$32.3 Million For Road Projects In North Escambia, North Santa Rosa
June 2, 2011
The new Florida budget signed by Gov. Rick Scott last week includes $32.2 million for five major transportation projects in and around northern Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
In Escambia County:
- $7,709,279 to resurface Highway 29 in North Escambia from about Pine Barren Road through Century to the Alabama state line. (Read more…)
- $17,703,796 for resurfacing and construction engineering on the entire length of Nine Mile Road from the Perdido River Bridge to the Escambia River Bridge.
In Santa Rosa County:
- $1,609,325 for preliminary engineering on State Road 4 from Market Road (about four miles east of Jay) to the Okaloosa county line.
- $3,924,041 for resurfacing Highway 89 from Chumuckla Highway to the Jay city limits
- $1,362,582 for preliminary engineering on Highway 87 from two miles south of the Yellow River to County Road 184
Pictured above: The new Florida budget signed last week by Gov. Rick Scott includes $7.7 million to resurface a portion of Highway 29 in North Escambia. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Area Graduations Scheduled; Warning Issued For Parking At Civic Center
June 2, 2011
Graduations for high schools in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties will continue through Tuesday.
Many of the graduations will take place at the Pensacola Civic Center where school district officials are warning of potential problems due to parking restrictions. These parking restrictions are due to the recently constructed Commerce Park in downtown Pensacola. Graduates and guests attending area high school graduation ceremonies are encouraged to car pool to the civic center, allowing extra time in order to find parking. Parking in the immediate area of the Civic Center will be limited; those participating in and those attending graduations should be prepared to walk from where they park, according to school district officials.
Here is the schedule of graduations for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties:
FRIDAY
- Central High School: 6 p.m., Central High gym
SATURDAY
- Gulf Breeze High: 11 a.m., Pensacola Civic Center
- Pace High School: 2 p.m., Pensacola Civic Center
- Northview High School: 4 p.m., Northview High gym
- Navarre High School: 5 p.m., Pensacola Civic Center
MONDAY
- Escambia High School: 1 p.m., Pensacola Civic Center
- Pensacola High School: 4 p.m., Pensacola Civic Center
- Jay High School: 6 p.m., Jay High auditorium
- Washington High School: 7 p.m., Pensacola Civic Center
- Milton High School: 8 p.m., Milton High stadium/gym
TUESDAY
- Pine Forest High School: 1 p.m., Pensacola Civic Center
- West Florida High School: 4 p.m., Pensacola Civic Center
- Tate High School: 7 p.m., Pensacola Civic Center
For The Kids: Free ‘Water Camp’ To Be Held At Lake Stone
June 2, 2011
Escambia County Extension will offer two free water camps this summer, including one at Lake Stone in Century.
The water camps are for children 8-12 on June 29 and 30. Water Camp has fun, hands-on activities designed to get kids excited about water resources and healthy lifestyles. Although registration runs through June 22, there is a limit of 20 children per session, so early registration is encouraged.
The June 29 camp will be held at Lake Stone, 801 West Highway 4, Century and the June 30 camp will be held at the Langley Bell 4-H camp, 4810 West Nine Mile Road. Both camps start at 9 a.m. and end at 1 p.m.
There will be sprinklers and a slip-and-slide, so a swimsuit and sunscreen are needed. Lunch will be provided for all attendees. Parents are not required to stay during the session.
Call ahead if assistance is needed with transportation to the Century site.
For more information or to register, contact Carrie Stevenson, ctsteven@ufl.edu or Libbie Johnson, libbiej@ufl.edu or call (850) 475-5230.
Accused Piggly Wiggly Shooter Pleads Not Guilty
June 2, 2011
The Atmore man accused of shooting another man outside the Davisville Piggly Wiggly on mothers day has pleaded not guilty.
Gary Winston Smith, 57, entered the plea in Escambia County Circuit Court 0n a felony charge of aggravated battery with a firearm. He’s accused of the of the May 8 shooting of Garland Rodney Johnson, 45, of Century.
Smith is due to appear in court again before Judge Jan Shackelford in late July.
The whole incident, authorities said, was over a woman allegedly seeing both men. For for information about the shooting and a photo gallery from the scene, click here.
Pictured top: A North Escambia man was shot just outside the Piggly Wiggly on Highway 97 in Davisville on May 8. Pictured inset: This NorthEscambia.com exclusive photo shows Gary Winston Smith of Atmore being arrested in connection with the shooting. Pictured below: The victim, Garland Rodney Johnson of Century, was transported by LifeFlight to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Records Highs Set
June 2, 2011
Temperatures topped the 100 degree mark in many locations across the North Escambia area on Wednesday. A record high of 101 degrees was set at Pensacola today, breaking the old record of 100 set in 1953. Mobile’s old record of 98 set in 1998 was broken with an afternoon high also at 101.
The unofficial, old fashioned but almost-accurate mercury thermometer at NorthEscambia.com reached 103 in the shade Wednesday afternoon. (Pictured above.)
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Photos: Bratt Elementary 5th Grade Talent Show
June 2, 2011
The fifth grade students at Bratt Elementary School held a talent show Wednesday morning. For a photo gallery from the event, click here.
Submitted photos by Mandi Kinley for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Retails Sales Up In Escambia, Santa Rosa
June 2, 2011
Data released Wednesday afternoon shows retail sales were up in March across Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
The area’s retail sales across all categories were up 7.5 percent — the third highest jump in Florida, according to the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research.
The Pensacola Bay Area’s biggest gains were in business investment, with an increase of 15 percent. The business investment category includes taxable sales includes sales by building contractors, heating and air conditioning contractors, insulation, well drilling, electrical contractors, interior decorating, paint and wallpaper shops, cabinet and woodworking shops, soil, lumber and building suppliers and roofing contractors.
Sales of autos and automotive accessories were up 11.5 percent, while tourism and recreation spending was up 10 percent.
Consumer durables (appliances, furniture, home electronics, aircraft, boat dealers, hardware and decorating stores sales) recorded a 7.1 percent jump, while consumer nondurable good sales were up 3.1 percent. Nondurable goods are taxable sales that include food and convenience stores, department and clothing stores, drug stores, antique dealers, bookstores, florists, pet dealers and suppliers, social organizations, storage, communications firms, print shops, nurseries, vending machines, utilities, and any “kind” that doesn’t fit into the other categories.
Building investment in the two county region was the only category with a decline in sales, down 0.4 percent. The category of “business investment” taxable sales includes farm equipment, feed and seed suppliers, store and office equipment, computer shops, machine shops, industrial machinery, hotel and restaurant suppliers, transportation equipment, manufacturing and refining equipment, industrial suppliers, paper and packaging materials, medical and optical supplies, commercial rentals, and wholesale dealers.
Escambia Deputy’s Trial Delayed
June 2, 2011
Opening testimony was scheduled to begin Wednesday in the trial of an Escambia County deputy charged with sexually assaulting a woman, but now his trial has been delayed until July.
Mike Priest, 33, is accused of forcing a woman to perform sexual acts in his patrol car.
Priest had just completed a shift as an off-duty security officer at Captain Funs nightclub when he gave the woman a ride home. The victim told authorities that Priest threatened to take her to jail for public intoxication if she did not comply with his demands.
Priest, an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office employee since August, 2006, was charged with two counts of sexual assault – sexual battery on a victim over twelve. He remains free on $40,000 bond.
ACLU Files Suit Over State Employee Drug Tests
June 2, 2011
Requiring job applicants take a drug test and randomly selecting current public employees to do the same is unconstitutional, attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday after filing a federal lawsuit to stop the practice ordered by Gov. Rick Scott.
In what is expected to be a series of lawsuits on recently passed legislation and gubernatorial edicts, the ACLU called on a federal judge in Miami to immediately suspend an executive order signed by Scott in March that requires all agencies to set up random drug testing protocols for existing workers and require new hires to submit to drug tests as a condition of their employment.
In doing so, Scott has not only pushed the envelope over who can be tested, but has acted counter to multiple court rulings that require some probable cause or special circumstance before drug tests can be administered, Peter Walsh, an attorney representing the ACLU, told reporters Wednesday.
“This is a case in which the office of the governor has ripped the envelope apart,” said Walsh.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Scott responded that Floridians overwhelmingly support drug testing for state workers. She said the governor, who has required testing for new hires since he took office, is confident the executive order will withstand court scrutiny.
“There’s an odd hypocrisy here,” said spokeswoman Amy Graham. “The ACLU supports all kinds of mandatory disclosures by public employees, but not the most important disclosure – whether or not they’re fit to be in the workforce.”
Scott signed the executive order March 22, giving agencies 60 days to begin testing new hires, an increasingly common practice in the private sector. Agencies must give existing employees another 60 days notice before beginning random tests.
“The taxpayers of Florida are entitled to expect that Florida’s public-sector employers be provided the same tools that are now available to private-sector employers to ensure their workforce is drug free,” the executive order reads.
The ACLU filed the case on behalf of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 79 which represents 50,000 public workers who are now subject to the new drug-testing regime and Richard Flamm, a 17-year state employee and Research Scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
“It is an unnecessary and costly invasion of the basic privacy and dignity of all state workers to force us to submit to tests of our bodily fluids with absolutely no just cause,” Flamm said.
The suit contends previous federal court decisions have clearly ruled that that some type of suspicion or a genuine public need must the proven before drug tests can be required without cause.
“The Supreme Court of the United States has held that suspicion-less drug-testing by the government is an unreasonable search (in violation) of the Fourth Amendment, except under certain special circumstances, such as those involving employees in safety-sensitive positions where there is a concrete danger of real harm,” the lawsuit reads.
The complaint is expected to be followed in the weeks ahead by other lawsuits in an attempt to overturn “a tsunami of anti-civil liberties legislation” passed by lawmakers during Scott’s first few months in office dealing with abortion, elections, and free speech issues, said Howard Simon, executive director of the Florida ACLU.
Scott on Tuesday signed another drug testing measure into law. It requires applicants to pass drug tests before they collect temporary cash assistance. In addition, the Republican-led Legislature passed a handful of controversial measures dealing with elections, doctor-patient conversations and abortion, all of which may be targeted for legal challenges.
“This has to be stopped here,” Simon told reporters Wednesday. “There is a concerted attack on the personal freedoms of all Floridians.”
By Michael Peltier
The News Service of Florida
Two Injured In Escambia Shooting, One Charged
June 1, 2011
A disturbance in the Brownsville community of Escambia County ended with two men shot.
At around 5:25 p.m. Tuesday, deputies responded to the intersection of Citrus and Anthony Streets for a reported shooting. When they arrived they found that Jeremiah Dewayne Olds, 22, of Pensacola had been shot in the back and leg. They also found Jessie James Johnson, 31, of Pensacola suffering from a gunshot wound to the thigh.
According to witnesses, the two were shot after a verbal altercation between 49-year-old Larry Anthony Sims, of Pensacola (pictured), his cousin and a neighbor of Sims.
Deputies were told that Sims and his cousin walked over to his neighbor’s residence in the 4000 block of Anthony Street, where Olds and Johnson were standing. Sims reportedly screamed out, “I’ll fight anybody here.” Sims cousin then pulled out a large handgun, described as a revolver, and began shooting.
Olds and Johnson were attempting to run away from the scene when they were shot. They were transported to Baptist Hospital by ambulance, where they were treated for non-life threatening wounds.
Deputies arrested Sims and charged him with accessory to aggravated assault and two counts of accessory to aggravated battery. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail and held on a $16,000 bond.
Investigators have not been able to identify Sims’ cousin and they are seeking the public’s help in doing so.
Sims’ cousin was described by witnesses as a black male, approximately 45 years of age, five-foot-six inches tall with short hair. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt and leaving the area in a brown or gold color truck driven by a white female. The female, who was also unidentified is thought to be his girlfriend.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.