Panhandle Roads Could Get A Little Icy
December 24, 2010
Florida Division of Emergency Management officials are urging all residents and visitors to take extreme precaution this holiday weekend when traveling on roadways as a complex weather system will bring freezing temperatures and rain to parts of Northern Florida.
“The Sunshine State doesn’t often experience the combination of cold temperatures and rain,” said Director David Halstead of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. “Therefore it is extremely important that travelers take extra precautions during this cold weather event, in case the rain causes icy roadways and hazardous driving conditions.”
A low pressure system will develop over the Northern Gulf of Mexico on Saturday and move quickly to the northeast across North Florida throughout the day. This will bring a cold front and rain through North Florida Saturday and through the Peninsula on Sunday. There is a chance in the Panhandle that this rain could freeze late Saturday night into early Sunday morning and produce black ice on roadways.
Halstead offered these safety tips for those traveling in North Florida over the holiday weekend:
- If conditions become hazardous, slow down and leave extra space between your car and the car in front of you.
- Stay on main roads and avoid back road shortcuts.
- Watch for icy surfaces on bridges. Even when the rest of the road seems to be in good condition, bridge decks will ice up first.
- Never use cruise control functions if it is raining or sleeting.
- Prepare your vehicle by topping off wiper fluid, checking tire air pressure as colder weather lowers pressure, and keep your fuel tank at least half full.
- If your vehicle does pass over ice, try to remain calm and do not overreact. Allow the vehicle to decelerate, but do not brake. Steer as straight as possible, and once you have traction, brake slowly.
- Tune into your radio, television or NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio for weather reports and emergency information.
Fire Destroys Large Shed; Nearby Barn Saved
December 24, 2010
Fire destroyed a large storage shed Friday morning in Molino, but firefighters were able to save an adjacent barn.
The blaze, which was believed to have been started by embers from a nearby trash fire, was reported about 9:15 a.m. on Crabtree Church Road just off Highway 97. The shed was a total loss, but there was little damage to the nearby barn.
There were no injuries reported.
The Molino, Cantonment, McDavid, Century and Walnut Hill stations of Escambia Fire Rescue were dispatched to the blaze.
Pictured above and below: Fire destroyed a shed in Molino Friday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
‘Squirrel Boy’ Convicted Of Selling Pot To Informant
December 24, 2010
A Century man known by law enforcement as “Squirrel Boy” has been found guilty on felony charges that he sold drugs from his front porch to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office informant.
Eric Quincy Allen, 42, was found guilty on two counts of marijuana possession with the intent to sell by an Escambia County jury. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and his driver’s license was revoked for two years by Judge Paul Rasmussen. He will also be required to perform 50 hours of community service and will be on probation for
two years, according to court records. Allen was given 30 days to report to jail to begin his sentence.
According to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Allen was sitting on his porch at his Salter’s Lake Road home when he sold marijuana to the informant in April, 2010.
Rain For Christmas, Turning Much Colder
December 24, 2010
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 33. Calm wind.
- Christmas Day: Rain, mainly after noon. High near 51. Calm wind becoming north between 10 and 15 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
- Saturday Night: Rain likely, mainly before 9pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 29. North wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 44. Wind chill values between 20 and 30. Breezy, with a north wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
- Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 20. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Monday: Sunny, with a high near 47. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 22. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 52. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
- Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 27. Calm wind.
- Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 58.
- Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.
- Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67.
- Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53.
- Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68.
Escambia Property Tax Discount Ends Next Week
December 24, 2010
If you want a three percent discount when paying your Escambia County real estate and tangible personal property taxes, you must make your payment by December 31.
All four tax collector offices will be open normal business hours on Friday, December 31, according to Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley.
In order to receive the three percent discount and have your tax payment posted with a December date, payment must be:
- received in the tax collector’s office by close of business December 31;
- made on the tax collector’s web site by midnight December 31; or
- made on the after-hours automated telephone (800) 601-1055 by midnight December 31.
In addition, payments mailed with a December 31 postmark or left in the tax collector’s 24‑hour drop boxes after hours on December 31 will receive the three discount but will be dated in January.
You may check the status of your taxes and pay online at www.escambiataxcollector.com. If you have any questions, call the tax collector’s office at 438-6500, ext. 252. (TTY users for the hearing impaired call 850-472-0031.)
Scott’s Plan For New Business Could Cost You On Your Electric Bill
December 24, 2010
With Gov.-elect Rick Scott promising to save businesses a stunning $3.2 billion on their electric bills, consumer groups are bracing for a fight, fearing his plan will push higher costs onto residential customers.
Scott’s advisers are already floating the idea of an “economic development rate,” for corporations that agree to relocate to Florida or expand businesses within the state. The level of utility cost savings would be tied to job creation, under the plan.
But Florida’s four big investor-owned utilities would not have to absorb the rate reduction – or ask investors to pick up the tab, said those familiar with the proposal. Instead, rate reductions given these companies would be offset by higher charges imposed on a utility’s overall rate base – with residential customers shouldering most of the costs.
“What’s good for businesses is going to be too bad for consumers,” said Bill Newton, executive director of the Florida Consumer Action Network. “The only thing we can hope for is that a rate increase can backfire on legislators, and they may not want to get involved in it.”
With Scott still almost two weeks from taking office, communications director Brian Burgess wouldn’t comment on the rate plan. But utility industry officials briefed on the plan by members of Scott’s economic development transition team say the proposal is designed to help him reach a central goal of his campaign: creating 700,000 jobs over the next seven years.
It also would help Scott meet a campaign pledge to “address Florida’s relatively expensive electricity costs so businesses could save approximately $3.25 billion,” part of the Republican candidate’s regulatory reform platform.
Tampa Electric Co., (TECO) and Florida Power & Light, two of the state’s largest publicy-held utilities, were among the top contributors to Florida political campaigns this fall, with each giving more than $1.2 million, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics.
While offering an economic development rate could help Scott meet his business cost-cutting goal – some steps also are likely to emerge to help existing Florida companies that can’t offer the lure of job creation.
“We’ve got to come up with some ways to incentivize businesses,” said Rep. Clay Ford, R-Gulf Breeze, chairman of the House Energy and Utilities Subcommittee. “But we also know that we’ve got to be able to afford them.”
Mark Wilson, president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said he is familiar with the concept behind the economic development rate, but had not been briefed by Scott’s team. Wilson, though, said the idea of asking residential customers to pay more, while reducing costs for businesses, was defensible.
“If we find out that residential customers pay lower rates and businesses pay more – that’s not fair,” Wilson said. “But if they pay a little more and that contributes to their community and brings jobs that generate revenue….then it could benefit everyone.”
Such an approach seems to be at the heart of the recommendations released Wednesday night by Scott’s transition advisers. State utilities, particularly Florida Power & Light, emerged as some of the biggest winners in the economic development push.
Scott advisers said FPL and other utilities should be free from regulatory limits to significantly generate more power from renewable energy. FPL’s Sam Forrest, vice-president of energy marketing and trading, helped craft the recommendations, which borrow heavily from the company’s own push to expand its use of solar and other alternative energy sources.
The transition team cited an industry report that claims 700 megawatts of additional renewable power could yield $8.1 billion in economic activity and 40,000 new jobs. Homeowners, though, will likely be asked to pay more for this increase.
Advisers said a survey conducted in association with Florida TaxWatch, the business-backed advocacy organization, found “more than 70 percent of Floridians believe that paying a dollar or more on their monthly utility bill is reasonable for renewable energy generation.”
“It could really attract industry,” Mark Bubriski, an FPL spokesman, said of the expanded renewable effort. “You could bring costs down for the solar industry and for companies. And it would eventually lower costs for homeowners, too.”
The economic development rate being shopped around could pit residential customers against businesses. But with Scott, businesses appear likely to get an edge because they carry the added political muscle of creating jobs.
“There’s a lot of money, potentially, on the table if this goes statewide,” said Barry Moline, executive director of the Florida Municipal Electric Association. “Sure, residential customers may pay a little bit more money. But in the end, they also might have the benefit of more jobs.”
Miller: Congressional Democrats Deaf To Voice Of People
December 24, 2010
In his latest newsletter, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller discusses the 111th Congress.
The following was submitted by Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Chumuckla for NorthEscambia.com:
On November 2, the American people spoke loud and clear. Their voices were heard from coast to coast, and the message was an overwhelming repudiation for Democrats’ big spending policies in the 111th Congress. Now as Christmas nears, the Democrat majority is, yet again, proving they are deaf to the voice of the people.
Throughout the 111th Congress, the majority has delayed and has failed to address many of the most pressing concerns of citizens, so much so, that in the final days of the legislative calendar—and in an effort to push through legislation at the buzzer—Democrats adopted a rule that allows for the consideration of legislation, at any time, with little notice. This rule exemplifies the way that the Democratic Party has chosen to do its business.
Circumventing the legislative process to push through unpopular legislation is no way to run Congress. The Founding Fathers created our system to ensure that Congress could not enact unmerited legislation. They intended for all legislation to be subject to a meaningful review process in both chambers; however, in this lame duck session we have been forced to vote on numerous bills that were rushed through the oversight process, leaving Members of Congress without the opportunity to offer amendments or remove unpopular provisions.
Allowing vital legislative business to languish for months without action is worrying. Waiting until the lame duck session to address these concerns is downright irresponsible. We have congressional elections every two years for a very good reason: so that Members of Congress will be held accountable for their voting records. Now, however, we have a large group of outgoing members voting on important pieces of legislation that were put off until the last minute. These outgoing members are no longer accountable for their actions, and yet, thanks to legislative irresponsibility, they are allowed to vote on the future path of our country.
The Democrat majority needed to get their priorities straight well before the close of the 111th Congress. Much like a college freshman, the majority leadership has put off their assigned work until the last minute. Now they are faced with the prospect of failure, and they seek to employ legislative maneuvering to ensure that important measures do not receive a complete evaluation by all Members of Congress, while the American people shoulder the burden. America and its people deserve better, and I look forward to the new Congress ahead of us. The days of the Democrat majority controlling both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue are soon to be over.
Exclusive Interview: Santa Talks About Tonight’s Visit To North Escambia Area
December 24, 2010
Tonight’s the big night for the jolly old elf, with Santa Claus expected to visit all the good little boys and girls in the North Escambia area tonight.
NorthEscambia.com spoke to Santa Claus by phone late Thursday from the North Pole, and we learned that he has a long list of girls and boys to visit tonight in area.
“There have been a lot of good boys and girls around North Escambia this year,” Santa Claus told us. “I’m going to be making a lot of deliveries. Let’s see…Molino, Century, Walnut Hill, Bratt, McDavid, Bogia, Christian Home, Davisville, Barinneau Park, Dogwood Park, Gandyville, Atmore, Flomaton, Cantonment, Byrneville, Cottage Hill…they are all on my list tonight.”
“The boys and girls at Bratt Elementary, Molino Park Elementary, Byrneville Elementary, and Ernest Ward have been so good in school this year. Even most of the big kids at Northview have been good this year,” Santa said with a chuckle.
What kind of toys will Santa have in his sleigh this year? Most everything he said.
“Wii, Wii, Wii. Ho, Ho, Ho,” Santa said with a grin. “There will be a few of those on the sleigh. Lots of Xbox boxes. Star Wars toys, Zhu Zhu pets, Webkinz, Barbie, mp3 players, laptop computers, toy trucks and tractors, makeup and even a few clothes will be on the sleigh tonight. But, best of all, there will be a lot of surprises!”
Santa’s funniest request from North Escambia this year came from a lady in Dogwood Park. She asked for a rich husband.
“I won’t have any rich husbands on the sleigh tonight,” Santa Claus said. “I emailed her request over to Cupid. I think he might fix her up for Valentine’s Day.”
Santa said he won’t be able to bring everything that every boy and girl asked for this year, but he’ll do his best.
“Sometimes kids ask for things I just can’t bring to them,” Santa Claus said. “But I always try to surprise them with something I know they will enjoy. I know the boys and girls will enjoy Christmas morning.”
Santa spent a lot of time in North Escambia this year. From riding fire trucks around neighborhoods, to the ballpark in Molino, to the library in Century, to the parades all around, Santa said he enjoyed meeting all the boys and girls in person.
In our exclusive interview, Santa let NorthEscambia.com into a little secret. That red light you see blinking in the sky around here might not be a big radio tower. It might be Santa’s most famous reindeer of them all.
“I really enjoy visiting down there in the summer,” Santa Claus said. “I like to take the reindeer down there to enjoy the warm weather. I have a buddy in Walnut Hill. We fly down, and the reindeer get to run around the woods there in Walnut Hill. Then we head over to Bluff Springs and do a little fishing. I like to visit the diner in Molino for lunch, in a disguise of course, and then head up to Century and get some ice cream.”
The most important thing for all the children in North Escambia to remember tonight is to get to bed early. Santa said he expects to be in North Escambia pretty early this year.
NorthEscambia.com has teamed up with NORAD to track Santa all day. To see Santa’s latest location, click here.
Pictured top: Not everyone was willing to share their Christmas list with Santa as he visited the Century Branch Library earlier this month. Pictured below: Other children were more than willing to get in their Christmas morning wishes. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Christmas Recipes: Apples, Sweet Potatoes And A Quick Breakfast Brunch
December 24, 2010
We are continuing our Christmas recipe series today with a couple of desserts and a quick breakfast.
Today’s recipes feature an Apple Caramel Pudding and a Sweet Tater Cheesecake. We also have a Farmer’s Omelet Casserole that’s easy to cook and would provide a hearty Christmas morning breakfast or brunch for everyone.
To submit your recipes to share with our readers, email them to news@northescambia.com.
Farmer’s Omelet Casserole
by Terri Brown
- 3 cups frozen cubed hash brown potatoes
- 1 cup chopped green pepper, divided
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 18 large eggs, beaten
- 2 1/3 cups chopped cooked ham
- 1 1/4 cups chopped tomato, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (coarse grind is best)
- 1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
Cook potato, 3/4 cup green pepper and onion in oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, stirring constantly, 8 min. or until tender. Cool potatoes if preparing the night before. Combine potato mixture, eggs, ham, 1 cup tomato, salt and black pepper in a large bowl; stir well. Pour mixture into a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Bake, uncovered at 325 for 40 minutes or until golden. Top with remaining 1/4 cup green pepper and 1/4 cup tomato. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake 5 more minutes until cheese melts.
Apple Caramel Pudding
by Janet Smith
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups chopped peeled apples
Combine first five ingredients; then add apples and milk. Blend thoroughly and pour into 8″ square pan.
Combine:
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup boiling water
Mix sugar, boiling water and butter and pour over the batter already in pan. Bake
at 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Seeve warm with ice cream or whipped cream. Very simple but rich dessert. Serves 4 to 6
Sweet Tater Cheesecake
- 4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 cup whipping cream (cool whip will work if no cream handy)
- 1 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, mashed (NOT CANNED)
Graham Cracker-Pecan Crust
- 2 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
- Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 425°.
Crust:
Combine crust ingredients thoroughly; press into a 10-inch springform pan.
Beat cream cheese, sugar, and eggs until smooth; beat in flour, cinnamon, and ginger. Beat cream and well-mashed sweet potatoes in on medium speed of a hand held mixer just until well-combined. Pour the batter into the prepared crust. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes; lower heat to 275° and bake 1 hour longer. Turn heat off and leave in the oven to cool for several hours, or cool on a wire rack. Serve with sweetened whipped cream or caramel sauce.
Family Searching For Their Giant Candy Canes
December 24, 2010
A Jay family is hoping someone will return a couple of giant candy canes that were taken from their home. The two homemade plywood candy canes were noticed missing Wednesday from the family’s fence. If you know where to find the giant candy canes, call Vicki and (850) 675-6194. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.