Let The Miracle League Fry Your Thanksgiving Turkey
November 16, 2018
Volunteers from the Miracle League of Pensacola will fry your turkey for you next Wednesday, saving you the time and trouble while benefiting the charity. And there is still time to make an appointment.
Completely thaw your turkey, removing all of the inside packaging and giblets. Write down exactly how much your turkey weighs so it is fried perfectly and take it to the Miracle League Park at 555 East Nine Mile Road from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Wednesday. For a monetary donation to Miracle League, the volunteers will fry your turkey to perfection. A minimum of $20 per turkey is necessary to help cover costs, and any additional donation will benefit the Miracle League of Pensacola.
Call (850) 384-6836 with questions or to schedule your time (leave a message if no answer). Reservations should be made early as the number of time slots is limited.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Triple Shooting Suspect Waives Extradition
November 16, 2018
The suspect in a triple shooting in Atmore will soon be headed back to Alabama to face charges.
Anji Lynn Baker, age 34 of Bay Minette, waived extradition during a video appearance before Judge Joyce William in Escambia County (FL) court. That means he is not fighting his transfer between states in court. Alabama authorities now have 30 days to pick up Baker and transport him back to their state to face three counts of attempted murder and a charge of shooting into an occupied building.
U.S. Marshals arrested Baker without incident in Pensacola about midday Tuesday. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond where he was being held as a fugitive from justice.
The triple shooting happened during an event inside business early Sunday morning. Two victims were airlifted to a Mobile hospital where one was listed in critical condition and the other in serious condition. A third gunshot victim was transported by ambulance where he was treated and released. All three victims were adult males.
An Atmore police officer suffered minor injuries when he was struck with a barstool.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Senate, Ag Commissioner Races Go To Manual Recounts
November 16, 2018
Floridians will have to wait a little longer to get official word about who will be the state’s next agriculture commissioner and who will serve in the U.S. Senate.
Secretary of State Ken Detzner announced Thursday that manual recounts of “overvotes” and “undervotes” will be required in the two statewide races, as the margins between candidates were below 0.25 percent after machine recounts in most counties.
The announcement came amid a series of legal battles that focus on the race between Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and his Republican challenger, Gov. Rick Scott.
Scott continued to hold a lead after the machine recounts, as did Democrat Nikki Fried in her race against Republican Matt Caldwell for agriculture commissioner.
Manual recounts are also required in three state legislative races: in Hillsborough County’s Senate District 18, where Democratic challenger Janet Cruz leads incumbent Republican Dana Young; in Volusia County’s House District 26, where Republican Elizabeth Fetterhoff is ahead of incumbent Democrat Patrick Henry; and in Palm Beach County’s House District 89, where Republican Mike Caruso leads Democrat Jim Bonfiglio.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker rejected a request from the Nelson campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to extend recount deadlines because of problems in Palm Beach County. The machine recount deadline was 3 p.m. Thursday for results in the Nov. 6 elections.
Barring changes caused by other court rulings, the deadline for manual-recount results is noon Sunday. By then, county canvassing boards will have to determine the intentions of thousands of voters who caused their ballots to be set aside by tabulating machines because they skipped voting in contests — “undervotes” — or made ballot marks beyond what was required — “overvotes.”
Unofficial results Saturday showed Scott ahead by 12,562 votes, but that number increased slightly to 12,603 after the manual recounts. Palm Beach, Broward, Highlands, Hillsborough, Clay, DeSoto, Hardee and Lee counties did not post new numbers after the Saturday results.
At the same time, Fried, an attorney and lobbyist from Fort Lauderdale, saw her Saturday lead drop by 21 votes, from 5,326 to 5,307, over Caldwell, a state House member from North Fort Myers. The two are trying to replace term-limited Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
More than an hour before the recount results were posted, Scott’s campaign sent out an email labeling him “Senator-elect.”
“Last week, Florida voters elected me as their next U.S. Senator and now the ballots have been counted twice,” Scott said in a statement. “I am incredibly proud and humbled by the opportunity to serve Florida in Washington. Our state needs to move forward. We need to put this election behind us, and it is time for Bill Nelson to respect the will of the voters and graciously bring this process to an end rather than proceed with yet another count of the votes — which will yield the same result, and bring more embarrassment to the state that we both love and have served.”
Rather than concede, Nelson’s lead recount attorney, Marc Elias, announced a lawsuit was being filed against Palm Beach County and the Florida secretary of state seeking to require a hand count of all ballots in the county “due to systematic machine failure during the machine recount.”
In a conference call with reporters, Elias said the campaign had sought all along the statewide manual recount. He contended the margin will go down “and ultimately disappear entirely” if vote-by-mail ballots that were cast before Election Day but arrived after a deadline are counted and as canvassing boards view the undervotes and overvotes.
“This is where people lay eyes on ballots and make determinations as to voter intent,” Elias said in a conference call with reporters. “Machines are wonderful counters for the vast majority of ballots, but there are going to be, and we know that there are, significant numbers of ballots, in the tens of thousands or higher, that the machines couldn’t read one way or the other.”
Elias said Broward County has about 23,000 undervotes and overvotes. Broward, which completed the machine recount, failed to get the updated numbers to the state before Thursday’s deadline.
Palm Beach County, using aging voting equipment, failed to complete the machine recount and resubmitted its earlier unofficial numbers.
Hillsborough County, which suffered a pair of power outages during its recount on Wednesday, also re-submitted its original unofficial numbers.
Even with the slight decline in overall numbers after the machine recount, Fried’s campaign declared victory, something Caldwell did on election night.
“Even though I will be the only member of my party on the Cabinet, I will govern based on my values and be a voice for priority issues that reach beyond partisanship, priorities shared by Floridians,” Fried said in a prepared statement.
However, Caldwell wasn’t ready to concede, vowing to “keeping fighting” while calling out Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes.
“I am pleased the recount will move forward as we continue working to uncover the truth about what happened in Broward County, where over 80,000 ballots appeared without explanation in the vote tally after election night,” Caldwell said in a statement.
The Florida Elections Canvassing Commission is slated to meet Tuesday to certify the election results. Scott is a member of the commission, along with two Cabinet members, but he has said he intends to recuse himself from the panel.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
DeSantis Nails Down Win In Governor’s Race
November 16, 2018
For the second time, Ron DeSantis can declare victory in the 2018 Florida governor’s race.
The results of a state-ordered machine recount of the Nov. 6 election between DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum were released Thursday, showing the former Republican congressman from Ponte Vedra Beach maintained a nearly 34,000-vote lead over his rival, according to the state Division of Elections.
DeSantis, who is slated to become governor on Jan. 8, only lost one vote from his lead in unofficial results that triggered the machine recount. Such recounts are required when margins between candidates are 0.5 percent or less.
The recount gave DeSantis a 33,683-vote lead, compared to a 33,684-vote margin in the tally of unofficial results released Saturday. DeSantis maintained a 0.41 percent margin over Gillum, with 49.59 percent of the vote to Gillum’s 49.18, the recount showed.
“Those returns remain clear and unambiguous, just as they were on election night, and at every point throughout this process,” DeSantis said in a statement. “I remain humbled by your support and the great honor the people of Florida have shown me as I prepare to serve as your next governor.”
However, Gillum, who conceded the race on election night but later retracted his concession as the vote margin narrowed, indicated he is not ready to give up on the race.
“A vote denied is justice denied — the state of Florida must count every legally cast vote. As today’s unofficial reports and recent court proceedings make clear, there are tens of thousands of votes that have yet to be counted,” Gillum said in a statement. “It is not over until every legally casted vote is counted.”
But unlike races for the U.S. Senate and state agriculture commissioner, which are headed for statewide manual recounts because the victory margins were less than 0.25 percent, the major vote counting in the governor’s race is over.
County elections officials are scheduled to file their official returns to the state by noon on Sunday, with the state Elections Canvassing Commission meeting Tuesday to certify the results.
A ruling Thursday by a federal judge leaves open the possibility of more votes in the governor’s race. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued an order giving potentially thousands of Florida voters a chance to fix their ballots by this weekend, if they were rejected because of mismatched signatures.
But Walker rejected a request from U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who is trailing Gov. Rick Scott by about 12,600 votes in their Senate race, to extend the recount deadlines. Several counties reported they were unable to complete the machine recounts by the 3 p.m. Thursday deadline, including Palm Beach and Broward counties.
As of Thursday, Gillum had not filed any lawsuits contesting the election.
However, his lawyer, Barry Richard, told MSNBC earlier in the week that Gillum was “reviewing his options” on a lawsuit, expressing concern that the election showed that Florida’s laws are impacting “the fundamental right to vote.”
“He feels an obligation to ensure that votes are counted and not to sit back when we’re beginning to learn that they are not being counted for a number of reasons,” Richard told MSNBC.
Gillum would have up to 10 days following the certification of the election outcome on Tuesday to file a lawsuit contesting the results, according to state law.
In his statement, DeSantis said the election, which drew a record number of voters for a gubernatorial race, was a “vigorously debated” contest of ideas. But he said the campaign has to “give way to governing and bringing people together to secure Florida’s future.”
He extended an offer to Gillum to join him in “a conversation” about the state.
“We have both traveled the state and met Floridians from all walks of life. Sharing these experiences will, I believe, help us unite our state and build toward unity on behalf of the people of Florida,” DeSantis said.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
JoLynn Jackson Named Jim Allen Elem. Teacher Of The Year
November 16, 2018
JoLynn Jackson has been named the Jim Allen Elementary School Teacher of the Year. She teaches kindergarten. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
‘Music On Main’ Featured Live Music And Shopping
November 16, 2018
Residents from across the area attended “Music on Main” in downtown Atmore Thursday evening. The event featured musical artists performing inside businesses in the downtown district. Pictured top: Lacey Garner performs at The Yellow Garden. Below: Justin Wall at Your Little Pink Boutique and Chris Hergenroder at Carl’s/Tot Shop. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
ECSO: Cantonment Man Attacks Wife After She Cooks The Wrong Dinner
November 15, 2018
A Cantonment man is facing felony charges for allegedly attacking his wife after she cooked the wrong meal.
Brian Sherrard Baker, 31, was charged with battery by strangulation, false imprisonment and battery.
The victim told deputies that she got into a verbal altercation with Baker over her cooking the wrong type of food for dinner before he threw the food on top of her head, kicked her onto the ground and started choking her, according to an arrest report. She said he punched her multiple times and choked her so hard she could not breathe.
Baker allegedly would not let her leave home, shoving her onto the floor and holding her down with his foot on her head. He later shoved her against a counter, inflicting pressure on a recent surgical site, the report states. He also allegedly grabbed her around the throat, shoved her against a wall and threw a remote control at her head during an argument involving an internet provider.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report states the victim suffered multiple injuries.
Baker told deputies that the couple had an argument, but no physical altercation took place. The responding deputy noted visible markings and bruises on Baker’s arms.
He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $7,500 bond.
The arrest report does not specify what food items were in the meal that led to the couple’s initial argument.
Escambia Completes Vote Recount With Little Change
November 15, 2018
The Escambia County Supervisor of Elections has completed a machine recount of three statewide races — U.S. Senate, governor and commissioner of agriculture.
In the Senate race, Republican Rick Scott gained three votes in Escambia County, and Democratic Bill Nelson lost two votes. In the race for governor, Ron DeSantis gained one vote, while Democrat Andrew Gillum’s total remained the same. In the race for Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Republican Matt Caldwell and Democrat Nikki Fried each gained one vote in Escambia County.
In the event the Secretary of State orders a manual recount, the Escambia County Canvassing Board will meet at 9:00 a.m. on Friday at the Supervisor of Elections Office at 213 Palafox Place. If more time is needed, the canvassing board will meet at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. All meetings are open to the public.
Pictured: The final day of recounting Wednesday at the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Fire Rescue Urges Household Heating Safety
November 15, 2018
Escambia County Fire Rescue is urging residents to use caution when heating your home.
Tips from Escambia Fire Rescue’s include:
Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet from heat sources.
Never leave a space heater unattended. Turn off when leaving a room or sleeping.
Never plug a space heater into an extension cord.
Never use a cooking stove to heat your home or dry clothes.
Place heaters on level, flat surfaces on the ground.
Have a qualified service professional inspect your heating system annually.
Install and maintain carbon monoxide alarms.
Never use a space heater or any appliance with a damaged cord.
Click graphic to enlarge.
Atmore Man Charged With Sexually Abusing Child
November 15, 2018
An Atmore man has been charged with sexually abusing a child.
Lenson Lee Bethea, 54, was charged with sexual abuse of a child less than 12-years old and enticing a child for immoral purposes. He remains in the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton.
On September 19, the Atmore Police Department Investigative Division received a report that a minor child had been sexually abused within in the city limits of Atmore.
Upon completion of the initial interview with the parent and the initial written report the Department of Human Resources was contacted. DHR initiated their investigation and contacted Child Advocacy to conduct an interview with the child.
DHR and the Atmore Police Department are continuing their investigation.