Arrested: DNA Links Man To One Of Two Bodies Found In Woods
December 8, 2010
A Pensacola man was arrested Tuesday night in connection with the death of one of two women found dead in a wooded area off Nine Mile Road on November 29.
Joshua Wayne Douglas, 22, of Indian Oak Hills Place, is charged with the murder and sexual assault of Jamie Broxson, 25, of Pensacola. Forensic testing found DNA that linked Douglas to Broxson, according to Chris Welborn, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Douglas has not yet been charged in connection with the death of Debra Jones, 19, whose badly decomposed body was also found in the wooded area.
Both bodies were found near a Gulf Power substation on Jernigan Road, just south of Nine Mile Road. Douglas’ home address, according to jail records, is directly across from the power substation.
Douglas is being held in the Escambia County Jail without bond. He was taken into custody without incident at about 6:30 p.m Tuesday at a Tom Thumb on East Nine Mile Road, not far from his home and the location where the bodies were found.
Northview’s School Grade Jumps From “D” To “B”
December 8, 2010
There was excitement in the air Tuesday at Northview High School Tuesday as state school grades were released showing a jump from a D to a B.
“We are very excited; we are very proud that we are a B,” said Northview Principal Gayle Weaver.”"We knew we are a good school and we always wanted people to see beyond the school grade.”
In addition to FCAT results as in years past, school grades at the high school level this year included other factors such as graduation rates, accelerated courses and college readiness. That formula worried Weaver because, as a smaller school, Northview does not offer accelerated programs like Advance Placement or International Baccalaureate.
“No one had said what would happen to the small schools without the advanced academics,” she said. “Now we will look at exactly how we did it. We are anxious to find out the formula was that was used.”
For results from other schools in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, click here.
After Northview was graded as a D school last year, the school went to work to implement a variety of plans to help students improve their FCAT scores and overall school performance. FCAT efforts were focused on achieving learning gains for ninth and tenth grade students and increase the number of the lowest performing students that achieve success.
The primary strategy implemented was the Adviser-Mentoring Program, pairing a faculty member with a students from the lower 30 percent of ninth and tenth grade students, and the implementation of an In-School Suspension (ISS) program.
In the mentoring program, advisers meet with students periodically, review academic and discipline, connect with parents, and monitor any activities associated with the student. The mentoring program is still in place this school year.
The letter grades are based upon a new high school grading system designed to grade schools based not only on student performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), but also on their ability to graduate students, increase student participation and performance in advanced coursework, and better prepare students for college and career. Under the new requirements, 50 percent of a high school’s grade is based on the performance of their students on the FCAT, and the remaining 50 percent is based on factors that include the following:
- The school’s graduation rate.
- The performance and participation of students in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Dual Enrollment, Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), and industry certification.
- The postsecondary readiness of the students as measured by the SAT, ACT, or College Placement Test (CPT).
- The high school graduation rate of at-risk students.
- Growth or decline in these data components from year to year.
“Under the new high school grading formula, Florida has raised the bar of what our students are expected to achieve, and our schools have proven they can and will surpass those expectations,” said Education Commissioner Dr. Eric J. Smith.
Water Standards: Another Florida Versus The Feds Lawsuit In Pensacola
December 8, 2010
Florida will go to court to challenge tougher federal water standards slated to kick in next year, the state’s top legal and agricultural officials said Tuesday as they filed suit in federal court in Pensacola to block a controversial set of clean water standards they contend are inflexible and unworkable.
In the same court that is considering the state’s challenge to the federal health care reform, Florida’s Attorney General Bill McCollum, Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson and their successors filed the lawsuit over federal water pollution standards that set specific numeric caps on pollutant levels for Florida lakes and rivers. The standards were announced last month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Incoming Attorney General Pam Bondi and Ag Commissioner Adam Putnam have joined the challenge of the EPA’s water standards in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Pensacola, a sign they intend to continue the fight against the federal standards that have been uniformly criticized by state leaders from both sides of the political aisle.
“We all want clean water for Florida, and we all believe that scientifically sound and responsible numeric nutrient criteria will improve efforts to achieve this goal,” McCollum said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “…The EPA numeric nutrient rule and its proposed criteria are not based on scientifically sound methodology, and were adopted in an arbitrary and capricious manner just to settle a lawsuit.”
An attorney for the group that filed the lawsuit prompting the federal standards, said Tuesday’s the state’s challenge was not unexpected and marks the next step in a case that will be decided in a higher court.
Florida environmental officials want to maintain existing state standards that base acceptable pollutant levels in Florida inland waters on a case-by-case basis based on a slate of factors including historical conditions, comparisons to similar areas or site-specific numeric limits know as total maximum daily load (TMDL).
The federal water pollutions standards, enacted in November, followed a lengthy back and forth between the EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which questioned the science behind the EPA proposals and proposed its own nutrient standards. They also argued that the standards would be too expensive to comply with and unfair because they singled out Florida from the other states.
Bronson agreed with McCollum that there were questions about the legality of the water regulations, scheduled to take effect in 2013 over the objection of Florida environmental officials, businesses, farmers and a host of recently-elected state government leaders.
“I have been concerned from the beginning that EPA’s actions related to numeric nutrient criteria in Florida waters were not based on factual, verifiable science,” said Bronson, who is a separately named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “Florida has always been a leader in taking steps necessary to improve water quality and I was disappointed that EPA did not incorporate many of the state’s suggestions on the proposed rule.”
McCollum and Bronson lauded Bondi and Putnam for both pledging to continuing to wage the lawsuit when they take office Jan. 4. Both newly-elected Cabinet members said Tuesday they agreed with their predecessors’ take on the water regulations. All four are Republicans.
“Our communities cannot afford these new regulations which may not, in the long run, result in any meaningful improvements to our water quality beyond what our state has already implemented,” Bondi said in a statement. “As Florida’s next Attorney General, I will continue this lawsuit and will stand up on behalf of our citizens and our taxpayers.”
Saying it would be a “top priority” of his administration Putnam said the new regulations would cost consumers and localities billions of dollars and, in some cases, require technology not yet developed or too expensive to use.
“While we all would have preferred to avoid this litigation, this is but one strategy we will pursue to see that sound science prevails,” Putnam said. “I am hopeful the end result of today’s action will be the continued protection and improvement of Florida waters in a way that makes both scientific and economic sense.”
EarthJustice attorney David Guest, who filed the originally lawsuit that led to the EPA standards, noted the irony of the lawsuit being filed in the same court that is hearing the health care lawsuit, which has sided with state officials on key elements its challenge to federal law.
“In every complaint I have seen in my embarrassingly long career, which is well over 30 years now, this is the first one I’ve ever seen that did not include an explanation why a venue was (chosen),” Guest told the News Service of Florida Tuesday. “That’s a very revealing omission.”
Guest said that normally lawsuits are filed where either the plaintiffs or defendants live or where the contested issue took place. In this case, that would seem to favor the state’s capitol, Tallahassee, or Washington, D.C., the nation’s capitol, Guest said.
“There isn’t even a red-faced argument that there’s venue in Pensacola. And that’s why there’s nothing there,” he said. “If you tried to make allegations about why it was Pensacola, you wouldn’t be telling the truth and no self-respecting lawyer is going to do that because they wouldn’t want to face sanctions.”
McCollum said that the Pensacola court was chosen because the attorney general’s office had gotten complaints about the regulations from the area and because the health care lawsuit showed the court moved quickly to resolve controversial issues.
“I picked the one out in Pensacola because we discovered in the health care litigation they have a lighter load as a federal district court,” McCollum said during a news conference. “This is the region of North Florida, which is where we normally see the state challenges when we initiate them. We initiate them here unless there’s some reason to initiate them somewhere else.”
By Keith Laing
The News Service Florida
School Grades Released: Celebration At Northview; Good News For Tate, Jay
December 7, 2010
School accountability grades were released this morning, and there was cause for celebration at Northview High School.
Northview’s school grade from the Florida Department of Education jumped from a D last year to an B this year. The news was also good for the other two high schools in the North Escambia area. Jay High School maintained their A grade, while Tate High School held at a B.
Both Pine Forest and Escambia High Schools fell from a C to become the only two D schools in Escambia County. Washington and Pensacola were ranked at B, and West Florida was the county’s only A school
In Santa Rosa County, four of five high school were graded A — Jay, Milton, Pace and Gulf Breeze. Navarre High slipped from an A to an B.
In addition to FCAT results as in years past, school grades at the high school level this year included other factors such as graduation rates, accelerated courses and college readiness.
For more on Northview’s improvement, click here.
Panhandle Man, 84, Found After Silver Alert
December 7, 2010
A Silver Alert for a Walton County man was canceled Wednesday morning after he was found safe in Pike County, Mississippi.
Our previous story about the missing man is below:
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse have issued a Silver Alert for Harry George Schlosser, 84, of Walton County, Florida.
Harry George Schlosser is described as an 84-year-old white male with green eyes and gray hair. He is approximately five feet, nine inches tall and weighs approximately 160 pounds. His clothing description is unknown.
Schlosser may be occupying a 2005 white Mercedes-Benz C230 with FL Tag number L978NN. The vehicle has a Georgia Tech University license plate frame on the rear of the vehicle.
Schlosser was reported missing December 6 at approximately 9:40 p.m.
If you have information regarding the whereabouts of George Harry Schlosser, please contact the Walton County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 892-8111.
Century Set To Pave 5 Streets Piggybacked On Escambia Contract
December 7, 2010
The ride down several Century streets will be improving — the Town Council voted Monday night to resurface five streets.
The town will resurface Freedom Road, the portion of Old Flomaton Road in the city limits, Hecker Road, Elm Street and Hilltop Road. The streets were the top five on the town’s priority list.
The resurfacing project will cost the town just over $181,000 by piggybacking on an Escambia County contract with Roads, Inc. Of Northwest Florida.
“It is not necessary to go out to bids,” Century Mayor Freddie McCall said, because Escambia County has already obtained the lowest contract price. “You wouldn’t get a price like this if you bid it yourself.”
There will be about a dozen roads remaining to be paved on the town’s priority list. Five of them — West Cottage Street, Academy Street, Pleasant Hill Road, Ramar Street and Lake Street — are all short or dead end streets. The remaining are dirt roads that will require extensive drainage work prior to surfacing.
The start date for the resurfacing project is still to be determined.
NorthEsambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Final Century Town Council Meeting For Two Members
December 7, 2010
Monday night was the final meeting for two Century Town Council members. Sharon Scott did not seek re-election and will be replaced in January by Sandra McMurray Jackson. Henry Hawkins was defeated in a November runoff election by Jacke Johnston.
Hawkins did not attend Monday night’s meeting, but Scott took the opportunity to offer thanks for the opportunity to serve.
“I want to thank everybody for the encouraging words,” Scott said, as she shared a story about her son who is in the military that is quick to tell everyone that he meets that he is from Century, Florida. “It’s Century pride,” she said. “We are not from Pensacola; we are from Century, Florida.”
Scott said that her time on the council was not without disagreements.
“But I go to sleep at night, so I must have done something right…even Jesus Christ could not please everybody.”
Pictured top: Century Councilwoman Sharon Scott attended her final Century Town Council meeting Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Northview Student Airlifted To Pensacola Hospital After Head Injury
December 7, 2010
A Northview High School student suffered a head injury in the school parking lot late Monday afternoon.
Ninth grader Taylor Brook fell and hit her head just before 5 p.m. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue was dispatched to the school after the student fell off the trunk of a car.
First responders were given conflicting information as to whether or not the car was moving at the time of the accident.
Brook was transported by Atmore Ambulance to Atmore Community Hospital and later transferred to Pensacola by Lifeflight. Tuesday morning, she remained at Sacred Heart Hospital in good condition.
Baby Kidnapping Suspect Busted
December 7, 2010
The man accused of kidnapping a baby and stealing a car last week has been arrested.
A Crime Stoppers tip led to the arrest Brandon Ryan Switzer, 32, of Pensacola, Monday afternoon.
About 3:50 p.m., officers with the U.S. Marshalls Task Force –which includes Escambia County Deputies, the Sheriff’s Gang Unit and a Sheriff’s K9 deputy — found Switzer at a residence in the 2300 block of West Jordan Street.
Switzer was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Around 7:41 Wednesday morning, December 1, deputies responded to a reported kidnapping in the 300 block of Wiggins Lane in Pensacola, and a manhunt for Switzer followed.
Deputies were told by Switzer’s former girlfriend, Stacey Lee Markle, 24, of Pensacola, that she and Switzer were engaged in an argument. When Markle attempted to leave, Switzer allegedly grabbed her by the neck and pulled her away from their vehicle. Switzer then grabbed a five month old baby from Markle’s arms, throwing the infant into the back seat of a Saturn car.
When Markle attempted to get into the vehicle she says she was grabbed and thrown to the ground by Switzer. Switzer then drove off in the red Saturn with the five month old still in the backseat, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Switzer crashed the Saturn into a tree in the dead end of Jean Street, located near the intersection of Legair Street. When deputies found the vehicle it wasn’t occupied. A witness to the crash approached deputies and told them that Switzer, who was said to be bleeding from the head, approached her and handed her the infant. Switzer then walked into the woods, according to the witness. The infant was not injured.
He is facing charges of battery, kidnapping and vehicle theft. Child endangerment charges are being filed by the Florida Highway Patrol in connection with the crash.
According to Escambia County court records, Switzer recently resided at an address on Littleton Street in Cantonment.
Local Football Players Honored At Challenger Awards Banquet
December 7, 2010
The 42nd annual Fellowship of Christian Athletes Challenger Awards banquet Monday night honored high school football players for their spiritual leadership.
The players from across the area heard inspirational stories from four University of Alabama players — running back Trent Richardson, offensive lineman Barrett Jones, wide receiver Hardie Buck, and wide receiver Earl Alexander.
The players honored from the North Escambia area were Austin Arrington from Northview, Zach Mitchell from Tate, Tanner Kirk from Escambia Academy, Jonathon Stallworth from Escambia County (Ala.), Brian Ross from Flomaton and Kevin Stanton from Jay.
Pictured: Northview’s Austin Arrington and Jay’s Kevin Stanton were honored during the 42nd annual Fellowship of Christian Athletes Challenger Awards banquet Monday night. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.