One Injured In Highway 97 Rollover Accident
April 22, 2015
One person was injured in a single vehicle crash Wednesday morning in Walnut Hill.
The driver of a GMC pickup lost control on Highway 97 just south of South Highway 99 and overturned about 8:50 a.m.. The male driver was transported by ambulance to West Florida Hospital in Pensacola with injuries that were not considered life threatening. There were no other occupants in the vehicle.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Atmore Ambulance responded to the crash. The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol; further details have not been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Four County Bridges In North Escambia Set For Replacement By State
April 22, 2015
The Florida Department of Transportation will replace four bridges on county roads in Escambia County. Contracts will be let in the near future after the Escambia County Commission signs off on the projects, and the commission agrees that the county will maintain the bridges following construction by the state. The bridges will be replaced at the state’s expense.
The bridges have reached a level of deterioration making them next on the FDOT’s 5-Year Work Plan.
The bridges are:
- Highway196 (Barrineau Park Road) Bridge over Jacks Branch (between Highway 95A and Dewey Rose Lane) was constructed in 1949 and has an average daily traffic county of 537 vehicles.
- North Highway 99 Bridge over Pine Barren Creek (located just north of Gobbler Road/Oak Grove Park) was constructed in 1955. It has an average daily traffic count of 1,234 vehicles.
- Sandy Hollow Road Bridge over Sandy Hollow Creek (traffic count and construction date not available).
- Highway 99A Bridge (Arthur Brown Road) over Boggy Creek (near Walnut Hill Baptist Church) was constructed in 1969 and has an average daily traffic county of 537.
A construction start date has not yet been announced for the bridge replacement projects.
Pictured top: A steel truss was installed to support the bridge over Pine Barren Creek on North Highway 99 in Bratt in early 2011. Otherwise, the 60-year old bridge is supported by wood pilings. Pictured below: The North Highway 99 bridge over Pine Barren Creek. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Motorcyclist Killed In Escambia Crash
April 22, 2015
A man was killed into a single motorcycle crash Tuesday night in Escambia County.
Timmothy D. Showalter, age 26 of Pace, lost control of his 2007 Yamaha motorcycle on Barrancas Avenue about 8:33 p.m., struck a curb and then hit a large sign post.
He was pronounced deceased on the scene by Escambia County EMS.
Three Molino Park Students Win Florida DEP Earth Day Poster Contest
April 22, 2015
The Molino Park Elementary School students were the winners of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Northwest District Earth Day Poster Contest. In celebration of Earth Day, the department invited fourth and fifth grade students from Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties to creatively illustrate the importance of protecting Florida’s beautiful natural environment: air, water, land and ecosystems.
Winners were:
Escambia County
- First Place: Carolyn Wilbanks – Molino Park Elementary
- Second Place: Cody Chavers – Molino Park Elementary
- Third Place: Sarah Sconiers – Molino Park Elementary
Santa Rosa County
- First Place: Gwyneth Jackson – Gulf Breeze Elementary
- Second Place: Sean Johnson – Pea Ridge Elementary
- Third Place: Lindsey Castor – Bagdad Elementary
Pictured top: DEP Escambia County Earth Day poster contest winners, all from Molino Park Elementary, are (L-R) Carolyn Wilbanks, first; Cody Chavers, second; and Sara Sconiers, third. Their posters are below. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
First place Escambia County poster by Carlolyn Wilbanks (above).
Second place Escambia County poster by Cody Chavers (above).
Third place Escambia County poster by Sara Sconiers (above).
Firefighters Respond To Kingsfield Road Factory
April 22, 2015
Multiple fire stations responded to smoke inside a Kingsfield Road factory early Tuesday evening. There was no immediate word of the source of the smoke or any damages at Plastic Coated Papers. There were no injuries reported. NorthEscambia.com reader submitted photos by Jacob Hutson and Shawna Price, click to enlarge.
Abundant Life Assembly Church Receives Century Community Pride Award
April 22, 2015
The latest Century Community Pride Award was recently presented to Abundant Life Assembly of God Church. The award was presented by the Century Area Chamber of Commerce. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bear, Gator Feeding Won’t Go To Dogs
April 22, 2015
Florida lawmakers are taking aim at people caught repeatedly feeding bears and alligators, as the state prepares to allow its first black bear hunt in two decades.
But House members Tuesday rejected a proposal that would have prohibited the use of dogs for the bear hunts, a practice known as “bear hounding.” Though lawmakers declined to approve the idea, wildlife officials are expected to bar the use of canines in the hunts.
The House on Tuesday advanced a measure (HB 7021) that would increase penalties for people charged a fourth time with feeding bears and alligator not in captivity.
The charge would be a third-degree felony and carry a fine of up to $5,000 and the chance of spending up to five years in jail.
Currently, a fourth offense of illegally feeding wildlife within a 10-year period is a first-degree misdemeanor, which carries a minimum fine of $750, the chance for up to a year in jail and a three-year suspension of any recreational license.
A final vote on the House bill is expected Wednesday. The Senate is expected Thursday to review a similar proposal (SB 680).
The legislative proposal is backed by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as a means to address dangerous interactions between humans and wildlife.
The commission is expected in June to give formal approval for a black bear hunt, which could start Oct. 24 and last up to a week.
In advancing the feeding-ban proposal, the House rejected, in a voice vote, an amendment that would have prohibited the use of radio-collared dogs to pursue bears on the hunts.
“This doesn’t prevent bear hunting. What it does is sets some limitations on the use of dogs,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs, said of his proposed amendment. Fish and Wildlife is “not going to pass that final rule until June. And since I’ve heard this chamber on many other subjects not wanting to let bureaucrats make law, and they want legislators to make law, that’s why I brought this amendment.”
The Fish and Wildlife proposal prohibits the use of dogs to hunt bear, but allows leashed canines to trail shot bears.
Rep. Katie Edwards, D-Plantation, said sportsmen in states where bear hunting is legal typically don’t use dogs.
“They’re up in tree stands, and that’s the way they’re able to hunt bear,” Edwards said.
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is backing bear hunts because of a growing number of bear and human conflicts across the state. The one-bear-per-hunter hunt would be held in four regions — the eastern Panhandle, Northeast Florida, east-central Florida and South Florida — where there are an estimated 2,500 black bears.
Black bears were placed on Florida’s threatened list in 1974, when there were between 300 and 500 in the state. At the time, hunting black bear was limited to three counties. In 1994, the hunting season was closed statewide.
The legislative measure would seek to make sure more people know they are violating state laws on illegal feeding. In doing so, it would lessen the fines for people caught the first time illegally slipping food to bears and gators, along with foxes, raccoons, sandhill cranes, pelicans, and bald eagles.
Currently, the state imposes a second-degree misdemeanor charge on first-time offenders, which carries a penalty of up to $500 and up to 60 days in jail. However, wildlife officials are now “generally hesitant to issue a criminal citation to a first time offender,” according to a House staff analysis.
Under the proposal, first-time offenders would receive non-criminal tickets, carrying a $100 fine.
The belief from the Fish and Wildlife agency is that by removing the stricter penalty for first-time offenders, there will be less chance those people will repeat as they learn the rules.
“Once issued a civil penalty, first-time offenders should better understand the serious nature of violating the feeding rules,” the analysis said. “Therefore, these individuals will be less likely to incur criminal violations for future violations.”
A second-degree misdemeanor charge would kick in for people caught a second time. Those caught feeding bears and gators a third time would receive a first-degree misdemeanor, while additional violations involving foxes, raccoons, sandhill cranes, pelicans, and bald eagles would remain a second-degree offense.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Florida Gambling Bill Remains A Long Shot
April 22, 2015
Despite narrow approval by a House committee Tuesday, odds remain long that lawmakers will sign off on a gambling proposal that could do away with dog racing, pave the way for Las Vegas-style casinos in South Florida and open the door for slot machines in Lee and Palm Beach counties.
The House Finance & Tax Committee signed off on the measure with a 10-8 vote after committee Chairman Matt Gaetz asked House Speaker Steve Crisafulli to help ensure approval by appointing to the panel an extra Republican member who was a guaranteed “yes” vote.
The measure, sponsored by House Majority Leader Dana Young, centers around “decoupling” greyhound racing at dog tracks. Young’s plan would allow greyhound tracks to keep more lucrative gambling activities, such as slots and poker rooms, but allow the tracks to end greyhound racing altogether.
An attempt to amend the measure to allow horse tracks and jai alai frontons with slot machines in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to also stop racing or holding matches failed Tuesday.
But a revamped version of the bill (HB 1233) released late Monday included a last-minute carve-out for a Northwest Florida racetrack: to allow rodeo-style barrel racing as a pari-mutuel activity. A court ruled last year that gambling regulators erred when they granted a controversial license to Gretna Racing, located in Gadsden County, that authorized the rodeo-style racing. The license allowed the track’s operators, who hope to add slot machines, to open a lucrative card room.
South Florida “racinos” — pari-mutuel facilities that also have slot machines and poker rooms — are split on Young’s greyhound decoupling plan, opposed by horse breeders and owners.
Requiring horse tracks to keep racing “would allow certain operators to have legislative competitive advantages over other operators,” said Donn Mitchell, chief administrative officer for Isle of Capri, which owns Pompano Park Race Course and Casino.
“It is a bad business principle and a bad precedent to put forth,” Mitchell said, speaking on behalf of two other South Florida tracks.
But Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Coral Springs Democrat who held a meeting attended by pari-mutuel lobbyists late Monday evening, argued that the plan would be a humane way to finally put an end to an activity whose heyday has faded.
In visits to dog tracks, “I saw dogs running for their life with nobody watching,” Moskowitz said. “There’s a dozen people in the stands built for 5,000.”
The proposal, which has the support of animal rights groups, would also include requiring tracks to report injuries to greyhounds to the state.
Moskowitz called dissension over the gambling bill “a battle of morals,” referring to House Republicans’ opposition to any gambling measure. That was highlighted by Tuesday’s vote, which required Democrats’ support to get the bill through the GOP-dominated committee.
“I get it. … And for me the moral is that I don’t think the government indirectly and unintentionally should mandate animal cruelty, because that’s what’s happening,” he said.
Tuesday’s close vote could also telegraph trouble getting full support from the House for the bill, now headed to the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by conservative future Speaker Richard Corcoran. Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, has opposed gambling legislation in the past, and, with no more committee meetings scheduled, the powerful GOP leader would have to hold a special meeting to hear the bill. Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, could also have the bill sent directly to the floor, but it is questionable if supporters have enough Republican votes for passage.
A Senate gambling bill, which was approved by one committee before being tabled, is also unlikely to pass, according to Regulated Industries Chairman Rob Bradley. Bradley has insisted that the state needs to first decide what to do about a deal giving the Seminole Tribe of Florida exclusive rights to banked card games such as blackjack, set to expire on June 30.
Bradley proposed an extension of the agreement for another year after negotiations with the tribe came to a standstill earlier this month.
“Nothing’s changed as far as the Senate’s position is concerned. We think that the first thing we need to deal with is the compact. And, until we have some resolution of the compact, then it is premature to turn to these other issues,” Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Northview Beats Jay In District 3-1A Semifinals
April 22, 2015
The Northview Chiefs are headed to the District 3-1A championship game Thursday after a 4-3 over Jay Tuesday in Bonifay.
The game-winning RBI came on a sacrifice fly by Brody Amos that sent Roman Manning across the plate in the bottom of the sixth.
Northview hitters: Thomas More 2-2, double; Quentin Sampson 1-4, run; Chasen Freeman 1-3, run, SB; Aaron McDonald 0-2, RBI; Brian Cantrelle 1-3, run; Roman Manning 1-3, run; Zach Payne 1-2, triple, RBI; Brody Amos RBI. Freeman took the win for Northview with just over two innings on the mound, allowing no runs, one hit and striking out two.
The Chiefs (16-2) will face Chipley at 7 p.m. Thursday in Bonifay for the district title.
Pictured: The Northview Chiefs beat Jay 4-3 in the District 3-1A semifinals in Bonifay Tuesday. NorthEscambia.com photos by Ramona Preston, click to enlarge.
Aggies Fall In First Round Of 1-7A Championships
April 22, 2015
The baseball season came to an end Tuesday for the Tate Aggies as they lost 12-11 to Crestview in round one of the District 1-7A championship series.
Hitting for Tate: Cole Halfacre 2-3, RBI; Jacob Saulnier 2-4, 2R, RBI; Trace Penton 2-5, 3 RBI; Mark Miller 2-4, RBI; Sawyer Smith 2-4, RBI; A.J. Gordon 2R; Branden Fryman 1-5.
The Aggies started their season with a 13-0 run and finished at 21-5.