Brewton Man Dies When He Crashes Pickup Into Century Lake
October 24, 2018
A Brewton man was killed when he crashed in a Century Lake Tuesday night.
Jordan Cooper, 37, was traveling south on Old Flomaton Road when he failed to negotiate a curve and ran off the roadway and collided with a utility pole about 7 p.m., according to the Florida Highway Patrol. His 1999 Chevrolet Silverado traveled down a steep embankment, through a tree line and into a gravel lake.
The vehicle was submerged in about 10-15 feet of water when first responders arrived on scene. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team assisted in the removal of the vehicle from the lake. Cooper was the only occupant of the vehicle.
About 460 Escambia River Electric Cooperative customers from Century to near Jay were without power for several hours due to the wreck.
The Century and McDavid Stations of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded.
For additional photos, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Florida Supreme Court Direction May Hinge On Governor’s Race
October 24, 2018
The future of the Florida Supreme Court is intertwined with the outcome of this fall’s race for governor.
At stake are the appointment of replacements for justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince, who are leaving the seven-member court in early January because they have reached a mandatory retirement age.
After a long-running legal dispute, the Supreme Court ruled this month that the next governor, who takes office in early January, has the authority to make those appointments.
If Republican Ron DeSantis, a former congressman from Ponte Vedra Beach, wins the Nov. 6 election, he has said he will appoint three conservative justices. That would wipe out what is widely viewed as a current 4-3 liberal majority, which includes Pariente, Lewis and Quince.
If Democrat Andrew Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor, is elected, he is likely to try to shift the appointments more to the center or left, although his ability may be hindered by a nominating process that favors the selection of conservative judges.
In any event, both sides agree that the winner of the governor’s race will have a significant impact on the Supreme Court.
“You could see a monumental transformation or shift in the ideology and makeup of the court if Ron DeSantis appoints the three replacements,” said state Sen. Gary Farmer, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat and veteran trial lawyer.
Republican control of the governor’s office and the Legislature for the past 20 years has led to the enactment of “extreme policies,” Farmer said.
“The only thing, frankly, that has kept the balance and protected the little guy and little gal in the state of Florida for the past two decades has been the Florida Supreme Court,” Farmer said.
If DeSantis is elected and has power to appoint the justices, Farmer said it will impact a wide range of issues, including laws involving accident victims, injured workers, medical malpractice, abortion rights, public education and gun control.
“There are all kinds of areas where we need the court to be that sort of balance and make sure that things aren’t tipped too strongly or too far in favor of an extreme ideology,” he said.
If Gillum is elected, Republicans said it will lead to more “judicial activism,” with the court overstepping its role in interpreting constitutional issues and not giving enough deference to its co-equal branches of government: the Legislature and executive branch.
“We’ve had huge problems with the state Supreme Court for over 20 years. They have been judicial activists legislating from the bench, rather than applying the law and Constitution as it is actually written,” DeSantis, a Harvard-educated lawyer, told the Florida Chamber of Commerce last month.
“If the Legislature actually passes a law that conflicts with the Constitution, then it’s your duty to say so. But what you can’t do is simply try to nullify laws passed by the Legislature because you don’t agree with them politically,” DeSantis said. “You can’t use the court to be a super legislature for the Democratic Party, and that is basically what we’ve had with this current court majority.”
DeSantis said he would replace the retiring justices with “solid constitutionalists” and “end judicial activism in Florida for a generation, just like that.”
If a conservative majority emerges on the Supreme Court, the immediate question will be how swiftly the ideological bent is reflected in its decisions. To some extent, the court’s shift will be checked by precedent and past decisions under the legal doctrine of stare decisis.
“You would hope they honor existing precedent and the law and they don’t go making 180-degree changes to established law,” Farmer said. “But judges and justices can often find distinguishing factors or find that something has changed since a prior decision was made and use that for a justification to deviate from it.”
A conservative court would be more likely to uphold laws passed by a Republican-led Legislature.
It was a point made by Tom Feeney, head of Associated Industries of Florida, a business lobbying group, when Gov. Rick Scott appointed Alan Lawson, a conservative justice, to the Supreme Court in December 2016.
“We are anxious for the day that a majority of the Florida Supreme Court can restore respect for the constitutional separation of powers, including legitimate powers of the popularly elected members of the legislative and executive branches,” said Feeney, a former state House speaker and congressman.
If Gillum is elected, the question will become: What can he do to prevent a conservative majority from taking over the court?
Gillum’s efforts could be hamstrung by the fact that Scott has appointed all of the members of the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. The commission, which is going through 59 applicants for the three vacancies, will advance a certified list of court nominees for the next governor to consider for appointment.
Gillum would have to overcome a 2009 Supreme Court decision that stemmed from then-Gov. Charlie Crist’s rejection of a list of nominees for an appellate court vacancy. The Supreme Court ruled the governor does not have “the authority under the Constitution to reject the certified list and request that a new list be certified.”
But Gillum supporters cite a footnote in the decision that said it does not apply when “the selection of the nominees was tainted by impropriety or illegality.” They argue a “tainted process” would give Gillum an opening to reject the list of nominees or even the ability to replace the members of the nominating commission.
If that occurs, the resulting legal dispute will ultimately end up at the Supreme Court — except that, as of Jan. 8, the day the new governor takes over, the court will be down to only four members.
Under the state Constitution, it takes five justices to create a quorum, and it requires a minimum of four justices to concur on an opinion.
Lawyers familiar with the appellate process said there are several options to resolve the diminished court, including a little-used procedure that would temporarily elevate a chief judge from one of the state appellate courts to create a five-member Supreme Court. Another option would be for the three retiring justices to remain on the court in a “senior status” to resolve the dispute.
In any case, Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady would play a role in that decision, since the Constitution gives him “the power to assign justices or judges, including consenting retired justices or judges, to temporary duty in any court for which the judge is qualified.”
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Simpkins Named Northview Teacher Of The Year
October 24, 2018
Northview High School has named Chief Jeffery Simpkins as their Teacher of the Year. Simpkins is a NJROTC instructor. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Strictly Business 10U Wins Going Pink Championship
October 24, 2018
The Cantonment Strictly Business 10U team won the recent 8th Annual Going Pink championship. Strictly Business is 21-0 during regular season and tournament play. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Santa Rosa Deputies Searching For Three Murder Suspects
October 24, 2018
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in identifying a murder suspect.
Tyler Lee Howell was shot to death on John Hamm Road Sunday night.
Investigators said they have identified one individual who is considered a suspect. They believe three people were involved in the drug-related shooting. Deputies said they believe the victim knew the suspects.
Authorities are also searching for two vehicles. One is possibly a new model Kia silver or light gray in color. The second is a blue Chevrolet Cruz with Florida tag 059-RUB.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 983-1190 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 437-STOP. There is a reward of up to $3000 for information leading to an arrest.
Alabama Woman Claims Prize For North Escambia Lottery Ticket
October 24, 2018
The owner of a winning lottery ticket sold last week in North Escambia has claimed her prize.
The Florida Lottery said the October 19 Fantasy 5 ticket worth $38,558.47 was sold to Sharon K. Hare of Thomasville, AL. She purchased the ticket at the Korner Kwik Stop, 10481 Highway 97,. The Quick Pick ticket was one of six winning tickets sold for the drawing.
The 324 tickets matching four numbers won $111 each. Another 10,171 tickets matching three numbers are worth $9.50 each, and 99,458 ticket holders won a Quick Pick ticket for picking two numbers.
The Fantasy 5 winning numbers for October 19 were 3-4-10-24-34.
FWC Law Enforcement Report
October 24, 2018
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending October 4 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
No report was submitted for Escambia County.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officer Jones was on patrol on the Eglin Wildlife Management Area when he saw a vehicle operating recklessly and at excessive speed on a sand trail. When the officer attempted to make contact, the vehicle fled the area. A bulletin was issued for law enforcement to be on the lookout for the vehicle. A Highway Patrol Trooper stopped the vehicle a short while later. After interviewing the driver of the suspect vehicle, the officer issued a citation for careless driving and anotice to appear for being on the Eglin Reservation without the required permit.
Officers Hoomes, Jones, and Roberson were on the Eglin Wildlife Management Area searching for subjects illegally harvesting palmetto berries for commercial purposes. While conducting surveillance, Officer Jones saw a suspicious vehicle approaching his position on a very minimal sand trail. The vehicle was attempting to leave when the officer contacted the two occupants. They were issued notices to appear for not possessing the required Eglin permits. Later in the evening, Officer Hoomes found footprints which he backtracked to a hidden cache of 550 pounds of illegally harvested palmetto berries. The berries were seized, weighed, and disposed of with the help of FWC Wildlife Technician McDonald.
Officer Hutchinson and Lieutenant Hahr located a baited dove field prior to the opening day of the dove hunting season. On opening day, the officers along with Officer Mullins checked several subjects on the baited field and addressed several violations. Despite ending the hunt early, they determined that one subject was over the bag limit and that others had combined their birds. Twelve subjects were cited for hunting over a baited field and several others were warned for other hunting violations including over the daily bag limit of doves.
Officer Hutchinson located a truck stuck in a ditch in the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area. The owner had driven back to it on an ATV to try and get it out of the mud. The truck’s tracks indicated that the driver intentionally left the center of the road and drove through the soft mud along the shoulder. The driver was issued a citation for damaging state land with a motor vehicle and littering. The driver was also warned for operating an ATV on a management area.
Lieutenant Lambert checked a duck hunter who was attempting to take waterfowl after legal shooting hours at Salters Lake in Escambia River Wildlife Management Area. Upon inspection, Lieutenant Lambert also found the subject was in possession of lead shot and was hunting with an unplugged shotgun. Lieutenant Lambert addressed the violations with the subject.
Officer Hutchinson and K-9 Zara were on patrol when they saw a light actively being shined from a vehicle into a field in a manner capable of disclosing the presence of deer. While watching the vehicle from a discreet location, Officer Hutchinson saw the truck exit the field and travel away from him. Officer Hutchison followed behind the vehicle and saw two dead deer, one buck and one antlerless deer in the bed of the vehicle. Officer Hutchison conducted a vehicle stop and discovered the two subjects in the vehicle were in possession of a spotlight, a scoped rifle and a shotgun along with the two deer and a freshly killed rabbit. Through his investigation, Officer Hutchison discovered that the two men had shot a third deer in another field nearby. He drove to the field and conducted an area search with his K-9 partner Zara. K-9 Zara located fresh blood and tracked for approximately 100 yards until she discovered the illegally taken deer in thick brush. Both subjects admitted to taking the deer and rabbit using a gun and light. Both subjects were cited for taking deer with the use of a gun and light.
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
ECSO: Grandfather, 94, Points Gun At Grandson, Threatens To ‘Blow Him Away’
October 23, 2018
A 94-year old Cantonment man was arrested after allegedly pulling a gun and threatening his grandson.
Lee Conner Hagler, Jr., was charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $3,500 bond.
The juvenile told a school resource officer that he got into a verbal argument with Hagler and went to his room. Hagler then walked into his grandson’s bedroom and pointed a firearm at him, making a comment similar to “you do want to mess with me” with at threat that he was going to “blow him away”, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
Hagler told a deputy that he got into the argument, pointed an unloaded firearm at the juvenile and threatened to “blow him away”, the report states. Hagler said he “did not tolerate disobedience from anyone and would blow anyone away for disrespecting him”, the arrest report continues.
The Sheriff’s Office said Hagler possessed a firearm that matched the description the juvenile provided to the resource office.
County Approves $24.5K For Century Market Analysis
October 23, 2018
The Escambia County Commission has approved $24,500 in county funds for a market study in Century, cutting back on a $95,000 proposal from the University of West Florida Haas Center.
The marketing analysis will assess the feasibility of mixed use commercial and residential development in reference to various parcels and buildings within the town, according to the proposal.
The funds will come from a $95,000 funding pool that includes $55,000 from last fiscal year that was never spent, plus $50,000 from the current fiscal year. The Haas Center had proposed four additional projects that would have used the full $95,000 balance.
The market analysis was ranked by the Century Town Council as the most important of the projects after Escambia County Commissioner Steven asked for a priority ranking, saying that it was not his intent to exhaust all of the available funding at this time.
“Until this is completed and we get some feedback on how that would go, I don’t want to just ancillary spend through economic development dollars that can be spent in different ways,” Barry said, adding the he wanted to see the monies used as perhaps direct incentives for a potential project or some type of a business challenge – much like a Studer Institute funded $25,000 business challenge in 2015 that provided $20,000 for the Century Academy and $5,000 for a childcare center.
“I would like to see some dollars that get to the actual recipients and the actual people that are going be Monday though Friday in the town doing work and employing people,” Barry said.
“The future of Century and the future of Escambia County are tied together. Failure up there is failure down here,” Commissioner Doug Underhill said.
The four Haas Center proposals that were not funded were:
- Market analysis to assess the feasibility of mixed/use/commercial and/or residential development in reference to various vacant parcels and buildings within the town. – $24,500.
- Market study of the Century Industrial Park to examine the historical trends in relation to industrial demand, assess current available industrial land sites and buildings and consider trends and availability to comparable communities – $25,000.
- Strategic plan metrics and dashboard to collect public data across various metrics and to present them in an on line dashboard format in order to determine progress toward the achievement of the identified economic objectives as defined in the town’s economic development strategic plan – $15,000.
- Health Assessment and needs study to assess Century residents’ health behavior and to gauge how investment into the Community Health Northwest Florida’s expansion has increased access to resources and overall health needs of the community – $15,500.
- CRA project mapping tool that allows users to view and interact with the spatial data (parcels, CRA boundaries, waterways, walkways, etc.) associated with the Century CRA implementation – $15,000.
The Escambia County Commission will decide at a future date which projects, if any, are funded.
Floridians To Decide Debate Over Felon Voting Rights
October 23, 2018
This is part of a series of stories before the November 6 election.
Keith Ivey has an image in his mind he can’t let go of.
It’s just a piece of paper that most people tuck into their wallets and forget.
But for the 46-year-old Ivey, the voter registration card he received nearly three decades ago — but never used — represents both hope and despair.
Ivey is one of more than 1.4 million Floridians who lost the right to vote after being convicted of felonies. And he’s one of those whose voting privilege would automatically be restored under Amendment 4, a constitutional proposal on the November ballot that’s got backers as disparate as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Koch brothers.
Ivey’s now a successful businessman. He and his father operate a used-car dealership in Jacksonville.
But, for Ivey and hundreds of thousands of others, the excitement and nonstop attention surrounding the 2018 elections punctuate their inability to participate in one of the most basic components of a democracy: casting a ballot.
“It’s very painful. It’s a huge void. It’s being voiceless. There are community leaders that you want to support or want to not support. You can’t have that voice,” Ivey told The News Service of Florida in a recent telephone conversation from Washington, D.C., where he was vacationing with his wife.
Amendment 4, heavily bankrolled by the ACLU, would automatically restore the right to vote for people who were convicted of felonies and who have completed their sentences, paid restitution and fulfilled parole or probation requirements. Murderers and sex offenders would be excluded.
Backers of the amendment estimate that about 1.4 million Floridians would have their voting rights restored, if the required 60 percent of voters approve the proposal.
The November vote on Amendment 4 comes as Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet fight a federal judge’s ruling that said the state’s current rights-restoration system is unconstitutional.
After taking office in 2011, Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi played key roles in changing the process to effectively make it harder for felons to get their rights restored.
Under the changes, felons must wait five or seven years before applying to have their rights restored. After applications are filed, the process can take years to complete.
The number of applications for restoration has dramatically dropped under Scott and the all-Republican Cabinet, which acts as the state’s Board of Executive Clemency.
Since the changes went into effect, Scott — whose support is required for any type of clemency to be granted — and the board have restored the rights of 3,005 of the more than 30,000 convicted felons who’ve applied, according to the Florida Commission on Offender Review. As of Oct. 1, there was a backlog of 10,275 pending applications, according to the commission.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker this year sided with Fair Elections Legal Network and the law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC in a lawsuit filed against the state on behalf of nine felons, who alleged that the state’s vote-restoration process is discriminatory.
Walker ordered the state to revamp the system, but, in a victory for Scott and the Cabinet, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April blocked the federal judge’s order from going into effect. The appeals court hasn’t issued a final ruling in the case.
With voters already receiving mail-in ballots, organized opposition to Amendment 4 has not emerged.
But critics of the measure — including Scott and former Congressman Ron DeSantis, who’s in a heated contest with Democrat Andrew Gillum to replace the governor — maintain that the proposal treats convicted felons too leniently.
“The governor believes that in order for felons to have their rights restored, they have to demonstrate that they can live a life free of crime, show a willingness to request to have their rights restored and show restitution to the victims of their crime,” Lauren Schenone, a spokeswoman for Scott’s U.S. Senate campaign, said in an email.
DeSantis “believes in second chances,” but with a caveat, according to campaign spokesman Stephen Lawson.
“He is in favor of giving offenders an opportunity to earn their rights back; however, he believes that automatic restoration is inappropriate as recidivism is still very high. Prior offenders must show their commitment to be a law-abiding member of their community after serving their sentence before they have those rights restored,” Lawson told The News Service of Florida.
But Amendment 4 has drawn national support, with Florida one of a handful of states that have laws on the books critics say are remnants of post-Civil War Jim Crow policies designed to keep blacks from casting ballots.
Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s has placed the Florida initiative among its top-tier 2018 election issues. The left-leaning dessert company will give away free ice cream at early voting sites throughout the state in advance of the Nov. 6 election, according to the Second Chances Campaign, an organization behind the amendment.
R&B musician John Legend recently headlined an event in Orlando to rally support for the amendment. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes recently visited the state to call attention to the proposal. And HBO host John Oliver last month made an appeal to Florida voters during a “Last Week Tonight” segment devoted to the amendment.
The amendment also has a plethora of lesser-known advocates in Florida, including Purple Heart recipient Alan Rhyelle. The Vietnam vet, who was shot through the chest in 1967 and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, turned to marijuana as an alternative to highly addictive and toxic medications prescribed to treat his pain and anxiety.
After his daughter, Peaches, suffered traumatic injuries in a car accident a decade ago, Rhyelle began growing pot to provide what he considered a better alternative to the multiple prescription pain medications doctors had ordered for his bedridden daughter.
But shortly before drying cannabis was ready for Peaches’ consumption, his daughter died.
When the paramedics arrived at his house to take his daughter to the medical examiner’s office, they smelled marijuana and alerted the sheriff’s office, Rhyelle said in a recent interview.
As a result, he lost his right to vote.
“I love my country. I’ll stand up and I’ll fight if anybody was to invade our shores,” Rhyelle, a Sarasota County resident,l said.
Rhyelle, 72, said he hasn’t applied to have his rights restored because of the backlog ahead of him, but he’s signed on to promote Amendment 4 with the hope of assisting others.
“I thought, well, hey, even if I can’t get it, it will help them, and I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing I’ve done something to help somebody,” he said.
Forgiveness is another theme that resonates for backers of Amendment 4.
Karen Leicht, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and served more than two years in federal prison, said a “debt, when it is paid, is paid.”
“Why can’t the state of Florida forgive us? When you have paid, and your family has paid dearly, shouldn’t you be allowed to vote?” Leicht told the News Service.
Ivey, meanwhile, is haunted by the image of that critical piece of paper, which he never put to use.
“I see my voter’s registration card in my mind, over and over again,” he said. “And now that it’s so close, I really want this.”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida