Freezing Cold — Pets, Plants, Pipes And Other Tips
December 31, 2017
When temperatures fall into the 20’s, it is time to take necessary precautions to protect pipes, pets and plants, and check on elderly friends and neighbors.
For tonight’s latest forecast, click here.
Here are ways to stay safe during this year’s first round of cold temperatures, courtesy of the American Red Cross:
- Wear layers of lightweight clothing to stay warm. Gloves and a hat will help prevent losing body heat.
- Know the signs of hypothermia – confusion, dizziness, exhaustion and severe shivering. If someone has these symptoms, they should get immediate medical attention.
- Watch for symptoms of frostbite including numbness, flushed gray, white, blue or yellow skin discoloration, numbness or waxy feeling skin.
- Bring the pets indoors. If that’s not possible, make sure they have enough shelter to keep them warm and that they can get to unfrozen water.
- Avoid frozen pipes – run water, even at a trickle, to help prevent them from freezing. Keep the thermostat at the same temperature day and night to help avoid freezing pipes.
- Do not use a stove or oven to heat the home.
- Space heaters should sit on a level, hard surface and anything flammable should be kept at least three feet away.
- If using a fireplace, use a glass or metal fire screen large enough to catch sparks and rolling logs.
- Turn off space heaters and make sure fireplace embers are out before leaving the room or going to bed.
And here are a few extra details and tips from ECUA on protecting pipes against the freeze:
- Insulate pipes or faucets in unheated areas: Pipes located in unheated areas of your house, such as a garage or crawl space under the house or in the attic, are subject to freezing. If you have time to do this before freezing temperatures arrive, wrap these pipes with insulation materials made especially for this purpose. These materials can be found in most hardware stores or home improvement centers.
- Disconnect and drain outdoor hoses: Detach all hoses from faucets and allow them to drain. This action guards against the water in the hose or pipe from freezing and bursting the faucet or pipe to which it is connected.
- Run a trickle of water: When forecasts call for sustained and / or severe freezing temperatures, run a thin trickle of water from the faucet furthest from the water line coming to your house. Usually this is in a room at the back of the house or outside, in the yard. Allowing the water to circulate through your home’s plumbing helps to keep it from freezing. Some consider this a waste of water but the cost of the water used is extremely slight compared to repairing broken pipes and the resulting water damage.
- Remember the backflow preventer: Residents and business owners who have backflow preventers on their properties for water lines, fire lines, irrigation systems, and swimming pools need to protect their backflow preventers from freeze as well. Extended freezes can burst the body of the backflow assembly, rendering it useless. Wrap these pipes with insulation materials, made especially for this purpose. These materials can be found in most hardware stores or home improvement centers. If the device and the water line are not in use at this time (i.e., irrigation system or swimming pool lines), shut off the water supply line and drain the backflow device.
Need Help Using A New Computer, Phone Or Other Tech Item? The Molino Library Can Help
December 27, 2017
Need help learning how to use that new Christmas computer, smartphone or other tech item? The Molino branch of the West Florida Library is offering local basic technology helps for free.
At the Molino Branch Library, patrons can register to receive up to 30 minutes of individual technology help on Wednesdays from noon to 7 p.m. and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Find email, increase computer knowledge, improve skills with a smart phone, learn how to download e-books and more. Call (850) 435-1760 to reserve a session.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Dump Electronics, Household Hazardous Waste, Tires For Free
December 8, 2017
The Escambia County Waste Services Department will host the next Regional Roundup on Saturday, Dec. 9 from 8 a.m. until noon at the Perdidio Landfill, located at 13009 Beulah Road. Regional Roundup events provide an opportunity to properly dispose of electronics, household hazardous waste and up to four tires per vehicle, free of charge.
Residents can dispose of all types of clean, dry, recyclable electronics including computers, monitors and terminals, keyboards, mice, printers, TVs, copiers, gaming systems, remotes, fax machines, stereo systems, cell phones and telephones. Electronics that have been gutted will not be accepted. Appliances, including fans and air conditioners, are not accepted.
HHW items can cause injury if handled improperly. These items will usually have a warning or cautionary statement on their labels, such as flammable, corrosive, poisonous or toxic and include items such as swimming pool chemicals, cleaners, drain openers, paint and paint products, fuels, gases, lawn and garden chemicals, aerosol cans and automotive repair and maintenance products.
For more information about Regional Roundup events or proper disposal of waste, contact the Escambia County Waste Services Department at 850-937-2160 or wasteservices@myescambia.com.
ECSO Sgt. Jackson Receives FBI Trilogy Award
December 2, 2017
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Heath Jackson was awarded the FBI-LEEDA trilogy award for attending and completing Supervisor Leadership Institute, Command Leadership Institute, and Executive Leadership Institute training. The Trilogy Award is presented to those exceptional individuals who demonstrate a high standard of dedication to continued education. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward School Advisory Council To Meet
November 24, 2017
The Ernest Ward Middle School School Advisory Council will meet Tuesday, December 5 at 8 a.m. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held in the school’s Innovation Center.
The tentative agenda for the meeting includes student acknowledgement, a report from the principal and the consideration of bylaws for the School Advisory Council.
Effie Louise English
October 10, 2017
Mrs. Effie Louise English, 85, passed away Monday, October 9, 2017, at her home.
Mrs. English was a native of Atmore, AL and life long resident of Little Rock, AL. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She was retired from Vanity Fair with 30 years of service and a member of the First United Pentecostal Church of Monroeville.
She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Jessie English of Little Rock, AL; one son, John Lee English of Atmore, AL; two daughters, Patsy (Ken) Taylor of Atmore, AL and Linda (Ronald) Baggett of Atmore, AL; one sister, Hazel Blackmon of Jay, FL; ten grandchildren and twenty great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 2:00 PM at the Little Rock Church of Assemblies with Rev. David Cooper and Rev. Leo Kent officiating.
Burial will follow at Miller Cemetery.
Visitation will be Thursday, October 12, 2017 from 12 Noon until service time at 2:00 PM at the Little Rock Church of Assemblies.
Pallbearers will be John C. English, Colbie English, Jared English, Josh Baggett, Dylan Baggett and Justin Taylor.
Honorary Pallbearers will be Riley Baggett, Wyatt Baker, Layton Martin and Kaison Martin.
Cold Front Brings Great Weather
September 6, 2017
For the latest on Hurricane Irma, click here.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 59. North wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 81. North wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 56. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 83. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60. North wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 85. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 63. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Northeast wind around 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 62.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 84.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 85.
FDLE Arrests Escambia Women On Heroin Charges
August 25, 2017
Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Paola Sotolongo, 46, and Krystel Theologis, 27, for drug trafficking and possession following a heroin distribution investigation. The investigation began in July and yesterday a search warrant was conducted at a home shared by the women, 7155 Mobile Highway in Pensacola, where both were arrested. The State Attorney’s Office, ATF and FBI assisted in the investigation and search warrant.
During the search, investigators found prepackaged heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine along with fentanyl, marijuana and alprazolam. Sotolongo (pictured left) was charged with trafficking in heroin and methamphetamine and possession of fentanyl and cocaine with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a place of worship. Theologis has been charged with possession of alprazolam with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a place of worship, and possession of marijuana.
Both women were booked into the Escambia County Jail. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office.
Dispute Continues Over Florida’s Lethal Injection Drug
August 8, 2017
A Death Row inmate scheduled to be executed this month continues to mount challenges to the state’s newly adopted lethal-injection procedure — never before used in Florida or any other state — but Attorney General Pam Bondi’s lawyers are urging the Florida Supreme Court to reject the latest attempt.
Gov. Rick Scott ordered Mark James Asay to be executed on Aug. 24, essentially ending a hold on the state’s death penalty caused by a series of court rulings. Asay is scheduled to be put to death more than 19 months after Scott originally signed a death warrant in his case.
Since that January 2016 warrant, the Florida Department of Corrections has switched the formula used in the triple-drug lethal injection procedure, called a “protocol.”
In the new protocol, Florida is substituting etomidate for midazolam as the critical first drug, used to sedate prisoners before injecting them with a paralytic and then a drug used to stop prisoners’ hearts.
Asay’s lawyer, Marty McClain, failed to convince a Duval County judge that the new protocol is unconstitutional because etomidate can cause pain after being injected and can result in “myoclonus,” or involuntary movements, such as twitches or jerks.
But this weekend, McClain — who wants the state to use the old drug formula, or switch to a single-drug execution protocol — asked the Supreme Court to accept a “declaration” from anesthesiologist John Robert Sneyd regarding the hazards of using etomidate as part of the triple-drug lethal injection cocktail.
“Excitatory movements such as myoclonus may compromise electronic brain monitoring and render this method of patient monitoring ineffective for the person attempting the killing to be confident that the subject of the execution attempt is unconscious,” Sneyd wrote.
But Assistant Attorney General Charmaine Millsaps asked the Supreme Court to strike the declaration, arguing that it is procedurally barred because it was never heard by Duval County Circuit Judge Tatiana Salvador before she ruled against Asay’s challenge to the lethal-injection protocol late last month.
“This (Supreme) Court cannot consider factual matters that were not presented to the trial court. The declaration is an attempt to circumvent the trial court’s fact-finding role,” Millsaps wrote in a three-page motion filed Monday.
In a separate filing Monday afternoon, McClain also continued to accuse Bondi’s office of denying Asay the right to due process by hoodwinking his lawyers into agreeing to a delay in a review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bondi “utilized her statutory power to bring about an execution date that diminished” Asay’s chances of having the U.S. Supreme Court review his case, McClain wrote in the 30-page brief.
McClain has argued that Bondi misrepresented the status of the case when she gave the governor a go-ahead for scheduling the execution.
After McClain filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, known as a “writ of certiorari,” this spring, Bondi sought a 30-day extension in the case.
McClain said he interpreted Bondi’s request for a postponement, to which he agreed, to mean that the state would not seek a new execution date for Asay until after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the appeal this fall.
Without the 30-day extension, the U.S. justices could have taken up Asay’s appeal before their summer hiatus, which started on June 28 and lasts until October, McClain argued.
Instead, the court gave Bondi until July 5 to file her response to Asay’s request.
Two days before the deadline, Bondi certified to Scott that Asay was eligible for execution. After Scott signed Asay’s death warrant on July 3, setting the execution date for Aug. 24, Bondi quickly filed an objection to Asay’s appeal in the U.S. court.
Since a death warrant has been issued in Asay’s case, it would take five U.S. Supreme Court justices to order a review, instead of the four that would have been necessary to grant a petition in the absence of a pending execution date, McClain wrote in a letter to the governor last month.
But Bondi’s lawyers, in court filings, maintain that the governor has “unfettered discretion” to sign death warrants and is not obligated to wait until the federal appeals have been resolved.
Asay’s execution would be the first carried out in Florida since a January 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision, in a case known as Hurst v. Florida, that found Florida’s death penalty sentencing system was unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries.
The sentencing process has since been revised, but the death penalty has been in limbo Florida following the Hurst decision and a series of subsequent state court rulings.
Asay was convicted of the 1988 killings of Robert Lee Booker and Robert McDowell in downtown Jacksonville.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Installation Of 405 LED Street Lights Underway In Ensley
August 7, 2017
The installation of 405 LED street lights is underway in the Ensley Community Redevelopment Area, with a goal of enhancing safety and deterring crime in the community. The approximately $219,000 project is being paid for by Escambia County through Community Development Block Grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Recurring annual energy costs will be funded by the Ensley CRA Tax Increment Financing. Work is being completed by Gulf Power and is expected to take 8-10 weeks.
In 2014, the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners designated Ensley as a Community Redevelopment Area, or CRA, and approved the Ensley Redevelopment Plan in 2016. One of the action strategies from the plan is to implement physical improvements such as street lighting to improve pedestrian safety as well as the visual appearance of residential areas.
For a larger map of the street light project area, click here.