Century To Begin $250K Drainage Project
October 26, 2010
Work is scheduled to begin next week on a Century drainage project funded with over a quarter million federal stimulus dollars.
The project includes drainage ditches and storm water pipe installations in the Dogwood area — south of the former Century High School including Mayo Street, Mayo Lane, Hecker Road, Archie Street, Dogwood Avenue and B Street.
Construction is scheduled to begin November 1 and continue through the end of February 2011.
The Town of Century awarded the $269,449 drainage improvement contract to Gulf Equipment Company. Gulf Equipment was one of six bidders on the project, with their bid over $30,000 less than the second place company, according to Dale Long of Fabre Engineering. Gulf Equipment’s bid was well below the $370,000 budgeted for the project.
“They do a good job and are a very reputable firm,” Long told the Century Town Council recently.
Man Busted After Drunken Night At Whataburger; Deputy Death Threat
October 26, 2010
A Century man was jailed for creating a drunken disturbance at a Century restaurant and threatening to kill a sheriff’s deputy.
John Clifton Brantley, 39, was charged with disorderly intoxication and threatening the life of a law enforcement officer. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on $5,500 bond.
While Escambia County Deputy Bobby Cook was eating an early morning meal at the Whataburger on North Century Boulevard, Brantley staggered into the fast food establishment where he was holding a profanity-laced cell phone conversation loud enough to be heard across the dining area.
Cook stated in his report that Brantley then used profanity in loudly complaining that deputies were not around when his motorcycle was vandalized. Cook escorted Brantley out of the restaurant, where Brantley began make racial remarks about “blacks” while a group of employees were standing nearby on a smoke break.
After more profane comments, Brantley was taken into custody.
At the jail, Brantley simulated a gun with his hand and fingers while looking at Deputy Cook and saying the word “pow”, according to the ECSO arrest report. He then make a slicing motion across his neck with his finger and mouthed the words “you’re dead”, leading to the charge of threatening a law enforcement officer. Brantley’s actions were recorded on video at the jail, according to the arrest report.
Guns Hidden In Secret Bathroom Compartment Land Walnut Hill Man In Jail
October 26, 2010
A Walnut Hill man is facing a felony weapons and child abuse charges after a domestic dispute and a traffic stop led deputies to discover guns hidden inside a secret compartment in his bathroom.
Floyd Scott Mooney, 39, was charged with possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and child abuse without great harm following the traffic stop on Highway 99 near Bratt. Early Tuesday morning, he remained in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Late Sunday night, deputies responded to an address on North Pine Barren Road when Mooney’s wife claimed he had become angry and forcefully pulled their infant son from her arms. The wife told deputies that Mooney, a convicted felon, keeps an “arsenal of firearms” at their residence in the 3000 block of North Highway 99.
Another deputy conducted a traffic stop on Mooney’s vehicle in front of the North Highway 99 address. The wife arrived and took deputies into the couple’s bathroom. She pulled a piece of paneling out from the bathroom cabinets to reveal guns that she claimed belonged to Mooney.
Mooney told deputies that his wife’s claims were false.
The Department of Children and Families has been notified of the incident, according to the arrest report..
JV Football: Northview Beats Escambia County
October 26, 2010
The junior varsity Northview Chiefs defeated the Escambia County Blue Devils 14-8 Monday night in Atmore.
It was the second meeting of the Chiefs and Blue Devils this season; Northview beat ECHS earlier this season 24-20.
The JV Chiefs finished with a winning season record of 3-2. Northview’s losses were both to West Florida Tech — once 44-6 on September 6 and a much closer 20-16 on October 14.
Members of the Northview High School JV Chiefs are: Daulton Tullis, Justin Thompson, Brannon Freeman, Dalton Daniel, Tristan Montgomery, Kendrell Elliott, Nathan Shipps, Skyler Macks, Jody Bonner, Jeffery Taylor, Dillon Crutchfield, Phillip Myrick, Chris Madison, Danny Slay, Kevin Vaughan, Aaron Floyd, Kahlil Grice, Dy’shun White, Stetson Nash, Tristen Creamer,Dusty Spicer, Arkelle Elliott, Luke McDaniel, Tyler Gifford, Tyler Roley, Marvin Haynie, Layne Purvis, Chad Smith, Shane Bushaw and Jordan Bodiford.
Pictured below: Kevin Vaughan back to pass for the Chiefs against Escambia County (Atmore) NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Century Relay Kickoff Event Tonight
October 26, 2010
The kickoff event for the Century Relay for Life will be held tonight.
“Cancer Is No Fairy Tale” is the theme for the event at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Center on West Highway 4. There will be a medieval feast, jousting, participants in costume and more.
New teams can bring their $100 registration fee and sign up for this year’s Relay at the event. For more information, or to sign up online, visit CenturyRelay.com.
Wednesday Last day To Request Mailed Absentee Ballot
October 26, 2010
Wednesday is the last day for voters to request a mailed absentee ballot, according to Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David Stafford.
The ballots must be requested by the close of business on Wednesday. Voters can make their request by contacting the Supervisor of Elections by mail, phone (850-595-3900), e-mail (absentee@escambiavotes.com), fax (850-595-3914), or by using the online form at EscambiaVotes.com. Requests must include the voter’s date of birth and the address where the ballot should be mailed. Absentee voters may follow the status of their ballot by clicking Track My Ballot at EscambiaVotes.com.
A voter will still have the ability after Wednesday to pick up an absentee ballot in person from the Elections Office. Voted absentee ballots must be received in the Elections Office (not at a polling location) no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day, November 2.
Voters can also chose to vote early at any of four locations in Escambia County:.
- Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 213 Palafox Place 2nd Floor
- Supervisor of Elections Annex, 292 Muscogee Road, Cantonment
- Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway
- West Florida Genealogy Library (former Tryon Branch Library), 5740 North 9th Avenue
Early voting will be offered Monday, October 25th through Saturday, October 30th from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Early voters will cast paper ballots through digital scanners, and may choose any one of the four sites.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 2. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Northview, Tate, Jay Run EscaRosa Cross Country Event
October 26, 2010
Washington High School hosted the recent EscaRosa Cross Country Championships at Sims Middle School, with teams that included Northview, Tate and Jay.
For a gallery of submitted photos from the event, click here.
Here are complete results:
Boys
- Washington — 18
- West Florida — 79
- Catholic — 86
- Navarre — 90
- Pace — 180
- Pensacola Christian — 204
- Pine Forest — 224
- Gulf Breeze — 234
- Milton — 234
- Escambia — 248
- Tate — 308
- PHS — 372
- Northview — 390
- Jay — 402
- Central — 438
Girls
- West Floida Tech — 33
- Pine Forest — 101
- Pace — 121
- Jay — 130
- Washington — 134
- Navarre — 145
- Gulf Breeze — 148
- Pensacola Catholic — 177
- Milton — 222
- PCA — 233
- Pensacola High — 276
- Escambia — 298
- Northview — 410
Two Jay High School runners placed in the top 15 — Leely Trevino at 11th with a time of 20:52 and Robin Blackman at 14th with a time of 21:21. The other top five runners for Jay were Allison Blair (22:02), Jessica Thornton (22:27), and Jenna Thornton (23:54).
The Royals will host the JD Mac Invitational this Saturday at Jay City Park.
For a gallery of submitted photos from the event, click here.
Submitted photos by Cathy Scott for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate Defeats Escambia To Make District Semifinals
October 26, 2010
Tate beat Escambia in three games Monday to advance to the semifinals of the District 1-5A volleyball tournament.
The Aggies will take on the number two seed Navarre Raiders this afternoon. In the other semifinal game, Pace will take on number one seed Milton.
Individual stats for Tate:
- Aggies defeated the Gators 25-6, 25-14, 25-21.
- Amanda Bolden –9 kills, 1 ace, 14 digs, 17 assists
- Samantha Hazen — 2 kills, 1 ace, 4 digs, 2 assists
- Destiny Gaudet — 1 dig; Jordan Barnette 1 ace, 9 digs
- Courtney Brown — 3 blocks, 8 kills, 2 digs
- Laura Jennings – 4 aces, 1 dig
- Heather Thomason — 1 kill
- Sierra Bestgen — 4 kills, 2 aces, 7 digs, 1 assist
- Jessica Wiggins — 3 aces, 7 digs
- Holly Brown — 4 kills, 2 digs, 1 assist
- Antoinette Odom — 2 kills, 3 blocks
Cantonment Man Injured In 3-Vehicle Crash
October 26, 2010
A Cantonment man received minor injuries in a three vehicle crash Monday afternoon in Pensacola.
Kevin Hooks, 49, was transported by ambulance to West Florida Hospital following the accident at 12:54 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 95A and East Hope Drive.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Hooks was rear-ended by a 2001 pickup driven by Fred Lizama, 66, of Pensacola. The impact pushed Hooks’ 1997 Ford SUV into the path of an oncoming 1994 Honda car driven by Charles Douglas, 47, of Pensacola. Douglas and Lizama were not injured.
Lizama was cited with careless driving, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Sink, Scott Battle Battle Over Ethics, Economy In Last Debate
October 26, 2010
Democrat Alex Sink and Republican Rick Scott traded blistering shots Monday for an hour over each other’s ethics, the economy, taxes and immigration in the last of two statewide television debates in a governor’s race polls show remains a toss-up a week before Election Day.
Almost as soon as CNN host John King introduced the candidates, the pair opened fire – with Scott warning that Sink’s plans for public employees, education and other issues would force a $12.5 billion boost in state spending. Sink pushed back, denying Scott’s charge and saying her opponent could not be trusted to run state government.
The sniping proved personal – as well as political – and ranged across a battered landscape spanning each contender’s business background, their investments, the health of the state’s pension fund, and newspaper endorsements, which Sink pointed out she’s outdueled Scott,16-0.
“You’ve spent a lifetime reinventing the truth,” Sink told Scott.
Scott: “You don’t care about seniors. Is that the deal?”
Sink ridiculed Scott as “a corporate raider.” Scott re-echoed his accusation that Sink, the state’s chief financial officer, is a “failed fiscal watchdog.”
Along the way Sink and Scott also stumbled: With both getting a question about the state’s $7.25 hourly minimum wage wrong. Scott confidently said the rate was $7.55 per-hour, and Sink chimed in, “Yeah, he’s right.” But he was wrong.
While the debate at Tampa’s University of South Florida covered mostly familiar ground, the candidates divided sharply on prospects of bringing a Nebraska-style abortion law to Florida – with Scott saying he would back such legislation, which effectively bans most abortions over 20 weeks of pregnancy, with Sink opposed.
Scott also renewed his support for cracking down on illegal immigration, backing legislation similar to that in Arizona that would empower local law enforcement to enforce federal laws – a position Sink resists.
The poll-tracking website Real Clear Politics gives Scott an average 1.6 percent edge in surveys taken the past week – an advantage still within the margin-of-error in most polls. The same site shows President Obama drawing slightly higher disapproval ratings, compared to the percentage of Americans who approve of his job performance, providing Scott with a steady line of attack against Sink.
“My opponent is an Obama liberal,” Scott said, rejecting Sink’s claim that he would eliminate the state’s development oversight agency, the Department of Community Affairs. “She thinks people in Tallahassee should tell people exactly what they ought to do.”
But in distancing herself from Obama on the administration’s handling of the Gulf oil spill, federal spending policies and the health care overhaul, Sink said Scott was trying to cover up his lack of understanding of state government and – even Florida.
“He doesn’t know a thing about me. He also doesn’t know much about Florida,” Sink said of her opponent, a first-time candidate who moved to the state from Connecticut seven years ago. “He hasn’t been here long enough to know much about Florida. But what’s important is character and integrity.”
She also accused Scott of trying to reduce the race to “nine or 10 soundbites.”
The two candidates showed little warmth toward each other. Sink grew visibly tight-lipped at times during the freewheeling exchanges with Scott, while he rolled his eyes and sought to dismiss her attempts to distance herself from the state’s $2.5 billion budget shortfall, loss of 800,000 jobs over the past four years, and pension fund declines amid the recession.
At debate’s end, Sink also got reined-in by King, the host, when she tried to expand on the newspaper endorsements she’d received. “You can run a campaign ad about that,” King broke in. “We don’t have time.”
Sink, though, also tried to put her role as the state’s elected chief financial officer in perspective – pointing out that as a Democrat, she’s outgunned by ruling Republicans on most policy issues.
“Let me clarify who has been in charge in Tallahassee,” Sink said. “It’s been one party, Rick Scott’s party. It’s been Tallahassee insiders who are now supporting his campaign for governor. So, it’s been the governor and a Republican-controlled Legislature in charge.”
Scott, who has shunned editorial boards, touted his endorsements from the National Federation of Independent Business and the Florida Chamber of Commerce, saying the governor’s race is about which candidate can best create jobs.
Scott, a former health care executive whose net worth is $218 million, put another $3.6 million of his own money into his campaign last week – bringing his total investment to $60 million – by far the bulk of his spending. Sink has collected $15.4 million in donor cash and in-kind support from the Florida Democratic Party, and has $1.8 million cash left on-hand heading into the freewheeling campaign’s final week.
But Scott’s business background has also given Sink plenty of ammunition. Scott’s former company, hospital chain Columbia/HCA, paid a record $1.7 billion in fines and settlements to resolve Medicaid and Medicare fraud charges three years after he left the company.
He also invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 75 times during a deposition taken ten years ago involving the company, and has refused to make public a deposition he gave six days before entering the governor’s race in a lawsuit involving a health-clinic company he owns.
Under questioning from moderator King, Scott declined to shed any more light Monday.
“All this comes up because my opponent doesn’t have a plan, she’s never created a job in her life, never put up her own money, put her money at risk, ” Scott said. “To change the debate, she just attacks.”
The debate themes have already played out it an avalanche of television advertising likely only to accelerate in the campaign’s closing days. Scott will barnstorm the state by bus and jet beginning Tuesday in a drive carrying him through Election Day, while Sink plans a similar homestretch push.
Asked about any regrets, neither candidate probed deeply.
“I don’t think about the past so much,” Sink said.
Responded Scott, “I would’ve had more kids. I love my daughters,” said the candidate, who has two adult daughters.
By The News Service Florida