Lady Chiefs Shut Out Ponce de Leon With Two Homers
March 26, 2011
The Northview Lady Chiefs shut out Ponce de Leon on the road Friday night with two home runs.
Misty Doran pitched seven for the Chiefs, striking out 11. Shaniqua Jones was 2-3 for the Lady Chiefs with a home run, and Shawna Montgomery was 1-2 also with a homerun. Ashley Digmon went 2-3 with a triple.
The Lady Chiefs (10-7, 6-2) will be in action again next Thursday when they host West Florida.
Greg Evers Weekly Wrap-Up: Septic Tanks, Gun Open Carry, Local Commissioners
March 26, 2011
Senate Memorial 358 passed its last committee of reference and was placed on the Senate’s special order calendar to be heard next Tuesday, March 29. SM 358 reaffirms that Congress should honor the intent, language and purpose of the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting the scope and exercise of federal power. I am sponsoring SM 358 to draw attention to the importance of our state’s sovereignty.
The House companion bill to Senate Bill 234, relating to the open carry of firearms, has passed its last committee of reference in the House of Representatives and is now ready for the House floor. I am continuing to work hard to get the Senate bill through its committees so we can successfully pass this important Second Amendment protective legislation.
This week, I had the opportunity to meet with county commissioners from Santa Rosa, Holmes, Okaloosa, Washington and Escambia Counties. Your input is a great resource to me and I want to thank those of you who participated in County Commission Day at the Capitol. I particularly appreciate the input and hard work of Santa Rosa County Commissioners Lane Lynchard, Jim Melvin and Bob Cole who are working closely with me to find a reasonable solution for Santa Rosa County residents to some problems relating to a rogue gun range operator located in a Gulf Breeze neighborhood. Together, I think we can protect our residents’ rights to enjoy their homes in peace and privacy while at the same time protecting those same resident’s Second Amendment rights from unwarranted government intrusion.
I look forward to continuing my work with county officials and citizens as we take point to address the major issues affecting Northwest Florida as the legislative session progresses.
I am continuing to work to pass Senate Bill 168 and permanently repeal the septic tank inspection requirement that was passed as Senate Bill 550 in spite of my strong opposition during last year’s legislative session. We simply cannot let this legislative session pass us by without reaching a reasonable solution to stopping the expensive and unnecessary government intrusion caused by the mandatory septic tank inspection program from the Department of Health. Please join me in urging my Senate colleagues that this inspection program was a bad idea that needs to be corrected.
As always, please continue to send me your priorities and concerns for the legislative session. For further assistance, do not hesitate to contact me at greg@gregevers.com or call my office at (850) 689-0556 with any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your continued input and support!
Greg Evers
Behind The Pollen: Those Majestic Oaks
March 26, 2011
Trees are slowly waking up after a long winter’s nap. While some trees awaken with a beautiful floral display, others are more subtle. One such restrained tree that is just waking up is the oak.
Oak trees produce flowers each spring, although their flowers are not the showy type. Showy flowers are showy for a reason; they need to attract insect pollinators to transfer their pollen. It’s the plants that don’t have showy flowers – cedars, oaks, pines, hickories, grass, and the notorious ragweed that make the lives of allergy sufferers miserable each year. These plants have chosen wind as their means of spreading pollen, and an effective method it is. Windblown pollen is produced in abundant quantities and can be carried for miles in the breeze.
All members of the Quercus genus are known to produce large amounts of pollen, making both deciduous and evergreen oaks highly, to extremely, allergenic. One way of knowing when the oak trees are blooming is the appearance of yellow pollen on your car, sidewalk or pool. Following the bloom, oak flowers, known as catkins, drop to the ground and accumulate along curbs.
Successful pollination results in the development of acorns. Curiously, the word for oak tree fruit is not the same word for the tree. Apples grow on apple trees, hickory nuts and pine nuts grow on hickories and pines, but acorns grow on oaks. This odd disconnection between the parent and fruit names goes back to an Old English word meaning fruit of a tree.
Oaks can be divided into two broad categories: the red (or sometimes called black) oaks and the white oaks. The main difference between the groups is the time it takes for the seed, or acorn, to mature.
Examples of red oaks include the laurel oak, Southern red oak, turkey oak and water oaks. Their leaf lobes are usually pointed or tipped with a fine bristle. A bristle is a small spine at the tip of the leaf. Red oaks produce flowers each spring. The acorns of these trees, however, take two seasons to mature following their formation, leading to the designation as biennial oaks.
Some examples of oaks in the white group include the live oak, post oak and the swamp chestnut oak. White oaks generally have a rounded leaf tip and rounded lobes without bristles. Their acorns are sweeter than those of the bitter red oak group, making them more palatable to both humans and wildlife. After pollination the white oak acorns grow and mature in only one season. Oaks that have acorns that mature in the fall of the year they are formed are designated as annual oaks.
If we have a warm spring and a summer with enough rain we typically will have a heavy crop of acorns in autumn. That’s why a heavy crop of acorns is not an indicator of the severity of winter to come but rather a reflection of the past spring and summer.
Oaks provide valuable food for vertebrate wildlife in the form of acorns. More than 100 species of vertebrate animals are known to consume acorns in the U.S., including mammals such as white-tailed deer, gray squirrels, fox squirrels, flying squirrels, mice, voles, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, gray foxes, red foxes, and wild hogs. Birds that feed on acorns include wild turkey, bobwhite quail, wood ducks, mallards, woodpeckers, crows, and jays.
Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County. Photo courtesy Theresa Friday.
Home Invasion Nets 15 Years For Escambia Man
March 26, 2011
State Attorney Bill Eddins announced Friday afternoon that Escambia County resident John Lee Williams was sentenced by Judge Michael Allen to 15 years in state prison followed by 15 years probation.
On February 9, 2011, Williams was found guilty by an Escambia County Jury of one count of home invasion robbery without a weapon and a second count of battery upon a person 65 years of age or older.
On April 8, 2010, Williams and two others forced their way into the home of Lloyd E Dawson, while a fourth person waited in the car. Once inside Dawson was pushed and held down while he was struck repeatedly with his own cane. The defendants took a camcorder and other electronic devices.
Fire Damages Fleming Road Home
March 26, 2011
Fire and smoke heavily damaged a two story home in the 900 block of Fleming Drive Friday night.
There were no injuries reported in the blaze, and the cause remains under investigation. The Beulah, Cantonment, Ensley, Ferry Pass and Molino stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the blaze, along with Escambia County EMS.
Fleming Drive is located off Chemstrand Road, just south of East Kingsfield Road.
NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Pensacola Recording Artist Struck, Killed By Brewton Woman
March 26, 2011
(Updated) A Brewton woman was involved in a crash that killed a R&B recording artist in Pensacola Friday night.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Kimberly Dawn Parker, 29, was traveling on Olive Road near East Johnson Avenue when she was unable to see a 76-year old Lattimore Brown of Pensacola crossing the road in dark clothing about 8:15 p.m.
Brown was pronounced dead at the scene. Brown was a fixture on the R&B “chitlin circuit” in the 1960’s, mostly reaching audiences in and around the Gulf Coast.
No charges have been filed against Parker as the accident remains under investigation.
Caught On Camera: Deputies Seek Barn Burglary Suspect
March 26, 2011
Alabama investigators are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect in a late Thursday night burglary at a farm near the Alabama/Florida state line.
Surveillance photos show a white male dressed in light-colored pants, a cap and a camouflage pattern shirt or jacket at a barn located off Highway 31 near Florida Highway (CR 8), just east of Atmore.
According to Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Department Investigator Bruce Shue, the man made entry into the barn, taking copper and other items about 11:45 p.m. Thursday.
Anyone with information about the crime, or who may be able to identify the man in the photographs, is asked to call the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Department at (251) 368-4779 or (251) 867-0304.
Pictured: These surveillance photos show a man wanted in connected with a burglary at barn near the Alabama/Florida line late Thursday night. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Case Against Ray Samsom Dropped
March 25, 2011
.Prosecutors dropped all charges against former House Speaker Ray Sansom and a political contributor Friday, ending a four-year saga that toppled one of the state’s most powerful figures and prompted renewed calls for increased transparency at the Capitol.
The abrupt decision to abandon the case against Sansom, a Destin Republican who rose to the top House post after the 2008 elections, followed a statement by Circuit Judge Terry Lewis that he didn’t believe prosecutors had made any progress in their attempt to prove a conspiracy by Sansom and political contributor Jay Odom to steal taxpayer money.
That complicated efforts by the prosecution to call former Northwest Florida State College President Bob Richburg, who had already struck a plea deal with the state, as a co-conspirator. Without him, the prosecution would have trouble moving forward.
The case stemmed from a 2007 appropriation that was supposed to be for an emergency operations center in Sansom’s district. But Prosecutor Willie Meggs argued that it was really a thinly-disguised effort to build a taxpayer-funded hangar for Odom.
Speaking to reporters after Meggs’ decision was announced, Sansom thanked God and also said he was grateful for his family and attorneys for standing by him.
“Christ has been very faithful to me and my family,” Sansom said. “He’s carried us through these last two years. … The truth mattered and the judge saw it.”
While he said he wasn’t bitter, Sansom slammed Meggs and the St. Petersburg Times, which first raised questions about the facility, for their part in the scandal that led to Sansom’s resignation from the speakership before the 2009 regular session. Weeks later, Meggs indicted him.
“I hope that Mr. Meggs understands what he does to families when he does this,” Sansom said.
Meggs shied away from commenting about what the case says about the political process or how the Legislature goes about crafting the annual state spending plan.
“There’s a lot I could say,” Meggs said. “I don’t know that I gain a whole lot, especially in budget times.”
But Meggs also quickly swatted away a question about whether he agreed there was no wrongdoing in the case.
“Oh, no, no,” he said. “I agree that the state was not able to carry its burden of establishing a conspiracy.”
As part of an agreement with Meggs to drop the prosecution, Sansom and Odom agreed to pay $103,000 each in restitution to the college to help cover $310,000 the school spent on the facility before being asked to return to the state $6 million appropriated for the building.
Richburg, whose plea deal will also be dropped, will also pay his share of the money, Meggs said.
But Sansom attorney Stephen Dobson was adamant that the payment was not an admission of guilt on Sansom’s part.
“Ray Sansom is absolutely innocent, he was and I knew that from the day he walked in and we talked about this case,” Dobson said.
At the Capitol, where Sansom was once a rising star in the dominant Republican Party, the fallout was not certain. Former Gov. Charlie Crist said earlier this week that he would have vetoed the facility if he had known its true purpose, and called the budget item “wholly inappropriate.” Legislative leaders have taken pains since Sansom’s indictment to argue that they are making the budget process more transparent.
After Friday’s decision, Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith argued that the case showed the need for strengthening the state’s ethics laws.
“While the facts of the case clearly showed the actions of Sansom and others were wrong and unethical, perhaps the most serious thing the Sansom case showed is that Florida’s prosecutors don’t have the legal tools necessary to crack down on such corruption,” Smith said.
For his part, Sansom said he wouldn’t have done anything differently when it came to the relatively small slice of the state budget that cost him the speaker’s gavel, his seat in the Legislature and a $110,000-a-year job at the college. He argued that the project is still needed.
“My concern is that in the future, that someone’s going to get really hurt because that building’s not there,” he said.
And Sansom did not rule out a return to the political arena.
“You know what?” he said. “I’m not concerned about any political future. …. My future’s in God’s hands and I will follow His lead.”
By Brandon Larrabee
The News Service of Florida
Internal Investigation: Tate Sexual Assault Case Was Handled Properly
March 25, 2011
An internal probe by the Escambia County School District says school officials acted properly and timely when reporting an alleged March 1 sexual assault at Tate High School.
According to a memo released by Superintendent Malcolm Thomas, the internal investigation concluded:
- School officials did report the incident to law enforcement in an appropriate and timely manner.
- Law enforcement received the full cooperation of school officials.
- There is a need for additional training for school district personnel in the areas of evidence collection and statutes pertaining to age of students involved in special victim criminal offenses.
Raymond Eugene Teamer, 16, is charged with exposing himself and sexually assaulting a 14-year old student in a classroom of students about 11:30 a.m. on March 1. Teamer remains in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice awaiting trail on April 13. The teacher, Pam Saxton, told investigators that she did not see what happened in her reading classroom.
The report by John Dobbs, the school district’s investigator, found that the incident was reported the morning of March 2 to the Tate school resource officer (SRO), a deputy with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office assigned to campus. Sheriff David Morgan, speaking to NorthEscambia.com and other media outlets, has contended that the Sheriff’s Office was not notified of the incident until March 4 — three days later.
Dobbs initiated his investigator March 17 at the request of Thomas. The investigation found that:
- Tate High officials did not delay notification to law enforcement, reporting the incident to the SRO on duty on early on March 2. “The SRO indicated he would collect available investigative data and file his report upon his return to the Tate campus on Friday.”
- The SRO filed his report on March 4, using the investigative results of the school district.
- No district policies or laws were broken regarding the reporting of the incident.
- Tate High School has two SRO. One, Officer Small, was assigned patrol road duty the school day of March 3 before returning to school and filing the report on March 4. Officer Singletary was on patrol road duty on March 2.
- Officer Small “was counseled for inadequate documentation in the report filed with ECSO. All information used in the preparation of this ECSO report was drawn from the District
investigation documentation and comprised all available information related to the incident at the time of the ECSO report”. - “The communication and cooperation between the SRO and Tate was superb after the discovery of the incident and identification of involved parties.”
- During the incident, the teacher was “involved in the direct instruction of three groups of students”. There were 20 students in the class, one group at the teacher’s table undergoing direct instruction, a second group using computer-based instruction, and a third in independent reading instruction. The report states the incident occurred among the students using computers while the teacher was instructing another group of students.
- “It is reasonable to believe the teacher’s view of the unlawful incident could be unintentionally and partially obscured by seated students under direct instruction,” the report states.
- “There is no indication the teacher had any knowledge of this incident, or that students intentionally blocked the teacher’s view at this time. The lack of immediate notification by any student of the incident to the teacher leads to a reasonable belief that knowledge of the incident was intentionally withheld from the teacher and later the investigating Tate staff member.”
- During the first investigation by Tate High School Staff, all students interviewed denied observing or participating in any inappropriate or unlawful behavior. After additional
information was received by Tate officials and a second series of interviews was conducted by Tate Staff, the students who were involved or adjacent to the incident indicated the incident did occur. There is no indication that all students in the class had knowledge and withheld that information, however, several students intentionally withheld information during the first investigation. - “There is no indication at this time that any district employee violated any policy, procedure or law in the immediate response by Tate High School Staff to this unlawful incident.”
To read the complete memo and report, click here.
Photos: Ernest Ward Places In Season Opening Track Meet
March 25, 2011
The Ernest Ward Middle School boys place third while the EWMS girls place fourth in their season opening track meet held Thursday afternoon at Woodham Middle School in Pensacola.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured : Members of the Ernest Ward Middle School track team compete Thursday afternoon at Woodham Middle School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.