Cool Week, Maybe A Shower
November 21, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 68. North wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. North wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 43. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thanksgiving Day: Sunny, with a high near 62. North wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 41. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 66. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 44. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 70.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 45.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 65.
Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 39.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 62.
FDLE Arrests Escambia County Man For Possession Of Child Porn
November 21, 2017
FDLE agents and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office today arrested Steven Michael Truax Jr., 30, of 2006 East Johnson Avenue, Apartment #C, Pensacola, Florida for 32 counts of possession of child pornography.
In September 2017, FDLE agents received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and obtained search warrants for Truax’s residence.
With the information provided by NCMEC, agents seized several electronic devices from Truax’s residence and located an application that contained over 200 child pornography videos featuring children in ages ranging from infants to young teens.
Truax was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office, First Judicial Circuit, in Escambia County.
Photo: Southern Snow
November 21, 2017
Pictured: Southern Snow — the sun sets over a field of white cotton Monday afternoon on Pine Barren Road in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Century Adopts Florida Forest Service Burn Regulations
November 21, 2017
The Town of Century has officially adopted the outdoor burn regulations set forth by the Florida Forest Service.
Mayor Henry Hawkins said the town could create its own burn ordinances or follow those of the Forest Service to address nuisance burning in the town.
Tips and requirements from the Forest Service to burn yard waste include:
Some tips and requirements to keep in mind before you burn yard waste include:
- Legal burning hours are between 8 a.m. and one hour before sunset.
- It is illegal to burn household garbage (including paper products), treated lumber, plastics, rubber materials, tires, pesticide, paint and aerosol containers.
- Piles greater than 8 feet in diameter will require an authorization from the Division of Forestry.
- Clear down to bare, mineral soil around your pile to prevent the fire from spreading.
- Don’t burn on windy days.
- Never leave a fire unattended – even for a moment. One gust of wind can cause a fire to escape.
- Grass fires can spread quickly. Be prepared. Keep handy a water hose, shovel or other means to put out the fire.
- Make sure the fire is completely out before leaving it – no smoke and no heat.
- If your fire escapes, call for help quickly. Several minutes may pass before a fire department or the Division of Forestry can arrive on scene.
- If your fire escapes, you might be held liable for the cost of suppression and damages to the property of others.
Minimum required setbacks to legally burn yard waste:
- 25 feet from any forested area (grasslands, brush or other wildlands).
- 25 feet from your home or other combustible structure.
- 50 feet from any paved or public roadway.
- 150 feet from any occupied dwelling other than your own home.
The information above applies to those within the town limits of Century and the residents of unincorporated Escambia County.
From The Farm To The City: A Thanksgiving Bounty For The Needy (With Gallery)
November 21, 2017
Students from schools in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties worked in fields near Jay Monday to harvest vegetables that will feed hundreds of needy families later this week for Thanksgiving.
The event at the University of Florida’s West Florida Research and Education Center was part of Farm-City Week, bringing the bounty of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences farm to the needy of the city.
The agriculture students from Tate High School, Northview High School, Central High School, Jay High School, Milton High School, LEAD Academy, Earnest Ward Middle School and Beulah Science Academy harvested produce including greens, sorted sweet potatoes and bagged freshly ground corn meal and grits.
The produce will be delivered at the Waterfront Rescue Mission Tuesday to 800 pre-qualified families in need Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
The event provided an educational opportunity for students to learn more about the crops grown in our county and to learn proper harvesting techniques to prepare the crops for distribution, according to organizers.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate Student Wins Gaetz’s Congressional App Challenge
November 21, 2017
Creative teenagers with a passion for STEM and cybersecurity ascended on the University of West Florida campus on Saturday for the Congressional App Challenge. with a Tate High School student walking away as the winner.
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz hosted the Challenge and STEM/Cybersecurity Expo. This marked the first Congressional App Challenge in his district Gaetz said.
Tate High School senior John Chamblee placed first with his stock investment trainer game app. Crestview High seniors Cody Morton and Dakota Waters placed second for their entry and Navarre High senior Jesse Hoskins finished third.
Chamblee said he plans to study cybersecurity at UWF next fall. He cited the opportunity to interact with industry professionals as the highlight of the day for him.
“That was the main reason for coming here,” Chamblee said before pulling out a stack of business cards from the pocket inside his suit jacket. “I wanted to talk to people from Navy Federal, Northrop Grumman and UWF Center for Cybersecurity.”
Gaetz cited the collaboration among academia, military and industry sectors at the Congressional App Challenge as an example of why Northwest Florida is primed to be the Cyber Coast.
“Every high-end cyber warrior in the Navy is going to come through Northwest Florida at Corry Station, and every high-end cyber warrior in the Air Force is going to engage in training at Hurlburt Field,” Gaetz said. “Our job as policymakers is not to export all of that talent. If we’re training them here and introducing Gulf Coast living, we want to make sure that we’ve got the jobs and the industries for those folks to ultimately come back to Northwest Florida and build businesses.”
Pictured top and inset: First place winner of the Congressional App Challenge was John Chamblee of Tate High School. Pictured below: Elizabeth and Deion of Tate High School explain to the judges and Congressman Gaetz the process they took to develop their “Free Birds” app. Pictured bottom: Participants in the Congressional App Challenge. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Seeks To End Satellite TV Tax Fight
November 21, 2017
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a challenge to the constitutionality of a state law that sets different tax rates for satellite and cable-television services.
Bondi’s office, representing the Florida Department of Revenue, filed a brief last week arguing that the Supreme Court should not take up the challenge filed by Dish Network.
The satellite TV industry has long argued that a law setting a lower state tax rate for cable services discriminates against satellite companies and violates what is known as the “dormant” Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
But in the brief last week, attorneys for the state argued that a federal telecommunications law prevents local governments from taxing satellite services. As a result, the brief said, the state set a higher tax rate for satellite services and shares part of the money with local governments. Meanwhile, local governments can tax cable services.
“If a state taxes communications services at the state and local levels, as Florida does, the only way to ensure that the state receives the same revenue from satellite as other communications services while ensuring that local governments may also receive revenue is to tax satellite at a higher rate and share the revenue with local governments,” the 49-page brief said.
The case has high stakes for the state, along with the cable and satellite industries. A 2015 ruling in favor of the satellite industry by the state’s 1st District Court of Appeal raised the possibility of Florida having to pay refunds to satellite companies.
The Florida Supreme Court, however, overturned the 1st District Court of Appeal ruling in April and sided with the Department of Revenue. That prompted Dish Network to take the dispute to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The state’s communications-services tax is s 4.92 percent on the sale of cable services and 9.07 percent on the sale of satellite-TV services. Local governments also can impose communications-services taxes on cable, with rates varying.
Dish Network contends the different state tax rates on satellite and cable are a form of protectionism that violates the “dormant” Commerce Clause, which bars states from discriminating against interstate commerce.
“In particular, it forbids a state from taxing or regulating differently on the basis of where a good is produced or a service is performed,” Dish Network said in a September petition posted on the SCOTUSblog website, which closely tracks the U.S. Supreme Court. “That’s exactly what the unequal Florida tax does. It puts a heavier duty on pay-TV programming that is assembled and delivered without using massive infrastructure within the state.”
But in the brief filed last week, Bondi’s office said the combination of state and local taxes can lead to cable services being taxed at a higher rate than satellite services.
“Because local governments set their own local CST (communications-services tax) rates, the statewide satellite CST cannot perfectly match the combined CST rates for other communications services,” the brief said. “But in all nine years examined, the average satellite subscriber paid a lower CST rate than the average cable subscriber, giving satellite a tax advantage every year.”
It is unclear when the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to take up the case.
(Disclosure: The News Service of Florida has a partnership with the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association for the Capital Dateline news show.)
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Gulf Power Employees Help Point The Way In The Blackwater Forest
November 21, 2017
Gulf Power’s Plant Crist and Environmental Affair’s stewardship teams spent a recent day volunteering in Blackwater River State Forest to help make sure hunters, hikers and other users don’t get lost.
Sixteen employees teamed up with forestry staff and fanned out in the 211,000-acre forest, where a maze of paved and dirt roads crisscross through the massive pine landscape. Armed with maps, dotted with stars denoting the signposts, they hunted for the weathered concrete pillars, some barely readable.
One-by-one they scraped off flaking paint and years of dirt, rolled on a new coat of bright, yellow paint and stenciled on road names. The newly painted posts stood out like beacons against the dark greens and browns of the forest.
The posts have not been repainted since 2011. Eric Howell, Forestry resource administrator, said his staff had completed maintenance on about half of the signs on the 800-plus miles of roads through the forest, but they still had 250 remaining.
“These volunteers were very helpful to our crews who have been busy with other projects,” he said. “Our road and fire crews have been deploying for wildfires and hurricanes and working on road washouts, and we’ve not been able to get this project done.”
While the project seemed simple, it took time for the Gulf Power team to travel to each post, clear away brush and hunt through a bucket of letters and numbers to assemble the street names inside of a stencil. They were able to complete about a fifth of the posts needing painting, progress Howell said is a “huge step forward.”
Volunteer workdays are part of the mission of the Gulf Power’s Environmental Stewardship program that focuses on protecting, conserving and restoring the region’s ecosystem. Employees volunteer several times a year to help organizations from Pensacola through Panama City with projects that benefit the environment and the people who use the environmental resources.
Jeff Cole, Gulf Power’s Stewardship coordinator, said this is the first time the company has volunteered for the state forestry service. Cole has a special affinity for the area, having grown up in north Santa Rosa County.
“Gulf Power with our parent company, Southern Company, have supported Longleaf Stewardship Fund grants that have helped with restoration in the Blackwater River State Forest,” he said. “We wanted to get our employees out to see what’s being done and help out the forestry service with maintenance. Having these roads marked clearly and all of the names updated and repainted where they are visible, really helps people more enjoy the forest instead of riding around lost.”
“It’s an impressive forest,” he said. “It covers the whole north ends of Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties. Blackwater River and Coldwater Creek and a lot of other interesting creeks run through it that you can canoe and enjoy. There’s a lot of recreational activities for the public out here, and I’ve always enjoyed it my whole life.”
Ryan Cowart, Environmental Affairs engineer, was volunteering for the second environmental stewardship day since joining Gulf Power in 2016, and he was impressed with the forest.
“I’m in the office most of the time, so I enjoy the opportunity to learn more about the community and its recreational opportunities and how we can help out,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve been to this state forest. I’ve been to Tuskegee National Forest in Alabama, but this place is much larger and has nicer roads and better signage.”
The workday opportunity gave Michael Weeden, Gulf Power’s newest Environmental Affairs cooperative student from the University of West Florida, a taste of what the Land Management degree he’s pursuing could entail.
“I never thought I’d be painting sign posts,” he said. “I’m enjoying it.”
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Nice Fall Weather Continues
November 20, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 60. North wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 40. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 68. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 47. North wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 41. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thanksgiving Day: Sunny, with a high near 60. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 39. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 63.
Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 43.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 69.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 47.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 65.
Century Audit Finds Millions To Be Repaid To Special Fund, Deteriorating Financial Conditions
November 20, 2017
A recent audit has uncovered numerous financial problems in Century during the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016. Those findings included deteriorating financial conditions that could result in a future “financial emergency”, $3.83 million in transferred special revenue funds that must be repaid, $1.4 million in expenditures in violation of state statutes, over $5,000 in a bank account that did not appear on the books and other deficiencies.
According to the audit obtained by NorthEscambia.com:
- The town’s overall financial condition demonstrates signs of deterioration which, if not corrected, could result in a future financial emergency. The town’s general fund borrowed $285,248 from its special revenue fund to cover general operations of the town during the year under audit. As of September 30, 2016, the general fund owes the special revenue fund approximately $3.83 million. The revenues in the special revenue fund are restricted for specific purposes, and therefore, these funds will have to be repaid or it will be considered an inappropriate use of the restricted revenues.
- The town reported 2016 fiscal year expenditures in excess of budgeted amounts of $1,424,694 for the general fund, which is in violation of Section 166.241(3), Florida Statutes. Budget-to-actual comparison schedules were not provided to town council on a regular basis during the fiscal year under audit.
- A bank account for utility payment receipts was not recorded or reconciled in the town’s accounting software and was not recorded in the general ledger. However, the account held a year-end balance of $5,078.
- Capital outlay was not properly recorded and the capitalization threshold policy of $500 was not properly followed during the year under audit. Audit adjustments were necessary to correct capital asset account balances in all funds. In addition, capital assets purchases are not consistently identified and therefore these items are not properly tagged and inventoried. This inconsistent recording and tracking of capital assets causes asset balances to be misstated and allows for possible misappropriation of assets.
- Several general ledger accounts were not reconciled to detail supporting ledgers in a timely manner, and audit adjustments from the 2015 fiscal year audit were not posted until June 2017. Town management adjusted several general ledger accounts, resulting in $163,386 recorded in miscellaneous expenditures in the general fund.
- Bank reconciliations were prepared each month, however these reconciliations did not properly reconcile to the general ledger, and lacked adequate and timely review. The review of the September 30, 2016 bank reconciliations, and posting of necessary adjustments for proper reconciliation to the general ledger records was not completed until August 2017.
- The town does not have a formal written travel policy. The mayor is receiving a travel stipend of $590 per month. The auditors recommend town management establish a formal travel policy that is compliant with Florida Statute 112.061.
- The town did not follow Florida statutes regarding the required submission of financial reports for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016.
According to the 58-page audit, the town is in agreement with the findings and will put a corrective action in place to address the issues.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.