Escambia County To Try Again Next Month To Name Adminstrator
February 6, 2014
Escambia County will try again in March to hold interviews and name a county administrator.
The Escambia County Commission was set to hold one-on-one job interviews with each of the five finalists for the county administrator position the last week of January, but a freak winter storm literally iced those plans.
On March 13 each finalist will meet separately with individual commissioners in their offices prior to public interviews with the full board at 1:oo in the afternoon. A second special board meeting will be held on March 14 at 9 a.m. to pick a new top boss for the county if one is not named on March 13.
The five finalists for Escambia County administrator, as recommended by a citizens advisory committee, are:
- Jack Brown — Perry, FL. County Administrator, Taylor County BOCC.
- Ted Lakey — Graceville, FL. County Administrator, Jackson County BOCC.
- Albert Penska — Gettysburg, PA. County Manager, Adams County.
- William Reynolds — Pensacola. Former City Administrator, City of Pensacola.
- John Weaver — Murrells Inlet, SC. Attorney, Thomas & Brittain
Due to the administrator interviews, a Committee of the Whole Workshop scheduled for Thursday, March 13, has been canceled.
Frances Kee Morgan
February 6, 2014
Frances Kee Morgan, 82, of Cantonment, passed away on Tuesday, February 4, 2014, at home surrounded by her loving family. Mrs. Morgan’s favorite hobby was reading. After she lost her eyesight she listened to audio books. She also loved to surf fish, especially with her husband. For many years she attended Aldersgate Methodist Church and Allen Memorial Methodist Church. She enjoyed eating at area restaurants.The joy of her life was her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Clarence H. Morgan, Jr.
She is survived by her daughters, Jackie Nicholson (Donnie), Mona Ward and Janet Morgan; son, Clarence (Teet) Morgan III (Lesa); eight grandchilden, 15 great-grandchildren and many friends.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 7, 2014, at 11 a.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North with Reverend Rian Kegerreis officiating.
Interment will follow at Aldersgate Cemetery.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with the arrangements.
Olvie Chaney Beech
February 6, 2014
Olvie Chaney Beech 74, of Goodway, Ala., passed away at her residence after a long illness with Parkinson’s disease on February 3, 2014. She is preceded in death by her loving husband of 38 years William Mack Beech of Huxford; and her parents, Earnest F. and Corell Morris (Hall) Chaney. Mrs. Beech worked 15 years with Vanity Fair and then later became a homemaker. She loved flowers, gardening, painted art, cooking, baking cakes and she had a license to fly. She and her late husband Mack Beech lived on Orange Beach for a few years, overseen shrimp boats and shrimped. They later traveled from coast to coast in their “bus” with blue bird groups and saw the world.
She is also preceded in death by brothers, Wiley, Riley, and Stinson Hall; sisters, Luverne Veveen, Arlie Yohn, Carlie Morris, Gladys Hall; and three nephews and three nieces.
She is survived by her two daughters, Julie (Jeff) Fillmore of Atmore, Carol House (late husband Ralph) Robinson of Huxford; son, James L. (Shelia) House of Goodway; four grandchildren David James (Amber) House, Haley House (Kyle) Albritton , Forrest Fillmore and Justin Fillmore; five great-grandchildren, James Curtis, Payton, Jailynn, Trenton, and Blaze House; loving and devoted sister, Olivia (Larry) Carroll; and brother, Ira (Inez) Hall both of Hattiesburg, MS; 10 nieces and seven nephews; beloved and devoted friend and caregiver, Ophia Millender of Monroeville; and her beloved dog of six years “J.R. Beech.”
Special thanks to Debbie Albritton and Mary Asera of Care Hospice, Dr. Sage Smith and Dr. Nacey McCloud.
Funeral Services were held Thursday, February 6, 2014, from the Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. C. L. Langford officiating.
Burial was in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Active pallbearers were Forrest Fillmore, Justin Fillmore, Britten Ikner, John Murry Ikner, Kyle Albritton and D.J. House.
Honorary pallbearers were Larry Carroll, J.C. Morris, Ladon Hall, Mike Smith and Tommy Hall.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Lee Hadley
February 6, 2014
Mr. Lee Hadley, 58, passed away on Tuesday, February 4, 2014, in Bay Minette.
Mr. Hadley was a native of Rabun and a resident of Nokomis, Alabama for the past 15 years. Mr. Hadley worked as a truck driver. A wife, Bonnie Sue Hadley, precedes him in death.
He is survived by his wife, Donna S. Hadley of Bay Minette; one daughter, Jena Hadley Capps of Bay Minette; three step-daughters, Linda K. Myers of Perdido, Betty Hearne of Houston, TX and Jamie Williams of Bay Minette; one brother, Luke Mitchem of Stillwood, MO; two sisters, Maxine Hall of Elberta and Lorraine Gray of Nokomis, Ala; six grandchildren; a number of nieces and nephews and a special caregiver, Darlene Bordelon of Nokomis, Ala.
Funeral services will be Friday, February 7, 2014, at 2 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Sister Helen Stewart officiating.
Burial will follow at the Lottie Methodist Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Kenneth Evans, Codie Evans, Ray Weaver, John Mangrum, John Ray Hearne and John Pipkins.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes is in charge of all arrangements.
Alabama Man Dies In Olive Road Wreck
February 5, 2014
An Alabama man was killed in an early morning traffic accident in Escambia County.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 22-year old Jamie Nichols of Foley was traveling east on Olive Road near Ackerman Drive when he lost control, ran off the roadway and struck a tree. He was pronounced deceased on the scene by Escambia County EMS.
Nichols was wearing the seat belt in his 2000 Jeep Cherokee at the time of the crash, the FHP said.
FDLE Arrests Local Crime Lab Chemist
February 5, 2014
Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents arrested former Pensacola crime-lab chemist Joseph Graves Tuesday evening, three days after announcing he might have compromised hundreds of state drug cases, the agency said.
Graves was arrested at the Escambia County Jail, and he was released a short time later on a $290,000 bond. Graves is charged with grand theft, 12 counts of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and nine counts of trafficking in illegal drugs. Additional charges are possible.
Investigators believe that Graves, while processing drug cases, replaced prescription pain pills with over-the-counter medications.
“The actions of Joseph Graves are disgraceful,” FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey said in a statement. “FDLE is working with state attorneys’ offices statewide to ensure he is held accountable for his actions.”
FDLE began the investigation last month, collaborating with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and State Attorney Bill Eddins, after prescription pain pills from the evidence room at the sheriff’s office went missing. Investigators determined that each case involving missing drugs had been analyzed by Graves, who was relieved of duty Friday. He had been a crime lab analyst in Pensacola since December 2005, and was promoted to supervisor in July 2009.
FDLE teams are inspecting evidence from all cases handled by Graves to determine which of the cases could be compromised. He handled nearly 2,600 cases for 80 law enforcement agencies spanning 35 counties and 12 judicial circuits. Eddins will prosecute the case; the investigation is ongoing.
House Panel Backs Ban On Insurers Discriminating Against Gun Owners
February 5, 2014
Insurance companies could face tougher penalties if they impose higher rates, refuse to issue or cancel auto or homeowner policies due to gun ownership, under a measure backed by a House committee Tuesday.
Florida law already prohibits such action, but Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, said his proposal (HB 255) would provide a remedy other than with the state Office of Insurance Regulation by allowing a policyholder to sue if an insurer took such an action.
“It just gives greater access to courts,” Gaetz said. “It’s unlawful now, but the only entity that has the ability to enforce it right now is OIR.”
A staff analysis of the bill notes that “an issue with the current law is that it lacks specific authority to take action against any insurers which violate the proscribed behavior.”
Gaetz added that while such actions by insurers haven’t been seen in Florida, cases have been tracked in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania.
“In Florida that has not been a circumstance, but this is a prophylactic in the event that events we’ve seen in other parts of the country proliferate here,” Gaetz said.
Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, an insurance agent, cast the lone vote on the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee against the measure. He called the measure “unnecessary.”
“If an insurance company wants to exclude assault-type weapons, it seems to me that it is good to exclude if they desire to,” Rader said. “Certainly I know on animal exclusions they exclude Doberman pinschers and rottweilers.”
Gaetz said insurance companies wouldn’t be prohibited from asking potential policy holders about gun ownership, nor would they face state scrutiny if they lowered rates for a gun owner based on an actuarial determination that gun ownership reduced the risk of burglaries.
Insurers also wouldn’t be prohibited from charging a supplemental premium, as long as it’s not deemed unfairly discriminatory, to insure a firearm or firearm collection.
National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer said the issue was raise due as Citizens Property Insurance Corp. had included a question in its new policy clearinghouse regarding gun ownership.
“The only reason for insurance companies to start asking you about what guns you want is so they can discriminate against gun owners,” Hammer said. “They have no right to ask those questions.”
A spokesman for Citizens said the question is no longer a part of the clearinghouse questionnaire.
The question was included in early testing of the site, as one of the four private companies currently set up to potentially receive new policies, United Property & Casualty Insurance Co., has been allowed by OIR since 2005 to consider firearms when underwriting policies.
Sandra Starnes, OIR director of property and casualty product review, said United is allowed to exclude homeowners if they are “in possession of dangerous firearms.”
Assault and rapid fire weapons could be classified as “dangerous,” but game hunting rifles and shot guns would be excluded from the prohibition, she said.
The measure must still get through the Civil Justice Subcommittee and Regulatory Affairs Committee.
The Senate companion (SB 424) has already been backed by the Banking and Insurance and the Criminal Justice committees, and has only to clear the Appropriations Committee before reaching the Senate floor.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Domino’s Pizza Hiring In Cantonment, Pensacola
February 5, 2014
Domino’s pizza is looking to fill 70 full and part time positions at its locations in Cantonment and Pensacola.
To apply for the part time customer service or delivery driver positions you are encouraged to attend a job fair on February 10th from 5-7 p.m. If you want to apply for a full time management position there is another job fair on February 19th from 7:30- 9:30 am. Both job fairs will be held at the Lexington Terrace Community Center on South Old Corry Field Road in Pensacola.
Escambia Sex Offender Sentenced On Federal Child Porn, Ammunition Charges
February 5, 2014
Escambia County resident Clay Calhoun Keys, 53. was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release on charges of receipt and distribution of child pornography. Chief United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers also sentenced Keys 10 years in prison for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, which will run concurrent with his sentence for child pornography.
Keys was previously convicted in state court for a lewd and lascivious act upon a child and is a registered sexual offender.
Keys was found guilty of using peer-to-peer software between April 2009 and August 2013 to share thousands of images of child pornography online. A federal search warrant was obtained for Keys’ residence in August 2013, and law enforcement officers discovered more than 10,000 images and videos of child pornography.
Century Looks To Purchase Acreage Around Sewage Plant
February 5, 2014
The Town of Century is looking to purchase 112 acres that surround their waste waster treatment facility off Jefferson Avenue.
The property was recently foreclosed upon by the Bank of Brewton, and now the bank is looking to sell the somewhat less than desirable tract.
Mayor Freddie McCall said about 30 acres of the property could be used in the future to expand the waster water treatment plant, while the remaining 80 acres or so is mostly wetlands. That wetland acreage could be used by the town to offset other land and building projects in the future, McCall said.
The Century Town Council has authorized the mayor to negotiate a best price with the bank.
Pictured: An aerial view of the Century Waste Water Treatment Facility just off Jefferson Avenue. Courtesy image for NorthEscambia.com click to enlarge.