Senate Panel Poised To Consider Fracking Ban
March 3, 2017
Just hours after the annual legislative session starts Tuesday, a Senate committee will take up a bill that would ban fracking in Florida.The Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee is slated Tuesday afternoon to consider the bill (SB 442), filed by Sen. Dana Young, R-Tampa.
Fracking is a method of drilling for oil and natural gas that has become controversial in recent years as it has become widely used in other parts of the country.
Florida lawmakers heavily debated a measure last year that would have created a regulatory framework for fracking in the state, but the bill did not pass the Senate. Environmentalists opposed the bill, arguing that it could open the door to fracking.
Young held a news conference in January with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to announce an effort to ban fracking. Supporters of fracking say the practice helps meet energy demands and holds down energy costs for consumers.
by The News Service of Florida
Seuss Week: Thing 1, Thing 2, Bratt Elementary Has Twins Too
March 3, 2017
Bratt Elementary has 11 sets of twins attending the school.
In celebration of Dr. Seuss Week, the twins were honored on the morning news. Each set of twins was called out by name along with their description of how they go together. They also received a treat bag decorated as Thing 1 or Thing 2 according to their birth order.
The twins are listed along with their definition of how they go together.
- Four-year olds Adalynn and Madalynn Lowery go together like forever and always.
- Five-year olds Jeremiah and Zechariah Russell go together like green eggs and ham.
- Five-year olds Tucker and Cade Hare go together like cookies and milk.
- Seven-year olds Genevieve and Gabriella Graham go together like peas and carrots.
- Seven-year olds Wyatt and Noah Spence go together like peanut butter and jelly or peas and carrots.
- Seven-year olds Margaret and Montgomery Baker go together like chicken and dumplings.
- Seven-year olds Jakeriyah and Ja’kayvioun Jacobs go together like cookies and milk.
- Nine-year olds Derek and Justin Kinley go together like nachos and cheese or milk and cookies.
- Ten-year olds Anija and Anyla Mcneir go together like cake and icing.
- Eleven-year olds Raegan and Rabekah Abbott go together like peanut butter and jelly or cake and ice cream.
- Eleven-year olds Jayla and Jaden Brown go together like copy and paste or fire and ice.
Upper 60’s Today, Upper 30’s Tonight With A Touch Of Frost
March 3, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Today: Sunny, with a high near 67. North wind 5 to 15 mph.
Tonight: Patchy frost after 3am. Otherwise, clear, with a low around 36. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Patchy frost before 7am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 66. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 43. East wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 47.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 71.
Justices Uphold Ban On Openly Carrying Guns
March 3, 2017
Rejecting arguments by Second Amendment supporters, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a longstanding state ban on people openly carrying firearms in public.
Justices, in a 4-2 ruling, said the state law “regulates only one manner of bearing arms and does not impair the exercise of the fundamental right to bear arms.” In doing so, the Supreme Court sided with the 4th District Court of Appeal, which ruled in 2015 against a man arrested in St. Lucie County for openly carrying a gun in a holster.
“(We) agree with the 4th District and are satisfied that the state’s prohibition on openly carrying firearms in public with specified exceptions — such as authorizing the open carrying of guns to and from and during lawful recreational activities — while still permitting those guns to be carried, albeit in a concealed manner, reasonably fits the state’s important government interests of public safety and reducing gun-related violence,” said the 47-page majority opinion, written by Justice Barbara Pariente and joined fully by Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and Justice Peggy Quince. Justice R. Fred Lewis agreed with the result but did not sign on to the opinion.
But Justice Charles Canady, in a dissent joined by Justice Ricky Polston, said the law “collides with the Second Amendment right as understood” in a landmark 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a Washington, D.C. gun law. He described as “feeble” arguments that the open-carry ban is justified for public-safety reasons.
“Of course, many people are made uncomfortable by the fact that others are permitted to keep and bear arms at all,” Canady wrote in the 10-page dissent. “But contemporary sensibilities cannot be the test. Such sensibilities are no more a basis for defeating the historic right to open carrying than for defeating the understanding that the Second Amendment recognizes the right of individuals to keep and bear arms.”
Justice Alan Lawson, who joined the court at the end of December, did not take part in the case.
The challenge to the law stemmed from the 2012 arrest in St. Lucie County of Dale Norman, who had a concealed-weapons license but was carrying a gun openly in a holster. A jury found Norman guilty of a second-degree misdemeanor, and a trial judge imposed a $300 fine and court costs, according to Thursday’s ruling.
Norman, who was represented by attorney Eric Friday of the Second Amendment group Florida Carry, then took the case to the 4th District Court of Appeal before ultimately going to the Supreme Court.
Pariente’s majority opinion traced issues in the case to a 1987 law that authorized the state to issue concealed-weapons licenses. She wrote that lawmakers also passed a separate measure that year barring people from openly carrying firearms.
The majority opinion drew a distinction between the Florida open-carry ban and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Washington, D.C. case and another case involving gun laws in Chicago. She wrote that unlike those laws, “which completely banned the possession of handguns in one’s home, Florida’s open carry law regulates only how firearms are borne in public.”
“Because this law does not amount to an entire ban on a class of guns or completely prohibit the bearing of firearms in public and does not affect the right to keep arms in one’s home … we conclude that Florida’s open carry law does not severely burden the right,” Pariente wrote.
Canady, however, pointed to the long period of time between the 1987 legislation and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the 2008 case, known as District of Columbia v. Heller.
“More to the point, the Legislature decided that the sacrifice of open carrying was a necessary and appropriate response to the public opposition generated by the passage of the concealed-carry law,” Canady wrote. “But the legal landscape has now dramatically shifted. Heller has settled that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to keep and bear arms. And Heller’s historical analysis points strongly to the conclusion that the individual right includes the right to carry arms openly in public.”
Thursday’s ruling came five days before the start of the 2017 legislative session, which is expected to include a series of debates about gun rights. Lawmakers last year did not pass a proposal that would have allowed people with concealed-weapons licenses to openly carry firearms.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Escambia Attorney Arrested
March 3, 2017
An Escambia County attorney has been arrested.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said James C. Corrigan was charged with racketeering and grand theft. The warrant was issued by an Escambia County judge based on an investigation by the State Attorney Office of a complaint filed by The Florida Bar following an audit Corrigan’s trust account.
Corrigan, who does business as James M. Corrigan, PA, represents clients in personal injury and medical malpractice cases. According to the warrant and supporting documents, Corrigan engaged in a multi-year, complex, continuous scheme in which he misapplied and misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars of his clients’ funds.
The Office of State Attorney will continue the investigation and anyone with information should contact investigator Taylor Wells at (850) 595-4200.
Thomas B. Wesley
March 3, 2017
Thomas B. Wesley, age 80, of Molino, FL, passed away on Tuesday, February 28, 2017. He was born on June 29, 1936, in Pensacola.
Tom served in the U.S. Army and retired as a Lieutenant from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department after 25 years of service. He always said he had a calling for public service, and law enforcement greatly fulfilled him. He loved his career and remained dear friends with many of his fellow officers. After retirement he became an expert woodworker, making lots of handcrafted toys and furniture for family and friends. He thoroughly enjoyed his Saturday morning ‘Coffee Club’ meetings at Fran’s Diner with his retired buddies. He was also a past member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
Tom was preceded in death by his wife of 47 years, Netta Faye Wesley. He is survived by his two daughters, Patti (Neil) Forrester and Susan (Rusty) Hendrix; his beloved granddaughters, Leslee (Jordan) Williams and Kayla (Keith) Meador; and three extra-special great-grandchildren, Charlee Faye Meador, Landree Lennix Williams, and Jett Jordan Williams. The babies brought great joy to him and they’ve always jumped for joy when they saw their ‘Pa.’ He is also survived by two brothers, Donald Wesley, of Orlando, FL, and Woody Wesley, Jr., of Ft. Walton Beach, FL, along with several nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 2, 2017, 5:00 – 7:00 pm at Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home. Funeral services will be at Eastern Gate on Friday, March 3, 2017, 11:00 am. Following the service, Daddy will be laid to rest next to Moma at Eastern Gate Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be sons-in-law Neil Forrester and Rusty Hendrix, grandsons-in-law Jordan Williams and Keith Meador, nephew Brett Hall, along with Roger Grice and Butch Lewis. Honorary Pallbearers are Larry Lattimer, Steve Dunn, Vince Seely, Paul Page, and D.L. Roland.
Our sincere thanks to Regency Hospice Nurses Ann and Julie. Your care and attention to our Dad is greatly appreciated.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Regency Hospice, 4900 Bayou Blvd., Pensacola, 32503.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home.
Grace Louise Smith Sliger
March 3, 2017
Grace Louise Smith Sliger entered the gates of Heaven on February 28, 2017 in Pensacola, FL. She was born on March 29, 1929 in Lexington, SC and married Ken Sliger on August 16, 1949.
Louise’s purpose was to honor God, assist her husband in ministry and introduce her four children to a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ. She was a talented soloist, inspiring and blessing the hearts of all who heard her sing.
Louise never complained about any hardship, physical pain, or uncertainty. She lived her life scripture that says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6.
She is preceded in death by her son Ken Sliger, Jr.
She is survived by her husband of 67 years, Myron Ken Sliger, daughters Anne Sliger, Donna Sliger (Greg) Miller and Rene Sliger Jones, two grandsons Jay Miller and Ryan Jones.
Honorary Pallbearers are Greg Miller, Jay Miller, Ryan Jones, Jeff Adams, Ken Stanford and Julius Spann.
Visitation will be at Smyrna Baptist Church on Saturday, March 4 th , 2017 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm with funeral services following immediately afterwards. Pastor Bill Adams is officiating.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.
Two Sentenced In Century Animal Cruelty Case
March 2, 2017
Two Century men have been sentenced in connection with a 2015 animal cruelty case.
John Jackson Grimes and , Monroe Kemp Moore, Jr., were both sentenced to 12 months supervised probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.
Escambia County Animal Control, Panhandle Equine Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office seized three severely malnourished horses from a property in the 2500 block of Highway 168, near Shaw Road, near Century on May 27, 2015.
According to court documents in the case, two of the horses had bones that were projecting and visible due to malnourishment. The horses were unable to graze due to a lack of grass in their quarter of an acre enclosure. It appeared that the horses had no water and no one caring for them for some time.
The horses were rehabilitated by Panhandle Equine Rescue.
The only horse rescue in Escambia County, PER was founded by a small group of concerned citizens with a mission to rescue, rehabilitate and provide adoption services for abused, neglected and abandoned equines. PER is authorized by the court system to investigate equine cruelty in Escambia County.
Photos top and below by PER for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
County Road 97A Boggy Creek Bridge Replacement Underway
March 2, 2017
Construction began in early January on a bridge project on County Road 97A over Boggy Creek near Enon. The existing bridge will be replaced with a new, modern structure with 12-foot travel lanes, eight foot shoulders and a solid concrete barrier railing. The bridge approaches will also be replaced.
Work is currently underway on a temporary detour bridge. Once completed, traffic will be shifted to the temporary bridge as crews construct the new structure. Work is anticipated to be complete in eight months, weather permitting, on the $3,041,965 project.
Drivers are reminded to slow down to the posted speed limit of 30 mph use caution and be aware of the ‘S’ shaped curve when approaching the temporary bridge. There will be weight restriction on the temporary detour bridge. Vehicles weighing over 88,000 ponds and cranes will be prohibited.
The bridge to be replaced was constructed in 1969.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Man Wanted For Questioning In Home Invasion
March 2, 2017
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is searching for 32-year old Cody Austin Branch for questioning only in connection with a home invasion.
The home invasion occurred February 9 on Chisholm Road, just south of Nine Mile Road.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850 433-STOP or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.