Georgia Pacific Announces $375 Million Investment In Brewton Mill
August 5, 2014
Georgia-Pacific has announced an investment of more than $375 million in an energy improvement project at its Brewton, Ala., mill. All permits are in place for construction to begin in the next few months, and the project is expected to take approximately 24 months to complete.
“Georgia-Pacific has a track record of investing back into our business to help continuously improve our operations and meet the long-term needs of our customers, our company, our communities and our employees,” said Jim Hannan, CEO and president, Georgia-Pacific. “This investment in our Brewton facility reflects our confidence in the Brewton team to continue to improve the competitiveness of this facility.”
“I’m proud of Georgia-Pacific’s investment to improve the mill in Brewton. This shows the company’s commitment to their employees and the state of Alabama,” said Alabama Governor Robert Bentley. “This major investment will provide long-term and immediate benefits for Escambia County. During the construction phase hundreds of workers are projected to be on site daily which will have a positive impact on the local economy.”
The energy improvement project modernizes and streamlines the current mix of equipment in the mill’s recovery boiler system, which will contribute to more efficient processes and operations.
“We will become self-sufficient in terms of the energy needed for our processes,” said Jeff Joyce, vice president and general manager, Brewton mill. “This will improve our competitive advantage and enhance the long-term viability of the mill.”
Among other benefits of the energy improvement project:
- Improved reliability and energy efficiency
- Workforce influx of approximately 600 (at peak) for construction
- Positive short-term economic benefits to the surrounding community, particularly in the form of retail sales and lodging revenues from contractors
“While we are now gearing up for construction, our teams have been planning and preparing for this project since 2013, including ordering equipment and pre-constructing some components,” said Joyce. “We are very appreciative of the work of those teams and the support we have received from our community and local leaders in securing this project for our mill. We are proud to be here.”
Brewton Mayor Yank Lovelace, Sr., said, “We are thrilled to have Georgia-Pacific in our city, and this investment in Brewton affirms the company’s commitment to our community. We have worked hard to support local industry and welcome economic growth that is the result.”
Escambia County (Ala.) Commission Chairman David Stokes, added, “This will make the Brewton mill competitive for generations to come, giving our people the opportunity to make a good living and raise their families here in Brewton.”
Teams at the Brewton mill produce white-top linerboard and solid bleached cartonboard. The mill is the largest employer in Brewton, with approximately 450 employees. Many of those employees live in the North Escambia area.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Mini Cheer Camp Begins This Afternoon
August 5, 2014
The Northview High School cheerleaders will host their annual mini-cheerleading camp beginning this afternoon.
The camp will be held August 5 from 4-6 p.m. and August 6 from 1-3 p.m. Registration is $25 for the camp or $35 for the camp and a shirt. The camp is open to anyone age three through the eighth grade. Mini-cheerleaders will admitted into the first Northview football home game for free and cheer the entire first quarter with the varsity NHS cheerleaders.
Feds Looking For Sex Offender Possibly Hiding In Alabama Or Florida
August 5, 2014
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is asking for the public’s help in locating a convicted sex offender that believe may be hiding in Alabama or Florida.
Matthew C. Harbin, 28, of Arab, Ala., is wanted on a federal arrest warrant issued in June for receipt of child pornography in the Northern District of Alabama. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to state charges of transmitting obscene material to a minor.
HSI special agents have reason to believe Harbin may be hiding somewhere in northern or southern Alabama, or Florida, in an attempt to elude law enforcement. HSI also believes Harbin may pose a threat to others or may attempt to flee the country to avoid capture.
Harbin is 6 feet, 2 inches tall, weighs 200 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes.
HSI requests that anyone with information about this person contact the agency immediately by calling the 24-hour HSI Tip line at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or their local law enforcement agency at 911.
Police: Escambia Man Stole Jewelry To Pay His Federal Probation Costs
August 5, 2014
Police say an Escambia County man stole about $140,000 worth items during residential burglaries and sold them in order to pay his federal probation costs.
Michael Collins, 31, was charged with 11 counts of burglary, eight counts of grand theft, three counts of criminal mischief and two counts of petit theft.
The Pensacola Police Department said Collins entered unlocked doors and stole mostly jewelery, along with cash, a laptop and medication, during a series of residential burglaries between June 29 and August 1.
The approximately $140,000 worth of property was mostly sold at the T&W Flea Market, according to police, with Collins using the proceed to pay for his probation costs. He is on federal probation for a bank robbery.
Up to $15,000 worth of stolen items have been recovered by Pensacola Police.
Wahoos Fall In Series Finale
August 5, 2014
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos (17-28, 48-67) fell in the series finale, 3-2, to the Tennessee Smokies (23-22, 56-58). With the victory, the Smokies took the series over the Wahoos 3-2.
The Wahoos got out to an early lead in the first inning after a Yorman Rodriguez triple and a Ryan Wright RBI single. Pensacola extended their lead to two in the fourth inning and again it was the top of the order that came through for the Wahoos. Wright walked to start the inning and moved to second on a Chris Berset groundout. With two outs in the inning, Kyle Waldrop produced an RBI single.
The Smokies responded with a run in the top of the fifth inning and it was catcher Taylor Davis’ two-run double in the sixth inning that proved to be the difference in the game. RHP Tim Adleman replaced starter Michael Lorenzen in the fifth and took the loss for the Wahoos. Lorenzen went 4.0 innings and allowed 1 R/ER on three hits. Adleman went 1.2 innings and allowed two runs on three hits.
Smokies starter Eduardo Figueroa got the no-decision and went 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits. Figueroa struck out six batters and only walked one. Reliever Lendy Castillo earned his first win of the season out of the bullpen; he went 1.0 innings and struck out two batters.
The Wahoos threatened in the top of the ninth and loaded the bases with two outs, but Frank Batista got Travis Mattair to fly out to end the contest. It was Batista’s ninth save of the season.
Pensacola is off Tuesday and returns to Pensacola Bayfront Stadium for a 10-game home stand on Wednesday at 6:30 pm against the Jackson Generals. RHP Ben Lively (1-5, 3.48) will make the start in the series opener and he’ll be opposed by LHP Cam Hobson (6-9, 4.14) of the Generals.
by Joey Truncale
Plans For Florida Legislative Special Session Begin To Take Shape
August 5, 2014
Legislative leaders Monday laid out the fullest blueprint yet for a special session aimed at crafting new congressional districts, even as they continued a push for a Leon County judge to limit the impact of his ruling on this year’s elections.
House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, and Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, announced that the Legislature would return to Tallahassee and begin the session at noon Thursday, little more than a week before an Aug. 15 deadline to submit a redrawn map to Circuit Judge Terry Lewis.
Specially formed House and Senate committees will meet later Thursday and on Friday to try to come up with a plan that would answer Lewis’ initial ruling, issued last month, that struck down two districts Lewis said were drawn to help the ruling Republican Party.
Lewis said the districts violated the anti-gerrymandering Fair Districts amendments that voters approved in 2010.
At issue are Congressional District 5, which is represented by Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown and winds from Jacksonville to Orlando, and Congressional District 10, which is represented by Republican Congressman Dan Webster and is in the Orlando area.
District 5 consolidates pockets of black voters, which critics say makes it easier to elect Republicans in neighboring districts. In District 10, Lewis said an “appendage” of white voters added to the seat was meant to help Webster.
In a statement following the announcement of the initial schedule for the session, Gaetz made it clear that lawmakers intended to do as little as possible to answer Lewis’ complaints.
“Because the court held intact 25 of the state’s 27 congressional districts as the Legislature drew them, I believe we can and should meet the court’s requirements with minimal impact on the rest of the state,” he said.
One of the groups that brought a lawsuit challenging the congressional districts said that, at least for the moment, it was waiting to see what lawmakers come up with.
Deirdre Macnab, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, said lawmakers had taken a first step by convening the special session.
“It remains to be seen whether they will decide to produce a map that meets the constitutional requirements,” she said.
However, in a filing with Lewis last month, critics of the Legislature’s original map seemed to indicate that small changes wouldn’t satisfy them.
“And (lawmakers) have signaled their intent only to make minor adjustments to the affected districts in the 2012 Congressional Plan under an unduly narrow, self-serving interpretation of this court’s ruling, leaving plaintiffs to bring yet another challenge,” the filing says.
GOP legislators are continuing to push for Lewis to hold off on implementing a new map. The judge has said he’s not sure about whether to allow primaries to go forward this month, with the general election following in November, or hold special elections later in the affected districts.
Legislative leaders say it wouldn’t be fair to overseas voters, and even some in-state voters, who have already returned absentee ballots.
“My primary concern is that we count every vote that has already been counted,” Senate Appropriations Chairman Joe Negron, R-Stuart, said at an event in South Florida with Gov. Rick Scott. ” … Around the state, the overseas votes, thousands of overseas votes have been cast, so that’s one of my main goals is to try to accomplish what needs to be done without interfering with any existing elections that are ongoing.”
Asked if there was concern that the need to redraw maps could hinder ballots already cast and mailed out, Scott said he expects the lawmakers will create a constitutionally compliant map as required by the court.
“I think between the Legislature and the courts, they’re going to make sure the right thing happens,” Scott said.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Marvin L. Nightengale
August 5, 2014
Marvin L. Nightengale, 86 of Davisville, passed away Sunday, August 3, 2014, in Pensacola. He was a retired farmer, born in Fairview, OK, on June 19, 1928, to the late Frank J. and Ella Nicholas Nightengale. He is preceded in death by his siblings, Harlan Nightengale, Virgil Nightengale, Donald Nightengale, Curtis Nightengale and Janette Nightengale.
Survivors include his wife, JoAnn Koehn Nightengale of Davisville; three sons, Doyle Nightengale of Walnut Hill, Randall Lee Nightengale of Crestview, and Loren S. (Lilian) Nightengale of Walnut Hill; one daughter, Charlotte Ann Nightengale (Brian) Decker of Surprise, AZ; one brother, John Nightengale of Fairview, OK; two sisters, Irene Nightengale of Fairview, OK and Betty Unruh of Greensboro, KS; six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Services will be held Friday, August 8, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. from the Walnut Hill Mennonite Church with Rev. Wilbert Peters officiating.
Interment will follow in Walnut Hill Memorial Gardens.
Active pallbearers will be Dale Wenger, Curtis Hiebert, Mark Johnson, Vernon Hiebert, Galen Schmidt, and Myles Unruh.
Family will receive friends, Thursday, August 7, 2014, at the Walnut Hill Mennonite Church from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.
Joyce Higdon Brantley
August 5, 2014
Joyce Higdon Brantley, 89, left this life on Saturday, July 26, 2014.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Jean Paul Brantley; parents, Jake and Mable Higdon; sister, Essie Baldwin; brother, Alver B. Buddy Higdon; and nephew, Bill Lucas. Many grieve her passing including nieces, nephews, neighbors, and her many friends.
Joyce was past president of the Credit Woman International of Pensacola and an employee of Gayfers department store, where she met Jean. She and Jean owned and retired from Brantley’s Hardware in Gulf Breeze making their home Pensacola. They later moved to Molino where they were a part of the Aldersgate community, but the last few years she spent in Pensacola.
Memorial services will be held at Aldersgate UMC in Molino on Thursday, August 7, 2014 at 10 a.m. with the Reverend Jimmy Cook officiating.
Health Exchange Rates Poised For Increases
August 5, 2014
Individual health-insurance policies sold through a federal exchange could see an average rate increase of 13.2 percent next year, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said Monday.
The potential increases would vary among insurers that provide coverage through the exchange, which is part of the federal Affordable Care Act. The Office of Insurance Regulation said 14 insurers filed individual-market plans that complied with the Affordable Care Act’s requirements, including three newcomers.
Of the other 11, eight would increase rates an average of 11 percent to 23 percent, while three would decrease rates an average of 5 percent to 12 percent, the office said.
But Florida CHAIN, an organization that has advocated for the federal health law, issued a statement blasting the regulators’ analysis as misleading because many people receive subsidies that reduce the amounts they pay for coverage.
“The ‘analysis’ released today by OIR reveals nothing, except the extent to which the entity responsible for protecting Florida consumers is in a frenzied rush to mislead them as well as to assume their own conclusions,” Florida CHAIN said. “OIR’s hypothetical scenarios not only fail to shed meaningful light on what is happening with rates overall, they likely don’t apply to more than a handful of real-life consumers.”
lorida Blue, the state’s largest insurer, told Kaiser Health News last week it planned to increase rates by an average of 17.6 percent next year for customers who buy coverage through the exchange. The insurer, formerly known as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, pointed to a large number of older adults buying coverage through the exchange. Those adults often have higher medical costs than younger, healthier people. But the Jacksonville-based insurer also noted that premiums in the individual-insurance market have seen a series of double-digit increases in recent years, regardless of the exchange.
The state Office of Insurance Regulation does not have authority to approve or disapprove the rates.
Emma Lou Patterson
August 5, 2014
Emma Lou Patterson, 82, passed away on Sunday, August 3, 2014. She was born in Atmore on June 20, 1932, to the late Ralph and Nancy Moye Rutherford. She lived most of her adult life in Pensacola with her husband, Clarence “Sonny” Patterson. Together they had four children, who were her pride and joy.
She was preceded in death in 1994, by her first husband, Clarence and her granddaughter, Kelly Stallworth Horner.
Nanny, as she was lovingly called, is survived by her husband, Walter W. Patterson; four children, Carolyn (Fred) Stallworth, Sandra (Chico) Franklin, Sheila Waters; and Buddy (Yvette) Patterson; extended family, Patricia (Joel) Phillips and Carlos (Dawn) Patterson; five grandchildren, Chad Patterson, Matt Stallworth, Juanita Peace, Casey Patterson and Ashton Waters; five great-grandchildren and many, many friends that were like family.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 6, 2014, at Faith Chapel North with Rev. Fred Stallworth officiating.
Burial will follow in Clear Springs Cemetery in Robertsdale.
Pallbearers will be Chad Patterson, Casey Patterson, Matt Stallworth, Ashton Waters, Fred Peace, and Carlos Patterson.
Honorary pallbearers will be Otis Rutherford, Joel Phillips, and Benjamin Eby.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with arrangements.