MSNBC’s ‘Lockup” Filming Show At Area Prison
August 12, 2011
For the first time in Florida Department of Corrections history, a television production crew will be filming inside a Florida prison for almost eight weeks with unprecedented access to inmates and staff who wish to participate.
44 Blue, the production company that produces the prison reality series “Lockup” for MSNBC, began filming at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in Milton this week. Santa Rosa CI houses all custody levels of inmates along with a number of inmates with mental health issues.
Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Ed Buss worked with 44 Blue when he was the prison Commissioner in Indiana, and he felt the effort was worthwhile.
“I have no qualms about them coming into our prisons. I’m proud of our staff and how well our facilities are run, and I hope this will help Floridians understand the challenges we face with our inmate population, as well as the benefits prisons provide to their communities through our programs and re-entry efforts,” said Buss.
44 Blue’s film crew visited SRCI in July to scout the Santa Rosa CI location and interview inmates they may want to focus on. They will be filming during weeks in August and September. A staff member, Santa Rosa CI Lieutenant Andrew Williams, has been assigned to the crew full time and employees and inmates have been told they may opt out of being filmed. 44 Blue is paying a fee to cover the cost of the DC’s expenses.
“I am honored that Santa Rosa CI has been chosen for this opportunity,” said Warden Randy Tifft. “Our staff is looking forward to working with the film crew to showcase our inmate programs and what we do each day to protect the public.”
The series of shows is expected to air on MSNBC in early 2012.
County Pushes Feds For Beulah I-10 Exit, Would Benefit Proposed North Escambia Beltway
August 11, 2011
Escambia County is asking the federal government to expedite approval of a new I-10 exit in Beulah — an exit that is part of an overall plan that could greatly change the landscape of some parts of North Escambia.
The exit would serve a northern “beltway” connector proposed from North Escambia to Santa Rosa County and serve the area included in a plan that encourages growth and development on 15,000 acres in North Escambia.
The new I-10 Beulah exit, to be located at or in the vicinity of Beulah Road, would also facilitate the movement of traffic northward without clogging Highway 29, Highway 87 and I-10. It will also aid in economic development in Escambia County, according to a resolution approved by the Escambia County Commission, that asks the Federal Highway Administration to grant approval for the exit as soon as possible.
The interstate exit at Beulah, according to commissioners, would also aid in hurricane evacuation.
The proposed beltway connector would link Highway 90 to the new I-10 Beulah exit through North Escambia, across the Escambia River in the vicinity of Quintette Road to Pace in Santa Rosa County. The new Detailed Specific Area Plan encompasses approximately 15,000 acres of land north of Interstate 10, south of Barrineau Park Road and west of Highway 29. It is a long-term conceptual planning project in North Escambia that incorporates road networks, parks and schools along with commercial and residential projects.
Pictured top: A proposed beltway connector between Escambia and Santa Rosa counties is depicted in red on this map. NorthEscambia.com graphic.
Century Inmate Busted For Smuggled Cellphone
August 11, 2011
A Century Correctional Institution inmate is facing a felony charge for having a cellphone behind bars.
Travis Montes Mitchell, a former resident of the Century area, was charged with smuggling contraband into the facility. According to the State Attorney’s Office, Mitchell was observed by a guard placing the cellphone in his sock before he ran away and tossed the phone in the toilet. The phone was retrieved from the toilet by prison officials.
Mitchell was serving a 44 month sentence on drug and weapons charges.
Back To School Bash, Neighborhood Watch Party In Farm Hill
August 11, 2011
A Back to School Bash and Neighborhood Watch Party will be held this Saturday in Farm Hill.
There will be free hot dogs, chips and drinks. The Cantonment Volunteer Fire Department will provide fire safety education and display a truck, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Patrol will be on hand, plus there will be plenty of activities for the children.
Donations of school supplies will be accepted, and school supplies will be distributed to children in need.
The Back to School Bash and Neighborhood Watch Party will take place Saturday, August 13 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Santa Maria Plaza Park in Farm Hill. For more information, call (850) 554-7376.
The event is sponsored by the Cottage Hill, Farm Hill and Village neighborhood watch programs.
Two Escambia Residents Get Life In Federal Drug Case
August 11, 2011
Two Escambia County residents have been sentenced to life in prison in a federal drug case.
Terrence L Watson, 30, and Senica C Herbert, 34, received a life sentence from Senior U.S. District Judge Lacy Collier following their convictions for participating in a narcotics conspiracy involving five kilograms or more of cocaine.
The sentences were the latest of more than 20 convictions stemming from related Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) prosecutions by the United
States Attorneys Office in Pensacola over the last two years. The convictions have resulted in four life sentences and five sentences of 20 years or more on charges involving narcotics, firearms and related violence.
Those convicted have been from Florida, Alabama and Texas, including several defendants with direct ties to organized crime in Mexico, according to Pamela C. Marsh, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Escambia Proposes $4.3 Million Cantonment Fire Training Facility With Ascend
August 11, 2011
A partnership between Escambia Fire Rescue and Ascend Performance Materials could lead to a new fire training facility worth over $4 million.
Escambia County officials are proposing the facility on 20 acres currently owned by Ascend at their Cantonment manufacturing facility. If an agreement is reached to build the fire training area, the property’s ownership would be transferred to the county.
Escambia County currently has $817,492.10 in the budget for a fire training facility; early estimates are the county will need another $3.5 to $3.75 million for the facility.
The facility, as proposed, would include a fire tower, a burn building, confined space training area, an area for structural collapse training, a rail car prop, an area for vehicle extrication training, industrial fire training, a helipad and classroom space.
The proposed fire training facility and a funding source must first be approved by the Escambia County Commission at a later date.
Pictured above: A proposed Escambia Fire Rescue training facility in Cantonment, click to enlarge.
New Jay High Won’t Be Ready For First Day Classes
August 11, 2011
Students won’t begin the first day of school in the new Jay High School later this month; instead, the school’s nearly 500 students will attend classes in the old buildings as crews work to complete the facility.
The new target completion date for the project is October, pushed back due to rain and unexpected construction delays.
Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis caused extensive cracks to appear in the walls of Jay High, prompting the installation of over five dozen braces in the school’s 48,000 square foot main building north of the gym.
The new phase one that will open in October will include classrooms and administrative areas. Once it opens, phase two plans call for the demolition of the old school building and the construction of more classrooms, a band room and cafeteria. Bids have not yet been accepted for phase two.
Jay High To Hold Royal Night
August 11, 2011
Jay High School will hold “Royal Night” next week to give fans the chance to come out and meet this year’s Royal football team and some future Royals.
Events begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, August 19 at Merle V. North Stadium at Jay High School. Admission is $3 with concessions available from the band.
There will be scrimmages between future Royals — Mini Mites at 6 p.m., Mites at 6:20, and Midgets at 6:40. The band will perform at 7 p.m., followed by a junior varsity scrimmage at 7:15. The varsity Royals will hold a scrimmage at 7:35.
Season passes are also on sale now in the front office for the Jay Royals. Family passes at $175 and individual passes are $100.
Ticket prices for football games this year will be $6 pre-sale and $7 at the gate. Junior varsity game tickets are $5 for home games.
Group Plans Lawsuit Over Florida Textbook Adoption Changes
August 11, 2011
A Boca Raton group that believes some Florida textbooks are slanted to favor Islamic beliefs plans to file a lawsuit against the state of Florida and Gov. Rick Scott for approving a new law that changes the state’s textbook adoption process.
Citizens for National Security will file its lawsuit Thursday in a Palm Beach County circuit court, saying the new law violates the state constitution’s promise of a “high-quality” education.
The dramatic changes to the textbook adoption process contained in SB 2120, a new state law tied to the education budget, eliminated the use of large statewide committees of public school teachers, administrators, school board members and private citizens to review textbooks.
Instead, the education commissioner hand-picks three state or national “subject matter experts” to examine the books, with only two people reviewing the books and the third acting as a tie-breaker.
“It is not possible for two people to review all the textbooks in Florida within a 4 month period of time,” the complaint says. “Prior to the passage of SB 2120, the selection/adoption process for history and geography textbooks required the reviews of more than 40 people, and took approximately one year to complete.”
Citizens for National Security Chairman William Saxton said his group believes the new law removes a valuable form of oversight from the textbook selection process.
“We need to have the new law repealed because what the new law does is totally disenfranchise the public from having any role in the selection of K-12 public textbooks,” Saxton said. “In the old law it wasn’t a significant role, but it was a role. There was oversight.”
Barry Silver, an attorney representing Citizens for National Security and a former Democratic state representative, said changing the textbook adoption policies opens the window to religious indoctrination of children.
He called textbook selection a “monumental undertaking” and the suggestion that three people could handle this task is “absolutely ridiculous” because it is so time-consuming.
“We need more people, not less, engaged in that task,” Silver said.
Saxton said his group has helped conduct a review of existing textbooks and found that some “embrace or embellish” Islamic values over Judeo-Christian values. Saxton said he believes through lobbying textbook adoption committees and textbook publishers, Islamic groups have gotten their point of view into textbooks.
“It’s another form of jihad,” Saxton said, with “hearts and minds of children” the target.
He said these concerns were brought to the Department of Education and Scott prior to his signing the bill.
Scott has become a popular target for lawsuits and this marks at least the eighth time he has been sued since taking office.
“This isn’t the first time Gov. Scott has been inappropriately added to a lawsuit where he’s not a proper defendant. It’s all just a ploy to get a splash in the media and any good lawyer would know better,” said Scott spokesman Lane Wright.
School districts can appoint a teacher or district curriculum specialist to review the recommendations by the reviewers. Ultimately, school districts must spend 50 percent of their textbook budgets on state-approved books.
In May, the Department of Education explained the change as a way of curing some problems with the existing adoption process. Mary Jane Tappen, who is in charge of curriculum for the department, said it had become difficult to find people to sit on the committees since it is a huge undertaking.
“We felt like going to a review process where first experts review the content to ensure it is error-free and factual, followed by every district in the state participating in a second review,” Tappen said.
The Department of Education said it has yet to select new textbook reviewers under the new law.
“We’re still in the process of getting volunteer experts from the universities, state colleges, national organizations other state agency social studies program specialists and private university systems,” said department spokeswoman Cheryl Etters. The next textbooks up for adoption are K-12 social studies books.
It’s not just groups like Citizens for National Security that are concerned about the new adoption process.
Teachers and school board members who had previously sat on the statewide adoption committees also sounded alarms earlier this year when the Legislature first passed the bill that made the changes.
“We are going to see what happened in Texas, with curriculum being challenged and changed,” said April Griffin, a school board member from Hillsborough County Schools, in a May interview with the News Service of Florida. “We are going to see favoritism for certain companies. I think we are going to lose the voice of the front lines in this process.”
By The News Service of Florida
Afternoon Fire Destroys Abandoned Mobile Home
August 10, 2011
Fire destroyed an abandoned double wide mobile home this afternoon between Davisville and Nokomis.
The home had already burned to the ground by the time the first firefighters arrived on Miller Road east of Rockaway Creek Road, just south of the Alabama-Florida line. Firefighters said the home had no power, no gas and there was no obvious source of ignition. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
There were no injuries reported in the blaze, which happened about 2:15 p.m.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Atmore Fire Department responded to the blaze.
Pictured above: Fire destroyed this abandoned double wide mobile home on Miller Road Wednesday afternoon. Pictured below: Fire burns on the last wall standing in the structure. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
