Helpful Hints To Prevent Frozen Pipes
January 6, 2014
The following recommendations, from ECUA, are a few simple measures residents can take to ready their home’s plumbing for our potentially record breaking freezing cold.
External, exposed pipes are naturally the most vulnerable to freezing. Homeowners may:
Insulate Pipes or Faucets in Unheated Areas: Pipes located in unheated areas of your house, such as a garage or crawl space under the house or in the attic, are subject to freezing. If you have time to do this before freezing temperatures arrive, wrap these pipes with insulation materials made especially for this purpose. These materials can be found in most hardware stores or home improvement centers.
Disconnect And Drain Outdoor Hoses: Detach all hoses from faucets and allow them to drain. This will prevent the water in the hose or pipe from freezing and bursting the faucet or pipe to which it is connected.
Run a Trickle of Water: When forecasts call for sustained and / or severe freezing temperatures, run thin trickles of water from the faucet furthest from the water line coming to your house. Usually this is in a room at the back of the house or outside, in the yard. Allowing the water to circulate through your home’s plumbing helps to keep it from freezing. Some consider this a waste of water, but the cost of the water used is extremely slight compared to that of repairing broken pipes and the resulting water damage.
Remember the Backflow Preventer: Residents and business owners who have backflow preventers on their properties for water lines, fire lines, irrigation systems, and swimming pools need to protect their backflow preventers from freeze as well. Extended freezes can burst the body of the backflow assembly, rendering it useless. Wrap these pipes with insulation materials, made especially for this purpose. These materials can be found in most hardware stores or home improvement centers. If the device and the water lines are not in use at this time (i.e., irrigation system or swimming pool lines), shut off the water supply line and drain the backflow device.
Cold Weather Safety Tips
January 6, 2014
With our historic winter weather foercast, Escambia County urges residents to take safety precautions while trying to stay warm, specifically when using space heaters. Heating equipment is a leading cause of home fires during the winter months.
Actions should be taken to prepare for this and future cold weather events. Remember the “5 Ps” of cold weather preparedness:
- Protect People
- Protect Plants
- Protect Pets
- Protect Exposed Pipes
- Practice Fire Safety
Heating Equipment Safety Tips:
- Properly inspect all heating equipment for frayed cords or exposed elements before use.
- Space heaters need space. Keep heaters at least three feet away from all furniture, drapes, clothing and other combustibles.
- Use only heaters designed for use in the home. Never use cooking appliances, such as ovens, or any heaters designed for outdoor usage indoors.
- Only use heaters with safety features such as cut-off switches that turn them off if they accidentally tip over and those units with heater element guards that prevent combustible materials from contacting the heating element.
- Never leave space heaters unattended. Turn them off when you leave the room or go to bed.
- Keep children and pets away from space heaters.
- Keep heaters and their cords along with extension cords away from high traffic areas.
- When buying a new space heater, make sure it carries the mark of an independent testing laboratory.
- Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home and outside every bedroom. Test the batteries every month and change them at least once a year.
- If you have gas appliances, install a carbon monoxide alarm in a central location outside each sleeping area.
Alternative Heating Fire Safety Life-Saving Tips
- Allow your heater to cool before refueling and only refuel outdoors.
- Fill your heater with only crystal clear, K-1 kerosene, not gasoline or camp stove fuel as both explode easily.
- Keep the fire in the fireplace with a screen large enough to catch flying sparks and rolling logs.
- Carefully follow manufacturers’ installation and maintenance instructions.
- Remember it’s always safer to add more blankets on your bed than to use a space heater while sleeping.
- Electric blankets can be a serious fire hazard if defected or used improperly. Check your electric blanket for any damage from fraying, creasing or general wear and tear. Electric blankets that are more than 10 years old should be replaced, and never use a wet blanket.
- In case of a fire, stay low to the ground, beneath the smoke, and crawl to an exit using your escape plan.
Hwy 29/I-10 Interchange Construction Project Begins Today
January 6, 2014
Construction will begin today on a $2.5 million resurfacing project on I-10 from west of Highway 29 to east of Palafox Street in Escambia County.
The project also includes the milling and resurfacing of all ramps and ramp shoulders associated with the U.S. 29/I-10 interchange, shoulder widening, guardrail upgrades, crash cushion replacement, removal of portable traffic monitoring sites (PTMS), installation of new signs, pavement markings, and sodding. The entire project is slated for completion summer 2014.
During construction drivers will encounter overnight lane restrictions on both I-10 and the U.S. 29/ I-10 interchange. Lane closures on I-10 and intermittent closures or restrictions on the interchange will be limited to 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
All planned construction activities are weather dependent and may be rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.
2013 Persons Of The Year: Shelby Godwin
January 6, 2014
NorthEscambia.com is naming several Persons of the Year for 2013. An additional honoree will be named on Tuesday.
Shelby Godwin of Bratt has been named one of our North Escambia persons of the Year.
At 10, Shelby is by far the youngest person we’ve ever named one of our persons of the year. At just 10, she exhibited a heart of gold and a love for her fellow man that touched thousands across the area as she touched the heart of a young man she’d never met.
Shelby had never met Wyatt Johnson, a 17-month old from Century who is suffering from a chronic liver disease. But she saw a fundraising flyer at CVS with Wyatt’s picture and was so emotionally touched by the young man that she wanted to do something to help him.
Her idea? A fresh orange juice stand along East Highway 4 in Bratt, under the shade trees last September in front of her house. The 10-year old used her own money to purchase the oranges and supplies for her little business venture and borrowed an old fashioned juicer from a friend of her mom. All the proceeds went to Wyatt’s cause.
When Shelby had the chance to meet Wyatt in October, hugs, smiles and happy tears filled the Bratt Elementary School Library. There was already a special bond between the two, a little boy in need of all the help the world will give him and a young lady with an unselfish heart.
Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas was on hand to recognize Shelby, and the Town of Century issued a proclamation in her honor. And the nationally syndicated John Boy and Bill Show got wind of a NorthEscambia.com story and named Shelby as one of their heroes.
But the greatest honor of all for Shelby was the giant smile on Wyatt’s face.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
2013 In Photos: November
January 6, 2014
All this week, we are looking back at the photos that were in the news in 2013. Today, we are featuring photos from November.
Four people were left homeless by this November fire near Century.
A Georgia church provided Thanksgiving dinner for Century residents. As part of their “Compel Century” outreach event, Rivertown Church of Columbus provided the free meal.
Students from several northern Santa Rosa County schools put in a hard day’s work to help make sure hundreds of families have a good Thanksgiving dinner.
Hunting and fishing licenses are now available at the Billy G. Ward Courthouse in Century.
Citrus canker was discovered in Santa Rosa County.
Century residents protested against a new barnyard animal ordinance.
Fans react as the Northview Chiefs lose to Cottondale.
Northview’s Keondrae Lett reacts emotionally after the Chief’s regional final loss in Cottondale.
Firefighters from Alabama and Florida battled a train engine fire near the state line.
A wreck involving a semi-truck and a car claimed one life at the intersection of Highway 29 and Muscogee Road in Cantonment.
Two brand new Escambia County EMS units were delivered to Century.
A biker group built a ramp for an injured motorcycle rider in Molino.
An item suspected to be a possible pipe bomb found alongside Highway 29 in Cantonment turned out to be harmless.
Northview High School held their annual Veteran’s Day program.
A driver that allegedly fell asleep on Highway 97 late took a wild ride that ended with his SUV heavily damaging a house.
The Tate Aggies ended their best regular season in 10 years at 8-2.
Ernest Ward Middle School held their annual Veteran’s Program.
A unique roadside bee hive in Walnut Hill on Highway 99, just off Highway 97.
Southwest Airlines first flight to arrive in Pensacola.
Fire destroyed this home on Bradberry Road in Bratt.
The Northview High School FFA chapter was awarded one of the highest national honors presented by the National FFA in November. Northview’s FFA received the Three Star Chapter award on live national television during the National FFA Convention & Expo in Louisville, KY.
State Appeals Court Tosses Jay Man’s Murder Conviction
January 5, 2014
A Florida appeals court has thrown out the second degree murder conviction of a Jay man that was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the shooting death of a Brewton teen at a 2010 party.
In a ruling Friday, the 1st District Court of Appeals ruled Friday said the Santa Rosa County jury that convicted Robert Franklin Floyd was given conflicting instructions about the self defense and “stand your ground law”.
During a bonfire party on February 27, 2010, a vehicle occupied by four people — 18-year old Getyron Lopez Benjamin of Brewton, Gerald Banton, Timothy Smith and Tiffanie Pate — arrived Floyd’s home on Country Mill Road. The four people exited the vehicle and got into a verbal altercation with Floyd. The four refused to leave, at which time Floyd pushed one the males and told them to leave. The male pulled out a handgun, and Floyd retrieved a .243 caliber rifle from his truck. Floyd said he heard gunshots and saw a muzzle flash coming from the vehicle before he fired.
There were two shots that hit the vehicle, one striking Benjamin in the back seat. He was driven to D.W. McMillan Hospital in Brewton where he was pronounced dead.
Floyd’s only defense at trial was self defense.
Under Florida law, “a person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have the duty to retreat if he or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony”.
In Floyd’s case, the 1st District Court of Appeals found that “the trial court instructed the jurors that Floyd both did and did not have a duty to retreat”.
The court reverse Floyd’s convictions, vacated his sentences and ordered a new trial on both original counts against him — second degree murder and discharging a firearm into a moving vehicle. A new trial date has not been set.
Firefighters Respond To Kitchen Fire At Apartment Complex
January 5, 2014
Firefighters responded to a kitchen fire at a Gonzalez apartment complex early Sunday morning.
The fire was out when the first firefighters arrived on scene just after 2 a.m. at the Grantwood Apartments on Batson Lane, just off Highway 95A. There was no major damage, and no injuries were reported.
Vehicle Fees Rollback Gets Hearing
January 5, 2014
A closely-watched measure to reduce vehicle-registration fees will get its first hearing since Gov. Rick Scott threw his support behind a similar idea as part of his legislative agenda.
The Senate Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee is set to take up the proposal next Thursday.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, would roll back about half the unpopular 2009 hike in the fees. The decrease in fees would cost almost $182 million in the budget year that begins July 1, and $233 million a year after that. But Scott has endorsed doing away with the whole increase, something that would bring the price tag up to $401 million. Lawmakers could amend Scott’s plan onto the bill, though no amendments have been filed yet.
Negron’s measure unanimously passed the Senate Transportation Committee in October, more than a month before Scott announced his support.
Century Care Center Changes Name
January 5, 2014
The Century Care Center has a new name — the Century Health and Rehabilitation Center.
“The new name more accurately represents who we are and the wide range of services available at our facility,” the five-star facility said in a newsletter. “Our therapy department offers an excellent program designed to achieve the highest level of rehabilitation. We offer inpatient and outpatient services.If long term care is what you need, it’s all here.”
The Century Health and Rehabilitation Center is located at 6020 Industrial Boulevard, at the corner of West Highway 4 and Industrial Boulevard.
The name change was effective with the start of the new year.
2013 Persons Of The Year: Richard Freisinger
January 5, 2014
NorthEscambia.com is naming several Persons of the Year for 2013. More honorees will be named on Monday.
Richard Freisinger of Molino has been named one of our North Escambia persons of the Year.
Freisinger, a Tate High School graduate, has dedicated decades of service to the Molino community.
Freisinger was a charter member of the Molino Ruritan Club—a rural service organization—giving back to the community through its efforts of supporting the schools, the fire department, scholarships, and residential fires through fundraisers to meet these needs. Freisinger was employed in 1954 in the research laboratory with Monsanto Textiles and later the analytical research laboratory working 29 years until an early retirement in 1985. He currently operates a small tree farm after row cropping corn and soybeans for many years.
Freisinger and his wife, Jacqueline, saw the need for a rural, central water system for the Molino community and in 1965 after many hours of door-to-door contacts Molino Utilities was founded with over 200 users (members). This system followed the first system of this type located in Walnut Hill. Today this utility has over 2,000 members and has been extended to the Barrineau Park, Dogwood Park, and the Pine Barren communities. He served as a director for over 40 years.
He was involved with others in the community with the formation of the Molino Volunteer Fire Department and served as a volunteer firefighter for 10 years.
In 2001, Freisinger was appointed to the board of the Escambia Soil and Water Conservation. He served for 12 year, including six years as chairman, before retiring this year. He served on the board of Three Rivers RC&D for 29 years to the present time. In 2006 he received appreciation from the Board for ‘Outstanding Efforts on the Big Escambia Restoration Project.’ This was the culmination of a long-time effort to remove the log jam on the Escambia River.
Freisinger is active in his church and has been recognized by the Escambia County Commission.
Pictured top: Sheriff David Morgan talks with Molino residents Jacqueline and Richard Freisinger following a town hall meeting at Fran’s Diner. Pictured inset: Richard Freisinger. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlrage.