Florida Reported 149 Hate Crimes in 2010; Eight In Escambia, Santa Rosa
December 28, 2011
There were 149 hate crimes committed in Florida during 2010, including eight in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, according to a report released Tuesday by Florida’s attorney general.
According to AG Pam Bondi, more than 46 percent of the hate crimes were motivated by race, while 21.5 percent resulted from sexual orientation. The report also said 19.5 percent of hate crimes were due to religion, while ethnicity/national origin represented 12.7 percent.
Escambia County reported four hate crimes — two aggravated assaults due to sexual orientation, a simple assault due to sexual orientation and a simple assault due to ethnicity/national origin.
Santa Rosa County reported four hate crimes in 2010 — two vandalisms related to race, one theft attributed to race and one vandalism due to religion.
During the 2010 calendar year, 149 hate crimes were reported by the 367 local law enforcement agencies that provide data to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Audit & Data Collection Unit of the Criminal Justice Information Services Program through the Uniform Crime Reporting information system.
Escambia Upgrades Sheriff, EMS, Fire, County Radio Systems
December 28, 2011
Escambia County has officially switched over to a new a $12.5 million communications systems for use by the county’s law enforcement, EMS, fire department, road department, road prison and code enforcement.
The system was purchased from Motorola under a contract approved in September 2010 by the Escambia County Commission.
Most channels used by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office are encrypted on the new system — meaning that the public can no longer hear most law enforcement communications. Sheriff David Morgan requested the encryption as a public and officer safety issue.
Local media outlets, including NorthEscambia.com, the Pensacola News Journal, CatCountry 98.7, NewsRadio 1620 and WEAR TV 3 lobbied the Escambia County Commission and the sheriff against encrypting law enforcement traffic for media access.
Channels used by the county’s fire departments, EMS and other agencies are not encrypted; the public can still hear traffic on the system using a digital scanner that costs about $400 or more. Traditional analog scanners previously used will no longer monitor most county communications.
In order to meet a Federal Communications Commission mandate for radio communications, the new digital system replaced analog radios that were placed into service in the 1970’s.
Until this change, law enforcement, ambulance service, fire department and other county agencies operated on numerous independent radio systems. This project consolidated all of these systems into one allowing all emergency responders the abilities to communicate with each other easily and more efficiently.
“Since the radio system was placed in service, responders and dispatchers have voiced numerous accolades on the increased coverage and clarity,” according to a statement released Tuesday by Escambia County.
According to Escambia County Commission records, the new system included:
- 163 tower site radios
- 136 receivers
- 27 transmitters
- UPS battery backup at 17 tower sites
- 1,212 walkie talkies
- 534 vehicle radios
- 1,300 Alphanumeric pagers
- 110 voice pagers for the fire department
- 46 desktop radios
- 10 new radio consoles for the Sheriff’s Office
- encryption for the Sheriff’s Office radios
- 10 new radio consoles for 911 dispatch
- replacement of one tower site
- FCC licenses
- disposal of old equipment and tower
The digital radio system was funded as follows:
Santa Rosa Home Destroyed By Fire
December 28, 2011
A Tuesday afternoon residential fire in Pace represented the fifth candle to be extinguished on the “Keep Your Holidays Bright” fire safety tree in Santa Rosa County.
The fire at 1:43 p.m. on Timber Creek Drive reportedly started in a bedroom. There were no injuries were reported.
A family of four was displaced by the fire which caused an estimated $80,000-100,000 in damages to the home. The cause of the fire is thought to be a pinched electrical cord between a bed and the wall. Residents are reminded to not run electrical cords under a bed or trap them against a wall where heat can build up and cause a fire, according to Santa Rosa County officials.
2011 In Photos: April
December 28, 2011
All this week, we are looking back at the photos that were in the news in 2011. Today, we are featuring photos from April.
About 250 people attended a community meeting in April in Jay to learn about potential future plans for Jay Hospital.
Deputy David Bashore works to remove a bottle that was allegedly part of a meth lab thrown into a stream that feeds a gravel lake in Century.
A K-9 team prepares to search for a suspect along the Alabama/Florida line after an attempted home invasion at the home of a law enforcement officer in Escambia County, Ala.
North Escambia area residents collected hundreds of pounds of supplies for Alabama tornado victims. In this photo, goods are collected in Flomaton.
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan (right) presents a Life Saving Medal to Senior Deputy Rudy Brown of the Century Precinct in April.
Both Northview and Jay were defeated in softball Regional 1-2A Quarterfinals.
Partial demolition of this building on North Century Boulevard near the Alabama State Line revealed signage for the former Ash Dept. Store and Worley’s Food Store.
McCullough Christian Center marked Good Friday with a reenactment of the Crucifixion in Atmore.
Youth from the Greater First Baptist Church pick up trash from along Booker Street during an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office “Clean Sweep” in their neighborhood.
Extension Service To Offer Forest Stewardship Invasive Plant Workshop
December 28, 2011
Escambia County Extension Services will offer a forest stewardship workshop focusing on some of the more common and troublesome invasive exotic plants and the current methods being used to control them.
The workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, January 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Escambia Extension Office, 3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment.
Registration is $10 and will cover the cost of lunch and materials. Preregistration by Monday, January 9 is requested. For more information, contact Libbie Johnson at Escambia County Extension at libbiej@ufl.edu or call (850) 475-5230.
Pen Air Donates To Toys For Tots
December 28, 2011
Pen Air FCU teamed up with the U.S. Marine Corps and Department of Defense to provide toys to underprivileged children in the community for the holidays. Each Pen Air FCU branch served as a drop-off location for donations, accumulating more than $5,000 worth of toys that were distributed prior to Christmas. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Moves Forward With No-Bid $11,450 Website, Marketing Plan
December 27, 2011
Century will unveil a new $11,450 website and accompanying marketing plan in the new year developed under a no-bid contract by a Pensacola company.
Mayor Freddie McCall said that the town’s attorney, Matt Dannheisser, advised that the town could enter into the contract without a bid since it was for professional services and under the cost limit per contract.
The Century Town Council voted 4-0 in late November, with council member Annie Savage absent, to purchase the package from Ideawörks, contingent upon the attorney’s approval. The town council was not presented with any other bids or proposals.
The $11,450 package includes $4,200 for a “basic website design”, $1,750 for a content management system (CMS) to allow town employees to update the site, and $5,500 for a five-year comprehensive marketing strategy to include “grant identification, development, PR plan, five-year marketing plan and budget”. After the initial services are provided, an hourly rate of $75 to $95 will apply for additional services.
Caron Sjöberg, president of Ideawörks, told the council in November that her company has created over 200 websites, including the current site for the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority, the Three Rivers Resource Conservation & Development Council and the Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce.
Sjöberg said the brand will be created for Century with a goal of economic development on the website with a “simple” homepage, contact page, staff page, history, a photo album, business information, chamber information and town news.
To read the complete Ideawörks proposal accepted by the Town of Century, click here.
Pictured: Caron Sjöberg, president of Ideawörks, pitches her company’s website and marketing plan to the Century Town Council Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Now’s The Time To Check Your Voter Registration
December 27, 2011
Voters have just a few more days to update their registration information for the January 31, 2012 Presidential Preference Primary. January 3 is the last day to register to vote or to change party affiliation.
New registration must be completed on or before January 3 at 5 p.m. to be effective for the first election of 2012.
To check registration status, visit EscambiaVotes.com and click Am I Registered?.
Now is also the time for voters to request an absentee ballot and update record sand signatures. For an absentee ballot, visit EscambiaVotes.com and complete the online request form, or call or email the elections office. Early voting begins January 21 at four locations throughout Escambia County. While only Republicans will be eligible to vote in that party’s Presidential Preference Primary, all voters, regardless of party affiliation, will be able to vote on the countywide referendum that will appear on the ballot.
Escambia County citizens have several ways to register or update their records:
Online/By Mail: Visit EscambiaVotes.com and complete, print, and sign the online application. Be sure to include a valid Florida Driver’s License number, a valid Florida ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security Number in the appropriate space. Mail the completed application no later than January 3 to Escambia County Supervisor of Elections, P.O. Box 12601, Pensacola, FL 32591-2601. Or, take the completed application to the Elections Office at 213 Palafox Place, second floor, in downtown Pensacola. Or, call 850-595-3900 or email the Elections Office, soe@escambiavotes.com, to have a form mailed to you.
In Person: You can register at the Elections Office at 213 Palafox Place, second floor, in downtown Pensacola, at any Florida Driver’s License Office, and several other governmental offices and public assistance centers. Registration forms are also available at many locations throughout the county. For a complete list of locations throughout Escambia County, visit EscambiaVotes.com, call or email the Elections Office.
ECUA Purchasing 50 New Natural Gas Trucks; Buying Fuel From ESP
December 27, 2011
ECUA is purchasing 50 new natural gas trash trucks and partnering with Energy Service of Pensacola to provide fuel to run them.
Emerald Coast Utilities Authority recently finalized a 10-year compressed natural gas (CNG) agreement with Energy Services of Pensacola (ESP).
As part of the agreement, ESP will construct a fast-fill CNG station on ECUA property located at 3050 Godwin Lane, with station access on Pine Forest Road.
“Design and permitting will begin immediately, and construction is expected to be completed in July 2012. ESP will provide CNG to the ECUA at a fee based on the New York commodity rate. ESP will operate and maintain the station, which will be open to the public and third-party fleets,” Steve Sorrell, ECUA Executive director, said.
Sorrell said ECUA is projecting an annual maintenance cost savings in excess of $350,000 and over $1 million in annual fuel costs.
“While there are up-front capital costs in buying or converting to a natural gas fleet, the fuel costs are considerably lower, making NGVs much more affordable over the long run,” he said.
ECUA ordered the 50 new CNG-fueled refuse collection trucks in November with delivery expected in July 2012.
Chet Truett Named Ernest Ward Teacher Of The Year
December 27, 2011
Eighth grade science teacher Chet Truett has been named the Ernest Ward Middle School Teacher of the Year.
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.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.