Flash Flooding: McElhaney Road
July 11, 2017
Heavy downpours and saturated ground combined for flash flooding in the Bratt area Tuesday afternoon. Water complete covered McElhaney Road, just off Old Bratt Road. Reader submitted photo by Melissa McElhaney for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Man Charged With Beating Cousin During Robbery
July 11, 2017
A Century man was charged with beating his cousin and stealing his necklace.
Eric James Grimes allegedly jumped into a vehicle at a residence on Crary Road in Century, hitting the victim — his cousin — with his fist multiple times. Grimes then threatened to kill the victim, retrieve a large rock that was larger than a softball and attempted to hit him.
Grimes, 26, then ripped a silver chain from the neck of the victim and punched him several more times in the face, an arrest report states. The victim escaped to call law enforcement.
The victim’s statements were corroborated by a witness, deputies said.
Grimes was charged with aggravated assault with attempt to commit a felony, battery, burglary with assault or battery, robbery without a weapon, and a probation violation. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Shower And Thunderstorm Pattern Remains The Norm
July 11, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the morning.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92.
Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89.
Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87.
FWC Law Enforcement Report
July 11, 2017
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending July 6 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
No report was submitted this week from Escambia County.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officers Lewis and Jernigan were patrolling in the Blackwater State Forest when they saw a truck parked well beyond established barricades at a primitive campsite. The owner of the truck told the officers that he wanted his truck parked in his campsite. The vehicle damaged the trail and creek bank and caused deep ruts along its path. The man was charged with damaging state lands with a motor vehicle.
Officer Ramos was on vessel patrol in the Quiet Water beach area of the Santa Rosa Sound when he saw a pontoon boat with many people on board. After conducting a boating safety inspection on the vessel with 15 passengers, it was determined the boat had been rented from a local livery and the livery did not ensure the occupants had sufficient safety equipment. The livery had only provided 14 adult Personal Flotation Devices (PFD’s) on board for the 15 passengers. Eight passengers were children, one of which was a toddler who is required to wear a PFD while the vessel is underway. The livery did not provide any children’s PFD’s with the rental pontoon. Officer Ramos contacted the livery and issued a criminal citation for leasing, hiring, or renting a vessel without the proper safety equipment.
While on late-night vessel patrol in the Intercostal Waterway, Officer Ramos stopped a boat with eight men on board returning from an offshore fishing trip to conduct a boating safety and resource inspection. The boat was a for-hire charter boat and had 14 red snapper in the fish cooler. After determining that only six of the passengers paid for the charter trip, Officer Ramos inquired why there were 14 red snapper in the cooler when the vessel limit was 12. The captain advised that his deckhand kept two fish for himself. Officer Ramos checked the captain’s history and confirmed that he had been previously charged with other fisheries violations and knew that the charter boat crew on a commercial trip cannot keep a recreational limit of red snapper for themselves. The individual was cited accordingly.
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Century Seeks $1,000 Conference Scholarship For Mayor
July 11, 2017
The Town of Century is applying for a $1,000 scholarship for Mayor Henry Hawkins to attend this year’s annual Florida League of Cities in Orlando this August.
The League will award 10 scholarships to municipal officials across the state. The $1,000 will pay for conference registration and reimbursement of travel expenses.
The scholarships are available to municipalities such as Century that have a population of less than 10,000 people that have not attended the annual conference within the last three years.
The Century Town Council has written a letter to the Florida League of Cities in support of Hawkins’ nomination for the scholarship.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Former NBA Coach To Lead Bratt Basketball Camp This Week
July 11, 2017
The First Baptist Church of Bratt will host a basketball camp this week with a former NBA, college and high school coach.
The camp for children ages 8-14 will be held July 12-14 from 9 a.m. until noon at the church. Coach Roger Dutremble of Global Sports Outreach will teach kids the fundamentals of basketball and Biblical awareness.
Dutremble is a a retired coach and member of the International Basketball Hall of Fame. He career includes coaching at every level from high school to the NBA, and into international arenas, with a lifetime coaching record of 687-117 and seven national championships. He was selected “Coach of the Year” six times, and served as national team head coach to Belgium, Scotland, and Jordan. He was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, serving under Paul Westhead and Pat Riley, from 1979-83 and helping the team to three NBA championships with players like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The cost is $45 per student with a limited number of scholarships available. The funds are used exclusively to purchase shoes and basketballs for needy children in other countries where Dutremble conducts camps.
The First Baptist Church of Bratt is located on Highway 4 just west of Northview High School.
Pictured: Students that participated in a previous basketball camp at the First Baptist Church of Bratt. Inset: Coach Roger Dutremble of Global Sports Outreach. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Register Now For Tate Youth Football Camp
July 11, 2017
A Tate Youth Football Camp will be held 5-8 p.m. July 17-19 at Pete Gindl Stadium.
The camp will be directed by Tate football coaching staff with assistance from Tate football players. It is an opportunity for youth to work on fundamentals, practice agility, run through drills and learn about being part of a team. No football equipment will be needed. Cleats are recommended, but not required.
The camp fee is $65 preregister online at tatehighfootball.com or $75 first day of camp (checks made payable to Tate Quarterback Club). Each camper will receive a camp t-shirt, daily snack and drink and a pizza party at the end of camp.
To download a camp brochure and registration form, click here (pdf).
Settlement Reached On Services For Florida Disabled Inmates
July 11, 2017
In a move that could affect thousands of Florida inmates, attorneys representing disabled prisoners and the Department of Corrections have settled a lawsuit accusing the state of discriminating against prisoners who are deaf, blind or confined to wheelchairs.
The lawsuit, filed by Disability Rights Florida and alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, also accused corrections officials of discriminating against disabled inmates by refusing to allow them to participate in services and programs available to other prisoners.
Under the 328-page settlement finalized Friday, the state has agreed, among other things, to provide sign-language interpreters for deaf prisoners and to remove architectural barriers for inmates who use wheelchairs.
The state will have four years to comply with federal laws protecting disabled individuals, under the agreement.
Lawyer Randall Berg, executive director of the Florida Justice Institute, called the settlement “a huge decision” for incarcerated people with disabilities. Berg’s organization, along with the Morgan & Morgan law firm, represented more than 30 inmates in the lawsuit filed last year.
“It will be a game changer for them,” Berg said during a telephone interview Monday when asked about the impact on disabled prisoners.
Americans with Disabilities Act violations caused prisoners “to suffer from the humiliation, indignity, and difficulties that accompany such exclusion” and violated prisoners’ constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process, Berg and the other lawyers wrote in a 123-page complaint filed last year.
Florida Department of Corrections officials on Monday also hailed the settlement.
“We are glad that we have reached an agreement. FDC (the Department of Corrections) will continue to ensure that all in our custody receive proper care and treatment,” spokeswoman Michelle Glady said in an email.
Glady also noted that the agency is “continually working on ensuring our facilities are within federal ADA compliance.”
The agency has a “designated ADA coordinator” and “has already begun to work on many of the identified issues within existing funding,” Glady said.
The lawsuit detailed the plights of more than two dozen inmates who are deaf, blind or need wheelchairs or prosthetic devices but who were repeatedly denied services or assistance and who were threatened with retaliation for complaining. Some inmates were also excluded from jobs because of their disabilities, according to the complaint.
The complaint laid out a plethora of woes encountered by deaf inmates. In some instances, deaf prisoners waited years for their hearing aids to be repaired or replaced and were not provided American Sign Language interpreters for critical events such as medical appointments. Some deaf inmates were forced to serve as interpreters for other prisoners during doctors’ visits, possibly violating federal privacy laws. Special telephones for the hearing-impaired were often broken or unavailable, the lawyers wrote, and deaf prisoners couldn’t hear announcements, causing them to miss “critical events” such as meals.
For example, inmate David Stanley, who is deaf, had his hearing aid sent out for repair in 2009 and “has been without one for much of the time since then,” the lawyers wrote in last year’s complaint.
Corrections officials also failed to provide or maintain wheelchairs to other inmates, who are thus “denied the minimal necessities of civilized life,” the lawsuit alleged. Prison officials also failed to assign other inmates — known as “pushers” — to wheelchair-bound prisoners, who were often unable to navigate the prison grounds on their own because the facilities were not ADA compliant.
The settlement agreement came after five months of mediation between representatives of the inmates and the state, according to lawyers involved in the case.
Under the settlement, corrections officials agreed to house disabled inmates in about 20 prisons that are ADA compliant.
Inmates who need services will have to be evaluated when they enter the corrections system and be reevaluated annually.
The agreement also should provide disabled inmates “with some modicum of ability to take courses, do programs, and get religious services on the same level as persons who do not have any disabilities,” Berg said.
by The News Service of Florida
Escambia Commissioners Begin Review of $455.6 Million Budget
July 11, 2017
The Escambia County Commission began a series of workshops today to review a proposed budget for next year.
The proposed $455.6 million budget for fiscal year 2017-2018 is now available online on the Budget Information and Related Documents page. Outside funding requests and a budget calendar are also included under the “Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Proposed Budget Documents” heading.
Additional budget workshops will take place the board chambers, located on the first floor of the Escambia County Central Office Complex at 221 Palafox Place. Workshops are scheduled for:
- Wednesday, July 12 at 1 p.m.
- Thursday, July 13 following the regularly scheduled Committee of the Whole Meeting (as needed)
The workshops offer the commissioners an opportunity to discuss the proposed budget with other constitutional officers and county staff. The commission is slated to adopt a final budget on Tuesday, Sept. 26 following a two-part public hearing process. Escambia County’s fiscal year begins Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30.
Claudia Beatrice “Bea” Flowers Anderson
July 11, 2017
Claudia Beatrice “Bea” Flowers Anderson, age 84, of Crossville, TN, passed away on Sunday, July 9, 2017.
Mrs. Anderson was born in Winnsboro, LA, on January 16, 1933, to the late Ovid Earl and Florence Faye Dunham Flowers. She was a computer programmer and a member of the Mayland Baptist Church. In addition to her parents Mrs. Anderson is preceded in death by her husband, Sidney Wendell Anderson, son, Carl Daniel Deron, two sisters, Faye Delagrange and Lou Harper, three brothers, WC, Clarence and Ovid Flowers.
Left to cherish her memory is one daughter Shala Vee Ross (Randy) and one son, Walter Adene Deron. Nine grandchildren, Sabrina, Sydnie, Terrill, Derrill, Nikki, Tory, Swala, Deni and Noah. Many great grand-children also survive.
The family will receive friends at the Goff Funeral Home at 205 E. Cleveland Avenue in Monterey, TN, on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, from noon until to 2 pm with services following at 2 pm.
A private interment will take place in Pensacola Memorial Gardens Cemetery.