Motorcyclist Killed In Santa Rosa Crash
July 20, 2015
A Laurel Hill man was killed in a single motorcycle accident Saturday morning in Santa Rosa County.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 67-year old Michaelis L. Johnson was westbound on Red Rock Road whe he failed to negotiate a curve on his 1999 Harley Davidson, traveled onto the shoulder and then struck an embankment. Johnson, who was ejected from the motorcycle, was pronounced deceased at the scene. Johnson was wearing his helmet at the time of the crash.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
K-9 Officer ‘Mink’ Retires
July 20, 2015
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Mink retired from service last week. The German Shepherd and his handler, Deputy 1st Class Michael Milstead have been responsible for many suspect and narcotics finds throughout the last five years, according to the ECSO. Mink will spend his retirement with Milstead and his family. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Court Tries To Decide Exactly What Is A Kosher Prison Diet
July 20, 2015
After ordering the Florida Department of Corrections to provide kosher meals to inmates, a federal judge is expected to hear arguments about what exactly that means.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz ruled April 30 in a long-running dispute between the state and the U.S. Department of Justice about providing kosher meals to inmates whose religions have dietary restrictions. Seitz required attorneys for the state and the Justice Department to file proposed language for a final judgment and permanent injunction.
But Seitz issued another order last month setting a July 15 hearing because the two sides could not reach agreement on details, including the state objecting to use of the term “certified kosher diet” in any permanent injunction.
She wrote that she will hold the hearing, in part, to determine the “meaning of the terms ‘kosher diet’ and ‘certified kosher diet,’ ” though she said that portion of the hearing could be canceled if agreement is reached.
Seitz wrote that “there is nothing in the record regarding what plaintiff (the Department of Justice) meant when it sought to have defendants (the state) provide ‘kosher meals’ to prisoners, and there is nothing in the record as to how either side believes defendants can demonstrate compliance with the court’s order to provide kosher meals.”
Pictured: The cafeteria inside the Century Correctional Institution. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Reward Offered: Flomaton Police Seek Playground Vandals
July 20, 2015
The Flomaton Police Department is seeking information on the person or persons who damaged playground equipment at the town’s Hurricane Park.
The playground was damaged with some type of an edged object, causing large holes in two of the slides. A rock climbing wall and other slides were damaged.
The playground, which is designed for children ages 2-12, will be closed until repairs are made. Two individuals are offering a total reward of $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the responsible person or persons.
Anyone with information on the playground damage is asked to contact the Flomaton Police Department at (251) 296-5811.
Photos courtesy Flomaton Police Department for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Skipworth Homers, Wahoos Lose To Birmingham
July 20, 2015
Pensacola Blue Wahoos catcher Kyle Skipworth set another franchise record Sunday with his seventh home run blast in a month and now has nine homers on the season.
On Thursday against the Birmingham Barons, Skipworth had set the team record with five homers in five straight games. He now has six homers in the past seven games and seven homers in the past 10 games.
Despite Skipworth lifting a fly ball over the center field wall for a solo home run in the seventh inning, Birmingham won, 11-3, Sunday at Regions Field and captured the five-game series, 3-2.
The Barons broke the game open with seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to go up, 9-0. Birmingham shortstop Tim Anderson had a two-run single and DH Courtney Hawkins hit a two-run home run.
Mostly the Barons relied on the arm of the Chicago White Sox No. 2 prospect Frankie Montas, who was called up for one day July 17 to the Major Leagues, where he served as the 26th man for a doubleheader.
Montas, whose fastball has been clocked as high as 102 mph this season, blanked Pensacola over five innings, allowing just two hits—a double by third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean in the fourth inning and a single by shortstop Zach Vincej in the fifth.
He also walked one and struck out eight in Sunday’s game. Montas improved to 3-1 in 16 starts in Double-A and lowered his ERA to 2.31. He has given up just three earned runs in his last 18 innings for a 1.50 ERA since June 28.
Mejias-Brean, who was 2-4, has gotten a hit in 13 of his last 16 games, including five multi-hit games. He is now batting .259 on the year.
Vincej went 1-3 and walked and has a hit in 11 of his last 12 games, after going 0-4 Saturday to end his 10-game hitting streak.
Pensacola is now 13-10 in the second half of the Southern League season (25-43 first half) and fell into second place in the South Division.
Meanwhile, the Barons improved to 17-5 in the second half (33-36 first half) and remains in first place in the North Division.
The Blue Wahoos return home to play the Jacksonville Suns July 20-21 and the Biloxi Shuckers July 22-26.
FWC Law Enforcement Report
July 19, 2015
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending July 16 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
The Annual Blue Angels Air Show on Pensacola Beach took place this week. The event was a success and the weather cooperated. FWC officers performed vessel inspections on over 250 vessels and spoke to more than 600 people. Sixteen citations were issued for boating safety infractions, three notice to appear citations were issued for underage drinking, and three subjects were arrested for BUI. Additionally, 38 warnings were issued and officers responded to two medical emergencies.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Lieutenant Suggs, Investigator Armstrong, and Officers Maltais and Molnar responded to a search and rescue in Destin. It was reported that two swimmers were in distress. The operator of a pontoon boat came to the aid of one of the distressed swimmers by pulling him onto the pontoon boat. Witnesses reported that the second swimmer went down and did not surface. Two FWC boats equipped with side scan sonar arrived on scene and a search recovery pattern was coordinated with the United States Coast Guard and Okaloosa County Sheriff’s marine vessel units. Within a few hours, the deceased swimmer was located using side scan sonar.
FWC officers responded to assist the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office in locating two young women who were missing from the Blackwater State Park. The officers located the two women just south of the park boundary. The women were tubing and passed the bridge and swimming areas. When they realized that they could go no further, they spent the night on a sandbar and attempted to walk back towards the park the next morning. The women were shaken up from their ordeal, but were unharmed. Many residents and tourists aren’t aware that the Blackwater River is impassable just south of the Blackwater River State Park and just north of the intersection with Coldwater Creek.
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
Florida Quietly Ends Appeal In Same-Sex Marriage Case
July 19, 2015
Three weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry, Florida quietly gave notice Friday that it was dismissing an appeal in a legal battle about the constitutionality of the state’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage.
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office filed a two-paragraph motion for dismissal in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to an online docket.
The state in November filed the appeal in two consolidated cases, after U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction against Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage. Hinkle ruled that the ban, which voters approved in 2008, was unconstitutional. Hinkle’s decision ultimately allowed same-sex couples to start getting married in Florida in January.
The appeals court in February put the Florida appeal on hold because of the then-pending U.S. Supreme Court case that involved gay-marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. The February order also directed the parties in the Florida case to notify the court 21 days after a Supreme Court ruling about any remaining issues. The state complied with that directive by filing the motion Friday.
“Appellants (state officials and the Washington County clerk of court) respectfully state in response to the court’s inquiry that no issues remain pending in these appeals,” the document said. Bondi made clear after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Florida would comply. “We have always sought finality on this important constitutional issue, and today the United States Supreme Court provided the clarity our state and country was seeking,” she said at the time. “Legal efforts were not about personal beliefs or opinions, but rather, the rule of law. The United States Supreme Court has the final word on interpreting the Constitution, and the court has spoken.”
by The News Service of Florida
Hardy Graduates From Basic Military Training
July 19, 2015
Air Force Airman Tyra N. Hardy graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Hardy is the daughter of Craig F. and Tera M. Hardy of Cantonment and granddaughter of Teresa Williams and Charles F. Hardy, both of Pensacola.
She is a 2014 graduate of West Florida High School of Advanced Technology, Pensacola, Fla.
That’s Cool: Molino’s Only Igloo Ready For A Week Of VBS
July 19, 2015
For a really cool Vacation Bible School during this hot summer, Aldersgate United Methodist Church members constructed an igloo. They collected over 1,000 gallon jugs for the project and spend days gluing together the self-supporting structure. With a forecast of a little fake snow by the end of Sunday, the igloo will be ready to Aldersgate’s Vacation Bible School this week.
“Camp Edge” VBS will be held each night, Monday – Friday, this week at Aldersgate United Methodist Church on Highway 29 just south of Highway 97 in Molino from 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. The VBS is for children age 3 to rising 5th graders. For more information, contact Sandra at (850) 587-2489.
Scroll through the photos below to watch the construction of Molino’s only igloo progress.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott Ups Protection For National Guard Members
July 19, 2015
Alarmed by a shooting rampage in Tennessee that killed four Marines and a sailor, Gov. Rick Scott on Saturday issued an executive order designed to increase protections for members of the Florida National Guard.
Scott directed Adjutant Gen. Michael Calhoun to temporarily move National Guard members from six “storefront” recruitment centers to armories. Also, he ordered Calhoun to work with local law-enforcement agencies to arrange regular security checks of armories and said the state will expedite processing of new concealed-weapons licenses for members of the National Guard.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that all of our National Guard members are safe,” Scott, who was scheduled to hold a late-afternoon news conference in West Palm Beach, said during a CNN interview.
The executive order said Guard members will be moved from the recruitment centers to armories until Calhoun “can fully evaluate and make recommendations for improving the security” of the centers. It said possible improvements could include installing bulletproof glass and enhancing video-surveillance equipment.
The move to expedite new concealed-weapons licenses would apply to Guard members who do not have such permits. Scott said during the CNN interview that the move is designed for “personal protection when they are not on duty.”
Scott issued the executive order two days after 24-year-old Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire at a military-recruiting center and a Navy Reserve facility in Chattanooga, Tenn. Abdulazeez, whose name has been spelled in different ways by news organizations, killed four Marines, and a Navy petty officer died early Saturday of wounds, according to the Washington Post.
The shooting spree has spurred investigations into whether Abdulazeez, who also died, had links to terrorist organizations. In a Twitter post Saturday, Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said he supported Scott’s executive order to “help protect our military from acts of terror.”
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, whose agency administers concealed-weapons licenses, issued a statement that said he is “fully committed to supporting our military members, and we look forward to expediting their concealed-weapon license applications.”
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida