Division Of Forestry; Children, Drought And Thunderstorms Increase Fire Danger
June 7, 2011
Officials with the Florida Division of Forestry’s Blackwater District currently are facing a combination of factors that could lead to potentially catastrophic wildfires through the summer months.
Children – the cause of 8.5% of the district’s wildfires in 2010 – are out of school for the summer and we are in the midst of an extreme drought; combined, these two factors can create havoc for wildland firefighters. Add in the typical summer thunderstorms and the accompanying lightening and there is significant cause for concern. Crews from responded to seven fires as a result of Sunday’s thunderstorms.
“Typically, we expect afternoon thunderstorms to relieve some of the late spring drought conditions,” said David Smith, Operations Administrator for Blackwater. “Without any significant rain in the past few months and no real chance in the foreseeable future, we are very concerned with the potential fire activity. In addition, fires caused by children are on the rise and we ask parents to be vigilant to help prevent this type of activity from occurring.”
Almost halfway through the calendar year, Blackwater crews have battled 163 fires that consumed more than 1,900 acres. By the same time last year, there had been only 98 fires totaling more than 1,000 acres.
The Florida Division of Forestry is reminding everyone that because of continued dryness, gusty winds, and daily temperatures in the nineties, we are seeing increased fire danger levels in all of northwest Florida, including Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties. Everyone living in and visiting the area is urged to be extremely aware of the potential for wildfire.
The Division of Forestry does not recommend burning at this time, however burn bans are not in effect for Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties.
Pictured: On South Highway 99 just south of Highway 97-A near Enon, downed power lines sparked a brush fire over several acres last Friday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Amber Alert Canceled, 3 Month Old Found Safe
June 7, 2011
An Alabama infant that was the subject of an Amber Alert yesterday has been found safe and sound, according to the Alabama Department of Public Safety. No further details were provided when the Amber Alert was canceled Tuesday morning.
Three month old Daniel Jackson Lowe was taken during a car jacking in Ariton, Alabama (southeast of Troy) on Sunday evening, June 5. Daniel and his two siblings Brian Dale Dacus III, and Charles Clinton Dacus were taken by unknown suspects in an alleged assault and carjacking.
Dale and Charles Dacus were discovered Monday in Black, Alabama — that’s on the Alabama/Florida line north of Bonifay. A woman told Walton County deputies that she found the children in the roadway near her home and drove them to a Walton County hospital.
Ina Lee Roach Conway
June 7, 2011
Mrs. Ina Lee Roach Conway, 89, passed away on Monday, June 6, 2011, in Pensacola.
Mrs. Conway was a native of McDavid and a resident of Century and McDavid for most of her life. She attended the Century First Baptist Church. She was preceded in death by her husband Andrew J. Conway.
Survivors include her sister and brother-in-law, Eva R. and Houston Conway of Pensacola; and a number of nieces and nephews.
Special thanks to Regency Hospice, Dr. John Boden, Kari, Jeanette, and Jo, Counseling on Aging, Josephine Cook, and special friends, Brenda Fowler and Marie Long.
Funeral services will be held Friday, June 10, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with the Rev. Earle Greene officiating.
Burial will follow at Godwin Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Friday, June 10, 2011, from 12:30 p.m. until funeral time at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home in Atmore.
Pallbearers will be Bernard Conway, James Nall, Tommy Conway, Jameson Kimbrel, Jim Kimbrel and Lavelle Steel.
Doctors File Suit Over Gun Ownership Question Bill
June 7, 2011
Pushing back against the National Rifle Association, a group of physicians on Monday filed suit in a Miami federal court to nullify a controversial measure prohibiting health practitioners from routinely asking their patients if they own guns and have them properly stored.
In a battle pitting the First Amendment against the Second Amendment, attorneys representing pediatricians and family doctors are asking U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke to throw out the recently approved measure (HB 155) they say steps illegally between a patient and their physician by limiting the types of questions practitioners can ask.
The complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida, contends that prohibiting what physicians and their patients can talk about is unconstitutional.
“By severely restricting such speech and the ability of physicians to practice such preventative medicine, the Florida statute could result in grievous harm to children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly,” the complaint reads. “The First Amendment does not permit such a gross and content-based intrusion on speech and, accordingly, the court should declare the ‘Physician Gag Law’ unconstitutional and enjoin its enforcement.”
The bill easily passed both chambers along largely party line votes – 88-30 in the House and 27-10 in the Senate.
The legislation appears to have originated after an Ocala couple complained that their doctor had told them to find another physician after they refused to disclose whether they owned guns and how they were stored.
Physicians say questions about gun ownership is often part of routine screenings done in many doctor’s offices, included in a battery of questions including such safety questions as whether poisons are kept in the home or if medicines are safely stored.
Backers say ownership is a constitutionally protected right, making it different from other possible potential hazards doctors might ask about.
Florida NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer could not be reached for comment Monday.
“We pay doctors to be doctors and give us medical care,” Hammer said in an interview with the Capital News Service last week. “Instead, they are trying to be social workers and bring their gun-ban politics into the examining room.”
Lawmakers this year also passed a measure (HB 45) that prohibits cities and counties from passing gun ordinances that are tougher than state law. That bill passed along similar party-line votes in the House and Senate on votes of 85-33 and 30-8 respectively with a few Democrats crossing the aisle.
Originally opposed to the bill dealing with doctors’ questions, the Florida Medical Association withdrew its opposition after changes were made allowing physicians, nurses and other practitioners to ask questions about gun ownership if they feel the patient or a family member might be in danger.
By Michael Peltier
The News Service of Florida
Escambia Man Gets 25 Years For Attempted Murder, Robbery
June 7, 2011
An Escambia County man was sentenced to 25 years in state prison with a minimum mandatory of 20 years on attempted murder and robbery charges.
Sedecki Pierre Toler, 24, received the sentence from Judge Jan Shackelford after being convicted of attempted second degree murder with a firearm, robbery with a firearm and carjacking with a firearm.
On June 26, 2010, Toler approached Michael Jerome Brown in his driveway, took him inside his house at gunpoint, and shot him in the head, according to State Attorney Bill Eddins. The bullet just grazed the back of Brown’s head. Toler then took Brown’s money and keys and fled the premises. DNA linked Toler to Brown’s vehicle and the scene of the crime.
State To Give RX Drug Help To Released Inmates
June 7, 2011
The Florida Department of Corrections announced Monday it will offer prescription drug discount cards to newly released inmates and those on probation through a partnership with a company that specializes in helping former offenders get medicine.
The cards, which will be provided by Recovery Health Network, will offer up to 75 percent discounts on prescription medications, certain tests and some imaging services.
The discount cards will be provided for free, and DOC said in its announcement Monday that they are recognizes by more than 54,000 pharmacies nationwide. The card has no expiration date or limits on numbers of prescriptions and DOC says it will work for “all physician-prescribed” medications.
“One of our reentry goals is to match inmates and offenders with needed resources,” said Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Edwin Buss. “Putting these prescription cards in the hands of offenders on community supervision and inmates right when they are released will help with the costs of the medications they need.”
NHS Presents Senior Awards
June 6, 2011
The following awards were presented to Northview High School seniors recently:
Agriscience
Stephanie Solari – Outstanding Student
Art
Katelyn Garrison – HAA
Aaron Hammond – Exemplary
Business Technology
Business Education Direct Study – HAA
Dixie Carnley
Kelsey Plant
Business Education Directed Study Exemplary Award
Katie Wieborg
Digital Design 1 – HAA
Jocelyn Gould
Digital Design 2 – HAA
Jocelyn Gould
Digital Design 3 – HAA
Dixie Carnley
Exemplary Digital Design 3
Katelyn Garrison
Exemplary Award Web Design 1
Jessica Imholte
Web Digital Design 2 – HAA
Laneicia Gomez
Web Design 2 – Exemplary Award
LaDarian White
Web Design 3 – HAA
Joshua King
Industry Certification
Allyson Bullard
Dixie Carnley
Trestine Dean
Ashley Digmon
Katelyn Garrison
Laneicia Gomez
Jocelyn Gould
Jessica Imholte
Shaniqua Jones
Joshua King
David Lambert
Jessynia McCall
Jacob Morris
Kelsey Plant
Derrick Portis
Elliot Ross
LaDarion White
Katie Wieborg
Family & Consumer Science
Christina Sepulveda – HAA
Language Arts
Eng Honors – HAA
Christina Sepulveda
Exemplary
Hilary Byrd
Reg. English – HAA
Shawna Montgomery
Exemplary
Megan Flurnoy
English 1101-02
Sarah Killam
Exemplary
Emily Vickrey
Mathematics
Pre-Calculus
Brianna Roley – HAA
James Garrett – Exemplary Student Award
Liberal Arts Math
Erin Fremin – HAA
Stephan Jay – Exemplary
College Readiness Math
Mallory Bell – HAA
Sarah Schachle – Exemplary
Music
Colton Sims – Outstanding Performance in Music
Mallory Bell – Outstanding Performance in Music
Reading Exemplary
Tammie Brown
T’Kieya Amos
Science
Sarah Killam – HAA
James Garrett – Exemplary
Spanish
Dustin Gibson — HAA
Dustin Yuhasz — Exemplary
Social Studies
Mallory Bell — HAA Eco.
Sarah Killam — Exemplary
Shaniqua Jones –Exemplary Regular Eco.
Technology Education
Charles Rollin – HAA–Construction Tech
Derek Lewis – HAA — Drafting
James Garrett – Exemplary Drafting
Yearbook Editor
Christina Sepulveda – HAA
Caitlyn Brown – HAA
Brandi Boggan – Exemplary
Brooke Tullis — Exemplary
Frontier Customers Experience Phone, Internet Outage
June 6, 2011
An apparent equipment failure in Atmore left thousands of Frontier Communications customers without phone and internet for a period of time this morning. The outage included Frontier customers in Atmore, Walnut Hill, Bratt and Molino, as well as Monroeville and Camden, Ala.
The outage began at 10:37 a.m. and included voice and data services such as DSL. The outage originally caused “toll isolation”, according to Karen Miller, spokesperson for Frontier — with customers at one point able to only call within their own phone exchange.
It appears that DSL and data services returned for most customers after a short period of time, but many customers continued to experience difficulties with voice calls until just after noon.
Walnut and Molino customers reported that they were able to call the Frontier service area — including Walnut Hill, Bratt, Molino and Atmore — but they were unable to call Pensacola, which is ordinarily a local phone call. Some long distance services were also involved in the outage.
A test call from NorthEscambia.com to Escambia County (Fla.) 911 indicated that 911 emergency calls were operable just after 11 a.m.
The outage appeared to be related to an equipment failure in Atmore, according to Miller.
Some Verizon Wireless customers also reported data and voice problems during the first few minutes of the outage, apparently because some of Verizon’s local towers connect to the phone network through Frontier.
Smoke, Ash From An Alabama Fire
June 6, 2011
Residents across Escambia County woke up to the smell of smoke Monday morning from a wildfire near Seminole, Alabama.
The 200 acre fire was contained by firefighters but was not yet under control Monday. Winds pushed the smelly smoke eastward into Florida during the morning hours.
“For individuals with respiratory sensitivities, you may want to stay indoors with windows closed and air conditioning on to prevent breathing difficulties,” Sonya Daniel, Escambia public information manager, said Monday morning.
South Alabama is under burn restrictions. While there are no restrictions, other than the ordinary rules, in place in Florida, area residents are discouraged from outdoor burning.
Bratt Mobile Home Sliced By Falling Tree Limb
June 6, 2011
A falling tree limb heavily damaged a Bratt mobile home over the weekend.
A large oak limb sliced through the home, causing significant damage. The residents of the mobile home in the 5100 block of West Highway 4 reported the incident Sunday afternoon but told first responders that the limb came crashing down Saturday night. There were were no injuries reported.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Rescue responded to the incident, while Escambia River Electric Cooperative was called to disconnect power from the single wide trailer.
The mobile home, located near Rigby Road, was formerly used as a beauty shop. First responders determined the trailer to be structural unsound for occupation.
Pictured: A large oak limb sliced through a Bratt mobile home. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
