No Dumping Rule To Be Enforced At County Community Centers
November 5, 2017
After problem dumping at a local community center, Escambia County Parks and Recreation has installed several “No Dumping” signs.
The signs were installed near the dumpsters at several community center, including the Walnut Hill Community Center, also known as the “Ruritan Building”, and the Molino Community Center.
The dumpsters are for the use of the groups that lease the community centers and those that rent them for events, according to officials, and are not for use by private citizens.
The signs were installed after someone was caught on camera placing an entire couch in one of the dumpsters at the Walnut Hill Community Center.
Pictured: New “No Dumping” signs at the Walnut Hill Community Center (top) and the Molino Community Center (below). NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Salaciousness In The Florida Senate
November 5, 2017
Sex, rumors of sex, and more sex dominated discussions in and around the Capitol this week.
The salaciousness started last Friday, when a Senate Democratic leader resigned from office after admitting he had an extramarital affair with a lobbyist.
The window peeping intensified early this week, after it was reported that an even higher-ranking Senate Democrat found a video camera hidden in a hallway near his downtown Tallahassee condo.
And the stakes got higher early Friday evening, when Politico Florida published a mammoth story alleging sexual misconduct by Senate budget chief Jack Latvala.
The focus on legislators’ libidos caused Senate President Joe Negron to spend more than 30 minutes Thursday answering reporters’ questions about his policy regarding sexual harassment. By Friday night, Negron had ordered an investigation into the Latvala allegations.
The fallout that started with former Democratic Sen. Jeff Clemens’s affair may have eclipsed other events, but it was a busy week in Florida’s political arena.
Another Democrat resigned from the Legislature, in a plea deal that had nothing to do with bedfellows but did touch on where she went to sleep at night.
Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine officially entered the race for governor, a move that was widely expected and had nothing to do with his or anyone else’s sexual hijinks.
And the Florida Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could tip the balance of the liberal-leaning court.
At least one lawmaker thinks it’s time to shine the spotlight now directed at lawmakers’ extracurricular activities elsewhere.
Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, pointed out that Clemens’ departure “brought to light a culture problem” regarding power, influence and relationships.
“We’re going to set up policies and procedures to address the problem. But let’s get back to what we’re here for. As much as I want to change every culture that exists, this culture has been here long before I’ve gotten here and it’s going to exist after I leave here because it is a male-dominated world. That’s the reality,” she said.
CLEMENS DEPARTURE LEAVES DEMS LOOKING FOR LEADER
Clemens abruptly resigned from his Senate post last Friday, after Politico Florida reported that he admitted having an affair with lobbyist Devon West.
Clemens, a political consultant and former Lake Worth mayor who was slated to take over as leader of the Senate Democrats after the 2018 elections, said in a statement he has spent the past six months “focused on becoming a better person.”
“But it is clear to me that task is impossible to finish while in elected office. The process won’t allow it, and the people of Florida deserve better. All women deserve respect, and by my actions, I feel I have failed that standard. I have to do better,” said Clemens, who spent two years in the Florida House before being elected to the Senate in 2012.
Clemens, 47, also apologized to his wife, his family, and “everyone that I have treated poorly in the past for putting you through this in such a public way.”
Clemens said he will continue in therapy and “will seek to personally apologize to anyone I have wronged while seeking forgiveness, and will spend my time being a better husband and father.”
Senate Democrats regrouped this week in anticipation of a vote as early as Tuesday on a replacement for Clemens, but remained divided about who should take over the leadership post.
Sen. Audrey Gibson, a Jacksonville Democrat and one of three remaining senior members of the caucus, is amassing support but faced opposition from Sen. Randolph Bracy of Orlando and possibly others before the vote.
“I think this whole week we’ll have people deciding whether they will or they won’t. What I do know for sure is we will have an election next week to replace him. The other thing I know is that I am not in that field,” current Minority Leader Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, told The News Service of Florida in a telephone interview early in the week.
The race for the next leader, who will be instrumental in raising money for the 2018 elections, will also affect a heated contest about who will be at the helm of the caucus for the 2021 and 2022 legislative sessions.
“Just technically, it opens up another slot that everyone who was running in `20-`22 was eligible for. And it gives people a chance to get their sea legs,” Braynon said.
The search for Clemens’ replacement comes after Senate Democrats were buoyed last month by Sen. Annette Taddeo’s high-profile victory over Republican Jose Felix Diaz in a Miami-Dade County special election. Former Sen. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, resigned from the Senate District 40 seat in April after a profanity-fueled and racially charged outburst at a private club near the Capitol.
Some believe that Artiles or his supporters were involved in the revelations about Clemens’ affair with West, a Broward County lobbyist. Artiles did not return a phone call seeking comment Monday.
Democrats are sure to keep Clemens’ Palm Beach County seat, but they may not be so lucky when it comes to a Miami-Dade County House seat now up for grabs after former state Rep. Daisy Baez stepped down.
Baez, a first-term lawmaker who had been considered a rising star in her party, left the state House on Wednesday as she pleaded guilty to perjury in an investigation about her legal residency.
In the plea deal, which required her to resign, Baez agreed to a single count of perjury, a first-degree misdemeanor. She will be sentenced to one year of probation, pay a $1,000 fine, and take an ethics course with the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. She is also prohibited from running for public office while on probation, which will keep her off the 2018 ballot.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT SCRUTINIZED
Negron insisted Thursday he has a “zero-tolerance” policy toward sexual harassment and wants to make it easier for workers to complain if they have been mistreated.
Negron’s remarks came during a lengthy exchange with reporters at an annual Associated Press pre-session gathering in the Capitol and were the first time he’d spoken publicly since Clemens’ hasty exit.
“We want people to feel comfortable to report any kind of misconduct in the workplace. It can be done confidentially. It will be investigated. And anyone who is found to be responsible for any type of misconduct, there are consequences set out in our rules and those will be enforced,” Negron, R-Stuart, said.
Negron drew fire last weekend for changing how the Senate handles sexual harassment allegations. The revised procedure appeared to block victims from lodging complaints with the human-resources department, but Negron on Thursday reiterated that the new process was intended to give individuals more — not fewer — outlets for help.
“The bottom line is we have zero tolerance. We have a pro-report policy. The new policy that came out in the administrative rules actually elevated the seriousness of any allegations. Instead of sending it somewhere in the bureaucracy, to say that the buck stops in the Senate president’s office, and that gave people multiple options to report, did not reduce options,” he said.
Under the new rule, workers are supposed to report allegations of sexual harassment to their immediate supervisors, the Senate chief of staff or the Senate president. Previously, employees were also able to complain directly to the human-resources department.
Late Sunday, Negron said in a memo that workers “can and should report sexual and workplace harassment to anyone they feel comfortable speaking with.”
Senate Rules Chairwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, and the Senate’s general counsel, Dawn Roberts, are “currently reviewing the policy to make it even stronger than it already is, based on input and feedback that we’ve gotten from senators and staff,” Negron said Thursday.
“I’m confident that we’re in a position where we will have a best practices policy. But from day one, we’ve had zero tolerance for any misconduct involving any members of staff,” he said.
The first test of the policy could come in the investigation that Negron ordered Friday night after the reports about alleged misconduct by Latvala.
“The Senate has zero tolerance for sexual harassment, sexual assault, or misconduct of any kind and takes this issue with the utmost seriousness. Any allegation will be immediately and fully investigated,” Negron said in a prepared statement announcing the investigation.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The Senate continued to focus on sexual harassment policies in the wake of the abrupt resignation of state Sen. Jeff Clemens, a Lake Worth Democrat who stepped down after admitting he had an extramarital affair with a lobbyist.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I am convinced that a lot of what is going on is an organized effort to tear down the Senate prior to session and make us weak so that we have a hard time standing up on the issues we care about.” — Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, on Thursday, a day before a report by Politico Florida that Latvala had acted inappropriately to women staff and lobbyists.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Central Water Works Issues Boil Water Notice Rescinded
November 5, 2017
UPDATE: The following water notice was rescinded the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 6
Central Water Works has issued a Precautionary Boil Water Notice for the following areas on their water system:
- Barnes Road
- Commalander Road
- Cox Road
- Crary Road from 4011 to 4811
- Holland Road
- McClammey Road
- North Century Boulevard from 3301 to 4500
- West Roach Road
- Thompson Road
- Whirlpool Road
The boil water notice will be in effect until at least Tuesday, November 7th. Central Water Works will notify customers when the notice is lifted. Customers are being contacted by phone. If Central Water Works does not have a current phone number for a customer, written notices will be delivered to residences today.
The boil water notice is due to a water main break at 3451 N. Century Boulevard around 1:00 a.m. today. Crews were on site by 2:00 a.m. making repairs until 9:30 a.m. During that time, a second leak was discovered on Cox Road near the intersection of Highway 29. Repairs on that leak were still underway midday Friday.
Deborah Downey Still
November 5, 2017
Mrs. Deborah Downey Still, 59, passed away Tuesday, October 31, 2017, in Atmore, Alabama.
Mrs. Still was a native and lifelong resident of Atmore, AL. She was of the Baptist faith. She is preceded in death by her parents, Billy Ray and Mary Elizabeth Downey; and brother, Maurice Earl Downey.
She is survived by one son, Justin Bryan Still of Bay Minette, AL; one daughter, Heidi and Nathaniel Dortch of Atmore, AL; one sister, Vickie and Terry Day of McCullough, AL; and seven grandchildren, Kirsten Still, Jadon Still, Bryleigh Still, Adalene Dortch, Bailey Knighton, Bentley Dortch and Aryonna Dortch.
Funeral services were held Friday, November 3, 2017, at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Burial was at Oak Hill Cemetery.
Pallbearers were Myles Downey, Lamar White, Danny Wilson, Ricky White, Norman Wilson and Ronnie Barnhill.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes is in charge of all arrangements.
Ruby Lee Tedder
November 5, 2017
Mrs. Ruby Lee Tedder, 81, passed away on Wednesday, November 1, 2017, in Jay, Florida.
Mrs. Tedder was a native of Jay, FL and a lifelong resident of Century, FL. She was a member of the Abundant Life Assembly of God Church. She is preceded in death by her husband, Mancel Tedder and daughter-in-law, Mikki Tedder. Mrs. Tedder was the last of six children.
She is survived by her three sons, Ray Tedder of Century, FL, Rickey (Tina) Tedder of Walnut Hill, FL and Kenny (Lisa) Tedder of Jay, FL; two daughters, Jackie Lambert of Century, FL and Tina Money of Port St. Joe, FL; 13 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Monday, November 6, 2017, at 10 a.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Joe Lee officiating.
Burial will follow at the Byrneville Methodist Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Travis Tedder, Aaron Money, Rickey Tedder, Dillon Tedder, Ryan Caldwell and Kevin Dixon.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes is in charge of all arrangements.
Ronald Dallas Moncrief
November 5, 2017
Ronald Dallas Moncrief passed from this life into the next on October 31, 2017, at the age of 84 surrounded by loving family. Ron was born in Cooledge, Georgia on June 13, 1933, and resided in Pensacola, Florida for the last 30 years.
Ron served his country with over 20 years in the Navy as a flying simulator instructor and worked on P3 instrumentation and avionics. He was an avid gardener and pilot and enjoyed numerous hobbies including painting, picking on his guitar and banjo, building model airplanes, and always enjoyed a good game of golf.
Ron is preceded in death by his parents, Sarah Henderson Blake and Louis Moncrief and by a sister, Carolyn Amrhein.
He is survived by his loving wife of 42 years Joyce Graves Moncrief; sisters, Sandra Mustoffa (Jerry), Martha Davidson (Merrill), and Kathy Ferguson (Tom); children, Rusty Plenkers (Suzanne), Ronda Nelson (Don), Steve Moncrief (Debbie), and Tracy King (Jeff); along with numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Services were held on Saturday, November 4, 2017, at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North, with Reverend Brian Calhoun officiating.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with the arrangements.
Brenda King Santinelli
November 5, 2017
Brenda King Santinelli, 63, of Pensacola, went to be with her savior on November 2, 2017.
Brenda was a loving wife, mother, Nana, sister, aunt and friend to many. She cherished time with her family and loved spending time outdoors.
Brenda is preceded in death by her mother, Jonnie King and father, Russell “Tony” King.
She is survived by her loving husband of 44 years, Mario; her son, Mark (Jodi) Santinelli; daughter, Melinda (Mike) Moulton; grandchildren, Dillon, Dustin, Chase and Shelby; her four siblings and numerous nieces and nephews.
Graveside services were held Sunday, November 5, 2017, at Gonzalez United Methodist Church.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with arrangements.
Michael John Simpson, Jr.
November 5, 2017
Michael (Mike) John Simpson, Jr. 88 of Gulf Breeze, FL, formally of Atmore, AL, passed away October 30, 2017, in Pensacola, FL. He was born in Montgomery, AL on April 27, 1929, to the late Michael John. Sr. and Susan B. Anthony Rae Simpson. He was a graduate of West Point class of 1951 and served in the 101st Airborne Division in the United States Army during the Korean War. He was owner and operator of Mike Simpson Fertilizer Company in Atmore, Demopolis and Tensaw River in Alabama and was an international business entrepreneur in Central America. He was a former member of St. Roberts Bellarmine Catholic Church.
His parents and a brother, Ray Simpson, precede him in death.
He is survived by sons, Michael John (Brittany) Simpson, III of Gulf Breeze, FL and Jose Luis (Cecy) Simpson Montellano of Aguascalientes City, Mexico; his daughters, Susan Magdalena (Juan) Simpson of Wharton, New Jersey; Susan Elizabeth (Omar) Simpson of Aguascalientes City, Mexico; Susan Brenda Simpson of Jacksonville, FL; Sheila SBAR Simpson of Gulf Breeze, FL; and 10 grandchildren, Marco, Anthony, Susan and Christopher Sanchez, Gabriel Emilio and Ana Paola Delgado Simpson, Kai Michael and Beau Asa Simpson, Francisco Lazaro Arias and Lola-Ruth Graham.
Services were held Saturday, November 4, 2017, from the Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Father Gordon Milsted officiating.
Inurnment will follow at a later date in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Self Defense: No Charges To Be Filed In Cantonment Stabbing
November 4, 2017
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office says a stabbing in Cantonment Thursday was self defense and charges will not be filed.
The stabbing occurred about 3 p.m. in the 700 block of Escambia Avenue in the Harvester’s Homes neighborhood after two people became involved in a confrontation. One person acted in self defense when stabbing the other in the neck area, according to Maj. Andrew Hobbs, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The adult male victim was driven by a witness to McDonald’s on Highway 29 near Old Chemstrand Road. The victim was transported from McDonald’s by Escambia County EMS as a trauma alert to an area hospital. An update on his condition was not available.
Pictured: The Cantonment neighborhood were deputies say a man was stabbed in self defense. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Fog Overnight, Low 59
November 4, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Patchy dense fog after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 59. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday: Patchy dense fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the morning.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. West wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. West wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. North wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 66.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 48.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 50.
Veterans Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 69.