Harold Ray Troesch, Sr.
February 19, 2015
Harold Ray Troesch, Sr., 79, passed peacefully at his home on Friday, February 13, 2015. He was an avid fisherman and a die-hard Florida Gators fan. He loved his church and family. He was retired from the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Union, Mobile, Alabama, Lodge 0112, where he was a member since 1967.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Herbert Henry Troesch and Grace Idell Alexander Troesch; sister, Viola Raughton and daughter, Shirley Ann Troesch.
He is survived by his children and their spouses, Harold Ray Troesch, Jr., Johnny and Cynthia Walker, Rebecca Fussell, Caleb and Crystal McKee and Gregory and Sheree Troesch; siblings, Gladys Johnson, William Eugene Troesch, Betty Lenning and Theda Havens; grandchildren, Matt Lindsay, Stephanie Smith, Summer Sampey, Christopher Fussell, Brian Troesch, Jonathan Troesch, Joshua Troesch, Eddie Shanko, Joshua Kauffman, Crystal Troesch-Wright, Maddix Essman, Jaxson Essman, Alanna Troesch, Abigail Troesch; step-grandchildren, Tyson, Preston and Holly Taylor and Bentley McKee; great-grandchildren, Matthew Lindsay, Ethan, Annabelle and Victoria Sampey, Xander, Adrianna and Christian Fussell, Emma and Trystan Troesch, and Marley Troesch; great-great-grandchild, Brooklynne Lindsay.
Funeral services were held Monday, February 16, 2015, at Northside Apostolic Church with Pastor Steve Simmons officiating.
Interment was at Morgan Cemetery in Molino.
The family wishes to express a special thank you to Emerald Coast Hospice.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.
Merrill Ethan Ledford
February 19, 2015
Merrill Ethan Ledford went to be with Jesus on Saturday, February 14, 2015, at his home surrounded by family. Merrill was born on October 12, 1945, in Louisville, Alabama to France and Virginia Ledford. He was a graduate of Carroll High School in Ozark, Alabama and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Troy University. Merrill taught high school history and civics at Escambia County High School until leaving for a second career with Alfa Insurance where he retired in 2009. Merrill enjoyed the outdoors and loved competing in tennis tournaments throughout his life. He coached T-Ball and loved watching his sons play. He loved to travel and was especially fond of New Orleans, cruising with his family and journeying to visit extended family for holidays and reunions. Merrill had a passion for researching archives and fleshing out his family tree with names, dates and photos. He loved grilling outdoors, boiled peanuts and most of all Alabama football.
He is preceded in death by his parents.
Merrill is survived by his loving wife, Wanda Fountain Ledford; one brother, Paul Andrew Ledford of Panama City, Florida; four children, Kimberly Ledford Burley (Bruce), Richard Todd Ledford (Faith), Matthew Tyler Ledford and Michael Andrew Ledford; five grandchildren, Connor, Walker and Aubree Burley, Mason and Macray Ledford.
Funeral services were held Monday, February 16, 2015, at the First Assembly of God in Atmore with Bro. Don Davis officiating.
Burial was in Serenity Gardens Cemetery.
Active pallbearers were Kenneth Fountain, Dudley Fountain, Glenn Fountain, Tony Fountain, Lee Fountain, and Leonard Sowell.
Honorary pallbearers will be Merrill’s special tennis friends, Walter Dewitt, Lou Vickery, John Strahle, Billy Madison, and Robert Johnson.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Flomaton High School Scholarship Fund, 21200 Highway 31, Flomaton, Al 36441.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Wayne C. Carvin
February 19, 2015
Wayne C. Carvin, 66, of Pensacola, passed away February 15, 2015. He was a member of the Living Church of God. He retired from the U S Marine Corps and also from the Escambia Public School System as a custodial supervisor. Most recently, he worked at Walmart on Hwy 29 in maintenance. He enjoyed golf, country music and spending time with his wife and family.
He is preceded in death by his father, Royce Clarence Carvin and brother, Royce “Peanut” Carvin.
He is survived by his wife, Elmira Carvin; children, Teri Wells (Butch), Terry Soble (Rich), Wayne Carvin, and William Walker (Sharon); many grandchildren and great-grandchildren; mother, Phyllis Lulls and four brothers,Willie Carvin, Doug Carvin (Mickey), David Carvin and Mike Carvin.
Visitation will be at Faith Chapel Funeral Home South, Sunday, February 22, 2015, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m.
Funeral services will be held Monday, February 23, 2015, at 11:30 a.m. at Faith Chapel South with Pastor Ed Breaux officiating.
Interment will follow at Barrancas National Cemetery.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home South is in charge of arrangements.
Hard Freeze Warning For Tonight
February 18, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 21. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 45. Wind chill values between 15 and 25 early. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night
Clear, with a low around 21. North wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
Friday
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Southeast wind around 10 mph.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph
Saturday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. South wind around 10 mph.
Sunday
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. South wind around 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
Sunday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Monday
A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57.
Monday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32.
Tuesday
A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 55.
Water Project Wishlist Includes $126K For Century, $26 Million in Escambia, Santa Rosa
February 18, 2015
Water-related projects totaling nearly $1.2 billion have been proposed as state lawmakers decide how to carve up a pot of money that voters want for land and water conservation and management.
The list of 475 requested water projects across the state includes almost $26.7 million in local projects in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties:
- Lime additional facilities at the Century wastewater treatment plant, $126,000.
- Flood improvement project for the Institute for Machine and Human Cognition, $550,000.
- Innerarity water and sewer upgrade in Escambia County, $1,020,000.
- Milton beneficial effluent reuse project, $349,115.
- East Milton water reclamation and effluent disposal facility, $15,000,000
- Santa Rosa County Navarre Beach wastewater treatment plant relocation, $9,650,000.
The East Milton project is among the largest requests in the state, which range from $96.8 million for phase two of the Yankee Lake Surface Water Plant in Seminole County to $15,000 for the replacement of sewage flowmeters in Miami-Dade County.
The House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee panel is working to define the intent of the ballot initiative, which was known as Amendment 1 and was approved by 75 percent of voters.
“There is going to be somebody, somewhere, that isn’t happy with the way the funds are distributed,” subcommittee Chairman Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, said. “It’s going to happen, because there are so many people and so many perspectives.”
The amendment, which directs 33 percent of the proceeds from a real-estate tax to land and water projects, is expected to provide $757 million for the efforts during the fiscal year that starts July 1.
Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida, contributed to this report.
Molino Man Charged With Tom Thumb Robbery
February 18, 2015
A Molino man has been arrested for robbing a Tom Thumb on Saufley Field Road.
Acoya Kenneth Wright, age 19, was charged with robbery with a firearm and committing a felony with a mask or hood.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Wright robbed the Tom Thumb at 5450 Saufley Field Road at 2:36 a.m. on February 5. He was reportedly wearing all-black clothing with his face concealed by a scarf and carrying a long item wrapped in black clothing in a manner that would indicate that it was rifle. He fled the store on foot with less than $40 in cash.
Wright was developed as a suspect in the crime after relatives contacted the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office with their suspicions.
When interviewed deputies, Wright said he was very drunk and had to be carried home the night of the robbery, therefore he was not responsible for the holdup, according to an arrest report.
Friends told investigators that Wright had been looking to trade his .22 rifle for a pistol because he planned on robbing the Tom Thumb because he needed $20,000 — $5,000 of which would be for his little sister to get braces and $12,000 for his little brother, the report states.
Wright remained in the Escambia County Jail Wednesday morning with bond set at $50,000.
Justices Halt Florida Execution Amid Questions About Lethal Injection Drug
February 18, 2015
Saying it must “err on the side of extreme caution” or risk threatening the “viability of Florida’s entire death penalty scheme,” the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday halted the Feb. 26 execution of a convicted killer until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a lethal injection drug.
The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily put on hold executions in Oklahoma while it considers whether a relatively new lethal-injection drug violates constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
Because Florida’s lethal injection protocol is virtually identical to Oklahoma’s, the execution next week of Jerry William Correll needs to be delayed until the U.S. Supreme Court makes a decision, Florida Chief Justice Jorge Labarga wrote for the majority in a 5-2 decision Tuesday.
“Without a stay of execution in this case, Florida risks the unconstitutional execution of Correll, for which there is no remedy. In contrast, a stay pending determination of the issue in the United States Supreme Court will not prejudice the state and, more importantly, will ensure that Florida does not risk an unconstitutional execution, a risk that would threaten the viability of Florida’s entire death penalty scheme,” Labarga wrote. “For all these reasons — the most significant being the pending Supreme Court review of a protocol for which review had been denied in the past — this court must err on the side of extreme caution and grant a stay of execution for Correll.”
The decision overturned a circuit judge’s order last week denying Correll — convicted for the 1985 stabbing deaths of his ex-wife, daughter and two others in Orlando — a stay of execution pending the U.S. Supreme Court decision.
In the Oklahoma case, the high court is considering arguments about whether the disputed drug, midazolam hydrochloride, does not effectively sedate inmates during the execution process and subjects them to pain that violates the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Florida and other states began using the sedative as the first step in a three-drug execution cocktail in 2013, after previously using a drug called pentobarbital sodium. The states switched because Danish-based manufacturer Lundbeck refused to sell pentobarbital sodium directly to corrections agencies for use in executions and ordered its distributors to also stop supplying the drug for lethal-injection purposes.
Correll filed an emergency petition with the Florida Supreme Court on Jan. 30, seeking a stay of his execution while the U.S Supreme Court considers the matter. The Florida court returned the case to Orange County Circuit Judge Jenifer Davis, who last week rejected Correll’s arguments. Gov. Rick Scott signed Correll’s death warrant earlier in January.
In ruling against Correll, Davis pointed to past Florida Supreme Court and federal-court decisions that upheld the use of midazolam hydrochloride.
But on Tuesday, Labarga wrote that, since the U.S. Supreme Court has put on hold executions in Oklahoma while considering the issue, Florida should do the same.
“‘Death is different,’” Labarga wrote, quoting from a previous U.S. Supreme Court decision.”When the execution of a death-sentenced individual is at issue, heightened care must be taken, and none more so than when, as here, the method of execution has a reasonable and realistic chance of being declared to be cruel and unusual punishment by the United States Supreme Court.”
But in a 10-page dissent, Justice Charles Canady argued that the Supreme Court temporarily halted Oklahoma executions because state officials there requested the stays. Canady also objected that, although the drug protocols are similar, a decision about the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s use of midazolam may not have any impact on Florida’s lethal injection process.
The Florida Supreme Court has repeatedly signed off on the use of the drug in previous cases, Canady, joined by Justice Ricky Polston, wrote.
“This court has reviewed an exhaustive amount of litigation in a number of cases regarding the efficacy of midazolam in Florida’s lethal injection protocol, and we have not had concerns about its ability to produce an execution that comports with the Eighth Amendment. Perhaps the Supreme Court is concerned with the ‘botched’ executions of Dennis McGuire in Ohio, Joseph Wood in Arizona, and Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma; but none of those executions used midazolam in the same manner or dosage as it is used in Florida’s protocol,” he wrote.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Florida TaxWatch Supports Cable, Cell Phone Tax Cuts
February 18, 2015
Easing the tax burden for Florida families and businesses would also attract business investment, create Florida jobs and grow the state’s information-based economy, according the latest Florida TaxWatch Economic Commentary. The report highlights the state’s Communications Services Tax, which is the fourth highest in the nation.
The Communications Services Tax is levied on cell phone, cable and satellite television and non-residential landline phone service, and can be as high as 22.59 percent for Floridians. The tax differs across the state, and is comprised of a standard federal fee, a uniform statewide tax and a varying local tax.
However, Florida taxpayers may soon have lower bills if the Governor’s proposal to reduce the state’s communications services tax is accepted by the Legislature. Governor Rick Scott plans to reduce the state portion of the tax to 5.57 percent from 9.17 percent. The 3.6 percent reduction would result in $470.9 million in annual savings for taxpayers.
“I applaud the Governor for his leadership and commitment to reducing taxes for all Floridians, especially those families, seniors and residents on very modest incomes,” said Dominic M. Calabro, President and CEO of Florida TaxWatch. “For years we have recommended that the Legislature reduce this highly burdensome and regressive tax on consumers and businesses. Florida’s unfairly high Communications Services Tax is punitive and makes the state less attractive to businesses the state is trying to recruit to provide high-skill, high-wage jobs to its residents.”
The Communications Services Tax is more than twice the highest state and local general sales tax rate in Florida. This year, it is expected to bring more than $2.1 billion in revenue to Florida’s state and local governments.
Orientation Workshop Set For Century Business Challenge
February 18, 2015
The University of West Florida Haas Center and the Florida SBDC at UWF have set dates for orientation and workshops for the upcoming Century Business Challenge.
The business challenge is a business plan competition in which the winning company will receive a prize package valued at more than $25,000. The Pensacola-based Studer Institute and the Haas Center are sponsoring the competition in partnership with the Florida SBDC at UWF, which is providing business planning software and conducting orientation and workshop sessions for participants.
“I am very excited about our involvement with the Century Business Challenge,” said Kelly Massey, regional director of the Florida SBDC at UWF. “Growth business consultant Carl Quesinberry is leading our team on this project. We have assisted competitors in many business plan competitions before.”
The first orientation session will be open to the public on Tuesday, March 3 at 6 p.m. at the Century Community Center on West Highway 4 at Industrial Boulevard. The meeting is an orientation for anyone wising to compete in the Century Business Challenge.
The next public meeting will be a business concept workshop on Tuesday, March 17. Additional workshops, closed to the public, will be held for participants on April 7, 8 and 9.
“The Florida SBDC and UWF are seeking to make our services more convenient and accessible for those in Century and the surrounding area,” Massey said. “We will provide three training sessions and mentoring services for the competitors at no cost. The Century Business Challenge is a win for everyone.”
Those interested in participating in the business challenge must apply by the end of March. Applications and more information about the business challenge can be found at its website, www.CenturyBusinessChallenge.com.
Prizes for the winner of the Century Business Challenge include space at the Century Business Center on Pond Street at a lease rate of $1 per year, with the possibility of an extension of that rate for two more years based on the company’s performance.
Pensacola philanthropists Quint and Rishy Studer will donate $25,000 in financial support to the winner of the competition.
The Century Business Challenge is part of an economic development partnership of the Haas Center, the Town of Century and the Studer Institute.
Those interested in attending orientation or the workshops are encouraged to RSVP by emailing Allison Tyler at atyler1@uwf.edu
Private Applicator Pesticide License Class To Be Held In Walnut Hill
February 18, 2015
A class to obtain a Private Applicator Pesticide License will be held February 25 at the Walnut Hill Community Center.
Attendees will learn the basics of applying pesticides correctly and will be able to take the exams necessary to become certified private applicators (Applicator and Core) by FDACS. The class will be 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a cost of$10 per person including lunch.