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Search Warrant Uncovers ‘One Pot’ Meth Lab

Investigators located a “one pot” meth lab when they executed a search warrant Thursday night at home just south of 10 Mile Road.

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Narcotic Unit executed the search warrant in the 1000 block of Cobblestone Drive, off Guidy Lane. Deputies reported finding a “one pot” meth lab, marijuana, pills and a long list of items commonly used and associated with meth labs.

A resident of the home, 37-year old Alex Thomas Johnson, was charged three counts of possession of a listed chemical, producing methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance and driving while license suspended. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $25,000.

The Escambia County Rapid Response United responded to clear the home of hazardous materials.

At least one additional arrest is expected in the case, according to a Sheriff’s Office report.

FSA Advises Producers To Anticipate Payment Reductions

USDA’s Farm Service Agency is reminding farmers and ranchers who participate in FSA programs to plan accordingly in FY2014 for automatic  spending reductions known as sequestration. The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) mandates that federal agencies implement automatic, annual reductions to discretionary and mandatory  spending limits. For mandatory programs, the sequestration rate for FY2014 is 7.2%.

Accordingly, FSA is implementing sequestration for the following programs:

• Dairy Indemnity Payment Program;
• Marketing Assistance Loans;
• Loan Deficiency Payments;
• Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program;
• Tobacco Transition Payment Program;
• 2013 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payments;
• 2013 Average Crop Revenue Election Program;
• 2011 and 2012 Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program;
• Storage, handling; and
• Economic Adjustment Assistance for Upland Cotton.

Conservation Reserve Program payments are specifically exempt by statute from sequestration, so these payments will not be reduced.

“These sequester percentages reflect current law estimates; however with the continuing budget uncertainty, Congress still may adjust the exact percentage reduction. Today’s announcement intends to help producers plan for the impact of sequestration cuts in FY2014,” said FSA Administrator Juan M. Garcia. “At this time, FSA is required to implement the sequester  reductions. Due to the expiration of the Farm Bill on September 30, FSA does not have the  flexibility to cover these payment reductions in the same manner as in FY13. FSA will provide  notification as early as practicable on the specific payment reductions. ”

For information about FSA programs, visit your county USDA Service Center or go to www.fsa.usda.gov.

Tate’s Showband Of The South To Perform in 2014 Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade

The Tate High School Showband of the South has been selected to perform in the 2014 Dunkin’ Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia. Aired on WPVI TV in Philadelphia, the parade is also seen nationally on ABC’s Good Morning America. The parade is billed as the oldest Thanksgiving Day parade in the United States.

Plans call for the Tate Showband to spend time in both Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. when they make the trip next year.

Pictured: The 2013-2014 Tate High Showband of the South. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Cooler Weather This Week

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

• Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54. North wind around 15 mph.
• Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 34. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
• Monday: A 40 percent chance of rain, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57. Northeast wind around 10 mph.
• Monday Night: Rain. Low around 51. Northeast wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
• Tuesday: Rain. High near 59. East wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
• Tuesday Night: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 42. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
• Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 53. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 32. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
• Thanksgiving Day: Sunny, with a high near 54.
• Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 34.
• Friday: Sunny, with a high near 60.
• Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.
• Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 65.

Brothers In Communications

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.” This William Shakespeare quote is literally true for two sets of brothers in Escambia County’s 146th Expeditionary Signal Battalion.

Brothers Spc. Micaiah Glover and 1st Lt. Elijah Glover; and Sgt. Brandon Corey McAlpin and Sgt. Richard Kyle McAlpin provide communication and signal support for the 31st Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Brigade, of Alabama and the 4th Military Police Brigade, of Michigan for Vibrant Response 13-2. Vibrant Response, a major field training exercise, is conducted by U.S. Northern Command and led by U.S. Army North.

Approximately 5,700 service members and civilians from the military and other federal and state agencies are training to respond to a catastrophic domestic incident. As a component of U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Army North, coordinates timely federal military response to disasters in the homeland to help the American people in time of need.

Elijah Glover, the unit’s executive officer and acting commander at Vibrant Response, treats his twin brother in a professional manner. Micaiah addresses Elijah as sir, and Elijah addresses Micaiah as Glover. Elijah leaves it up to the non-commissioned officer to counsel his brother if it is needed.

Micaiah said if he needs something for the field, he uses his chain of command like any other soldier in the unit would. He doesn’t go directly to his brother.

“We still joke around and talk about family matters every once in while if we have time during lunch or before formation,” said Micaiah, a 25B — an information technology specialist. Adding they focus on the mission while on duty.

Micaiah installs, operates and performs unit maintenance on multi-functional/multi-user information processing systems and peripheral equipment and auxiliary devices. He’s mostly in charge of the internet networks inside a building.

Elijah said it takes people a while to figure out that he and Micaiah are brothers because of their professionalism.

The other set of brothers are a little different.

Unlike the Glovers, they are not twins. And they call each other by their middle names — Corey and Kyle.

“NCOs are allowed to call each other by their first name if they know each other and are the same rank,” Elijah said.

“We work off each other’s strengths,” said Kyle. “There’s some stuff I know better, and there’s some stuff he knows better. We work really well as a team.”

Corey, a 25S — satellite communication systems operator-maintainer, is responsible for lines of communication. He works mostly with line-of-site communications. It’s a truck that has an external wire that connects to a 15- to 30-foot antenna. The line-of-site communications is mostly there in case the satellite goes out, but also to help clear disruption in communication.

Kyle, a 25Q — multichannel transmission systems operator-maintainer, works directly on equipment that communicate through more than one channel. He mostly works with the Satellite Transport Terminal. As a civilian mechanic, Kyle also is able to fix some of the unit’s equipment when it goes down — like the generator.

“Soldiers describe Corey as the ‘City Mouse’ and Kyle as the ‘Country Mouse’,” said Elijah. “You’ll be able to decipher the monikers in quick conversation. Kyle has a distinct Southern accent and parables life in well-drawn tales. While Corey prefers the tall silent persona.”

Elijah, describing the McAlpin brothers, said “The Brothers Mac work well on and off the proverbial grid; with one another, their leaders and fellow NCOs and with their subordinates. These gentlemen command a respect due any professional of their caliber.”

Elijah added one final thought to describe the two sets of brothers: “During duty hours professionalism with a mission focus is the personal creed of all members of the 146th ESB family and the standard holds no exceptions for those of blood relation.”

Story by Spc. Alfonso Corral, 318th Public Affairs Operations Center

Pictured top: Spc. Micaiah Glover and his brother 1st Lt. Elijah Glover; and Sgt. Brandon Corey McAlpin and his brother Sgt. Richard Kyle McAlpin, all members of the 146th Expeditionary Signal Battalion from Pensacola, provide a Satellite Transportable Terminal for use during U.S. Army North (Fifth Army) led Exercise Vibrant Response 13-2. Spc. Micaiah Glover and Sgt. Brandon Corey McAlpin of the 146th Expeditionary Signal Battalion of  Escambia County troubleshoot internet problems and perform maintenance on a Satellite Transportable Terminal during the exercise. Photos by Sgt. Alfonso Corral, 318 Press Camp, for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Holiday Cooking: Good For The Soul; Bad For The Environment

Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup

At this rate, Gov. Rick Scott might start commissioning weekly surveys by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Consider: In June, the last time that Connecticut-based school did a poll in Florida, Scott had sliced his deficit against former Gov. Charlie Crist from 16 points to 10. The following Friday, the state’s unemployment rate fell from 7.2 percent to 7.1 percent.

This week’s Quinnipiac release had more good news for the Republican governor: The gap between Scott and Crist is now down to seven points. And figures released Friday showed the unemployment rate slipping yet again, from 6.8 percent in September to 6.7 percent in October.

It might not quite be time for Scott to start singing “Happy Days Are Here Again.” But if the governor’s bid for re-election is compared to the movie that song first appeared in — “Chasing Rainbows” — it looks like Scott might be gaining on them.

BOUNCING BACK?

The bottom line for the Quinnipiac poll was still not a great number for Scott. Crist, a former Republican who became a Democrat last year, leads his successor, 47-40, and Scott’s job approval rating is still underwater (47-42). Things might be looking slightly brighter for the incumbent, but his numbers would almost have to improve — or Crist’s worsen — for Scott to claim a second term.

“In other words, for Scott to win, he’s going to have to convince voters that Charlie was not a good governor and that he (Crist) is a political opportunist,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac institute. “And we all expect that he will spend tens of millions of dollars to make that argument. We’ll see whether it works or not.”

Democratic consultant Steve Schale brushed off the results as an inevitable tightening of the governor’s race.

“The idea that this was ever a 15-point race is foolish,” said Schale, who is advising Crist but made clear he wasn’t speaking for the campaign.

Meanwhile, Crist was making the rounds at the Florida Press Center — an opportunity to schmooze with the journalists who will be covering his race — and perhaps watching nervously the actions of a certain former spaceman.

Confirming reports that have circulated for months, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson told Politico — a D.C.-based news organization — that he might jump into the race for governor if Crist “gets into trouble.”

When asked to elaborate on what trouble might mean, Nelson said, “That’s in the eye of the beholder,” according to Politico.

Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said in an email he “had nothing to add” to the report, and Schale tried to downplay it.

“It doesn’t change anything. Charlie Crist is still running for governor. He’s still building a campaign. He’s still out there every day doing the kinds of things you do when you want to get elected governor. There’s nothing about this that’s changing any of that except that Bill Nelson’s not doing that,” he said.

Nelson, for the record, was not included in any of the scenarios that Quinnipiac ran in its November poll; Brown said they would put the senator back in the mix if he showed any interest in actually running.

‘AN OPPORTUNITY ECONOMY’

The new unemployment figures, meanwhile, marked Florida’s lowest unemployment rate in more than five years, according to the state. The new seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.7 percent still represents an estimated 625,000 people who are out of work.

The October number also represents 31,000 fewer people being out of work than in August, the last monthly jobless figures available before Friday’s release. The September numbers were delayed because the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics suspended all data collection during the federal-government shutdown.

The drop in the overall number of unemployed outpaced the number of people who simply left Florida’s workforce between September and October — 9,000.

Scott used the numbers to tout his progress and also to test some themes for when he faces voters next year.

“We don’t just want a state where job creation reaches a certain number, or unemployment falls to a certain number,” Scott said in a prepared statement. “We want to create an opportunity economy. We want a state with dynamic, growing industries that will create jobs and careers for generations to come.”

Another central plank of Scott’s re-election effort will almost certainly be his pledge to lower taxes and fees by $500 million during the legislative session that opens in March. State economists met Wednesday to try to attach a price-tag to some of the items on the menu.

For example, slashing the communications-services tax, which affects things like cell phone services, by 2 percent would drain $255 million out of state revenue. Slicing a percentage point off a commercial rental tax would reduce state revenue by about $235.6 million, and local revenue by $20.2 million — with the price tag going up in future years.

Repeating the three-day back-to-school sales tax holiday would cost the state $35.9 million, while a similar measure for hurricane gear would likely reduce income by just $3.3 million.

One idea that is relatively unlikely to go far is Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam’s proposal to trim the sales tax on energy used by businesses.

Putnam said Monday he remains behind the proposal to cut in half the 7 percent tax and to redirect the remaining revenue for school construction and maintenance — but it probably won’t go anywhere as lawmakers offer their own proposals for how to reach Scott’s half-billion dollar goal.

“I’ve been in their shoes, I know they’ve got a lot of ideas,” Putnam, a former lawmaker, told reporters during a pen and pad session in his Capitol conference room. “They’ve got a budget they need to balance, and concerns about a surplus that hopefully will continue to be as robust as they’ve projected. But given the uncertainty of the national economy, we may not know until March just what type of budget outlook we have and how much there is to make the type of investments this might cost.”

THE CHANCELLOR’S CORONATION

In one of the least surprising developments of the week, the Florida Board of Governors reached out and touched their next choice for chancellor: Marshall Criser, currently the president of AT&T in Florida.

The board voted unanimously to name Criser to the position Wednesday afternoon, putting a fixture of Florida’s business and political establishment atop the network of 12 universities.

Criser, the son of a former president of the University of Florida and member of the UF board of trustees, has long been the front-runner for the position. Criser has headed up the telecom’s presence in Florida since 2005 and has had a role in government relations in Florida for AT&T or its state predecessor, BellSouth, off and on since 1989.

He is also a former chairman of the Florida Chamber of Commerce and currently serves as chairman of the Florida Council of 100.

“I believe that our state has laid the foundation to be the leader in academic quality, access for Florida’s students, and accountability to ensure the value of investing in Florida’s future,” Criser said in a statement following the vote.

STORY OF THE WEEK: Florida’s unemployment rate hit 6.7 percent, its lowest level in more than five years.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I’ve hit a bottom and I realize I need help.”–Southwest Florida Congressman Trey Radel to Judge Robert S. Tignor after pleading guilty to possession of cocaine, as quoted by The Washington Post.

by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida

BBB: 8 Holiday Travel Tips That Will Help You Save Money

Shirley Ann Hughes Cobb

Mrs. Shirley Ann Hughes Cobb, 53, passed away on Monday, November 18, 2013, in Atmore.

Mrs. Cobb was a native of Atmore, former resident of Warner Robbins, Georgia and had resided in Atmore most of her life.

She is survived by her two sons, Thomas B. (Mandy) Davis of Davisville, and James Darell McNeil Jr. of Warner Robbins, GA; four daughters, Shauna (Mikey) Harrelson of Atmore, Amy (Maurico) Alvearda of Warner Robbins, GA, Stephanie McNeil of Warner Robbins, GA and Natasha “Joy” McNeil of Tony, AL; three brothers, Danny Ray (Deborah) Hughes of Atmore, Wesley Lee (Wanda) Hughes of Atmore and Richard Anthony (Deneen) Hughes of Perdido; two sisters, Joyce Marie (Roger) Harrelson of Brewton and Cheryl Jane Harris of Atmore; and 17 grandchildren.

Funeral services were held Friday, November 22, 2013 at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Malcolm Harrelson officiating.

Burial was in at Oak Hill Cemetery.

Pallbearers were Shawn M. Boutwell, Brandon L. McNeil, Cody E. McNeil, Jessie L. Sanks, Dillon Hall and Ricky Harrelson.

Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes is in charge of all arrangements.

Agonizing Loss: Northview Chiefs Fall In Regional Final

The defending 1A state champ Northview Chiefs suffered an agonizing 34-28 loss on the road to Cottondale Friday night in the Region 1-1A title game.

“It’s tough,” senior quarterback Dalton Tullis said following the game. “We worked hard, but we could have done more stuff than we did. I feel bad right now.”

The Chiefs suffered numerous controversial calls by the officials, including a game changer with 1:36 to go. The Chiefs were up 28-26 when Northview’s Brannon Freeman picked off a Hornet pass. The officials called pass interference, setting up a Hornet drive and the go ahead run for Cottondale.

“I saw things differently,” Northview head coach Sid Wheatley said. “It’s big. It’s big. If a couple of calls had gone the other way it would have been a different outcome in this game.”

And as the clock rolled down to zero and the Chiefs down to the Hornet’s 30 on the final play, Northview fans and coaches saw what should have been a holding call, but no flags were thrown.

But excuses and blame don’t earn — or lose — a trip to the state championship game in Orlando.

“We needed to move the ball a little bit better in the second half. We needed to stop them a little bit better,” Wheatley said. “We’ve got to come back real hungry with these guys that are going to return (next season). We need to remember this feeling and be motivated by it. We need to win.”

And in the end, the Chiefs came up short, and the tears flowed.

“I’m feeling pretty bad right now. It’s heartbreaking to lose like this,” senior Neino Robinson said after the loss. “I think we played the best we could; we made some big plays. My team’s great; I have a great team. We just gave up some big plays in the end, and it come back to hurt us.”

The Chiefs were the first on the board Friday night in Cottondale with 8:40 to go in the first.  Tullis was up the middle for a couple of yards and the Chiefs’ first touchdown. A missed extra point attempt, and Northview held a 6-0 lead.

On their next possession, the Chiefs fumbled the ball away with Cottondale recovering on the 10-yard line to set up a touchdown and a 6-6 tie.

In the second, Cottondale answered with a 15 yard touchdown pass  to go ahead 12-6.  With 7:54 to go in the half, Freeman was in from a couple of yards out and Tullis added the two point conversion run, 14-12 Chiefs.  With just over a minute and a half before half time, the Chiefs expanded their lead to 20-12 on a 3-yard TD run from Freeman. On the extra point attempt, Robinson was into the end zone, 22-12 Chiefs.

In the third quarter, the Hornets stung with 8:30 on the clock to close in 22-18 with a 23-yard touchdown pass.

Cottondale scored with 6:01 in the fourth before the Chiefs retook the lead on 2-yard run from Keondrae Lett with 4:22. But Cottondale would come back with 41 seconds remaining to go ahead on a 4-yard run, 34-28.

Pictured top: Northview’s Keondrae Lett reacts emotionally after the Chief’s regional final loss Friday night in Cottondale. Pictured top inset: A missed Northview pass at the Hornet’s 3-yard line with 3.7 seconds remaining in the game. Pictured middle inset: Northview’s Neino Robinson and Coach Sid Wheatley following the loss. Pictured bottom inset: Junior Cameron Newsome gains yardage for the Chiefs. Pictured below: Ladarius Thomas fights off a Hornets defender. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

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