Tate Aggies Beat Elba (With Photo Gallery)
November 3, 2018
The Tate Aggies ended their season with a 42-35 Senior Night win over the Tigers of Elba, AL.
Elba took the first score of the ballgame at Pete Gindl Stadium, but the Aggies answered about 30 seconds later for a 7-7 tie at the end of the first. The Aggies held a 21-14 advantage at halftime and went on to score 21 in the third.
The Tate Aggies finished their season at 3-7, 1-2 in the district.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Jennifer Repine, click to enlarge.
Friday Night Football Finals
November 3, 2018
Here are Friday night high school football scores from across the North Escambia area:
FLORIDA
- Tate 42, Elba 35 [Read more...]
- Northview 49, Freeport 21 [Read more...]
- Jay 44, Lighthouse Christian 16
- West Florida 35, Washington 14
- Pine Forest 27, Milton 0
- Escambia 19, PHS 14
- Pace 37, Pensacola Catholic 30
- Gulf Breeze 49, Gadsden County 6
ALABAMA
- Escambia Academy 45, Coosa Valley Academy 14
- Southern Choctaw 26, Flomaton 21
- T.R. Miller 14, W.S. Neal 12
- Escambia County (Atmore) 14, Marion 0 (Thursday)
Scott, Nelson Locked In ‘Toughest’ Campaign
November 3, 2018
Gov. Rick Scott and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson are heading into the final days of the most-expensive Senate race in Florida history, with the campaign characterized by a relentless barrage of negative advertising.
Through mid-October, Scott, the outgoing Republican governor, had raised about $69 million for his Senate campaign, according to the Federal Elections Commission. Nelson, a Democrat seeking his fourth term in the Senate, had raised $28 million.
Both campaigns have been bolstered and attacked by outside political groups. Groups have spent $17.7 million to support Nelson, with $35 million to attack Scott, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group that tracks campaign spending.
Outside groups have also spent more than $31 million attacking Nelson, according to the center.
The outcome of the race will likely end the political career of the loser. For Nelson, 76, it would conclude more than four decades in public office, including stints as a state Cabinet member, congressman and state legislator in addition to his time in the U.S. Senate.
For Scott, 65, a former health-care executive who vaulted from political obscurity into the governor’s office in 2011, a defeat would block his move to the national stage after serving eight years as the chief executive of the nation’s third-largest state.
“It’s Bill Nelson’s toughest race and probably, more importantly, it’s Rick Scott’s toughest race,” said J.M. “Mac” Stipanovich, a long-time Republican strategist.
Scott is a veteran of two expensive, hard-fought campaigns for governor, prevailing over his Democratic opponents with roughly 1 percentage-point vote margins in 2010 and 2014.
In his Senate campaign, Scott’s message is that he will take his fiscally conservative agenda, which includes tax cuts and debt reduction, to Washington, D.C. He has emphasized his role in growing the Florida economy over the last eight years, including the creation of more than 1.6 million private-sector jobs.
“The choice is clear. You want somebody that’s going to go to D.C. and do what we’ve done here and make sure we cut taxes, like President Trump has done, cut regulations, like President Trump has done and work on paying down the debt,” Scott said at a Lee County rally Wednesday with President Donald Trump.
He criticized Nelson for opposing the federal tax-cut package passed last year.
“Sen. Bill Nelson cares about one job, his,” Scott said, alluding to his campaign theme that Nelson has little to show for his time in public office.
Nelson had longed prepared for Scott’s challenge, telling reporters more than a year ago that he is “running scared like a jack rabbit.”
After beating former Congressman Bill McCollum in his first Senate campaign by a margin of 51 percent to 46 percent in 2000, Nelson cruised to re-election victories in 2006 and 2012 by double-digit margins.
But he has faced electoral adversity before. He lost the 1990 Democratic primary for governor to Lawton Chiles, before reviving his political career with a successful state Cabinet campaign in 1994.
Nelson has slammed Scott’s longtime opposition to the federal Affordable Care Act and the refusal to use a provision in the law to expand Medicaid coverage to more than 800,000 low-income Floridians.
“He has tried to kill the law, and that is a huge difference between us,” Nelson said.
Nelson has also criticized Scott for the outbreak of toxic algae blooms in the state, along with red-tide problems in coastal areas of Southwest Florida and Southeast Florida.
“He has systematically, in his eight years as governor, systematically disassembled the environmental agencies of this state,” Nelson said. “His record is very clear on the environment.”
But Scott has countered, noting that Nelson, as a gubernatorial candidate in 1990, promised to reduce pollution in Lake Okeechobee.
“And now, how many years later, he has never done anything to get us the money to fix the dike at Lake Okeechobee, which is a 100 percent federal project,” Scott said.
Scott has credited Trump with helping the state secure funding for dike repairs and for a new law that authorizes construction of a reservoir near the lake. The reservoir is expected to reduce discharges of polluted water into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries.
One advantage Scott has in the race is his personal wealth. He reported a $232 million net worth in 2017 on his most recent state disclosure form. But a federal disclosure form filed in July indicated Scott’s wealth, when including assets held by his wife, could exceed $500 million.
Scott has contributed about $63.5 million to his own campaign, including $12.45 million since Oct. 22, according to the Federal Elections Commission. It is similar to his 2010 gubernatorial campaign, when he spent more than $70 million of his own money to win the race.
Yet despite the spending by both candidates and their political allies and the blizzard of mostly negative television ads, the Senate race is taking a backseat to a gubernatorial contest between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum.
“It has been surprisingly overshadowed by the governor’s race,” said Stipanovich, who helped Gov. Jeb Bush win election in 1998. “The race hasn’t been nearly as interesting and nearly as covered by the press as the governor’s race.”
Stipanovich said Nelson and Scott have not be able to get as much “free media coverage,” which would amplify their paid advertising, as DeSantis, a frequent guest on Fox News, and Gillum, who has often appeared on CNN and MSNBC.
“I don’t think either Nelson or Scott have benefited from that kind of free media to the extent the gubernatorial candidates have,” Stipanovich said.
Demolition Set To Begin On Escambia Jail Central Booking Facility
November 2, 2018
After being destroyed in an explosion linked to the April 2014 flooding, Escambia County is moving forward with the demolition and site clearing of the old Central Booking & Detention Facility located on Leonard Street. Slated to begin as soon as Monday, the project will first include removing material from inside the structure before the actual four-story building and adjacent one-story buildings can be demolished.
The project specifics include:
- Demolition of existing structures and site clearing, Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Complete removal and legal disposal of the structure, interior/exterior finishes, mechanical systems, electrical systems, and furnishings as to not damage any adjacent facilities.
- No stormwater pond or other construction will take place at this time.
- No explosives will be used during the demolition.
- Continuous monitoring of noise and air quality will take place to mitigate project nuisances, along with water spraying to prevent airborne materials from leaving the work zone.
- A hazardous material survey was performed, and any regulated materials will be removed and disposed of per proper Florida Department Of Environmental Protection procedures and regulations.
The Escambia County Commission awarded the contract for the demolition of the facility to Jobe’s Dirt Works, LLC at their October 18 regular meeting. The demolition project is expected to take approximately eight months, barring weather or other unforeseen delays. The project engineering and demolition costs are estimated at $584,000. (For more on the bids received, click here for a previous story.)
No building will be rebuilt in the location. Instead, a 3.5 acre stormwater drainage pond will be constructed using a federal grant to reduce flooding in the area. While a depression will be in the ground until the drainage project construction begins, it is not the completed pond. Design plans for the new dry stormwater pond will be 90 percent complete in November. A construction start date has not yet been determined.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino Man Charged With Molesting Juvenile Girl
November 2, 2018
A Molino man has been arrested for allegedly molesting a juvenile girl.
Dennis Lester Odom, 59, was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior and molestation of a victim under the age of 12, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, and lewd and lascivious behavior and molestation of victim between the age of 12 and 16.
The offenses were alleged to occur at his home on Branch Crossing Road between early 2017 and August 2018. The victim told investigators that Odom touched her inappropriately on multiple occasions on the living room couch as Odom’s wife was asleep in a bedroom, according to an arrest report. She said she told him “no” and objected to the touching.
Odom voluntarily spoke with an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigator and said he has known the victim’s father since he was a child. He denied the allegations against him.
Odom remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $10,000.
Jim Allen Students Collect $1,200 For Hurricane Victims
November 2, 2018
On Wednesday, Jim Allen Elementary students wore their costumes for a cause. They collected cash and coin donations for students who were affected by Hurricane Michael in Panama City and the rest of Bay County. Jim Allen collected approximately $1,200. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Crary Road To Close Next Week For Bridge Replacement
November 2, 2018
Construction is scheduled to begin next week on a $776,874 project to replace the current bridge on Crary Road over Pritchett Mill Creek near Century.
The work involves replacing the current structure with a bridge culvert, paving the roadway approaches, and improving drainage. During construction, Crary Road will be closed between Tedder and Byrneville roads. Drivers will utilize County Road 4 and Byrneville Road as a detour route. The project is currently scheduled for completion next spring.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.
The current bridge was constructed in 1961.
File photo.
Tate Baseball Halloween Game Raises Money For Hurricane Recovery
November 2, 2018
The Third Annual Tate Aggie Halloween Baseball game raised funds for those impacted by Hurricane Michael.
Children were able to trick-or-treat with baseball players before the game. The players then competed in costume, while fans enjoyed chili, hot dogs and other treats.
Photos by Christy King for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Walnut Hill VFD Fish Fry Set For Saturday
November 2, 2018
The 49th Annual Catfish Fry at the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department will be Saturday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Walnut Hill Fire Station on Highway 97. Plates will be $8 each with your choice of catfish fillets or grilled chicken, plus baked beans, cole slaw, hush puppies, bread and cake.
There will also be a drawing for door prizes beginning at 1 p.m. and the Big Red Bus will also be on hand for a blood drive.
NorthEscambia.com file photos.
Driver Uninjured After Hitting Tree On Barrineau Park Road
November 1, 2018
A driver was not injured when she hit on a tree on Barrineau Park Road near the railroad tracks, just east of the Perdido River Thursday morning. The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Florida Highway Patrol responded. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
