Beulah Road Closure At Nine Mile Begins Friday
January 24, 2019
Beulah Road at the intersection with Nine Mile Road will be closed beginning Friday, January 25 at 8 p.m. Traffic will be detoured from Nine Mile Road to Rebel Road onto Beulah Church Road, back to Beulah Road.
The road closure is expected to remain in effect for approximately three nights from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Every effort will be made to expedite construction to reopen the road before Monday, January 28 at 5 a.m.
Construction will consist of upgrading and installing new pipe.
If other lane or roadway closures are necessary beyond the anticipated time periods, another notice will be issued.
Click the detour map to enlarge.
Jay Weightlifters Advance To Regionals
January 24, 2019
Six Jay High School girls weightlifters advanced to the regional finals this week at Baker.
Royals earning advancement at last week’s district meet at Baker, along with their weight class and district rank, were:
Carsen Arrant — 119 lb.class, 2nd
Ella Nelson — 101 lb. class, 2nd
Carlyn Watson — 154 lb. class, 3rd
Hailey Grenier — 154 lb. class, 4th
Bailey Lopez – 110 lb.class, 5th
Alexa Pabo – 110 lb.class, 6h
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Colder Air, Clear Skies Arrive
January 24, 2019
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 33. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 54. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 59. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. Calm wind.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 63. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 39. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 67. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers after midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low around 42. South wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 25.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 48.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 28.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 52.
Hurricane Michael Insured Losses Top $5.26 Billion
January 24, 2019
More than 142,000 insurance claims have been filed from Hurricane Michael, with estimated insured losses topping $5.26 billion, according to information posted on the state Office of Insurance Regulation website.
The number of claims and estimated losses have steadily climbed since the Category 4 hurricane slammed into Northwest Florida on October 10.
The latest figures, reflecting claims as of Friday, showed total estimated insured losses of $5,266,239,147.
An overall total of 142,057 claims had been filed, with 85,508 claims in Bay County. The next-highest number of claims, 13,805, was in Jackson County, followed by Leon County with 9,668 claims; Gulf County with 8,064 claims; Gadsden County with 5,917 claims; Calhoun County with 4,016 claims; and Franklin County with 2,205 claims.
Hurricane Michael made landfall in Mexico Beach in southeastern Bay County and caused widespread damage in Northwest Florida before moving into Georgia.
by The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Jessie Muriel Seale Swindle
January 24, 2019
Mrs. Jessie Muriel Seale Swindle, age 82, passed away on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 in Milton, Florida.
Mrs. Swindle was a native of Brewton, AL and had resided in Canoe, AL for most of her life. She was well known from Winn Dixie in Atmore; BP in Flomaton was best known as Mrs. Jessie and was employed with Vanity Fair with 20 years of service. She is preceded in death by her parents, Willey and Marguerite Seale; daughter, Marie Booth; three sisters, Lucille Butt, Mary McClain and Jeanette Lois Creamer and one brother, Clifford Seale.
She is survived by her three sons, Edward “Buck” Wilson of Crestview, FL, Bennie (Cathy) Wilson of Milton, FL and Dudley (Wendy) Wilson of Wawbeek, AL; two daughters, Jeanette Quick of Century, FL and Muriel Philyaw of Atmore, AL; three brothers, Lee Verne Seale of Atmore, AL, Murlon (Margaret) Seale of Atmore, AL and Floyd (Betty) Seale of Atmore, AL; two sisters, Nancy Nelson of Foley, AL and Dottie (Charles) West of Ozark, AL; twelve grandchildren; thirty-two great grandchildren and nine great-great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held Friday, January 25, 2019 at 2:00 PM at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Malcolm Harrelson officiating.
Burial will follow at Moyeville Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Thursday, January 24, 2019 from 6 to 8 PM at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Dudley Flowers, Jimmy Odom, Benjamin Jimenez, Micheal Weaver, Henry Wiggins and Kenneth Morrow.
Honorary Pallbearers will be Johnny Wilson and Brian Adkinson.
airline tickets
January 23, 2019
- American Airlines $501.40 October, paid 12/03
- Delta Air Lines $366.90 – October, paid 12/03
- Expedia $560.92 – October, paid 12/03
- Frontier Airlines $214.90 – October, paid 12/03
EMESGY, a consulting company in Torrance, CA, presented written proposals for potential cost saving energy upgrades from ADC Energy of California to the electrical systems at the Century Town Hall, the “Ag Building” community center on West Highway 4 and the former Helicopter Technology building in the Century Industrial Park. The industrial park building is currently unoccupied.
On October 29, Hawkins emailed the general Escambia County District 5 address inviting Barry to attend a presentation from Mark Endo of EMESGY. The presentation was set for the following afternoon.
On November 27, Hawkins forwarded a copy of the proposals to Barry. The proposals were emailed to Hawkins on November 9.
“I’m hoping to get your approval on using economic money to do these. If we can do either City Hall or the Community Center would be great,” Hawkins wrote.
Barry said he did not respond to either email.
The Proposals
“ADC Energy is patented technology that allows transmission of low-voltage DC to travel long distance using existing wiring. It is now possible for you to battery power your entire facility with ADC Energy,” the company states on its website.
The proposals were in three phases. In the first phase, lighting in each building would be upgraded to “24V Battery powered facility lighting”. The second phase would add solar panels, and third phase would be a solar-powered HVAC system.
The total cost of the equipment, design and installation totaled $197,642 for just the first phase, itemized as follows:
- Town Hall: $34,593
- Community Center: $43,368
- Industrial Park Building: $119,681
Endo proposed the project would be a “renewable energy showcase…to secure massive visibility in local, national, and international media viewed by domestic and international audiences” in an email to Hawkins.
The email also stated, “Century and EMESGY will invite Miami International University (MIU) who is the 4th largest R&D University in the US to work with Century to establish an offsite joint R&D initiative with MIU funding, new jobs, and technology development”.
According to their website, the Miami International University of Art & Design “is one of The Art Institutes, a system of schools throughout North America”, and MIU offers degrees in design, fashion and media arts.
Endo suggests in his email that notification be sent to governors, senators, local to international media, educational institutions to alert them of Century’s renewable energy initiatives and make Century a showcase.
Hawkins has not presented the proposals to the Century Town Council.
Cantonment Couple Charged With Smuggling Meth Into Road Prison
January 23, 2019
A Cantonment couple with a history of crime together is facing more charges — this time for allegedly smuggling meth into the county road prison.
Robert Clinton Wooten, 37, and Camie Denean Linton, 36, were charged with smuggling methamphetamine into a detention facility.
The Escambia County Road Prison and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit teamed up to arrest the couple. Wooten was an inmate at the Escambia County Road Prison in Cantonment and was ” orchestrating the delivery of methamphetamines to other inmates” with the help of Linton according to a statement released by the Sheriff’s Office.
Both are now being held without bond.
December Child Neglect Arrest
In December, both Wooten and Linton were each charged with two counts of felony child abuse after the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office conducted a welfare check on their residence at the request of the Department of Children and Families.
Deputies found “a deplorable residence with black mold on the ceiling and walls,” according to a Sheriff’s Office report. They also found cans of rotting food with insects, floors completely covered with piles of clothing and trash, food containers with flying insects inside, and a syringe in a Styrofoam cup that was covered with spider webs, according to the report. The electricity did not work in parts of the residence.
The children’s grandmother told deputies that the children did not have any food and would beg her to bring them food.
DCF took custody of the children and placed them with another family member.
Wooten and Linton are awaiting trial on the child neglect charges.
December Traffic Stop
On December 12, deputies were patrolling the area of Pace Parkway and Mintz Lane when they spotted a vehicle driven by Wooten who was known not to possess a driver’s license. Linton was also in the vehicle, according to an arrest report, and her book bag was found to contain four syringes with an unknown red liquid, a plastic bag with a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine and a bowl that contained methamphetamine.
Linton was charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Wooten was charged with habitual driving with a suspended license. They are awaiting trial on the charges.
Jim Allen Elementary Meth Charges
In 2017, Wooten and Linton were charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia after they were spotted by a deputy turning into Jim Allen Elementary School to drop off a child. After the child was dropped off and they exited the campus, the deputy conducted a traffic stop.
A search of the vehicle revealed drug paraphernalia, methamphetamine and other items in the center console. Wooten received 36 months probation in the case. Charges against Linton were later dropped.
Wooten is now facing an additional violation of probation charge in the case.
Weather Stations Installed At All Escambia District High Schools
January 23, 2019
Weather observations are now available in real-time from each high school in Escambia County.
Recent tragedies involving students participating in outdoor sports and activities in harsh weather conditions have led to an increased focus on finding ways to predict conditions which may be hazardous to students. Advance knowledge of extreme temperatures and humidity levels is important, especially for students and staff members participating in outdoor activities or events, according to the Escambia County School District.
Visit escambia.weatherstem.com to see the weather observations.
The traditional system of measuring temperature and humidity, known as the heat index, has been improved by adding measurements of radiation from the sun and wind to provide a new metric known as a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT).
“Using a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature to gauge the heat and humidity is far more accurate because it also considers wind speed and solar radiation. However, conditions can change quickly and getting updated readings every half-hour takes the proper equipment and dedicated manpower. Many schools around the state do not have the equipment or an extra trained, responsible person to dedicate to this, so athletic directors across Florida are very happy to have weather stations from WeatherSTEM to rely on instead,” explained Escambia County School District’s Director of Athletics Roger Mayo.
“We are pleased to announce that all Escambia County public high schools now have access to real-time, WBGT information and predictions provided by WeatherSTEM,” added Mayo.
Each WeatherSTEM unit has a variety of sensors that collect data including solar radiation, ultraviolet radiation, amounts and the rate of rainfall, wind speed and wind direction. They are powered by a solar panel and they transmit the data collected to WeatherSTEM where the data can be compiled into a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature which provides guidance to principals, coaches, band directors as well as other instructors and student leaders. Each station includes placement of sensors in two locations, one high and one at field level. The height of the first location also allows a camera to transmit a view of the sky above the school’s field.
Escambia County’s Superintendent Malcolm Thomas explained that installing the stations at the high schools will be beneficial to all ECSD schools. “The information available to us will reduce the chance of our students experiencing heat stroke by giving us information about increasing water breaks, having ice available or canceling outdoor activities all together. Installing the WeatherSTEM equipment is a great investment, especially if even one student is prevented from experiencing hazardous conditions.
“When you look at the data available at Escambia.WeatherSTEM.com, such as the temperature and humidity levels, you will see that our elementary and middle school administrators will be able to use the results from the high schools closest to their campus to get information to adjust plans for outdoor activities,” said Thomas.
Principals, coaches and teachers will be able to receive alerts when conditions reach a set level, or when predictions warn of dangerous levels. These predictions will give coaches and other instructors the ability to plan when they may need to adjust their schedules, practice in the morning, start practice later, stay inside or bring extra water and ice.
Pictured top: The WeatherSTEM station on the press box above Northview High School’s football stadium. Pictured below: The weather station at Tate High School. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Push Underway To Raise Florida’s Minimum Wage To $15 An Hour
January 23, 2019
After spearheading efforts to pass a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana, Orlando attorney John Morgan said Tuesday he is moving ahead with a ballot drive aimed at gradually raising Florida’s minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Morgan said a group he leads has collected more than 120,000 petition signatures, far more than needed to trigger a Florida Supreme Court review of the proposed ballot wording. If the court approves the wording, backers of the proposal would ultimately need to submit 766,200 valid petition signatures to take the issue to voters in November 2020.
Morgan, the head of the firm Morgan & Morgan, said increasing the minimum wage would give people the right to “work with dignity” as he pointed to vast income inequality.
“Our belief is the single greatest issue for America and Florida today is a living wage,” he said during a news conference in Orlando.
But as in other parts of the country that have considered a $15 minimum wage, Morgan likely will run into opposition from business groups if the proposal goes on the 2020 ballot. The Florida Retail Federation and the Florida Chamber of Commerce, for example, said they do not favor placing such a mandate on businesses.
James Miller, a spokesman of the Florida Retail Federation, said a higher minimum wage could lead to “difficult decisions” for business owners, including the possibility of reducing jobs.
“Businesses, focusing mainly on small businesses which make up around 95 percent of our membership, only have a finite amount of money they can allocate to salaries and still make a profit,” Miller said in an email Tuesday. “By forcing a retailer to pay an employee(s) more, you’re going to force that retailer to do one of two things to protect their bottom line, either pay the increased wages and pass those increased costs onto customers in the form of higher prices or pay select employees that wage and let others go altogether.”
Morgan last year formed a political committee, known as Florida for a Fair Wage, which had received about $478,000 from his law firm as of Dec. 31, finance reports show. The committee had spent nearly $476,000, with almost all of that money going to petition-related expenses.
Under the proposal, the state’s minimum wage would go to $10 an hour on Sept. 30, 2021 and increase by $1 each year until it hits $15 an hour on Sept. 30, 2026. The state’s minimum wage this year is $8.46 an hour.
“I think in the quiet of the night, fair people go, ‘There’s no way to live on $8 an hour,’ ” Morgan said.
Florida voters in 2004 approved a constitutional amendment that increases the minimum wage each year based on inflation. By comparison, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.
But the Morgan proposal would go much further. The state Division of Elections website Tuesday did not list any petition signatures submitted by Florida for a Fair Wage, but Morgan said signatures will be mailed this week. A Supreme Court review is triggered by submission of 76,632 valid signatures.
During the news conference Tuesday, Morgan noted his experience with passing the medical-marijuana amendment, which narrowly failed in 2014 before getting overwhelming approval in 2016. He said it is better to propose such measures in presidential-election years, instead of in off-year elections.
“The good news is, I understand how to do this,” Morgan said.
Morgan said phasing in the higher minimum wage will help small businesses adjust, but he also said larger paychecks will help businesses retain employees longer. But business groups do not want employers to be required to pay higher wages.
“Nothing is more important to Florida’s business community than economic prosperity for all Floridians,” Edie Ousley, a spokeswoman for the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said in an email Tuesday. “Rather than adding another new mandate on local businesses, we should come together to ensure there’s a universal path to prosperity through job training that creates $50,000 careers for the less than 4 percent of Floridians earning a minimum wage full time.”
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
New Schedule: Escambia Commission Will Hold Morning Meeting On Thursday
January 23, 2019
Thursday will mark the first morning meeting of the Escambia County Commission since the board made changes to their meeting schedule and public forum.
The public forum will begin at 8:30 a.m., followed by the regular commission meeting at 9 a.m.
The commission voted to make the changes to allow county staff more time to devote to their regular job duties rather than spending hours in meetings, and “better meet their duty to residents of offering open, efficient and accessible commission meetings,” according to a county statement.
The commission changes include
- The elimination of one agenda review session.
- Moving one regular meeting a month to the morning to accommodate residents who do not wish or are unable to attend night meetings. One meeting a month will still be held in the evening.
- During the public forum, citizens will have three minutes to address the board, with additional time for questions and input for commissioners. Minutes can no longer be donated to another person to extend their time.
For a 2019 meeting schedule, click here.