Wait Continues For Supreme Court Health Care Ruling
June 22, 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court did not issue a ruling Thursday in the Florida-led challenge to the 2010 federal health overhaul. That means the court will wait until the final week of its annual term to deliver the landmark ruling. The earliest justices can now rule would be Monday, though they also could release the decision later in the week.
Former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, joined by other states, challenged the constitutionality of the “Affordable Care Act” quickly after President Obama signed the measure into law in March 2010.
Justices heard arguments earlier this year about key parts of the law, including a requirement that most Americans buy health insurance and a planned expansion of the Medicaid program.
Baby Blaze Henry Johnson
June 21, 2012
Baby Blaze Henry Johnson, age three months and 11 days, passed away on Wednesday, June 20, 2012, at Sacred Heart Hospital after a extended illness.
Baby Blaze was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Huey and Mary Nell Johnson; uncle, John Franklin Johnson; paternal great grandparents, Roy and Ouida Johnson; and maternal great grandparents, Joseph W. White and J.D. and Ella V. Page.
He is survived by his parents, Chris ‘Squeaky’ and Katherine Johnson of Pensacola; maternal grandparents, Diane White (Chuck Frazier) of Flomaton, and Henry (Joy) Page of Marietta, GA; maternal great grandmother, Rosa Lee White of Flomaton; paternal step-grandmother, Ellen Johnson of Poarch, and many other family members and close friends.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, June 23, 2012, at the Flomaton Funeral Home Chapel from 6 until 9 p.m.
Funeral services will be held on Sunday, June 24, 2012, at 2 p.m. at the Flomaton First Baptist Church with Rev. Dustin Stockstill and Dr. Jerry Keese officiating.
Interment will follow in Elim Baptist Church Cemetery in Roberts, AL.
Flowers are being accepted but contributions or donations may be made to any Pen Air Credit Union under Baby Blaze Fan Club or to the Regions Bank, Georgia account also under Baby Blaze Fan Club.
Area In Gulf Has 70 Percent Chance Of Tropical Development
June 21, 2012
The National Hurricane Center is now giving a broad area of low pressure centered near the northern coast of the Yucatan a 70 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours.
The area of low pressure is producing a large area of showers and thunderstorms from the Yucatan to Cuba and southern Florida. Upper level winds are becoming more favorable for development.
All interests along the entire United States Gulf Coast should monitor the progress of this system through the weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Cottage Hill Boil Water Notice For Cooley Road, Phalrose Lane
June 21, 2012
Effective immediately, a precautionary boil water notice (PBWN) has been issued for Cottage Hill Water Works customers in the Cottage Hill Community. The PBWN is in effect for CHWW water customers residing in the 1200 block, 1300 block and 1420 Phalrose Lane, and all of Cooley Road.
This notice is being issued following a pipe break. Residents are advised to boil water for one minute at a rolling boil or to use six drops of regular unscented household bleach per gallon of water for water to be used for drinking of cooking purposes. Bacteriological sampling is underway and the advisory will be lifted as soon as possible.
Cottage Hill Water Works crew are repairing the main and will be flushing the lines. Residents are advised that there is a possibility of discolored water as a result of the break and flushing, and to flush their home’s plumbing by running their taps for a few minutes.
If problems persist, customers are asked to contact Cottage Hill Water Works, Inc.at (850) 968-5485 for assistance.
Driver Rolls Truck On Hwy 97, Barely Misses House
June 21, 2012
There were no serious injuries when a driver lost control and rolled his pickup truck almost into a house on Highway 97 early Thursday morning.
The driver, identified as 25-year old Eric W. Hall of Bratt, was transported by Atmore Ambulance to West Florida Hospital with minor injuries.
The accident happened about 2:30 a.m. on Highway 97 just north of Howell Road. Hall was northbound on Highway 97 when he drifted onto the shoulder as he rounded a curve. He over-corrected, causing him to lose control. His 2010 Toyota pickup slid across both lanes of Highway 97, left the roadway and overturned, knocking over a small tree and coming to rest on its side near a brick home.
A passerby found Hall walking alongside Highway 97 about a mile south of the accident scene about 3 a.m.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, charges are pending against Hall.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia Count Sheriff’s Office also responded to the wreck.
Pictured above and below: The driver of this pickup was not seriously injured in this accident early Thursday morning on Highway 97 in Walnut Hill. The driver was found walking south on Highway 97 about a mile from the accident scene (inset). NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Woman Charged With Headbutting, Battery Of Husband
June 21, 2012
A Cantonment woman was charged after allegedly headbutting her husband, hitting him with a multitude of household objects and sending him to a hospital for treatment.
April Dawn Fleming, age 26 of Wiggins Lane, was charged with felony aggravated battery using a deadly weapon. She remained in the Escambia County Jail late Wednesday with bond set at $2,500.
Fleming’s husband told deputies that the couple was arguing when Fleming slapped him in the face, grabbed him, pushed him toward a couch and headbutted him in the nose, according to an arrest report. The husband then tried to call authorities, at which time he reported Fleming grabbed a framed pictured off the wall and slammed it over his head before throwing multiple items at him.
One of the items Fleming allegedly threw at her husband was an AM/FM boombox, causing a 1.5 inch gash on the back of his head. In addition to the gash, deputies reported Fleming had obvious injuries to his nose and bruising to his nose. He was transported to West Florida Hospital by Escambia County EMS for treatment.
Fleming, according to an arrest report, admitted to deputies that she slapped her husband. She told deputies that her husband threw her to the couch and punched her in the head, but deputies reporting finding no injuries or evidence to support that claim.
Former Flomaton Police Chief Back In Florida Courtroom
June 21, 2012
The former Flomaton, Ala., police chief was back in a Pensacola courtroom this week.
Judge Michael Allen granted a request by Geoffrey Ashley McGraw, 30, and his attorney, Earnest Ray White, to delay his trial until August. McGraw has pleaded not guilty in Escambia County (Fla.) Circuit Court to a felony charge of kidnapping/false imprisonment. He remains free from jail on a $5,000 bond.
McGraw’s arrest stemmed from a joint operation by the Florida 1st Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
FDLE obtained the warrant for McGraw’s arrest for an August 14, 2011, incident in which Ronald Adam Barrow was arrested by McGraw at a home on Old Flomaton Road in Century — 0.177 miles from the Alabama state line. McGraw, without jurisdiction, allegedly took Barrow into custody in Florida on an outstanding Escambia County (Ala.) failure to appear warrant in a misdemeanor case. Barrow was then transported back across the state line into Alabama.
McGraw was placed on leave by the Flomaton Town Council on February 27 and subsequently fired on March 12, just four days after his arrest.
Man Wanted For Beating Multiple People With A Pipe
June 21, 2012
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a man that beat and terrorized at least four people at a Davis Highway motel.
Deputies said Jerry Richard Wright is wanted on four counts of aggravated battery for the early Wednesday morning attack. Witnesses told deputies that Wright walked up to several people who were sleeping under a tree near the intersection of I-10 and Davis Highway and began beating them with a metal pipe.
Wright then fled the area on a bicycle. Deputies later responded to the Queen Mary Inn across from West Florida Hospital on Davis Highway where another man had been beaten with a metal pipe. Two people claimed to have been held hostage by Wright at the hotel.
One of the victims suffered a fractured skull, while the other suffered relatively minor injuries, according to Sgt. Mike Ward, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.
Wright, who is known to frequent the Davis Highway and I-10 area, also goes by the name of Jerry Wilson, Ward said. He is also wanted on a violation of probation charge.
Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Molino Property Appraiser Office Closing June 25 For Move
June 21, 2012
The current Molino location of the Escambia County Property Appraiser’s Office in the Farm Bureau Building on Highway 97 will close on Monday, June 25. The office will reopen in its new location on Highway 95A next to the old Molino School on Monday, July 2.
The property appraiser’s downtown location will remain open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
For more information, contact the Escambia County Property Appraiser’s Office at (850) 434-2735.
An Escambia County tax collector office will occupy the other half of the building. Also opening July 2, it will replace an office in the old Winn Dixie shopping Center in Cantonment.
FDLE Clears Scott Team For Records Loss
June 21, 2012
Following months of investigation culminating in 33,000 pages of documents, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Wednesday cleared Gov. Rick Scott and members of his transition team for emails that went missing shortly after Scott took office.
State law enforcement officials found nothing criminal in the loss of at least 4.5 gigabytes of data from the email server used during Scott’s transition into office.
“During this inquiry, no evidence was found which would indicate that Governor Scott or any (transition team) member instructed Harris Media, Rackspace or any other person or entity to delete or otherwise destroy transition emails,” the FDLE report concludes. “Additionally, no evidence was discovered which would indicate that Governor Scott or any member of the (transition team) was aware that email data would be permanently deleted….”
The governor came under fire for the missing emails, which were created during the first few months following his November 2010 election but before he was officially sworn in as governor.
“By casting the widest possible net and using cutting-edge technology, the transition team, in cooperation with FDLE investigators, ultimately produced the most comprehensive collection of gubernatorial transition documents in Florida history,” Scott’s office said in a statement issued Wednesday.
By The News Service Florida