Country Music Icon Kenny Rogers Dies At 81; ‘The Gambler’ Had Pensacola Connections
March 21, 2020
Legendary country music icon Kenny Rogers passed away Friday night at age 81.
Rogers performed in Pensacola several times, including a benefit concert after Hurricane Ivan at the request of his former producer, the late Larry Butler of Pensacola.
In a career that spanned more than six decades, Kenny Rogers left an indelible mark on the history of American music. His songs have endeared music lovers and touched the lives of millions around the world. Chart-topping hits like “The Gambler,” “Lady,” “Islands In The Stream,” “Lucille,” “She Believes In Me,” and “Through the Years” are just a handful of Kenny Rogers’ songs that have inspired generations of artists and fans alike. Rogers, with twenty-four number-one hits, was a Country Music Hall of Fame member, six-time CMA Awards winner, three-time GRAMMY® Award winner, recipient of the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013, CMT Artist of a Lifetime Award honoree in 2015 and has been voted the “Favorite Singer of All Time”.
Pictured below: Kenny Rogers (left) with his producer, Larry Butler of Pensacola.
DeSantis Orders Cancellation Of All Elective Surgeries
March 21, 2020
In order to provide relief to hospitals that are, or might be, stretched thin due to the coronavirus, Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered the cancellation of all elective surgeries.
“All hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, office surgery centers, dental, orthodontic and endodontic offices, and other health care practitioners’ offices in the state of Florida are prohibited from providing any medically unnecessary, non-urgent or non-emergency procedure or surgery which, if delayed, does not place a patient’s immediate health, safety or wellbeing at risk, or will, if delayed, not contribute to the worsening of a serious or life-threatening medical condition,” the governor’s office said.
The order continues until the end of the current COVID-19 State of Emergency.
Cabinet Member Calls For DeSantis To Issue Statewide ‘Stay At Home’ Order
March 21, 2020
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is asking Governor Ron DeSantis to implement a statewide “stay-at-home” order in response to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the state.
“I want to recognize the difficult choices the Governor has had to make in this public health crisis. No Governor in recent history would have expected to have to make a decision like California, New York, or Illinois have made in the past 72 hours,” Fried, the only Democrat holding an elected statewide office, said in an email.
“Shutting down one of the nation’s largest states is a decision that will have an economic impact — but it is a decision that will save lives. Based on the data, we know we are a week behind California’s vast increase in COVID-19 cases. The individuals and businesses I’ve spoken with are growing more anxious by the day. As the nation’s third largest state, we need to go further, and we cannot afford to lose another week.”
She said a single order would be more effective than the “piecemeal approach” of increasing closures.
Early in the week, the governor ordered bars to close for 30 days and cut the seating area of restaurants by half. On Friday, he completely closed restaurant dinings rooms, along with gyms and fitness centers until the current state of emergency ends.
Pensacola Chamber Announces Save Florida Business Initiative
March 21, 2020
The Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA) and DigiPro Media have partnered together to announce the Save Florida Business Initiative as a way to support Florida businesses during this difficult time.
The Save Florida Business Initiative will connect consumers in Escambia and Santa Rosa County to area businesses through the SaveFloridaBusiness.com website where consumers can be connected to businesses participating in the program.
To participate, any Escambia or Santa Rosa County business must offer a $75 Gift Card Bond that has a retail value of $100. The purchase of the Gift Card Bond incentivizes consumers since they earn $25 for every $75 Gift Card Bond purchased.
“The Save Florida Business Initiative will get money directly to businesses now while we endure the economic impact of the Coronavirus,” stated Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association Regional Director Corey Mobley. “This program will also incentivize consumers to return to our local businesses once this has passed.”
Local businesses can register to participate, and consumers can search and connect with registered businesses at www.savefloridabusiness.com. There is no limit to the number of Gift Card bonds an individual can purchase. We are also leaving it to the participating business to decide when the Gift Card Bonds can be redeemed.
“Many in our community have asked how they can help businesses during this trying time, “stated Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce President Todd Thomson. “The Save Florida Business Initiative is a way to provide immediate help for our friends and neighbors. I encourage all who can to participate in this program.”
The SaveFloridaBusiness.com website was built by DigiPro Media in partnership with the FRLA and Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce. The website contains information on the program, a place for businesses to register, and a directory of businesses offering Gift Card Bonds.
Body Found Along Roadway Believed To Be 11-Year Old Colorado Boy
March 21, 2020
A body found Tuesday afternoon along Highway 90 on the Santa Rosa end of the Escambia River Bridge has been tentatively identified as a missing 11-year old boy from Colorado.
Gannon Stauch, 11, was reported missing January 27. His stepmother, Letecia Stuach, stands accused of his murder; she was arrested March 2 in South Carolina. She’s now back in Colorado, charged with first degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence.
Road construction workers found the body about noon Tuesday, and an autopsy has tentatively identified it as Stauch. Authorities have not said how the body got to Santa Rosa County.
Anyone that may have seen Letecia Stauch in the Escambia or Santa Rosa county areas is asked to call during the February 3-5 timeframe is asked to contact the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at (719) 520-6666 or email tips@elpasoco.com or call Santa Rosa County Crime Stopper stoppers at (850) 437-STOP.
Second COVID-19 Test Is Negative For Navy Federal Employee
March 20, 2020
An employee announced Tuesday by Navy Federal as “presumptive positive” for has been determined to be negative for COVID-19.
The following morning, the Florida Department of Health said the employee was not previously tested and found positive under guidelines from the health department, and a public health investigation was launched to determine if the person was in fact positive.
Friday afternoon, Navy Federal spokesman Bill Pearson confirmed that the person’s second test came back negative.
Navy Federal is continuing to work to protect employees, Pearson said.
“We are doing everything we can as an organization to expand our work from home capabilities along with following all CDC and government guidance for providing healthy work environments. During times of crisis, financial institutions like banks and credit unions are considered essential services to the American public. Navy Federal has more the nine million members around the globe and we’re doing everything possible to continue our mission of serving these members while doing the right thing for our workforce,” he said in a email to NorthEscambia.com. “We’ve implemented the recommended measures to promote social distancing and we’ve taken every step possible to clean and sanitize our buildings. As we’ve been able to increase the amount of teleworkers, we’ve been able to spread the remaining employees out across our campus. All meetings are being conducted virtually and we’ve asked employees not to travel between buildings.”
Pearson reacted to public comments about how close Navy Federal employees work together at their Pensacola campus.
“We understand and empathize with the concerns expressed by employees and the community,” he said. “Our commitment has been and will continue to be, supporting employee’s needs and we encourage them to have open dialogue with their supervisors to make sure legitimate issues can be addressed appropriately.”
“While we are expanding our work from home capability, we do not have any plans to close any of our campuses, including our operations center in Pensacola,” he added.
Escambia County Closes All Public Beaches
March 20, 2020
Escambia County issued an emergency order Friday afternoon closing all public access beaches in the county effective at midnight. The order will remain in place through April 2.
The order closes the sandy portion of public beaches — sound side and Gulf side, Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key. Persons are not prohibited from going to the beach for a scenic drive, food pick-up, etc.
The closure includes public beach areas, public beach access ways and public beachfront parks. Boat ramps, the fishing pier and the Bob Sikes fishing bridge will remain open to the public.
Violation of the order is a misdemeanor offense.
The commission also voted to go all-electronic tolling to Pensacola Beach effective immediately. Sunpass or other electronic tolling or toll-by-plate will be in effect.
The Escambia County Commission voted unanimously for the beach closure after three and a half hours of discussion.
Santa Rosa County has closed Navarre Beach and the pier effective at midnight Friday .Okaloosa and Walton counties closed their public beaches Thursday morning.
In Alabama beaches closed under an order from Gov. Kay Ivey.
Governor Suspends All On-premise Services At Florida Restaurants; Closes All Gyms And Fitness Centers
March 20, 2020
Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order Friday afternoon that immediately suspends on-premise food and alcohol consumption for restaurants in Florida.
Restaurants can continue to offer drive-thru and curbside service.
The order also requires the immediate closure of gyms and fitness centers in the state. The order does not apply to gyms and fitness centers that are an amenity of a residential building, part of a hotel with a capacity of less than 10 people, inside fire or police station or are in any single-occupant office building.
Sacred Heart Tests 800 For COVID-19, No Results Back Yet
March 20, 2020
Sacred Heart Hospital has tested about 800 people since they started drive-thru COVID-19 testing on March 16, and the first results from those tests are expected back by this upcoming Sunday, March 22.
Those first tests were sent to another laboratory in Jacksonville, leading to the delay. However, Dawn Rudolph, president of Ascension Sacred Heart, said they are moving the tests to the hospital’s in-house laboratory that is able to analyze 50 tests per day due to equipment limitations.
Mark Faulkner, CEO of Baptist Health Care said Baptist Hospital is some 3-5 week away from being able to process tests in-house while they await the arrival of equipment.
If someone tests positive, “…the treatment remains the same. Go home, self-isolate,” she said. “If you are sick enough to be in the hospital, we will take care of you in the hospital”
Rudolph said she believes some percentage of the 800 people tested will be positive. She told the Escambia County Commission Friday afternoon that over 2,800 people called the testing hotline, but many did not meet the testing qualifications based upon a series of questions.
“We have a state of calm at Sacred Heart. We are prepared,” Rudolph said. “We will survive this.”
Persons interested in Sacred Heart’s drive-thru testing much first call (850) 746-2684 to be pre-screened. If they meet the criteria for testing, they will be provided more information on the test and location. The screening call center is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The drive-thru test center is open 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Pictured: Dawn Rudolph, president of Ascension Sacred Heart, addresses the Escambia County Commission Friday. NorthEscambia.com image.
Escambia Schools Tried To Call All Parents. It Didn’t Go So Well. Can They Reach You?
March 20, 2020
The Escambia County School is looking to reach all parents and guardians by phone, and that has proved to be problematic for thousands on their phone list.
The school district made tens of thousands of automated phone calls Thursday to the phone numbers they have on file for each student for a simple press one or press two survey asking if they have adequate home internet service for upcoming virtual instruction.
There was a technical glitch that caused some callers to hear nothing on the line when they answered, Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said. That resulted in the district collecting little or no data for some schools.
But more importantly, Thomas said thousands of phone numbers were invalid, meaning the district does not have correct phone numbers on file for those students. He is encouraging families to contact their child’s school and update phone numbers on file after staff returns on March 30. Parents can log into the online FOCUS system and see if their number is wrong, but cannot directly update it there.
“We need to have correct numbers for all of our students,” Thomas said.
Teachers will personally call parents or guardians by April 1. If the call is not received by April 3, Thomas said parents should call their child’s school to make sure the school has the correct phone number.
Thomas said if parents received the silent survey call on Thursday, not to worry. Teachers will ask about internet access when they call the week of March 30.