At A Glance: Tornado Recovery Need To Know, Where To Get Help
February 18, 2016
In the aftermath of the Century tornado:
Where To Get/Give Help
- Farm Share is partnering with Senator Greg Evers and Representatives Doug Broxson, Mike Hill, and Clay Ingram to sponsor a disaster relief food distribution on Saturday, February 20, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Century Community Center, on West Highway 4. Families in need after the devastation of the tornado earlier this week will be given food and supply bags free of charge from Farm Share. Each household will receive a variety of fresh produce, canned & dried food, water, juice, paper products, and other needed essentials. Supplies are very limited and will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis to tornado victims.
- Donations can be made to the Florida Baptist Convention and designated for “Century Tornado” for direct use to assist Century area residents. Contact any Southern Baptist Church for more information.
- The shelter at the Century Community Center on West Highway 4 closed Wednesday night. The center will be open on Thursday as a reception center to host people in need of assistance. While there, clients can meet with volunteers who will help with essential items, provide health and mental health services, as needed, and help plan their next steps to recovery. The center will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday.
- The Abundant Life Assembly of God Church is accepting donations of food, toiletries and cleaning supplies at 8040 North Century Boulevard.
- Feeding the Gulf Coast, together with Flomaton Pentecostal Holiness Church and several local volunteer groups and churches in Flomaton and Brewton, are distributing 5,000 pounds of free groceries, hot meals, and clothing to families affected by the February 15 tornado in Flomaton, Alabama. The distribution will take place on Thursday, February 18 from 2 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. at the Flomaton Pentecostal Holiness Church.
- The Town of Century is in the process of setting up a fund to help town residents.
Essential Information
- Residents are asked to go to the Century Community Center for assistance
- Residents must go through Century Town Hall for permits and construction. All fees are being waived by the town for disaster related permits.
Damage Assessments
- Damage assessments now show 25 major impacts, 29 minor impacts and 30 structures destroyed
- The National Weather Service determined the tornado that hit Century to be a strong EF2, weak EF3.
Red Cross
- The Century Community Center (6001-A Industrial Boulevard) is open and the Red Cross is on scene for assistance until 7 p.m. tonight; will re-open at 9 a.m.
- The Red Cross now has case workers available
- They will continue to provide food, water and comfort supplies
- The Red Cross will not operate a shelter tonight
Relief Resources
- Visit Century Community Center and let Red Cross know you are there for one of the following purposes:
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- To register for assistance (such as debris removal and salvage of belongings)
- Disaster volunteer check-in (Do not self-deploy. Please register at the community center)
- Red Cross Shelter (for temporary shelter relief)
- Food (provided by Atmore Tribal Creek Indians)
- Additional Resources available at Abundant Life Assembly of God Church. They are providing food, water and clothing for anyone who needs it. Donations accepted. 8040 Century Blvd. 850-256-5227
Power Companies
- EREC has restored power to those areas able to receive electricity
- Gulf Power has restored power to all houses that are able to receive electricity
Debris Pickup
Residents are asked to separate vegetative debris from all other types and place on the right of way.
Pictured: A food distribution even for tornado victims Wednesday at the Abundant Life Assembly of God in Century.
Tornado Recovery: The Power Of Prayer
February 18, 2016
Pictured: Two men pray together at the Abundant Life Assembly of God in Century during a food distribution event for tornado victims Wednesday morning. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Senate Gambling Bill Doubles Down On Slots
February 18, 2016
Pari-mutuels in at least six counties could add slot machines, under a measure approved Wednesday by a Senate committee that set the House and Senate at odds over a $3 billion gambling deal inked by Gov. Rick Scott and the Seminole Tribe.
The gambling package approved by the Senate Regulated Industries Committee authorizes the Seminole agreement, called a compact, but includes significant changes that would force further negotiations for the deal to go into effect.
“We are not back to square one, at all,” committee Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, told reporters after the meeting.
Under the compact signed by Scott and tribal leader James Billie in December, the tribe would add craps and roulette to its casino operations in exchange for a guarantee of $3 billion in payments to the state over seven years.
Many people believed that a compact would never be signed, Bradley said.
“That got done. Then came the idea that there’s no way this thing could ever get out of a committee in the Florida Senate. It got out of a committee today. So we are continuing to make progress. That does not mean that it’s a sure thing to get done. Challenges still remain. But we are where I think we need to be,” he said.
The House is considering a less expansive proposal that would ratify the agreement and allow slots at the Palm Beach Kennel Club and at a new facility in Miami-Dade County, items permitted but not expressly authorized by the compact.
Bradley had floated a nearly identical measure earlier this month, but held off on a vote after Sen. Joe Negron, slated to take over as Senate president later this year, filed a series of amendments last week.
Under one of Negron’s amendments folded into the bill (SB 7072) Wednesday, pari-mutuels could add slots in six counties where voters have approved the machines — and other counties where voters sign off on them in the future. Bradley voted against the amendment. The six counties are Brevard, Gadsden, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach and Washington.
The Senate plan now also would allow horse and dog tracks, as well as jai alai frontons, to do away with live racing or jai alai matches altogether, a process known as decoupling, while keeping more lucrative gambling operations, such as slot machines and cardrooms.
The House proposal would allow decoupling of greyhound racing and most horse racing, but would keep thoroughbred races intact at Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs. Jai alai frontons would also be required to keep operating live matches.
Negron insisted that the changes to the compact struck by Scott and the tribe were necessary to keep the measure alive.
“If you have a pure compact, and that’s all you have, it’s not going to pass out of this committee,” Negron, R-Stuart, said before the vote. “It’s very important that we have geographic concerns echoed in the amendment, and I think we can go back to the Seminole tribe and negotiate out a compact.”
The Senate plan now includes $45 million for thoroughbred purse pools — $20 million from payments from the Seminoles and $25 million from slots and cardroom revenues at pari-mutuels that decouple. The House proposal would earmark $10 million for the purse pools, a sweetener for the horse industry, which, in general, opposes decoupling of any type.
The Senate committee rejected an attempt by Negron to include in the gambling bill an amendment that would authorize fantasy sports in the state. Proponents of the popular online games, including Negron, insist that the games are legal in Florida, but some attorneys general elsewhere in the country contend that the activity equates to online gambling, which is illegal in most states.
The committee, however, inserted language — also sponsored by Negron — into a separate compact-related bill (SB 7074) that would amend the agreement to allow for fantasy sports without affecting the tribe’s payments to the state.
The future of the Senate proposal remained in doubt Wednesday evening. Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, now must refer the measure to another committee before it is ready for a full vote by the chamber.
House Regulatory Affairs Chairman Jose Felix Diaz, who worked with Bradley and Scott’s top staff for months to nail down the accord with the tribe, said that he wants state economists to evaluate the economic impact of the Senate changes. As a result, a vote from the House Finance and Tax Committee, expected next week, will be delayed, Diaz said.
Reaching consensus before the session ends on March 11 could be problematic, but Diaz remained hopeful.
“This bill will be touch and go all the way through to the end. I’m optimistic that there’s a path forward. I just don’t know what it is,” Diaz, R-Miami, said Wednesday evening. “It’s going to take some creativity and a lot of time.”
by The News Service of Florida
Senators Block Records Exemption For Hunters
February 18, 2016
A proposal that would have prevented the release of names of hunters in Florida was shot down Wednesday in a Senate committee.
The Rules Committee voted 5-4 to reject a measure (SB 1364) that would have created a public-records exemption for personal information — such as names, dates of birth, addresses and telephone numbers — of people getting hunting licenses from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Sen. Alan Hays, a Umatilla Republican who sponsored the bill, said the proposal was designed to protect gun owners who could be targeted by people who use the state’s public-records law as a way to track down and burglarize the homes of gun owners.
“My hope is that nobody goes and steals any of the guns,” Hays said. “I hope that the next time you have murder on the street that it’s not from a stolen weapon.”
Sen. Jack Latvala, a Clearwater Republican who voted against the measure, said during the meeting that Hays’ reasoning for the bill was “a reach.”
Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation, welcomed the defeat of the bill, which she labeled “the Ted Nugent Act” because of publicity surrounding a bear hunt last year. The state issued 3,778 permits for the controversial bear hunt, the first such hunt in Florida in more than two decades.
Among the people buying permits were rock star Ted Nugent, House members Frank Artiles of Miami, Jay Trumbull of Panama City and Tom Goodson of Titusville, and Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Aliese Priddy.
Nugent, who didn’t participate in the hunt, was contacted by the Orlando Sentinel when the commission released the names and information of the permit holders.
Petersen said the names of people applying for permits should remain public, but acknowledged that the Fish and Wildlife commission could reconsider the information it collects, which for the bear hunt in October included telephone numbers and emails.
“I think Fish & Wildlife needs to look at what information they’re collecting and decide what they need for regulatory purposes,” Petersen said.
(Disclosure: The News Service of Florida is a member of the First Amendment Foundation.)
Hays’ proposal had cleared two prior committees without opposition.
A similar House bill (HB 1153) was unanimously supported by the Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee last month and has not been scheduled for its next stop before the State Affairs Committee.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Government Aid Not Likely For Century Tornado Victims (With Gallery)
February 17, 2016
Century residents were allowed late Tuesday to return on foot to their tornado-ravaged homes. Many residents in the hardest hit areas found notices posted by the county building inspector informing them that their homes are no longer habitable.
A large number of the residents have no insurance…that’s a luxury they can’t afford in a town that is the poorest in Florida and where over half the residents live in poverty. Several told NorthEscambia.com that there next step is to begin cleaning up and wait for financial help they believe will come as it did after Hurricane Ivan.
But the chance of Century and its residents receiving federal funds are slim to none as the rebuilding process from Monday’s EF-3 tornado begins.
Escambia County Emergency Management Director John Dosh said a federal disaster declaration from the White House would require documented losses of over $25 million in the county. He said it is extremely unlikely for the tornado damage to totals to be anywhere near $25 million.
Without the federal disaster declaration, FEMA funds will not flow.
However, the Town of Century and the county ares working with state and federal agencies to see what other options and other funding pools just might be available.
In the meantime, Century is turning with open arms to charitable organizations such as the Red Cross and local churches that are lending a helping hand.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Murder Remains Under Investigation
February 17, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is continuing their investigation into a murder Monday night.
About 11:20 p.m. deputies responded to the 7100 block of Windsor Oak Drive to a domestic violence incident. When deputies first arrived, they found 35-year old Robert Edward Parizo dead from a gunshot wound.
Investigators questioned Parizo’s father in connection to the incident, but no arrests were made.
The shooting remains under investigation by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
NWS Report: Century Tornado Was EF-3 With 152 MPH Winds (With Gallery)
February 17, 2016
The tornado that struck Century and McDavid on Monday was an EF-3 with winds estimated as high at 152 miles per hour, according to a National Weather Service report.
The tornado followed a path 16.5 miles long and up to 300 yards wide through the North Escambia area. In total, three people were injured in the strong tornado.
The tornado first touched down southwest of Lambert Bridge Road, 3.4 miles west of McDavid at 3:32 p.m. and gradually increased in strength and width as it continued northeast toward Century. The first EF-2 intensity damage was found on Holland Road in McDavid were a workshop was completely destroyed.
The tornado reached peak intensity (widespread EF-2 damage with isolated EF-3 damage) as it moved into Century.
The damage track continued northeast where EF-2 damage was found on Old Fannie Road in Alabama. Damage continued northeast toward Pollard, AL, where the tornado weakened and lifted.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Another Sunny Day
February 17, 2016
Here is your official NorthEscambia area forecast:
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 63. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 38. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 67. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, clear, with a low around 42. East wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 69. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 51. South wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. South wind around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 72.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53.
Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 70.
Monday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 48.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61.
Railroad Crossing Closures Begin In Century
February 17, 2016
A dozen North Escambia railroad crossings are set to be closed for repairs during the next week, including crossings today within the area impacted by Monday’s tornado.
CSX will close the crossings as part of its network-wide crossing maintenance program beginning today. The latest schedule is as follows:
- Cottage Street — Wednesday 2/17
- McCurdy Street — Wednesday 2/17
- Front Street — Wednesday 2/17
- West Pond Street — Wednesday 2/17
- Salters Lake Road — Thursday 2/18
- Private Crossing (south of Salters Lake) — Thursday 2/18
- Bluff Springs Road — Thursday 2/18
- Courtney Road — Friday 2/19
- Private Crossing (4 miles north of Mystic Springs) — Friday 2/19
- Mystic Springs Road – Saturday 2/20
- East Bogia Road — Sunday 2/21
- Cotton Lake Road — Monday 2/22
NorthEscambia.com is working with the contractor to provide updates as soon as possible if there are any schedule changes.
CSX engineering crews will be laying 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 and is communicating directly with residents where there are dead-end roads or no-outlet situations.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather. Motorists are reminded to travel with care through the work zone and to watch for construction equipment and workers entering and exiting the roadway.
Pictured top: The East Highway 4 railroad crossing was closed earlier this month. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate High FBLA Members Raise Funds For Gulf Coast Kids House
February 17, 2016
A special group of Future Business Leaders of America from Tate High School in Cantonment recently presented a check to Gulf Coast Kid’s House for funds raised during a Christmas event.
The students wanted to bring some holiday cheer to child abuse victims in Escambia County. Over the holidays they made small paper trees and asked for donations to sponsor a tree and write a special note to a client at the Gulf Coast Kid’s House.
“Feliz Navidad” and “We love you!” were some of the messages written by parents, students, and other sponsors. The campaign produced over $400 and a check was presented by the students to GCKH staff members at their February monthly member meeting.
The students will soon be on their way to state competitions in Orlando compete against other members of FBLA from all over the Florida. Each student has a project to present and take first place in their regions before moving on to state.
“One student designed an entire video game as her project,” shares Erika Cooper, one of the teacher sponsors of FBLA, “some of the schools we are up against have whole departments dedicated to gaming technology.”