New Year’s Closures
January 2, 2012
The following will be closed on Monday in observance of the New Year’s holiday:
- Escambia County offices
- Santa Rosa County offices
- Century town offices
- Jay city offices
- Atmore city offices
- Flomaton city offices
- West Florida Library branches
- U.S. Postal Service – no mail except Express Mail, retail windows closed.
- ECAT will not run Monday.
- ECUA routes will all be picked up as normal.
The regular first Monday night of the month Century Town Council meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, January 3 at 7 p.m.
Century Reschedules Council Meetings
January 2, 2012
The Century Town Council has rescheduled their first two meetings of 2012.
Both regular January council meetings have been rescheduled due to the holidays. The regular Monday, January 2 meeting will be held Tuesday, January 3, and the January 16 meeting will be held the following Monday, January 23. Both meetings are at 7 p.m. and are open to the public.
December Ends With Four Escambia Residential Fires
January 2, 2012
Escambia County’s “Keep the Wreath Green” fire safety campaign came to an end Saturday night with four December residential fires recorded in the county.
One of the fires was in North Escambia — a home on Washington Street in Cantonment was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of December 30. [Read more...]
By comparison, the 2010 Keep the Wreath Green campaign ended with 18 red bulbs representing residential fires, with 15 of those fire occurring by Christmas Eve. In 2009, there were a dozen fires during the period.
In the wreath campaign, each time firefighters responded to a residential fire in Escambia County, a green light bulb was replaced with a red one to remind citizens of the dangers posed by holiday decorations.
Pictured: This home on Washington Street in Cantonment was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of December 30. Click here for more photos.
Pat (Fred) White
January 2, 2012
Pat (Fred) White, 78 of Jay, passed into eternal rest on December 31, 2011, surrounded by his cherished family.
Pat was born May 24, 1933, in Jay to Albert and Bessie (Floyd) White. He married the love of his life, Janie Duke White, of Boaz, AL, on June 19, 1961, and they were blessed with the birth of their only child, Patty, on August 27, 1964.
Pat worked and retired from the State of Florida Division of Forestry and was an active member of Berrydale United Pentecostal Church. He was a true outdoorsman “country boy” and sports fan. Sentimentally and lovingly known as “Tub” to many family members and friends, he enjoyed dog hunting, fishing, planting and working in his garden, tending to his goats, and attending livestock sales. In addition you could always find him watching Alabama Crimson Tide football and New York Yankees baseball.
Pat was preceded in death by his wife of 48 years, Janie; his parents, Albert and Bessie White, father-in-law and mother-in-law Hollis and Estelle Duke; brother, Floyd White; son-in-law, Jessie McGraw, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Billy and Wandean Farish; and a very special cousin and friend, G.W. White.
He is survived by his loving and dedicated daughter, Patty White McGraw; special sister-in-law, Mary Dell White, special brother-in-law, Jimbo Leatherwood; and nephews and nieces: Jimmy and Sue White, Sharon and Lyvon Phillips, Glenn and Paula White, Shellie, Kevin and Hallie Macht, Paige, Ashley, and Sawyer Baxley, Adam and Shelby White, and Justin and Joy White; other special people in his life Dorothy Penton; Kevin, Hannah, and Madison Smith; devoted “Grand Dog”, Sport; and his feline companion, Sylvester; and a host of relatives, friends, and neighbors.
Visitation will be held Tuesday, January 3, 2012, from 6-8 p.m. at Jay Funeral Home. Funeral and celebration of his life will be Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Jay Funeral Home with Reverend Billy Smith and Reverend Manuel Bennett officiating. Burial will follow at Walling Cemetary.
Active pallbearers will be Jimmy White, Glenn White, Adam White, Justin White, Kevin Macht and Ashley Baxley.
Honorary pallbearers will be Buddy Bradley, Floyd Cobb, Frank Coffey, Scott Farish, Jerry Floyd, Roger Floyd, Shorty Floyd, Gary Fox, Dr. Tony Frazier, Gary Gibson, Wade Hill, Keith Ivey, Carmen Ivie, Jabo Jernigan, Gary Jones, Mike Jones, Ray Jones, Lamar Lewis, Bill Patrick, Lyvon Phillips, Millard Sims, Dr. C. David Smith, Randy Watson, and Franklin Wolfe.
A very special note of gratitude and blessings for the wonderful care provided by Dr. C. David Smith and Jay Medical Clinic staff, Dr. Edwin Rogers, Dr. Neal and the staff of Sacred Heart Hospital, and the staff of Select Specialty Care. Your kindness, consideration, and compassion will be remembered forever.
Kendall Grace Knowles
January 2, 2012
Miss Kendall Grace Knowles, age one week, passed away Sunday, January 1, 2012, in a Mobile hospital.
Miss Knowles was survived by her parents, Curtis and Anglea Knowles of Flomaton; maternal grandfather, Norman Daniels of Elba, AL; brothers, Kenneth Knowles and Bradley Knowles of Pace; sister, Carrie Knowles of Niceville; Aunts, Barbara Jestings of Birmingha, and Shirley Petty of Flomaton.
She was preceded in death by her paternal grandparents, Willie and Fannie Knowles; and maternal grandmother, Patricia Daniels.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, January 4, 2012, at 10 a.m. from the chapel of Craver’s Funeral Home with Rev. Jimmie Colley officiating. Interment will follow in Little Escambia Baptist Church Cemetery.
Visitation will be held at Craver’s Funeral Home on Tuesday from 6 – 8 p.m.
Craver’s Funeral Home directing.
Abortion Clinic Burns
January 1, 2012
An Escambia County abortion clinic burned early New Year’s Day morning, adding to the long history of abortion clinics in Pensacola.
Fire crews responded to the American Family Planning Clinic on 9th Avenue about 1 a.m. Sunday. The first firefighters on scene reported that fire was coming from under the building and extending up the rear to the attic. It took about an hour to bring the fire under control.
The fire is being called “suspicious” in nature and is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal and the Pensacola Fire Marshal.
There were no injuries reported.
Pensacola abortion clinics have a long history of violence. The clinic was bombed in June 1984. Four people were convicted of Christmas Day bombings at several abortion clinics back in 1984. Michael Griffin was convicted of shooting Dr. David Gunn in March 1993 at another Pensacola clinic. Another abortion doctor, John Britton and his security escort James Barrett were murdered at a clinic in July 1994. Barrett’s wife was also shot.
Escambia Man Hit By A Car
January 1, 2012
An Escambia County man was critically injured when he was hit by a car on 9th Avenue.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 49-year old Jeffrey Smith was pushing an empty stroller across 9th Avenue near University Road when he stepped into the path of a car driven by Colby R. Noland, 22, of Pensacola. Smith was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital where he was listed in critical condition.
Noland and his passenger, 24-year old Kaine A Grasso of North Miami Beach, were not injured.
Predicting The Top 12 Florida Stories Of 2012
January 1, 2012
Here’s a look at the Top 12 stories that our Tallahassee reporters believe will be some of the biggest in Florida during 2012:
12. A NEW LEGISLATURE, OR MORE OF THE SAME?: When voters approved constitutional amendments numbers 5 and 6 last year, some undoubtedly thought that they were laying the groundwork for a sea change in how the Legislature is chosen. For decades, many have bemoaned that voters don’t choose lawmakers, lawmakers choose voters. In drawing the legislative and congressional boundaries, gerrymandering has always featured prominently, and some say the result has been too many non-competitive elections that prevent true change in the makeup of political representation. Republicans, while roughly even in registration, have a lock on the Legislature for a variety of reasons, and many observers say most seats won’t turn over unexpectedly even with the new amendments in place. The new rules say lawmakers can’t draw boundaries to favor themselves, each other or their parties, but some think that’s pretty difficult. Come November, we’ll find out – and whether we have mostly the same faces in the Legislature, or a crop of unexpectedly competitive races that makes some seats turn over will be one of the most closely watched stories of 2012 for Legislature-watchers.
11. U.S. SENATE RACE MATTERS: Whether U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson can win a third term is part of the national political calculus in the coming election year with control of the U.S. Senate possibly in the balance. Decisions not to run for re-election by a number of U.S. Senate Democrats mean a battle for the control of the Senate that makes every race matter. Nelson, a Democrat first elected to the Senate in 2000, doesn’t yet know who he’ll face, but recent polls make it look likely that the GOP candidate could be U.S. Rep. Connie Mack. Republicans will put massive amounts of money and effort into the race if they think they can win.
10. HIGHER EDUCATION: This is down the list because, frankly, it may be that not much happens. But if something does happen, it could be a pretty big deal. Gov. Rick Scott is starting to talk to anyone who will listen about the need for Florida taxpayers to get more for their money from the state university system – and about the prospects for turning the university system from a, well, university system for students, into an economic development tool for the state. Building a better workforce through technology (actually through science, technology, engineering and math), is a new, big part of Scott’s idea for creating jobs, something he’s staked his governorship on. The universities are well aware of where Scott wants to go, and are starting to try to figure out ways they can help drive the train rather than being just hitched to it and pulled down the tracks. So something is moving, but how long it will take isn’t clear. It’s a pretty big, fundamental change that is being talked about – putting the state’s needs ahead of the student’s needs as a recent report by the Higher Education Coordinating Council put it – and it may be a multi-year project. Some lawmakers and even Scott have acknowledged it will be tough to do a lot on this issue quickly. But it will be looming in the background all year.
9. PIP: BEYOND FRAUD DOME: Fraud is bad. That is about the only consensus that could be reached as players in the game of personal injury protection car insurance met in 2011 to map out reforms to curb the dramatic rise in the cost of the coverage created in the 1970s to establish a way for injured motorists to get medical attention without going to court. Gov. Rick Scott and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater have called for reforms. Tougher penalties for fraud will be a likely outcome, but other suggestions to limit coverage, cap attorneys fees and place more scrutiny on physicians and clinics may be too heavy a left during an election year session.
8. HEALTH CARE REFORM: Perhaps the biggest policy question mark is expected to be answered this year by the U.S. Supreme Court. The nation’s highest tribunal has been asked to determine if the Obama Administration’s sweeping health care reform package is constitutional. The high profile case – which is pushed by Florida – will determine the shape of health care for the foreseeable future and beyond as it settles the question of whether a mandatory, national health insurance requirement is legal. Florida and 25 other states have brought their objections to the high court, which has scheduled oral arguments for March. What happens to almost everything else in health care reform hinges, at least in part, on this case. Meanwhile, Florida will press forward in trying to get the federal government to OK its own Medicaid overhaul to push patients into private, managed care, consider changing the reimbursement system for Medicaid to payment schedules based on what problems people face, rather than on what services they get, and consider whether to make changes to the laws governing public hospitals and their taxing districts.
7. BUDGET BATTLEGROUND: In a related matter … the current year budget is still bigger than the amount of money lawmakers generally expect to be able to bring in from taxes, so cuts are in order. This is related to the health care item for a simple reason: the biggest budget battle of the 2012 budget fight may Medicaid funding. Gov. Rick Scott has proposed a $1.8 billion cut to the program by reducing reimbursement rates to some hospitals. Scott wants to use the savings to bolster initiatives in higher education and K-12. Hospitals and their affiliates are expected to fight hard against the cuts, which they say will be taken from inadequate reimbursement to begin with.
6. REDISTRICTING: For the inside-the-Capital Circle crowd, the once-a-decade reshuffling of political boundaries will take center stage shortly after lawmakers return following the start of the New Year. This one is closely related to several others in the list, but the actual drawing of the districts and whether it is political or not – the so-called sausage making rather than the outcome of it discussed in No. 12 above – will be one of the most closely-watched activities of the first half of the year in Tallahassee. It also may drive much of what happens in the courts over the late spring and early summer, too. With session slated to begin Jan. 10, the Republican-led Legislature must decide how it wants to add two congressional seats and redraw congressional and state districts to reflect population change over the past 10 years while complying with the aforementioned amendments aimed at making the process less politically driven. Both chambers have pledged to get the work done early so the courts have time to do their jobs.
5. GAMBLING: WILL BACKERS HIT JACKPOT OR CRAP OUT?: Some have already called it the Lobbyist Relief Act of 2012 but combatants in the battle over opening up South Florida – and maybe other places – to multi-billion resort gambling developments should get a fair amount of attention early on. The question is whether backers of “destination resorts” have the political clout to overcome objections by existing pari-mutuel facilities, traditional anti-gambling groups and Indian gaming interests. In Miami, there’s talk of the world’s biggest gambling resort – which some are kind of excited about and others are frankly scared to death of. The issue may come down to jobs and whether backers can convince a skeptical governor that the development of resorts in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties is worth the potential loss of revenue from the Seminole tribe. In addition, loopholes in state law that have led to a proliferation of barrel racing at Gretna and other potential venues — and could open the door for slot machines — could also jeopardize the deal with the Seminole tribe.
4. RECOVER FOR REAL? Recent economic indicators have given some hope that the U.S. economy is on the mend. With home sales and housing starts improving while the national jobless rates begins to fall, the answer as to whether this recovery is the real deal will be largely decided by the end of 2012. Persistently high unemployment has led some to believe that the jobless numbers are decreasing because discouraged workers have given up. Only a sustained reduction on that front would quell those concerns. Europe will play a key role in the recovery as major trading partners grapple with runaway debt. In Florida, eyes will continue to be on the unemployment rate, right now 10 percent. Whether that goes down a lot or doesn’t will be the primary gauge on the success or failure of Gov. Rick Scott.
3. WHO WILL IT BE FOR THE GOP/REPUBLICAN CONVENTION: For politics junkies, the primary election will still be a big story even if the question of who will carry the Republican standard is decided rather early in the year. Florida has moved its primary up to Jan. 31, and some think that not long after that it will be apparent who the nominee is long before the Republican Convention in Tampa. Then, in late summer, the nation’s political attention will fix on Tampa, where the GOP will convene its convention. All discussion aside on whether the convention really matters much anymore in an environment where the nominee is decided in primaries, for political theater, it’s hard to beat it in this country.
2. WILL GRASS ROOTS GROW, OR WITHER?: The last year has been notable to politics watchers for the rise of two different groups – the more mature Tea Party movement on the conservative side could have been the political story of the year, and the Occupy movement that arose more recently on the liberal side is also influencing the national political discourse. The question for 2012 is whether the Tea Party will continue to have the impact on elections that it has – arguably those with tea party leanings elected Rick Scott, and forced a number of Republican candidates on the state and national levels to a more populist position on a number of issues. Another question is whether the Occupy movement will grow into anything beyond a curiosity and annoyance to park-goers and begin to have an impact on policy – could it reinvigorate liberals, for example, who have come down hard from their 2008 high? Throughout the nation’s political history, there have been a number of strong populist movements that have aimed to take back the mantle of power from the corporate interests, the “fat cats” and the entrenched interests. Most have faded after a couple years.
1. FLORIDA, FLORIDA, FLORDA: Go ahead and call us out for taking the easy way out. But since the deadlocked presidential election of 2000, the conventional wisdom in presidential elections is that Florida is the key that unlocks the door to the White House. After the virtual tie, the state has gone back and forth, voting with George W. Bush in 2004 and then with Barack Obama in 2008, both winners. The state is unique among the big 5 in its swing state nature. Illinois, one of two home states of the incumbent president, votes for Democrats in presidential elections, as do New York and California. Texas is reliably Republican. Only Florida is a toss-up among the states with the biggest electoral college votes. So the political story of the year in Florida will be whether a currently not so popular sitting president can withstand a challenge by an as-yet-to-be-determined GOP candidate, and whether the winning of Florida will continue to mean winning the election.
By The News Service of Florida
2011 Persons Of The Year: Sammy Day
January 1, 2012
NorthEscambia.com is naming Persons of the Year for 2011. The recipients were nominated by our readers as individuals that have a made a difference in North Escambia during the past year — people that have given of themselves to help others and the communities of North Escambia during 2011. Additional Persons of the Year will be named on Monday.
Northview High School Athletic Director Sammy Day has been named a North Escambia Person of the Year for 2011.
Day, who was recently named the Northview Teacher of the Year, will retire at the end of this school year. He has been a teacher and coach for 37 years in the Escambia County School District. He is the only athletic director ever at Northview High School, after serving many years at Ernest Ward High School.
In addition to coaching, he has taught driver’s education for many years at Northview and previously at Ernest Ward.
“I want you to know that you were a fatherly influence in my life,” one NorthEscambia.com reader wrote in the comment section on a recent story about Day. “Know that you are loved and respected by many-especially those students who were lucky enough to get to know you.”
“You sure made a difference in my life and I have thought of you often over the years,” Cathy Davis wrote.
“You have truly been a blessing in so many peoples lives,” said Pam Morgan.
“You have always been an inspiration and great representative for our school and our area. Thanks for all you did for us on the softball, baseball and football fields, in the classroom and, most of all in our lives. We are all better people after knowing you,” wrote Michael Pennington, a 1984 Ernest Ward graduate and a member of Day’s 1982 state championship baseball team.
2011 In Photos: August
January 1, 2012
All this week, we are looking back at the photos that were in the news in 2011. Today, we are featuring photos from August.
Scott and Beckie Nelson of Bratt remembered their son, LCpl Travis Nelson shortly after he was killed in action in Afghanistan.
The body of local Marine LCpl Travis Nelson arrived back at Dover AFB after he was killed in Afghanistan.
Funeral services were held for LCpl Travis Nelson, a 19-year old Marine killed in action in Afghanistan.
The Northview Chiefs beat Panama City Bay 26-17 in a preseason football classic.
The Tate Aggies lost their preseason classic 35-14 to Pensacola High.
Crowds turned out in August to meet the Northview Chiefs in anticipation of a great season.
Century residents began training workshops to become disaster ready.
August brought the first day of school across the area, including Bratt Elementary (above).
Several area churches, including Ray’s Chapel (pictured above) held special events to get youth geared up for back to school.
The chief of the Cantonment Volunteer Fire Department announced that his department was unable to adequately respond to calls and asked for a paid 24/7 fire crew. Escambia County denied the request.
Phillip Arnold, 66, was found guilty in the stabbing death of a pregnant Cantonment woman and her baby.
A member of the United States Blue Angels signs autographs after a later summer practice at Pensacola NAS.
Michael Aaron Killam was convicted of DUI and sentenced to 2.5 years in state prison.
A man and his children were rescued in good condition after being lost for three days on the Perdido River.
Annie Carter Savage was sworn in to the Century Town Council after the death of Nadine McCaw.