Overnight Shooting Under Investigation
October 24, 2013
An overnight shooting at an Escambia County hotel is under investigation.
Deputies responded to the Red Roof Inn on Plantation Road just after 2 a.m. The victim, a 24-year old Deon Keith Harris, said that while he was smoking on his balcony he was approached by an unidentified male wearing a mask who shot him twice.
Harris was transported to a local hospital by Escambia County EMS. The Gun Crime Unit responded to the scene and the incident is currently under investigation.
Anyone having information concerning this incident is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Photo courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
JV Chiefs Wrap Up Season Tonight Against West Florida
October 24, 2013
The junior varsity Northview Chiefs will wrap up their season tonight.
The JV Chiefs will host the West Florida Jaguars at 6:00 tonight in Bratt. The game was rescheduled from Thursday, October 3.
Friday night, the varsity Chiefs will be on the road in Defuniak Springs to take on Walton High.
Pictured: The junior varsity Northview Chiefs hosted the Escambia Gators on September 26. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Sewage Overflow Reported In Cantonment
October 23, 2013
A sanitary sewer overflow occurred Tuesday in Cantonment, ECUA said Wednesday, at 2350 Highway 297A. The overflow was estimated at 300 gallons.
The two-inch force sewer main was broken by private contractor Roads, Inc. while working on the Highway 297A construction project, ECUA said.
ECUA crews responded to the break and made appropriate repairs. The overflow area was then cleaned and disinfected with a biocide agent to remove any contamination concerns under state protocol. The Escambia County Health Department and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection were notified of the overflow.
This was the second sewage overflow as a result of a contractor error. There was a 12,300 gallons overflow one week ago at the corner of Carmody Hill Road and Highway 297A. Read more…
Turning Colder, Lows About 40 Tonight
October 23, 2013
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Clear, with a low around 40. North wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light in the evening.
- Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 47. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph after midnight.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 70. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 41. North wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 73. North wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
- Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 44. Calm wind.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 75. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the morning.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Monday: Sunny, with a high near 77.
- Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 79.
- Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 56.
- Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78.
Century Chamber Offers Economic Development Position To Cindy Anderson
October 23, 2013
The Century Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted Tuesday afternoon to offer the newly created position of economic development coordinator to Cindy Anderson.
If Anderson accepts the chamber’s formal offer, she is expected to start her new job in early November. The position will be mostly funded by a $40,000 contribution from the Escambia County Commission. The allowance, payable monthly, was earmarked for the retention and expansion of existing industries and recruitment of new businesses to the area.
For a decade, Anderson served as executive director of Team Santa Rosa, a public-private partnership that was the economic development contractor for Santa Rosa County from 1992 until 2012. After leaving TEAM, Anderson was briefly retired before accepting an office manager position at an Atmore real estate firm.
In 2009, Anderson tentatively accepted the position of Escambia County deputy administrator. But she withdrew her name after outcry from commissioners about the $120,000 job being filled during a budget crunch. She then returned to Team Santa Rosa until Santa Rosa County assumed responsibility for economic development services.
Anderson served as county engineer for Escambia County for nine years prior to joining Team Santa Rosa. She holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Oklahoma.
FDLE: A Lot We Don’t Know In Murderer Escape Case
October 23, 2013
The head of the statewide law-enforcement agency said Tuesday several suspects have been “targeted” for helping two murderers escape from prison by using forged documents. But he added, “there is a way to go” in the investigation.
“There is still a lot we do not know and a lot we have yet to prove,” Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey told reporters during a mid-day news conference.
After the news conference, Bailey said he hopes to have new information to share before he goes in front of the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee in two weeks to address the escapes.
Bailey said the state is widening the scope of its investigation into how Charles Walker and Joseph Jenkins, both sentenced to life sentences for murder, were able to get out of the Franklin Correctional Institution.
The FDLE and Attorney General Pam Bondi, in conjunction with Big Bend Crime Stoppers, have each offered rewards of up to $10,000 for information about people who helped create and submit the bogus court paperwork for Jenkins and Walker, both 34 and from the Orlando area.
The paperwork, received in the mail by the Orange County clerk of courts, indicated Walker and Jenkins had their life sentences reduced, earning releases.
Bondi, in a release, said an “illegal operation” aided in the escapes.
Walker and Jenkins, who were caught Saturday at the Coconut Grove Motor Inn in Panama City as they awaited someone from the Atlanta area to transport them out of state, are not cooperating with authorities.
Interviews continue with family members and friends of the inmates, Bailey said.
What the FDLE and others knew about the use of forged documents in attempted escapes is expected to be discussed by the Senate subcommittee.
Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican who is chairman of the Senate subcommittee, announced late Sunday that he will hold a hearing on how the escapes occurred and whether there exist any other, as yet undetected, erroneous inmate releases.
Bailey said the use of such fake documents was discussed this summer during talks between the FDLE and state’s 20 state attorneys.
“At that time it had not rose to the level that obviously this case has risen too,” Bailey noted.
It remains unknown who submitted the paperwork, how Walker and Jenkins were able to travel from Franklin County after their releases and how widespread the use of false documents has been by inmates.
“We are worried about that and we are doing everything to confirm there is not more out there,” Bailey said.
Bailey said authorities know of at least five other attempted escapes using the same method of faked documents, including two that were in process when discovered. One of the prior attempts was by Jenkins. The attempts have occurred at the Franklin Correctional and Gulf Correctional institutions and the Pinellas County Jail.
The first known attempt using similar faked court papers was in October 2009 in a case involving Nydeed Nashaddai. The papers indicated charges of cashing stolen checks against Nashaddai had been dismissed. Nashaddai was out of jail for about 16 hours before the papers were deemed false and he was apprehended. Nashaddai was sentenced to 20 years for escape and housed at the Franklin facility.
Meanwhile, FDLE and the Department of Corrections are also combing through several years of inmate records statewide to determine if others used fraudulent orders to con their way from behind bars.
Bailey said forensic and digital experts are reviewing the forged papers, computer equipment from the Franklin Correctional Institution library and an iPad and mobile phone that were located in the motel room where Jenkins and Walker were picked up.
On Monday, Ninth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr., issued an order that changes procedures for dealing with criminal-court documents to try to prevent any other inmates from making similar escapes.
Perry advised the Orange County and Osceola County clerks of court that “effective immediately” they must verify with a judge or judicial assistant that an order was issued before the clerk processes and transmits the order to the appropriate Department of Corrections facility.
Perry’s directive follows letters sent Friday from the Department of Corrections to chief judges and judges in each circuit that when an inmate’s sentence is modified, the FDLE will require the judge whose name is on the document to attest in a follow-up check to verify the change in sentencing.
Jenkins, serving a life sentence on a first-degree murder conviction from Orange County, received his release from Franklin Correctional Institution on Sept. 27 by using fake documents that indicated his sentence had been reduced.
Walker, serving a life sentence on a second-degree murder conviction also from Orange County, used the same means to get out of the Franklin prison Oct. 8.
The forged documents used by Walker and Jenkins included the seal of the Orange County clerk of court’s office and signatures of numerous officials from the circuit, including Perry and Orange County State Attorney Jeffrey Ashton.
Perry and Ashton both gained national fame through the 2011 Casey Anthony murder trial, which has made their signatures easy to locate online due to the high-profile case.
“Absent the measure of redacting signatures and seals, cooperation between the Court and agencies to diligently follow uniform internal policies will help to ensure verification of an entire court document as legitimate before any action is taken,” Perry wrote in his order.
Perry also ordered the clerks of court in both counties to no longer accept criminal-case orders that have been placed in public drop-off boxes. Also, he ordered clerks and prosecutors to establish procedures to ensure the validity of filings indicating the state is no longer pursuing or prosecuting cases.
by The News Service of Florida
Pensacola Mayor Delivers ‘State Of The City’ Address
October 23, 2013
Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward delivered his “State of the City” address Tuesday night. His remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below.
Good Evening. Thank you all for coming.
Together, we have laid the foundation for meaningful work to come. We have proven to ourselves we can compete and we can win. The next few years will be about how we seize opportunity. Now is the time to use the positive momentum of our successes to push forward – reach upward. Tonight I want to share my ideas for using this rising tide to lift all citizens.
Our challenge is to empower people to create, think, and work. I believe most people are proud to work. This is the reason I see Economic Development as the number #1 priority for securing a greater share of the future for Pensacola.
Work is powerful. A great job brings self-respect, self-reliance, service, and a stronger sense of community. Optimism goes hand in hand with great jobs. You are going to hear a lot about optimism tonight. Together, we can do a great deal to provide the foundation for Economic Development. From the Office of the Mayor, we will drive our resources – our time, our talent, our influence, our relationships, and our expertise toward Economic Development. Supporting job creation and job creators in our targeted industries, ensuring we get back our share of the tax dollars we send to Tallahassee and Washington, promoting workforce education in our targeted industries, pushing transparent streamlined business processes, maximizing existing city assets and exploiting Pensacola International Airport as an Economic Development engine, reducing crime, and taking our shared prosperity West is the underpinning for Economic Development. If we work together and focus our efforts across these dimensions, we will create a city where everyone has an opportunity to be successful. Everyone will have optimism. Each of these components individually is important, but when you bring them together, you create strength – synergy – upward momentum.
An essential element of successful economic growth is a collaborative spirit across our entire region. The 16 counties of Northwest Florida making up our region must work together to compete for business growth and jobs. We have 3 deep water seaports, the I-10 corridor connecting the Southeast, 4 great airport facilities, rail connections to CSX, and a unique concentration of military bases encompassing all branches of Service. We share common interests and common potential for future prosperity.
We’re targeting the same industries – Advanced Manufacturing, Information Technology/Security, Aviation/Aerospace, Maritime Repair, Healthcare, and Financial Services. Rather than focusing on individual cities and counties, we should think regionally. If a business locates in Escambia County and creates jobs for people in the City of Pensacola or vice versa, we all share in that win. You know what I call someone who lives in a neighboring county and comes to eat downtown? I call that person a customer!
We should encourage government and business to partner across the region to promote the development of a capable workforce and solid infrastructure. When we cooperate and leverage our assets as a region, we are stronger.
Navy Federal Credit Union is a great example of everyone working together to create an enormous win. Navy Federal Credit Union, thank you for believing in Pensacola. Thank you for the jobs. Thank you for the optimism you create in our community.
It is critical to our future that we get back our share of tax dollars we send to Tallahassee and Washington. I have worked tirelessly to build relationships in Tallahassee and in Washington, and no one has worked harder to put those dollars to work right here at home. These monies pay for infrastructure and improvements, helping us make major upgrades but keeping us from raising local taxes. The more amenities our town has, the more attractive it will be to existing business, new talent, and more visitors. Not to mention, the more it adds to our own amazing quality of life. Our Port, our Airport, our Hatchery, our Shoreline Project, demolition of the dilapidated Blount School, completion of Admiral Mason Park, beautification of Bayfront Parkway, and the list goes on and on – over $40 million dollars in projects – all from our share of available state and federal dollars. The more we grow, the more tax dollars we send to Tallahassee and Washington. While we want to push our state and nation for sound fiscal policy, like we have in Pensacola, I commit to put our share of that money to work right here at home.
In a world with rapidly changing technology, Pensacola must ensure that we have the talent needed to strengthen the competitiveness of our workforce – attract quality companies and higher paying jobs. This is the reason we want to focus on Workforce Education.
Here is what we know: Our region is targeting specific industries. We know we have excellent probability of attracting Advanced Manufacturing, Information Technology/Security, Aviation/Aerospace, Maritime Maintenance, Healthcare, and Financial Services. We know the majority of high paying jobs in our region will be in these industries. If we have the largest and most highly qualified workforce in these industries, business in these industries will flock to us. Business follows talent.
Our Chamber is doing great work. They have commissioned a Gap Analysis for our community from the Haas Center. This is a terrific idea. This valuable data will tell us where we are in terms of our current workforce’s skills. It will define the skills our workforce needs to be competitive in our targeted industries and provide a blueprint for the skills needed to bridge the gap. We can focus our education and training toward jobs we want.
Putting science on this problem lets us target the right education and training to help people get jobs – putting more people to work – giving more people optimism.
We do not want to diminish the value of a four year college degree, but it is not the only path to a successful career. Our Chamber, Workforce Escarosa, our Universities, and George Stone Technical Center all stand ready to help us offer education and training with good jobs waiting at the finish line. Imagine knowing up front, if you study machining or nursing, there will be a high paying job waiting for you. If you get a degree in Computer Science, there will be employers competing to hire you. Optimism.
Matching education and training with our targeted industries just makes good sense. There are funds from BP and state dollars to help pay for Workforce Education. I pledge to push Workforce Education forward by collaborating with businesses, The Chamber, Community- County and State agencies- and Educational Facilities to implement training that puts our citizens to work. I pledge to support Workforce Education and to work diligently to recruit employers and jobs in these targeted industries.
Our government’s business processes must be transparent and ensure everyone has an opportunity to compete on a fair and level playing field. My job is creating prosperity for everyone. We can’t grow and bring new opportunities to our community if we remain a closed system. We want our existing businesses to thrive and we want to bring new business and new jobs to Pensacola. The two are not mutually exclusive.
Healthy competition is a positive thing. It brings forth risk takers and innovators. We have a new generation of entrepreneurs – young people who have lived across the nation and are bringing their ideas home – home to create- building a new creative class of young people who just want the door thrown open to them to give them a chance. We want to encourage these entrepreneurs. When people choose our community, they bring their talent and resources with them. They become a part of the fabric of our community. They become local. I can think of a couple that adopted our community. They have become one of the greatest investors and philanthropists this community has ever known. I want to acknowledge these fine people tonight. Thank you, Quint and Rishy Studer. Thank you for choosing to make Pensacola your home.
Our government’s business processes must present a level playing field and must be blind to favoritism, sentiment, and status. We must protect and honor the level playing field our processes establish. There is optimism in fairness.
The City of Pensacola has incredible assets. Pensacola International Airport is the City’s greatest Economic Development engine. Site Selection Certification is in process.
This qualifies us for consideration by decision makers in our targeted industries. The Airport Commerce Park is ramping up. This expansion allows for Aerospace industries to relocate, expand or establish their operations into our airport. This will also attract MRO’s, companies performing maintenance, repair, and overhaul of aircrafts emphasizing businesses in our targeted industries with high paying jobs. This requires operating our airport as a well-honed business. We have delved into airport operations, sharpened our pencils, and lowered expenses. We have competitively bid out expiring service contracts saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. We are now turning our focus to increasing non- airline revenues. Remember, every dollar we make at the airport is a dollar less Pensacola International Airport has to charge airlines, who then charge the customer. There is a dollar for dollar relationship. This is of enormous importance as we compete for more air routes into the City and for international carriers. We have room to grow with our airport. We are thrilled to have Southwest Airlines’ First Inaugural Flight scheduled for November 3rd this year. Southwest’s presence expands Pensacola International Airport’s routes through Houston and Nashville, making Pensacola more accessible to business and tourists across the nation. Optimism.
The City has been able to partner with Escambia County as well as an independent utility authority to transfer over 100 vehicles from diesel to compressed natural gas, a fuel that is cheaper, cleaner, and most importantly, produced right here in America. Through this partnership, we’ve built two CNG fueling stations – with a third that will be completed this December. We’ll eventually open up to corporate fleets and private vehicles. This gives us a competitive edge in recruiting business and bringing more jobs.
We must take our shared prosperity West. The West Side of our City should have just as many beautification projects as the other parts of our City. In the next two months, the City will open two new state of the art community centers, Woodland Heights and Legion Field. In addition to this investment, we will awaken The Westside Redevelopment Plan. More landscaping, sidewalks, street lights, and traffic calmers will be added to the West Side. Retail and amenities follow rooftops. Our rooftops and surroundings on the West Side have been too long neglected. I will work with businesses, community agencies, and developers to encourage development of affordable, quality housing on vacant lots as well as to revitalize existing homes. I need the voice and wisdom of the whole community. Inclusion of members from the West Side on our City Boards is so important. These Boards influence policy and give me invaluable advice. Our City will be offering workshops and working with local media to get the word out when City Board positions become available. The surest way upward is for all of us to grow together.
You heard me talk about how to bring economic optimism to all our citizens. But optimism is bigger than just jobs. Optimism can only happen when people have safe neighborhoods and peace of mind that security brings. Everyone has the right to feel safe at home. We have worked with Chief Simmons on solutions to address crime. Together, and through enforcement partnerships, we have made some headway. Our police department has partnered with local, state, and federal agencies on an illegal gun task force designed to improve our investigative capabilities. Over 175 arrests have been made and over 350 illegal guns have been recovered. Additionally, the use of data based intelligence has enabled our officers to target areas and individuals responsible for violent crimes. Our efforts have resulted in a 14% reduction in non-violent crime and a 12% reduction in violent crime this year compared to 2012. We have also seen a 40% reduction in residential burglaries during this same time frame. We will not allow crime to keep our community hostage. This is not an insurmountable problem. It can be overcome. We need to be cautious about negativity. Negativity becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We don’t want to sweep the crime conversation under the carpet, but our community needs to hear more about the successful people living and working on our West Side.
The City will be instituting a round table to address violence. We will engage in open and frank dialogue and look for ideas and strategies that can create a clear direction for the future. We must have everyone at the table – city government, county government, law enforcement, the school district, business leaders, neighborhood associations, ministers, and residents. There is no silver bullet, but I am willing to start this difficult conversation. One thing is sure – our community is going to have to take ownership of our safety – we are going to have to do this together.
Across this country, corporate America, our Military, and Manufacturing are challenged to deliver key services with fewer resources and fewer people. Government has had to do the same. Since my time in office, our City budget has been reduced by nearly $30,000,000. My first year in office, we made a lot of changes to streamline the city government and run it more like a business. We consolidated departments, cut the number of high paid department heads, and reduced the number of City employees. I passed those savings on to citizens by cutting the property tax millage rate by 5½ percent. We also implemented an Employee Award of Excellence Program, a new incentive program to encourage employees to be creative and to find new efficiencies and cost savings.
When I took office, Pensacola was facing a lot of challenges. Pension costs had gotten way out of control. What we owed in future pension payments had grown to more than a hundred million dollars and the City was spending more on pensions each year than it collected in ad valorem taxes. We hear stories every day about cities going bankrupt and missing pension payments because their pension payments were too high. Last year, we were able to accomplish landmark pension reform through new deals with two of the City’s employee unions. These deals will save the City nearly 15 million dollars in future pension costs and have put the City on track to get out of the pension business altogether.
My time in office has been an incredible learning experience. I’ve grown as a leader and a public servant. Tonight, I redouble my commitment to you. I will relentlessly pursue Economic Development by supporting job creation and job creators in our targeted industries, ensuring we get back our share of the tax dollars we send to Tallahassee and Washington, promoting Workforce Education in our targeted industries, pushing transparent streamlined business processes, maximizing existing city assets and exploiting Pensacola International Airport as an Economic Development engine, reducing crime, and taking our shared prosperity West.
We will move forward with respect for each other and a shared vision of prosperity and safety for all our citizens. Optimism will take us upward. Goodnight and God bless Pensacola.
Deputies: Drunken Century Man Arrested For Battery On Girlfriend, Offers Obama Excuse
October 23, 2013
A drunken disturbance in the middle of the street landed a Century man in jail, partially, he said, because President Obama believes law enforcement listens more to women.
John Henry Shiffner, 18, was charged with aggravated battery knowing the victim was pregnant and disorderly public intoxication.
Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a public disturbance in the intersection of Mayo and Front streets in Century late Saturday night. After deputies arrived, they reported Shiffner pacing back and forth in an agitated manner and cursing loudly. Deputies determined the disturbance was only verbal and sent Shiffner back to his home in the 7500 block of Mayo Street, accompanied by his 30-year old girlfriend.
After the couple rounded the corner, deputies could hear a loud disturbance. They responded, at which time Shiffner was detained in the back of a patrol car. Deputies reported the disturbance was loud enough that neighbors were gathering on their porches to watch.
Shiffner’s girlfriend, who is two and a half months pregnant with his child, said he had pushed her, causing her to land on her back on the ground. She refused medical treatment.
When deputies tried to question Shiffner in the back of their patrol vehicle, he began yelling at his girlfriend. When deputies explained her claim that he had pushed her, “he stated he did not touch her and then began rambling on about how Obama is right,” deputies reported.
“Obama said cops always listen to women,” Shiffner said, according to his arrest report.
Deputies were not able to determine where the 18-year old had obtained alcohol. His mother, according to the report, denied purchasing alcohol for him.
More Than 1.5 Million Would Be Eligible For Medical Marijuana In Florida
October 23, 2013
Nearly half a million Floridians could be getting a legitimate high if voters approve a constitutional amendment making medical marijuana legal.
In the first of three estimating conferences dealing with the financial impact of the medical marijuana amendment, state economists on Monday learned that more than 1.6 million Floridians would be eligible for the treatment, according to state health officials. But just a fraction of those — between 175,000 and 450,000 — would probably pursue the legal pot to cope with a variety of diseases, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.
Department of Health officials estimated it would cost more than $900,000 to regulate in the first year, if voters sign off on the ballot measure in November 2014. Those costs would go down after the start-up year, and would be offset by fees charged to medical marijuana treatment centers. Economists haven’t figured out yet how much money, if any, the state could garner if it taxes the medical marijuana, which would have to be grown or produced by the treatment centers. The economists face a variety of unknowns as they grapple with the issue, including whether the pot would be an over-the-counter type drug which would be tax exempt.
Prominent Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan is chairman of the organization backing the proposed amendment. People United for Medical Marijuana is far from reaching the 683,149 signatures needed to get the amendment on the ballot, but the group has obtained more than 100,000 signatures, enough to prompt the estimating conferences. The proposal would allow doctors to certify that their patients meet the criteria for medical marijuana treatment.
Only treatment centers authorized by the state could distribute the drug. The Department of Health would have to create a registry of patients and authorized care-givers and issue cards to the
by The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
District Volleyball: Freeport Tops Northview; Niceville Over Tate
October 23, 2013
The Northview High School Lady Chiefs fell to the Freeport Bulldogs in display play Tuesday night.
Northview lost to Freeport in four, 25-21, 13-25, 19-25, 12-25.
For a Northview-Freeport photo gallery click here.
Also Tuesday night, Niceville knocked the Tate Lady Aggies out of the District 1-7A semifinals. Niceville beat tate in three straight, 25-21, 25-17, 25-9.
For the Aggies — Carissa Carroll 3 digs; Lexi Windham 3 digs, kill; Jordan White 4 digs, 7 kills; Hope Tourney 2 digs; Lauren Merts 3 digs, 18 assists; Julie McKinley 5 digs, 3 kills; Regine Simmons 4 kills, 3 blocks; Kayli Kirklin 2 kills, block; Sydney Roberson 2 blocks.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.