Tate Grad Killed In Tampa Hit And Run Wreck
August 8, 2013
A Tate High School graduate now living in Tampa was struck and killed by a hit and run driver on Tuesday.
Michael Duriel Lee, 29, was riding his bicycle in a marked bike lane on the US 94 overpass over I-4 about 7:50 a.m. He was struck by a 1999 Ford Ranger that fled the scene. Lee was ejected from his bike and thrown from the overpass, landing in a retention pond 80 feet below the roadway.
Wednesday, authorities arrested 23-year-old Christopher Jacob Kimmel and charged him with leaving the scene of a crash involving death.
Lee was a 2001 graduate of Tate High School in Cantonment and still has family in the area. He was believed to be riding his bicycle to work at Central Power Systems, Inc. in Tampa.
Pictured top: This still image from a traffic camera shows the scene where at Tate HighSchool graduate’s bicycle was struck and thrown from an overpass in Tampa. Image courtesy FDOT for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge. Pictured inset: The truck that allegedly hit Lee. Pictured below: A paint chip from the truck recovered at the scene of the traffic crash. Photos courtesy Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for NorthEcambia.com, click to enlarge.
Man That Claimed To Be Beaten By Deputies Is Arrested
August 8, 2013
A man that claimed he was beaten by Escambia County deputies is now behind bars following a July 27 fight.
Devon Walker, 27, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of battery in connection with the fight at a trailer in the 3800 block of Creighton Road. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $11,000.
According to witnesses, several individuals became involved in a dispute over a cell phone and at some point during the altercation Walker pulled a firearm on the homeowner. When deputies arrived,they discovered three individuals lying on the floor inside of the trailer. All three individuals were intoxicated and had blood on them, the Sheriff’s Office said.
“Walker has falsely claimed that his injuries were caused by members of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office; however, these allegations have been determined false as evidenced by multiple written witness statements,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a written press release Wednesday afternoon.
“I definitely got beat up,” Devon Walker told the Pensacola Independent News. “The police beat me up.”
“The officer grabbed one of my arms and threw me to the ground,” Walker told the IN. “And then another one stepped on my face.”
Two Teens Arrested For Murder
August 8, 2013
Two teens have been arrested in connection with the shooting death of another teen last week at the Pines Apartment in Warrington.
Wahoos Outshine Suns
August 8, 2013
Jon Moscot fired seven shutout innings in his second Double-A start, combining with two other Pensacola relievers to shutout the Jacksonville Suns 2-0 on Wednesday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
The 21-year-old worked around bits of trouble in the first and sixth innings to keep his scoreless outing in tact. In the first inning, Yorman Rodriguez threw out Derek Dietrich at the plate when Dietrich tried to score from second on a Zack Cox single. Moscot (1-0) wouldn’t allow another hit until the fifth inning and ended up allowing four hits, all singles, in seven innings with five strikeouts and a walk.
The Blue Wahoos turned things over to Lee Hyde in the eighth, who retired the Suns in order to extend his scoreless streak to 30.1 innings dating back to May 21 between Pensacola and Louisville. Trevor Bell fired a perfect ninth to record his 12th save in as many tries for the Wahoos.
Moscot also provided a big blow on offense for the Wahoos, sparking a two-run rally with a leadoff triple in the third inning. He would come home to score on a Devin Lohman single to make it 1-0 before Lohman scored on a double play from Yorman Rodriguez to make it 2-0.
Anthony DeSclafani took the tough loss for the Suns despite allowing two runs (one earned) on 6.1 innings for the Suns. He struck out four and walked two while falling to 3-3.
With the win, Pensacola moved to within four games of first-place Jacksonville with four games remaining in the series. Daniel Renken (5-8, 3.58) is scheduled to start for the Wahoos on Thursday against the Suns’ Adam Conley (11-4, 3.04).
Florida CFO: Why Aren’t Insurance Costs Dropping?
August 8, 2013
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater wants the state’s insurance commissioner to explain why property insurers haven’t reduced premiums at a time when reinsurance costs have dropped worldwide.
“If insurance companies can justifiably raise rates on Florida families because the reinsurance market drives their costs up, they can certainly lower the costs for Florida families when reinsurance prices fall,” Atwater wrote Wednesday to Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty.
“Floridians not only deserve an explanation for why they have not seen any savings to date, they also deserve to quickly begin seeing property insurance savings in their bills.”
Reinsurance is backup insurance for insurance companies.
Atwater noted that insurance companies have claimed for years that rates have increased due to reinsurance costs. However, he said he’s read that reinsurance rates are down this year, on average 15 percent to 20 percent.
Amy Bogner, spokeswoman for the Office of Insurance Regulation, said McCarty is working on a response to address Atwater’s questions.
FHSAA Pledges Review Of Drug Policies
August 7, 2013
The Florida High School Athletic Association said Tuesday it would examine its policies dealing with performance-enhancing drugs in the wake of the wide-ranging Biogenesis scandal.
Officials with the association announced the review in a conference call with reporters. But they also stressed that the association itself is not allowed to test athletes for performance-enhancing drugs, and that many school districts would have trouble coming up with the resources to do so.
In Escambia County, athletes as well as participants in non-sports extracurricular activities and clubs must consent to the possibility of being selected for a random drug test.
Roger Dearing, executive director of the association, said the organization’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee would undertake the review.
The committee’s 15 members, including medical professors and coaches, are charged with considering whether to break out the association’s drug rules into their own policy, rather than having them as part of its sportsmanship policy, and whether new rules might be needed to help crack down on the substances.
Association officials say educating parents and students about the dangers of PEDs and pushing school districts to move quickly against coaches who encourage or ignore PED use will help.
“I think it’s something that we’ve got to put on the front-burner and be vigilant about,” Dearing said.
Dearing said the recent reporting about the Biogenesis clinic in South Florida serves as a “wake-up call” about the drugs’ possible impact on high-school sports. Biogenesis is infamous for its role in a scandal currently rocking Major League Baseball; more than a dozen players have been punished for their links to the clinic, and the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez is fighting a 211-game suspension that would last through at least the end of the 2014 season.
The Miami Herald reported Monday that it “has seen a partial list of alleged clients of Biogenesis from October 2011″ that included high-school students. It did not name the players on the list.
One of the biggest challenges in trying to test students is the financing, Dearing said. The Legislature did provide funding to randomly test about 650 students several years ago, with one student testing positive, but hasn’t funded a program of testing.
The screenings cost about $150 each, meaning to test each of the 283,000 athletes in FHSAA sports would cost around $42 million, Dearing said.
He suggested that a better tack might be to have local districts partner with civic groups or others who could help pay for some testing.
“I don’t think it’s the Legislature’s responsibility to fund, and I don’t think it’s the school districts’ responsibility to fund,” Dearing said.
Dr. Jennifer Roth Maynard, an assistant professor with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, said the advisory committee would begin its review at its next meeting, scheduled for the end of the month.
by The News Service of Florida
Century To Explore Natural Gas Vehicle Conversions, Filling Station
August 7, 2013
The Town of Century will explore using natural gas to power some town vehicles and the possibility of a filling station.
The town’s council has authorized gas department head Eddie Hammond and consultant Debbie Nickles to pursue natural gas vehicle conversions and a filling station. There’s no set date by which they will report back to the town council.
There is currently one public CNG filling station in Escambia County. The station, located at 6722 Pine Forest Road, was a joint project between the City of Pensacola, Pensacola Energy (formerly Energy Services of Pensacola) and ECUA. The $1.8 million filling station opened in October 2012. It is operated and maintained by Pensacola Energy and features four “fast fill” hoses as well as 90 time-fill dispensers which can be used to refuel vehicles overnight.
The City of Pensacola also operates a private CNG filling station for their natural gas fleet, and ECUA plans to open a second site at their Ellyson Industrial Park location this fall.
Pictured: Escambia County’s first CNG filling station opened on Pine Forest Road in October 2012. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Fire Marshal Continues Investigation Into Dump Truck Fires
August 7, 2013
The investigation into a Sunday fire that destroyed four dump trucks at a Cantonment business continues.
Over a dozen dump trucks were parked in a row in a lot at the Roads, Inc. headquarters on Stone Boulevard, just off Highway 29. Four of the trucks were totally destroyed by the fire, while others were damaged.
The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office said Tuesday that their investigation is still ongoing and released no further details about the fire, other than to say damage was estimated at $400,000 for the four destroyed trucks. The Fire Marshal’s office has not put a dollar figure on other trucks that may have been damaged by heat or smoke.
The fire was reported at 6:50 p.m. Monday, and sent a column of black smoke into the sky that was visible for miles.
Multiple fire stations from Cantonment, Molino and Pensacola responded to the blaze, working rapidly to protect and prevent other dump trucks from becoming involved the fire There were no injuries reported.
Pictured: Multiple dump trucks were destroyed by fire Sunday evening at Roads, Inc. on Stone Boulevard in Cantonment. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
T.T. Wentworth Museum Closed Until November
August 7, 2013
T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum in downtown Pensacola will be temporarily closed until November while preparations are made for the installation of a new 3,000-square-foot exhibit titled “Pensacola: City of Five Flags.”
The new exhibit will transform both the space and the technology currently used to recount Pensacola’s rich history, spanning its early settlement and possession by the Spanish, through its times under the flags of the French, British, Confederate States and the United States. It will be housed on the ground floor of the museum and replace an older exhibit of the same name.
“Come November, visitors will be able to explore the impressive history of Pensacola as the first large-scale European settlement attempt in the continental United States,” said Robert Overton Jr., COO of West Florida Historic Preservation Inc. “We’ll be telling this fascinating story from the standpoint of the common citizens who lived in Pensacola at various times throughout our history, using the latest visual technology, graphics, artifacts and themed exhibit areas.”
West Florida Historic Preservation Inc. is dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting the history of Northwest Florida. Overton is responsible for all aspects of daily museum operations and public programming, which serves an estimated 15,000 school children and 50,000 museum visitors each year. He noted that the demolition process to make way for the new Five Flags exhibit has been completed, with construction to begin this week.
Scott, Cabinet Approve Search For Bodies At Panhandle Reform School
August 7, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet on Tuesday authorized a year-long dig for human remains at a closed Panhandle reform school, saying the state cannot ignore abuse that went on for decades.
Scott and Cabinet members — Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam — approved a land-use agreement with the Department of Environmental Protection that allows University of South Florida researchers to search for reportedly unaccounted-for bodies of boys who died between 1900 and 1952 at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.
“We’re not exactly sure what happened there, but we know it wasn’t good,” Bondi said.
“We have to look at our history,” she added. “We have to go back, we know there are unmarked graves currently on that property that deserve a proper burial. It’s the right thing to do.”
Putnam said that the search for bodies is not an indictment of the Marianna or Jackson County communities, but against a facility “that was ignored for too long by state.”
“There is no shame in searching for the truth,” Putnam added. “Families who want closure, who want answers, deserve those things.”
A temporary restraining order, issued in October 2012 by Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper, has delayed the state’s intention to sell the Dozier property.
The efforts of USF researchers have faced opposition from some longtime Jackson County residents who expressed concerns about what effect exhuming bodies from lands around the one-time “high risk” reform school will have on the local economy and the image of the community.
Sid Riley, publisher of the Jackson County Times, implored Scott on Aug. 1 to deny USF’s request “to dig up those Christian buried grave sites at Dozier.”
Riley expressed concern about how removing of bodies will impact the local economy and that survivors will try to use what may be found to seek “reparations” from the state.
“The bad publicity which will ensue during the year or more of time which will be involved will seriously hamper our local tourism development programs, as well as economic development efforts for our county,” Riley wrote. “Please do not allow them to engage in this greed motivated waste of money.”
Cooper’s order allows the research work to proceed until the body of Thomas Varnadoe is exhumed.
Varnadoe died a month after arriving at the school in the 1930s. He was 13. A family member from central Florida has sought to move the remains to a family graveyard.
The researchers have been investigating the Panhandle school, which at one time encompassed 1,400 acres, to determine whether boys at the reform school were possibly killed and buried on school grounds.
Robert Strayley, 66, who was sent to the school in 1963 after running away from his home in Tampa several times, recalled that floggings were still being administered to boys at the school throughout his 10-month stay.
“This is a historic moment for Florida because they reached into a past for Florida that was so dark that nobody wants to talk about it,” said Strayley, who attended the Cabinet meeting with others who had been sent to the school and are known as the “the White House Boys” and “Dozier Boys.”
“Even after they banned flogging in 1922, by Gov. (Cary) Hardee, as being too cruel punishment for even the most hardened criminal, it went on at this boy’s school,” Strayley said.
Researchers using ground-penetrating radar have identified potential graves on what is considered the “colored” cemetery within the site and believe there should also be a “white” cemetery on the grounds.
The Legislature put $190,000 into the state budget to fund the research, determine the causes of death, identify remains, locate potential family members and cover the costs for any re-internment.
However, the excavation work has been on hold as researchers have been unable to get needed approval to dig.
On July 15, Secretary of State Ken Detzner denied a permit sought by the USF researchers to dig at the Panhandle site.
Detzner said his department’s Bureau of Archaeological Research didn’t have the authority to approve the excavation, noting that the department is “restricted to the recovery of objects of historical or archaeological value,” but “not human remains.”
In May, Jackson County Circuit Judge William L. Wright denied a request by Bondi’s office that also could have cleared the way for exhuming remains.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured top: The Dozier School for Boys in Marianna as seen in the 1990’s. Courtesy photo, Florida Archives.