New Bridges Open On Arthur Brown, Nokomis Roads
April 30, 2018
Two newly constructed bridges in the Walnut Hill area are now open.
Nokomis Road
A new prefabricated steel bridge bridge on Nokomis Road over Reedy Creek in McDavid is now open to traffic.
Construction included replacement of the bridge and bridge approaches. The new bridge is approximately 10 feet wider than the old bridge, with the addition of 5-foot shoulders on either side. The new bridge is solid American steel with corrugated decks that are paved with asphalt after installation for several decades of service.
Due to structural deficiencies, the state ordered the old Nokomis Road bridge closed in December.
Arthur Brown Road
Traffic on Arthur Brown Road (County Road 99A) over Boggy Creek in Walnut Hill was moved to a newly constructed bridge on Saturday. Crews will now disassemble the temporary bridge and complete miscellaneous work items. The entire project, which is near the Walnut Hill Baptist Church, is anticipated to be complete in June, weather permitting.
The new bridge includes 11-foot travel lanes, 6-foot shoulders and a solid concrete barrier railing. The bridge approaches have also been replaced.
Nokomis Road
Pictured top: A newly opened bridge on Arthur Brown Road in Walnut Hill. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Town Of Century Presents Free Women’s Self Defense Class
April 30, 2018
The Town of Century presented a free women’s self defense class on Saturday.
Participants learned simple but effective techniques that can be used against an attacker in multiple situations.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Bratt Elementary Names Students Of The Month
April 30, 2018
The following students were named Students of the Month for April at Bratt Elementary School.
Pre-K
- Tendrell Johnsen
- Juliet McDonald
Kindergarten
- Walker Morris
- Kallie Ikner
- Cameron Gipson
- Brian Sanders
- Ivyonna Knight
First Grade
- X’zavion Williams
- Jonathan Patrick
- Madison Rice
- Kimmora Thomas
Second Grade
- Tyler McAnally
- Wyatt Spence
- Chloe Satterwhite
- Makinzi Roley
Third Grade
- Dakota Richardson
- Margret Baker
- Trinity Bryan
Fourth Grade
- Jeremy Thomas
- Fallon Hubbard
- J.C. Glenn
- Sophia Adkins
Fifth Grade
- Landon Hawthorne
- Payton Daw
- Brayden Reaves
- Derek Kinley
Northview Tops Washington, Pace And Milton In NJROTC Flag Football Tourney (With Gallery)
April 30, 2018
Northview won a NJROTC flag football tournament held Saturday at Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium in Bratt.
Team placements and tournament records were a follows:
1st place Northview 5-1,
2nd place Milton (1) 4-2,
3rd place Pace (1) 4-2,
4th place Escamba 3-3
The Washington High School NJROTC also participated.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Female Firefighter Files Federal Discrimination Complaint Against Escambia County
April 30, 2018
A female career firefighter has filed a federal discrimination complaint against Escambia County.
She has “filed a claim of discrimination against the County with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,” according to an Escambia County Commission agenda. The commission is set to discus the case at a regular meeting on Thursday.
She kept a detailed personal journal in which she detailed a culture of verbal, physical and sexual harassment within the fire department. The journal was part of a county investigation into Escambia Fire Rescue that led to the county fire chief being relieved of his duties, the dismissal of a firefighter and a reprimand for a lieutenant.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Florida Leaders Blast Oil Drilling Changes
April 30, 2018
Members of Florida’s congressional delegation from both sides of the political aisle denounced a White House proposal Friday that they say would weaken offshore oil-drilling regulations.
The Interior Department labeled the proposed changes to what is known as the 2016 Well Control Rule as “our common-sense approach,” which “could reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens while ensuring that any such activity is safe and environmentally responsible.”
The American Petroleum Institute said the revisions to a “technically flawed” rule will make offshore operations safer.
But Florida lawmakers pointed to economic damage that the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill inflicted on the state’s tourism industry and environment, particularly in the Panhandle. Those lawmakers questioned if the risk is worth reducing safety regulations.
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Longboat Key Republican and co-chairman of the state’s congressional delegation, criticized the proposal by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement as “reckless and unacceptable.” The proposal would alter 44 provisions and delete another 15 involving well-control regulations.
“Have we learned nothing from the worst environmental disaster in American history?” Buchanan said in a prepared statement. “These safeguards should remain in place.”
Buchanan noted that among the proposed changes, independent inspectors who test blowout preventers would no longer need to be certified by the government and real-time monitoring of offshore oil rigs would be loosened. The regulations were enacted under former President Barack Obama.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., criticized the proposal as the Trump administration turning “a blind eye to history, just to help their friends in the oil industry.”
“These rules were put in place to prevent another massive oil spill off our coasts,” Nelson said in a statement. “We can’t allow this new administration to take us backwards in time and, once again, expose Florida’s beautiful beaches and tourism-based economy to such an unnecessary risk.”
The comments from lawmakers were spurred by the Interior Department submitting the proposed revisions to the Federal Register. The changes will be published next week. The move kicks off a 60-day public comment period.
“We are incorporating industry innovation, best science, and best practices to improve reliability, safety, and environmental stewardship,” the Interior Department said.
The changes, directed at oil and gas drilling operations on the outer continental shelf, would revise requirements for equipment and operations for well-control activities. The agency said the changes are proposed to affect less than 18 percent of the 342 provisions implemented in 2016.
Erik Milito, director of upstream and industry operations for the American Petroleum Institute, said in a news release that the revisions “will move us forward on safety, help the government better regulate risks and better protect workers and the environment.”
“As with all regulations, it is important that offshore safety regulations — including BSEE’s Well Control Rule — constantly evolve and are revised based upon new insights and developments in the offshore exploration and development field,” Milito said. “Instead of locking in regulatory provisions that may actually increase risk in operations, it is critical that revisions are made that enhance the regulatory framework to ensure updated, modern, and safe technologies, best practices, and operations.”
Florida lawmakers have repeatedly criticized offshore drilling plans that have emerged in recent months from the White House.
In January, lawmakers took aim at both the initial draft of the Well Control Rule revisions and a separate plan to open to drilling previously protected parts of the nation’s outer continental shelf — a jurisdictional term describing submerged lands 10.36 statutory miles off Florida’s West Coast and three nautical miles off the East Coast.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke appeared briefly Jan. 9 in Tallahassee to announce drilling would not occur off Florida’s coasts. But the administration’s stance has not been formalized and continues to draw questions.
On Jan. 29, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Director Rebecca Prado outlined the state’s opposition to the rule changes in a letter to the Interior Department.
Prado pointed to the “potential harm that reduced oversight might have on Florida’s environment.”
“As we have seen in the past, oil spills can have a devastating impact to Florida’s economy and our diverse natural resources,” Prado wrote.
Gov. Rick Scott’s office pointed to the letter on Friday.
“As the Florida Department of Environmental Protection clearly stated in January, we are firmly against these proposed changes,” Scott said in a statement Friday. “While I appreciate Secretary Zinke taking Florida off the table for offshore oil drilling, I remain concerned about the potential impact these changes could have on Florida’s environment.”
In November, Florida voters will decide whether to approve a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban nearshore oil and gas drilling. That ban would affect state-controlled waters.
More Potential Traffic Delays For Highway 29 Construction
April 30, 2018
Drivers can expect alternating lane closures on Highway 29 north and southbound, from Muscogee Road to West 9 ½ Mile Road from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. through Thursday as crews pave the roadway.
Click here for a complete list of weekly road construction issues from the Florida Department of Transportation for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Pictured: Highway 29 at West 9 ½ Mile Road as seen Sunday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
EREC Holds 79th Annual Meeting (With Gallery)
April 29, 2018
Escambia River Electric Cooperative members held their 79th Annual Meeting Saturday at Northview High School.
Members enjoyed food and entertainment, voted for trustees and bylaws, and met in session.
In 1937, the first meeting was held to organize Escambia River Electric Cooperative, Inc. at the Oak Grove Community House. By lamplight, several prominent community leaders laid out the blueprints for the formation and operation of EREC.
After Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, which made loans available for the establishment of rural electric cooperatives, widespread rural electrification began. The formation of cooperatives in other parts of the country stimulated the interest of local leaders such as C. R. Walker, E. H. Lundy, J. L. Robbins and County Agent J. G. Hudson. They continued to move forward with their plans even though they were often met with opposition and skepticism.
On March 10, 1939, Escambia River Electric Cooperative, Inc. was born when the incorporators met at the American National Bank building in Pensacola to pass the bylaws, which would establish the cooperative and make their dream a reality. The cooperative’s first month of operation brought them 88 members. Since that time, the cooperative has grown to serve approximately 10,000 members in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties with over 1,800 miles of energized line.
Click here for a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the event.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia BOCC Weekly Meeting Schedule
April 29, 2018
Here is a schedule of Escambia County public meetings for the week of April 30-May 4:
Tuesday, May 1
Planning Board – Rezoning – 8:30 a.m., Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place
Planning Board – Regular – 8:35 a.m., Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place
Amalgamated Transit Union 1395 Collective Bargaining – 1 p.m., ECAT Administrative Offices, 1515 W. Fairfield Drive
Environmental Enforcement Special Magistrate – 1:30 p.m., Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place
Pensacola Beach Congestion Management Plan Public Workshop – 5:30 p.m., Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, Board Chambers, 221 Palafox Place
Wednesday, May 2
Contractor Competency Board – 9 a.m., Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place
Development Review Committee – 1 p.m., Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place
Thursday, May 3
Board of County Commissioners Agenda Review – 9 a.m., Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, Board Chambers, 221 Palafox Place
Innerarity Point Park Groundbreaking – 2 p.m., Innerarity Point Park, 5835 Cruzat Way
BCC Public Forum – 4:30 p.m., Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, Board Chambers, 221 Palafox Place
BCC Regular Meeting – 5:30 p.m., Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, Board Chambers, 221 Palafox Place
Northview Football Holds Wash, Plans Another One Next Saturday
April 29, 2018
The Northview High School football linemen held a car wash Saturday at an Atmore auto parts store. But don’t worry if you missed it, they’ll do it all again next Saturday with a car wash from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Aldersgate United Methodist Church on Highway 29 in Molino. (Saturday was National Superheroes Day, just in case you are wondering about that top photo.) Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
