Sunshine Returns, Freezing Again Tonight
December 11, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 54. North wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. Calm wind.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 67. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 53. Southeast wind around 10 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63. Southwest wind around 10 mph.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 41.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 41.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63.
641 Acre Solar Farm Planned For McDavid, Large Enough To Power 14,000 Homes
December 11, 2018
A solar farm large enough to power over 14,000 homes is in the planning stages for West Bogia Road in McDavid.
Florida Renewable Partners (FRP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NextEra Energy, is seeking permits to construct a 74.5 megawatt facility known currently as the “Escambia County Solar Energy Center” on 541 acres along and just north of West Bogia Road, according to documents obtained by NorthEscambia.com.
By comparison, Gulf Power’s largest solar field at Saufley Field is 50 megawatts, enough to power almost 7,400 homes. Gulf Power is not involved in the proposed McDavid project; however NextEra is currently in the process of purchasing Gulf Power as part of a $6.475 billion deal.
“The facility will generate clean, renewable energy by converting sunlight via photovoltaic solar panels into direct current (DC) electricity. The direct current flows from the panels through inverters and is converted into alternating current (AC) used by local electric utilities. Finally, the electricity travels through transformers, and the voltage is boosted for delivery onto the transmission lines so the local electric utility can distribute the zero-emissions electricity to homes and businesses,” according to a document filed with the Escambia County Development Review Committee by FRP.
The development is planned for an area behind and north of existing homes on West Bogia Road between South Pine Barren Road and Highway 29. A small portion of the project area includes land north and south of West Bogia Road, surrounding Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church (map below). There are currently no homes on the project property.
The area, owned by RMS Timberlands, is zoned as agriculture and is currently used for timber growth.
No water or sewer infrastructure will be necessary to serve the development, and no habitable space will be constructed. The facility will be monitored remotely and will not require onsite personnel for day-to-day operation, but personnel will occasionally visit the site to conduct required maintenance activities, according to FRP documents.
The Escambia County Solar Energy Center is entering the pre-application process with Escambia County and faces numerous steps before being permitted.
The project area does not included land purchased by Gulf Power in 2009 for a possible nuclear power plant that was never constructed.
Photo and image for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photo Gallery: Thousands Attend Atmore Twilight Christmas Parade
December 11, 2018
Thousands of people attended the annual Atmore Twilight Christmas Parade Monday night.
The parade featured lighted floats, twirlers, antique cars, bands, marchers, Santa Claus and more.
The parade was rescheduled from Saturday night due to rain.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Ransom Middle School Names Students Of The Month
December 11, 2018
Ransom Middle School has named Students of the Month for November-December. They are Paige Knight and Anthony Erie. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Overall Juvenile Arrests Decline In Florida, Increase In Escambia
December 11, 2018
Juvenile arrests are declining overall in Florida but overall juvenile arrests were on the upswing in Escambia County, according to numbers released Monday by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.
Statewide juvenile felony arrests dropped 10 percent over the last fiscal year and overall juvenile arrests declined eight percent in the same time frame.
In Escambia County, juvenile felony offenses dropped 10 percent with 485 arrests, while overall juvenile arrests increased by five percent to 1,875 since last year.
Company Donates Bicycles To Bratt Elementary Students
December 11, 2018
Instead of a traditional Christmas party, one area telecommunications company decided to give back, building bicycles for over a dozen children at Bratt Elementary School.
“We wanted to give back to the community where our employees reside so instead of a traditional company holiday party we partnered with Build A Bike for a day of employee team building activities and good food,” John Heathcock, senior director of customers service at Impact Telecom in Atmore, said. “At the end of the day we collectively built 14 bikes.”
The company also donated new helmets along with the bicycles as part of the their corporate “give back” project.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
More Florida Students Look To Bright Futures Scholarships
December 11, 2018
More Florida students are taking advantage of beefed-up scholarship programs that help pay for tuition, fees and books at state universities and colleges.
The number of students using Bright Futures scholarships, the state’s main merit-based aid program, is now projected to grow by 5.7 percent this academic year for a total of 99,483 students, according to a report published by the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research. The report is based on a Nov. 30 estimating conference.
More students who have top test scores and grades are qualifying for and using the Bright Futures’ “academic scholars” program, which pays for 100 percent of tuition and fees and provides $300 for books in the fall and spring semesters.
The latest estimate shows a projected 52,179 students will qualify this year as academic scholars, up from 45,295 last year, or a 15 percent increase. That program will grow by another 9.5 percent next budget year for a total of 57,138 students in 2019-2020, the estimate showed.
To qualify for the program, students must have a 3.5 grade point average and score at least a 1290 on the SAT or a 29 on the ACT. They must also complete 100 hours of community service.
The report said the reason for the increase in the Bright Future scholars “cannot be fully explained at this time,” although factors may include more students qualifying through programs like the International Baccalaureate program, changes in qualifications for home-schooled students and higher SAT scores.
Former Senate President Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican who left office last month, made a priority of expanding Bright Futures, including covering 100 percent of tuition and fees in the academic scholars program.
Participation by students qualifying as Bright Futures “medallion scholars,” who must meet slightly lower standards, will remain relatively flat this year, dropping to 46,216 students from 47,740 last year. However, the program for the first time this year will cover 75 percent of tuition and fees for those students.
Both programs allow Bright Futures students to use their scholarships to cover summer classes.
Bright Futures also includes three smaller scholarship programs, along with the academic and medallion programs.
The popularity of Bright Futures may have an impact on the state budget, with the latest projection showing a total cost of $545 million this year, although lawmakers only approved $520 million in the budget and related legislation. The cost is projected to rise to $583 million in 2019-2020.
Meanwhile, the new estimate showed more than 195,000 students will benefit from the state’s largest need-based aid program, known as “student assistance grants.” The average award this year is projected at $1,378.
About 87 percent of that aid will benefit students attending public universities and colleges, but the remainder will help students at private schools and other post-secondary programs.
Also, more than 39,000 state residents attending private colleges and universities in Florida will benefit from the “Effective Access to Student Education” grants program — which in the past was known as the Florida Resident Access Grant program. The maximum award for those scholarships, which total $137 million, increased from $3,300 to $3,500 this academic year.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Hurricane Michael Losses Near $4.3 Billion
December 11, 2018
Two months after Hurricane Michael roared into Northwest Florida, insured losses continue to climb. As of Friday, 131,562 claims had been filed from the Oct. 10 storm, with estimated insured losses of $4.28 billion, according to numbers posted on the state Office of Insurance Regulation website. About 67 percent of the claims had been closed.
Hurricane Michael made landfall as a Category 4 storm in Mexico Beach in southeastern Bay County and caused devastating damage in Panama City and areas such as Blountstown and Marianna as it continued north into Georgia.
by The News Service of Florida
Pictured: Hurricane Michael damage in Marianna. Photos by SPC Jeffrey Scott Hagan for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
‘Inattentive’ School Bus Driver Cited After Rear-Ending Vehicle On 10 Mile Road
December 10, 2018
An Escambia County School bus driver was cited for careless driving after rear-ending a vehicle Monday morning on West 10 Mile Road. .
The Florida Highway Patrol said bus driver Joe Wesson, 69, stopped briefly at the railroad tracks on 10 Mile Road near Highway 29, then pulled the school bus forward into the rear of a Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 25-year old Audry Morford of Jay.
The FHP said Wesson was “was inattentive to the traffic in front of him”. Both drivers and 12 students on the bus were not injured.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Two Monday Morning Structure Fires Are Second And Third ‘Red Bulbs’ On Safety Wreath
December 10, 2018
Two structure fires that occurred on Monday, Dec. 10 represent the second and third red bulbs on the “Keep the Wreath Green” fire safety wreath.
The first came after the first red bulb fire that destroyed a mobile home in Century. [Read more...]
Escambia County Emergency Communications received a call at 5:41 a.m. reporting a structure fire in the 700 block of North 77th Avenue. Upon arriving on scene, crews found a working fire in the carport that had extended to the house and attic of the single-family residence. The fire was brought under control at approximately 6:50 a.m. One resident was transported by Escambia County EMS to West Florida Hospital. The home did not have working smoke detectors, and it was declared a total loss. Three adults were displaced and are being assisted by the American Red Cross. The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.
The second call came in at approximately 5:52 a.m. reporting a multi-residential structure fire in the 700 block of Tumbleweed Trail. Crews arrived on scene to find smoke coming from the ground floor of the two-story apartment building. Escambia County Fire Rescue called the fire under control at 6:12 a.m., with fire damage in the kitchen and smoke damage throughout the apartment where the fire occurred. Two adults and two children were displaced and are being assisted by the American Red Cross. No injuries were reported. The apartment where the fire started did not have a working smoke detector.
If your home doesn’t have a working smoke detector, please call Escambia County Fire Rescue at 850-595-HERO (4376) or 850-436-5200 for city of Pensacola residents.
During the month-long Keep the Wreath Green campaign, five-foot wreaths are on display at 18 county fire stations and five city fire stations, with wreaths were placed outside Escambia County’s Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building downtown, the Escambia County Public Safety Building, Pensacola City Hall and Cordova Mall near the food court entrance. Each time firefighters respond to a residential fire with damage, a green light bulb is replaced with a red one to remind citizens of the dangers posed by fires in residential home.
Pictured: A mobile home was destroyed by fire early Saturday morning in Century. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
