Pedestrian Killed, Another Injured, In Hit And Run
January 23, 2015
One of two women struck by a vehicle on North Davis Highway Thursday night has passed away.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 35-year old Jennifer M. Tomas and 29-year old Tina Marie Frye were crossing Davis Highway north of West Florida Hospital when Tomas fell on the roadway. Frye attempted to help Tomas when Tomas was struck by an unknown make and model truck that continued southbound on Davis Highway. Frye went back in an attempt to help Tomas and was struck by a 2010 Toyota Corolla drive by 58-year old Angela Colvin Davidson. Tomas was also ran over again by the Corolla.
Both were transported by ambulance as trauma alerts to Sacred Heart Hospital where Tomas was pronounced deceased.
Anyone with information regarding the vehicle that fled the scene, described as an older model, extended cab truck, possibly a dark in color Chevrolet, should contact Cpl. Karasek at (850) 471-6928.
Any charges are pending the outcome of a Florida Highway Patrol traffic homicide investigation.
Escambia School Board Member, ‘Agnostic Pagan’ Battle Over Satanic Prayer
January 22, 2015
A religious battle of sorts has been brewing between a member of the Escambia County School Board and a citizen that attends board meetings on a regular basis – with a prayer carpet and prayers to Satan. And after a school board meeting this week in which the board member walked out during one such Satanic prayer, it appears that battle may be headed into a full-fledged war.
David Suhor doesn’t describe himself as Satanic, saying that Satan is a “creation of the Bible”, which he rejects. Rather, he says on his blog that he prefers “agnostic pagan pantheist”.
Jeff Bergosh is a three-term Christian member of the board that aims to be a champion for the students in the Escambia County School District, and also aims to make sure the board’s rules are upheld.
Suhor delivered a Pagan prayer in song before the Escambia County Commission last year….during which Escambia County Commissioner Wilson Robertson walked out rather than listen. Suhor has pushed the school board to stop their long-standing custom of inviting a guest speaker to open meetings in prayer and instead opt for a moment of silence. All of those prayers, he says on his blog, have been lead by Biblical believers and have not represented minority religions. He’s pushed Bergosh to invite him to pray before the school board, but Bergosh has repeatedly stressed that will never happen.
This month was Bergosh’s turn to invite the opening prayer speaker, and he chose Rabbi Joel Fleekop from Pensacola’s Temple Beth-El. As the Rabbi delivered his prayer, Suhor turned away from the board on his prayer rug near the podium and began chanting his own prayer– loud enough in the opinion of one audience member that he told the board that he was unable to hear the Rabbi’s prayer, which asked for “God’s blessing upon this board, upon the teachers, administrators of this county, and especially upon the students…”
During the opening forum portion of the meeting, citizens are allowed three minutes to speak before the BOE, with explicit instructions that they are not to address board members other than the chair or make personal attacks. During his three minutes, Suhor called the Rabbi a “Token-Jew” and, in Bergosh’s words, insulting both the Rabbi and the board member.
Bergosh called it a “total loss of control”, with board chair Patty Hightower exercising “no control” over the speaker. Before his three minutes expired, Suhor said, “This is from the church of Satan…Hail Satan…” and preceded with his Satanic prayer. As for Bergosh, he didn’t hear but the first few words before walking out of the meeting. Another board member, Bill Slayton, turned away.
“I wasn’t going to listen to a minute, not a nano-second more of this guy’s vitriolic garbage, and I won’t in the future either if he is going to blatantly walk all over our rules unabashed,” Bergosh wrote Wednesday.
Many in the audience began to recite the Lord’s prayer out loud as Suhor continued his message to Satan. On his blog, Suhor took issue with the Lord’s Prayer interruption, saying the chair should have paused the timer and quieted the audience so that he could continue.
The war of the words continued Wednesday on each man’s respective blog, with Suhor calling Bergosh’s actions “immature at best” and Bergosh accusing Suhor of “utilizing antics and shenanigans that are disruptive, divisive, and antagonistic”.
Bergosh said Wednesday that he will put the issues raised by the incident at this week’s board meeting on a future board workshop agenda.
“I will not sit silently if this individual comes to our meeting and tries these sorts of stunts again and is not restrained. Out of deference to the Chair and the rules of the board, I was silent through this blatant violation of the rules. I won’t be next time,” Bergosh wrote. “I’m not indulging this disruptive person, and I never will.”
“A BETTER USE [sic] use of the school board’s time would be a thorough discussion of the invocation – as a policy and a legal liability,” Suhor blogged.
Pictured top: Escambia County School Board member Jeff Bergosh’s empty seat (left) during a Satanic prayer. Pictured inset: Self-described “agnostic pagan pantheist” David Suhor delivers a prayer before the Escambia County Commission (top inset) last year and this week before the Escambia County School Board during a pre-meeting public forum (bottom inset). Images are video stills from each respective board’s meeting video by NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Man Charged With Tossing Bricks At Car In Walnut Hill
January 22, 2015
An Atmore man is facing a felony charge for throwing bricks at a car on a Walnut Hill street.
Torris Jermaine Richardson, 34, was charged with a throwing deadly missiles and criminal mischief with property damage. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $20,000 bond.
The incident occurred back on Christmas Day of last year, but the victim did not originally wish to press charges. Richardson allegedly threw the bricks at a car as it passed down Juniper Street, damaging the vehicle. He was arrested this week after the victim changed her mind and pursued a warrant.
Richardson and the victim’s husband are cousins, and the families have a history of altercations over differences, according to an arrest report.
Sheriff Donates Command Vehicle To Escambia Search And Rescue
January 22, 2015
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan donated his former command bus to Escambia Search and Rescue on Wednesday.
ESAR volunteers assist emergency responders with search and rescue operations in South Alabama and Northwest Florida. They were working out of an aging and outdated command center.
The Sheriff’s Office donated their former command center to ESAR because of their on-going partnership responding together in searches and natural disasters. The ECSO purchased a new command center last year using Local Option Sales Tax funds.
Pictured top: Sheriff David Morgan with members of Escambia Search and Rescue. Pictured inset: Morgan hands over the former ECSO command bus keys to ESAR Director Skip Bollens. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Prison Health Care Brings Back Old Worries
January 22, 2015
For more than 20 years, the state of Florida and lawyers representing prisoners wrangled over inmates’ health care, resulting in nearly a decade of federal-court oversight of health services in the Department of Corrections.
Now, lawyers who represented prisoners in the mid-1970s say conditions may be worse today than they were when attorneys for Michael Costello, an inmate at Florida State Prison, convinced a federal judge that inadequate health care amounted to a violation of Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
“It’s going backwards, backwards, backwards,” said Jacksonville lawyer William Sheppard, one of the lawyers in the landmark Costello v. Wainwright lawsuit. Sheppard played an integral role in the settlement of the case, which included a court-appointed special master and monitor to ensure that prisoners received the health care they needed.
“It was the number of people that were dying, and that really caused the federal court to appoint the special master back in the 1980s who worked for 10 years to enforce the order,” Sheppard said. “It’s not going to get better. It’s going to get a lot worse. And when it gets to the breaking point, there are going to be lawsuits. It’s as simple as that.”
Less than two years ago, private companies took over health care for the state’s 100,000 inmates. But newly appointed Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones is now threatening to cancel the companies’ contracts, renegotiate or put them out to bid again.
“The department has maintained a clear message that the care of inmates is the number one priority in the provision of health-care services. I have personally met with our health-care contractors to express my expectations of excellence in quality care. I will continue to take steps to ensure that the department’s expectations are met and that all parties are held to the highest standards of transparency and accountability. Anything short of timely, effective and appropriate health care will not be tolerated,” Jones, who took over as secretary less than three weeks ago, told The News Service of Florida on Wednesday.
Jones, appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to take over the agency in the aftermath of reports of questionable inmate deaths and brutality by prison guards, told the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Tuesday that she is in discussions with Corizon Health and Wexford Health Services about possibly terminating the contracts, which would require 60 days notice from the agency or 120 days notice from the companies.
Corizon is being paid $1.2 billion over five years to provide health care to more than 74,000 prisoners in North and Central Florida, as well as part of South Florida. Wexford will receive $240 million over the same period for health care for about 15,000 inmates at nine South Florida facilities.
Jones also accused the companies of failing to live up to the agreements and of putting inmates at risk by providing inadequate health care.
“Wexford Health appreciates and shares Secretary Jones concerns about the level of prison health services being offered. However, we are confident the overwhelming majority of those concerns do not apply to the 15,000 inmates under our care in South Florida,” Don Hulick, director of operations for Wexford Health Care in Florida, said in a statement.
Jones’ threats came just months after the two companies were promised extra money in exchange for agreeing not to walk away from the contracts.
On July 29 — less than four months before Scott, who pushed for the privatization, was re-elected — former Department of Corrections Secretary Michael Crews quietly agreed to pay the companies another $3.2 million to stay on the job for another year.
In the amendments signed by Crews in late July, the state agreed to pay Corizon an additional $2.9 million and Wexford an extra $300,000. Both companies complained that they had not received medical cost-of-living increases — about 3 percent — which were contingent on authorization by the Legislature, which did not approve the hikes. Crews used money set aside by the Legislature in the budget for growth in the prison population to underwrite the contract amendments.
Two months after he inked the contract amendments, Crews threatened to stop payments to Corizon, saying the Missouri-based company failed to follow through after audits revealed shortcomings in multiple areas, including medical care, nursing and staffing.
“We consider it our mission to care for patients as we would our own family — with integrity and respect — and to deliver the very best treatment possible despite often challenging circumstances. We take this responsibility seriously and remain steadfast in our commitment to creating and strengthening a culture of patient safety. We share Secretary Jones’ commitment to patient care and look forward to working with her and her team in this endeavor,” Corizon spokeswoman Susan Morgenstern said in an email.
Jones’s scrutiny of the contracts came in tandem with her push for more oversight of prison health care. Right now, Jones and lawmakers rely on the Correctional Medical Authority to audit the companies, which are then responsible for fixing their own shortcomings. The Correctional Medical Authority doesn’t have the ability to impose fines or other punitive measures on the vendors.
The Correctional Medical Authority was created in 1986 as part of the settlement in the Costello case. The state’s prison health system stayed under federal oversight until 1993, when a judge decided that the federal government could relinquish its role as long as Florida remained committed to using monitors like the authority to ensure that prisoners’ rights were not being violated.
In the midst of deciding to privatize prison health care in 2011, lawmakers shuttered the agency by eliminating its $717,000 budget. That same year, Scott vetoed a measure that would have done away with the authority, calling it a “valuable layer of oversight.” The next year, House and Senate leaders allocated $580,000 to revive the agency, shrunk from 12 workers to six with an oversight board of seven governor-appointed members.
But critics of the revived authority say the agency no longer has the power it held when U.S. District Judge Susan Black agreed to end federal oversight.
Sheppard said his office receives requests for assistance almost daily from inmates who say they are unable to get medical services ranging from treatment for chronic illnesses like multiple sclerosis to more run-of-the-mill conditions like hernias.
The complaints echo those he fielded three decades ago at the height of the Costello litigation, Sheppard said in a telephone interview.
“It’s the same piece — they don’t treat me. It’s getting access, and then once you get access it’s being seen properly and then what the doctor orders, you don’t receive,” Sheppard said. “You’ve got a lot of people dying and you’ve got a lot of unexplained deaths that are floating around here.”
Last year, 346 of the state’s 100,000-plus inmates died behind bars. More than half of those deaths — 176 — were initially unclassified, meaning that state investigators had no immediate explanation for the causes of death. According to the Department of Corrections website, 146 inmates died due to heart attacks, cancer, gastrointestinal diseases or other medical problems.
“To me, it seems like (Florida) would be ripe for a lawsuit now. That’s if the federal government doesn’t step in first,” said Mike Manguso, a senior research fellow at the Tallahassee-based Project for Accountable Justice.
Manguso worked for the Department of Corrections for nearly three decades and served as a policy analyst for governors Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist and Scott.
“(Inmates) don’t deserve a little bit less than someone on the outside. They deserve to be treated as humans. It’s just ridiculous. The state has a responsibility. If we have custody of them, under the constitution, we’re required to give them a certain level of care,” he said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: Inmate medical facilities inside the Century Correctional Institution. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Ballot Proposal Seeks More Solar Power In Sunshine State
January 22, 2015
Businesses and property owners would be able to sell a limited amount of solar energy under a ballot initiative rolled out by a coalition that brings together free-market conservatives, retailers and alternative-energy supporters.
The proposed constitutional amendment is expected to face opposition from large power companies, which offered little comment Wednesday.
Backers of the initiative said during a news conference in Tallahassee that they are using the constitutional amendment route because well-funded utilities have repeatedly lobbied the Legislature and the Florida Public Service Commission against expanding solar and other alternative-energy choices.
“Using a constitutional amendment to the ballot is not the best way to make energy policy,” said Stephen A. Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “But if the system is broken, and we have no other way to actually get good policy in the state and allow such a positive thing as solar power to flourish, then we have to take it straight to the people.”
Tory Perfetti, chairman of the coalition dubbed “Floridians for Solar Choice,” said it remains to be seen how the utilities will react to the ballot drive, but he expects they will mount a sizable opposition.
In addition to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, the coalition includes the Florida Retail Federation, the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association, the Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy, the Christian Coalition of America, the Libertarian Party of Florida, the Republican Liberty Caucus of Tampa Bay and the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida.
Smith estimated that the coalition might have to raise $8 million to $10 million to counter the anticipated opposition.
“If we can get this thing on the ballot, it will pass,” said Alexander Snitker, vice president of the Libertarian Party of Florida. “Who is the opposition? The opposition is the people who are profiting off the current monopoly they have right now.”
Asked about the proposed amendment, Duke Energy Florida spokesman Sterling Ivey said in an email Wednesday that solar and other renewable sources will be an important part of Florida’s energy future.
“We are committed to energy policies where solar options are fair and beneficial to all of our customers,” Ivey said in the email. “Our 4,000 Florida employees will continue to work hard every day to ensure we are providing reliable and safe electricity to our 1.7 million customers.”
A spokeswoman for Florida Power & Light declined to comment.
The amendment, in part, would allow businesses to generate and sell up to two megawatts of power to customers on the same or neighboring properties.
Smith estimated that the two-megawatt total would cover the daily use at a typical Wal-Mart.
The initiative, which was filed Dec. 23 with the Department of State, will require Floridians for Solar Choice to get the signatures of roughly 700,000 voters to get on the November 2016 ballot. Also, the ballot language would have to be approved by the state Supreme Court.
The press conference came less than two months after the Public Service Commission narrowly accepted a controversial staff recommendation that will reduce overall energy-efficiency goals for power companies.
The changes to the energy-efficiency standards didn’t go as far as FPL, Duke, Tampa Electric Co., Gulf Power Co. and JEA in Jacksonville had requested, but utility officials called the staff-backed changes “realistic.”
Utility officials have argued that the economic advantage of conservation has waned as reliance on natural gas has grown and that the state’s solar-rebate program has not attracted widespread use.
FPL’s solar-installation program has been used by about 900 of its 4.7 million customers at a cost of $16.5 million over the past three years. Last year, Duke spent $1.4 million for solar programs, which were approved for about 150 of its 1.7 million customers.
Identity Released: Body Washes Up At Port Of Pensacola
January 22, 2015
The name of a man whose body was found near the Port of Pensacola Wednesday afternoon has been released.
Detective Dylan Stackpole said the man – Alvin Gray, 66, of the 900 block of Massachusetts Avenue – was last seen around 1:10 a.m. Tuesday when he left home and told his sister he was going to the store. Stackpole said Gray’s sister contacted the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office around 1:35 p.m. Tuesday and reported him missing.
It has not yet been determined how long Gray was in the water. Stackpole said a police officer found Gray’s car at Plaza DeLuna, which is located directly across from the port, around 1:40 p.m. Wednesday.
A fisherman found Gray’s body near 700 S. Barracks Street around 12:50 p.m. Wednesday and contacted police. His body was found on the rocks on the east side of the port. Lt. Chuck Mallett said there were no obvious signs of foul play, but an investigation continues into Gray’s death.
Man Charged With Strangulation Following Alabama Manhunt
January 21, 2015
A man was charged with strangulation after being captured during a manhunt near Flomaton Wednesday morning that involved law enforcement agencies from two states.
Nicholas Dewayne Smith, 22, was charged with domestic violence strangulation, domestic violence interference with an emergency call, attempting to elude law enforcement, possession of drug paraphernalia and second degree possession of marijuana. He was booked into the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center in Brewton.
About 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Flomaton Police Department received a 911 call from the victim on Jordan Road stating that Smith had choked her. Smith fled the from the residence as officers arrived. Deputies responded from the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office and the Escambia County (FL) Sheriff’s Office to assist in the manhunt for smith. K-9 teams from Century Correctional and Fountain Correctional in Atmore were used to track and capture Smith.
The manhunt lasted less than two hours.
Man Charged With Stealing Tons Of Steel From Employer, Fraudulent EBT Card Use
January 21, 2015
An Escambia County man has been charged with stealing over 15 tons of steel from his employer and fraudulently using a state EBT card for years.
Barry Paul Fehr, 53, was employed at Highway Specialties, Inc. on Pine Barren Barren Road in McDavid since 2001. Between May 2011 and May 2014, Fehr sold 30,145 pounds of steel highway guardrail components in 19 transactions to Wise Recycling without permission of the company’s owner, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, receiving a total of $3,428. The investigation also found Fehr in possession of additional guardrail components owned by Highway Specialties and valued at $2,135, the report states.
Several times, Fehr represented himself in a capacity to complete jobs and accept payment without proper invoicing and receipts, investigators said. Within the past two years, deputies said Fehr and his crew installed 150 feet of guardrail on I-10 and was paid $5,200 outside the scope of Highway Specialties.
During an interview with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Fehr stated that he never sold property that would not have been discarded anyway upon the completion of a job.
Fehr was also accused of paying cash at one-half the face value for an individual’s State of Florida EBT card each month for the past 60 months. He then used the card as his own, fraudulently obtaining about $10,500 worth of benefits, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Fehr was charged with one felony count of a grand theft and one felony count of fraud – unauthorized user of public assistance. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on $2,500 bond.
Escambia School Board Honors Sara Calhoun, Florida’s Top Elementary Reading Teacher
January 21, 2015
The Escambia County School Board honored a Molino Park Elementary School teacher Tuesday night for being named the top elementary school reading teacher in the entire state.
Sara Calhoun was named the Florida Reading Association’s Elementary School Teacher of the Year for 2014-2015. She was honored with an award presentation last October at the Third General Session of the Florida Reading Conference in Orlando.
“Teaching and leading a child to read is the most incredible privilege, second only to leading another soul into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. This is clearly the most exciting and humbling highlight of my career,” Calhoun said, as she praised the work of other Molino Park and district educators.
“We are all so proud of Mrs. Calhoun and know that this award is well deserved,” Molino Park Principal Alice Woodward said in a September 2014 NorthEscambia.com story. “We are so blessed to have her as part of our Molino Park team.”
Calhoun has taught first grade at Molino Park Elementary for three yeras. She has been married to her husband, Brian, for the past 18 years, and they have two children. The family moved to Molino seven years ago when Brian was called to be the pastor and Highland Baptist Church.
The Florida Reading Association is an affiliate of the International Reading Association (IRA), a 52,000 member nonprofit educational organization devoted to the promotion of lifetime reading habits and the improvement of language and literacy instruction.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.