Man Charged In Death Of 76-Year Old
March 7, 2014
An Escambia County man has been charged in connection with the beating death of a man earlier this week.
Marcus Ferrell Toler was charged with aggravated battery on an elderly person in the death of Ben Stallworth, 76.
At 11:45 Tuesday night, deputies responded to a disturbance in the 1700 block of West Lakeview Avenue where they found Stallworth was sitting on his couch with obvious injuries. He was transported to a local hospital by ambulance were he was pronounced deceased.
The victim’s son told deputies that he had heard his father yell for him and upon entering the room, discovered an unidentified black male in a struggle with his father. The suspect fled.
Forensic evidence and witness interviews led to Toler’s arrest, investigators said. The charge against Toler could be upgraded when the Medical Examiner’s final report is completed, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. He remains in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Barrineau Park Music Night Tonight
March 7, 2014
There will be plenty of good entertainment on stage tonight in Barrineau Park — and it’s free. The monthly Barrineau Park Music Night will be held at the Barrineau Park Community Center. The featured local groups tonight are Southern Sounds at 6:30 and Down Home at 7:30.
The singing starts at 6:30 p.m. Doors open and food will be available beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The event is a family-friendly — no alcohol is permitted on the property, and no smoking is allowed in or near the building.
For more information, call (850) 572-4433. The Barrineau Park Community Center is located on Barrineau Park School road, about three miles west of Molino. Donations will be accepted for the bands.
Top High School Players In All-Star Basketball Game Tonight
March 7, 2014
Several of the North Escambia area’s best boys and girls senior basketball players will join players from Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties in the 4th Annual Subway High School All-Star Basketball games tonight at Pensacola State College’s Hartselle Arena.
The girls game begins at 5:00 with the boys game to follow.
Tickets to the SUBWAY High School All-Star Game are $8 at the gate and $6 with a canned good item donation to the Manna Food Bank. One dollar from every ticket sale will be donated to the Alec Kessler Scholarship Foundation.
The coaching staff for the west teams, comprised of Escambia County schools, consists of Tommy Williams from Catholic High School for the girls’ team and Robbin Alexander from Escambia High School leading the boys’ team.
Okaloosa and Santa Rosa County Schools make up the east team. Greg Boozer from Navarre High School will lead the girls’ team while Fort Walton Beach’s John Lavin will coach the boys’ team.
Rosters are as follows:
Girls West Team
Northview – Danielle Steadham
Catholic – Gabrielle Clune, Lillian Sheridan
Pace – Lexie Burklow, Jessica Long
Gulf Breeze – Jamie Weber, Marie Meyering
Washington – Acey Powell, TheAndrea Thomas
Escambia – Lynea Roby, Maya Hunter, Tasha Macks
Pensacola – Shamina Hunter, Jayla McGruder
Girls East Team
Jay – Hillary Hendricks
Ft. Walton Beach – Deosha Walker, Mallaya Evans
Niceville – Aubrey West, Hanna Schroeder
Crestview – Arianna Simms
Rocky Bayou – Lauren Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Claire Gunter
Navarre – Mikayla Taylor, Chelsea Jones
Milton – Karen Haygood
Choctaw – Brittany Washington, Shovanna Spaw
Baker – Lily Phillips
Boys West Team
Northview – Neino Robinson, Tony McAroy
Tate – Deonte Nicholson
West FL – Kevin Hartley, Nijay Hardaway, Trevonte Sanders
East Hill – Edward Dominey
Escambia – Demarlon Gardner
Catholic – Nic Bell, T.Q. Jennings
Pensacola – Marquise Cole, Mitchellin Maxwell, Corey Staten
Pine Forest – Deonya Walton, Reggie McKelvey
Washington – Josh Knight, Larry Shoemore
Escambia Charter — Twain Williams
Boys East Team
Jay – Marshal Thomas, Tate Upton
Choctaw – Jaquiel Lawton, Coby Block, Jaylen Nelson
Crestview – Ronnie Baylark, Jerry Aaron, Denzel Ware
Ft. Walton Beach – Trace Ryan, Chris Bowden
Gulf Breeze – Tyler Franks
Milton – Bobby Green, Andre Flakes
Navarre – Blake Malter
Niceville – Korey Amaker
Pace – Houston Ramsay, Austin Jones
Rocky Bayou – Josh Bryant
Laurel Hill – Lane Strickland
Baker – Justin Morgan
Pictured top: Northview All-Stars Neino Robinson, Danielle Steadham and Tony McAroy. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Mom Sentenced After Cocaine Found In Elementary Student’s Backpack
March 7, 2014
A Cantonment mom has been sentenced to probation after her daughter showed up at her elementary school with plastic bag of cocaine in her backpack.
Shana Christina Beck, 29, was charged with felony child neglect without great bodily harm but pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Adjudication was withheld and she was sentenced by Judge Michael Jones to 12 months probation. She was also ordered to look for a job, stay off drug and alcohol and complete parenting classes.
Students tipped off administrators last December at R.C. Lipscomb Elementary School that a student had a suspicious bag of white powder in her backpack. The student told school officials and deputies that Beck and a friend were in their car the night before when they dropped the baggie and began a frantic search for it. The student said the baggie must have fallen into her open backpack, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report.
The white powder in the bag field tested positive for cocaine. The Department of Children and Family Services is also investigating the incident.
BBB Warns Of Misleading ‘Annual Minutes Requirement’ Mailings
March 7, 2014
The local BBB is warning area businesses about a misleading mailing from “Compliance Services”.
For a $125 fee, Compliance Services claims they will prepare documents “to satisfy the annual minutes requirement for your corporation”. There is no requirement that you submit the information they’ve requested or any annual minutes to the State of Florida, according to the BBB, and Compliance Services is not associated with the State of Florida or the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations.
The BBB said these notices should not be confused with the Division of Corporations notices reminding each business entity to file it annual report by May 1. Those reports can be filed electronically with the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations at sunbiz.org.
Any business owner who believes he has been a victim a scam should call the Florida Attorney General’s Fraud Hotline at 866-9-NO-SCAM.
Pictured: A sample notice from “Compliance Services” as provided by the BBB, click to enlarge.
Fannie Road Bridge Replacement To Cost Town Of Century’s Utilities
March 7, 2014
The Florida Department off Transportation’s $1.8 million project to replace a bridge on Fannie Road over Dead Lake will create indirect costs over $40,000 for the Town of Century.
According to Mayor Freddie McCall, rerouting the town’s water and gas lines, currently supported by the old bridge,will cost the town about $35,000 plus about $9,000 in engineering fees, permits and inspections.
Rather than attaching the water and gas lines to the new bridge, the town will bore under the waterway.
The money, McCall said, will come from $50,000 that was budgeted for a new sewage lift station that is not currently needed.
Fannie Road will close next week for the bridge replacement, which is expected to be complete by the Fall of 2015. [Read more...]
Florida House Moves Ahead On Insurance Gun Bill
March 7, 2014
Despite questions about whether the bill is needed, a House committee Thursday approved a measure that supporters say will prevent insurance companies from discriminating against gun owners.
Florida law already bars insurers from denying coverage or increasing premiums based on customers’ ownership of firearms or ammunition. But sponsor Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, said the bill (HB 255) “supercharges” the potential legal consequences against insurers by adding the prohibition to part of state law that deals with unfair and deceptive practices.
The House Regulatory Affairs Committee approved the bill, which is ready to go to the full House.
Supporter Neil Combee, R-Polk City, said people have a constitutional right to own guns. “This is a vote about discrimination and whether or not we’re opposed to discrimination,” Combee said.
But other members of the committee said there was little evidence that insurers have denied coverage or increased premiums based on gun ownership. Rep. Jim Waldman, D-Coconut Creek, said the bill was a “waste of our time” and that supporters were pushing it for political purposes in an election year.
“It’s only here because you want to be able to say we did something for gun owners this year, so we can go out there and talk about everybody’s Second Amendment rights,” Waldman said.
by The News Service of Florida
Commission Pledges $8 Million To Help Lure ST Aerospace To Pensacola
March 7, 2014
The Escambia County Commission has voted to pledge $8 million in local option sales tax funds to help bring ST Aerospace to the Pensacola airport. The Singapore-based aerospace company that employees 1,300 in Mobile, plans to hire 300 in Pensacola.
The county will loan $3.2 million directly to the City of Pensacola for the project and add another $4.8 million in contributions.
District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry voted against the plan, express concerns over insufficient collateral from the city’s pledged Communications Service Tax. He said the city has already pledged too much of the tax, and the legislature may cut the tax during their current session.
“I’d don’t think the Communications Services Tax is secure enough,” Barry said. “I’d like to have a second revenue source that’s pledged.”
Pictured: Commissioner Steven Barry addresses ST Aerospace during a Thursday morning meeting.
Florida To Join Multi-State Lawsuit Over Gulf Oil Disaster
March 7, 2014
Florida expects to be added to a multi-state federal lawsuit against BP over “widespread” damages from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, after spending nearly three years unsuccessfully trying to resolve the matter on its own.
On Wednesday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Panama City about the environmental impacts from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil-spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Kendra Parson said the state anticipates the suit will be added to an ongoing federal lawsuit against BP in the Eastern District of Louisiana by Alabama, Louisiana and other plaintiffs.
In April 2011, the state rejected a chance to join the federal lawsuit, with Gov. Rick Scott saying at the time he wanted to ensure Florida was “treated fairly” in terms of receiving reimbursement from BP.
Officials with the Attorney General’s Office said at the time that a settlement could be reached without litigation as early as the summer of 2011 unless the oil company refused to cooperate.
Parson said attempts to reach a settlement have been unsuccessful and that discussions related to the case remain confidential.
Scott, when asked Thursday about plans to join the federal lawsuit, said it’s the “right time to hold BP accountable for doing harm to our state.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said state attorneys continue to work with BP “to do the best we can.”
She added that the change in the state’s legal approach is “a necessary step to begin to restore Florida’s vital resources and the tremendous damage Florida suffered because of this oil spill. We are a tourism state.”
The 17-page complaint doesn’t estimate the extent of damages to Florida.
“While the full extent of the Deepwater Horizon spill and the environmental damages may not be known for years, the impacts to date have been widespread and severe, damaging the organisms, habitats and ecosystems in Florida waters and to Florida’s coastline,” the suit states. “The damages include, but are not limited to, damages to Florida’s sandy beaches, salt marshes, wetlands, estuaries, submerged aquatic vegetation, deepwater communities and coral reefs as well as injuries to numerous wildlife species and aquatic species including fish, sea turtles, oysters, birds, and manatees.”
Geoff Morrell, BP senior vice president for U.S. communications and external affairs, said in an email that BP is reviewing Florida’s lawsuit and highlighted the actions the company has taken since the Deepwater Horizon accident.
“To date, BP has spent more than $26 billion to help restore the Gulf, including more than $14 billion on response and clean-up and more than $12 billion on claims paid to individuals, businesses and government entities,” Morrell said. “To accelerate environmental restoration, BP voluntarily agreed to spend up to $1 billion on early restoration projects and has reached agreement or agreements in principle with the trustees on approximately $698 million in projects.”
Florida’s suit also names Anadarko Petroleum Company, Anadarko E&P Company, Transocean Ltd., Transocean Holdings, Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Transocean Deepwater Inc., and Triton Asset Leasing.
The suit is separate from one filed last April by Florida against BP and contractor Halliburton seeking to recoup at least $5.48 billion in lost state revenue because of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil spill.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: Oil washed onto Pensacola Beach following the BP spill. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Century CI Employees Read Dr. Seuss To Elementary Students
March 7, 2014
Century Correctional’s Assistant Warden Hutchins and Officer Tony deGraaf read to a kindergarten class at Jay Elementary School as part of Read Across America Day. They read the popular Seuss book The Foot Book, gave each student a special treat and helped with a special assignment. They also expressed the importance of learning to read and of a good education.
Read Across America Day, the signature program of the National Education Association, focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships and reading resources. It’s held annual on or near Dr. Seuss’ birthday.
Pictured: Century Correctional Institution Officer Tony deGraaf and Assistant Warden Hutchins (in tie) read to a kindergarten class at Jay Elementary School. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
