Molino Feed Store Burglary Under Investigation; Bobcat Loader Stolen
January 4, 2018
A burglary at a Molino farm store is under investigation.
The break-in was discovered Wednesday morning when HH Feed and Seed on Highway 97 opened for business after a long holiday weekend. They found that a $30,000 Bobcat skid steer loader had been taken from inside a warehouse, and merchandise inside the warehouse was damaged during the theft.
The owners said the thief apparently cut power to both buildings at about 1:38 a.m. Saturday in an attempt to disable the surveillance system, and they destroyed cameras. The skid steer was then loaded onto a trailer and removed from the premises.
HH Feed’s owners are offering a reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect or suspects. They are hoping someone noticed unusual activity at the business after 1:30 a.m. Saturday, or noticed a truck and trailer there at about that time. Also, anyone that becomes aware of a white Bobcat T300 with a serial number ended in “8880″ for sale is also asked to call law enforcement.
Anyone with information on the burglary is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Pictured above and inset: Wednesday morning, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigates a weekend burglary at HH Seed and Feed on Highway 97 near Molino Park Elementary School. Pictured below: Items in the company’s warehouse were damaged during the theft of a Bobcat skid steer loader. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Work Set To Begin This Week To Replace Highway 97 Bridge
January 4, 2018
Construction activities are scheduled to begin this week on Highway 97 in Walnut Hill as crews replace the current bridge over Sandy Hollow Creek, about a mile south of Highway 4. The existing wooden-support bridge constructed in 1940 will be replaced with a new concrete structure with 12-foot travel lanes, eight-foot shoulders and a solid concrete barrier railing. The bridge approaches will also be milled and resurfaced.
Crews will begin clearing trees and shrubs to build a temporary detour bridge to the east of the existing structure. Once completed, traffic will be shifted to the temporary bridge as crews begin construction of the new structure. There will be weight restrictions on the temporary bridge. Vehicles weighing over 88,000 pounds and cranes will be prohibited. Work is anticipated to be complete in a little less than one year, weather permitting.
The temporary bridge will have a reduced speed limit of 45 mph.
The bridge has an average daily traffic count of about 5,000 vehicles. The project is expected to cost $5 million.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Transparency Eyed To Hold Down Florida Health Costs
January 4, 2018
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who has often criticized efforts to overhaul health care at the federal level, has contended for years that more needs to be done to lower the cost of what patients — and the government — pay for care.
But there are questions about whether Scott’s own effort to help drive down costs will be a success before he leaves office in early 2019.
The Republican governor and former health-care executive wants legislators this year to spend $925,000 for a statewide database of insurance claims that can be used to provide the average costs of care at facilities and doctor offices across the state. That’s on top of $4 million the state has already spent on the project.
While Scott is asking for more money, his administration is also moving ahead on a proposed rule, which some argue goes beyond what state law allows, that would require insurance companies or Medicaid HMOs that contract with the state — as well as affiliates of the companies and HMOs — to submit insurance claims on all of their Florida policyholders.
Justin Senior, secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, testified to a Senate panel last month that the state is going to take the claims data and publish the average prices for nearly 300 medical procedures at hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers across the state.
The information, he said, will enable people to “get closer to the point as consumers where we can actually shop for health-care procedures.” In other words, if consumers know the price ahead of time, they will be able to search for the least-expensive alternative.
An early iteration of the state website, FloridaHealthPriceFinder.com has been available to the public and contains cost information on 295 health-care bundles, ranging from acne to X-rays. The Agency for Health Care Administration signed a contract with Health Care Cost Institute, or HCCI, to collect and make available Florida-specific claims data and to develop and carry out an interactive consumer website that displays the information.
AHCA spokeswoman Shelisha Coleman said the site had 3,288 visitors between Nov. 28 when it was first launched and Jan. 2.
But some people, including House Health Quality Chairman James Grant, are concerned the information may not be utilized the way the state would like.
Grant, R-Tampa, calls himself an ardent supporter of making information on health-care costs available to consumers. But he said he’s concerned the state missed the opportunity to ensure widespread use of the information because it did not require the new website to have application program interface, or API.
In short, APIs allow one application to share data with another application, and Grant said the state should never sign another technology contract that doesn’t mandate APIs.
“There is so little data made available to consumers,” Grant said, adding, “a government website is probably not the most meaningful place to get adoption.”
Scott championed increased health-care transparency in 2016, a year after a bruising legislative battle over expanding Medicaid access to uninsured, childless adults. In lieu of expanding Medicaid access, Scott said he would help uninsured Floridians by working to lower the costs of health care.
The Legislature responded in part by giving the green light to an all-payers claims database requiring health insurers that participate in the state group health-insurance plans — and the insurers’ affiliates — to submit claims data to the state. The bill also required health plans that participate in the Medicaid managed-care program and their affiliates to submit all claims data on Florida policyholders.
In addition to approving the database, the Legislature also agreed to provide more than $4 million to AHCA to pay for the creation of the database and website.
The website shows the average costs insurance companies paid for services, not the average costs hospitals or providers charged for the services. Health Care Cost Institute Director of Operations Kristine Burnaska said uninsured patients often are quoted undiscounted prices that are much higher than what health-care facilities agree to accept as payment from insurance companies.
“Providing uninsured consumers with the average amount that a facility might receive from an insurance company gives the consumer a starting point for price/payment negotiations with the facility,” she said.
Epilepsy Foundation of Florida CEO and President Karen Egozi has worked with uninsured people and those who suffer from epilepsy since 2005. Also, in 2010, her association became a navigator to help people who qualify for subsidized insurance coverage through the federal health exchange.
She said consumers don’t think about negotiating health-care costs with providers and questioned whether providers would agree to negotiate. Egozi said people she helps are less interested in what insurance companies pay to reimburse hospitals and are more interested in what they will have to pay in premiums and co-insurance or co-payments.
Scott is not alone in his push to increase price transparency. Many health insurance companies offer tools to customers to help them research health-care costs before deciding which providers to see or where to go to the hospital, said Florida Association of Health Plans President and CEO Audrey Brown.
Toni Woods, of Florida Blue, said the Jacksonville-based insurer tries to educate customers about costs of care — as well as their portions of the costs of care —- in a variety of ways and has made available a cost estimator that it dubs “Know Before You Go.”
The system allows customers to compare medical costs for several procedures, find providers and pharmacies and compare drug prices. She said it was used more than 193,000 times in 2017 by members who wanted to compare medical costs.
Meanwhile, the plan is to update the state’s price website this spring with Florida-specific claims data. To that end, the Agency for Health Care Administration held a rule workshop over the summer where the insurance industry expressed concerns that the rule may go beyond what the law authorizes.
Tallahassee Attorney Bruce Platt noted in written remarks that the law applies to HMOs and insurance companies that provide group benefits to employers but appears to also include claims for individual policies, such as those sold through the federal health-care exchange.
Moreover, in his two-page letter to the Agency for Health Care Administration, Platt flagged concerns that the proposed rule required self-insured employers to submit claims data to the state. Insurance companies and HMOs that provide “administrative services” to self-insured employers don’t own the data and cannot release the data without permission from the employer clients, he said.
While the agency didn’t respond to all of Platt’s concerns, it republished the proposed rule to make clear that the self-insured claims data would be released to the state “with the employers permission.”
by Christine Sexton, The News Service of Florida
Brrr! Dangerous Cold, Freeze Warning Again
January 4, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Clear, with a low around 19. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 46. Wind chill values between 15 and 25 early. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 22. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 51. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29. East wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 54. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Showers, mainly after midnight. Low around 47. Southeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Monday: Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after noon. High near 62. Southeast wind around 10 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers before midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 58.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 43.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49.
Thursday: A slight chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 65.
Report: Florida’s Ag, Natural Resources Industries Strengthening
January 4, 2018
New financial figures from Florida’s agricultural and natural resources sector show that the state’s economy continues to rebound from the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
In calendar year 2015, Florida’s agricultural, natural resources and food industries provided $132.04 billion in value-added contributions to the state’s economy, an increase of 2.6 percent over 2014, according to a study published by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Since 2009, this statistic has seen an average increase of 2.3 percent every year, in inflation-adjusted terms, indicating that the agricultural and natural resources sector has been making a steady recovery from the recession.
Similarly, in 2015, Florida had 2.27 million full-time and part-time jobs directly and indirectly connected to agricultural, natural resources and food industries, an increase of 2.8 percent from 2014, the report said. This statistic has seen an average increase of 3.2 percent every year since 2009.
These latest increases are good news, said Alan Hodges, a UF/IFAS Extension economist and lead author of the report, “Economic Contributions of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Food Industries in Florida in 2015.” The report is available at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe1020. Hodges and a team of colleagues generate a similar report each year, using the most recent data available.
“You always like to see these trends headed in a positive direction,” Hodges said. “Florida’s agricultural, natural resources and food industries have rebounded strongly since the Great Recession officially ended in 2009.”
The 2015 increases can be credited to numerous factors, he said, but perhaps the most noteworthy was the state’s recent population growth and the increased building construction activity that comes with it. Construction represents increased demand for forest products used in buildings, landscaping with ornamental plants and food purchased from stores and restaurants.
“One of the main points we’ve been trying to get across with our annual report is that the agricultural and natural resources sector is more than farming, it has links back to suppliers and forward to employee households that make purchases in the local economy.”
Hodges developed the current report with UF/IFAS food and resources economics department colleagues Mohammad Rahmani, an economic analyst, and Christa Court, an assistant scientist. To develop estimates of overall economic activity, they used data supplied by federal, state and county databases and analytical software known as the IMPLAN regional economic modeling system.
by UF/IFAS Extension.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
2018 Elections: Which Local Candidates Are On The Ballot?
January 4, 2018
The following local offices are up for election in 2018. The Primary Election will be held August 28, 2018, and the General Election will be November 6, 2018.
Century Town Council
- Council Seat 3: Ben Boutwell
- Council Seat 4: Gary Riley
- Council Seat 5: Sandra McMurray Jackson
Pensacola City
- Mayor: Ashton Hayward
- Council District 2: Sherri Myers
- Council District 4: Larry Johnson
- Council District 6: Brian Spencer
Escambia County Commission
- District 2: Doug Underhill
- District 4: Grover Robinson
Escambia School Board
- District 1: Kevin Adams
- District 2: Gerald Boone
- District 3: Lee Hansen (Linda Moultrie resigned)
Judicial County Court
- County Court Judge Group 2: Joyce H. Williams
- County Court Judge Group 4: Amy P. Brodersen
- County Court Judge Group 5: Kerra A. Smith
Special Districts
- ECUA District 2: Lois Benson
- ECUA District 4: Dale Perkinsfsan
- SRIA: Thomas A. Campanella
- Escambia Soil & Water Group 1: Betty Wilson
- Escambia Soil & Water Group 2: Austin Courson
- Escambia Soil & Water Group 4: Lynn Laird
What to Do With Your Holiday Plants
January 4, 2018
by UF/IFAS Extension
People often give and receive decorative plants during the holiday season. Many of these plants can last long past the holidays, but only if you care for them properly.
Use the following tips to keep Christmas cactus, poinsettia, amaryllis, kalanchoe, and cyclamen healthy and vibrant long after the holidays are over.
Light & Water Conditions
Keep your holiday plants in bright, indirect light, such as a sunny window. You can also put plants under incandescent or fluorescent lamps if a room is too dim.
Keep the room temperature cool. The ideal temperature ranges are 65º–75ºF during the day and 50º –60ºF at night.
Make sure the plants are watered enough to stay evenly moist, but do not overwater. Even Christmas cactuses need to be regularly watered since they are not true cactuses.
Flowering
Most plants are already flowering when you give or receive them. Eventually the flowers will fade and you should remove them.
You can prepare some plants for next season’s flowering. Remember that plants like poinsettia and Christmas cactus need to be kept away from artificial light at night to stimulate flowering, usually beginning around October.
Amaryllis
Since amaryllis is a bulb, it easily flowers if you force the bulb. After the last flower fades, remove the bloom stalk, but let the leaves continue to grow. Keep amaryllis under bright light and fertilize it regularly.
In late summer, the leaves will die and the bulb will go into a resting stage. Reduce the amount of water it receives, and store the bulb in a cool, dry place for two to three months.
Begin watering again, and the bulb should reflower in four to six weeks.
Poinsettias
Poinsettias are hard for home gardeners to force to reflower.
When the poinsettia begins to drop its leaves, this signals the start of its resting stage. At this time, only water the poinsettia often enough to keep the stems and roots from drying out.
In April, prune the stems to six inches high, resume a regular watering and fertilization schedule, and place it where it will receive bright light that is not direct.
Planting
Most holiday plants are cold-sensitive, so only people in the southern part of Florida can consider planting their holiday plants outdoors without too much worry. Residents in northern parts of Florida can try growing their plants outdoors, but will most likely need to pay attention to weather reports and have some way of protecting plants from the cold.
Select the plants that have remained healthy and lush, and plant them after the chance of frost is past.
Look up plants in our Garden A-Z index or look for related articles on EDIS to find specific growing conditions your plants need outdoors.
Poinsettias
Plant your poinsettia in a sunny spot that will not receive artificial light at night. The soil should be well drained.
Cut off fading bracts, leaving four to six inches of stem on the branches. Mulch around the plant, and keep it well watered during establishment.
Fertilize monthly from March to October in South and Central Florida or May to September in North Florida.
Prune regularly during the growing season to keep the poinsettia from looking “leggy.” Stop pruning in September, and flower buds will form in October.
If the plant was damaged by cold, cut it back to 12–18 inches off the ground or to living tissue in the spring after the chance of frost is passed.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Kay Lea Pray
January 4, 2018
Kay Lea Pray, 62, passed away unexpectedly December 24, 2017, at Sacred Heart Hospital. Kay was born December 1, 1955, in Bloomington, Indiana.
Kay is preceded in death by her parents, David Lewis Young and Vivian Delores Young; infant son, Gregory Samuel Pray; and brother, David Earl Young (Robin).
Kay is survived by her son, Mark Pray; daughter, Angela Ransburgh and husband Russ; daughter-in- law, Beth Spalding; brothers, Paul Norman Young and George Edward Young; grandchildren, Kayla Bennett, Kyle Bennett, Rachelle Ransburgh, and Khloe Ransburgh; and numerous relatives and friends. She is also survived by her beloved dog, Duke.
Kay was a loving family member and friend. She will be dearly missed. Her smile and laughter will be missed by all who knew her. Her personality filled every room she entered.
Memorial services will be held Saturday, January 6, 2018, at 2 p.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North with Reverend Bill Flannigan officiating.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with arrangements.
Honor After All: Man Settles Up For Corn Taken From Farmer
January 4, 2018
UPDATE 1/4/2018 10:15 a.m. — Walnut Hill farmer Wes Eicher says it turns out there is good in the world after all. He said that after the photos and video in this story went public, the pictured man’s boss paid up for the stolen corn. And he even paid extra which Eicher is donating to a local charity. The man will be stopping by later to apologize. Eicher said he was told the man had been involved in an argument on the phone and simply forgot to pay for the corn. Eicher is dropping his complaint with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and no charges will be fled.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Just before 6 p.m. Tuesday, the man pulls up the farmer’s roadside location on South Highway 99 near Eicher Road. He appears to check sales bin near the road and find it to be empty. He then pulls his Dodge Ram 1500 pickup up to the building and steals the final four remaining 50 pound bags of deer corn from a pallet. He leaves without making payment in an honor box.
Anyone with information on the theft is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
The complete surveillance video is at the bottom of this page. Note that the video date is incorrect; the theft occurred January 2.
Images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Gary Alan George
January 4, 2018
Gary was born on February 10, 1949, in Washington, MO to Alphy Pies George and Littie Mildred (Bull) George. He moved to Pensacola, FL with his family and attended Escambia County public schools. He graduated from Tate High School in 1967. He enlisted in the United States Marines in November 1968. He served in Vietnam receiving three service medals and also earned a good conduct medal. He was then transferred to the Marine Corps Reserves where he completed his Marine obligations and was given an honorable discharge. In civilian life he was primarily self-employed as a roofer on commercial buildings. He was an accomplished bull rider and enjoyed the shooting sports.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Pies and Mildred George; a sister, Darlene Strickland; nephew, Gordon Strickland; and niece, Tami Lynn Tosie.
He is survived by his brother, Donald George (Blanche); sister, Farajean Tosie {Ted); and nephews, Bruce George (Debra), Charles George (Karen), Lex Strickland, Dennis Strickland, Mark Strickland, Terry Tosie (Karen), Forrest Tosie (Patricia), Tim Tosie (Karen), and Patrick Tosie; and niece, Toni Lee Hilderbrand (Keith).
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your chosen charity.
Pallbearers will be Bruce George, Charles George, Terry Tosie, Tim Tosie, Patrick Tosie and Dennis Strickland.
Honorary pallbearers will be Joseph George, Alex George and Carl Culbertson.
Visitation will be Wednesday, January 10, 2018, at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North beginning at 11 a.m. with the funeral service to follow at 11:30 a.m. Donald George will be officiating.
Interment will follow at Barrancas National Cemetery.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with the arrangements.