Nine Mile Road Widening Info Meeting Tonight
October 29, 2013
The Florida Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting tonight about the potential widening of a portion Nine Mile Road.
The proposed project will widen Nine Mile Road from two to four lanes beginning at Mobile Highway to Pine Forest Road. The intent of the meeting is to document changes in current design standards, reassess socioeconomic and environmental impacts as well as compare any new alternative options. Maps, drawings and other study information will be on display however no formal presentation will be given.
The meeting will be held from 5:30 until 7 p.m. at Plainview Baptist Church at 1101 West Nine Mile Road.
Deputies: Molino Woman Wrote Checks On Dead Mother’s Account, Used Credit Card 64 Times
October 29, 2013
A Molino woman charged in August with fraudulently using her deceased mother’s credit card over five dozen times has been arrested again — this time for allegedly writing checks on her mother’s account.
On October 11, Rhonda Renee Fillingim, 42, allegedly wrote a $20 check on the account of her deceased mother Linda Albritton to Molino Park Elementary School during a fall carnival. During the busy carnival, the principal did not notice the check belonged to Albritton, not Fillingim. The check was later returned by the bank because it was written on a closed account.
For the Molino Park check, Fillingim was charged with felony passing a forged instrument.
Fillingim was also arrested on outstanding warrants for two counts of felony fraud-impersonation of a deceased person, two counts of felony fraud for uttering a false instrument and larceny. She was charged for allegedly signing her deceased mother’s name and issuing two checks totally $47.34 to Hendrix Lawn and Cycle in Molino.
Fillingim is awaiting trial on 64 felony counts of fraudulent use of a credit card and one count of felony grand theft.
Her brother, Orbin Albritton, reported to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in August that Fillingim had used their deceased mother Linda Albritton’s Sears Mastercard to make no less than $6,500 worth of unauthorized purchases over a two week period that begin one day after their mother died on December 31, 2012. Credit card statements showed 64 transactions during the period totaling $8,960.32, according to an arrest report.
Investigators said Fillingim admitted to using the credit card, on which she was not an authorized user. She told deputies she had spoken with Sears and would begin to repay the credit card bill, but Sears later told deputies that no payments or arrangements had been made..
Fire Rips Through Abandoned Walnut Hill Home Remnants
October 29, 2013
Fire ripped through the remnants of a previously burned and now abandoned home Monday night on Juniper Street in Walnut Hill. Firefighters from the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue worked to protect a nearby mobile home from the flames as they extinguished the fire.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known. There were no injuries.
NorthEscambia.comp photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Professional Firefighters To Host ‘Fire And Ice Gala’
October 29, 2013
The Escambia County Professional Firefighters will host the Fire and Ice Gala this Saturday in Pensacola.
Dinner will be served, and there will be a silent auction and door prizes. Guest speaker will be Jim Tolley, president of the Florida Professional Firefighters.
Proceeds from the event benefit the firefighter’s charity that provides money to families that have been burned out of their homes. The charity also provides for family members to visit other family members that have been burned at burn centers.
The event is open to the public. Tickets are $50 per person. The event will be held at New World Landing, 600 South Palafox Street, from 5:30 until 10 p.m. Dress for men is a tuxedo, suit or dress uniform. Dress for women is an evening gown.
For tickets, call (850) 698-3105.
Man Gets 25 Years For Sexual Battery Of Teen
October 29, 2013
A Santa Rosa County man was sentenced Monday to prison for sexually abusing a teen.
Russell Maloney was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by five years of sex offender probation. Maloney was convicted by a Santa Rosa County jury on September 11, 2013, of sexual battery by a person in familial or custodial authority. The 34-year old Milton man was arrested on April 30, 2012, after the 14-year old victim disclosed to her youth pastor that Maloney had engaged in sexual intercourse with her at his home in Milton.
The case was investigated by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office and Department of Children and Families. During a videotaped interview, Maloney admitted to Detective Scott Jones that he had sex with the child.
Three NWE Teams Advance To Escambia River Conference Finals
October 29, 2013
Three of four Northwest Escambia teams will play in the Escambia River Conference football championships this Saturday at Jay High School.
In action last Saturday:
The NWE Sophomores beat Baker 40-6.
Arquavian Smith had two long touchdown runs, TJ Wright had one touchdown and Kaden Odom had two touchdowns and two extra points. Nolin Godwin and Damius Wesley each had an extra point.
Kaden Odom made several key tackles on an interception he ran in for a touchdown. Cooper Martinez had one sack and several tackles, and Damius Wesley chased down a Baker running back on a long run and tackled him on 1-yard line to stop a Baker touchdown.
The Eagles Sophomores defense recovered two fumbles, made several stops in the backfield and shut down Baker’s offense on several key plays. The NWE Sophomores will take on Poarch Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Jay.
The NWE Juniors shut out Neal 49-0.
Jayden Jackson, Jaheem Durant and Dariontae Richardson all had multiple touchdowns for the Eagles. Michael Merchant and Jaden Cunningham both scored one touch down each and multiple extra points.
The NWE defense played a hard game forcing three fumbles — two recovered by Durant and one by Ki-Jauna Carter.
Da’Marion Findley, Merchant, Richardson all made stops in the back field. Jackson stripped the ball from a Neal player late in the game and ran it in from 40 yards out for a touchdown. Jackson and Durant both ran for over 100 yards.
The NWE Juniors will take on Jay at 4:00 Saturday.
The NWE Seniors shut out Jay 33-0.
Aunterio Minor scored two rushing touchdowns for NWE. Trent Kite scored one touchdown, Cameron Cloud threw a pass to Seth Killam for a touchdown, and Killam added a 25 -yard field goal.
The defense played hard to shut out Jay. The NWE seniors have played tough all season, leaving opponents scoreless in six games.
The NWE Seniors will take on Flomaton Saturday at 6:00 in Jay.
Food Banks Brace For SNAP Cuts While Watching Federal Farm Bill
October 29, 2013
Florida’s food programs are bracing for cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that kick in November 1 — while watching warily as U.S. House and Senate conferees prepare to negotiate a federal farm bill, which could have much more far-reaching consequences for hungry Floridians.
Food banks and other programs that help Florida’s 3.6 million food-insecure residents have known for years about the cuts coming next week. The cuts were built into the 2008 federal-stimulus package that temporarily added money to SNAP, also known as food stamps, during the depths of the economic recession.
But that won’t make the cuts any easier, say advocates for the food banks and other supplemental programs. The cuts amount to $36 monthly for a family of four getting the maximum benefit of roughly $668.
“That’s going to be a significant hit for families,” said Rebecca Brislain, executive director of the Florida Association of Food Banks. “We already know SNAP doesn’t last the whole month.”
“I don’t think a lot of people realize just how low the SNAP benefit is,” said Debra Susie, executive director of the anti-poverty group Florida Impact. “In the state of Florida, the SNAP benefit per person per day is about $4.60.” And that’s before the monthly reductions that kick in Nov. 1.
The good news, said Brislain, is short-term: The state’s food banks have built their donor base and increased distribution since the recession began. Four years ago, they were collecting and distributing 72 million pounds of food a year; now, that’s up to 173 million pounds a year.
But Brislain said the long-term problem is that Florida isn’t recovering from the recession fast enough, and the state’s many low-paying jobs don’t provide enough income to make ends meet.
“All it takes is what some people consider a small family crisis — a flat tire, someone in the family getting sick — anything can stretch the circumstances to the point they need extra help,” she said. “There’s no discretion on your rent. Food is the one area, unfortunately, that people can cut back on.”
Florida’s food hardship rate is more than 21 percent, meaning that one in five Florida households reported that in the past year they struggled to buy enough food for the family.
The state is one of the hardest-hit for food security, with six urban areas in the nation’s top 25 for food hardship in 2011-2012. From June 2011 to June 2012, Florida saw the nation’s second-highest increase in SNAP use — a rise of 9.7 percent.
That fragility is why advocates for the food programs are watching nervously as the U.S. House and Senate prepare to negotiate further cuts to SNAP.
Republicans contend the food stamp budget should be cut by as much as $39 billion, the amount the GOP-led House included in its version of the federal farm bill in September. The Democratic-led Senate passed cuts of about $4 billion. Now the two chambers will go into conference on the bill Wednesday, while President Obama has vowed to veto cuts to SNAP that are too drastic.
The House also passed the so-called Southerland amendment, by U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., which includes work requirements. The House bill denies SNAP benefits to adults aged 18 to 50 who are not disabled, raising children, enrolled in training or working at least 20 hours per week.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Policies, the House bill would mean more than 400,000 Floridians could lose food assistance.
“What we have done in this country is wrong,” Southerland said on the House floor last month. “We have failed in introducing the blessing of work to able-bodied people who have the ability, who are mentally, physically, psychologically able to work, and we have robbed them of knowing a better life that they helped create for themselves and their families.”
The state has picked up some of the slack. The 2013 Legislature allocated $700,000 for supplemental nutrition programs — a 75 percent increase, said state Rep. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula and chairman of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee.
“I don’t pretend to understand a lot of the politics played in Washington,” Albritton said. “But in the Florida Legislature, we’re going to be working to help people in need, including programs like this.”
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
Gaetz: Don’t Cut Florida Taxes In A ‘Drib And A Drab’
October 29, 2013
With Gov. Rick Scott seeking to cut $500 million in taxes and fees next year, Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, said he thinks the reductions should be focused in a couple of major areas.
During an interview on The Florida Channel’s “Florida Face to Face” show, Gaetz touted a Senate plan to roll back vehicle-registration fees that were increased in 2009 and also floated the possibility of reducing the state’s communications-services tax, which is charged on such things as cell phone bills.
He also emphasized that he thinks reductions should be targeted to help consumers.
“I think if we do a dollar here and 40 cents there, you don’t really have much of an impact on people’s sense of how much money they have in their pockets,” Gaetz said. “I’d rather do two or three things right, and do them with impact, than do a lot of things in a drib and a drab.”
While Scott has touted the $500 million proposal, he has not provided a detailed list of cuts he wants to make.
Northview Quarterback Club Meets Tonight
October 29, 2013
The next meeting of the Northview High School Quarterback Club is tonight at 6:30 in the Northview Media Center. All current and prospective members are encouraged to attend.
Families can support the Chiefs by joining the Quarterback Club for just $10 per family per year. All of the proceeds go directly to help the school, the football program and the students.
Joseph “Skipper” Westbrook
October 29, 2013
Mr. Joseph “Skipper” Westbrook, 39, passed away on Wednesday, October 23, 2013, in Newark, Ohio.
Mr. Westbrook was a native of Davisville, former resident of Walnut Hill and has resided in Milton for the past 7 years. Mr. Westbrook was in the U.S. Army. He was a hard worker, great husband, father, son, brother, avid hunter and fisherman. He was a strong and stubborn man; loved guns, knives and loved to drive big trucks. His grandparents, J.B. & Mary Westbrook and Robert and Janie Godwin precede him in death.
Survivors include his father, Joseph Hugh Westbrook of Atmore; mother and step-father, Shirley and Kenneth Hughes of Molino; wife, Lasharrell Westbrook of Milton; one son, Joshua Lee Westbrook of Pensacola; one daughter, Ciara Thomas Westbrook of Milton; one brother, Bentley Joe Westbrook of Graceville; one step-brother, K.W. Hughes of Pensacola; one sister, Tabitha Lynn (Anthony) Roberts of Molino; one step-sister, Erica Godwin of Pensacola; one nephew, James Mitchem of Molino; one niece, Sierra Mitchem of Molino and step-grandparents, James and Binnie Hughes of Molino.
Funeral services will be Wednesday, October 30, 2013, at 2 p.m. at Highland Baptist Church with Rev. James Hughes and Rev. Brian Calhoun officiating.
Burial will follow at the Highland Baptist Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Brandon Donnelly, Jonathan Jones, Chris Smith, Jose Gonzalez, Sammy Chavez and Rob Godwin.
Honorary pallbearers will be Kenneth Hughes Jr. and Jamie Hughes.
In lieu of flowers, make donations to Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC is in charge of all arrangements.