Wards Named Escambia County Farm Family Of The Year
November 10, 2018
The Heath Ward Family was named the Escambia County Farm Bureau Farm Farm Family of the Year.
Heath Ward is a fourth generation farmer who was born and raised in Walnut Hill. On the day he was born, Heath’s father Brett was shelling corn on the on land owned by Heath’s great-grandfather.
He is one of those men who always knew what he wanted from life. At an early age, he realized that he would one day take over the family farm. The FFA and agricultural classes were his favorites in school. Growing up, Heath competed in steer shows and helped his father and grandfather on their farms in both Walnut Hill and Lowndes County, AL.
After attending Auburn University, he moved home to fulfill his calling of, in his words, “feeding America”. His row crops include cotton, corn, and peanuts. In 2006, Heath was named Florida’s Outstanding Young Peanut Farmer of the Year.
In 2011, Heath met Elisabeth Hendrix from Atmore. They were married in 2012, and welcomed their first child, Hendrix, in 2014. Mary-Grace, a true “farmer’s daughter,”‘was welcomed in 2017.
Heath, Elisabeth, Hendrix, and Mary-Grace enjoy Sunday afternoon rides to check cows or look at crops. They say this time together is relaxing and brings them together as a family. While Heath and Elisabeth want their children to spread their wings and chase their personal dreams, they would love nothing more for them to settle down back home in Walnut Hill, hopefully following in their father’s footsteps in the agricultural business.
Pictured top: Elisabeth Ward holding Hendrix Ward, Farm Bureau board member Jack Livingston, and Heath Ward holding Mary-Grace Ward. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Data Breach Could Affect Escambia, Santa Rosa Health Department Clients
November 10, 2018
A data breach may have compromised the personal information of some health department clients in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
An investigation found that an unauthorized user comprised an employee’s Microsoft Outlook 365 account between October 8-16 of this year. The department immediately reset the employee’s login credentials to terminate any inappropriate account access and promptly reported the event.
It is possible that individuals served by the District 1 Child Protection Team may have had their names, psychological, and medical conditions accessed as a result of this incident, according to a news release.
Currently the department has no reason to believe that client information has been misused. Nor was there any evidence of access to social security numbers, bank accounts, credit cards or other personal or financial information.
As a precautionary measure, clients are encouraged to review their credit history for any fraudulent or suspicious activities they have not authorized. A free report can be obtained at www.annualcreditreport.com. Anyone suspecting fraudulent activity should contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9630.
The department said it:
- Took immediate steps to remediate the breach and began an ongoing review of potentially impacted information;
- Conducted a full review of department IT data to determine the circumstances of the breach;
- Initiated a new security awareness training and exercises to ensure proper security protocol and monthly testing of employees;
- Is exploring additional security options to protect against further security breaches.
For more information, call Children’s Medical Services at (850) 245-4201 and select option 3.
One Injured In Three-Vehicle Tate School Road Wreck
November 10, 2018
One person was injured in a three-vehicle crash on Tate School Road Friday afternoon. The crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Opens Playoffs With Big 40-14 Win Over Graceville
November 10, 2018
The Northview Chiefs opened round one of the 1A playoffs Friday night in Bratt with a 40-14 win over the Graceville Tigers.
“They came to play; we are just really starting to play our best football and I think that was evident tonight,” Northview head coach Derek Marshman said. “I thought we ran the ball extremely well. Both of our tailbacks, Jaheem Durant and Trent Peebles, they just really ran their tail off. Jayden Jackson ran really hard. Aunterio Minor ran the ball really well and blocked hard. Jaquan Barton had his best game by far tonight. I mean he blocked his tail off all night.”
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery, click here.
After a big gain down to the five by Minor, Peebles punched it in as the Chiefs opened the scoring. With 4:53 in the first, the Chiefs were up 6-0. Then a couple of minutes later, Northview’s Johnny Windham recovered a blocked Tigers punt at about the 10 yard line for another Chiefs touchdown 14-0.
The Tigers added a touchdown and two point conversion to end the first quarter with the score 14-8.
The Chiefs added touchdowns in the second from Durant and Barton to hold a 26-8 lead at the half on a damp, chilly and windy night at Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium.
Jayden Jackson scored for Northview with 5:24 to go in the third. With a successful two point conversion from Peebles, The Chiefs were up 34-8. The Tigers managed their second touchdown of the night in the third.
Northview added two more touchdowns in the fourth to seal their 40-14 victory.
The Northview Chiefs will travel to No. 1 seed Baker next Friday night in the regional semifinals.
“It’s going to be tough. Our kids want it,” Marshman said. “They want that challenge. To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”
The winner of Northview and Baker will play the winner of Jay and Vernon on November 23.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery, click here.
(Look for another galley with cheerleaders and the band by Monday.)
NorthEscambia.com
ECUA Seeks Candidates For Citizens’ Advisory Committee
November 10, 2018
The ECUA Board will conduct its annual Organizational Board Meeting on Thursday, November 15. During this meeting, the Board will select its officers to serve in respective leadership roles through October 2019, and make appointments to its Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC). Any Escambia County resident who is interested in being considered for appointment to the CAC should contact Ms. Glenda White, at 969-3302 or glenda.white@ecua.fl.gov by noon on Friday, November 9.
Elections Experts Say Process Working Amid Furor In Florida
November 10, 2018
The lawsuits piled up and the finger-pointing escalated Friday as Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s slim lead over U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson continued to shrink.
While some elections supervisors tallied remaining votes, a recount appeared almost certain in the Senate race, which Scott led by 56,000 votes on election night. The Republican’s advantage dwindled to about 15,000 votes — out of nearly 8.2 million ballots cast statewide — by Friday, well within the 0.5 percent margin requiring a machine recount.
Watching his lead shrink, Scott accused elections supervisors in Broward and Palm Beach counties of “incompetence” and fraud.
But elections experts say the process is working exactly how it is designed under a state law that gives county supervisors until noon Saturday to submit their preliminary, unofficial results to the Florida Division of Elections.
“The final results are not election night,” Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley told The News Service of Florida on Friday. “The final results are due from Florida 12 days after the election.”
The supervisor spoke to reporters shortly before a 1 p.m. meeting of the county canvassing board, comprised of a judge, a county commissioner and Earley. Like other canvassing boards, the panel makes decisions about mail-in ballots and provisional ballots and plays a significant role in hand recounts.
Voters in Florida can cast ballots in a variety of ways. They can vote by mail, cast ballots in person during an early-voting period in the two weeks before the election, or they can vote on Election Day. Voters whose eligibility is in question or whose information cannot be verified on Election Day can cast “provisional” ballots, which have to be scrutinized by local officials and may also need to be validated by county canvassing boards.
After the unofficial results are submitted to Tallahassee by mid-day Saturday, Secretary of State Ken Detzner will determine whether any of the races fall within the 0.5 percent margin requiring a machine recount.
In a machine recount, all of the ballots are fed through voting machines. Ballots with “undervotes” or “overvotes” — in which voters may have skipped a race or made extra marks in races, causing their ballots to be rejected by the machines — are set aside, or “outstacked.”
Under state law, machine-recount results are due to the state by 3 p.m. on the ninth day following the general election, which is Thursday. Those are considered the “second unofficial results” of the election.
If Detzner determines that any of the races are within a 0.25 percent margin, he must order a manual, or hand, recount.
In a manual recount, county canvassing boards examine the “outstacked” ballots.
“The whole purpose of this is to look for voter intent. Just because a machine doesn’t see a vote doesn’t mean that human eyes won’t see a vote,” Earley said.
The results from the manual recounts, called “official returns,” must be provided to the state no later than noon on Nov. 18 — 12 days after the election.
Two days later, the state Elections Canvassing Commission, comprised of Scott and two members of the Florida Cabinet, will meet at 9 a.m. in Tallahassee to certify the official election results.
Earley’s long-serving predecessor, Ion Sancho, said Florida’s law anticipates that it takes time for elections supervisors to finalize their vote tallies, hence the 12-day window before the results are finalized.
Ballots can be damaged in the mail or at home by voters before being sent to the elections office. Elections workers have to replicate the damaged ballots, so they can be read by voting machines, which then have to be examined by county canvassing boards, according to Sancho.
That’s a painstaking, time-consuming process, he said.
“Votes are not being manufactured out of nowhere. This is a process that a Republican legislature, a Republican governor and a Republican secretary of state have developed since 2002,” Sancho, who served as Leon County elections supervisor for nearly three decades before retiring two years ago, told the News Service.
Much of the current consternation about Florida’s election is focused on Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, whose office was still processing ballots Friday. The results of those ballots were largely responsible for narrowing the gap between Scott and Nelson, whose lawyer, Marc Elias, predicted that the margin in the race would continue to evaporate as more provisional ballots are tabulated.
According to Snipes’ website, her office had not completed counting ballots that were cast during the early-voting period, which ended Sunday. But she has not said how many ballots remain outstanding, and she’s facing lawsuits from Scott and Matt Caldwell, a Republican candidate for agriculture commissioner who saw his 4,000-vote election-night lead reversed. By Friday afternoon, Caldwell’s opponent, Democrat Nikki Fried, held a 3,000-vote advantage.
“Certainly, there are hiccups here and there. It’s a very complicated process. When I start talking about how recounts work, or just tabulation in general, I always see people’s eyes roll into the back of their heads. But it’s those details that you’ve got to get right. Sometimes it takes time. I don’t think that anything nefarious is happening down south, but it may have been organized better,” Earley said.
Late Thursday evening, Scott told reporters he asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the elections offices in Broward and Palm Beach counties. FDLE is working with Detzner’s office and “will investigate any allegations of criminal activity or fraud,” agency spokeswoman Gretl Plesinger said in an email Friday afternoon.
“We do not have an active investigation at this point,” she said.
Broward voters have the power to do something about it if they are unhappy about their elected supervisor, Sancho said.
“The Broward County supervisor of elections, at age 72, was re-elected to another four-year term. The voters made that decision. They have to live with it. Votes matter. If people want the elections procedure to work better, then perhaps they should really look at the candidates who are running for supervisor,” he said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Four Uninjured In Highway 29 Accident
November 9, 2018
Four people, including two properly restrained young children, were not injured in a single vehicle accident about 7:45 Friday morning on Highway 29 just south of 10 Mile Road. NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Bicyclist Struck And Killed On W Street; Cantonment Woman Uninjured
November 9, 2018
A bicyclist was struck and killed Thursday night on W Street.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 32-year old Lauren McQuigg of Cantonment collided with the bicycle on W Street near Industrial Boulevard about 5:50 p.m. McQuigg was southbound on W Street in the outside lane when her GMC Terrain hit the bicycle that was traveling south in the same lane.
The identification of the male victim has not been released pending notification of next of kin.
Any charges in the crash are pending the outcome of an ongoing FHP investigation. McQuigg was not injured.
Scott Fights Elections Supervisors As Recount Looms
November 9, 2018
Gov. Rick Scott lashed out Thursday night at elections supervisors in Broward and Palm Beach counties as “incompetent” and part of an effort to “thwart the will of the people,” as the margin of his apparent U.S. Senate victory has narrowed and likely will require a recount.
Scott’s comments came as his campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee filed a lawsuit against Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes. The lawsuit, which seeks an immediate hearing, contends her office continues to withhold crucial voter information and has blocked access to the office.
The campaign also filed a separate lawsuit against Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher, accusing her of refusing to allow Scott’s representatives to personally witness the ballot counting. The suit, filed in Palm Beach County, also accuses Bucher of keeping the county canvassing board from performing its duties.
Scott, expressing concern about “rampant fraud” in the two counties, also directed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the election offices. Broward and Palm Beach counties are Democratic strongholds, and Snipes and Bucher are Democrats.
“I am considering every single legal option available,” Scott said while appearing before the media outside the governor’s mansion in an event held by his campaign. “No rag-tag group of liberal activists or lawyers from D.C. will be allowed to steal this election from the voters of this great state.”
Scott didn’t take questions from the media after accusing “unethical liberals of trying to steal this election from the people of Florida.”
Dan McLaughlin, a spokesman for Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, said Scott’s actions are apparently “politically motivated and borne out of desperation.”
“The goal here is to see that all the votes in Florida are counted and counted accurately,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
In the lawsuit, the Scott campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee contend the Broward elections office has been unwilling to disclose records revealing how many people have voted, how many ballots have been canvassed and how many remain to be canvassed.
“The lack of transparency raises substantial concerns about the validity of the election process,” said the lawsuit filed in Broward County.
In his comments to the media, Scott accused Snipes of a history of “bad faith” and Bucher, a former state House member, of refusing to provide “information to the public” and requiring official party representatives to stand behind a glass wall in the ballot counting area.
Earlier in the day, Nelson’s recount lawyer predicted that the Democratic incumbent would emerge the victor over Scott as ballots continued to be examined, particularly in Palm Beach and Broward counties. A recount is expected to come into play this weekend.
Nelson attorney Marc Elias, who has been involved in a number of recounts across the country, pointed to an ongoing count of provisional ballots and ballots that may not have been properly scanned.
The tabulation of those votes will continue to narrow Scott’s razor-thin lead over Nelson, Elias predicted. Scott’s election night 56,000-vote margin over Nelson shrank to just over 15,000 votes — within the margin that triggers an automatic recount — by Thursday night.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Ernest Ward Middle Honors Veterans (With Photo Gallery)
November 9, 2018
Ernest Ward Middle School paused to honor veterans from the across the area Thursday morning.
The program featured reading of essays, patriotic music from the school’s chorus, a Missing Man Table ceremony and a rousing performance of “God Bless the USA” from Assistant Principal Virkeisha Palmer. Guest speaker was retired Lt. Cmdr. Robert Cassevah, who is Ernest Ward’s Teacher of the Year.
The annual Veterans Day program at Ernest Ward is a longstanding community tradition, held annually for about 25 years.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
