West All-Stars Win In Softball, Baseball
May 24, 2013
The West beat the East Thursday night in the Subway All-Star Softball Game at the University of West Florida, 4-3. It was the first time in many years that high school seniors of the West, representing Escambia County, beat the East girls from Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties.
Jessica Brigg of West Florida High School was named the West MVP. The West was coached by Amy Holland of the Northview Chiefs.
In the Subway All-Star Baseball game, the West of Escambia County beat the east 13-6 for the West’s first win in seven years.
Pictured top: West All-Star Coach Amy Holland (second from right) with Northiew All-Star players (L-R) Shaquanna Jones, Ariel Holland, Misty Doran and Morgan Payne. Pictured below: The 2013 Subway West All-Star Softball team. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
NOAA Predicts Active 2013 Hurricane Season
May 24, 2013
In its 2013 Atlantic hurricane season outlook issued Thursday, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is forecasting an active or extremely active season this year.
For the six-month hurricane season, which begins June 1, NOAA’s Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook says there is a 70 percent likelihood of 13 to 20 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which 7 to 11 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of 111 mph or higher).
These ranges are well above the seasonal average of 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes.
“With the devastation of Sandy fresh in our minds, and another active season predicted, everyone at NOAA is committed to providing life-saving forecasts in the face of these storms and ensuring that Americans are prepared and ready ahead of time.” said Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D., NOAA acting administrator. “As we saw first-hand with Sandy, it’s important to remember that tropical storm and hurricane impacts are not limited to the coastline. Strong winds, torrential rain, flooding, and tornadoes often threaten inland areas far from where the storm first makes landfall.”
Cleaning Fluid Causes Massachusetts Avenue Hazmat Scare
May 24, 2013
A large drum of a cleaning solution caused a hazardous materials scare Thursday on Massachusetts Avenue, about a block from Montclair Elementary School.
The orange 55-gallon drum was believed to have fallen off a truck just before noon, landing near some railroad tracks. About a half dozen homes were evacuated as a precaution as officials worked to determine exactly what was in the leaking drum. Some residents reported a strong chemical odor.
There were no injuries reported.
The hazmat scene closed down roads in the area for a couple of hours. An investigation is now underway by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Pictured top: An Escambia County Fire Rescue Hazmat team on scene of a chemical spill Thursday afternoon on Massachusetts Avenue. Pictured below: A decontamination area is set up in the parking of University Auto Recyclers. Reader submitted photos by Edwin Schaff for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Alabama’s Jo Bonner Resigns From Congress
May 24, 2013
Alabama Congressman Jo Bonner announced Thursday that he is retiring effect August 15 in order to take a newly-created position at the University of Alabama System. Bonner has held his congressional seat since 2003.
“I trust you know that serving as your congressman this past decade has truly been one of the highest honors of my life,” Bonner said. “While I had every intention of completing this term, sometimes opportunities come along that are so rare – and so special – that it forces you to alter even your best-made plans.”
Bonner will serve as the vice chancellor for government relations and economic development with the college system, reporting directly to UA System Chancellor Robert Witt. He is a 1982 Alabama graduate, and Judy Bonner, his older sister, was named presented of the university last November.
Bonner’s 1st Congressional District includes Mobile, Baldwin, Monroe, Jackson, Clarke and Escambia counties in Alabama. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley will set a date for a special election to replace Bonner.
“Jo is one of the hardest working legislators and a close friend for whom I have a great deal of respect. Over the last decade I have had the privilege of working closely with him on a bevy of issues that affect the Florida and Alabama Gulf Coast,” Florida Congressman Jeff Miller said Thursday afternoon, applauding Bonner’s work on issues including Hurricane Ivan recovery, the BP oil spill and new Airbus facility in Mobile.
“Jo has been a friend not only to me, but to the many people whose lives he has touched across the State of Alabama and the entire Gulf Coast. I will miss his commonsense approach to legislating and his unquestionable integrity. My wife Vicki and I wish Jo and Janée all the best in this new chapter in their lives,” Miller said.
Pictured: Alabama Congressman Jo Bonner during a town hall meeting last year in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Lookouts Come Back For 5-3 Win Over Wahoos
May 24, 2013
The Chattanooga Lookouts scored four runs in the eighth inning to down the Blue Wahoos 5-3 in the series opener at AT&T Field in Chattanooga on Thursday night. Pensacola scored a run in top of the inning to claim a brief one-run advantage before the Lookouts responded in the bottom of the frame.
Chattanooga struck first in the bottom of the first inning when Miguel Rojas scored from second on an RBI single by Blake Smith. An error by first baseman Joe Mather on a throw from third kept the inning alive resulting in the run being ruled unearned.
Pensacola answered with run in the top of the second when Brodie Greene singled home Devin Lohman from second base to tie the game at one. The game stayed tied until Bryson Smith delivered a bases loaded two-out single scoring Tucker Barnhart from third.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Lookouts tied the game when Rojas scored from second on a base hit by Yasiel Puig. After an intential walk loaded the bases, C.J. Retherford drove home two with a double to the right field corner putting the Lookouts up for good. Their final run scored from third on a caught stealing by J.T. Wise.
Travis Mattair provided a solo home run in the top of the ninth, but that was all the Wahoos would get before the Dodgers rehabbing reliever Scott Elbert retired the side to close out the game and earn the save.
Pensacola collected a season-high 14 hits, 12 of which were singles. Ryan LaMarre’s third inning double was the other in addition to Mattair’s home run. The Blue Wahoos matched a season-high with 12 runners left on base. Pensacola has also tied a season-high with five straight losses.
Despite pitching six innings and allowing just one unearned run, Chad Rogers took a no-decision. He struck out three, walked one and allowed just three hits. Loek Van Mil (L, 0-2) was charged with all four Lookout runs in the eighth to take the loss. Hector Nelo earned the win out of the Lookouts bullpen despite pitching just one out.
The two teams continue the series on Friday night. The Blue Wahoos will send LHP Ryan Dennick to the mound against Lookouts LHP Chris Reed. First pitch is set for 6:15 p.m.
story by Kevin Burke
Our View: Century Council Shouldn’t Be Firing Squad
May 24, 2013
The Century Town Council was forced to seat itself as a “firing squad” of sorts Thursday afternoon, terminating a lower level employee with an attendance problem.
The employee, even by his own accounts, was repeatedly late for work in the mornings and late returning from lunch, and numerous times over recent weeks he simply failed to show for work without calling his supervisors. The employee agreed with Mayor Freddie McCall that his termination after over four years of employment was justified after he had already received fair warnings and reprimands.
Under Century’s own employment rules and regulations, the mayor is the town’s top boss, but the mayor can’t fire an employee without a vote of the town council. And, under those same town rules, the Mayor can’t make his termination recommendation known until a special meeting of the firing squad — the town council — begins.
Florida’s Sunshine Laws stipulate that public notice be given prior to all special council meetings, which, of course, draws the local media. Now the afternoon show with the employee in the cross hairs of the firing squad has turned into a public spectacle.
We understand and appreciate that employment records in Florida, for the most part, are public record. The employee’s termination is, and should be, public record. But should a public circus be made over firing a town laborer?
We think not, and the council apparently agrees. The mayor and the council discussed Thursday afternoon the need to look at the employment regulations of nearby governmental bodies and find a model that allows for lower level employee terminations to take place without a full-blown public meeting. Employee files would remain, as required by law, public record, so everything would remain above board and still “in the sunshine” as required by the Sunshine Law.
Does the Escambia County Commission call a special meeting to terminate a janitor, a secretary or a dump truck driver? Does the City of Pensacola assemble a special council meeting to terminate a maintenance man or a receptionist? No….those terminations are handled in the chain of command in place in the city or county. And as Century’s top boss, we believe the mayor should be able to terminate a laborer for documented poor work attendance.
Employees that serve at the pleasure of the council and are hired by the council — department heads and the town clerk — should still face a termination hearing before the council if the need arises. And in the case of any alleged employee wrongdoing or mishandling of money or property, the council, and thus the media and the public, should be involved.
As for the employee terminated Thursday, he performed a quality job for the town at a very minimal salary for years, except for the recent attendance issues. The mayor says he’ll give the employee a positive review, and the employee had an amazingly positive attitude for someone who had just received his pink slip.
The name of the fired Century employee is public record, as are the names of the janitors, official personnel, laborers and other non-management employees that have been terminated in recent years by Escambia County or the City of Pensacola. The media and the public have the right to obtain those names and employee files.
But local media outlets, NorthEscambia.com included, did not report on the terminations of those low level Pensacola and Escambia County employees because their firings were in the course of ordinary business. So in this case, we choose not to report the name of a laborer so publicly lined up before a firing squad Thursday. If the town had not been forced, by its own regulations, to call a public meeting, we would not have been involved in this employee issue at all.
You, as a member of the public, have a right to make a public records request for the man’s name, or for that matter the name of the last secretarial employee terminated by the county. And we support your right.
Rest assured, we will always report on the termination of government employees accused of wrongdoing, or upper level employees, department heads or managers that are terminated by the board or council they serve.
We call for the Century Town Council, again as they expressed they already wish to do, to quickly revisit town employment regulations to avoid such public firing squads as assembled Thursday.
Pictured top: The Century Town Council sits as a “firing squad” during a special meeting to terminate an employee Thursday afternoon. Pictured inset: Mayor Freddie McCall address the council. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
DOJ Report: Escambia Jail Unsafe, Understaffed
May 23, 2013
A report released by the U.S. Justice Department has found that conditions inside the Escambia County Jail routinely violate the constitutional rights of prisoners.
The DOJ concluded that known systemic deficiencies at the jail, mainly due to staffing shortages, continue to subject prisoners to excessive risk of assault by other prisoners and to “clearly inadequate” mental health care.
The five-year investigation also found that until recently, the jail had an informal policy and practice of designating some of its housing units as only for African-American prisoners. By segregating some of its prisoners on the basis of race, the jail not only stigmatized and discriminated against many of its African-American prisoners, it also fanned combustible racial tensions within the jail.
Escambia County Sheriff’ David Morgan has warned the Escambia County Commission about the woeful conditions in the facility, which houses roughly 1,300 prisoners. His recently submitted 2013-2014 budget request to the commission includes a request for an $18.8 million increase. A portion of the increase was specifically requested to hire 83 additional detention deputies along with 12 detention assistants for $6.3 million.
The beginning of the DOJ investigation coincided with Morgan taking office, and the report praised his efforts to improve conditions.
“We commend Sheriff Morgan for his willingness to work aggressively to remedy many of the problems brought to his attention during the course of our investigation,” said Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division.
Some of Morgan’s improvements included the implementation of a formal prisoner classification system, improvements in monitoring the use of force, development of a prisoner grievance process, increase use of surveillance cameras, retrofitting cells to decrease suicide risk, improvements to female housing, addressing the needs of prisoners with physical disabilities and improved medical procedures.
But the DOJ’s report still found numerous issues, many related to inadequate staffing.
The report found:
- Prisoner on prisoner assaults are a common occurrence at the jail, making the facility unsafe for prisoners.
- A March 2011 study gave county officials insight to the severe staffing problems at the facility.
- Jail leadership fails to appropriately monitor and track prisoner on prisoner violence and the use of force by staff on prisoners.
- The decades-long practice of housing some prisoners in black-only pods was discriminatory, fanned racial tensions and contributed to prisoner perceptions that the jail favors white prisoners over black prisoners. The practice ended in 2012.
- The jail does not provide adequate and timely access to appropriately skilled mental health professionals, routinely fails to provide appropriate mental health medications, and provides inadequate housing and observation for prisoners with serious mental illness. The report found about one prisoner per month is sent to the hospital after self-injury as a result of a clearly inadequate mental health program.
“Without an adequate complement of security personnel, (the) Escambia County Jail cannot possibly keep its prisoners safe,” the report found.”Until the Jail addresses staffing shortages, the Jail will remain unsafe.”
Additionally, staffing shortages have crippled the jail’s ability to conduct a sufficient number of cell searches to protect both prisoners and staff from serious harm due to contraband and potentially dangerous items. According to the DOJ, only 41 cell searches were conducted across the entire facility during a one year period.
The sheriff and county have 49 days to reach an agreement with the Department of Justice on how they plan to correct the staffing and additional issues at the jail. If no agreement is reached by the deadline, the Attorney General may file a federal lawsuit.
Escambia County Names New Lake Stone Caretaker
May 23, 2013
The Escambia County Commission has named a new caretaker for the Lake Stone Campground near Century.
Since the inception of the Lake Stone Campground, the county has entered into an agreement for on-site caretaker and management services at the facility. Mervyn Simmons, who has served as the caretaker since February 2009, has submitted his resignation.
He will be replaced by Dennis Keith Cole under the same contract terms. Cole will be compensated at $850 per month with housing and utilities provided.
Local Home Sales Sluggish Compared To Statewide Rate
May 23, 2013
Statewide single-family home sales are up 17.4 percent from a year ago, Florida Realtors reported Wednesday, while single-family home sales saw more sluggish growth in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 20,662 in April, with 477 closed sales in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, up just 4.8 percent over a year ago. The average sales price locally was $144,950, almost steady from last year. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes last month was $165,000, up 14.2 percent from the previous year.
Townhouse and condo sales outpaced the state average, up 30 percent in April over a year ago. The state average was up 13.6 percent.
Florida Realtors chief economist John Tuccillo credited the sales increases to a stabilization of the distressed property market with the number of short sales dropping, while foreclosures and real estate owned property sales remaining steady. “Because the government is selling foreclosed properties in bulk and also using online auctions, our sales numbers actually understate the vigor of the market,” Tuccillo said in a Realtors’ news release.
Northview Chiefs Announce 2013 Football Schedule
May 23, 2013
The state champion Northview High School Chiefs have released their 2013 football schedule.
The schedule begins with a Preseason Classic game on August 23 against 5-A Panama City Bay. The Chiefs will also face 4-A Marianna, 6-A Choctawhatchee and 4-A Defuniak Springs Walton.
District games (in bold below) will be against Jay, Freeport and Baker. Homecoming is October 18 against Freeport.