ECUA, County Battle Over Trash
May 30, 2013
The Escambia County Commission took steps Wednesday directly intended to stop he Emerald Coast Utilities Authority’s plan to stop using the Perdido Landfill and divert waste to a private company.
The commission approved a moratorium on waste-to-energy facilities in the county, requiring any future such facility to receive approval from county commission. And the county will also seek proposals from waste-to-energy type firms.
The ECUA board favors a 15-year contract with Southern Waste Recovery (SWR) that would recover trash that could be converted into a fuel source.
The county, which operates the Perdido Landfill, says ECUA’s business is needed so that the landfill survives financially.
Northview Presents Student Awards
May 30, 2013
Northview High School recently presented end of the year awards to students in grades 9-11.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Awards were presented to the following:
(*HAA = Highest Academy Average)
World History Honors HAA — Megan Bryan
World History Honors Exemplary Student — Penny Banda and Julie Hester
World History HAA — Joshua Borelli
World History Exemplary — Nicholas Lambert
English II Honors HAA — Kyndall Hall
English II Honors Exemplary — Samantha Sharpless
English II HAA — Jessica McCullough
English II Exemplary Student — Cara Thompson
10th grade Reading HAA — Courtney Peebles for highest GPA and
10th grade Reading Exemplary — Jeniya Odom
9th Grade Reading HAA – Jordan Helmken and Lawrence Douglas
9th grade Reading Exemplary — Jessica Barrows
VFW Academic Excellence Award — Emily Walston
VFW Leadership Excellence Award — Kelsea Cohen
VFW Voice of Democracy — Hannah Gibson
VFW Voice of Democracy — Kyndall Hall
VFW Voice of Democracy –Samantha Sharpless
American Legion Academics — Madison Weber
American Legion Leadership — Lane Carnley
READ 180
READ 180 HAA — Destiny Stevens
READ 180 Exemplary — Brianna Taylor
English I Honors HAA — Jessica Amerson
English I Honors Exemplary — Moriah McGahan
9th Regular English I HAA — Lawrence Douglas
9th Regular English I Exemplary — Elizabeth Sanders
Guitar HAA –Austin Adams,
Exemplary — Hunter Dettling
Band HAA — Taylor Brook
Band Exemplary — Kent Smith
Integrated Science HAA — Alliyiah Henderson
Integrated Science Exemplary — Destiny Stevens
Physical Science Honors HAA — Jessica Amerson
Environmental Science HAA — Madison Arrington and Courtney Weaver
Environmental Science Exemplary — Olivia Neal and Chelsea Ward
Spanish 1 HAA — Jessica Amerson, E
Spanish 1 Exemplary — Jordan Taylor
Spanish 2 HAA — Mashama Codrington,
Spanish 2 Exemplary — Marina Gray
Highest GPA chemistry honors Courtney Solari
Exceptional student Jeremy Stacey
Highest GPA chemistry Marina Gray
Exceptional student MashamaCodrington
Pre-calculus: Exemplary Student—MashamaCodrington
Algebra 2 HAA — ikaela Santos
Algebra 2 Exemplary — Kevin Barrow and Alexandria Martin
Algebra 2 Honors HAA — Courtney Solari
Algebra 2 Honors Exemplary — Kyndall Hall
Algebra 1A HAA — Madison Lundy
Algebra 1A Exemplary — Elizabeth Sanders
U.S. History HAA — Mashama Codrington
U.S. History Exemplary – Courtney Weaver
Geometry HAA: Megan Bryan
Geometry Exemplary — Kendal Cobb and Kamryn Brock
Geometry Honors HAA – Jessica Amerson
Geometry Honors Exemplary — Madison Weber
College Readiness HAA – Skye Brown
Family & Consumer Science HAA – Bethany Reynolds
Family & Consumer Science Exemplary — Haylee Weaver and Lawrence Douglas
U.S. History Honors HAA — Courtney Solari
Biology Honors HAA — Kyndall Hall
Physical Science HAA — Sarah Dutton
Physical Science Exemplary — Sykeema McConnico
Biology HAA — E’layzha Bates and Addy Lee
Biology Exemplary — Courtney Peebles
Algebra 1 HAA — MoriahMcGahan
Algebra 1 Exemplary — Lawrence Douglas
Algebra 1B — Kristen Byrd
PE 11th – Holden Moore
PE 10th – Lane Carnley
PE 9th – James Ates
English III Honors HAA and Exemplary — Courtney Solari
English III HAA — Jessica Brown
English III Exemplary — Olivia Neal
2-D Art
HAA
9th – Harmoni Till
10th – Breanna Payne
11th – Olivia Neal
Exemplary
9th – Elizabeth Sanders
10th – Beka Carpenter
11th – Natasha Peebles
3-D Art
HAA
9th – Elizabeth Sanders
10th Angelique Brown
11th – Rebecca Grim
Exemplary
9th – Laurie Purdy
10th Angelique Brown
11th – Montana Ard
Painting/Drawing HAA — Mallory Ryan
Painting/Drawing Exemplary — Annie Bobo
Ag Outstanding Freshman- Haylee Weaver
Ag Outstanding Sophomore- Tiffani Cruce
Ag Outstanding Junior- Courtney Solari
Scott Signs Citizens Insurance Bill Amid Continued Controversy
May 30, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday signed a plan to make changes at Citizens Property Insurance Corp., as officials from the state-backed insurer continued trying to defuse a controversy about a deal to shift policies to a private company.
Scott quickly signed the measure (SB 1770), which legislative leaders sent to his desk Tuesday. It includes a series of steps aimed at reducing the number of homeowners getting coverage from Citizens, such as setting up what is described as a “clearinghouse” where private insurers could intercept policies that otherwise would wind up with Citizens.
The governor, in a statement issued by his office, also pointed to part of the bill that will lead to Scott and Cabinet members appointing an inspector general for Citizens. That move came after reports last year about what Scott described as “egregious” travel expenses among some Citizens officials and the shutdown of an internal compliance office.
“This legislation will bring much needed reforms to better protect the taxpayers who support Citizens Property Insurance,” Scott said in the statement.
The announcement of the bill-signing came as a Citizens committee discussed efforts to try to steer policies into the private insurance market — and a controversial deal approved last week that could funnel up to $52 million to St. Petersburg-based Heritage Property and Casualty Insurance, which would take out as many as 60,000 policies from Citizens.
The deal has been criticized by people such as House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, who issued a statement Friday raising concerns about the payments and a lack of notice about the deal, saying it was “hastily pushed through.” Scott on Wednesday also objected to the way Citizens made the decision, calling for at least seven days notice of such issues.
Citizens President and Chief Executive Officer Barry Gilway agreed with Scott that the state-backed insurer needs to do a better job of communicating about major initiatives, though he said staff members in the past have struggled with how early to present information about potential deals. Also, Citizens officials said they were trying to get the Heritage deal finished quickly so the company could take over policies before the main part of hurricane season.
But Jeff Grady, president of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, said a lack of information can cause problems with the appearance of such deals.
“There is a point in time in that process to advise — at least advise,” said Grady, who serves as a technical adviser to the Citizens committee that met Wednesday, known as the Depopulation Committee.
During the meeting, Gilway and Citizens Chief Financial Officer Sharon Binnun focused on the insurer’s broader efforts to reduce its number of policies.
As of April 30, Citizens had nearly 1.3 million policies — making it the state’s largest property insurer — but Gilway said it could have had about 1.8 million if Citizens hadn’t aggressively worked to move policies into the private market. Insurance-industry officials and many state leaders have long argued that the large concentration of policies in Citizens would pose a huge financial risk if a major hurricane hits.
Gilway said Citizens should work with private companies so they can remove the best policies, ultimately leaving Citizens as the so-called insurer of last resort for homes that cannot get coverage elsewhere. But Gilway took issue with questions about whether private insurers should be able to “cherry pick” the best Citizens policies.
“My answer to that is absolutely — the companies should be cherry-picking,” Gilway said.
The bill signed Wednesday by Scott includes steps to try to move policies and risks away from Citizens. Along with creating the clearinghouse, for example, it would prevent Citizens from covering new homes in high-risk, environmentally sensitive coastal areas.
By The News Service of Florida
Appeals Court Rules On State Employee Drug Testing
May 30, 2013
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered a lower-court judge to reconsider her order blocking a program that would subject all state employees to random drug testing, but left little doubt that the plan would be found unconstitutional with regards to many state workers.
The 61-page ruling, which left both sides declaring victory, essentially overturned the decision by U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro but also seemed to endorse the views of the union that sued to block Gov. Rick Scott’s drug-testing executive order.
Writing for a three-judge panel at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Stanley Marcus wrote that Ungaro was right to find the law troublesome, but said she went too far in barring the state from testing all 85,000 employees affected by the executive order.
“The district court, confronted with a suspicionless drug testing policy that almost certainly sweeps far too broadly and hence runs afoul of the Fourth Amendment in many of its applications, granted relief that also swept too broadly and captured both the policy’s constitutional applications and its unconstitutional ones,” he wrote.
Marcus said some employees, such as those who carry weapons or operate heavy machinery, could likely be tested because of safety concerns — if the state can justify those tests. But the ruling also made clear that some workers would likely be shielded from the tests.
“Just as we know that some subset of state employees almost certainly can be tested due to specific, important safety concerns, we know that there are some employees who almost certainly cannot be tested without individualized suspicion,” Marcus wrote.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which brought the lawsuit, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida called on the state to drop the case.
“It would be foolish of the governor to continue pushing to implement his across-the-board drug testing regime when the court clearly states that, under the Fourth Amendment, many of the individuals covered by the executive order cannot be subjected to invasive and humiliating searches just because they are government employees,” said Shalini Goel Agarwal, a staff attorney for the ACLU who led the case. “We look forward to returning to the district court where the Governor will have to show how each of his 85,000 employees presents a serious safety risk in order to test them.”
But in a statement issued late Wednesday, Scott emphasized the court’s decision to overturn Ungaro’s order and suggested the fight will continue.
“The Court did the right thing today by reversing the injunction on our executive order for drug testing state employees,” Scott said. “We will go forward in arguing this case in both the appellate and trial courts in order to ensure that taxpayer funds are safeguarded from misuse by ensuring our state workforce is drug free.”
By The News Service of Florida
Florida Executes Man For 1990 Rape And Murder
May 30, 2013
Convicted murderer Elmer Leon Carroll was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, the Department of Corrections announced.
Earlier in the day the U.S. Supreme Court had rejected a last-ditch attempt for a stay of the death warrant that had been signed April 17 by Gov. Rick Scott. Carroll, 56, was convicted in the 1990 rape and murder of 10-year-old Christine McGowan after breaking into her Apopka home.
He was the first of three death row inmates in Florida – William Van Poyck and Marshall Lee Gore are the others – scheduled for lethal injection within the next six weeks.
Wahoos Split Twin Bill
May 30, 2013
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos were held scoreless by the Jacksonville Suns through the first 12 innings of Wednesday’s doubleheader, but strung together a pair of doubles in the last of the sixth in game two of the twin-bill and hung on for a 1-0 win at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
Bryson Smith led off the last of the sixth with a double down the left field line and came around to score a batter later on David Vidal’s double to left. The run snapped a 15-inning scoreless streak for Pensacola and gave the Wahoos their second win in the first three games of the series.
Lee Hyde (2-4) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief of spot starter Shaun Ellis. In his first career start in affiliated baseball, Ellis tossed four scoreless frames while fanning a career-high four batters. Drew Hayes pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the seventh to nail down his second save.
Jacksonville took game one, 1-0, to snap its five-game losing streak. The Suns lone run was unearned as Noah Perio reached on a leadoff error by Brodie Greene and scored on a two-out single by Major League rehabber Logan Morrison in the third inning. The error was the first blunder of the season by the Wahoos second baseman.
Pensacola had numerous chances to win the game as the Wahoos left 10 runners on base in the seven-inning contest. Pensacola had runners on second and third with one out in the fifth, bases loaded with two outs in the sixth, and the bags packed with one out in the seventh but couldn’t push across a run. Pensacola was 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, but runners were held at third on both base hits.
Ryan Dennick dropped to a hard-luck 2-5 despite yielding just an unearned run on two hits in five frames. Sam Dyson (2-4) fired five two-hit innings for the win for Jacksonville while Michael Brady picked up his 10th save of the year by putting out the fire in the seventh with a pop out and a strikeout.
The series continues on Thursday night with a 7:00 p.m. first pitch. Daniel Renken (1-3, 4.03) gets the start for the Wahoos while the Suns will counter with Robert Morey (1-1, 3.59).
story by Kevin Burke
Cantonment Couple Accused Of Child Neglect
May 29, 2013
A Cantonment couple is behind bars, accused of allowing their children to live in squalor with no electricity or running water.
Sheena Renee Goins, 30, and Bruce Christopher Forste, 35, were both charged with three counts of felony child neglect. They remained in the Escambia County Jail early Wednesday morning with bond set at $30,000 each.
The children were allegedly living in a home in the 1300 block of Woodfield Drive in Cantonment with no electricity and no running water. Neighbors said the children would cross the street to get water from a house that’s currently up for sale. Deputies said the house was in a mess and covered in animal feces. The only food in the house was reportedly canned beans, rice and coffee grounds.
The kids, ages 9, 11 and 13, are in the care of a local pastor.
Suspicious Fire Destroys Mobile Home And Travel Trailer
May 29, 2013
A suspicious Fire destroyed a travel trailer and mobile home Tuesday night near Bratt. It did not immediately appear that either of the structures in the 3400 block of Highway 168 were occupied or had electric power.
The fire was reported about 10:30 p.m. by a passerby. Both trailers are located several hundred feet off the roadway through a wooded area . When firefighters arrived, the mobile home and travel trailer has already burned to the ground and sparked a brush fire.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the fires.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Bratt Elementary Presents K-2 Academic Awards
May 29, 2013
Bratt Elementary School has presented the following academic awards to students in grades K-2:
KINDERGARTEN
Outstanding Citizenship Award
Noah Faulkner
Colton Criswell
Kylie Davis
Aaliyah Fountain
Ally Richardson
Progress Award
Landon Etheridge
Reece Starns
Justin Kinley
Brayden Reaves
Payton Daw
Jaquorious Burt
Markavia Johnson
Zakyla Smith
Outstanding Attendance
DeMonte Ewing
Zi’don Smith
Hezekiah Elliott
Mary Catherine Hughes
Colby Pugh
Chris Weber
P.E. Award
Noah Faulkner
Jamison Gilman
Grant Wise
Ally Richardson
Music Award
Crista Kinley
Laura Laborde
Shelby Ward
Kaya Mason
Art Award
Ja’mya Thomas
Amber Whitehurst
Callie Davis
Ashlynn Cabral
Art Show
Ally Richardson
Jacee Dortch
Kayla McCall
Kaya Mason
FIRST & SECOND GRADES
Honor Roll A’s & B’s
Sara Amerson
Leah Berry
Riley Blackwell
Kyle Blanton
Malachi Bolen
Allie Brantley
Macie Buford
Paris Burt
Landon Chavers
Irmani Dixon
Kaden Dove
Tyteanna Dubose
Gage Eicher
Alexis Evans
Jamyla Feagin
Kailey Fisher
Kohle Harigel
Summer Harrell
Tatum Hasting
Joshlynn Helton
Jacob Hughes
Ji’Keir Hudson
Trent Knighten
Sarah Long
Houston Lowry
Tobias Madison
Braeden McGhee
Megan Mcghee
Landon Mooney
Blaize Parrish
Carter Sigafoose
Arquavian Smith
Alyssa Stabler
Jaimee Taylor
Raycer Watson
T’ahna Wesley
Connor Wolfe
Academic Achievement All A’s
Rabekah Abbott
Raegan Abbott
Erich Amerson
Sarah Bailey
Brody Black
Olivia Boatwright
Sarah Branch
Luke Bridges
Aiden Broadhead
Abbie Buford
Emilee Cabral
Kadence Calvert
Carsyn Dortch
Ryan Dove
Scotty Elliott
Zykuria Fountain
Caitlyn Gibson
David Gilley
J.P.Gilman
Emma Gilmore
Maggie Godwin
Ava Gurganus
Berklee Hall
Tucker Hall
Leah Hetrick
Hunter Johnson
Allyson Jones
Gage Lambert
Kennedy Long
Bailie Merchant
Angel Schoonover
Mckenna Simmons
Aubrey Stuckey
Bentley Van Pelt
Clay Wilson
Kendall Wise
Progress Award
Denise Andrews
Kyle Blanton
Anastasia Bryan
Kyra Bryan
Nathaniel Crenshaw
Malonie Curry
Makayla Dove
Gage Eicher
Daelyn Fine
Devon Lambert
Caden Peterson
Jacob Reid
Allison Rogalski
Bryson Sanders
Anna Spence
Jayda Walker
John Michael Ward
Da’Mius Wesley
Outstanding Attendance
Rabekah Abbott
Raegan Abbott
Riley Blackwell
Kyle Blanton
Sarah Branch
Anastasia Bryan
Malonie Curry
Irmani Dixon
Tatyanna Findley
Kohle Harigel
A’laysha Huff
Allyson Jones
Jaquez Moorer
Allison Rogalski
Bryson Sanders
Kameron Spears
David Stokes
Outstanding Citizenship Award
Drew Albritton
Sarah Bailey
Abbie Buford
Rosa Carter
Berklee Hall
Tucker Hall
Ji’keir Hudson
Jaquez Moorer
Angel Schoonover
Aubrey Stuckey
Bentley Van Pelt
P.E. Award
Rabekah Abbott
Chloe Criswell
Carsyn Dortch
Emma Gilmore
Berklee Hall
Tucker Hall
Kohle Harigel
Ji’keir Hudson
McKenna Simmons
Music Award
Drew Albritton
Riley Blackwell
Paris Burt
Hunter Johnson
Jaquez Moorer
Mandell Smith
Vivyan Smith
So’Lae Trotter
Connor Wolfe
Art Award
Brody Black
Luke Bridges
Emilee Cabral
Kadence Calvert
Mayson Edwards
Alexis Evans
Zykuria Fountain
Jacob Hughes
Devon Lambert
Art Show
Elijah Amerson
Sophia Bailey
Makayla Dove
Mayson Edwards
Jamyla Feagin
Kailey Fisher
Zykuria Fountain
Kohle Harigel
Jacob Hughes
Allyson Jones
Trent Knighten
Torian Richardson
Aubrey Stuckey
Kendall Wise
Northview Honors Baseball Standouts
May 29, 2013
The Northview High School Chiefs honored their varsity and junior varsity baseball teams Tuesday night during their annual banquet at Lake Stone in Century.
Individual awards were presented by Coach Marty Lister as follows:
- Offensive Player Award — Brannon Freeman
- Defensive Player Award — Jody Bonner
- Chief Award — Ryan Lambert
- Spiritual Leadership Award — Chad Smith
- Pitching Award — Daulton Tullus
- Rookie Award — Thomas Moore
- Rookie Award — Chasen Freeman
- Most Valuable Player Award — Kevin Vaughan
The eight graduating seniors from the varsity team were presented with a gift and their jerseys. And the Tommy Weaver Scholarship was presented to Winston Riley by Northview Principal Gayle Weaver.
Pictured top: Jody Bonner, Kevin Vaughan and Daulton Tullis. Pictured below: Chason Freeman, Thomas Moore and Brannon Freeman. Pictured inset: Tommy Weaver Scholarship winner Winston Riley with Northview Principal Gayle Weaver. Pictured bottom: Scenes from the Northview High School Baseball Banquet Tuesday night at Lake Stone in Century. NorthEscambia.com photos by Ramona Preston, click to enlarge.
