Despite Outcry, Molino Farm Services Office Closes
November 30, 2012
Despite a public and local government outcry, the USDA Farm Services Agency Office in Molino is now closed.
The Molino FSA Office administered farm commodities, crop insurance, credit, environmental conservation and emergency assistance for farmers and ranchers in Escambia County. With the closure of the office, farmers will be forced to drive to another office like Milton or Brewton for FSA services.
On May 29 the Florida Farm Service Agency received approval from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to proceed with the implementation of county office consolidation plan, including closure of six agency offices.
In February, farmers and producers from across Escambia County met in Molino with Tim Manning, FSA state executive director, with pleas to keep the office open.
Manning (pictured) said that offices with two or less employees and offices that were located within 20 miles of another office were targeted for closure. Manning said that on December 23, 2011, the day chosen as a “snapshot” of the Molino office, it met both criteria for closure.
But multiple farmers and producers were quick to point out that it is more than 20 miles to drive from Molino, or areas like Walnut Hill or Nokomis, to the FSA office in Milton because of limited routes across the Escambia River. And the criteria for two or fewer employees, many producers said, was met only because a third employee in the office had recently retired.
“We all understand that government must be a good steward of our tax money,” Escambia County Property Appraiser Chris Jones said at the February meeting. Jones, a timber producer in Escambia County, pointed out that the Escambia County FSA office was the third busiest payment office in the state. “Sometimes you have to weigh those dollars against those that fund it…to put the human factor in it.”
“We are the last in Florida, the last county,” Jones said, “and sometimes we get left out of a lot of things.”
Mike Godwin of Walnut Hill suggested during the meeting that perhaps instead of closing the Molino office, the Farm Service Agency should use it as a nationwide model of doing more with less since the number of payments processed per employee is now the highest in the state.
The major savings from closing the Molino Farm Service Agency will be about $16,000 per year in rent to the Escambia County Farm Bureau for office space along with telephone service. All other utilities are included in the monthly rent.
“The federal government is broke; we all know this,” Walnut Hill farmer Brett Ward (pictured) said at the public meeting. “But we in ag are willing to do our share. But let’s make smart cuts.This is my opinion, in our opinion, is not a smart…Our job to feed and clothe this nation is hard enough.”
Ward, speaking on behalf of the Farm Bureau Board, told state FSA directors in February that the it’s no secret at the Farm Bureau wanted to keep the $16,000 in annual rent flowing. He said the money is returned to the community each year through a variety of community organizations — most dealing with children — like the Northview and Ernest Ward FFA chapters, the Escambia County Extension Service for children’s projects, the Molino Park Elementary PTA and Bratt Elementary School.
The Escambia County Commission also took a stance against the closure, passing a resolution forwarded to FSA officials and members of the local Congressional delegation.
“The Escambia County FSA office is a vital resource to address the claims and concerns of citizens in Escambia County,” the county’s resolution stated.
“Over the past three years, FSA has faced a variety of budget-related challenges,” said Bruce Nelson, Administrator of the Farm Service Agency in a news release distributed Thursday. “Although we recognize that change is never easy, we strongly believe that taking this action now is critical to ensuring FSA can continue to serve its customers as it adjusts to budget constraints. FSA can only achieve the high level of service expected through consolidation of our human, financial and technical resources.”
Beginning today, all FSA program services for Escambia County will be provided by the Santa Rosa County FSA office unless a producer has requested their records transferred to another county.
The Santa Rosa County FSA office is located at 6277 Dogwood Drive in Milton, and the phone number is (850) 623-2411.
Pictured top: Dozens of farmers and producers packed a meeting about the Molino FSA Office in February at Highland Baptist Church in Molino. Pictured below: The Farm Service Agency rented office space in this, the Farm Bureau Building on Highway 97 in Molino. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Man Busted In ‘Anything For A Buck’ Operation Gets 25 Years
November 30, 2012
An Escambia County man arrested as part of the undercover operation “Anything for a Buck” was sentenced to a minimum mandatory 25 years in state prison.
Jeffrey Lovell Stanton, 43, was found guilty of trafficking in illegal drugs and sentenced by Judge Terry Terrell.
Stanton was arrested as part of the “Anything for a Buck” storefront operation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, and other law enforcement agencies as well as the First Circuit State Attorneys Office.
The operation recovered over 270 firearms, as well as drugs and stolen property ranging from jewelry, tools, cameras, and other electronic devices. A total of 75 people were arrested in connection with the undercover operation.
On September 14, 2011, Jeffrey Stanton went into the undercover storefront and sold the undercover officers a trafficking amount of hydrocodone pills.
Jeffrey Stanton has 10 more cases pending in connection with this operation. Of the pending cases, he faces a one 25-year minimum mandatory sentence and multiple 15-year minimum mandatory sentences for drug trafficking charges.
Stolen Checks Land Molino Felon Back Behind Bars
November 30, 2012
A Molino man recently released from prison is facing multiple felony charges for writing checks that were reported stolen in Santa Rosa County.
Brandon David Edmonson, 32, was charged with three felony counts of dealing in stolen property and three felony counts of uttering a forged instrument. He remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $30,000.
The checks were reported October 25 as being stolen during a residential burglary in Santa Rosa County.
Edmonson allegedly wrote three of the checks totaling $725 to a Cedartown Road resident for “driving him around”. The victim cashed the checks at her credit union, took out the amount owed to her for gas, and returned the remainder in cash to Edmonson, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. Three additional checks were made payable to a bar in Milton, and a fourth was made payable to a second individual.
According to Department of Corrections records, Edmonson was released from state prison in April after serving a year and a day for petit theft third conviction.
Board Of ED Leader: Scotts $10,000 Degree Is ‘Gimmick’
November 30, 2012
Gov. Rick Scott’s effort to get colleges to offer $10,000 bachelor’s degrees “is not a serious policy” and will be “perceived as a gimmick,” the vice president of the state Board of Education wrote in a letter to Scott.
“Respectfully, I think that you have been provided with very poor advice on this portion of you plan,” Roberto Martinez wrote to Scott, asking him to work with the board on an alternative idea for making college more affordable – and to consider providing more state help.
“With the deep budget cuts over the last five years, it is difficult to conceive cutting the cost of instruction even further while maintaining a quality education,” Martinez wrote. “The cost of a Bachelor’s Degree at many of our colleges cost the students on average approximately $12,000. Reducing this further, to create a cheap four-year degree, will undermine the quality and value of the education, hurting our students’ chances to compete successfully in our 21st Century economy.”
Scott has challenged the state colleges – formerly known as community colleges but many of which now offer four-year degrees – to come up with ways to offer a four-year bachelor’s degree for under $10,000.
More than half of the 28 state colleges have said they will at least consider the idea.
By The News Service of Florida
Citizens Insurance To Work Harder To Move Policies To Private Companies
November 30, 2012
As it writes 8,000 new policies every week, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will soon do a better job of funneling policies into the private market, the state-backed insurer’s president promised Florida business leaders Thursday.
Speaking at a Florida Chamber of Commerce insurance summit, Citizens President Barry Gilway said he will brief Citizens’ board of governors in December about an effort that would require Citizens to try to place policies with private carriers before issuing policies itself.
Gilway said the company needs to be more aggressive in brokering policies because most Citizens policyholders are not aware that their lower monthly premiums are offset by assessments that will be levied on their policies in the event of a major storm.
“I think there is a way … to come up with an overall concept and approach that basically makes sure that every single policy gets shopped to every interested company before it enters the system,” Gilway said.
Regardless of those efforts, Gilway acknowledged that as long as Citizens’ rates remain lower than private carriers, the market will continue to drive customers to the company, even if Citizens’ coverage is not as good as most of its competitors.
As the state’s largest private insurer, with nearly 1.5 million policies, Citizens has been under increasing pressure from lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott to reduce its role. In response, the insurer has rolled back coverage protections and reduced discounts to homeowners who make hurricane improvements.
“We’ve got the worst coverage in the marketplace,” Gilway said. “That’s by design. Is that stopping 8,000 policies a week coming through our front door? It’s not.”
The brokering program is the latest in a series of steps being taken by the agency to limit its exposure.
For example, the company’s underwriting committee rejected a proposal to reinstate coverage that was discontinued for secondary structures such as screened porches and detached buildings. Some policyholders have complained that the lack of coverage is preventing them locating their mobile homes in certain communities.
By The News Service of Florida
Barrineau Park Music Night Planned
November 30, 2012
There will be plenty of good entertainment on stage next Friday night, December 7 in Barrineau Park — and it’s free. The monthly Barrineau Park Music Night will be held at the Barrineau Park Community Center. The featured local groups tonight are The Rowell Family Band and the Highway Home Bluegrass Band.
The singing starts at 6:30 p.m. Food and refreshments will be available beginning at 6 p.m.
The event is a family-friendly — no alcohol is permitted on the property, and no smoking is allowed in or near the building.
For more information, call (850) 572-4433. The Barrineau Park Community Center is located on Barrineau Park School road, about three miles west of Molino.
Pictured above: The Rowell Family Band. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
7:15 a.m. edit corrects a typographical error on the date and confirms the event is next Friday, December 7.
Search Continues For Pen Air Robbery Suspect (With Surveillance Video)
November 29, 2012
The search is continuing for the person that robbed the Pen Air Federal Credit Union in Century Tuesday afternoon.
Surveillance video released Friday afternoon (see video below) shows one person dressed in blue jeans and a jacket with a hood entering the credit union. He then walks to a teller window where he demanded all of the money, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
He then fled the credit union on foot.
Anyone with information on the crime or the identity of the suspect is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
For an earlier story and more details on the robbery, click here.
Road To Orlando: Chiefs Head To Liberty County For Semifinal Game
November 29, 2012
The Northview Chiefs departed Bratt Thursday afternoon for tomorrow night’s state semifinal game at Liberty County in Bristol. With a win Friday night, the Chiefs will be bound for Orlando next week for the state championship game Submitted photos by Regina Hare and Cathy Bryars for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Marshals Capture Sex Offender On The Run For Years
November 29, 2012
The U.S. Marshals have captured a sex offender on the run from Santa Rosa County for more than five years.
Randolph Carroll Flinn, 50, was arrested in Galveston, Texas, after Marshals learning he was hiding out with an elderly woman and using the alias Ray Dyer.
“He was featured as a most wanted fugitive on our Task Force website,” stated Inspector Dominic Guadagnoli of the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force. “We recently began coordinating with AMW (America’s Most Wanted) to profile Flinn on their program, said Guadagnoli.
Flinn was wanted by Santa Rosa on two warrants, one charging him with a probation violation in March of 2006 and the other for failure to register as a sex offender that was issued in October of 2006.
The original charge stemmed from a 2003 conviction of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor that reportedly began in 1992 and continued up until the time the warrant was issued.
When officers contacted the victim and made her aware of the arrest, she said she “…is happy and can finally rest at night,” now that he is in custody.
The Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office first requested the Task Force’s help in locating Flinn in 2007 and have been working with them following leads since then. Flinn is being held without bond in the Galveston County Jail.
Millionaire Hopefuls Pack Local Lottery Retailers; ‘Luckiest’ Store Closed
November 29, 2012
Thousands of millionaire hopefuls purchased lottery tickets in North Escambia Wednesday, many at stores near the Alabama-Florida line, as the Powerball drawing hit $579 million.
Lottery retailers on the state line — including Davisville and Century — were especially busy Wednesday — Alabama is one of just six states in the continental United States that does not participate in the Powerball lottery.
All of the North Escambia hopefuls missed the $579 million. Lottery officials said early Thursday morning that winning tickets were sold in Arizona and Missouri. There were Match 5 Winners with Power Play worth $2 million sold in seven states, including Florida.
Despite the multi-million dollar hype, one of the luckiest lottery stores in Florida sat closed on Highway 97 in Davisville. Cars headed south from Alabama, pulling into the parking lot of the State Line O’ Yes Lotto. Some drove from central Alabama and were unaware the business closed November 6 after owner Tommy Kroll was murdered inside during a robbery attempt.
The State Line O’ Yes Lotto, in its memorable pink building, had been one of the top lottery retailers in Florida. But Wednesday, Powerball players moved on to the Grey Goose package store across the street, or down Highway 97 a couple of miles to the Davisville BP. At the BP, parked cars lined Highway 97 and the adjacent Nokomis Road Wednesday as the lottery machines printed out ticket after ticket.
The winning numbers from the Powerball drawing Wednesday were 5, 16, 22, 23, 29 with Powerball 6. The drawing was about $579 million, with a lump sum cash option of $360.2 million before taxes — the second largest jackpot in U.S. history.
Pictured top and inset: Hopeful millionaires crowded the Grey Goose package store Wednesday afternoon on Highway 97, just a few yards from the Alabama state line. Pictured below: Lottery hopefuls wrapped up other businesses near the state line, including convenience stores in Davisville (below) and Century. Reader submitted photos by Ditto Gorme and Eric Hare for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
