NAS Pensacola Marks 9/11
September 11, 2014
Naval Air Station Pensacola held a ceremony at the National Naval Aviation Museum Thursday to commemorate the events of September 11, 2001.
NAS Pensacola Commanding Officer Captain Keith Hoskins was the guest speaker for the event, which included the traditional “Two-Bell Ceremony” and the playing of “Taps” performed by the NASP Honor Guard.
Photos courtesy NASP, Mike O’Conner, for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fire Damaged Shed Near AL/FL State Line
September 11, 2014
A grass and brush fire also damaged a shed Thursday afternoon in Flomaton. The fire was reported about 12:30 p.m. on Highland Avenue near Alabama Street, just north of the Alabama/Florida line. There were no injuries and no immediate word on the cause of the blaze.The Flomaton Fire Department, the Century and McDavid stations of Escambia (FL) Fire Rescue and Escambia County (FL) EMS were among the responding agencies. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Two Teens Seriously Injured When Car, ATV Collide In Cantonment
September 11, 2014
Two teenagers were serious injured when they drove their ATV in to path of a car Wednesday afternoon in Cantonment.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Marjorie Martin, age 79 of Cantonment, was southbound on Jacks Branch Road about 4:45 p.m. The Yamaha ATV, driven by a 14-year old male with a 14-year old female passenger, failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection of Annie Bell Drive and Jacks Branch Road. The ATV traveled directly into the path of the Saturn.
The 14-year old male was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital by LifeFlight in serious condition, while the 14-year old female was transported by Escambia County EMS to Sacred Heart Hospital, also in serious condition. Their names were not released by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Martin was not injured in the crash.
Charges in the accident are pending, according to the FHP.
Reader submitted photos (inset, below) and courtesy WEAR 3 (top) for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Into The Flames: Firefighters Undergo Live Fire Training
September 11, 2014
Firefighters from several area departments have received live fire training this week in the Alabama Fire College’s burn trailer at the Flomaton Fire Department. Firefighters had a chance to experience live fire in a controlled environment, practice search and rescue and safely experience a flashover effect.
Participating fire department included Flomaton, Pineview, Jay, Century and McDavid. Additional departments will undergo the training Thursday nigtt.
Pictured top: A firefighter prepares to enter a training fire Wednesday night. Pictured: Firefighters outside the Alabama Fire College’s live burn trailer. Photos by Katie Fowler for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Man Charged With Murder After Infant Dies
September 11, 2014
A young child who was hospitalized September 1 after her babysitter said he found her unresponsive has died, and her babysitter has been charged with her death.
Dariyana Durant, 14-months old, died in a local hospital at 4:35 p.m. Tuesday after being removed from life support.
Alfred Simpson, 19, of 500 E. Fairfield Drive, was charged with first-degree felony murder Wednesday afternoon. He was still in the Escambia County Jail on a $75,000 bond after being arrested September 2 and charged with one count of aggravated child abuse. Simpson now is being held without bond.
Simpson was identified in police reports as being the boyfriend of the child’s mother.
Police initially were dispatched around 11 p.m. September 1 to Pensacola Village on the emergency call. Upon arrival, officers learned the baby was unresponsive. Simpson and the child’s 18-year-old mother were on the scene.
The child was taken to a local hospital where it was determined she had blunt force trauma injury on the rear of her head.
Simpson told police the child’s mother had a headache and had left the child in his care while she took a nap. He said while the mother was sleeping he cooked dinner for him and the child. He also said he left the apartment for several minutes and when he returned, he went to pick the child up from the living room floor. He said the child was having problems breathing and her body was limp.
Simpson told police he used an inhaler on the child in an attempt to get her to breathe and that when the mother awakened, he told her an ambulance needed to be called.
Vehicle Fire Shuts Down Tate School Road
September 11, 2014
Fire destroyed an older model vehicle Wednesday afternoon, shutting down Tate School Road at North Highway 95A. The fire was reported about, and the vehicle was fully involved when the first firefighters arrived on scene. There were no injuries reported. Reader submitted photo by Shane Carter (inset) and NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
Florida Lawmakers Approve Budget Report With Small Surplus
September 11, 2014
As Gov. Rick Scott continued a state tour Wednesday in Pensacola promising $1 billion in tax cuts over the next two years, a legislative committee approved a report projecting a surplus about a third that size in the budget year that starts in July.
With little discussion, a panel of lawmakers charged with overseeing the state budget when the Legislature isn’t in session approved the annual long-range financial outlook.
Taking into account the likelihood that the Legislature will continue to set aside $1 billion in reserves and spend money on high-priority programs, the report estimates lawmakers will have about $336 million extra to plow into spending increases or tax cuts during the 2015-16 fiscal year.
That number could increase or decrease before either Scott or his Democratic challenger, former Gov. Charlie Crist, begins crafting a final budget proposal, and then again before lawmakers take their crack at a spending plan next spring. For his part, Crist has floated new spending initiatives that would also eat into the surplus.
Republicans who lead the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, which approved the report, played down the significance of the potential gap between the final surplus number and what might be needed to fund Scott’s priorities.
“Certainly, the Legislature and the governor can make changes next year,” said House Appropriations Chairman Seth McKeel, a Lakeland Republican who is not running for re-election due to term limits.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Joe Negron, R-Stuart, cautioned against reading too much into the report, saying he believes everything the state spends should be reviewed annually.
“I think we don’t know for sure what items in the rest of the general revenue part of the budget … we will fund,” Negron said. “Just as this year, we found almost $500 million to send back and reduce tag and title fees, and we still ended up with $1.3 billion in reserves. It’s just too early to know how all that’s going to play out.”
The report, a draft of which was released last week, doesn’t appear to have changed Scott’s message as he stumps for a second term.
“Charlie Crist and Barack Obama think that government creates jobs and money grows on trees because they’re both career politicians who have never run a business or created a single job. … And now we’re going to continue Florida’s turnaround with a $1 billion tax cut commitment to Florida’s families over the next two years,” Scott said in a news release Wednesday.
Amy Baker, a top state economist, said Florida’s recovery is continuing to move along, though it will still take time to get back to what would be considered normal. She also said that while there were still some low-possibility events that would dramatically impact the recovery — called “black swans” — the danger appears to have lessened.
“I would say the black swans are few compared to what we’ve seen in the past,” she said.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
9/11 In His Own Words: Inside The Pentagon – Come September Morning
September 11, 2014
Steve Vanderwerff, who served as public affairs action officer for Naval Education and Training Command in Pensacola, was inside the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 — less than 100 yards around the corner from the crash site in his new office. Less than a week before, his office had been located in the strike zone.
Vanderwerff describes, in his own words, that September morning….
My decision to join the Navy was solely based on my sense of adventure. The Navy’s ad from my childhood, “It’s not just a job it’s an adventure,” truly struck home. I envisioned myself a bell-bottomed, Dixie-cup wearing sailor right out of the movie “Mr. Roberts.” Ah the sweet pleasure of sailing the seven seas doing the hula-hula, late night pub crawls in Hong Kong, collecting an armful of tattoos and chasing after Thai girls and beer while being paid. So I enlisted. It was 1988. All has come true except for the tattoos.
The years flew by, a tour on USS Carl Vinson – the Navy’s Golden Eagle, two tours with Pacific Fleet Combat Camera, surviving SERE School, graduating from Syracuse University’s DoD film school, a science expedition to the North Pole; and a tour with the Blue Angels as their backseat aerial photographer pulling a lot of G’s. I was operating on maximum overdrive, high on adrenaline. The ad had come true. It wasn’t just a job it was indeed an adventure. Little did I know that I had yet to experience the adventure of a lifetime, one that was life altering, made me grow-up and come to fully realize what it means to serve my country in the United States Navy.
After my tour with the Blue Angels I was detailed to the Pentagon. I had heatedly disagreed with my detailer’s decision. Taking a Secretary of Defense staff assignment at the Joint Combat Camera Center (JCCC) didn’t exactly register very high on my fun meter. Driving a desk, supporting Com Cam policy and supervising the reception of imagery from forward deployed combat camera teams isn’t exactly how I had ever envisioned myself. Damn it, I was an operator! The likelihood or remote possibility of me running into something fun and adventurous like arm-wrestling Bolivian Blow Dart Peddlers or fire walking with Tahitian Mai Tai Jugglers while stationed in DC was slim-to-none. Didn’t he have something for me, like pulling G’s in a fast-mover (I could fill volumes about how to prevent power puking inside the cockpit)? Or what about breaking through the Arctic’s polar cap in a nuclear powered fast attack submarine and standing guard against polar bear attack as I had in the past? I’m not exactly sure if a polar bear attack on a US Submariner constitutes an act of war, if so who owns the polar cap? If he wouldn’t send me to any of the above, how about something a bit more cerebral like me hitting a foreign beach armed to the teeth with Kevlar wearing Marines or maybe photographing Navy SEAL’s in revved up low-altitude fast moving helos moving in and out of hostile territory? I had always been a big fan of that sort of action. He said no to all. It was time for me to take a seat at a desk and help others do what I wanted to do.
And so on a hot muggy day I checked in. It was August 2001. The Pentagon buzzed like a beehive. I was impressed by all of military’s, “Heavy Hitters” that walked the halls. There was a lot to learn, especially working with the other service branches. What was there not to like? The world appeared to be at peace. I was stationed in our nation’s capitol. I had a large cubicle, and my own computer with super fast T-line connections. A Starbucks was conveniently located one floor below. Best of all, I would be home every night for the next three years to annoy my wife and kids. My first month flew by moving JCCC into the Pentagon’s newly renovated wing.
On a sunny, Tuesday morning I arrived at work. It was September 11, 2001. It was a little after nine a.m. when I got to work. My wife Dayle, was flying back home that day from attending a funeral in the mid-west. I was getting in late because I had to drop my kids off at school; playing the role of soccer mom somewhat new to me. My officer in charge was attending a conference in Norfolk, Va. and my operations chief was at a meeting down the road in Alexandria. When I got to the office everybody was huddled around the TV. The news was reporting that a plane had crashed into one of New York’s Twin Towers.
I stood flabbergasted as the tragedy unfolded. To my disbelief a second jet slammed into the Twin Towers. My memory is a bit fuzzy of what happened next, but as I recall, soon afterwards the Pentagon shuddered and shook. My co-workers and I looked at each other not sure of what had just happened. That sure seemed like one helluva sonic-boom I thought to myself. Having come from the “Blues” my mind still operated in the aviation world of thinking. The phone rang. I answered it. It was one of my guys who, was off for the day at home just across the Anacostia River at Bolling Air Force Base. He asked me if we had just been attacked. I said “is that what that was?” I said I wasn’t sure, there were no alarms going off. He said he thought so because looking from his back yard black smoke was pouring out of the Pentagon. Someone went out to investigate. They quickly came back. All they said was, “We gotta go.”
Smoke filled halls were filled with people making their way towards exits. The murmur of voices and shuffling feet was all that could be heard. No one had a clue to what had just happened. The idea of a passenger plane hijacked by terrorists and crashing into the Pentagon was as remote a possibility as Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming the governor of California. Not exactly knowing what to think I made my way outside. Once outside I saw thick black smoke rising from the building. I thought that maybe construction workers working on the renovation might have hit a gas main. All sorts of thoughts ran through my head as hordes of dazed and confused people continued to pour into the daylight. Seeking information I went to my car and turned on the radio to listen to the news. I sat stunned not believing what I was hearing. Holy-moley I thought. We’ve been attacked by terrorists, same as the Twin Towers. My God there are people in the wreckage. I spend my entire career trying to get into the action and when I think that I’m away in the rear the action comes looking for me. I heard approaching sirens in the distance. Then it dawned on me. My wife was flying home that day. My mind raced with morbid fear. Is she safe? Has she got on the plane yet? In a fog I made my way to the pre-determined rally point. Once there I set my personal emotions aside. I had people to muster and account for. The rest of JCCC showed up. All were accounted for. Then security officers were yelling for everybody to leave the area because another attack was imminent. Mass hysteria hit the crowd. What the heck was going on? Like cockroaches scattering when the lights come on, civilians, military personnel, politicians and bungling bureaucrats ran for cover. Somehow we all ended up on the other side of Highway 395. I knew I wouldn’t be seeing my car for a long time. More worries filled my mind, thinking of how would I get home and who would pick-up and care for my kids? The second attack turned out to be a false alarm. I set aside my worries, I focused on the positive. My wife would be ok and I would figure out how to get home and take care of my children, but first I had my duty to fulfill. Once again I accounted for my personnel.
Fortunately several members had grabbed their cell phones. The airways were jammed, but after repeated attempts we were able to get a hold of my boss. He instructed us to get to the American Forces Information Services (AFIS) in Alexandria, where he currently was and where we would set up shop. There was imagery to get out to the world. The story needed to be told. Because none of us had access to our cars we made our way to the nearest metro station. I tried repeatedly, but couldn’t reach my wife. I was scared. Fortunately I was able to contact a neighbor who would pick my kids up from school. Once at AFIS we went into action setting up a temporary JCCC – still and video imagery started to come in. Sec Def wanted his imagery. Hours later after repeated attempts I finally was able to get a hold of my wife. She was safe. Her plane had been delayed because of the tragedy. She had spent her time desperately trying to get a hold of me, fearing for the worst – widow hood. I assured that her I was un-harmed and that the kids were safe with a neighbor. We cried for our good fortune and the mis-fortune of others. I thanked God for watching over me and my family. I had been less than a hundred yards around the corner from the crash site. Late that night in the safety of my home with my kids snug in bed I realized that a week earlier before moving into the newly renovated wing, JCCC had been located in the area of impact and that a few of my office mates and I would have been in the old office that morning to make sure we had moved everything, but had not because we had been watching the Twin Towers tragedy on TV. I sighed with relief. It had been a close call.
Years later, thinking about that bleak morning in September when all of America held its breath and our enemies cheered I give pause to reflect. Understanding, that on that day something awoke in me that had been missing in me, if not many others – service and sacrifice. I had spent my time in the Navy up until then thinking of what I could take or get out of the deal. My training, my many deployments, my wanting fun and adventure had always been about me. Sure, I had always been a good Sailor, but I had been driven by hubris and selfish desire. Not giving much thought to what it meant to serve my country. I was happy as long as I was able to collect a paycheck.
It didn’t happen overnight, but over the course of my tour at the Pentagon and supporting the “Global War on Terror” I found a new sense of purpose and energy. I worked long hours, determined to support the cause and give meaning to my duty. Gone were my days of thinking that being a Sailor meant being a sea going pirate, swashbuckling across the globe, with tales to spin and tell. People had died and would continue to do so without mine and every American’s full support to stop our enemies.
So when it was time for me to talk to my detailer about orders, I didn’t hesitate to ask for orders at the “tip of the spear” aboard a ship because that was where I was needed. My days of asking for fun and adventurous jobs seeking personal reward and glamour were over.
And so whenever I found myself on long arduous extended deployments while sailing in harms-way wondering why I had to be there and for what purpose I would think of all those who had gone before me and of their sacrifice and dedication to service.
I continued to serve with that sense of pride and purpose at follow-on duty stations, and continue to do so as a retired chief and civilian employee at Naval Education and Training Command, which develops the Navy’s workforce through education and training that builds personal, professional, and leadership skills.
When my time in the Navy, active duty and as a civilian, comes to a close I will be proud to say as President Kennedy so eloquently put,
“I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction:
“I served in the United States Navy”
Florida May Expand Use Of Silencers For Hunting, Including For Deer
September 11, 2014
Hunting game in Florida could become a little less noisy by the end of the year.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday advanced a proposal that would remove a prohibition on the use of noise-suppressors, or silencers, with rifles and pistols when hunting deer, gray squirrels, rabbits, wild turkeys, quail and crows.
The proposal will now be advertised in the Florida Administrative Register, and the commission is expected to vote on the new rule in November.
While critics said muzzling rifle shots could increase the risk of people being struck by wayward bullets or cause people to wander unaware into hunting areas, backers of the proposal said such concerns are unfounded.
Commissioner Brian Yablonski noted that suppressors take out some of the big bang and recoil, but they don’t silence weapons as depicted in the movies.
“It still makes a very loud sound and this was in all cases,” Yablonski said during a commission meeting in Kissimmee. “We’re talking louder than a rock concert, louder than a jackhammer with the suppressor.”
Commission staff, hunters and a representative from the suppressor industry defended the proposal as a means to protect hunters’ hearing, lessen the impact of hunting on others and even help while introducing people to the sport.
Knox Williams, president of the American Suppressor Association, estimated that 40,000 suppressors are already owned in Florida.
Florida currently allows the use of suppressors on shotguns for game hunting. A suppressor can also be placed on a rifle or pistol when hunting on private lands for non-game wildlife, which includes hogs, furbearers and armadillos.
Buck Holly, an owner of C&H Precision Weapons in LaBelle, projected that by lifting the ban, sales of suppressors at his Hendry County business would grow from about two to five a month to up to 10 a month. He said that would allow him to add one or two jobs.
“I know in most counties one to two jobs isn’t a big blip on the radar, but in Hendry and Glades counties, one or two is a tremendous economic boost,” Holly said.
Patricia Brigham, chair of the League of Women Voters’ Gun Safety Committee, cautioned that a proliferation of silencers would reduce public safety.
“They’re going to be used in such a way that they’re not intended to be used, which is to harm other human beings,” Brigham warned. “There are more important things than protecting the hearing of a hunter, than encouraging a young person to hunt … the more important thing is the errant bullet catching the sleeve of a nearby hiker, penetrating the skin of nearby hiker, penetrating the heart of a nearby hiker.”
Katherine McGill, a founding member of the National Urban Wildlife Coalition, said more time should be given to the review.
“I have no problem with suppressors personally. If someone is target-shooting near my property I’d be glad that they are using them. I’d like them to be put on fireworks, too,” McGill said. “But I don’t want to be riding my horse in the woods and not hear that hunter out there.”
Suppressors are allowed in 32 states for all hunting.
Division of Hunting and Game Management Director Diane Eggeman said lifting the prohibition isn’t expected to lead to a widespread proliferation of the use of suppressors. She estimated a rifle suppressor costs between $750 and $2,000, while individuals also have to pay $200 for a federal criminal background check.
Holly placed the cost for most suppressors between $450 and $1,000.
by Jim Turner, The News Service
Margaret Wingard Banks
September 11, 2014
Margaret Wingard Banks, 91 of Atmore, passed away on Tuesday, September 9, 2014, in Pensacola. She was owner and operator of Wingard’s Jewelry. She was born in Milligan, FL on April 13, 1923, to the late Allen and Alice Mason Garrett. She was a member of the Presley Street Baptist Church.
She is preceded in death by her husbands, Graham Wingard and George Banks; daughter, Linda Siders; son, “Al” Wingard; and two sisters.
Survivors include her son, John Larry (Cindy) Wingard of Alabaster, AL; 11grandchildren, Tracy Donegan, Morgan Thomas, Colton Wingard, Auston Wingard, Cody Siders, Chase Siders, Christopher Siders, Casey Siders, John David Wingard, Cody Allen Wingard, and Michelle Wingard; and 13 great-granchildren.
Services will be held Saturday, September 13, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. from the Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Mike Grindle officiating.
Interment will follow in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Family will receive friends, Saturday, September 13, 2014, at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home from 9:30 a.m. until service time.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.