Fallen Florida Law Officers Honored
May 5, 2015
Bagpipes played “Amazing Grace” at the state Capitol on Monday as hundreds of law-enforcement officers from across the state attended an annual memorial ceremony for fallen officers. The names of six officers were read aloud, and surviving family members each put a red rose on a map of Florida in memory of their loved ones.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, who had one of his deputies killed in the line of duty in 2014, said police have taken undue criticism in recent months from isolated incidents between law enforcement and citizens across the country.
“We have to be careful not to create an environment in this nation in which officers fail to act out of fear of criticism, when they should act,” Demings said. “That hesitation might cost them their life.”
Also Monday, the Florida Sheriffs Association held a ceremony that included adding three names of fallen officers to a memorial wall. Those three, who died in 2014, were Orange County Deputy Jonathan Scott Pine, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer Mark H. Larson and Leon County Deputy Christopher Smith.
by The News Service of Florida
Pictured top: A capitol ceremony Monday in Tallahasee to honor fallen law officers. Photo by Tom Urban, NSF, for NorthEscambia.com. Pictured below: Bagpipers play “Amazing Grace” in honor of fallen Florida law enforcement officers. Pictured inset: Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tickets Still Available For ‘Hairspray’ Musical
May 5, 2015
Tickets are still available for the Northview High School Theatre Department presentation of the Broadway musical “Hairspray” this weekend.
It’s 1962, and pleasantly plump Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad has only one desire – to dance on the popular “Corny Collins Show.” When her dream comes true, Tracy is transformed from social outcast to sudden star. It is a show that’s great for the entire family.
Performances will be at 7 p.m. in the Northview Theatre on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9. Advance tickets are available in the Northview front office.
Joseph Rodney “Rod” Eddins, II
May 5, 2015
Rod is survived by his daughter, Rebecca Lynn; parents, Rodney “Rocky” and Marilyn Eddins; brothers, Greg Eddins (Tammy), Doug Eddins and Mike Eddins (Libbie); nephew, Blane; nieces, Erin, Rachel and Avery; and the love of Rod’s life, Brittany; as well as man’s best friend, Tanner.
Honorary pallbearers will be Scott Lane, Dan Abshire, Alan Little, Steve Tomlin, Lee Weston, Bain Custer, Jim Tatum and Phillip Nix.
Visitation will be held 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, at Cokesbury United Methodist Church, 9th Ave Campus. Funeral Service will be held 2 p.m.Wednesday, May 6, 2015, at Cokesbury United Methodist Church, 9th Ave Campus with Rev. Ken Griffin officiating. Entombment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Florida Sheriff’s Association, Law Enforcement Memorial, P.O. Box 12519, Tallahassee, FL 32317-2519.
Tate To State: Lady Aggies Hit The Road
May 5, 2015
The Tate Lady Aggies hit the road Monday for Vero Beach and the state semifinals. The Lady Aggies will face the Bartow High School Yellow Jackets in the Class 7A state semifinals Wednesday afternoon. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jackson Tops The Pcola Blue Wahoos 15-4
May 5, 2015
For the third time in the five-game series, the Jackson Generals hung six runs in an inning Monday on the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
After five innings, Jackson led the game, 14-1, on two three-run home runs by designated hitter Jabari Blash and third baseman Jody Lara on the way to winning the rubber match in the five-game series, 15-4, from Pensacola at The Ballpark in Jackson.
It was the most runs in a game the Generals have scored this season, going down in order in just two of eight innings. That included the eighth when Pensacola infielder Ray Chang made his third career relief appearance and first since July 7, 2009, and preserved his 0.00 ERA.
Despite the loss, a few Blue Wahoos did perform well. Right fielder Kyle Waldrop went 1-3, hitting a 320-foot, three-run blast to right field in the sixth inning. He scored a run and had four RBIs total. In his last nine games, Waldrop is batting .364 (12-33) with four doubles, a homer, eight RBIs, and three runs. For the season, he has three homers, batted-in 14 runners, and hit .259.
In addition, Pensacola first baseman Marquez Smith, who had two singles Monday, had a good series against Jackson. Smith hit .429 (9-21) in five games, including four multi-hit games to raise his batting average from .182 to .246 on the season.
Pensacola second baseman Ryan Wright, who went 2-4 with two runs, has hits in nine of his last 10 games. He’s batting .333 (11-33) since April 26.
Meanwhile, Blue Wahoos shortstop Juan Perez’s leadoff double in the sixth inning against the Generals Monday pushed his hitting streak to six games. He’s hitting .346 (9-26) during the streak and now leads Pensacola with a .308 average and is second in on-base percentage at .366.
But Monday was really all about the Generals, who had four hits, including a two-out, three-run blast by Blash, two walks and an error to go up, 6-0, after two innings. In all, Jackson sent nine batters to the plate.
Jackson tacked on three more runs to go up, 9-0, in the next inning, thanks to catcher Steve Baron. He smashed a double to left that scored two runs in the third. Baron then stole third and scored on Blue Wahoos catcher Chris Berset’s throwing error to second.
Finally, Jackson took a, 14-1, lead when Lara crushed a three-run blast in a five-run fifth inning.
Semi Trailer Cut In Half In Train Collision
May 5, 2015
The trailer of a semi-truck hauling auto parts was literally cut in half in a collision with a train Monday afternoon in Brewton. There were no injuries in the 4 p.m. crash at the Highway 31 and Highway 41 intersection. Photo by Alisa Hart for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Beat Jackson
May 4, 2015
Pensacola Blue Wahoos pitcher Josh Smith picked up his second win of the season by throwing seven scoreless innings against the Jackson Generals on Sunday.
Smith, who last pitched for the Blue Wahoos in 2013, is now 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA after giving up six hits and striking out eight in Pensacola’s, 5-1, victory at The Ballpark in Jackson. The win ended a two-game losing streak to the Generals, who wrap up its five-game series Monday with Pensacola.
Smith wasn’t the only star for Pensacola on Sunday. Designated hitter Kyle Waldrop went 3-5 with a double, scored a run and drove in two more. Marquez Smith also had a 3-5 day and scored.
Pensacola scored first in the third inning. They took a 1-0 lead when Juan Silva tripled for the first time this season on a soft line drive to right field and Beau Amaral knocked him in with a single on a line drive to left field.
Marquez Smith then singled sharply to left field and Waldrop doubled on a fly ball to center field that drove in Smith to put Pensacola up, 2-0. Waldrop moved to third base on a Seth Mejias-Brean ground out to shortstop. Chris Berset drove Waldrop in on a sacrifice fly to center field for a 3-0 Pensacola lead.
Pensacola made it 4-0 when Jesse Winker reached first on a fielder’s choice and two out. Smith followed with a single to right field and Winker took third on a fielding error by Jackson right fielder Jabari Blash. Waldrop then drove in Winker with a two-out single to center field.
The Blue Wahoos added an insurance run in the ninth when Juan Perez singled on a ground ball to the second baseman and reached third on a wild pitch by Jackson’s Trevor Miller. Ryan Wright then drove Perez in on a sacrifice fly to go ahead, 5-0.
Perez went 2-5 and has now hit in six straight games and 15 of the last 16 games. He’s leading Pensacola with a .311 batting average.
Cantonment Motorcyclist Charged With Fleeing From Deputies
May 4, 2015
A Cantonment man has been charged with running from deputies on his motorcycle.
An Escambia County deputy reported that he observed a Honda motorcycle at the intersection of Nine Mile and Pine Forest roads. He said the driver, later identified as 21-year old Brian Paul Watkins, turned around and looked directly at him. The deputy later activated his lights and siren to conduct a traffic stop because the motorcycle’s tag was expired. The deputy reported Watkins continued at a normal speed before taking off at a high rate of speed and passing through two red lights. The deputy reported that he turned off his lights and sirens, discontinuing the traffic stop, as Watkins continued at a high rate of speed on Pine Forest Road “with no regards to other vehicles that were in his path of travel”.
A warrant was prepared for his arrest.
Watkins was charged with felony fleeing and eluding while lights and siren activated and cited for resiting an officer and operating a motorcycle without a license. He remained in the Escambia County Jail Monday with bond set at $52,000.
Woman Dies When Her Home Is Hit By Vehicle
May 4, 2015
An Escambia County woman sitting in her living room died in a traffic Sunday.
Donna Sue Alexander, 52,was inside her home in the 1600 block of East Mallory Street when a Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck driven by John Dye, 30, crashed into the house.
Alexander died at the scene, while Dye was taken to a local hospital to be examined for injuries.
Dye was northbound on 17th Avenue when the truck left the road, struck the house and entered the living room. The cause of the crash, which occurred around 6:40 p.m. Sunday, remains under investigation. Charges are pending the outcome of the investigation.
Court Forces Florida Prisons To Go Kosher
May 4, 2015
After more than a decade of legal wrangling, a federal judge has ordered the Florida Department of Corrections to provide kosher meals to inmates, rejecting the state’s argument that the religious diet is prohibitively expensive.
Corrections officials are already serving the kosher meals but have refused to acknowledge that they are required to do so under the federal “Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act” law enacted in 2000.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the agency three years ago as part of a drawn-out fight over the kosher meals, an option not only for Jewish prisoners but for Muslim and Seventh-Day Adventists whose religions also proscribe dietary restrictions.
The lawsuit challenged corrections officials’ claim that they were not required to provide the meals, as well as the rules the agency used to determine who was eligible to receive the meals.
About 10,000 inmates receive kosher meals now being served at all of the state’s institutions, and corrections officials have no plans to discontinue the special diet, according to Department of Corrections spokesman McKinley Lewis.
“If you want a kosher meal, you can have a kosher meal,” he said.
The department started offering the kosher meals in 2004 to Jewish prisoners at 13 facilities and transferred inmates who were eligible for the meals to those institutions. The agency expanded the program to inmates of all faiths in 2006 but halted it the following year before reinstating it as a pilot project at a single prison in 2010, serving fewer than 20 prisoners.
A year after the lawsuit was filed, the department again began serving kosher meals and promised to have the meals available to all inmates by last July.
Last summer, the department switched to all-cold meals, consisting largely of peanut butter and sardines, served twice a day, prompting some inmates to complain that the unappetizing diet was aimed at discouraging prisoners from signing up for the plan.
“…It is hard to understand how defendants can have a compelling state interest in not spending money that they are already voluntarily spending on the exact thing they claim to have an interest in not providing,” U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz wrote in a 31-page opinion.
“Furthermore, not only are defendants voluntarily spending the money on providing kosher meals, they have repeatedly represented that they are committed to providing kosher meals” and that the current religious diet plan is sustainable, both monetarily and security-wise, the judge wrote. “Thus, defendants’ compelling state interest argument is substantially dampened by its voluntary decision to provide kosher meals.”
The kosher meals cost about $3.56 per inmate per day, compared to $1.89 per day for regular meals. The department estimated that the costs for making kosher meals available to all inmates could total between $384,000 and $12.3 million, depending on how many inmates signed up for the program and decided to stick with it.
But even the department’s “worst-case scenario” estimate equates to just .005 of its total annual budget, Seitz wrote.
“Clearly, in pure numbers these amounts are not insignificant. However, in an overall budget of nearly $2.3 billion per year, these amounts are relatively small,” Seitz wrote.
While nearly 10,000 prisoners — about 10 percent of the total inmate population — receive kosher meals today, corrections officials expect participation in the program to decline to about 1.5 to 2 percent. In the five prisons where the meals have been served for a full year, the participation rate dropped by one third.
The department, which has spent more than $400,000 in legal costs fighting the lawsuit, last year contended that the kosher meals were prohibitively expensive.
If just 1.5 to 2 percent of the total prison population joined the program, the department would spend up to $1.7 million a year, not including extra costs for disposable utensils and plates, lawyers for the department wrote in a brief last year.
“For a cash-strapped agency like the Department of Corrections, these amounts are not a ‘relatively minor expense,’ given other crucial needs that compete for funds,” Florida Assistant Attorney General Lisa Kuhlman Tietig wrote.
But the department’s lawyers failed to show that the cost of the program has affected prison operations in any way, Seitz wrote.
“There is no evidence that any program s have been cut, that any staff has been cut, or that there has been any harm to any aspect of defendants’ operations,” she wrote.
Seitz also ordered the department to stop using a “zero-tolerance” policy that removed inmates from the kosher meal plan if they were caught eating regular meals or purchasing non-kosher food from the canteen, something corrections officials have already abandoned.
And Seitz also ruled that prison officials can’t kick inmates off of the kosher plan if the inmates miss 10 percent or more of their meals in a month, another policy the department has discontinued.
Seitz criticized the department for complaining about the costs of the special diet but not using its own policies to restrict who receives the meals.
“Defendants have at their disposal an alternative means to contain costs without burdening the religious exercise of those prisoners with a sincere religious belief requiring them to keep kosher. To date, however, defendants have actively chosen not to use these alternative cost reduction methods,” she wrote.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: The cafeteria at Century Correctional Institution. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.