Slightly Lower Rain Chances, Higher Temperatures
July 20, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms . Otherwise mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 88.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Escambia Budget Meeting Scheduled For July 27
July 20, 2017
On Thursday, July 27 at 9 a.m. during a special meeting, the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners will continue its review of the 2017-2018 Proposed Fiscal Year Budget as well as other items that may need to be addressed by the board.
The meeting will include budget requests from FloridaWest, the Century Area Chamber of Commerce and the Gulf Coast African American Chamber.
The meeting will take place in the Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, Board Chambers, at 221 Palafox Place.
All commission meetings can be viewed live on MyEscambia.com/ectv, channel 98 for Spectrum, Cox Cable and Mediacom (Pensacola Beach) subscribers, channel 99 for AT&T U-verse subscribers and are available on ECTV On Demand.
Forecasters Call For Increasing Chance Of Hurricanes
July 20, 2017
Researchers at Colorado State University point to an increasing likelihood of Atlantic hurricanes in the 2017 season based on an adjusted forecast.
The July forecast predicts 15 named storms and eight hurricanes, including three “major” hurricanes with at least Category 3 winds of 111 mph. It is an increase over the June forecast from Colorado State, which projected 14 named storms and six hurricanes, including two major storms. The trend has been upward since an April forecast of 11 named storms, four hurricanes and two major storms.
The university researchers cited a weakened El Nino effect as the reason for the adjustments.
“The odds of a significant El Nino in 2017 have continued to diminish and most of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic remains anomalously warm,” the forecast said.
The chance of a major hurricane striking the U.S. this year is 62 percent. The chance of a storm striking the East Coast, including Florida, is 39 percent, and striking the Gulf Coast, including the Florida Panhandle, is 38 percent, the researchers said. There have been four named storms thus far in the 2017 hurricane season, which runs through November. The next Colorado State forecast will be in August.
Senate President Touts Higher Education Changes Despite Veto
July 20, 2017
Despite the governor’s veto of a wide-ranging higher-education policy bill, Senate President Joe Negron said Wednesday that many of the initiatives embedded in the legislation, including an expansion of Bright Futures scholarships, will still benefit state university and college students as fall terms begin next month.
In a memo to senators, Negron, R-Stuart, said a major benefit will be a “historic” increase in need-based and merit-based financial aid.
“This school year, tens of thousands of students are entering or returning to colleges and universities across Florida with a higher level of financial security, increasing the likelihood they will graduate on time,” Negron said.
The new $82 billion state budget includes funding to increase Bright Futures scholarships to cover full tuition and fees for about 43,000 state university and 2,000 state college students who qualify as “academic scholars” in the merit-based program.
It represents a $3,000 tuition savings for full-time university scholars and a $1,500 savings for state college scholars.
Additionally, the budget provides funding to allow an estimated 17,000 Bright Futures scholars to attend summer classes with their scholarships.
However, the Bright Futures expansion will be temporary unless lawmakers enact a policy bill in the 2018 session to make the changes permanent. That is because Gov. Rick Scott vetoed this year’s wide-ranging policy bill (SB 374), arguing improvements for state universities were coming “at the expense” of the state college system.
“I feel a deep sense of obligation to the tens of thousands of students and families who are reasonably relying on Bright Futures scholarships their students have earned,” Negron said, recalling his own anxiety over financial aid when he was a university student.
“As Florida students and their families plan for their investment in a college or university education, they deserve the financial security that comes with the permanent changes in law contemplated in SB 374,” he said.
The new budget also includes an 80 percent increase in the state’s main need-based aid program, known as Florida student assistance grants, Negron noted.
The expansion will benefit an additional 109,000 university and college students for a total of 243,000 students securing the aid, which averages $1,110 per student.
The budget will also increase funding for other aid programs, including the Benacquisto scholarships, which support National Merit Scholars, and an aid program aimed at “first generation” students attending colleges or universities.
Negron said he was pleased that the Department of Education, which is under Scott, is trying implement most of the financial-aid programs that were in the Senate bill “despite the veto of critical conforming language” that specified the changes.
But other policy provisions in the vetoed Senate bill, which were less dependent on the state budget, remain in limbo, including a requirement that universities develop “block” tuition plans and that universities be measured on four-year graduation rates rather than the current six-year metric.
Tom Kuntz, chairman of the university system’s Board of Governors, said at the board’s meeting last month that the system would be considering many of the proposals in the policy bill since they were not related to the veto decision and because “it’s the right thing to do.”
Negron said he was appreciative of the board’s effort, while saying the Senate will take up many of the policy issues again during the 2018 session, which starts in January.
“In reality, however, only through legislation can we provide certainty to students, parents and our universities that the provisions we worked so hard to pass in SB 374 will be permanent,” Negron said.
“I look forward to discussing these important issues in more detail when interim committee weeks begin in September,” he added.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Man Wanted For Robbing Beulah Store Clerk At Knifepoint
July 20, 2017
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a suspect who robbed a Beulah clerk at knifepoint.
At approximately 9:40 p.m. on July 5, a white male wearing a dark shirt and jacket, jeans and a ball cap entered the Dollar General at 5955 West Nine Mile Rd in Beulah. The suspect milled about waiting for a female customer to finish then pulled out a knife and told her to get out. The suspect then pointed the knife at the clerk and demanded money. The suspect was seen leaving in a white-colored vehicle heading west on Nine Mile Road toward Seminole, AL.
If you recognize the man in this video or have information regarding this robbery, call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
One Of Texas’ Most Wanted Fugitives Arrested In Atmore
July 20, 2017
One of the most wanted men in Texas has been arrested in Atmore — where he’s lived for the past 20 years.
Ricky Lee Waters, age 60, has been charged with identity theft, giving false information to a law enforcement officer and possession of a controlled substance. He’s now in the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center in Brewton on local charges and awaiting extradition back to Texas.
Escambia County (AL) Chief Deputy Mike Lambert said Deputy Dereck Lowry was on routine patrol near Short Street in Atmore when he was tipped off that Waters was wanted and was in a Ford F150 pickup. Lowry turned around on the vehicle on Jack Springs Road where Waters was exceeding the posted speed limit.
Waters did not have his driver’s license or insurance information with him, and he provided the deputy with a similar but false name. They also located a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine. Deputies found paperwork in the suspect’s wallet with the name Ricky Lee Waters, which they soon found was their suspect. They learned he was wanted out of Texas for parole violation, aggravated rape and attempted capital murder with a deadly weapon.
For the Escambia County traffic stop, Water was charged with giving false information to a law enforcement officer, identity theft and possession of a controlled substance.
Waters has lived in the Atmore area for the past 20 years on Rockaway Creek Road, just north of the Florida state line. Lambert commended Lowry for the capture.
During those 20 years, Waters has been listed as on of the 10 Most Wanted fugitives in Texas.
Waters was sentenced to 20 years in prison back in 1979 in Texas for aggravated assault, aggravated rape and attempted capital murder.
Waters and another man abducted a young couple from a Texas bar, forcing the 20-year old man to drive his 22-year old girlfriend and Waters to a secluded area. Waters bound the man at the wrists with a belt, punched him in the face and stabbed him twice in the stomach.
After Waters and the other man left the victim to die, they took his girlfriend to a motel, where she was repeatedly raped and assaulted by both men.
Within 10 years, Waters had been paroled and got into a fight with another man at a drive-thru restaurant, tied his hands together with a belt and punched him. He was armed with a knife at the time. He was sentenced to 10 years for aggravated assault.
Aerial Photos: Boggy Creek Bridge Construction
July 20, 2017
The $3 million bridge replacement project on County Road 97A over Boggy Creek near Enon in Escambia County is underway. Traffic has been moved to a temporary bridge while crews construct a new, modern bridge encompassing 12-foot travel lanes, eight foot shoulders and a solid concrete barrier railing. The bridge approaches will also be replaced. Work is anticipated to be complete in the fall of 2017, weather permitting. The bridge to be replaced was constructed in 1969. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview High Plans Orientation For August 3
July 20, 2017
From Northview High School:
We will issue class schedules, hall lockers, and textbooks to returning 10th, 11th and 12th grade students on the first day of school. Ninth graders and new students will attend an August 3rd Orientation and will receive everything they need at that time. Please remember that May 24, 2017, as noted on the registration cards, was the last day to request schedule changes. There is a processing procedure which students may utilize to request schedule changes, once school has started. However, since the parent and student approved the schedule at registration time and since the master schedule and teacher assignments have been made based upon these requests, all requests must support both the student’s requested schedule and teacher assignments. Please be advised that schedule changes at this time are extremely rare and are allowed only for registration adjustments or academic requirements based on the FSA end-of- course exam scores. Students will not have the opportunity to request schedule changes during the textbook issuing time. Textbooks will be issued to correspond with the student’s printed schedule. Locker assignments will also be printed on the class schedules, so students should be extremely careful not to leave their printed course schedules unattended.
August 3, 2017
School Offices will be closed from 11:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.
1 PM – 2:30 PM 9 th Grade and New Student Orientation
All incoming 9th grade and new students in grades 10, 11, and 12 should report to the theater before 1 p.m., on Thursday, August 3. In the theater, students will have a short introduction and welcome program. Immediately afterwards, the students will be divided into groups to facilitate the processing of schedules and lockers. Orientation will include a brief tour of the Northview campus. Parent Chromebook training will be provided as well. Students with signed Cromebook contracts will be issued Chromebooks to take home after school begins. Students without a signed contract will not be issued a Chromebook but will check one out daily from the media center. The entire process should take approximately 90 minutes, so parents are asked to be prompt in picking up their students at the breezeway after the conclusion of this activity.
Blue Wahoos Capture Opening Game Against Montgomery
July 20, 2017
Nick Senzel drilled a line drive, three-run home run to left field in the seventh inning and now has hit in 19 of his first 24 games with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
Senzel’s homer, his third for the Blue Wahoos, broke a 2-2 tie and Pensacola went on to win, 5-3, Wednesday over the Montgomery Biscuits at Riverwalk Stadium.
The top prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization, the 22-year-old third baseman has come through with a walk, single and two homers that have led to the Blue Wahoos winning four games in the second half.
The first half champions in the Southern League South Division improved to 14-12 in the second half and 54-42 overall. The team owns first place a half-game ahead of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
The 19 games that Senzel has earned a hit, he is 28-72 and batting .389. He’s hitting .315 on the season for Pensacola in his first time in Double-A. In Wednesday’s victory, Senzel was 2-4 with a double and homer, on run scored and three RBIs, giving him six doubles, three homers, 15 RBIs this year with the Blue Wahoos.
Pensacola center fielder Gabriel Guerrero also smacked a homer, his second this season, when he hit a line drive over the center field wall. His solo shot put Pensacola ahead, 2-0, in the fourth inning. Guerrero was 3-4 in the game with two runs scored and an RBI. Guerrero has 31 RBIs this season and 28 multi-hit games in 88 games with Pensacola this year.
Left fielder Tyler Goeddel hit a two-out single to left field to drive in Pensacola’s first run, 1-0, in the second inning when Guerrero crossed the plate.
Montgomery knotted the score, 2-2, with two runs in the bottom of the sixth when left field Cade Gotta drove in third baseman Grant Kay on a sacrifice fly to right field and right fielder Justin Williams singled to center to bring in DH Joe McCarthy.
Pensacola also got a strong start from Keury Mella who worked five innings, gave up two runs on three hits and three walks and struck out four. However, Blue Wahoos middle reliever Robert Stock earned the win to improve to 6-1 with a 2.59 ERA by pitching two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out one.
Foxtail Loop To Be Closed
July 20, 2017
Foxtail Loop will be closed from 5 a.m. Thursday, July 20 until 8 p.m. Friday, July 21 as crews work to relocate utilities. Drivers entering and exiting Nature Trail Subdivision must use Salt Grass Drive to access Nine Mile Road, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.