Century Moves Forward With Creating Community Redevelopment Area
May 16, 2017
The Town of Century has approved the boundaries of a future Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).
Upon declaration of an area as blighted, the CRA works to improve conditions. As property tax values rise, most of the increase is funneled back into the redevelopment area for further improvements.
The Century Town Council voted 4-0 Monday night to move forward with developing a legal description of the 510 acre area depicted in a preliminary map. The area is bounded by Jefferson Avenue to the south, Jefferson Avenue to the east, State Road 4 to the north and the centerline of North Century Boulevard to the west. It also extends north on the east side of North Century Boulevard to include commerical properties up to, and including, the former Burger King.
Essentially, CRAs use redevelopment funds within a deteriorating area to transform it into one that again contributes to the overall health of a community. The money can roll over year to year, up a 40-year life for a CRA.
CRA funds can be used for a variety of public purposes, including items specified in the agency’s redevelopment plan, planning and surveys, acquisition of real property, affordable housing development and community policing innovations.
There are currently nine other redevelopment districts in Escambia County — Atwood, Barrancas, Brownsville, Cantonment, Englewood, Ensley, Oakfield, Palafox and Warrington — and three within the City of Pensacola.
Escambia Man Sentenced To 30 Years For Child Porn
May 16, 2017
An Escambia Count man will spend the next 30 years in prison for possessing child porn.
Circuit Judge Edward Nickinson sentenced Jason Sapp, age 40, to 30 years in state prison for 25 counts of possessing child pornography. He was also designated as a sexual offender and will be required to register as a sexual offender and comply with all statutory requirements.
In October 2015, investigators with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Sapp’s computer and electronic devices after they discovered that he possessed child pornography. Several images of child pornography were found.
Sapp was interviewed by investigators and admitted he had downloaded child pornography but claimed that he had not accessed the images in several years.
Forensic analysis of his devices revealed he had accessed several files mere days before the search warrant was executed.
Local Elementary Students Shine At Sunshine Math Competition
May 16, 2017
Over 640 students participated in this year’s Sunshine Math Competition recently at Washington High school. Those 640 students were from 28 schools and were on 54 third grade teams, 53 4th grade teams and 52 fifth grade teams.
“This was the largest Sunshine Math competition yet in Escambia County,” said Tammy Barton, ECSD Math Specialist. “We had so many compete that we had to hold the third grade awards in the auditorium and the students and their families filled the house. Then, the awards for the fourth and fifth grade teams filled the gym.”
Individual winners took home a trophy and members of the team that placed took home medals. All of the participants received certificates to mark the day.
Individual Competition Winners and team members
3rd grade
- 1st place: Kaleigh Deese—Jim Allen Elementary
- 2nd place: Ayden Crabtree—Molino Park Elementary
- 3rd place: Emily Dunlap—Jim Allen Elementary
4th grade
- 1st place: Beatrice Bunnell—McArthur Elementary
- 2nd place: Ally Richardson—Bratt Elementary
- 3rd place: Bailee Luciano—McArthur Elementary
5th Grade
- 1st place: Bentley Van Pelt—Bratt Elementary
- 2nd place: Emmalee Bordelon—A.K. Suter Elementary
- 3rd place: John Thomas Tracy—A.K. Suter Elementary
Team Competition Winners
3rd Grade
- 1st Place: Molino Park Elementary Team 2
- Alyssa Brooks, Ayden Crabtree, Austin Jackson, Mary Oliver
- 2nd Place: N.B. Cook Elementary Team 2
- Brenden Boyer, Ray Duong, Caleb Sampson, Brody Turner
- 3rd Place: Scenic Heights Elementary Team 2
- Christopher Tompkins, Mylo Cox, Faiza Chowhury, Benjamin Riley
4th Grade
- 1st Place: Scenic Heights Elementary Team 1
- Zachary Loftus, Freyja Van Hoose, Kevin Jones, Abby Urnowey
- 2nd Place: McArthur Elementary Team 2
- Beatrice Bunnell, Bailee Luciano, Heidi Lynn, Megan Nolan
- 3rd Place: Cordova Park Elementary Team 2
- Wyatt Hart, Brooks Lurton, Zachary Peterson, Lucy Adams Stevenson
5th Grade
- 1st Place: Scenic Heights Elementary Team 1
- Finlee Jenkins, Makayla Johnson, Justin Casler, Coby Lin
- 2nd Place: Cordova Park Elementary Team 2
- Tony Lipnicky, William Flores, William Westerheim, Connor Kane
- 3rd Place: A.K. Suter Elementary Team 2
- John Thomas Tracy, Londynn Amos-Roberts, Madelyn Vowell, Terry Brooks
Above: Bratt Elementary team members.
Above: First place individual fifth grade winner Bentley Van Pelt from Bratt Elementary.
Above : Second place fourth grade individual winner Ally Richardson from Bratt Elementary.
Above: Molino Park team members.
Pictured above: Molino Park Elementary school winners.
Above: Jim Allen team members.
Above: Jim Allen Elementary individual award winners Kaleigh Deese. first place third grade individual, and Emily Dunlap, 3rd place third grade individual.
Above: Jim Allen Elementary team members.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Teens Use Stolen ATV While Burglarizing Vehicles
May 16, 2017
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two teens who where allegedly committing vehicle burglaries while using a stolen ATV as their transportation.
Timothy Eugene Scarbrough, 17, and Robert Wayne Lamarr, 18, were both charged with two counts burglary of an unoccupied conveyance unarmed, grand theft of a motor vehicle and second degree petit theft.
About 4 a.m. on May 15, an ECSO deputy made contact with Scarbrough and Lamarr in the 6000 block of Spanish Oak Court. During the investigation, it was determined that they were using a stolen ATV. When the suspects were searched, vehicle keys were found that tied them to a May 14 vehicle burglary and ATV theft in the same neighborhood. The undamaged ATV was located in a nearby wooded area and returned to the owner.
Pictured: Roberty Wayne Lamarr.
Health Officials Look To Halt Smokable Marijuana
May 16, 2017
The Florida Department of Health on Monday ordered a medical-marijuana operator to stop selling a “whole flower” product sold for use in vaporizers but which can easily be smoked, saying the product is not permitted.
Quincy-based Trulieve started selling “Entourage,” a whole flower product meant to be used in the Volcano vaporizer, last week.
The department’s cease-and-desist letter to Trulieve came after The News Service of Florida reported Wednesday about the sales of the whole flower product, which can easily be smoked in pipes, bongs, or joints — all off-limits to patients under Florida’s current medical-marijuana laws.
“Licensed dispensing organizations have a responsibility to ensure their product is not one that can easily be transitioned into a smokable form. Therefore, whole flower products are not permitted,” state Office of Compassionate Use Director Christian Bax wrote to Trulieve on Monday.
Current law bans “smoking” of medical marijuana but includes an exception that allows patients to use vaporizers to consume cannabis products. Smoking is defined as “burning or igniting a substance and inhaling the smoke.”
The “Entourage” products, released by Trulieve last week, come in “small, wire mesh bags” sold in vaporizer cups. The mesh caps affixed to the tops of the bags “can be removed with minimal effort” by purchasers, according to the letter.
“Given the above facts, Trulieve is hereby ordered to immediately cease and desist sale of its Entourage product,” Bax wrote.
In a statement, Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said Monday the company was “surprised by the letter” but is “immediately and completely complying with the department’s wishes while evaluating our options.”
Rivers told the News Service last week she believed the product was legal and that her company had been selling whole-flower products for nearly a year.
“We feel very strongly that having products available that allow patients to have a choice and to benefit from the entourage effect, also available to physicians to make recommendations to patients, is critical. So if that means we’re pushing the envelope, we’ve had a form of whole-flower vaporizer available from the day we’ve opened. This has always been part of our product line and will continue to be in the future,” Rivers said last week.
Lawmakers during the annual legislative session that ended last Monday were unable to reach consensus on a measure to implement a voter-approved constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana for a broad swath of patients with debilitating illnesses.
But they were in nearly universal agreement on at least one thing: Patients shouldn’t be able to smoke pot products.
Key legislators contacted by the News Service last week about the sale of whole flower products that could be smoked were taken by surprise.
John Morgan, the Orlando trial lawyer who largely bankrolled what was known as Amendment 2, has pledged to sue the state over the smoking issue, which he says was tacitly approved in the constitutional amendment approved by more than 71 percent of voters in November.
Patients and advocates maintain that the medicinal effects of whole flower consumption outweigh that of processed products, such as oils or other derivatives, including those inhaled by “vaping.”
But the Department of Health apparently isn’t sold on that argument.
The state’s marijuana operators are allowed to seek permission to sell “ground cannabis plant material” meant to be vaped, Bax acknowledged in Monday’s letter.
“However, as conveyed to Trulieve in a June 28, 2016 meeting on this matter, dispensing organizations may not dispense easily breached products containing whole flower,” he wrote.
Bax also chided Trulieve for recommending the Volcano vaporizer while not selling it onsite. While the vaporizer is available on Trulieve’s website, that’s not good enough because the purchase of delivery devices outside of a dispensing organization is banned by state law, according to Bax.
“The department reminds Trulieve that all sales, possession and use of cannabis outside of the provision” of Florida laws “are a potential criminal act,” he concluded.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Escambia Commission To Help Fund Barrineau Park Fall Festival
May 16, 2017
The Escambia County Commission has agreed to provide financial support the Barrineau Park Fall Festival this September.
The fall festival will be September 9 at the Barrineau Park Community Center. The BOCC approved a request for $3,000, to be funded from the 4th Cent Tourist Development Tax, for the Barrineau Park Fall Festival.
It is estimated that the event, sponsored by the Barrineau Park Historical Society, will being about 400 people to the area.
The Board placed $250,000 in the 4th Cent Tourist Development Tax reserves. These funds were to be allocated by the Board for events and other tourist promotion activities.
Traffic Stop Leads To Drug Trafficking Arrest
May 16, 2017
A recent traffic stop led to a drug trafficking arrest in Escambia County.
Robert Darnell Alexander-Steans, 26, was pulled over by Escambia County deputies for a traffic violation in a silver Volvo SUV near the 70th block of Leyete Drive.
Methamphetamines, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, ecstasy pills, bottles of promethazine and marijuana were located, according to deputies.
Steans was charged with: Cocaine trafficking over 28 grams to 150 kilograms, amphetamine trafficking or methamphetamine 14 grams or over, marijuana distribution, posession of a controlled substance without a prescription, operating a motor vehicle without valid license and possession or use of drug equipment.
Steans remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $171,000.
‘Christmas In May’ For Many College Students
May 16, 2017
Despite broader political turmoil in Washington, D.C., and Tallahassee, federal and state lawmakers have agreed to dramatically increase financial aid to the neediest college and university students.
On May 4, the U.S. Senate approved a series of budget bills that will fund the federal government through Sept. 30, including the extension of Pell grants to cover summer classes for the first time since 2011. Pell grants are the largest federal grant program aimed at students with financial need.
Four days later, the Florida Legislature overwhelmingly approved a new state budget that includes a major expansion of higher-education aid programs, including the Florida “student assistance grants,” the state’s largest need-based aid program for economically challenged students.
“It was Christmas in May,” said Darryl Marshall, director of financial aid at Florida State University. “This is a huge win for students.”
He said expansion of the federal and state financial-aid programs will have an impact throughout higher-education institutions in Florida, including lowering student debt and giving students more options for support.
Pell grants, which can be used in public and private institutions, play a large role in the state university system, with 39 percent of undergraduates receiving the grants in fall 2015, according to the state Board of Governors.
At the high end, more than 65 percent of the students at Florida A&M University and 51 percent of the students at Florida International University received the awards, which do not have to be repaid. At the lower end, Florida State University and New College of Florida each reported about 28 percent of their undergraduates had Pell grants.
Pell grants are equally important in the 28-school state college system. Miami-Dade College, the largest school, reported 53 percent of its students had Pell grants in the 2014-15 academic year, with annual awards averaging $3,934.
Although grants are distributed using a complicated formula, as a general rule students coming from families with less than $30,000 in annual income qualify for a full award, which is currently capped at just under $6,000.
Students have not been able to use Pell grants for summer classes since the end of the 2010-11 academic year because of federal budget cutbacks.
Marshall, the FSU financial-aid director, said some students will benefit from the Pell summer extension this year, although he said he doesn’t expect the full benefits to be realized until next summer because of the timing of the congressional decision.
The future of the extension remains in doubt after Sept. 30 as Congress has struggled in recent years with passing long-term budgets, although U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has been supportive of summer Pell grants.
The Pell summer extension is particularly important in Florida because the state’s main need-based aid program, the Florida student-assistance grants, does not cover summer terms.
However, the 2017-18 state budget, which is awaiting the governor’s review, includes a record funding boost of $121 million in the student-assistance grant program, which now serves some 133,000 students who receive an average annual award of $1,113.
About 78 percent of the program’s funding goes to state university and college students, with 12 percent for private college students and 10 percent for students enrolled in other post-secondary programs, including career-training initiatives.
The state support works in conjunction with the Pell grants, with students qualifying for the programs by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form.
At Florida State, Marshall said about 3,000 of the more than 10,000 Pell grant students also receive Florida student-assistance grant support, a number he expects to grow with the Legislature’s expansion of the program.
Marshall said the increase in the Pell grant and state-assistance programs will have several effects, including a new push by education officials to encourage more student to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms to determine their eligibility.
“Hopefully, the message will get out to our students and their parents to complete the FAFSA,” Marshall said.
More important, Marshall said the boost in need-based aid will result in students taking out fewer loans, avoiding a debt burden as they begin their careers.
“It’s a big win,” Marshall said. “The more need-based grant dollars, the less loan debt.”
The need-based aid expansion may also help students who receive merit-based aid, like the state’s Bright Futures scholarships.
The Legislature this spring increased the top-level Bright Futures award to cover full tuition and fees as well as summer classes. But the expansion did not extend to the lower-level Bright Futures “medallion scholars,” who still will have to pay part of their tuition and all of the summer classes.
Marshall said some of the merit scholarship students will now also qualify for the expanded need-based aid because of their financial circumstances.
But the expansion of the Florida need-based aid, like the federal Pell grants, faces some political uncertainty. Gov. Rick Scott has threatened to veto all or part of the new state budget because of lawmakers’ failure to fund business-incentive and tourism programs that he supported.
However, Scott has been a consistent supporter of reducing the cost of higher education in Florida, including taking a firm stand against tuition and fee increases.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Jackson’s Flores Hits Walk-Off To Beat Wahoos 4-3
May 16, 2017
Jackson Generals left fielder Rudy Flores smacked a two-out, walk-off single to help his team rally from three runs down to beat the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 4-3 on Monday at The Ballpark at Jackson.
Jackson center fielder Evan Marzilli scored the winning run after leading off the ninth inning with a single to right field.
The Blue Wahoos fell to 6-8 on the season in games decided by one run. They are 20-18 on the year and a game behind the Mississippi Braves in the South Division.
Jackson, the defending Southern League champion, improved to 22-15 and leads the North Division by a half game over the Chattanooga Lookouts and Tennessee Smokies.
Blue Wahoos closer Brennan Bernardino came on in the ninth with the game tied, 3-3, but gave up two hits and struck out one to pick up the loss. He is 0-2 with a 3.38 ERA.
Pensacola right-hander Luis Castillo has failed to get a decision in his past two starts, even though he allowed one run in seven innings against the Birmingham Barons and on Monday gave up just two runs in five innings to Jackson. Considered the seventh best prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization by MLB Pipeline.com, Castillo scattered six hits to the Generals, walked two and struck out one.
Castillo, who is 1-2 on the year with a 3.07 ERA, last earned a victory April 13 against the Biloxi Shuckers in his second start of the season.
He was relieved by Domingo Tapia, who blew his second save opportunity of the season when he gave up the tying run in the sixth to Jackson. Generals first baseman Kevin Cron led off the sixth inning by crushing a fly ball over the center field wall 390-feet away to tie the game, 3-3. It was his Southern League-leading ninth homer of the season.
All three of Pensacola’s runs happened in the third inning. Blue Wahoos center fielder Brian O’Grady hit his second homer in two games and now has five on the season to lead the ball club.
With two outs, Pensacola second baseman Alex Blandino singled to left field and shortstop Blake Trahan singled to right field and then stole second base. That’s when Mr. Clutch Josh VanMeter stepped to the plate and delivered a single to left that drove in both Blandino and Trahan to put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 3-0.
VanMeter, Pensacola’s third baseman, is 9-19 (.474) with 12 of his team-leading 17 RBIs coming with runners in scoring position and two outs this year.
Castillo gave up his two runs to Jackson in the fourth inning when second baseman Kevin Medrano doubled in Cron and then starting pitcher Taylor Clark hit a sacrifice fly to score catcher Oscar Hernandez to cut Pensacola’s lead to, 3-2.
Plans Finalized To Rebuild Tornado Ravaged 114 Year Old Century Church
May 15, 2017
Plans have been finalized to reconstruct the historic Century United Methodist Church, which was damaged beyond repair in last year’s Century tornado. Church members hope construction will begin soon.
The appearance of the new building will be much like the old building and will include windows, pews, light fixtures, woodwork and more salvaged from the old church.
The Century United Methodist Church was built in 1902, just after Century was established by The Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company. It was constructed of virgin long leaf pine, with interior detail and finish that created a reverent place for worship.
For over 114 years, the sanctuary helped to provide comfort and inspiration to Century residents with weekly services, as well as special occasions such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals.
Time took its toll on the familiar old building, along with a fire and hurricanes. The February 15, 2016, EF-3 tornado that struck Century dealt a blow from which the building could not be recovered. Many architectural details were salvaged before the structure had to be dismantled.
Church members have continued to meet since the tornado, operating out of their Annex Building across the street.
Pictured top and bottom: Architectural drawings of the new Century United Methodist Church. Pictured inset and below: The Century UMC following the February 15, 2016, tornado. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
