ECAT Union Approves ECAT Labor Contract, Votes ‘No Confidence’ In Next Transit Boss
May 7, 2019
The local transit union has approved a labor contract but issued a vote of no confidence on a proposed interim ECAT director.
The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1395 voted 98% to ratify the the tentative labor contract with ECAT, a process than took nearly a year and a half. The Escambia County Commission will consider the final agreement at their May 16 meeting.
According to ATU Local President Michael Lowery, the union also passed a vote of no confidence for Assistant Transit Manager Tonya Ellis to become the interim transit director to replace curretn and retiring Transit Director Mike Crittenden. The no confidence vote was passed with 97% of union votes.
According to Lowery, Ellis “left her integrity in question” and union membership “feels she will not stand up for the workers”.
Jim Allen Elementary’s Kenny Meadows Named County Social Studies Teacher Of Year
May 7, 2019
Jim Allen Elementary School fifth grade teacher Kenny Meadows has been named the Escambia County Social Studies Teacher of the Year at the elementary level.
Social Studies Specialist Cheri Arnette visited Jim Allen to present Meadows with his award. Meadows and his students showed her some of their recent projects on World War II.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
PSC Staff Backs Gulf Power Hurricane Michael Storm Restoration Hike
May 7, 2019
Florida Public Service Commission staff members are recommending the approval of Gulf Power plan to collect money from every customer to pay for Hurricane Michael recovery.
The commission will hear the $342 million request next week to start collecting the costs in July; the utility had first asked the PSC for permission to start collecting the costs in April.
The increase amounts to about $8 a month for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month of electricity, which the company said would still make the average customer’s bill lower than the January 2018. Commercial and industrial customers will see bills increase by 3 to 8 percent depending on their rate plan.
“Hurricane Michael was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Northwest Florida, with Panama City and the surrounding areas of Bay County nearly destroyed, including critical infrastructure and the energy grid that serves our customers,” said Gulf Power President Marlene Santos is a recent news release.. “We know that many of our customers continue to face challenges due to the aftermath of Hurricane Michael and we have worked hard to propose a plan to the Florida Public Service Commission that takes this into account and supports our ability to continue to serve them with reliable service now and into the future.”
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Two Atmore Residents Facing Drug Charges After Apartment Search Warrant
May 7, 2019
Two Atmore residents are facing drug charges after a search warrant was executed at a local apartment complex.
Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks said Monday afternoon that the search warrant was executed last Wednesday about 6:30 a.m.at the Patterson Street Apartments. He said the search netted unspecified quantities of marijuana, synthetic marijuana, guns and digital scales.
John Edward McDowell, 43, and Willie Denise Wilson, 31, were both charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to appear warrants out of Escambia County, AL.
Brooks said more charges are pending.
The Atmore Police Department, Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and the Alabama Department of Law Enforcement took part in the search.
Local Woman Celebrating 100th Birthday
May 7, 2019
A local woman is celebrated her 100th birthday Tuesday, May 7. Gladys Wilma Ward Lee was born on May 7, 1919, in Barth.
Last Saturday, she celebrated her 100th birthday a little early with 100 of family and friends.
Ward is a dedicated member of Calvary Apostolic Tabernacle and has dedicated her life living for the Lord. She loves her family and enjoys spending precious time with them.
She says the secret to her long life is that God’s been good to her and she is living a good life.
Appeals Court Upholds Cantonment Man’s Right To Walk His Dog, Avoid Getting Hit By Bus
May 7, 2019
An appeals court has ruled that a Cantonment man has every right to walk his dog around his neighborhood, throw away trash and avoid getting hit by a bus.
The Florida First District Court of Appeals has reversed a stalking injunction against Billy Stone that required him to stay 500 feet away from the residence of Teresa McMillian, his neighbor.
In December 2016, Stone put a threatening letter in McMillian’s mailbox, warning her not to “pull another stunt like (she) did today.” Stone testified that McMillian honked her horn and intentionally drove her car at him while he walked his dog with his back turned, causing him to jump out of the way, thinking he and his dog were about to be hit.
Stone admitted writing the letter, which intimidated McMillian, while he was angry about this incident. McMillian testified that Stone walked around the circular street the two lived on repeatedly throughout the day. Stone had done this since approximately 2009, but it now unnerved McMillian in light of Stone’s letter.
McMillian also did not like that Stone walked his dog on a government-owned vacant lot next to her house. So, in March or April 2017, she set up a motion-sensing sprinkler on the border of her property to spray Stone while he was on the vacant lot. Although the sprinkler once succeeded in soaking Stone, he did not stop walking his dog on the empty lot and, in June 2017, McMillian called the police to report that he and his dog were defying a no-trespassing sign on the lot.
At the hearing on McMillian’s petition for a stalking injunction in July 2017, the trial court noted several times that the parties were engaged in “tit for tat” behavior, encouraged them to “go (their) separate ways,” and declined to grant the injunction.
Just two months later in September, McMillian filed another petition for injunction for protection against stalking. Her chief complaint was that Stone walked past her house far too often. She knew this from daily reviews of her security camera footage.
McMillian maintained a log, marking how many times per day Stone walked past her house from August until September 2017, a number often in double digits. McMillian felt intimidated by Stone walking past her house because of the letter he wrote in December 2016. McMillian testified that on the morning of August 1, she discovered dog waste in her trash can, which had previously been placed at the curb and was to be emptied shortly. After reviewing her security camera, she fingered Stone and his dog as the culprits. McMillian admitted that she later went outside and yelled at Stone and his wife for this incident as they walked past her house, but insisted that she was very afraid of him.
McMillian similarly found Stone to be the guilty party, after reviewing her security camera footage, when she heard a vehicle down the road rev its engine too loud and for too long. Lastly, McMillian complained that on August 15, “Stone stepped on (her) driveway to avoid being hit by a bus that was driving past (her) house,” even though he had previously been told to stay away from her property.
Stone testified that he has routinely walked the loop around his home since 2009 and has not in any way changed his routine based on McMillian. He stated that he walks to alleviate anxiety, to talk and visit with neighbors, and to help with the neighborhood watch program he helped develop. Six neighbors testified that Stone is active in the community and routinely walks past their house every day, often stopping to talk. Stone testified that he always picks up after his dog and, if it is trash day, will put it in the nearest can before it gets picked up; he admitted using McMillian’s can once, but denied it was an attempt to intimidate her.
A trial court granted a one-year injunction against Stone for stalking based upon him walking around his own neighborhood.
The appeals court did not find legally sufficient evidence that Stone maliciously engaged in a course of conduct directed at McMillian that would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress. And the court found after the trial court declined to grant an injunction in July 2017, McMillian took every innocuous act of Stone as one of aggression and intimidation, including scrupulously logging each time he walked past her home after daily review of her security camera.
“This neighborly feud, which does include some uncivil or immature conduct, does not include stalking,” the court found.
Blue Wahoos Beat The Mississippi Braves
May 7, 2019
In a match-up of the two top pitching teams in the Southern League, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos came out on top in the opener of a five-game set in Mississippi against the Braves thanks to a five-run seventh inning. Trailing 2-1 in the seventh, the Wahoos strung together four hits, a walk, and two M-Braves errors to take a 6-2 lead on their way to an eventual 6-3 win.
After walking four in just 2.0 innings in his last start, Sean Poppen took the mound for Pensacola looking to shake off last week’s disappointing start. While the walks were still (5 tonight), Poppen went 5.0 innings and struck out seven while allowing just three hits and a pair of unearned runs.
Pensacola got on the board first in the third inning, using a two-out single by Luis Arraez and a triple by Alex Kirilloff to go up 1-0. The base hit extended Arraez’s current hitting streak to seven games, the second longest by a Wahoo this season (Jaylin Davis, 10).
In the fourth, the Braves ran together a fielder error by Pensacola, a walk, and a two-run single by Luis Valenzuela to take a 2-1 lead.
The score remained at 2-1 until the seventh. Facing Braves reliever Jeremy Walker, Davis led off the inning with a walk. Mitchell Kranson followed with a single. Tanner English then knocked a two-run double to take the lead back for Pensacola. Jordan Gore and Kirilloff followed with singles and a pair of fielding errors helped two more runs score, putting Pensacola up 6-2.
A single by Daniel Lockhart and triple by Tyler Neslony took a run back for Mississippi in the home half of the seventh, but Cody Stashak entered in relief of Jeff Ames and worked out of a first and third jam and then set down the Braves in order in the eighth and ninth to preserve the win.
Ames (1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K) earned his first win of the season. Stashak (2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 K) picked up his second save.
Kirilloff was 3-5 with a triple and two runs batted in. Arraez and Travis Blankenhorn each had two hits. For Arraez, it was his fourth consecutive multi-hit game, raising his season average to .336.
The win improves Pensacola’s league-best record to 21-10. Mississippi, in second place in the SL South, falls to 15-14 with the loss. The two teams will continue their five-game set in Mississippi tomorrow evening in a showdown of top 30 prospect pitchers between Pensacola’s Jorge Alcala (4-1, 4.71 ERA) and Mississippi’s Joey Wentz (1-1, 4.13 ERA).
File photo.
Sunny, Near 90 Today
May 7, 2019
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Saturday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 67.
Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80.
Driver’s License Service, Vehicle Registration Event Returns To Century Tuesday
May 6, 2019
Mobile driver’s license and vehicle registration services will return to Century Tuesday for a single day event.
Escambia County Tax Collector Scott Lunsford has partnered with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to bring the Florida Licensing On Wheels (FLOW) mobile office to Century from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Billy G. Ward Century Courthouse at 7500 North Century Boulevard.
FLOW is a stand-alone mobile office with technology to provide most motorists’ needs. The mobile unit provides a convenient method to renew a driver’s license, obtain a replacement driver’s license, conversion/reciprocation of out-of-state license, change a name or address on a current driver’s license or identification card, and get a first-time identification card. In addition to licensing services, the mobile unit also provides an opportunity to renew or replace a vehicle registration and apply, renew or replace disabled parking placards. Written and driving tests are not available from the FLOW unit.
Citizens can renew vehicle registrations up to three months and driver’s licenses up to 18 months in advance of expiration.
Citizens using the FLOW services are encouraged to visit EscambiaTaxCollector.com and click the “What Do I Bring” button for information on what is needed for these services.
Staff from the tax collector’s office will be on hand to answer all FLOW service questions and questions concerning all other tax collector services such as property tax, business tax receipts, concealed weapons licensing, etc. Citizens also can drop off property tax payments (checks only).
Pictured: The Florida Licensing on Wheels mobile office in Century on February 5. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate High Names Students Of The Month
May 6, 2019
Tate High School recently named their March Students of the Month. They are Kaitlyn Williams and Samuel Donald Shinnick. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.