Central High Tops At Cross Country Meet
September 21, 2011
Central High School in Santa Rosa county recently placed in a district cross country meet against Laurel Hill, Baker, Paxton, Freeport, and Rocky Bayou.
The Central boys finished first overall and the Central girls finished third.
Top runners for Central were as follows:
BOYS
1. Kyle Fuller – 19:30- 3rd place
2. Keifer Boyett – 20:48 – 4th place
3. Nick Pooley – 20:57 – 7th place
4. Brad Moye – 21:40 – 13th place
5. Nolan Frady – 22:08 – 14th place
GIRLS
1. Beth Smith – 24:34 – 5th Place
2. Brandi Bradley – 25:43 – 6th Place
3. Erica Waters – 27:00 – 14th Place
4. Kennedy Fuller – 28:09 – 20th Place
5. Courtney Rutherford – 34:51 – 37th Place
6. Allaina Morrow – 34:52 – 39th Place
Tropical Storm Ophelia Update
September 21, 2011
The latest information on Tropical Storm Ophelia is in the graphic above, click to enlarge.
Pre-Kindergarten Kids Will Face Tougher Test Standards
September 21, 2011
Standards for determining how well voluntary pre-kindergarten students are prepared for school were toughened Tuesday in Florida.
The State Board of Education voted to increase the benchmark used to rate how well a pre-school program prepares students for school from 85 percent of students passing readiness tests to 70 percent.
Kindergarteners who have been in voluntary pre-k, which can be offered through private schools, child care centers and public schools, are given kindergarten readiness tests. If fewer than 70 percent of a pre-school’s students are not deemed ready on two kindergarten tests than the pre-school program is labeled low performing and it has two years to try to improve, or it might lose state funding.
The change may result in a large increase in the number of pre-kindergarten providers considered low-performing. Out of 6200 pre-kindergarten programs, 2600 would be low-performing, according to the Department of Education.
Michael Grego, the interim public schools chancellor, told House members Tuesday that the tests are very basic and that most pre-school programs should be able to teach students the information.
“When you look at this assessment of the identification of 10 letters of which you have to identify five, it’s fairly basic information,” Grego said.
By The News Service of Florida
Deputies Name Person Of Interest In Morning Shooting
September 20, 2011
A shooting Tuesday morning in Escambia County is under investigation, and deputies say they have a person of interest in the case.
Deputies responded to the 1400 block of West Moreno Street about 10:20 this morning where they discovered that 21-year-old Courtney Terrell Autrey had been shot. Autrey was taken to nearby Baptist Hospital. His condition was not immediately available.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigators are looking for 22-year old Kenneth Condarious Ptomy (pictured) as a person of interest in the shooting. Anyone that knows his whereabouts is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Century No Longer Doubling Business Tax Rates
September 20, 2011
The Town of Century has made an about-face on plans to effectively double the town’s business taxes, instead opting to charge the same rate as Escambia County.
Century failed to update their business license regulations and fees as required by the state by 2008, forcing the town to backtrack and fix the error. Under state law, Century could adopt the fee schedule of another Florida government. The town had settled on the Fellsmere, Fla., fee schedule, which would have increased average business tax receipt — the permit required to conduct business in the town — from the current $25 to $55 or more. Under the Fellsmere plan, some businesses such pharmacies, entertainment establishments and factories would have paid $100 or more per year.
Monday night, the Century Town Council voted to adopt the business tax receipt rate of $26.25 per year charged by Escambia County. Business tax receipts are normally due October 1, but Century won’t be able approve a final resolution on the new tax rate until their next council meeting on October 3, so city officials said the tax bills will be a little late arriving the mail.
In 1971, the responsibility of issuing building licenses in Florida shifted from the state to local governments. Century adopted a business license schedule in 1981. But following the 2005 to 2006 Florida hurricanes, Florida mandated that the business licenses should no longer be called a “license”, but rather a “tax”, such as the “business tax receipt” in Escambia County.
At last report, there were 56 companies and individuals that held a businesses license in Century, generating only about $1,400 per year in revenue.
Pictured: Food Giant (top) and Whataburger (inset) are just two of 56 companies and individuals in Century that will now pay $26.25 per year for their business tax receipt. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Panhandle Republican Designated Next Senate President
September 20, 2011
Sen. Don Gaetz, a former school superintendent and hospice executive from the Panhandle, was formally recognized as the Senate president-in-waiting on Monday.
Gaetz, a Republican from Niceville, was honored in a Senate floor ceremony in front of family and friends, including his son, state Rep. Matt Gaetz. R-Fort Walton Beach.
Gaetz will succeed Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, for the 2013 session and preside for two terms, assuming Republicans maintain a majority in the chamber. They currently hold a 28-12 majority in the Senate. The vote by Senate Republicans was unanimous as expected.
Gaetz said the economy will be the focus of his time in charge.
“Unemployment is the ill wind that parches the souls of our families,” said Gaetz, adding that for too long officials have looked to Washington to solve problems. He said he would reject that, looking to Florida lawmakers to solve Florida problems.
Gaetz harkened to a sign above a door at his high school that said “No place worse than second place,” in saying that he wants the state to be first in the country in attracting jobs.
Gaetz also pledged to take up the Republican mantra that “sprawling expensive government has failed,” and that the state shouldn’t leave policy to “bureaucrats” whose “absurd rules stifle innovation.”
“Florida must become the cradle of common sense solutions,” Gaetz said. “…Florida must be the state that’s known for fair play and rational regulations.”
Gaetz also pledged to make education a top priority, and particularly higher education. He listed a long line of problems in the state’s efforts to attract jobs that he said were rooted in a lack of well trained college graduates in the sciences. Florida can’t afford for colleges to focus on things that don’t make it stronger in the sciences, he said.
Republican Sen. Greg Evers, who represents the northern portion of the western Panhandle, said he welcomes Gaetz as Senate president.
“It is wonderful to see a fellow legislator from the Northwest Florida delegation be given such an honor, and I trust that his instincts, prior experience and strong leadership will guide us in the right direction to achieve the sound and conservative legislation our State needs,” Evers said Monday afternoon. “I look forward to seeing his leadership be the voice for the issues ailing our communities and I am ready to be a voice in support.”
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
Century Approves $5 Million Budget
September 20, 2011
The Town of Century gave final approval Monday night to a $5 million 2011-2012 budget that is up almost $1.7 million from last year — thanks to $1.9 million in grants.
The $5,032,816 budget includes grant income and expenditures of $1,913,000. The grant funds are from state and federal sources — not local revenue or taxes.
“It’s money in and money out,” Mayor Freddie McCall said of the budget increase for the grants. “If we did not have the grants in there we would be less than the previous year’s budget,” Robert Hudson, the town’s accountant, added.
The $1.9 million in grants included in the budget are:
- CDBG Housing Grant, $650,000
- Energy Grant, $100,000
- Residential Construction Mitigation Program Grant, $100,000
- FEMA Hazard Grant, $823,000
- Housing Preservation Grant, $50,000
- Sewer Filter Grant, $190,000
There will be no increase in ad valorem taxes this year to meet the budget for fiscal year 2011-2012, which begins October 1.
The Century Town Council is expected to give final approval to the new budget at their meeting at 7 p.m. at the Century Town Hall. A public hearing is scheduled for immediately prior to the budget adoption vote.
To view a summary of the budget in pdf format, click here or the image below.
Pictured: Century council member Sandra McMurray Jackson reviews the town’s 2011-2012 budget during a special hearing earlier this month. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Santa Rosa To Consider North End Garbage Service
September 20, 2011
Santa Rosa County is beginning a three year process that could eventually lead to the availability of franchise garbage service in the central and northern part of the county.
The county commission decided Monday morning to hold a public hearing to notify sanitation service providers that the county could award franchises north of the Yellow River. In the area now, residents can use the garbage service company of their choice or dispose of their own garbage in a legal manner.
“I got a feeling that we’ll get battered by a lot of folks that do not want this service in the rural areas; they take care of (their garbage) themselves,” Commissioner Bob Cole said. “This is not something we are implementing immediately.”
“This is not a three-year clock. This is a three-year process where we will get public input,” Commissioner Don Salter said. “I don’t want to send a message out they we are absolutely going to do it.
The earliest the garbage franchises could be awarded for the central and northern parts of Santa Rosa County would be 2014. After a three-year warning period, the commission recently awarded a garbage franchise in the unincorporated areas of southern Santa Rosa County. Like the franchise in the southern part of the county, using of any garbage franchise companies in the north part of Santa Rosa County would be optional.
Pictured: Santa Rosa County District 3 Commissioner Don Salter discusses garbage service in the north end of the county at Monday’s Commissioner Committee. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Former Flomaton Mayor Passes Away
September 20, 2011
Former Flomaton Mayor Grady Leon Holt passed away Sunday. He was 87.
Holt served two term’s as Flomaton’s mayor and also served as a councilman for three years. He was building contractor that constructed many homes in the Flomaton area.
He is survived by his wife Grace Ellis Holt, son Jerry L. Holt of Grove Hill and daughter Evelyn Anderson of Navarre.
Funeral services for Grady Leon Holt will be held Wednesday, September 21 at 11 a.m. at the Flomaton Funeral Home. Visitation will be held Tuesday evening from 6-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Florida Senate Panel: Do We Need A Caylee’s Law?
September 20, 2011
In the two months since Orlando resident Casey Anthony was acquitted of murdering her two-year-old daughter, an outraged public has prompted Florida lawmakers to file more than a half-dozen bills related to her case.
Most bills are called “Caylee’s Law” and are designed to stiffen penalties for parents not reporting a child missing within a certain time period. Casey Anthony allegedly did not report her child missing for a month.
The emotionally fraught issue, poised to be in the legislative spotlight, is being examined by a special Senate panel in advance of the session that starts in January. At its first meeting Monday, lawmakers studied whether existing laws already offer ways to punish parents for not reporting missing children.
“In my view, the committee is not here to second-guess the jury,” said Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, chair of the Select Committee on Protecting Florida’s Children. “They rendered what they believe was a fair and just verdict and….I believe their efforts should be respected.”
Negron said the committee’s duty was to figure out if the law was even needed.
Lawmakers are wary of repeating possible missteps made with the Jessica Lunsford Act, a law passed quickly in 2005 after the abduction and killing of nine-year-old Lunsford by a registered sex offender. That law prompted much stricter monitoring and registration of sex offenders.
Negron pointed out that an existing state law on child neglect that prohibits the “failure or omission” to care for a child’s physical and mental health could have been used against Casey Anthony but prosecutors elected not to.
Anthony was not charged with child neglect, Negron said, and said prosecutors probably did that for “valid reasons.”
“Before we start talking about new laws, I want to look at the laws we have,” Negron said.
Sen. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, who sits on the special committee to examine policy changes on missing children, said after the verdict “we as legislators, like citizens, were very emotional.”
“Sometimes when we do those things and decide to legislate through emotions we have problems,” Smith said.
Lawmakers have filed at least eight bills related to the Casey Anthony case in Florida, and at least 25 other states have filed or are considering filing similar legislation. Most of the bills in Florida focus on making it a felony to not report a missing child quickly – the bills would require reporting anywhere between 12 and 48 hours after the child goes missing. The bills also make it a felony to not timely report a child’s death.
By Lilly Rockwell
The News Service of Florida