Photos: Hundreds Attend Molino Park Fall Carnival
October 15, 2011
Hundreds attended the annual Molino Park Elementary School Fall Carnival Friday evening at the school. The event featured games, food, entertainment and lots of great family fun.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
High School Football Scores
October 15, 2011
Here’s a look at high school football final scores from around the area Friday night:
Florida
- Pensacola High 63, Tate 13 [Story, photos...]
- Jay 32, Cottondale 12 [Read more...]
- Pine Forest 35, Washington 28
- Pace 42, Escambia 0
- Gulf Breeze 31, Milton 21
- OFF: Northview, West Florida
Alabama
- Flomaton 28, Millry 7 [Read more...]
- T.R. Miller 14, Trinity 7
- Thomasville 42, WS Neal 8
- Jackson 49, ECHS (Atmore), 7
- Escambia Academy 20, Wilcox Academy 18
Photos: SUV Driver Runs Up Power Pole Guy Wire
October 14, 2011
A Friday afternoon hit and run crash left a SUV suspended up in the air on a power pole guy wire.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Mary Vickers Workman, 34 of Pensacola, was rear-ended by an unknown vehicle as she turned from Chemstrand Road onto Ten Mile Road about 2 p.m. The force of the collision send Workman’s 2006 Dodge Durango up the guy wire. The driver that struck Workman’s vehicle fled the scene.
According to Jeff Rogers, Gulf Power spokesman, no one lost power at the time of the crash. However, power was cut for about 450 customers about 4:20 as a wrecker service removed the vehicle. Power was expected to be restored by 5 p.m.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Gets Involved After Numerous Frontier Phone, Internet Outages
October 14, 2011
Frontier Communications — which provides landline telephone and internet service in Walnut Hill, Bratt, Molino and Atmore — has experienced several outages this year. That has prompted Escambia County officials to question the company and file complaints, while prompting the company to make some improvements and additional promises.
The first major outage of the year was March 22-23, with Frontier customers unable to call outside their exchange, including a loss of 911 service. The company provided no explanation for the outage which they termed “toll isolation”.
A five-hour outage occurred June 24, leaving Walnut and Molino Frontier customers unable to call outside their exchange and unable to reach 911. The cause of that outage, according to Frontier, was a fiber optic equipment failure in Walnut Hill or Molino.
During the 911 outages, Escambia County has responded by staffing the Walnut Hill and Molino fire stations with paid and volunteer personnel and made announcements through the media that persons with emergencies could go directly to a fire station for help if they did not have an available cellular phone.
Following the June 24 Frontier failure that isolated North Escambia Frontier customers from 911, Escambia County Administrator Randy Oliver sent a letter to Rhonda Lutzke, a senior vice president at Frontier, asking how the company would address the problem.
“This loss is a major concern and one which negatively impacts the ability of our citizens to have immediate access to assistance during an emergency,” Oliver wrote in his letter to Frontier. “Our county is committed to providing this service, including a professionally staffed state-of-the-art Public Safety Answering Point, and it is hoped that Frontier is as equally committed.
“I am requesting any information you can provide attesting that the causes of these outages are being addressed,” Oliver concluded.
In late September, Oliver (pictured) wrote complaint letters to the Florida Public Service Commission. He received a reply from Steven J. Stolting, Public Service Commission inspector general, stating that the PSC had no authority to investigate. The Florida Legislature stripped the Public Service Commission’s regulatory authority of most telephone company functions as of July 1.
“I have shared your letter with our managers responsible for resolving complaints directed to the Commission and for our regulatory activities over the telecommunications industry,” the PSC inspector general wrote.
“We understand your concerns with the interruption of 9-1-1 service,” Daniel M. Hoppe, PSC director, stated in a written reply to Oliver on October 7. Hoppe said Frontier told the Commission that an alternative AT&T fiber route had been installed to provide a second route to Escambia County’s 911 call center.
According to Karen Miller, a spokesperson for Frontier, the New York headquartered company has since installed a second fiber optic route to virtually eliminate the telephone line outages and ensure Frontier customers can reach 911 in Escambia County.
Frontier has also been plagued by numerous area-wide outages for their high speed DSL and dialup internet customers — the most a recent a six-hour internet outage this past Monday. Some outages have lasted as much as 12 hours.
The company has said most of the outages were not their fault, blaming the downtime on AT&T, which provides Frontier’s internet connections. Two of the outages — September 1 and October 3 — were blamed on construction crews cutting an AT&T fiber optic cable between Atmore and Bay Minette.
All of the Walnut Hill, Bratt, Molino and Atmore DSL and dialup services provided by Frontier are connected to the rest of the internet by a single fiber optic line between Atmore and Atlanta. When that line goes down, there is currently no backup, Miller said.
But she said Frontier is working to install a second independent route to the internet from Atmore, preventing a single fiber cut from cutting the North Escambia and Atmore areas off from the internet. q
“We are close to finishing an engineering study to get a second route to get traffic from Atmore to Atlanta,” Miller said. “It won’t be that long before it happens.”
Once that second connection is installed, Miller said, it will provide a backup to keep internet traffic flowing from the area.
“Hopefully Frontier will see this as an indication that the county is serious about reliable telephone service for this area of the county,” Oliver said about his letters to the Public Service Commission and Frontier management.
Pictured top: Escambia County’s 911 dispatch center. Pictured bottom inset: Frontier’s Molino central office on Highway 29.
Escambia, Santa Rosa Tax Burden Below State Average
October 14, 2011
Your tax burden in Escambia or Santa Rosa counties is lower than the state average, according to a report released by Florida TaxWatch.
Santa Rosa County ranks 61st out of 67 Florida counties in terms of total county and city taxes per capita, with 67 being the least taxed in the state. The state average, $1,014 per capita, is more than double Santa Rosa’s $407 per capita tax burden.
Escambia County residents are hit twice as hard, according to the report. The average per capita county and city taxes is $802.27 in Escambia County, still a few hundred dollars below the state average.
Residents’ wallets are hit hardest in Monroe County where the per capita taxes are $2,154.32.
Volleyball: Central At Northview
October 14, 2011
The Northview Lady Chiefs lost to Central Thursday night in varsity high school volleyball action, 24-26, 25-20, 22-25, 19-25.
Misty Doran had eight kills, a block and three digs, and Josie Docuette finished the night with two aces, one kill, one assist, a block and a dig. Junior Morgan Payne had one kill and a five digs, as Shelley Mothershed contributed six aces, five kills, one block and four digs.
In junior varsity action, Northview defeated Central 25-14, 16-25, 15-10.
Danielle Steaham had three aces, one kill, one assist and a block, and junior Hannah Fiellin had three aces, one kill and three assist. Tiffani Pritchett contributed three aces, five assists an a block, while Rebecca Grim posted one ace and six kills.
Monday, the Lady Chiefs will host the Tate Aggies in Bratt, with the JV taking the court at 5 p.m. and the varsity at 6 p.m.
Escambia Man Indicted For September Murder
October 14, 2011
An Escambia County man has been indicted for a murder last month.
A grand jury indicted Thomas Larry Bolds for the first degree premeditated murder of 53-year-old Alvin Merriwell Lewis, Jr.
On September 22, 2011, at about 10:50 p.m., deputies responded to a call of shots fired at the Moorings Apartments on Old Spanish Trail Road. When they arrived they found the victim, 53-year-old Alvin Merriwell Lewis, Jr., dead from multiple gunshot wounds inside the suspect’s apartment, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
A witness stated that Lewis had been demonstrating how he would defend himself by using a knife, but at no time threatened anyone. During Lewis’ demonstration, Bolds picked up a gun and began shooting Lewis. Lewis was shot once in the chest and seven times in the back.
JV Football: Northview Beats West Florida
October 14, 2011
The junior varsity Northview Chiefs ended their season with a 36-32 thriller against West Florida High School Thursday night.
For a photo gallery from the game, click here.
West Florida jumped out to a 12-6 lead over the Chiefs in the second quarter. Then, with 2:18 in the half, freshman Jaron Myles was in for the Chiefs. A good two point conversion, and Northview held a 14-12 lead. But West Florida managed an 18-14 halftime lead with a touchdown with 1:15 to go in the second.
The Jags increased their lead to 26-14 in the third, then Myles scored again for the Chiefs to narrow the score to 26-22.
The last two minutes of the fourth quarter were worth the price of admission. With 1:41 to go in the game, Myles scored another TD for the Chiefs. Jeffrey Taylor was in on the two point conversion, and Northview held a 25-26 advantage.
West Florida regained the lead with 52.6 seconds to go in the game, 32-30 Jags. Then, with 34.7 seconds on the clock, Northview’s Myles struck again. A missed two point conversion, and Northview took the lead 36-32.
West Florida’s dash for the end zone ended with a Northview interception with 6.2 seconds in the game.
With the win, the JV Northview Chiefs ended their season at 4-1.
For a photo gallery from the game, click here.
Pictured top: Brannon Freeman gains yardage for the Northview Chiefs Thursday night against West Florida High School’s Jaguars. Pictured inset: Jaron Myles heads for a Chiefs touchdown. Pictured below: Kahlil Grice (#63) makes a stop for the Chiefs. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Shots Fired At Deputies
October 13, 2011
An investigation is underway this morning after Escambia County deputies say they were shot at in an Ensley neighborhood late Wednesday night.
Deputies were in an unmarked vehicle conducting an investigation near Airway Drive and Johnson Avenue when someone reportedly shot out the back window of their vehicle. Deputies surrounded the area looking for a suspect in the incident, which occurred just before 11 p.m. So far, there have been no arrests reported in connection with the shooting. But evidence ,including shell casings, was recovered.
There were no injuries reported.
Scott Pitches More Business Tax Cuts
October 13, 2011
A new drive to reduce the number of businesses paying the corporate income tax and tangible property taxes will headline Gov. Rick Scott’s legislative agenda, even as state lawmakers face a budget shortfall pegged at $1.3 billion and growing.
In a visit to Central Florida to unveil his economic agenda, Scott said he would ask lawmakers to double the corporate income tax exemption to $50,000, dropping 25 percent of the companies that now pay it from the tax roles. After Scott’s original plan to cut the tax rate got nowhere last year, the Legislature instead approved a measure increasing the exemption to $25,000.
Under that change, about half of Florida businesses already pay no taxes.
Scott also proposed a $50,000 exemption from the tangible personal property tax on businesses, allowing 150,000 of the 300,000 companies that now pay the levy to avoid it. That would require a constitutional amendment that would go before voters in 2012.
“One of the most important things Florida can do to attract businesses, and in turn jobs, is to create a tax environment that welcomes business growth and encourages investment in our state,” Scott said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.
Scott also said he would push to turn Florida’s unemployment system into a “reemployment system” by requiring some workers to undergo job training while receiving benefits. He also touted proposals to tighten oversight of the state’s workforce boards; improvements in the state’s deepwater ports and transportation system; and pushing universities to focus more on degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The last goal has already drawn criticism from educators and others concerned by Scott’s questioning the value of some degrees, but the tax plan could run into resistance as lawmakers try to tackle a budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year that could top $2 billion.
House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, embraced the plan.
“I look forward to working alongside Governor Scott and my colleagues in the Florida Legislature during the upcoming session as we strive to meet our shared goal of reducing the tax burden on Florida families and businesses, eliminating burdensome regulations, and implementing thoughtful public policy reforms that will foster both a business climate ripe for private sector job creation and a skilled workforce ready to meet the needs of a global economy,” Cannon said in a statement following the announcement.
Calling Scott’s plans “ambitious,” Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, was more measured in his response. Haridopolos, who was at times openly skeptical of Scott’s plan to reduce the corporate tax rate last year, made no specific reference to the new tax-cut plan in his reaction to Scott’s plans.
“In the coming months and throughout the 2012 Legislative Session, we will work closely with the Governor in order to implement measures that will continue to provide stability and predictability to our state’s business owners and entrepreneurs, as well as pursue an agenda that is focused on job creation and economic development,” he said.
By Brandon Larrabee
The News Service of Florida