Satanic Display Barred From State Capitol; ‘Flying Spaghetti Monster’ OK
December 19, 2013
The state Department of Management Services on Wednesday denied an attempt by “Satanists” to put up a display in the Florida Capitol, which currently showcases a Nativity scene, a Festivus pole made of beer cans, posters from atheists, and a crudely-made Flying Spaghetti Monster.
“The department’s position is that your proposed display is grossly offensive during the holiday season,” DMS Administrative Assistant Sherrie K. Routt emailed a group calling itself the Satanic Temple.
Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the temple, said in an email the group was “surprised and dismayed” by the rejection.
However, before possibly challenging the decision, the temple is seeking clarification from DMS as it had initially been advised the display had been approved and that “written confirmation is forthcoming,” Greaves said. The group initially requested putting up a 5-foot-by-5-foot poster that featured “religious symbols and images” on Dec. 9.
In the application, the group explained that the public service intended was to “contribute to the plurality of the community by representing the spirit of good will from other faiths.” The group would later send DMS a photo of the proposed display that bannered the phrase “Happy holidays from the Satanic Temple” atop a diorama of an angel falling into hell. A sign on one side of the display referenced Luke 10:18 including the line, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
Since the Florida Prayer Network’s Christian Nativity scene was set up in the first floor of the Capitol on Dec. 3, DMS has approved requests for space in the rotunda for a 6-foot-tall “Festivus” pole made of Pabst Blue Ribbon cans by South Florida political blogger Chaz Stevens and seasonal signs from the Tallahassee Atheists, The American Atheists Florida Regional Directors and the Madison, Wis.-based Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Also, on Tuesday, the department approved a display that included an office chair and shredded paper depicting spaghetti for the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Last January, the “Satanists” drew about six of the self-professed devil worshipers to the steps of the Old Capitol for what they said was an event to praise Gov. Rick Scott — but that was reported to be part of an effort to make a fake documentary.
by The News Service of Florida
Pictured top: The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has joined a growing number of groups putting up irreverent displays in the first floor of the Florida Capitol since a Nativity scene (pictured page bottom) was placed their by a Christian group. A display proposed by the Satanic Temple that was rejected by the Department of Management Service for the Florida Capitol. Photos by Jim Turner for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview’s Lily Townson Named An American Volleyball Coaches Player of the Year
December 19, 2013
Northview High School’s Lily Townson has been named an American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year.
Since 2007, the AVCA has selected a regional player of the year. This year, there were over 14,000 girls that played high school volleyball in Florida from 645 schools. Florida’s volleyball coaches voted, based upon season stats, for a player of the year.
Townson’s award as the Region 2, District 3 Class 1A Player of the Year marked the first AVCA award for a Northview Lady Chief.
Pictured top: Northview volleyball coach Barbara Luker (left) presents an American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year award to Lily Townson. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge..
Paving Work Continues On Dirt Portion Of Bratt Road
December 19, 2013
Work is continuing to pave a dirt portion of Bratt Road.
The project includes the dirt road paving and drainage improvements on Bratt Road from Pine Barren Road east about 1.25 miles to the existing paved roadway. The county road department has provided pipe installation and grading, while contractor Roads Inc. is performing the paving.
The project does not include the section of Bratt Road from Pine Barren Road to the Travis Nelson Park and West Highway 4.
Pictured: A partially paved portion of Bratt Road near Vaughn Road as seen Wednesday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Escambia Man Convicted Of Murder
December 19, 2013
An Escambia County man was found guilty Wednesday of the the fatal shooting of a teen last year.
Scott Rozear Mason, 45, was convicted second degree murder for the fatal shooting of his guest Matthew Nestle, 18, during an argument at a home on West Gadsden Street during December 2012. Mason first claimed the shooting was in self defense and he was trying to get the gun away from Nestle when it fired.
Mason faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced next month.
Man Gets 15 Years For Drug Trafficking
December 19, 2013
An Escambia judge has sentenced an Escambia County man to prison for drug trafficking.
Timothy Allen Gilley was sentenced by Judge Gary Bergosh to a minimum mandatory 15 years in state prison for trafficking in hydrocodone. He was previously convicted by an Escambia County jury.
On August 18, 2011, Gilley met a confidential informant working with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and sold 22 hydrocodone pills to the informant, according to prosecutors.
Burglar Gets 10 Years In Prison
December 19, 2013
An Escambia County burglar will spend the next 10 years in prison.
Overton Dixon was sentenced as a habitual felony offender by Judge Scott Duncan for multiple burglaries. On November 15, 2013, Dixon was set for trial for burglarizing Lincoln Park Elementary when he entered a plea of no contest straight up.
On October 11, 2012, Lincoln Park Elementary was broken into and a microwave was taken. Blood was located on the floor at the point of entry. DNA from the blood matched that of Dixon, according to prosecutors.
Dixon was also sentenced for two other burglaries occurring on November 25 and 27, 2012 and was sentenced to 10 years state prison concurrent.
Girls Weightlifting: Northview Over Washington, Jay
December 19, 2013
The Northview Girls Weightlifting team defeated Washington and Jay high schools in a recent meet held at Northview.
Attending Northview, Washington and Jay
Placement: 1st Northview 60 Points, 2nd Washington 27 points, & Jay 24 points
Northview’s Weight class point winners with combined scores:
101
1st – Jadlyn Agerton (NHS)-175
2nd – Lindsey Gafford (NHS)-145
3rd –Megan Mulford (JHS)-135
4th –Carly Livingston (WHS)-120
110
1st – Tiffani Pritchett (NHS)-155
2nd – Mariah Albritton (NHS)-155
3rd –Abbie Huff (WHS)-145
4th –Kambri Davis (WHS)-140
119
1st –Haylee Watson (JHS)-185
2nd-Kaylie Hudson (NHS)-160
3rd –Mikyla Cunningham (WHS)-155
4th -Moriah McGahan (NHS)-150
129
1st- Jordan Defranco (WHS)-245
2nd-Shelby Edwards (JHS)-190
3rd – Courtney Weaver (NHS)-180
4th –Jamia Newton (NHS)-145
139
1st- Samantha Cerqueira (WHS)-215
2nd-Brittanie McLemore (NHS)-200
3rd –Takeya Williams (NHS)-190
4th –Raquel Diaz (WHS)-180
154
1st- Kelsie Hudson (NHS)-205
2nd- Madalyn Coon (NHS)-200
3rd –Autumn Ates (JHS)-190
4th –Mikayla Nettles (WHS)-175
169
1st – Olivia Neal (NHS)-235
2nd- Morgan Packer (NHS)-195
3rd –Rachael Barnes (WHS)-190
4th – Laketra Bland (WHS)-185
183
1st –Samantha (JHS)-210
2nd-Haylee Weaver (NHS)-195
3rd –Kim (JHS) -190
4th –Addie Lee (NHS)-180
199
1st – Sydney Lowery (JHS)-185
2nd – Brianna Weaden (NHS)-180
3rd –A’Kevia Carpenter (WHS)-170
Unlimited
1st – Breanna Campbell (NHS)-290
2nd – Tameika Dennis (WHS)-265
3rd –Madison McGhee (NHS)-200
4th – Tristan Nichols (WHS)-180
Pictured: Northview Girls’ Weightlifting takes on Washington and Jay high schools. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
ST Aerospace Could Bring 300 Jobs To Escambia County
December 18, 2013
Tuesday night, Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward announced that he has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ST Aerospace, Mobile, Inc. that could bring up to 300 jobs. The non-binding MOU is the culmination of 18 months of joint efforts to build the aerospace industry in Pensacola.
“We have aggressively been courting this company and the aerospace industry. It has been a pleasure to work with Joseph Ng and his team. We look forward to the next steps in lease negotiations,” Hayward said in an after-hours press release.
ST Aerospace’s primary business activity is the maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft. The company employs 1500 people at Brookley Field in Mobile. Plans include locating a satellite operation inside Pensacola International Airport Commerce Park that would bring a minimum of 300 new jobs to Pensacola.
The deal has been in the negotiation stage for nearly two years under the code name “Project Stallion”. Originally, the project would rely on about $10 million in incentives from Escambia County, but so far the county commission hasn’t approved the deal. It was not known Tuesday night if the county’s incentive money was included in the mayor’s announced memorandum of understanding.
“I support economic growth and job creation in Escambia County. I have not been party to the City’s negotiations nor am I familiar with the details of the MOU. I look forward to working with the Mayor and the Chamber as this project evolves. And to discussing this issue with my colleagues on the Commission when we meet in January,” Escambia County Commission Chairman Lumon May said Tuesday night.
Senate: Make Florida “Scorched Earth” For Violent Sex Offenders
December 18, 2013
Florida senators Tuesday filed a package of bills that Senate President Don Gaetz said would make the state “scorched earth” for sexually violent predators and become a centerpiece of the 2014 legislative session. One of the bills was filed by Sen. Greg Evers, who represents the local area.
His language echoed lawmakers’ outrage after the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported in August that nearly 600 sexual predators had been released only to be convicted of new sex offenses — including more than 460 child molestations, 121 rapes and 14 murders.
“Over the last several months, we watched in disbelief and disgust as news accounts detailed stories of sexually violent predators slipping through the cracks of our criminal justice and civil commitment system and committing unthinkable repeat offenses against Florida’s most vulnerable children,” Gaetz, R-Niceville, wrote to senators as the four bills were filed.
The bills would “widen the net” to apprehend, punish and monitor sexually violent predators, in the words of Sen. Denise Grimsley, one of the Senate committee leaders from both parties sponsoring the measures.
“It really is a bipartisan effort,” said Duval County Sheriff John Rutherford, whose jurisdiction was rocked in June by the high-profile murder of eight-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle.
And by all accounts, the Senate and House are speeding toward a comprehensive effort in both chambers.
“If we have the strongest laws in place in the country to identify the worst of the worst, I think we can reduce the number of these offenses,” said House Criminal Justice Chairman Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican who is the son of the Senate president. “And most importantly, we won’t have to go and say to the parents of a child victim that we had the person in our custody, but we let them go and they harmed again.”
The measures follow a series of legislative hearings after the Sun Sentinel reported that the commitment of sexually violent predators under the state’s Jimmy Ryce Act had slowed to a crawl.
By the terms of the Jimmy Ryce Act — named for a 9-year-old Miami-Dade County boy who was raped and murdered in 1995 — the Department of Children and Families evaluates sex offenders before their releases from prison. Those considered most likely to attack again aren’t necessarily released after completing their prison sentences, but may be screened, evaluated and confined at the Florida Civil Commitment Center in Arcadia until they aren’t considered dangers to the community.
Lawmakers heard from an array of experts that those precautions weren’t enough.
“We have said for many years that leopards don’t change their spots and tigers don’t change their stripes,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, president of the Florida Sheriffs Association. “These sexual predators — these deviants — will continue to offend and target our children whenever they’re not incarcerated.”
For instance, Rutherford told lawmakers his officers had spoken with Donald Smith — now charged with kidnapping, raping and strangling Perrywinkle — on the very day of her murder. Smith was released from jail as a sex offender 21 days before Perrywinkle’s death.
One of the bills, by a Jacksonville-area lawmaker, would close several of the loopholes in that case.
SB 526 by Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican and chairman of the Senate Civil and Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee, would increase the length of sentences for certain adult-on-minor sexual offenses formerly classified as lewd and lascivious. It would ban gain-time for people who commit certain sexual offenses and require courts to order community supervision after release from prison for those convicted of certain offenses.
Rutherford pointed to another portion of Bradley’s bill, which deals with the post-release supervision of sexual predators in DCF custody as part of the civil commitment process. Currently, those offenders participate in civil commitment and community supervision simultaneously. But the bill would require them to be under community supervision after their release from civil commitment.
“When they get out under supervision, that actually allows us more oversight of this individual’s life when they first get out because they’re still under probation at that time,” Rutherford said. “Now, they may do all of their probation time under civil commitment where they’re not in the community being tempted. And when they get out, their community supervision has already expired, and so there’s no community oversight during the most vulnerable time for them to re-offend, which is when they first get out.”
The other measures include:
— SB 528 by Sen. Greg Evers, a Baker Republican and chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. It would require registered sexual predators to report their vehicle information, Internet identifiers, palm prints, passports, professional licenses, immigration status and volunteer work at higher-education institutions.
Rutherford pointed out that Smith didn’t own a vehicle, but had access to his mother’s van, “which he used in the commission of that heinous crime,” but Evers’ bill would close that loophole as well.
— SB 522 by Grimsley, a Sebring Republican and chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee. It would require sheriffs to refer prisoners serving sentences in county jails for civil commitment if they are registered sexual offenders or predators and have committed sexually violent offenses. It also would add a state attorney, law enforcement officer and victim’s advocate as advisory members to the multidisciplinary team that evaluates offenders considered for civil confinement.
“Her bill is going to allow us to be part of that decision-making process,” Rutherford said.
— SB 524 by Sen. Eleanor Sobel, a Hollywood Democrat and chairwoman of the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee. It would require that offenders be defined as sexually violent predators and be subject to civil confinement after a finding by two or more members of a multidisciplinary team. It would require higher-education institutions to tell students about a sexual predator’s presence on campus.
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
At Least Two Winners In $636 Million Lottery Drawing
December 18, 2013
At least two winning tickets were sold in California and Georgia for Tuesday night’s Mega Millions jackpot drawing worth an estimated $636 million, the second-largest lottery prize in U.S. history.
In Florida, there were two tickets sold with five of five numbers worth $1 million each. Other winning amounts in Florida are in the table below.
The winning numbers were: 8, 14, 17, 20, 39; Mega Ball: 7. The cash option was estimated at $341 million before taxes. The jackpot had rolled over since it was last hit for $190 million in Maryland back on October 1.
The next Mega Millions drawing Friday night is worth $15 million.
