Audits Find Constitutional Violation At Bratt, Minor Problem At Tate
December 17, 2010
Internal audits conducted at Bratt Elementary and Tate High found that all of the audited accounts balanced. But the audits on internal accounts showed Bratt Elementary violated the Florida Constitution with improper donation letters, and both schools spent internal account funds when school district monies should have been used.
Each year, the Escambia County School District conducts limited audits on the internal accounts at each school in the county, while a percentage of schools receive full audits on internal accounts. The internal accounts represent monies that are controlled and dispersed at the school level.
Tate High and Bratt Elementary were the only North Escambia area schools to receive full internal fund audits for the last fiscal year.
Bratt Elementary
At Bratt Elementary School, an audit of an account with a $39,807.85 at the end of the last fiscal year was found to balance with no discrepancies, but the audit found that proper procedures were not followed regarding the utilization of budgeted funds and regarding donation letters.
The Bratt internal fund audit found that donation letters sent home to parents violated state and county policy. Under the Florida Constitution, the school is not allowed to assess fees to students as part of their free public eduction.
The Bratt secretary told auditors all donation letters during the last school year were approved by the principal, who has since retired. The new principal, Karen Hall, is aware of the requirement and will only approved donation letters that contain the proper language.
Since public schools are not allowed to assess any fees for consumable materials, workbooks, or activities for participation in any class, auditors recommended that donation letters contain language such as “If you are unable to pay, your child will not be prevented from attended next week’s outing” or “We want you to know that if for any reason you are unable to contribute, your child will not be discriminated against and still will participate in the class”.
The audit found that $1,017.20 in expenses were paid from the Bratt internal account when school district funds were available. The school is working to ensure that budgeted district funds are used when available instead of internal fund monies.
Tate High
At Tate High School, an audit of an account with a $291,389.03 at the end of the last fiscal year was found to balance with no discrepancies, but the audit found that proper procedures were not followed regarding the utilization of budgeted funds.
The audit found that $5,900.04 in expenses were paid from the Tate internal account when school district funds were available. The school is working to ensure that budgeted district funds are used when available instead of internal fund monies.
School’s Out For Christmas
December 17, 2010
Friday was the final day of school for students across the area before the Christmas holidays.
Santa Rosa County students will return to school on Monday, January 3, 2011.
In Escambia County, Alabama, teachers will return on January 3, 2011, for a professional development day, while students will return on Tuesday, January 4.
Woman Claims Winning Cantonment Lottery Ticket
December 17, 2010
A Florida Lottery ticket sold in Cantonment paid off for Pensacola woman.
Melissa Morton, 40, claimed $25,166 from the December 15 drawing at the Florida Lottery Pensacola District Office.
Morton’s ticket matched 5 of 6 winning numbers, which paid out $6,291.50. Morton chose to add XTRA for an additional $1, which multiplied her winnings by four, for a total of $25,166. She purchased her winning ticket at Tobacco Town, located at 4112 Highway 297a in Cantonment.
The winning FLORIDA LOTTO numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were 3-4-21-25-35-40 and the XTRA multiplier was 4.
Pictured: Melissa Morton (center) was joined by Vernon Morton and Polly Carter in claiming her Florida Lottery prize. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos Gallery: Santa Claus Visits Century Library
December 17, 2010
The Century Branch Library held their annual Christmas event Thursday afternoon. Dozens of children had a chance to enjoy a story, presents for everyone and a visit with Santa Claus.
From dolls to video games, Santa heard all kinds of Christmas wishes — including a laptop and even a cow (as in the living, breathing, I want one for our pasture kind).
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the event, click here.
Pictured top: Not everyone was willing to share their Christmas list with Santa as he visited the Century Branch Library Thursday. Pictured below: Other children were more than willing to get in their Christmas morning wishes. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
20 State Lawsuit Over Health Care Heard Before Escambia Judge
December 17, 2010
Combatants in the fight over national health care reform squared off Thursday in Pensacola federal court, the latest battleground over national health insurance requirements that will likely ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Attorneys representing 20 states faced off with Department of Justice lawyers for the Obama administration over whether the new federal health insurance mandate oversteps constitutional limits on federal power.
Specifically, the states’ lawsuit claims the sweeping reform, pushed through by President Obama’s fellow Democrats in the Congress after months of bitter partisan wrangling, violates states’ rights in the U.S. Constitution and will force massive new spending on hard-pressed state governments.
“Congress can achieve many things in the public interest but it must always stand through and by its enumerated powers,” said plaintiffs’ attorney David Rivkin.”It certainly cannot exercise general police powers, however laudable the goal might be.”
The arguments come days after a federal judge in Virginia threw out a key component of the Affordable Care Act. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson said Congress did not have the power to require individuals to carry health insurance or face a tax penalty.
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson said he would rule on the Florida challenge quickly, but didn’t give a date.
Florida’s case includes a challenge to the individual mandate, but also charges that the expansion of Medicaid, which plaintiffs contend could add 18 million to the Medicaid roles – a 30 percent increase – is an unconstitutional expansion of the federal-state program that will cost states billions more to put in place.
State officials said their objection to the expansion of Medicaid the law appears to require was not just based on immediate cost concerns, but worries about the larger notion that the federal government could require different types of spending by states even when they don’t have money.
“In a grant program like Medicaid, there is only so far you can go,” said Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, who spearheaded the lawsuit. “There is some point when it turns into compulsion.”
“The ACA transforms Medicaid fundamentally,” said Blaine Winship, special counsel for McCollum, added.
Though originally crafted as a voluntary program for the states, Winship told Vinson that the health care system for the poor has become so large that states, in practical terms, have no alternative but to comply. The federal program, which on average pays about 55 percent of Medicaid costs, now pumps $251 billion a year to the states, the largest single federal grant and aid program to states.
“The states have no real choice other than to accept this new Medicaid regime,” Winship said – because without it, they lose federal funding and would never be able to provide care on their own. “The defendants claim the states can withdraw but the argument is outside of logic. The ACA, by its very structure… cannot function if states withdraw from Medicaid.”
Attorneys for the federal government argued that Congress has been given the authority to regulate the parameters of the Medicaid program and who qualifies for coverage. Since its creation, the courts have not struck down expansions of the safety net program required by Washington.
“That authority has repeatedly been upheld,” said Ian Gershengorn, attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.
The new healthcare law is a cornerstone of President Obama’s domestic agenda and aims to expand access to health insurance for millions more Americans while curbing costs. Obama officials have insisted it is constitutional and necessary to stem huge projected increases in health care costs that currently result, in part, from picking up the tab for the uninsured.
In regard to the individual mandate, plaintiffs’ attorney David Rivkin said requiring individuals to obtain medical coverage would be a “radical interpretation” of federal power by allowing individuals to be punished for not doing something.
“Commerce requires activity,” Rivkin said. “Individuals cannot be regulated under the Commerce Clause unless they at first voluntarily participate in some activity that Congress would otherwise (regulate.)” With the health care law, they don’t, but rather would be punished for not participating.
Gershengorn countered that the nation’s $2.5 trillion health care market is unique in that unlike other economic decisions, participants receive health care whether they pay for it or not.
“The decision to finance your health care services out of pocket or by insurance is not inactivity,” Gershengorn said. “The decision to run the risk of incurring health care costs without paying for them and… and relying on other people to pick up the tab is not inactivity.”
Throughout Gershengorn’s arguments, Vinson repeatedly returned to the issue of whether Congress can force individuals, in essence, to purchase a product or face penalties if they don’t. He also questioned whether Congress would be able to regulate other personal activities, a step that would open the doors for a wide range of legislation.
“It would be a giant leap,” Vinson said.
Following three hours of testimony, Vinson declined to lay out a timetable for deciding the case.
“I will make a decision as quickly as possible,” he said.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the National Federation of Independent Business, which describes itself as the leading association representing small U.S. businesses in America.
Apart from Florida, states joining in the lawsuit include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington.
Plaintiffs said they were encouraged by Vinson’s repeated questions as to what would stop Congress from requiring other activities if the courts approve the health care plan.
“Finally, it appeared as if they said there were no limits (on what the federal government might require people to buy) and that’s concerning, especially for small businesses,” said Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB’s small business legal center.
By Michael Peltier
The News Service Florida
Pictured top: Outgoing Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum does a television interview Thursday outside the Federal Courthouse in Pensacola. Photo by Michael Peltier for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: Christmas Dance
December 17, 2010
Heather Leonard’s Danceworks students presented a Christmas program with ballet, tap and jazz Thursday night at the Byrneville Community Center.
For more photos from the event, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Oil Field Stake Sold To South Korean Company
December 17, 2010
South Korea’s state-run Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and STX Energy have agreed to purchase a 46.8% stake in an Escambia County, Ala., oil field for $55 million from Renaissance Petroleum.
The agreement will also give operation rights to KNOC’s U.S. affiliate Ankor E&P and STX Energry. The field, which currently produces 500 barrels a day has an estimated reserve of 12 million barrels. Production began in March.
US-based Renaissance Petroleum will retain the remaining share in the field. The deal is expected to be finalized on December 28.
The South Korean companies plan to boost production ten-fold to 5,000 barrels a day, increasing 15-year revenue to an estimated $130 million.
No Major Damage In Molino Fire
December 16, 2010
Area fire departments responded to the report of a house fire in Molino Thursday night.
The reported stove fire was out when the first fire units arrived at the home in the 6000 block of Cedartown Road about 8:10 p.m.
There were no injuries and no major damage reported.
Three Escambia Drive-by Shooting Suspects Arrested
December 16, 2010
Three people are in jail today after an early morning shooting in Escambia County left one man injured.
At around 12:09 a.m., deputies responded to the 1300 block of North T Street for a reported shooting victim. It was there that deputies found a victim with a gunshot wound to the leg.
The victim, identified as Timothy Jerome Curry, 41, of Pensacola, told deputies that he was shot by the occupants of a black truck, with dark tinted windows. Curry said the truck fled the scene after he was shot.
Medics transported Curry to Baptist Hospital to be treated for his injury.
At around 12:17 a.m., while deputies were still busy investigating the shooting, they were notified of a vehicle crash involving a black truck with dark tinted windows, according to Chris Welborn. public information officer for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. It was reported that the vehicle had crashed into a power pole in the 4000 block of Palafox Street.
When deputies arrived at this scene of the crash, they discovered three handguns in an unoccupied black 2001 Ford F150 truck. One of the guns was reported stolen in a vehicle burglary earlier this year. The truck was later determined to be a stolen vehicle.
Patrol deputies, believing this was the truck used in the shooting on T Street, began to search the area for suspects. All of the suspects were apprehended shortly after the search began.
Arrested were Quamain Tyjuan Williams, 18, of Pensacola, Brandon Lashawn Holliman, 19, of Pensacola and Candace Sabe Abrams, 24, of Pensacola. All three were charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. They were booked in the Escambia County Jail and held on a $25,000.00 bond. This investigation is on-going and more charges may be forthcoming.
During this investigation deputies recovered the stolen vehicle, a stolen handgun and seized the other two handguns.
One Year Later: The Flood Of 2009
December 16, 2010
This week marked one year since flooding left portions of Atmore, Flomaton and Brewton underwater, and a year since North Escambia residents along the Escambia River began to wonder if they were next. It also marked a year since a dramatic rescue of four people trapped in a flooded creek that was captured in photos on NorthEscambia.com.
When it started to rain the night of December 14, no one really knew just how much rain would fall. But it kept pouring, and pouring.
Atmore
Within a few hours, many streets in Atmore were under more than a foot of water, making it nearly impossible to travel more than few blocks. It was all hands on deck, with an overloaded Atmore Fire Department turning to the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department to assist with the rescue of stranded motorists and residents in flooded homes.
For more Atmore flooding photos, click here for a 2009 article.
By 9 p.m., a car had been swept off Deere Creek Road in Atmore, just north of the Florida line. Four people were trapped in the raging waters of Brushy Creek. Firemen tried unsuccessfully to use a human chain to reach the victims. A boat used in another rescue attempt was quickly capsized by the flood waters.
“Help me! Help me!” A faint voice could be heard calling for help from creek. “You’ve got to come get us.”
“I can’t hold on any more,” a victim clinging for his life to a tree yelled.
While rescue workers pondered their next move, Mike Allen of Atmore, a private citizen, arrived with a jet ski and rescued the four about two hours after they were first swept away.
For more on this story, and a gallery of dramatic photos, click here.
Pictured page top: Firefighters form a human chain in an attempt to rescue four people trapped in a flooded creek. Pictured inset: Mike Allen rescues a man that had been trapped for two hours in the flood waters of Brushy Creek near Atmore.
(Article continues below photo)
Flomaton
By morning on December 15, rising water of Big Escambia Creek had flooded several parts of Flomaton, bringing the town to a virtual standstill.
Emergency workers were forced to rescue about two dozen people — including nine in one family – from homes and vehicles. The main intersection of Highway 31 and Highway 29 was closed Tuesday morning. Rising flood waters flooded several homes in the area behind Hardee’s and across the street from Flomaton High School. All traffic from Century into Flomaton was stopped. Coupled with the other flooded roads around the area, Flomaton was a near ghost town.
For more on the Flomaton flooding, click here for a 2009 story.
Pictured top: A boat used to navigate flooded streets in Flomaton. Pictured inset: Flooding in Flomaton, December 15, 2009.
Brewton
Also on December 15, a rapidly rising Murder Creek had flooded downtown Brewton, washing away hopes of a profitable Christmas for the town’s many downtown businesses. In all, roads and bridges in Escambia County, Ala., suffered about $6 million in damage, prompting Alabama Gov. Bob Riley to declare a state of emergency.
For more in a 2009 article about flooding in Brewton, click here.
Pictured: An aerial view of downtown Brewton, Alabama, underwater on December 15, 2009.
North Escambia
As the flood waster pushed downstream, residents from Century to McDavid to Molino began to keep a close eye on the Escambia River and wonder just how high the river would go.
The Great Flood of 1929 caused major problems as the areas around Flomaton, Century, McDavid and Molino were flooded. But since then, the Escambia River has failed to reach the level that the National Weather Service terms “moderate” flood stage.
Flood stage on the Escambia River is 17 feet, and moderate flood stage is 25 feet — a number the river level has only reached once in recorded history.
The river did not reach those historic levels, but both the Escambia River and the Perdido River did cause North Escambia flooding. About dozen roads were closed from river and other lowland flooding.
To learn more about when flooding occurs on the Escambia River, click here for a December 16, 2009 story.
Pictured: Flooding on Occie Phillips Road near Walnut Hill, December 16, 2009.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.