Poarch Creek Indians Receive $1.55 Million Housing Grant
February 20, 2015
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Atmore have received a $1.55 million federal housing grant.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Thursday announced the $1,555,886 Indian Housing Block Grant for the Poarch Creeks. The award was part of $651 million in grants awarded nationwide to 586 Native American tribes in 34 states.
IHBG allocations are distributed each year to eligible Indian tribes or their tribally designated housing entities for a range of affordable housing activities. The funds primarily benefit low-income families living on Indian reservations or in other American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The amount of each grant is based on a formula that considers local needs and housing units under management by the tribe or designated entity.
Eligible activities for the funds include housing development, assistance to housing developed under the Indian Housing Program of the 1937 Housing Act, housing services to eligible families and individuals, housing management services, crime prevention and safety, and model activities that provide creative approaches to solving affordable housing problems.
East Beats West In All-Star Soccer
February 20, 2015
The East beat the West in both boys and girls all-star soccer Thursday night at Brosnaham Park..
In girls’ action, the East topped the West 6-4, and the East Boys beat the West 6-1. Teams were made up of the best high school senior players from the West — Escambia County, and the East — Santa Rosa and Okaloosa County.
Pictured top are Tate High School members of the West Girls team: Emily McAfee, Molly Pearce, Jennifer Clyde and Alexa Harmon.
Team members were as follows:
WEST GIRLS
Catholic — Gretchen Cagle, Midfield/GK
Catholic — Taylor Kukes, Forward
Escambia — Alexandria Krempin-Dykes, Midfield
Escambia — Moira Leonard, Goalkeeper
Pensacola — Lauren Pederson, Defender
Pensacola — Alex Allen, Wing/Striker
Pine Forest — Anna Legassey, Forward/Midfield
Pine Forest — Mandy Jackson, Midfield
Tate — Hannah Hargett, F/M
Tate — Alexa Harmon, Defender
Tate — Jennifer Clyde, D/M
Tate — Emily McAfee, Defender
Tate — Molly Pearce, Defender
Washington — Mallory Lurate, Goalkeeper
Washington — Natalie Williams, Midfield
Washington — Madison King, Defender
Washington — Mariah Bush, Midfield
West Florida — Brianna Schubeck, Forward/Midfield
West Florida — Morgan Duckworth, Goalkeeper
West Florida — Morgan Herpel, Defender
West Florida — Jordan Sortino, Defense
West Florida — Sommer Johnson, Midfield
WEST BOYS
Catholic — Harrison Carroll, Center Half/Utility
Catholic — Chandler Dixon, Midfield
Catholic — Taylor Evans, R/L Back, R/L Mid
Escambia — Patrick Mackovic, Def. mid-central
Escambia — Zach Slavin, Outside defender
Escambia — Paul Worshop, Wing/Midfield
Pensacola — Warren Curtiss Thies, Goalkeeper
Pensacola — Abdullah Alsaqr, Forward
Pensacola — Logan Patterson, Wing/Midfield
Pine Forest — Hunter Reavis, Right Wing
Tate — Kyle Capehart, Back
Tate — Keller Blaichard, Midfield
Washington — Chris Searcy, Forward
Washington — Evan Sheltry, Mid/defender
Washington — Jake Brown, Forward
Washington — Ben Stevens, Right Back
Washington — Bennett Gaston, Midfield
Washington — Keimon Johnson, Center Back
West Florida — Austin Boswell, Center Back
West Florida — Kai Estrada, Midfield
West Florida — Daniel Bowers, Goalkeeper
West Florida — Luan Nguyen, Forward
EAST GIRLS
Choctaw — Dani Weyer, Striker/center mid
Choctaw — Sydney Oliver, Center Back
Choctaw — Kayla Douglas, Forward, Outside Mid
Choctaw — Kelsey Douglas, Outside Mid
Fort Walton — Kierstin Creese, Center Defender
Fort Walton — Torie Greene, Center Forward
Fort Walton — Shelby Campbell, Midfield
Gulf Breeze — Veronica Williamson, Outside Mid/Forward
Gulf Breeze — Jessie Droogsma, Goal Keeper
Milton — Jenna Wade, Forward/Midfielder
Milton — Skylar Elsperman, Outside Midfield
Milton — Mariah Holt, Defender
Navarre — Rylie Slaybaugh, Center Mid
Navarre — Jessica Cook, Center Back
Niceville — Cassie Willis, Defender
Niceville — Jessica Chavis, Outside Mid/Forward
Niceville — Mandi Balcuinas, Forward
Niceville — Eli Craft, Honorary Captain
Pace — Hannah Abrams, Forward
Pace — Claire Taylor, Forward/Midfielder
Pace — Serena Colvin, Wide Back/Wide Mid
Pace — Kiersten Richardson, Center Back
Rocky Bayou — Shanon Barkman, Forward
EAST BOYS
Choctaw — Sean Hoffstatter, Forward
Choctaw — Shane Nicholson, Forward
Choctaw — Kahlee Wilson, Def. Mid
Choctaw — Luke Hambleton, Center Back
Choctaw — Brandon Castelin, Center Back
Crestview — Trent Simmons, Def/Mid
Crestview — Bryce Webb, Def/Mid
Fort Walton — Santiago Alvarado, Center Mid/CFWD
Fort Walton — Juan Pablo Rodriguez, FWD/LB
Gulf Breeze — Kyle Overlade, Defender/Ctr. Mid
Gulf Breeze — Matthew Cutler, Off. Mid/ Forward
Milton — Patrick Greene, Forward
Milton — Jonathan Pool, Defender
Navarre — Mason Goodnough, Goalkeeper
Navarre — Amuia Alford, GK/Forward
Navarre — Kameron Bethell, Midfield
Navarre — Robert Madril, Midfield/Forward
Navarre — Brandon Capenia, Midfield
Navarre — Malcolm Valdes, Midfield
Niceville — Michael Nalovic, Defender
Pace — Alex Brock, CB
Rocky Bayou — Cameron Esses, Midfield/Striker
Molino Park Names Volunteers, Partner Of The Year
February 20, 2015
Volunteers were honored during a luncheon Thursday at Molino Park Elementary School.
Volunteers of the year were announced, including Rachel Bradley, adult volunteer; Carolyn Cropper, senior adult volunteer; and Alianna Davis, youth volunteer. Jimmy’s Grill was named Molino Park’s Partner of the Year.
“There is no possible way that we can accomplish all that needs to be accomplished to grow God’s most precious gift, our children, without the helping hands and loving hearts of our volunteers,” Molino Park Principal Alice Woodward said. “We are very thankful for all of our volunteers.”
Another Pot Hearing Sought To Clear Up Proposed Rule
February 20, 2015
The Florida Department of Health will hold another hearing to clear up confusion about a proposed medical marijuana rule published after a marathon meeting earlier this month.
The department’s Office of Compassionate Use released the latest proposal after a hand-picked panel spent 25 hours over two days hashing out the plan during a rare “negotiated rule” workshop on Feb. 4 and 5. Health officials ordered the workshop after an administrative law judge tossed their previous attempt at a rule, finding fault with the agency’s plan to use a lottery to select five licensees to get the state’s new medical-marijuana industry off the ground.
On Wednesday, John Dial asked the department to hold a rule workshop on the new proposal. Dial, who was not on the 12-member panel picked by Office of Compassionate Use Director Patricia Nelson and did not attend the meetings, said he requested the workshop — which would be the fifth public meeting on the issue — to address what he called ambiguities in the proposed regulations.
Dial said he is part of a team called “Florida Organic Products,” made up of investors, a nursery that would be eligible for a license, doctors and other health care professionals, accountants and plant-tissue experts.
“There was just some ambiguous language in there that I think should be clarified before we start throwing cash at something that you don’t even know what the return on investment is,” Dial, a Stuart yacht broker, said.
The Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott last year approved a law that allowed limited types of medical marijuana and required the Department of Health to come up with the regulations. The law passed after heavy lobbying by parents who said certain strains of medical marijuana could help children suffering from severe forms of epilepsy.
Under the law, health officials will select five nurseries that have been in business for at least 30 continuous years in Florida and cultivate at least 400,000 plants to grow, process and distribute cannabis that is low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and high in cannabadiol, or CBD, for patients who suffer from severe spasms or cancer.
The law ordered health officials to select five “vertically-integrated” entities by Jan. 1in the hope that the low-THC product, usually delivered in paste or oil form, would be on the market by early spring. But because of the earlier legal challenges, patients likely won’t be able to get the pot until this fall at the earliest.
Dial said that one of the major changes in the latest proposal floated by health officials has prompted him to put plans — a $3 million investment — on hold, at least for now.
That sticking point involves where the applicants will be able to grow, process and distribute their products. Under the original plan, all of the operations would have been required to take place at the same locale where a nursery is registered with the Department of Agriculture to grow the 400,000 plants that would make it eligible for a marijuana license.
But under the latest proposal, “dispensing organizations” could cultivate the cannabis at one location, process it at another and sell the final product at one or more retail locations.
And the pot would not have to be grown at the same place where the nursery is currently doing business, meaning that growers could apply in any of the state’s five regions, although nurseries could only be awarded a single marijuana-growing license.
The guidelines in the proposed rule instruct applicants to include details about the location of all properties they propose to use to cultivate, process and dispense low-THC cannabis and the derivative product, “including ownership information for the properties and any lease terms if applicable.”
For leased properties, applicants must also include documentation that the owner of the property is aware that marijuana will be grown, cultivated or dispensed there.
“They’re talking about leasing properties. Does that mean if we’re in the central division but I’ve got four warehouses that I can lease in the southeast division because it’s more cost effective to do so? That’s a question that I certainly would like to have clarified. The way I read that, it’s very ambiguous. Does that mean we grow it on our nursery ground but we can lease a processing room someplace else because you don’t have a clean room there?” Dial said in an interview with The News Service of Florida.
Dial said he and his group expected to invest at least $3 million in the project.
“I’ve called a halt and put everything on hold because I don’t want to be one of the first five,” Dial said. “Unless I get some better answers on this, I just can’t roll the dice like that.”
Allowing nurseries to apply outside of the regions in which they currently operate creates uncertainty for smaller or mid-size growers, said Ron Watson, a lobbyist who represents the Florida Medical Cannabis Association and other entities interested in the nascent pot industry.
“It’s going to drastically change who’s competing against whom in any region. We all have a main list (of eligible nurseries) but what none of us know is where their other properties are. And if I apply in all regions, it’s going to cost me $300,000,” Watson said. The proposed rule sets the application fee at $60,063.
Watson is working on a “glitch” bill in the Legislature to address some of the issues causing concern among potential applicants. The law allows dispensing organizations and patients, but not testing labs, to possess the plants or the final product.
Under the proposed rule, applicants will be graded on whether they have a relationship with an independent lab “with cannabis testing and protocols.” That relationship is one of myriad items, such as financial documents proving that applicants can stay in business for at least two years, evaluators will use to determine who gets one of the five licenses.
“I don’t know how you’re going to get around the lab issue. Each nursery has to prove they have some relationship with a lab. But the labs are not allowed to be in legal possession. And if I have to hire them as an employee, can I fire them if I don’t like the test results?” Watson said.
Watson said he wasn’t surprised by the request for a hearing, also anticipated by Nelson. When she published the rule on Feb. 6 in the Florida Administrative Register, Nelson set the date for a hearing, if requested, for March 2 at the Department of Health in Tallahassee.
“To me what’s more intriguing is not hearing everybody get up and complain again, it’s seeing what the department decides to do afterward,” Watson said. “Do they make a change? Do they republish this as a final rule and then does anybody choose to challenge that?”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Barth Road, Brickyard Road Railroad Crossing Closed
February 20, 2015
The Florida Highway Patrol is reporting the railroad crossing at Barth Road and Brickyard Road near Molino is closed due to maintenance. Drivers should use an alternative route.
No time frame for the project and closure has been announced.
Hit And Run Driver Plows Through House
February 19, 2015
The Florida Highway Patrol is looking for a hit and run driver that crashed into a house early this morning in Escambia County.
The driver of a 2004 Honda Accord was eastbound on Burgess Road near Confederate Drive when they left the roadway and struck a house in the 6300 block of Confederate Drive. The Accord hit a garage door, traveled east through the structure and exited through a west wall. The driver then fled the scene.
Anyone with information on the 3 a.m. crash should contact Trooper Joshua Tucker at joshuatucker@flhsmv.gov.
Hard Freeze Warning, Low 20’s Tonight
February 19, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Thursday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 22. North wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
Friday
Sunny, with a high near 53. Wind chill values between 15 and 25 early. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. Southeast wind around 10 mph.
Saturday
Partly sunny, with a high near 72. Breezy, with a south wind 10 to 20 mph.
Saturday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 55. South wind around 10 mph.
Sunday
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 73. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night
A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph after midnight.
Monday
A 40 percent chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 54.
Monday Night
A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35.
Tuesday
Partly sunny, with a high near 53.
Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 54.
Cantonment Man Facing Hunting Charges In Two States, Federal Investigation
February 19, 2015
A Cantonment man is facing multiple charges in two states and is under federal investigation for hunting violations, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of Law Enforcement.
FWC officers first made contact with 26-year old Waylon Lee Adams as he was dropping off a 10-point buck at a taxidermist in the Molino area. Adams told the officers that he shot the buck in Alabama but did not possess an Alabama or Florida hunting license. After documenting his name and related information, the FWC contacted Alabama Game and Fish.
The FWC offiders determined Adams was hunting in the Brewton area. A couple of days later, Alabama Fish and Game reportedly caught Adams trespassing on private property. He was arrested in Alabama for trespassing and drug possession, and cited for not possessing an Alabama hunting license. Adams confessed to shooting additional deer in Alabama.
The day after his Alabama arrest, FWC officers spotted Adams in Century leaving a restaurant despite having no driver’s license and being classified as a habitual traffic offender. As FWC officers were speaking to Adams, he fled on foot and was quickly picked up by a second unknown vehicle. FWC officers had Adams’ vehicle towed, and they reported finding multiple rounds of ammunition inside.
The FWC reports having obtained warrants for Adams for driving as a habitual traffic offender, resisting an officer without violence and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement is investigating Adams for a possible Lacey Act violation, according to the FWC. The Lacey Act regulates federal aspects of hunting and wildlife trace.
FWC officers also seized antlers from five deer which Adams still had at the taxidermist.
CSX: Atmore Crossing Work Should End This Week
February 19, 2015
For the past couple of weeks, driver in Atmore have experienced delays due to closed railroad crossings as CSX upgrades tracks through the city.
That work, according to CSX, is expected to soon be completed/
“CSX engineering crews are laying new rail, new rail ties, resurfacing crossings and repaving them with asphalt. CSX has worked closely with local officials to coordinate the crossing closures to minimize disruption to the community,” said Kristin Seay, spokesperson for CSX. “Several of the crossings have already been re-opened. The remainder of the work is expected to be completed by the end of this week.”
Seay said the Atmore track upgrades are part of CSX’s network-wide infrastructure maintenance program.
“Maintaining railroad infrastructure is critical to minimizing service disruptions and preventing accidents and injuries. CSX spends more than $1 billion annually on improving and maintaining track, bridges, signals and other equipment to keep freight moving safely and reliably. We appreciate the patience of community residents as we complete this work as safely and efficiently as possible,” she said.
Crossings at Industrial Drive and Main Street were the only crossings that remained closed as of late Wednesday.
Pictured top: The Industrial Drive railroad crossing in Atmore remained closed Wednesday afternoon. Picture inset and below: Traffic backed-up at the Main Street crossing last week. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
State Education Boss Calls For Cutting Back Tests
February 19, 2015
Education Commissioner Pam Stewart on Wednesday called for the elimination of at least one statewide test, as a key Senate education committee began hammering out legislation meant to curb the number of exams given to students in Florida’s public schools.
In a report delivered to Gov. Rick Scott, Stewart recommended that the state get rid of a language-arts test students take in 11th grade. An exam in the 10th grade is used to determine whether students have met the state’s graduation requirement in language arts, and many educators say the later test is unnecessary.
Stewart recommended that Scott issue an executive order to suspend the test in the current school year, with lawmakers later approving legislation to permanently scrap the assessment.
The report also recommended making optional a college readiness test that some students are required to take and eliminating final exams in courses that have state-mandated tests at the end of the year. Stewart also urged local school districts to do what they can to lower the amount of time students spend on tests.
“I am recommending that we eliminate as much testing as we can,” Stewart told reporters after brief remarks before the Senate Education Pre-K-12 Committee.
Scott has pushed for reining in the number of tests and asked Stewart for the review.
“It’s important to measure students’ progress and achievements, but we must not lose sight of our goal to provide every student with the very best education,” Scott said in a statement accompanying the report. “As I have traveled the state, I have heard from parents and teachers that there are too many tests and I agree.”
Stewart’s report also called for local districts not to “test students for the sole purpose of evaluating teachers” — just four years after the Legislature passed a controversial law more closing tying teacher pay to student performance on standardized tests.
“Students already take tests to determine whether they know their subject matter and districts should use information from these tests to help gauge teacher performance,” the report says.
But Senate Education Pre-K-12 Chairman John Legg, R-Lutz, would not commit Wednesday to getting rid of the 11th grade test in language arts.
“It’s one of the items on the table,” Legg said. “We are reviewing that. … It’s one of those options that we are seriously looking at.”
People who addressed the committee Wednesday largely agreed with Stewart’s recommendation on the 11th grade test, even as they pressed for more steps to cut back on exams.
“But trust me, there are opportunities to look at the portfolio of assessments in the state of Florida and identify other areas and examples of duplication that has put us in this position of over-testing,” said Miami-Dade County Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, questioned why students who do well on tests in upper-level courses then have to sit for state exams that are expected to be less rigorous.
“These students who have already taken and passed Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests are bored out of their gourds when we then ask them to take another test on the same material,” said Gaetz, a former Okaloosa County schools superintendent.
Education groups largely agree that the state should hold off on assigning school grades and making decisions about whether students should be promoted from the third grade or allowed to graduate based on new tests the state is introducing this year. A similar test has caused a backlash in Utah, though Legg said he still has confidence in the exam.
Lawmakers have already ensured that schools won’t face consequences from this year’s results under the state accountability system. But supporters of pushing back some of the other ways the results are used say that’s not enough.
“The letter grades are so important in terms of perception of a school,” Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat who doubles as chief executive officer of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, said after the meeting.
Much of the concern revolves around the fact that the new assessments have not been tested on Florida students. Educators say the FCAT was used for letter grades for schools only after a couple of years.
“We’re taking this exam and coming in and laying it down, saying, ‘We’re going to use it this year,’ ” Montford said.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida