Voters Back Tax Exemptions For First Responders, Senior Citizens
November 9, 2016
In two issues that received relatively little attention, voters were poised Tuesday night to overwhelmingly approve two constitutional amendments that could lead to property-tax breaks for disabled first responders and some seniors.
The proposals, known as amendments 3 and 5, were placed on the ballot by the Legislature. Amendment 3 would allow lawmakers to grant property-tax exemptions for first responders who are totally and permanently disabled because of injuries suffered in the line of duty. With about 8 million votes counted statewide, the measure had support from more than 83 percent of voters. Amendment 5, meanwhile, is aimed at allowing low-income seniors to continue receiving an additional homestead tax exemption when their property values rise above $250,000. It was being backed by about 78 percent of voters.
by The News Service of Florida
Century Stabbing Suspect Arrested Monday Night
November 8, 2016
The suspect in an October 30 stabbing in Century was taken into custody Monday night.
Alfreco Lett, 44, was booked into the Escambia County Jail Monday evening on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon with bond set at $25,000.
Lett is accused of stabbing one person at a mobile home in the 300 block of East Pond Street about 8:30 p.m. Sunday. The victim was transported by Lifeguard ambulance to EMS Post 50 in Century and then transferred to LifeFlight helicopter and airlifted to a Pensacaola hospital. The victim’s name and condition have not been released.
Following the stabbing, Lett allegedly fled the scene on foot in an unknown direction.
Tate Aggie Markus Baxley Recognized By Congressman For Special Touchdown
November 8, 2016
Monday, the office of Congressman Jeff Miller presented Tate Aggie Markus Baxley with special recognition of his 10-yard touchdown run at the Tate versus Pace football game on October 7. Baxley was presented with a flag that flew over the Capitol in Washington on game day.
Baxley has cerebral palsy and spent his high school career as an honorary member of the Aggies team. Until that one game in October, he had never scored a touchdown, made a tackle or even played a single down. On October 7, he was out of his wheelchair for a special pre-game down. With his from his team, he scored a 10-yard touchdown. The play earned Baxley his varsity letter in football.
In conjunction with the game, Baxley also helped the Aggie Nation raise $1,000 for the Miracle League of Pensacola.
Pictured above and below: Stevan Davis from the office of Congressman Jeff Miller presented special recognition Monday to Aggie Markus Baxley. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge. Pictured bottom: Baxley scores his October 7 touchdown. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Entire State Of Alabama Now Under No Burn Order
November 8, 2016
All 67 counties in Alabama are now under a “no burn” order in which all outdoor burning is prohibited.
The no burn order is a result of the prolonged drought that most of the state is experiencing this year, as well as the increasing number of fires that have occurred recently and reduced availability of suppression resources.
Under the no burn order, ” it is illegal for any person to set fire to any forest, grass, woods, wildlands or marshes; to build a campfire or bonfire; or to burn trash or other material that may cause a forest, grass or woods fire. Specifically, the regulation prohibits any prescribed burns, any campfire or bonfire, any trash or debris fires, or any other open burning. If convicted, the penalty for violating the No Burn order is up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500.”
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
FHP: 96-Year Old Causes Beulah Four-Vehicle Crash
November 8, 2016
An elderly woman was cited after causing a four-vehicle crash Monday evening on Nine Mile Road at Heritage Oaks.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 96-year old Chelton Wilson of Mobile was eastbound on Highway 90 in Mercury Sable when she rear-ended a Nissan Sentra driven by 29-year old Megan Schaff of Pensacola. That vehicle was pushed into a 2015 Ford F150 driven by 48-year old Steven Pinette of Pensacola, which was pushed into a 2007 Ford Escape driven by 44-year old Vasheta Rogers of Pensacola.
Wilson’s vehicle then traveled down an embankment on the shoulder of the roadway.
All injuries in the crash were minor.
Wilson was cited for careless driving by the FHP.
Century Council Honors Late Member Annie Savage, Discusses Replacement
November 8, 2016
The Century Town Council paused Monday night to remember Council Member Annie Savage, who passed away recently at age 75.
A black ribbon marked Savage’s place at the council table Monday night, the first meeting since her death. The council paused for a moment of silence in her honor.
The council also discussed a temporary appointment to the seat. The council decided that council members will accept names of those interested in serving and discuss a replacement at their November 21 meeting. A special election will also be scheduled for a permanent appointee to fill Savages unexpired term of just over four years.
Pictured top and bottom: A black ribbon marked the place of late council member Annie Savage Monday night in Century. Pictured inset: A file photo of Savage. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FDLE Agent Accused Of Abusing Third Young Boy
November 8, 2016
A third victim has surfaced in the case of a Florida Department of Law Enforcement special agent accused of child sex crimes.
Charles “Chuck” Calvin McMullen was arrested on an additional charge of lewd and lascivious behavior and held without bond in the Santa Rosa County Jail.
He was first arrested on two counts of sexual battery on a victim under 12 and two counts of lewd lascivious behavior victim less than 12 years old.
The mother of the third victim contacted the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office after reading about McMullen’s first arrest. She became concerned because her child spent “almost every other weekend” at McMullen’s home, and she questioned her son.
The son told his mother and investigators that McMullen touched him in and inappropriate sexual manner.
McMullen investigated similar cases during his five year employment with the FDLE. He previously worked as Chief of the Cybercrimes Unit for then-Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and for the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office.
For more information about his previous arrest, click here.
Pictured top: Charles Calvin McMullen. Courtesy WEAR 3.
Ransom Middle Academic Tigers Move on to Nationals
November 8, 2016
Students from Ransom Middle School have once again qualified to compete at the national level at the Middle School National Championship Academic Tournament.
The members of the Ransom Academic Team participated in the Second Annual Lewis Falcons Middle School Academic Tournament in Valparaiso on November 5. They competed against 28 middle school teams from across the Florida Panhandle.
The matches in the tournament challenged team members to work together to answer complex academic questions more accurately than an opposing team. To gain an advantage each team tried to answer more quickly than the other team.
Clarissa Brown and Lucinda Bateman coached the teams for Ransom Middle and explained that the tournament questions are so much more than quick “trivia” questions.
“They have a pyramidal structure, where the questions begin with more difficult clues, slowly progressing to more familiar information. It rewards the more knowledgeable students for their ability to answer quickly while only using less, and more difficult, high-level information,” Brown explained.
Members of Ransom Middle’s teams were: Ransom Team A – Captain Maggie Brown, Carter Pitts, Abby Gryskiewicz, and Maggie Shaffer. Ransom Team B – Captain Lili Rollins, Ian DeLay, Owen Painter, and Saahil Soni.
Ransom’s Team A finished fifth overall, qualifying them for the 2017 Middle School National Championship Tournament. Brown ranked #8 overall out of 124 players.
“We are so proud of their outstanding and enthusiastic effort, and how well they continue to represent Ransom Middle School and Escambia County Schools,” Bateman said.
The 2017 Middle School National Championship Academic Tournament will be held May 12-14 in Dallas.
Pictured top: Ransom Academic Team members (front, L-R) Carter Pitts, Owen Painter, Saahil Soni, Ian DeLay, (back, L-R) Maggie Shaffer, Abby Gryskiewicz, Lili Rollins, Maggie Brown. Pictured below: Team A ready to complete (L-R) Gryskiewicz, Shaffer, Brown and Pitts. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pollution Notification Plan Continues To Draw Objections
November 8, 2016
Despite some changes to reassure the business community, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection continued to hear objections Monday to a pollution-notification rule proposed in the wake of high-profile incidents in Pinellas and Polk counties that raised questions about state environmental regulations.
The proposed rule, ordered by Gov. Rick Scott, would require any business, county or city government responsible for a pollution incident to notify the public within 24 hours. It was developed after a major St. Petersburg sewage spill and after a sinkhole at a phosphate plant south of Lakeland sent toxins into the Floridan Aquifer and threatened drinking water.
Some revisions to the rule were released Friday after members of the public — primarily advocates for utility companies — testified at a series of workshops about concerns the proposal would saddle them with undue regulatory burdens and substantial new compliance costs.
Within 24 hours after the initial public notification, according to the revised language released Friday, the responsible parties would have another day to release specifics of the pollution’s likely effects.
The revisions also specify exactly how the news media would have to be notified: at least one local newspaper, by email or hand-delivered notice, and at least one local network television station, also by email or written correspondence.
The department also released a statement of economic impact to the affected industries.
The proposal “will not have a direct or indirect adverse impact on economic growth, private-sector job creation or employment, or private-sector investment of $1 million” over five years, according to the department.
But that prediction did not quell the worries of industry groups, which said business or local government in-house press shops were ill-equipped to handle the public notification aspect of the new rule.
“This is, I think, an undue burden on these companies. … We feel like notifying DEP and letting DEP notify the local governments would be the best course of action,” said Tisha Keller of the Florida Trucking Association.
David Childs, representing the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council, stressed that the department should notify the public, as it has “toxicologists, biologists and communications staff, as well as the bully pulpit of the executive branch of state government,” unlike businesses and small local governments that might not have the resources to provide the notice.
Another consistent complaint from municipal and industry interests was that the rule had simply moved too quickly. Scott ordered the rule’s drafting in September.
Despite the ongoing concerns, the department has indicated it will continue according to its plan to begin finalizing the rule immediately after 5 p.m. Wednesday, when a public comment period formally ends.
“We certainly will take the comments that were previously provided, as well as those today, and the department will make a final decision on what the final rule will look like,” said Robert Williams, chief deputy general counsel at the department.
Pictured: The Town of Century had 500 gallon sewage spill into this ditch near the Century Woods Apartment on West highway 4 on October 20. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Driver Cited After Electrifying Crash
November 8, 2016
A Cantonment driver was cited after hitting a utility pole Monday afternoon.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 35-year old Timothy M. Wickam was westbound on 9 1/2 Mile Road at 2 p.m. when his 1994 Nissan left the roadway and struck a traffic sign and a power pole, causing multiple lines to fall and spark a grass fire. His vehicle then continued into an AT&T warning pole and multiple large bushes.
Wickham was transported by Escambia County EMS to Sacred Heart Hospital with minor injuries. He was also ticketed by the FHP for failure to maintain lane.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Krist Barbour, click to enlarge.
