Southwest Airlines To Serve Pensacola; Add Flights To Nashville, Houston
May 7, 2013
Southwest Airlines will begin services at the Pensacola International Airport later this year.
In 2011, Southwest completed the purchase of AirTran Airways, which has served Pensacola since 2001. Southwest announced in January 2012 that it intended to convert Pensacola’s AirTran operations to Southwest over time. This morning, Southwest announced their flight schedule for the remainder of 2013, including nonstop service from Pensacola to Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) and Nashville International Airport (BNA), slated to begin by November.
As a result of its decision to transition Atlanta from a hub to a focus city, Southwest is expected to phase out service from Pensacola to Atlanta. The new Southwest service will represent a 22% increase in seat capacity over AirTran’s existing service, and the number of one-stop destinations served will increase from 53 to 65.
“Today’s announcement is a tremendous victory for our community,” said Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward. “Pensacola is driving economic development, tourism, and transportation across the region, and I believe this partnership with Southwest will help take us to new heights.”
Pictured top: Greg Donovan, director of the Pensacola International Airport and Mayor Ashton Hayward Tuesday morning as they announced that Southwest Airlines will serve Pensacola. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
$500K Savings: Escambia To Privatize School Nurses, Health Techs
May 7, 2013
The Escambia County School District is set to privatize school health services next school year due to cutbacks at the Escambia County Health Department.
School nurses and health technicians in Escambia County schools have been outsourced through the health department for years. But beginning next year, the district plans to outsource medical staff through a private company, PSA Healthcare. The move is expected to save the school district about a half million dollars per year, according to Superintendent Malcolm Thomas.
“We will have health techs in every school,” Thomas said. Additionally, there will be 15 nurses, seven of which will serve a regional cluster of schools. “It’s the same arrangement we currently have with the health department.”
School nurses and health techs were notified last week that their jobs with the health department were being cut. Those employees will be offered jobs with PSA, Thomas said.
A contract between the Escambia County School District and PSA Healthcare is in the legal review stage and will be presented to the Escambia County School School Board for approval in May or June.
Cantonment Man Critically Injured In Santa Rosa I-10 Crash
May 7, 2013
A Cantonment man was critically injured in a single vehicle accident Monday night on I-10 in Santa Rosa County.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 50-year old Robert Merrill McGhee, Jr., was eastbound on I-10 when he entered the grass median at a high rate of speed in an attempt to pass vehicles in the eastbound travel lane. McGhee lost control of his 1993 Mercedes in the median, crossed over the travel lanes of I-10 and slid across a grassy area into multiple trees.
The FHP said McGhee traveled about 500 feet in the median before he lost control.
McGhee was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. Charges against him are pending, the FHP said.
One Injured In Brentwood Shooting
May 7, 2013
A shooting Monday in Escambia County is under investigation.
A man was reportedly shot numerous times in the abdomen on Rosalyn Way near Palm Court in the Brentwood area, just a few blocks from the North Palafox Street and Beverly Parkway intersection.
The man was transported to a local hospital ambulance. His name and condition were not available early Tuesday morning. Further details have not been released by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Small Farms Spring Field Day To Focus On Food Production
May 7, 2013
UF/IFAS county extension agents and the UF/IFAS West Florida Research and Education Center have joined efforts to provide relevant hands on training for the small farmers of northwest Florida and surrounding areas through the Gulf Coast Small Farms and Alternative Enterprises program.
The spring field day will be a sneak peek for what the program will offer in the coming months and years. Attendees on Friday, May 10 can discover new production practices and opportunities for small farms.
Training topics include irrigation practices, small farms integrated pest management, hydroponic float bed lettuce, protected ag and food safety issues for the small farm.
Registration and check-in on Friday will begin at 8:30 a.m. , with the event itself beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 1:30 p.m. The training will be held at the UF/IFAS West Florida Research and Education Center located at 4253 Experiment Road in Jay. The $25 registration fee includes lunch For a complete listing of speaker topics or to register online, visit gulfcoastsmallfarmsandalternativeenterprises.eventbrite.com.
For more information call Robin Vickers at (850) 983-5216 ext. 113 or email rvickers@ufl.edu.
Florida Judge: Horse Barrel Racing License For Poarch Creeks Violates State Law
May 7, 2013
Clarification: In this story Monday, The News Service of Florida incorrectly said, based on information from the source, that the parent company of Gretna Racing would appeal a DOAH ruling saying its license was invalid. Neither Gretna Racing, nor its parent company PCI Gaming, was actually a party to the case, and thus has no apparent standing to appeal. An intervenor in the case is the Florida Quarter Horse Track Association, which shares leadership with Gretna, and of which Gretna Racing is a member. The actual party which lost was the state Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering.
Horse barrel racing at a Poarch Band of Creek Indians facility in Gretna, Fla., shouldn’t have been approved by a state agency for wagering in Florida, an administrative law judge ruled Monday.
Since the Legislature has not approved the unique form of pari-mutuel horse racing, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, violated state statute when approving the license in October 2011 – renewed in March 2012 – for Gretna Racing, in Gadsden County, to run the contests, the judge ruled.
“The Division’s issuance of an operating license to Gretna Racing unmistakably implemented and unambiguously communicated a significant new policy, which is that (barrel match racing) is a licensable pari-mutuel wagering activity,” Division of Administrative Hearings Judge John Van Laningham wrote in an order signed Monday.
State law says rulemaking is not a matter of agency discretion.
Van Laningham added that since the Legislature has not clearly authorized pari-mutuel wagering on barrel match racing, the “policy behind Gretna Racing’s license, therefore, is the division’s own policy.”
“While we are disappointed with the technical issue identified by the judge in his ruling which will impede the continuation of the racing format currently being conducted in Gretna, we are pleased that the vast majority of the claims by the (Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association) were dismissed by the administrative law judge,” Creek Entertainment Gretna spokeswoman Allison North Jones said. “We intend to make the requisite modification to the racing to comply with the judge’s order while we appeal its arbitrariness.”
The administrative ruling doesn’t impact the current race schedule at Gretna, about 25 miles west of Tallahassee. But, the ruling could become an issue when the license is up in 2014.
The state department, along with the Florida Quarter Horse Track Association, an industry group tied with Gretna Racing, had defended the license during the hearings, arguing that the law doesn’t define how quarter horse races must be run.
A spokeswoman for the state department said Van Laningham’s ruling was being reviewed.
“I think our review will help us answer whatever questions we have about the ruling,” said department spokeswoman Sandi Copes Poreda.
Marc Dunbar, an attorney who represents the Florida Quarter Horse Track Association and Gretna Racing, was not immediately available to comment on what the decision means for racing in Gretna.
Wesley Cox, chairman of the North Florida Horsemen’s Association, which races horses at Gretna, said that only technical changes will be needed to acquire future licenses.
“We are pleased this ruling means that the North Florida Horsemen will be allowed to continue conducting races and reap the benefits of racing at Gretna,” Cox said in a release.
A release from Florida Quarter Horse Racing, the Florida Quarter Horse Breeders and Owners association, praised the ruling for protecting the state’s horse racing industry and for rejecting the “outright hijack of Florida’s legislative and regulatory process by a few special interests.”
“As this audacious case has dragged on, our policymakers have come to realize what we horsemen knew all along – that Gretna Racing LLC’s ‘pari-mutuel barrel racing’ was simply the pilot project to bypass state and federal laws that protect and ensure integrity in the wagering and racing product throughout America,” Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association President Steve Fisch said in the release.
The ruling comes as the state is embarking on a $388,845 two-part study on the potential future of gambling in Florida that is expected to be the basis of major legislation in 2014.
The quarter horse associations and one individual argued that state law only allows pari-mutuel facilities to offer more traditional forms of horse racing – thoroughbred, harness and quarter-horse sprints.
Those races are run with multiple horses competing side-by-side on a flat, oval racetrack from a single starting gate to a common finish line.
Gretna’s barrel racing was set up as a challenge of speed and agility, with contestants running cloverleaf patterns individually on neighboring obstacle courses. The outcome is determined by time. A five second penalty is added for hitting a barrel.
The associations feared Gretna’s brand of racing, using fewer horses and requiring less land, could drive out the traditional quarter horse racing from the state.
Also, the horse association argued that the barrel races were simply a way for Creek Entertainment Gretna, which includes the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, to operate a poker room and possibly add slot machines in the future at Gretna.
Voters in Gadsden County in January 2011 approved a measure aimed at allowing slot machine permits at Creek Entertainment Gretna. But Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an advisory opinion at the time declaring Florida law doesn’t allow slot machines at pari-mutuel facilities outside Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Gretna Racing initially applied for a permit to operate a quarter horse track in Gretna in 2008.
In September, 2011, Gretna began communicating with the agency regarding the novel barrel racing format, something that had never before been licensed or regulated as a pari-mutuel event.
Van Laningham called the decision “the product of a deliberative process, in which Gretna Racing had been afforded opportunities to explain in detail the type of contest it proposed to stage.”
“Although this was the first time that the Division had been called upon to review BMR as a potential pari-mutuel event, the division’s decision to permit gambling on BMR was not a mistake, nor was it tentative or provisional,” Van Laningham wrote.
by The News Service of Florida
Century Council Honors Northview’s State Ranked Weightlifters
May 7, 2013
The Century Town Council presented proclamations Monday night honoring two Northview High School weightlifting team members that recently placed at the state 1-A finals in Kissimmee.
LaMikal Kyles finished eighth in the state in the 183-pound class with a total of 560 pounds, an improvement over his 535 pound total at regionals. Kyles, weighing in at 172.5 pounds, had a bench press of 310 pounds and a clean jerk of 250 pounds — all personals bests.
In the 199-pound class, Arkelle Elliot finished 11th in the state with a total of 575 pounds. Weighing in at 198.9 pounds, Elliot had a best bench press of 330 pounds and a clean jerk of 245 pounds — all matching his personal best records.
Pictured top are Northview Assistant Principal Gerry Pippins, Principal Gayle Weaver, Football Head Coach Sid Wheatley, LaMikal Kyles, Mayor Freddie McCall and NHS Coach Derek Marshman at Monday night’s Century Town Council meeting. Pictured below are the same individuals with Arkelle Elliot. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
1970 Chevy Chevelle Takes ‘Best Of Show’ At Century’s Sawmill Day
May 7, 2013
A 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle owned by Jerry Dawson was the Best of Show winner in Saturday’s car show at Century’s Sawmill Day.
Other trophy and prize winners were:
- Diane Van Leer, 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air
- Eric Uptegrove, Chevy Corvette Roadster Convertible
- Freddie McCall, 1930 Model A
- Gene Sims, 1965 Mercury Comet
- Gerald Dubose, 1940 Chevrolet
- Jean Yale, Chevrolet SSR
- Joe Pecjak, 1967 International Harvester
- John Henderson, 1947 Ford
- Louis Tharp, 1966 Corvette
- Peggy Lynn, 1966 Mustang
- Ramon Renfro, Mitshubishi
- Will & Rita Adams, 1966 Volkswagen
- Buddy Lynn, 1963 ½ Ford Galaxie, Best Interior
- Joe Linzy, 1958 Ford Hardtop Convertible, Best Paint
- Donnie Carlisle, 1970 Mustang, Best Engine
Fore more photos from the Sawmill Day and Car Show, click here.
Pictured top: Jerry Dawson’s 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle was the Best of Show winner at Saturday’s Century Sawmill Day. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Two Charged In Molino Murder
May 7, 2013
Two people are now behind bars charged with the murder of a Santa Rosa County man – a murder that one suspect says happened in Molino.
The body of Harvey Ray Smith, age 43 of Pace, was found stuffed into a trunk behind a Motel 6 on Davis Highway Saturday morning. Smith had been reported missing in Santa Rosa County. Family members located his vehicle at the motel and then discovered the body.
Deborah Leanne Burge, age 22 of Highway 97, Molino, was booked into the Escambia County Jail Sunday night on charges of homicide and robbery in connection with the man’s death. Zachary Vance Greer, 22, was arrested Monday night by U.S. Marshals and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. He is being held in the Santa Rosa County Jail on a charge of homicide and robbery. He will returned to Escambia County after a first appearance in Santa Rosa County.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said third person sought by deputies earlier Monday, Lauren Rockwell, is no longer a person of interest.
Report state Burge and Greer conspired to rob Smith. Burge allegedly lured Smith, her acquaintance, to her home in the 3900 block of Highway 97 in Molino. She told deputies she went inside while Smith and Greer remained outside. When she later exited the home, she found Smith on the ground bleeding. She told Sheriff’s investigators that Greer told her he killed Smith and put his body in the trunk of the car that was later driven to the Motel 6 on Davis Highway in Pensacola.
Further details about the Smith’s death have not yet been released by the Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Barrineau Park Historical Society Awards Scholarships
May 7, 2013
The Barrineau Park Historical Society has presented three scholarships to area students.
(Scroll down for details below each photo.)
Jonathon Rogers received a $1,000 academic scholarship from the Barrineau Park Historical Society. He plans to pursue a career in the medical field. Presenting the check is Andrea Byars, one of the first BPHS scholarship winners.
Marcus Baker won the Stephen G. Jogan Memorial scholarship worth $1000 to further his education. He plans to major in music education and become a local high school music teacher. His scholarship was awarded by BPHS President Craig Exner.
Tristan Baker received the Lynda Minchew Memorial scholarship. He plans to use the $500 scholarship to further his plans to enter the ministry. The scholarship was presented by Minchew’s daughter Kristen Dodd and son Brian Dodd.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.