Woman Dies When Her Home Is Hit By Vehicle
May 4, 2015
An Escambia County woman sitting in her living room died in a traffic Sunday.
Donna Sue Alexander, 52,was inside her home in the 1600 block of East Mallory Street when a Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck driven by John Dye, 30, crashed into the house.
Alexander died at the scene, while Dye was taken to a local hospital to be examined for injuries.
Dye was northbound on 17th Avenue when the truck left the road, struck the house and entered the living room. The cause of the crash, which occurred around 6:40 p.m. Sunday, remains under investigation. Charges are pending the outcome of the investigation.
Court Forces Florida Prisons To Go Kosher
May 4, 2015
After more than a decade of legal wrangling, a federal judge has ordered the Florida Department of Corrections to provide kosher meals to inmates, rejecting the state’s argument that the religious diet is prohibitively expensive.
Corrections officials are already serving the kosher meals but have refused to acknowledge that they are required to do so under the federal “Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act” law enacted in 2000.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the agency three years ago as part of a drawn-out fight over the kosher meals, an option not only for Jewish prisoners but for Muslim and Seventh-Day Adventists whose religions also proscribe dietary restrictions.
The lawsuit challenged corrections officials’ claim that they were not required to provide the meals, as well as the rules the agency used to determine who was eligible to receive the meals.
About 10,000 inmates receive kosher meals now being served at all of the state’s institutions, and corrections officials have no plans to discontinue the special diet, according to Department of Corrections spokesman McKinley Lewis.
“If you want a kosher meal, you can have a kosher meal,” he said.
The department started offering the kosher meals in 2004 to Jewish prisoners at 13 facilities and transferred inmates who were eligible for the meals to those institutions. The agency expanded the program to inmates of all faiths in 2006 but halted it the following year before reinstating it as a pilot project at a single prison in 2010, serving fewer than 20 prisoners.
A year after the lawsuit was filed, the department again began serving kosher meals and promised to have the meals available to all inmates by last July.
Last summer, the department switched to all-cold meals, consisting largely of peanut butter and sardines, served twice a day, prompting some inmates to complain that the unappetizing diet was aimed at discouraging prisoners from signing up for the plan.
“…It is hard to understand how defendants can have a compelling state interest in not spending money that they are already voluntarily spending on the exact thing they claim to have an interest in not providing,” U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz wrote in a 31-page opinion.
“Furthermore, not only are defendants voluntarily spending the money on providing kosher meals, they have repeatedly represented that they are committed to providing kosher meals” and that the current religious diet plan is sustainable, both monetarily and security-wise, the judge wrote. “Thus, defendants’ compelling state interest argument is substantially dampened by its voluntary decision to provide kosher meals.”
The kosher meals cost about $3.56 per inmate per day, compared to $1.89 per day for regular meals. The department estimated that the costs for making kosher meals available to all inmates could total between $384,000 and $12.3 million, depending on how many inmates signed up for the program and decided to stick with it.
But even the department’s “worst-case scenario” estimate equates to just .005 of its total annual budget, Seitz wrote.
“Clearly, in pure numbers these amounts are not insignificant. However, in an overall budget of nearly $2.3 billion per year, these amounts are relatively small,” Seitz wrote.
While nearly 10,000 prisoners — about 10 percent of the total inmate population — receive kosher meals today, corrections officials expect participation in the program to decline to about 1.5 to 2 percent. In the five prisons where the meals have been served for a full year, the participation rate dropped by one third.
The department, which has spent more than $400,000 in legal costs fighting the lawsuit, last year contended that the kosher meals were prohibitively expensive.
If just 1.5 to 2 percent of the total prison population joined the program, the department would spend up to $1.7 million a year, not including extra costs for disposable utensils and plates, lawyers for the department wrote in a brief last year.
“For a cash-strapped agency like the Department of Corrections, these amounts are not a ‘relatively minor expense,’ given other crucial needs that compete for funds,” Florida Assistant Attorney General Lisa Kuhlman Tietig wrote.
But the department’s lawyers failed to show that the cost of the program has affected prison operations in any way, Seitz wrote.
“There is no evidence that any program s have been cut, that any staff has been cut, or that there has been any harm to any aspect of defendants’ operations,” she wrote.
Seitz also ordered the department to stop using a “zero-tolerance” policy that removed inmates from the kosher meal plan if they were caught eating regular meals or purchasing non-kosher food from the canteen, something corrections officials have already abandoned.
And Seitz also ruled that prison officials can’t kick inmates off of the kosher plan if the inmates miss 10 percent or more of their meals in a month, another policy the department has discontinued.
Seitz criticized the department for complaining about the costs of the special diet but not using its own policies to restrict who receives the meals.
“Defendants have at their disposal an alternative means to contain costs without burdening the religious exercise of those prisoners with a sincere religious belief requiring them to keep kosher. To date, however, defendants have actively chosen not to use these alternative cost reduction methods,” she wrote.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: The cafeteria at Century Correctional Institution. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Northview Teacher Recognized By Freedoms Foundation
May 4, 2015
Northview High School social studies teacher James Moretz has been recognized by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge. He has received a scholarship to attend the Medal of Honor Legacy graduate program this summer. His scholarship will include transportation, accommodations, graduate credit, meals, and a guided tour of the historic area of Philadelphia including the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the National Constitution Center, and many more highlights.
Founded in 1949, the Freedoms Foundation is a national, non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization. The Freedoms Foundation provides a wide range of educational and awards programs for students, teachers and citizens to gain a greater awareness and appreciation of the principles and responsibilities of a free and democratic society.
Pictured: Northview High School social studies teacher James Mortez. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
NewsRadio 1620 Wins Edward R. Murrow Award
May 4, 2015
NewsRadio1620 has won a 2015 regional Edward R. Murrow Award from the national Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTNDA).
The station won in the Outstanding Continuing Coverage category for its reporting on the extensive flood that occurred in April, 2014. From the time that the rains began moving into the greater Pensacola area on April 29, the station provided continuous live coverage of local weather and flood conditions for the next two days, preempting all other regular programming.
NewsRadio1620 is now eligible for consideration for a national award in the same category. Edward R. Murrow Awards are considered to be among the most prestigious of the broadcast journalism awards. This year, RTNDA received more than 4,000 entries from radio and television stations across the United States. This is the 5th Edward R. Murrow Award that NewsRadio1620 has won for local news coverage.
NewsRadio1620 and sister station CatCountry 98.7 are locally owned and managed by Dave and Mary Hoxeng.
Molino Thrift Store Ministry Suffering After Theft
May 3, 2015
The Molino community is reaching out to help a local non-profit that suffered a theft sometime Saturday afternoon.
The Molino Outreach Thrift Store, located in a former grocery store on Highway 29, is operated by Pastor Jason Lee, along with his family and numerous volunteers. It’s a different sort of thrift store, one where the bottom line is not nearly as important as helping others.
Over the past few weeks, every piece of clothing in the store has been priced at just 99¢ — not to make a profit but to be a blessing to those that shop there, according to Lee’s postings on the store’s Facebook page. Recently, the store has added new furniture and appliances to their offerings, at substantial savings off regular prices, once again as a blessing to those in the community that support the store. It allows many people the chance to purchase items that they might not otherwise be able to afford, while providing a minimal income to keep the ministry moving forward.
Much of the Molino Outreach Thrift Store’s marketing is limited to word of mouth, promotion by local churches and Facebook.
Saturday afternoon, shortly after the store posted that it is need of paper towels and toilet paper, someone walked out with Lee’s notebook computer. The laptop was not only used to post about the store’s specials and the ministry to Facebook, but it also contained off of their photos used to sell special order furniture on a daily basis.
“Please pray for the person who took it and pray that they will bring it back,” was posted on the store’s Facebook page using another person’s laptop.
Local resident Josh Tucker has created a “gofundme” site to raise funds to purchase another laptop to the ministry and store. Anything donated in excess of the goal amount will be used toward continuing the ministry of the Molino Outreach Thrift Store. To donate, click here.
Dedication Ceremony Held At New Langley Bell 4-H Center
May 3, 2015
A dedication ceremony and open house were held Saturday at the new Langley Bell 4-H Center in Cantonment.
Back in 1943 Minnie and Langley Bell donated 400 acres on Nine Mile Road for the county’s original 4-H Center. The property was given to Escambia County 4-H in a trust, with the Escambia County Commission serving as trustees. When the property was sold to Navy Federal Credit Union in 2012 for expansion, a new 4-H Center was planned on the Escambia County Extension Service property on Stefani Road.
Funds from the sale were also used to purchase 108 acres in Molino where a new 4-H Animal Science and Outdoor Center is being developed.
“Escambia County 4-H traditions have a strong foundation with the many successes of the past and will no doubt be carried forward with our new Langley Bell 4-H Center and the new 4-H property in Molino. A new generation of 4-Hers will now be served in a way that is unparalleled in facilities, financial support and community involvement,” said Brian Bell, president of the Escambia County 4-H Foundation and also the grandson of the original donors of the property, Minnie and Langley Bell. “My grandparents, Uncle Bill (Langley Bell, Jr.), and my father would be ecstatic to see how 4-H has used that initial donation of land to further its mission and serve so many more youth in this community.”
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Not About The Catch: Pen Wheels Fishing Rodeo Held In Walnut Hill (With Gallery)
May 3, 2015
The 41st annual Pen Wheels Fishing Rodeo was held Saturday in Walnut Hill.
Over the history of the fishing rodeo, it has been held at locations ranging from Ft. Pickens to the Three Mile Bridge in Pensacola. Since 2001, it has been held at Jantz’s Catfish Pond on South Highway 99, just off Highway 97.
Dozens of volunteers stood ready Saturday to help the disabled. They baited hooks, tossed a line and offered words of friendly encouragement, while dozens of disabled people were registered in Saturday’s fishing rodeo. They were from around the area.
“You going to put my picture on the New York Times,” one participant asked our photographer as she posed with her catch.
Saturday’s event wasn’t so much about the catch as it was the experience for those they often would otherwise never have the opportunity to fish.
“We both caught one, but mine weighed more than his,” one woman said, pointing a the man next to her. “It’s not about who catches the most, but having fun. But my fish was bigger than his.”
The Pen Wheels Fishing Rodeo is provided to the disabled for free as a project of the Pensacola Fiesta of Five Flags organization.
Pictured: The Pen Wheel Fishing Rodeo for the disabled Saturday in Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Photos: Century Sawmill Day
May 3, 2015
Hundreds of people attended the annual Sawmill Day in Saturday at Century’s historical park. The event featured entertainment, plenty of great food, arts and crafts and free museum tours.
For a photo gallery, click here.
For car show photos, click here.
Pictured top: A spinning and yarn making demonstration. Pictured inset: Replacing cane on a circa 1939 dining room chair. Pictured below: Enjoying entertainment Saturday morning at Century’s Sawmill Festival. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
National Day Of Prayer Events Planned
May 3, 2015
This Thursday is the National Day of Prayer, and events are planned across the North Escambia area:
Wednesday night – Molino
A National Day of Prayer event will be hosted by several churches Wednesday night at Don Sutton Ballpark in Molino. Churches from Cantonment to Century will take part in the event from 6-8 p.m.
Thursday – Century
A National Day of Prayer event will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Ag Building, West Highway 4 in Century
Thursday – Atmore
Several National Day of prayer events will be held in Atmore. A Prayer Walk will be held at 9 a.m. at Atmore City Hall, followed by prayer at the Veterans Memorial at 10:30 a.m. A Community Prayer Service will be held at 5:30 p.. in the Cornell Torrence Gym at Escambia County High School, and a Childrens Prayer Service will also begin at 5:30 p.m. in the “RPM Trailer” for grades K-6. A Bible Reading will follow the adult prayer service.
Thursday – Pensacola
A National Day of Prayer service will be held at noon in the breezeway at Pensacola City Hall. Services will be moved inside if weather threatens.
Pictured top: Rev. Ted Bridges of the Walnut Hill Baptist Church, on his knees, reading from his Bible during a previous National Day of Prayer event in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Photos: Sawmill Day Car Show (And A Really Cool Red Flyer Wagon)
May 3, 2015
Large crowds attended the annual Sawmill Day Car Show in Century on Saturday.
For more photos, including a Radio Flyer wagon like you’ve never seen before, click here.
For Sawmill Day coverage and photos, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
