Overnight Fog, A Little Weekend Rain
April 21, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Friday Night: Patchy dense fog after 3am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 61. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: Patchy dense fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Light south wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54. North wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 83.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 56.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 85.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84.
Road Prison Officer Finds Perfect Partner In Animal Shelter Rescue Dog
April 21, 2017
Road Prison Officer Robert Oliver was looking for the perfect dog for Narcotic Detection Handler’s School. While he was anxious to begin the training, he knew that finding the right dog was worth the wait.
Britt, a 4-year-old German Shepherd, was picked up by Escambia County Animal Control as a stray. After being adopted from the shelter, she was returned because her adopters thought she was “too much dog.”
On Nov. 4, 2015 Oliver rescued Britt from the Escambia County Animal Shelter after spotting her during a random checkup on a work squad.
“She stood out from the rest of the dogs,” Oliver said. “We were checking on a squad and we walked through the kennels and saw her. We got a ball and took her out to a pen and threw the ball to see if she had toy drive.”
At that point, Oliver knew he had found something special in Britt.
“We asked if we could borrow her, and I contacted the trainers from the sheriff’s department,” he said. “They tested her and said if we didn’t want her, they did.”
Britt was tested by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office K-9 instructors and recommended for narcotic detection. On Nov. 17, 2015 Officer Oliver and K-9 Britt began Narcotic Detection Handlers’ School. After 200 hours of training, both handler and K-9 received their Certification in Narcotic Detection.
The first week of March, the pair attended a testing seminar put on by The United States Police Canine Association. Testing was conducted on room searches as well as vehicle searches. Officer Oliver and K-9 Britt were both certified through USPCA in narcotics detection. They have since re-certified.
As the Road Prison’s only narcotics dog, K-9 Britt and Oliver have made numerous narcotic “finds.” They routinely search the Road Prison, crew trucks and job sites where road crews are working. They also search the Work Release center and the Main Jail.
The pair have also trained and competed at the Southern States Manhunt and Field Trials. In 2016, just after becoming certified, they took fourth place out of nearly 20 teams in the Drug Detection Division. This year they fared even better, winning second place out of 14 teams.
“I’ve had several other institutions ask me to keep an eye out for a dog at the pound,” Oliver said. “We’ve even connected a few dogs.”
While Oliver’s demeanor is stoic, he recognizes how lucky a find K-9 Britt was.
“She’s a great dog,” Oliver said. “She’s loveable, she’s wired up. She checks on you all the time. If you move she thinks you want to go throw the ball.”
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate Gets Senior Night Shutout Over Navarre
April 21, 2017
SOFTBALL
Tate 7, Navarre 0
Hannah Brown threw no hitter Thursday in a Tate Aggie Senior Night 7-0 win over Navarre.
Brown pitched seven innings, allowing no runs, two hits, and striking out eight.
Hitting for Tate — Hannah Brown 2-4, RBI; Hayden Lindsay 1-3; Belle Wolfenden 2 RBI; Shelby Ulrich R, RBI; Madison Nelson 1-3, R; Shelby McLean 2-3, R, 2 RBI; Kendall Attaway R.
Thursday was Senior Night with special honors for Kendall Attaway, Tristen Cook and Hayden Lindsay.
Pictured top: Tate seniors Kendall Attaway, Tristen Cook and Hayden Lindsay. Pictured below: Senior Night activities. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Band Spring Concert Is Tonight
April 21, 2017
The Northview High School Spring Concert will be held tonight at 7:00 in the school theater. Admission is free. The concert will feature the concert band, advance guitar ensemble, vocal soloists, feature twirler and a cell/piano duet.
File photo.
Police Warn Of Parking Ticket Scam
April 21, 2017
If you receive an email saying you have received a parking citation within city limits and can pay it online with a charge card, don’t do it.
Neither the Pensacola Police Department nor the Downtown Improvement Board sends parking citation notifications via email nor asks people to click on links to pay the parking fine. Both the police department and Downtown Improvement Board only issue paper citations.
The police department was notified of the scam Thursday after a citizen received an email Wednesday informing them they had received a handicapped parking ticket. The email said a court appearance was required and listed the parking ticket number.
The person was then told to check the parking fine via a link and that they could either pay online by Visa or MasterCard or via an automated telephone system using a Visa or MasterCard.
Parking citations issued by the Pensacola Police Department can be paid in person at Coastal Bank & Trust, 125 W. Romana St., or by following instructions attached to the citation and returning them in an envelope addressed to the Pensacola Downtown Management District, P.O. Box 12332, Pensacola, FL 32591.
Parking citations from the Downtown Improvement Board can also be paid in person at Coastal Bank & Trust, via envelope, online at parkingticketpayment.com\pensacola, or by calling 1-866-890-2807.
Century Library Celebrates 10th Anniversary
April 21, 2017
The Century Branch Library celebrated 10 years on Thursday with cake for patrons all day. Librarian Pat Rigel is also celebrating 10 years at the Century Branch Library. Pictured below: Rigel, who has several horses, received sack of animal feed as a gift from Todd Humble, director of the West Florida Public Library System. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Falls To Chipley (With Photo Gallery)
April 21, 2017
The Northview Chiefs fell to Chipley on Tuesday, 10-3.
Hitting for Northview — Jamia Newton 0-3, R; Kendall Enfinger 1-4 R, RBI; Aubree Love 1-4, R, RBI, 2B; Peighton Dortch 2-3, RBI, 2B; Alana Brown 1-2; Terriana Redmond 1-3.
Tori Herrington pitched seven for the Chiefs, allowing nine hits while striking out 10.
NorthEscambia.com photos, and photos by Ditto Gorme for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fatal Motorcycle Crash Discovered Along Interstate
April 21, 2017
The Florida Highway Patrol said Thursday that a fatal crash discovered along the interstate likely occurred Tuesday night.
The FHP said 53-year old Rodney Earl Logan of Pensacola was northbound on I-110 and had entered the westbound exit ramp to I-10. Troopers believe he failed to negotiate the curve, traveled onto the shoulder and entered a wooded area on his 2014 Harley motorcycle.
Troopers believe the accident happened about 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday. They said the crashed motorcycle was not visible from the roadway.
Corrections Agency Scraps Prison Health Contract
April 21, 2017
Citing shortcomings in mental-health services at a South Florida prison, state corrections officials are terminating a contract with a private health-care provider months before the deal was set to expire.
Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones on Wednesday canceled the contract with Wexford Health Sources, giving the Pittsburgh-based company a required 180-day notice of termination. The cancellation notice means that Wexford will have to pull out of Florida prisons before its contract was set to expire in December.
Jones cited a scathing review this month from the Correctional Medical Authority about “the apparent lack of psychotropic medications prescribed and administered” to most of the patients receiving mental health services at a Doral facility.
The report, sent to Jones this week, included examples of inmates’ medications being cut off and inmates getting put in restraints instead of being treated with medications.
At the time of the correctional authority’s survey over a two-day period this month, only one of 37 inmates was prescribed psychiatric medications, according to the report.
“Although, not all inmates may meet the criteria to be placed on medications, the clinical justification for discontinuation was not always present in the medical record and often occurred without consideration of titration or possible withdrawal symptoms. Furthermore, there was no evidence in the records reviewed, that medications were considered when the inmate’s mental status continued to decline,” the report found.
But in an email to The News Service of Florida, Wexford took “strong exception” to the findings and accused Jones of not allowing the company to respond to the allegations before terminating the contract.
“We treat every patient under our care with respect and dignity, and with the full hope that we can help restore them to mental health. Isolated cases involving inmates with histories of mental problems would not appear to be the basis for termination of an entire contract,” Wexford spokeswoman Wendelyn Pekich said in an email.
But the report draws attention to the types of cases that have earned the department a black eye after reports of inmate abuse at the hands of prison guards and of corrections’ officers lack of training in how to handle mentally ill prisoners.
For example, the report documented the case of one inmate whose medications were discontinued after he was processed into the prison.
After entering the facility, the inmate’s “behavior escalated, as evidenced by smearing feces, multiple self-inflicted lacerations to his arm, as well as banging, threatening, and continuing to cut himself,” according to the report sent to Jones.
The behavior “continued for hours” until a clinician was notified, according to the report.
The patient was placed in restraints, but “there was no documentation that emergency medications were considered,” the evaluators reported.
“Secretary Jones is absolutely outraged at Wexford’s lack of performance and delivery of services” described in the report, the department said in a statement Thursday. “The department has been committed to meaningful health care reforms and takes the issues detailed in the CMA’s notification extremely seriously. Following this medical emergency notification, the department immediately deployed a mental health ombudsman and behavioral health risk management team to review all inmate mental health needs handled by Wexford at South Florida Reception Center.”
Wexford objected that, while privacy laws restricted the company’s ability to respond to the specific examples cited in the report, “there was nothing in the treatment of these inmates that should, or could, justify contract termination based on medical considerations alone,” Pekich said.
“It is extremely disappointing that the department acted without consulting with our psychiatric providers regarding the affected inmates, in order to determine why our personnel, relying on their professional judgment, pursued the chosen course of treatment. Instead, the department relied on CMA’s non-psychiatric auditors, who — without being licensed psychiatrists — told the department how they thought these patients should have been treated. These allegations led to the declaration of an emergency situation,” Pekich said.
Jones move to sever ties with Wexford came after after Corizon Health in late 2015 notified the state that it was walking away from a five-year, $1.2 billion deal three years early. The Tennessee-based company claimed it was losing money on its contract with the state.
Corizon managed health care for about three-fourths of the state’s 100,000 inmates, while Wexford — lauded by prison officials until recently for its performance — handles about 18,000 prisoners in the southern portion of the state.
Jones came under fire for signing a no-bid, $268 million contract with Centurion of Florida LLC in January 2016 to take over for Corizon. Wexford’s contract with the state was unaffected by the Centurion deal.
Jones decided to redo the health care services contracts in 2015, and issued an invitation to negotiate for select companies to submit proposals. Wexford and Centurion are two of the three companies vying for the contracts, which Jones has broken up into pieces, including mental health services.
Wexford, Centurion and Correct Care Solutions are all in the running to deliver mental health services to the state’s prison system. Centurion and Wexford are also vying to provide medical services, according to the corrections department.
The cancellation of Wexford’s contract is the latest twist in a drawn-out controversy over health care for Florida prisoners.
Earlier this month, the state and Corizon agreed to pay about $2.1 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by inmates who claimed the state agency and the company denied hernia operations to save money.
The embattled corrections agency has been under scrutiny for several years in the wake of reports of inmate deaths at the hands of prison guards, cover-ups regarding inmate deaths and allegations of retaliation against whistleblowers.
Appearing before lawmakers, Jones has stressed the need to beef up mental health services for inmates, citing treatment issues as a safety concern for prison guards as well as inmates.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com file photos.
Tate Beats Escambia
April 21, 2017
BASEBALL
Tate 7, Escambia 3
The Tate Aggies beat Escambia Thursday night 7-3.
Reid Halfacre was 4-4 for the Aggies with a three singles and a double.
The Aggies took the lead in the fourth with three runs — a double from Logan McGuffey driving in one run, and two runs on a double from Logan Blackmon. The Aggies added three more in the fifth with scores on a single from Halfacre and a triple by Mason Land.
McGuffey earned the win for Tate, pitching seven innings giving up three runs, five hits and striking out six.
Tate 14, Escambia 2 (JV)
