Jerry Bence Hayes
October 4, 2020
Mr. Jerry Bence Hayes, age 67, of Century, FL, passed away on Friday, September 25, 2020 at Century Health and Rehabilitation Center.
Mr. Hayes was born in Century, FL, and had been a resident of Century his lifetime. During his working years, he worked at the Century Correctional Center. He enjoyed hunting, fishing and farming. He was a member of Byrneville United Methodist Church, and was preceded in death by his parents, Jesse Owen and Aleece Stuckey Hayes, and his wife, Karen Medlock Hayes.
He is survived by his step-mother, Marilyn Hayes of Brewton, AL; son, Jesse (Haley) Hayes of Batesville, MS; daughter, Stephanie (Justin) Bosewell of Greenville, NC; sister, Joy (Danny) Findley of Byrneville, FL; grandchildren, Preston Owen Hayes and Sadie Aleece Bosewell.
Graveside services will be held on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at 11 AM at Byrneville United Methodist Cemetery in Byrneville, FL.
Please share your memories and condolences with the family at www.flomatonfh.com.
FDOH Reports Two Additional COVID-19 Deaths, 36 New Cases In Escambia County Saturday
October 4, 2020
THIS IS AN ARCHIVED STORY. SEE NORTHESCAMBIA.COM FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION.
There were two total additional COVID-19 deaths reported Saturday in Escambia, along with 36 new cases, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Here is the latest data:
Escambia County cases:
Total cases: 12,448 (+36)
Non-Florida residents: 1,137
Total deaths: 240 (+2)
Long-term care facility deaths : 113 (+1)
Current hospitalizations: 47
Number of tests last day: 1,406
Percent positive last day: 2.0%
Percent positive last week: 3.5%
Escambia County cases by location:
Pensacola: 9,107 (+29)
Century: 933
—-including 773 Century prison inmates
Cantonment: 930 (+4)
Molino: 147
McDavid: 74
Walnut Hill: 18
Bellview: 16
Gonzalez: 7
Perdido Key: 7
Santa Rosa County cases:
Total cases: 5,420 (+23)
Non-Florida residents: 51
Total deaths: 78
Long-term care facility deaths: 17
Cumulative Hospitalizations: 322*
Number of tests last day: 330
Percent positive last day: 6.3%
Santa County cases by location:
Milton: 2,818
Gulf Breeze: 783 (+3)
Navarre: 684 (+8)
Pace: 448 (+5)
Jay: 155 (+1)
Bagdad: 12
Florida cases:
Total cases: 714,591
Florida residents: 705,938
Deaths: 14,928
Hospitalizations: 44,647*
*“Hospitalizations” in the statewide and Santa Rosa County totals is a count of all laboratory confirmed cases in which an inpatient hospitalization occurred at any time during the course of illness. Most of these people are longer be hospitalized. The FDOH does not provide a count of patients currently hospitalized. The Escambia County number is current data compiled each day from the local hospitals.
*The Florida Department of Health does not have a clear standard or definition of “recovered” and does not report a number of recovered individuals.
**Data Sources: Florida Department of Health, Escambia County, City of Pensacola, local hospitals.
Donna Treadwell Mims
October 4, 2020
Mrs. Donna Treadwell Mims, age 72, of Pensacola, FL, passed away on Sunday, October 4, 2020 at West Florida Hospital in Pensacola, FL.
Mrs. Mims was a native of Bonifay, FL, and had been a resident of Pensacola for 54 years coming from Bonifay. She was retired from the Department of Children and Family Services as a social worker and later as a supervisor. Mrs. Mims enjoyed sailing, camping and working in her yard and was preceded in death by her parents, Donnie and Margaret Treadwell, and her sister, Gloria Pipkin.
She is survived by her husband of 36 years, Ron Turner and her brother, Dwight Treadwell, both of Pensacola, FL.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Alabama’s Gas Tax Just Increased. And There Are More Increases To Come.
October 4, 2020
Alabama drivers are now paying more taxes at the pump.
The state’s gas tax increased on last week, the second phase of a 10 cent overall increase. That brings Alabama’s total gas tax to 26 per gallon.
The first phase of the 10 cent gas tax increase went into effect on September 1, 2019; it was the first state increase since 1992.
There will be another 2 cent increase on October 1, 2021, and there’s another two penny increase coming on October 1, 2023. After that, there will be an annual adjustment on July 1 based upon the National Highway Construction Cost Index.
Teen Bicyclist Struck By SUV On Old Chemstrand Road
October 3, 2020
A 13-year old boy on a bicycle was struck by a car Saturday afternoon, but was not seriously injured.
It happened about 2:45 p.m. on Old Chemstrand Road near Water Oaks Trail. The side of a SUV and the bicycle collided.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Did You Feel It? Ground Shaking, Loud Sound Reported Across The Area
October 3, 2020
The sounds of an explosion or rattling and shaking were heard or felt across part of Escambia County Saturday afternoon, and so far no one seems to know why.
Beginning about 2 p.m., NorthEscambia.com was flooded with over 600 messages and comments from people reporting the incident, and Escambia County 911 also received numerous calls.
A majority of the comments were concentrated from Molino to the north to Beulah in the south, but other reports were received from across Escambia, Santa Rosa and Baldwin counties.
Escambia Fire Rescue checked the area out and found nothing. And the U.S. Geological Survey did not report a earthquake.
Click here to see a Facebook post with hundreds of reader reports.
Employee Airlifted After Industrial Accident At McDavid Sawmill
October 3, 2020
An employee was critically injured in an industrial accident Friday night at the West Fraser Sawmill in McDavid.
The man in 20s was airlifted by ShandsCair medical helicopter to an area hospital about an hour after the initial call.
Details on the accident were not released.
Multiple Escambia Fire Rescue units, including a special operations team, were dispatched to the sawmill on Highway 29 in McDavid just before 10 p.m. The McDavid, Molino and Osceola stations of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
FEMA Individual Assistance Is Now Available. Here’s How To Apply.
October 3, 2020
Florida homeowners and renters in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties who had uninsured losses from Hurricane Sally may be eligible for federal disaster assistance from FEMA.
FEMA has programs that provide financial help with temporary housing expenses, basic home repairs and other essential disaster-related needs. FEMA coordinates with the Florida Division of Emergency Management in disaster recovery.
Related story: FEMA Individual Assistance Approved for Northwest Florida
Here’s what FEMA says you need to do:
First, if you haven’t already done so, contact your insurance company and file a claim for the disaster-caused damage. You don’t have to wait to start cleaning up but be sure to take photographs or video of the damage and keep all receipts for repair work.
If you have uninsured or underinsured losses, register with FEMA. Registration is free and doesn’t take long. You can register in several ways:
- Visit DisasterAssistance.gov, enter your location and click on “Apply Online”
- Download the FEMA App for smartphones
- Call 800-621-3362 (800-462-7585 TTY). Multilingual operators are available. The toll-free numbers are open every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET.
Those who use a relay service such as a videophone, InnoCaption or CapTel should update FEMA with their specific phone number assigned to that service.
It is helpful to have the following information available when you register:
- Address of the damaged dwelling where the damage occurred (pre-disaster address)
- Current mailing address
- Current telephone number
- Insurance information
- Total household annual income
- Routing and account number for checking or savings account (this allows FEMA to directly transfer disaster assistance funds into a bank account)
- A description of disaster-caused damage and losses
What to Expect After You Register With FEMA
If you reported that you may not be able to live safely in your home, it may be necessary for FEMA to perform an inspection of the damaged dwelling. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, FEMA field inspections are being conducted remotely.
For remote inspections, FEMA inspectors will contact applicants by phone to answer questions about the type and extent of damage sustained. Remote inspections provide an effective way of evaluating damage, comparable to traditional, in-person inspections, and this expedites the delivery of recovery assistance.
Survivors with minimal damage who can live in their homes will not automatically be scheduled for a home inspection when applying to FEMA. However, they may request an inspection if they later find significant disaster-caused damage.
Pictured: A Hurricane Sally damaged home in Escambia County. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Escambia CARES Funding To Support COVID-19 Testing For Symptomatic Residents
October 3, 2020
Beginning Monday, October 5, Escambia County CARES Act funds will be used by Community Health Northwest Florida and Ascension Sacred Heart to offer rapid COVID-19 testing to Escambia County residents with symptoms.
In late August, the County Commission approved allocating CARES funding to create a rapid testing partnership that would allow for tests to be administered by Ascension Sacred Heart and Community Health Northwest Florida. CARES funds will support the purchase of Abbott ID NOW Rapid COVID-19 test kits and human resources to offer rapid testing five days per week at drive-through locations in Escambia County.
The Abbott test is a molecular nasal swab that detects COVID-19 in 15 minutes or less. It is a widely used point-of-care test to allow quick diagnosis so that new COVID-19 cases can be quickly identified and isolated to slow the spread of the disease.
Initially, rapid COVID-19 testing will be available by appointment only to Escambia County residents who are experiencing active COVID-19 symptoms. All patients are required to be pre-screened by calling the Ascension Sacred Heart COVID-19 Call Center at 850-746-2684. A phone pre-screen is required to obtain access to rapid testing at the drive-through test center. Call Center personnel will schedule appointments at the most convenient testing site for the patient.
Rapid COVID-19 testing is open to Escambia County residents who meet the pre-screening criteria, both adults and children three months of age and older. Testing is provided at no cost to patients.
“On behalf of the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners, we are extremely pleased to announce rapid COVID-19 testing for residents,” said Chairman and District 5 County Commissioner Steven Barry. “The board approved CARES Act funding in the amount of $1.25 million for our partnership with Ascension Sacred Heart and Community Health Northwest Florida to make this important resource available for residents to receive COVID-19 test results quickly. We hope this will assist in slowing community spread of COVID-19, and we would like to remind residents to continue to Mask Up, Escambia.”
Two COVID-19 Deaths, 38 New Cases Reported Friday In Escambia, Santa Rosa
October 3, 2020
THIS STORY IS OUDATED. SEE NORTHESCAMBIA.COM FOR THE LATEST.
There were two total additional COVID-19 deaths reported Friday in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, along with 38 new cases, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Here is the latest data:
Escambia County cases:
Total cases: 12,412 (+19)
Non-Florida residents: 1,133
Total deaths: 238 (+1)
Long-term care facility deaths : 112
Current hospitalizations: 47 (-3)
Number of tests last day: 1,200
Percent positive last day: 1.4%
Percent positive last week: 3.5%
Escambia County cases by location:
Pensacola: 9,079 (+12)
Century: 933
—-including 773 Century prison inmates
Cantonment: 926 (+3)
Molino: 147
McDavid: 74 (+1)
Walnut Hill: 18
Bellview: 16
Gonzalez: 7
Perdido Key: 7
Santa Rosa County cases:
Total cases: 5,397 (+19)
Non-Florida residents: 51
Total deaths: 78 (+1)
Long-term care facility deaths: 17
Cumulative Hospitalizations: 320*
Number of tests last day: 467
Percent positive last day: 3.7%
Santa County cases by location:
Milton: 2,818 (+8)
Gulf Breeze: 780 (+4)
Navarre: 676 (+5)
Pace: 443 (+1)
Jay: 154
Bagdad: 12
Florida cases:
Total cases: 711,804
Florida residents: 703,212
Deaths: 14,554
Hospitalizations: 44,489*
*“Hospitalizations” in the statewide and Santa Rosa County totals is a count of all laboratory confirmed cases in which an inpatient hospitalization occurred at any time during the course of illness. Most of these people are longer be hospitalized. The FDOH does not provide a count of patients currently hospitalized. The Escambia County number is current data compiled each day from the local hospitals.
*The Florida Department of Health does not have a clear standard or definition of “recovered” and does not report a number of recovered individuals.
**Data Sources: Florida Department of Health, Escambia County, City of Pensacola, local hospitals.