Local Soldiers Headed Home In Time For Christmas
December 15, 2011
Members of a local National Guard unit are headed home from Afghanistan just in time for Christmas.
The 170 members of the 1165th Military Police Company based in Fairhope and Brewton are set to arrive back in Fairhope for a homecoming celebration on December 23. Supporters are asked to line Veterans Drive, Section Street and Fairhope Avenue prior to a welcome home ceremony at 10 a.m. at the Fairhope Civic Center.
The soldiers, several of which live in the North Escambia area, deployed for Afghanistan in January.
Sgt. Chester Tolbert, a Jay resident assigned to the 1165th, was recently awarded for his actions while in Afghanistan. Click here for a earlier NorthEscambia.com story about the Century Correctional Institution employee.
Two Brewton natives in the 1165th assigned to NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan also received awards a few days ago for actions taken in early August when their team successfully combated an insurgent attack in Kabul.
U.S. Army Spcs. Daniel Fowler (pictured left) and Brandon Hammack helped defeat a multiphased attack in which insurgents used small-arms and improvised explosive devices to attack the British Council Building, a base located in a relatively upscale area of the country’s capital used for education and helping Afghanistan’s civil society groups. Although no U.S. service members were harmed, twelve people died in the attack.
Commander, Task Force Yankee Army Brig. Gen. John Hammond presented 10 soldiers with Joint Service Achievement Medals and combat action badges, one soldier with a Joint Service Commendation Medal and a combat medical badge, one soldier with an Army Commendation Medal and one soldier with a combat action badge.
Pictured top: Sgt. Chest Tolbert of Jay, a member of the 1165th Military Police Company, helps an Afghan National Police officer detect vehicle threat indications in the heart of downtown Kabul last early last month. Pictured inset: U.S. Army Spc. Daniel Fowler of Brewton, also a member of the 1165th, receives a Joint Service Achievement Medal and a combat action badge. Pictured below: U.S. Army Spc. Brandon Hammock of Brewton was also awarded the medals. Photos by Petty Officer 1st Class Chris Fahey for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview, Ernest Ward Name Students Of The Month
December 15, 2011
Students of the month for November were recently named at Ernest Ward Middle and Northview High schools.
Pictured above: Ernest Ward Students of the Month were (L-R) Ladarrious Thames, Cody Kite and Desmone Knight. Pictured left: Penny Banda and Tristan Brown were Students of the Month from Northview High School. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lawmaker: Go Ahead, Pry Cell Phone From ‘My Cold Dead Fingers’
December 15, 2011
A day after a federal agency suggested every state should ban or limit cell phone use while driving, Florida lawmakers began reacting.
Sen. Jack Latvala, a Pinellas County Republican, told WTSP in Tampa that he wouldn’t support the proposed bans that are filed with the Legislature.
“You can take it out of my cold dead fingers,” Latvala said of his cell phone. He said he talks and drives all the time.
One bill has already been filed that would ban texting and driving, while another bill would prohibit minors from using the cell phone in any way while driving.
Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice told WTSP that the texting ban is common sense. “It’s not limiting anyone’s personal freedom,” she said. “It’s a safety issue.”
For more on this story and the NTSB opinion that cell phone use should be banned for drivers, click here.
Deputies Seek Witness To Murder Of Domino’s Pizza Driver
December 14, 2011
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has identified a man wanted for questioning as a witness to a murder outside a Domino’s Pizza back in September.
Investigators said Wednesday morning that they want to talk to Myron Edwards, 23, as a possible witness to the murder of Tyler John Hinkle, a 2010 West Florida High School graduate. He was attacked outside the Domino’s Pizza at 27 North Navy Boulevard about 10:40 p.m. on September 24. Hinkle was able to walk into the restaurant to seek help from co-workers before he collapsed and died a short time later at Baptist Hospital.
The Sheriff’s Office previous said that robbery was a motive in Hinkle’s death. Friends said that Hinkle had just returned to the pizza restaurant after making a delivery.
Anyone who may have information related to this case or information on the whereabouts of Edwards is asked to contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Beulah Road Bridge Now Reopen
December 14, 2011
The Beulah Road Bridge, north of the Perdido Landfill, is now reopen. The bridge was closed November 15 for emergency repairs after an inspection revealed structural deficiencies.
Tate Student One Of Five To Receive Prestigious Fellowship
December 14, 2011
A Tate High School senior received a big surprise Tuesday morning — his college education will be totally free.
Daniel Pierce was one five students from across Florida to be honored with Take Stock in Children’s prestigious Leaders 4 Life Fellowship. He will receive leadership training and development, and up to $10,000 annually to cover the costs of housing, food, textbooks, supplies, transportation and other college-related expenses. The money is in addition to a full Take Stock in Children scholarship. He is also a Bright Futures scholar.
“I hope to one day make every single one of you proud and hopefully make some contributions in the lives of your children and grandchildren,” Pierce said.
He plans to attend Florida State University, majoring in biology, with plans to become a neurosurgeon.
The Leaders 4 Life Fellowship, created in partnership with the Asofsky Family Foundation, will provide a four year total of up to $40,000 for Pierce.
Pictured top: Tate senior Daniel Pierce (white shirt) Tuesday morning with (L-R) Escambia County School Board members Gerald Boone, Patty Hightower and Bill Slayton; and Superintendent Malcolm Thomas. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sammy Day Named Northview Teacher Of The Year
December 14, 2011
Northview High School Athletic Director Sammy Day has been named the school’s Teacher of the Year.
Day, who will retire at the end of this school year, has been a teacher and coach for 37 years in the Escambia County School District and has served as athletic director and coach at Northview High School since the school opened. He also currently teaches driver’s education at Northview.
Teachers of the year are chosen by the faculty and staff at each school in the county. The Escambia County Teacher of the Year will be announced at the annual Golden Apple Awards Dinner in February 2012.
NTSB Urges Ban On Cell Phone Use While Driving; Florida Backer Not So Optimistic
December 14, 2011
The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday urged states to ban cell phone use while driving, the first such call by a federal agency.
In Florida, bills that would prohibit kids under 18 from talking-while-driving are filed by a Senate Republican and a House Democrat, while another bill, carried Republicans in both chambers, would ban texting and driving.
But the House Democrat sponsoring the bill to ban kids under 18 from using cell phones while driving said Tuesday he wasn’t confident the NTSB recommendation would go very far to move along his proposal, which he fears will die in an unfriendly House committee.
“Unfortunately for the state of Florida, all these road safety bills are bottled up in a drawer,” said Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton.
Slosberg has in the past criticized the chairman of the House Transportation and Highway Safety Subcommittee, Rep. Brad Drake, R-Eucheeanna, suggesting that Drake wants to kill bills related to regulations on drivers.
And Slosberg did again in an interview on Tuesday.
“I guess they have to go very slowly, the only thing I can do is to have patience and bring the issue up over and over and one day they’ll just be tired from hearing it from me,” said Slosberg, who has made road safety his main issue in the Legislature. Slosberg’s daughter died in a car crash several years ago, and for many years, Slosberg was best known in the Legislature for his effort to pass a bill allowing police to pull over drivers for not wearing a seatbelt, which eventually became law.
Drake didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment late Tuesday. But last month during a committee meeting, under questioning from Slobserg on a texting ban, Drake said if there was support from enough members, and if it were “feasible and realistic,” then he’d hear a bill in the committee. Slosberg is a co-sponsor of a bill (HB 299), along with Republican Rep. Ray Pilon of Sarasota, that would ban texting and driving. The measure is assigned to Drake’s subcommittee, but hasn’t been put on the agenda for a hearing.
Slosberg is also the House sponsor of a bill that would prohibit the use of handheld cell phones and other electronic devices – not just for texting, but any use – by drivers under 18 and people driving school buses, regardless of their age. That bill (HB 187) also would have to get through the Highway Safety subcommittee. The measure would also put a limit on how many passengers young drivers could have in their car.
The ban on cell phone use by minors is sponsored in the Senate (SB 930) by Sen. Thad Altman, R-Viera, while the ban on texting (SB 416) is sponsored by another Republican, Sen. Nancy Detert of Venice, and was recently approved unanimously by the Senate Transportation Committee, so the issue isn’t a partisan one.
But restrictions on what drivers can do – from seat belt and car seat laws to those restricting kids from riding in the backs of pickups – have long cut along two divides in the Florida Legislature.
One is between rural lawmakers, some of whom see it as an infringement on a personal liberty that is part of rural culture and personal responsibility that goes against the Libertarian streak in many rural areas, and everyone else.
The other is along racial lines, with some black and Hispanic lawmakers in the past expressing concerns over new traffic laws, which some fear could lead to additional racial profiling.
The NTSB said Tuesday that distracted driving, some of it due to cell phone use, contributed to nearly 4,000 highway deaths last year, citing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.
“According to the National Safety Council, drivers using cell phones look but fail to see up to 50 percent of the information in their driving environment,” the NTSB said in its recommendation.
The agency also said that in a national survey by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 69 percent of Americans reported that they’ve talked on their cell while driving in the last 30 days and 24 percent said they’ve texted or emailed while driving recently.
By The News Service of Florida
Trio, Including Father And Son, Charged With Multiple AC Thefts
December 14, 2011
Three men — including a Cantonment resident and his dad — are charged with a string of air conditioning thefts in Pensacola.
Frank Steven Davis, age 50 of Cantonment, and his father, 75-year old Frank Joseph Davis of Pensacola, are facing multiple counts of grand theft, larceny and dealing in stolen property. Another Pensacola resident, 56-year old Morris Roger Frazier is also charged. The three men remained in the Escambia County Jail early Wednesday morning with bonds ranging from $227,000 to $232,000.
According to an arrest report, the three were caught red handed by Pensacola Police carrying a stolen AC unit from a vacant residence on West Chase Street to a nearby pickup truck. The Cantonment man, Frank Steven Davis, admitted to police that the trio had stolen complete AC units from 15 different residences and businesses in Pensacola and Escambia County.
He said that he would help Frazier remove the units while his father, Frank Joseph Davis, would sit in their truck waiting. The AC units, he told police, were taken back to Frazier’s residence where they were dismantled and then sold for scrap. The money, according to police, was then split three ways between the men.
Century Reschedules Council Meetings, Announces Holidays
December 14, 2011
The Century Town Council has rescheduled their first two meetings of 2012 and announced several upcoming town holidays.
The Century Town Hall, including the gas and water department, will be closed December 23 and December 26 for Christmas, January 2 for New Year’s and January 16 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Both regular January council meetings have been rescheduled due to the holidays. The January 2 meeting will be held Tuesday, January 3, and the January 16 meeting will be held the following Monday, January 23. Both meetings are at 7 p.m. and are open to the public.