Cantonment Man Facing Drug Charges After Bicycle Traffic Stop
February 3, 2019
A bicyclist from Cantonment is facing multiple felony charges after a traffic stop in Pensacola.
Billy Early Grantham, 37, was charged with cocaine possession, marijuana possession, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting. He remained in the Escambia County Jail Sunday with bond set at $13,000.
The Pensacola Police Department stopped Grantham as he rode his bicycle about 3:40 a.m. Monday on Pace Boulevard near Cervantes Street for not having a required light on his bicycle.
During the search, officers located a metal pipe with marijuana residue and over three dozen pills of various types of controlled substances including Tramadol inside a backpack, according to arrest report.
After providing consent to search, Grantham attempted to bolt away, and he was “assisted” to the ground by the police officer, the report states. At the jail, a corrections officer located a cocaine rock.
One Injured In Highway 29 Molino Rollover Crash
February 3, 2019
One person was injured in a rollover crash Saturday afternoon in Molino.
The wreck happened about 3:15 p.m. on Highway 29 at Highway 196. The injured person was transported by Escambia County EMS to West Florida Hospital.
The crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
The Molino and Cantonment stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bug Smarts! Escambia 4-H Team Wins State Insect Competition
February 3, 2019
The Escambia County 4-H Insect ID and Skillathon team placed first in the state, and the Junior 4-H team placed third in the Florida 4-H Insectathon contest recently at the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida. Several individuals also placed.
The contest consisted of insect identification, insect damage identification, a special topic quiz about the Asian citrus psyllid and insect collection judging.
The Escambia County 4-H Bug Club develops life skills in youth through activities related insects and entomology. 4-H members in the club learned life skills such as effective decision-making, critical thinking, goal setting, and teamwork.
Parking Lot Improvements At Molino’s Don Sutton Ballpark
February 3, 2019
Parking lot improvements are underway at the Don Sutton Ballpark.
Parking areas and an interior road have been paved, and a few parking spaces have been added. Pavement markings will improve traffic flow and parking availability, according to Mike Rhodes, Escambia County recreation director.
The work will be complete by opening day, he said.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
FHSAA Announces Volleyball Classifications For 2019, 2020 Seasons
February 3, 2019
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) announced Friday the classifications for the 2019 and 2020 girls volleyball seasons. As requested by membership, the classifications were determined solely based on each member school’s enrollment size.
Tate, Milton, Pace, Niceville, Crestview and Navarre are in 6A.
Class 5A includes Pine Forest, Washington, Escambia, Gulf Breeze, Fort Walton Beach and Choctawhatchee.
In Class 4A, West Florida and Pensacola High are with Walton, South Walton, North Bay Haven, Rutherford and Bay.
In Class 3A, Pensacola Catholic will compete with P.K. Younge and Oak Hall from Gainesville and Florida High and Barclay from Tallahassee.
Northview, Jay, Central, Baker Laurel Hill remain in 1A Rural.
The FHSAA will not be accepting any appeals of the newly announced classifications.
Pictured: Last season’s Tate High School volleyball seniors. File photo.
Public Input Meeting Planned For New District 1 Library
February 3, 2019
The public is invited to attend a meeting on Monday, February 25 at 6 p.m. to provide input and ask questions about the first public library in District 1. It is expected to be constructed starting in 2020.
The meeting will take place at Bellview Elementary School, 4425 Bellview Avenue District 1 Commissioner Jeff Bergosh, the Library Board of Governance and library staff will be in attendance.
West Florida Public Libraries will design the new library this summer, which will be the first public library in District 1. The future site is at the former Wells Fargo Bank at 6425 Mobile Highway, across the street from Bellview Elementary and Middle schools. The location also serves as a transfer point for high school students being transported to specialty career path schools.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Spread The (Budget) Love
February 3, 2019
Showing no signs of taming a ferocious debut as Florida’s chief of state, Gov. Ron DeSantis kicked off February with a $91.3 billion spending plan padded with a little something for everyone.
The governor’s budget proposal — the largest in state history — boosts funding for public schools, pumps money into water projects and trims taxes.
For those whose eyes glaze over when they encounter the words “budget,” DeSantis provided plenty of other fodder this week.
He quickly replaced former Secretary of State Mike Ertel, who got the boot last week after a racially charged photo emerged. DeSantis tapped Laurel Lee, a Hillsborough County circuit judge who is married to Republican state Sen. Tom Lee, to oversee Florida elections during the critical 2020 presidential election.
DeSantis also appealed to Common Core critics by directing the education department to revamp school standards.
As a member of the State Board of Administration, DeSantis endeared himself to Jewish Floridians by shaming Airbnb over the company’s decision against listing properties in the West Bank. The board took a step Tuesday toward imposing economic sanctions on the popular home-sharing platform over rentals in the West Bank, which is a major flashpoint in Israeli-Palestinian relations.
And DeSantis took the high road after the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause that his 2018 election foe, Democrat Andrew Gillum, broke state ethics laws with trips to Costa Rica and New York and a pricey ticket to the Broadway hit musical, “Hamilton.”
Gillum, a former Tallahassee mayor who joined CNN as a political analyst this week, had been dogged throughout last year’s campaign by an FBI investigation into his city’s government.
When asked if he felt vindicated by the ethics commission’s findings, DeSantis said he’s “moved on.”
Gillum’s behavior was bound to create a problem, DeSantis, a former Navy prosecutor, said.
“But I’m not, like, rooting for him to fail. Look, the process will work, but I mean, I don’t have any ill will. I think he’s a talented guy. What I said in the campaign I think was accurate. But I’ve moved on,” he said.
BIG BUDGET DROP
DeSantis’ state spending proposal is a starting point for lawmakers, who will negotiate a 2019-2020 budget during the legislative session that starts March 5. The Legislature typically makes significant changes to spending proposals offered by governors.
Speaking to reporters in the governor’s large conference room Friday morning, DeSantis touted issues such as cutting taxes, with a move to hold down property taxes that otherwise would go to schools and providing popular sales-tax “holidays.”
“I said throughout the campaign, Florida being a low tax state, I think, has been integral to our success and our growth,” DeSantis said. “We want people who are working hard here to be able to live without being taxed excessively, and then we want to send a signal to the rest of the country that Florida is a good place to invest and move to because you’re going to be treated fairly.”
Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, issued a statement Friday saying he appreciated DeSantis’ recommendations, which he indicated “reflect many of our shared priorities.”
Galvano noted that senators are looking forward to a new estimate of general-revenue taxes. That revised estimate, expected later this month, could affect the amount of money lawmakers will have available when they negotiate the budget.
“Developing a comprehensive budget recommendation within the limited time following the election was certainly not an easy task, and I commend the governor and his staff for completing this critical component of our state budget process,” Galvano said.
CALLING IT QUITS ON COMMON CORE — AGAIN
Five years after then-Gov. Rick Scott took aim at Common Core, DeSantis said he’s going to wipe out the “vestiges” of the standards developed by officials in 48 states.
The State Board of Education in 2014 adopted what are known as the Florida Standards, a move that involved making changes to Common Core, which had become a target of Republican voters.
But during a news conference Thursday in Lee County, DeSantis said parents continued to express frustration about Common Core and issues such as standardized testing while he campaigned last year. The governor, who took office Jan. 8, said he was directing Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to undertake a process that will lead to new standards.
“I’m here to say when you complained about Common Core, I hear you, I told you I’d do something about it, and today we are acting to bring those promises into a reality,” DeSantis said.
Though Scott touted moving away from Common Core, Corcoran on Thursday said Florida has been “stuck” with Common Core and alluded to the Florida Standards as a rebranding.
“It’s all the same, it all needs to be looked at, it all needs to be scrutinized,” said Corcoran, who was a state House appropriations chairman in 2014 and later became House speaker. “And we need to sit down with the experts, the stakeholders, the great superintendents, the great leaders in the community and figure out how do we write the best, No. 1 standards in the United States of America.”
The announcement drew praise from the Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union that has frequently clashed with Republican leaders over issues such as standardized testing.
Kurt Browning, superintendent of schools in Pasco County, said he supports “streamlining standardized testing” and other initiatives proposed by DeSantis. But the Republican schools chief expressed caution about moving away from the current standards.
Browning asked DeSantis and Corcoran “to consider the amount of time, funding, and effort teachers, administrators, and school districts have invested in professional learning, curriculum, materials and resources that align with our current standards.”
“My concern is that we not lose ground in the progress we have made toward ensuring our students are prepared for the demands of college and the workforce,” he said.
‘OBVIOUS ATTEMPT’ OR ‘COMPLETE COMPLIANCE’
In a 41-page report, lawyer Elizabeth A. Miller, the state ethics commission’s advocate, rebuked Gillum for allegedly accepting gifts from Tallahassee entrepreneur Adam Corey and from undercover FBI agents posing as developers. Corey had been a close friend of Gillum and lobbied the city commission.
Failing to report the gifts “is an obvious attempt to either conceal the gifts from the public or hide the fact that he accepted gifts from a lobbyist and principals of a lobbyist — both prohibited donors,” Miller said in the report released Wednesday.
In a closed-door meeting last week, the commission found probable cause that Gillum “accepted things of value based on an understanding his official action would be influenced and when he knew or should have known they were given to influence action in which he was expected to participate,” according to a news release that also was distributed Wednesday.
The panel found probable cause to believe the former mayor “misused his position to accept things of value for himself and others in return for access and influence.” And the commission found probable cause to believe Gillum accepted gifts with a value of more than $100 from a lobbyist or vendor of the city and failed to report the gifts. No probable cause, however, was found that Gillum solicited gifts.
Gillum, who will request a hearing in the case, has steadfastly maintained that he hasn’t broken laws or committed wrongdoing.
“I am confident that as we move through this and as a judge looks at the facts, they will determine that I have acted in complete compliance with the law,” Gillum told CNN host Chris Cuomo Tuesday night.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Gov. Ron DeSantis released his first budget proposal, a $91.3 billion spending plan that would be the largest in the state’s history if adopted by the Legislature.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “There’s no evidence he ever did anything for anybody in return for a gift. … This is all, frankly, trivial stuff.” — Lawyer Barry Richard, referring to the Florida Commission on Ethics finding of probable cause that his client, former Tallahassee Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum, broke state ethics laws.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
An Early Spring! North Escambia Weather Ducks Miss Shadow
February 2, 2019
On this Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil, the world famous groundhog, did not see his shadow and predicted an early spring. Our local weather guys, the NorthEscambia.com Weather Ducks, missed their shadow on an overcast misty, and foggy Saturday morning and predicted an early spring for the North Escambia area.
Folklore says that if the groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, it means six more weeks of winter. We did not have a groundhog handy for a photo, but we did have the NorthEscambia.com Weather Ducks (pictured above).
The NorthEscambia.com Weather Ducks have offered their winter predictions for 10 years, more successfully than not.
For today’s forecast, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Tate High Welcomes Home State Champ Cheerleaders; WFHS Also Places At State
February 2, 2019
The Tate Aggies cheered for their state champion cheerleaders as they returned home from Gainesville Friday afternoon.
The Aggie cheerleaders won the Florida High School Athletic Association Region Small Coed Championship Thursday. They are the first squad from Tate High School or Escambia County to take first place in their division since Pine Forest won that honor in the 80s, according to the Escambia County School District. They are also the first Escambia district squad to win since cheerleading was recognized as a sport and included in the FHSAA competitions.
“Congratulations to our Coed State Champion cheerleading Team. Coach White, Coach Wiggins, and all of the cheerleaders did an amazing job,” said Tate High School’s Principal Rick Shackle. “Again, congratulations on being state champions and your immeasurable efforts.”
“I’m so proud of the work these athletes have put in this year,” said Coach Morgan White, who spent four years as an Aggie cheerleader. “We’ve had many trials and hurdles they’ve had to endure, but their resiliency and love for their school continues to push these athletes forward. I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of the Tate High School cheer program.”
The Aggie cheerleaders will travel to Orlando’s Wide World of Sports for the UCA High School Nationals February 8-11.
Tate Aggie cheerleaders are Kyndell Ammons, Morgan Austin, Jonah Cass, Bailey Carter, Shelby Fleming, Isabella Floyd, Kensley Foley Hagyn Helton, Payton Herring, Madeline Hughes, Erin Johnson, Elena Lucci, Abi Manoso, Keaden Martin, Kyndal Milsted, Ashlyn NeSmith, Madelyn Ray, Emma Romero, Payton Simmons, Ariyana Wyatt, Krysanne Hagen – co-captain, Emilee Potter – co-captain, and Kennedy Bellard – captain. This year’s head coach is Morgan White and the assistant coach is Annie Wiggins.
The cheer squad from West Florida High School also traveled to the State Championships in Gainesville to compete in the Class 1A Large Varsity category and they took second place for the second year in a row.
“We are extremely proud of our West Florida varsity cheerleaders. Their hard work and dedication is both admired and appreciated,” said West Florida High School’s Principal Shenna Payne.
West Florida cheerleaders are Alyssa Albertson, Sarah Albertson Taylor Bailey, Lanie Brown. Chloe Claxton, Madison Couture, Chloe Douglas, Amanda Klemm, Saniyah Marioneaux, Jazmine Olsen, Haley Pratt, Erica Ragsdale, Nadiya Reeves, Zaniya Royster, Kalista Russell, Kaylin Russell Alexis Shaw, Alyssa Tran, Savannah Young, Destiney Larkins — co-captain, Jada Lee – captain, and coach is Stacie Hammer
Both squads have been invited to attend and be recognized at an upcoming school board meeting.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Friday Night Crash On Nine Mile Road
February 2, 2019
Traffic was slowed Friday night after a crash on East Nine Mile Road at Chisolm Road. Further details have not been released by the Florida Highway Patrol. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.