Under Fire: Inside Armed Shooter Exercise At Area School
May 30, 2013
Gunfire and screams echoed through the hallways of Flomaton High School Wednesday afternoon. A gunman was on campus, holding hostages.
It was all part of a three-day active shooter training program involving multiple law enforcement agencies. And the idea was to make it as realistic as possible, even for the most seasoned of officers.
In one scenario, a single shooter held a hostage at gunpoint in classroom. Officers entered the scenario with no information, other than there was one or more active shooters and hostages somewhere in the building.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Gunfire sounded, and two hostages ran from a classroom into the hallway where the officers, if they reacted correctly, would not shoot them.
“I’m gonna kill you,” the gunman screamed at the hostage remaining in the classroom.
“Please don’t shoot me,” the hostage said, her hands in the air. “I don’t want to die.”
A single officer approached the classroom, his weapon drawn and loaded with 9 mm training rounds. His eyes scanned the room, his gun following, as he noted our photographer in the corner of the room and confirmed he was not a target. In a real life situation, there could have been innocent children huddled in that corner.
The officer quickly identified the gunman, firing off two rounds into center mass. The officer confirmed the gunman was dead, removing her weapon away from the body. The hostage was safe, the situation seemingly diffused as another officer entered the room. But more gunfire and screams erupted down the hallway, sending the officers running.
The sights, the smell of gunfire, the screams, the realistic 9mm training rounds that strike at over 300 feet per second (which, as one trainer noted, “really hurt” without protective gear), and shell casings flying across the room were all designed for realism. And for adrenaline.
FIRST OF ITS KIND LOCAL TRAINING
This week’s active shooter training exercise is the first of its kind held in Escambia County, AL, and the first for most of the officers in attendance.
“You really can teach an old dog new tricks,” Flomaton Police Chief Stoney Daw, 72, said after the live fire training. “You can find your weak points and your strong points this way.”
The training, with instructors from the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training at Louisiana State University, was conducted at no cost to local law enforcement agencies. The LASER – Law Enforcement Active Shooter Emergency Response — training’s $35,000 price tab was covered by FEMA and Homeland Security.
“This was the first time we’ve had this type training locally,” Escambia County (AL) Chief Deputy Mike Lambert said. “This class was to train our local officers to go back to their agencies and train others. And this was a rare opportunity for our agencies to train together; that would be very important if we ever respond together to a real incident.”
Agencies taking part in the class included the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office, Atmore Police Department, Flomaton Police Department, Brewton Police Department, the Escambia County (AL) District Attorney’s Office and the Alabama Marine Police.
For a photo gallery, click here.
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EDUCATOR’S INSIGHT
Flomaton High School Principal Scott Hammond had the chance Wednesday afternoon to suit up in protective gear and become involved in the training scenarios.
“It provided insight on how students need to react and how they need to leave the building,” Hammond said. “I’m very honored our school was used for the exercise. And I’m glad I got the see the other side of a shooter situation.”
Hammond said that despite seeing the realistic training, he still views himself as a first line of defense in the event his campus should ever experience an active shooter.
“Whether or not I am armed, I still think I would try to disarm someone coming in here with a gun,” he said. “These are my students, and I’m going to do everything I can to protect them.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
Editor’s note: There were no students present during Wednesday’s exercise at Flomaton High School; the school has already dismissed for the summer.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
ECUA, County Battle Over Trash
May 30, 2013
The Escambia County Commission took steps Wednesday directly intended to stop he Emerald Coast Utilities Authority’s plan to stop using the Perdido Landfill and divert waste to a private company.
The commission approved a moratorium on waste-to-energy facilities in the county, requiring any future such facility to receive approval from county commission. And the county will also seek proposals from waste-to-energy type firms.
The ECUA board favors a 15-year contract with Southern Waste Recovery (SWR) that would recover trash that could be converted into a fuel source.
The county, which operates the Perdido Landfill, says ECUA’s business is needed so that the landfill survives financially.
Northview Presents Student Awards
May 30, 2013
Northview High School recently presented end of the year awards to students in grades 9-11.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Awards were presented to the following:
(*HAA = Highest Academy Average)
World History Honors HAA — Megan Bryan
World History Honors Exemplary Student — Penny Banda and Julie Hester
World History HAA — Joshua Borelli
World History Exemplary — Nicholas Lambert
English II Honors HAA — Kyndall Hall
English II Honors Exemplary — Samantha Sharpless
English II HAA — Jessica McCullough
English II Exemplary Student — Cara Thompson
10th grade Reading HAA — Courtney Peebles for highest GPA and
10th grade Reading Exemplary — Jeniya Odom
9th Grade Reading HAA – Jordan Helmken and Lawrence Douglas
9th grade Reading Exemplary — Jessica Barrows
VFW Academic Excellence Award — Emily Walston
VFW Leadership Excellence Award — Kelsea Cohen
VFW Voice of Democracy — Hannah Gibson
VFW Voice of Democracy — Kyndall Hall
VFW Voice of Democracy –Samantha Sharpless
American Legion Academics — Madison Weber
American Legion Leadership — Lane Carnley
READ 180
READ 180 HAA — Destiny Stevens
READ 180 Exemplary — Brianna Taylor
English I Honors HAA — Jessica Amerson
English I Honors Exemplary — Moriah McGahan
9th Regular English I HAA — Lawrence Douglas
9th Regular English I Exemplary — Elizabeth Sanders
Guitar HAA –Austin Adams,
Exemplary — Hunter Dettling
Band HAA — Taylor Brook
Band Exemplary — Kent Smith
Integrated Science HAA — Alliyiah Henderson
Integrated Science Exemplary — Destiny Stevens
Physical Science Honors HAA — Jessica Amerson
Environmental Science HAA — Madison Arrington and Courtney Weaver
Environmental Science Exemplary — Olivia Neal and Chelsea Ward
Spanish 1 HAA — Jessica Amerson, E
Spanish 1 Exemplary — Jordan Taylor
Spanish 2 HAA — Mashama Codrington,
Spanish 2 Exemplary — Marina Gray
Highest GPA chemistry honors Courtney Solari
Exceptional student Jeremy Stacey
Highest GPA chemistry Marina Gray
Exceptional student MashamaCodrington
Pre-calculus: Exemplary Student—MashamaCodrington
Algebra 2 HAA — ikaela Santos
Algebra 2 Exemplary — Kevin Barrow and Alexandria Martin
Algebra 2 Honors HAA — Courtney Solari
Algebra 2 Honors Exemplary — Kyndall Hall
Algebra 1A HAA — Madison Lundy
Algebra 1A Exemplary — Elizabeth Sanders
U.S. History HAA — Mashama Codrington
U.S. History Exemplary – Courtney Weaver
Geometry HAA: Megan Bryan
Geometry Exemplary — Kendal Cobb and Kamryn Brock
Geometry Honors HAA – Jessica Amerson
Geometry Honors Exemplary — Madison Weber
College Readiness HAA – Skye Brown
Family & Consumer Science HAA – Bethany Reynolds
Family & Consumer Science Exemplary — Haylee Weaver and Lawrence Douglas
U.S. History Honors HAA — Courtney Solari
Biology Honors HAA — Kyndall Hall
Physical Science HAA — Sarah Dutton
Physical Science Exemplary — Sykeema McConnico
Biology HAA — E’layzha Bates and Addy Lee
Biology Exemplary — Courtney Peebles
Algebra 1 HAA — MoriahMcGahan
Algebra 1 Exemplary — Lawrence Douglas
Algebra 1B — Kristen Byrd
PE 11th – Holden Moore
PE 10th – Lane Carnley
PE 9th – James Ates
English III Honors HAA and Exemplary — Courtney Solari
English III HAA — Jessica Brown
English III Exemplary — Olivia Neal
2-D Art
HAA
9th – Harmoni Till
10th – Breanna Payne
11th – Olivia Neal
Exemplary
9th – Elizabeth Sanders
10th – Beka Carpenter
11th – Natasha Peebles
3-D Art
HAA
9th – Elizabeth Sanders
10th Angelique Brown
11th – Rebecca Grim
Exemplary
9th – Laurie Purdy
10th Angelique Brown
11th – Montana Ard
Painting/Drawing HAA — Mallory Ryan
Painting/Drawing Exemplary — Annie Bobo
Ag Outstanding Freshman- Haylee Weaver
Ag Outstanding Sophomore- Tiffani Cruce
Ag Outstanding Junior- Courtney Solari
Scott Signs Citizens Insurance Bill Amid Continued Controversy
May 30, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday signed a plan to make changes at Citizens Property Insurance Corp., as officials from the state-backed insurer continued trying to defuse a controversy about a deal to shift policies to a private company.
Scott quickly signed the measure (SB 1770), which legislative leaders sent to his desk Tuesday. It includes a series of steps aimed at reducing the number of homeowners getting coverage from Citizens, such as setting up what is described as a “clearinghouse” where private insurers could intercept policies that otherwise would wind up with Citizens.
The governor, in a statement issued by his office, also pointed to part of the bill that will lead to Scott and Cabinet members appointing an inspector general for Citizens. That move came after reports last year about what Scott described as “egregious” travel expenses among some Citizens officials and the shutdown of an internal compliance office.
“This legislation will bring much needed reforms to better protect the taxpayers who support Citizens Property Insurance,” Scott said in the statement.
The announcement of the bill-signing came as a Citizens committee discussed efforts to try to steer policies into the private insurance market — and a controversial deal approved last week that could funnel up to $52 million to St. Petersburg-based Heritage Property and Casualty Insurance, which would take out as many as 60,000 policies from Citizens.
The deal has been criticized by people such as House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, who issued a statement Friday raising concerns about the payments and a lack of notice about the deal, saying it was “hastily pushed through.” Scott on Wednesday also objected to the way Citizens made the decision, calling for at least seven days notice of such issues.
Citizens President and Chief Executive Officer Barry Gilway agreed with Scott that the state-backed insurer needs to do a better job of communicating about major initiatives, though he said staff members in the past have struggled with how early to present information about potential deals. Also, Citizens officials said they were trying to get the Heritage deal finished quickly so the company could take over policies before the main part of hurricane season.
But Jeff Grady, president of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, said a lack of information can cause problems with the appearance of such deals.
“There is a point in time in that process to advise — at least advise,” said Grady, who serves as a technical adviser to the Citizens committee that met Wednesday, known as the Depopulation Committee.
During the meeting, Gilway and Citizens Chief Financial Officer Sharon Binnun focused on the insurer’s broader efforts to reduce its number of policies.
As of April 30, Citizens had nearly 1.3 million policies — making it the state’s largest property insurer — but Gilway said it could have had about 1.8 million if Citizens hadn’t aggressively worked to move policies into the private market. Insurance-industry officials and many state leaders have long argued that the large concentration of policies in Citizens would pose a huge financial risk if a major hurricane hits.
Gilway said Citizens should work with private companies so they can remove the best policies, ultimately leaving Citizens as the so-called insurer of last resort for homes that cannot get coverage elsewhere. But Gilway took issue with questions about whether private insurers should be able to “cherry pick” the best Citizens policies.
“My answer to that is absolutely — the companies should be cherry-picking,” Gilway said.
The bill signed Wednesday by Scott includes steps to try to move policies and risks away from Citizens. Along with creating the clearinghouse, for example, it would prevent Citizens from covering new homes in high-risk, environmentally sensitive coastal areas.
By The News Service of Florida
Molino Church Sponsors Ride For Alzheimer’s This Saturday
May 30, 2013
CrossFaith Church in Molino will host a motorcycle ride to benefit local Alzheimer’s victims and their families this Saturday.
The ride begins at Eagle’s Talon at 2323 Copter Road. Registration is 8-9 a.m. with the first bikes out at 9 a.m. The entry fee is $20 per bike, $10 per rider. The ride ends at CrossFaith Church in Molino with a cookout, door prizes and more. Proceeds go toward Alzheimer’s Services.
For more information, call (850) 262-9722.
Appeals Court Rules On State Employee Drug Testing
May 30, 2013
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered a lower-court judge to reconsider her order blocking a program that would subject all state employees to random drug testing, but left little doubt that the plan would be found unconstitutional with regards to many state workers.
The 61-page ruling, which left both sides declaring victory, essentially overturned the decision by U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro but also seemed to endorse the views of the union that sued to block Gov. Rick Scott’s drug-testing executive order.
Writing for a three-judge panel at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Stanley Marcus wrote that Ungaro was right to find the law troublesome, but said she went too far in barring the state from testing all 85,000 employees affected by the executive order.
“The district court, confronted with a suspicionless drug testing policy that almost certainly sweeps far too broadly and hence runs afoul of the Fourth Amendment in many of its applications, granted relief that also swept too broadly and captured both the policy’s constitutional applications and its unconstitutional ones,” he wrote.
Marcus said some employees, such as those who carry weapons or operate heavy machinery, could likely be tested because of safety concerns — if the state can justify those tests. But the ruling also made clear that some workers would likely be shielded from the tests.
“Just as we know that some subset of state employees almost certainly can be tested due to specific, important safety concerns, we know that there are some employees who almost certainly cannot be tested without individualized suspicion,” Marcus wrote.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which brought the lawsuit, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida called on the state to drop the case.
“It would be foolish of the governor to continue pushing to implement his across-the-board drug testing regime when the court clearly states that, under the Fourth Amendment, many of the individuals covered by the executive order cannot be subjected to invasive and humiliating searches just because they are government employees,” said Shalini Goel Agarwal, a staff attorney for the ACLU who led the case. “We look forward to returning to the district court where the Governor will have to show how each of his 85,000 employees presents a serious safety risk in order to test them.”
But in a statement issued late Wednesday, Scott emphasized the court’s decision to overturn Ungaro’s order and suggested the fight will continue.
“The Court did the right thing today by reversing the injunction on our executive order for drug testing state employees,” Scott said. “We will go forward in arguing this case in both the appellate and trial courts in order to ensure that taxpayer funds are safeguarded from misuse by ensuring our state workforce is drug free.”
By The News Service of Florida
Florida Executes Man For 1990 Rape And Murder
May 30, 2013
Convicted murderer Elmer Leon Carroll was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, the Department of Corrections announced.
Earlier in the day the U.S. Supreme Court had rejected a last-ditch attempt for a stay of the death warrant that had been signed April 17 by Gov. Rick Scott. Carroll, 56, was convicted in the 1990 rape and murder of 10-year-old Christine McGowan after breaking into her Apopka home.
He was the first of three death row inmates in Florida – William Van Poyck and Marshall Lee Gore are the others – scheduled for lethal injection within the next six weeks.
Wahoos Split Twin Bill
May 30, 2013
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos were held scoreless by the Jacksonville Suns through the first 12 innings of Wednesday’s doubleheader, but strung together a pair of doubles in the last of the sixth in game two of the twin-bill and hung on for a 1-0 win at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
Bryson Smith led off the last of the sixth with a double down the left field line and came around to score a batter later on David Vidal’s double to left. The run snapped a 15-inning scoreless streak for Pensacola and gave the Wahoos their second win in the first three games of the series.
Lee Hyde (2-4) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief of spot starter Shaun Ellis. In his first career start in affiliated baseball, Ellis tossed four scoreless frames while fanning a career-high four batters. Drew Hayes pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the seventh to nail down his second save.
Jacksonville took game one, 1-0, to snap its five-game losing streak. The Suns lone run was unearned as Noah Perio reached on a leadoff error by Brodie Greene and scored on a two-out single by Major League rehabber Logan Morrison in the third inning. The error was the first blunder of the season by the Wahoos second baseman.
Pensacola had numerous chances to win the game as the Wahoos left 10 runners on base in the seven-inning contest. Pensacola had runners on second and third with one out in the fifth, bases loaded with two outs in the sixth, and the bags packed with one out in the seventh but couldn’t push across a run. Pensacola was 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, but runners were held at third on both base hits.
Ryan Dennick dropped to a hard-luck 2-5 despite yielding just an unearned run on two hits in five frames. Sam Dyson (2-4) fired five two-hit innings for the win for Jacksonville while Michael Brady picked up his 10th save of the year by putting out the fire in the seventh with a pop out and a strikeout.
The series continues on Thursday night with a 7:00 p.m. first pitch. Daniel Renken (1-3, 4.03) gets the start for the Wahoos while the Suns will counter with Robert Morey (1-1, 3.59).
story by Kevin Burke
Sandra Leah McGee
May 30, 2013
Mrs. Sandra Leah McGee, age 54, of Flomaton, passed away May 28, 2013, at her home.
Mrs. McGee was a native of Chicago, IL and a resident of Flomaton for the past 19 years coming from Gueydan, LA. She received her nursing degree as a LPN at South Louisiana and had worked toward her RN degree at Jefferson Davis Community College. Mrs. McGee had worked as the Activities Director at Century Care Center. She was of the Baptist faith and was preceded in death by her father, Wallace Roller.
Mrs. McGee is survived by her mother, Beverly Brown of Milton; her husband of 19 years, Mike McGee of Flomaton; son, Jessie Lee (Tasha) Benoit of Gueydan, LA; daughters, Angela (Kirk) Boehm of Lafayette, LA, Anadee McGee and Mary G. Parfait, both of Houma, LA; brothers, Michael McCall of Patterson, LA and Patrick of Allentown; sisters, Susan Parrish of Chattanooga, TN, Terri Sessions of Milton, and Jennifer Robley of Patterson, LA; and nine grandchildren.
Visitation will be held on Saturday, June 1, 2013, at Flomaton Funeral Home Chapel from 10 a.m. until service time at 11 a.m. with Rev. Joe Lee officiating.
Flomaton Funeral Home is directing.
Aubrey Gladden Amos
May 30, 2013
Mr. Aubrey Gladden Amos, 76, passed away on Thursday, May 30, 2013, in Atmore, AL. Mr. Amos was a native of Atmore and a resident of Atmore for most of his life. Mr. Amos was a retired employee of Kimberly-Clark with 25 years of service. He attended the First Baptist Church of Atmore. His wife, Shirley Amos and parents, F.F. and Lucille Amos, precede him in death.
Survivors include his two sons, David & Susan Amos of Atmore and Neal Amos of West Palm Beach, FL; one daughter, Brenda & David Moss of West Palm Beach, FL; one brother, Arnold Amos of Atmore; one sister, Ann & Ray Bell of Atmore; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be Sunday, June 2, 2013, at 3 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Atmore with Rev. Arnold Hendrix officiating.
Burial will follow at the Serenity Garden Cemetery.
Visitation will be Sunday, June 2, 2013, from 2 p.m. until funeral time at the First Baptist Church of Atmore.
Pallbearers will be Mike Hanks, Shawn Amos, Brandon Amos, Kelby Amos, Jon Jury and Zach Stewart.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC is in charge of all arrangements.