Meteor? Strange Falling Object Reported Across Gulf Coast
September 26, 2011
People all across the Gulf Coast reported seeing a large, perhaps green object streaking through the skies about 7:20 p.m. Sunday.
So far, there’s no official word on exactly what the object was. NorthEscambia.com and other media outlets received sighting reports from around the area — Atmore, Walnut Hill, Cantonment, Mobile and Pensacola. WKRG TV reports that their meteorologist Johnathan Owens saw the object, which he described on his Facebook page as likely a small piece of an asteroid or a large meteor – and obviously completely burned up in the atmosphere”.
Did you see the object? Did you happen to get a picture? Email news@northescambia.com and let us know.
District Football Standings
September 26, 2011
Four weeks into the high school football season, there have not yet been any district games in District 1-1A, while District 1-6A teams have paired off.
In District 1-1A, week five will also not have any district games. Each team has one non-district loss, except for Jay with three.
In District 1-6A, Pace, Pensacola and Escambia all have one district win, while Pine Forest, Milton and Tate each have one district loss. Washington has not yet played a district game.
All of the teams will be in district action Friday night, with the exception of PHS with an open date.
Pictured: Escambia defeats Tate (top), Northview slams South Walton (inset), and Flomaton beat Jay (bottom of page). NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Evers Files Veteran’s Bills
September 26, 2011
During the first week of committee meetings for the 2012 legislative session, local Sen. Greg Evers filed or cosponsored three veterans’ related bills.
Senate Bill 138, or the “T. Patt Maney Veterans’ Treatment Intervention Act,” would provide that veterans found to have committed a criminal offense may have a hearing on that issue before sentencing — when they maintain that the offense resulted from post-traumatic stress disorder or other physical or psychological problem that stemmed from service in combat in the military.
“Through the creation of these ‘veteran’s courts’ it is my sincere hope that we can provide the necessary treatment to the men and women who served our country in wartime,” Ever said of the bill he cosponsored.
Ever also cosponsored Senate Bill 94 would allow priority course registration for veterans who meet eligibility requirements at Florida College System institutions and state universities. It would also encourage independent post-secondary schools to provide priority course registration for veterans.
Evers filed Senate Bill 310 to provide for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to issue Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross and Air Force Cross license plates, without requiring payment of the license tax, to service men and women who received those awards.
Escambia County’s September Students Of The Month Named
September 26, 2011
Escambia County Students of the Month for September have been named by the Escambia Association for Administrators in Education. The awards are presented monthly to two students from participating schools.
The following students were named from participating North Escambia area schools:
- Bratt: Leah Berry, first grade; Hannah Hughes, third grade.
- Jim Allen: Elena Lucci, fifth grade; Rilee Hempfling, fifth grade.
- Molino Park: Rylee Rogers, pre-kindergarten; Ja’mya Thomas, pre-kindergarten.
- Ransom: Lindsey Stevens, eighth grade; Christopher Coots, eighth grade.
- Northview: Jazzlyn Franklin, 11th grade; Justin Halteman, 11th grade.
- Tate: Amy Sapp, 11th grade; Antonio Odom, 12th grade
Here is the complete list from across Escambia County:
ELEMENTARY
- Bellview: Peyton Burkett, first grade; Deon Jackson, fifth grade.
- Beulah: Michael Poliak, fifth grade; Breanna Pursell, fifth grade.
- Blue Angels: James Reese, kindergarten; Bailie Bradford, kindergarten.
- Bratt: Leah Berry, first grade; Hannah Hughes, third grade.
- Brentwood: Corey Odoms, kingergarten; Jordan Luckie, kindergarten.
- Cook: Caleb Brown, fifth grade; Warren Henke, second grade.
- Cordova Park: Jetlee Nguyen, fifth grade; Sierra Uribe, fifth grade.
- Ensley: Malcolm Pressley, fourth grade; David Geiger, third grade.
- Ferry Pass: Lara Proshek, kindergarten; Elijah Lewis, kindergarten.
- Global Learning: Jailen Murphy, pre-kindergarten; Zyrah Tyson, pre-kindergarten.
- Jim Allen: Elena Lucci, fifth grade; Rilee Hempfling, fifth grade.
- Lipscomb: Michelle Higgins, kindergarten; Katelynn Brasch, first grade.
- Longleaf: Leamarie Darosa, fifth grade; Roy Dubois, fifth grade.
- McArthur: Keri Smith, fifth grade; Yaseen Moftaqir, fifth grade.
- Molino Park: Rylee Rogers, pre-kindergarten; Ja’mya Thomas, pre-kindergarten.
- Myrtle Grove: Ginger Huggins, fifth grade; Noah Bonner, fifth grade.
- Navy Point: Je’Kiyyah Clark, kindergarten; Malaysia Drake, fifth grade.
- Oakcrest: Ke’Aisha Hall, fifth grade; Jaylon Haney, fifth grade.
- Pine Meadow: India McCall, kindergarten; Parker Johnson, kindergarten.
- Pleasant Grove: Jacelyne Chavis, fifth grade; Carmen Fratto, fifth grade.
- Scenic Heights: Hannah Scott, kindergarten; Jackson Kohr, kindergarten.
- Sherwood: Tyshan Edwards, fifth grade; Zialynn Wilson, fifth grade.
- Suter: Margaret Wolf, fifth grade; Taylor Hill, fifth grade.
- Warrington: Darien Johnson, second grade; Jamarion Smith, second grade.
- Weis: Christina Wade, fifth grade; Antonio Lewis, fifth grade.
- West Pensacola: Selena Villegas, kindergarten; De’Shaunte Gaston, kindergarten.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
- Bellview: Tabitha Reno, eighth grade; Charlyn Murdy, eighth grade.
- Brown Barge: Angelo Mayorga, sixth grade; Mackenzie Desposito, sixth grade.
- Ferry Pass: Anderson Nguyen, sixth grade; Cecilia Hamilton, sixth grade.
- Ransom: Lindsey Stevens, eighth grade; Christopher Coots, eighth grade.
- Warrington: Jervae Cannon, seventh grade; Darin Redick, seventh grade.
- Woodham: Brandon Hood, sixth grade; Kaitlyn Lockard, sixth grade.
- Workman: Solomon Beasley, eighth grade; Hannah Spears, eighth grade.
HIGH SCHOOL
- Escambia: Emily-Joy Ignacio, 12th grade; Tara Skipton, ninth grade.
- Northview: Jazzlyn Franklin, 11th grade; Justin Halteman, 11th grade.
- Pine Forest: Zachary Joyner, 12th grade; Soha Bamberg, 11th grade.
- Tate: Amy Sapp, 11th grade; Antonio Odom, 12th grade
- Washington: Jamie Southard, 12th grade.
- West Florida: Kyle Faxlanger, 12th grade; Alexis Tellis, 12th grade.
SPECIAL CENTERS
- Beulah Academy: Kinsley Kivette, eighth grade; Ryan Cawby, eighth grade.
- Escambia Westgate: Matthew Butts, fifth grade; Cameron Green, fifth grade; Tatiyana Clarke, eighth grade; Hassan Muhammad, eighth grade; Mark Hartley, 12th grade; Joshua Johnson, 12th grade.
- George Stone Technical: Ollie Gainey.
- Judy Andrews: Amber Gervais.
- Pensacola Boys Base: Christopher Walther, 11th grade.
- PATS Center: Georgia Seacrest, fourth grade; Charles Warren, fifth grade: Robert Groshong, seventh grade; Adamary Arredondo, seventh grade.
Pictured top: Northview High School Students of the Month for September Jazzlyn Franklin and Justin Halteman. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Candidates Report Little Campaign Cash
September 26, 2011
The latest campaign finance reports are in for Century’s October general election from candidates for mayor and two council seats. And for most candidates, it’s campaigning on the cheap so far.
Mayor
To date, incumbent Mayor Freddie McCall has raised $2,973 in cash and $498 of in-kind contributions. McCall has made loans totaling $2,973 to his own campaign and reused $498 worth of campaign signs from his last campaign. No other individuals or businesses had contributed to his campaign as of the last report date. His expenditures include $1,504 to Bill Salter Outdoor Advertising for billboards and artwork, $528 to a Brewton company for brochures and political cards and $175 for a sign for his truck tailgate. For McCall’s complete report, click here.
During the last reporting period of September 3-16, challenger Henry J. Hawkins received no contributions and spent nothing. Through the reporting period, Hawkins has received $300 in contributions and spent $263.04, mostly on his qualification fee. For Hawkins’ complete report, click here.
Council, Seat 1
Incumbent Ann Brooks received no contributions and spent nothing on her campaign during the last reporting period. To date her campaign has received $140 in donations and $450 of in-kind contributions in the form of signs from the last election. She has only spent $48; that was for her qualifying fee. For Brook’s complete report, click here.
Challenger Pamela MacArthur also received no donations and made no expenditures during the last campaign finance reporting period. To date, she has made a $48 loan to her own campaign that she spent on her qualifying fee and received $23 of in-kind donations from herself in the form of self-made business cards and fliers. For MacArthur’s complete report, click here.
Council, Seat 2
Incumbent Annie Carter Savage received $280 in contributions during the last reporting period, including local contributions ranging from $10 to $75 from Azula C. Johnson, Charlie J. Spencer, Sr., Leola Robinson, Debra Smiley and Lloyd Savage. During the period, she reported expenditures of $194 to a Jay company for campaign signs and $145 in gas from Southern Pit Stop in Century. Savage’s campaign since day one has received $485 and reported expenditures of $486.76. For Savage’s complete report, click here.
Challenger Evelyn Hammond received $100 during the reporting period — $50 from Tammy Lowery of Century and $50 from Edward R. Hammond, Century’s gas department supervisor. She spent nothing during the period. Overall, Hammond has received $480 and reported expenditures of $342.74. For Hammond’s complete report, click here.
Search Ongoing For Cantonment Man Wanted In Toddler Murder
September 25, 2011
Authorities are still searching for a former Cantonment resident that is the suspected triggerman in the shooting a death of a Pensacola toddler over two months ago.
Dwayne “Money” Pinestraw, 19, is wanted on an open count of murder for the shooting death of Ty’Quarius Moultrie, 19 months old; aggravated battery for the shooting of Vincent Dennis, 23; and firing a weapon into an occupied building for the incident that occurred in July at Pensacola Village, 500 E. Fairfield Drive.
Multiple shots were fired into the apartment back on July 15, according to Pensacola Police, shortly after several people were involved in a drug transaction nearby.
Pinestraw’s last known address was on Lake Drive in Cantonment. Pinestraw is a black male, approximately 5-feet 6-inches tall and approximately 130 pounds. He should be considered armed and dangerous, according to Pensacola Police.
Anyone having information on the Pinestraw’s location or the shooting is asked to contact Lt. Doug Baldwin at (850) 435-1908, Detective James Reese at (850) 435-1976, or the Desk Sergeant’s Office at (850) 435-1900. According to a release from the Pensacola Police Department, Pinestraw should be considered armed and dangerous.
Video: Northview Chiefs Beat South Walton Seahawks
September 25, 2011
Here are video highlights by Keith Garrison for NorthEscambia.com from Northview’s win Friday night over South Walton.
For game details and a photo gallery from the game, click here.
Great For The Kids: Free Saturdays At Turtle Point Science Center
September 25, 2011
There was an open house held Saturday at the Turtle Point Science Center in Flomaton. If you missed it, there’is one more Saturday to see the facility this year.
The next open house at Turtle Point is scheduled for November 5 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Admission is free.
The 3,000 square foot facility offers a touch tank for children and other hands-on exhibits. It boasts an extensive collection of wildlife specimens including many Alabama birds, nests, and eggs; a butterfly and living bee exhibit; live alligators, turtles, snakes, amphibians, and fish of the East Gulf Coastal Plain geophysical region. Also, plant lovers will find six teaching gardens and a wetland nature trail.
Bird watchers are encouraged to hike the nature trail boardwalk and enjoy the red-tailed hawk, great blue heron, great egret, pileated woodpecker, red-headed woodpecker, yellow-shafted flicker, yellow bellied sap sucker, eastern bluebird, wren, killdeer, green heron, barred owl, screech owl, and many other native birds and wildlife.
Turtle Point’s goal is to provide hands-on environmental education to students and adults in the South Alabama and Northwest Florida. Turtle Point is located at 20959 Highway 31 in Flomaton, near Hurricane Park and Flomaton High School. For more information, call (251) 296-3401.
Pictured top: The Turtle Point Science Center in Flomaton. Pictured inset: A golden eagle on display at Turtle Point. Pictured below: A view of the Big Escambia Creek as seen from the nature trail at Turtle Point. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Man Charged With Attacking Woman At Gas Station, Stealing Her Car
September 25, 2011
An Escambia County man is behind bars, charged with robbing a woman as she pumped gas.
Mitchell D. Tranmer, 22, was booked into the Escambia County Jail Saturday morning on charges of aggravated battery and robbery. His bond was set at $165,000.
About 9:00 Thursday night, Tranmer allegedly physically confronted a woman as she was pumping gas at the Tom Thumb at Blue Angel Parkway and Lillian Highway before stealing her car. The woman, whose name has not been released, suffered minor injuries.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Sinking Sinkhole Rates, Rising Panhandle Senate Prez
September 25, 2011
Florida doesn’t have a year-round Legislature. But it felt that way this week.
With the 2012 session starting early because of redistricting, lawmakers, staff and lobbyists headed back up the hill to start committee meetings.
True, the meetings included little real action. But committees got a clearer picture of the redistricting process, while also hearing presentations about tricky issues such as Medicaid reform and budget problems at the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.
While in town, Republican senators formally chose Niceville Sen. Don Gaetz to become the next Senate president.
Also, over in Jacksonville, former Democratic Rep. Audrey Gibson won a special election to replace Sen. Tony Hill, who announced his resignation to take a job with the city’s new mayor.
The focus at the end of the week centered on Orlando, where Republican presidential candidates Thursday night kicked off a conservative fest with a debate on Fox News Channel.
OLDIES BUT GOODIES:
Before most committees even met, the Office of Insurance Regulation weighed in on an issue that has long bedeviled the Legislature.
OIR dramatically reduced proposed sinkhole-premium increases for customers of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The decision, which came after an outcry from residents of sinkhole-prone areas such as Pasco, Hernando and Hillsborough counties, will raise sinkhole rates by a statewide average of 32.8 percent — less than one-tenth of a 447 percent increase requested by the Citizens board.
Citizens officials have said they were required to seek huge increases after lawmakers passed a measure this year that called for “actuarially sound” rates for sinkhole coverage. But Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, praised Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty after the decision to scale it back.
“This is a victory for consumers,” Fasano said. “I applaud OIR and Commissioner McCarty for their decision, which will allow some people to stay in their homes.”
During committee meetings, lawmakers got briefed on other issues that seem to pop up again and again.
As an example, Agency for Health Care Administration officials talked about seeking federal approval to extend a Medicaid managed-care pilot program and to go statewide with managed care.
Justin Senior, acting deputy secretary for Medicaid, said federal officials are almost certain to require that the pilot include what is known as a “medical loss ratio.” That would require managed-care plans to spend 85 percent of the money they receive on patient care.
Lawmakers this year rejected a medical-loss ratio in favor of a profit-sharing concept with HMOs. Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Chairman Joe Negron, R-Stuart, blasted the federal government’s stance, saying “they’re dictating unilateral terms of surrender.”
Also, Agency for Persons with Disabilities Director Mike Hansen let lawmakers know that the agency’s financial problems this year might be deeper than expected.
After long-running deficits, lawmakers this spring required APD to come up with plans to deal with budget shortfalls. That has already led to cuts, but Hansen said August spending was $7.6 million more than projected and that the agency could be short about $15 million to cover a 2010-11 deficit.
“If we had every agency run amok like this, we would be in chaos and look a lot like Washington,” House Health & Human Services Access Chairman Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, said.
GAETZ ON PARADE:
As chairman of the Senate Redistricting Committee, Gaetz had a busy summer attending public hearings across the state.
But he’s about to get a whole lot busier.
Republican senators Monday formally chose Gaetz to succeed Senate President Mike Haridopolos after the 2012 elections. Gaetz, who made millions in the hospice industry and later became a schools superintendent, said his priorities will include creating jobs and limiting the size of government.
“Florida must become the cradle of common sense solutions,” Gaetz said. “… Florida must be the state that’s known for fair play and rational regulations.”
Before he gets the gavel, however, Gaetz will have to shepherd the politically volatile redistricting process. The details of that process became clearer this week, as Gaetz said his committee will take up a redistricting bill the week of Dec. 5.
Also, the House and Senate redistricting committees set a Nov. 1 deadline for the public to submit proposed maps. Senators also will have to meet that deadline for offering maps, though House members will have until Nov. 14.
One of the senators who will watch the redistricting process closely is Gibson, who won a special election Tuesday in District 1. Gibson beat three other Democrats, including former Rep. Terry Fields, in a primary and later cinched the seat when her only remaining opponent — a write-in — left the race.
The district stretches from Jacksonville to Daytona Beach and was drawn to increase the chances of electing black candidates. Such districts likely will play an important legal and political role in next year’s redistricting.
REPUBLICANS ROLL INTO O-TOWN:
They might as well have hung a sign on the turnpike: Democrats Not Welcome.
At the end of the week, Orlando became the center of state and national Republican politics.
First came a GOP presidential debate Thursday night that included another heap of sniping between front-runners Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. But more than anything, the debate was a chance for the Republican field to distance themselves from all things Obama — while also offering red-meat ideas such as eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The debate came at a bad time for President Obama, as a new Quinnipiac poll showed his disapproval rating among Florida voters at 57 percent.
On Friday, the conservative troops rallied again for the CPAC FL conference, which was scheduled to include speeches from presidential candidates and numerous panel discussions. Among the scheduled panels: “Health Care Freedom & Constitutionalism: Reining in the Rogue Federal Government.”
Also on Friday, the Republican Party of Florida was planning to choose a new chairman during the event. It was widely expected to be Lenny Curry, who was the choice of the late Dave Bitner, to replace him. Bitner died in early September.
Finally, on Saturday, the Republican Party of Florida’s Presidency 5 straw poll will give a taste of the presidential contest in the state. Gov. Rick Scott touted the straw poll as a precursor to winning the party nomination — and the White House.
“Whoever wins this straw poll on Saturday will be the Republican nominee, and I believe the Republican nominee will be the next president,” Scott said during a TV appearance.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The Office of Insurance Regulation scaled back proposed sinkhole-premium increases for customers of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The move came after an outcry from residents in sinkhole-prone Pasco, Hernando and Hillsborough counties.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “They used to be awful, then they got bad, now they’re just a little less bad,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, after a new poll showed Gov. Rick Scott’s approval rating rising to 37 percent.
By Jim Saunders
The News Service of Florida