Man Charged With Theft Of Trailers, Boat From Atmore Area
April 26, 2017
A Baldwin County man was arrested on charges related to the theft of items from the Atmore area.
Canyon Duff Moye, 21, was charged with three counts of receiving stolen property after deputies from Baldwin and Escambia counties found a stolen utility trailer, dump trailer and boat at his home in Uriah. He was also charged with using a false identification to obstruct justice. He was released from the Baldwin County Jail in Bay Minette on a $22,500 bond.
Escambia County (AL) deputies received a tip that the items stolen from their jurisdiction were at Moye’s home in Weaver Road in Uriah. The they joined deputies from Baldwin County at the property, the located the items listed as stolen out of Escambia County, AL, including a 2012 aluminum bass boat and multiple utility trailers, along with a dump trailer.
The case remains under investigation. The Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with additional information to contact them at (251) 809-2154.
Northview, Jay Out In 2-1A; Tate Advances To 1-7A Final
April 26, 2017
DISTRICT 2-1A Tournament
South Walton 3, Northview 0
Chipley 11, Jay 0
The Northview Chiefs finished third in district play with a 3-0 loss to South Walton Tuesday afternoon at Baker. The Chiefs finished the season at 12-6. Also Tuesday, Chipley beat Jay 11-0, setting up a Chipley-South Walton district championship game on Thursday.
DISTRICT 1-7A Tournament
Tate 10, Washington 0
Escambia 8, Pace 2
The Tate Lady Aggies knocked off Washington 10-0 and Escambia beat Pace 8-2 Tuesday in District 1-7A.
Hanna Brown earned the win for the Lady Aggies. She tossed five innings, allowing no runs, no hits, no walks and striking out six.
Tate hitters – Hannah Brown 3-3, RBI, 3B; Katie Snyder 1-1, 2 RBI; Belle Wolfenden 2-3, 2 R, 3B; Shelby Ullrich 2-3, RBI; Leslee Scruggs RBI; Madison Nelson 1-3, R, RBI, 2B; Shelby McLean R, RBI; Sydni Solliday 1-2, 2R, 2 RBI; Deazia Nickerson 1-3, 2 R.
Tate will face Escambia at 7 p.m. Thursday at Tate for the District 1-7A championship.
Pictured top: Northview’s Tori Herrington. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Flomaton’s Philyaw Signs With Gulf Coast Prep Sports Academy
April 26, 2017
Joe Philyaw of Flomaton High School signed Tuesday to play football at Gulf Coast Prep Sports Academy in Moble. Pictured with Philyaw at the signing are his parents, Wendell and Esther Carnley and Andy and Pamela Philyaw, Flomaton Head Coach Doug Vickery, Principal Scott Hammond, and Gulf Coast Prep Coach Willie Gaston. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Drop Third In A Row To Mobile
April 26, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos lost its first five-game Southern League series of the year when the Mobile BayBears won, 3-0, Tuesday at Hank Aaron Stadium.
Mobile leads the series, 3-1, with the final game scheduled for 11:05 a.m. Wednesday.
Pensacola and Mobile have played an interesting series, to put it mildly, with each of the first three games decided by one run.
Tyler Mahle won the first game, 1-0, Saturday with a nine-inning perfect game — the first in 47 years in the Southern League. Mobile took the second game, 3-2, Sunday when it pushed across a run in the eighth inning. Pensacola and Mobile then battled in a 17-inning duel that the BayBears captured, 2-1, on a walk-off single by Zach Houchins.
In the fourth game Tuesday, the BayBears shutout Pensacola, which was the first time they failed to score this season.
It was also their third straight loss after winning a franchise record eight in a row. Pensacola fell to 13-6 on the season and Mobile is 10-9. The Blue Wahoos remain in first place in the Southern Division trailed by the BayBears, which is three games back.
Mobile scored one run in the second, third and fourth innings. In the second inning, Wade Wass double on a fly ball to center field that scored Andrew Daniel for a 1-0 lead. Alberto Triunfel then smashed his second homer of the year to left field to put the BayBears up, 2-0, in the third. It tacked on another run in the fourth to go ahead, 3-0, when Francisco Arcia scored on a wild pitch by Pensacola starter Deck McGuire.
The right-handed McGuire is now 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA. He worked six innings, allowed three runs on four hits, walked three and struck out four. Jake Ehret, who gave up the winning run in the 17th inning the night before, pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out one.
Mobile starter Jordan Kipper pitched seven scoreless innings to improve to 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA. He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out six. BayBears reliever Alex Klonowski earned his first save, despite walking two and striking out one in one inning of work.
14-Year Old Arrested For Robbing Woman Outside Cantonment Subway
April 25, 2017
A teenager has been arrested for the April 2 assault and robbery of a woman outside a Highway 29 restaurant.
Eric Lee Moorer, Jr., age 14, is charged with robbery by sudden snatching, wearing a mask during the commission of a felony, battery, grand theft and fraudulent illegal use of a credit card.
The victim told the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office that she was attacked about 9 p.m. as she walked out of the Subway, next to Winn Dixie on Highway 29 at Old Chemstrand Road. The attacker took her purse and later used the debit cards inside to wipe out her bank balance. He also got away with keys and cash.
Witnesses reported that he jumped into the passenger side of an older electric blue Dodge or similar truck with shiny chrome rims. The truck fled the area northbound on Highway 95A.
The woman was not injured.
Trailer Fire Claims Life
April 25, 2017
An Escambia County mobile home fire has claimed a life.
Firefighters responded to a mobile home fire in the 5900 block of Flaxman Street on Sunday. Escambia County Public Safety officials initiated an additional search on Monday after friends and family were unable to locate the adult female resident. The victim was found during the daylight search. The Florida State Fire Marshal and Escambia Sheriff’s office are conducting an investigation into the death.
Escambia County Emergency Communications received a call at 10:32 p.m. reporting a mobile home fire with flames visible and possible entrapment. The first crew arrived on scene at 10:41 p.m. to find the home fully involved with 25 percent of the single-wide mobile home engulfed in flames. As is standard protocol, sweeps of the home were made by two separate Escambia Fire Rescue companies. The primary search of the home was completed at 10:51 p.m. and the secondary at 10:55 p.m. with no victims found. The fire was called under control at 10:58 p.m. with the home a total loss.
The state fire marshal arrived at 12:10 a.m. to investigate, clearing the scene at 12:50 a.m. The cause of the fire was determined to be cooking related.
The victim has been identified as 46-year-old Detra Oliver.
More Child Sex Charges File Against Former Tate Coach For Abuses In Locker Room, Church
April 25, 2017
Former Tate High football coach and church youth leader Charlie Maybern Hamrick has been arrested on additional warrants for sex crimes against minors, according to State Attorney Bill Eddins and Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan. The new allegations detail abuses that reportedly occurred at a Cantonment church and in the Tate High School locker room.
These arrest warrants charge three counts of lewd and lascivious molestation and two counts of unlicensed practice of medicine. Each lewd and lascivious count is punishable by a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison while the unlicensed practice of medicine charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in state prison with a one year minimum mandatory sentence.
These new charges involve additional victims who came forward after Hamrick’s initial arrest.
One life felony count of lewd and lascivious molestation was filed over a February 2016 incident at the Harvest Christian Center on Muscogee Road in Cantonment. The male victim, who was 12 or younger, told investigators at The Gulf Coast Kids House that a group of kids were playing hide and go seek outside at the church. The victim was in Hamrick’s lap as the “seeker’ while the other children went to hide. Hamrick placed his hand inside the victim’s pants and underwear and touched him inappropriately, the victim said. The abuse happened only one time and he and his family stopped attending the church a short time later.
Authorities said Hamrick was a leader of he “Royal Rangers” at the church.
Hamrick was charged with unlicensed practice of medicine for allegedly perform a physical exam on a student at Tate High School. A student told investigators that he had waited too long to do his physical to play football at Tate during August 2014. Hamrick allegedly took the student into his office in the locker room and felt around his midsection but never touched his genital area. The victim said Hamrick never said anything inappropriate to him and did not wear gloves during the exam.
Hamrick was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior and practicing medicine without a license for an unrelated incident at Tate High School. A Tate student alleged that Hamrick performed a physical exam on his so that he could play tennis. He allegedly told the boy’s mother that he was qualified to conduct the physical because he was a paramedic. The male student told investigators that Hamrick did the physical in the Tate locker room. Hamrick had him pull his pants down and performed a hernia exam, including contact with private areas. The victim said Hamrick never touch him inappropriately except during the physical exam.
An additional charge of lewd and lascivious behavior was filed against Hamrick for another incident at Tate High School that allegedly occurred during summer of 2011. The victim said he was attending football camp at Tate when Hamrick performed a hernia exam on him as part of a physical. He told investigators that Hamrick touched him for 4-5 minutes and it was unlike any exam he had experienced at a doctor’s office. The victim, who is currently an inmate at the Escambia County Jail, said Hamrick performed 10-15 “follow-up physicals” during the football season.
Hamrick has previously been charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation, one count of giving obscene material to a minor, one count of organized fraud, and six counts of sexual battery on a child under 12 years of age. Each sexual battery charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in state prison.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said his office intends to seek the maximum sentence possible in the case.
Hamrick was paid a supplement as a football coach at Tate High School from August 1, 2012, to September 14, 2015. He was not a teacher and did not have students under his watch in a classroom. Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said previously that Hamrick passed all background checks at the time because he had not been charged with any crime.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone that may have had a physical from Hamrick or believes they were abused by him to call them at (850) 436-9620.
Sunny Today, Showers By Thursday
April 25, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 83. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 59. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 83. South wind 5 to 15 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 10 mph.
Thursday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. South wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. South wind 10 to 15 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 85.
Sunday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 76.
State Pension, Health Care Overhauls Advance In Florida Senate
April 25, 2017
A Senate committee on Monday narrowly backed a controversial change in the state pension plan and endorsed an overhaul of the health-insurance program for state employees.
The Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee voted 4-3, along partisan lines, to change the default retirement option for newly hired public employees, including school teachers, county workers and state employees. Under the bill (SPB 7030), new workers who do not actively choose to join the traditional pension plan or a 401(k)-type investment plan will default into the investment plan six months after they are hired.
Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, chairman of the panel, said the revision does not take away the initial choice for workers to pick the traditional pension plan and that moving employees into the investment plan could help those who do not vest in the pension plan, which requires at least eight years of service to obtain benefits.
“No one is taking anything away,” Baxley said.
But he also conceded the pension bill as well as legislation revamping the health-insurance program for state workers are House-backed priorities that could be part of the two chambers’ final negotiations on a state budget.
“I mainly want to get this over to (the) Appropriations (Committee) so it can be part of that discussion,” Baxley said about the pension bill. “We might have some different tires and wheels on it before it gets to the floor.”
Democrats opposed the bill because of the default option, although the legislation has other provisions, including expanding eligibility benefits for firefighters who develop cancer “in the line of duty.”
Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, said moving new workers into the investment plan rather than the traditional pension plan would put them financially at risk.
“New employees, who do not feel confident or knowledgeable enough to make a (pension plan) selection, should be defaulted to the safest plan, not the most risky plan,” Rouson said. “In fact, it’s risk-shifting.”
Rouson’s amendment that would have maintained the traditional pension plan as a default was defeated in a voice vote. Another amendment, which would have increased a public agency’s match in the investment plan for its employees from 3 to 6 percent, was also rejected.
The bill’s narrow passage was helped by the appointment of Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, to the panel, replacing Sen. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, who resigned last week. Without Simpson, the legislation would have failed in a tie vote.
The Senate committee approved another bill (HB 7007) that would allow employees to choose among four different levels of health-insurance benefits beginning in 2020. The proposl would provide an incentive for employees to choose coverage that would cost less than the amount of money the state contributes for premiums.
If employees choose lower-premium plans, which could carry higher deductibles, they could receive additional benefits, ranging from a salary increase to other health coverage benefits.
Sen. Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa, who sponsored a similar bill (SB 900), said the legislation is aimed at overhauling “an arcane” health-insurance plan that provides few incentives for providers or employees.
But Rich Templin, a lobbyist for the Florida AFL-CIO, warned the cheaper health-insurance plans could represents “a cost shift from the state to the employees in terms of health insurance.”
“It may put more money into a state worker’s pocket, but it has much higher out-of-pocket expenses,” he said.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Budget Prospects Dim As House, Senate Feud
April 25, 2017
The legislative session appeared to careen off course Monday, as the House prepared to pass its second budget of the year — a plan Senate leaders have already ruled out as “ineffectual.”
The showdown between the two chambers came with just eight days to go until lawmakers would be forced to call an extended or special session to resolve the budget impasse, making it seem unlikely that lawmakers would get their work done on time.
That would mark the second time in three years that the Republican-dominated Legislature was unable to finish the budget, its one constitutionally mandated task, by the scheduled end of the regular session.
In a memo to his members issued late Monday afternoon, House Speaker Richard Corcoran said the House Appropriations Committee would take up a “standard operating budget” aimed at continuing the functions of state government largely at current levels. Extra spending meant to account for increased Medicaid costs and public school enrollment would also be funded.
Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, emphasized in the memo that “we remain optimistic that we will reach budget consensus with the Senate,” despite a deepening rift between the two sides that opened over the weekend.
“However, by considering this standard operating budget as a contingency, we would prevent an unnecessary government shutdown, protect the state’s future, and still enable us to fund new priorities in the future,” he wrote.
The mention of a government shutdown alone seemed to raise the prospect of a prolonged battle between the two sides; a shutdown would not occur until after the end of the current budget year on June 30.
The new budget scheduled to be considered by the committee weighs in at $82.1 billion, up nearly a billion dollars from the House’s initial budget but still well short of the $85.1 billion plan the Senate approved.
It would also increase spending on the state’s main formula for funding public education by 0.34 percent per student, up from the first House offering but also well short of where the Senate was. The House would still refuse to allow property-tax bills to increase with real estate values, an issue that has separated the chambers.
By the time the “standard operating budget” was released, though, Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, had already rejected it in a memo to his own colleagues.
“I have no interest in adopting this ineffectual practice,” Negron wrote. “Our constituents deserve and expect more. … I will insist on a budget work product that reflects public testimony from our fellow citizens, input from the constituents we represent and the thousands of informed decisions — big and small — elected legislators have made since November 2016.”
Senate leaders compared the move to Washington, D.C., where “continuing resolutions” are often used to avoid government shutdowns.
“Why do we want to model Florida after Washington, D.C.?” asked Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater.
Latvala raised the possibility that Corcoran’s move — and comments over the weekend that painted the Senate as liberal — were aimed at “a certain small element of the Republican primary voters.” Corcoran is rumored to be considering a bid for governor in 2018, and Latvala has said he is also thinking about running.
Democrats, long consigned to minority status in the Legislature, reveled in the chaos. A sign outside the House Democratic office labeled “Live Shot from Inside Budget Negotiations” showed a well-known Internet meme with a dog sitting in a burning room saying, “This is fine.”
In a statement, House Minority Leader Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, lashed out at Republicans for the gridlock after the House approved a budget she said didn’t include adequate funding for education or health care.
“To top it all off, now Republicans want to waste $72,000 a day on a special session to do the only job we’re constitutionally required to complete,” she said. “It’s pathetic and it’s below the level of competence that should be expected of an elected body.”
Despite appearances, though, GOP lawmakers publicly insisted that a deal could still be reached in time to bring the session to a successful conclusion on May 5 — with the budget needing to be done three days earlier to allow for a constitutionally required “cooling off” period.
“I think it’s still a possibility, a good possibility,” Latvala said, before the House appropriations meeting was scheduled. “If we get in gear today, tonight, tomorrow, we can still get it done.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florda