Sample Ballots Are On The Way
August 11, 2018
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David H. Stafford has announced that sample ballots for the August 28 Primary Election are being mailed to Escambia County voters. The sample ballot includes a ballot image, the voter’s polling location and information on the three ways to vote: early, vote-by-mail, and on Election Day. A sample ballot is also available at EscambiaVotes.com.
Voters have three different ways to cast their ballot:
By Mail: Voters may vote by mail using a vote-by-mail ballot, which can be requested through the online form at EscambiaVotes.com, or by contacting the Supervisor of Elections by mail, phone (850) 595-3900, e-mail (votebymail@escambiavotes.com), or fax (850) 595-3914. Requests must include the voter’s date of birth and the address, and must be received no later than Wednesday, August 22. Voted ballots must be received in the Elections Office no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day and may not be returned to a polling location. Vote-by-mail voters may track the status of their ballot at EscambiaVotes.com by clicking Track My Ballot.
Early Voting: Early voting will be available Saturday, August 18 through Saturday, August 25 at eight different locations. Early voters will cast paper ballots through our digital scanners.
Early voting will be held at the following locations and times:
- Supervisor of Elections Office, 213 Palafox Place, Second Floor, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Main Library, 239 Spring Street, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Molino Community Center, 6450-A Highway 95A, Molino, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Genealogy Branch Library, 5740 B, 9th Avenue, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Mobile Hwy/Pine Forest Rd Early Voting Center, 6675 Pine Forest Road, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Escambia County Extension, 3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Brownsville Community Center, 3200 W. DeSoto Street, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
At Your Precinct: The third option for voters is to cast a paper ballot at their precinct on Election Day, August 28. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. An ExpressVote ballot marking device is also available at each polling place and early voting site for persons with disabilities.
As a reminder, Florida holds closed primary elections. In partisan primary elections, you are only eligible to vote in primary contests for the party in which you are registered, unless it is a universal primary or nonpartisan contest.
Fall Veggies Are Cool To Grow
August 11, 2018
by UF/IFAS Extension Service
In Northwest Florida, vegetable lovers can enjoy harvests from their backyard gardens throughout the year. However, to ensure a productive and enjoyable vegetable garden, you must understand and abide by planting times.
In general, vegetable crops can be grouped into warm-season and cool-season varieties. Warm-season crops do not grow well at temperatures below 50 degrees F and are killed by frost. Cool-season crops are those that grow at lower temperatures, are not injured by light frost, but can’t take the heat.
In late summer and early fall, North Florida gardeners experience a unique opportunity. You can still plant another round of warm-season crops and/or start your cool-season vegetables.
Planting of warm-season vegetables gets to be more critical with the fall garden because we have an end point—frost and freezes. When planted too late, plants will grow, but may not provide enough of a harvest to make the effort worthwhile. Examples are peppers, eggplants and tomatoes. These vegetables can easily take up to two months from transplanting to producing the first fruit. All the time, the fall is getting shorter in day length and cooler in temperatures. That’s really tough on “warm-loving,” full-sun plants.
Since timing is so important with the fall crop, choose warm-season crops that will produce well within a short time. Look for fast-maturing and determinant or bush-type cultivars to ensure a good yield before frost.
Crops to plant outdoors in August include bush and lima beans, cauliflower, collards, cucumbers, onions, southern peas, peppers, squash, tomato and turnips.
In September, you can set out beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, endive, kale, kohlrabi, mustard and radish.
The cooler temperatures of October are better for planting Chinese cabbage, lettuce and spinach.
To find specific recommendations on when to plant vegetables in Florida, read the UF/IFAS “Vegetable Gardening Guide”. It’s online at edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh021
The leafy crops excel in the fall. Some of the more popular leafy crops are Swiss chard, collards, spinach, mustard, turnip greens and lettuce. Endive, escarole, kale, arugula and the greens of mesclun mix also do very well during the cooler months.
Garden lettuces can be divided into three classes based on habit of growth – leaf or loose-leaf types, semi-heading types (such as butterhead and romaine) and heading or crisp-head types.
Crisp-head lettuces, such as the iceberg types available in supermarkets, are more of a challenge to grow here, so its recommend you stay with the leaf and semi-heading varieties. Other than generally avoiding the heading types, feel free to try just about any variety that strikes your fancy.
Leaf lettuces are the most decorative and least-demanding. They also are among the most heat-tolerant lettuces. This type of lettuce grows in a loose rosette of foliage, and the leaves can be smooth or crinkled, pointed, lobed, curled or ruffled. Foliage color runs from deep ruby red to dark green to pale greenish yellow, with just about every combination in between.
Collards will withstand wide ranges of temperatures if properly conditioned. They may be direct seeded and or plants can be transplanted. Collards may be harvested by cutting the whole plant or by “cropping” individual leaves.
Onions are generally grown from sets or plants. Sets and plants will require about six to eight weeks to reach eating size. Bulbing onions will not be ready to harvest until spring.
Radishes are fast growers and fun for the kids. Many are ready to harvest 25 to 30 days after planting.
So take the leap and “fall” into vegetable gardening.
Century Meeting Canceled Due To No Shows; Public Notice Questioned
August 11, 2018
An citizen’s advisory committee meeting in Century Friday morning was canceled after four of five members were no-shows. Public notice for the meeting was also questioned.
The Town of Century’s Community Development Block Grant Citizen’s Advisory Task Force (CATF) meeting was scheduled for 11 a.m. and was canceled by 11:15 a.m. with only one member in attendance. No members of the public were present, other than a NorthEscambia.com reporter.
The meeting had been scheduled to discuss the town’s Community Development Block Grant housing rehabilitation program.
A public notice for the meeting was published on NorthEscambia.com and in the Tri-City Ledger and letters were mailed to task force members.
No public notice was posted at town hall, as recommended in the 2018 edition of the Government in the Sunshine Manual published by the Florida Attorney General’s Office.
“While the attorney general’s office cannot specify the type of notice which must be given in all cases, the following notice guidelines are suggested….The notice should be prominently displayed in the area in the agency’s offices set aside for that purpose, e.g., for cities, in city hall, and on the agency’s website, if there is one,” the Sunshine Manual states.
Scattered Weekend Showers And Hot
August 11, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Calm wind.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93. Heat index values as high as 105. Calm wind.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Calm wind.
Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Calm wind.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Calm wind.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
Total Cuteness Alert: Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office Names New K-9 Pups
August 11, 2018
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office has named their two newest K-9 pups — meet Copper and Zinc.
The department held a naming contest on social media that ended Friday that receive about 2,000 entries.
The two bloodhounds were donated to the department SRSO Capt. Jim Cotton and Maj. Randy Tifft. Once Copper and Zinc are trained, the new deputies will be used for tracking.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Central Water Works Rescinds Boil Water Notice For 340 Customers
August 11, 2018
Central Water Works has rescinded a boil water notice issued August 3 for about 340 customers.
The utility said they have repaired a water main break at the intersection of Byrneville Road and Highway 20 and satisfactorily complete bacteriological sampling showing the water is safe.
The boil water notice was in effect for:: Bluff Springs Road, Brown Road, Byrneville Road from 30 to 860, Church Road, Commalander Road, Courtney Road, Cox Road, Crary Road, Curly Brooks Road, Dawson Road, Elsie Davis Road, Glover Road, Greenwell Road, Gunner Road, Honeybee Lane, McClammy Road, McNeil Road, N. Canoe, E. Roach Road, W. Roach Road, Sigler Road, Tedder Road, Thompson Road, Highway 29 From Tedder Road to Cox Road and Whirlpool Road.
Center Water Works has instituted an automated public alert system to contact customers. Central said if customers did not receive a direct notice of this precautionary boil water notice, it is because the customer has not provided current contact information.
For more information, call (850) 2256-3849 or email centralwaterworks@gmail.com.
BayBears Beat The Wahoos
August 11, 2018
The Blue Wahoos opened a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning but couldn’t hold on as the Mobile BayBears rallied for an 8-6 win over Pensacola Friday night at Hank Aaron Stadium.
Jose Siri started the game with a triple to the left-center field ally and scored on a wild pitch to put Pensacola up 1-0 right out of the gate.
With one out in the fourth inning, Aristides Aquino hit his first of two singles on the night, which sparked a five-run rally. Following a Shed Long walk, Mitch Nay ripped a double which scored both Aquino and Long. Narciso Crook singled behind Nay setting the table for Gavin LaValley. He belted a three-run home run over the left field fence to stretch the Wahoos lead to 6-0.
The BayBears were quick to answer. Jose Rojas hit a one-out home run to get the BayBears on the board. After a two-out walk and single, Mitch Ghelfi pulled Mobile within two with his first home run of the season.
Mobile took the lead in the seventh. Only trailing by one, Roberto Baldoquin singled home the tying and go-ahead runs with two outs to give the BayBears their first lead of the game at 7-6.
Pensacola threatened again in the eighth inning, but Crook flew out to the center fielder with the bases loaded on a deep fly ball to end the inning. The BayBears added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning to cap the 8-6 win.
Tony Santillan started for the Blue Wahoos and was charged with five runs on six hits over 4.2 innings, his shortest outing since joining the Blue Wahoos. He added seven strikeouts against three walks. Carlos Navas (L, 4-3) worked the final 3.1 innings and took the loss after allowing three runs on four hits. Despite surrendering the lead, he struck out six without a walk in the extended bullpen effort.
The Blue Wahoos scored all six of their runs off Mobile starter Jose Rodriguez. He exited after five innings with one walks and a season-high 11 strikeouts. Alex Klonowski (W, 9-2) picked up the win in relief with four shutout innings.
With LaValley’s three RBI in Friday’s game, he now has nine RBI for the series. Wahoos manager Jody Davis was ejected in the third inning as was Siri. David got kicked out during Chris Okey’s at bat for arguing from the dugout. Siri was tossed following his strikeout a batter later.
With a win on Saturday, Pensacola can lock up the series win. RHP Daniel Wright (6-7, 3.70) gets the start for the Blue Wahoos against BayBears RHP Jason Alexander (0-5, 4.05).
Judge Upholds Ballot Measure On County Offices
August 11, 2018
Florida voters have the right to decide whether all local constitutional officers, including sheriffs and tax collectors, should be elected, a Leon County judge ruled.
Circuit Judge James Shelfer on Thursday rejected a challenge from Volusia and Broward counties that sought to have what is known as Amendment 10 removed from the Nov. 6 general-election ballot. The challenge argued the ballot language and summary were misleading.
The amendment, which was placed on the ballot by the Constitution Revision Commission, would make the five constitutional offices — sheriff, tax collector, supervisor of elections, clerk of the court and property appraiser — mandatory and require elections for the offices in all 67 counties. It would also prohibit charter counties from abolishing or modifying those offices.
In his ruling, Shelfer said “an average Florida voter should easily understand” the chief purpose of the amendment. He also rejected an argument from the challengers that the constitutional-officer provisions were unfairly sandwiched between “feel good” proposals in the ballot measure related to military veterans and counter-terrorism.
He acknowledged the amendment was unclear on whether its impact would be “prospective or retrospective.” But he said “that is a question for another case and another day.”
Shelfer also noted his order was “the first stop in a journey to the Florida Supreme Court whose decision will determine if the amendment makes it onto the ballot.”
Volusia, Broward and other charter counties have opposed the amendment, arguing that local voters through the charter process should have the power to decide how constitutional offices are structured and whether they should be elected positions.
Carolyn Timmann, the Martin County clerk of court who helped craft the amendment while serving on the Constitution Revision Commission, said the ballot measure “protects the people’s right to vote” for constitutional officers. She said she was “happy that the people of Florida will have the opportunity to vote on this, along with other measures important to protecting our veterans, families and tax dollars.”
In addition to the constitutional-officer provisions, Amendment 10 would allow the Legislature to begin its annual session in January in even-numbered years. It would create an Office of Domestic Security and Counterterrorism in the Department of Law Enforcement. And it would revise the constitutional authority for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
The Constitution Revision Commission meets every 20 years and has unique power to place proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot. Amendment 10 is one of four ballot measures approved by the commission that are being challenged in court.
Other measures under litigation include ballot proposals to ban greyhound racing (Amendment 13), to expand the use of charter schools and impose school-board term limits (Amendment 
and to establish victims’ rights in the state Constitution (Amendment 6).
In total, 13 constitutional amendments have been slated for the November ballot, including eight measures passed by the commission. To be enacted, each amendment must be approved by at least 60 percent of the voters.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
FWC Law Enforcement Report
August 10, 2018
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during two-week period ending July 19 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officers Clark and Long were on vessel patrol in Quietwater Beach. The officers saw a male and female on a vessel arguing. Officer Clark stopped the vessel and spoke to the operator. While he was conducting a safety inspection, Officer Clark could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath. He also noticed his eyes were very bloodshot and glassy. He asked the operator if he had been drinking and he advised he had. Officer Clark asked the operator if he would submit to field sobriety tasks (FST) and he agreed. After the conclusion of the FSTs, the operator was arrested for BUI. A breath sample of .223 blood alcohol content and .224 blood alcohol content was obtained.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officers Clark and Long were on patrol in the Yellow River Management Area. They saw a silver vehicle traveling in the management area with an expired tag. Officer Clark initiated a traffic stop and asked the driver for his license, but he could not produce one. He advised that he didn’t have it with him. After identifying the driver, it was discovered that he has had seven prior suspensions on his Florida Driver License and that he did not have a current valid license. Officer Clark determined the driver had knowledge of his suspension. During the stop, Investigator Schafer determined the passenger had a warrant out of Santa Rosa County. Officer Clark charged the subject with driving while license is suspended or revoked with knowledge and both the driver and occupant were transported to the Santa Rosa County Jail.
Officers Clark and Long and Investigator Schafer were on marked vehicle patrol in Blackwater State Forest. Officer Clark contacted a subject and saw a cooler in the back of his truck. When asked, the operator stated that he had alcohol which is illegal to possess in the State Forest. While talking with the operator, Officer Clark could smell the odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle. He had the operator exit the truck and asked if he had any marijuana in the vehicle. The operator advised that he did and that it was hidden in the center console next to the driver’s seat. The marijuana was retrieved along with a glass pipe and metal rod. The operator was cited for possession of marijuana under 20 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia and was given a warning for possession of alcohol in Blackwater State Forest.
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
County Administrator, Commissioner Respond To Century Mayor’s Housing Assistance Allegations
August 10, 2018
An Escambia County Commissioner and the county administrator are responding after Century Mayor Henry Hawkins raised allegations that a former candidate for mayor improperly received a replacement house after an EF-3 tornado in 2016.
Felic Fussner went through the application process and was approved by Escambia County for housing assistance. But Hawkins claimed Fussner was “jerking people around the chain” and never lived in Century, as reported Thursday by NorthEscambia.com [read here...].
“I take any mention of impropriety or unfair treatment by Escambia County very seriously, whether from a citizen or another elected official. If the Mayor and the Town Council will take the time to read the…memo outlining the entire process, and more specifically Mr. Fussner’s application, then I believe they will determine that the process was both fair and equitable,” Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry said Thursday.
After the NorthEscambia.com article and a phone call from Hawkins, Escambia County Administrator Jack Brown wrote a three-page letter to Hawkins detailing the housing program, the application process and refuting the mayor’s claims.
Escambia County accepted applications for state housing assistance funding administered by the county, according to Brown. The application phone number was published on NorthEscambia.com, in the Tri-City Ledger and the Pensacola News Journal, the county website and included in a county press release. The county also provided resource information hang tags which were put on residential doors in the town and placed at the Century Town Hall. County staff took applications at town hall on several occasions (pictured below) during an application process than continued from April 4, 2016, until December 31, 2016. NorthEscambia.com published over a dozen articleawith information about the application process.
(article continues below photo)
The county Neighborhood Enterprise Division handled and reviewed all applications for disaster repair and replacement housing. Applicants were pre-screened on the phone, including income eligibility and property ownership information.
“Those who met pre-screening requirements were instructed to provide further information for staff to review and determine program eligibility. Our staff reviewed the property to determine the feasibility of the home for repair or replacement depending on the damage to the home,” Brown wrote.
The requirements stated that “applicants must be owner occupants with homestead exemption…” As part of the application process, the county looked closely at all the eligibility requirements before approving an applicant for assistance.
Fussner’s home was identified during a tornado damage assessment as having “major” damage, and a structural engineer found the home was “unsafe and dangerous” and suffered “significant structural damage to virtually every part of the home,” including separation of the home from its utilities. County staff also inspected the home on June 2, 2016.
“In the case of Mr. Fussner, he called into the phone line the County set up on April 4, 2016. County staff returned his call and took a preliminary application over the phone. County staff took Mr. Fussner’s application in person on May 10, 2016, where he provided the backup requested for his application. Staff independently reviewed the documentation via third party verifications of income, title search information, and review of the property ownership information. Regarding property ownership verification, the title search shows that Mr. Fussner received the home via special warranty deed on December 28, 2007. Mr. Fussner had homestead exemption on the property at 402 Front Street at the time of application as documented by staff. Mr. Fussner was approved for the program in on July 14, 2016,” the memo states.
After Hawkins raised his concerns this week, the county reached out to the property appraiser’s office for further review. They found:
“Mr. Fussner had homestead exemption in 2008 and 2009, but it was dropped until he reapplied for homestead exemption on the property in January 2015. Homestead exemption status is one resource our office uses to verify owner occupancy as the property owner has to demonstrate proof of residency to the property appraiser’s office. Additionally, the driver’s license for Mr. Fussner showed 402 Front Street as his residence. Utility bills were provided by Mr. Fussner at the time of application that show that he had water, sewer, and garbage service on the home prior to the tornado. Income verification documents in the file show the mailing address for Mr. Fussner as 402 Front Street. Staff has no reason to doubt the veracity of Mr. Fussner’s occupancy of the home at the time of the tornado and has performed the usual due diligence to verify his eligibility for the SHIP program.”
Under the program, the county provided replacement assistance for 13 homes within Century town limits, along with repair assistance for four homes. Demolition assistance was provided for four structures. The county also provided funding to Legal Services of North Florida specifically to assist with property titles, which was an issue for many residents in the area.
Pictured top and bottom: A tornado damaged house belonging to Felic Fussner on Front Street in Century. The top photo was taken less than 24 hours after the tornado. Pictured middle: Escambia County Neighborhood Enterprise Division Manager Meredith Reeves takes housing assistance applications from unnamed residents at Century Town Hall on March 4, 2016. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
