Several Escambia Schools Honored For Life Safety Improvements
July 21, 2017
Certificates of Excellence for Outstanding Achievement in the Annual Fire Life Safety Inspections were presented during the July Escambia County School Board meeting.
“The Department of Protection Services has worked very closely with school administrators to improve safety in the learning environment and in making continuous improvements in fire life safety. Administrators and staff at all of our schools have dedicated considerable time and effort to reduce the risk of potential injuries and property damage. Many schools have made significant improvements. As a result district-wide life safety deficiencies have dramatically decreased,” said Superintendent Malcolm Thomas.
Schools recognized for reducing their deficiencies by 50 percent or more were: Beulah Elementary School, Scenic Heights Elementary School, A.K. Suter Elementary School, Sherwood Elementary School, West Pensacola Elementary School, Pine Meadow Elementary School, Booker T. Washington High School, and Tate High School.
The schools recognized for having 15 or fewer deficiencies were: Bratt Elementary School, Montclair Elementary School, Molino Park Elementary School and Ernest Ward Middle School.
Jim Bailey Middle School was recognized as the Most Improved School of the Year. Bailey went from 148 deficiencies in the 2013-2014 school year to only 33 in the 2016-2017 year – a 77 percent decrease.
Usual July Weather Continues
July 21, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Monday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. West wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Thursday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.
Wahoos Drop Game To Montgomery
July 20, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos lead the Southern League with 11 shutout victories. However, the team also leads the league with 12 shutout losses.
Five Montgomery Biscuit pitchers combined to blank the Blue Wahoos lineup Thursday, 5-0, at Riverwalk Stadium. They scattered seven hits and two walks and struck out 11 Pensacola batters to even the series, 1-1.
Despite the loss, the first half champions in the Southern League South Division are 14-13 in the second half and the Blue Wahoos remained in first place with a one-game lead over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Pensacola is 54-43 overall.
Montgomery starting pitcher Edwin Fierro led the way throwing five scoreless innings, allowing four hits, giving up no walks and striking out seven to improve to 5-2 with a 2.81 ERA. Biscuits closer Kyle Winkler, who leads the team with 11 saves, made his 25th appearance and struck out two in one inning of work.
Pensacola missed opportunities to score in the third, seventh and eighth innings. In the third, the Blue Wahoos had runners reach first and third with two outs but stranded them. In the seventh, Pensacola loaded the bases with two outs but Montgomery reliever Mike Broadway entered the game and struck out left fielder Tyler Goeddel. In the eighth, runners stood at first and third with one out but Biscuits reliever Jordan Harrison came in and got Blue Wahoos DH Josh VanMeter to ground out into an inning ending double play.
Montgomery first baseman Dalton Kelly continued his assault on Pensacola pitching. In his first series in Double-A, the 22-year-old belted three homers, knocked in seven RBIs and hit .481 (13-27).
In Thursday’s victory, Kelly led the Biscuits offense going 3-3 with a walk, two runs and an RBI. He’s hitting .354 in 21 games with Montgomery.
Meanwhile, Pensacola first baseman Gavin LaValley was 2-4 with a double — the Blue Wahoos only extra base hit in the game — and catcher Chad Tromp was 2-3 with a walk.
Pensacola starter Jesus Reyes, who was making his second Double-A start, worked six innings, allowed three runs on eight hits and one walk and struck out three. He picked up the loss and is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA.
Missing 78-Year Old Found
July 20, 2017
UPDATE 12:15 p.m. — This missing senior has been found.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has issued a Silver Alert for 78-year old James Harvey Fall.
Fall was last seen in the Nine Mile Road area is a 2003 silver Buick Lesabre with Minnesota tag #393EUC.
If you have any information on Fall’s whereabouts or the location of his vehicle, call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or local law enforcement.
Cantonment Man Sentenced To 15 Years For Store Robbery
July 20, 2017
A Cantonment man has been sentenced to prison for the armed robbery of a Cantonment convenience store.
Jonathan Mark Vito was sentenced by Circuit Judge John Miller to 15 years in state prison as a habitual felony offender. He pleaded no contest to robbery.
On September 10, 2016 Vito entered the Tom Thumb on Highway 29 and Woodbury Court and displayed to the clerk what appeared to be a firearm and demanded money. He then fled the scene with the money, beer and cigarettes. He was later identified in the surveillance video by a previous co-worker and a relative.
Vito has prior convictions for trafficking in stolen property, pawnbroker transaction fraud, theft, fleeing and eluding, and several other misdemeanor charges.
Pictured above and below: The Tom Thumb at Highway 29 and Woodbury Circle was robbed during the early morning hours on September 10. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
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.