient bridge, including roadway reconstruction, milling and resurfacing, guardrail, drainage, new signs and pavement markings. Drivers will utilize a temporary roadway and bridge during construction of the new bridge. Work is anticipated to be completed in the spring of 2016. No overweight loads will be permitted onto the temporary bridge (loads weighing over 88-thousand pounds).
The bridge is located at the intersection of Wiggins Lake Road, about one mile north of Ernest Ward Middle School. The bridge being replaced was constructed in 1940.
Pictured: Traffic on Highway 97 was detoured Tuesday onto a temporary bridge in Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Marsh Fire Burns On Lower Escambia River
July 22, 2015
The Florida Forest Service and local fire departments monitored a wildfire Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in the marsh of the Escambia River just north and west of Highway 90.
Because of the location, equipment cannot reach the fire so crews were watching the situation, according to Joe Zwierzchowski of the Florida Forest Service. By Wednesday morning, there was no smoke visible from nearby roadways.
Couple Charged With Failing To Report A Death
July 22, 2015
Two Escambia County residents have been charged with failing to report a death. Instead, authorities say they took the man’s TV out of his trailer, literally over his dead body.
Kimberly Joyce Smith, 32, and her boyfriend, 47-year old Stevenson Antonio Holly, were both arrested this week with failing to report a death to the medical examiner.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Smith called her mother about 6 p.m. on May 26 and told her that her father was “cold” and dead inside his mobile home at a North Palafox Street trailer park. Deputies later determined that Smith and Holly were at the trailer about 3:00 that afternoon, when witnesses saw them removing a TV and other items from the trailer.
About noon the following day, Smith’s mother questioned whether she had called 911 to report the death, with Smith telling her “no” because she was scared, an arrest report states.
Investigators said Smith and Holly dropped cigarette ashes onto the deceased man’s head as they toted out items, and his head had a postmortem injury that was believed be from the TV being dropped on his head while it was being carried out of his trailer.
Smith was released from the Escambia County Jail on a pre-trial release bond; Holly was released on a $15,000 bond.
Editor’s note: A typographical error on Kimberly Smith’s age has been corrected. She is 32 years old.
Century Considers Slight Property Tax Increase
July 22, 2015
The Town of Century is considering a property tax increase, but it won’t cost the average citizen more than pennies per month and won’t add much to the town’s bottom line.
The town council is recommending that the town’s property tax rate increase from a current year 0.8707 mills to 0.9006 mill, an increase of 6.35 percent. The increase would equal the 2013-2014 rate, while remaining lower than the rate during the previous three years.
One mill is equal to $1 in taxes per $1,000 in taxable value. If the tax increase is approved, the property tax paid to Century on home with a $50,000 taxable value would increase from $42.34 to $45.03, or about $2.69 per year.
With the increase Century would be set to collect $29,549 in total property taxes, up from $27,784.
Due to homestead and other exemptions, many Century residents do not pay any property tax at all, according to Council President Ann Brooks, because of low property values.
Century will hold budget workshop at 5:00 Thursday afternoon at Town Hall. The workshop is open to the public.
Atmore Police Officer Assaulted; One Charged
July 22, 2015
An Atmore man is behind bars, charged with assault on an Atmore police officer.
About 3 a.m. Sunday, Atmore officers responded to a call for assistance on Sunset Drive where a growing crowd would not disperse, the department said in a Tuesday news release.
Officers responded to find several individuals involved in an altercation. As officers attempted to intervene, 30-year old Johnny Derell Knight of Atmore refused to comply, charged one of the offers and assaulted him.
Knight was arrested without further incident on charges of assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton.
Wahoos Move Into Second Place
July 22, 2015
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos played good defense, received clutch hitting and relied on strong pitching to hand the Jacksonville Suns its sixth straight loss.
It all came together to propel the Blue Wahoos to a 6-5 victory Tuesday in front of 3,290 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
On defense, Pensacola turned four double plays and now leads the Southern League with 119 total.
At the plate, Blue Wahoos shortstop Zach Vincej hit a solo home run in the first inning to knot the game at 1. Second baseman Ryan Wright singled in the fifth to score third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean to tie the score, 4-4. Finally, right fielder Juan Duran smashed a double down the third baseline in the sixth inning to put Pensacola ahead, 6-4.
On the mound, Barrett Astin lasted a career-long seven innings in his fifth start in Double-A, setting down the last seven Suns batters he faced. Then, Blue Wahoos closer Zack Weiss struck out two with the bases loaded in the eighth and two more in the ninth to earn his 12th save on the season.
Pensacola leads the Florida rivals’ race for the Golden Skillet, 9-6. The Blue Wahoos, who have one more five-game series left with the Suns, have never won the trophy since its inaugural season in 2012.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly is intent on winning the Golden Skillet, which he has a picture of on his Twitter account. But he said he’s not savvy enough to print it out.
“It would be the first time we’ve won it,” Kelly said. “It really tells us how much Jacksonville has dominated Pensacola the last four years. We want to win every series and win the division. That’s our goal. That’s what we’re shooting for.”
The Blue Wahoos are in second place at 15-10 in the Southern League South Division, one game behind the Mississippi Braves. They were 24-43 and in last place in the first half.
Duran provided much of the clutch hitting for Pensacola Tuesday. He went 3-5 with three doubles and three RBIs. He also generated a run on his own in the fifth when he reached on an error by the third baseman, stole second, stole third and then scored on a wild pitch that cut Jacksonville’s lead to 4-3. His two stolen bases came after he had one in his previous 118 games in Double-A.
Duran is hitting .270 with one homer and 13 RBIs for the Blue Wahoos since returning July 1 to the team after injury rehab at Goodyear, Ariz.
“I’m feeling very good,” said Duran, who played pepper with a Cincinnati Reds hitting coach Tuesday. “This is one of the best games in my life. That’s what I’m working on — being consistent.”
In his fifth start with the Blue Wahoos, Astin overcame a three-run fourth inning, to retire nine of the last 10 Suns he faced. Astin improved to 2-1 with a 3.73 ERA, after giving up four runs, three unearned, on seven hits and two walks, while striking out four.
“A good manager would have left him in the game,” Kelly said jokingly. “Astin did a really nice job, pitching through the seventh inning. We needed what he could give us.”
Jacksonville went on top with three runs in the fourth off Astin to go ahead, 4-2. He walked Suns third baseman Zack Cox to score right fielder Carlos Lopez. Suns catcher Chadd Krist then hit a double to left field that drove in shortstop J.T. Riddle and second baseman Terrence Dayleg.
Pensacola shortstop Zach Vincej tied the game, 1-1, in the bottom of the third when he lined a solo home run to left field. Vincej has hit in 13 of his last 14 games, going 4-7 in the series, with a home run and double. He’s batting 20-50 or .400 with five RBIs in those games and has raised his season average to .261.
The first game of the five-game series is scheduled at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday with the Milwaukee Brewers Double-A affiliate Biloxi Shuckers. LHP Wandy Peralta (5-7, 5.72) takes the mound for the Wahoos and is scheduled to be opposed by Shuckers RHP Johnny Hellweg (0-2, 6.23).
Northview Junior Leads Escambia School Board Meeting Invocation
July 22, 2015
Northview High School junior Mitchell Singleton delivered the invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance at Tuesday’s meeting of the Escambia County School Board.
Singleton, who was invited to led the invocation by board member Gerald Boone, has served as class president each year so far during his career at NHS and serves as vice president of the Northview FFA. He has also served as a messenger and a page in Florida House of Representatives.
During his short prayer, Singleton asked that the Lord guide the school board in making decisions that would have a positive impact in the county.
“I believe that asking for the Lord’s guidance is essential for our nation to thrive. History shows that our founding fathers were of the Christian faith. Which means our constitution was drafted on the foundation of Christianity. The only way we are going to restore America is to put God as our foundation again. We strayed away as a nation, and we are reaping the consequences from that right now,” Singleton said later. “Opening a meeting of the school board, or any other government meeting, with an invocation is just one way we can show the people that we stand with Christ.”
Pictured: A video screen grab of Northview High junior Mitchell Singleton delivering the invocation during Tuesday’s meeting of the Escambia County School Board. Courtesy image for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Awarded Grant For Splash Pad — But It Might Never Open
July 21, 2015
The Town of Century has been awarded a state grant to install a splash pad at Showalter Park, but there’s a chance the water playland will never open.
Century received the $50,000 grant from the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program. That will fund the purchase and installation of the splash pad, but associated costs, according to Mayor Freddie McCall, may be too much for the town to bear.
The splash pad that Century can afford won’t recycle water — that feature would cost the town another $50,000 plus, McCall said. The splash pad that Century can purchase with grant money will use hundreds of gallons of water in just minutes, hitting an estimated monthly water bill of as much as $1,300. Plus all that water will have to flow somewhere, possibly requiring a Department of Environmental Protection permit, to send it to a pond or even the sewer system.
In order to meet a state deadline, the Century Town Council voted Monday night to accept the $50,000 splash pad grant. The council may decide at a future meeting to return the money if it’s decided it will cost to much to operate.
The Town of Century owns and operates its own water and sewer company.
Pictured: The Town of Century has been awarded a state grant to purchase this model splash pad. Courtesy images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate Freshmen: Don’t Miss ‘Aggie Day’ On Thursday
July 21, 2015
Tate High School is inviting all incoming freshmen to participate in “Aggie Day”on Thursday, hosted by Tate’s leadership clubs. During the event, ninth graders will divide into small groups and will attend a series of workshops. They will learn the campus, review school rules, discuss study habits and have the chance to make new friends.
Aggie Day will begin at 9 a.m., with freshmen to be dropped off at the “new gym” and picked up by noon. Lunch will not be provided, but students are encouraged to bring a snack and a bottle of water. If parents wish to stay on campus during the event, a parent waiting area will be provided in the administrative conference room.
Because this is the school’s first Aggie Day, freshmen are asked to RSVP by clicking here so that the number of workshops can be planned accordingly.
Student schedules will not be available at this event, which will be led by students unable to answer questions regarding specific student schedules.
Proposed Gambling Rules Impacting Poarch Creek’s Gretna Track Headed For Showdown
July 21, 2015
At least two years in the making, proposed pari-mutuel regulations continue to leave industry operators divided, with some saying the rules don’t go far enough and others complaining that the plan will put them out of business.
State gambling regulators held a hearing Monday on the latest version of the proposed rules, released last month for the third time in two years. The proposed regulations deal with everything from how much jockeys can weigh to the sizes of horse tracks and jai alai frontons. Much of the plan is aimed at curbing controversial rodeo-style barrel racing and “flag drop” horse races, first implemented by a small track in North Florida.
Donna Blanton, a lawyer who represents the North Florida Horsemen’s Association, whose members include about 200 women who ride the horses at Gretna Racing in Gadsden County, told a hearing panel Monday that many of the proposals floated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering were “invalid exercises” of the agency’s authority.
Gretna is managed and operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Atmore.
Also, Blanton said, the proposed rules — which bar jockeys from weighing more than 135 pounds and require jockeys to wear “unique racing colors and white pants registered with the racing secretary” along with helmets, vests and boots “specifically designed for horse racing when riding in racing or exercising horses” — would put the women who ride the horses at the small facility out of a job.
“They’ll be gone. They won’t be here. And that’s contrary to the fact that there’s nothing in statute … that prohibits this kind of horse racing,” Blanton told the four-member panel Monday morning. “It’s perfectly legitimate. It’s allowed. It’s something you have licensed in the past.”
Four years ago, state gambling regulators granted Gretna Racing a pari-mutuel permit for quarter-horse barrel racing — the first, and possibly only, in the nation — but a court later ruled that the permit was issued in error. State regulators later entered an agreement with the facility authorizing “flag drop” races, in which two horses race against each other in a straight line.
Gretna Racing is also in the midst of a legal battle over slot machines. A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal recently ruled that gambling regulators erred in denying the facility a slots license. The state is asking that the full court rehear the case in what is called an “en banc” hearing.
Florida horse owners and breeders not affiliated with the association Blanton represents strongly oppose barrel racing and “flag drop” races as pari-mutuel activities, in part because nearly all other races require more horses to compete.
Under the proposed rules, quarter-horse races would have to be conducted on tracks that are at least 1,300 feet in length, much longer than the track now in use at Gretna.
A legislative panel that oversees rules also questioned whether regulators went too far with a variety of the proposed rules. A letter from Joint Administrative Procedures Committee Senior Attorney Marjorie Holladay sent last week also asked whether costs associated with the proposed changes would exceed $200,000 a year, which would require legislative approval.
Some of the industry operators, all of whom were sworn in Monday, testified that the proposed requirements would cost from $500,000 to in excess of $1 million a year, including the costs of installing new “break-away” rails and starting gates.
A 10-day window to challenge the rules begins Tuesday.
“No matter what you do you’re going to come up with a contested decision,” Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association CEO Lonny Powell said.
But Powell and many of his allies who represent horse breeders and owners said that, overall, they were pleased with the plans, which he said “seem to reinforce reality” that barrel racing and flag drops are not legitimate.
“We want to make sure that expanded gambling doesn’t happen through loopholes. Otherwise, we just want integrity in the business. We don’t need made-up sports. What do we get to next? Hermit crab sprints? We can bet odd-even that the sun will be covered by clouds one day and that’s pari-mutuel? It’s just a real slippery slope. But we’re encouraged by some of the comments we heard from the department today,” Powell said.
The proposal won’t rein in “gambling creep,” said Paul Seago, of the anti-gambling organization “No Casinos.”
“What they’re trying to do today is a step in the right direction but not far enough,” Seago said.
Other issues discussed at Monday’s meeting included jai alai. The proposed rules would impose minimum standards for jai alai players to qualify to participate in games and would also require pari-mutuels to have at least eight different players or teams.
But David Cantina, general manager of Orlando Jai Alai Fronton and Race Book, said that the new regulations were problematic for his facility, the only jai alai fronton in the state that does not have a card room or slots.
“It will almost definitely put us out of business,” Cantina said after the meeting ended.
Cantina said his operation — which has relied mostly on revenues from simulcast games — is in a “cash flow negative.”
Dave Roberts, a lobbyist who represents Magic City Casino in Miami, which has a summer jai alai permit but has not yet begun jai alai performances, objected to the proposal that would require games to be played indoors and frontons to be constructed of granite.
He said that jai alai traditionally was played outside in France and Spain.
But department lawyer Jason Maine, a member of the hearing panel, questioned how an outdoor fronton would work while providing safety for the players, as required by the proposed rules, in rain- and heat-prone South Florida.
Doug Russell, who represents the International Jai Alai Players Association, objected that, while the proposed rules established outlines for jai alai frontons, they failed to include minimum standards for seating. Florida is now the only state in the country where jai alai — the state’s oldest professional sport — is still played commercially.
Russell said the jai alai players’ salaries have been shaved more than in half — from $5,000 to $2,000 a month — because pari-mutuels are focusing their efforts on more lucrative card rooms or slots.
“Most of my guys are skilled laborers on the side. … We’re the only humans in the game,” Russell said.
Other complaints involved a rule that would require pari-mutuels to publish information regarding horses’ qualifications. Under the proposed rule, the racing secretary would have to ensure that at least three published past performances, whether in races or workouts, were available to the public prior to a race.
That won’t give bettors enough information, said Tom Ventura, president of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company. Tracks or owners can “pick and choose” the data they want published, he said.
“It’s really, really important to see what a horse has done,” Ventura said.
Since the rule-making process has dragged on for more than two years, some participants at Monday’s hearing are hoping that lawmakers will address the gambling regulatory issue when they reconvene in January for the regular legislative session.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida with contribution from NorthEscambia.com