Escambia County Weekly Meeting Schedule
October 22, 2018
Here is a schedule of Escambia County public meetings this week:
Monday, Oct. 22
- Value Adjustment Board Hearings – 9 a.m., Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, Board Chambers
- Library Board of Governance – 4 p.m., Pensacola Library, 239 N. Spring St.
- District 5 Town Hall Meeting with Commissioner Steven Barry – 5:30 p.m., Pinewoods Presbyterian Church, 2198 County Road 297A
Tuesday, Oct. 23
- Environmental Enforcement Special Magistrate – 1:30 p.m., Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place, Room 104
- Escambia County Health Facilities Authority – 4 p.m., 1019 N. 12th Ave.
- Bob-O-Link, Gorham & Cruzat Project Public Meeting – 5:30 p.m., Bob-O-Link/Gorham Road intersection.
Wednesday, Oct. 24
- Design Standard Manual Professional Advisory Committee – 8:30 a.m., Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place, Room 104
- Development Review Committee – 1 p.m., Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place
- Santa Rosa Island Authority Board – 5 p.m., 1 Via De Luna Drive, Pensacola Beach
- Santa Rosa Island Authority Committee – 5:05 p.m., 1 Via De Luna Drive, Pensacola Beach
Thursday, Oct. 25
- Attorney-Client Session: Allen, Clarke, et al. v. A.E. New, Jr., Inc., Caldwell and Associates, Inc., Escambia County, et al. – 9 a.m., Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, Board Chambers
Big Win: Pensacola State, Coastal Alabama Face Off In Century Classic
October 21, 2018
Pensacola State College and Coastal Alabama Community College in the “Century Classic” faced off in both softball and baseball Saturday Showalter Park. And organizers are calling it a big win.
In softball, Pensacola State blanked Coastal Alabama 6-0, and in baseball the Warhawks of Coastal Alabama beat the PSC Pirates 7-5.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Century council member Ben Boutwell, who is an assistant baseball coast at Coastal Alabama, said the day was a great opportunity for residents from across the North Escambia area to see the teams close to home.
“It’s a win-win for us,” Boutwell said. “It was a beautiful day, and the fields turned out gorgeous. We just thank everybody for their hard work.” Volunteers from the Pensacola Blue Wahoos recently spent time bringing the fields up to spec.
Boutwell said plans are already in the works to bring the Century Classic back next year.
“We are trying to make it an annual event,” he said. “This is a benchmark, and it can only get better.”
Boutwell, a Century High School graduate, played on first Jefferson Davis Community College baseball team in 1982. Jeff Davis later became Coastal Alabama.
“I just love baseball,” he said.
Former PSC and Major League Baseball players Bill Sadler and Greg Litton, along with Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry and Kazoo, the Wahoo’s mascot, were special guests.
Sadler pitched for the San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros during his MLB career. A 2000 Catholic High School graduate, he played at Pensacola Junior College in 2001 and 2002, before transferring to Louisiana State University in 2003.
Litton, a utility player, was drafted in the first round by the San Francisco Giants in 1984. He later played for the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox. In 1983 and 1984, Litton was on the PSC Pirates squad before signing to play at Mississippi State University. However, he was drafted before joining the Mississippi State team.
Proceeds will from the event benefit the Buck Showalter Scholarship fund for GED students from the Century area. The Century Classic was sponsored by the Town of Century, Century Little League, Pensacola State College, Coastal Alabama Warhawks and Pensacola Sports Association.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured above and below: Action as Pensacola State and Coastal Alabama faced off in softball and baseball Saturday in Century. Pictured page bottom: Century residents Gary Killam (left) and Ben Boutwell were on the first Jefferson Davis Community College baseball team in 1982. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
New EREC Crew Members Help With Michael Power Restoration
October 21, 2018
Escambia River Electric Cooperative is continuing to assist Gulf Coast Electric Cooperative with power restoration following Hurricane Michael.
The first EREC crews sent to assist have returned home, and additional crews have arrived in Wewahitchka to work. Those EREC crew members are Jason Bedsole, Clint Hudson, Kent Calloway, Wesley Clark, Scott Blackmon, Tyler Prescott and Tony Moody.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Roy Hyatt Environmental Center To Use Impact Grant For Hands-On Learning Expansion
October 21, 2018
Visitors had a chance to check out the Escambia County School District’s Roy Hyatt Environmental Center in Cantonment during an open house on Saturday. The center was recently named as a recipient of an IMPACT 100 grant for $100,300.
The RHEC will use the grant to enhance hands-on science education with three major additions. The grant will fund construction materials to transform an existing space into a “beach” classroom which will submerge students into an undersea world. They will “swim” with creatures found in habitats along the Gulf Coast while learning about amazing animals. The grant will also fund the purchase of an inflatable portable planetarium which will allow 60 students at a time to crawl into the dome launching them into a new world. As they blast off they will learn all about the mystery of outer space. The third part of the grant will fund construction materials to renovate an existing greenhouse into a “butterfly house” allowing students to “fly” with butterflies and immersing them into the butterfly’s fascinating environment. While fluttering alongside butterflies, students will explore and observe the life cycle of the insects.
Annually, over 80 percent of the elementary schools in the district visit RHEC each year, along with home school groups, senior groups, garden clubs and more. Last school year, nearly 7,000 people visited.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured: An open house event Saturday at the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center in Cantonment. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Jail Central Booking Facility To Be Demolished, Four Years After Explosion
October 21, 2018
The Escambia County Commission has awarded a contract for the demolition of the Escambia County Central Booking and Detention Facility, which has sat empty since a April 30, 2014, natural gas explosion at the facility.
Jobe’s Dirt Works of Baker was the low bidder at $476,900. Five other bids were received, with the next lowest at $574,250. The other bids were in excess of $1 million.
Two people killed and over 100 were injured in the explosion. The explosion occurred after gas clothes dryers pulled away from a wall in the basement of the building, filling the basement with natural gas. A spark from an unknown source ignited the natural gas causing an explosion.
NorthEscambia.com photos.
ERC Youth Football Playoffs Round One Scores
October 21, 2018
Scores from the first round of the Escambia River Conference youth football league playoffs:
Seniors
- Neal 21, Flomaton 14
- Baker 25, NWE 19
Juniors
- Brewton 19, Straughn 13
- Poarch 40, Jay 0
Sophomore
- Brewton 15, Straughn 6
- Jay 34, Neal 0
Freshmen
- NWE 20, Flomaton 0
- Baker 14, Poarch 6
Vehicle Left Hanging Over Pine Forest Road After I-10 Bridge Crash
October 21, 2018
A vehicle was left hanging over Pine Forest Road after a crash on an I-10 bridge Saturday night.
There were no injuries reported; all occupants had exited the vehicle before first responders arrived on scene.
The crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Photos by Dalton Young for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Political Winds Blowing
October 21, 2018
The fierce winds of Hurricane Michael disrupted life in the Florida Panhandle and could be an equally disruptive force in the 2018 general election.
More than a week after the nearly Category 5 storm hit Mexico Beach, the region was slowly recovering. But it was equally clear that it will take time before many communities return to some semblance of their pre-storm existence.
Take schools, for example. Students in Bay and Calhoun counties won’t return to their classrooms until November, while Jackson County students return on Oct. 29. Gulf County students will be back in school starting Tuesday, but elementary and high school students will have to share facilities because of the storm damage.
As of Friday morning, more than 105,000 Panhandle homes and businesses remained without electricity.
Under those conditions, many residents are likely not focused on the Nov. 6 elections. Nonetheless, the elections are quickly approaching, with mail-in ballots pouring in and early voting beginning in many parts of the state Monday.
The elections carry huge consequences for Florida, with a U.S. Senate seat, a governor’s seat and three Cabinet offices on the ballot, in addition to a host of congressional, legislative and local offices.
In the wake of the hurricane, Gov. Rick Scott, who is challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, said he will remain focused on the storm-recovery efforts, although his campaign continues with its statewide television advertising.
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee for governor, had to suspend his campaign as he dealt with the storm’s impact on his city, which sustained major power outages. But Gillum has resumed campaigning, and he and Republican nominee Ron DeSantis will have their first debate Sunday night on CNN.
POST-STORM ELECTION PLAN
Florida eased restrictions Thursday on vote-by-mail ballots in eight counties ravaged Oct. 10 by Hurricane Michael, while also giving elections supervisors more time to conduct early voting.
Secretary of State Ken Detzner, the state’s top election official, said the changes included in an executive order by Scott were requested by local supervisors and are intended to help displaced voters in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Liberty and Washington counties.
“With the general election less than three weeks away, this unprecedented storm has impacted the normal operations of administering an election in counties that were hit hardest,” Detzner’s office said in a news release.
The changes do not include allowing voters to cast ballots by fax or email.
“In the hardest hit areas, communication via phone, fax and email remains challenging and would be an unreliable method for returning ballots,” the release said. “Additionally, past attempts by other states to allow voters impacted by natural disasters to fax or email ballots have been rife with issues.”
The eight counties, which have been a solid voting bloc for Republicans in state races, included 223,175 registered voters as of the August primaries. Roughly 43 percent of the voters were registered as Republicans, while 40 percent were Democrats and 17 percent were independents or registered with third parties.
As part of Scott’s executive order, voters in the eight counties will be able to request — through telephone calls or in writing — that vote-by-mail ballots be mailed to addresses that don’t match the voters’ addresses in the Florida Voter Registration System.
“This will help displaced voters to cast a ballot,” Detzner’s office said in the news release.
The order also will allow vote-by-mail ballots to be delivered to registered voters or their family members in the counties on election day.
Scott’s order also allows the counties to continue early voting through the Nov. 6 elections, a move intended to help voters whose precinct locations may have been damaged by the storm.
Early voting is mandatory statewide from Oct. 27 to Nov. 3, but county supervisors have the option to start the process Monday and add Nov. 4 to the schedule.
LAWMAKERS READY TO HELP
Roads are out. Some schools are rubble. Housing needs are growing.
The next leaders of the Florida Legislature say they’re ready to assist Scott or state agencies in the recovery from devastating Hurricane Michael. They just need to be asked.
“If the governor identifies an unmet need that requires swift legislative action, we will certainly work with him to address it,” incoming Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said.
But Galvano and incoming House Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, are not expecting such action until more is known about the impacts of the storm, which came ashore with 155 mph sustained winds.
“In the here and now, if the governor or any agency needs resources or assistance for issues created by Hurricane Michael, the Florida House stands ready to help,” Oliva said.
State lawmakers are set to return to Tallahassee shortly after the Nov. 6 election for an organizational session that includes seating new members and formally making Oliva and Galvano the leaders of their respective chambers.
The 2019 legislative session will start in March. But lawmakers can take actions in the interim by holding special sessions or convening the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, which is made up of House and Senate members and can shift money to address needs.
Galvano noted that lawmakers from the hurricane-impacted areas have been working with Scott, Cabinet members and state agencies, while Senate staff members in Tallahassee have been coordinating with district offices to ensure the continuation of constituent services.
Also, Galvano said state budget reserves are available for Scott to direct toward the storm response.
“The governor has broad executive authority to utilize those reserves to allocate state resources needed to further a comprehensive response in the immediate aftermath of the storm,” Galvano said.
JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS
The next governor, and not Scott, has the authority to appoint three new justices to state Supreme Court in January, the court ruled this week.
Scott, who leaves office in January because of term limits, had repeatedly asserted the right to appoint the replacements for justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince, who are leaving the court in early January because they have reached a mandatory retirement age.
But in a brief, unsigned order, the Florida Supreme Court said Scott “exceeded his authority” in directing the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission to meet and forward a list of potential justices to him by Nov. 10. More than four dozen judges and lawyers had submitted applications to the nominating commission, which scheduled interviews with the applicants in early November.
But the court ruling Monday blocked Scott’s action through a legal procedure, known as a writ of quo warranto, which had been sought by the League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause Florida. The groups argued that the appointment power belonged to the new governor who takes office on Jan. 8.
In granting the writ, the Supreme Court said the winner of the Nov. 6 election between DeSantis and Gillum “has the sole authority” to fill the court.
In arguing against the writ, Scott’s lawyers had said he was following the precedent of beginning the appointment process before the vacancies actually occur, noting numerous justices have been appointed using this procedure to avoid prolonged vacancies on the court.
Although the court ruled that Scott exceeded his authority in seeking a list of potential justices by a Nov. 10 deadline, the justices agreed to hear oral arguments on the issue of when the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission can certify a list of candidates to the governor. The court hearing is set for Nov. 8.
The appointments to the seven-member Supreme Court are being watched closely because they have the potential to tilt the judicial direction of the state’s highest court for years to come.
Pariente, Lewis and Quince are part of a generally liberal bloc, which now holds a slim 4-3 majority, that has thwarted Scott and the Republican-dominated Legislature on numerous occasions since the governor took office in 2011.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the next governor, not Gov. Rick Scott, will fill the vacancies on the state’s highest court when three justices retire in January.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Voters beware! When amending our Florida Constitution, voters should not be forced to vote ‘yes’ on a proposal they disfavor in order to also vote ‘yes’ on a proposal they support because of how the Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) has unilaterally decided to bundle multiple, independent and unrelated proposals.” — Justice Barbara Pariente, as the Supreme Court upheld the placement of three proposed constitutional amendments on the Nov. 6 ballot, although they each contain multiple topics.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Deputy Involved Shooting In North Santa Rosa County
October 20, 2018
A deputy involved shooting Saturday morning in North Santa Rosa County is under investigation.
The shooting occurred just after 6 a.m. in the 7700 block of Highway 4 near Berrydale. According to the Santa Rosa County Office, deputies responded to a disturbance.
“Upon arrival, deputies discovered the suspect was armed inside the home,” Sgt. Rich Aloy said. “The incident escalated into an officer involved shooting.”
Glenn D. Phillips, 26, reportedly pointed a crossbow at a deputy, and the deputy shot the man in the shoulder
The man was transported to a hospital. His condition was not available. No deputies were injured in the incident.
The investigation is continuing.
Winning Lottery Ticket Sold In North Escambia; Mega Millions Rolls Over to $1.6 Billion
October 20, 2018
A winning lottery ticket was sold in North Escambia, but it was not a Mega Millions ticket. No one won Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing, with the new jackpot estimated at $1.6 billion.
But someone is over $38,000 richer this morning after purchasing a winning Florida Lottery Fantasy 5 ticket in Davisville.
The ticket sold at the Korner Kwik Stop, 10481 Highway 97, was one of six winning tickets sold for Friday night’s drawing and is worth $38,558.
The 350 tickets matching four numbers won $106.50 each. Another 10,266 tickets matching three numbers are worth $10 each, and 100,599 ticket holders won a Quick Pick ticket for picking two numbers.
Thursday’s Fantasy 5 winning numbers were 3-4-10-24-34.
The winning Mega Millions numbers on Friday were: 15, 23, 53, 65, 70, and Mega Ball 7. The next drawing will be on Tuesday.