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One Injured In Hwy 29 Crash

One person suffered minor injuries in a two vehicle wreck about 7:40 this morning on Highway at Archer Road.  Two other people involved in the accident were reportedly not injured. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.

No Animals Registered Under New Century Ordinance

Thirty days after the passage of an ordinance that would require many Century residents to register their barnyard animals with the town — no one  had done so.

As of December 23, it became illegal to keep a horse, mule, donkey, goat, sheep, or cow within the town limits except in areas that are zoned agricultural or rural residential. Hogs were already prohibited in all areas of the town.

One horse or cow is now allowed for every two acres, one donkey or mule per acre and one goat or sheep per one-half acre. The animals and their pens must be 200 feet or greater from a dwelling or property line.

Anyone with the regulated animals in an area not zoned agricultural or rural residential within the town limits, must register their animals at the Century Town Hall by Friday, February 21 (60 days from the passage of the ordinance). Anyone with nonconforming  animals must apply for and be granted a variance from the town council within six months or get rid of their animals.

“While citizens have requested the applications, the town has not yet received any.  Nor has the town received a request for variance,” Town Clerk Leslie Gonzalez said in an email.

Mayor Freddie McCall expressed concerns that perhaps some residents had missed the news reports on the passage of the new ordinance. McCall and the town’s consultant on the ordinance, Debbie Nickles, will make an effort over the next few weeks to visit residents that may be required to register animals or request a variance, he said.

Pictured: Century council members Gary Riley, Ann Brooks, Sandra McMurray Jackson, Jacke Johnston and Annie Savage during a December 23 special meeting in which the town’s new barnyard animal ordinance was passed. Pictured inset: Council member Jacke Johnston reads the ordinance. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.

Local Music Students Selected For All-State Groups

Several local students were selected to participate in various Florida Music Educators Association All-State groups at the recent FMEA conference in Tampa. After going through an extensive audition process, eight students represented the Escambia County School District.

• All State Elementary Chorus — Kori Anthony, A. K. Suter Elementary
• Middle School Mixed Chorus — Seth Godwin, Ransom Middle
• Middle School Honor Band — Chase Rogers, Workman Middle
• All-State High School Concert Chorus — Eion Blanchard, Tate High
• All-State High School Honor Band — Kela Kawakami and Kaleb Broom, Washington High
• All-State High School Symphonic Band — Noah Heintz, Tate High
• All-State High School Honor Orchestra — Brianna Snyder, Tate High

Winter Storm Warning: Freezing Rain, Sleet, Snow Likely

A winter storm warning is in effect for the entire aera from 6 a.m. Tuesday through 6 a.m. Wednesday. Total ice accumulations of .25 inches or ore will be possible by late Tuesday night. Total sleet and snow accumulations of 1-3 inches are possible across the region.  Road conditions are expected to deteriorate  Tuesday into Tuesday night. Travel will be become difficult and is not advised.

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

• Tonight: A slight chance of rain between midnight and 3am, then a slight chance of freezing rain after 3am. Cloudy, with a low around 30. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Tuesday: Freezing rain and sleet before 9am, then rain, freezing rain, and sleet between 9am and noon, then freezing rain and sleet after noon. High near 34. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. North wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New ice accumulation of around a 0.1 of an inch possible. New sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
• Tuesday Night: Freezing rain, possibly mixed with sleet before 9pm, then snow. Low around 21. Wind chill values between 10 and 15. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New ice accumulation of 0.1 to 0.3 of an inch possible. New snow and sleet accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
• Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. Wind chill values between 10 and 20. North wind 10 to 15 mph.
• Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
• Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 46. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
• Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 34. East wind around 5 mph.
• Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 61. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
• Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
• Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67.
• Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51.
• Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70.
• Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52.
• Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69.

State Report Says Law Against ‘No Fault’ Fraud Is Lowering Insurance Rates

Auto insurance costs will come down slightly, more than a year after reforms aimed at reducing fraud in the state’s “no-fault” auto insurance system were implemented, according to a preliminary analysis of rates by the state.

The Office of Insurance Regulation announced that Personal Injury Protection coverage is projected to drop an average of 13.2 percent based upon on a review of 20 insurers that provide coverage for more than 75 percent of the Florida market.

The result of the decrease would be an overall 1.2 percent reduction in rates, because “no-fault” accounts for a small portion of auto coverage, the state insurance regulatory office stated in a release.

A spokesman for Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, who was a proponent of the 2012 law, called the report a “positive trend” for consumers.

“PIP fraud remains a criminal activity that we are vigilantly fighting, but the positive progress being made suggests that the recent PIP reforms should be allowed to continue working to help improve Florida’s auto insurance market,” Atwater spokesman Chris Cate said in an email.

According to OIR, the drop is in line with the projections from legislation (HB 119) that targeted what officials said had become a $1 billion overall increase in rates due to fraud.

“The estimated average statewide savings reflect a positive trend in comparison to 2011, when 86 percent of auto filings were for proposed increases in ‘no-fault’ premiums — the vast majority for double digit increases,” the study declared.

The report is expected to further temper efforts to dump the requirement that Floridians purchase “no-fault” coverage and instead allow them to carry just bodily injury coverage, which a vast majority of motorists in Florida already purchase.

Senate Banking and Insurance Chairman David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, has been moving towards such legislation, but his effort was slowed after the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee rule on Oct. 23 that a challenge to the 2012 law needed to offer a “factual” motorist who is harmed by the law.

The challenge to the law presented an acupuncturist, a chiropractor, two massage therapists, along with a hypothetical “John Doe” representing health-care providers and a hypothetical “Jane Doe” representing motorists.

The case has been appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.

Donovan Brown, state government relations counsel for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said the reduction in rates could have been even better, but some insurers may have been unsure how to proceed because of the lawsuit.

“That case causes mass confusion in the marketplace,” Brown said.

Still, Brown expects the debate to continue over the future of “no-fault” as the full impact of the new law may not be known until later this year, when the results of the second round of premium filings take hold.

“When these reforms are fully implemented, then we’ll have a better idea of what the true impact will be from the changes in 2012,” Brown said.

Staff analysis of the 2012 legislation projected a 13.2 percent drop in rates after October 2012 rate filings based upon the new law. The savings are projected to be between 14 percent and 24.6 percent when filings are calculated from the Jan. 1, 2014 filings.

Leading the charge in the rate reductions were Progressive Select Insurance and Progressive American Insurance, with reductions in “no-fault” coverage by 34.6 percent and 32.3 percent, respectively, with overall auto coverage down 15 percent and 11.7 percent.

Geico General Insurance Co., the state second largest auto insurance provider, had a 25 percent drop in “no-fault” coverage, while auto coverage grew 0.6 percent.

The state’s largest auto insurance provider, State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Co., had its “no-fault” coverage down 1.7 percent, while overall auto coverage decreased 3.3 percent.

Not every company submitted decreases in “no-fault.”

A 58.1 percent increase in “no-fault” was filed by 21st Century Centennial Insurance, with overall auto premiums going up 26.9 percent, and Esurance Property & Casualty Insurance has “no-fault” increasing 20.9 percent with overall rates up 17 percent.

In the House, Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, has filed two measures (HB 267 and HB 269) directed at repealing the “Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law” and allowing Floridians to carry only bodily injury coverage.

Neither bill has been reviewed by a committee.

by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida

Basketball: Chiefs To Celebrate Senior Night

Tonight is Senior Night for the Northview Chiefs boys basketball team.

Senior Night festivities will take place at 6:30 p.m. following a 5:00 p.m. junior varsity game against Monroe County (Ala.).  The varsity Chiefs will take on Monroe County at 7:00.

The Chiefs will round out their regular season on the road with games Thursday at Monroe County and Friday at Tate.

Cottage Hill Water Works Rescinds Boil Water Notice

Cottage Hill Water Works has issued a rescinded a boil water notice for McKenzie Road, Handy Road, Chavers Road, Smyers Road and Huntington Subdivision.

This notice was  issued Monday following a water main leak. Bacterial sampling indicated that the water is now safe to drink. For more information, contact Cottage Hill Water Works at (850) 968-5485.

Braun Awarded $180K NJROTC Scholarship

Northview High School Cadet Kasie Braun has been award the Navy’s four-year Reserve Officer Training Corps College Scholarship. Braun’s goal is to attend Yale University in the fall. The scholarship is valued at $180,000 over the four-year period. NorthEscambia.com file photo.

Gulf Power Offers Money Saving Cold Weather Tips

Gulf Power Company is offering some cold weather energy savings tips for everyone, including customers of other utilities.

This week, the North Escambia are is expecting more frigid temperatures. Gulf Power offers the following tips to stay warm, safe and conserve energy.

Things you can do right now to save money and energy

• Set your thermostat to 68 degrees or lower to conserve energy.
• Reverse the direction of your ceiling fans so they rotate clockwise as you look up at them. This will force warm air down from the ceiling.
• During the middle of the day, open blinds and curtains on the sunny side of the house. Also, where possible, reduce the traffic in and out of the house.
• Don’t use your oven to heat your home — it’s not efficient and most important, it’s not safe.
• A fireplace is not always an efficient heat source. If not used properly it can actually make the rest of the house cooler because airflow up the chimney removes the heated air. When using the fireplace, close all doors and warm air ducts to the room where the fireplace is located. Glass doors on a fireplace will reduce the outflow of warm air. And a fireplace with a blower system is ever better because it actually blows the warm air around the firebox back into the room.
• An electric blanket is more economical than heating the entire house all night long.
• Use a portable electric heater to heat only a small area. Buy models that are thermostatically controlled. Keep it at least three feet from items that could catch fire like curtains or furniture. Make sure you have working smoke detectors on every floor and in every sleeping room of your house.
• Make sure vents and return air registers are not blocked by furniture, draperies, doors or other obstacles.
• Use “draft stoppers” or towels/blankets to block drafts at foot of door.
• If you should lose power, go to your thermostat and turn off your heating system. Please wait 10 to 15 minutes after power has been restored before turning it back on. This prevents a power surge from shutting down electricity again.
• If you should lose power, please do not connect portable generators to your household electrical wiring. This can cause serious injury to you and to Gulf Power employees who are restoring electricity. Instead, plug appliances into the generator. Never use a generator in enclosed or partially-enclosed spaces because of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Things you can do to prepare your home for the whole winter season

Temperature settings

• Heating a house makes up about half of your electricity bill so set your thermostat to 68 degrees or lower in the winter. Did you know that you can decrease the amount of energy you buy for heating by three percent or more for every degree below 68 degrees you set your thermostat?
• Programmable thermostats are a good investment, or you can take advantage of Gulf Power’s Energy Select. Energy Select is Gulf Power’s advanced energy management program that offers a lower price for electricity 87 percent of the time. Energy Select features a programmable thermostat and a special rate of four price periods based upon time of day, day of week and season. Installation and meter-based surge protection are both free with Energy Select. Only $4.95 per month.

Heating and cooling equipment

• The system heating the home is extremely important. If it’s an older, less efficient unit, upgrading to a geothermal heating and cooling system — or a high efficiency air-source heat pump may be a wise choice. Contact Gulf Power at 1-877-655-4001 for a free Energy Check-Up.

Routine maintenance

• A well-maintained heating system runs more efficiently. A complete tune-up of the home heating system can cost anywhere from $50 to $100 and more, but this is a very worthwhile investment and can reduce your heating bill from 3 to 10 percent. Some companies offer regular service contracts, which are a convenience if you tend to forget system maintenance. Remember to replace the filter every month.

Ductwork

• Duct leakage can account for 20 percent of the heating and cooling cost. Getting ducts sealed up should be at the top of the list for making your home energy efficient.

Insulation

• Adding insulation to your attic is one of the most cost-effective energy saving measures. Different types of insulation material have different R-values. The recommended level is R-38 in the attic.

Weather-stripping and caulking

• Weather-strip door jambs and caulk any cracks around windows to prevent cool air from entering your home.

Window units

• If you have a window air conditioning unit, remove it for the winter months to prevent heat from escaping through and around the unit. If it can’t be moved, put a cover over it to prevent drafts.

Humidifier

• Use a humidifier to keep your home more comfortable. Adding moisture allows you to reduce the thermostat setting without feeling colder.

Lt. Susie Marie (Sheffield) Joye

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