Bobbie Jean Coker Stallworth
April 25, 2016
Bobbie Jean Coker Stallworth, 85 of Atmore, passed away Friday, April 22, 2016,vin Atmore. She was a homemaker. She was born in Escambia County, AL, on February 13, 1931, to the late William Edgar and Jesse Maude Keller Coker. She enjoyed tending to her flowers, making flower arrangements and decorating.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Burton Stallworth; and one brother, Elbert Coker.
Survivors include one son, Jackson B. Stallworth, II; two daughters, Rachel (Joe) Brown and Marsha (James) Bell, both of Atmore; three brothers, George Coker of Dothan, AL, Jimmy Coker and Billy Coker both of Atmore; four sisters, Evelyn Thurman of Texas, Millie Purvis and Peggy Moye both of Atmore and Faye Summerlin of Molino; grandchildren, Brian Bell, Matthew Bell, Leslie Odom, and Jacob Stallworth; and seven great-grandchildren.
Per her request a private family graveside service was held.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.
Escaped Jail Inmate From Cantonment Recaptured Quickly
April 24, 2016
An escaped Escambia County inmate’s freedom was short-lived Saturday.
The inmate, 30-year old Richard Blevins of Cantonment, escaped from a hospital transportation van Saturday afternoon in the vicinity of Davis Highway and Brent Lane in Pensacola before being apprehended by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Blevins was at Sacred Heart Hospital for treatment and escaped while being transported back to the Escambia County Jail after being cleared from the hospital. At about 12:19 p.m., the transporting officer observed Blevins acting erratic and called for assistance. Blevins slipped out of combo restraints and escaped out of the rear of the van by pulling off the grate and kicking out the window.
The corrections officer pursued Blevins a short distance while backup was responding. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office immediately established a perimeter around the area and conducted a search. Blevins was apprehended at about 1:34 p.m. and was transported back to the Escambia County Jail where he is being held without bond.
Blevins was arrested Friday, April 22 on numerous drug charges. He received numerous other charges — escape, obstructing police, resisting an officer and smuggling contraband – in connection with Saturday’s escape.
Sunny Sunday Skies, Low 80’s Today
April 24, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, increasing clouds, with a low around 58. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 83. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Monday Night: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 62. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable in the evening.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Light southeast wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. East wind 5 to 15 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light after midnight.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 83.
Photos: Blue Jacket Jamboree
April 24, 2016
The annual Blue Jacket Jamboree was held Saturday at the 4-H Center in Molino with arts and crafts, kids’ activities, food, a car show and more. All proceeds from the event benefited the Northview High School FFA and FFA Scholarship Fund.
For Blue Jacket Baby Contest results and photos, click here.
The Blue Jacket Jamboree was sponsored in party by NorthEscambia.com.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FDOT: Weekly Traffic Alerts
April 24, 2016
Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.
Escambia County:
- U.S. 29– Intermittent and alternating lane closures within the town of Century and from Champion Drive north continue.
- I-10/U.S. 29 Interchange Improvements – Alternating lane closures on I-10 near U.S. 29 (Exits 10A and 10B) Sunday, April 24 through Thursday, April 28 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. as crews perform resurfacing and shoulder work. The speed limit on I-10 will be reduced to 50 mph during this time.
- Interstate 10 (I-10) Widening – Intermittent and alternating lane closures, between State Road (S.R.) 291 (Davis Highway/Exit 13) and U.S. 90 (Scenic Highway/Exit 17), from 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. and on Scenic Highway near Whisper Way from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. the week of Monday, April 25 as work continues to widen these highways.
- U.S. 98 (Miracle Strip Parkway) – Lane closure at intersection of Perry Avenue from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, April 25 through Thursday, April 28 as crews remove and replace curb and sidewalk.
- I-10 over Eleven Mile Creek Bridge- Bridge and roadway work- Eastbound daytime lane closures Monday, April 26 as crews perform construction activities.
- S.R. 292 (Pace Boulevard)-Intermittent lane closures Tuesday, April 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. across the Bayou Chico Bridge as crews perform a routine bridge inspection.
Santa Rosa County:
- U.S. 98 – S.R. 399 over U.S. 98 - Overnight repairs to the S.R. 399 southbound overpass over U.S. 98 will be in place from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. throughout the project. U.S. 98 will be reduced to one lane in each direction from Shoreline Drive to just east of S.R. 399 to allow westbound U.S. 98 traffic to be diverted to eastbound U.S. 98. Westbound U.S. 98 access to S.R. 399 will be closed. An on-site detour will direct traffic to turn left on Daniel Street, left on Shoreline Drive and then right on eastbound U.S. 98 to access S.R. 399 via the at grade on ramp.
- I-10 Widening – Alternating lane closures on I-10, between the Escambia Bay Bridge and S.R. 281 (Avalon Boulevard/Exit 22), from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, April 24 through Thursday, April 28 as work continues to widen this section of the interstate. In addition, alternating lane closures on Avalon Boulevard near the I-10 interchange as crews perform bridge work.
- S.R. 87 Multilane –Travel lanes shifted slightly to the west on S.R. 87 just north of the City of Holley beginning Monday, April 25 as crews continue constructing the new northbound travel lanes. Drivers are reminded of the temporary speed limit reduction from 55 mph to 45 mph from the Eglin Air Force Base boundary north to Choctaw Field Road and from one-mile south of the Yellow River to the southern end of the Yellow River bridge. The reduced speed limit is needed for roadway reconstruction efforts that will require shoulder closures.
- S.R. 281 (Avalon Boulevard) over East Bay (Garcon Point Bridge) - Intermittent lane restrictions Monday, April 25 across the Garcon Point Bridge from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. as crews perform a routine inspection.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather. Drivers are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling in a work zone and to watch for construction workers and equipment entering and exiting the roadway.
Beautiful Blue Jacket Baby Contest (With Photo Gallery)
April 24, 2016
The first Blue Jacket Jamboree beautiful baby contest was held Saturday morning during the Blue Jacket Jamboree in Molino.
Winners were: first place Lilly Miller (pictured top), second place Summer Bell (pictured below), and third place Asher DeStafney (pictured bottom)>
For a photo gallery with all of the contestants, click here.
For a story about the Blue Jacket Jamboreee, click here.
The Blue Jacket Jamboree was sponsored in party by NorthEscambia.com.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
No Injuries In Beulah Road Crash
April 24, 2016
There were no serious injuries in a two vehicle crash Saturday morning on Beulah Road. Everyone involved in the accident refused medical treatment at the scene. The Florida Highway Patrol has not released further details on the crash. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Youth Livestock Show Held (With Photo Gallery)
April 24, 2016
The Gulf Coast Agriculture and Natural Resources Youth Organization (GCA & NRYO) Spring Livestock Show was held Saturday in Molino. It was the second youth livestock show and sale at the new 4-H facility on South Highway 99 just south of Molino Road.
FFA and 4-H youth ages 8-18 exhibited rabbits, poultry, swine and cattle followed by a live auction.
The GCA & NYRO is a support organization of 4-H and FFA. The organization gives the youth of Escambia County and surrounding counties of Florida and Alabama the opportunity to show off skills they have learned from their 4-H and FFA animal sciences projects. Local 4-H youth worked diligently on their projects this year before competing in the event.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup
April 24, 2016
Ever since the departure of the Pork Chop Gang — a cadre of North Florida lawmakers who ruled state government through the middle part of the 20th Century — the northern reaches of the state have sometimes seemed like second-tier parts of Florida.
As South Florida and Central Florida boomed, the Panhandle and Big Bend largely stalled out. Parts of the region are in a different time zone, and at times the region as a whole feels like it’s in a different time. The rest of Florida is bustling with migrants from the Northeast and the Midwest, but North Florida is still very Southern.
But much of the political action this week, especially when it came to the fight for congressional seats, seemed to spring from the Panhandle and the Big Bend. There will now be contested primaries in each of the three seats that touch on the area, and one sitting congresswoman found herself without a place to land in a game of musical chairs.
Outside of the purely political realm, an unexpectedly heated contest was shaping up in the struggle over the state’s next insurance commissioner. The dynamic driving that fight, though, seemed to be less about the candidates and more about a showdown between Gov. Rick Scott and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater.
Meanwhile, the state found itself on a multi-front fight over new restrictions on abortion approved by the Legislature over the past two years.
YOU SAY YOU WANT A LEADER
It’s not unusual for someone to start publicly weighing a run for governor two years ahead of time. What’s slightly unusual is stepping down from an elected office to start that consideration — but Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Graham is not facing the usual set of circumstances.
Monday’s decision by a three-judge federal court panel to let the state’s newest set of congressional districts stand left Graham without any good options. The ruling seemed to cement the new shape of Graham’s 2nd Congressional District, which went from a swing seat with a history of sometimes electing moderate Democrats to a Republican stronghold.
Graham’s only other alternative to remain in Congress might have been to jump into the neighboring 5th Congressional District. There, Graham — who is white — would have faced two African-American Democrats, including fellow Congresswoman Corrine Brown, in a district aimed at giving African-American voters a chance to elect their preferred candidate.
Instead, the daughter of former U.S. Sen. and Gov. Bob Graham said she would consider following in her father’s footsteps by shooting for the Governor’s Mansion.
“Unfortunately, the politicians, lobbyists and courts in Tallahassee have been at work, too, redrawing and dividing up North Florida and the district I represent, turning what was an example of what was a fair district into two partisan districts,” Graham said in a video announcing the move.
Four Republicans already have lined up to run for Graham’s seat.
Brown announced she would run in her reshaped district, where former state Sen. Al Lawson of Tallahassee has launched a primary challenge. But, as of Friday, Brown was still pondering an appeal of the federal court ruling, which rejected her arguments that the new district would not ensure African Americans have a chance to elect their favored candidate.
The reorientation of the district — ordered by the Florida Supreme Court last year in a landmark ruling on congressional gerrymandering — makes the seat run from Jacksonville in the east to Gadsden County in the west. Under the old plan, Brown’s district ran from Jacksonville to Orlando, forming a power base that she has represented for more than two decades.
“I have a lot of unfinished business to address in Washington, and I look forward to providing a strong voice in Congress for the citizens in the new 5th Congressional District,” Brown said in a prepared statement days after the court decision. “As I always have, I will fight to bring the federal dollars that the citizens of the 5th District send to Washington back to Florida.”
Meanwhile, another high-profile battle took shape on the west side of the Panhandle when state Sen. Greg Evers announced he would jump into what could be a crowded primary race for the 1st Congressional District in a GOP-friendly seat.
“Many of the residents of the Panhandle have asked me to run because we need someone that will uphold the Panhandle values in D.C.,” Evers, R-Baker, told The News Service of Florida in a telephone interview. “As a lifelong resident of the Panhandle, I’m ready to carry our message to D.C., just as (outgoing Republican Congressman) Jeff Miller did.”
But Evers could face an uphill battle against state Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach. Gaetz is the son of state Sen. Don Gaetz, who is also a former Okaloosa County schools superintendent. The younger Gaetz has already raised more than $350,000, including putting more than $100,000 of his own money into the race.
BUT YOU CAN’T SEEM TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND
Hurricane season begins June 1. At this rate, the state might be lucky to have a new insurance commissioner by then.
Throughout the week, Scott and Atwater continued to tussle over who should head up the office, which oversees (among other things) the all-important property insurance market for a peninsula jutting into an active hurricane zone. The two men must make a joint recommendation for the job to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who along with Atwater make up the Florida Cabinet.
Scott last month rejected Atwater’s proposal to offer the job to state Rep. Bill Hager, a Delray Beach Republican and former Iowa insurance commissioner. Scott backed Jeffrey Bragg, who served as executive director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Terrorism Risk Insurance Program from 2003 to 2014.
Publicly, both Scott and Atwater stood by their man. But both also appeared to be looking for other choices.
Atwater on Thursday added Belinda Miller, the chief of staff at the Office of Insurance Regulation, and Raymond “Ray” Blacklidge, who was general counsel for American Traditions Insurance Company in Pinellas Park, to a list of candidates to be interviewed Tuesday.
As late as Wednesday, the governor’s office still called Bragg the “best candidate” for the job.
“Gov. Scott continues to believe that Jeffrey Bragg is the best candidate for the position and looks forward to further discussion on this by the Florida Cabinet,” Scott’s spokeswoman Lauren Schenone said in an email. “His 40 years of experience in the public and private sector, including at the Federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Program, make him an ideal candidate to serve Floridians.”
By Friday, though, Scott was conducting brief telephone interviews with David Altmaier and Richard Robleto, both deputy commissioners with the Office of Insurance Regulation; Carla D’Andre, the founder of an independent insurance company in Miami; and Chlora Lindley-Myers, a deputy commissioner with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.
D’Andre and Lindley-Myers were both interviewed by Atwater earlier this week but failed to make his short list, released on Thursday.
Asked why the governor conducted the interviews and if Scott would put forth additional names, Schenone replied in an email Friday afternoon that “the Governor interviewed four candidates today and we will keep you updated.”
ROADBLOCKS ON ABORTION RESTRICTIONS
Efforts to restrict abortion rights have passed at a relatively brisk pace over the last several years, as an increasingly conservative Legislature sends measure after measure cracking down on the process to Scott, who generally signs them.
Two of the latest laws dealing with abortion, though, ran into roadblocks this week.
A divided Florida Supreme Court temporarily blocked a state requirement, contained in a 2015 law, that women wait 24 hours before receiving an abortion.
On a 5-2 vote, justices granted a stay of a lower court’s order allowing the 2015 law to take effect. The Supreme Court said it would keep the stay in place while it decides whether to review the decision by the 1st District Court of Appeal.
“We are pleased that the Florida Supreme Court has agreed with the trial court that Florida women should not suffer this burden while there is an ongoing challenge to this unconstitutional law,” said Nancy Abudu, the legal director of the ACLU of Florida. “Forcing women seeking an abortion to make multiple visits that are medically unnecessary especially burdens poor and working women and is potentially dangerous.”
Unsurprisingly, supporters of the law were less pleased. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli laced into the court, which has emerged as one of the last obstacles to conservative policy in a state where Republicans control the Legislature, the Cabinet and the governor’s office.
“In my opinion, this has been one of the most activist and overreaching State Supreme Courts in recent memory,” said Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island. ” … It appears that several of our Justices seem to believe it is their job to invalidate any action of the legislature, regardless of the law and constitution. I do hope that our next appointees will have a better understanding and appreciation for the true role of our Courts.”
Also this week, a key federal health agency on Tuesday notified Florida and other states that they may not ban Medicaid funding for family-planning services at clinics that also offer elective abortions.
That likely blocks a controversial provision of a new Florida abortion law (HB 1411) signed by Scott last month.
Vikki Wachino, director of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, issued a document Tuesday to state Medicaid directors, stating that a ban such as the one approved by Florida’s Republican-dominated Legislature would violate federal law.
“Providing the full range of women’s health services neither disqualifies a provider from participating in the Medicaid program, nor is the provision of such services inconsistent with the best interests of the beneficiary, and shall not be grounds for a state’s action against a provider in the Medicaid program,” Wachino wrote.
House sponsor Colleen Burton told The News Service of Florida earlier this month that she and Senate sponsor Kelli Stargel had known when their bill passed that AHCA would have to apply to the federal government for what is known as a Medicaid “waiver” to implement the portion of the bill dealing with the funding ban.
Scott spokeswoman Jackie Schutz would not confirm that the administration was considering such a waiver, noting that the bill doesn’t take effect until July 1.
STORY OF THE WEEK: A three-judge federal panel upheld the state’s new congressional districts, dealing a blow to Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown and forcing fellow Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Graham to give up her seat to consider a bid for governor.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I’m the neophyte in this process. I learn every day. It’s sort of like Alzheimer’s. So I’ve got a new and exciting day every day.”—Businessman and U.S. Senate candidate Carlos Beruff, on the GOP primary race.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
One Injured In Highway 97 Crash In Walnut Hill
April 24, 2016
One person was transported to an area hospital following a two-vehicle crash in Walnut Hill Saturday.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Highway 97 and Arthur Brown Road, under the caution light near Ernest Ward Middle School.
Details on the crash have not been released by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Atmore Ambulance also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
