Six More Weeks Of Winter? North Escambia Weather Ducks See Shadow
February 2, 2017
On this Groundhog Day, Puxatony Phil, the world famous groundhog, and the NorthEscambia.com Weather Ducks have both predicted six more weeks of winter.
Forklore says that if the groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, it means six more weeks of winter. We did not have a groundhog handy for a photo, but we did have the NorthEscambia.com Weather Ducks. And just like their more famous Pennsylvania weather buddy, our weather ducks also saw their shadow this morning at our office.
This was one of the few times our weather ducks that they have predicted more winter. For those that might be a little unsure as the weather ducks’ ability, we offer the two photographs below showing the weather ducks predicting six more weeks of winter on Groundhog Day 2010 and 10 days later with their snowman.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man Charged With Molino Home Burglary
February 2, 2017
A Cantonment man has been charged with the burglary of a Crabtree Church home.
The victim told deputies that he was asleep in his “man cave” when he woke to see an unknown male in his home. The victim said he chased the man out of his house, and he fled in a SUV. The victim reported that his front door had been completely kicked off the hinges, and he was missing a 42-inch smart TV.
The suspect was later identified as 21-year old Alexander George DeLoach. He was charged with unarmed burglary of an occupied dwelling, grand theft and criminal mischief with property damage. He was being held in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $26,000.
According to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Deloach may have been involved in additional residential burglaries with additional charges forthcoming.
AT&T Hiring For Cantonment, Pensacola Tech Jobs
February 2, 2017
AT&T is hiring installation technicians, with 24 openings from Cantonment and Pensacola to Tallahassee. Ten of the jobs are based in Cantonment.
AT&T technicians connect customers to the latest technology. The techs install AT&T high-speed internet, TV and voice services. These positions are ideal for people who want to take their career on the road instead of being confined to a desk.
“Our mission is to connect people with their world, everywhere they live, work and play, and to do it better than anyone else,” said Joe York, AT&T Florida president. “The people we hire play a key role in that.”
To apply for the technician openings, visit https://connect.att.jobs/.
IP Explosion: Community Town Hall Meeting Tonight
February 2, 2017
A community town hall meeting will be held tonight to provide the very latest information on the International Paper explosion in Cantonment.
International Paper hosted an “open house” last Saturday for impacted residents and businesses around the mill. Attendees were able to visit tables inside a tent on the IP property and individually obtain more information on topics such as “health” and the “environment”. Many that attended the open house expressed their displeasure at the format, saying that expected more of a meeting format with officials and experts addressing the crowd.
In response, the Unified Command will host the community town hall meeting tonight in the Tate High School Cafeteria. There will be an incident response overview followed by a question and answer session for residents and businesses in the local area. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the event will begin at 6 p.m.
The Unified Command Team is comprised of International Paper, Escambia County EMA/Public Safety, Florida Department of Health, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Pictured: An open house last Saturday at International Paper in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Hires New Corrections Director
February 2, 2017
Escambia County has hired Tamyra Jarvis as the new director of corrections, responsible for the oversight of the Escambia County Jail, Community Corrections Division and the Road Prison.
Jarvis joins Escambia County from Coleman, FL, where she served as the CEO and complex warden at the Federal Correctional Complex within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Jarvis’ first day with Escambia County was Wednesday.
In her previous job, Jarvis supervised more than 1,500 employees and was responsible for the management of the largest federal correctional complex in the United States, which houses approximately 6,500 inmates in five separate institutions.
She graduated from West Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree in family resources and a master’s degree in business with a minor in labor and management relations. Prior to serving as the complex warden, Jarvis was the warden at the Federal Correctional Complex’s 1,500 bed high-security male facility from September 2011 to July 2012. In that position, Jarvis directed specialized inmate programs, initiated efforts to expand reentry programs and coordinated a regional reentry summit, among other accomplishments. She also served from March 2009 to September 2011 as the warden for the complex’s 2,000 bed low-security prison for men, where she coordinated program review preparation for the Correctional Services Department and received the first-ever Superior rating in the Bureau of Prisons’ history at a Federal Correctional Complex.
Jarvis has received several honors and awards during her 25-year career in corrections, including the national Excellence in Prison Management award from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, awarded for high professional standards and outstanding leadership skills. She is also a member of the Senior Executive Service, the Association of Women Executives in Corrections and the Bureau of Prison’s Health Service Division Governing Board, along with its Medical Staffing and Management Committee.
Jarvis said she’s excited about the opportunity to move to the Gulf Coast with her husband, Jeff, and work with Escambia County’s Corrections Department.
“I’m looking forward to a challenge,” Jarvis said. “I’ve been with the Bureau of Prisons for 25 years, and working in corrections at a county level is very appealing to me.”
Jarvis’ vision for corrections aligns with the Escambia County Corrections Department’s mission, which includes a focus on community corrections. Jarvis said she hopes to expand the utilization of community corrections, which provides criminal justice alternatives for nonviolent offenders while promoting a safe environment.
“I’m interested in community corrections because it lowers recidivism rates, gives the individual an opportunity to maintain their family ties, to stay at home with their families while they are transitioning from jail or prison,” Jarvis said. “They’re able to maintain employment at that time, and it gives them an opportunity to receive the treatment and the assistance they need to successfully transition back into their communities.”
Cat Country’s Brent And Candy Named ACM Award Finalists
February 2, 2017
Brent Lane and Candy Cullerton from the Cat Pak Morning Show at locally owned Cat Country 98.7 are finalists for the 2017 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Personality of the Year. This is their sixth nomination in 10 years.
The Cat Pak Morning Show won the ACM Radio Personality of the Year award in 2009.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the level of commitment and service Brent and Candy have in the community,” said Mary Hoxeng, owner of Cat Country 98.7 and sister station NewsRadio 92.3 FM/1620 AM.
Brent and Candy are “live and local” from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday on Cat Country 98.7 and on CatCountry987.com.
The 52nd Annual ACM Award Show will air live from the T- Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on CBS Sunday, April 2, 2017. This year, Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley will host the show starting at 7 p.m. It will be a celebration of the country music industry and the artists that make the songs come to life.
Northview, Tate Players Ink On National Signing Day
February 2, 2017
Wednesday was National Signing Day, with local players signing at Tate and Northview high schools.
The Tate Aggies had seven players sign Wednesday, six for football and one soccer player:
Jake Henry, Appalachian State
Evan Legassey, Troy
Raymond Freeman, Mississippi State
Jared Bethea, Harding
Rod Smith, Webber
Bishop Clark, Webber
Brittney Rankins, Southern Miss (soccer)
Freeman was interested in the Air Force Academy but decommitted when Mississippi State offered the long snapper a scholarship. Free has a 30 score on the ACT and a current GPA of 4.8.
Northview High School’s Luke Ward signed with Mercer University in Macon, GA, during a ceremony Wednesday at Northview. Ward picked Mercer over South Dakota and Youngstown. Ward also received a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro out of the deal. His father Carl turned over the keys, saying that he had made a deal to give his son the car if he inked a scholarship with a Division 1 school. During Ward’s freshman year, Mercer is scheduled to play both Alabama and Auburn.
Pictured top: Northview’s Luke Ward signs with Mercer. Pictured below: The Tate High School Signing Class. NorthEscambia.com and submitted photos, click to enlarge.
Another Middle 70’s Kind Of Day
February 2, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 75. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers after midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 67. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. North wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 60. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46. Calm wind.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 71.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 73.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71.
State Employee Pay Hikes On The Table
February 2, 2017
Florida would have more state employees, and at least some of them would make more money, under a budget proposal unveiled this week by Gov. Rick Scott.
But whether to provide employees with their first across-the-board pay raises since 2013 will be decided in the upcoming legislative session, with one powerful senator gearing up to push the issue in his chamber’s spending plan.
Scott’s proposal would add a total of 596 positions, while cutting 266. The vast majority of the new jobs, 327, would be at the Department of Corrections, which is in the middle of a turnaround effort after revelations of prisoner mistreatment. Among the other new openings would be 90 for the state’s mental-health system and 46 counterterrorism jobs at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
According to the governor’s office, 86 percent of the jobs that would be cut are already vacant, with “many more” likely to be empty by the time the budget year begins July 1. A handful of state services, like the print shop at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, would be outsourced to private companies.
A net increase in jobs would still be a rarity for Scott, who generally has pushed to shrink the number of state employees in earlier budgets.
And while Scott wouldn’t provide an across-the-board pay increase, he would make state employees eligible for one-time performance bonuses of up to $1,500 in increments of $500. For example, employees would get $500 if agencies reach certain benchmarks, another $500 if employees are rated at least “satisfactory,” and a third increment based on budget savings.
Scott has pushed for such an approach before, as he noted to reporters Tuesday after presenting his budget plan.
“I wish the Legislature would go through (with) that,” he said. “We have great state workers. You really have to thank people for what they do. The people that work in state government are on a mission. They really try to do their job really well. So I think we’ve got to make sure we pay them well.”
Some lawmakers are shooting for more as they prepare for the March 7 start of the annual legislative session.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, has signaled that he will push hard for salary increases. The last boost came in 2013, when lawmakers approved a $1,400-a-year raise for workers making up to $40,000. Those making above that mark got a $1,000-a-year increase.
At the time, it was the first pay hike for all state employees in six years, as the state’s budget was crimped by fallout of the financial downturn.
Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, told reporters at the Associated Press’ annual legislative planning session Tuesday that Latvala’s insistence means some sort of pay raise will likely be in his chamber’s budget proposal.
“Senator Latvala has made it clear to me and to other senators that this is his No. 1 policy initiative,” Negron said. “As we’re preparing the blueprint for our budget … I think my operating assumption is that based on Senator Latvala’s commitment to that issue, I would expect to see a pay raise for state employees in the Senate budget.”
But House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, sounded ambivalent about the possibility. Corcoran has called for cutting the budget to avoid projected shortfalls in future years. Still, the speaker didn’t rule out either Scott’s bonus program or raises.
“I think those are things that are on the table and are capable of happening,” he said Tuesday. “What we have said in the House is that you’re going to have to cut the budget.”
Scott’s plan would also make a series of tweaks to health insurance for state employees. An audit to re-examine dependents on the state health-care plan could help save $45 million a year, though it would cost $1.2 million to perform. A new way of managing drug prescriptions could save another $51.2 million.
And Scott has once again proposed having all state employees pay the same rates for their health insurance, something that would increase the premiums for a select number of higher-ranking state officials. It would save the state $21.8 million — but seems as unlikely to pass this year as in each of Scott’s previous budgets, which unsuccessfully included the same provision.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Northview Wins First Weight Meet Of Season
February 2, 2017
The Northview Boy’s Weightlifting defeated Rocky Bayou Wednesday by a total score of 50-20 in the first meet of the season.
Individual winners for the Chiefs were:
119-lb. class – Greg Pressley with a total of 270 pounds (145-bench; 125-jerk)
129-lb. class – Dalton Hadley with a total of 270 pounds (160-bench; 110-jerk)
139-lb. class – MJ Jones with a total of 350 pounds (185-bench; 165-jerk)
154-lb. class – Ohijie Elliott with a total of 450 pounds (245-bench; 205-jerk)
169-lb. class – Chase Olsen with a total of 480 pounds (255-bench; 225-jerk)
183-lb. class – Tim Bush with a total of 375 pounds (195-bench; 180-jerk)
219-lb. class – Jacob Hawkins with a total of 325 pounds (170-bench; 155-jerk)
Heavyweight class – Justin Helton with a total of 420 pounds (225-bench; 195-jerk)
Also placing for the Chiefs were Caze Bradley (2nd place; 119-lb. class); Ossie Crusaw (3rd place; 139-lb. class); Colten Dockens (2nd place; 154-lb. class); Tyler Kite (2nd place; 219-lb. class).
The Northview weightlifting team returns to action on Wednesday, February 15 at West Florida.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.