Northview Quarterback Club Meets Tonight
June 14, 2012
The Northview High School Quarterback Club will meet tonight at the school. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m in the girls’ weight room.
The Northview Chiefs Quarterback Club is an all volunteer community organization committed to supporting the Chiefs football program. Membership is just $10 per family.
Three Sentenced In Massive Tax Preparer Fraud Case
June 14, 2012
Three more people have been sentenced to probation in a case that the IRS says was the biggest tax fraud case of its kind in Alabama.
Linda Thomas, 58, of Repton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and was sentenced to five years probation.
Tax preparer Alice Mobley, paid $10 to $20 per person to Thomas to gather social security numbers to fraudulently use on tax returns. Those selling their information were paid $500 for adult numbers and $600 for childrens’ numbers. When Mobley’s Preyear Tax and Check Cashing in Atmore, Mobley’s home and other business locations were raided by federal agents on March 4, 2010, investigators found complete identification information on 536 people, including Social Security cards, Medicaid cards and other documents.
Mobley also “split” dependents, using the identity of some children on one return to obtain Earned Income Credit, and on other returns to obtain Child Credit and Dependent Care Credits. Mobley’s firm also prepared returns which claimed business tax deductions for business which did not exist and farm tax deductions for clients who did not have farms, the DOJ said.
Two other people that worked for Mobley, Fretizell Locke-Wiggins and Latana Locke, were sentenced to three years probation for their part in the tax scheme.
Mobley pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy, tax perjury, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for orchestrating what was described as a systematic schedule to file thousands of false tax returns and defraud the government of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
She was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in federal prison by Chief U.S. District Judge William Steele. She will also forfeit $593,949.77 in cash and property seized from her home and business locations in March 2010, and she was ordered to pay $720,067 in restitution to the federal government.
Federal agents raided Mobley’s Preyear’s Tax & Check Cashing, LLC on Ridgely Street in Atmore and other locations in March 2010.
Pictured above: A federal agent enters Preyear’s Tax & Check Cashing, LLC in Atmore March 4, 2010. Pictured inset: Agents search a vehicle at the business. Pictured below: A federal agent and an Atmore Police officer talk to an employee of the business during the raid. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Tate’s Jacob Lasky Signs With Southeastern Lousiana University
June 14, 2012
Tate High offensive lineman Jacob Lasky has signed a letter of intent to play football at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Pictured: standing (L-R) are Coach Huggins, Head Coach Naggatz , and Coach Reyes. Picture seated are Larry Lasky, Jacob Lasky and Kathie Lasky. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Resurfacing Begins Today On Highway 89 South Of Jay
June 14, 2012
Today, a contractor will begin resurfacing Highway 89 south of Jay. For the next two weeks, motorists can expect daily lane closures starting around 6 a.m. between County Road 178 and the city limits of Jay.
There will be no work on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 17.
A 7.5 mile stretch of Highway 89 from the Jay town limits to County Road 178 (Spanish Trail) will be resurfaced. Weather permitting, the entire project is expected to last about eight months. Access to homes and businesses will be maintained at all times, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
The total project, which includes resurfacing, drainage improvements and the construction of paved shoulders, will cost $3.2 million.
New Jobs: Two Area Family Dollar Stores Opening This Year
June 14, 2012
Construction is continuing on new Family Dollar stores in Century and Jay, with one store set to be open with a couple of months.
The Century store is scheduled to open in early August, and the Jay store should be open in time for the holidays, according to Josh Braverman, communications director for Family Dollar.
“We look forward to opening our stores in Century and Jay,” Braverman said.
Both the Century and Jay stores will average 8-10 employees. Applications will be accepted online at www.familydollar.com.
Family Dollar currently operates 7,200 stores in 45 states with about 50,000 team members. The small format convenience and value retailer offers a mix of everyday use name brand products including food and paper products, household items, seasonal products, clothing and more.
Pictured above and below: Construction continues this week on Family Dollar on North Century Boulevard, just south of the Food Giant in Century. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Lawmakers Could OK Prison Health Privatization
June 14, 2012
With a judge still deciding whether the plan is constitutional, a legislative budget panel this month is expected to consider moving forward with the privatization of prison health services.
The Department of Corrections has requested that the Legislative Budget Commission, a joint panel of House and Senate members, take up the privatization issue June 26 and allow signing contracts with firms that would manage inmate health care.
The request comes as Leon County Circuit Judge Kevin Carroll gets ready to rule on a challenge to a legislative move last year that directed the department to go through the contracting process. The Florida Nurses Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees argue lawmakers violated the state constitution by putting the privatization plan in budget fine print — known as “proviso” language — instead of approving it in a more-typical bill.
Carroll heard arguments in the case May 29 but has not issued a ruling. The budget proviso calls for the department to get approval from the Legislative Budget Commission before finalizing contracts.
It was not immediately clear Wednesday what would happen if Carroll rules that the Legislature’s use of proviso language was unconstitutional. But one likely factor in taking the issue to the Legislative Budget Commission this month is that the proviso language expires with the July 1 start of the new fiscal year.
“The qualified bids received substantially meet or exceed the requirements in proviso,” the agency said in a document submitted to the Legislature. “The department is requesting Legislative Budget Commission approval of the selected health-care awards so the agency can move forward executing the health-care contracts.”
Carroll even raised questions during the May 29 hearing about what happens if the legal issues remain unresolved at the end of the current fiscal year. Regardless of when he rules, Carroll said he expects the losing party to appeal.
But Jonathan Glogau, an attorney for the state, said Carroll needed to decide whether the contracting process should go forward.
“With all due respect your honor, you’re not off the hook,” Glogau said during the hearing.
M. Stephen Turner, an attorney for the nurses association, said Wednesday that the state’s use of proviso language might leave little choice but to take the issue to the Legislative Budget Commission before July 1. But he described the way lawmakers have tried to make the privatization changes as a “mess.”
“What they’re doing doesn’t make any sense if you’re a logical person,” Turner said.
If Carroll sides with the nurses association and the employees’ union, an appeal by the state could lead to a stay of his ruling. That could give the Legislative Budget Commission a legal argument for allowing the department to sign the contracts.
Attorneys for the state and potential contractors — Corizon, Inc., and Wexford Health Sources — also have argued that the department could privatize health services without the proviso language. The opponents, meanwhile, contend that lawmakers would need to make changes to state law before privatization could take place.
The department in April recommended that Corizon receive a contract for prisons in North and Central Florida and that Wexford receive a contract in South Florida. The proviso language required cost savings of at least 7 percent compared to 2009-10 inmate-health expenses — a requirement that the department says the contracts would meet.
But privatization is a highly controversial issue, in part, because employees fear they will lose jobs or see pay or benefit cuts if the state contracts out the services. Another Leon County circuit judge, Jackie Fulford, last year blocked a legislative plan to privatize management of prisons throughout the southern half of the state, ruling that lawmakers improperly used proviso language to make the change.
By The News Service of Florida
Flag Day: A Betsy Ross History Lesson
June 14, 2012
[VOA] It’s going to be a busy day at Betsy Ross’s house in Philadelphia on Thursday. She won’t be there, since she died in 1836, but hundreds of tourists will be going through her house.
You see, Thursday is Flag Day in the United States. The unofficial holiday commemorates the adoption of the stars-and-stripes design of the American flag by the Continental Congress 235 years ago, on June 14, 1777.
According to lore, the Ross House is the birthplace of the nation’s flag. That’s open to debate, but it’s a story that schoolbooks still tell.
Betsy Ross was a seamstress, busy upholstering furniture in Philadelphia, which was the focal point of the American revolution against British rule.
The Declaration of Independence by the colonists was signed there, and so was the new nation’s Constitution after independence was won.
Widowed when her husband, a member of the local militia, was killed in a gunpowder explosion, Betsy Ross often mended the clothes of the rebels’ leader and future U.S. president, George Washington.
According to what some say is history and others a stretch of what really happened, Washington asked Ross to design and sew the new nation’s flag.
The story was promoted by Ross’s grandson, who wrote that Betsy Ross had “made with her hands the first flag.”
She became a role model for girls – a shining example of women’s contributions to the nation’s history.
Most research indicates that Ross did sew the first flag.
She’s credited with substituting artful five-point white stars for six-pointed ones in the upper-left blue field.
But many other accounts indicate George Washington brought the design to Ross and simply asked her to stitch it together.
In a letter, Washington wrote: “We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her. And the white stripes shall go down to posterity [as] representing liberty.”
That’s deeper thinking than a humble seamstress would have come up with, according to those who doubt that Betsy Ross created the first American flag from scratch.
Pensacola Reaches Labor Agreement With Union
June 14, 2012
The City of Pensacola and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3253 have reached an agreement on a new three-year contract, which includes a number of pension reforms expected to cut the city’s unfunded pension liability by nearly $5 million and reduce annual pension costs.
The agreement would cover the city’s 145 general service employees represented by AFSCME. Union members ratified the contract Tuesday, and Mayor Ashton Hayward plans to submit the agreement to the City Council for consideration at their July meeting.
“I want to thank Local 3253 president Kimberly Aguiar and her team for negotiating in good faith,” said Hayward. “With our unfunded pension liability and annual pension costs threatening the city’s long-term fiscal stability, I appreciate AFSCME’s engagement and willingness to help us take action on these critical issues.”
In exchange for wage considerations, the union agreed to several changes in how pension benefits are calculated, as well as to changes in the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) and survivor benefits to conform to those offered by the Florida Retirement System (FRS). The pension changes will help reduce the Pensacola’s annual pension costs and unfunded pension liability, which in recent years has ballooned to more than $116 million.
In return, the city will provide a 10% wage increase for AFSCME-represented employees, to be distributed over the next three years. “When we ask our employees to accept changes to their retirement benefits, it’s only fair that we use a portion of the savings to adjust compensation packages for those affected,” said Hayward.
If approved by the City Council, the new collective bargaining agreement will take effect October 1.
Pictured: Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward with members of AFSCME Local 3253. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Walk With 4-3 Win
June 14, 2012
Blue Wahoos catcher Mark Fleury laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to score right fielder Josh Fellhauer from third in the bottom of the 11th to give Pensacola a 4-3 walk off victory over the Mobile BayBears on Wednesday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
The win gives the Fish a team-high fifth straight victory to improve Pensacola’s record to 32-33 in 2012, while the defeat drops Mobile to a 38-28 record this year. Before the game, Oakland Athletics first round draft pick and Pace High School grad Addison Russell was honored and threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
After Fellhauer was hit by a pitch to begin the 11th frame, CF Andrew Means drew a free pass and LF Yordanys Perez was intentionally walked to set the stage for Fleury with one out. The Blue Wahoos backstop then put down a bunt to the third base side as Fellhauer charged home and scored without a play to cue the celebration.
Pensacola also started the game’s scoring in the opening frame with a single tally, marking the sixth time in eight contests the club has scored in the first inning. CF Ryan LaMarre led off with a single and was brought home from first when SS Didi Gregorius doubled to right center to put the Blue Wahoos ahead 1-0.
Mobile however, would counter in the fifth with two scores of their own to take their first lead of the game at 2-1. LF Dan Kaczrowski started the rally with a single, moved to second on SS Wladimir Sutil’s walk and then third on a fielder’s choice, before coming plateward on a sacrifice fly off the bat of CF Evan Frey. Sutil subsequently scored on 2B David Nick’s run-scoring double to push the BayBears in front.
The Blue Wahoos then answered right back to draw the game even at 2-2 in the bottom half of the frame by playing small ball. Fleury began the inning with a double and was advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt before being sent home on LaMarre’s sacrifice fly to center.
Mobile then grabbed back the lead in the seventh courtesy of a solo shot from 3B Matt Davidson, which was his Southern League leading 15thh of the year, while the Fish tied it up in the next inning. Following a lead off double from Gregorius, and a sacrifice bunt to move him to third, RF Josh Fellhauer delivered with an RBI single to right to once again even the margin.
Fleury (3-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI) recorded three hits in the game to lead Pensacola, while Gregorius (2-4, 1 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB) and 3B David Vidal (2-5, 1 2B) each collected a pair of base knocks. Kaczrowski (3-5, 1 R, 1 BB) paced the BayBears with his three base hits, while Davidson (2-4, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB) and C Rossmel Perez (2-5, 1 2B) also notched multi-hit efforts.
Seven different Pensacola relievers held Mobile to just four hits and a run in their 6.2 innings of work in support of starter Tim Crabbe (4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO), with RHP Curtis Partch (1.0 IP) earning his third win of the year, while Mobile LHP Eury De La Rosa (1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB) suffered the loss after allowing the final run. BayBears starter Gaby Hernandez (6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO) did not receive a decision despite yielding just two earned runs on six hits in six frames.
The Blue Wahoos and BayBears will square again Thursday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm. LHP Tony Cingrani, the Reds’ No. 15 prospect according to Baseball America is slated to take the hill for the Fish, while Mobile is expected to counter with LHP Tyler Skaggs, who was tabbed as the third-best prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ system, and the 14th best prospect overall before the season.
By Andrew Green
Pictured top: Mark Fleury’s suicide squeeze in the 11th gave the Wahoos a 4-3 walk off win. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Awards Contract For Housing Rehab
June 14, 2012
The Town of Century has been awarded a grant-funded contract to rehabilitate another private home in the town.
The town was awarded a $650,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) last year to rehabilitate or replace homes that are currently occupied by persons of low or moderate income. The town also received $100,000 in Residential Construction Mitigation Program Funds for hurricane retrofits.
The latest project contract was $12,698, awarded to Bill Walther Construction, Inc. The bid includes $5,698 in rehabilitation costs and $7,000 in hurricane retrofits for the home at 301 East Hecker Road
According to the Escambia County Property Appraiser, the house owned by Richard and Eva Carter has a taxable value of $5,525. The 1,264 square foot home was constructed in 1913.
The town has previously awarded about $430,000 in contracts to rehabilitate eight other homes in the town.
Pictured: The residence at 301 East Hecker Road in Century. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.