Rain Today, Tonight
January 10, 2013
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Today: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph.
- Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a low around 63. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 74. South wind 10 to 15 mph.
- Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Patchy dense fog after 1am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 61. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Saturday: Patchy dense fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. South wind 5 to 15 mph.
- Saturday Night: Patchy dense fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Southeast wind around 10 mph.
- Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Patchy dense fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. South wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. Southeast wind around 10 mph.
- Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Northeast wind around 10 mph.
- Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56.
- Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 69.
- Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 48.
- Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62.
Molino Husband Pleads To Drug, Animal Cruelty Charges; Wife Facing Trial
January 10, 2013
A Molino husband pleaded no contest Wednesday to drug and multiple animal cruelty charges while his wife continues to face trial for chaining their malnourished pit bulls in their own filth.
Their arrests came about week after a pit bull was shot and killed after charging at a deputy, and after marijuana plants were found in the backyard of the couple’s home, according to Sheriff’s Office reports.
John Oswald pleaded no contest to one felony count of producing marijuana, two felony counts of causing cruel death, pain and suffering to animals and one felony count of unlawful confinement and abandonment of animals. One additional unlawful confinement charge against Oswald was dropped by prosecutors. He is set for sentencing next week before Judge Gary Bergosh.
Amanda Oswald was also in court Wednesday on two felony counts of causing cruel death, pain and suffering to animals and two felony counts of unlawful confinement and abandonment of animals. Her case was reset for a docket day late next week. She previously pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.
Escambia County deputies responded to a complaint about an aggressive pit bull on September 21 at a residence in on Highway 29 near Cotton Lake Road. The dog was loose in the victim’s yard and had attacked and killed her dog. Deputies kept the pit bull contained in the yard and notified Escambia County Animal Control. But before animal control arrived, the pit bull attempted to attack two officers who then utilized a shotgun to stop the dog, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
When deputies attempted to contact the owner of the dog at a nearby home on Highway 29 across from the Camp Of the Pines, deputies and animal control located two other pit bulls in the backyard of the home.
“I first observed a very skinny brown pit bill dog tied to a large chain barking at me,” one deputy wrote in his report. “I then observed a very skinny black pit bull dog lying on its side, and it appeared to be dead…I observed the black dog lift its head and look at me though due to the dog being so skinny from lack of food, the dog could not stand up.”
Both dogs were “malnourished to the point of starvation”, according to an arrest report, with access to “old nasty water” and no food. Both dogs were tied to heavy chains and were surrounded by flies.
“I then observed the black pit bull who was still lying on his side struggle and make several attempts to stand to his feet. “Once on his feet, his legs were wobbly and looked like he was going to fall over,” the deputy said.
The deputy said in his report that he first though the black dog was covered in ants crawling all over it, but it was actually a “massive amount” of fleas. The dog also reportedly had an eye infection.
The two pit bulls were seized by animal control. Amanda Oswald also voluntarily surrendered a pit bull and three Yorkie dogs from inside the residence to Escambia County Animal Control.
John Oswald was also charged with one felony count of producing marijuana. During the animal cruelty investigation, deputies reported the discovery of four marijuana plants up to five feet tall and one plant growing in a bucket in the home’s backyard.
Oswald met with a narcotics investigator and admitted that the marijuana plants belonged to him, an arrest report states. “He admitted to having a pill problem prior to being involved in marijuana and that he had started growing marijuana for personal use,” the investigator wrote in his report.
Escambia County Code Enforcement also responded to the home and opened a separate investigation for various code violations.
Pedestrian Struck By Train In Ensley
January 10, 2013
A pedestrian was struck by train Wednesday morning in Ensley.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 19-year old Demtri Stone was walking northbound on the railroad tracks south of Johnson Avenue as a CSX train approached. Stone told troopers that he heard the train’s horn and stepped over the rail and continued to walk on the outside edge of the cross ties. He was hit by the left front corner of the train.
The impact threw Stone across Johnson Avenue where he landed on the north side of the roadway. Witnesses said Stone got up and was walking around right after the collision. He was transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital with minor injuries.
Century To Collect County’s New Property Tax For Libraries
January 10, 2013
The Century Town Council is supporting a new Escambia County property tax as a dedicated funding source for the county’s library system. Countywide, the tax will generate an estimated $3.7 million for library operations.
At their January 28 meeting, the Century Town Council is expected to give final approval to an ordinance allowing for the MSTU to be collected within the town. The tax is estimated to cost the average Century resident from $1 to $7 on their property tax bill beginning next year.
The property tax will also apply to Pensacola residents and those in the unincorporated areas of Escambia County.
Pictured top: Century Town Council members Gary Riley, Ann Brooks, Sandra McMurry Jackson and Jacke Johnston. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Beulah Man Gets 30 Years For Murdering Half Brother
January 10, 2013
A Beulah man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for murder.
Michael Daly, 43, shot his 19-year old half brother Thomas Jurkowich in 2009 at the family’s home because Jurkowich would not turn down the volume on a television set.
Daly will be required to serve at least 25 years of the sentence before he is eligible for release.
Florida’s AHCA Scales Back Obamacare Numbers
January 10, 2013
With Gov. Rick Scott facing accusations of using inflated numbers, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration late Wednesday released a report that slashes the state’s estimated costs for carrying out key parts of the federal Affordable Care Act.
The report indicates Florida’s costs could be as low as $3 billion over 10 years — a huge drop from the nearly $26 billion figure that AHCA produced in a report last month. Scott, a longtime critic of the federal law better known as Obamacare, has repeatedly used the $26 billion figure to express concerns about the state moving forward with an expansion of Medicaid eligibility.
The revisions came after state budget analysts, including the top staff member on the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee, raised questions about the assumptions that AHCA had used in the earlier report.
But even with the changes, it appears that the Scott administration believes that the state’s final tab over 10 years would be higher than the numbers released Wednesday.
For example, the earlier report disregarded part of the Affordable Care Act that says Washington will pay 100 percent of the costs of expanding Medicaid eligibility during the first three years and 90 percent of the costs later. Instead, the agency relied on far-lower estimates of federal spending on the expansion — spending that is known in the health care world as a “matching rate.”
The new numbers released Wednesday use the 100 percent and 90 percent figures. But as a hint of the administration’s skepticism, AHCA said those estimates “assume that the federal government will provide 100 percent to 90 percent match for the new population in Medicaid in perpetuity, which reflects a substantial and unending commitment from the federal government.”
Scott and AHCA have been under fire since the online publication Health News Florida reported about emails that showed state budget analysts thought the agency’s estimates last month were flawed.
Earlier Wednesday night, House Appropriations Chairman Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, issued a statement that addressed the amount of money the federal government would provide for a Medicaid eligibility expansion. McKeel acknowledged that the federal government has in the past provided far less matching money than the 90 percent and 100 percent totals included in the Affordable Care Act, but he also indicated the state cannot ignore the law.
“However, unless there is unanimous consent to do otherwise, we must follow our process which requires estimates based on current law and practice,” McKeel said. “This is critical to the integrity of our budgeting process.”
Scott and other Florida Republican leaders fought the Affordable Care Act legally and politically for more than two years after it was approved by President Obama and congressional Democrats. But they are now pondering how to carry it out, after the U.S. Supreme Court in June upheld most of the law — and Obama was elected in November to a second term.
Lawmakers and Scott face major decisions in the coming months about whether to expand Medicaid eligibility and whether to take part in running a health-insurance exchange, which is a type of online marketplace where people could shop for coverage. Expanding Medicaid and creating exchanges in each state are important parts of Obama’s effort to dramatically decrease the number of uninsured Americans.
The report released last month suggested that expanding Medicaid eligibility and making other Medicaid changes in Florida would cost about $63 billion over 10 years, with the state picking up nearly $26 billion of the cost. Wednesday’s numbers showed an overall total of $29.6 billion, with the state paying as little as $3 billion, though an appendix to the report also includes some scenarios that could bump up the state’s share by what appears to be $2 billion or more.
Along with the issue about the federal matching rate, other changes in the revised numbers include eliminating estimated state spending on increased Medicaid payments to primary-care physicians.
The Affordable Care Act requires increased physician payment rates in 2013 and 2014, with the federal government paying the entire cost. In the report released last month, AHCA included figures for the state picking up part of the cost in later years.
By The News Service of Florida
Escambia Deputies Involved In Two Separate Wrecks
January 10, 2013
Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies were involved into two separate traffic crashes Wednesday.
The first crash occurred just after 2 a.m. on Highway 29 at Burgess Road. The Florida Highway Patrol say Deputy Kristi Berry was en route to a robbery in progress call at a Waffle House on Highway 29. She was traveling in the inside lane, approaching a 1992 Toyota driven by Kaylyn Zimmerman of Pensacola. Zimmerman started to move to the inside lane and then quickly changed back to the center lane realizing a vehicle was approaching from the rear at a greater speed.
Berry took evasive action by changing into the left turn lane and braking sharply. She over-corrected, according to the FHP, and traveled across all lanes of southbound Highway 29 before striking a traffic signal support pole. She was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital for minor injuries. No contact was made between Berry’s patrol vehicle and Zimmerman’s vehicle.
The second accident involving a deputy occurred about 3:15 a.m. on Olive Road east of Davis Highway. The FHP said Deputy Jeremiah Meeks failed to stop for a 2010 Chevrolet SUV driven by Bradley Baker of Pensacola. Baker was stopped for a northbound vehicle on Davis Highway.
Meeks rear-ended Baker’s vehicle. There were no injuries.
There were no charges filed in either accident.
Bill Filed In Florida Senate To Establish Domestic Partnerships
January 10, 2013
A bill that would allow Floridians to enter “domestic partnerships” resembling marriages was filed Wednesday by Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, in an apparent effort to extend at least some marital benefits to same-sex couples.
While the legislation specifically states it is not an attempt to do an end-run around a provision in the Florida Constitution defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, it would allow gay Floridians to get some rights approaching marriage. Any two people who are at least 18 years old would be allowed to establish a domestic partnership under the law.
“The state has a strong interest in promoting stable and lasting families, and believes that all families should be provided with the opportunity to obtain necessary legal protections and status and the ability to achieve their fullest potential,” the bill says in a section of legislative findings.
Sobel, who has filed similar legislation in previous sessions, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The legislation is not new, but the current version (SB 196) comes amid new focus on the issue of gay marriage. President Barack Obama endorsed allowing same-sex couples to marry last year before winning Florida in his re-election bid, and the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to take up the issue in a pair of cases set for oral arguments in March.
Two openly gay lawmakers were elected to the Legislature last fall, marking the first time anyone who was openly gay had ever won a seat.
John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council — a group opposed to same-sex marriage — said similar domestic partnership bills had been used in other parts of the nation to help in court fights aimed at legalizing gay unions. And he said domestic partnership proposals were aimed at avoiding the state’s legal definition of marriage.
“They’re attempts to get around (the Constitution) and approximate a faux marriage arrangement,” he said.
But Stemberger also predicted that sponsors were unlikely to push the bill far in a Legislature dominated by Republicans, many of whom are cool to the idea of same-sex marriage.
“I think they’re lucky if they get it debated,” he said.
By The News Service Florida
Blood Drives Scheduled In Honor Of Tate Senior Halee Boyd
January 10, 2013
Friends and family of Tate High School student Halee Boyd have scheduled blood drives to help with her cancer treatments.
Boyd, 18, was diagnosed with a life-threatening cancer. Her medical treatments have interrupted her senior year at Tate.
Blood drives at two locations are planned Saturday, January 12 in her honor:
- The Spinal Center, 2921 Michigan Avenue, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Red Lobster, Cordova Mall, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Generally, healthy people age 16 or older who weigh at least 110 pounds can donate blood.
Ronnie Faulk
January 10, 2013
Ronnie Faulk left us Monday night, January 7, 2013, to be with Jesus. Ronnie was a special person who had many friends and was loved by all. He grew up in Berrydale, one of the sons of Earl and Frances Faulk. He attended Sunland Training Center in Marianna and worked many years for ARC in Milton. He lived with other special friends at Betty’s group home in Pace before he became sick. After a stay at Santa Rosa Hospital he spent his remaining years in rehab.
Ronnie was predeceased by his parents, Earl and Frances Faulk; sister, Earline Faulk Raisler; brother and sister- in-law Glen and Ruby Peterson Faulk; as well as his special brother, Jim Faulk.
Ronnie is survived by his niece, Kami Raisler Ates; his previous brother-in-law, David (Mary) Raisler; and previous nephew-in-law, Jimmie Ates. Also surviving are great niece and nephew, Autumn and Jimmie Ates.
Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, January 12, 2013, at Pine Grove Cemetery in Berrydale.
Jay Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.