Escambia County Soil And Water Conservation District Goes Online
March 7, 2011
Have you ever wondered what the Escambia County Soil and Water Conservation District is, and exactly what they do? Now you can find out with the click of a mouse.
The ESWCD has created a blog to keep citizens informed about their activities — escambiaswcd.blogspot.com. The site contains and will be updated with information about the District, board minutes and activities.
The ESWCD is “A Special District covering Escambia County, Florida established to provide for control and prevention of soil erosion and for furthering the conservation, development and utilization of soil and water resources, and the disposal of water, to preserve natural resources, control floods, assist in maintaining the navigability of rivers and harbors, preserve wildlife, protect the tax base and public lands, and protect and promote the health, safety and general welfare of the people”.
To visit the Escambia County Soil and Water Conservation District blog, click here.
Top Honors For Twirler
March 7, 2011
Colbi Kendall of Flomaton placed first in two categories this weekend in the Alabama State Baton Twirling Championship in Clanton.
Competing against girls from across the state, Kendall placed first in the 1 and 2 Baton categories in the 10-12 year old age category. Her instructor is Melissa Majors of the Santa Rosa and Escambia Twirlers.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
‘Patients’ Right To Know’ Issue Back In Florida
March 7, 2011
Six years after Florida voters approved the “Patients’ Right to Know” amendment, hospitals are still challenging its implementation. On Tuesday, that battle goes to the state Supreme Court.
The amendment gives patients — and, by extension, their lawyers — greater access to internal hospital records about foul-ups that might have caused injuries or deaths.
In the case to be argued before the court, patient Lynda See sued West Florida Hospital in Pensacola after allegedly suffering a severed bile duct and liver damage during 2003 surgeries. She asked for hospital incident reports related to her surgeries and sought credentialing information about the doctors involved.
In part, the hospital argues that “Amendment 7,” as it is often called because of its position on the 2004 ballot, violates the U.S. Constitution. They say it conflicts with a federal law that relies on internal medical-staff meetings – so-called “peer reviews” — to weed out incompetent doctors.
This dispute has been going on ever since the amendment’s passage by more than 80 percent of Florida voters. The Florida Supreme court has consistently ruled in favor of access to records.
In March 2008, the court threw out an after-the-fact legislative attempt to shut off some of that access. Recently, the court refused to hear an appeal filed by Shands teaching hospital.
“These issues affect the legal rights of all health-care providers and facilities in Florida, as well as the rights of all individuals who may claim entitlement to access records under Amendment 7,” Shands argued in trying to get the court to consider the appeal.
Bill Bell, general counsel for the Florida Hospital Association, said Amendment 7 is vague, which has caused questions about how it should work.
Lincoln Connolly, an attorney for former Shands patient Michael Baldwin, said he routinely has to fight with hospitals to get records under the amendment. He said hospitals are trying to avoid having to turn over the information.
“The health-care industry’s trying to get the courts to take a very restrictive view of what falls within Amendment 7,” said Connolly, whose client alleges he suffered injuries to his larynx and throat during a 2003 procedure at Shands.
A group backed by trial lawyers put the amendment on the 2004 ballot, after a fierce legislative fight in 2003 about restricting medical-malpractice lawsuits. Two other medical-malpractice amendments — one pushed by trial lawyers, one by doctors — also passed in 2004 but have had little effect.
The “right to know” amendment, however, has continued to generate controversy, as lawyers seek information that can be used to bolster malpractice cases.
A key question is the types of records hospitals must disclose. In the West Florida case, that has even led to a dispute about whether the hospital has to turn over blank application forms that are used when doctors seek medical-staff privileges.
West Florida also raises a bigger-picture argument about whether Amendment 7 violates the so-called Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. That clause generally says federal laws trump state laws when they are in conflict.
The hospital said in court briefs that confidentiality is an “indispensable component of effective and reliable peer review” — an internal process that hospitals use to investigate incidents and the performances of doctors.
West Florida contends that a loss of confidentiality under Amendment 7 undermines a federal health law. That law requires hospitals to report information to a national data bank, in an effort to prevent bad doctors from moving state to state.
But See’s attorneys dismiss such arguments, saying Congress made clear that it was not interfering with state laws about disclosing peer-review information. The 1st District Court of Appeal sided with See’s position in a 2009 ruling.
“In enacting the (law), Congress did not provide for confidentiality of peer-review records or communications,” the appeals court wrote.
SWAT Stand-Off Ends With Arrest Of Escambia County Man
March 6, 2011
An Escambia County man was arrested by a SWAT team after barricading himself in his residence in an attempt to avoid arrest.
At around 9:57 a.m. Escambia County deputies attempted to make contact with 32-year-old Don Hawkins Longfellow at 407 Lenox Parkway. He refused to comply with the requests of the deputies and barricaded himself in his residence.
Longfellow was wanted by the Sheriff’s Office on charges of grand theft auto and petit theft. He also was also wanted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery and resisting arrest stemming from a Pensacola Police Department case.
“He was holding a female hostage and we had reason to believe that he was armed,” said Sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Chris Welborn. “Our SWAT team was activated and the situation was resolved shortly after they arrived.”
The Sheriff’s Office did not identify the female hostage due to an on-going investigation.
At around 11:30 a.m. members of the SWAT team had Longfellow in custody and he was transported to the county jail.
Residential Recycling: Over Half Of ECUA Customers Go Green
March 6, 2011
Two years after voluntary residential recycling was made available by the Emerald Coast Utility Authority, over half of their customers are taking part.
The ECUA recycling program debuted on January 5, 2009, as part of the regular residential sanitation program. Now just over two years later, 53 percent of ECUA’s 73,000 customers have chosen to use the program.
“The recycling service continues to evolve with tremendous success. Over 39,000 customers are currently participating in the program,” according to Randy Rudd, ECUA’s director of sanitation services. “We are currently collecting 170 tons of recyclable materials, per week, which is the average weekly tonnage for the year-to-date on all ECUA routes.”
During the week of January 4 through January 10 of this year the ECUA collected a two-year program record of 196 tons of recyclable materials. ECUA is currently delivering an average of about 50 new cans per week to customers who have requested to join the recycling program.
For a complete list of items accepted for recycling by ECUA, click here. For more information on taking part in the recycling program, contact ECUA customer service at (850) 476-0480 or visit www.ecua.org.
Grammy Award Winner Peforms At NHS FFA Blue Jacket Jamboree
March 6, 2011
Grammy Award winner Marty Raybon performed Saturday night during the Northview FFA Alumni Blue Jacket Jamboree in Bratt. He was joined by Northview’s own Ashton Gibbs and the Lookin’ Up Southern Gospel Quartet.
Proceeds from the concert benefited the Northview FFA Scholarship Fund which provides scholarship funds for graduating FFA students.
For a photo gallery from the event, click here.
The show was sponsored in part by NorthEscambia.com, Sheriff David Morgan, Escambia County Farm Bureau, Pensacola Interstate Fair, and Pioneer – A Dupont Company.
Marty Raybon is perhaps best known as the former lead singer of the country mega-group Shenandoah from 1985-1996. He led Shenandoah to 22 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including thirteen number one singles, such as: “The Church on Cumberland Road” (1989), “Sunday in the South” (1989), “Two Dozen Roses” (1989), “Next to You, Next to Me” (1990) and “Butterfly Kisses” (1997). At the top of the charts, Raybon became known for his bluegrass and gospel-influenced semi-traditional country sound.
Pictured above: Grammy Award winner Marty Raybon performs Saturday during the Northview FFA Alumni Blue Jacket Jamboree in Bratt. Pictured inset: Northview’s Ashton Gibbs performs. Pictured below: Lookin’ Up. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Grand Opening: Cantonment’s New Waterfront Rescue Bargain Center
March 6, 2011
The Waterfront Rescue Mission held a grand opening for its sixth bargain center Saturday in Cantonment.
The store, managed by Stephanie Fredrickson, is located at 732 North Highway 29 in the shopping center with Grocery Advantage. It offers a variety of items, including clothing, furniture, household appliances, electronics, lawn furniture, tools, collectibles, new mattresses and more. Donations are also accepted at the location.
The store is open Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. and is closed on Sundays.
The bargain centers provide funds for Waterfront Rescue shelters and drug and alcohol recovery programs.
Pictured: The new Waterfront Rescue Bargain Center in Cantonment held a grand opening celebration Saturday. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Featured Recipe: Homemade Egg Rolls
March 6, 2011
This weekend’s featured recipe from Janet Tharpe is a Homemade Egg Roll. Have fun and fill them with any of a variety of fillings to satisfy everyone in your house.
To print today’s “Just a Pinch” recipe column, you can click the image below to load a printable pdf with a recipe card.
Birth: Aubrey Elizabeth Flowers
March 6, 2011
Trent and Hannah (Gunter) Flowers are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Aubrey Elizabeth Flowers.
Aubrey was born on Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 10:52 p.m. at USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital in Mobile, Alabama. She weighed 2 pounds, 11 ounces, and measured 15 inches in length.
Aubrey’s grandparents are Eddie and Vicky Gunter of McDavid, Jimmy and Kim Flowers of Atmore.
Aubrey was welcomed home by her big sister, Alli.
Sherrill Named To Dean’s List
March 6, 2011
Kate Elizabeth Sherrill was recently named to the Dean’s List at Berry College for the fall semester.
Sherill is a junior majoring in vocal performance with a minor in theater. She is a member of the Berry Singers and the Berry Concert Choir. Sherill recently appeared in Berry’s production of Hecuba and was invited to participate in the Irene Ryan scholarship program for her role as Rhonda in Almost, Maine.
Sherrill is the daughter of Kent and Anne Sherrill of Walnut Hill and the granddaughter of Dean Graham and the late Sam Graham and the late Hunk and Senie Sherrill, all of Atmore.