Escambia Man Charged With Setting His Girlfriend On Fire
September 21, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man that they say threw gasoline on his girlfriend and then lit her on fire.
The incident happened early Tuesday morning in the 1600 block of Blackwell Lane. Deputies said 39-year old Tavares Antwan Lewis got into an argument before he set her on fire. She was transported to a local hospital; her condition has not been released.
Lewis has been charged with aggravated battery and is being held in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $250,000.
Flomaton Police Seek Armed Robbery Suspects
September 21, 2016
The Flomaton Police Department is searching for two people involved in the armed robbery a local convenience store.
About 12:45 a.m. Tuesday, two unknown subjects entered the Texaco at the intersection of Sidney Manning Boulevard and Highway 31 in Flomaton. The two armed suspects demanded cash before fleeing the store with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Police Chief Bryan Davis said both suspects were fully disguised. Tracking dogs from the Alabama Department of Corrections were unsuccessful in locating the suspects.
There were no injuries reported during the armed robbery. The investigation is continuing.
Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call the Flomaton Police Department at (251) 296-5811.
Jay High School Announces Homecoming Court Members
September 21, 2016
Jay High School has elected their 2016 Homecoming Court. Members are (L-R) Raven Fretwell, sophomore; Taylor Scott, senior; Mattie Holt, senior; Meghan Mayo, senior; Courtney Walther, senior; Morgan Floyd, junior; and Hayden Burkett, freshman. Pictured below are senior court members Taylor Scott, Mattie Holt, Meghan Mayo, and Courtney Walther. The homecoming queen will be elected during homecoming week. Courtesy photos by Junia Fischer for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Plan Would Extend Bright Futures Scholarships Into Summer
September 21, 2016
The state university system’s Board of Governors this week will debate expanding the Bright Futures scholarship program to cover summer classes.
The proposal, which could cost up to $46.7 million, is a top priority for Gov. Rick Scott, who sees broader use of the merit scholarship program as a way to help students graduate in four years from state universities.
“I am also once again proposing to expand the Bright Futures scholarship to cover summer classes, and I am challenging every university and college president to urge the Legislature to pass this during the next legislative session,” Scott said during a higher-education summit in May.
Scott has been pushing the proposal since 2015 but has not won support in the Legislature.
The Board of Governors, which is meeting this week at New College of Florida in Sarasota, will review a report that says allowing students to use Bright Futures scholarships in the summer will provide them “with an opportunity to decrease their time-to-degree and enter into the state’s workforce more rapidly.”
The report also says a broader use of the scholarships will help reduce student debt and allow “more efficient classroom utilization” across the 12 state universities.
Data through 2015 from the Board of Governors shows only 44 percent of students graduated in four years at 11 state universities, ranging from a high of 67.3 percent at the University of Florida to a low of 13.4 percent at Florida A&M University. The survey did not include the newly created Florida Polytechnic University.
Florida universities had a 66 percent six-year graduation rate, another metric used to measure performance. The Board of Governors has set a goal of raising the system-wide four-year rate to 50 percent by 2025 and the six-year rate to 70 percent.
The idea behind expanding Bright Futures is that it will provide a financial incentive for more students to attend summer classes, increasing the chances they can graduate more quickly.
Currently, many Bright Futures students shun the summer classes since their scholarships don’t cover the costs.
In 2015, a little more than half of the Bright Futures students enrolled in the spring semester also enrolled in the summer, dropping from 90,518 students to 46,033, the report showed.
Expanding the scholarships could nearly double the number of summer Bright Futures students to 85,587, assuming each student averaged 6.3 credit hours in the summer, based on the highest estimate by analysts for the Board of Governors. That expansion cost was estimated at $46.7 million.
The lowest estimate was $25.9 million, assuming roughly the same number of Bright Futures students, 48,000, would attend summer classes but would be reimbursed under the proposal.
Funding for the summer expansion would have to compete against other proposals during the 2017 legislative session, including incoming Senate President Joe Negron’s plan to have Bright Futures cover the entire tuition cost for top scholarship students, known as “academic scholars.” That proposal would more than double the current $106 million cost for those 41,000 students.
And the plans to expand Bright Futures come against overall financial projections showing a meager $7.5 million surplus is anticipated for next budget year, which begins July 1
.
But part of the argument that could bolster the moves to expand Bright Futures is that the scholarship program, which is funded by the Florida Lottery, has dramatically dropped in cost and scope over the years.
The $212 million scholarship program, which covers some 102,000 students, is down from its $429 million peak in 2008-09 and down from its 179,000-student peak in 2010-11. The drop-off was caused, in part, by an increase in eligibility requirements, including higher test scores, and a cap on the scholarships themselves.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Boil Water Notice Issued For East Nine Mile Road, Holsberry Road Area
September 21, 2016
THIS NOTICE HAS BEEN LIFTED. CLICK HERE FOR INFO.
Effective immediately, a Precautionary Boil Water Notice -PBWN- has been issued by the ECUA to customers located in the following repairs to a broken water main.
- E. Nine Mile Road, from Palafox St. to Chemstrand Road
- Holsberry Road
- Nims Ln.,
- Holsberry Ln.,
- Tulsa Dr.,
- Sprague Dr.,
- Craft St.,
- Saleta St.,
- Strandview Dr.
- Holsberry Pl.
- Edith Ln.
- Allison Ln.
Precautionary Boil Water Notices are issued as a part of the standard protocol following any loss of water pressure, whether as a result of planned maintenance activities or unscheduled repairs.
Residents located in the specified PBWN area are advised to boil water for one minute at a rolling boil or to use 8 drops of regular unscented household bleach per gallon of water, for water to be used for drinking or cooking purposes. Two independent bacteriological samples have been initiated and the advisory will be lifted as soon as possible. This process routinely takes 48 hours.
ECUA crews have repaired the main and have flushed out the lines. Residents are advised that there is a possibility of discolored water as a result of the utility work, and to flush their home’s plumbing by running their taps for a few minutes. If problems persist, customers are asked to contact ECUA Customer Service at 850-476-0480 for assistance. Precautionary boil water notice guidelines are available on the ECUA website at www.ecua.fl.gov/water-quality/boil-water-notices-and-why-we-issue-them
Deputies Searching For Murder Suspect
September 20, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a man wanted in connection with a shooting Monday that left one person dead and one other injured on Aquamarine Avenue.
Nicholas Omar O’Quinn is wanted for murder, attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault. According to deputies, he is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or 911.
The names of the shooting victims have not yet been released by authorities.
Bond Set At $200K For Woman In Creepy Clown Case
September 20, 2016
Bond has been set at $200,000 for 22-year old Makayla Smith of Flomaton in the “Flomo Klown” case from last week.
Escambia County (AL) District Judge Jeff White also stipulated that if Smith should be released on bond, she if forbidden to access to any device that has internet or allows access to the internet.
Smith is charged with making a terrorist threat in connection with Facebook pages that prompted the lockdown of multiple schools in Escambia County (AL). She remained in the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center Tuesday morning.
Three additional juvenile arrests are expected.
A Facebook page entitled “Flomo Klowns” that featured scary clowns with blood and other gore prompted the lockdown at Flomaton High School and Flomaton Elementary (all located on the same campus), Huxford Elementary north of Atmore, Escambia Academy near Atmore and a partial lockdown at Escambia County High School in Atmore.
The Flomo Klowns Facebook page said that they are from Flomaton and contained statements such as “I kill people for a living” and a Thursday post that stated “It’s going down tonight”.
Century Signs Off On Budget, Property Tax Increase
September 20, 2016
The Century Town Council gave final approval Monday night to a property tax increase along with a $3.75 million budget.
The town council gave preliminary approval to raising the ad valorem millage rate from 0.9005 to 0.9732 for the next fiscal year. The levied millage rate is a 9.84% increase over the rolled back rate.
The increase will enable the town to meet their proposed $3.75 million budget for fiscal year beginning October 1. The upcoming year’s budget is down from the current year’s $5.1 million budget, which included about $2.2 million in grant income and expenditures.
FWC Law Enforcement Report
September 20, 2016
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending September 15 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officers Manning and Allgood inspected two commercial fishing vessels as they returned to shore. On both vessels, they found undersized red and vermillion snapper. A total of 125 pounds of illegal fish were seized. The operators of both vessels were issued notice to appear citations for the violations. Additionally, two of the vessels’ crew members were arrested and transported to the Escambia County Jail on outstanding warrants.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officers Ramos and Roberson were on patrol in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and conducting inspections on primitive campsites. At one remote site, Officer Ramos detected the odor of cannabis. A brief interview revealed the couple had cannabis and drug paraphernalia on them. The couple had also committed three additional non-criminal violations per Blackwater WMA regulations. Each person was charged for the cannabis and drug paraphernalia and warned for the remaining violations.
Officers Ramos and Roberson were on patrol In Eglin AFB in the very early morning when they made contact with Santa Rosa County deputies responding to two stranded motorists stuck in the sand on the Eglin Reservation. Officers Ramos, Roberson and the Santa Rosa County deputy located the woman, along with her husband, deep in the reservation. The officers were able to safely pull them out of the sand and escort them to a main road. The couple had gotten lost and stuck in a long patch of very soft sand while trying to find a campsite at Escribano Point WMA.
Officers Ramos and Roberson concentrated enforcement efforts the weekend nights from the early evening to the very early morning hours of the next day, checking more than nine boats and looking for users on alligator hunts. They did not observe any hunting violations, but did address multiple boating safety and navigation issues.
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.
Study: Historic April 2014 Escambia Flood Led To Respiratory Problems
September 20, 2016
The historic flooding that struck the westernmost part of Florida in April 2014 inundated some areas of Pensacola with more than 15 inches of rain in a day and destroyed roads and bridges.
Until recently, however, the health and environmental impact of that devastating flood had not been studied. Dr. Jason Ortegren, an associate professor in the University of West Florida Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, along with UWF graduate students Rebecca Foglietti and Talia Smith, are co-authors of a first-of-its-kind health impact assessment of the extreme flooding that took place in Escambia County from April 28 to May 3, 2014.
They collaborated on the report with the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Environmental Public Health Tracking program.
“The Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee had already secured a grant from the (U.S Centers for Disease Control) to conduct a health impact assessment somewhere in Florida,” said Ortegren, who is a climatologist and meteorologist. “And they thought that the April-May flood of 2014 served as a good example.”
The health impact assessment is the first done by the Florida Environmental Public Health Tracking, said Chris DuClos, the program’s manager.
“We chose UWF to collaborate with because they provided local expertise in pulling and interpreting the precipitation data for Escambia County,” DuClos said.
Ortegren said the UWF team’s work on the health impact assessment included a wealth of mapping and statistical analysis.
“We retrieved the majority, or all, of the environmental data, and that included things like the (Emerald Coast Utilities Authority) data, sewage lift station failures, road and bridge failures,” he said. “We coordinated and worked with the relevant county offices in each case to get whatever data we could to give basically the baseline environmental description against which the health analysts could interpret their results.”
To determine if there were increases in injury, illness, and death as a result of the flooding, data on “reportable diseases, hospitalizations, emergency department visits and deaths that occurred during the flooding event” were compared to a control period in 2008 where there was a normal amount of rainfall.
According to the report, the results of the comparison were “mixed, with some Escambia County ZIP codes showing increased hospitalizations and (emergency department) visits, and some ZIP codes showing a decrease.”
However, the report did reveal that, county-wide, there were increases in the proportion of both “injury and respiratory- related hospitalizations and (emergency department) visits” during the 2014 flooding period. There were 231 hospitalizations and 1,970 emergency department visits related to injury in Escambia County during the flood event. They accounted for 10.9 percent of all hospitalizations and 24.3 percent of all emergency department visits during the five-day period, the report showed.
The health impact assessment includes several policy recommendations, including that electric panels on sewage lift stations be raised above the flood elevation, in order to keep them operational during extreme rainfall events.
For the study, records for 357 lift stations were collected, showing that a total of 31 failed at some point during the five-day period.
Also recommended in the health impact assessment is that environmental sampling be conducted wherever feasible to understand how flood waters are impacting surface and ground water.
“The hopes are first, that some of the findings here actually help reduce health impacts if a similar event occurs in the future in Escambia County, or elsewhere,” Ortegren said. “Second, we hope that we have moved the (health impact assessment) experiment forward. We’ve done a little part in providing an example.”
The final goal, Ortegren, said, is to get the results of the study published.
DuClos said the report will be posted on the Florida Environmental Public Health Tracking website and shared with other agencies including the ECUA and Escambia County government, as well as other county health departments.
Ortegren said working on the report was especially beneficial to the two graduate students who not only got the chance to be co-authors on a government report, but also were able to collaborate with people from different disciplines. Another benefit was the new connections Ortegren and the students made with officials with the Department of Health.
“It just fell into my lap,” Ortgren said of the collaboration. “It was one of the rare instances in which they needed somebody who could do what we do, and they found us.”
Pictured: April 2014 flood damage on Scenic Highway, courtesy Jonathan Thompson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.