Rain Moving In For Easter
March 26, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 62. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms. High near 73. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. South wind around 5 mph becoming west after midnight.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 77. North wind around 5 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 49. North wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 75. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming east in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. East wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Wednesday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a low around 65. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Thursday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 77. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Thursday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77.
Northview Drops Friday Game 7-0 To South Walton
March 26, 2016
The Northview chiefs lost to South Walton 7-0 Friday in Bratt.
South Walton took a 2-0 lead in the second, added a couple in the third and sealed the shutout with three more runs in the seventh.
Quentin Sampson went 2-3 at the plate for Northview.
Northview’s varsity will travel to Pensacola Christian Academy for a 3:45 p.m. game on Tuesday before hosting Hopkinsville, KY, on Thursday.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Ramona Preston, click to enlarge.
Atmore Officials: Florida Road Design Is Causing Alabama Flooding
March 25, 2016
Alabama officials believe a road in Florida is creating a dam that is causes flooding problems in Atmore.
A National League of Cities representative for the city of Atmore recently lobbied Alabama Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby in Washington for a solution and money for an engineering study into the flooding issues. Atmore officials say the problem lies with Greenland Road about a half of a mile south of the state line in Florida.
The drainage system that becomes Pine Barren Creek begins near the back of Atmore Community Hospital and flows south toward the McRae Apartments, crosses McRae Street east of the Brooks Memorial Baptist Church. flows back southwest past the Briar Lake Subdivision, crosses into Florida behind the Davisville Piggly Wiggly and continues south to Greenland Road.
The design of Greenland Road, according to Atmore officials, creates a dam that backs water up into their city during periods of heavy rain. About 20 years ago, nearly 60 homes in Atmore flooded as a result.
Escambia County (FL) Public Works Director Wes Moreno said the problem lies with the Pine Barren Creek Bridge on Greenland Road, about a third of a mile east of Highway 97. He said the “bridge” is actually a series of large drainage pipes under the road, rather than an “open” bridge. Heavy rain won’t flow through the pipes fast enough, especially if any debris backs up and begins to block a drainage pipe.
The solution, he said, would appear to be replacement of the pipe system with an ordinary bridge.
Moreno said Escambia County will contact the Florida Department of Transportation to see if the Greenland Road bridge problem might be prioritized under the FDOT’s work plan that dictates future bridge replacements. The total length of the bridge, which was constructed in 1955, is 32.2 feet. It is not currently prioritized as being structurally deficient or in need of replacement by FDOT.
Pictured: Water backs up and flows under Greenland Road in Escambia County, FL, on Thursday afternoon following heavy downpours. The bridge, according to Atmore officials, causes water to back up into Alabama where it causes flooding problems. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Good Friday Closures
March 25, 2016
Escambia County offices and departments closed for the Good Friday holiday are below. Normal operations resume on Monday, March 28.
- Escambia County Board of County Commissioners
- West Florida Public Library System (all locations closed Friday, March 25 and Easter Sunday, March 27)
- Escambia County Clerk of the Court & Comptroller
- Escambia County Property Appraiser
- Escambia County Tax Collector
- Escambia County Area Transit administrative offices
- Escambia County Waste Services administrative offices
- Escambia County Supervisor of Elections (offices closed except for the 2 p.m. Canvassing Board meeting on the second floor, 213 Palafox Place)
Escambia County Exceptions
- Escambia County 911 Dispatch, EMS and Fire Services are open daily to serve our citizens.
- Escambia County Area Transit will operate on a modified holiday service. ECAT buses & University of West Florida Trolleys will operate regular service Friday, March 25th & Saturday, March 26th. There will be no service on Easter Sunday, March 27. Regular ECAT services will resume on Monday, March 28.
- Perdido Landfill and Oak Grove Convenience Center will be open for normal business hours. The Palafox Transfer Station will also remain open (commercial only).
Town of Century — all offices and departments will be closed on Friday.
Santa Rosa County
- Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners, including the library system and animal shelter. The library system will also be closed on Saturday.
- Santa Rosa County Clerk of the Court
- Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser
- Santa Rosa County Supervisor of Elections
- Santa Rosa County Tax Collector
- Central Landfill will be open regular hours on Friday and Saturday. Fire, EMS and 911 Dispatch remain open daily as usual (24/7/365).
Happy Ending: Missing Veteran Found Safe
March 25, 2016
Two Santa Rosa County deputies had the opportunity to go above and beyond the call of duty Wednesday night when they located a missing elderly man from Atmore.
George Haley, an 83 year old dementia patient, left his home on Freemanville Drive north of Atmore about 5:00 Wednesday morning in a 2002 pickup truck. An Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Senior Alert was issued when friends and family were unable to find him.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Middleton and Sgt. Todd Reaves conducted a traffic stop on Haley’s pickup near the Pace Assembly of God Church Wednesday night. He had been reported as a possible drunk driver.
“My husband found him and called police actually thinking he was a drunk driver,” Gina Riela posted on the NorthEscambia.com Facebook page.
Once the deputies realized they had located the missing senior, they contacted and waited for his family to arrive from Atmore to pick him up. They began to talk and discovered that Haley is a veteran with plenty of stories to tell.
“We exchanged stories about life,” Middleton said. The deputies bought Haley a burger and fries since he had not eaten all day.
“Mr. Haley, it was a pleasure meeting you sir, thank you for you’re service in the military and God Bless you,” Middleton said.
Haley is safely back home with his family.
Pictured: Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Sgt. Todd Reaves, George Haley of Atmore ,and Deputy Brian Middleton. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sunny Today, Rain For Easter
March 25, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 10%.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a low around 64. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms. High near 73. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming west after midnight.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. North wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 72.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73.
Wednesday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a low around 62. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Thursday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 75. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
White Files For Florida House Seat
March 25, 2016
Pensacola Republican Frank White has opened a campaign account to run this fall for a House seat held by Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola Beach, according to the state Division of Elections website.
White plans to run in House District 2, which includes parts of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
The filing comes amid speculation that Hill will run for the state Senate this year if Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, decides to seek a congressional seat.
That congressional seat opened up when U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., announced he would not seek re-election this year. One other candidate, Pensacola Democrat Raymond Guillory, has opened a campaign account in state House District 2.
by The News Service of Florida
Ensley Pharmacy Burglars Caught On Video
March 25, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking for two people caught on video as they burglarized the Ensley Pharmacy earlier this month. The surveillance video shows the two suspects as they take a large quantity of narcotics frm the pharmacy, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with information on the burglary is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9630 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Tate Aggies Win Ocoee Baseball Invitational
March 25, 2016
The Tate High School Aggies won the 2016 Ocoee Knights Baseball Invitational Thursday as they topped Clearwater 3-1.
Trace Penton pitched the win for the Aggies with four shutout innings.
The game was scoreless until the Aggies went up in the fourth on a run on a groundout by Cole Halfacre. The Aggies scored two more runs in the bottom of the firth, including single from Josh Kea that scored Corey Young.
Branden Fryman was voted the MVP of the Ocoee Knights Baseball Invitational.
Pictured: The Tate High School Aggies won the 2016 Ocoee Knights Baseball Invitational Thursday. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott Signs Bills On Body Cameras, Dental Care
March 25, 2016
Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed 34 bills into law, including a measure that will require standards for the use of police body cameras and a plan that could lead to revamping dental care in the Medicaid program.
The body-camera bill (HB 93) was a priority of many Democratic lawmakers and came after a series of highly publicized confrontations across the country between police and members of the public.
The bill does not require law-enforcement agencies to use body cameras. But if they do, the agencies would be required to establish policies and procedures addressing the proper use, maintenance and storage of body cameras and recorded data.
One of the sponsors, Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, issued a news release Thursday that said the procedures could help protect police officers and citizens. He also cited the case of a musician, Corey Jones, who was fatally shot last year by a plainclothes Palm Beach Gardens officer. Questions have swirled around the shooting, but the officer, who was later fired, did not have a body camera.
“This will maintain the transparency we as a community crave and deserve,” Shevrin Jones said in the release. “This bill is one that really hit home for me after the death of Corey Jones, and hopefully now that it has been signed by the governor, we can hear less about lives lost and more about the unity between law enforcement and the community.”
After lawmakers passed the bill this month, Florida Police Benevolent Association President John Rivera praised the measure.
“We have been saying that departments should not implement body cameras without having a policy,” Rivera said in a prepared statement. “There are so many questions pertaining to procedures, proper use, maintenance, data storage and training that need to be addressed before body camera programs are started. There must be guidelines so that everyone knows the rules and to avoid this issue becoming a knee-jerk political issue.”
Scott is in the process this week of taking action on more than 100 bills that lawmakers passed before the legislative session ended March 11. He faced a Thursday deadline on the 34 bills.
Among the measures was a heavily lobbied bill (HB 819) that could ultimately lead to changes in the way the Medicaid program provides dental services.
The issue centers on the state’s Medicaid managed-care system, which requires HMOs to cover dental services. But supporters of the bill have contended that the services could be better provided by separate prepaid dental plans — an idea known as “carving out” the services from the Medicaid managed-care system.
The bill, sponsored by incoming Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, and Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami, will lead to the state’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability conducting a study of dental services and submitting the report by Dec. 1. If lawmakers don’t take action during the 2017 legislative session to keep dental services in the Medicaid managed-care program, the Agency for Health Care Administration will be directed to move forward with a prepaid dental program.
The bill was supported by the Florida Dental Association but faced heavy opposition from the Florida Association of Health Plans, which represents the managed-care industry. The Florida Association of Health Plans argued, in part, that the bill was tilted toward moving to prepaid dental plans. That is because the change will occur if lawmakers do not take action next year.
Scott issued a letter Thursday that appeared to indicate he shared some of the industry group’s concerns, though he signed the bill.
“While I am giving my approval to this bill today, if the results of the study do not demonstrate better quality dental care at reduced costs than the net benefits provided under statewide Medicaid managed care today, I expect the 2017 Legislature to amend the statute immediately to protect Medicaid recipients and the services they receive through statewide Medicaid managed care,” Scott wrote.
Another bill that drew debate during the session was a measure (HB 1051), sponsored by House State Affairs Chairman Matt Caldwell, R-North Fort Myers, that would prevent boaters from anchoring overnight in some South Florida waterways.
The bill, which Scott signed without comment, would prevent overnight anchoring in part of the Middle River in Broward County, Sunset Lake in Miami-Dade County and three parts of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade. Supporters argued during the session that waterfront property owners have problems with people anchoring off their backyards for long periods of time. But opponents pointed, at least in part, to already-limited mooring space in South Florida.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida