Northview Chiefs Football Player Dariontae Richardson Passes Away
February 5, 2019
The Northview Chiefs are mourning the loss of Dariontae Richardson.
Richardson suffered a heart attack hours after the Chiefs’ first round playoff win over Graceville November 9. The Chiefs’ #10 passed away on Monday.
He made several key plays for Northview in their win against Graceville but was not injured in the game.
The morning after the game, the 16-year old was found at home not breathing. His mother performed CPR until an ambulance arrived. He was transported to Atmore Community Hospital and airlifted to a Mobile hospital.
As the Chiefs advanced to route two of the playoffs against Baker, they dedicated the game to Richardson.
Grief counseling was available Tuesday at the school for students and staff.
Pictured: Dariontae Richardson (#10) during the Northview Chiefs first round playoff win over Graceville November 9, 2018. He suffered a heart attack a few hours later. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century’s Mayor, Council At Impasse Over Billing Clerk Choice
February 5, 2019
Century’s town council and mayor are still at an impasse over the hiring of new billing clerk.
Last week, three council members voted 2-1 against Mayor Henry Hawkin’s recommendation to promote Netanya Simmons from within. Monday night, Hawkins recommended that she be promoted to the position and receive an hourly increase from $9.81 to $12. The council did approve a vote to interview four applicants for the position. [Previous story ...]
Monday night, Hawkins recommended that she be promoted to the position and receive an hourly increase from $9.81 to $12. But Monday night the council deadlocked 2-2 on a motion not to approve the promotion, and later voted 2-2 on a motion for the promotion. In each case, council members Luis Gomez and Sandra McMurray Jackson cast votes in favor of the promotion, and council members Ben Boutwell and Ann Brooks were against. Council member James Smith was absent from both meetings.
Monday night Brooks cited an emailed opinion from Matt Danheisser, town attorney, stating that the council essentially has veto power to disapprove of the mayor’ choice, but the council cannot direct the hiring of a person not recommended by the mayor.
“It does not benefit the citizens of Century when you have someone that can be doing the job,” Gomez said of Simmons. “The lawyer states we can hire within and promote up.”
“We have to wait for the mayor,” Brooks said, before anyone else could be hired for the billing clerk position.
“We are getting nothing done because what we are doing is sitting at this table lollygagging,” said Gomez.
“The issue is whether or no we have a qualified person,” added Brooks.
Boutwell agreed. “The are better qualified people,” he said.
The council voted 4-0 to interview Simmons at their next meeting, and 4-0 to have Chief Deputy Clerk of Finance Kristina Wood create this month’s utility bills.
Speed Limits Reduced On Stefani, Cricket Ridge, Cricket Circle
February 5, 2019
The Escambia County Commission recently approved speed limit reductions on Stefani Road, Cricket Ridge Drive and Cricket Circle in Cantonment.
The speed limit was reduced on Stefani Road from West 10 Mile Road to West Roberts Road from 45 mph to 40 mph, and on Stefani Road from West 9½ Mile Road to West 10 Mile Road from 40 mph to 35 mph.
The speed limit on Cricket Ridge Drive from East Kingsfield Road to East Kingsfield Road was reduced from 30 mph to 25 mph, and on Cricket Circle from Cricket Ridge Drive to the south end of the roadway from 30 mph to 25 mph.
Molino Park Holds Literacy Week Book Character Teacher Parade
February 5, 2019
The teachers, faculty and staff at Molino Park Elementary School dressed as book characters for a Literacy Week Book Character Teacher Parade.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
FWC Hunter Safety Courses Offered In Molino, Cantonment, Jay, Milton
February 5, 2019
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is offering free hunter safety courses in Molino, Cantonment, Jay and Milton.
Escambia County
Feb. 6 (6 to 10 p.m. ) & March 2 (7 to 10 a.m. )
Molino Community Center
6450 Highway 95A in Molino
Feb. 27 (6 to 10 p.m. ) & March 2 (7 to 10 a.m. )
Langley Bell 4-H Center
3730 Stefani Road in Cantonment
Santa Rosa County
Feb. 13 (6 to 10 p.m. ) & March 2 (7 to 10 a.m. )
Jay Community Center
5259 Booker Lane in Jay
Feb. 20 (6 to 10 p.m. ) & March 2 (7 to 10 a.m. )
Santa Rosa County Extension Services
6263 Dogwood Drive in Milton
Feb. 28 (6 to 10 p.m. ) & March 2 (7 to 10 a.m. )
Avalon Middle School
5445 King Arthur’s Way in Milton
Students who have taken the online course and wish to complete the classroom portion must bring the online-completion report with them.All firearms, ammunition and materials are provided free of charge. Students should bring a pen or pencil and paper. An adult must accompany children younger than 16 at all times.
Anyone born on or after June 1, 1975, must pass an approved hunter safety course and have a hunting license to hunt alone (unsupervised). The FWC course satisfies hunter-safety training requirements for all other states and Canadian provinces.
Those interested in attending a course can register online and obtain information about future hunter safety classes at MyFWC.com/HunterSafety or by calling the FWC’s regional office in Panama City at (850) 265-3676.
Walnut Hill Man Charged With Felony Aggravated Battery
February 5, 2019
A Walnut Hill man was charged after allegedly choking a man.
Terrance Travon Redmond, 41, was charged with felony aggravated battery by strangulation.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on Highway 97A near Dan Hall Road for a battery complaint. The victim had a torn shirt, red marks all over his neck, a laceration to the top of his head and an abrasion and bruises on his face.
The victim told deputies he was at his mom’s house with permission to wash some clothes. Redmond told him to leave the residence and tried to throw his clothes out the backdoor of the home. Redmond grabbed him by the neck, started choking him and shoved him against a wall before hitting him on the head with a trash can, according to an arrest report. The victim also told deputies that Redmond threatened to kill him.
Redmond later told deputies that the victims started the altercation, punched him and pushed him into a metal door.
Redmond was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
Dense Fog Advisory In Effect
February 5, 2019
There is a dense fog advisory in effect. Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Areas of dense fog. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 63. South wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: Areas of dense fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Areas of fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: Areas of fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 78. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers after midnight. Areas of fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers before noon. Cloudy, with a high near 56. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday Night: Cloudy, with a low around 38. North wind around 10 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 57. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55.
Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71.
Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58.
Tuesday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73.
Cat Country 98.7, Morning Show’s Brent And Candy Nominated For ACM Top Awards
February 5, 2019
Pensacola’s Cat Country 98.7 has once again been nominated as the Radio Station of the Year by the Academy of Country Music (ACM). This is the locally owned country station’s ninth nomination in the last 15 years, and the station won the national award in 2006, 2009 and 2011.
Brent Lane and Candy Cullerton have also been nominated as Personalities of the Year for their Cat Pak Morning Show. Lane won the ACM Personality of the Year in 2009.
The 54th Annual ACM Awards Show will be Sunday, April 7 at 7 p.m. in Las Vegas and will air live on CBS.
“I’m so proud of our whole team here in Pensacola. They are passionate about Country Music and our community and how the two work together in Pensacola. This is a great honor,” said Dave Hoxeng, owner of Cat County 98.7 and NewsRadio 92.3.
Pictured: (L-R) Brant Lane, country star Craig Campbell, Candy Cullerton and Big Moose. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Hemp And Hops: New Crops Proposed After Hurricane Michael
February 5, 2019
Hemp and hops are being promoted among alternatives for crops wiped out by Hurricane Michael in the eastern Panhandle.
Glen Aiken, director of the University of Florida’s North Florida Research and Education Center, said Monday the need for alternatives has grown as farmers in an eight-county region suffered most of the estimated $1.5 billion hit to the state’s agriculture industry in the October storm.
But Aiken, in addressing the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the first step is convincing growers and ranchers about what could be best for their fields, particularly those in the timber industry, which accounted for more than $1.28 billion of the losses. Timber operators face the prospect of decades before new trees mature.
“We’ve got to get something going on these properties that are generating some income,” Aiken said. “And to do it, farms are different, farm operators are different, the more risk they’re willing to take, the chances are we can generate more income off that land.”
Along with the timber damage, Aiken said tomato and cotton crops were a near total loss as they were both close to harvest. Meanwhile, cattle deaths were significant, and, because of damaged fencing, it took weeks to round up and return surviving animals.
“These growers are in a serious bind,” Aiken said. “They’re asking for our help, and we’re trying to give it to them.”
A workshop for farmers on management strategies, particularly for those in the timber industry, has been set for Feb. 12 in Blountstown.
Aiken said hemp, which has been promoted by Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, has multiple uses, including medicinally through the extraction of cannabidiol, as a high-quality fiber for rope and clothing and even as food.
“I know of an entrepreneur in Kentucky that processes hemp sausage,” Aiken said. “It’s hemp and pork combined. I had some. It’s not the best sausage I’ve ever ate, but it wasn’t too bad either.”
Hops also has a number of uses, but primarily could serve the state’s craft breweries, which have increased from 66 in 2013 to 243 in 2017.
Other alternative crops include olives, some hardier citrus varieties, such as satsuma, and lupines, which produce an oil that can be converted to biodiesel and a high protein meal.
Hurricane Michael made landfall Oct. 10 in Mexico Beach and then caused billions of dollars of damage in heavily rural areas as it roared north into Georgia.
Its damage to the agriculture industry came a year after Hurricane Irma ravaged citrus growers in many areas of the state. But Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus, told the Senate committee Monday that the worst is over for citrus growers.
“We do believe the bottom is behind us,” Shepp told the committee. “I like to say this is going to be an upward trajectory. There is a lot of replanting going on and a lot of good success stories coming out of the labs.”
Shepp’s comments came as the industry prepares for Friday’s release of the first monthly seasonal outlook from the U.S. Department of Agriculture since December, when the forecast indicated growers this season would fill 84.6 million 90-pound boxes — a standard measurement — with oranges, grapefruit and specialty fruits.
The December monthly projection had the state filling 77 million boxes of oranges, 6.4 million boxes of grapefruit and 1.2 million boxes of tangerines and tangelos.
“That is post-hurricane recovery,” Shepp said. “We didn’t do that in 2004 and 2005, when we had three hurricanes hit the (central part of the) state successively.”
While down nearly 3 percent from the season’s first forecast in October, the projection was still well above the 49.58 million boxes of citrus produced during the 2017-2018 season, when the industry sustained heavy damage in Irma.
The 44.95 million 90-pound boxes of oranges in the 2017-2018 season was the lowest production in Florida since the 1942-1943 season.
In mid-1990s, the state’s citrus growers were filling more than 200 million boxes a year of oranges and 50 million boxes a year of grapefruit.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
ECSO: Driving Without Valid License Is A Problem; Driver’s License Services In Century Tuesday
February 4, 2019
Driving with a valid driver’s license is a problem in North Escambia, and there’s a local opportunity Tuesday to solve most types of license issues, including regular renewals.
“We stop people all the time without a license. Sometimes they are expired and sometimes they are suspended, a lot of time for failing to fulfill (court ordered) financial obligations,” said Lt. Bart Fryer of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office’s Precinct 6, which covers the area that includes Century, Walnut Hill, Bratt and McDavid. “We are very proactive with traffic enforcement.”
“But a lot of the time, the people with no license have issues they could have taken care of,” he said. “We stop people all the time that have just lost their ID or could have just paid a ticket.”
There is a local opportunity Tuesday for Century area residents to receive driver’s license and motor vehicle services.
Escambia County Tax Collector Scott Lunsford has partnered with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to bring the Florida Licensing On Wheels (FLOW) mobile office to Century on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Billy G. Ward Courthouse at 7500 North Century Boulevard.
FLOW is a stand-alone mobile office with technology to provide most motorists’ needs. The mobile unit provides a convenient method to renew a driver’s license, obtain a replacement driver’s license, conversion or reciprocation of out-of-state license, change a name or address on a current driver’s license or identification card, and get a first-time identification card. In addition to licensing services, the mobile unit also provides an opportunity to renew or replace a vehicle registration and apply, renew or replace disabled parking placards. Written and driving tests are not available from the FLOW unit.
“There’s no reason not to go when this is in your own backyard. It’s easier access for people in the north end,” Fryer said.
In addition, he said, those with more serious issues such as unpaid tickets can easily check their case at the Escambia Count Clerk of Court office inside the courthouse.
“There’s no reason for them to not go and find out what needs to be done to get a valid license,” he said. “If they need it, sometime there is payment plan for financial obligations on cases.”
Citizens using the FLOW services Tuesday are encouraged to visit EscambiaTaxCollector.com and click the “What Do I Bring” button for information on what is needed for these services.
Staff from the tax collector’s office will be on hand to answer all FLOW service questions and questions concerning all other tax collector services such as property tax, business tax receipts, concealed weapons licensing, etc. Citizens also can drop off their property tax payments (checks only).
The driver’s license vehicle will visit Century once per quarter in 2019, according to Escambia County Tax Collector Scott Lunsford.
Pictured above: Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies E. Jackson and B. Ates conduct a traffic stop Friday on Highway 29 at Tedder Road for speeding. Pictured below: A traffic stop at Whataburger in Century Friday due to no tag on a boat trailer. Both drivers had a valid license and received just a warning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
