20’s Tonight, Season’s Coldest Weather Next Week
January 3, 2014
It’s going to be cold today, with the high struggling to reach the middle 40’s before dropping to 25 tonight. And by next week, we are expecting lows around 21.
- Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 24. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 55. Wind chill values between 20 and 30 early. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Sunday: A slight chance of showers before noon, then a chance of rain after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 67. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Sunday Night: Rain likely, mainly before midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 24. Blustery, with a southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest 15 to 20 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Monday: Sunny, with a high near 36. Breezy, with a north wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
- Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 16. North wind around 10 mph.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 38. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
- Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 17. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 51.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32.
- Thursday: A 20 percent chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 63.
- Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.
- Friday: A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65.
2013 In Photos: July
January 3, 2014
All this week, we are looking back at the photos that were in the news in 2013. Today, we are featuring photos from July.
A Nokomis woman was attacked and mauled by two pit bulls.
North Escambia firefighters practice using the Jaws of Life.
Fire destroyed this pickup on Highway 4 in Walnut Hill.
Molino’s Caleb Gindl made history in July for the Milwaukee Brewers as he became the first in franchise history to hit a walk-off for his first MLB homer.
Two pit bulls attacked a road crew and were later shot and killed by an Escambia County deputy in the Grand Oaks Subdivision in Cantonment near Tate High School.
An educator from Iraq spent time learning about farming in Walnut Hill.
Dozens of local children took part in a musical camp at Highland Baptist Church.
A Walnut Hill farmer fertilizes cotton.
A minister at his post in the chapel of the Century Correctional Institution.
Hail from a summer thunderstorm.
The Pensacola Beach Airshow went on without the Blue Angels.
Community members, seen here reflected in a security mirror, toured the Century Correctional Institution.
Flash flooding at Highway 29 and Highway 97.
Chloe Channel wowed audiences on America’s Got Talent.
Atmore fireworks.
Century fireworks.
Shawn Oneal “Cooler” Whatley
January 3, 2014
Shawn Oneal “Cooler” Whatley, 34, of Perdido, passed away Wednesday, December 18, 2013, in Bay Minette. He was a roofer employed by Parker Roofing Co. He was born in Fairhope on November 19, 1979, to Stanley and Marie Whatley Lowery.
He is preceded in death by his father, Stanley Lowery.
Survivors include his wife, Briggett “Nikki” Robinson Whatley of Bay Minette; two sons, Taylor Whatley and Tyler Whatley; three daughters, BrittanyWhatley, Coutney Whatley and Ava Whatley all of Perdido; mother, Marie “Riddie” (Thomas) Hancock of Perdido; and one sister, Crystal (Jonathan) Rider of Stapleton.
Services were held Friday, January 03, 2014, at 2 p.m. from Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Sis. Helen Stewart officiating.
Interment will follow in White Cemetery in Perdido.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home, Inc is in charge of all arrangements.
Ersel Lee Booker
January 3, 2014
Ersel Lee Booker, 65 of Atmore, passed away Thursday, January 02, 2014, at her residence. She was a homemaker, born in Atmore, on April 25, 1948, to the late John D. and Trudy Pauline McKinley Raines.
She is preceded in death by a daughter, Diane Bohannan.
Survivors include three sons, Chuck Booker, Jerry Campbell and John L. Johnson; one brother, Bufford John Raines; four sisters, Wendy Voss, Peggy Bohannan, JoAnn Kramer and Vivian Hoyle.
Graveside services will be Saturday, January 04, 2014, at 10 a.m. from Oak Hill Cemetery with Rev. Mike Grindle officiating.
Interment will follow in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home, Inc is in charge of all arrangements.
Falling Rain, Then Falling Temps
January 2, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Thursday: Rain, mainly before noon. Temperature rising to near 58 by 11am, then falling to around 48 during the remainder of the day. Breezy, with a light and variable wind becoming northwest 15 to 20 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
- Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. Northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 46. Wind chill values between 15 and 25 early. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 26. North wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
- Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 57. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
- Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon.
- Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 48.
- Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 26.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 45.
- Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 25.
- Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 50.
A New Year, A Higher Power Bill For Gulf Power Customers
January 2, 2014
A new year means a rate increase for Gulf Power customers to help pay for the largest power grid construction program in the history of the company.
The average residential bill for 1,000 killowatt hours of electricity is expected to jump $4.06 from $127.94 to $132. In addition, in January 2015, the price will increase an additional $2.42 per 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Originally, Gulf Power filed a request that would have increased the cost for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity $10.93 per month by the end of 2015.
Starting last year and continuing over the next three years, the company is building and replacing power lines and infrastructure — some more than 70 years old — to keep electricity flowing to its 430,000 customers. In addition, new lines and equipment are needed to comply with new mandatory federal environmental regulations. The formal request was filed in July, and a settlement with the Public Service Commission was reached in December.
The hike allows Gulf Power to increase its revenue through base rates by $35 million in January, with another $20 million boost in 2015.
The money will be used to pay for 15 transmission projects, both new and upgrades, Stone said. The work is considered the largest ever to be undertaken by the investor-owned utility, said attorney Jeff Stone, representing Gulf Power.
Another significant part of this settlement includes new job creation incentives. These incentives will reduce the amount the business pays for electricity by a certain percentage for four years if the business meets certain eligibility requirements.
Examples of the planned Gulf Power infrastructure investments include:
- Substations are being added and improved to continue to provide reliable service to our customers. In Pensacola, a substation on Devilliers Street has been rebuilt. On Allison Avenue in Panama City, a new substation has been built.
- Seventy miles of 70-year-old transmission line is being rebuilt from Panama City to Holmes County.
- An existing transmission line between Highland City and Holmes Creek substations in the Panama City area is being upgraded to maintain reliability for our customers.
- A new 38-mile line is being added that begins in the Pensacola area and goes to the Florida-Alabama state line. This project is necessary for mandatory federal environmental compliance.
Originally, the utility had sought to increase base rates by $74.4 million, along with the potential for a further $16.4 million in 2015. Those increases would have pushed the typical monthly bill to $138.87 by the end of 2015.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fire Destroys Storage Shed
January 2, 2014
Fire destroyed a small storage shed in Bratt Wednesday night.
The 150 square foot detached shed on Hanks Road just off North Highway 99 was fully involved when firefighters arrived. The fire was quickly extinguished without being a threat to any other structures. There were no injuries reported.
The Walnut Hill and Century stations of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Atmore Fire Department were dispatched to the fire.
Federal Judge Rules Against Drug Testing Welfare Applicants
January 2, 2014
A federal judge has ruled that a 2011 law requiring welfare applicants to undergo drug tests is unconstitutional, striking a blow to Gov. Rick Scott’s administration over the controversial tests.
Scott quickly said he would appeal U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven’s Tuesday ruling, the latest defeat for the governor in a drawn-out battle over drug testing some of the state’s poorest residents.
Scriven ruled that the urine tests violate the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.
In a harshly worded, 30-page opinion, Scriven concluded that “there is no set of circumstances under which the warrantless, suspicionless drug testing at issue in this case could be constitutionally applied.”
Scott, who used the mandatory drug tests as a campaign issue, insists that the urine tests are needed to make sure poor children don’t grow up in drug-riddled households.
“Any illegal drug use in a family is harmful and even abusive to a child. We should have a zero tolerance policy for illegal drug use in families — especially those families who struggle to make ends meet and need welfare assistance to provide for their children. We will continue to fight for Florida children who deserve to live in drug-free homes by appealing this judge’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals,” Scott said in a statement after Tuesday’s ruling.
At Scott’s urging in 2011, the Legislature passed the law requiring all applicants seeking Temporary Assistance for Needy Families” — the “poorest of the poor” — to undergo the urine tests. Applicants had to pay for the tests, which cost about $35, up front and were to have been reimbursed if they did not test positive.
Within months after the law was passed, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida sued the state on behalf of Luis Lebron, a Navy veteran and single father. In October 2011, Scriven issued a preliminary order putting the law on hold. Scott appealed the decision but in February, an 11th Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel agreed with Scriven, ruling that the drug tests amounted to an unreasonable search by government. Scott later requested a full court review of the case but was turned down.
In her Tuesday ruling, Scriven relied heavily on the 11th Circuit opinion, which cited previous U.S. Supreme Court rulings that restricted urine tests by government agencies to employees working at dangerous jobs or in jobs where schoolchildren were involved.
Scott’s lawyers argued that TANF recipients should be considered a “special interest” exception to the Fourth Amendment. The tests are needed to ensure TANF participants’ job readiness, help the social welfare program meets its goals and guarantee that the public money is used for its intended purpose and not spent on drugs.
But Scriven criticized the expert witnesses, testimony and evidence the state used to defend the law.
“In sum, there simply is no competent evidence offered on this record of the sort of pervasive drug problem the State envisioned in the promulgation of this statute,” she wrote.
The state failed to show that TANF recipients used drugs with more frequency than the rest of the population, Scriven found. But even if it had, creating a special class of people who would be exempt from the constitutional protections could be dangerous, she wrote.
“If persons in an economic demographic could be shown to have a higher rate of drug use, would all such persons in that economic group be subjected to drug testing? Even if such suspicionless testing as proposed by the State were limited to those persons receiving state funds, would college students receiving governmental assistance to subsidize their education, for example, be subjected to random, suspicionless drug testing if it could be shown that drug use is demonstrably higher among college students? The Supreme Court’s Fourth Amendment precedent would suggest not,” Scriven wrote.
Scriven’s decision “is a sound rejection of the evidence that the state presented to the district court in its attempt to establish that TANF applicants used drugs at a higher rate than the general population,” said ACLU of Florida Associate Legal Director Florida Maria Kayanan, the lead attorney on the case.
She called Scott’s promised appeal “a waste of the state’s time and taxpayer’s money” but said “they certainly have the right to an appeal.”
Thieves Attempt To Steal Entire ATM
January 2, 2014
The Atmore Police Department is looking for two men who tried to steal an entire ATM from a convenience store.
According to police, they responded to an alarm at the BP Station on Highway 21 at I-65 at 3:45 a.m. Monday. They discovered damage to the front door of the business and a large broken chain around an ATM. Surveillance video showed two black males in a silver or light colored SUV, possibly a Tahoe or Yukon, driving up to the front door, using a pry bar to gain entry and attempting to drive off with a chain around the ATM. The attempt failed when the chain broke.
Anyone who has information regarding this case is asked to call Atmore Police at (850) 368-9141.
Florida Supreme Court Suspends Two Escambia County Attorneys
January 2, 2014
The Florida Supreme Court has suspended two Escambia county attorneys, according to information released by the Florida Bar.
Will Rogers Helton, Jr., 900 N. Pace Blvd., Unit B, Pensacola, was suspended for 180 days. Helton was also a member of the South Carolina Bar. This is a reciprocal discipline case from South Carolina, where the misconduct occurred. During a seven-month period, Helton personally handled real estate closings that took place outside his law office.
Helton’s non-lawyer assistants handled most of the closings that took place in the law office, without the presence or supervision of a licensed attorney. In most cases, the non-lawyer assistants would sign Helton’s name as a witness on deeds, mortgages and other closing documents, the court said.
Eugene Keith Polk, 201 E. Government St., Pensacola, was suspended for 90 days, followed by three year’s probation. After being retained, Polk failed to communicate with a client for nearly two years and failed to return documents despite numerous requests, the court said.
Polk failed to respond to Bar inquiries for several months and misrepresented to the referee during the course of the disciplinary proceedings.