Manhunt Puts College On Lockdown; Suspect Arrested
September 1, 2010
Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton was on lockdown Wednesday morning as manhunt was underway for a suspect that fled from police.
According to Brewton Police Chief Monte McGougin, authorities were searching for a man wanted for DUI that fled from officers last night. Benjamin Jackson was taken into custody early Wednesday afternoon. He was being treated for minor injuries received while he was one the run overnight in a wooded area near the college.
Jackson allegedly hit a house with his car Tuesday night. A manhunt for Jackson followed but was called off without success about midnight. Someone spotted Jackson about 8:00 Wednesday morning near Pea Ridge Road.
“He’s not going to be real dangerous,” McGougin said as the manhunt was underway. He described the suspect as a white male wearing red boxer shorts.
The lockdown at Jeff Davis was lifted about 10:45 a.m..
High Hopes: Selling Century To Potential Industry
September 1, 2010
Century’s mayor has high hopes for the future growth of his town. And he has about 40,000 square feet of space that would be just perfect for a company looking to locate and grow on the Gulf Coast.
“It has a lot of office space up front,” he said as he showed the empty Helicopter Technology Building in the town’s industrial park. “It has a little kitchen here with a microwave.” He knows the real estate sales pitch on the building the town repurchased for less than $1 at foreclosure auction one year ago.
Standing on the huge plant floor, McCall does not see just empty space and an odd arrangement of old couches and a grandfather clock moved from the office space. He sees the potential for a company to thrive — and the key to Century’s growth.
“It’s ready to go,” McCall said of the building. “Fairly heavy duty electrical wiring. Air conditioning. Plenty of room. It has great potential.”
The biggest potential of the building, according to the mayor, is the fact that it’s move-in ready. He said that would allow a company to become operational quickly, rather than waiting for permits and construction of a new facility.
As for the price, McCall — reverting back to his pitchman tone — said, “The more jobs it creates, the better we can negotiate”.
“Things are looking up in Century,” he said. “We are ready for a company to become part of the excitement.”
Companies interested in the building in the Century Industrial Park can contact Mayor Freddie McCall at (850) 256-3208 or Bennie Barnes at the Century Chamber of Commerce at (850) 256-3155.
Pictured top: Century Mayor Freddie McCall on the empty plant floor in the old Helicopter Technology Building in the Century Industrial Park. Pictured inset: McCall believes the building could be key to the grown of Century. Pictured below: The building, repurchased by the town a year ago at a foreclosure auction, sits empty. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Three Facing Charges After Deputies Find Alleged Cottage Hill Meth Lab
September 1, 2010
Three people are facing charges after deputies allegedly found an active meth lab in a Williams Ditch Road home.
William Todd Neal, 29, of Williams Ditch Road, Cantonment; Rebecca Doris Jernigan, 35, address listed as transient; and William Thomas Robbins, 22, of Belmont Road, Cantonment, were each charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The trio was arrested after Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies were tipped off that a meth lab was being operated at 36 Williams Ditch Road in the Cottage Hill community. Deputies found a meth lab, finished methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia upon searching the residence, according to a Sheriff’s Office report, last week.
Deputies said they discovered that what they believed to be meth was being manufacturing at the time of the search; a hazardous materials team was called to the scene to remove the alleged meth lab.
Neal remains jailed with bond set at $25,200 bond. Jernigan was released on $6,000 bond, and Robbins is free on $16,000 bond.
State To Decide Future Of Florida’s Last Fox Pen In Walnut Hill
September 1, 2010
State wildlife officials will consider a rule this week that would spell a permanent end to fox pens in Florida — the last of which was located in Walnut Hill.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider the rule during a three day session at Pensacola Beach. The new rule, if approved, will prohibit the taking of fox or coyote by a dog or dogs within an enclosure.
The FWC shut down the Shady Oaks Fox Pen at 4000 South Highway 99 in Walnut Hill back in February when the commission voted to temporarily prohibit the chasing of foxes and coyotes in enclosures. The FWC did not accuse Shady Oaks or its owners of any wrongdoing.
There were as many as six state permitted fox pens in Florida in 2009, but all had closed by the end of the year except for the approximately 200 acre Shady Oaks Fox Pen in Walnut Hill. At one time, there were about 50 fox and coyote pens from the Panhandle to Central Florida.
The FWC meetings will be at the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front, 12 Via de Luna Drive, Pensacola Beach. Meetings begin at 8:30 each day and are open to the public.
Pictured: A fence surrounds the Shady Oaks Fox Pen on South Highway 99 near Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
NHS, Jay Split Volleyball Matches
September 1, 2010
The Northview Chiefs and the Jay Royals split volleyball matches on Tuesday.
Northview Vs. Jay –Varsity
At the varsity level, the Lady Chiefs (1-1) beat Jay in four games — 25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21.
Northview stats:
Shawn Montgomery — Kills-8, Aces-1, Blocks-2
Kara Hardin — Aces-1, Digs-3, Blocks-1 Kills-7
Ashley Digmon –Assists-5,Aces -9, Digs-5
Katie Wieborg – Kills-6, Assists-3, Aces-1
Northview Vs. Jay — Junior Varsity
In JV action, the Lady Royals defeated Northview (0-2) in a three-game match, 25-21, 15-25, 7-15.
Northview JV stats:
Rebecca Masaitis – Kills-1, Assists-1, Aces-1
Madison Arrington — Assits-6. Aces-1
Lana Clayton – Kills-4, Aces-1
Danielle Steadham — Kills-3, Aces-1
Work To Begin Today On Elm Street In Century
September 1, 2010
Traffic flow is expected to be interrupted for about 10 days on Elm Street in Century. Motorists should choose an alternative route while construction is underway, according to Sonya Daniel, public information manager for Escambia County.
High Court Strikes Three Amendments From Ballot
September 1, 2010
The state’s highest court on Tuesday removed three lawmaker-orchestrated amendments from the November ballot, including proposals asking voters to block parts of the federal health care law and to preserve legislators’ ability to draw legislative districts in a certain way.
In three lengthy opinions, the seven-member Supreme Court rejected the Republican-led Legislature’s proposed ballot measures, ruling all of them were misleading.
The court left on the ballot two other redistricting-related amendments that were put before voters through the petition process. Those two amendments, 5 and 6, aim to prevent lawmakers from drawing districts that will favor themselves or their party – which legislators had argued was nearly impossible.
Amendments 5 and 6 had been challenged by two members of Congress. Amendment 7, the legislatively-written amendment removed from the ballot by the court on Tuesday, was a response to Amendments 5 and 6.
The court’s decisions drew anger from an array of GOP lawmakers who decried “activist judges” for overstepping the court’s bounds.
While careful to say he has respect for the judicial branch, incoming House Speaker Dean Cannon said the court’s rulings themselves were constitutionally suspect.
“It’s terribly disappointing to have the work of the legislative branch demolished by a co-equal branch of government, especially when there’s no express authority in the Constitution for their doing so,” said Cannon, who was the losing lawyer in the case over Amendment 7, having personally argued it before the court.
Cannon’s Senate counterpart, Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos, was one of the most outspoken backers of Amendment 7.
“They’re clearly trying to legislate from the bench” said Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, who chaired hearings on Amendments 5 and 6 that led lawmakers to create Amendment 7. “I believe in equal branches of government. It sounds to me like the court thinks it is more equal than the other branches.”
The Legislature’s redistricting proposal pitted lawmakers against a group called FairDistrictsFlorida that drafted Amendments 5 and 6, which if passed in November will require districts to be drawn in a way so as not to favor political parties or legislative incumbents.
U.S. Reps. Corrine Brown, a Jacksonville Democrat, and Mario Diaz-Balart, a Miami Republican, had sued to get Amendments 5 and 6 thrown off the ballot, saying they threatened minority interests by not allowing districts to be drawn to favor certain types of candidates.
The Supreme Court’s 22-page 5-2 decision said the Legislature’s proposed amendment could allow lawmakers to nullify a constitutional requirement that districts to be geographically contiguous – but didn’t make that clear to voters.
“This is a matter that should have been clearly and unambiguously stated in the ballot language,” the court wrote. “Failing this clear explanation, the voters will be unaware of the valuable right-the right to have districts composed of contiguous territory-which may be lost if the amendment is adopted.”
Justices Charles Canady and Ricky Polston, who were the two dissenting votes, completely disagreed with their colleagues’ argument that the contiguous requirement could be overridden, with Canady writing that the amendment would not “nullify, dilute, or alter this provision of the Florida Constitution.”
“Florida voters will now have a clear chance to vote yes on Amendments 5 and 6 on Nov. 2 and place rules into the Florida Constitution for politicians to follow when they draw the district lines,” said Ellen Freidin, campaign chairwoman for FairDistrictsFlorida. “These rules will stop politicians from drawing districts to favor themselves and will put the political power back into the hands of the people – where it belongs.”
In its ruling on Amendment 3 on property tax exemptions, the court agreed with Circuit Judge John Cooper that the average voter could easily be misled by the ballot title and summary, which was riddled with seeming contradictions and incongruities as to who qualified for the additional exemption.
Cooper ruled the measure’s ballot title and summary didn’t mention a Jan. 1, 2010 effective date, the absence of which could lead voters to incorrectly assume they were eligible for additional homestead exemption benefits. The proposal, which would offer qualified buyers an additional homestead exemption benefit, was crafted by lawmakers in 2009 to boost home sales.
Because of the omission, “voters may be misled into believing they qualify for the additional exemption when they do not, or conversely believe they do not qualify when they do,” the court wrote in the 5-2 opinion upholding Cooper. Polston and Canady dissented.
Amendment 9 grew out of Republican opposition to the Obama administration’s health care overhaul. The amendment would have tried to prevent Floridians from being compelled to participate in any health care system and sought to protect residents who want to opt out of a new federal requirement that they eventually buy health insurance or face penalties.
Circuit Judge James Shelfer killed that proposal, and the Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision with Canady and Polston again dissenting, agreed that the ballot proposal did not pass constitutional muster and that the summary voters would see was a classic example of “flying under false colors.” The court also dismissed an idea by Attorney General Bill McCollum to put the entire amendment on the ballot to clear up any confusion.
“This Court does not have the authority to substitute the language that three-fifths of the members of the Legislature have voted to place on the ballot,” the majority wrote.
Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, who sponsored the health care amendment in the House said the opinion smelled of “judicial activism” and that it was “judges playing politics.” He also said that he would refile the amendment during the next legislative session and try to put it on the November 2012 ballot.
By Kathleen Haughney and Michael Peltier
The News Service Florida
Danceworks Registration Underway
September 1, 2010
Registration is underway for Heather Leonard’s Danceworks.
Heather Leonard, a dance teacher for over 20 years, will resume the role of dance director and ballet teacher for Danceworks. She said she is excited that her former student, Chelsea Sims, will be teaching the jazz and tap classes.
“The new Dancework’s dance classes have been scheduled to help dancers achieve excellence in dance. Some of the older students will have the opportunity to dance twice a week without paying the cost of a large dance school,” said Leonard, who has taught dance to hundreds of girls from North Escambia and surrounding areas.
Classes will be held weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Byrneville Community Center. Registration continues this week by mail, and classes begin September 7.
For a printable information sheet, schedule and registration form, click here. For further information, contact Heather Leonard at (850) 256-0948 or email heather@erec.net.
Pictured: Last year’s Heather Leonard Danceworks recital, courtesy Ramona Fischer for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Flomaton JV Beats Uriah 30-0
September 1, 2010
The JV Flomaton Hurricanes picked up a big 30-0 win Tuesday evening in their season opener against J.U. Blacksher of Uriah. The JV Hurricanes will be on the road at Baker at 6 p.m. on September 7.
For more photos, visit www.mikenewtonphoto.com.
Submitted photos above and first photo below by Mike Newton Photography for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge. Bottom two photos (scroll down) by danaKateoriginals for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Hospitals Going Smoke-Free
August 31, 2010
Sacred Heart Health System will go completely tobacco-free, indoors and out, at all of its facilities throughout Northwest Florida and Southern Alabama on Wednesday.
The new policy prohibits the use of any tobacco product on all properties owned or leased by Sacred Heart, including parking areas. The policy applies to patients, visitors, physicians, volunteers, vendors, tenants and employees.
“We know that tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death and disability in the United States,” said SHHS President and CEO Laura Kaiser. “Even exposure to secondhand smoke has devastating health consequences. Our goal in going tobacco-free is to help provide a safer environment for all who visit and work at our facilities.”
All three of Sacred Heart’s hospitals are host sites for “Quit Smoking Now,” a free, six-week series of smoking-cessation classes for those who want to stop smoking. The next session at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola will begin in October. For more information on these free smoking cessation classes, which are available at locations throughout our region, call the Northwest Florida Area Health Education Center at 850-398-6965, or call the Florida Quitline toll-free at 1-877-822-6669.