Thursday Escambia Oil Spill Info (With Trajectory Map)
June 17, 2010
Here is the latest information on the BP oil spill for Thursday, June 17 with information specific to Escambia County.
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| State of Florida |
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| Escambia County Board of County Commissioners and Staff |
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| City of Pensacola |
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| Volunteer Opportunities |
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| Safety Information |
Wildlife
Boats
Beaches and Waterways
Personal Safety
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Important Phone Numbers For Citizens
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BP To Put $20 Billion In Escrow For Oil Spill Payments
June 17, 2010
Facing increasing pressure to back up its public statements of support with real money, BP on Wednesday agreed to put $20 billion into escrow to pay for oil spill damage as the company-owned well continues to spew up to 60,000 barrels a day into the Gulf.
Less than a day after President Barack Obama addressed the nation on the environmental and economic catastrophe that is unfolding offshore, BP executives met with the president behind closed doors before announcing creation of the fund to aid businesses, individuals and governments affected by the biggest oil spill in US. history.
Meanwhile, Florida emergency response officials continued efforts Wednesday to prepare for significant coastal impacts that so far have not befallen the state despite major oil plumes looming ominously near Florida’s Panhandle coast.
State responders say they will increase deployment of Florida National Guard personnel as the state tries to assert itself more aggressively into the combined response effort that has taken heat for being too bureaucratic, disorganized and slow to act.
“We’re looking at recon assets, some air assets and some command and control assets out in the field,” David Halstead, director of the Division of Emergency Management, said of the Guard’s anticipated role.
Skimmers remain a priority of local, state and federal responders. Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday urged Obama to do all he could to make it easier to use foreign-flagged ships and foreign crews to assist in efforts to scoop up oil before it reaches shore.
Favorable winds and currents have been credited for keeping most of the oil off the coastline.
The federal government, Florida and BP are looking for more skimmers to keep the battle off shore, but it is highly unlikely that such efforts are going to keep state beaches oil-free, officials concede.
“We need to have reasonable expectations,” Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole cautioned responders Wednesday. “There is going to be an ongoing discharge probably through August or the middle of August that we’ll be fighting. So we are going to have impacts.”
Washington attorney Kenneth Feinberg has been charged with overseeing the BP escrow account. He is well-schooled in such matters, having overseen payments to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and families of victims of the mass shooting that killed 32 at Virginia Tech in April 2007.
Florida officials have begun setting up procedures to gather the documentation needed to send BP a bill for lost local and state revenue. Halstead said a statewide claims representative will soon be housed at the state Emergency Operations Center to provide more information to local governments scrambling to get reimbursed for recovery efforts already undertaken.
“That should help us assist (local governments) in setting up claims and smoothing the waters a bit,” Halstead said.
So far, BP has paid 13,978 Florida claims, a 34 percent increase from a week ago. Payments for Florida claims now total $11.2 million, up 40 percent from a week ago.
The oil-spill focus Wednesday also went beyond the gulf coast. Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, pushed Crist to approve a request for $5.25 million in emergency aid to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau to help with marketing and advertising to offset an expanding slump in tourists.
“At a time when Florida’s economy is still reeling from the effects of the national economic downturn, it is imperative that we support efforts to spread the word to tourists that Miami-Dade County beaches are open for business,” Lopez-Cantera said.
By Michael Peltier
The News Service Of Florida
Constance Margaret “Connie” Nowlin
June 16, 2010
Constance Margaret “Connie” Nowlin of Cantonment, Florida, beloved mother, grandmother, sister and aunt, entered through the garden gate to join her loving husband, Bob, on Sunday morning, June 13, 2010. Connie was 86 years young as her loving family surrounded her upon her departure.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Robert S. “Bob” Nowlin; mother, Ruth McCarthy and son, Richard L. “Dick” Nowlin. Connie is survived by her children, James “Pancho” Nowlin (Kathy), Ed Nowlin (Marcia), Robert Louis Nowlin, (Linda) all of Pensacola; Robert S. “Rob” Nowlin of Jay; Bobbie Jean Marcus (Gene) of Colorado; Connie Ellen Burcham (Mike) of the U.S. Mountain West; and Ruth Aubrey (Roger) of Spanish Fort, AL; two sisters, Alice Marshall of St. Augustine, FL and Lillian Stark of New Jersey; brother-in-law, Charles Nowlin of Panama City, FL; 16 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren, numerous nieces, nephews and friends.
A native of New Jersey, Connie resided in the Pensacola area for the past 64 years. As a young lady, she and her sisters loved to travel to New York City to listen to the bands of the day, including Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra. She was a member of Gonzalez United Methodist Church and had worked for St. Regis Paper Company and Howard Johnson’s. She enjoyed traveling and gardening and was an avid nature and animal lover, but gained her greatest joys from her family, especially the little children.
The family will receive friends at Pine Forest United Methodist Church, 2800 Wilde Lake Blvd., in Pensacola on Thursday evening, June 17, 2010 from 5:30 pm until the 7:00 pm Memorial Service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Humane Society or the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
A Brighter Century: ‘It’s The Little Things Sometimes’
June 16, 2010
Sometimes it’s the little things that can brighten a town.
“The town is shining bright,” Century council member Gary Riley announced at the most recent Century Town Council meeting.
For months, Riley has, arguably in a very friendly fashion, repeatedly questioned Mayor Freddie McCall about why streets lights around the town were out. The town pays Gulf Power each month for each light, Riley has pointed out, so he said he thought the town should have working street lights.
Riley, McCall and perhaps other council members have driven around town, on the hunt for dark lights and attempted to find the pole numbers required by Gulf Power to report the non-working lights.
For the first time in about a year, Riley expressed real satisfaction about the lights.
“It is our obligation to do whatever we can to keep the city safe,” he said.
That prompted a reaction from council member Sharon Scott. “Let’s stop having that tunnel vision and see the big picture,” she said. Scott said she hates the sometimes the never-ending battles at the council table. “We can work together and do good things.”
Scott has been a champion for Marie McMurray Park at recent meetings, expressing her pride to see ballgames keeping kids off the streets. She often speaks up for the little things needed for the park — bathrooms unlocked, additional trashcans for waste, or more frequent grass cuttings.
On the subject of little things, council member Nadine McCaw thanked McCall for taking care of aging flags and for cleaning the sidewalks in front of the town hall and library just in time for the children attending the Century Branch Library’s summer reading programs.
“It’s the little things sometimes,” Riley said.
FHSAA Creates Small School Rural Division: Jay In, Northview May Be Out
June 16, 2010
The Florida High School Athletic Association has approved a new rural school classification for schools like Jay High, but Northview may not be included.
Schools in the rural division would compete within their own division and have their own playoff series for boys and girls basketball, baseball, football, softball and girls volleyball, and boys and girls soccer.
“I’m very ecstatic,” said Jay Athletic Director Elijah Bell. “We’ve been working on this a long time in the pursuit of equality for small, rural schools.” Bell served on the FHSAA Urban/Rural Committee that drafted the proposal approved Tuesday.
An invitation to participate in the new rural classification will be extended to the 32 smallest schools that would be eligible — which would include Jay at number 13 but not Northview at number 39 by enrollment.
The FHSAA will next meet with the 32 small schools to determine which might choose to join the new “Division II” league. If any choose not to join, the next-smallest schools will be offered a slot to ensure the league has 32 teams as required for a state series. There are six school in line ahead of Northview that would have the option of joining the rural division.
“I hope we get in,” Northview Athletic Director Sammy Day said after learning the proposal passed the FHSAA board. If Northview does not make the division, it will create great hardship for the school, Day said.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that Northview is rural,” Bell said, “as are other schools like Bozeman, Chipley and Perry. But we had to draw the line somewhere on the district, and that was the 32 (needed for a playoff series).”
Most of Northview’s past district opponents will be offered membership in the division — Jay, Sneads, Baker, Vernon, Holmes and Freeport. If they all become rural division schools and Northview does not, it will mean a lot of travel time for the Chiefs to play district teams.
“We may have a tough time unless we play much bigger schools,” Day said, adding the Chiefs would likely end up with schools like Catholic, Walton and Chipley on the schedule.
But Day is not giving up hope that Northview will make the 32-team rural Division II. Most of the schools on the list are in the Panhandle, while some are located much further south in Florida. Due to the travel time for those schools past Tallahassee, Day said he does not believe they will join the rural district. And some of those schools — like Peniel Baptist Academy just 44 total students — may not join the district.
“We will just have to wait and see,” he said.
Bell agreed that some of the schools on the small-32 list might not join the district. He cited Marathon High in Key West as an example. “It would be 200 miles on way for them to play a district game,” he said. “But we are still going to invite them to join.”
The FHSAA Division II for rural schools will be a pilot program for the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 seasons. The final list of 32 eligible schools will be based upon fall 2010 enrollment, Bell said.
Those numbers could make a difference for Northview. According to Day, Northview had an enrollment of 560 in the fall of last year, but that number was down to 525 by the end of hte year.
“We had to draw a line somewhere,” Bell said the list of 32 small schools. He said he had hoped to see a small and larger division in the rural district, but that was not possible this year.
“I certainly hope we can do the small and large in the near future, he said.”It’s not over; we still have work to do.”
For now, Bell said he is happy to see the Rural Division become a reality; he’s been advocating such a plan since about 1990.
Pictured top: Brandon Sheets tries to avoid Jay defender Chris Carrigan during last year’s meeting of two rural schools. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Free Sacred Heart Health Screenings Thursday In Molino
June 16, 2010
Sacred Heart Health System will provide free health screenings Thursday in Molino for the poor, elderly and uninsured.
Sacred Heart staff will provide heart-health screenings to measure blood pressure, blood sugar and total cholesterol and to screen for anemia. The screenings are helpful in diagnosing conditions that put people at high risk for heart attack, stroke, diabetes and other health problems.
Sacred Heart’s Mission in Motion staff will provide screenings for adults from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday at Scott’s Pharmacy at 6505 North Highway 29 in Molino.
Mission in Motion is a community service provided by Sacred Heart Health System in Pensacola. For more information, call (850) 416-7826.
Tri-County 8-9 Year Olds Beat Niceville-American
June 16, 2010
The Tri-County All-Stars beat Niceville-American Tuesday night 11-4 in Chumuckla.
The 8 and 9-year old boys will advance to play the Niceville-National team at 7:30 Thursday as the All-Star tournament continues in Chumuckla. The Tri-County boys will be competing against five other teams for the tournament championship.
Obama In Pensacola: We Are Responding To Spill
June 16, 2010
President Barack Obama defended his administration’s efforts in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill during a visit to the Florida Panhandle Tuesday and said it will do whatever it takes as long it takes to put the region back to normal.
Obama also put in a plug for the region he saw this week, turning tourism pitchman to help out the businesses that have seen a drop off in visits.
“Here in Pensacola, the beautiful beaches are still open,” Obama said during a speech to military personnel at Naval Air Station Pensacola that followed a morning visit to Pensacola Beach with Gov. Charlie Crist and other state officials and a bite from the Fish Sandwich Snack Bar at the Pensacola Beach pier. “The sand is white and the water is blue. So folks who are looking for a good vacation, they can still come down to Pensacola. People need to know that Pensacola is still open for business.”
But Obama said that didn’t mean there wasn’t a problem – and he acknowledged the anguish felt by many in a region so reliant on its beaches, its clean water and the fish that come out of it.
“That doesn’t mean that people aren’t angry,” Obama said. “That doesn’t mean that people aren’t scared. That doesn’t mean that people don’t have concerns about the future — we all have those concerns. And people have every right to be angry.”
But the administration, contrary to some criticism, is responding, the president said.
“When I say this is the largest response of its kind in American history, I mean it,” Obama said. “We’ve got more than 5,000 vessels on site — skimmers, tugs, barges, dozens of aircraft. More than 27,000 personnel are on the scene, fighting this every day, putting out millions of feet of boom and cleaning the shores.
“All told, we’ve authorized the deployment of 17,500 National Guardsmen to respond to this crisis,” Obama continued. “So far, only about 1,600 have been activated. That leaves a lot of Guardsmen ready to help. And if our governors call on them, I know they’ll be ready, because they’re always ready.”
The White House has come under heavy criticism, particularly from Republican politicians but also from local residents, about a response that has seemed lacking to some.
While praising Obama for listening to concerns in the region, Republican U.S. Sen. George LeMieux of Florida said the state didn’t have everything it needs.
o“There are only 32 skimmers off the coast of Florida and that’s not enough,” said LeMieux, who met with Obama on Tuesday. “President Obama pledged to help with the issue of skimmers, as well as pressing BP to expedite compensation for those suffering economic damage. I commended the president for his effort calling on BP to set up a fund for claims and encouraged him to seek an increased frequency of payments to affected individuals.”
LeMieux also said there was still a communication problem between federal officials, BP, and local leaders.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has also criticized the government for not doing enough to help the state out. McCollum is a Republican candidate for governor.
The main Democrat in the governor’s race, state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who joined the president on Tuesday, has focused her criticism on BP, whose oil it is that continues to leak out of the underwater pipe a mile under the Gulf.
Obama said he was committed to a full recovery in the area.
“I want the people of this region to know that my administration is going to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to deal with this disaster,” Obama said. He also pledged that BP would pick up the tab.
“Here in Pensacola and the Panhandle, tourism is everything,” the president said. “And when the tourists stay home, it ripples out and hits folks across these communities — the charter boats, the hotels, the restaurants, the roadside stores, the shops, the suppliers, the dive shops. And if your inland waters are contaminated — if the bays and bayous are contaminated — it could be devastating, changing the way of life down here for years to come.
“But let me say to the people of Pensacola and the Gulf Coast: I am with you, my administration is with you for the long haul to make sure BP pays for the damage that it has done and to make sure that you are getting the help you need to protect this beautiful coast and to rehabilitate the damaged areas, to revitalize this region, and to make sure that nothing like this happens ever again,” Obama said. “That is a commitment I am making to the people of Florida and people all across this Gulf.”
Pictured top: President Barack Obama address the military Tuesday at Pensacola Naval Air Station. Pictured inset: Obama and Gov. Charlie Christ on Pensacola Beach. Pictured below: Obama and Crist meet with other federal, state and local officials at Pensacola Beach. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
NorthEscambia.com Photo Gallery: President Obama In Pensacola
June 16, 2010
President Barack Obama was in Pensacola Tuesday, and NorthEscambia.com has complete photo coverage.
For a photo gallery from the president’s visit to Pensacola, click here.
Pictured above: President Barack Obama addresses the military Tuesday at Pensacola Naval Air Station. Pictured inset: Obama meets with Gov. Charlie Crist, Admiral Thad Allen, Congressman Jeff Miller, Florida CFO Alex Sink and other officials at the Fish Sandwich Snack Bar on Pensacola Beach. Pictured below: Florida Gov. Charlies Crist, President Barack Obama and Admiral Thad Allen walk on Pensacola Beach. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
VIDEO: Obama Meets With Local Officials On Pensacola Beach
June 16, 2010
Tuesday morning on Pensacola Beach, President Barack Obama met with state and local officials to discuss the BP oil spill. This video is from that meeting at the Fish Sandwich Snack Bar with Pensacola Mayor Mike Wiggins, Florida CFO Alex Sink, Gov. Charlies Crist and others.
To watch the video, click play below. To read the full text of the speech, click here.
(If you do not see the video above, it is because your home, work or school firewall is block access to external videos.)