No Serious Injuries In Loaded Church Van Wreck
June 14, 2013
There were no serious injuries in wreck involving a church van Friday afternoon in Cantonment.
The accident happened about 3:10 p.m on Highway 29 at Morris Avenue when the church van and a Chrysler PT Crusier collided in the southbound lanes. There were reportedly a dozen people, including nine juveniles, in the church van. Three juveniles reported minor injuries.
The wreck blocked the southbound lanes of Highway 29. The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Further details were not immediately available.
The Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the crash.
Pictured: A two vehicle crash involving a church van at Morris Avenue and Highway 29 in Cantonment Friday afternoon. Reader submitted photo by Ramona Preston, click to enlarge.
FHP: Cantonment Man Sets Off Chain Reaction Crash That Killed Two
June 14, 2013
A Cantonment man set off a chain reaction accident involving seven vehicles that left two people dead Thursday afternoon near Hurlburt Field’s main gate in Mary Ester, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
David Endresen, age 47 of Cantonment, was driving a 2006 box truck owned by McAleer’s Office Furniture westbound on Highway 98 approaching Cody Avenue about 1:25 p.m. Endresen failed to stop in time before rear-ending a 2008 Honda Element occupied Kurt Graetzer, 66, and Pamela Graetzer, 63, both of Bradenton, FL. Both Graetzers died in the crash.
The Honda Element was pushed into 2003 Ford F150 driven by Stephen Williams Of Gulf Breeze. The Honda Element was propelled into a 1997 Buick Labre, which in turn hit another Ford F150 that struck a 2004 GMC pickup. The five people in the four additional vehicles were transported to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center with minor injuries. A seventh vehicle was struck by a large piece of debris from the original crash; the three occupants were not injured.
Endresen and his passenger, 32-year old Desi Johnson of Pensacola, both received minor injuries in the Okaloosa County crash.
Charges against Endresen are pending the outcome of the Florida Highway Patrol’s investigation.
Pictured: Two people died in this chain reaction seven-vehicle crash Thursday in Mary Ester. Reader submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview’s Food For America Program Wins Florida’s Top Honor
June 14, 2013
Thursday, the Northview High School FFA Chapter was awarded the first place 2013 Fresh from Florida Advocacy Award during the Florida FFA State Convention in Orlando.
Formerly known the Food for America program, the program is designed to encourage FFA members to participate in agricultural literacy and awareness projects on the local level.
The local Food for America Program, conducted by the Northview FFA in March, gave over 1,100 students a chance to learn about agriculture firsthand as they got up close and personal with farm animals, farm equipment and more at the Northview campus. The students even had the opportunity to make their own butter and enjoy it on crackers.
Earlier in the year, members of the Northview High School FFA officer team visited several area elementary schools to read ag-related books to students.
The Northview High School FFA Food for America program has been honored as the number one program in the state multiple times.
Pictured top: Outgoing Northview FFA President Jessica Baldwin and NHS FFA sponsor Perry Byars (third from left) receive the first place 2013 Fresh from Florida Advocacy Award during the Florida FFA State Convention in Orlando Thursday afternoon. Pictured below: Northview and Ernest Ward FFA members pose with the award in Orlando. Pictured inset and below: Scenes from the 2013 Northview High School Food For American program. NorthEsambia.com and courtesy photos, click to enlarge.
Amazon Proposes To Deliver 3,000 Jobs To Florida
June 14, 2013
A month after an announcement that plans had been scrapped for Internet retailing giant Amazon to build at least one warehouse in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott’s office Thursday said a deal is again in the works.
A news release from the governor’s office said the Seattle-based Amazon proposes to create more than 3,000 full-time jobs and pump more than $300 million in investment into Florida by the end of 2016.
“Amazon will continue to work with Enterprise Florida on its ongoing projects which will include a return on any taxpayer investment, and we look forward to the company’s announcements as it chooses locations and creates jobs in Florida,” Scott said in the release.
Also, the release said Amazon would begin collecting Florida sales tax “at such time as it is required under current Florida law” — an issue that has long been controversial with Amazon and other Internet-based retailers.
A spokeswoman for the governor declined to elaborate on what had changed to help lead to a potential deal with Amazon. Also, Amazon officials were not immediately available for comment.
“We thank Governor Scott for his commitment to creating jobs in Florida,” Paul Misener, Amazon vice president of global public policy, said in the release from the governor’s office. “We propose to create more than 3,000 new jobs and over $300 million in investment in Florida, while we work toward enactment of the federal Marketplace Fairness Act, which will protect states’ rights to make their own revenue policy choices.”
The governor’s office said in May that a potential deal had been scuttled, as the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on when Amazon would have to start collecting state sales taxes. The Marketplace Fairness Act is a proposed federal law dealing with taxes on Internet retailers.
Currently, Amazon doesn’t collect Florida sales taxes from state residents who make purchases through the site, but it would likely have to do so if it were to have a physical presence in the state, such as a warehouse.
When the deal was deemed scuttled, Scott spokeswoman Melissa Sellers implied that if the Internet company were to locate in Florida and begin collecting taxes, that would amount to a tax increase on Florida residents who use the popular shopping portal.
In January 2012, officials in the governor’s office said in published reports that they were “aware” of a desire by Amazon to put warehouses in the state, creating as many as 3,000 jobs, in exchange for a two-year exemption from collecting state sales taxes.
The current proposal is still a work in progress, including potential incentives and selection of possible distribution-warehouse locations.
Nancy Blum-Heintz, a spokeswoman for Enterprise Florida, said in an email that additional information regarding the deal remains confidential.
“We look forward to providing additional details as they become public,” Blum-Heintz wrote.
The release from the governor’s office noted the availability of economic development incentives will factor into Amazon’s location decisions.
House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, issued as statement that said he looks forward making “sure this proposal becomes a reality.” Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, in a statement called the proposal “good news,” while he waits to study the details as they “become available over the next few weeks.”
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Sheriff Says He’s Giving Jail Back To County Commission
June 14, 2013
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan has notified that Escambia County Commission that he’s giving them control of the Escambia County Jail as of September 1.
The move came this afternoon as budget negotiations and questions over how to best bring the Escambia County Jail into compliance with a Department of Justice report have continued with no answers. The jail needs funding for new employees to comply with the DOJ findings, and, so far, there’s been no where near a consensus among commissioners as how to fund the improvements.
The commission considered four proposals during a Thursday morning meeting:
- Eliminate the 3-percent cost of living raise for county employees, generating about $2.5 million to hire about 38 detention employees. Reduce the Sheriff’s law enforcement budget to cover the necessary staffing and administrative detention costs. Under the plan, the sheriff would return control of the jail to the county.
- Raise the millage rate. With a .1923 increase, about $2.6 million would fund about 40 additional detention employees and make changes in employee overtime rates. With a .5622 millage rate increase, about $7.6 million would be raised for 40 additional detention employees and allow ECSO employees to be paid for holidays and overtime. Or, with a 1.000 increase on the millage rate, about $13.5 million would be raised. $7.6 million would be used to fund the ECSO needs, and $5.9 million would fund crime prevention and human services needs in the county. The sheriff would retain responsibility for the jail under this proposal.
- Eliminate the 3-percent cost of living raise for county employees, generating about $2.5 million to hire about 38 detention employees, and raise the millage rate .3699 to address holiday and overtime issues at the ECSO. The sheriff would retain responsibility for the jail under this proposal.
- Explore privatizing the jail, which would require paying out about $10 million for accrued leave balances to detention employees. Under the plan, the sheriff would return control of the jail to the county.
The commission voted 4-0, with Commissioner Wilson Robertson absent, not to raise taxes to fund the jail. They also gave direction to Interim County Administrator George Touart to continue his negotiations with Morgan and come up with additional plans.
To read Morgan’s complete letter to the Escambia County Commission, click here.
Courts Side With Smokers’ Families In Tobacco Cases
June 14, 2013
Two of Florida’s top courts Thursday ruled against the tobacco industry in cases involving the deaths of smokers, including an appeals court upholding a $20 million punitive-damages judgment against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
The punitive-damages case, decided by the 1st District Court of Appeal, stemmed from the 1995 death of Frank Townsend, an Ocala man who smoked the company’s cigarettes and developed lung cancer. Townsend’s widow, Lyantie, filed a lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds — one of thousands of tobacco-related cases bouncing through the state’s court system.
Thursday’s ruling was the second time the Tallahassee-based appeals court has ruled on the amount of punitive damages that could be awarded to Townsend’s widow. Last year, judges said a $40.8 million punitive-damages award was excessive and ordered that the case be sent back to an Alachua County court, where it was originally heard, to determine a lower amount.
A circuit judge set the amount at $20 million, which prompted R.J. Reynolds to appeal again on a number of grounds, including whether it was entitled to a new trial on the damages and whether the $20 million was excessive. But the appeals court rejected those arguments.
The jury in the case also awarded $10.8 million in separate damages to compensate Townsend’s widow for such issues as pain and suffering and loss of consortium. That total was reduced to $5.5 million because it was determined that Frank Townsend was 49 percent at fault for his death and R.J. Reynolds was 51 percent at fault.
The Townsend case is part of a barrage of lawsuits against tobacco companies stemming from a 2006 Florida Supreme Court decision. That decision determined such lawsuits have to be heard individually instead of as a class action, but it also established critical findings about the health dangers of smoking and misrepresentation by cigarette makers — findings that have bolstered the cases, known in the legal world as “Engle progeny” cases.
Meanwhile Thursday, the state Supreme Court sided in a Miami-Dade County case with Karen Capone, the widow of Frank Capone, a longtime smoker who died in July 2006 after filing a personal-injury lawsuit against cigarette maker Philip Morris USA.
The dispute focused on whether Karen Capone should be able to amend the case and pursue a wrongful-death claim. Philip Morris contended that the case needed to be dismissed and that a new wrongful-death lawsuit would have to be filed.
But justices, in a 5-2 decision, sided with Capone.
“When an injured plaintiff in a personal injury action dies, it is both necessary and proper for the personal representative of the decedent’s estate to be named a party in the pending action so that a survival damages claim, a wrongful death claim, or both, may continue to be pursued,” Justice R. Fred Lewis wrote in the majority opinion.
Lewis was joined by justices Barbara Pariente, Peggy Quince, Jorge Labarga and James E.C. Perry. Chief Justice Ricky Polston and Justice Charles Canady dissented.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Escambia Health Officials: Know The Signs Of Heat Stress
June 14, 2013
The Florida Department of Health in Escambia County reminds residents that it is important to know the signs of heat stress as temperatures rise and people spend more time in the summer heat.
Heat stress is a general term to describe heat-related illnesses that can develop after exposure to high temperatures and inadequate or unbalanced fluid replacement. Heat stress can develop into heat exhaustion may progress to heat stroke. Persons most prone to heat stress are infants, elderly people, people with high blood pressure, and people working or exercising in a hot environment.
Warning signs of heat stress vary, but may include:
- Heavy sweating
- Paleness
- Muscle cramps
- Tiredness (may be the only sign of heat exhaustion in an infant)
- Weakness
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Nausea or vomiting
- Fainting
- Cool, moist skin
- Fast, weak pulse rate
- Rapid, shallow breathing
Seek immediate medical attention if symptoms are severe or if the victim has heart problems or high blood pressure. Otherwise, help the victim to cool off and seek medical attention if symptoms worsen or last longer than one hour.
If you suspect significant heat stress:
- Drink cool, nonalcoholic beverages, as directed by your physician
- Rest in an air-conditioned environment
- Take a cool shower, bath or sponge bath
- Wear lightweight clothing
- Prevent sun burn by wearing a sunscreen of 30 SPF, or greater. Sun burn damages the skin’s ability to dissipate heat.
For specific medical questions contact your physician, or dial 911 for emergency care.
Escambia’s Patty Hightower Elected President Of Florida School Board Association
June 14, 2013
Patty Hightower, District 4 Escambia County School Board member, was installed Thursday as President of the Florida School Boards Association at its annual meeting in Tampa. Mrs. Hightower has served on the Escambia County School Board since 2004. She is also a past President of the Florida PTA.
The Florida School Boards Association is the voice of its member school boards working closely with governmental, educational and community agencies to improve education in Florida. The board provides training for both newly elected as well as experienced school board members including certification of school board members and school boards.
“We are fortunate to have a new president who possesses Patty Hightower’s intellect and understanding of the educational issues in Florida,” said Wayne Blanton, the Florida School Boards Association’s executive director. “Because of her involvement in and efforts to improve education in Florida for over 40 years, she knows the issues and knows the people who are involved in the decision making concerning educational policy in Florida, and, equally importantly, they know Patty.”
Prior to her election to the presidency, Hightower has chaired the Florida School Boards Association’s Bylaws Committee and Finance Committee, served on the Legislative Committee, the Florida Learning First Alliance, and the Federal Relations Committee. She has also held the offices of treasurer, vice-president, and president-elect of the organization.
Escambia County Superintendent of Schools Malcolm Thomas said the Florida Association of District School Superintendents often works with the Florida School Boards Association in advancing and improving education in Florida.
“I’m very proud of Patty’s selection as president. I enjoy working with her as a member of our school board. She is an effective advocate for the improvement of education, not only in our school system but throughout the state and nation,” Thomas said.
NJROTC Training: Cadets Take Part In Adopt A Highway Program
June 14, 2013
NJROTC cadets at Northview High School are taking part in an introduction to ROTC training this week. As part of that training, they participated in Florida’s Adopt-A-Highway program, working to removing litter and beautify West Highway 4 near the school.
Pictured above and below: Northview High School NJROTC cadets work in the Adopt-A-Highway program as part of their introductory training. Pictured below: Eight new Northview NJROTC cadets are identified by their burgundy shirts. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Rep. Clay Ingram Holds Office Hours In Century
June 14, 2013
State Rep. Clay Ingram (R-Pensacola) held “office hours” in Century Thursday afternoon to meet with constituents about state government, including issues that may have with state agencies or programs. Anyone that missed the office hours can call Ingram’s district office in Pensacola at (850) 494-7330 for assistance. Pictured: Ingram (right) talks with Edna Earle Barnes of Century. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.