T.T. Wentworth Museum Closed Until November
August 7, 2013
T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum in downtown Pensacola will be temporarily closed until November while preparations are made for the installation of a new 3,000-square-foot exhibit titled “Pensacola: City of Five Flags.”
The new exhibit will transform both the space and the technology currently used to recount Pensacola’s rich history, spanning its early settlement and possession by the Spanish, through its times under the flags of the French, British, Confederate States and the United States. It will be housed on the ground floor of the museum and replace an older exhibit of the same name.
“Come November, visitors will be able to explore the impressive history of Pensacola as the first large-scale European settlement attempt in the continental United States,” said Robert Overton Jr., COO of West Florida Historic Preservation Inc. “We’ll be telling this fascinating story from the standpoint of the common citizens who lived in Pensacola at various times throughout our history, using the latest visual technology, graphics, artifacts and themed exhibit areas.”
West Florida Historic Preservation Inc. is dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting the history of Northwest Florida. Overton is responsible for all aspects of daily museum operations and public programming, which serves an estimated 15,000 school children and 50,000 museum visitors each year. He noted that the demolition process to make way for the new Five Flags exhibit has been completed, with construction to begin this week.
Scott, Cabinet Approve Search For Bodies At Panhandle Reform School
August 7, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet on Tuesday authorized a year-long dig for human remains at a closed Panhandle reform school, saying the state cannot ignore abuse that went on for decades.
Scott and Cabinet members — Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam — approved a land-use agreement with the Department of Environmental Protection that allows University of South Florida researchers to search for reportedly unaccounted-for bodies of boys who died between 1900 and 1952 at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.
“We’re not exactly sure what happened there, but we know it wasn’t good,” Bondi said.
“We have to look at our history,” she added. “We have to go back, we know there are unmarked graves currently on that property that deserve a proper burial. It’s the right thing to do.”
Putnam said that the search for bodies is not an indictment of the Marianna or Jackson County communities, but against a facility “that was ignored for too long by state.”
“There is no shame in searching for the truth,” Putnam added. “Families who want closure, who want answers, deserve those things.”
A temporary restraining order, issued in October 2012 by Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper, has delayed the state’s intention to sell the Dozier property.
The efforts of USF researchers have faced opposition from some longtime Jackson County residents who expressed concerns about what effect exhuming bodies from lands around the one-time “high risk” reform school will have on the local economy and the image of the community.
Sid Riley, publisher of the Jackson County Times, implored Scott on Aug. 1 to deny USF’s request “to dig up those Christian buried grave sites at Dozier.”
Riley expressed concern about how removing of bodies will impact the local economy and that survivors will try to use what may be found to seek “reparations” from the state.
“The bad publicity which will ensue during the year or more of time which will be involved will seriously hamper our local tourism development programs, as well as economic development efforts for our county,” Riley wrote. “Please do not allow them to engage in this greed motivated waste of money.”
Cooper’s order allows the research work to proceed until the body of Thomas Varnadoe is exhumed.
Varnadoe died a month after arriving at the school in the 1930s. He was 13. A family member from central Florida has sought to move the remains to a family graveyard.
The researchers have been investigating the Panhandle school, which at one time encompassed 1,400 acres, to determine whether boys at the reform school were possibly killed and buried on school grounds.
Robert Strayley, 66, who was sent to the school in 1963 after running away from his home in Tampa several times, recalled that floggings were still being administered to boys at the school throughout his 10-month stay.
“This is a historic moment for Florida because they reached into a past for Florida that was so dark that nobody wants to talk about it,” said Strayley, who attended the Cabinet meeting with others who had been sent to the school and are known as the “the White House Boys” and “Dozier Boys.”
“Even after they banned flogging in 1922, by Gov. (Cary) Hardee, as being too cruel punishment for even the most hardened criminal, it went on at this boy’s school,” Strayley said.
Researchers using ground-penetrating radar have identified potential graves on what is considered the “colored” cemetery within the site and believe there should also be a “white” cemetery on the grounds.
The Legislature put $190,000 into the state budget to fund the research, determine the causes of death, identify remains, locate potential family members and cover the costs for any re-internment.
However, the excavation work has been on hold as researchers have been unable to get needed approval to dig.
On July 15, Secretary of State Ken Detzner denied a permit sought by the USF researchers to dig at the Panhandle site.
Detzner said his department’s Bureau of Archaeological Research didn’t have the authority to approve the excavation, noting that the department is “restricted to the recovery of objects of historical or archaeological value,” but “not human remains.”
In May, Jackson County Circuit Judge William L. Wright denied a request by Bondi’s office that also could have cleared the way for exhuming remains.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured top: The Dozier School for Boys in Marianna as seen in the 1990’s. Courtesy photo, Florida Archives.
B’ham Over Pensacola; Wahoos Win Series 3-2
August 7, 2013
Tyler Saladino jumped all over an 0-1 fastball from Drew Hayes leading off the top of the 10 thinning, blasting his fifth homer of the season to give the Birmingham Barons a 7-6 walk-off win over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Tuesday night at Regions Field.
Saladino’s blast capped a wild back-and-forth affair that saw both teams take advantage of opportunities, but also strand a combined 24 runners. Pensacola was able to score in each of its first two innings against Southern League wins leader Scott Snodgress, getting a run in the first on a Donald Lutz RBI single and a run in the second on a Ray Chang RBI base knock to make it 2-0.
Birmingham came back with two in the last of the second off of Pensacola starter Carlos Contreras, scoring the tying run on a strikeout wild pitch with two outs. Contreras allowed just the two runs on three hits in five innings of work for the Wahoos.
The score remained tied until the fifth when Pensacola scored an unearned run on a sacrifice fly from Devin Lohman to make it 3-2 in favor of the Wahoos. Snodgress left in line for the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings, but he was taken off the hook thanks to a four-run bottom of the sixth inning for Birmingham against Wahoo reliever Shaun Ellis.
Down 6-3 headed to the seventh, Pensacola responded with three more unearned runs, all coming with two outs. With the bases loaded, Yorman Rodriguez reached on an RBI infield single and was followed by a Lutz two-run single, knotting the game at six. Lutz had a huge night, going 3-for-5 at the dish with three runs batted in. Rodriguez chipped in three hits and an RBI as well.
The Wahoos did leave the bases loaded, however, in the seventh, and went on to strand 12 runners on the night, including nine in their final four at-bats.
Birmingham had a chance to win it in the ninth, loading the bases against Parker Frazier, but Keenyn Walker struck out to send the game to extras. Dan Remenowsky (1-2) picked up the win for the Barons by working around a leadoff single in the 10th inning. Hayes (3-3) took the loss, giving up the walk-off homer to Saladino, the first batter he faced.
Pensacola now returns home for a crucial five-game series with the first-place Jacksonville Suns starting on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. The Blue Wahoos currently sit five games behind the Suns in the South Division standings after both teams lost on Tuesday. Jon Moscot (0-0, 21.00) gets the call for Pensacola while Jacksonville will counter with Anthony DeSclafani (3-2, 4.36).
story by Kevin Burke
Fire Damages Bedroom At Molino Home
August 6, 2013
Damage from a late Tuesday morning Molino house fire was contained mostly to the bedroom of the home.
When the first firefighters arrived at the home in the 1200 block of Barth Road, they found the fire had been mostly extinguished, a mattress that was still smoldering and smoke inside the residence.
Two adults and two juveniles were at home at the time of the fire. One occupant was evaluated for breathing difficulties following the blaze by Escambia County EMS but was not transported to the hospital.
The Florida State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the 11:45 a.m. fire.
The Molino, McDavid, Century and Cantonment stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the fire.
Two Pit Bulls Shot By Deputy During Aggravated Assault Investigation
August 6, 2013
Two pit bills were shot by an Escambia County deputy in self defense Sunday during an aggravated assault with a firearm investigation, according to a press release issued Tuesday morning by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Meanwhile, the couple that lives in the home where the shooting occurred is telling a different story.
Deputies had reason to believe that a suspect in the aggravated assault was at a home on Flynn Drive in West Pensacola, according to a press release. One suspect had already been arrested, and while looking for the second suspect around the perimeter of the home, deputies found one wide-open window with an upside down bucket under it. A footprint on the bucket led deputies to believe that someone might have made unlawful entry into the home.
“Repeated attempts were made to get someone to open the door, with no success. Deputies entered the house through the open window in effort to locate the suspect and to assure the safety of the occupants,” according to the ECSO statement.
Inside the home, deputies found two pit bull dogs that did not appear aggressive at first.
“Upon encountering the people in the house, the dogs became aggressive. One dog bit at one of the deputies’ leg. He pushed the dog away, but it came at him again so he shot the dog in self-defense, at which time, the second dog began to run towards him. For his personal safety, he shot the second dog,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
The couple that lives in the home has filed a complaint against the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Cristina Moses and Travis Nicholas said they were sleeping when deputies entered the window and told them to come out with their hands up and lie on the ground. Moses said deputies fire at least three times at the dogs, prompting her to jump up and try to stop them. She said she was thrown to the ground as a deputy continued to fire his weapon inside her home.
No one in the home was arrested.
The dogs were transported to a local veterinary hospital by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. One animal was euthanized. The second dog was treated and returned to its owner.
The deputies were placed on administrative leave pending a thorough review of the incident, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The investigation into the aggravated assault with a firearm is ongoing and victims and witnesses were still being interviewed.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the incident occurred Sunday. A press release on the incident was issued Tuesday morning by the Sheriff’s Office.
Escambia, AL, Shooting Under Investigation
August 6, 2013
Authorities in Escambia County, Alabama, are on the hunt for the person or persons involved in an early Monday morning shooting that left one man with minor wounds.
The male was transported to Atmore Community Hospital after being wounded with a small-caliber handgun on Ewing Farm Road northwest of Atmore. The man told deputies he thought someone followed him away from the PCI Travel Plaza on Jack Springs Road. The driver of the unknown vehicle began flashing their lights at the victim on Ewing Farm Road, at which time the victim stopped and shots were fired. The victim described the vehicle that followed him as a small gray truck.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office at (251) 368-4779 or (251) 867-0304.
Century Water Rates Increase; Audits To Look At System
August 6, 2013
Water rates inched upwards at the first of the month for Century residents, and Monday night, the town council voted for a few studies to make sure the system is in good financial shape.
In January, the council voted to raise water rates by 10 percent, split into a 5 percent increase on February 1 and an additional 5 percent increase on August 1.
As of August 1, the current water rate in Century is $9.90 including the first 1,500 gallons and $2.50 for each additional 1,000 gallons. Sewer rates remained the same at $13 for the first 6,000 gallons of water used plus $3.95 per additional 1,000 gallons with no limit.
The previous rate was covering the operation of the system plus an additional $68,464. Income for wastewater currently exceeds the cost of the service by $228,087 annually.
The town council voted unanimously for free audits from the Florida Rural Water Association that make sure the system is financially strong and able to fund capital costs, repairs, replacements and contingencies from a reserve fund. The audits will also look the amount of groundwater and stormwater entering the sewage system and look at the water loss rate. The loss rate currently stands at 12 percent or about $81,000 a year, down from a previous rate of 19 percent.
Pictured: The Century Town Council met Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
2013 ECAT Ridership Up
August 6, 2013
ECAT announced Monday that ridership numbers for the first half of 2013 are up 3.5 percent over the same period in 2012. From January to June of 2013, ECAT has provided 739,646 rides, an increase of nearly 25,000 when compared to the previous year.
“For us, this year-to-date snapshot only confirms that the community is continuing to drive the demand for public transportation services here locally,” said Herold Humphreys, general manager of ECAT. “These are exciting times, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to provide dependable service to a growing number of riders each and every month.”
Contributing to the increase was the June 20 “Dump the Pump” ridership promotion. ECAT, along with more than 100 other transit systems and agencies nationwide, encouraged everyone to try transit for a day. ECAT reported 4,692 rides on this single day – an increase of 10.8 percent when compared to the event in 2012.
“These ridership increases come at a time when we’re utilizing more tools than ever before to communicate with current and potential riders,” said Vikki Garret, staff to the Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization and a West Florida Regional Planning Council planner. “Specifically, social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are allowing us to reach untapped markets and provide enhanced customer service across the board.”
Fallen Marine’s 21st Birthday Quietly Marked
August 6, 2013
LCpl. Travis M. Nelson would have celebrated his 21st birthday Monday. A wreath was quietly placed on the monument in the park that bears his name in Bratt on Monday to mark the occasion.
The wreath was in a fishing theme; friends and family said fishing was Nelson’s favorite pastime. It contained a fish sign with his name, a “Happy 21st Birthday” sign, and a small fishing rod, lures and the number “21″ painted in a fishing theme.
Nelson was just 19 when he was shot and killed in August 2011 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. The Bratt Community Park on West Highway 4 was renamed the “LCpl Travis M. Nelson Memorial Park” in his honor.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Florida Forest Service Firefighters Deployed To Battle Oregon Wildfires
August 6, 2013
Three local Blackwater District Florida Forest Service members are among about two dozen being deployed to battle blazes in Oregon this week.
“The Florida Forest Service has some of the best and most skilled firefighters in the country,” said Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam, “Thanks to Florida’s persistent rainfall and current low wildfire danger, we are able to offer our talented personnel to support the protection of people, structures and natural resources in other states.”
Today, an Initial Attack Hand Crew of 20 Florida Forest Service firefighters will deploy to Oregon for two weeks alongside four additional crews from Florida, Georgia and Alabama. These firefighters will assist with front-line firefighting operations by using shovels, axes and rakes to manually create a fire break or fire line around the wildfire. Hand crews are critical to wildfire suppression in the western United States.
Four additional Florida Forest Service fire personnel will assist in a variety of other wildfire-related positions throughout Oregon. To date, the Florida Forest Service has also provided wildfire assistance to Colorado, Arizona, Alaska and Nevada.
Two additional Florida Forest Service employees are also serving as support staff for the Salmon River Complex of wildfires on California’s Klamath National Forest.
Pictured: The “Douglas Complex” fire tops a hill, part of over 10,000 acres burned in the Oregon wildfire. Photo courtesy Oregon Department of Forestry for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.