Lance Cpl. Travis Nelson Arrives At Pensacola NAS
August 24, 2011
The body of Lance Cpl. Travis Nelson arrived onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola Wednesday afternoon. Nelson was killed in action August 18 while deployed in combat operations in Afghanistan.
Photo by MC2 Julia A. Casper for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Buses Will Be Held At Ernest Ward This Afternoon
August 24, 2011
Buses will be held at Ernest Ward Middle School this afternoon until the motorcade with the remains of LCpl Travis Nelson pass the school. Parents that wish to pick up their child may do so in the “car rider” line and must exit and head toward Bratt (away from Highway 97).
For more about the motorcade, click here, or check our Facebook.
Line The Streets: Residents Can Pay Respect To Fallen Marine Today And Friday
August 24, 2011
North Escambia area residents are encouraged to line the streets today and Friday to pay respects to the local Marine who was killed in action last week in Afghanistan.
Wednesday
The body of Lance Cpl. Travis Nelson, 19, will be transported in a small procession Wednesday afternoon from the Pensacola Naval Air Station to an Atmore funeral home.
The procession, led by the Florida Highway Patrol and motorcycle riders from the Patriot Guard, will depart the main gate at Pensacola NAS at or after 2 p.m. Those wishing to show their respects in Pensacola are asked to line the sidewalks on South Navy Boulevard outside the base at 2 p.m.
The procession will travel up Highway 29 out of Pensacola, turning north on Highway 97 to Atmore. In Atmore, the procession will follow South Main Street (Hwy 21) to East Nashville Avenue (Hwy 31) to Petty-Eastside Funeral Home.
Almost 500 Ernest Ward Middle School students will be in front of the school — dressed in red, white and blue and waving hundreds of American flags – as Nelson’s remains pass the school that he attended in the sixth and seventh grades.
Residents wishing to pay their respects in Walnut Hill area asked to gather along Highway 97 north of Arthur Brown Road. Parking will be available at the Walnut Hill Community Center (Ruritan Building) and adjacent to the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department. The fire department is opening their parking lot to those that wish to view the procession from that location. Residents should not gather or park on the grounds of Ernest Ward Middle during school hours.
In Atmore, people are asked to gather anywhere along South Main Street and East Nashville Avenue Wednesday afternoon. The public is requested to remain off the funeral home property as the procession arrives.
The exact time the procession will arrive in North Escambia or Atmore is not known. Updates will be posted on the NorthEscambia.com Facebook page at http://www.Facebook.com/NorthEscambia. “Like” the page so that alerts will appear on your Facebook wall. Click “Subscribe via SMS” in the left column of the page to receive updates on your cellular phone. (Procession updates will not be posted on NorthEscambia.com — you must visit and “Like” the Facebook page to receive updates.)
Friday
Visitation will be held Friday from 12:30 p.m. until funeral time at the Atmore First Baptist Church on South Main Street. Funeral services will follow at 2 p.m. at the church with Chaplain Lt. Commander Jeffrey Bornemann and the Rev. George Weaver officiating with military honors. Burial will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery in Atmore.
The public is encouraged to line Main Street from the First Baptist Church to Oak Hill Cemetery to pay their respects on Friday. The public is requested to be in place along the highway by 2:30 p.m.
Pictured: A U.S. Marine Corps carry team transfers the remains of Marine Lance Cpl. Travis M. Nelson at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, Saturday night, August, 20, 2011. Photo by Steve Kotecki, U.S. Air Force, for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Portion Of Bogia Road Closed For Two Days
August 24, 2011
A portion of Bogia Road east of Highway 29 will be closed Thursday.
CSX will replace railroad tracks at the Bogia Road crossing. The road will be closed from 8 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Gulf Power $38.5 Million Rate Hike Gets Approval
August 24, 2011
State regulators on Tuesday allowed Gulf Power Company to at least temporarily raise rates by $38.5 million, as the Panhandle utility gets ready to seek a broader hike that would take effect next year.
The so-called “interim” increase will start hitting customer bills in mid-September and will lead to a $4.49 a month jump for residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity.
The Florida Public Service Commission will re-visit the interim increase as it considers Gulf’s proposal for a permanent base-rate increase of $93.5 million. If regulators decide that any of the interim hike was unjustified, they can order Gulf Power to refund money to customers.
The PSC unanimously approved the increase, pointing to a state law that allows utilities to seek interim hikes if they can show they are not earning as much money as allowed under their current rates. The interim increase will enable Gulf to make a 10.75 percent return on equity, a common measurement of profit.
“We have followed the statute to the ‘T’,” Gulf Power attorney Jeff Stone told the PSC.
But Jon Moyle, an attorney for the Florida Industrial Power Users Group, a business coalition of large energy users, said the commission should not act until holding hearings and considering the permanent rate increase. He also described the 10.75 percent return on equity as “exceedingly high.”
“We respectfully would oppose this effort to increase rates by $38 million today and suggest you can consider the issues later when you have evidence before you, when you have witnesses, when you have testimony,” Moyle told commissioners before their vote.
Gulf Power, which serves 431,000 customers in eight counties, has not received a base-rate increase in nearly a decade. Base rates pay for many day-to-day operations of utilities, but customers also face other charges for expenses such as power-plant fuel.
The company contends that it needs to increase base rates, at least in part, because of the costs of adding power lines and other types of infrastructure.
“We understand there is no good time to increase prices,” Gulf Power spokeswoman Sandy Sims said in a prepared statement after the PSC vote. “Providing reliable electricity requires a continuous investment in poles, lines and power plants.”
The PSC is scheduled to start hearing arguments in December on Gulf Power’s permanent rate request, with any changes expected to take effect in 2012.
Under the interim increase, Gulf Power residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours a month will see their bills go from $122.67 to $127.16. Utilities commonly use 1,000 kilowatt hours as a measuring stick, but many homes use more electricity than that each month.
If the permanent rate hike is approved, those same residential customers would see their monthly bills increase to $134.82, according to Gulf Power.
By Jim Saunders
The News Service Of Florida
Powerful Photo Gallery: Fallen Marine’s Remains Arrive In U.S.
August 24, 2011
Fallen local Marine Lance Cpl. Travis M. Nelson arrived back in the United States Sunday night from Afghanistan.
U.S. Air Force photographer Steve Koteciki captured the somber dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for NorthEscambia.com. Click here for the powerful photo gallery of the ceremony.
Pictured top: The remains of Lance Cpl. Travis M. Nelson (left) and Army Pfc. Douglas Cordo (right) as a prayer service is conducted. Pictured below: Nelson’s remains are transferred across the tarmac at Dover AFB. Photos by Steve Kotecki, U.S. Air Force, for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Three Alabama Men Indicted For Sex Crimes Involving Young Girls
August 24, 2011
Three young men from Flomaton are out of jail and awaiting trial after being indicted by an Escambia County Grand Jury for sex crimes involving underage girls.
D’Tavis Devon “TaTa” Ellis, 18, of Flomaton and Michael Dyeneil Knight, Jr., 19, also of Flomaton are each charged with second degree rape for allegedly having sex with the same 12-year old girl. Ellis reportedly had relations with the girl at Hurricane Park in Flomaton, while Knight allegedly had sex with the girl at her home.
Ellis was released from jail on a $50,000 bond and Knight was released on a $30,000 bond.
In an unrelated case, James Darion Jackson, 18, of Atmore, is charged with possession and distribution of pornographic material to a minor. He was released from jail on a $100,000 bond. He is facing felony charges for allegedly using a cellular photo to take and send obscene photographs of himself to a 14-year old female.
Feds Investigate Santa Rosa County, Private Prison Link
August 24, 2011
A Santa Rosa County commissioner’s work computer was seized by the FBI on Tuesday as a federal grand jury investigates the funding and construction of a privately owned prison in Milton.
The computer was used by Commissioner Jimmy Melvin and his predecessor, Gordon Goodin. Melvin said the FBI assured him that he is not involved in their investigation.
Documents related to the Blackwater River Correctional Facility operated by Geo Group of Boca Raton were previously subpoenaed from Team Santa Rosa, and subpoenas were issued in May to the Florida Office of Legislative Services for travel documents for former lawmaker Ray Samson and some of his aides.
Back in 2008, a provision inserted by Samson into a general appropriations bill provided for $110 million to build a private prison somewhere in the state. That money eventually went to fund the Blackwater facility in Santa Rosa County.
Blackwater CF has a maximum capacity of 2,000 inmates. Construction began in February 2009 and the first inmates were transferred into the facility in October 2010.
Atmore Police Seek Gas Station Stabbing Suspect
August 24, 2011
Atmore Police have identified a suspect in a stabbing late last week.
A warrant has been issued for 24-year old Larry Charles Johnson of Atmore for first degree assault in connection with a stabbing Friday at an Atmore convenience store.
About 4:49 p.m. Friday, Atmore Community Hospital notified Atmore Police that a stabbing victim had been transported to their emergency room for treatment. Police determined that the victim was pumping gas at the Speedy Mart Convenience Store at East Nashville Avenue and Medical Park Drive when Johnson allegedly stabbed the victim in the face and fled the scene.
The victim was treated and released. Both the victim and offender were acquaintances, to police, but the motive for the stabbing was unknown.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Johnson is asked to call the Atmore Police Department at (850) 368-9141.
Half Million Dollar Cantonment Athletic Park Expansion Is 70% Complete
August 24, 2011
A half million dollar expansion at the Cantonment Athletic Park is about 70 percent complete.
The Escambia County Commission awarded the $492,197.50 construction contract earlier this year to low-bidder Roads, Inc., of NWF. The project consists of the addition of two multi-use practice fields at the park, including a grass parking lot, landscaping and drainage improvements.
The new site was wooded and almost completely surrounded by wetlands. A Florida Department of Environmental Protection permit allowed access to the site from the current park with a paved entrance road with a culvert structure.
The park expansion is being funded with local option sales tax monies.
There were a total of nine companies that bid on the project. The second lowest bidder was Gulf Equipment Corp. at $509,312.50 while the highest bid was $653,243.57 from J.B. Coxwell Contracting, Inc.
The Cantonment Athletic Park is an 80 acre regional park at 681 Well Line Road. The park has 12 baseball and softball fields, one football field, restrooms, concessions, playground and security lights. A partnership with Cantonment Baseball Club and Cantonment Football Club provides for various youth athletic programs at the park.
Pictured top: Work is about 70 percent complete on a half million expansion at the Cantonment Athletic Park. Pictured inset: A paved entrance road from the back of the existing park leads across a culvert to the new addition. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.