Search Committee Begins Process Of Picking Escambia Administrator
June 25, 2013
A five-member selection committee tasked with guiding the selection process for the next Escambia County Administrator held their first meeting Monday.
The group was named by the Escambia County Commission to look at 40 plus applicants for the position, narrow the field and make a recommendation to the commission. There were 63 people that applied for the administrator’s job, 41 of which were qualified, according to the Human Resources Department.
Applicants range from a TSA security director to a college professor, former city and county administrators and CEOs of private companies. Also on the qualified list is Interim Administrator George Tourt who also applied for the position.
Members of the selection committe e are David Pavlock, appointed by Commissioner Wilson Robertson; Joseph Ward, Sr., appointed by Commissioner Gene Valentino; Pastor Joseph Marshall,appointed by Commissioner Lumon May; Tom Knox,. appointed by Commissioner Grover Robinson; and Bob Price, Jr., appointed by Commissioner Steven Barry.
The committee will meet again at 1:30 p.m. on July 8.
High Flying Reading: Blue Angels Pilot Takes Part In Molino Storytime
June 25, 2013
It was high flying storytime Monday at the Molino Branch Library as the No. 2 Blue Angel shared his own stories and read a couple of books to a large crowd.
LCDR John Hiltz, a Blue Angels pilot since September 2011, told the children how he came to love flying — and reading. He read a couple of books to the children, and even played “airplane” and lifted off a couple of children.
The Blue Angels are participating in community events like storytime at the library after being grounded for the season by the federal government’s sequester. Hiltz, like his fellow pilots, doesn’t know when they’ll get the green light to perform in air shows again. The pilots are currently getting individual flight time in the F-18, but there’s no practicing those high flying stunts that have made the Blue Angels world famous.
Once they get the budget go ahead to fly again, the Blue Angels will have to get in a lot of practice hours before their first air show.
“It’s going to be up to us to look ourselves in the eye and say we are ready,” he said. “Right now all we are getting is elementary flying. But the Blue Angels don’t do elementary flying.”
Hiltz knows Blue Angels air shows are expensive, but there’s a lot of return on the investment.
Special storytimes will continue with a member of the Blue Angels at area libraries as follows:
- Wednesday, June 26 at 10:30 A.M.,: Main Library, 239 N. Spring St.
- Wednesday, June 26 at 2:30 P.M.,: Century Branch, 7991 N. Century Blvd.
- Thursday, June 27 at 10:30 A.M.,: Tryon Branch, 1200 Langley Ave.
- Saturday, June 29 at 2:30 P.M.,: Westside Branch, 1580 W. Cervantes St.
- Tuesday, July 2 at 10:30 A.M.,: Southwest Branch, 12248 Gulf Beach Hwy.
Groups of 20 or less are invited to contact their favorite library to inquire if seating is available for attendance at this very special Blue Angels storytime event.
Pictured top: LCDR John Hiltz,, pilot of the No. 2 Blue Angels plane, gets a little help with a story that pointed out humans have arms, not wings. Pictured inset: A little high-flying blast off with a young reader. Pictured below: Monday’s storytime at the Molino Branch Library. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Five Questions For Mike Hill
June 25, 2013
Voters in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties two week ago elected Pensacola Republican Mike Hill to replace state Rep. Clay Ford, a Gulf Breeze Republican who died of cancer in March.
The founder of the Northwest Florida Tea Party, Hill used his conservative message to beat Democrat Jeremy Lau in House District 2, a Republican stronghold. Hill collected just under 58 percent of the vote, while Lau received about 42 percent.
Hill, 54, became the only black Republican in the Legislature. He’s a State Farm agent and U.S. Air Force Academy graduate. He’s been married for 30 years and has three children. State Republican Chairman Lenny Curry told Florida Public Radio on Friday he’s hiring an outreach coordinator for African-American voters and hopes Hill will be part of that effort.
Five questions for Mike Hill:
Q: Was there a specific event or issue that caused you to start the Northwest Florida Tea Party? Was there a point at which you said, “That’s it — I’m fed up?”
HILL: It was a culmination of many events, including the Florida increase in fees to register vehicles and renew license plates and driver’s licenses in 2009, and the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010.
The current Tea Party movement is a continuation of the spirit of patriots rising up against injustice. Its origins were before our Revolutionary War, though we can use that as a starting point. The original Boston Tea Party was a movement against the British tyranny. Once the tyranny has been defeated, then the Tea Party movement melts back into society ready to answer the call whenever tyranny rears its ugly head.
The Tea Party spirit was the catalyst that began the Abolitionist movement. The Tea Party was the spirit behind the women’s suffrage movement, and the civil rights struggles of the 1960s. And the current Tea Party movement is a push back to the overreaching, out of control government that we have at all levels. I want to be a part of that spirit that makes a stand against unjust government and that is why I started my old group. (I stepped down when I ran for this office).
Q: We keep hearing that the Tea Party movement has peaked. Does your election refute that, at least in the Panhandle?
HILL: I believe it does. The Tea Party believes in a constitutionally-limited government and the principles of limited government, low taxes, personal freedom and individual responsibility.
There is still a strong need for these principles. Perhaps the Tea Party has lost a few battles, but the fight against tyranny continues. I wouldn’t say that the Tea Party or being associated with it won my election. It was about those timeless principles that my constituents identified and connected with.
Q: As you head to Tallahassee, do you have any legislation in mind to sponsor?
HILL: I want to be a champion of liberty. I will support legislation that removes unnecessary rules, regulations, and burdens from people and businesses. That kind of legislation creates prosperity. I will support legislation that champions the sanctity of life and protects the family. I would like to see a rollback of many, if not all, of the fee increases passed a few years ago like the vehicle license fee, because we need to return more money back to the citizens of this state as our economy improves.
Q: You came from behind in the primary against the establishment GOP candidate. How?
HILL: By staying on message of wanting to be a servant leader that will provide good public policy. Good public policy will answer these questions: One, is it constitutional? Two, is it fiscally responsible? Three, what problems will it fix in both the short term and long term? And four, is it morally sound? I worked hard and stayed true to my message and didn’t try to be something I was not. My conservatism is genuine and from the heart and that clearly resonated with the voters who were looking for a servant leader, not a business-as-usual politician.
Q: As a black conservative, you’ll be in demand for leadership in the House — are you interested?
HILL: I do not know why simply because I am black and a conservative that I should be considered for leadership. I want to be considered for any position based solely on the content of my character, my commitment to conservative principles, and because I have the courage to not waver from providing good public policy in the face of special interests who might demand otherwise. If I am a leader among my fellow members, it should be because I have the character to stand firm on my values.
Federal Appeals Court Halts Execution Of Florida Killer
June 25, 2013
A temporary stay halted Monday’s planned execution of Marshall Lee Gore, who had been found competent enough a month ago by a state panel to be put to death. The delay was ordered by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals about an hour before the scheduled execution.
Gore was scheduled to die by lethal injection Monday at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. The court is expected to hold a hearing later this week on the latest request from Gore’s attorney as the warrant period for Gore’s execution expires at noon July 1.
Gore, 49, was convicted in the 1988 murders of two women in Miami-Dade and Columbia counties. The execution was scheduled for the murder of Robyn Novick, whose nude body was found in rural Miami-Dade County after being last seen leaving the parking lot of a tavern, according to a summary in a 2009 Florida Supreme Court ruling.
Gov. Rick Scott initially signed the death warrant on May 13, but at the request of Gore’s attorney put a temporary stay in effect on May 22 so a panel of psychiatrists could consider whether Gore was sane enough to be executed. The panel was asked to determine whether Gore understood the nature and effect of the death penalty and why it was to be imposed upon him. Scott’s stay was lifted May 31 following the psychiatric review.
By The News Service of Florida
Wahoos Walk Off Over Braves 3-2
June 25, 2013
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos entered the ninth inning with just two hits on the night, but the Wahoos strung together three straight one-out knocks, culminating on Theo Bowe’s two-runwalk-off triple to give the Wahoos a thrilling 3-2 win over the Mississippi Braves on Monday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
Facing Braves closer Mark Lamm, Devin Lohman reached on a single with one out before Yorman Rodriguez followed with a bloop single off the glove of the shortstop Jaime Pedroza. Bowe, pinch-hitting for the pitcher, laced a first pitch fastball into the right field corner scoring Lohman from second and Rodriguez all the way from first to give the Wahoos their third walk-off win of the season. It was Bowe’s second triple of the year and 12th and 13th RBI.
The game featured two phenomenal pitching performances. In his first start since June 2, Pensacola’s Chad Rogers allowed just a first-inning run on an Edward Salcedo RBI single in four innings of work. Having just come off the DL earlier in the day, Rogers didn’t miss a beat as he struck out six and retired the final eight batters he faced.
Jamie Walczak entered in the fifth inning and retired the first six batters he faced before allowing a one-out double in the seventh inning. He ended up allowing just the one hit in three innings while striking out five.
Meanwhile, Braves starter Mitch Atkins tossed a two-hit gem over seven innings. Both of the hits came from Marquez Smith, who doubled in the fifth and scored on a sac fly from Ray Chang to knot the game at one. Atkins struck out seven in a season-long seven innings.
The game was tied at one after seven frames before pinch-hitter Dan Brewer led off the eighth with a single against Pensacola reliever Drew Hayes. A sac bunt and groundout moved Brewer to third with two outs before Christian Marrero was intentionally walked up to set up a matchup between Hayes and Salcedo. The Braves’ third baseman lifted a ball down the right field line that landed on the chalk for an RBI double. Wahoos’ second baseman Brodie Greene picked up the ball and gunned down Marrero trying to score all the way from first for the final out, keeping the lead at just one.
Hayes (2-1) picked up the win for the Wahoos, allowing a run on three hits in two innings. Hayes combined with Rogers and Walczak to strike out 12 Mississippi hitters, tying a season-high for a nine-inning game. Lamm (3-3) took the loss while blowing just his second save in 11 chances this season.
Having won back-to-back games for the first time since a doubleheader on June 6, the Wahoos look to tie their season-long winning streak of three games with a victory on Tuesday night. Tim Crabbe (3-6, 3.36) gets the ball for Pensacola against Mississippi’s Michael Lee (3-5, 4.38). First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
story by Kevin Burke
Two Charged With Stealing Two Buggies Full Of Items
June 25, 2013
Two Perdido, Ala., residents are jailed in Escambia County, Fla., charged with skipping the registers at a Pensacola Walmart two buggies of items worth over $1,000.
Ronald Eugene Haager, 46, and Anna Trisha Hamric, 35, were both charged with felony grand theft. Haager was also charged with misdemeanor resisting.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, a loss prevention employee at Walmart on Pensacola Boulevard noticed the couple acting strange and then exiting the store without paying for two shopping carts full of merchandise.
The loss prevention officer followed the couple outside and asked to return to the store. They complied at first, but they Haager took off on foot, the report states. An off-duty officer at a nearby business detained Haager.
The two shopping carts contained 169 items valued at $1,010.28 that were returned to the store.
Both remained in the Escambia County Jail early Tuesday morning. Haager’s bond was set at $3,000, while bond for Hamric was set at $2,500.
Burglar Shot In Walnut Hill Arrested Again
June 24, 2013
An alleged burglar shot by a Walnut Hill homeowner last month has been been arrested again, this time in connection with a May 10 burglary in Pensacola.
Ricky Dewayne Taylor, age 33 of Front Street in Century remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $15,000.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Taylor committed burglary and grand theft on Klondike Road on May 10. Deputies say he parked his Lincoln Town Car with Alabama plates near a home in the 8000 block of Klondike. He then allegedly took a duffle bag, five extension cords and a five gallon gas can from a barn and placed them outside, according to an arrest report.
The resident walked outside and confronted Taylor near the duffle bag outside of his barn. Taylor ran and the victim gave chase but was unable to keep up. The victim noticed the out of place Lincoln Town Car in the neighborhood and photographed the tag. After the victim returned home, he drove around in an attempt to located the suspect and passed the Lincoln, being driven by the man he chased from his yard.
Deputies were able to trace the Lincoln to Taylor from the tag photo, and the victim positively identified Taylor from a photo lineup.
A week later, Taylor was shot in the leg by a homeowner that interrupted a burglary in progress at his home in the 3900 block of Rockaway Creek in Walnut Hill. Taylor was hospitalized and fled to Alabama after being released. He was arrested the evening on May 21 in Escambia County, Ala., and then extradited to Florida to face outstanding warrants for burglary, larceny, criminal mischief property damage and battery.
In late May, Taylor was extradited back to Escambia County, Ala., to face charges of burglary third and theft second charges in connection with a burglary and theft on Canoe Road, between Atmore and Flomaton. He was accused of stealing items that included chainsaws and extension cords from a business.
Winning Fantasy 5 Ticket Sold In The Area
June 24, 2013
A winning Fantasy 5 ticket sold in in the area for Sunday’s night drawing is worth $88,113.47.
The winning ticket, with numbers 05-07-12-24-35 — was sold at the Kangaroo Express at 3225 West Nine Mile Road at the I-10 intercange. It was one of two winning tickets sold in the state. The other winning ticket was sold in Pembroke Pines.
There were also 326 tickets with four correct numbers worth $87 each, and 8,962 5 with three of five numbers worth $8.50 each.
Investigators: Three Arrests End Two County Robbery String
June 24, 2013
Investigators believe a string of convenience store robberies has come to an end with the arrests of three people early Sunday morning.
Just before 4 a.m. Sunday, the Circle K in the 3400 block of Barrancas Avenue was robbed. Deputies arrived as the suspects fled from the store; the trio was taken into custody without incident.
Damascus Isaiah Williams, 20, Maurice Pettus, II, 35, and Julius Lamar Scott, 35, were booked into the Escambia County Jail on charges of robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, grand theft and possession of firearm by a convicted felon. Additional charges are pending, investigators said.
Bond for Williams and Pettus was initially set at $190,000. Scott is being held with no bond due to an outstanding probation violation warrant.
Escambia and Santa Rosa Sheriff’s investigators believe the suspects were involved in multiple prior armed robberies in both counties in recent weeks.
Pictured below: A recent Circle K robbery in Santa Rosa County. Courtesy images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott Faces Pressure From Gun-Rights Groups Over Bill
June 24, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott is being flooded with calls and emails about a bill that would stop some gun sales, and whichever course he chooses could be risky as he runs for re-election.
The measure (HB 1355) would block gun sales to some people who voluntarily admit themselves for mental-health treatment. It’s backed by the National Rifle Association’s Marion Hammer, one of the best-known gun-rights advocates in the country – which made her all the more effective at helping to pass the measure.
Hammer said she was recruited by Judge Steve Leifman of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, who chairs the Florida Supreme Court’s task force on mental health. She also said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Federal Bureau of Investigation were at the table, as were conservative and liberal legislators. The bill passed the Legislature with just one dissenting vote.
But since then, the bill has been under fire from two out-of-state groups, the Colorado-based National Association for Gun Rights and the Gun Owners of America in Virginia.
As of Thursday, 3,940 people had contacted Scott’s office about the bill, with 3,914 asking him to veto it.
Hammer began pushing back with an e-mail alert on Wednesday, and said she hadn’t expected so much opposition.
“But there are times when people who have motives that differ from honest motives, there ends up being a battle,” she said. “There are groups – a lot of people call them fringe groups – who like to attack NRA and NRA’s work as a fundraising mechanism. And they spin people who are well-meaning and think that if you have an organization – or pretend to have an organization – that you know what you’re talking about.”
Danielle Thompson, press secretary for the National Association for Gun Rights, said hers is the fastest-growing gun rights group in the country, with more than two million members.
Thompson said HB 1355 would strip the rights of people who haven’t been charged with a crime.
“The NRA supports a bill that will result in about 100,000 law-abiding Floridians losing the right to bear arms,” she said. “And the NAGR will never support a bill that infringes on a citizen’s right to bear arms.”
Critics of the bill also say it would discourage people with mental illnesses from seeking treatment.
Signing the measure would expose Scott to another round of recriminations from Second Amendment die-hards. Many are already livid that he suspended Liberty County Sheriff Nick Finch after FDLE investigators said Finch destroyed documents tied to the arrest of a man charged with illegally carrying a concealed firearm.
But vetoing the bill could alienate independents and women – constituencies where Scott is already facing low approval ratings.
“I would think it would be very difficult for the governor to veto a bill that is designed to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people with mental illnesses,” said Hammer, who added that 91 percent of NRA members support legislation to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill.
Political scientist Susan MacManus of the University of South Florida doesn’t expect Scott to veto the measure.
She pointed to a Rasmussen poll released on Dec. 19, 2012, the week after 20 children and six adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
The poll found that 48 percent of Americans believed more action to treat mental health issues would do the most to prevent such shootings, with 27 percent saying stricter gun control laws would do the most and 15 percent saying curbs on violent movies and video games would do the most. Ten percent were undecided.
“Florida is a pro-gun state,” MacManus said. “But pro-gun means the ability to buy guns and ammunition…Are these people who are avidly pro-Second Amendment going to vote for Charlie Crist? Or are they going to stay home in a close race? That’s always a danger.”
Some observers say that after Newtown, the more mainstream gun-rights advocates agreed to go along with some limits on the sale of guns to the mentally ill rather than face a more stringent law, such as an assault weapons ban or universal background check.
“Republicans take (the) Rasmussen (poll) very seriously,” wrote David Weigel in Slate the day the poll came out. “….They cited ‘mental health’ as an issue to look at long before they cited gun laws – if they cited gun laws at all. …This is a safe prediction: Gun rights advocates will work, carefully, to shift the conversation to mental health and media violence, and away from gun laws.”
Hammer said she expected to talk to Scott after he returned from a week-long trade mission to Paris.
“People with mental illnesses through no fault of their own simply can’t be trusted with guns until they’ve had treatment and are well, and this bill tries to address that,” she said. “We worked hard to protect the rights of the mentally ill, and we worked hard to protect the rights of the people who could potentially be victims of those folks.”
As Scott arrived in Tallahassee Friday afternoon, he said only that he’s reviewing the bill. He has until July 2 to decide.
By Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida