Congressional Delegation To Get Zika Update
June 12, 2016
Florida’s congressional delegation will hold a meeting this week in Washington to receive presentations about the Zika virus.
Panelists are expected to include Tom Frieden, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Democrat Alcee Hastings and Republican Vern Buchanan, who are co-chairmen of the delegation, announced Wednesday that the meeting will be held June 15. The meeting comes as Congress remains deadlocked on funding to address the mosquito-borne virus, which emerged last year in South America and is particularly dangerous to pregnant women.
As of Tuesday, Florida had totaled 133 Zika cases that didn’t involve pregnant women, including one in Escambia County.
Also the state has monitored 38 cases in which pregnant women showed symptoms of Zika or met a definition of having the virus, according to the Florida Department of Health website. All of the Florida cases were contracted by people who traveled elsewhere, but state health officials worry that the disease could spread in Florida as mosquitoes thrive in the warmer summer months.
by The News Service of Florida
Market In The Park
June 12, 2016
The Atmore chamber held their first in a series of “Market in the Park” events Saturday morning at Heritage Park on South Main Street.
The market featured local produce, baked goods, breads, handmade furniture and more.
Additional Market in the Park events are set for June 25, July 9 and August 13 from 7:30 until 11 a.m. For more information or to register as a vendor, call the Atmore Area Chamber of Commerce at (251) 368-3305.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
One Injured In Barrineau Park Road Crash
June 12, 2016
One person was injured in a single vehicle crash Saturday on Barrineau Park Road near Barrineau Lane.
The accident was reported just after 9 a.m. The driver of a passenger car apparently lost control and crashed into a guardrail; the driver was transported by Escambia County EMS to an area hospital with injuries that were not considered critical.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Molino and Cantonment stations of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Yard Sale Helps Tate Showband Raise Funds For Hawaii Trip
June 12, 2016
The Tate High School Showband of the South held an indoor multi-family yard sale in the school’s Fryman Gym Saturday. All proceeds will benefit the band’s upcoming trip to Hawaii. The Tate Showband is raising funds to perform in Hawaii in a mass band to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 2016. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Extension Services To Host Field Corn Day
June 12, 2016
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Escambia County Extension will host its annual Field Corn Day Tuesday, July 19 from 10 a.m. to noon at the UF/IFAS West Florida Research and Education Center, located at 4253 Experiment Road, Highway 182 in Jay.
The event will feature 27 replicated corn varieties and more than 15 corn variety demonstration plots, with varieties from Dyna-Gro, Monsanto-Dekalb, Croplan, Syngenta, Pioneer, Terral and Augusta Seed. Several company representatives will be on hand to provide overviews of their products, and attendees will take a field tour to see how the corn varieties are working at the West Florida Research and Education Center.
Topics for the Field Corn Day include:
- Corn variety trial and demonstration
- Environmentally Smart Nitrogen and urea blends
- Application timing for corn production
Lunch will be provided. For meal planning purposes, call the Jay Extension Office at (850) 675-3107 or the Escambia Extension Office at (850) 475-5230.
File photo.
Wahoos Beat Biscuits
June 12, 2016
For the second night in a row, Pensacola second baseman Alex Blandino played a big role in the Blue Wahoos victory Saturday, earning a two-out bases loaded walk that scored Pensacola first baseman Kyle Parker with the winning run in the 11th inning.
Pensacola won its third straight game in its last at bat beating the Montgomery Biscuits, 3-2, in front of its 14th sellout crowd of 5,038 this season at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
On Friday night, Blandino scored the winning run in a 2-1 game when Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson hit a chopper deep in the hole at shortstop that Montgomery shortstop Willy Adames threw away for an error.
Blandino may be 3-31 in his last 11 games since May 26 but he has walked nine times, including twice Friday as well as getting a single to center field, as his family watched the game from the stands.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said Blandino, the Cincinnati Reds No. 8 prospect according to MLB.com, praised Blandino’s patience in the pressure-filled at bat. The Blue Wahoos have played two extra-inning games in its last three victories.
“He went through a little rough spot but he’s a much better player than he has shown the last couple of weeks,” Kelly said. “It was a 3-1 count and most players want to get a base hit but he was very patient. Blandino did a great job.”
Blue Wahoos catcher Kyle Skipworth and third baseman Eric Jagielo both hit solo home runs to left field in the fifth inning to give Pensacola a 2-0 lead, but Montgomery fought back.
For Skipworth, who’s recovering from breaking his left ankle in December, it was his first home run for Pensacola in his sixth game and 20th at bat. One out later, Jagielo jacked his fourth homer of the season.
But Montgomery came back in the sixth to score one, 2-1, when Biscuits third baseman Patrick Leonard hit a sacrifice fly ball to centerfield that scored first baseman Casey Gillaspie. Gillaspie upped his on-base streak to 27 games and has failed to get on base in only three of Montgomery’s 62 games this season.
The Biscuits tied the game, 2-2, in the top of the ninth when second baseman Tommy Coyle singled to right field past Blandino. Coyle then stole second base and Skipworth’s throw to second sailed to centerfield, allowing Coyle to reach third. Montgomery’s No. 9 hitter Pat Blair then doubled to left center to score Coyle.
Raisel Iglesias pitched two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking two out in his first rehab start in Pensacola. Iglesias, the Cincinnati Reds opening day starter went on the disabled list with an impingement in his right throwing shoulder earlier this season.
Iglesias was efficient throwing up to 95 mph and fooling two Montgomery Biscuit batters in a row on breaking balls in the low 80s in the second inning. Iglesias even showed his sidearm pitch. He threw 30 pitches, including 22 for strikes.
The first hit by Biscuits leadoff hitter was a check swing single to third base. The other was a rip by right fielder Cade Gotta on a groundball under the glove of a diving Pensacola third baseman Eric Jagielo into left field.
Cincinnati Reds opening day starter had five starts and was 1-1 with a 3.49 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 28.1 innings.
“I thought he was crisp,” Kelly said of Iglesias, who is the third Reds starter to make a rehab appearance this season in Pensacola. Kelly said he joked with Iglesias, “He came into the dugout and I told him this is the Double-A, this isn’t the big leagues, you have to understand these guys can hit. But he was very effective and showed different looks.”
Amir Garrett, the normal starter, then pitched the next five innings, allowing one run on three hits, two walks and struck out three.
Kelly praised Garrett for coming in after Iglesias and pitching well. He did allow three runners to reach third base in his last three innings on the mound.
“Garrett did well but he had three high stress innings in a row and we were concerned about his arm speed,” Kelly said. “I have to credit Garrett. It’s not a situation a starter is used to. He pitched out of some big jams and did a nice job.”
Pensacola remained in sole possession of first place in the Southern League South Division with a record of 36-25. The Biloxi Shuckers also won and improved to 35-26 to remain one game behind the Blue Wahoos.
Work Continues To Uncover History Of Old Muscogee Cemetery
June 11, 2016
Flanked by his daughter and grandson, Walter McQueen of Cantonment became emotional when they walked down a newly blazed trail leading him to a freshly cleared patch in the woods and saw the headstones of Muscogee residents dating back to the late 1800s.
The 68-year-old had been trying, since he was a teenager, to find the black section of the Old Muscogee cemetery, which had disappeared behind vines, brush and trees and swallowed up by leaf debris decades ago.
In May, Gulf Power Environmental Affairs and Plant Smith employee teamed up with the Northwest Florida Water Management District staff to begin clearing the vegetation to provide families access. (Read previous story, click here.)
“This is amazing to me because I tell you my granddad Elias McQueen is here,” McQueen said. “My grandmother told me he died in 1946, a year before I was born. And I have an uncle, Jim McQueen, here who died of polio at 16 years old. That’s what’s amazing to me about this area.”
McQueen couldn’t find his own family members’ gravesites. He believes the sites are nearer to the River Annex Road under an oak tree, in an area that has yet to be cleared. But he’s nevertheless grateful to be able to stand in a portion of the historic site that was once a part of a thriving timber town that no longer exists. What once was Muscogee is now part of Cantonment.
“Words cannot explain what I feel in my heart,” he said. “I have always thought, ‘When are we going to be able to find these graves?’ This brings back so much of our history. Naturally, families want to know where their family members are buried. This gives us so much closure.”
McQueen wants to help with future efforts to restore the cemetery and plans to locate the families of the people in the graves that have been found.
McQueen’s grandson, Kaleb Gulley, 19, who just graduated from high school, has had a fascination about the town his grandfather always told him about and was thrilled when he read a news story about the cleanup effort.
He was also clearly excited to finally be walking through the cemetery as he searched for possible signs of his great-grandfather’s grave.
“When I was riding on the school bus, I’d look directly out here and think, ‘Wow there’s a cemetery there,’” Gulley said. “There is so much history in Muscogee, and I like to hear about the lumber mills and post office and the people who used to live here. I’m enjoying this moment.”
Gulley is also looking forward to passing on to his children, someday, his grandfather’s stories about the ghost town and show them the cemetery.
Rebekah McQueen-Morris, 32, said there used to be an African-American Holiness church across the dirt road from the cemetery. “The members were buried here in the segregated section,” she said.
To be sure, the site is a reminder of the days of segregation. It also provides a snapshot of the people who supported the timber industry, served in the military and, as McQueen-Morris pointed out, had acquired some financial means based on some of the ornate monuments and marble headstones they left behind.
“I grew up in Cantonment, and it’s a blessing that we have another piece of the puzzle to our history,” she said.
“A lot of times we try to research and learn things about our ancestors but we don’t have the resources, or something like this to occur to help us find out about our history,” she said. “Once we find out about our history, where we come from, we find out who we are.”
Broxson Widens Money Lead In Local Senate Race
June 11, 2016
In a primary contest for an open Northwest Florida Senate seat, state Rep. Doug Broxson, R-Gulf Breeze, continued increasing his financial edge in May over Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola Beach.
Broxson raised $30,700 in May, bringing his overall contribution total to $218,921, according to a newly filed finance report. Broxson had about $165,000 in cash on hand as of May 31.
Hill, meanwhile, raised $13,335 last month, bringing his overall total to $84,447. He had about $21,000 in available cash as of May 31, the reports show.
Broxson and Hill are running in Senate District 1 to try to succeed Sen. Greg Evers, a Baker Republican now running for Rep. Jeff Miller’s seat in Congress. District 1, which is a Republican stronghold, includes Escambia, Santa Rosa and part of Okaloosa counties.
by The News Service of Florida
Another Judge Rules Florida Death Penalty Unconstitutional
June 11, 2016
For the second time in a month, a circuit judge has ruled that Florida’s new death-penalty sentencing law is “patently unconstitutional” because it does not require unanimous jury decisions for death to be imposed.
Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Samantha Ward on Thursday sided with defendant Michael Keetley, an ice cream truck driver who was charged with murdering two men and injuring four others in 2010.
Florida lawmakers hurriedly crafted a new death-penalty sentencing process this year, in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in January that overturned the old law because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries.
Under the new law, juries have to unanimously find that at least one aggravating circumstance exists in order for defendants to be eligible for the death penalty. The law also requires juries to weigh whether sufficient mitigating factors exist to outweigh the aggravating circumstances, but the law is silent about whether those decisions must be unanimous. The law also requires at least 10 jurors to recommend the death penalty, a departure from the old law, which required a simple majority of jurors.
But, agreeing with Keetley’s lawyers, Ward ruled that the new law “runs afoul” of the Supreme Court decision, which came in a case known as Hurst v. Florida. Prosecutors argued that the requirement to find at least one aggravator, unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt, was sufficient to comport with a previous U.S. Supreme Court decision, in a case known as Ring v. Arizona.
“But it defies logic, and the dictates of Ring through Hurst, to have the jury find one of the prerequisites unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt (that at least one aggravating factor exists), but not the other two prerequisites (that sufficient aggravators exist and that they outweigh the mitigating circumstances),” Ward wrote.
Ward’s decision Thursday was the second time a circuit judge has found that Florida’s new law is unconstitutional. The Florida Supreme Court has also been inundated with arguments about the constitutionality of the law and is poised to decide on the issue.
Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch ruled May 9 that unanimous decisions are required in imposing death sentences, rather than recommendations from majorities or super-majorities of juries.
Ward’s ruling dealt with the fact-finding phase of the sentencing process.
The Sixth Amendment guarantee to a trial by jury “unequivocally demands that a jury unanimously find the existence of any fact that subjects a defendant to a sentence in excess of that statutorily authorized by a guilty verdict beyond a reasonable doubt,” Ward wrote Thursday. “Florida’s existing death penalty sentencing scheme is incongruous with this decree.”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
State Biologists Back A ‘More Conservative’ Bear Hunt
June 11, 2016
Florida should hold another black-bear hunt but include more restrictions on hunters, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologists recommended Friday.
However, members of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will get a menu of four options later this month about the management of Florida black bears, with the choices ranging from a hunt similar to one held last October to delaying another hunt until 2017 or prohibiting a hunt for the next several years.
Commission staff outlined the potential steps Friday.
The staff recommendation for the commission seeks to impose greater restrictions on hunters, from where they can hunt to limiting the number of hunters who could be in the field.
“Our focus will continue to be how to balance what’s best for Florida’s growing bear population with the safety of Florida families and our visitors,” commission Executive Director Nick Wiley said in a release late Friday.
The commission, which voted 4-1 to hold the controversial bear hunt last year, will discuss the options June 22 during a meeting in the Franklin County community of Eastpoint.
In advance of the meeting, the anti-hunt group Stop The Hunt is attempting to set up at least 30 protests in cities across Florida on June 18.
Opponents of the hunt want the state to spend more on non-lethal measures to reduce human-bear conflicts, including expanding the use of bear-proof trash containers.
The staff recommendation, which is described as “more conservative” than the 2015 hunt, would also reduce the hunt to areas where human-bear conflicts are most prevalent; prohibit hunting bears when any other bears, including cubs, are present; set additional restrictions on hunting near game-feeding stations; and require hunters to tag bears immediately.
The release from the commission said the recommendation is based on input received from the public, including during a recent series of online webinars.
Among the other options, one would follow the framework for the 2015 hunt, which was the first in more than two decades. But that could also result in a higher number of bears being targeted as the agency has increased the estimated number of bears in the state.
The 2015 hunt was scheduled for seven days but ended after two days as hunters killed 304 bears. The state agency had put a 320-bear quota on the hunt and later acknowledged it “underestimated the hunter success for the first day.”
The agency estimates there are now 4,220 bears in the state, up from 2,640 in 2002, which was when the previous statewide estimate was made.
The population growth has been called robust as the estimated count was as low as 300 to 500 in the 1970s, when black bears were put on the state’s list of threatened species. Bears were removed from the list in 2012.
A number of local governments, including Seminole, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade and Volusia counties, have voiced opposition to a repeat of the 2015 hunt.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida