Sample Ballots In The Mail
October 18, 2012
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David H. Stafford said Tuesday that sample ballots for the November 6 general election are being mailed to Escambia County voters this week. The sample ballot includes an image of the multi-page, multi-sheet ballot, the voter’s polling location and map, and information on early voting, absentee voting, and voting on Election Day. Voters are encouraged to study and mark their sample ballot and bring it with them to the polls.
Voters have three different ways to cast their ballot:
By Mail: Voters may vote by mail using an absentee ballot, which can be requested through the online form at EscambiaVotes.com, or by contacting the Supervisor of Elections by mail, phone (850-595-3900), e-mail (absentee@escambiavotes.com), or fax (850-595-3914). Requests must include the voter’s date of birth and the address, and must be received no later than Wednesday, October 31. Voted ballots must be received in the Elections Office no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day and may not be returned to a polling location on Election Day. Absentee voters may track the status of their ballot at EscambiaVotes.com by clicking Track My Ballot.
Early Voting: Early voting will be available Saturday, October 27 through Saturday, November 3, from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Early voters will cast paper ballots through digital scanners, and may choose any one of five sites:
- Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 213 Palafox Place, Second Floor
- Supervisor of Elections Annex, 292 Muscogee Road, Cantonment
- West Florida Public Library, 200 West Gregory Street
- Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway
- Tryon Branch Library, 1200 Langley Avenue
At A Precinct: The third option for voters is to cast a paper ballot at their precinct on Election Day, November 6, using our digital scanners. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. An AutoMARK ballot marking device is also available at each polling place and early voting site for persons with disabilities. Voters are encouraged to pay special attention to their polling location, as several have changed due to redistricting.
Voters are reminded to bring their photo and signature ID with them to the polls. A sample ballot is also available at EscambiaVotes.com.
Arrest Made In Century Armed Robbery
October 17, 2012
A Century man has been charged with robbing a local convenience store at gunpoint after being caught on video attempting to buy a ski mask just hours before.
Devante Aaron Knight, 20, was charged with robbery with a firearm, grand theft and committing a felony while wearing a mask or hood, for for the September 30 holdup of the Southern Pit Stop on Highway 29 just south of the Alabama state line.
Knight entered the store about 8:40 p.m. on that Sunday night wearing a black shirt tied around his head and a pistol and demanded the money from the register, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. He allegedly went behind the counter and held the gun to a store clerk’s head. After getting the money from the register, he then demanded two packs of Newport cigarettes before fleeing the area on foot.
Surveillance video from the nearby Dollar General Store shows Knight in the business less than three hours before the robbery. A Dollar General employee told deputies that Knight asked for help in finding a stocking cap or mask like would be worn in the winter. The store did not have the item in stock.
Knight’s clothing on the Dollar General video was the same clothing worn during the robbery attempt, the arrest report states, and store clerks from the Southern Pit Stop identified the man on the Dollar General video as being the robbery.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the robbery scene within two minutes of the robbery report and established a perimeter around the store.
A K-9 team from Century Correctional Institution located a track on the suspect that ended nearby on North Century Boulevard. Authorities were not sure if the suspect got into a vehicle or if heavy rain showers at the time destroyed the track.
The same convenience store was robbed at gunpoint in similar fashion back on April 2, 2012. There have been no arrests in that robbery.
Pictured: Deputies were on the scene of a Century convenience station robbery minutes after it happened on September 30. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Century Applying For Permit To Spread Sewage Sludge On Farm
October 17, 2012
The Town of Century is applying for a new Florida Department of Environmental Protection permit that will allow sewage sludge to be spread on a local farm.
The town will pay Fabre Engineering up to $7,000 to obtain the permit and maintain the necessary records.
Ordinarily, the town’s sewage sludge is “pressed” and transferred to a facility in Crestview. But when the sludge press is inoperative, it sometimes becomes “urgently” necessary, according to Mayor Freddie McCall, to spread the sludge on a local farmer’s hayfield.
“It’s a safety valve for us when the sludge press is down,” McCall said of the occasional use of the farm. He said that when the farm is used, a town vehicle spreads a mixture over a hayfield that is about 98 percent water and 2 percent sludge.
Front Brings Slight Rain Chance, Cooler Nights
October 17, 2012
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 77. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
- Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 44. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 79. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 45. Calm wind.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the morning.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 52. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Monday: Sunny, with a high near 82.
- Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54.
- Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.
- Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.
Second Case Of Meningitis Confirmed In Escambia County Area
October 17, 2012
A second case of fungal meningitis associated with contaminated steroid injections has been confirmed in Escambia County.
Both patients received spinal injections from Pain Consultants of West Florida on North Davis Highway in Pensacola, according to the Escambia County Health Department. The patients are identified only as a 79-year old woman and a 47-year old man. The injections were from contaminated medication shipped to the Pensacola clinic from the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts.
As of Tuesday, 598 persons in the Escambia County area have been identified as having been exposed to the contaminated medication, and 593 of these 598 persons have been contacted by health department officials in an effort to notify all exposed persons of their risk. The Florida Department of Health continues its efforts to reach and notify the remaining persons.
Persons having received spinal or joint injections of a steroid medication from Pain Consultants of West Florida between July 8, 2012, and September 28, 2012 and who have not spoken with someone from the Escambia County Health Department or Pain Consultants of West Florida should contact the health department at (850) 595-6651 and should also advise their primary care physician. Persons experiencing signs or symptoms of joint infection or meningitis should seek immediate medical evaluation by their physician or their local hospital emergency department. Symptoms of fungal meningitis may be milder than those normally associated with meningitis. Symptoms of fungal joint infections or meningitis can include:
- Joint infection: worsening of inflammatory symptoms in the treated joint including increased redness, warmth, swelling or pain
- Fungal meningitis: fever, new or worsening headache, stiff neck, nausea, and/or new symptoms consistent with a stroke
County May Name Governmental Complex For Ernie Lee Magaha
October 17, 2012
The county commission may rename the county’s governmental hub in honor of Jay native and longtime Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Ernie Lee Magaha.
Magaha has served 55 years as Escambia’s clerk of court. He was defeated by challenger Pam Childers in August.
The commission will consider renaming the Escambia County Governmental Complex to the Ernie Lee Magaha Governmental Complex during their meeting at 5:30 Thursday afternoon.
Magaha was born in Jay, raised in Mosquito Flats near Century, and graduated from Century High School. He served in the Merchant Marines and graduated from Auburn University with a degree in economics in 1950.
He served as a state auditor for five years and resigned in 1956 to run for the clerk of the court of record. At that time, he and his wife, Lucile, spearheaded a grassroots campaign and literally walked the county for a successful election in November 1956 as she was expecting their first child.
He took office in January of 1957 and has held the position of clerk since that time. His office was instrumental in the smooth transition of the court system in 1972 to the two-tier system in place today. In 1995, then Governor Lawton Chiles asked him to assume the additional responsibilities of the comptroller’s office.
In order to name the governmental complex on Palafox Street in honor of Magaha, the commission will be required to waive an existing policy against naming county facilties in honor of a living person.
Florida DOC Proposal: Further Prison Privatization?
October 17, 2012
A proposal from the Florida Department of Corrections floats the idea of further privatization if budget cuts are needed, but doesn’t specify which facilities might be turned over to private companies to come up with $6.4 million in savings.
The agency’s idea is included as one of a menu of cuts provided as part of its annual legislative budget request and might not ultimately be a part of the spending plan that lawmakers approve in the spring. But it comes after years of fights in both the Legislature and the courts about whether to allow for-profit vendors to assume greater responsibility for the state’s prison system.
“In an effort to maximize the state’s resources during difficult economic times, the department proposes privatizing additional facilities,” the request says simply.
Ann Howard, a spokeswoman for the department, said in an email that the agency hasn’t necessarily targeted specific facilities.
“We do not have a list when it comes to privatizing,” she said.
The department could get rid of its pretrial intervention program aimed at offenders involved in relatively minor crimes. That is expected to save $2.3 million, Howard said. And the agency floats a five percent cut in funding for prisons that have already been privatized.
“At this point, this is all very early on and as you know, a fluid process,” she said.
Gov. Rick Scott is not expected to unveil his suggested budget blueprint until early next year. A final package will likely pass the legislature at the end of the spring legislative session and will be signed by Scott after that.
The agency also asks for some increases in its main budget request, in some cases aimed at greater security for guards and inmates. The department is asking for almost $5.2 million to comply with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.
Most of the money — an estimated $3 million — would go to increase camera surveillance at prisons in an effort to prevent sexual assaults. The funding would also provide money for training, inmate screening and “emotional support services” for inmates who are victimized.
“The decision to implement or not to implement the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) requirements involves weighing the resource related costs for full compliance against the 5% penalty assessed against Justice Department Grants for non-compliance,” the request says. “Additionally, the potential costs associated with liabilities, including litigation, assumed by the Department in the case of non-compliance may be greater than any costs incurred with implementation.”
A separate proposal includes more than $900,000 for “safe havens” to which employees could retreat in case they are attacked by inmates and “throw phones” that could be used in hostage negotiations.
By The News Service of Florida
District 1-1A Volleyball Tourney Set With Jay, Northview
October 17, 2012
The District 1-1A volleyball tournament schedule and seedings have been set following a blind drawing between Jay, Central and Northview.
Seedings are as follows:
- Baker
- Jay
- Northview
- Central
- Laurel Hill
Next week, the district tournament will open at Central High School with Central against Laurel Hill at 4 p.m. The winner will advance to play number one seed Baker Tuesday at 6 p.m. Also on Tuesday, Northview will play Jay at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Tuesday’s winners will advance to the district championship.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
FDOT Public Meeting Thursday On Stefani Road Bridge Replacement
October 17, 2012
The Florida Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting regarding proposed improvements to Stefani Road over an unnamed branch in Escambia County. The meeting will be held Thursday from 5:30 until6:30 p.m. at the Escambia County Extension Office at 3740 Stefani Road in Cantonment.
Currently, the project includes replacing the existing bridge on Stefani Road, repaving the approaches, new guardrail, minor drainage improvements, sodding, and placement of new pavement markings. The department anticipates receiving bids for construction in 2015. During construction, the road will be closed and traffic diverted. Additional right-of-way will be required for the bridge and roadway improvements.
Representatives from FDOT will be available at the meeting to explain the proposed improvements and answer questions.
41st Year: Tate Showband Earns Bandmasters Superior Ratings
October 17, 2012
The tradition of excellence continued for the Tate High School Showband of the South last weekend at the Florida Bandmasters Association Music Performance Assessment at Ft. Walton Beach High School.
The band was adjudicated by a panel of expert judges in the areas of music, general effect, marching and maneuvering, and color guard. Under the leadership of Director Mike Philley and Associate Director Blake Garcia, the Tate Showband of the South received straight Superior ratings in all categories for the 41st consecutive year.