Mailing Statement on Opinion Page

Three SecTionS, 24 PageS

Vol. 13, no. 19May 8,ay 8,ay 2014

Gulf Breeze News (850) 932-8986 www.gulfbreezenews.com

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Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 2AClassifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7CCrime Report . . . . . . . 6BCrossword Puzzle . . . 3BArrests and DUIs . . . . 2A

Lifestyles . . . . . . . . . . 1BMovie Listings . . . . . . 2BObituaries . . . . . . . . . 5BSports . . . . . . . . . . 1-7CCity . . . . . . . . 2A, 3A, 6B

May 8, 2014 YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER 75¢

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Gulf Breeze Elementary School fi rst graders share their thoughts about why their MOMS are the BEST. 1B

Broker/Owner RE/MAX Hall of Fame

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Due to the recent storm, many of our Gulf Breeze area neighbors are displaced

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Community in shambles

Record 24 inches falls on areaThe night of April 29, a freak rain storm ravished the area, causing major flooding, power outages and destroying doz-ens homes and roadways. The storm displaced families from homes and belongings, but brought the community together.

Photos by Jacque Gorris | Special to the Gulf Breeze News

It was the storm no one saw coming until the sky lit up. On April 29, Gulf Breeze, a community already soaked

with several inches of rain from a heavy rain surge a week earlier got a message from above.

That message was felt across the community when rain began to fall, over 24 inches in just several hours.

Throughout the night of April 29 and 30, lightning lit up the sky over 30,000 times per hour. West of the area, towns in Alabama and Mississippi were shaken by tornadoes and heavy rain during the 24 hours of hell.

Residents woke up the next day, many the night of the storm, to flooded homes, neighbors reaching out helping hands, and devastation unlike anything the area had seen since Hurricane Ivan.

RELATEDSTORIES

AND PHOTOSINSIDE

An aerial view of the Tiger Point area shows homes, cars and streets inundated from the April 29 deluge.

Stormwater knocked this Villa Venyce garage off its foundation and undermined the integrity of the adjacent residence.

Rescuers float a boat down a residential street in an effort to evacuate those stranded in their homes.

Despite the unprecedented amount of rainfall the city expe-rienced last week, the staff of the City of Gulf Breeze wasted no time in responding to the flooding event.

After receiving over 20 inches of rainfall leaving about 20 acres of standing water throughout Gulf Breeze, some areas measuring up to 5 feet, City Manager Edwin “Buz” Eddy said there was no way they could have known the amount of rainfall would have surpassed the forecast as much as it did. The city is working on the following reactive aspects of the flooding.

Emergency RepairsSince Governor Rick Scott de-

clared the area as a state of emer-gency, the City of Gulf Breeze was given the ability to spend funds on an emergency basis without the process of going through city council approval. The first on the list of discretionary spend-ing, which City Manager Edwin “Buz” Eddy did get approval for, was for paving repairs to Montrose Blvd. and Roanoke Ct. Roanoke is a place where several drainage outfalls come together and hit the canal. Eddy expects the repairs

to begin immediately. The main project the city worked on imme-diately after the flood was to get pumps set up throughout the city to get the standing water drained. By Thursday, May 1 they had a total of 12 pumping stations set up, and by Monday there were a total of 15.

“It’s been a monumental task to get the millions of gallons of wa-ter pumped out of the city,” said Eddy.

“They have done a fantastic job.”

Temporary HousingAs far as temporary housing

goes, the city is trying to determine the number of displaced families and plan to match that response with their needs. Eddy is not sure as of press time how exactly they will address the needs of displaced families, but mentioned possibly getting trailers similar to the ones used after Hurricane Ivan.

RV Ordinance

The city is also suspending the ordinance regarding parking rec-reational vehicles in the yards of private residences for the use of living in while a home is being repaired. The RV does not have to be parked in front of a home in repair. The ordinance suspension

is expected to be in effect for six months.

FEMA Status

Representatives from the Fed-eral Emergency Management Agency have made visits to the area, and late Tuesday after-noon, the agency approved fed-eral emergency financial aid to residents in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

President Barack Obama de-

clared the two-county area a disaster zone late Tuesday eve-ning.

Bulk Pickup

Bulk pickup has already be-gun around the city. Eddy said residents can haul their bulk trash items to the edge of the road in front of their homes for pickup. As of press time he was not sure how many runs will be made, but he was sure it would be several.

Felonies5/1/20145/1/2014

Brooks, Michael Wayne, W/M, 54, 9000 block E River Dr., Navarre, moving traffic violation

5/2/20145/2/2014Austin, Clayton eugene,

W/M, 52, 8000 block Toledo St., Navarre, sex offender violation

Villalobos, Jairo Rafael, W/M, 41, 1000 block Sound Creek Ct., Navarre, sex offender violation

5/4/20145/4/2014Blakeman, Pattie Ann,

W/F, 37, 100 block Grayson Dr., Navarre, probation violation

5/5/20145/5/2014Yarbrough, Dustin

Allen, W/M, 32, 3000 block Birmingham Dr., Navarre, burglary

Duis4/30/20144/30/2014

Bowers, Robert Carlton, W/M, 53, 1000 block Lighthouse Pointe, Gulf Breeze, DUI

Note: All arrest and police reports published in Gulf Breeze News are public record and do not imply guilt.All suspects are presumed innocent until proven and/or adjudicated guilty in a court of law.

Calendar of Meetings

GulF BReeze neWs (850) 932-8986 www.gulfbreezenews.com

2A May 8, 2014 GulF BReeze neWs

thursday, may 8 GBA Chamber Breakfast - Military Appreciation Month Appreciation Month event, 7 a.m. - 8:30 a.m., Andrews Research & Education InstituteCommissioner Regular, 9 a.m., SRC Administrative Center, Board Roomzoning Board, 6 p.m., SRC Administrative Center, Board Room

monday, may 12local ResToRe Council, 3 p.m., SRC Administrative Center, Board Room

tuesday, may 13FAC Flood insurance Workshop, 9:30 a.m., SRC Administrative Center, Board RoomMidway Fire Board of Commissioners, 7 p.m., Midway Fire Department, Meeting Room

wednesday, may 14south end Tourist Development Committee, 9 a.m.,Navarre Visitors’ Centerexecutive Committee Meeting, xecutive Committee Meeting, x 6:30 p.m., Gulf Breeze City Hall, Council ChamberGulf Breeze City Hall, Council Chamber

Information provided by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff ’s Office.Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office Report

Gulf Breeze Mayor addresses flood concernsEditor’s Note: Mayor Beverly

Zimmern made this speech before the start of the Town Hall meeting on Monday to her citizens to fur-ther address the devastating flood and the city’s plans from hence-forth. See full story, 6A.

Good eve-ning and wel-come to our

annual town hall meeting. It is with a heavy heart I open this Town Hall meet-ing knowing the devastation and trauma my city is expe-riencing.

I am going to forgo speaking of our many accomplishments as the flooding takes precedent.

Unlike hurricanes, prior to this event we had 40 inches of water to fall within the city, which of course had saturated the ground. Then, in one night, we experienced an addi-

tional 20 plus inches of rain fall; truly a biblical event.

No such rainfall of this magnitude has been recorded since records have been kept.

Sadly, this storm overpowered our storm water system. Streets and homes were inundated with water. I’m sure many of you recall the “100” year event back in 2005. Since that time we have spent millions of dollars to improve

drainage with in our city. To state the obvious, it wasn’t enough.

Now that’s not to say it didn’t work because it did — there were no homes breached prior to the storm coming in late Tuesday/early Wednesday morn-ing.

It was the 20 plus inches pushed us over the edge. Even in the newer sub-division such as Plantation Hills, which has its own storm water drainage sys-tem; it was unable to accommodate all the rainwater and flooded homes.

I for one grow weary of these weath-er forecasters saying this is another 100/500 year event. I fell for that once in 2005 — today I don’t buy it.

Whether or not one believes in glob-al warming — the weather patterns are changing — I think we all can agree, we’re sick and tired of the storms.

To be even more blunt, I’m frustrat-ed and I feel helpless

I want to make more aggressive mea-sures to enhance our system.

How we achieve that goal is the mil-lion-dollar question.

I pledge before you tonight that this council and I will work diligently to improve our system with the goal of enhancing its effectiveness for future generations.

Now with that statement comes the sobering reality that improvement of this magnitude will cost millions and millions of dollars.

As I see it we have several avenues to utilize in the future:

First, as we approach the budget pro-cess I feel pretty secure in stating — we will be increasing the storm water util-ity rates to help make incremental im-provements.

Additionally, we may have to enact a special assessment to those more vul-nerable, low-lying areas, we will have to increase our taxes, we will have to seek grants and dip into reserves to achieve an effective and sustainable system.

With all that being said, even if we had the money in hand, no improve-ments would take place over night. It is a long and laborious task dealing with the bureaucratic morass of the Envi-ronmental Protection Agency and the Department of Environmental Protec-tion and their environmental regulatory process they enforce.

Much like replacing the Pensacola Bay Bridge it will take years and millions and millions of dollars.

Developing the storm water system several years ago has helped (and God knows where we would be without it) – it will take years to have a city-wide system developed and implemented.

While these are a few of my personal thoughts, please rest assured we will be taking action and the need for revenue will be ever present to facilitate change.

Traditionally our city staff has risen to any challenge place before it.

I will go on record and state your city staff did all within their powers to prepare for the 5-inch storm, which was (originally) being predicted. They were

working tirelessly before the storm; however, when 20 inches of rain fell, I dare say — not even Noah was ready for that.

I am proud of my staff.While some residents were frustrated

that phones weren’t answered as quickly as usual or that use of gas was inter-rupted due to a break in the gas main — I’m here to say our very small staff has been working around the clock to keep the city running. I apologize if your calls and emails were not answered right away. It was not intentional, nor was it a reflection of inability, rather it was a reflection of how overloaded we were.

Throughout this catastrophe the doors of city hall were never closed. We rescued people from rising waters, we fought fires in the driving rain, and we continually monitored and moved pumps to facilitate the movement of the storm waters. Some people do not understand why pumps were placed where they were and feel as if their street or neighborhood we unjustly left out in the rain. This was not the case — pumps were placed and moved to facilitate moving water through the existing system. More importantly we were attempting to get it discharged ap-propriately.

We fully understand emotions are raw and tempers are quick to flair. Those whose homes are flooded feel angry toward the city. Residents remain frustrated as their homes are still un-

derwater. Sadly, as demonstrated by all the devastation throughout the re-gion, no one was adequately prepared for the flood of 2014. As with most disaster, we will recover and rebuild. I ask that we help our neighbors, be patient and know your city staff is here to help.

We have written the governor and our elected officials requesting for a national disaster declaration. With that designation we will be eli-gible for greater assistance from the Federal and state governments.

Once it is official, we will be opening a disaster relief center at the recreation center. It will be for all our residents to register for various pro-grams to seek help with rebuilding and financial assistance. If you haven’t done so, please go on to our city website and register your information in our data-base. It is with this information we are better able to plea our case for the fed-eral declaration.

We continue to seek assistance from sources throughout the region. Staff is attending briefings with county and FEMA officials. While it may not appear that we are not work-ing in one particular neighborhood or another – We are working with disaster officials to get water out of low-lying areas as quickly as we can.

All we can do now is to strive to improve our storm water system and listen to your concerns and constructive suggestions.

City works to restore order after floodBy My My elanie Kor Kor K Mondy

Gulf Breeze Newsmelanie@gulfbreezenews.com

Gulf Breeze News (850) 932-8986 www.gulfbreezenews.com

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Notice of AuctioN

the city of Gulf Breeze will be conducting an auction of city property deemed surplus by the Gulf Breeze city council in accor-dance with Article 5: Sur-plus Property of the city’scode of ordinances. theauction will be held online at Govdeals.com begin-ning May 16, 2014 and continue through May 29, 2014.

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Most of city underwater after storm

In the city, homes located behind the Recreation Center were dev-astated by the flood, along with homes located on side streets off of Fairpoint Drive.

Volunteers with Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church were out helping families move furniture and get back to normal following the flood (See page 5B).

The city had a meeting on Monday where dozens showed up to speak out about the area’s flooding issues.

Photos by Mat Pellegrino and Melanie Kormondy | GBN

This home on south sunset Blvd. in the city limits suffered water damage during the storm that ripped through the area April 29 and 30.

The tennis courts on Shoreline Drive had sev-eral inches of standing water on Thursday.

The city park became a lake after the April 29 storm.

Gulf Breeze News (850) 932-8986 www.gulfbreezenews.com

4A May 8, 2014 Gulf Breeze News

County reaches out to community

ABove: Green Briar Parkway and many streets on the north side of Highway 98 were under water following the storm. left: Gulf Breeze County Commissioner lane lynchard speaks with a resident on April 30 about the damage to the resident’s home.

Submittted Photos and Photos by Mat Pellegrino | GBN

Jud odom’s 2-year-old daughter floats in a kayak he retrieved after his home completely flooded during the rainstorm.

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After the catastrophic rains last week, Santa Rosa County property owners saw millions of dollars worth of damage, and the number is still rising. The numbers will ultimately require the assistance of both state and government assistance as the area attempts to recover from the losses. It wasn’t until last Wednesday afternoon, late into the day, that anyone was able to even begin assessing the ex-tent of the damage from those ceaseless rains, but one thing was clear –– the clean-up effort was going to be harsh.

As of recent updates, the Santa Rosa County Emergency Operations Center will continue to be activated through the work week. According to assessments made by state, FEMA, and local disaster teams, official reports show that, in Santa Rosa Coun-ty, 782 residences and 51 busi-nesses sustained damages or were made inaccessible; 55,000 acres of farmland suffered; and several county facilities were affected.

“This has been a tremendous rain event,” says County Com-missioner Lane Lynchard, who rode through the area with Mid-way Fire Chief Jonathan Kan-zigg on Thursday morning. “We had 26 inches of rain in 24 hours by some reports; and if you go back over the past 10 days or

By LieseL schmidtGulf Breeze News

news@gulfbreezenews.com

East Bay Boulevard was washed out due to fast mov-ing flood waters.Jacque Gorris | Special to the News

Ranchettes homeowners show their frustration at a lack of response by FEMA by erecting signs near Highway 98.

two weeks, we’ve had upwards of 36 inches,” Lynchard notes. That much rain, it stands to reason, would leave the ground far from prepared for the rain that fell between Tuesday and Wednesday. “The flooding is of a level that we haven’t seen outside of a hurricane –– and, in some cases this was worse. It’s going to take some time to as-sess the damage and then start making repairs to all the bridg-es and roads that were damaged

and making sure that people are able to get to and from their neighborhoods and homes,” he says. “We’ve been making needs assessments to find out what our residents need, wheth-er its residents who need assis-tance with temporary housing; debris removal; or shoring up roads.”

Ramps have been construct-ed, while roads continue to be repaired and drained in an ef-fort to alleviate damages.

County officials warn that residences should be aware of increased activity from mos-quitoes as well as wildlife that may have been displaced by the flooding, and to stay clear of areas of standing water. More warnings and advisories on safety measures, as well as updates on the latest sources for recovery assistance can be viewed online at www.santa-rosa.fl.gov.

Residents on Rosa Del Villa Street watch as a car braves the flood.

The Winn-Dixie Shopping Center parking lot resembled a lake.Submitted photoMat Pellegrino | Gulf Breeze News

Gulf Breeze News (850) 932-8986 www.gulfbreezenews.com

Gulf Breeze News May 8, 2014 5A

If pigs could fly...These pigs were lucky to get out of the storm alive at the Gulf Breeze zoo. All animals were accounted for after the storm according to zoo officials.

Red Cross responds

The red Cross was spotted speaking to residents on May 2 following the storm. several support agencies like the red Cross and the salvation Army rushed to the area to assist in any way that they could.

Photo by Mat Pellegrino | Gulf Breeze NewsSubmitted Photo

John H. BrownElEctricalcontractorAluminum Rewiring SpecialistResidential Commercial Light Industrial

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Mat Pellegrino | Gulf Breeze News A man clears debris from the entrance of Gulf Breeze High school.

Mat Pellegrino | Gulf Breeze NewsGulf Breeze elementary school Assistant Principal Kim McChesney looks at the flooded bus ramp the day after the storm. McChesney and school principal warren stevens were out at the school after the storm assessing damage and cleaning debris from the front of the school.

Schools resume after 2 daysDistrict further delays opening of West-Navarre Primary

By Pam BrannonGulf Breeze News

news@gulfbreezenews.com

It was a scene similar to what one might see after a hurricane. Fans dry-ing wet carpets inside school hall-ways, debris covering the entrances to schools and flooded bus ramps.

The downpour cancelled school in Santa Rosa County on April 30 and May 1. West-Navarre Primary School, which suffered the worst damage from the storm, was closed on May 2, while all other schools were allowed to open their doors to students for the first time since the rainstorm.

Classrooms had to be shifted around to accommodate students who had classes in rooms that were affected by flooding.

Santa Rosa County School Super-intendent Tim Wyrosdick told Gulf Breeze News last week that every sin-gle school facility and building in the district was damaged in some way from the flooding during the storm. Wyros-dick filed paperwork with the state to ask that the two days the schools were closed last week after the flooding rains be “forgiven” and not required to be made up at the end of the school year. Earlier this week, Wyrosdick was notified by the state that they would waive the two days off, so students and staff would not be forced to make the days up.

“We really could have opened all but six locations on Thursday, but we could not get a clear approval from the county concerning safety of roads for our transportation. Safety was our first concern.”

West-Navarre Primary School was the last school to open. The school was hit the hardest during the storm, and it remained closed last Friday even after the district opened all other schools in the county. The school district ad-

ministrators held a briefing last Fri-day morning and determined that the school could be opened Monday. “Ev-ery room could not be opened, and it won’t be in pristine condition on open-ing,” Wyrosdick said. “We had to liter-ally tear out all the carpet and some tile in many rooms,” he said. “We lost a lot of technology to the water, too. And of course before students go in there has to be a lot of health testing to make sure there is no bacteria that can cause anyone to get sick.”

Wyrosdick said some schools only had some water seep under doors that had to be vacuumed out. Some proper-ties had trees down. But some schools had major damage, like West-Navarre Primary. “Pace High School, also got hard hit,” he said. “We lost 12 class-rooms at Pace.”

At Gulf Breeze Elementary School, Principal Warren Stevens and Assistant Principal Kim McChesney were out as-sessing damage the day after the storm. On May 1, the two administrators were out cleaning off sidewalks leading into the school and moving furniture.

Wyrosdick said overall the south end schools, especially the three in Gulf Breeze, had the most damage from flooding. “Gulf Breeze Middle School’s band room and chorus room

were badly flooded. In fact, when I saw all the pictures of the flooding in Gulf Breeze and around the schools I thought we had completely lost all three schools. But we were fortunate that we did not. Much of the prevention work done over the past two years by Joey Harrell and his team kept things from being a lot worse than they could have been.”

Harrell supervises facilities in the district, and the school board has spent over $41 million a year for the past two years renovating some roofs of school buildings. Wyrosdick said that Har-rell suggested, with the renovation, to make some preventative changes with types of materials used and draining from the roofs that saved some wa-ter damage this time around. He also enlarged some drainage ponds and worked with several other prevention methods to help keep the schools dry in case of floods and or hurricanes.

Wyrosdick said they are worried about the Gulf Breeze High School football field and the field house that got hit hard during the storm. “The field was under so much water for so long we know we are going to have to spend thousands of dollars to replace all that grass and make the field use-able by anyone,” he said.

school maintenance workers, contractors and even administrators were out cleaning up after the storm. Above, a part of Gulf Breeze High school had to be fan-dried following the flood.

Mat Pellegrino | Gulf Breeze News Gulf Breeze High school football stadium had plenty of standing water following the storm.

Opinion/Public AffairsGulf Breeze NEWS

6A May 8, 2014 GULF BREEZE NEWS

GULF BREEZE NEWS (850) 932-8986 www.gulfbreezenews.com

“What is a great lesson your mother has taught you?”

Onthe Spot:

“To treat others as you’d like to be treated.”

Anita SummerlandPensacola

By Mary TranSpecial to Gulf Breeze Newsnews@gulfbreezenews.com

God's word

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

— 2 Chronicles 7:14

“To always consider other people’s feelings.”

Megan MaciasNavarre

“I can’t choose just one, she has taught me everything.”

Samantha Macias, Navarre

“To love, be kind, and to be selfless.”

Christina TrosenPensacola

Member:Florida Press Association

National Newspaper Assn.

Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce

(“2003 Small Business of the Year ”)

Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce

Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce

Navarre TouristDevelopment CouncilSanta Rosa County

Chamber of Commerce

PuBliSheRLisa Newell

eDiToRMathew Pellegrino

SPoRTS eDiToRJason Thompson

NeWS RePoRTeRMelanie Kormondy

internMary Tran

SAleSBriana Taylor

Janna DeMotts

oFFiCe MANAGeRDoris Pelham

ART DiReCToRNancy Fish

GRAPhiC DeSiGNMaite George

CoNTRiBuToRS

Betty Archer Allen

Pam Brannon

Jack Kale

Liesel Schmidt

Mike Robertson

Dr. Robert Randel

Clay Bloodworth

P.o. Box 1414913 Gulf Breeze Parkway

harbourtown unit #35Gulf Breeze, Fl 32562

office: (850) 932-8986Fax: (850) 932-8794

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Gulf Breeze News is published weekly on Thursdays for $35 per year by Gulf Breeze News inc. Periodical postage paid at Gulf Breeze, Florida. uSPS # 021819. Sorry, no refunds on subscriptions. PoSTMASTeR: Please send address changes to Gulf Breeze News, P.o. Box 1414, Gulf Breeze, Fl32562.All content is copyrighted 2013. Advertising rates are available upon request.

CORRECTIONS: Gulf Breeze News is committed to accuracy and wants to hear from you if we need to make a correction or clarification. Please email us at news@gulf-breezenews.com with the subject line CORRECTION or CLARIF-ICATION: call (850) 932-8986 during office hours and ask for news or sports departments.ADVERTISERS: Gulf Breeze News will not be responsible for quality or discoloration in ads provided by the advertiser or its agents.

LETTER POLICY: Gulf Breeze News welcomes your opinion. We reserve the right to edit a letter to fit space available. We do not accept letters containing a personal attack on any individual. letters must be limited to one per month from an individual writer. if we receive form letters, we will print only the first one we receive. include your name, address and daytime phone number.

"We've got you covered."

“To be strong.”

Tonya HersheyGulf Breeze

Florida Chief Financial Of-ficer Jeff Atwater is urging Flor-ida panhandle residents whose homes and property were dam-aged by recent storms to call the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Insurance Consumer Helpline at 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (693-5236) for insurance assis-tance.

“The days and weeks fol-lowing a devastating storm are a stressful time for anyone, but our dedicated team of insurance professionals are ready to help answer questions and offer guid-ance to everyone who needs it,” said CFO Atwater. “We will do whatever we can to help our fel-low Floridians get back on their feet as quickly as possible.”

To aid in the recovery efforts, the department’s insurance con-sumer helpline will remain open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST with trained insurance specialists ready to assist with storm-related calls.

While it appears at this point that the majority of the damage is flood-related, it is important to ensure that consumers who have suffered property damage that is covered under their traditional homeowner’s insurance policy receive the guidance and assis-tance that they need to recover from this event.

CFO Atwater offers the fol-lowing tips for those who will need to file an insurance claim:l Make emergency repairs to

protect from further damage, and document the damage and repairs in writing, with receipts and pho-tos to provide to your insurance company.l Gather copies of your

household inventory and other documentation, including photos. This will assist your insurance company adjuster in assessing the value of the destroyed property.

l If you must leave your home because of the damage, give your temporary forwarding address and phone number to your in-surance agent or insurance com-pany.l Beware of fly-by-night re-

pair businesses and hire licensed and reputable service people. l If considering the assistance

of a public insurance adjuster, ask for identification and verify that the adjuster is licensed by calling the Insurance Helpline.

Understand how much a pub-lic insurance adjuster is charging and what services are included before signing any contract.

Additional information is available regarding disaster-relat-ed insurance topics on the CFO’s Disaster Response page at www.MyFloridaCFO.com/Consum-ers/Storm, where consumers can find tips on how to better protect their homes and families from di-sasters.

Homeowners’ Claims Bill of Rights

This Bill of Rights is specific to the claims process and does not represent all your rights under Florida law regarding your poli-cy. There are also exceptions to the stated timelines when condi-tions are beyond your insurance company’s control. This docu-ment does not create a civil cause

of action by an individual policy-holder, or a class of policyhold-ers, against an insurer or insurers and does not prohibit an insurer from exercising its right to repair damaged properly in compliance with the terms of an applicable policy.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: 1. Receive from your insur-

ance company an acknowledg-ment of your reported claim within 14 days after the time you communicated the claim.

2. Upon written request, re-ceive from your insurance com-pany, within 30 days after you have submitted a complete proof-of-loss statement to your insur-ance company, confirmation that your claim is covered in full, partially covered, or denied or receive a written statement that your claim is being investigated.

3. Within 90 days, subject to any dual interest noted in the policy, receive full settlement payment for your claim, payment of the undisputed portion of your claim, or your insurance compa-ny’s denial of your claim.

4. Free mediation of your dis-puted claim by the Florida De-partment of Financial Services Division of Consumer Services under most circumstances and subject to certain restrictions.

5. Neutral evaluation of your disputed claim, if your claim is for damage caused by a sinkhole and is covered by your policy. Contact the Florida Department

of Financial Services Division of Consumer Services’ toll-free helpline for assistance with any insurance claim or questions per-taining to the handling of your claim. You can reach the Helpline by phone at 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (1-877-693-5236) or (850)-413-3089, or you can seek assistance online at http://www.myflori-dacfo.com/Division/Consumers/contactus.htm.YOU ARE ADVISED TO:

1. Contact your insurance company before entering into any contract for repairs to confirm any managed repair policy provisions or optional preferred vendors.

2. Make and document emer-gency repairs that are necessary to prevent further damage. Keep the damaged property, if feasible, keep all receipts, and take photo-graphs of damage before and af-ter any repairs.

3. Carefully read any contract that requires you to pay out-of-pocket expenses or a fee that is based on a percentage of the in-surance proceeds that you will receive for repairing or replacing your property.

4. Confirm that the contractor you choose is licensed to do busi-ness in Florida. You can verify a contractor’s license and check to see if there are any complaints against him or her by calling the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. You should also ask the contractor for references from previous work.

5. Require all contractors to provide proof of insurance before beginning repairs.

6. Take precautions if the dam-age requires you to leave your home, including securing your property and turning off your gas, water, and electricity, and con-tacting your insurance company and provide a telephone number where you can be reached.

Be cautious when hiring contractors

This week (May 6-12), the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System honors the dedicated men and women we in the Department of Veterans Affairs consider to be the compassionate backbone of the Veterans’ health care system – nurses.

The theme of National Nurses Week 2014 is “Nurses Leading the Way,” and no one puts more passion into the health care pro-fession than VA nurses. VA is the

nation’s largest single employer of nurses and VA nurses lead their profession in education and training, clinical responsibility and research. But their passion comes from VA’s mission – car-ing for Veterans.

VA nurses are integral and equal members of our health care team of professionals. No health

care professional is closer to the Veterans we care for than a VA nurse.

Veterans and families rely on them for their compassion and the VA relies on them for setting the highest clinical care standards. That reliance is well placed.

VA’s recognition as a leader in health care, patient safety and

research is due in large part to nurses.

I am deeply proud to be asso-ciated with nurses who serve Vet-erans and work tirelessly to keep them well and save lives around the clock every day.

Margaret L. Givens, RN, MSN, NE-BC

Associate Director for Pa-tient Care Services, Gulf Coast

Veterans Health Care System

Letters to the editor

Thank a nurse for their hard work

Gulf Breeze News (850) 932-8986 www.gulfbreezenews.com

Gulf Breeze News May 8, 2014 7A

Midway fire feeds hungry, homeless after flood

Midway Fire and Rescue was more than “busy” over the past week of flooding issues in Gulf Breeze and the surrounding areas. “Our first call came at about midnight the night of the first heavy rain last week,” Fire Chief Jonathan Kanzigg told Gulf Breeze News this week. “Af-ter that first call, it was pretty much continuous for over 24 hours, and very busy after that for the next day or so. We are just now getting our reports into the computers, so we are not even sure exactly how many rescues or calls we had altogether.” By Monday afternoon this week the fire station had logged 25 calls within the first nine hours of the flodding.

That first call at midnight came from Beall’s. “There was a report of smoke in the building, and all the other area fire departments could not get there. We were trying to get the manager there, and it was the first of many challenging

calls that night,” Kanzigg said.Kanzigg said they put a call for all available

personnel to report as soon as they realized how heavy the rain was – about 2:30 or 3 a.m. -- and what issues they were facing. “But no one could get there because of the extreme flooding,” he said. “We kept our crew that had been on duty for 48 hours over, and got them help when we could. When it was time for shift change, the people who were supposed to take the next shift from Pensacola could not get out because of the flooding, and could not get to us through Gulf Breeze, anyway.” He said about 3 a.m. The fire-fighter/rescue personnel at the station took the rescue boat out, knowing they could not get to people to help any more by just wading.

Kanzigg received a call at 4 a.m. from the county asking him to open the Community Life Center for a shelter for people. “I left to get the pastor about 4 a.m. – right in the middle of the worst part – and drove him to the church. He opened it as a shelter. Then we could take peo-ple there if they needed a place.” He said Santa

Rosa County sent a school bus and driver to the Community Life Center to help get people there who needed a place to stay.

Kanzigg said the first few hours, before the heavy rain hit, there were mostly alarms go-ing off. “With all the lightning strikes, a lot of false alarms went off. I don’t think at that time anybody knew how bad the rain was going to get.”

By 3 a.m., and 4 a.m, vehicles could not get around in the water. “The only vehicles mak-ing it through the water then were basically fire trucks,” he said.

Midway Fire offered free sandwiches for the public at their main station mid-week. “As we were in the middle of handing out the sand-wiches, the National Guard showed up. They came from Marianna, and were sent to us by the county. Some of our people went with them, and they went up and down every street in our area making sure there was no one else that needed rescuing. We had them with us that whole day,” Kanzigg said.

Members of the Marianna National Guard are served lunch at Midway fire Department after rescuing individuals all day last Thursday.

Photos by Mat Pellegrino | Gulf Breeze News

red Cross steps up following storm

American Red Cross volun-teers were out in droves follow-ing the storm bringing in supplies for victims, and sending relief to those who needed it.

On Monday, Red Cross volun-teers stationed themselves at the Gulf Breeze Recreation Center to hand out cleaning supplies and coolers to those still picking up the pieces after the storm.

One of the volunteers, Robert French, of Joplin, Miss. volun-teered his time to come down and distribute relief in any way he could to victims in the south. He said that Red Cross had been working non-stop to deliver relief to locals since their arrival last week.

“We were driving around in 26 ft. trucks and emptying them out in no time (in some local neigh-borhoods). Some were hit and miss,” French said. “We don’t usually have food, but I think we are trying to get some. Mostly people are after the cleaning sup-plies right now.”

French was distributing clean-ing kits at the Rec Center that had goggles, scrubbers, cloths and cleaning liquids in them to help people who had water in their homes.

“We’ve been driving around, and we’ve been by homes that have had no one home, and we can’t just leave stuff on the porch-es if they aren’t home,” French said.

So the Red Cross volunteer said it was distribution points like the one set up at the rec center that are usually helpful to people who have been displaced rather than going door-to-door hoping some-one is home.

“Right now we really want to help,” French said.

Those who would like to help people affected by disasters like tornadoes, floods and other crises can make a donation to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Peo-ple can donate by visiting www.redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word RED-CROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

By Mat PellegrinoGulf Breeze News

news@gulfbreezenews.com

rachel earle of Navarre helps load supplies into raymond Davitz’s car. Davitz, a Gulf Breeze resident was utilizing the supplies to clean up after the storm.

robert french of Joplin, Mo. helps unload cleaning supplies buckets at the rec Center on Monday for local residents.

Photos by Mat Pellegrino | Gulf Breeze News

By PaM BrannonGulf Breeze News

news@gulfbreezenews.com

robert french shows off the contents inside the cleaning kits the red Cross was handing out to local residents on Monday.

Mark laVoy, a red Cross volunteer, helps load cleaning supplies into the back of Mary Beth smegal’s car. The red Cross was set up in the Gulf Breeze recreation Center parking lot on Monday dispersing cleaning supplies and coolers.

Gulf Breeze News (850) 932-8986 www.gulfbreezenews.com

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Property appraiser assesses damage

Brittany funaugo, part of the county’s disaster relief team, fills in resident flood information on a laptop.

Greg Brown helps sherie snider, left, and Ali Broxson remove items from a home that was devastated by the flood.

County Property Appraiser Greg Brown speaks with sherie snider about flooding she has witnessed since the storm.

Photos by Mat Pellegrino | Gulf Breeze News

It didn’t take long for County Prop-erty Appraiser Greg Brown to get his team together to assess the damage the area received during the heavy rainstorm last week.

Brown, and his team of about ten damage assessment groups were out in county neighborhoods going door-to-door asking residents about flood damage on their property.

“After Hurricane Ivan, we devel-oped an agreement with the county to do damage assessments because we do values every year and we keep a look over values,” Brown said. “We have field appraisers out in the field right now and they are trying to comb the whole county.”

The county started allowing people

to send in property damage claims on their website following the storm, and according to Brown, can still do so.

“We have staff back at the office taking calls, so we are trying to comb over the best we can,” Brown said.

Brown said it would be almost im-possible to drive to every home in the county to ask if the homeowner had damage to their home from the storm, but says his team will continue to be in full force knocking on door and helping out.

According to Santa Rosa County Public Information Officer Joy Tsub-ooka, the county has the property damage forms on their website, for ease of access. Residents can also call the county offices, or Brown’s office.

“According to the property ap-praiser we have 197 homes confirmed with some level of damage (as of

May 1),” Tsubooka said. “The dam-age assessment process is ongoing, so the number will change daily until inspections are complete. We have no dollar amount at this time.”

Brown said his team will be work-ing around the clock and “extra early” to get people back on their feet.

“The problem a flood has, is once they’ve cleaned up, we don’t know that someone’s taken water. If you drive down the street and see a house (after water recedes), you won’t know if they took water,” Brown said. “That’s the difficulty in what we are doing. We are going door-to-door in areas that we know took water and then we will spread out from there. We are trying to reach everyone.”

To fill out a damage claim form, or to get more information, visit http://santarosa.fl.gov/, and click on the link to report property damage.

By Mat PellegrinoGulf Breeze News

news@gulfbreezenews.com