Miller: Drilling In The Artic A Solution To Save At the Pump
June 29, 2008
Submitted column by Congressman Jeff Miller for NorthEscambia.com
Ten years ago, House Republicans recognized the importance of increasing domestic energy production. Remembering the gas crises of the late 1970’s, I, along with my colleagues, want to end America’s reliance on foreign oil and eliminate the possibility of a future gas shortage. I believe it is not only an issue of economics, but one of national security. In the 1990’s, our solution was to open up oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) which would greatly expand our domestic oil reserves. However, attempts at exploration were squandered when then-President Bill Clinton vetoed the legislation.
Not much has changed over the last decade. The Democrats are still blocking Republican energy legislation only now they are putting their own spin on things. From a controversial report with unproven conclusions, the Majority is claiming that oil companies are “stockpiling” leases on federal lands with the intention of driving up oil prices. They are also claiming that although the Bush Administration has opened up the number of leases for exploratory drilling, production has not followed.
These one-sided accusations have resonated in the Democrats “use it or loose it” policy. Misnamed legislation such as H.R. 6251, The Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act of 2008, would force oil and gas companies to produce oil from the land they lease. Companies that fail to produce would be barred from obtaining more leases. The Majority’s central claim is that instead of opening up new areas for drilling we should drill on the land that is already leased for oil and gas exploration. While this may sound good in theory, it is impractical, inefficient, and does nothing to provide a fast, long-term approach to the energy crisis.
Almost everyone knows that land leased for oil and gas exploration doesn’t necessarily guarantee oil and gas reservoirs; it is merely being explored for these resources. The Democrats keep pushing the misconception that every acre of leased land has oil. In fact, companies don’t know how much oil is under the lands they lease. They simply buy up large portions of land in the hope that a fraction of the land will have oil and gas reserves. In reality, much of that land lacks oil or gas in commercially viable quantities and therefore cannot be used for oil and gas production. Most importantly, exploratory drilling costs millions of dollars and is rarely cost effective.
Instead of doing blind explorations of leased land and risking the loss of millions of dollars, we should expand drilling in areas that we know have oil and gas reserves, specifically the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Drilling in these areas would be both cheaper and faster since we don’t have to waste money looking for the oil and we know where to look. However, the Democrats repeatedly vote against this type of legislation.
It’s hard to make changes with a majority that won’t listen. If the Republicans had been allowed to drill in the ANWR years ago, we probably wouldn’t be paying over $4 at the pump. This is all the more reason to begin exploring now. If we don’t, history will repeat itself.
Funeral Services Held For Flomaton Fireman
June 28, 2008
Funeral services for Flomaton Fire Department Lt. Huey Johnson, 58, were held Friday afternoon.
Johnson was a lifelong resident of Escambia County, Alabama, and had served on the Flomaton Fire Department for about 20 years. Two of those years were spent as chief. He was also a retired career firefighter with 33 years of service at Whiting Field.
Funeral services were held at the First Baptist Church of Flomaton. Almost two dozen fire trucks from departments across South Alabama and Northwest Florida participated in the procession. Ladder trucks from the Century Volunteer Fire Department and the Ferry Pass Volunteer Fire Department hoisted a giant American Flag over the procession route to the Elim Baptist Church Cemetery.
Johnson died Tuesday night after a battle with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Pictured above: Ladder trucks from the Century Volunteer Fire Department and the Ferry Pass Volunteer Fire Department hoist a giant American Flag Friday afternoon over Houston Street in Flomaton for the funeral of Flomaton Fire Lt. Huey Johnson. Pictured below: An honor guard from the Whiting Field Fire Department departs the graveside service at Elim Baptist Cemetary. Pictured bottom: About two dozen fire trucks from departments around the area were in the funeral procession. Submitted photos by Alisa Hart for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Comes To Century
June 28, 2008
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has come to Century, with plans to provide a free book every month for every child under five years old.
In 1996, Dolly launched an e new effort to benefit the children of her home county in east Tennessee. Dolly wanted to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families. She wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. And she wanted to insure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income.
She decided to mail a brand new, age appropriate book each month to every child under five in Sevier County, Tennesee. With the arrival of every child’s first book, the classic The Little Engine That Could, every child could now experience the joy of finding their very own book in their mailbox. These moments continue each month until the child turns five,and in their very last month in the program they receive Look Out Kindergarten Here I Come.
Now children under in the Century area can signup for the same program under the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. They will receive a new age appropriate book each month until they turn five…all at absolutely no cost. And, there are no income requirements for the program.
“Parents will not pay a dime for the program,” said Larry Kenny from the Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County which administers the program locally. “They will not be added to any kind of mailing list; their information is kept private and used only to mail the books free of charge to their homes.”
Century area parents were able to enroll their children in the program for the first time during a celebration the the Campfire USA Child Development Center.
Parents can continue to enroll their children in the free program during regular business hours at Campfire USA on Industrial Boulevard and at the Century Pharmacy on Mayo Street.
Funding for the program in the Century area is provided by the Teaspoon Foundation and Century Pharmacy.
Pictured above: Jared Bevan, 4, enjoys reading one of the books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at Campfire USA in Century Friday morning. Pictured below: Some of the books from the program. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Free Health Fair, AIDS Testing Held In Century
June 27, 2008
A free health fair was held Friday at the old Century Hospital.
The event featured free health screenings and free AIDS testing. There were about 12 participating organizations in the event, many offering information about services they offer in the community.
The event was sponsored by Lutheran Ministries and Century Family Practice. All services were free.
The even also included free grilled hotdogs and cold drinks.
Pictured above: Centery Family Practice’s mobile unit outside the old Century Hospital Friday morning. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
DUI Checkpoint On Highway 29 Tonight
June 27, 2008
If you are traveling on Highway 29 in Pensacola late tonight or early in the morning, you’ll be delayed near Broad Street, just north of I-10, by a “Sobriety Safety Checkpoint”.
The Florida Highway Patrol will hold the roadside Sobriety Safety Checkpoint between 10:00 p.m. tonight and 3:00 a.m Saturday on Highway 20 just north I-10.
There will be approximately 25 uniformed officers participating, as well as support personnel from the Emerald Coast MADD I(Mothers Against Drunk Driving) Chapter. Other participating agencies include the Escambia County Sheriffs Office, Pensacola Police Department, University of West Florida Police Department, Gulf Breeze Police Department, Milton Police Department, and the Santa Rosa County Sheriffs Office.
During the operation, vehicles will be stopped to check for driver impairment. Should impairment be detected, roadside sobriety testing will be performed on site. Warning devices will be placed in strategic locations for the safety and protection of the public.
Reducing the deaths and injuries associated with impaired drivers is of the utmost importance, says the Florida Highway Patrol. The checkpoints have been successful in removing impaired drivers from public streets and highways.
Highway 29 is a main arterial route for motorist traveling through Escambia County and Century into the state of Alabama, according to the FHP.
The public can report suspected drunk drivers or other traffic hazards 24 hours a day by dialing *FHP (*347) from the cellular phone.
Northview Student Elected State Representative For National Council
June 27, 2008
Olivia Bryan of Bratt was recently chosen as Florida’s only representative on the national Youth Leadership Council while on a trip to Washington, D.C.
The Youth Leadership Council (YLC) is a joint effort of local electric co-ops, statewide cooperative associations and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Olivia attended the 2008 Youth Tour in Washington as a representative of Escambia River Electric Cooperative, one of about 1,500 high school students visiting the nation’s capital as representatives of their rural electric cooperative.
Each state is entitled to have one representative on the Youth Leadership Council. The YLC is designed to provide participants with stronger leadership skills, presentation skills and a broader understanding of rural electric cooperatives.
Students competing for their state’s spot on the Youth Leadership Council had to face a panel of judges and explain their goals and interests, academic standing and past accomplishments. Then each contestant was given six minutes to prepare a speech on a given topic and present it to the judges and fellow youth tour delegates.
The speech had to be address how youth could cause state at the national, state and local levels.
“In my speech, I focused on if we wanted to cause a change, we had to be the change” Olivia told NorthEscambia.com. “There was not a lot of time to prepare. I was surprised they liked my speech the best because some of the others were really good.”
Now that she is on the Youth Leadership Council, Olivia will head back to Washington for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Youth Leadership Conference in July for leadership training. And then she will attend to the NRECA Annual Meeting in New Orleans in February of 2009. At the July meeting, one student will be chosen as the national Youth Leadership Conference Spokesperson and will speak to the thousands at the NRECA Annual Meeting.
“I’m excited to see what kinds of doors this may open for me,” Bryan said. “I’m also interested to see what the leadership training in Washington will have to offer.”
While in Washington as EREC’s representative on the Youth Tour, Olivia visited the U.S. Capital where she met with Florida Congressman Jeff Miller on the Capital steps. She was also able to visit most of the national memorials, including the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial.
She was most impressed with the Lincoln Memorial, Olivia said. “It was huge. I never realized the scale of it.”
Olivia is the daughter of Robert and Rebecca Ryan of Bratt. She will be senior this fall at Northview High School.
For more photos from Olivia Bryan’s Washington trip, click here.
Pictured above: Northview student Olivia Bryan on the steps on the U.S. Capital in Washington. Pictured below: Olivia (turned sideways in the black dress) talks with Florida Congressman Jeff Miller on the Capital steps. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com.
Baptist Hospital To Buy West Florida Hospital; Move To Davis Highway
June 27, 2008
Baptist Healthcare has announced the purchase of West Florida Hospital for $245 million. Another $85 million will be spent to upgrade the hospital’s facilities.
Baptist Hospital will move their complete acute care hospital and emergency room to the West Florida Hospital campus on Davis Highway.
“This acquisition will enhance the best of both organizations and provides for expansion of our services to meet the needs of our patients and the community,” stated Al Stubblefield, President/CEO of Baptist Health Care. “We know the acquisition of West Florida Hospital will allow us to continue our high standard of personal care while expanding services to serve the entire Northwest Florida region.”
After the West Florida purchase, Baptist Hospital’s main campus will continue to operate as a full service outpatient facility offering walk-in urgent care services, diagnostic and imaging services, ambulatory services, physician offices and corporate management offices. The combined inpatient psychiatric services currently at Baptist Hospital and West Florida Hospitals will be housed at the Baptist Behavioral Medicine Hospital at the old hospital location.
Once the purchase is complete, the current West Florida Hospital on Davis Highway will become the new Baptist Hospital, and together with Baptist Medical Park – 9 Mile, will give Baptist Health Care a major presence in north Pensacola. The campus will feature comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care plus services such as an expanded Baptist Cancer Center in affiliation with the Moffitt Cancer Institute; Baptist Neurosciences Center complemented by a rehab hospital for neurologic and orthopaedic conditions; Baptist Heart & Vascular Center of Excellence; and an expanded Emergency Department. The new Baptist Hospital also will offer a new parking garage, new physician office buildings and a heliport for LifeFlight.
Additionally, Baptist Health Care will assume the current West Florida Hospital Primary Care Practices, which will increase access and outreach to the community. The addition of West Florida Hospital Primary Care Practices (nine neighborhood medical centers) to Baptist Health Care affiliated and employed physicians will expand Baptist Health Care primary care locations throughout the community.
“This acquisition will allow Baptist Health Care to continue to be at the forefront of health care excellence in Northwest Florida. With the help of our outstanding doctors and staff, we are revolutionizing health care in Pensacola,” Stubblefield said.
The asset purchase agreement was between the two hospitals was signed Wednesday night. They must now file for approval from the Federal Trade Commission. Baptist officials say they hope the purchase agreement will close in the last quarter of 2008.
Closer to North Escambia, Baptist also operates Atmore Community Hospital, Jay Hospital, the Century Family Practice and Lakeview Center in Century.
More information for the community as well as the staff and employees is available at www.bhcexpansion.org
Pictured above: Artist rendering of the new cancer center to be located at the new locations of Baptist Hospital on Davis Highway.
One Commissioner Skips Conference At Luxury Resort Amid Layoffs
June 26, 2008
Four of five Escambia Commissioners are attending a conference in Miami this week, but one commissioner skipped out, saying it was not the right thing to do as the county faces a budget crunch.
District 5 Commissioner Kevin White chose not to attend the annual Florida Association of Counties Conference this week. Commissioners Gene Valentino, Marie Young, Mike Whitehead, and Grover Robinson all flew to Miami on Tuesday at the county’s expense to the conference at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa.
The conference includes multiple workshops, seminars and evening socials marked on the conference brochure with pictures of a martini glass.
“At a time when the budget is being cut, I didn’t see it as prudent be off at the conference like that,” White told NorthEscambia.com. “We are laying people off and cutting back. And I was suppose to go to a conference like that?”
White acknowledged that the conference is a good source of information for commissioners, and overall is a good thing. But he said the public perception of the trip had to be weighed against the good of the trip.
The conference will feature such workshops about budgeting, wellness programs, walkable communities, emergency planning, public speaking, media training and water quality. It began Tuesday with a four hour golf outing.
The county budgeted for the trip, and the commission gave public notice at a recent metting that it would take place so the four commissioners would not violate Florida’s Sunshine Law.
Registration for the conference was $325 each, or $1,300 total for the four. The listed conference room rate at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa was $130 per person. The commissioners will turn in travel expense reimbursement requests for the rooms and airfare once they return to Pensacola.
Bratt Baptist Youth Take On Bratt’s A-maize-ing Cornfield Maze
June 26, 2008
About 50 youth from the First Baptist Church of Bratt took on Bratt’s A-maize-ing Cornfield Maze Wednesday night.
Several members of the youth group were able to navigate the elaborate six acre cornfield maze, but many were unsuccessful.
Maze owner Colvin Davis and his wife Lavelle played host to both the FBC of Bratt youth group with a meal of corn dogs, corn chips and popcorn. A hayride followed the maze.
A small youth group from Brooks Memorial Baptist Church in Atmore also tried the maze Wednesday night.
For a complete photo gallery from Wednesday night at Bratt’s A-maize-ing Cornfield Maze, click here.
Bratt’s A-maize-ing Cornfield is located at in Bratt. That’s about a mile and a half east of Highway 97. It is open from 5:00 until 10:00 p.m. (bring your own flashlight!) Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights for groups by appointment. Admission is $5 for adults. Children under five are free with an adult admission. For more information, call 327-6372.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Lightning Sparks Fire
June 26, 2008
A lightning strike sparked a brush fire in Bratt Wednesday afternoon.
Witnesses say the lightning hit in an open area near Bratt Road and Ashcraft Road about 4:40, sparking a fire that rapidly burned a large area.
The Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department responded to the fire, but heavy rain had put out the fire by the time they arrived.
The National Weather Service had issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning on the storm as it moved from Oak Grove to Bratt, saying it was capable of producing frequent lightning strikes and winds up to 60 mph.
Pictured above: A thunderstorm near McDavid Wednesday afternoon as seen from Oak Grove. NorthEscambia.com photo.