Memorial Day Travel A Little More Expensive This Year
May 25, 2014
Memorial Day weekend travel is just a little bit tougher on the wallet this year as compared to 2013.
According to the AAA Fuel Gage Report, the average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded in Escambia County was $3.59 Saturday, down a nickel over a month ago. Last year, a gallon of unleaded gas averaged $3.41 per gallon on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The current national average is $3.65 per gallon.
AAA Travel projects 36.1 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, a 1.5 percent increase from the 35.5 million people who traveled last year. Kicking off the summer driving season, more than eight in ten travelers will be driving to their destinations. The Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined as Thursday, May 22 to Monday, May 26.
The national average ended a 16-day streak of daily declines last week, but has still dropped on 18 of the last 21 days. Reported increases in retail demand due to warmer temperatures are adding some upward pressure on wholesale prices, and the rise in demand is beginning to outpace the increases in supplies. Even with these minor fluctuations in price, the national average is expected to remain well below last year’s peak price of $3.79 per gallon.
Political tensions between Russia and the Ukraine continue to keep global markets on edge and are being closely monitored by market watchers for any signs of escalation. Last Friday, President Putin sent a letter to European Union governments indicating that a disruption in supply may be on the horizon. Although analysts report the probability of a long-term disruption is relatively low, a cutoff of supply by Russia could have ripple effects that would be felt in Europe and the United States.
National Missing Children’s Day: Search Continues In North Escambia Case
May 25, 2014
A Tate High School student last seen 12 years ago in North Escambia is among those being remembered today on National Missing Children’s Day
President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25 as National Missing Children’s Day in 1983 and the nation observes this day each year
“Those of us who are parents understand that the loved ones of missing children will never stop loving them, and law enforcement will not stop searching for them,” Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey said.
Danielle Arion Bell, then 14, was last seen at a party in September 2001 in the 500 block of Cedar Tree Lane, between Highway 29 and Highway 95A in Cantonment.
Witnesses told authorities that Bell left a party with a man that was in his mid-twenties at the time. Escambia County deputies later questioned that man and searched his home, but he was never charged in connection with the case.
During the summer of 2007, Alfredo Gomez Sanchez, Jr. was charged with providing law enforcement with false information about his whereabouts at the time Bell disappeared. He was not implicated in her disappearance.
In October 2010, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit served a search warrant at the home.
As part of that search warrant, a septic tank behind the residence was pumped out, and dogs from Escambia Search and Rescue were also used to search the area. Investigators said nothing was found, and they would not say what new information might have led to the search.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Danielle has a scar on her right forearm and blue eyes. She had brown hair at the time of her disappearance. Danielle, whose nickname was “Dani”, was a member of the Tate Aggies cheerleading squad. The popular teen enjoyed dancing and drawing.
Anyone with information about Bell is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit at (850) 436-9580 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
FDLE invites the public to sign up to receive Missing Child Alerts and AMBER Alerts via email or text message by visiting www.missingchildrenalert.com. To view photos of missing children, visit www.fdle.state.fl.us.
Pictured top: Investigators pumped and searched a septic tank at this home on Cedar Tree Lane in Cantonment in October 2010 in the case of missing teen Danielle Arion Bell. Pictured below: A search and rescue K-9 team was also on site. Pictured bottom: A septic tank company employee prepares to pump a septic tank at the home. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
4-Year Old Falls Off Boat; Child’s Name Released
May 25, 2014
THIS IS AN ARCHIVED STORY. CLICK HERE FOR AN UPDATED STORY.
The search for a 4-year old boy who fell off a boat Saturday afternoon continues.
About 4 p.m., a 911 caller reported the boy had fallen off a 20-foot boat somewhere between Ft. Pickens and NAS Pensacola. The child has been identified by Florida Fish and Wildlife as 4-year old Logan Fontana Maye.
According to FWC the child’s grandfather, Steve Maye, said he was idling away from the Coast Guard Station near Fort Pickens when the boy wanted assistance in getting sand out of his life jacket.
The life jacket was taken off the child, and Maye told authorities he gave it back to him and thought he put it on before he moved the boat at just 10 mph. Maye told officials that it was about one minute later that he looked and did not see Logan.
Officials confirmed Logan was not wearing a personal floatation device at the time he fell overboard.
Escambia Fire Rescue, LifeFlight, Florida Fish and Wildlife, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Coast Guard, Navy Fire and Escambia Search and Rescue were among the agencies that took part in Saturday’s search. Numerous agencies were back on the search on Sunday and will continue on Monday.
Pictured: The search for a 4-year old that fell of a boat Saturday. Photos courtesy WEAR for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Memorial Day Events Planned
May 25, 2014
MONDAY
Barrancas National Cemetery
- The Gulf Coast Veterans Advocacy Council, Inc. will hold a Memorial Service at Barrancas National Cemetery on board NAS in Pensacola, at 9 a.m. Monday to honor and recognize those who have answered the final roll call. The master ceremonies will be Lt. Col. Eurydice S. Stanley, a highly decorated active duty National Guardsman. She has served as a senior human resource officer, and a reserve component advisor.
Atmore Memorial Service
- Memorial Day services in Atmore, hosted by VFW Post 7016 and American Legion Post 90, will be held at the Veterans Monument in front of Atmore City Hall on Monday beginning at 9 a.m. Keynote speaker will be CSM Jackie Gedling. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair.
Featured Recipe: Bold Burger Stars During Grilling Season
May 25, 2014
Today’s featured recipe from food writer Janet Tharpe is a bold burger with kicked up toppings.
Wahoos Beat Barons
May 25, 2014
Red’s minor league hitting coordinator Ryan Jackson came to work with the Pensacola Wahoos during the series with the Birmingham Barons.
Pensacola leads the Southern League with .257 batting average but Jackson thought its lineup could use a little tune up.
One person who benefited was third baseman Juan Silverio who smacked two home runs, including a game-winning one in the eighth inning, that helped the Blue Wahoos rally from a five-run deficit to win, 7-6, over Birmingham in front of a third straight sellout crowd Saturday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
The Wahoos seven runs on seven hits Saturday followed a 10-run, 10-hit victory the night before.
“I feel like they’re headed in the right direction,” Jackson said after throwing some batting practice before the game. “They just have to make sure they get quality at bats. That’s what I look for.”
Silverio said through a translator, Wahoos reliever Fabian Williamson, that Jackson had him doing some extra hitting off a tee.
“Things have been feeling better the past few days and batting practice today was pretty good,” said Silverio, who knocked a few over the left field wall just like he did in the game. “I went out there with a good approach.”
Trailing 6-1, Silverio, who was hitless in his previous eight at bats, started the rally with a solo shot in the fifth inning. The blast came after Wahoos manager Delino DeShields got thrown out of the game for arguing an out call at first base on Juan Duran’s grounder to third.
Two batters later, Rey Navarro added a nearly identical two-run homer over the left field wall to cut the Barons’ lead to, 6-4. Navarro came into the game hitting .342 in his last 10 games and has two doubles, a triple and homer against the Barons this series.
In the sixth inning, Pensacola then sent eight hitters to the plate and added two more runs to tie the game at 6.
The raucous Blue Wahoos fans then received some extra excitement after the inning when team owner Quint Studer danced with the grounds crew in the infield to “Sweet Home Chicago” by the Blues Brothers. Studer’s big move was a jumping 360-degree spin in the air that delighted the packed stadium.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Silverio clubbed another home run to left field to put Pensacola ahead for the first time, 7-6, which ended up the winning margin.
“Juan has a lot of talent and he works hard,” DeShields said of Silverio, who before coming to the Reds organization was the ninth best prospect in the White Sox organization in 2012. “I don’t think he realizes how much talent he has some times. He can be special.”
Florida Forest Service Warns Of Wildfire Danger Time
May 25, 2014
For some it’s beaches, others think of backyard cookouts or baseball games. For wildland firefighters and the personnel of the Florida Forest Service’s Blackwater Forestry Center, however, the days and weeks around Memorial Day typically means a big fire or two.
While Florida experiences wildfires year round, spring traditionally is the height of the season across the state. In the three counties within the Blackwater response area (Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa) that window can be narrowed down even more.
“Right around Memorial Day we usually see some pretty significant fire activity,” said David Smith, operations administrator for the district. “We get rain in April and early May that will prompt new growth and add to the fuel on the ground and then we typically get a drying period of a week, maybe two weeks, that usually produces some of our more difficult fire conditions.”
Current forecasts show no rain in the next week or so. In the past few days, moderate winds and low humidity have helped dry out vegetative fuels after the recent rains. That lines up with historical patterns that have helped make the time around Memorial Day busy for the FFS.
During the past 10 years, Blackwater has seen an average of about 16 wildfires from May 20 to June 10 — the 21 days centered on the holiday. During the past four years, each of the season peaks has produced at least one fire larger than 50 acres that has had a significant impact on residents, roads or the public in general.
Pictured: A wildfire in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Out Of The Shadows And Into The Light
May 25, 2014
.Secrecy was the overarching theme this week.
An appeals court agreed to let a GOP consultant keep his redistricting-related documents hush-hush.
In the closely tied lawsuit over the once-a-decade redistricting process, House staffers provided a peek into secret discussions between legislative aides and Republican operatives while the new maps were being drawn.
Meanwhile, open government advocates had a setback in their challenge to elected officials’ use of blind trusts to shield financial assets.
And a months-long whisper campaign about GOP powerhouse John Thrasher taking the helm of his alma mater finally emerged from the shadows, virtually turning off the lights for other candidates.
REDISTRICTING REDUX
In a blow to a coalition of voting-rights organizations fighting the state’s congressional map, an appeals court ruled Thursday that GOP consultant Pat Bainter’s documents can remain sealed.
Bainter contends that divulging 538 pages of documents from his Gainesville-based consulting firm, Data Targeting, Inc., could reveal trade secrets and endanger his firm’s First Amendment rights.
The information has been at the center of a long-running dispute between the consultants and the voting-rights organizations and voters challenging the map. The lawsuit argues the congressional districts violate the anti-gerrymandering Fair District amendments approved by voters in 2010.
The documents may remain secret, but the trial in that case, which kicked off Monday, pulled back the curtain on meetings between GOP consultants and legislative staffers and, for Capitol watchers, exposed some juicy tidbits about the dysfunctional relationship between former House Speaker Dean Cannon and former Senate President Mike Haridopolos.
On Thursday, Alex Kelly — a former House staffer who led the chamber’s efforts to draw the map — contradicted current House Speaker Will Weatherford’s testimony earlier this week that Weatherford did not know about a 2010 meeting between legislative staffers and Republican operatives.
The meeting has become a focal point for the map’s critics, as they try to build a case that party operatives improperly influenced the final shape of congressional boundaries. Under the Fair District amendments, lawmakers are barred from drawing lines that are meant to help or hurt political parties or candidates.
Kelly said Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, knew about the get-together and approved of Kelly’s attendance.
“I can’t say I remember his exact words, but I was blessed to go to the meeting,” Kelly said.
Earlier this week, Weatherford, who was chairman of the redistricting committee, had testified that Kelly did not ask for his permission — and didn’t need it, because committee staff worked for then-speaker Cannon.
“(Kelly) had not cleared it with me,” Weatherford said. “I didn’t know he was going. I didn’t know about the meeting.”
The trial began Monday with hours of grilling of GOP consultant Marc Reichelderfer, who repeatedly denied that he provided specific feedback to Cannon and Kirk Pepper, one of the speaker’s top aides, on how to craft new districts that would help Republicans.
Reichelderfer said he didn’t specifically recall what came of an email conversation with Pepper about a congressional map that Pepper gave him through an online program known as Dropbox.
“Actually, the Webster seat is a bit messed up,” Reichelderfer wrote in the email conversation, referring to the Central Florida district of Republican Congressman Dan Webster.
“Performance or geography,” Pepper responded.
Pepper testified that the exchange was a sarcastic one. He also admitted that he erred by secretly feeding redistricting plans to Reichelderfer in 2012 but denied that the arrangement tainted the redrawing of the state’s congressional districts.
According to computer records and testimony, Pepper in some cases provided Reichelderfer with copies of the plans being crafted by House mapmakers weeks before they became public.
“In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done that again,” Pepper said under questioning from David King, a lawyer for those challenging the map. “But it was intended to help a friend who was cut out of a process that determines how he makes his living.”
Pepper, who now works for Cannon as a lobbyist, said he gave Reichelderfer the maps without the then-speaker’s approval. Cannon, who is expected to testify next week, was upset when he found out about the transfer months later from media reports, Pepper said.
“I think he said that was stupid,” Pepper said.
ARE BLIND TRUSTS TOO SECRET?
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday sent a lawsuit challenging elected officials’ use of blind trusts to a lower court, likely delaying a decision in the case over the constitutionality of a 2013 law.
Jim Apthorp, former chief of staff to the late Democratic Gov. Reubin Askew, filed the lawsuit last week, arguing that blind trusts violate the “full and public” disclosure requirements of the Sunshine Amendment, which requires elected officials to provide details about their financial interests. The Sunshine Amendment is considered one of the late governor’s chief legacies, and Apthorp is represented by Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte, a close friend of Askew’s who helped craft the open-government law overwhelmingly approved by voters in 1976.
Apthorp’s petition asked the Supreme Court to prohibit Secretary of State Ken Detzner from accepting the qualifying papers of any candidate using a blind trust. The five-day qualifying period for this year’s candidates begins June 16.
According to the lawsuit, Gov. Rick Scott is now the only candidate known to use a blind trust. Scott received the blessing of the state ethics commission before transferring his assets to the blind trust during his first year in office.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, Senate President Don Gaetz and Weatherford, all Republicans, on Monday asked the high court to dismiss the case. Bondi’s lawyers also argued the case should be sent to a lower court if the Supreme Court did not dismiss it.
Apthorp’s attorneys filed a motion Wednesday seeking oral arguments in the Supreme Court. But just hours later, justices referred the case to circuit court in Leon County.
FAT LADY HASN’T SUNG YET, BUT…
Rumor once had it that Scott would pick Thrasher, a former Republican Party of Florida chairman and veteran lawmaker, to fill a vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office.
That didn’t pan out. But ever since former Florida State University president Eric Barron announced in February that he was ditching his Tallahassee digs for the same job at Penn State University, Thrasher’s name has been at the top of the list of possible replacements.
This week, speculation about Thrasher’s interest in the post ended when FSU’s search committee took a “pause” so it could interview the St. Augustine Republican for the position.
On Monday, D’Alemberte, a Democrat who was the president of the university from 1994 to 2003, sent a letter nominating Thrasher. “During my time as president of the university, John repeatedly was the legislator who understood the need to support higher education and he always took a direct interest in the issues that related to FSU,” D’Alemberte wrote. “But for John Thrasher, there would be no medical school here at Florida State University.”
On Wednesday, search consultant Bill Funk told committee members that the “irregular” step of putting the search on hold was necessary because the “long-shadow” of Thrasher, who received undergrad and law degrees from FSU, had intimidated other qualified candidates.
“We’re not endorsing John for the role,” said Funk, founder and president of Dallas-based consulting firm R. William Funk & Associates. “But we are saying that John is casting a long-shadow. It’s limiting our opportunity to put together the kind of pool that this committee and that this university deserves.”
The university’s Board of Trustees will get an up or down recommendation from the committee some time after the Thrasher interview, which is set for June 11. The board’s chairman Allan Bense, a former House speaker, said Wednesday that the process “isn’t a done deal.”
The decision to interview Thrasher quickly drew opposition from students and faculty. Several claimed Thrasher has “hijacked” the process by covertly maneuvering for the post. Search committee members had said in February the selection would weigh more on academic credentials than political connections.
Jennifer Proffitt, president of the FSU chapter of the United Faculty of Florida, expected the process would lean toward Thrasher, but said the action Wednesday was more “blatant” than she anticipated.
“I think this meeting effectively shut down anyone who would have applied,” Proffitt said.
STORY OF THE WEEK: A Leon County circuit judge heard testimony in a trial about whether the Legislature violated constitutional requirements when drawing congressional districts in 2012.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Florida TaxWatch has once again shown that it is possible to be absent all year long from any engagement in the budget process, do no research into the merits of any appropriation, utter not one word of testimony on any proposal or alternative and still convince well-meaning people to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep a well-paid staff employed to absolutely no positive effect other than to get mentioned in one news cycle.” — Senate President Don Gaetz, after Florida TaxWatch recommended that Gov. Rick Scott veto about $121 million from the new state budget.
By Dara Kim, The News Service of Florida
James Calvin Kast
May 25, 2014
Mr. James Calvin Kast age 72, of Pierce Lane in Castleberry, passed away early Saturday morning May 24, 2014, at his residence after an extended illness. Mr. Kast was a native of Century and life-long resident of Castleberry. He was a logger and a member of the Vines & Branches Church.
Survivors include four sons, James Richard Kast of Repton, Jerry (Angie) Kast of Castleberry, Terry (Angie) Kast of Evergreen and James Rivers of Tuscaloosa; one daughter, Jennifer (Terry) Hayhurst of Benson, MN; one brother, Donnie Kast of Evergreen; two sisters; Carolyn Laster of Castleberry and Ernestine Caffey of Orange Beach; 12 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Mr. Kast was preceded in death by his daughter, Pam Williams and a brother, Buford Kast.
Funeral services for Mr. James Calvin Kast are scheduled for Monday, May 26, 2014, at 2 p.m. at Craver’s Funeral Home Inc with Rev. Jason Blackwell officiating.
Interment will follow in New Hopewell Cemetery in Castleberry.
Craver’s Funeral Home of Brewton is directing.
Local FCAT Scores Mixed; Some North Escambia Schools Soar
May 24, 2014
Partial results were released Friday from this year’s FCAT 2.0 testing, with several North Escambia schools making the highest scores in the county.
The results released Friday include third grade reading, third grade math, fourth grade writing, eighth grade writing and 10th grade writing. Test scores for other subjects and grades will be issued sometime in June.
In Escambia County, 55 percent of third grade students were proficient in reading, and 49 percent were proficient in math. In writing, 42 percent of fourth grade students, 46 percent of eighth graders and 58 percent of 10th grade students were at a 3.5 proficient level or greater.
North Escambia Standouts
With 84 percent of students proficient in third grade reading, Byrneville Elementary School was second in the district only to Pensacola Beach Elementary School. At Molino Park Elementary School, 95 percent of third graders were proficient in math, the highest level in Escambia County, with Bryneville Elementary second at 81 percent. Only 11 schools in the entire state scored higher than Molino Park.
In writing, Ernest Ward Middle School had 73 percent of eighth graders score a proficient grade level score of 3.5 or greater — the highest school score in Escambia County. Second highest were the Beulah Academy of Science and Bailey Middle Schools with 56 percent.
West Florida High School was tops in tenth grade writing with 81 percent at score of 3.5 or greater; Northview was fourth at 62 percent behind the Escambia Virtual Academy and Pensacola High School.
North Escambia Scores
Here are the results from North Escambia (District 5) schools:
Third Grade Reading And Math
Writing
