Live Nativity: ‘Night In Bethlehem’ Sunday Evening In Molino
December 15, 2018
Highland Baptist Church will host “Night in Bethlehem” on Sunday from 5:30 until 7 p.m. Visitors can taste, smell, feel and experience what Bethlehem was like on that wondrous night. There will be a live Nativity with live animals.
Admission is free. Highland Baptist Church is located at 6240 North Highway 95A in Molino.
Plan Seeks To Help Florida Children Get Health Insurance
December 15, 2018
Florida may have a plan to address the increasing number of children who lack health insurance, but it remains to be seen whether the proposal will get funded.
The state Agency for Health Care Administration wants $16.3 million to help insure an additional 22,000 children in the Florida Healthy Kids program and lower the costs for some children already in the program, according to a legislative budget request.
Florida officials hope to use the money to take advantage of a federal change that allows the state to return the program to its pre-Obamacare days. Though mostly administrative in nature, Florida Healthy Kids Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Matthews said the moves would lower premiums to $170 a month for so-called full-pay children, which could attract more children to the program.
But House Speaker Jose Oliva is frustrated by the amount of money taxpayers spend on health care and has made lowering costs a top priority. While he says he’s troubled by the rise in the uninsured rates, he may nevertheless be hesitant to approve increased funding.
“To say “I’m troubled by it, I’ll dump a whole bunch more money in it,’ is to say, ‘The next presiding officers will then have to come back and try to figure it out because the prices will continue to rise,’ ” Oliva told The News Service of Florida last month.
The legislative budget request comes on the heels of a Georgetown University Center for Children and Families report this month that showed about 325,000 uninsured children in Florida in 2017, up from 288,000 in 2016. That put Florida’s overall uninsured rate for children at 7.3 percent.
It was the first time the percentage of uninsured children had increased in the last decade, according to the analysis.
Prior to the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, the Florida Healthy Kids program provided subsidized insurance coverage to low-income children ages 5 to 18 and access to managed-care plans with children-centric benefits. It also allowed children who lived in families that earn more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level to have access to the same plans, but their premiums weren’t subsidized with federal funds.
All children enrolled in the program, regardless of their incomes, had access to the same managed-care plans.
After 2015, though, the state was required to revamp the program so full-pay children were offered Obamacare-compliant policies. The policies have different benefits and were subject to co-insurance requirements and deductibles.
As a result, full-pay enrollment in the program plummeted from a high of 36,000 to a low of 10,000 children in January 2017.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, though, exempts Florida Healthy Kids policies from the Obamacare requirements and allows states to again combine the programs. Though full-pay children wouldn’t have their monthly premiums directly subsidized with federal funds, the children would be able to tap into the child-centric health coverage that the state was able to negotiate on behalf of children whose premiums are subsidized.
Matthews said including full-pay children in the same program — and insurance risk pool — as the other children will lower monthly premium costs from $245 to $170.
Matthews said she was lobbying the Legislature, the incoming DeSantis administration and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who makes appointments to the Florida Healthy Kids Corp. board of directors, on the funding request.
Matthews’ lobbying appears to have had some success in the Senate, where Health and Human Services Appropriations Chairman Aaron Bean expressed support for the proposal this week.
“That’s something in the future that we can look at as a committee going forward to make sure we are doing all we can do that everybody has access to health insurance,” said Bean, R-Fernandina Beach.
by Christine Sexton, The News Service of Florida
Eva Pearl McBride
December 15, 2018
Mrs. Eva Pearl McBride, age 74 of the Pollard community, died December 10, 2018.
Mrs. McBride was born in Brewton and was a life-long resident of Escambia County, Alabama. She had worked as a cook at Jay Hospital for a number of years, and was a member of Friendship Free Will Baptist Church.
Mrs. McBride was preceded in death by her husband, Melvin McBride; a son, Bruce Gavin; three brothers, Fred Lisenby, Sam Lisenby, and Collin Lee Lisenby; two sisters, Emma Wilson, Doris Windham, Granddaughter, Heather Sutton and great-grandchild; and a great-grandson, Ronnie Higdon.
She is survived by three sons, Gregory Leon (Anita) Gavin, Carey Daniel (Donna) McBride, and Melvin (Jennifer) McBride, Jr., all of Flomaton, AL; two daughters, Eva Evon McBride of Lancaster, PA, and Cindy (Mark) Brittingham of Flomaton, AL; one brother, Carl Ralph Lisenby of Pensacola, FL; sixteen grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, at noon at Friendship Free Will Baptist Church with Pastor Rusty Burnham officiating.
A time of visitation will be held at Friendship Free Will Baptist Church of Tuesday from 10 a.m.. until service time at noon.
Santa To Ride Fire Truck Through Century On Saturday
December 14, 2018
The Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue will escort Santa through Century, Byrneville and Poplar Dell Saturday on “Ladder 5″.
The complete route, as provided by the Century Fire Station, will be:
- We will leave Century Fire Station on Tedder Road at 9:00 AM.
- From there we will head down Hwy 29 and make a quick pass by the new Century Park Apartments then West Hwy 4 to the Century Care Center.
- We will leave Century Care Center heading back to Hwy 29.
- Then we will travel Hwy 29 to East Pond Street and make the first right onto Jefferson Ave.
- Zooming down Jefferson Ave. and making left on Front St.
- Going down Front St. and turning right onto Mayo St.
- Then Santa will go down Mayo St. and make a right onto Church St.
- Will travel Church St. and make a left on Jefferson Ave. and fly down Jefferson St to make a left onto Mayo Ln.
- Going down Mayo Ln. and making a right onto Mayo St. then a right on Hecker Rd.
- Mr. and Mrs. Claus will then travel along Hecker Rd. and will be making a left onto Jefferson Ave.
- We will turn down Freedom Rd. and make a loop through Camellia Garden Apartments, then on to East Hwy 4.
- Flying down East Hwy 4 and making a right onto Old Flomaton Rd.
- You can catch them along Old Flomaton Rd as they zoom by and turn left onto East Cottage St. then making a right onto Ivey St.
- Santa and his elves will stop for a short period at the vacant lot beside Century Auto Parts for kids that want a closer look! Pictures can be taken here but the kids will have to stand by the truck, Mr. and Mrs. Claus can’t climb down!
- Then we will head out West Stateline Rd. then Byrneville area here he comes! We will be traveling down West Stateline Rd / Hwy 4A and make left onto Killam Rd after a quick pass through Poplar Dell Church parking lot.
- Travelling down Killam Rd. we will make a right onto West Hwy 4.
- We will travel West Hwy 4 and make a left onto Byrneville Rd. and Santa and his elves will stop for another short break at Byrneville Elementary School. Bring the kids here to catch another closer look! Again pictures can be taken with kids standing by the truck but Mr. and Mrs. Clause can’t climb down!
- Leaving Byrneville Elementary School you can catch a view of them zooming down Byrneville Rd. all the way to Hwy 29.
- Then the sleigh will be headed down Hwy 29 back to the Century Fire House on Tedder Rd so Mr. and Mrs. Claus and the reindeer can get back to the North Pole to finish getting ready for Christmas Eve night!
For a map and any schedule updates, click here.
Pictured: Last year’s Century Santa Run. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Boil Water Notice Issued In Beulah Area
December 14, 2018
A precautionary boil water noticed has been issued by the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority to customers located in the following area:
- Beulah Rd. between Beulah Church Road and Mobile Highway
- Twenty One Oaks Drive
- Twenty One Oaks Lane
- Tisdale Lane
This notice is being issued after repairs were made to a 6-inch broken water main. Precautionary boil water notices are issued as a part of the standard protocol following any loss of water pressure, whether as a result of planned maintenance activities or unscheduled repairs.
Residents located in the specified PBWN area are advised to boil water for one minute at a rolling boil or to use eight drops of regular unscented household bleach per gallon of water, for water to be used for drinking or cooking purposes. Two independent bacteriological samples have been initiated and the advisory will be lifted as soon as possible. This process routinely takes 48 hours.
Vehicle Hit By Train In Cantonment; Atmore Man Hospitalized
December 14, 2018
An Atmore man was seriously injured Thursday night when his vehicle was struck by a train in Cantonment.
The accident happened about 11:40 p.m. on County Road 97 just south of Muscogee Road.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 20-year old Dustin Ryan Crumbley was traveling north when he failed to stop in time at an Alabama Gulf Coast Railway railroad crossing. The train engine collided with the side of his 2000 Toyota Tundra.
He was transported to an area hospital as a “trauma alert” by Escambia County EMS. A puppy in the vehicle was also seriously injured and taken to a veterinarian at an emergency animal clinic in Pensacola.
The FHP cited Crumbley for failure to obey a railroad crossing traffic control device and for not wearing a seat belt.
The marked crossing has flashing lights, but no crossing arms.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Officials Call For Solutions To Trains Blocking Crossings; Law Provides For Fines
December 14, 2018
Elected officials are tired of trains blocking local roads and cutting off neighborhoods, and they are looking for solutions — including a call by one county commissioner to starting fining CSX under a law passed nearly 25 years ago.
“I’ve got constituency whose quality of life is being harmed, if not their personal safety,” Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry said. During a commission committee meeting Thursday, he entered into the record about 40 pages of comments on the train issue that were made Wednesday by NorthEscambia.com readers on our website and social media channels.
Trains blocking local roadways is quality of life issue, he said, because people can spend 30 minutes or more each day waiting for a train blocking Highway 29 near Muscogee Road. And Barry said it’s an obviously a public safety issue when first responders are blocked from reaching citizens in need.
One Cantonment neighborhood, east of Highway 95A from Countri Lane to McKenzie Road, has been completely cutoff for hours by a stopped train. There are documented incidents where fire trucks and EMS units were unable to respond to medical emergencies in the neighborhood due to stopped trains.
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Escambia County has had an ordinance on the books since 1994 that allows for a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail when a train blocks a crossing for more than 15 minutes, except in the case of an emergency or mechanical failure.
But enforcing that ordinance becomes difficult, according to county attorney Alison Rogers.
“This is a very difficult and frustrating area of the law. Railways and railroad companies have very significant federal protections and preemption,” Rogers said in an August email to NorthEscambia.com. “…I don’t recall anytime in recent memory that it has been tested. That said, there is no question that when dealing with railway issues, it is a challenge and cooperation is often difficult to obtain.”
Barry said a state law says that if a train is functioning and stopped, the railroad company must break the train for emergency vehicles, “but that’s not what happens”.
Barry and State Senator Doug Broxson said they are planning a sit down meeting with CSX decision makers early next year to address the issue.
“I’m very hopeful that we can sit down and figure something out …looking for a court to say the county does not have the ability to enforce the state and local ordinances,” Barry said Thursday. “”If we can’t get movement (from CSX), then I hope a majority of my colleagues would support at least making someone tell us that we can’t enforce the ordinances that we have.”
“We want to be civil about this and be gentlemanly in our approach, but if we have to modify the law to make sure our citizens are not being abused, that is what we will do,” Broxson said.
Commissioner Doug Underhill said it is time for Escambia County to start lobbying for funding for bridges over the railroad tracks on Airport Boulevard and Nine Mile Road and task county staff to determine if additional roads could support a secondary route.
Commissioner Lumon May said the Airport Boulevard crossing is sometimes blocked for 45 minutes by stopped trains.
“Those are critical moments that someone with a heart attack could be dead,” May said.
Pictured: An Escambia County Fire Rescue truck and an Escambia County EMS unit blocked by a stopped train on Highway 29 near Muscogee Road on two separate, unrelated emergency calls. Pictured below: A train blocked the Becks Lake Road crossing near Muscogee Road for about two hours early Thursday morning. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Navy Federal Donates Over 1,600 Toys For Christmas
December 14, 2018
The Navy Federal family is helping make the holidays brighter for children in Pensacola. On Thursday afternoon, members of the United States Marine Corps Reserve visited Navy Federal’s campus in Beulah to collect more than 1,600 toys and nine bicycles donated by employees and credit union members from the Pensacola community.
“Our members and employees have a passion to serve,” said Debbie Calder, executive vice president of Navy Federal’s Greater Pensacola Operations, “and this Toys for Tots collection will help insure local children will be able to enjoy the magic of this holiday season.”
Navy Federal has been collecting the new, unwrapped gifts at its campus in Beulah and its seven Pensacola-area branches since mid-November. In addition to the toys that were collected, Navy Federal donated $1,500 to the Toys for Tots Foundation.
“Many of us who donate are inspired knowing that Christmas will be brighter for many local children in need,” said Donald Belcher, Navy Federal training supervisor and Marine Corps veteran.
The primary goal of the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program is to help less fortunate children experience the joy of Christmas. Once they are collected by the Marines, the toys are then distributed into the communities where the toys were collected.
In addition to its support of Toys for Tots, Navy Federal employees in Pensacola also donated more than 1,170 items to the Council on Aging’s “Adopt a Senior” program and employees are currently supporting the “Adopt a Family” program though the Escambia County School District.
Corporately, Navy Federal has been supporting Toys for Tots for more than 20 years. Worldwide, the credit union collected more than 19,400 items for this effort in 2018.
Four Vehicles Involved In Cantonment Hit And Run Crash
December 14, 2018
At least one person was injured in a four-vehicle accident Thursday afternoon on Highway 29 near Kingsfield Road.
The driver of a pickup rear-ended the an 18-wheeler with a flatbed trailer. That pickup was then reportedly struck by a by a pickup that was hauling another pickup. A unknown white GMC then hit the second pickup involved the crash. The GMC fled the scene.
One person was transported to an area hospital by Escambia County EMS.
The crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Northview High Students Tour Escambia County Sheriff’s Office
December 14, 2018
A group of students from Northview High School’s criminal justice class toured the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office this week.
Students had the opportunity to go behind the scenes of the Sheriff’s Office with a tour of the dispatch center and demonstrations from the SWAT team, K-9 deputies, crime scene and the ECSO Mounted Posse.
For more photos, click here.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
