Doctor: Local Flu Cases On The Rise
January 19, 2015
The United States is currently in the middle of the annual flu season and many parts of the country, including the Southeast, are experiencing high levels of flu activity.
“Across the Unites States, hospitals are seeing more than double the number of flu-related admissions than last year,” said Lt. Cmdr. Mary Graves, department head, Preventive Medicine, Naval Hospital Pensacola.
The flu season typically runs from October through April, but it is not always predictable. According to the Center for Disease Control, 5 to 20 percent of the U.S. population gets the flu every year and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from complications.
According to Graves, there have been 55 deaths in Escambia County in the past five years related to the flu. The majority of the deaths were with the elderly, but complications from the flu can occur at any age and are often preventable.
To help combat the likelihood of contracting the flu, the CDC and Naval Hospital Pensacola recommends everyone 6 months and older get an annual flu shot.
“A common myth is that the flu shot will give you the flu, but that cannot happen,” said Graves. “Some people may experience some fatigue after receiving the flu shot, but that is because the body is producing antibodies to fight the flu and that can make you feel a little rundown.”
While the flu vaccine will not protect against every strain, the vaccine will help protect against multiple strains of the flu that are circulating this year and can help reduce serious outcomes such as hospitalization. The flu vaccine will also help with the recovery of the flu, even if it’s one of the strains not covered in this year’s flu vaccine because the vaccine helps the body build antibodies that can combat multiple strains of the flu.
“Even though the strains don’t match exactly this year, getting vaccinated will still give a person partial protection,” said Graves. “The vaccine will reduce the severity of symptoms and result in fewer days being sick and less time lost to work or normal activities.”
Common flu symptoms can include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, muscle aches and fatigue. Most people will recover from the flu after a few days and usually do not need prescribed medications to recover.
“If you feel flu symptoms coming on, drink lots of fluids and get lots of rest,” said Cmdr. Kim Toone, associate director for public health, NHP. “You can also take an over the counter decongestant or pain reliever to help as well.”
People at risk of flu-related complications include pregnant women, children under the age of 2, elderly people over 65 and patients with chronic health problems such as asthma, heart disease and a weakened immune system. Anyone that falls into one of these categories should contact their health care provider as soon as they begin to feel flu symptoms.
“If you are a high-risk beneficiary, please get your flu vaccine,” said Toone, “and contact your health care provider as soon as you feel flu symptoms developing to discuss other treatment options that may be beneficial.”
In addition to receiving the flu vaccine, there are additional precautions that people can take to prevent the flu. These simple precautions include avoiding close contact with those that are infected with the flu, staying home when sick, covering the mouth and nose when sneezing, washing hands regularly, avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces.
“Proper hand hygiene and immunizations are a great way to prevent infections and diseases anytime, not just during the flu season,” said Sheila Jones, infection prevention program manager, NHP.
Story by Jason Bortz, Naval Hospital Pensacola
Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class James Stenberg for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Firefighters Battle Field Fire
January 19, 2015
Firefighters battled a large fire in a grassy field Sunday morning on the Florida/Alabama state line.
The fire was reported about 11:40 a.m. about two miles west of Century on Gandyville Road, a small road off Gandy Lane that is in Florida but must be accessed from Old Atmore Road in Alabama. It took firefighters about 45 minutes to completely extinguish the three acre fire in an open field. There were no structures immediately threatened by the blaze.
The Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the fire.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Storytime Held Each Week At The Local Library
January 19, 2015
The West Florida Public Library offers Story Time for children five and younger each week.
Story Time is held:
- 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays at the Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway
- 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays at the Molino Branch Library, 6450-A Highway 95A
- 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays at the Main Library: 239 North Spring Street
- 4 p.m. Thursdays at the Century Branch Library, 7991 North Century Boulevard
- 10:30 a.m. Thursdays at the Tryon Branch Library, 1200 Langley Avenue.
For more information call (850) 436-5060 or visit www.mywfpl.com. The events area always free of charge.
Sunny And Warmer Tuesday
January 19, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 70. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 45. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
- Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 38. North wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday A 20 percent chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 53. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday Night Rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 39. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Friday A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52.
- Friday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 33.
- Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 55.
- Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 37.
- Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 58.
MLK Day Programs, Parades Planned
January 19, 2015
Parades and special events will honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. across the area on Monday.
CENTURY
A motorcade will begin at 8 a.m. at the old Carver Middle School and travel throughout town. It will end with a program at the Century Community Center on West Highway 4 at about 10 a.m.
PENSACOLA
The Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday in downtown. The parade will begin at Spring and Garden Streets, travel east and turn north on Palafox, then from Palafox to Wright Street, loop around the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Plaza and turn south on Palafox to Main Street. Among the groups in the parade will be he Escambia County School District All-County Band. Grand Marshal for the parade is Mamie Webb Hixon.
CANTONMENT
The Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in Cantonment starts at about 3:30 p.m. at the corner of Washington and Carver off Muscogee Road behind the paper mill. Line up for participants is at 3:00 at the corner of Washington and Carver. Parade will travel Washington, Robinson and Booker before returning to Carver.
MILTON
The Martin Luther King Jr. parade from Milton High School south on Stewart Street to Elva Street beginning at 10 a.m. A program will follow at the Mount Pilgrim African Baptist Church. Afterwards, a MLK Block Party will be held with entertainment, food and games.
FLOMATON
The annual Martin Luther King Jr. walk will begin begin at Highway 31 and Martin Luther King Drive. Lineup will be at 8:30 a.m. and the walk will begin at 9 a.m. A special program will follow at Damascus Baptist Church with guest speaker Minister Thomas Phiefer.
ATMORE
The Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade will begin at 10 a.m. at the Houston Avery Park on Martin Luther King Avenue, travel to Ashely Street, turn south on Main Street and travel to Escambia County High School. A program will follow at the high school with guest speaker Rev. Phillip Brown of Birmingham. Entertainment and a health fair will follow the program.
Pictured top: Last year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Panel Works To Expand Legal Help For Low, Moderate Income Residents
January 19, 2015
A commission established by Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labarga began a year-long effort last week to make civil justice services more accessible to both low- and moderate-income Floridians.
The 27-member Florida’s Commission on Access to Civil Justice won’t create anything new but will build on what other states with limited resources like Florida’s are already doing to keep individuals from having to navigate the complex court system on their own, Labarga said.
“This issue is not just a legislative issue, not just an executive issue, it is a societal problem,” Labarga said at the commission’s first meeting in Tallahassee on Friday. “And it is something society in general needs to fix.”
People representing themselves in court are often confused by simple paperwork or stumble over writing a legal brief, county clerks told the panel.
The commission will also explore the possibility of establishing public-private partnerships with businesses to help offset the costs of legal services.
“Employers provide people with health insurance. Well let’s provide them with legal insurance,” Labarga said. “There is such a thing and it’s very inexpensive. Little things like that help take the stress off of what people are going through.”
An interim report is due in October and the final product will be released in 2016.
Making the courts more accessible to all Floridians is a goal that Labarga announced in June when sworn in as the state’s 56th chief justice.
One of the things the panel will have to figure out is how to provide additional funding for civil legal aid without simply asking for money from state legislators. Gov. Rick Scott has red-lined from the state budget such allocations each year since he assumed office in 2011.
Fleming Island Republican Sen. Rob Bradley, an attorney who is a member of the commission, said there remains a role for government funding, but “it needs to be part of a larger plan.”
Gregory Coleman, president of The Florida Bar and a member of the commission, estimated that about 60 percent of moderate-income families now struggle to pay for civil legal services.
“The folks that are making $40,000, $50,000 a year, supporting a family of four, if they have to get divorced, they can’t afford a lawyer at $50, an hour, $25 an hour,” Coleman said.
Legal-aid lawyers currently handle tens of thousands of cases a year, with many of the cases dealing with family issues, including divorce and child custody, or housing issues, such as foreclosures.
Scott’s veto of $2 million for legal services for the poor last year came as former Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero and attorneys for the poor pushed an effort to increase Florida Bar dues by up to $100 to help fund legal-service groups across the state.
The state Supreme Court heard arguments Dec. 2 on raising a $265 cap on the Bar’s annual membership fees. The Florida Bar has come out strongly against the proposal, arguing that the legal system needs a longer-term solution to pay for services provided to the poor.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Oliver Cardwell
January 19, 2015
Mr. Oliver Cardwell, 62, passed away on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, in Atmore.
Mr. Cardwell was a native and lifelong resident of Atmore. Mr. Cardwell was a member of the Friendly Holiness Church. He was a tribal member with the Poarch Creek Bank of Indians. His father, A.B. Cardwell; mother, Voncile Cardwell; sister, Patricia Cardwell; nephew, Billy Joe Kroll; first wife, Frances Cardwell; and second wife, Etta Cardwell precede him in death.
Survivors include his brother, Billy Adams Kroll of Pensacola; niece, Sharon Kroll Loftin of Pensacola; and nephew, Tommy Kroll of Pensacola.
Funeral services will be Saturday, January 24, 2015, at 11 a.m. at the Friendly Holiness Church with Rev. Ray Ward officiating.
Burial will follow at the Poplar Springs Cemetery.
Visitation will be Friday, January 23, 2015, from 5 p.m. until service time at 11 a.m. at the Friendly Holiness Church.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes is in charge of all arrangements.
George Alford Lee
January 19, 2015
George Alford Lee, 86 of Perdido, passed away Saturday, January 17, 2015, in Atmore. He was retired machinist with Scott Paper Co. He was born in Mobile on December 20, 1928, to the late Preston and Mary Givens Lee.
He is preceded in death by one brother and three sisters.
Survivors include his wife, Faye Roberts Lee of Perdido; two sons, George Russell (Lesa) Lee of Jacksonville, FL and David Buck (Tracey) Lee of Bay Minette; two daughters, Pagan Lee (Christopher David) Gilman of Roswell, GA and Sandy (Dewayne) Flowers of Bay Minette; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.
West Florida’s Gunter Signs With Tallahassee Community College
January 19, 2015
West Florida High School’s Kristin Gunter recently signed her national letter of intent to play softball at Tallahassee Community College. She was a member of the Jaguar’s 2014 Class 4A State Champion softball team and was named first team All-Area Shortstop. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Amber Nicole Blubaugh
January 19, 2015
Amber Nicole Blubaugh, 25, a native of Pensacola and a resident of Cantonment, passed away January 16, 2015 in Pensacola. Amber was a very compassionate person who was a great listener. She loved all animals but especially cats and great white sharks. She also enjoyed dirt bikes. Her family and friends will always remember Amber’s quick wit and tremendous sense of humor. She had worked as a volunteer for National Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida. Amber graduated from Catholic High School in 2007 and was a member of St. Anne Catholic Church.
She was preceded in death by her step-father, Keith Rhodes and her grandmother, Saundra Blubaugh.
Survivors include her mother, Kimberly (Ryan) Silber; father, James (Sheri) Blubaugh; her beloved best friend, Brittany Jenkins; brother, Alex Blubaugh; sister, Kaitlyn Blubaugh; grandparents, Jack (Linda) Navelski; grandfather, Jim Blubaugh; step-grandmother, Candace Langager; aunts, Angie (Tim) Nye and Jo’el Navelski; cousins, Elias Brewton, Tarah Nye, Holden Nye, and Landon Nye; multiple aunts, uncles, cousins and many friends.
The family will receive friends at Pensacola Memorial Gardens on Tuesday, January 20, 2015, from 10 a.m. until service time at 12 p.m.
Burial will follow in Pensacola Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in the name of Amber Blubaugh to Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida, 105 North S Street, Pensacola, FL 32505 or to Pensacola Hotel for Dogs and Cats, 4110 Creighton Road, Pensacola, FL 32504 or to the Humane Society of Pensacola, 5 North Q Street, Pensacola, FL 32505.