Rain Chances Going Up
August 15, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wednesday Night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 10pm and 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Thursday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93.
New Fire Chief Named Acting Deputy Public Safety Director
August 15, 2018
New Fire Chief Rusty Nail is now acting as deputy public safety director for Escambia County. He will be responsible for the direction of both Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS rather than a chief over each division.
“Both fire and EMS work together pretty much collectively, so instead of multiple people in charge, it will go through a single person to increase our efficiencies,” Public Safety Director Mike Weaver said Tuesday.
“Over the next several months we will be taking a deeper look at how we are organized to ensure that we have the best structure for lines of authority, responsibility, accountability and formal communication,” Weaver said, who notes the growth of Escambia County’s fire and EMS over the past few years.” He said many Escambia Fire-Rescue and EMS personnel will be involved in the evaluations and discussions.
Weaver added that combination paid and volunteer fire department remains a good model for Escambia County, and volunteers will remain in the department’s future.
Nail was named fire chief in April and started work in May. He joine Escambia County with over 26 years of experience as an accomplished chief fire officer including more than 12 years of supervisory and nine years of command-level experience, mostly in a fast-paced, large metropolitan fire department of 17 stations, with over 500 personnel and a budget of up to $100 million.
Nail joined Escambia County from Palm Bay, FL, where he served as the City of Palm Bay Fire Rescue fire chief and emergency manager and previously served as a battalion chief. Nail graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in fire and emergency services management and from Brevard Community College with an Associate of Arts in general studies and Associate of Science in fire science technology.
Prior to his tenure at Palm Bay, Nail worked for the City of Orlando Fire Department for more than 20 years, serving as assistant fire chief, assistant chief of planning, district chief and retiring as the deputy chief. Nail’s experience also includes working as a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician.
Escambia County’s EMS director resigned at the end of June.
High School Football Ticket Prices Increase
August 15, 2018
Football ticket prices are going up this year for school in Escambia County.
“Tickets for a regular season home game will be increased this year by one dollar to $7,” said Escambia County School District Athletic Director Roger Mayo. It’s the first increase in at least 13 years, despite increased costs to host games.
“Our families are used to paying more at away games and have often asked why we didn’t increase our tickets to match. While we have tried to keep the price down, the reality is, we need this increase to protect our schools from potential financial losses,” Mayo said.
Schools maintain the option of offering pre-sale tickets at the $6 rate.
Over 3,700 Gonzalez Area Voters Have A New Polling Place
August 15, 2018
Over 3,700 voters in the Gonzalez area will have a new polling location on election day.
Precinct 38 will now vote at the Gonzalez Baptist Church at 1590 Pauline Street instead of the Gonzalez United Methodist Church.
Voters cards and letters were mailed the voters notifying them of their new polling place.
The primary election is August 28.
GOP Race For Attorney General Gets Personal
August 15, 2018
With Attorney General Pam Bondi barred from running for another term, former Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Ashley Moody and state Rep. Frank White are locked in an expensive and personally contentious Republican primary fight as they seek to replace her.
White, a freshman legislator who is an executive at chain of family-owned auto dealerships, has used his personal wealth to fire shots at Moody. Among other things, the Pensacola lawmaker has charged that Moody isn’t a fully committed Republican, as she once registered as a Democrat and her family sued President Donald Trump nearly a decade ago for fraud.
Moody, a former prosecutor who stepped down as a judge in April 2017 after just over a decade in the position, has described White as a “car salesman turned politician” with no prosecutorial experience.
Moody professes support for Trump and has received backing from much of the party establishment in the Aug. 28 primary, with Bondi being one of her early supporters.
But Aubrey Jewett, a political-science professor at the University of Central Florida, said White’s ability to self-fund — $2.77 million of White’s own money has gone into the race, plus at least $438,000 more tied to the Sansing auto dealership and family— has allowed the liberal depictions of Moody to reach ears statewide.
“I originally thought Moody sounded like she may be able to take this thing,” Jewett said. “But being the regular establishment favorite doesn’t mean much anymore. It all seems to be where you stand with Donald Trump (more) than anything else. And clearly, White, from his ads, is trying to depict Moody as not Trump enough.”
White repeatedly points out that Moody initially registered to vote, while a teenager, as a Democrat, and donated to the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial campaign of Bill McBride.
White mailers have claimed Moody “fought for lighter sentences” against pedophiles and child pornographers as a prosecutor and judge. Meanwhile, a White campaign video ad states that Moody “was a lifelong Democrat” and that she “personally” sued Trump.
Moody said she changed registration to Republican while in law school, and the $100 contribution to McBride was made after she joined his law firm. As for the Trump lawsuit, her family was among a number of plaintiffs that settled in 2011 after claims of “negligent misrepresentations” by Trump and the Trump Organization over the scuttled plans for the 52-story Trump Tower Tampa condominiums along the Hillsborough River.
The winner of the GOP primary will move on to the Nov. 6 general election and face either state Rep. Sean Shaw of Tampa or consumer attorney Ryan Torrens, who are battling in the Democratic primary. Jeff Siskind, an attorney from Wellington also is running without a party affiliation.
White, 39, is a native of Amarillo, Texas, who received his bachelor’s and law degrees from Southern Methodist University, where he was student body president in 1999-2000, and the student representative to the Board of Trustees.
He initially practiced as an attorney at the firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld before moving to Florida in 2010. He became the chief financial officer and general counsel for the Sansing chain of auto dealerships in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi owned by his wife’s family. A local leader of the Federalist Society, he won election to the state House in 2016. White and his wife, Stephanie, have three sons.
Moody, 43, is from a family with a lengthy history in the legal profession. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and a law degree from the University of Florida and later a master’s of law in international law at the Stetson University College of Law, she practiced commercial litigation at Holland & Knight.
She later joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office as a federal prosecutor. Her husband, Justin, is a federal law-enforcement agent. The Moodys have two sons. In 2006, she was elected to the circuit court in Hillsborough County.
With more than $6 million spent by the campaigns and related political committees, the mounting acrimony has elevated what was already one of the biggest races in the primaries.
Moody said she has the background to run the attorney general’s office, which is why she’s drawn the support of Bondi and nearly every top elected law-enforcement official in the state.
“I think voters are looking for a leader, someone that shares their same political and philosophical views,” Moody said. “I’m a conservative, but I’m also someone who has experience prosecuting cases. … There is no question who those in law enforcement support.”
White points to his conservative “track record” as what differentiates him from Moody.
“Voters want a principled conservative that can be trusted to support the president,” White said. “I have a clear voting track record that can be examined. I believe the office is best served by a conservative, and constitutional rule of law is a matter that until my dying breath, as long as the voters trust me, is something I’m going to stand up to fight for.”
Both would follow Bondi by refusing to join a coalition of states suing the Trump administration over the separation of undocumented immigrant families. They also support her decision to take five of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers and four distributors to court.
White and Moody both oppose a measure on the November ballot known as Amendment 4, which, if approved, would automatically restore voting rights to felons who have served their sentences.
Also, they disagree with Bondi over the state’s arguments that a 19-year-old Alachua County woman should not be able to remain anonymous in a National Rifle Association challenge to a new state gun restriction.
The NRA challenged part of a broad school-safety law passed after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County. The disputed part of the law raises from 18 to 21 the minimum age to buy rifles and other long guns in Florida.
The Alachua County teen has sought to join the lawsuit and remain anonymous. White voted against the law, questioning the new gun restrictions.
“I firmly believe it went too far in infringing on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” White said.
Moody also said she wouldn’t have backed the measure due to the provision related to the age of gun buyers.
“There are, however, parts of the act that I agree with. I support the hardening of our schools, expanding law enforcement’s presence and role on campus, and providing more mental health screening and treatment to students,” Moody said.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Northview Football Teacher Of The Week
August 15, 2018
submitted by The Northview Chiefs
During the football season this year, members of the football team, both Varsity and JV, will be electing a Teacher of the Week based on the teacher’s hard work and dedication to inspiring the football team members in an academic setting.
Each week, we would like to invite the teacher to our pregame meal on Friday (if possible), to talk to the team prior to the game on Friday night and stand on the sideline with the team during the game.
Also, each teacher will receive a Northview football t-shirt.
This week, for the inaugural Teacher of the Week, the senior class voted and we would like to congratulate Mr. Shugart for winning the award!
Mr. Shugart has been extremely valuable to the football team by volunteering his time during the week to tutor the football team after school during the season and encouraging the athletes in class.
It is an honor to have Mr. Shugart represent the football team this week as we prepare to play host to Vernon in the preseason Kickoff Classic on Friday at home! Please come out and support the team in their first home game of the season. On Friday, both JV and Varsity will be playing one half each.
Meet the Chiefs will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. at Northview.
Appointees Sought For Escambia County Contractor Competency Board
August 15, 2018
The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners is seeking Escambia County residents interested in volunteering to serve on the Escambia County Contractor Competency Board. Five applicants will be appointed for service beginning in October 2018.
Escambia County residents interested in serving on the CCB are asked to submit a resume and cover letter to Jennifer Hampton, Director’s Aide, Building Services Department, 3363 West Park Place, Pensacola, Florida, 32505 or jahampton@myescambia.com by the close of business on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018.
All information submitted is a public record, will become a part of the official BCC minutes, and will be subject to public records requests.
The duties of the CCB include accepting contractor applications, administering contractor examinations, and issuing and recording Certificates of Competency and renewals; making an annual report; investigating complaints against contractors; and presiding over contractor disciplinary proceedings. CCB members serve a three-year term and meet the first Wednesday morning of every month for approximately two hours. Members receive $50 per meeting as compensation for their services.
Escambia County Code of Ordinances Sec. 18-56 provides that CCB members shall be appointed from certain representative segments of citizens and professions, including contractors, design professionals, business persons, and lay persons. The Board of County Commissioners is currently seeking the following for membership on the CBB:
- Business Person
- Architect or Engineer
- Three Lay Persons*
*According to the ordinance, a lay person shall not at the time of appointment be, and shall have never previously been, a member or practitioner of a profession regulated by the CCB or a member of any closely related profession. “Closely related profession” includes carpenters, painters, certified building inspectors, commercial construction supervisors, interior designers/decorators, fencers, landscapers, building material suppliers, and construction quality managers.
Wahoos Back on Track with 7-4 Win
August 15, 2018
The Blue Wahoos made McKenzie Mill’s (L, 0-1) Double-A debut he’ll soon want to forget. The Wahoos ambushed the southpaw with five runs in the first inning and never looked back in a 7-4 win Tuesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Mills, who was acquired by the Marlins on Friday, was chased out of the game after two-thirds of an inning. After Jose Siri popped out to open the game the next five Wahoos would all come home to score. With two on, Aristides Aquino blooped his first of three hits into right field to load the bases. Shed Long followed with a bases-clearing triple to make it 3-0. The next batter was Taylor Featherston and he crushed his first home run since joining the Wahoos to make it 5-0. After hitting Chris Okey with a pitch, manager Randy Ready went to his bullpen and Scott Squier retired Wahoos starter Seth Varner to end the first inning.
Varner (W, 8-2) turned in another winning effort with seven innings of eight hit, three-run ball against Jacksonville. There were moments where Varner ran into trouble. He allowed a home run to Brian Schales in the second inning, which brought the score to 5-1. In the third, he hit Joe Dunand on an 0-2 pitch, and Dunand would come to score after Jacksonville rattled off a pair of hits in the fourth. In the fifth, Monte Harrison barreled his 17th homer of the year to make it a 5-3 game.
However, the offense picked up Varner and came right back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead to 7-3. Taylor Featherston smacked a one-out triple to center field and scored on Gavin LaValley’s RBI-single. After a base hit from Okey, Varner picked up his first career RBI with a single to left to bring home LaValley.
Alex Powers (S, 16) closed out the ninth inning for the Wahoos for his third save in as many appearances. Powers struck out one and with a man on forced Brian Miller to pop out to short to end the game.
The Wahoos continue their five-game series against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Wednesday. RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (9-9, 4.16) will take the hill for Pensacola against RHP Nick Neidert (10-6, 3.23).
One Injured In Cantonment Crash
August 14, 2018
One person was injured in a traffic crash at East Kingsfield Road and Tate Road in Cantonment about 8:34 this morning. The injured person was transported to an area hospital by Escambia County EMS. The wreck is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Escambia Schools: No More Walking Kids To Class, New SROs, Metal Detectors
August 14, 2018
New safety and security measures in place this year in the Escambia County School District include metal detectors, additonal resource officers, and a new policy banning parents from continuing to walk their children to class.
“Some of this may have parents feeling inconvenienced, but it’s the little price we pay to have schools safe and locked down,” Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said.
Random Metal Detector Screenings
Metal detectors will be used randomly in middle and high schools. Students will watch a video next week explaining the process, and parents will be notified.
“There will single points of entrance on campuses, and visitors and parents will first go to the main office to swipe their driver’s license,” Thomas said.
No More Walking Students To Class
Parents of elementary school students will only be allowed to walk their students to class the first three days of school.
“After the third day, will not allow parents to walk students to class,” he said. “We don’t know who is suppose to be on the campus and who is not unless they checked into the system. We are compliant with the new security requirements signed by the governor last spring. Parents will need a yellow security badge from the main office. Will will question people in the hallway without one,” the superintendent said.
SRO or Armed Security At Every School
There is now a school resource officer at every middle and high school, and armed off-duty law enforcement officers from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office or Pensacola Police Department on every elementary campus. Last year, Northview High School and Ernest Ward Middle School shared a SRO, but there is now an officer full-time at both schools. The district’s other high schools, which are larger than Northview, have two school resource officers on campus.
First Aid Kits In Classrooms
By next week, every classroom in the Escambia County School District will have a first aid kit that include compression bandage and tourniquets.
“The kits will be there in the event you had a situation to keep the patient stable until EMS arrives, whether it be an accident or an active shooter,” Thomas said.
Pictured: A classroom at the new Kingsfield Elementary School. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.