Escambia 4-H Members Join 750 More In Green For 4-H Day In Tallahassee
February 23, 2018
About 800 members attended 4-H Day at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee Thursday, including over 60 youth from Escambia County.
4-H Day Day at the Capitol is a unique day where the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee is overrunning with a sea of 4-H green. The youth were able to learn about their state government and experience the political process first hand. Throughout the day, 4-H members heard from public officials, participated in educational workshops, and watched their legislators in action.P
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man Charged With Sending Explicit Photos Of Himself To Underage Teen
February 23, 2018
A Cantonment man has been charged with allegedly sending sexually explicit photographs of himself to a underage teen girl.
Zackery Ray Bowman, 21, was charged with two felonies — distribution of obscene material to a minor and cruelty toward child/transmit information harmful to minors.
Bowman allegedly sent the two photos to the girl using the account “Zack Bowman” on Facebook Messenger According to arrest report, he communicated on Facebook with the girl, trying to get her to cheat on her boyfriend, despite her requests to leave her alone and a statement that she was underage.
Bowman told her via Facebook that he didn’t care about her age, that age was just a number, the report states.
Deputies reported being able to see the photographs and messages and identify Bowman based upon the Facebook profile photos and tattoos on his left
Early Friday morning, Bowman was being held in the Escambia County Jail due to a violation of probation charge in an criminal mischief case.
Slight Chance Of Rain Today Otherwise Partly Sunny
February 23, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers after noon. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 82. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday Night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a low around 61. South wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Monday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. North wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 72.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 77.
Molino Museum Exhibit Features Midwife Bama Holley
February 23, 2018
The Molino Mid-County Historical Society is presenting an exhibit for Black History Month that features Missouria “Bama” Holley, a well loved and locally well known midwife. She delivered numerous babies in the Molino and North Escambia area from the 1920’s to the 1950’s.
Very little information has been found about Bama, mostly memories and stories which have been passed down through the generations.
Bama was born three days before Christmas 1877 in Alabama to parents that were likely slaves. She moved to Barth sometime shortly after the turn of the century. She married Aaron and continued to live with her three daughters in Barth. Census records from 1920 show her to be a 31-year old midwife, and her husband Aaron a 29-year old carpenter. In 1920 her daughters, considered to be Aaron’s stepdaughters, were listed as Janie M. Turner, 11, Elizabeth Turner, 5 and Mary Turner, 19. It is not known if the children were adopted or Bama’s children by a previous marriage.
By 1930, daughter Janie M. Turner had married to a Straughn in Molino. Janie died in 1943.
Bama was central figure in Barth, Molino, Cantonment and surrounding areas in North Escambia. She helped bring hundreds of children, both black and white, into the world, including the late Lillan Fillingim King. The museum housing the Bama Holley exhibit bears King’s name.
Bama died February 13, 1970, after a brief illness and is buried in Barth in the White Lily Baptist Church Cemetery.
The Bama Holley exhibit will be on display through February at the Lillian F. King Museum in the Molino Community Center, 6450 Highway 95A North. Museum hours are: 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and is open every day except Wednesday, Sunday and holidays. For more information, call (850) 587-2011. Admission is free.
Pictured (top row) Jeanette Ward Parker, midwife Bama Holley holding baby Charles Ward, Almedia Ward, (middle row) Jean Parker, Ida Parker, Jessie Ward, Jr. (bottom row) Doug Parker, Jacob O. Parker, Jr., Bessie Ward and Annie Ward in an undated photograph. Pictured below: The Bama Holley exhibit in the Lillian F. King Museum in the Molino Community Center. Pictured bottom: Bama Holley’s obituary. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Chiefs Shut Out The T.R. Miller Tigers
February 23, 2018
The Northview Chiefs shut out the T.R. Miller Tigers 9-0 Thursday night in Bratt.
Tori Herrington pitched a complete game, striking out 10 while walking one and allowing on hit.
For Northview: Ashley Ragsdale 2-4, 2RBI; Kendell Enfinger 3-4; Tori Herrington 3-4, RBI; Aubree Love 2-4, RBI; Lydia Smith 1-4. RBI; Valen Shelly 2-3, RBI; Heather Knowles 2-3 2RBI; Rylee Huskey 1-3, RBI: Sullivan 1-3..
The Chiefs will host Baker on Tuesday.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate Softball Destroys Pine Forest 21-0, 23-0
February 23, 2018
The Tate Aggies beat destroyed the Pine Forest Eagles with shutout wins in varsity and junior varsity softball Thursday.
Tate 21, Pine Forest 0
Hanna Brown had a solo home run over the left field fence for the Tate High School Aggies as they shutout Pine Forest 21-0 Thursday night.
For Tate: Deazia Nickerson 1-1, 2R, 3RBI; Amber DeCoux R; Shelby Ullrich 1-3, R, RBI; Hannah Brown 2-2, 2R, RBI; Belle Wolfenden 1-3, 3R, 1 RBI; Ashley Lunquist R, RBI; Madisen Nelson 1-2, R, RBI; Sydni Solliday R; Ryleigh Cawby 2-2, R, RBI; Kayliegh Cawthon R; Kyndal Bray R; Katie Snyder R; Gabby Locke 3R; Taylor Hedgepeth R, Avery Beauchaine R.
Tate 23, Pine Forest 0 (JV)
Lilly Locke had a grand slam over the center field wall as the Tate junior varsity beat Pine Forest 23-0.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Local Governments Wary Of House Tax Package
February 23, 2018
A $350 million tax package moved forward Thursday in the House, but local governments are fighting parts of the bill that they say could lift restrictions on “puppy mills” and adult entertainment establishments.
The House Appropriations Committee voted 18-7 to advance the wide-ranging package (SB 7087), which includes offering sales-tax “holidays,” providing some post-Hurricane Irma tax relief and reducing a commercial lease tax.
The package has run into controversy as city and county officials object to what they consider overly broad preemption language that would prohibit local bans on the sales of any goods subject to sales taxes.
Edward Labrador, a lobbyist for Broward County, said preemptions typically are designed to address a specific issue and noted the House proposal would have tied Broward’s hands in the past when it outlawed synthetic drugs called “bath salts.”
“We acted before the state did, and if this provision had been in place, we wouldn’t have been able to deal with that issue,” Labrador said.
Amber Hughes, a lobbyist for the Florida League of Cities, said the recently introduced preemption language raises too many questions, ranging from how it would impact local prohibitions on adult entertainment establishments to how scooters are rented.
“If we want to have an individual conversation about different preemptions, which I know we do pretty much every session, we’d be happy to do that,” Hughes said. “But doing it in the tax package maybe is not the correct place.”
Kate MacFall, the Humane Society’s Florida state director, argued the measure would eliminate rules that about 60 governments have on pet-breeding facilities.
“If this were to pass, it would allow stores to source from inhumane breeders, puppy mills, that keep animals in conditions that pet-loving Floridians would find appalling and unacceptable,” MacFall said.
Some lawmakers said the package should be slowed until decisions are made about the Legislature’s intended response to the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, along with related costs.
“Until we know what we’re doing the next three weeks, I’m not doing anything,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Coral Springs Democrat and a graduate of the school where 17 people were killed.
Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, expressed concerns about aspects of the preemption. But he said he was willing to work with bill sponsor Rep. Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, to tighten the language to address adult book stores and massage parlors.
“Being from a county in Central Florida, we’re very sensitive to the public-safety risks that come from human trafficking,” Brodeur said. “Our county has worked very hard to get these places out of our community. If this would blanket let them back in, I think it would undo about 15 years of work by our county.”
Renner, who is chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, defended the preemption language by saying the puppy mill issue illustrates the need for statewide regulations.
“If you have a situation where some cities have banned the sales of those types of puppies and others have not, you have not solved the problem,” Renner said. “You’ve not solved the problem for the puppies and you’ve not solve the problem for the residents of Florida. I think it, in fact, makes the case why in certain areas we need to look at statewide, and in some cases federal, preemption.”
Florida Retail Federation lobbyist Melissa Ramba also argued that local ordinances banning sales of select items create problems for business owners.
“Address the bigger problem, not the sale of cats and dogs. A retailer should be able to sell any legal retail product in Florida,” Ramba told the committee. “The ordinances that local governments pass only support online sales. They do not support your local business. You can still order a dog online and pick it up at the airport, even though you may have an ordinance that may ban the sale of cats and dogs.”
The overall tax package features a series of sales tax “holidays’ on back-to-school items and hurricane supplies and offers an 18 percent reduction in penalties for non-criminal traffic infractions — such as speeding within 30 mph over the posted limit — if motorists attend driver-improvement school.
Former State Rep. Irv Slosberg expressed concern that the 18 percent reduction in non-criminal traffic tickets would roll back some of the traffic-safety efforts he pushed while in the House.
“What we’re doing by lowering traffic fines by 18 percent, we’re really rewarding bad behavior,” said Slosberg, a Boca Raton Democrat.
Meanwhile, Democrats and public-school educators remain opposed to the largest part of the package, $154 million in sales-tax credits that businesses could take to fund voucher-like scholarships in the Gardiner Scholarship Program and the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program.
Critics contend the proposal would be a “giveaway” of public school dollars.
“For the first time, we’re going to give private schools a direct line to the sales tax, which makes up 78 percent of all general revenue,” said Rich Templin, legislative and political director of the Florida AFL-CIO.
Airport officials also continue to express displeasure with the package’s call to reduce the aviation fuel tax next year to 2.85 cents a gallon. Revenue from the tax is used to secure federal matching funds and helps pay for airport improvements.
The rate is currently scheduled to go down from 6.9 cents to 4.27 cents a gallon next year.
The package also includes a $6.7 million cut that would provide a sales-tax exemption for generator purchases by nursing homes and assisted living facilities. It also includes tax refunds on building materials, fencing and gas for farmers hit by Irma.
Another $34.1 million next year in the House package would come from reducing the commercial lease tax from 5.8 percent to 5.5 percent starting Jan. 1. That reduction would affect half of the state’s 2018-2019 fiscal year, and the savings to businesses would grow to $81.1 million when implemented for a full fiscal year.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Tate Aggie Tennis Teams Remain Undefeated At 4-0
February 23, 2018
Brick House: Northview Baseball Has Improved Field
February 23, 2018
The Northview High Chiefs baseball field that is sporting a brand new look.
The old chain link backstop is gone and the new brick backstop has been completed with new netting. The brick stretches from dugout to dugout, designed to enhance the appearance from both on and off the field. New concrete pads were also installed under the bleacher seating areas.
“The Diamond Club would like to express it’s sincere appreciation and thanks to all who worked on the project and especially to the many businesses and individuals who sponsor the baseball program at Northview High. Thank you so much,” David Preston, Diamond Club board of directors member, said.
Eric Scott Branch Executed For Brutal Murder Of UWF Student
February 22, 2018
More than 25 years after he sexually assaulted and murdered a University of West Florida student, Death Row inmate Eric Scott Branch was executed Thursday evening at Florida State Prison.
Branch, 47, died by lethal injection at 6:05 p.m. Central, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
Earlier in the day, Branch was visited by his daughter, who did not attend the execution. He had a last meal of pork chops, T-bone steak, french fries, ginger ale and two pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Branch was sentenced to death in the January 1993 murder in Escambia County of University of West Florida student Susan Morris.
In their appeals, Branch’s attorneys argued, in part, that Branch was 21 at the time of the murder and that brain development continues into the mid-20s, according to court documents. As a result, they contended he should be considered like a juvenile for death-penalty purposes.
The U.S. Supreme Court has barred the death penalty for people under age 18 because it would violate an Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. But the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the argument that Branch should be considered like a juvenile, saying that “the United States Supreme Court has continued to identify 18 as the critical age for purposes of Eighth Amendment jurisprudence.”
On the evening of January 11, 1993, Branch attacked Susan Morris as she walked to her car in the campus parking lot of the University of West Florida. Branch dragged Morris into a nearby wooded area where he severely beat her in the face and head, strangled her, and sexually battered her. Branch then left Morris’ body in a shallow grave covered with dirt and leaves, and stole her car to flee out of the state.
An Escambia County jury convicted Branch in 1994 of first-degree murder and sexual battery.
Branch was previously convicted for the 1991 sexual battery and beating of a 14-year-old girl in Indiana, and was subsequently convicted in Bay County for another sexual battery that he had committed 10 days prior to killing Susan Morris.
