Cool Tonight, Sunny Thursday
February 27, 2013
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 40. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
- Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 60. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 58. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 49. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
- Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers before midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 52. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
- Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 29. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Monday: Sunny, with a high near 55.
- Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 37.
- Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 65.
- Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 64.
Pictured: Tuesday afternoon’s sunset as seen from near Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Chamber Presents PACE Awards
February 27, 2013
The Greater Pensacola Chamber held their annual Pensacola Area Commitment to Excellence (PACE) Awards banquet Tuesday night at the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front.
The PACE Awards honor outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to the Pensacola area’s overall economic progress.
PACE Award winners were:
- Emerging Leader of the Year – Attorney Brian Hooper for his volunteerism and community service.
- Professional Leader of the Year – Brent Lane of Cat Country 98.7 for his consistent professionalism and positive attitude.
- Community Leader of the Year — Bentina Terry, co-chair of the Chamber’s Vision 2015 initiative for economic development.
- Business Leader of the Year — Mark Faulkner, Baptist Health Care president/CEO.
- Pioneer Award — Lewis Bear, Jr. former chair of the Great Pensacola Chamber and current vice chair of economic development for the chamber.
- Spirit of Pensacola Award — posthumously awarded to Donna Fassett, director of ARC Gateway until her death in December.
Pictured top: Attorney Brian Hooper (right) was honored with the Emerging Leader of the Year Award during the Greater Pensacola Chamber’s PACE Awards Tuesday night on Pensacola Beach.
Groups Partner To Distribute Free Food To North Escambia Residents
February 27, 2013
Hundreds of pounds of free food and dairy products will be distributed to local residents on Thursday.
The Florida Department of Children and Families, AmeriCorps and Farm Share will host the free food distribution for residents of the town of Century and North Escambia area residents on Thursday from noon until 4 p.m. at the old Carver Middle School on Hecker Road in Century.
Assisted by volunteers from the Marine Corps and Carver Community Center, Farm Share will distribute fresh and nutritious food and dairy to up to 300 local families in need. Residents should bring a photo identification.
The food giveaway underscores the year-round need for charitable giving and volunteerism, according to DCF. It highlights the volunteers and businesses that donate their time, talent and resources to help families in need and strengthen their communities.
Farm Share is a Florida non-profit organization working to alleviate hunger and malnutrition by recovering fresh and nutritious food and distributing it to those who need it most. The group specializes in obtaining donated fresh fruits and vegetables from Florida’s farmers and putting the food into the hands of the of low-income families in need of nutritious food. Every year, Farm Share provides more than 15 million pounds of of nutritious food to more than 600,000 low-income households across Florida.
Picture top: A Farm Share distribution. Pictured below: Gov. Rick Scott helps distribute food at a Farm Share event last year in Franklin County. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia River Continues To Rise
February 27, 2013
The Escambia River near Century continues to rise, but the floodwaters are not expected to have any great impact.
Early Wednesday morning, the stage was 17.9 feet. Minor lowland flooding is occurring and is forecast to continue. The river will continue to rise to near 19.1 feet by early Thursday morning and will then begin to fall. Lowlands flooding the area will continue until the river level drops below 13 feet.
The flooding will not reach the Highway 4 bridge between Century and Jay, and floodwaters are not expected to reach any homes.
Pictured top: The Escambia River as seen from the Highway 4 bridge between Century and Jay Tuesday afternoon. Pictured below: The road to Fischer Landing in Century is flooded, and the entire landing was underwater late Tuesday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Ransom Middle Cheerleaders Place 12th In Nation
February 27, 2013
The Ransom Middle School cheerleaders recently competed in the at the UCA National Cheerleading Competition in Orlando.
Participating in the Small Junior High division, the Ransom squad advanced to the finals for the first time since 1997 where they placed 12th in the nation under Coach Heather Wiscombe.
Pictured top: (front, L-R) Savannah Hemby, Taylor Rouchon, Kailey Tucker, Abbey Opalenik, (middle) Coach Heather Wiscombe, Lindsey Jernigan, Tori Kelson, Blessing Kirk, Jolie Wise, Jalynne Whitaker, (back) Taylor Howey, Jami Zettler, Jasmine Crabtree, Cierra Lowry, Hayden Lindsay, Anna Barrow and Alexis Wilson. Pictured below: The Ransom Middle School cheerleaders at the UCA National Cheerleading Competition in Orlando. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Temporary Ban Upheld On Florida Welfare Drug Tests
February 27, 2013
A federal appeals court Tuesday refused to lift an injunction against a 2011 Florida law that would require drug tests for people seeking public-assistance benefits — spurring Gov. Rick Scott to vow an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said the state had not shown a “special need” for drug testing applicants to the program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. It upheld a preliminary injunction issued in 2011 by U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven.
“As the district court found, the state failed to offer any factual support or to present any empirical evidence of a ‘concrete danger’ of illegal drug use within Florida’s TANF population,” the 38-page opinion said. “The evidence in this record does not suggest that the population of TANF recipients engages in illegal drug use or that they misappropriate government funds for drugs at the expense of their own and their children’s basic subsistence. The state has presented no evidence that simply because an applicant for TANF benefits is having financial problems, he is also drug addicted or prone to fraudulent and neglectful behavior.”
Scott quickly issued a statement calling the appeals-court ruling “disturbing” and saying it would be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Welfare is 100 percent about helping children,” said Scott, who along with the Republican-controlled Legislature, approved the law. “Welfare is taxpayer money to help people looking for jobs who have children. Drug use by anyone with children looking for a job is totally destructive. This is fundamentally about protecting the well-being of Florida families.”
While the appeal focused on the preliminary injunction, the three-judge panel Tuesday backed Scriven’s view that opponents of the drug-testing ban were likely to prevail in the overall case. Opponents contended that the drug-testing requirement violated the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches.
The named plaintiff in the case, Navy veteran Luis Lebron, applied for benefits in 2011 as a college student and single father. Lebron, an Orlando resident who has been represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Florida Justice Institute, met the program’s requirements but refused to go along with a drug test.
“The court’s decision clearly states that the Fourth Amendment’s protection against being subjected to these kinds of invasive searches protects us all, including those of us who are struggling to make ends meet in this tough economy,” said Maria Kayanan, an ACLU of Florida attorney and lead counsel in the case. “The state of Florida can’t treat an entire segment of our community like suspected criminals simply because they are poor and are trying to get temporary assistance from the government to support their families.”
In a brief filed early last year, the Scott administration said TANF is designed to improve family stability and help beneficiaries get jobs.
“Drugs are antithetical to both goals, and thus drug testing furthers the program’s purposes,” the brief said. “TANF applicants, who must disclose a broad range of private information in order to participate in the program, have a substantially diminished expectation of privacy. Moreover, drug testing is commonly required in today’s society — particularly in the very job market that TANF prepares participants to enter.”
Also, while the law would require applicants to pass drug tests before they could receive benefits, the state contended that people who don’t want to comply with the program’s requirements are “free to walk away.”
But Tuesday’s appeals-court opinion, written by former Florida Supreme Court Justice Rosemary Barkett, said the state failed to show a “special need for its mandatory, suspicion-less drug testing of TANF applicants.”
“The simple fact of seeking public assistance does not deprive a TANF applicant of the same constitutional protection from unreasonable searches that all other citizens enjoy,” wrote Barkett, who was joined in the unanimous opinion by judges Adalberto Jordan and Randal Hall.
The ruling came less than a month before the appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments in a separate attempt by Scott to require drug testing of state employees. A district court also has ruled against Scott on that controversial plan, and the appeal will be heard March 22 in Miami.
By The News Service of Florida
6 Charged After Child Drinks Drano From Sippy Cup At Meth Lab
February 27, 2013
A young child is in critical condition after drinking Drano from a sippy cup at Santa Rosa County meth lab.
A total of six people have been charged in connection with the incident.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office says the individuals were involved in the production of methamphetamines at an apartment on Pineywoods Place in Milton. Deputies said the child was in the bathroom of the residence where Drano — a common component in the production of meth — was being stored in a child’s sippy cup. The unsupervised child drank the chemicals from the cup, causing an immediate reaction.
The child was transported to an area hospital for treatment and remains in critical condition.
The child’s father, 36-year old Johnathan Wayne Glass, was charged with cruelty toward a child with great bodily harm, three counts of unlawful possession a harmful new legend drug without a prescription, four counts of drug possession without a prescription, one count of drug trafficking, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is being held in the Santa Rosa County Jail without bond.
The child’s mother, 25-year old Victoria Lauren Cain, was charged with child neglect. Facing drug charges in connection with the meth lab are Debbie Anne Harris, 43; John Quincy Adams, 45; Justin Eric Godwin, 30; and Ronnie Eugene Olson, 39.
Lady Chiefs Improve To 4-0; NHS JV, Varsity Baseball Beat Freeport
February 27, 2013
The Northview Lady Chiefs improved to a perfect 4-0 on the young season with an 11-1 defeated of Catholic High School Tuesday in Pensacola. The Lady Chiefs will be in action again Friday as they host Freeport. First pitch for the junior varsity is 4:00, followed by the varsity at 6:00.
In baseball, the JV Chiefs beat Baker 11-3 and the varsity Chiefs downed the Baker Gators 10-0. The Chiefs will host Freeport Thursday, with the JV playing at 4:00 and the varsity at 6:30.
Pictured: Northview’s JV defeated the Baker Gatos Tuesday afternoon in Baker, 11-3. Submitted photos by Ramona Preston for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Dortch Road Bridge Closed For Repairs
February 27, 2013
The Dortch Road Bridge in North Escambia closed Wednesday for repairs, according to the Escambia County Public Works Department. It is estimated that the bridge, which was constructed over Beaver Dam Creek in 1965, will be closed for about 60 days. Dortch Road is located off Highway4 west of Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Area Students Visit Space, Rocket Center, Science Lab
February 27, 2013
Fifth graders from Escambia Academy in Canoe, Ala., recently took their annual field trip to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville.
The students from Elizabeth McDonald’s class learned the history of space travel, participated in chemistry labs, rode flight simulators and went rock climbing.
The students also stopped at the McWane Science Center in Birmingham where they were able to pet sharks and stingrays, learn about bugs and birds and get hands-on with a variety of scientific equipment.
Pictured top: Escambia Academy fifth graders at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville: (front, L-R) Olivia Lamb, Ragon Lassiter, Madison Hammons, Makenzie Rolin, Malorie Parker, Abby Stewart, Rachel Donald, Madelyn Smith, Mary-Stuart Lewis, Lily Woods, (middle row) Chase Bell, Gracie Girby, (back row) Troy Fountain, Shivam Bhakta, Chaz McGhee, Sam Smith, Bryant Quimby, Hart Taylor, Parker Reynolds and Matthew Ray. Pictured below: Troy Fountain, Shivam Bhakta, Sam Smith and Matthew Ray get a close look at a lunar rock. Pictured inset: Chase Bell and Madison Hammons conduct a science experiement. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
