Jay Woman Arrested Second Time For Sexual Assault On Juvenile
April 14, 2016
A Jay woman has been arrested a second time for sexual misconduct with a minor.
Kimberly Anne Seevers, 45, was arrested in Santa Rosa County on a charge of sexual assault on a victim 16 or 17 years old. In an unrelated case, Seevers was arrested last November for sexual assault on a victim 16 or 17 years old and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The two arrests involved separate incidents involving different juveniles age 16 or 17, according to Assistant State Attorney James Parker.
“The victim described a physical encounter with Seevers,” he said.
Parker said the second male victim was discovered during the course of the investigation into the first set of charges.
The first arrest came after the school resource officer at Jay High School received information in regards to a possible sexual relationship between Seevers and juvenile males. Seevers is not employed by or connected with the Santa Rosa County School District.
Both sexual assaults allegedly occurred at her home, the second between September and November 2015.
Seevers was released Wednesday from the Santa Rosa County Jail on $5,000 bond. Parker said prosecutors had request the judge set bond at $50,000. She previously entered a plea of not guilty and is awaiting trial on the November charges.
White Quickly Piles Up Money For Hill’s House Seat
April 14, 2016
Preparing to run for a Northwest Florida House seat, Pensacola Republican Frank White raised nearly $62,000 during the last week of March, according to a newly filed campaign-finance report.
White opened a campaign account March 23 to run in House District 2 and quickly raised $61,970. He also loaned $50,000 to the campaign, according to information posted on the state Division of Elections website.
White is the vice chairman of the Pensacola State College Board of Trustees and is managing director of an investment group. He is also the son-in-law of car dealership owner Sandy Sansing.
District 2 is held by Rep. Mike Hill, a Pensacola Beach Republican who could run this year for the state Senate. Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, is weighing a bid to replace Republican Congressman Jeff Miller, who has announced he will not seek another term.
by The News Service of Florida with contribution from NorthEscambia.com
Wildlife Commission Sets Sights On Another Bear Hunt
April 14, 2016
Armed with updated data showing a “robust” and growing black-bear population, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is working to hold another bear hunt.
Commission Chairman Brian Yablonski on Wednesday directed staff and commissioners to prepare to discuss during a June meeting how a hunt could be managed. A commission spokeswoman said later that a decision has not been made to hold a hunt.
“There is a process of how the hunt is set up, what the quota objectives are,” Yablonski said during a commission meeting at the Wyndham Grand Jupiter at Harbourside Place in Jupiter. “There’s a ton of options out there.”
The Florida Administrative Code already includes an outline for an annual bear hunt to be held in late October, and Yablonski said it’s up to the commission to set quota numbers.
The commission in October 2015 held its first bear hunt in more than two decades as a means to slow the increase of black bears in the state and to reduce dangerous interactions between bears and humans. But the hunt was highly controversial, with opponents protesting in various parts of the state.
Jacki Lopez, the Center for Biological Diversity’s Florida director, said Wednesday opponents have “been anticipating” the commission putting the quota issue on an upcoming agenda.
Conservation groups headed by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Animal Legal Defense Fund have petitioned the federal government to approve an endangered-species protection designation for Florida black bears.
The commission last year set a collective “harvest objective” of 320 bears that could be killed in four parts of the state opened for the hunt. The areas were the eastern Panhandle region, which includes the northwestern Big Bend area to west of Apalachicola Bay; the South region, which includes Broward, Collier, Hendry, Lee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties, the North region, which goes from Jacksonville west to Hamilton and Suwannee counties, and the Central region, which includes the St. Johns River watershed to the Ocala National Forest.
The quota was based on an estimated 3,000-plus bears being in the state.
A limit of one-bear-per-hunter was set. Hunting permits were sold at $100 to state residents and $300 for people from out-of-state. A total of 3,778 permits were sold. Money raised through the permits is supposed to be used for measures, such as bear-proof garbage containers, to reduce human-bear conflicts.
The 2015 hunt was projected to last up to a week. Instead the hunt was called off after two days as the bear death count quickly reached 304.
Commission officials admitted to being caught off guard by the success of the hunters.
On March 24, the commission increased the estimate of the number of bears in the state to 4,350 adults, based on survey results taken before the 2015 hunt.
The commission also estimated about 2,000 bear cubs statewide, of which about half are expected to survive into adulthood.
The bear population had been as low as 300 to 500 statewide in the 1970s, when bears were put on the state list of threatened species because of a mix of hunting and humans impacting their natural habitat. Bears were removed from the list in 2012 when a new management plan was approved.
In 2015, lawmakers increased penalties for people who repeatedly are found feeding bears not in captivity.
This year, Florida lawmakers included $500,000 to reduce human-bear conflicts in the state’s new $82 billion budget. Commission Executive Director Nick Wiley said Wednesday that the majority of the money must go to local governments with ordinances in place requiring residents and businesses to secure their trash.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Scott Signs Tax-Cut Package Including Back To School Tax Holiday
April 14, 2016
Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday signed a trimmed-down package of tax cuts that will permanently eliminate a sales tax on manufacturing equipment and set up a three-day tax “holiday” for back-to-school shoppers.
However, the signing came with less flourish than might have been expected for one of Scott’s top priorities during the recent legislative session.
Scott held a ceremonial bill-signing as the undercard of an announcement by Novolex — which makes plastic bags — that it’s expanding a manufacturing facility in Jacksonville.
In a release, the governor’s office noted that “during the announcement, Gov. Scott also ceremonially signed HB 7099.”
“This bill will not only give Florida families an important back-to-school sales tax holiday, but it will also permanently eliminate the sales tax on manufacturing machinery and equipment so companies like Novolex can invest more money in growing their business and creating new jobs,” Scott said in the release. “We will continue to do all we can to cut more taxes and support economic growth so Florida can become first for jobs.”
The package, a legislative compromise that totals $129 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1, includes a Scott priority to eliminate a sales tax on manufacturing equipment. It also exempts sales taxes on food and drinks sold by veterans’ organizations and phases out — over three years — a sales tax on asphalt used for government projects.
The measure also revises how taxes are calculated on alcohol and tobacco sales for cruise ships within Florida waters, on pear cider, and on an excise tax on aviation fuel, which is a discount for most carriers.
For many Floridians, the biggest part of the package will be a sales-tax “holiday” for back-to-school shoppers. However, the holiday will run from Aug. 5 to Aug. 7, rather than the 10 days initially proposed by Scott and many lawmakers.
In addition to the shorter period, the amount of savings available to shoppers will be lower than in earlier proposals. For example, shoppers will be able to avoid paying sales taxes on clothes that cost $60 or less, down from an earlier $100 proposal. Also, computer purchases won’t be included in the holiday. The measure also lifts the tax on school supplies costing $15 or less.
Regardless of the number of days, the Florida Retail Federation says the tax holiday provides an economic boost to retailers.
“We look forward to the savings that consumers will enjoy and the increased sales for retailers during the anticipated back-to-school sales tax holiday shopping weekend,” Florida Retail Federation President and CEO Randy Miller said in a release.
Scott had sought more than $1 billion in tax cuts for the upcoming fiscal year and $250 million for business-recruitment incentives at the public-private Enterprise Florida.
But as state tax-revenue projections declined, lawmakers agreed not to provide any of the incentive money and downsized the tax-cut package.
Still, lawmakers have joined Scott in saying that $1 billion in tax relief has been approved over a two-year period, a figure Scott campaigned on in 2014 as part of his re-election bid.
Last year, lawmakers approved a tax cut package that totaled $428.9 million, topped by a reduction in the communications-services tax on cell-phone and cable-TV bills.
This year, lawmakers say Floridians also will get tax savings because the newly approved 2016-2017 budget includes money to hold down local property taxes that would otherwise go into the state’s school-funding formula. The issue involves part of the formula known as “required local effort.”
With the property tax money, the Senate put the “tax relief” for the coming year at more than $550 million.
House Finance & Tax Chairman Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, said the relief is “over a half billion dollars for this session.”
“We have made the decision in Florida that we can grow our economy, meet the needs of our state and care for the vulnerable not by having more taxes, but by having more taxpayers,” Gaetz said in a prepared statement. “These tax cuts welcome new families, businesses, and visitors to our state each day.”
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Blue Jacket Jamboree Has New Home; Entries Accepted For Beautiful Baby Contest, Craft Vendors
April 14, 2016
The Northview High School FFA’s Blue Jacket Jamboree is returning this year with a new home and an exciting new beautiful baby contest.
The Blue Jacket Jamboree will be Saturday, April 23 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the new Escambia County 4-H Facility at 5701 Highway 99 in Molino. The event will be held in conjunction with the GCA/NYRO Youth Spring Livestock Show.
As in years past, during the fun-filled day for the entire family there will be arts, crafts, food, entertainment and a car show. And this year, there will be a “Blue Jacket Baby Contest” for children birth through two-years old.
For event information, to register for the baby contest, or to learn more, visit www.bluejacketjamboree.org.
To join the over 40 arts and craft vendors registered for the event, call Linda Till at (850) 572-1076 or visit the website.
To register for the car or tractor show, call Angus Brewton at (850) 712-7884.
Pictured: Last year’s Blue Jacket Jamboree, which was held at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Lose To Jacksonville 2-1 In Nine
April 14, 2016
On paper it was a matchup of the top pitching prospects in the Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins organizations.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos southpaw Amir Garrett and Jacksonville Suns lefty Jarlin Garcia delivered on the suggested pitching duel between the two No. 3 prospects in the Southern League Double-A match up.
In the end, though, the Jacksonville Suns pulled out a 2-1 victory Wednesday over Pensacola in a dramatic ninth inning when both teams scored all their runs at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Both teams are 5-2 on the season and tied with the Biloxi Shuckers for first place in the Southern League South Division.
Garrett struck out Jacksonville’s first four batters and got nine of the first 10 hitters out in his six shutout innings. He allowed only four hits and struck out seven.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville’s Garcia allowed a single in his 5.2 innings and struck out six Blue Wahoos before walking two batters in the sixth and being lifted for reliever Tyler Bremer.
Pensacola Manager Pat Kelly said the fireworks between the hurlers was to be expected.
“Garcia was good but Garrett was just as good, if not better,” Kelly said. “We had two pretty good lefties out there.”
Garrett said he has faced Garcia a few times during their minor league careers and was “pumped” to be facing him in his first game in front of the Blue Wahoos crowd.
“I was feeling really good tonight,” Garrett said. “I was pretty pumped up and wanted to make a statement.”
Long after the superb performances by Garrett and Garcia, Jacksonville first baseman Brady Shoemaker scored on a deep fly ball by third baseman Matt Juengel to Pensacola right fielder Tony Renda to make it, 1-0, in the top of the ninth inning.
Suns right fielder Moises Sierra then put Jacksonville up, 2-0, when he tagged from third on a line drive by second baseman James Roberts to left fielder Phillip Ervin, who barely missed throwing Sierra out at the plate.
The game looked over but Pensacola came back to load the bases. Blue Wahoos first baseman Ray Chang hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Ervin from third base, pulling the Blue Wahoos within one run, 2-1, with two outs.
Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson, who had a single, walk and double in his first three at bats, then hit a chopper to third that looked like it was heading to left field. However, the Suns third baseman Juengel cut it off, stumbled but made a force out at second in the nick of time to end the game.
“This team shows a lot of grit,” Kelly said. “They came right back at the end.”
Fire Destroys Large Shed In Walnut Hill
April 13, 2016
Fire destroyed a large shed behind a residence in Walnut Hill Wednesday morning. The approximately 400 square foot shed was fully involved when the first firefighters arrived on scene just after 6:15 a.m. The cause of the fire was not immediately known; there were no injuries. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
State Budget Includes $21 Million For North Escambia Road, Bridge Projects
April 13, 2016
Almost $21 million in North Escambia road and bridge projects are included in Florida’s 2016-2017 budget that was recently signed by Gov. Rick Scott.
Projects in the North Escambia area that received funding were:
BRIDGE REPLACEMENTS
- Molino Road over Pensaula Creek Bridge $1,157,752
- The bridge was constructed in 1958 and is located west of Highway 29 between 4 Star Farm Road and Sunshine Hill Road.
- Highway 97A over Boggy Creek Bridge $2,967,954
- The bridge was constructed in 1969 and is located on Highway 97A about one mile west of the Highway 97A and Highway 99 intersection near Enon.
- Highway 99 over Pine Barren Creek $3,815,089
- The bridge was constructed in 1955 and is located on North Highway 99 north of Gobbler Road, near the Oak Grove Park.
- Highway 99A over Boggy Creek $1,741 ,636
- The bridge was constructed in 1968 and is located on Highway 99A (Arthur Brown Road) just west of Walnut Hill Baptist Church.
WIDENING AND DRAINAGE
- Muscogee Road Widening and Drainage Improvements $1,674,000
PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING
- 9 Mile Road from Highway 90 to Beulah Road $1,000,000
- Highway 29 from south of Muscogee Road to Highway 97 (resurfacing) $1,200,000
RESURFACING
- Highway 4 from Highway 29 to Escambia River Bridge $1,058,585
- Highway 29 from north of Highway 90 to south of Muscogee Road $6,306,108
Pictured top: The Molino Road bridge over Penasula Creek. Pictured: The deteriorating wood pilings that support the bridge. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Showers And Thunderstorms Likely
April 13, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 1am, then a chance of showers between 1am and 4am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 60. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Thursday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 10am. High near 71. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Thursday Night: Showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 53. East wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 66. East wind around 10 mph.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers before 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 53. East wind around 10 mph.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. East wind around 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. East wind around 10 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. East wind around 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 56.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 77.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 58.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60.
Wednesday: A slight chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 78.
FDOT Meeting To Address Mobile Highway, Beulah Road Intersection
April 13, 2016
The Florida Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting concerning proposed improvements at the intersection of Mobile Highway and Beulah Road.
The meeting will be held Tuesday, April 26 from 5:30 until 6:30 p.m. at the Beulah Senior Center at 7425 Woodside Road.
The FDOT proposes to design a new traffic signal and add or extend left turn lanes to improve safety and operations at the intersection. Mobile Highway and Beulah Road will be widened and resurfaced as needed to accommodate the additional turn lanes. Additional right-of-way will be required for this project. This project is funded for construction in late 2017, with construction scheduled to begin first quarter of 2018.
The meeting will be an open house type format with no formal presentation. Representatives from the FDOT will be available to explain the proposed improvements, answer questions and receive comments.
Written comments may be submitted to: FDOT General Consultant Project Manager, Tommy Johns, P.E., at 1141 Jackson Avenue, Chipley, Florida 32428 or via email to tommy. johns@atkinsglobal.com.
Pictured: A Monday night crash that injured six people Monday night at the Mobile Highway and Beulah Road intersection. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.