IP Hosts Informational Meeting for 2016 Grants
November 5, 2015
International Paper (IP) Pensacola Mill will award $50,000 in Foundation Grants in 2016 and is hosting a one-hour meeting Friday, November 20 at 1:30 p.m., to review the application process with qualifying non-profit organizations, schools and state and local government entities. The meeting will take place at the mill’s Employee Development Center, located at 375 Muscogee Road in Cantonment and will focus on eligibility, criteria and restrictions. Grant committee members will be available for questions.
The deadline for all 2016 grant applications is Monday, January 11, 2016. Grants are awarded by the IP Foundation in Memphis, which focuses on environmental education, literacy, employee involvement and critical community needs. Applicants must be a registered 501c3 non-profit organization, school, or qualifying government entity to apply.
For more information about the Foundation, visit www.ipgiving.com. To reserve your seat at the workshop, contact Janice Cooper Holmes, communications manager, by email janice.holmes@ipaper.com or call 850-968-4203. Reservations to attend the meeting are required as space is limited; however, attendance is not mandatory to apply.
No Major Damage In Byrneville Kitchen Fire
November 5, 2015
Escambia Fire Rescue responded a grease fire in the kitchen on a mobile home on Raines Road in Byrneville just after 5 p.m. Wednesday. There were no injuries and no major damage reported. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Halee Nickole Boyd-Bush
November 5, 2015
Halee was born October 6, 1994 to Daniel Jason “Jake” Boyd and Martha “Mardi” Elizabeth (Gatlin) Jernigan in Pensacola, Fl. She was a 2014 graduate of Tate High School where she was a member of the Beta Club and attended Pensacola State College. She was a longtime member of the Pensacola Children’s Chorus and served as a volunteer for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Organization.
Halee is survived by her devoted husband Sidney Albert Bush, loving brother Spencer Boyd, adoring grandparents Mary Crawley of Lemoore, CA and Dan and Linda Boyd of Pensacola, loving great-grandmother Isabel “Mamu” Goss of Pensacola, stepfather Keith Jernigan and step-sister Kandace Jernigan of Munson, FL, beloved adopted puppy Nova and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and friends.
A celebration of Halee’s life will be held on November 14, 2015 at Hillcrest Baptist Church, 800 E. 9 Mile Road, Pensacola, Fl with the Pastor Jeff Howard officiating. Visitation is at 9:00 a.m. and the service is at 11:00 a.m. Halee specifically asked that no one wear black to her service. In lieu of flowers she requested donations be made in her honor to Muttnation Foundation (www.muttnationfoundation.com) or to Make-A-Wish Central & Northern Florida, 1020 North Orlando Avenue, Suite 100, Maitland, FL 32751.
The family would like to say a special thanks to Dr. Joanne Lagmay and the staff at Shand’s Children’ hospital, the doctors, nurses and staff at Sacred Heart Children’s hospital, and to Covenant Hospice for all the love and care they provided. We would also like to thank the entire community for the outpouring of love and support you provided Halee and her family during her illness. Halee’s motto was “When you have something to live for, you can’t stop fighting” and she lived up to that every day of her life! You were our angel on Earth Halee and now you’re an angel in God’s arms! We love you!
Pine Meadow Elementary Students Honor Veterans
November 5, 2015
Students at Pine Meadow Elementary School presented their annual Veterans Celebration Wednesday morning. The patriotic program honored those who have served or are on active duty. Courtesy images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Deputies Seek Man That Witnessed Murder
November 5, 2015
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a man they say was a witness to a Forest Creek homicide in February. Cornelius Robinson, 22, also has two active warrants for his arrest for failure to appear and grand theft. Anyone knowing his whereabouts should call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Florida Lawmakers Float Boater Safety Bill
November 5, 2015
Boaters who take a safety precaution could get slight discounts on their annual vessel-registration fees, under bills crafted after the tragedy of two 14-year-olds going lost at sea this summer.
The bills (SB 746 and HB 427) would provide discounts of about 25 percent on annual registration fees if boaters have purchased and registered emergency locator devices.
Backers said the proposal is a better way “to accomplish good” than pushing to increase the minimum age for operating boats in Florida waters.
“My preference is to leave that to the discretion of the parents,” said Sen. Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican who is sponsoring the Senate version of the bill.
Rep. MaryLynn Magar, a Tequesta Republican sponsoring the House version, agreed.
“Many of these kids that are in our waterways, they’re better off out there fishing, having a good time, than they would getting in trouble somewhere else,” Magar said. “It’s a great lifestyle. They just need to be safe about it.”
Negron and Magar, working with Blu Stephanos — whose son Austin was one of the two teens who went missing after going out of the Jupiter Inlet in July — introduced the legislation on Wednesday.
Under the proposal, the discount would be given to anyone who currently has or buys an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) device.
“Your cell phone won’t work out there,” Stephanos said during a news conference with Negron and Magar in the Capitol. “The only thing that is going to work is one of these devices. And at that time, it’s more about rescue, not so much searching. And for that, can you put a price on it, really?”
The devices cost between $200 and $1,500, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. To be activated, a device must be registered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Negron said the cost, in relation to most boats, is “modest.”
“I think ultimately it will save Florida money because these rescue operations are extraordinarily expensive,” Negron said.
Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, both from northern Palm Beach County, vanished after exiting the inlet together in a 19-foot boat. The disappearance set off an eight-day search in the Atlantic.
“I want to protect anyone from … having to go through what I’m going through,” said Blu Stephanos, who intends to use a foundation he set up in his son’s name to promote the use of the beacons.
The legislation is expected to save boaters about $5 million by dropping the annual fee based upon the size of each boat.
Under the bill, the annual fee for boats between 12 and 16 feet would drop from $16.25 to $11; for boats between 16 and 26 feet, the fee would go from $28.75 to $20.40; and for boats between 26 feet and 40 feet, the fee would fall from $78.25 to $57.50.
Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, last month introduced a proposal (SB 644) that would increase the minimum age from 14 to 16 to operate personal watercraft in most Florida waters.
“Right now, it’s just personal watercrafts,” Ring said when he filed the bill. “We’re looking deeper into boats as well, but that’s a bigger lift. So, we’re not saying it won’t be a part of this bill, but we’re just not quite there yet. We do feel very strongly in getting this started, and a great start is with the personal watercrafts.”
Ring’s proposal, which has yet to attract a House companion, has been referred to three Senate committees.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Campus Carry Measure Advances In Florida House
November 5, 2015
A proposal that would allow concealed-weapon permit holders to bring handguns onto college and university campuses continued moving forward Wednesday in the state House, despite opposition from academic leaders.
The Higher Education & Workforce Subcommittee voted 10-3, with Tallahassee Democrat Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda joining nine Republicans, to advance the bill (HB 4001), which would allow the state’s 1.45 million concealed-weapon permit holders to carry guns while on state campuses.
Rehwinkel Vasilinda, a co-sponsor of the bill, said people already have guns illegally on campus, and “our campuses are open and not as safe and idyllic as we’d like to believe.”
Still, the fate of the bill spearheaded by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, likely remains with the Senate, where an identical measure (SB 68) must get through its next scheduled stop at the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bills are filed for the 2016 legislative session, which starts in January. Committees are taking up bills in advance of the session.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, said Tuesday no decision has been made about whether to bring up the campus-carry bill, adding the measure won’t be on the agenda for the committee’s next meeting.
A similar measure died during the 2015 session after not getting through the Judiciary Committee. In the spring, Diaz de la Portilla said he decided to scuttle the measure after polling members of the Senate and finding a lack of support for the bill backed by gun-rights groups.
The measure is one of a number of legislative proposals that would expand the rights of people who have concealed-weapons licenses. Leaders of the state university system have opposed the campus-carry proposal.
Rep. Ed Narain, a Tampa Democrat who is chairman of the Legislature’s black caucus, told the Higher Education & Workforce Subcommittee on Wednesday the 26 members of his caucus oppose any proposal that “will increase the number of guns on campus.”
Steube said permit holders who must be at least 21 years old and demonstrate competency with firearms should “be able to carry anywhere.”
Eric Friday, general counsel of the gun-rights group Florida Carry Inc., questioned an estimate by the 28 schools in the Florida College System that they would have to spend $74 million to upgrade security, training and equipment because of the campus-carry proposal.
“If we allow law-abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms on our campuses, suddenly we’re going to need armed security and police that we don’t have now, where there is nothing keeping criminals off of our campuses with guns,” Friday said. “If you believe criminals don’t have guns on campus now, you’re naive.”
Opponents of the bill said a better solution to increasing safety on campuses would be to boost funding for law enforcement.
“This is not a bill that addresses rape on campus,” said subcommittee member Kristin Jacobs, D-Coconut Creek. “This is a bill that allows certain people to carry guns and others not to. If we really want to address the issue of rape on campus, then what we need to ensure is that we have a greater number of officers on campus that can continue to protect women in that environment.”
Florida State University senior Daniela Fernandez told the panel that the bill could impact learning on the state’s campuses.
“The intellectual integrity of our institutions are at risk here,” Fernandez, who is from Miami, said. “Education is a debate process. Students and faculty will be less inclined to debate, to learn if guns are allowed on campus.”
Wednesday’s vote came less than a week after the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected arguments by Florida Carry Inc. in a lawsuit seeking to overturn a University of Florida ban on firearms in residence halls and other university housing.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Update: FHP Releases Details In Cantonment Crash That Injured Three
November 4, 2015
Three people were injured in a two vehicle crash on Highway 29 in Cantonment Wednesday morning.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 69-year old Jackie Roscoe Helton of Walnut Hill was southbound on Highway 29 just past Highway 95A when he crossed the median into oncoming traffic. His 2012 Ford F150 collided with the front of a 1999 Dodge Durango driven by 71-year old Cecil Wayne Carnley of Okeechobbee, FL.
Carnley and his passenger, 63-year old Robin Jeanean Carnley of Pensacola, were critically injured in the crash. Cecil Carnley was trapped in his vehicle about an hour while firefighters worked to free him from the wreckage before he was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital. Robin Carnley was also transported to Sacred Heart in critical condition. Both Carnleys were wearing their seat belts, troopers said.
Helton was airlifted to Baptist Hospital in serious condition. He was also wearing his seat belt, according to the FHP.
The FHP said alcohol was not a factor in the wreck. Any charges in the crash are pending further investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Highway 29 in Cantonment was complete shut down just over an hour by the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Smoke Reported Inside Church
November 4, 2015
Firefighters responded to the Pinewoods Presbyterian Church on Highway 297A after smoke was reported inside the building about 7:15 Wednesday morning.
By 7:50 a.m.,the exact source of a light smoke and haze inside the building had been narrowed down to an A/C unit motor after a methodical search. Other than the motor, there was no damage reported.
NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
The Bluffs: 60 Industrial Site, 15,000 Job Plan For Cantonment
November 4, 2015
A new site in Cantonment could, in the long term, be home to as many as 60 new industrial and manufacturing companies and more than 15,000 jobs.
The public/private partnership is called “The Bluffs – Northwest Florida’s Industrial Campus”. The 6,000 acre master-planned development area includes about 1,700 acres of land that can be developed in an area east of Highway 29 bordered by the Escambia River to the east, Becks Lake Road near International Paper to the north, and the University of West Florida to the south. Although located along the Escambia River, most of the property to be developed is at a high elevation, about 100 feet above sea level, and not in a flood plain.
“This location is very unique in the state of Florida,” Scott Luth, CEO of Florida West said. “The corridor has utilities already there, from heavy electrical service, high capacity natural gas, CSX rail service, reclaimed water from ECUA and wastewater treatment.” Much of the area also has barge access south down the Escambia River.
The effort includes partners already located in the corridor – Ascend, ECUA, Gulf Power and the University of West Florida – along with the Pensacola‐Escambia County Development Commission,the Florida West Economic Alliance and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
“This is a long term plan, with the corridor having the ability to grow and expand,” Luth said. “It is definitely a long-term project and a long term strategy.”
The project site plan includes four primary development areas. The area known as “Live Oak Bluff” is likely to see the first development, he said. It is about 415 acres with 13 lots in an area that is currently accessible from Becks Lake Road. A Muscogee Road freight corridor is already in the works, expanding access from Becks Lake Road and Highway 29 to an upcoming I-10 exit in Beulah.
Engineering studies have been completed on the property, identifying potential sites and accounting for wetlands, stormwater runoff, parking and roads. A marketing plan has also been developed to begin reaching out to potential companies.
The plans also include making the campus an “environmental showcase” ensuring that the natural beauty of The Bluffs is preserved by building natural trails and encouraging green features for new tenants.
“We still have a lot of work to do and this is a long-term, 20‐year vision,” Luth said. “But we know that planned growth means quality growth and that the best communities map out their future years ahead of time. We see The Bluffs as an opportunity to create an environmental showcase while creating jobs for our children and grandchildren.”
Marketing of the The Bluffs is already underway; Luth said some sites have already been shown to prospective companies.
Pictured top and below: Aerial concept maps show The Bluffs, click to enlarge to read map labels. Pictured bottom inset: The Bluffs will be designed to be an environmental showcase. Pictured bottom: Conceptual drawing of Live Oak Bluff, the likely first area to be developed off Becks Lake Road. Images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
