More Scattered Showers
September 21, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Calm wind.
Saturday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the morning.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. East wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 88.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71.
Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71.
Friday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 88.
Authorities Seek Missing Molino Teen
September 21, 2018
UPDATE…This individual has been located and is safe.
Authorities are searching for a missing Molino teen.
Zacheriah Chavers, 15, was last seen Wednesday about 8 p.m. in the Barrineau Park area, according to Klaaskids.
He was wearing gray gym shorts and Nike black and blue skate shoes. Chavers is 5-feet, 8-inches, about 140 pounds with blue eyes and close-cut hair.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Klaaskids at (855) 733-5567 or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-96300
Escambia Approves Building Purchase For New Library In District 1
September 21, 2018
The Escambia County Commission Thursday night approved the purchase of a former bank for the future home of a new West Florida Library branch.
The former Wells Fargo Bank location at 6425 Mobile Highway, just south of the fairgrounds, will be the first library branch located in District 1.
The property “is an ideal location for a new library branch. The site is already developed and has ample parking, it is located across the street from Bellview Elementary and Middle schools, which serve as transfer points for high schoolers being transported to specialty career path schools, and this property is high and dry with a low risk of flooding,” according to the county.
The county received appraisals of $750,000 and $645,000 for the 4.46 acre property and 2,185 square foot band branch building that includes an additional 2,173 square foot covered drive-thru teller area.
Ernest Ward Beats Summerdale 44-0
September 21, 2018
The Ernest Ward Middle School Eagles improved to 2-0 Thursday night with a 44-0 home win over Summerdale.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Up next, Ernest Ward Middle will be at Saraland at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The Eagles will host W.S. Neal in Walnut Hill on October 4 at 6 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Volleyball Sweeps Central; Childhood Cancer Benefit Game Monday
September 21, 2018
The Northview Chiefs swept Central Thursday in both varsity and junior varsity volleyball. The NHS varsity won 25-19, 25-14, 25-22. The JV Lady Chiefs beat Central 25-19, 25-10.
For a photo gallery from Thursday’s JV game, click here.
On Tuesday, the JV Lady Chiefs defeated Jay 25-19, 25-19. while Jay beat Northview’s varsity 25-16, 25-20, 13-25, 25-21. And on Monday, Laurel Hill defeated Northview in varsity action, 25-19, 25-18, 25-15.
The Northview Lady Chiefs will host a “Gold Digger” game at 5 p.m. Monday against Lighthouse Christian. All proceeds will go to the American Childhood Cancer Organization.
“We”d love to have a big crowd come out to support our Lady Chiefs,” Northview coach Ashley Salter said. “We will also honor our award winners from our volleyball camp that night too.”
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Jay Man Wins Title Of National Electrician Of The Year
September 21, 2018
Thursday night, a Jay man was named the National Electrician of the Year by Klein Tools.
With a knock at his front door during a live online video stream, Mike Adams received the good news as his family stood with by his side.
Working in the trades isn’t just a career for Adams.
It’s a family tradition dating back four generations. With his mom, dad, uncles and cousins working by his side, there was never a doubt that Adams would grow to love and live by the rules of the trades.
Through his years as an electrician, Adams learned the importance of proper safety procedures and a dedication to even the smallest details of a job. He instills these lessons in the next generation of electricians as an advisor for SkillsUSA where he has helped lead many students to success in regional and national competitions.
Adam’s work takes him all over Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida and Escambia County in Alabama.
Adams was previously named Klein Tools’ Southeast Electrician of the Year and won the national title. Judging criteria included professional achievement, safety excellence and community dedication.
Courtesy images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Tax Collector Receives State Excellence Award
September 21, 2018
The Florida Tax Collectors Association (FTCA) presented Scott Lunsford, Escambia County Tax Collector, with the Legacy Award for Continued Excellence in Financial Operations at the Fall Education Forum in Orlando. The award recognizes offices that have achieved innovation, customer focus, a well-managed budget and a clean audit in finance operations. The award is given only to those tax collectors previously recognized with the Excellence in Finance Operations Award.
“The Legacy Award is one of the highest achievements the Florida Tax Collectors Association can award a local tax collector,” said Florida Tax Collectors, Inc. past-president Sharon Jordan of Suwannee County. “The judging process was arduous and included a detailed review of the financial functions of the tax collector’s office. I am very proud to say that the Honorable Scott Lunsford has earned the designation. He represents the very top echelon of elected officials.”
Previously, the office earned the Excellence in Financial Operations Award after demonstrating proficiency in four areas of expertise: innovation and automation, a perfect annual audit report, customer focus and budgeting. For the 2018 Legacy Award, Lunsford demonstrated that his office had further improved its financial operations by introducing an enhanced website, EscambiaTaxCollector.com, and new online services that resulted in time and cost savings to taxpayers.
“We have an extraordinary finance team who work diligently to ensure accuracy and excellence,” said Lunsford. “The office also, for the seventh consecutive year, received a Certificate of Merit for achieving a clean audit. The staff of the accounting department are deserving of this recognition, and we are very proud of Chief Financial Officer, Brenda Chestnutt, and her accountants, Aimee Sluder and Lumi Williams.”
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tonight’s High School Football Schedule
September 21, 2018
Here are tonight’s North Escambia area high school football games:
FLORIDA
- Tate at Milton, 7:30 p.m.
- Holmes County at Northview, 7 p.m.
- Escambia Academy at Jay, 7 p.m.
- West Florida at Crestview, 7 p.m
- Pine Forest at Navarre, 7 p.m.
- Washington at Gulf Breeze, 7 p.m.
- Choctaw at Pace, 7:30 p.m.
- Pensacola High at Pensacola Catholic, 7 p.m.
- W.S. Neal at Escambia County (Atmore), 7 p.m.
- Escambia Academy at Jay, 7 p.m.
- St. Michael Catholic at Flomaton
- T.R. Miller at Bayside Academy
Use Of Drug Database Increase Amid Opioid Fight
September 21, 2018
One of Florida’s main weapons to thwart “doctor shopping” has been expanding substantially after the passage of a tough new law aimed at addressing the continuing opioid crisis.
State officials said Thursday that more than 92,000 health-care providers had registered to use an electronic database that tracks patients who are prescribed controlled substances.
The August total is more than double the number of providers who were registered to use the system the previous year.
Bruce Culpepper, a consultant for the Florida Department of Health, told members of the Health Information Exchange Coordinating Committee about the “major uptick in activity” in response to the new law, which, for the first time, requires doctors to consult the database before writing prescriptions.
The providers made 4.75 million inquiries into the database during August, said Culpepper, who coordinates the department’s health-information exchange activities.
Moreover, Culpepper said Florida has been working with neighboring Alabama and Georgia, as well as Kentucky, on integrating Florida’s prescription drug database with their programs.
The Florida Legislature gave the green light to the monitoring program in 2009. The state required pharmacists to enter information about most controlled substances the following year when the database became operational.
But it wasn’t until this year that lawmakers also required doctors to use the database to ensure that patients weren’t “doctor shopping,” or seeking prescriptions for addictive drugs from multiple physicians.
The mandate that they check the system before prescribing was one of many changes lawmakers approved to try to abate the opioid crisis.
The Legislature also banned doctors from writing prescriptions for more than three-day supplies of controlled substances. In medically necessary instances, physicians can write prescriptions for seven-day supplies. The new restrictions don’t apply to cancer patients, people who are terminally ill, palliative care patients and those who suffer from major trauma.
Prior to the mandate, just 20.6 percent of the 73,085 licensed medical doctors in the state were registered to use the prescription-drug monitoring program, according to a December 2017 annual report. The medical doctors, however, accounted for nearly one-third of the 35.8 million queries that were made to the database.
Jeff Scott, general counsel of the Florida Medical Association, said doctors initially were confused by the new mandate and whether it applied to them. Scott, who has been with the FMA for 21 years, said it’s been one of the more controversial laws the Legislature has passed in his experience with the statewide physician group.
“We were getting quite a bit of questions about it prior to it going into effect,” he said, adding that the FMA’s offices were fielding as many as 30 phone calls a day over the summer before the law took effect July 1.
Legislators acted this year to address the growing opioid problem. In 2016, for example, fentanyl caused 1,390 deaths, heroin caused 952 deaths, oxycodone caused 723 deaths, and hydrocodone caused 245 deaths, according to a House staff analysis.
Meanwhile, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Thursday released a report that said, based on preliminary data, opioid overdoses were responsible for killing 131 Americans daily last year. In 2016, more than 115 Americans died daily from opioid overdoses.
by Christine Sexton, the News Service of Florida
Allen Payne Smith IV
September 21, 2018
Mr. Allen Payne Smith IV age 49 of Jay FL, went to be home with the Lord and loved ones who have gone before him on Saturday, September 15, 2018.
Allen was born disabled. He had a smile that would light up the room and a heart of gold. He did not knnow what hate was, just love. I wish we were all like that. He loved his music, especially Bob Segar. Because he loved his old time Rock and Roll. His good friend Lynette Johnson and his parents took him to his favorite places La Hacienda in Milton FL. The commissary at Whiting Field. A man that loved to shop with his mom. Allen had a special place in his heart for Lynette Johnson. We take solace in knowing he is with her now.
A private family ceremony will be held at a later date.
Allen is survived by his parents, Allen and
Connie Smith; sisters, Sheila (George) Kowalski and Karen Smith; nephews, Jimmy Kowalski, Tyler Kowalski and Lonnie Hutchinson; nieces Jennifer Beal Alexis Johnson and many other relatives and friends.
In lieu of flowers and contributions may be made to Florida Baptist Children’s Home, Pensacola Campus, 1000 Chemstrand Rd. Cantonment, FL 32533