Friday Night Football Schedule
September 8, 2013
Here’s a look at next Friday night’s high school football schedules for teams around the area:
FLORIDA
- Northview at Chipley, 7 p.m.
- Bay at Tate, 7:30 p.m.
- Vernon at Jay, 7 p.m.
- Escambia at Rutherford, 7 p.m.
- Niceville at Pine Forest, 7:30 p.m.
- Catholic at PHS, 7:30 p.m.
- Gulf Breeze at Choctawhatchee, 7 p.m.
- Lake Area New Tech (La.) at Washington, 7:30 p.m.
- Fort Walton Beach at Milton, 7:30 p.m.
- Pace at Navarre, 7:30 p.m.
- OPEN: West Florida
ALABAMA
- Flomaton at Choctaw County
- Escambia County (Atmore) at Wilcox Central
- Escambia Academy at Monroe Academy
- Cottage Hill Christian at W.S. Neal
- T.R. Miller at Excel
Chavers, Ramsey To Wed
September 8, 2013
Mr. and Mrs. Will Chavers of Flomaton are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Misty Nicole Chavers, to J. D. Ramsey, son of Jim Ramsey of Heber Springs, Arkansas.
The bride to be is a 2001 graduate of Flomaton High School and a 2003 graduate of Jefferson Davis Community College. She also attended Auburn University. Misty is a graduate of International Gospel Outreach of Semmes, Alabama.
The prospective groom is a 1996 graduate of Heber Springs High School. He is the CEO of Kingdom Call Ministries, Inc. and travels nationally holding crusades as a Christian evangelist.
The wedding will be September 14 in Mobile. Wedding gifts can be sent to PO Box 891 in Wilmer, Alabama.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Mysteries Abound In Florida Politics
September 8, 2013
It was a week of mysteries in Florida politics.
What will the $500 million tax cut that Gov. Rick Scott promised look like? Nobody knows. Not even Scott.
Where did Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, stand with his colleagues after the discovery of a previously-unknown campaign account he had set up? Nobody was really certain, just like few people outside of Rouson’s inner circle seemed to know about the account in the first place.
And a far more serious mystery continued to unfold about what happened years ago at the shuttered Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys.
WHAT CAN I GET FOR $500 MILLION?
Scott spent Wednesday making a variety of appearances at events that he said were about jobs. The last stop was at the grand opening of a Bass Pro Shops store in Tallahassee — where NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, Miss Florida USA and a variety of hunting and fishing celebrities stood alongside the governor on a parking-lot stage.
But after his appearance at the event, Scott told reporters that his administration had not released details of one of his key initiatives for the 2014 legislative session — a $500 million reduction in taxes and fees — because Scott didn’t know exactly what the details were yet.
Instead, the governor said he was looking for feedback on how to continue his mantra of holding down the cost of living in Florida.
“So I’m working with the House and the Senate to get everybody’s idea,” he said. “I want to ask all of the citizens, what are their ideas?”
On Friday, the governor laid out a plan for doing just that. Scott said he would embark on an “It’s Your Money” tour of the state to ask the citizens what he should propose in the form of a tax cut. Scott said he would visit West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando to hear from those who had ideas on how taxes should be sliced.
Meanwhile, the Florida Democratic Party took advantage of reports about the projected size of the state surplus to take a whack at the tax-cut proposal. An early financial projection showed that the state could have a surplus of $845.7 million as lawmakers look to craft a budget for the coming fiscal year, which begins next July 1.
But there are caveats, including the fact that $449 million of the surplus is considered one-time money, and all of the other uncertainties that accompany a projection for a fiscal year that is almost 10 months away.
Nonetheless, Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant hammered away, saying there was no way the state could cover the cost of the tax cuts and continued increases in spending on schools.
“Voters deserve to know just how much education funding will suffer because the governor wants a new talking point for his re-election campaign,” Tant said. “After over $1.3 billion in cuts from education, our kids cannot afford to fall victim to Rick Scott’s political games again.”
WILL DEMS STILL WANT TO BE AFFILIATED WITH ROUSON?
An already-challenging 2014 election cycle for House Democrats, who will be defending several freshmen in swing districts just as the six-year itch hits President Barack Obama, got a new speed bump when Rouson spent the latter part of the week mixing it up with Tant and other party leaders.
It was an awkward position for a man who is set to lead House Democrats after the election.
Party leaders discovered this week that, in August, Rouson had set up a fundraising body called the Florida House Democratic Caucus Affiliated Party Committee — one of the “leadership funds” that Democrats had attacked when Republicans reinstated them in 2011.
Tant fired two staffers involved in the brouhaha, prompting an angry email from Rouson to his House colleagues.
“This overreaction today by FDP is an example of why we must continue in this direction for the long term viability of our electoral success as a caucus,” he wrote. “In a private meeting with Allison Tant yesterday she could have discussed this matter but she chose a public forum to air an internal matter.”
It is the second public dust-up between Rouson and fellow Democrats in less than three months. He faced heated criticism from two House Democrats at a caucus meeting in June, shortly before the party’s annual fundraising gala. Most Democrats were cautious Friday, saying they wanted more time to figure out what was going on.
“There are a lot more questions than answers at this time,” said Rep. Alan Williams, a Tallahassee Democrat who briefly ran against Rouson for Democratic leader before backing Rep. Mia Jones, D-Jacksonville.
HELP WANTED
Perhaps it’s not mysterious, but there are a still a handful of offices around state government whose occupants are unknown. Among them: the internal watchdog at the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., a position that will ultimately be filled by Scott and the Florida Cabinet.
Hector Collazo Jr., the inspector general for the Pinellas County clerk of court, and Thomas Raftery, a former member of the FBI who is now with the Delaware River Port Authority, received the most support from a three-member selection committee vetting the applicants.
But all four names were sent to the Cabinet, including Bruce Meeks, a former member of the state attorney general’s office who is now a partner with the law office of Roberts & Meeks in Tallahassee, and R. David Holmgren, a deputy inspector general for inspections and evaluations at the U.S. Treasury General for Tax Administration.
“I just assume that we do all four, give them (Scott and the Cabinet) the broader rather than the narrow,” said committee member Tom Kirwin, the inspector general for the Department of Financial Services.
There will be just one name for the job of interim chancellor of the State University System: Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Jan Ignash.
Board of Governors Chairman Dean Colson said he would recommend Ignash during a meeting next Thursday; she would take over temporarily for Chancellor Frank Brogan, who is moving to a similar job in Pennsylvania.
And speaking of jobs, state Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, said this week that he will be looking for a promotion. Baxley intends to run for Senate in 2016.
LOOKING FOR DOZIER ANSWERS
Investigators also continued to try to uncover what happened at the Dozier school decades ago. A group of researchers from the University of South Florida announced Tuesday that they had finished the latest part of their work, exhuming the remains of two boys from half-century-old unmarked graves at the Panhandle reform school.
The team will now try to identify the remains before returning in search of additional bodies.
The two boys are among at least 50 sent to the school between 1900 and 1952 who were buried in unmarked graves, said Erin Kimmerle, a USF anthropologist who is one of the leaders of the excavation. Others have claimed the body count could top 100.
The researchers intend to return in October or November to exhume bodies from unmarked graves in other locations on the once 1,400-acre campus that now sits closed behind chain link fencing topped with barbed wired.
The state hopes to eventually sell the land.
Identifying the bodies could be harder than finding them.
“As children, they didn’t have direct descendants and the parents had their last known address over 50 years ago,” Kimmerle said. “So you really have to find aunts and uncles, and then the cousins and go down a generation or two and find where these people are living today.”
STORY OF THE WEEK: Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, faced criticism from fellow Democrats for setting up an “affiliated party committee” to raise funds for the 2014 campaign, throwing into doubt whether he would remain the choice to lead House Democrats after the 2014 elections.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “We have a very glamorous and handsome and winsome cool black guy for president. I think they’re quite concerned what’s going to happen when he’s not on the ballot next time. I just don’t want them to use this issue. What I saw him do is shift. They can’t deliver on the hate crime from the Department of Justice so they pivoted and said let’s go look at all these self-defense laws.”–Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, explaining his thoughts on the reason President Barack Obama had allegedly politicized the state’s controversial Stand Your Ground law.
Splash Party Benefits Molino Park Elementary Technology Replacement
September 8, 2013
A “Back To School Splash Party” was held Saturday at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Molino to benefit students at Molino Park Elementary School.
There were water slides, water balloon games, fun on a new playground and a cookout. The event was free, but attendees were invited to make a monetary donation for technology replacement at Molino Park Elementary School.
After reading an earlier NorthEscambia.com story about the event, Todd of Jumpers Unlimited donated the use of water slides, moonwalk and a cotton candy machine for Saturday’s event.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sun For Sunday
September 7, 2013
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the morning.
- Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Light east wind becoming southeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 68.
- Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70.
- Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Start Of Jacks Branch Road Project Delayed
September 7, 2013
Road work that was set begin Monday on Jack’s Branch Road has been postponed.
The work includes widening the travel lanes to 11 feet and added four-foot paved shoulders, along with some minor draining improvements. Escambia County will fund and perform milling and crack relief concurrently with the planned construction.
The project will begin at Muscogee Road to the south and end at Barrineau Park Road to the north. The project is slated for completion by Fall 2014.
The Florida Department of Transportation is funding the design and construction of the safety enhancements as a “Local Agency Program” project.
For more information on this project contact the Jacks Branch Road Information Hotline: Toll Free (866) 696-0938 or sign up for e-newsletters by sending your contact information to: JacksBranchRoad@gmail.com.
There’s no word yet on exactly when the project will begin.
Northview Falls To 4A Marianna
September 7, 2013
The 4A Marianna Bulldogs defeated the Northview Chiefs 28-6 Friday night in Marianna.
The defending 1A state champion Chiefs were looking for revenge against the Marianna Bulldogs, but fell short of that goal. Last year in Bratt, Northview was up 42-26 in the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs rallied for a tie in regulation and pulled out a 48-42 win over the Chiefs in OT.
Friday night’s 28-6 loss was just as disappointing, if not worse in a game that a started about 15 minutes late after the Chiefs’ charter bus broke down just shy of the Marianna exit.
“It was a tough loss,” Northview head coach Sid Wheatley said. “Marianna’s got a fine football team. They are very skilled. If their running backs are able to break that first line, they make it tough. Our tackles have got to continue to get better. We’ve got to break down, be in control and get more bodies to the ball.”
Also defensively he pointed to several problems the Chiefs had lining up correctly for the play.
Offensively, Wheatley said the Chiefs lacked consistency against the Bulldogs. “It would look like we had a little drive going, and we’d turn it over,” he said.
Overall, the Chiefs racked up just shy of 200 yards Friday night, 127 in the air and 70 on the ground. Running back Ladarius Thomas contributed 50 of those yards. The Chiefs’ only touchdown of the night was a 27-yard pass from quarterback Daulton Tullis to Cameron Newsome. Hunter Sherouse had nine tackles for Northview, while Emanuel Etheridge and Jeffery Taylor both had seven tackles.
The Northview Chiefs will be on the road again next week to take on the Chipley Tigers in another non-district game. The Chiefs rolled over Chipley 50-29 last year, but historically are 2-5 against the Tigers. In 2011, Northview lost a regular season game against Chipley only to face them again and lose to the Tigers in the state semifinal game.
The Chiefs won’t play a district game until they face Jay on October 4.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured: The Northview Chiefs at Marianna Friday night. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Man Arrested On Child Porn Charges
September 7, 2013
An Escambia County man has been arrested on child pornography charges after investigators determined he downloaded sexually explicit pictures and movies of children from the internet.
Walter Leandru Burket, 68, was charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography and one count of possession with intent to promote child pornography. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $22,000.
Agents with the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force initiated a search warrant at Burket’s residence on September 5 after he was identified via the internet as downloading child pornography.
Additional charges are pending, and the investigation is continuing to determine if he transmitted files or downloaded additional child pornography.
Members of the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, and Escambia and Walton counties sheriff’s offices assisted the Pensacola Police Department with the investigation.
Splash Party Today To Benefit Molino Park Elementary School
September 7, 2013
A “Splash Party” today at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Molino will benefit students at Molino Park Elementary School.
The event will be held from 3 until 6 p.m. Saturday at the church on Highway 29, just south of Highway 97. There will be water slides, water balloon games, fun on a new playground and a cookout. Everyone is invited to the free event, but attendees are invited to make a monetary donation for technology replacement at Molino Park Elementary School.
They Did It For 32: Tate Beats PHS In Historic Game
September 7, 2013
Before Friday night, it had been about 20 years since the Tate Aggies beat the Pensacola High School Tigers. But it was one for the history books on a hot September night as Tate held on for a historic 14-12 victory.
Motivation for the Tate Aggies this week was to get a win for injured teammate Jesse Samuel — who wears jersey No. 32.
Jesse’s brother, Lavontia Samuel, wore that 32 jersey in honor of his brother Friday night against PHS.. Lavontia scored in the first quarter on a four-yard run and again in the 2nd quarter when he out sprinted the PHS defenders for a 75-yard scoring run. That would be all the scoring the Aggies would do for the night.
PHS would score in the third quarter on a 53-yard run, but the extra point was blocked by Tate’s Trace Penton. The blocked extra point proved to be a huge play because when the Tigers scored in the fourth quarter on a pass play, they were forced to go for two points. Tate’s defense was up to the task and stopped the Tigers’ quarterback short of the goal line to make it 14-12 with Tate in a lead they would hold all the way to sweet victory as the clock rolled down.
The defense and special teams deserved a lot of the credit for Tate’s win, Coach Ronnie Douglas said, adding that “Lavontia Samuel put the team on his back and carried them to a win”. Douglas said he has been pleased with all the hard worth the team did over the summer, and he’s happy it is beginning to pay off.
“”We are going to get used to this winning thing, and once we do it becomes a whole lot easier,” Douglas said.
Tate faces Panama City Bay next week at 7:30 at the home of the Aggies, Pete Gindl Stadium in Cantonment.
Story and photos by Darryl Singleton
Pictured top: Lavontia Samuel, wearing his brother’s No. 32 jersey, celebrates a 75-yard touchdown run as his injured brother, Jesse Samuel, looks on. Pictured below: The Tate student section “blacked out”. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
