Century Council Denies 3 Of 4 Barnyard Animal Variance Applications
April 8, 2014
The Century Town Council voted Monday night to deny three of four applications for variances under the town’s new animal control ordinance that prohibits non-conforming barnyard animals
The council first denied a variance requested for one horse for Ronald Bass at 6850 Jefferson Avenue. According to Mayor Freddie McCall, bass will move the horse to another location outside the town.
A variance for Willie Owens at 460 Barnwell was denied for two horses because he does not actually own the property, according to county records.
The council also shot down a variance request by Roy and Rosie Hale at 541 East Pond Street for two horses. Town consultant Debbie Nickles said the lot is only one-fourth of an acre, when two acres are required per horse under the ordinance, and she said the property is in a flood plain. Horses on the property only have the “mud and muck and feces and urine they are walking in,” testified Escambia County Animal Control Officer Sgt. Stephanie Nowlin. The Hale’s son, Ramone Hale, told the council that there had been horses kept on the property for years with no problems.
Monday night, the council did vote to approve a variance for Ernest and Jean Gandy at 9340 Old Flomaton Road, subject to a pen being moved to the rear of the two-acre property.
In mid-March, the council approved the first variance under the ordinance for Tom and Darla Warta to keep two horses and one steer on their 2.5 acre low density residential parcel at 7911 Jefferson Avenue.
As of December 23, it became illegal to keep a horse, mule, donkey, goat, sheep, or cow within the town limits except in areas that are zoned agricultural or rural residential. Hogs were already prohibited in all areas of the town.
One horse or cow is now allowed for every two acres, one donkey or mule per acre and one goat or sheep per one-half acre. The animals and their pens must be 200 feet or greater from a dwelling or property line.
Anyone with the regulated animals in an area not zoned agricultural or rural residential within the town limits, was required to register their animals at the Century Town Hall within 60 days from the passage of the ordinance. Anyone with nonconforming animals must apply for and be granted a variance from the town council within six months or get rid of their animals.
Pictured top: Century Resident Roy Hale sits back with his eyes closed Monday as the Century Town Council discusses an animal control ordinance variance for his property at 541 East Pond Street. Pictured inset: Escambia County Animal Control Officer Sgt. Stephanie Nowlin discusses the poor living conditions of horses on Hale’s small lot. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FWC: Look Out For Gopher Tortoises
April 8, 2014
A gopher tortoise strolling across a road or through a backyard or field is a common sight during spring in the North Escambia area. Yet as tortoises become increasingly active this time of year, they are vulnerable to being struck by vehicles and injured or killed.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is urging residents to look out for these slow-moving reptiles with their bony-plated shells and elephantine legs. They leave their burrows in search of green plants to eat and a tortoise to become their mate. From now through May, females will be laying eggs the size of ping-pong balls in the sandy apron outside their burrows.
FWC is also encouraging drivers to slow down on highways to help protect the state’s gopher tortoises. If a gopher tortoise is crossing the road, it is OK to pick it up and move it to safety – but keep it pointed in the direction it was heading and do not put this terrestrial animal into the water.
People also can help by downloading and using a new smartphone app to report to the FWC when and where they spot gopher tortoises. The free “Florida gopher tortoise” app recently became available on iPhone and Android. When users of the app take a photograph of a tortoise or its burrow, the photo and its GPS coordinates will be sent automatically to the FWC.
App-generated data collected by citizen scientists will help guide conservation of this threatened species. Biological information and a quiz testing the user’s knowledge of the only tortoise east of the Mississippi River also are included in the app.
Harming a gopher tortoise, its burrows or eggs is against the law.
Health Groups Seek To Snuff Out E-Cigarette Bill
April 8, 2014
Health groups and local governments say decades of work to keep tobacco products out of the hands of kids could be overturned through a House measure billed as prohibiting the sale of trendy electronic cigarettes to minors.
The American Lung Association of Florida, the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, local officials and Students Working Against Tobacco have found themselves fighting the measure (HB 169) that would prevent youths under 18 from buying electronic cigarettes. That is because the proposal also would ban local efforts to restrict the sales of cigarettes and other tobacco-related products.
“The bill is another attempt by big tobacco to weaken protections that we all seek to keep electronic devices out of the hands of our children,” Brenda Olsen, chief operating officer of the American Lung Association in Florida, said during a news conference Monday on the steps of the Old Capitol.
However, one of the bill’s sponsors said the opposition is “unwarranted,” as language is planned to clarify that the legislation would only preclude local governments from making new rules about the sale of tobacco products.
The bill has completed the committee process. While it could be taken up by the House later this week, the measure has yet to be scheduled for a floor appearance.
The state currently doesn’t have rules on electronic cigarettes, the nicotine-delivery tubes that heat an often-flavored nicotine solution into a water vapor, which users draw in before exhaling as if smoking a cigarette. The use is called vaping.
The ire of the health groups is an amendment that Rep. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, added to the bill during its final committee stop on March 27, preempting municipal and county ordinances on the sale of tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.
Many of those local laws require tobacco products to be placed behind the counter, forcing customers to ask for specific items before making purchases.
Rep. Ronald “Doc” Renuart, a Ponte Vedra Beach Republican who co-sponsored the bill, said Monday the amendment was intended to only ban new local rules on the sales of tobacco and electronic cigarettes, and that Artiles is working on another amendment to “clarify” that the changes don’t impact existing local regulations.
“It is my understanding that any rules that are in place are going to stay in place,” Renuart said. “It will be just on making new restrictions; like if a municipality were to say they’re not going to allow any tobacco to be mixed with flavors. It becomes real confusing for retailers.”
Artiles, who was not immediately available for comment Monday, said during the March 27 committee meeting that the bill seeks uniformity in the regulation of sales. Among the backers of the bill is the Florida Retail Federation.
“We can’t have 415 cities and 67 counties doing different ordinances,” Artiles said.
Local governments don’t want any state rules that keep them from enacting local restrictions.
Florida Association of Counties President Bryan Desloge, a Leon County commissioner, said during the news conference that the state government is overstepping “home rule” on the sale of tobacco and electronic cigarette products.
“There is a role for the Legislature, but in this case we feel pretty strongly that we’re the people that are at the soccer games, we’re the people at the Publix, we’re the people at the churches and synagogues, and we’re the people that are most responsive to the needs of the community,” Desloge said.
Olsen said the tobacco industry is using the Legislature to subvert local rules as it “has its strength here at the state house. It doesn’t have its strength at the local communities.”
Olsen said the groups are more supportive of a measure (SB 224) by Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, that received unanimous support March 18 from the Senate.
Benacquisto’s measure includes electronic cigarettes with the prohibition on sales of cigarette and tobacco sales to minors. It doesn’t include the language to preempt local tobacco laws.
Renuart said no discussions have occurred on which version would move forward to restrict the sale and possession of electronic cigarettes to minors.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Wahoos Take 4 Of 5 Over The Smokies
April 8, 2014
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos defeated the Tennessee Smokies 3-2 Monday at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. The Wahoos (4-1) won their third game in a row behind a spectacular performance from starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen. The Smokies (1-4) had just four hits against Lorenzen and six total hits in their final game in Pensacola.
The right-hander Lorenzen started for the first time since Rookie ball and went 7.0 innings strong while striking out six Smokies. Lorenzen no-hit the Smokies until first baseman Dustin Geiger led off the 5th inning with a single. Lorenzen’s defense helped him by turning two double plays in the 5th and 6th innings.
Drew Hayes notched his Southern League leading third save of the season despite yielding a ninth inning solo home run to Geiger for the second night in a row.
Left fielder Donald Lutz led the Wahoos’ offensive attack with a solo home run; Lutz went 1-for-4 in the game. First baseman Travis Mattair made a spectacular diving play in the field in the eighth inning to go along with a 2-for-3 night with two singles and an RBI.
Smokies’ RHP Matt Loosen went 5.0 innings in his first start of the year giving up 3 R/ER on six hits while striking out two. RHP Ryan Searle and LHP Hunter Cervenka provided a combined 2.0 innings and three strikeouts in relief for the Smokies.
The Smokies scored their first run thanks to an RBI double from shortstop Jeudy Valdez who scored John Andreoli all the way from first. Valdez went 2-for-3 on the night while Geiger went 2-for-4 with a home run.
The Wahoos have an off day Tuesday before they head to Huntsville for a five game series beginning Wednesday. The Stars lead the Southern League North Division with a 4-1 record. RHP Carlos Contreras is scheduled to start the opener of the series on Wednesday. Huntsville’s starting pitcher is still to be determined. The Wahoos will return home Monday, April 4 against the Montgomery Biscuits.
by Tommy Thrall
Photos by Michael Spooneybarger/Pensacola Blue Wahoos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Weather Being Blamed For Jay Man’s Semi Truck Wreck
April 7, 2014
A Jay man escaped injury in a wreck this morning in Okaloosa County that is being blamed on the weather.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 50-year old Michael Patterson of Jay was driving a Freightliner semi pulling a trailer during heavy rain on Highway 4 near Vernon Taylor Road. He said another vehicle pulled in front of him and another semi, causing him to veer off the roadway to avoid a collision.
Patterson traveled onto the shoulder, striking a utility pole and rupturing a water main. He was not injured.
Patterson was not charged with any traffic offense, according to the FHP.
Century Discovers Town Doesn’t Own Part Of Ballpark
April 7, 2014
The Town of Century has discovered it does not actually own the property that contains all or a portion of four ball fields at a town park.
The four ball fields at Century’s Showalter Park are on a parcel owned by the Escambia County School District. And now the school board is now set to sell a portion of the former Century Elementary School property to the Town of Century.
“We don’t know how or when it happened,” Mayor Freddie McCall said, adding that the ball fields were constructed long before he was involved in Century government.
At future meeting, the Escambia County School Board is set to convey the 5.59 acre parcel to the town for $1. The Town of Century will pick up the $1429.75 tab to Fabre Engineering for the required boundary survey.
Pictured top: The highlighted area shoes all or part of four ball fields at Century’s Showalter Park that were constructed on property owned by the Escambia County School District. NorthEscambia.com graphic, click to enlarge.
Vendors, Entertainers Needed For Twin Cities Watermelon Festival
April 7, 2014
Flomaton and Century are planning the Twin Cities First Annual Watermelon Festival. The event is planned for Saturday, June 28 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Showalter Park in Century.
The festival will include family fun, craft booths, food, entertainment and more.
Vendors and entertainers are needed. Vendors should click here for a booth application. Interested entertainers should call Kim at Century Town Hall at (850) 256-3208 or email kgodwin@centuryflorida.us.
The Twin Cities First Annual Watermelon Festival is sponsored in part by NorthEscambia.com.
Photos: Northview Spring Concert
April 7, 2014
The Northview Music Department Spring Concert featured a variety of music Friday night at the school. Performances included members of the Concert Band, Guitar Ensemble and more.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured above and below:
Pictured above and below: The Northview High School Music Department Spring Concert Friday night. NorthEscambia.com photos by Bethany Reynolds, click to enlarge.
Lady Aggies Go 3-1 At Kissimmee Klassic
April 7, 2014
The Tate Aggies went 3-1 in the Kissimmee (FL) Klassic over the weekend, an annual tournament that features of the top ranked teams in Florida.
Tate’s only loss came in their first game against Cooper City High School – a complete pitcher’s duo ending with Tate falling 1-0 as the clock closed in on midnight. The Lady Aggies compiled a total of 38 runs over their next three games and only gave up 11.
Juniors Tori Perkins and Rachel Wright each had grand slams in the tournament. Senior Kaylen Rowell blasted two dingers, and junior Lauren Brennan blasted one over the fence.
Tate is still undefeated in district play and will play three non-district games this week against Escambia, Milton, and rival West Florida to finish up the regular season. Tate will host the District 7A-1 tournament in post season.
Pictured: (L-R) From the Kissimmee Klassic, Tate Aggies Tori Perkins with a grand slam, Kaylen Rowell with two home runs, Rachel Wright with a grand slam and Lauren Brennan with a home run. Submitted photo NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Prayer and WD-40: NorthEscambia Headline Inspires Country Song
April 7, 2014
Inspiration for a song can come from most anywhere. For Michael Peterson of McDavid, that inspiration came from a NorthEscambia.com headline.
“Prayer And WD-40: Hattie Schneider Celebrates 105th Birthday” was that NorthEscambia.com headline last week.
“The headline that you put for the story about the elderly lady turning 105 sounded like it should have been a song,” Peterson later emailed NorthEscambia.com. “I told it to my friend and we sat down and wrote one. The content of the song is a bit different, but I have to say thanks for the awesome title.”
Peterson and his friend, Obe Brown, turned the song into the story of a 91-year old war veteran who lost his leg at Normandy — and now he survives on the Good Lord looking out for him, plus he never goes anywhere without (you guess it) prayer and WD-40.
Peterson has recently performed as part of the band Mayhaw Road, but he says songwriting is where his passion lies.
“I pride myself for being a songwriter mostly,” he said. “That’s my passion.”
He’s played at some local venues, at the Frank Brown Songwriters Festival and is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
“My dream is to be a staff writer with a Nashville publishing company. Getting to hear my songs on the radio would be a dream come true,” he said. “I like to sing but its songwriting that drives me. Me and Obe grew up together, taught each other to play the guitar.”
Peterson and Brown both graduated from Northview High School in 1998. Brown lives in Atlanta now, but the duo writes together using the video chat program Skype.
To hear “Prayer and WD-40″, click here or use the player below.