Learn About Container Gardening At The Molino Library
May 25, 2016
Area residents can learn to grow a container garden Friday with Escambia County Extension and the Master Gardener volunteers.
Adults and youth can learn about containers, soils and plants to make a small, but beautiful living display.
The program will be at 10:30 Friday morning at the Molino Branch Library in the Molino Community Complex, 6450-A Highway 95A. There will be a few plants, while they last, for participants to take home.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Howard L. Monroe
May 25, 2016
Howard L. Monroe of Oak Grove, passed away May 21, 2016, in Atmore. He was born on March 27, 1940, in Pensacola, to the late John Pershing and Alice Ruth Dungan Monroe. He retired from Monsanto as a chemical operator after 32 years of service. He was in the United States Marine Corps. He was an avid race fan.
He is preceded in death by his late parents; brother, Allan Monroe; and one stepson, William Rowell.
He is survived by his wife Barbara Dianne Gideons Monroe; one son, Douglas (Lynette) Monroe of Robertsdale; daughter, Pamella (Bernie) Perron of Cantonment; step-daughter, Angela Lynn (Andrew) Pipkin of Atmore; one special niece, Tina Davidson; brother, John (Sylvia) Monroe of Pensacola; two sisters, Peggy (Jerry) Winslow and Susan Bradley both of Pensacola; 11 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews, family, and friends.
Funeral services will be held Friday, May 27, 2016, at 2 p.m. for the Atmore area family and friends at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home in Atmore, AL. with Bro. Butch Brown officiating. Family will receive friends one hour prior to service time at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home.
Burial will follow in Oak Grove Cemetery with military honors.
Visitation will be held Thursday, May 26, 2016, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. for the Pensacola area family and friends at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North. 1000 Hwy 29, Cantonment, FL.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
James W. Bowen
May 25, 2016
Last evening just before eight o’clock the pines, the oaks, and the river birch in Nokomis stirred slightly, and their branches gracefully parted, and moved aside …as the Lord called James Bowen home on May 20, 2016, in Nokomis, FL. He was born November 30, 1933, in Excel, AL to the late Robert Bernard and Mattie Coleman Bowen.
He retired from St. Regis/Stone Container after 40 years of service. He served in the U.S. Air Force and he attended Nokomis Baptist Church.
He is preceded in death by siblings, Robert Bowen, Darrell Bowen and Sandra Smith.
Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Gloria Byrd Bowen of Nokomis; children, Richard (Christy) Bowen of Pensacola, Douglas (Mary Anne) Bowen of Cantonment, Robbie (Lisa) Bowen of Loxley; grandchildren, Megan, Nick, Justina, Winter, Melissa, Bjay, Stevie Ray, Rhonda, Angelina, and Cody; and 15 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Services were held Tuesday, May 24, 2016, from Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. Jim Hill and Bro. Ray Biggs officiating.
Interment was in Old Sowell Field Cemetery.
Active pallbearers were Rick Golson, Joe Hubbard, John Levins, Bjay Ditto, Trevor Graham and Josh Horne.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.
Walnut Hill Mobile Home Fire Under Investigation
May 24, 2016
The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of a mobile home fire Monday night in Walnut Hill.
Smoke was pouring from the single wide mobile home in the 100 block of Juniper Street as the first firefighters arrived on scene about 11 p.m. They were able to quickly knock down the fire, which cause heavy damage.
The mobile home was apparently unoccupied and had no electric service.
There were no injuries reported.
The Walnut Hill, Century and Molino stations of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Atmore Fire Department responded to the blaze.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Patchy Fog Overnight
May 24, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday Night: Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 61. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 88. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 64. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 88. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 87.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Memorial Day: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.
State Regulators, State Farm Tangle Over Insurance Policy Information
May 24, 2016
Insurance regulators are preparing for an appeals-court battle with State Farm Florida after a circuit judge blocked the release of information about the company’s property-insurance policies.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation filed a notice of appeal last week after Leon County Circuit Judge James Hankinson issued an injunction against the release of the information, which State Farm argued was a “trade secret” protected from public disclosure.
The dispute involves quarterly reports that property insurers file with the state providing information, broken down by county, about issues such as the number of policies in place at the end of each month, the total number of policies canceled, the total number of policies that are not renewed and the number of new policies written.
Regulators have long collected the information and made it publicly available, but State Farm filed a lawsuit in 2014 contending that the information is a trade secret under state law. Hankinson held a trial in March and issued a written order May 2 that said the information, known as a “Quarterly Supplemental Report,” or QUASR, is exempt from disclosure.
Hankinson wrote that a disputed issue is “whether QUASR data has value. The court finds that there is value to the QUASR data. … Accordingly, plaintiff (State Farm) has shown, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the QUASR data meets the definition of trade secret.”
As is common, the notice of appeal filed Thursday in the 1st District Court of Appeal does not detail the arguments that the Office of Insurance Regulation will pursue in trying to overturn Hankinson’s ruling.
But in a memorandum filed March 4 in circuit court, the Office of Insurance Regulation said it uses the data to create a “comprehensive report” based on submissions from all insurers.
“The Office (of Insurance Regulation) provides this report to the executive and legislative branches of government to inform them of overall business volumes, as well as risk exposure (i.e. wind) on both a statewide and county basis,” the document said. “The identification of market share and concentration of risk is vital information for public and governmental use — particularly in the event of a hurricane or other storm event. This information is utilized by individual consumers, press, other states and governmental bodies.”
But State Farm, in a memorandum also filed March 4, said it does not dispute that regulators should have the data but that the Office of Insurance Regulation “should not publish the data on its website and give competitors unfettered access to State Farm’s QUASR data. Moreover, there is no legislation that requires OIR to publicly disclose this data.”
“State Farm’s QUASR data possess independent economic value which provides an advantage to those who do not have it,” the company document said. “Specifically, the QUASR data reflects certain detailed information about State Farm at the county level. If a competitor was looking to write or market business in a certain county, that competitor would want to capture information related to other companies that write business in that county based on policy count and premiums written. Such information may be gleaned from reviewing State Farm’s QUASR.”
In its memorandum, however, the Office of Insurance Regulation disputed State Farm’s arguments about other insurers using the data.
“Plaintiff’s (State Farm’s) criteria for writing its business and rating, like most, if not all insurers, is based not on counties, but instead on numerous factors that must be evaluated and assessed,” the document said. “Other insurers determine risks in a manner completely different than plaintiff’s.”
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Ransom Middle Students Build Tetrahedral What-A-Kite
May 24, 2016
What do you get when you combine several hundred giant Whataburger drink straws, tissue paper, Elmer’s glue and string (lots of string)? If you are one of Louis O’Rear’s 130 science students at Ransom Middle School, you get a giant 64-cell tetrahedral Whataburger kite.
“We flew it in every class today,” O’Rear said Monday. “I flew it with each class to show them that it doesn’t matter how large you build it, as long as you stay true to the tetrahedral shape, geometrically.”
It is perhaps more challenging than it sounds. Tying the smaller tetrahedral kites in a very specific geometric arrangement is a bit difficult. “There are 63 ways to attach them wrong, and only one way to attach them correctly,” he said.
There was a one little problem flying the kite Monday…there was no wind. But middle school students and Ransom track stars didn’t mind a little running to get the kite into the air.
And just in case you forgot middle school geometry – a tetrahedron is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, six straight edges, and four vertex corners. The tetrahedron is the simplest of all the ordinary convex polyhedra and the only one that has fewer than five faces.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tonight: Northview Visits Jay In Spring Football Game
May 24, 2016
The Northview Chiefs will travel to Jay to face the Royals in a spring football game tonight at 7:00.
The Northview Chiefs defeated Jay 7-0 during the last regular season.
Pictured: Last season’s Northview at Jay game. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Driver Flees Scene After Wreck
May 24, 2016
A driver apparently fled a single vehicle traffic crash near Highway 97 in Walnut Hill early Tuesday morning.
Just after 12:30 a.m. a resident of Highway 97 reported hearing a vehicle passing her home at a high rate of speed before hearing tire screeching and a crash. The vehicle had hit a tree at Highway 97 and Howell Road. The driver then continued a short distance down Howell Road before abandoning the vehicle.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
2-Week Click It Or Ticket Seat Belt Campaign Begins
May 24, 2016
The Florida Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies have began a two-week “Click It or Ticket” crackdown designed to increase seat belt use and decrease motor vehicle fatalities across the county. The campaign will run day and night.
“Although wearing a seatbelt is the law, the department’s data shows that the consequence of not wearing a seat belt is deadly,” said Colonel Gene Spaulding, director of the Florida Highway Patrol. “FHP is committed to raising awareness and enforcement regarding the importance of wearing a seat belt to help ensure motorists arrive alive.”
In 2015, more than 43 percent of those who were killed in crashes in vehicles where seat belt use is required chose not to wear their seat belts. FHP reminds everyone that Florida law requires the use of seat belts by drivers, passengers in the front seat and all children under the age of 18 in a motor vehicle.
“Safety is our top priority at the Florida Department of Transportation. We know that safety belt use is the most effective way to reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes,” said FDOT Secretary Jim Boxold. “We want to remind everyone to always buckle up.”
The FHP offers the following tips:
Buckle up, every time. A seatbelt is your vehicle’s best safety feature. Set the example.
- Drive sober. One drink is one too many.
- Make sure your rear-seat passengers are also buckled. They are more likely to injure themselves and other passengers in a crash, if not buckled up.
- Obey all speed limits. Traffic congestion and construction zones may require driving more slowly.
- Seat belts plus air bags provide the greatest protection for adults. However, air bags are not a substitute for seat belts.
- Don’t drive distracted: Anything that takes your full attention off of the road, even for a second, could be deadly.