Flags At Half Staff To Honor Askew
March 14, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott ordered that flags be flown at half-staff to honor former Gov. Reubin Askew, who died early Thursday at age 85 in a Tallahassee hospital.
“Governor Askew exemplified the ideals of public service,” Scott said in a memorandum directing the honor. “As a mark of respect for the memory of Governor Askew, I hereby direct the flags of the United States and the State of Florida to be flown immediately at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations, and grounds throughout the State of Florida, until sunset on the date of internment.”
Askew, a Democrat, served as governor from 1971 to 1979 and was the first Florida governor elected to successive four-year terms.
Tributes to Askew poured in Thursday from political figures in both parties.
“For those of us of a certain age who cut our political teeth in the ’60s and ’70s, Governor Askew was living proof that good guys can finish first,” said Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville. “Integrity was his platform and honor was his policy.”
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Pictured: The flag at half staff Thursday at the Century Town Hall in remembrance of former Gov. Reubin Askew. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Northview Beats Holmes County
March 14, 2014
The varsity Northview Chiefs beat Holmes County in Bonifay 7-3 Thursday night. The junior varsity Chiefs downed Holmes County 11-3. The junior varsity Chiefs will play Freeport at 4:00 Friday afternoon, while the varsity will take the field at 6:00 in a district game.
File photo.
Margaret Elizabeth “Beth” Morris
March 14, 2014
Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth “Beth” Morris, age 48, passed away Thursday, March 13, 2014, in a Pensacola hospital.
Mrs. Morris was born in Bay Minette and had been a life long resident of Escambia County, Alabama. She was a graduate of W.S. Neal High School and worked as an LPN in the health care industry for a number of years. She was of the Protestant faith. Mrs. Morris was preceded in death by her mother, Mrs. Evelyn Brown, and her grandparents, Cecil and Margaret Brown.
She is survived by her husband, Emmett D. Morris of Flomaton; her father, Wayland Brown of Brewton; a son, Aaron Jacob Morris of Flomaton; a daughter, Ava Nicole Brazil of Flomaton; one brother, Daniel Franklin Brown of Pensacola; and two grandchildren, Michael David Griffis and John Hunter Lee Griffis, both of Flomaton.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 17, 2014, at 11 a.m. from the chapel of Craver’s Funeral Home.
Interment will follow in Bay Minette Cemetery.
Visitation will be held at Craver’s Funeral Home on Sunday, March 16, 2014, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Ada Ruth Cumbie
March 14, 2014
Ada Ruth Cumbie, 77 of Little River, passed away Thursday, March 13, 2014, in Fairhope. She was a homemaker, born in Atmore on September 7, 1936, to Robert Jack and Ada Bell Wall Lassitter.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Henry Hubbert Cumbie and a grandchild, Shane Cumbie.
Survivors include her three sons, Ricky (Joella) Cumbie, Michael (Darlene) Cumbie, and Terry (Diane) Cumbie all of Little River; one daughter, Wanda Blackburn of Bay Minette; three brothers, Rubbert (Eloise) Lassitter of Booneville, Russell (Maxine) Lassitter of Poarch and Milford Lassitter of Atmore; one sister, Shirley White of Booneville; and 10 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews, and a host of family and friends.
Services will be Saturday, March 15, 2014, at 11 a.m. from the Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Cornelious Phillips officiating.
Interment will follow at Mamie’s Chapel.
Family will receive friends Saturday, March 15, 2014, at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home from 9:30 a.m. until service time.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.
Paul Wilkerson Moore
March 14, 2014
Mr. Paul Wilkerson Moore, Jr., 85, passed away on Thursday, March 13, 2014, in Pensacola.
Mr. Moore was a native and lifelong resident of Bluff Springs. Mr. Moore was a loving father and grandfather.
Survivors include his three sons, Ron (Rhonda) Moore of Holt, FL, Paul A. (Cindy Chadwick) Moore of Nashville, TN and William Keith Moore of Bluff Springs; one daughter, Cathie (Randy) Hendricks of Pensacola; two sisters, Margaret (Theodore) Creamer of Byrneville, and Hazel (Bob) Boyarski of Panama City; eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Graveside services will be Tuesday, March 18, 2014, at 3:30 p.m. at the Crary Memorial Cemetery.
Visitation will be Tuesday, March 18, 2014, from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers contributions can be made to the Shriners Children’s hospital.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes is in charge of all arrangements.
Vehicle Registration Fee Rollback Nears Scott Request
March 14, 2014
Lawmakers are closer to giving Gov. Rick Scott one of his priorities for the 2014 session, an election-year rollback of vehicle-registration fees that were raised under the watch of his potential Democratic challenger.
But while lawmakers should get to Scott’s $500 million goal for cutting taxes and fees, they likely will take a different approach on some of the details. Along with rolling back the vehicle-registration fees, lawmakers may look toward an assortment of tax cuts and tax-free shopping periods, rather than approving a Scott request to slash $100 million from taxes on commercial leases.
On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously amended a proposal (SB 156) by Chairman Joe Negron, R-Stuart, to reduce the vehicle-registration fees. Under the revised proposal, motorists would potentially save between $20 and $25 per vehicle registration, with the total depending on the size of the vehicle.
The reduction would collectively save motorists about $309 million during the upcoming 2014-15 budget year, with the new rates going into effect Sept. 1.
The savings would grow the following year to about $395 million, when they would be in effect for the full 12 months. State fiscal years start in July.
Scott has called for cutting about $400 million in vehicle-registration fees, eliminating increases signed into law in 2009 by potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, then a Republican occupying the governor’s mansion.
Negron called his initial Senate package, which sought first-year savings of $185 million, or about $12 per vehicle, a starting point. And he added that the “governor’s been very persuasive on his plan.”
The amendment brings the Senate version of the vehicle-fee reduction in line with a House proposal (PCB 14-04), which was unanimously backed Thursday by the House Finance and Tax Subcommittee.
Unlike in the Senate Appropriations Committee meeting, House Democrats offered more critical comments.
Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, said the proposal has become a “political football in many ways.”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs, said the reduction is simply being done to aid Scott’s re-election.
“There is a great line in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ that I like, ‘Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.’ I feel like we need to take the curtain down,” Moskowitz said.
“The reason we’re talking about this is so that we can make this an issue during the campaign,” Moskowitz added, “so the current governor running for re-election can attack the former governor on this specific issue.”
Finance and Tax Chairman Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne, called Moskowitz’ comments “misguided” and added that the subcommittee continues to plan a wide range of ideas to reach Scott’s goal of reducing $500 million in taxes and fees.
Scott has requested a $100 million reduction in the commercial-lease tax, which now generates about $1.4 billion a year in revenue for the state. But Workman said his approach will be more broad-based.
“The big ones are off the tables, the (communications services tax), the corporate rent tax, because they won’t fit in a $100 million package,” Workman said. “But we’ve got things like the corporate-income taxes that are still on the table, all the holidays, the back-to-school holiday, hurricane preparedness holiday, things I can use for the non-recurring portion.”
Scott has pitched increasing the corporate income-tax exemption from $50,000 to $75,000, which would reduce general-revenue funds by $21.6 million during the first year and $22.8 million the second year.
Workman added that a proposal by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam for a sales-tax holiday on energy-efficient appliances is still in the mix.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: The Molino location for the Escambia County Tax Collector and Property Appraiser. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Students Pitch Plans, Score Cash To Start Local Businesses
March 14, 2014
It was a friendly competition, when 15 area students pitched their business plans to some of the most prominent members of the region’s business community during Greater Pensacola’s inaugural Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) investor panel showdown.
The students, who have been refining their business plans for nearly six months, were featured on stage in a shark-tank-like format and judged based on the appeal and merit of each proposal. More than $6,000 in grants were awarded to the nine businesses that presented, with Gulf Breeze Middle School siblings – Eve Knight, 12, and Liam Knight, 13 – selected to compete in the YEA! Saunders Scholars Regional Competition with their winning business, The Spice Kidz.
“Entrepreneurs are crucial to the success of economic development within our region,” said Greater Pensacola Chamber President Jerry Maygarden. “Programs like YEA! help foster the entrepreneurial mindset in young people and give them the opportunity to pursue their dreams, which may otherwise go unrealized, by harnessing their youthful energy, optimism and creativity.”
The business pitches were judged by a panel of local investors made up of Pen Air’s President & CEO Stu Ramsey, Sandy Sansing Automotive Group’s David Sansing, Studer Community Development Group’s Andrew Rothfeder, Gulf Power Company’s John Hutchinson, Warren Averett’s Cyndi Warren, Central Credit Union’s Maggie Conaghan, Nowak Enterprises’ Peter Nowak, Chick-fil-A’s Robert Barnes, Florida SBDC’s Mike Myhre, THG Investments’ Chad Henderson and Beck Property’s Justin Beck.
“With small businesses playing an instrumental role in our nation’s economy, this program is a true testament to Greater Pensacola’s continued dedication to producing future leaders who could make significant contributions to our community,” said Global Business Solutions Inc. CEO Randy Ramos, who emceed the evening’s events.
YEA! is a national educational program that guides 6th- to 12th-grade students through the process of starting and running real businesses over the course of a full academic year. Students work in close cooperation with local business leaders, educators and community members to develop ideas and objectives that help to create their own fully-formed companies.
“One of the most interesting components of the program is the actual behind-the-scenes knowledge the students are given from local business leaders, who were at one time standing in their shoes,” said Dr. Ed Ranelli, Dean Emeritus for the University of West Florida College of Business. “Participating students are receiving a dynamic introduction to the business world, which in turn, helps to create tomorrow’s leaders.”
Pictured: Eve Knight, 12, and Liam Knight, 13 – selected to compete in the YEA! Saunders Scholars Regional Competition with their winning business, The Spice Kidz. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man Killed In Collision With Concrete Truck
March 13, 2014
A Cantonment man was killed this morning in a collision involving a pickup truck and a concrete truck in Cantonment.
The accident happened just before 8 a.m. on Jacks Branch Road at Green Tree Circle, just north of Muscogee Road.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 47-year old Johnson Watson Whitehurst of Cantonment was southbound in a sharp curve on Jacks Branch Road when his 2001 Dodge pickup crossed the center line into the path of a concrete truck driven by 46-year old Jimmy Dwight Weaver, Jr.
After the collision, the concrete truck overturned onto its side, while the pickup came to rest on the shoulder. Whitehurst was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Weaver was transported by ambulance to West Florida Hospital with minor injuries. No charges were filed in the accident.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Smith (top) and reader submitted photo by Jamie Thurman, click to enlarge.
Century Man Convicted Of Felony Horse Abuse
March 13, 2014
A Century man has been convicted of felony animal cruelty for abusing and starving two horses in 2012.
Kendrick Jamar Washington, now age 25, was found guilty by Judge Linda Nobles and sentenced to 180 days in jail with no eligibility for work release. He was also ordered to pay $668 in costs and fees, and the court reserved the right to impose restitution to Escambia County Animal control or any others that cared for the horses after they were seized.
Washington placed two horses into a lot on Ramar Street in Century surrounded by a makeshift barbed wire fence. Barbed wire was hanging inside the pen, causing a serious injury to the front leg of one horse.
On January 24, 2012, animal control officers found that one horse was tied to a post away from any water source; the second was found on its side in mud and dirt, unable to get up. Neither horse had access to food or shelter, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report. Both of the animals were obviously underweight.
Both horses were transported to the Northwest Florida Animal Clinic in Pace for treatment.
Cold Night Ahead
March 13, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight Clear, with a low around 37. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Friday Sunny, with a high near 68. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Friday Night Increasing clouds, with a low around 48. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light southeast in the evening.
- Saturday A 30 percent chance of showers after 7am. Cloudy, with a high near 70. Light southeast wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Saturday Night A chance of showers, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 7pm. Cloudy, with a low around 60. Southeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Sunday Showers and thunderstorms likely before 7am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 7am. Cloudy, with a high near 73. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Sunday Night Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 7pm, then a slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Monday A 20 percent chance of showers. Sunny, with a high near 68. North wind 5 to 15 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.
- Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 41. Breezy, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.
- Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 71.
- Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 47.
- Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.
- Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 48.
- Thursday Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.