Florida Man Executed For Killing Stepdaughter, Her Mother
November 14, 2014
Death Row inmate Chadwick D. Banks was put to death by lethal injection Thursday night at Florida State Prison near Starke for killing his 10-year-old stepdaughter after also murdering her mother. He was pronounced dead at 7:27 p.m., according to the Department of Corrections.
The planned start of the execution was delayed nearly one hour before a final appeal for Banks, 43, was turned down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The execution of Banks was the 20th since Gov. Rick Scott took office and the eighth this year, the most for Florida in a single year since 1984. Speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Scott repeated his assertion that he takes capital punishment seriously.
“I think about the victims, I think about their families,” Scott said. “It’s what I think about and I’m going to continue to do the job that I’m committed to do.”
Scott in September signed a death warrant for Banks, who was convicted in the 1992 slayings in Gadsden County. Banks was accused of shooting his wife while she slept and then going to his stepdaughter’s bedroom, where he sexually battered her before shooting her in the top of the head as she knelt at her bedside.
He was sentenced to death for the child’s murder and also received two life sentences.
by The News Service of Florida
Troopers ‘Stuff The Charger’ For Manna Food Pantries
November 14, 2014
The local Florida Highway Patrol troop based in Pensacola “Stuffed the Charger” during their inaugural food drive. The food was delivered to the Manna Food Pantries. Statewide, the FHP collected over three tons of food during the event. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lifetime Florida Sportsman’s Licenses On Sale
November 14, 2014
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is offering Lifetime Sportsman’s Licenses for Florida children and young adults at a greatly reduced cost. The license now costs up to $1,000 but from November 24 through December 31, 2014, the price will be reduced to $500 for Florida residents who are 21-years-old and younger.
The lifetime license covers saltwater and freshwater recreational fishing, hunting and most associated permits.
“Our state’s natural treasures give families wonderful opportunities for both fishing and hunting from the Panhandle to the Keys. This Lifetime Sportsman’s License will provide Florida’s youth with the opportunity to spend time outdoors with their families. Fishing and hunting are time-honored traditions in our state, and I encourage all Floridians to spend some time enjoying the great outdoors,” Gov, Rick Scott said after signing the executive order that lowered the cost.
A Lifetime Sportsman’s License allows fishing and hunting in Florida for the rest of the license holder’s life, even if that person is no longer a resident of the state.
The license may be purchased at all Florida county tax collectors’ offices, online at License.MyFWC.com and by calling toll-free 888-FISH-FLORIDA (888-347-4356). Residency must be verified. For more information about a Lifetime Sportsman’s License and this limited time offer, visit http://myfwc.com/license/recreational/lifetime-licenses/.
In addition to all Escambia County Tax Collector Offices including Molino, licenses are also available at the Clerk of the Court office in the Billy G. Ward Courthouse in Century.
Photos: Truck Burns On Highway 4
November 14, 2014
Fire destroyed a truck alongside Highway 4 near Sandy Hollow Road near Davisville about 4:15 Thursday afternoon. The driver of the vehicle was not around when firefighters arrived on scene.
There were no injuries reported. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the blaze.
Pictured top and bottom: Firefighters extinguish a truck fire Thursday afternoon. Pictured below: A firefighter uses a saw to cut the truck’s hood open. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Fields of Faith: Student Led Worship Event Planned
November 14, 2014
The Northview High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is sponsoring a student led worship event next week in Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium in Bratt.
Northview students, area churches and community members will come together to worship, share student testimonies and hear a message from guest speaker Pastor Nathan Brown of Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church.
The public is invited to attend the event from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, November 19. Donations will be accepted for Bryant Cooper, a local 17-year old recently diagnosed with cancer, and the family of Darion Riley, a Northview student that passed away as the result of a Molino traffic accident last week.
Freezing Cold — Pets, Plants, Pipes And Other Tips
November 14, 2014
When temperatures fall into the 20’s, it is time to take necessary precautions to protect pipes, pets and plants, and check on elderly friends and neighbors.
For tonight’s latest forecast, click here.
Here are ways to stay safe during this year’s first round of cold temperatures, courtesy of the American Red Cross:
- Wear layers of lightweight clothing to stay warm. Gloves and a hat will help prevent losing body heat.
- Know the signs of hypothermia – confusion, dizziness, exhaustion and severe shivering. If someone has these symptoms, they should get immediate medical attention.
- Watch for symptoms of frostbite including numbness, flushed gray, white, blue or yellow skin discoloration, numbness or waxy feeling skin.
- Bring the pets indoors. If that’s not possible, make sure they have enough shelter to keep them warm and that they can get to unfrozen water.
- Avoid frozen pipes – run water, even at a trickle, to help prevent them from freezing. Keep the thermostat at the same temperature day and night to help avoid freezing pipes.
- Do not use a stove or oven to heat the home.
- Space heaters should sit on a level, hard surface and anything flammable should be kept at least three feet away.
- If using a fireplace, use a glass or metal fire screen large enough to catch sparks and rolling logs.
- Turn off space heaters and make sure fireplace embers are out before leaving the room or going to bed.
And here are a few extra details and tips from ECUA on protecting pipes against the freeze:
- Insulate pipes or faucets in unheated areas: Pipes located in unheated areas of your house, such as a garage or crawl space under the house or in the attic, are subject to freezing. If you have time to do this before freezing temperatures arrive, wrap these pipes with insulation materials made especially for this purpose. These materials can be found in most hardware stores or home improvement centers.
- Disconnect and drain outdoor hoses: Detach all hoses from faucets and allow them to drain. This action guards against the water in the hose or pipe from freezing and bursting the faucet or pipe to which it is connected.
- Run a trickle of water: When forecasts call for sustained and / or severe freezing temperatures, run a thin trickle of water from the faucet furthest from the water line coming to your house. Usually this is in a room at the back of the house or outside, in the yard. Allowing the water to circulate through your home’s plumbing helps to keep it from freezing. Some consider this a waste of water but the cost of the water used is extremely slight compared to repairing broken pipes and the resulting water damage.
- Remember the backflow preventer: Residents and business owners who have backflow preventers on their properties for water lines, fire lines, irrigation systems, and swimming pools need to protect their backflow preventers from freeze as well. Extended freezes can burst the body of the backflow assembly, rendering it useless. Wrap these pipes with insulation materials, made especially for this purpose. These materials can be found in most hardware stores or home improvement centers. If the device and the water line are not in use at this time (i.e., irrigation system or swimming pool lines), shut off the water supply line and drain the backflow device.
Northview High Teacher Moretz Receives Governor’s Shine Award
November 13, 2014
A Northview High school teacher was one of six educators who formerly served in the military honored by Gov. Rick Scott Wednesday.
James Moretz received the Governor’s Shine Award for his service to our country and his contributions to Florida’s students. The Governor’s Shine Award is presented to Floridians who have positively impacted children through education.
Moretz is a U.S. Navy veteran and native Floridian who teaches at Northview High. Soon after graduating from Wakulla County High School in 1981, Moretz joined the Navy where he served continuously for nearly 23 years. In 2004, Lt. Commander Moretz retired from active naval service and last served at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
After his naval career, Moretz worked for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the Escambia County School District as a school resource deputy for eight years.
While working full-time, he used the GI Bill to attend college, where he earned two associate degrees from Pensacola State College and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of West Florida in 2012. Moretz later attained certification to teach social sciences for grades 6-12. He is now in his third year of teaching United States government and economics at Northview.
“It is an honor to thank these teachers who went from serving their country to serving Florida students in the classroom. A great education system is key to creating a highly-skilled workforce and driving our economy forward. These teachers have gone above and beyond the call of duty by preparing our students today for the jobs of tomorrow, and I thank them for their continued service to Florida families,” Gov. Scott said.
“Teaching is not easy, but for those veterans lucky enough to be up for the challenge it is a very rewarding career,” Moretz said Wednesday. “I am humbled to be part of the students’ lives through education.”
“We are definitely proud of Mr. Moretz,” Northview Principal Gayle Weaver said. “He always shines in everything he does.”
Pictured top: Northview High teacher James Moretz (blue shirt) received the Governor’s Shine Award during a Florida Cabinet meeting Wednesday morning in Tallahassee. Moretz is pictured with (L-R) Attorney General Pam Bondi, Gov. Rick Scott, CFO Jeff Atwater and Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam. Pictured inset: Moretz also received a Veterans Service Award medal from Scott. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
State Sued Over Deer Dog Hunts In The Blackwater Forest
November 13, 2014
A retired U.S. Air Force pilot and National Rifle Association member wants the state to stop hunters from using dogs to track down deer around his Panhandle property.
Claiming they have been threatened by hunters and that dogs chasing deer can scare rescued horses, William Daws, Jr., and his wife, Ouida Gershon, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Leon County circuit court against the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The lawsuit seeks to stop deer-dog hunting in the portion of the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area where they have lived since 2005.
Susan Smith, a spokeswoman for the agency, said Wednesday she couldn’t comment on pending litigation.
Daws, a hunter who spent 23 years in the Air Force, including combat service in Vietnam, isn’t seeking to outlaw the deer-dog practice in Florida, just around his section of the management area where he and a number of other people live. Such hunts are allowed 44 days a year.
“If they close it to deer-dog hunting, hunting is still allowed,” said David Theriaque, the attorney for the couple. “It’s not as if you’re closing the wildlife management area to hunting. It’s just that this particular form of hunting would be banned.”
Deer-dog hunters use canines to trail deer through the woods. The dogs are unleashed when deer tracks are found or when hunters are within areas deer are known to frequent. The hunters typically follow in pickup trucks to where the dogs are expected to round up the deer for shooting.
The state commission was advised by staff at the Sept. 10 meeting in Kissimmee that closing more areas to hunting with dogs is possible, “however, interest in hunting with dogs remains extremely high.”
A total of 155 permits were approved for the 2014-2015 season.
In seeking both a temporary and permanent injunction to halt the state agency from allowing the hunts to occur in their section of Blackwater, which runs up to the Florida-Alabama border, Daws and his wife are asking for at least $15,000 in damages, claiming the state agency’s issuance of permits to deer-dog hunters has deprived them of their constitutional rights as property owners.
“They are hunters, they support hunters,” Theriaque said. “It really boils down to they have bought land and the state is allowing people to run their dogs through. The state can stop this in a heartbeat by saying we can close deer-dog hunting in that portion of Blackwater.”
The 191,651-acre Blackwater area in Okaloosa County and Santa Rosa counties consists of public land that is interspersed with a number of privately owned properties.
In 2005, the commission reduced the allowed space within Blackwater for deer-dog hunting from 78,172 acres to 19,589 acres, while also closing a number of roads to the hunters.
According to the lawsuit, the couple has sought changes to deer-dog hunting for four years as efforts to protect rescue animals they care for on the property has resulted in being “harassed, bullied, and threatened by deer-dog hunters, including deer-dog hunters firing their guns over the heads of the Daws.”
“They don’t leave their property during daylight hours,” when it’s deer-dog season, Theriaque said. “What happens is the deer jump over the fence, or they’re already on the property, and dogs and houses don’t mix well, especially dogs that are in hot pursuit of deer.”
In an affidavit last week, William Daws said the ongoing conflict with deer-dog hunters has resulted in verbal threats, the couple’s mailbox being shot, threats to tear down fencing, and derogatory graffiti written in the road in front of the their home.
The commission has acknowledged complaints from area homeowners, and the agency has sought to reduce conflicts between homeowners and hunters.
In September the commission approved a change that would require dogs used for pursuing or hunting deer, fox or coyote within permissible areas of Blackwater to be equipped with devices that include Global Positioning Systems and behavior correctional capabilities, in other words shock collars, to keep them within allowed hunting grounds. However, because costs for the receivers and collars can run $650 to $1,100, the rule doesn’t go into effect for two years.
Daws and Gershon argue in the lawsuit that control devices aren’t completely reliable for dogs that are running leash free as “it is well established that dogs cannot read ‘No Trespassing’ signs.”
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Funeral Services Set For Teen Involved In Molino Wreck; Donations Accepted
November 13, 2014
Funeral services have been set for Darion Taylor Riley, a 16-year old Northview High School student who passed away Tuesday from injuries she received in a traffic crash Friday afternoon in Molino.
Visitation will be held from noon until 2:00 p.m. Saturday at Faith Chapel North, 1000 South Highway 29 in Cantonment with the funeral to follow at 2:00 p.m.
The family had no life insurance. Memorial donations can be made to Faith Chapel North, 1000 South Highway 29 in Cantonment, or call (850) 937-8118. An online donation page had been established, but the family asks that further donations be directed to the funeral home.
For further information about the accident, click here.
Freeze Warning Tonight, Low 26
November 13, 2014
There is a freeze warning in effect for tonight. For cold weather preparedness tips, click here.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight Partly cloudy, with a low around 26. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. North wind around 10 mph.
- Friday Sunny, with a high near 51. Wind chill values between 20 and 30 early. North wind 10 to 15 mph.
- Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 27. North wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday Sunny, with a high near 58. North wind around 5 mph becoming east in the afternoon.
- Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. East wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday Showers likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 68. East wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Sunday Night Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a low around 54. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Monday Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Monday Night A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 33.
- Tuesday Tuesday
- Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 27.
- Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 53.