Erma Estelle Higdon
October 23, 2017
Mrs. Erma Estelle Higdon, 89, passed away Thursday, October 19, 2017, in Montevallo, AL.
Mrs. Higdon was a native of Bratt, FL, and has resided in Atmore, AL, most of her life. She was a member of the True Hope Fellowship. She is preceded in death by her parents, George and Celia Dockens and husband, Bryan Higdon.
She is survived by her two daughters, Emily and Jim Allen of London, KY, and Marty and Jack Beeman of Montevallo, AL; five grandchildren, Heather, Jacob, Michael, Caleb and Kelly and 10 great grandchildren, Rylee, Reese, Rowan, Georgia, Hadley, Emma, Max, Drew, Shontel and Josh.
Funeral services will be Tuesday, October 24, 2017, at noon at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Bro. Doug Coburn and Bro. Jimmy Dukes officiating.
Burial will follow at the Judson Baptist Cemetery.
Visitation will be Tuesday, October 24, 2017, from 11:00 a.m. until service time at noon at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Jody Hardy, Billy Hardy, Jake Beeman, Michael Beeman, Caleb Beeman and Terry Reeves.
Morgan Questions Commission’s Planned ‘Shade’ Meeting Over Budget Appeal
October 22, 2017
The Escambia County Commission plans to hold a shade meeting Monday to discuss Sheriff David Morgan’s budget appeal to the governor, but Morgan is calling for that meeting to be held in the sunshine.
The BOCC will hold the private meeting with its attorneys Monday morning at 9:00 to discuss the pending appeal, according to a public notice.
“Florida has a long-standing policy mandating that meetings to discuss public business be conducted in the open,” Morgan said in a letter Saturday to Escambia County Commission Chairman Doug Underhill. “The law governing such meetings (Chapter 286 of the Florida Statutes) allows for closed Board meetings in only very limited circumstances — when there is pending “litigation” and when the subject matter of the meeting is confined to settlement negotiations or strategy sessions related to litigation expenditures.
“My understanding is that the subject matter of Monday’s planned meeting is the drafting of the reply to my budget petition. I am not aware of any settlement negotiations underway.”
Morgan also wrote, “The debate about replying to my appeal is not limited to “litigation” or “settlement” strategies. In question are the very type of public policy issues that by law must be addressed and debated in public, in the light of day. I was given very short shrift in this year’s budget debate. I find it unconscionable, and perhaps a violation of the Florida’s Sunshine Laws and policy, to close this meeting from public scrutiny when the subject of the debate is the EBOCC reply to my appeal.
“We have attempted to get straight answers about the budget from EBOCC and its staff. We have records requests that have yet to be answered, and have not been given straightforward answers to our questions. When we asked the County Administrator for clarification of budget issues, we were told that the County would not ‘do the math’ for the Sheriff. This does not give me confidence that the County is being forthcoming about the Escambia County Budget. Closing this meeting will further advance the notion that there is something about the EBOCC budget that EBOCC does not want the public to know.
“I call upon EBOCC to squarely and frankly discuss these issues in the light of day in public. You may want to consider additional legal guidance before closing the meeting. If you do hold the closed meeting as planned, in my opinion it is not in the best interests of our constituents, nor will it foster our working relationship as we strive to achieve a budget resolution.”
All county employees received a pay raise under a budget approved in late September by the Escambia County Commission — including Sheriff’s deputies — but Sheriff David Morgan said then that he still planned appeal his budget to Scott. The budget included $3.7 million to provide a 3 percent across the board raise for all permanent employees, including those at the Sheriff’s Office.
The budget approval cane at the end of a long summer in which Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan fought for pay raises and changes in the pay structure in his department in order to retain deputies. Morgan said the raises did nothing to stop pay “compression”.
Showers And Thunderstorms Likely
October 22, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Sunday Night: Showers and thunderstorms before 1am, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Low around 67. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly before 1pm. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Northwest wind around 10 mph.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 72. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 45. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 68. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 46. West wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 74.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 74.
Pictured: Saturday sunset in Bratt, near Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com photo.
Change Wars: Byrneville Students Help With Hurricane Relief
October 22, 2017
“Change Wars” at Byrneville Elementary School recently raised $430 for hurricane relief.
The “Change Wars” pitted students in grades kindergarten through second against students in grades third through fifth. Each group brought spare change to the school, with the the K-2 team taking top honors and earning a popcorn party.
The money will be used to help a south Florida charter school with hurricane recovery.
Massey Named Jim Allen Teacher Of The Year
October 22, 2017
Cheryl Massey was recently named the Jim Allen Elementary School Teacher of the Year. Massey has been teaching for 12 years, and she says family is very important to her. Her husband Joe works at David Bowen Sporting Goods. Her daughters Lauren, Jessica, and Katie are all grown or in college and all work very hard. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Archery, Crossbow Season Begins Drawing A New Generation Of Hunters
October 22, 2017
by Tony Young,
There’s a new kind of hunter afield these days creating a new trend. Young urbanites, many of them millennials, are taking up bowhunting. These young people are motivated by healthy lifestyles, organic food and the ever-growing farm/field-to-table movement.
During archery season, in addition to taking a legal buck, you are allowed to take antlerless deer, which greatly increases your chances of putting quality meat in the freezer.
Millennial hunters care about fitness, red meat and doing their own thing. Bowhunting is booming with this new generation of hunter, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Because hunting with a bow requires more tracking, these young fitness-minded people are picking it up.
Today, teen girls are being inspired to take up archery and bowhunting because of movies like “The Hunger Games” and “Brave,” and are motivated by a generation of women who are dedicated to the outdoors, fitness and wellness.
If you’re stealthy enough and have done your preseason homework, you have a good chance of having a nice one come within shooting range of your bowhunting setup. Early in the season, before deer are subjected to significant hunting pressure, they are more active during daylight hours. Once gun season hits, though, you might not see that big ’un again for the rest of the year, except for maybe a trail cam pic taken in the middle of the night.
Archery and crossbow seasons started Saturday in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Antlered or antlerless deer may be taken by bow or crossbow until November 22. Antlered deer can be take only by crossbow or bow November 27-December 1. For information on the remainder of deer season, refer to the maps and chart below or click here.
UWF Football Gets Third Straight Road Win
October 22, 2017
Quarterback Mike Beaudry had a combined 374 yards of total offense and completed passes to 11 different receivers as UWF remained undefeated in three road games with a 42-29 win over Shorter at Barron Stadium Saturday in Rome, GA.
Beaudry had his most efficient game as a starter, completing a career-high 25 passes on 33 attempts for a school-record 75.8 completion percentage with four touchdowns. He was also the team’s top rusher, finishing with 52 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown.
UWF (5-2, 3-2 Gulf South) totaled 432 yards of offense, including 322 through the air. Beaudry completed at least one pass to 11 different receivers, with scoring strikes to Antoine Griffin, A.J. Seward and Austin Blake-Smith. Griffin led the squad with eight catches for 99 yards and touchdowns of nine and 42 yards.
On the ground, UWF had 110 yards rushing on 34 carries for a 3.3 yards per play avg. Leroy Wilson complimented Beaudry’s numbers with 40 yards on seven rushes for 5.7 per run. UWF improved to 4-0 this season and 8-3 all-time when surpassing 100 yards rushing.
The Argonauts’ defense ended with four sacks, seven tackles for loss and a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown by Marvin Conley on the Hawks’ first play from scrimmage. They also held Shorter’s ground attack to 56 yards on 25 attempts.
After going 3-and-out on its first possession prior to the ‘pick-6,’ UWF found its offensive rhythm and scored a touchdown on each of its remaining four drives, taking a 35-14 lead into the locker room. Beaudry found Blake-Smith for a 12-yard score in the first quarter, called his own number from nine yards out early in the second before connecting with Seward from 37 yards and Griffin from nine yards for a 35-6 lead.
Shorter got some momentum at the end of the half, scoring as time expired to cut the margin to 35-14 before opening the second half with a Tyler Pullum to Lewis Hayes 75-yard score that made it a 35-21 UWF lead.
Griffin added his second touchdown early in the fourth when he took a crossing route through the Shorter secondary and into the end zone for a 42-yard play. The Argos ended with five passing plays of 20-yards or more – a week after posting eight such connections.
The Hawks added another score from Hayes in the closing minutes before the Argos ran out the final 3:33.
Shorter (0-8, 0-5) totaled 442 yards on offense with 386 coming through the air from Pullum who was 26-of-35. His top target was Hayes who registered 168 yards and three touchdowns.
UWF will return to action next week when it travels to No. 18/13 West Alabama (6-2, 5-1). Kickoff at Tiger Stadium in Livingston, Alabama, is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Free Speech And Middle Fingers
October 22, 2017
The anxiety leading up to white nationalist Richard Spencer’s speech Thursday at the University of Florida nearly eclipsed the tension on campus, where the alt-right leader struggled to deliver his message amid defiant chants of “Spencer go home!” from an audience dominated by opponents.
Spencer’s appearance culminated weeks of handwringing about free speech on college campuses, identity politics and how to handle a man characterized by UF President Kent Fuchs as a “racist” who “failed miserably” to disrupt the community.
The storm over Spencer, who held a prominent role at a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., that turned deadly in August, has subsided, for now at least.
But debate about the First Amendment likely hasn’t. Public universities may be exploring how they can avoid being caught in a similar bind as the one that confronted Fuchs.
Fuchs and politicos from Gov. Rick Scott to the mayor of Gainesville might deplore the separatist, anti-Semitic ideology Spencer and his ilk espouse. But while they can shun him, they can’t shut him up.
As Attorney General Pam Bondi, among those who urged people to boycott the speech, said earlier in the week, “you know, with free speech,” Spencer’s going to do his thing.
Voltaire is often mistakenly credited with the following well-known phrase, but it was coined by Evelyn Beatrice Hall, writing under the pseudonym S.G. Tallentyre, in a book about the French philosopher.
“I wholly disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
The message is more relevant today than ever, in Gainesville and throughout the state.
BOOS AND MIDDLE FINGERS
With their fists — and middle fingers — held high, a less-than-packed crowd shouted down Spencer as soon as he stepped onstage Thursday at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
Spencer, leader of the National Policy Institute, and the crowd jeered at one another throughout his remarks, in which he called America a “white country” and attempted to preach about what he and his supporters called the failure of diversity and the success of identity politics.
But the perpetual heckling quashed much of the dialogue, angering Spencer, who mocked the university students throughout his remarks.
“You think that you shut me down, but you didn’t. You even failed in your own game,” Spencer told the crowd before departing. “The world is going to look at this event and the world is going to have a very different impression … and the world is not going to be proud of you.”
Hundreds of protesters gathered on blocked-off streets outside the venue.
Inside, about 30 white-shirted supporters lined the front two rows, cheering Spencer and other speakers during the 90-minute event. Those in the front rows were separated by several empty rows from the more inflamed audience members who were targeted by speakers for supporting “anti-white” diversity.
Many students and faculty strongly opposed Spencer’s appearance, which Fuchs and others urged the university community to shun.
“This guy is out there espousing violence and hatred and anger,” Bondi told reporters Tuesday.
Scott, who declared a state of emergency in Alachua County this week, also urged people to avoid the event.
Bondi’s and Scott’s take on Spencer and his followers is “complete nonsense,” Evan McLaren, executive director of Spencer’s National Policy Institute, told The News Service of Florida in a telephone interview. “There’s nothing hateful about what Richard or myself or National Policy Institute expresses.”
UF had initially denied Spencer’s request to speak. But Fuchs said the public university couldn’t lawfully prohibit the event based on the content or views expressed in the speech.
In his speech, Spencer said he was glad Fuchs “stood behind him” and allowed the event to go on. That drew a hasty rebuke from Fuchs.
“For the record, I don’t stand behind racist Richard Spencer. I stand with those who reject and condemn Spencer’s vile and despicable message,” Fuchs tweeted.
Spencer said those in the audience, many of them students, were acting like “childlike Antifa” — anti-fascists — and that all the world will hear is “a bunch of screeching and grunting morons.”
His jibes were delivered over a crowd whose chants included “F— you, Spencer,” “Nazis are not welcome here,” “Go home Spencer,” and “Black lives matter.”
Fuchs praised how the university dealt with what he called Spencer’s message of hate.
For all the jeering Thursday, law enforcement breathed a sigh of relief that Spencer’s appearance didn’t result in the types of skirmishes that erupted on other college campuses where he has appeared.
A $600,000 security effort resulted in “a mostly peaceful day,” with “minimal acts of violence” and two arrests, according to a joint press release issued by various law enforcement agencies.
But those arrests did not include an ugly off-campus confrontation that wound up with three Texas men, two of them brothers, behind bars after “shouting chants about Hitler” to a group near a bus stop not far from the Phillips Center and shooting at the group, according to Gainesville police. The men were charged with attempted homicide, and held on bail of $1 million to $3 million.
At least two of the three men have shown connections to extremist groups, a press release issued Friday by the Gainesville Police Department said.
The men were arrested Thursday night when an Alachua County deputy spotted their car on his way home from working at the Spencer event.
A-WISHING AND A-HOPING … FOR SCHOOLS
Even as more than a dozen school districts are challenging the law’s constitutionality, the State Board of Education on Wednesday used the new “schools of hope” law to select 11 low-performing public schools to receive additional funding.
The schools will qualify for up to $2,000 in extra per-student funding over the next two years to carry out improvement plans that will include efforts such as tutoring, after-school programs, counseling and teacher development.
At the state board’s meeting in Jacksonville, Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said the schools were part of a group of 59 schools that had sought the funding. Schools that did not make the initial cut will have a chance to reapply in the near future, she said.
Miami-Dade County has five schools on the approved list, followed by Palm Beach County with three, Bay County with two and Seminole County with one. Polk, Orange and Duval counties were among those that did not make the list.
Stewart said she and Public Schools Chancellor Hershel Lyons will work on “strengthening” the proposals of schools that submitted applications but did not make the cut.
Lawmakers this year set aside $140 million in the new “schools of hope” program, specifying that a portion of the funding would be used to provide extra funding for up to 25 low-performing traditional public schools. The rest of the funding would go to “hope operators,” who could set up charter schools within five miles of “persistently” low-performing public schools.
Thirteen school districts have filed a lawsuit challenging numerous provisions of the “schools of hope” law related to the charter schools. They argued the law is unconstitutional because it limits the power of local school boards to “control and supervise” all public schools in their districts.
STORY OF THE WEEK: White nationalist Richard Spencer addressed a jeering crowd Thursday at the University of Florida.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The whole world was watching, and the whole world saw how we responded to a hateful and despicable bully.” University of Florida President Kent Fuchs, on white nationalist Richard Spencer’s appearance in Gainesville.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Family Health: Diagnosis Diabetes
October 22, 2017
by Dorothy C. Lee, C.F.C.S., UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County
Some 30 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes this year. How will their lives be affected? Diabetes does mean some big changes but you may be surprised how much diet flexibility remains.
The human body is a marvelous machine, made up of many complex systems. When everything runs smoothly, we are “healthy”. Diabetes is an example of what happens when things don’t work exactly as they should. People with diabetes cannot properly use glucose, also called blood sugar, the cells energy source. Some people make no insulin, which regulates blood glucose by helping it enter the cells. Other people produce too little insulin, or have trouble using the insulin they make, or both.
The exact cause of diabetes is unknown, but if you have a family history of diabetes, you are at great risk. The ADA estimates that almost half of all people with diabetes don’t know they have the disease. Some people ignore their symptoms until they have medical complications.
Some of the warning signs of diabetes may be symptoms of excessive thirst, unusual hunger, slow healing of infections, constant urination, blurred vision, weakness and fatigue. Recurring of these symptoms may signal the need to consult your physician.
A diagnosis of diabetes doesn’t’ have to mean dietary deprivation and boredom. The key dietary words are; low-fat, high-fiber, low-sodium, well-balanced and reduced sugar.
Exercise is an important factor in diabetes management for two reason. Active people have an easier time losing weight which is important for controlling glucose levels. Exercise also promotes the cells ability to use glucose, which in turn reduces the amount of glucose in the body to more favorable levels.
Stress reduction is an important part of a wellness program. Feeling stressed out, uptight, and edgy strains the entire body. We may not have control over the sources of stress in our life; therefore, change the way you react to life’s stressors. Physical exercise is one of the best stress reducers. Don’t take on more than you can handle. Use support systems, reach out to family and friends.
Diabetes affects many people and can have very serious consequences, but the good news is that your health habits can help prevent diabetes or reduce its impact on your health. A healthy lifestyle can help reduce the risks of disease that are often a complication of diabetes.
For more information, call UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County or email dclee@ufl.edu.
Domestic Dispute Turns Deadly
October 21, 2017
A domestic dispute in a vehicle turned deadly early Saturday morning on Pine Forest Road near I-10 in Escambia County.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, a family was driving home from the Pensacola Interstate Fair about 1 a.m.when a domestic dispute broke out in their car.
At some point during the dispute, an adult male was shot and died from his injuries.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is continuing their investigation. Further details, including the name of the victim, have not yet been released.
File photo.