Partly Sunny Today, Rain Chance Rest Of The Week
May 16, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 85. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. South wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. South wind around 5 mph becoming west in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Friday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 85.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86.
Officer Involved Shooting Under Investigation
May 16, 2016
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating an incident that occurred Sunday evening and resulted in a Pensacola Police officer being taken to a hospital for treatment after he was struck by a pipe and the suspect was shot by another officer.
The incident began around 6:20 p.m. near the intersection of North 16th Avenue and East Cervantes Street when a male suspect was reportedly driving with some traffic cones stuck underneath a stolen truck. The suspect refused to stop for police and continued driving recklessly until he finally stopped near Ruby Avenue and West Fairfield Drive.
The male suspect exited the truck swinging a large pipe at officers. One Pensacola Police officer fired at the suspect, who also was taken to a hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound. The officer who fired at the suspect is on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
No names or additional information are being released by the Pensacola Police Department.
Learn About Escambia Emergency Medical Services During EMS Week
May 16, 2016
This week, Escambia County is celebrating National EMS Week. The week honors emergency medical service professions for their dedication to public service and raises awareness about the many services, resources and programs available to Escambia County citizens offered by their local EMS staff. This year’s theme is “EMS Strong: Called to Care”. Community activities include a poster contest and open house on Saturday, May 21.
Fourth graders in Escambia County Schools are being asked to join in celebrating EMS week by designing a poster relating to this year’s theme. All submissions will be displayed at Escambia County Public Safety and one winning poster from each commission district will be selected by EMS staff on May 18. The winning submissions will receive a pizza party for their class delivered by an EMS crew on May 20.
EMS Week will conclude with an EMS open house Saturday from 1-5 p.m. at Escambia County Public Safety located at 6575 North “W” St. Residents are invited to tour the emergency communications and emergency operations center, learn about the county’s disasters assets and capabilities like a mobile command center and mobile hospital exhibits, receive free blood pressure screenings, and meet their local Escambia County EMS Staff.
Escambia EMS Facts:
- Escambia County EMS, a division of the Escambia County Department of Public Safety, is provider of critical care, advanced life support, basic life support and bariatric transports. ECEMS provides these services to Escambia County’s 300,000-plus residents. EMS has an aggressive Public Education Information Program that provides valuable information for various groups, including students, civic organizations, churches, professionals and the general public. EMS also provides both hands free and hands on CPR training.
- Escambia EMS responded to over 39,000 emergency calls last year.
- There are 100 full time employees and 40 relief employees at Escambia County EMS. The staff consists of paramedics, EMTs, stocking clerks, fleet managers, billing staff, and their supervisors.
- Both EMTs and paramedics have the knowledge and skills to transport patients and provide them with emergency care. The biggest difference between them is the amount of education they receive and what they are allowed to do for patients. Emergency Medical Technicians are entry-level patient care providers. EMTs learn the essential skills to help in life-threatening situations and their education is the foundation for all other levels of provider. EMTs are educated in many skills including CPR, giving patients oxygen, administering glucose for diabetics, and helping others with treatments for asthma attacks or allergic reactions. Paramedics are advanced providers of emergency medical care and are highly educated in topics such as anatomy and physiology, cardiology, medications, and medical procedures. They build on their EMT education and learn more skills such as administering medications, starting intravenous lines, providing advanced airway management for patients, and learning to resuscitate and support patients with significant problems such as heart attacks and traumas.
- Escambia County EMS was a 2015 STEMI Silver Award winner. The STEMI award is part of the American Heart Association’s The Mission: Lifeline Recognition Program who acknowledges STEMI Systems, or EMS, Referring Centers and Receiving Centers, for their efforts to improve quality of care for STEMI patients. Silver is the highest award an organization can receive in the first application year.
- Escambia County EMS Services was also recently selected as a 2016 Florida Excellence Awards Best Practices winner for the implementation of a customer satisfaction survey process in which recently transported EMS patients are contacted by telephone asking them for feedback on the quality of the care provided. The information enabled them to measure patient satisfaction, engagement and loyalty.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Fall To Mississippi
May 16, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos came close to matching the heroics of Saturday’s walk-off win but left the tying run at third base as the Mississippi Braves held on for a 4-3 victory Sunday afternoon.
Jeff Gelalich walked to lead off the ninth inning and advanced to third on a pair of infield outs. But Stephen Janas coaxed a first-pitch swing from Tony Renda to end the game.
“We gave ourselves a chance,” Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said. “We got the tying run on base and winning run at the plate. He was only 90 feet away.”
Chris Ellis earned his Southern League-best sixth win for Mississippi before turning the game over to Janas, who held the Wahoos to one hit in their last three innings. Ellis helped his own cause with three of Mississippi’s eight hits, including an RBI double to open scoring in the third inning. He later scored on a single, the first of two hits for the Braves’ top prospect Dansby Swanson.
The Blue Wahoos led off the fourth inning with two walks before Gelalich’s RBI single, the first of his Double-A career, tied the game. Alex Blandino gave Pensacola a 3-2 advantage on his third home run in 10 games, but the lead was short-lived.
Swanson’s leadoff double to left field started a bases-loaded rally that forced Jackson Stephens out of the game. Former Pensacola catcher Matt Kennelly got a run home on a double play before Matt Lipka hit the eventual game-winner, an RBI single up the middle.
With Biloxi’s 2-1 loss to Chattanooga, the Wahoos remain a half-game out of first place in the Southern League South Division.
Marijuana Industry Sees Green In Florida
May 16, 2016
There wasn’t a tie-dyed shirt to be found last week at a gathering in Central Florida where the buzz was all about the business of pot.
More than 3,000 people from across the nation and seven other countries swapped information about grow lights, soil nutrients and safes — to stash money and products — at the marijuana industry’s premiere trade show. And the choice of Florida for the event was no accident.
“We’re here in Florida, because at all of our national events that we’ve hosted, we’ve had very strong attendance out of Florida. We are confident that when, and it’s not going to be an if, when Florida legalizes marijuana on a medical or a recreational level, the Florida market is going to be absolutely huge,” said Marijuana Business Daily CEO Cassandra Farrington, whose publication organized the three-day convention at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center.
For the second time in two years, Floridians in November will have a chance to legalize medical marijuana for a variety of debilitating illnesses. A similar measure narrowly failed in 2014 to capture the 60 percent support required to pass constitutional amendments.
“(Florida) is going to be a bellwether state, not only in the Southeast, but across the country, for marijuana legalization,” Farrington said. “As such, the business opportunities here are accordingly very, very large.”
While Florida’s emerging market — projected to be home to the second-largest population of marijuana consumers, if the measure passes — was a draw for some of the convention attendees, for others the event was just an opportunity to network and scope out the latest equipment and merchandise in what some experts estimate is a $4 billion-a-year industry.
Wandering through the convention exposition floor, visitors could stop by the “Bud Bar,” which specializes in displays for marijuana dispensaries.
A few feet away, several men in white lab coats embroidered with a pot plant handed out green Mardi Gras-style necklaces festooned with flashing marijuana leaves.
A sign above a piece of machinery declared “Trimming sucks. The Twister T2 doesn’t.”
During an introduction to one of Tuesday’s speeches, Marijuana Business Daily Publisher George Jage begged the audience’s pardon before encouraging attendees to network, which “helps us all reach a little higher.”
And while the parties and after-parties were reminiscent of any other convention or trade show, the hosts, vendors and attendees were all mindful that the product that is the focus of this week’s event is different. While Florida is one of 24 states that have legalized some sort of marijuana, cannabis is still outlawed under federal law.
“The use, distribution or sale of any products containing THC is strictly prohibited at the event, in the exhibit hall, conference sessions or any other function space where the event is conducted,” the convention show guide warned. “Any individual who possesses, transports, or consumes any THC-based products is solely responsible for his/her compliance with local and state regulations.”
Florida legalized non-euphoric cannabis for patients with severe muscle spasms or cancer two years ago, but the products aren’t available yet. This year, lawmakers approved full-strength cannabis for terminally ill patients. But the November ballot’s Amendment 2, largely bankrolled by Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan, would vastly expand medical marijuana for patients with a broad array of diseases. Morgan addressed the convention Tuesday.
“Your market is huge and the demographics are so perfect for cannabis,” said Sara Batterby, president and CEO of Hifi Farms in Hillsborough, Ore., who left her Silicon Valley job as a venture capitalist to start up a grow operation.
Baby boomers and seniors who may have experimented with pot “back in the day” might be more amenable to using cannabis as a treatment for ailments as they age, backers of ballot initiatives like Amendment 2 believe.
Adam Bierman, CEO of MedMen, hosted a fundraiser Tuesday night in the hotel’s presidential suite for United for Care, a political committee backing Amendment 2.
November — when 20 states will have marijuana-related measures on the ballot — will be a “watershed moment for the industry and policy in general,” Bierman, whose California-based management company operates in four states and Canada, said in an interview Wednesday.
“From a political standpoint, it becomes harder and harder to be against,” Bierman said.
A poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University showed that Floridians agree with Bierman.
The poll found that 80 percent of voters support the proposed constitutional amendment, which would allow medical marijuana for patients with a wide range of conditions, such as cancer, AIDS, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
Dixie Elixirs CEO Tripp Keber, called by some the “Gordon Gecko of the marijuana industry,” refers to his products as “a new wellness platform” superior to prescription pain pills or alcohol.
The industry creates jobs, helps sick people and puts money into state coffers, said Keber a developer from Alabama who launched his Colorado-based company six years ago and is now operating in six states.
Keber’s company will join forces with one of the six nurseries licensed to grow medical marijuana in Florida, he told The News Service of Florida this week.
“The fact of the matter is that the money is real,” Keber said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Reimagine Century 2016 Set For Saturday
May 16, 2016
The third Reimagine Century will be held next Saturday.
Community agencies, businesses, churches and others will come together on Saturday, May 16 to help the needy in Century and surrounding areas. Activities planned include a food giveaway, clothing giveaway, free haircuts and manicures, free laundry detergent and much more.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. until 2p.m. at 440 East Hecker Road. All activities are free.
NorthEscambia.com file photos.
William F. (Bill) Fillingim
May 16, 2016
William F. (Bill) Fillingim, Sr., 88, of McDavid, passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 14, 2016. He was born on August 26, 1927, in Barrineau Park, to Asa Mountain and Nora Fleming Fillingim.
Bill married Vivian McClammy in 1948 and they made their home in McDavid, where they raised three children: Sharon (Walt) DeWitt; Freddie (JoAnne) Fillingim; and Regina (Richard) Hudson. He retired from St. Regis Paper Company, and was a veteran of the U.S. Army.
Bill was an accomplished musician and played many instruments by ear, including piano, guitar and mandolin. He entertained crowds throughout the years, playing and singing at church and other venues. Bill was a lifelong member of Lathram Chapel United Methodist Church in Barrineau Park where he played on Sundays, holidays and for special services. “Uncle Bill” loved his church family and they loved him.
In addition to his three children, Bill is survived by three granddaughters, Rachel Locklear, Alison (Jesse) Hollingsworth and Kristen (Matthew) McGehee; and three great-grandchildren, Jacob Locklear, Justin Locklear and Vivian McGehee.
Bill is preceded in death by his wife, Vivian Fillingim; and siblings, Elsie Fillingim, A.J. Fillingim, Columbus Fillingim, Cliney Miller, Thelma Altman, Margaret Grant, Quentin Fillingim, Aubie Fillingim and Martin Fillingim.
Special thanks to Pastor Pam Avery and Bill’s church family for the love they showed him through the years. Also, thank you to the physicians, nurses and techs of the ICU and ER at West Florida Hospital for the tender care they provided during his final hours.
Visitation will be held Tuesday, May 17, 2016, at Lathram Chapel United Methodist Church from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Funeral services will be held at Lathram Chapel United Methodist Church, Wednesday, May 18, 2016, at 11 a.m. with Pastor Pam Avery officiating.
Interment will follow in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Ottoway Fillingim, Craig Exner, Marcus Baker, Tristpan Baker, Gil Baron and Daniel Elder.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to LCUMC Memorial Bells Fund, 2690 Jacks Branch Rd, Cantonment
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.
Bennie Coley Roberson
May 16, 2016
Mr. Bennie Coley Roberson, 68, passed away on Friday, May 13, 2016, in Century.
Mr. Roberson was a native of Flomaton, and a resident of Brewton, for the past 30 years. Mr. Roberson was a friend and loved to help everyone. He worked for Freeze Gravel & Trucking. He is preceded in death by his parents, W.C. and Molly Roberson; wife, Rosie Roberson; sister, Irene Jones; stepson, Ronald Conway and grandson, Kevin Luke Crowder.
He is survived by one stepson, Leonard Conway of Stanley Crossroads; one stepdaughter, Shelia Crowder of Gulfport, MS; two sisters, Etta Marie Lambeth of McDavid and Frances Roberson of McDavid; three grandchildren, Rhonda (Timothy) of Stanley Crossroads, Candi (William) Sheets of Bay Minette and Sabrina Hall of Ponce de Leon, FL; five great grandchildren, Cheris Rogers, Rylee Rogers, Victoria Sheets, Cloe Sheets and John Luke Sheets; and one nephew, Joe D. Roberson of Opelika, AL.
Funeral services were held Sunday, May 15, 2016, at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Larry Knowles officiating.
Burial was at the Wildfork Cemetery.
Pallbearers were James Emmons, Don Ward, Mike Brown, George Hendrix, John Hendrix and Logan Hendrix.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC in charge of all arrangements, Atmore, Alabama.
One Pedestrian Killed, One Seriously Injured In Cantonment
May 15, 2016
One pedestrian was killed and another critically injured when they were struck by a vehicle early Sunday morning in Cantonment.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 29-year old Jeffrey Ard of Cantonment was traveling west on Muscogee Road near Stinnis Street about 1:15 a.m. when he struck two pedestrians that were crossing Muscogee Road. Ard pulled to the shoulder after the impact.
Lawrence Knight, age 49 of Pensacola, was critically injured. The second pedestrian was pronounced deceased on the scene. The FHP has been unable to make a positive identification of the second pedestrian.
Any charges in the crash are pending the outcome of FHP’s investigation.
Sunny Today, Rain For The Week
May 15, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 59. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Northeast wind 5 to 15 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68. South wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. South wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84.
Thursday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 70.
Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 80.
Friday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84.