Two Children Killed In I-65 Crash
December 30, 2013
A fiery accident that claimed the lives of two children just south of Atmore on I-65 closed the interstate highway overnight.
The first in a series of accidents was reported about 9:45 p.m. about three miles south of Exit 54 – the Poarch, Jack Springs Road exit. A 2000 Freightliner semi-truck driven by 57-year old Terry Allen Wyatt of Andalusia, AL, rear-ended a 2010 Dodge Challenger. The car then burst into flames, according to reports.
Nadir Gillis, 9, and Naziya Gillis, 7, both of Camp Lejeune, N.C., were pronounced deceased at the scene.
The driver of the Dodge, 28-year-old Isom Hodges, and another passenger, 30-year old Labrica Hodges, both of Camp LeJeune were transported to area hospitals. The driver a third vehicle in the crash, 42-year old William C. Rousey of Lexington, KY, was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. Their conditions were not available.
A second accident, reportedly involving three vehicles, occurred north of the original accident scene.
Traffic was rerouted off the interstate at Exit 54 for several hours.
Further details have not been released by Alabama State Troopers. No charges have been filed in the crash.
Year-End Expert Tax Tips
December 30, 2013
There are a couple of days left in 2013, but according to tax expert Marshall Mennenga, there are some steps people can take before 2014 arrives to not only lower their tax bills, but to help others at the same time. He suggested contributions to charitable organizations.
“Maybe you need to clean out some closets and give some clothes to Goodwill…or many of the other organizations out there that are nonprofit organizations, that will accept your goods, your household furniture, clothes, and things like that,” he advised. “Of course, the fair market value of those items is deductible.”
Another suggestion is cash contributions, but Mennenga said to make sure to get receipts documenting the amounts. He noted there are very few tax-law changes from last year to be aware of. Every year, the Internal Revenue Service puts out a guide for tax preparation called Publication 17.
“Last year, it was like February 10th before it was available for distribution,” he recalled. “For right now, here in late December, it’s already available, so there’s no major changes coming.”
Another tip is not to jump the gun and try to fill in your tax return before you have everything you need, such as your 1099 forms for interest and dividends.
“Wait before your do your tax return to make sure you have everything. Use your previous year’s tax return as a guideline,” he said. “Check off each one of the places you received interest from or you received dividends from. Or, if you’re a small business, make sure you have good, accurate record-keeping; make sure you deduct everything that you’re entitled to.”
Mennenga said keeping good records of deductible expenses all year long is the best way to prepare for filling out the annual tax return. Many people just throw all their receipts in a shoebox or file drawer, and then have to spend hours sorting it all out at tax time.
by the Public News Service – FL
Man Guilty Of Robbing Four Hwy 29 Businesses To Pay Girlfriend’s Court Costs
December 29, 2013
An Escambia County man that committed a string of robberies along Highway 29 to pay his girlfriend’s court costs won’t be seeing her anytime soon.
Marquis Charles Baldwin, 23, was convicted on multiple counts of armed robbery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced by Judge Scott Duncan to 10 years in state prison for the holdups.
Baldwin used a pump-action BB gun during the robbery of four businesses on Highway 29 — November 30, 2012, at the the Kangaroo gas station at 7950 Pensacola Boulevard, December 6, 2012, at the Waffle House at 7999 Pensacola Boulevard, January 3 and January 9, 2013, at the Waffle House at 6913 Pensacola Boulevard.
Baldwin told investigators that he committed the robberies in order to pay off his girlfriend’s probation costs, which deputies said were paid in full after the January robbery.
FWC Continues To Study New Deer Hunting Regulations For Northwest Florida
December 29, 2013
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is continuing to study a proposal that would divide the state’s Hunting Zone D (from Pensacola to Tallahassee) into two deer management units (DMUs), each with its own unique set of deer antler-point regulations and antlerless deer harvest days.
These proposals for Zone D, which if passed at the April 2014 Commission meeting, would take effect during the 2014-15 hunting season and are part of a larger, statewide project aimed at managing deer on a more local level and providing stakeholders with a greater say in deer management. The Commission also directed staff to provide an update on this issue at the February Commission meeting.
The FWC conducted a public outreach and input process in northwest Florida during the first three months of 2013. During that period, the Commission received input and comments from hunters, farmers and the general public regarding how they would like to see deer managed in the newly proposed DMUs.
As a result of this outreach process, the FWC is considering rule proposals for both public and private lands in both of the DMUs in Zone D, specifically north and south of Interstate 10. Currently statewide on private lands and most wildlife management areas, bucks that are legal to take must have at least one antler that is at least 5 inches long.
The proposals would require that bucks harvested north of I-10 in Hunting Zone D have antlers with at least three points (each point having to be at least 1 inch long) on one side. South of I-10 in Zone D, the minimum antler requirement would be two points on one side.
The proposal includes an exception to the antler requirements in both DMUs whereby youth 15 years old and younger may continue to harvest bucks with at least one antler that is 5 inches or more in length.
Also, the FWC is proposing a change to the antlerless deer season (“doe days”) on private lands within Zone D. Currently in that zone, the season to take deer of either sex (except spotted fawns) runs for seven consecutive days: Dec. 26 – Jan. 1. In the proposed rules, those dates north of I-10 would change to eight days distributed across four weekends (Saturday-Sunday after Thanksgiving, first weekend of muzzleloading gun season, third weekend of general gun season and the weekend after Christmas).
South of I-10, in Zone D, the proposal would change the antlerless season to four days consisting of two popular holiday weekends (the weekends after Thanksgiving and Christmas).
The purpose of modifying the antlerless deer season, the FWC said, is to spread out the hunting opportunity, so that more hunters may be able to participate without substantially reducing deer populations. These changes would be monitored to measure the impact on the deer harvest and hunter satisfaction within each DMU.
United Way Seeks Income Tax Prep Volunteers
December 29, 2013
United Way of Escambia County is seeking volunteers for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA).
VITA volunteers provide free tax preparation help for those with low-to-moderate income. In 2013, 52 volunteers helped return over $900,000 in earned income tax credit and a total of over $2.8 million in refunds to 2,055 families in our community. The overall financial impact of this initiative was $3.3 million
VITA volunteers will:
- Volunteer in the role of either as a Tax Preparer or Greeter.
- Be able to commit to one to four hours per week from January 14th
- Receive IRS training and certification.
- Expand your knowledge of federal tax return procedures.
- Add a new skill to your resume.
- Receive CRA credit (for depository institutions only).
- Serve local citizens and help stimulate the local economy.
VITA site locations will include Pensacola State College (multiple campuses), Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, Central Credit Union (Spring Street branch) and St. Sylvester Catholic Church in Navarre. Sites will open January 14, 2014.
Training starts for volunteers in December for sites in Pensacola, Milton and Navarre. United Way will train tax preparers and greeters. The online portion of the training can be completed at the volunteer’s pace.
To become a VITA volunteer, call (850) 444-7128 or email name and contact information to lyndi@unitedwayescambia.org.
Half Cent Sales Tax Watchdog Group Elects New Chair
December 29, 2013
Alvin Wingate has been elected as chairperson of the Escambia County School District’s One-Half Cent Sales Tax Watchdog Committee for the current school fiscal year, and Ashley Bodmer has been elected vice chair.
The One-Half Cent Sales Tax Watchdog Committee is tasked with ensuring that all referendum funds are used for school capital projects such as the construction and support of Escambia County schools. The first five-year program was voter approved in 1997 followed by a second in 2002. In 2007, voters overwhelmingly voted for a 10-year extension of the tax. The One-Half Cent Sales Tax Watchdog Committee is charged with ensuring that only those projects voted for in the referendums are undertaken.
Funds provided by this sales tax referendum built Blue Angels Elementary School and Global Learning Academy; provided many security enhancements; the modernization of several schools; continued HVAC and roofing updates as well as media centers and athletic facilities. Current sales tax funded projects include the reconstruction of Ernest Ward Middle School and A. K. Suter Elementary School.
Wingate has been a member of the committee since its inception in 1997.
The committee meets bi-monthly. The next meeting of the One-Half Cent Sales Tax Watchdog Committee is scheduled for January 16, 2014, 8:00 a.m., in the Superintendent’s Conference Room located in the McDaniel Building, 75 North Pace Blvd.
Pictured: The August groundbreaking for the reconstruction of Ernest Ward Middle School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Teen Injured In Byrneville Wreck
December 29, 2013
A teen was injured in a single vehicle accident Saturday afternoon on Byrneville Road near Neal Road.
A 17- year old male reportedly lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree. He was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola by ambulance with non-life threatening injuries.
The 5 p.m. accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Further details have not yet been released. The Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded to the accident.
Florida Lawmakers Send Message To Congress, Voters With Memorials
December 29, 2013
State lawmakers have often sent non-binding, declarative messages to Congress to score political point backs home, make demands on the federal government or publicize their opinions about hot topics.
Memorials considered by the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature over the past few years “ordered” Congress to build the Keystone pipeline, make BP pay for environmental cleanup from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, abolish the U.S. Department of Education and limit congressional terms.
Few of the proposals ever make it to Washington, D.C., where “there is a huge dumpster somewhere outside the U.S. Capitol where they throw all of our memorials,” former Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater once said.
And most of the measures, often replete with numerous “whereas” clauses and lofty-sounding titles, are ignored in Tallahassee as well. The memorials typically languish without a committee hearing in either chamber.
The 2014 Legislative session won’t be any different.
Mixed with the bills filed for the 2014 session are memorials that include the “Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013″ in support of a national retail sales tax (SM 196), a call for Congressional term limits (HM 81), and a request for Congress to enact federal immigration reform (HM 253).
Those measures are among 15 so far introduced for the 2014 session, about half the number typically filed in recent years.
Legislators “often propose things they know will not pass but do it to satisfy key constituents or fellow legislators in key positions – or soon to be in key positions,” said University of South Florida political science professor Susan MacManus.
One of the memorials (SM 476) filed by Rep. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, calls for a convention to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution that would limit the power of the federal government.
“It’s giving America, the average people, the right to control the legislation and the right to control the demagoguery that is coming from Washington,” said Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, in reference to Hays’ memorial. “It’s causing such a tremendous problem on the states and local government.”
Only two of 22 memorials filed during the 2013 session received legislative and gubernatorial support.
One (SM 1266) called for Congress and the President to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the U.S. 65th Infantry Regiment, the “Puerto Rican regiment” known as the Borinqueneers. The second (SM 1478) urged U.S. Homeland Security to hasten immigration applications for Haitians impacted by the 2010 earthquake seeking to join family members already in the U.S.
The main reason politicians use the memorials is to reaffirm their positions with local constituents, said Kevin Wagner, an associate professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University.
“Proposing legislation that they know cannot pass, or even if it passed would not be constitutional, is a simple way to attract voters,” Wagner said. “The fact that it is otherwise meaningless doesn’t really matter, and is actually a benefit, since there are no potential consequences to the bill.”
But Aubrey Jewett, an associate political science professor at the University of Central Florida, said there are a variety of less-cynical reasons legislators file proposals that have little hope of passing.
Lawmakers may want to bring attention to an issue or placate certain interest groups, Jewett said. Or they may repeatedly offer a memorial in the hope of building momentum, he said.
“Some legislators are just very passionate about certain issues and so bring them up over and over again regardless of the chance of passage because they really believe in them,” Jewett said.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Floirda
Register Now For Third Annual NWE Flag Football Tournament
December 29, 2013
Now is the time to register for the 3rd Annual NWE Flag Football Tournament.
The tournament is scheduled for February 1, 2014, (Super Bowl Saturday) at Ernest Ward Middle School. Registrations are being accepted now. Call (850) 449-3185 to register a team.
There are no age limits. The registration fee is $150 per team. All proceeds will benefit the Northwest Escambia 2014 Youth football season.
Fire Destroys Cantonment Shed; Firefighters Save Other Structures
December 28, 2013
Fire destroyed a detached shed late Friday night at a Cantonment home.
The fire was reported about 11:45 p.m. at home in the 100 block of Madrid Road, just north of Isabella Road. The shed was fully involved when the first firefighters arrived on scene. They were able to quickly knock down the blaze and prevent it from spreading to any other nearby structures.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known. There were no injuries reported.
The Cantonment, Molino, Ensley and Beulah stations of Escambia Fire Rescue were dispatched to the blaze, along with Escambia County EMS.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
