VT Aerospace Contract Signed, 300 Jobs Expected
September 10, 2014
The City of Pensacola has inked a lease with VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering, Inc. (VT MAE), which will establish a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility at Pensacola International Airport, creating at least 300 jobs.
The signing ceremony, which took place immediately following a special City Council meeting where the lease was approved, was also attended by representatives from Escambia County and VT MAE.
“We are so excited to bring VT MAE, one of the world’s leading MRO companies, to Pensacola International Airport,” said Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward. “By working with VT MAE, we will be able to create good, high-paying jobs and cement Pensacola’s position as a true contender for aviation and aerospace industry investment. This partnership aligns well with our regional goals to create a robust aerospace cluster and will help create greater business and job opportunities for the citizens of Pensacola and Escambia County.”
Tuesday’s announcement concludes the nearly two-year campaign by Hayward and economic development partners, including Escambia County and the Greater Pensacola Chamber, to attract VT MAE, a subsidiary of Singapore-based ST Engineering, to Pensacola. Under the terms of the lease, the City of Pensacola will construct an aircraft hangar complex on 18.66 acres at Pensacola International Airport and lease the facilities to VT MAE for a 30-year term. The hangar will be able to accommodate two wide-body aircraft, and is expected to be ready for operations in mid-2016.
Pictured top: Pensacola Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Economic Development Scott Luth presents the VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering lease to the Pensacola City Council Tuesday. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Regulators Take Another Shot At Medical Pot Rule
September 10, 2014
State regulators have hurriedly released a revamped framework for Florida’s new medical-marijuana industry, making minor changes after a legislative panel shredded an earlier attempt.
The Department of Health’s Office of Compassionate Use on Tuesday published the revised rule governing everything from stems and seeds to serving the substance to patients. The latest version of the rule includes some tweaks dealing with who can own the five “dispensing organizations” the state will eventually license.
The organizations will grow, process and distribute products — usually delivered in paste or oil form — derived from strains of pot that purportedly do not get users high but are believed to relieve life-threatening seizures in children with rare forms of epilepsy.
A law passed this spring requires each applicant to have a valid registration from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to cultivate more than 400,000 plants, be operated by a nurseryman as defined by state law and have operated as a registered nursery in the state for at least 30 continuous years. At least 60 nurseries meet the criteria.
A preliminary rule crafted by health regulators would have allowed nurseries to have just 25 percent ownership in the entities applying for a license. That option drew a rebuke from the Legislature’s Joint Administrative Procedures Committee, which helps oversee state regulations. The original proposal also neglected to specifically address whether the nursery would be required to have a continued role in running the pot operation.
Under Tuesday’s revised proposal, a nurseryman would have to “serve as the operator,” alleviating some concerns that growers would have little or nothing to do with the grow operation despite lawmakers’ intention that the nascent pot business be controlled by companies with a long agricultural history in Florida. The proposal would require a nursery to have at least 25 percent ownership of the organization that gets a license, but also would offer another alternative that would allow “100 percent of the owners of a nursery” to fulfill that 25 percent requirement.
That ownership change appears aimed at appeasing some nursery owners who expressed concerns about financing the marijuana operations. Because pot is still illegal under federal law, nearly all banks are refusing to lend money to marijuana-related businesses. Converting other areas of operations into cash-only business could pose major problems for growers interested in participating in the medical marijuana start-ups, lawyers for Costa Farms told the Department of Health at a day-long public hearing on Friday.
“Today’s publication of a changed rule demonstrates that our focus has been to get this product to the market as soon as possible with an emphasis on patient safety. We want to avoid unnecessary delays. We want to help children with refractory epilepsy and patients with advanced cancer as quickly and safely as possible,” Florida Surgeon General and Secretary of Health John Armstrong said in a statement after the rule was published.
The proposed rule addresses some of the other questions posed last week by the legislative committee, which challenged the health department’s authority regarding nearly every aspect of the comprehensive rule, and considerations voiced by growers and others at Friday’s hearing.
After one nursery complained, the department changed the boundaries of one of the five regions to allow Martin County to be moved from the Central Florida region, which includes the Orlando area, into the Southeast region, which ranges along the Atlantic coast to Monroe County.
But overall the agency appears to have stuck to its guns and has receded little from its original blueprint. The most contentious aspect of the plan deals with the use of a lottery system to pick licensees in areas where more than one entity applies. Lawyers have threatened to sue over the use of the lottery, but health officials maintain that the process will minimize drawn-out litigation over contract awards that could delay getting the medical marijuana to patients.
The agency intends to certify the rule in 21 days and file it with the Department of State. The rule will then become effective 20 days after filing.
Seeking in part to offset a constitutional amendment that would legalize “traditional” medical marijuana going before voters in November, lawmakers this spring legalized strains of marijuana low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and high in cannabadiol, or CBD. The newly created Office of Compassionate Use within the Department of Health has until Jan. 1 to come up with a regulatory framework for the new industry.
Supporters of the low-THC, high-CBD strains of cannabis believe the substance can eliminate or dramatically reduce life-threatening seizures in children with severe forms of epilepsy. Under the new law, patients with other spasm-causing diseases or cancer would also be eligible for the strains of marijuana if their doctors order it, and if their doctors say they have exhausted all other treatments.
by The News Service of Florida
Northview Chiefs Name Players Of The Week
September 10, 2014
The Northview Chiefs have named players of the week from last Friday night’s win over Marianna. They are:
OFFENSE
- Keondrae Lett – 19 carries, 126 yards, 1 TD; 2 rec., 10 yards
- Cameron Newsome — 13 carries, 119 yards, 1 TD
DEFENSE
- Nick Lambert — 9 tackles, 2 TD saving/game winning tackles
- Jaylen Parker — 10 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FF
SPECIAL TEAMS
- Toney Harrison — 1 return, 11 yards; 1 tackle on KO
DOMINATOR
- Cameron Newsome – Hit on Marianna sideline
Escambia 4-H Horse Club Lending A Hand To The Leaning Post Ranch
September 10, 2014
The Escambia County 4-H Horse Club is working this month to assist the Leaning Post Ranch in Molino with needed supplies while learning about the services the ranch offers to the community. The Leaning Post Ranch’s mission is provide equine assisted activities and therapeutic riding to individuals with disabilities and at-risk youth in Northwest Florida –offering health, hope, and healing through horses. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Rattlesnake Bite Victim Back Home, Tells Her Story
September 9, 2014
A Walnut Hill woman returned home Monday afternoon, two days after being bitten by a pygmy rattlesnake.
Saturday morning, Sandy Marsh was outside her home on Highway 97A. She was picking weeds that were popping through the rocks in her well manicured lawn. She reached under a bench to pull a small weed, and that’s when she was bitten on a finger by the poisonous snake.
“The bite was really like a little prick,” she said, sitting back on the bench Monday afternoon. “But I knew what had happened when I saw the snake. My first thought was really my dogs. So I shooed the dogs away and grabbed a shovel and killed the snake. I wanted to protect the dogs, and I knew that would want to know what kind of snake it was for the anti-venom.”
Marsh said she remained calm — a key point she said — and called 911. She told the 911 operator that she was bitten by a pygmy rattler and she was 40 miles from Pensacola.
“The person at 911 told me to put my arm down. It’s good that she said that, because I always thought you were suppose to put your arm up. She (the 911 dispatcher) was really great, telling me that you must keep it below the heart.”
Within moments of her 911 call, the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Atmore Ambulance and LifeFlight were on their way to her remote home.
In the meantime, Marsh tried unsuccessfully to call her husband; he was in an area with no cellular service. “He was up to his neck in weeds at the hunting camp in Alabama, and I was the one here in the yard being bitten by a snake. That was ironic.”
As paramedics loaded her into LifeFlight, Marsh was busy snapping cell phone photos of the helicopter and the view out the windows.
“I really did not realize the seriousness of it all until later, about half an hour later, when my arm began to swell.” Lines on her arm marked the progression of the swelling from the snake venom.
“When the swelling got to here,” she said, pointing at a spot nearing her elbow, “they decided to give me the antivenom. That was rough, much rougher than the snake bite itself. I was so nauseous and pouring sweat.” She ended up with four doses of the antivenom.
Marsh said she learned several important things during her experience –”Keep you cell phone charged. I was trying to take pictures and call my husband but my battery was dying.” Also, she said, wear gloves when working outside.
There’s still no word of any possible lasting effects from the snakebite. For now, Marsh said she’s glad to be recovered enough to return home from intensive care.
“Thank God I had plenty of people praying for me,” she said. “I keep a positive attitude because of them, and I think that really helped save my life.”
Pictured top: Pygmy rattlesnake bite victim Sandy Marsh returned home to Walnut Hill Monday. Pictured top inset: Marsh shows how she was bitten as she pulled a weed from under a bench. Pictured middle inset: Lines on Marsh’s arm Monday continued to show the progression of swelling on her arm. Pictured bottom inset: The pygmy rattlesnake the bit Marsh was just a few inches long. Pictured below: Marsh’s swollen hand and the snake in a small cup shortly after she arrived at Baptist Hospital via LifeFlight. Pictured bottom: Marsh was airlifted from her Walnut Hill home. NorthEScambia.com and courtesy photos, click to enlarge.
Coming Off Four Wins At Baker, NWE Chiefs Prepare For W.S. Neal
September 9, 2014
All four Northwest Escambia teams are coming off weekend wins in Baker.
- NWE Freshmen won 20-6 over Baker
- NWE Sophomores won 12-7 over Baker
- NWE Juniors won 40-0 over Baker
- NWE Seniors won 32-12 over Baker
The Northwest Escambia Chiefs will be back in action this Saturday against W.S. Neal at Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium at Northview High School. Games will be played as follows:
- Freshmen at 4:00 pm
- Sophomores at 5:15 pm
- Juniors at 6:45 pm
- Seniors at 8:15 pm
Admission is $3 for ages 12 and older. Proceeds are used pay for the officiating crew.
Student Arrested For Gun On Atmore School Campus
September 9, 2014
A student was arrested Monday morning after bringing a handgun onto the campus of Escambia County High School in Atmore.
The 17-year old student was taken into custody without incident by the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office. The gun was located in a dumpster.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Local School Bus Driver Honored With State Award For Saving Child
September 9, 2014
An Escambia County School District bus driver received statewide recognition at the Florida capitol in Tallahassee Monday for saving a young boy found wandering along in the middle of Kingsfield Road.
Bus driver Daisy Robinson will be honored Monday as Florida Missing Children’s Day School Bus Operator of the Year. She was selected for the honor by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse Advisory Board.
Click here for an earlier story published Saturday with details on why Robinson received the award for actions she took on the way to Ransom Middle School on October 28, 2013.
Pictured top: Florida First Lady Ann Scott, bus driver Daisy Robinson and FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey Monday morning at the capitol in Tallahassee. Pictured inset Robinson with Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart. Pictured below: Robinson was accompanied to Tallahassee by Escambia County Schools Director of Transporation Rob Doss. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Approves Increased Budget, Sets Tax Rate
September 9, 2014
The Town of Century Monday night gave tentative approval to a budget for the next fiscal year that’s up about 16 percent over this year and $2.2 million greater than the previous budget year.
The town council gave first approval to a $5,107,641.34 budget for 2014-2015 that is up $722,850 over the current fiscal year. The increase is due to grant income and expenditures included in the budget of $2,280,296.
There will be no increase in ad valorem taxes this year to meet the budget for fiscal year 2014-2015, which begins October 1. The proposed millage rate is .8707, which is equal to and does not exceed the rolled-back rate.
The council will vote on final approval of the budget and millage rate during public hearing at 7 p.m. on Monday, September 15, just prior to a regular council meeting.
To view a summary of the budget in pdf format, click here or the image below.
NorthEscambia.com graphic, photo, click to enlarge.
Deadline Approaching For Conservation Dollars For Florida Farmers
September 9, 2014
Time is quickly running out for Florida farmers who want to continue receiving federal assistance to improve soil, water, air and habitat on their land. Since the Conservation Stewardship Program was launched five years ago, more than 60-million farm acres nationwide have been enrolled. Sophia Kruszewski, policy specialist with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, says the program isn’t about helping farmers avoid environmental harm; it’s about enhancing and improving what conservation-minded farmers already do.
“Maybe they started doing a little cover-cropping, but they really want to get more into a full suite of resource-conserving crop rotations,” Kruszewski says. “Maybe they’ve done some improvements in the way they’re managing their livestock, but they want to start looking at rotational grazing.”
The Conservation Stewardship Program, created in the 2008 Farm Bill, has been reauthorized and strengthened. The roughly 20,000 farmers with five-year contracts up for renewal must do so by September 12 at the Milton Service Center at 6277 Dogwood Drive, (850) 623-2441, or at the nearest office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Kruszewski calls the program a win-win for the environment and for farmers, and says the program represents a new, forward-thinking vision of American agriculture.
“We’re really seeing a strong focus on the need to support farmers,” Kruszewski says. “Not only to have productive, viable farms and ranches, but also be able to work those farms with an eye toward natural-resource conservation. ”
Kruszewski says new farmers interested in the program can submit an application at any time, with NRCS collecting and ranking the applications once per year, typically in February.
by Florida News Connection