Santa Rosa Teacher Arrested For Soliciting Former Student
June 18, 2013
A Santa Rosa County middle school teacher is being held on a $1 million bond for allegedly using Facebook and text messaging to solicit sex from a former student.
Robert Todd Crutchfield, a sixth grade social studies teacher at King Middle School in Milton, was charged with using a computer to seduce a child and traveling after use of a computer to lure a child.
The investigation by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office found Crutchfield contacted a former student on Facebook. After the 14-year old female accepted a friend request from 41-year old Crutchfield, a conversation began. The conversation later continued via text messaging.
During the course of the texting, the conversation became sexual in nature. An adult who was affiliated with the juvenile was contacted who then notified the Sheriff’s Office. Investigators were able to continue the conversation with Crutchfield where he ultimately told the juvenile he was interested in meeting in person.
Along with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, investigators arranged for Crutchfield to meet them at a specific time and location, thinking he was meeting the teenager. Instead, he met law enforcement officers that placed him under arrest. A search warrant was executed at his residence where additional items were taken into evidence.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is continuing this investigation. If anyone has any information related to this case, they are urged to contact the Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes unit at (850) 983-1230 or CrimeStoppers at (850) 437-STOP.
FHP Looks For Clues In Jay Hit And Run Wreck
June 18, 2013
The Florida Highway Patrol is looking for a man they say became aggressive and fled the scene of a wreck Monday afternoon in Jay.
The FHP said the driver of a full sized pickup truck was westbound on Highway 4 approaching Booker Lane about 3:30 p.m. when he failed to stop before he rear-ended a 1997 Ford 250 waiting to make a left turn.
The driver of the first truck became verbally aggressive before fleeing the scene, according to FHP. The truck was described as a 1990’s, light brown, full sized Chevrolet type pickup. The truck has front end damage. The grill and headlight were popped out at impact, but stayed connected to the vehicle. The driver was described as a white male, 5-foot 7 inches, white male with a star tattoo around his navel.
Anyone with information on the man’s identity is asked to call Trooper J.M. Tucker at (850) 484-5000 ext 330 or email JoshuaTucker@flhsmv.gov.
The driver of the pickup that was rear-ended, 52-year old Zane B. Burkhead of Jay, was not seriously injured in the crash.
George Touart Applies For County Administrator Job
June 18, 2013
Interim County Administrator George Touart is one of 63 applicants that want to become Escambia County’s permanent administrator.
Touart was hired temporarily in November and took the post December 1 after the county commission fired Randy Oliver. Touart served as county administrator for five years, resigning amid ethics questions in 2007. All formal ethics complaints against him were dismissed.
“This would be nothing less than temporary until we could find a qualified, permanent, top shelf, class act replacement,” Commissioner Gene Valentino said as he made a motion
A five-person citizen committee has been named by the Escambia County Commission to review each of the applications and select finalists for the job.
Reptiles Invade The Molino Library; The Noise Guy Heads To Other Libraries
June 18, 2013
Participants in the West Florida Library’s Summer Reading Program had a chance to get up close and personal with some slithery snakes and more Monday afternoon at the Molino Branch Library.
The Summer Reading Program continues the rest of the week and throws out that old saying about being quiet in the library with Charlie “The Noise Guy” Williams. Programs will be held:
Monday: Main Library noon
Tuesday: Tryon Branch 1:30, Westside Branch 4:30
Wednesday: Century Branch 3:30
The 2013 Summer Reading Club will be held weekly through August 10. Children can register at any West Florida Public Library.
Pictured: A reptile demonstration at the Molino Library Monday afternoon. Submitted photos by Heather Murphy for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
One BAD Stomach Ache: Local 4-H Member Wins National Title
June 18, 2013
Izzy Kent, 10, represented Escambia County and her Barrineau Park 4-H Club at the 2013 ABGA National Boer Goat Show in West Monroe Louisiana by competing in the public speaking event.
Kent won 1st place in the Junior Division (ages 9-14) bringing home the National Public Speaking Champion title. Her topic was “One BAD Stomach Ache”, dealing with bloat among goats.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott Signs Teacher Evaluation, Sick Leave Bills
June 18, 2013
A requirement that classroom teachers only get evaluated based on the students they teach and a controversial measure that blocks local governments from requiring employers to offer paid sick leave to workers were signed into law Friday by Gov. Rick Scott.
Also signed were new benchmarks for building nuclear power plants and an effort aimed at reducing sex trafficking by cutting late-night hours at massage parlors.
After Scott departed for an economic development mission to Paris on Friday, the Governor’s office announced he had signed 60 bills and vetoed two others.
The signing of the anti-mandatory sick leave bill (HB 655) quickly drew the most reaction, with applause from statewide business interests and condemnation from those behind an Orange County ballot initiative that would have required paid sick time.
“This law ensures mandatory leave is decided at the state level and preempts union-backed efforts to have local and county governments adopt policies governing terms of employment and other wage related issues,” Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson said in a news release.
Associated Industries of Florida said the law maintains a single, statewide standard for employment benefits that keeps Florida globally competitive.
“Not only would it destroy economic growth and job creation in their own jurisdiction, it would also have a devastating chilling effect on companies considering expansion in any location in Florida for fear other jurisdictions will follow suit,” AIF President and CEO Tom Feeney said in a release.
But Stephanie Porta, a leader in the Earned Sick Time ballot initiative in Orange County, vowed the fight will continue.
“Today, Gov. Scott sided with corporations like Disney and Darden over Florida families,” Porta said.
She said the law goes against home rule, noting that more than 50,000 people signed petitions to put the issue on the August 2014 ballot.
“We look forward to working with the task force established in this legislation to recommend a statewide earned sick-time policy to the Legislature,” Porta continued. “We will also explore legal remedies to ensure voters in Orange County aren’t denied their right to vote on Earned Sick Time.”
The law creates an Employer-Sponsored Benefits Study Task Force, which is directed to analyze employment benefits.
The teacher-evaluation measure was in part a reaction to criticism, including a lawsuit, about the state’s two-year-old system of assessing teacher performance. Critics said teachers were being held accountable in the system for students they never taught.
The new law (SB 1664) requires that at least 50 percent of a classroom teacher’s or school administrator’s performance evaluation be based on the growth or achievement of the students under their charge. The other half would be based on district-determined plans.
Teachers with less than three years experience would only be judged on 40 percent of their students’ performance.
The Florida Education Association, which has spearheaded a lawsuit against the teacher-evaluation system passed in 2011, will continue to contest it in court. It called the new law a “partial fix.”
“While we’re happy this measure passed the Legislature, there is much work to be done to fix the mess created by SB 736 (the 2011 law),” FEA President Andy Ford said in a release.
The FEA continues to question how teachers will be measured if their students do not take the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and is concerned that not all teachers will be evaluated based on the subjects they teach.
Among the other bills signed Friday:
— Low-speed vehicles, (SB 62), allows street-legal, “low-speed vehicles” to be reclassified as golf carts, a move to reduce registration and insurance costs.
— Intellectual disabilities (SB 142), eliminates the term “mental retardation” from various parts of state law and replaces it with “intellectual disability.” The old term is considered offensive and outdated by advocates for people with disabilities.
— Online insurance (HB 223), allows property and casualty insurance policies and endorsements to be available on an insurer’s Internet website rather than being mailed, if agreed to by the customer.
— Aquariums, (SB 336), allows tourist development tax dollars to be used for the benefit of certain not-for-profit run museums or aquariums.
— Northeast Florida Regional Transportation Commission (SB 606), creates a regional transportation commission for Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns Counties.
— Reusable wine (HB 623), allows the sale of wine in 5.16 gallon canisters, which can be tapped like kegs, allowing easier sales of wine by the glass in restaurants and bars.
— Foster care (SB 1036), allows young adults the option of staying in foster care until age 21.
— Underground natural gas (HB 1083), sets up a permitting process for natural gas to be injected underground and stored until it is needed. Storage projects could be located in areas of southwest Florida and northwest Florida that have produced oil in the past.
— Nuclear construction fees (SB 1472), establishes new benchmarks for electric utilities that want to collect controversial fees while planning nuclear-power plants. The measure alters a 2006 law intended to encourage more nuclear power. Florida Power & Light and the former Progress Energy Florida – now Duke Energy – have used the law to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in pre-construction nuclear fees.
— Late night massages (HB 7005), prohibits the operation of massage establishments between midnight and 5 a.m., although it has exceptions for businesses such as health facilities and hotels that might offer massage services. The intent is to crack down on shady massage establishments that are fronts for sex trafficking.
Of the bills Scott vetoed, one (HB 249) would have created a public records exemption for email addresses obtained as part of voter registration applications and the other (HB 265) would have increased the annual fee on the wildflower license plate from $10 to $25.
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
BayBears Cruise To 11-1 In First Half Finale
June 18, 2013
The Mobile BayBears scored 11 unanswered runs and left no doubt as they wrapped up a first half division championship with an 11-1 clobbering of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Monday night. The win secured Mobile’s third consecutive trip to the postseason.
Trailing by one heading to the fifth, Garret Weber blasted a leadoff solo homer against Pensacola starter Josh Smith to even the score. An inning later, the BayBears loaded the bases with two outs against Smith when Nick Ahmed unloaded them with a three-run double off the wall to give Mobile a 4-1 advantage.
Even with the first half championship in hand with Mississippi’s loss to Tennessee, the BayBears kept the pressure on. In the seventh, Justin Greene drove home a run with a single, Keon Broxton brought home two with a triple and Weber added another RBI with a two-out double to give Mobile an 8-1 lead.
In the eighth, Mobile continued their offensive surge with a two-run single from Raywilly Gomez and another run scored on a wild pitch to provide the final 11-1 margin.
Meanwhile, Mobile starter David Holmberg dominated Pensacola while tossing a one-hitter. The lone hit he gave up was a solo home run to Travis Mattair in the second inning that gave the Wahoos a 1-0 advantage. The homer was Mattair’s team-leading seventh of the year and extend his hitting streak to six games and his on-base streak to 20 straight contests.
Holmberg’s complete game one-hitter featured a season-high tying eight strikeouts as he picked up his fourth win of the year.
Smith took the loss for Pensacola to fall to 5-6 as he gave up four runs (all earned) on seven hits in six innings. The bullpen was responsible for seven runs over the final three innings.
Pensacola now resets its record to 0-0 and starts the second half on the road on Wednesday in Montgomery. Tim Crabbe (2-6, 3.52) is scheduled to start for the Wahoos against the Biscuits’ Jake Thompson (6-6, 5.02). First pitch from Riverwalk Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
story by Kevin Burke
No Injuries In Early Morning Molino Wreck
June 18, 2013
There were no injuries in an early morning accident on Highway 97 near Hendricks Lane north of Dogwood Park. The driver of a Toyota Solara lost control and struck a utility pole with the rear of her vehicle about 3:30 a.m.
The accident was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol; further details were not released. The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded to the call.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Robinson: No Property Tax Increase, No Privatization Of Escambia County Jail
June 17, 2013
Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson has responded to a letter from Sheriff David Morgan that transfers control the county jail back to the county on September 1.
Robinson said, in a written letter, that he is willing to look at options except for a property tax increase to find a way to fund the understaffed jail that was the target of a Department of Justice investigation. The jail needs funding for new detention officers to comply with the DOJ findings, and, so far, there’s been no where near a consensus among commissioners as how to fund the improvements.
“I am willing to work with you and your office in any way that we can to do some temporary additions and improvements to support the jail and its administration,” Robinson wrote. “Whether that option is to look at reserve funds for additional corrections officers or suspension of raises for county employees I am very open and willing to cooperate with you.”
He goes on to say he is adamant in his position not to raise ad valorem taxes that impact both citizens and businesses recovering from “the most recent economic recession”.
Robinson said that jail privatization is not an option that he would consider at this time based upon the unsuccessful implementation of privatization in other Florida counties.
The commissioner also wrote to the sheriff that “if you believe the management of the Escambia County jail is beyond you capacity, I am willing to relieve you of your responsibility as agent”. He points out that Marion County in Florida is about to take control of their jail “to protect their vision for their county in its entirety.”
Applications Open For Southern Pine Beetle Assistance And Prevention Program
June 17, 2013
The Southern Pine Beetle Assistance and Prevention Program will accept applications from non-industrial, private forest landowners from June 14 through July 31.
The southern pine beetle is one of the most destructive forest pests in the southeast, and periodic outbreaks can rapidly kill millions of pine trees on tens of thousands of acres. The last major outbreaks in Florida occurred from 1999 to 2002, resulting in an estimated $59 million in timber losses.
“This program promotes forest management activities that increase the natural resistance of pine forests to southern pine beetle infestations,” said Jim Karels, Director of the Florida Forest Service. “Conducting these activities now will reduce the likelihood of losses from future outbreaks.”
The program, supported through a grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, offers an incentive payment for landowners who conduct a first pulpwood thinning and partial cost reimbursement for prescribed burning, mechanical underbrush treatments and planting longleaf or slash pine. Since it was first offered in 2005, the program has supported these practices on more than 120,000 acres.
The program is limited to 44 northern Florida counties located within the range of the southern pine beetle, including Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Qualified landowners may apply for no more than two approved practices per year. Funding requests may not exceed $10,000. All qualifying applications received during the submission period will be evaluated and ranked for approval.
To obtain application forms and more information on program requirements and procedures, visit a local Florida Forest Service office or click here.