Wendt Family Named The 2021 Santa Rosa Farm Family Of The Year
September 28, 2021
The 2021 Santa Rosa County Farm Family of the Year was awarded to Wendt Family Farm and Nursery, which has three generations of hard workers and over three decades of experience.
The 2021 Farm Family includes Earl and Janet Wendt, parents to William Wendt and Vickie Shiver. William Wendt is married to Joy and they have five children and four grandchildren. The Wendt’s are joined with other family members who also work on their farm, Wayland Nowling and Angela Nowling. The family enjoys participating in the Farm to City program that provides produce for families at Thanksgiving.
Wendt Farm and Nursery, a Santa Rosa County landmark, has been growing wholesome and delicious vegetables for 35 years. It was once located on Chumuckla Highway before urban sprawl encroached upon the farm caused the family to move it 15 miles north into rural Santa Rosa County On the farm, three generations of the Wendt family work side-by-side to produce some of the best locally grown sweet corn, peas, butterbeans, tomatoes, cantaloupe and watermelon, and other fresh produce to area customers both wholesale and retail.
The Wendt’s commitment to provide the best locally products coupled with the desire to better serve their customers resulted in building and opening a seasonal market located on the original farm site, 5191 Chumuckla Highway in Pace.
Growing 50 acres of vegetables in the Florida panhandle is not for the faint of heart, and the Wendt Family has demonstrated their commitment to providing nutritious vegetables regardless of what weather conditions are thrown at them.
Beyond the vegetables grown on the farm, the Wendt Family also operates a two-acre greenhouse nursery where they have provided seasonal color for over three decades to the area. Wendt Farm and Nursery is known for growing Christmas poinsettias, Easter lilies, fall garden mums, and spring flowering plants, but few likely know that they also grow wholesale commercial vegetable transplants that are shipped to commercial vegetable farms all over the region.
The latest endeavor at the nursery is hydroponic lettuce production where they produce the freshest leafy greens available at local retail produce markets.
Blue Wahoos Ink New Lease For Another 10 Years In Pensacola
September 28, 2021
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos plan to stick around and call Pensacola home for the next decade.
The Wahoos have renewed their lease with the City of Pensacola for two five year terms for the Community Maritime Park.
“The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are such an integral part of Community Maritime Park and downtown Pensacola, and I’m thrilled that they have decided to stay in Pensacola for another 10 years,” Mayor Grover Robinson said. “We are so fortunate to have Minor League Baseball here in the City of Pensacola, offering opportunities for residents and visitors of all ages to enjoy a beloved American pastime while experiencing Pensacola’s beautiful waterfront views. I look forward to enjoying many more Wahoos games over the next decade.”
“We are very appreciative to the fans that are so supportive of Blue Wahoos Stadium and our team,” team co-owner Quint Studer said. “What was uninhabitable land not too long ago is now a cornerstone in the revitalization of Pensacola. We’re grateful for the opportunity to continue to provide affordable family-friendly fun in downtown Pensacola for the next decade.”
Entering its 10th season, Blue Wahoos Stadium is widely considered one of the premier facilities in Minor League Baseball. A two-time recipient of Ballpark Digest’s Best Double-A ballpark and four-time winner of the Southern League Ballpark of the Year, Blue Wahoos Stadium has welcomed over 2,500,000 fans through its first nine baseball seasons.
ECSO Mounted Unit’s Shannon Enderson Named ‘Volunteer Of The Year’
September 28, 2021
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Unit member Shannon Enderson has been selected as Florida Crime Prevention Association’s Volunteer of the Year.”
“I love helping where it is needed. I enjoy meeting new people in the community and meeting the children all around our county,” Enderson said. “The children of the future is in our hands in the present. It is our responsibility to help them grow and show them the right way. This is a big part of why I volunteer, to show our youth that it is OK to do good things for free.”
Enderson also volunteers with the ECSO Citizen’s Law Enforcement Academy and the Neighborhood Watch Academy.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Two Older Adults Seriously Injured In Highway 29, Highway 97 Crash
September 27, 2021
Two adults in their 80s were seriously injured in a two vehicle wreck Monday morning a the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 97 in Molino.
One was airlifted by LifeFlight helicopter to an area hospital, and the second was transported by Escambia County EMS. The driver of the second vehicle suffered injuries that were not immediately considered serious.
The crash closed northbound Highway 29 and Highway 97 east of Highway 29.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating. The Cantonment Station of Escambia Rescue responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Fire Destroys Vehicle, But Firefighters Save Home Just A Few Feet Away
September 27, 2021
Fire destroyed a vehicle early Monday morning that was parked just feet away from a two-story house, but firefighters were able save the home with minimal damage.
Escambia Fire Rescue answered to the 4:27 a.m. call on Niall Drive, just off Frank Reeder Road, and found the vehicle fully engulfed in flames. They were able to quickly bring the fire under control.
The vinyl siding on the front of the home was damaged by the blaze.
There were injuries reported.
The Bellview, Ensley, Cantonment, Osceola and Beulah stations of Escambia Fire Rescue were dispatched to the fire.
Escambia County School District Websites Go Down
September 27, 2021
The main Escambia County School District website was down for several hours Monday. Many, websites for individual schools and centers were also down.
The district is worked with the website host to correct the problem. The problem was reported before 10 a.m., and the sites were still down at 1 p.m. Service appeared to be restored when we checked about 1:45 p.m.
The normal district site can be accessed at:
http://ecsd-fl.schoolloop.com/
The district established temporary website for use during the outage:
http://www1.escambia.k12.fl.us/
Body Of Pensacola Murder Victim Found In Wooded Area North Of Flomaton
September 27, 2021
The body of a Pensacola Murder victim was found north of Flomaton Sunday night.
Giles Curt Jones, 38, is charged with the premeditated first degree murder of 40-year old Latonya Antionette Baxter, and police have previously said they believed the body was dumped in the Century area on September 11.
Monday morning, Pensacola Police said the body was positively identified as Baxter.
Escambia County (AL) Sheriff Heath Jackson confirmed the body of adult female was found in a wooded area along Highway 113 about 4.5 miles north of the Flomaton city limits. He said the body was discovered by a passing motorist that pulled over and stepped into the woods to go to the bathroom.
A street sign and maps indicate the area is Carol Lane; however, It’s not a roadway, just a small dirt drive. The area is sparsely populated, but there is a house almost directly across Highway 113 from Carol Lane.
NorthEscambia.com was there Sunday night as investigators worked the case, including officers from the Pensacola Police Department.
According to an arrest report, Jones’ gray 2009 Nissan Maxima was caught on a camera as he headed north on Highway 29 through Century at 12:19 p.m. on Saturday, September 11. At 1:54 p.m., police say he took a photo on his phone of Baxter, who was deceased with obvious signs of trauma. At 3:09 p.m., his Nissan was again seen on camera it headed back south on Highway 29 in Century.
The distance from the spot Jones’ vehicle as seen on camera in Century September 11 to the location where the body was found Sunday night is just under nine miles. Driving near the speed limit Sunday night, the direct trip took our reporter about 12 minutes.
Baxter was reported missing on September 12 by her daughter, who stated that an air mattress and Baxter’s purse were missing. Investigators located blood in Baxter’s bedroom and other locations on the property, as well as in Jones’ vehicle, according to police.
Acting on a tip, Pensacola Police, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and KlaasKIDS searched an area along Highway 168 east of Pine Barren Road in Bratt last Monday and Tuesday, but northing was found.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Woman Accidentally Shot Sunday Night In Cantonment, ECSO Says
September 27, 2021
A woman was accidentally shot Sunday night in Cantonment.
The incident happened about 8:45 p.m. on Nowak Road off County Road 97.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Morgan Lewis said it appeared a gun accidentally discharged, striking the woman. Her injuries were not considered life threatening, Lewis said.
Further details have not been made available.
NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Legendary Football Coach Carl Madison Inducted Into FHSAA Hall Of Fame
September 27, 2021
Legendary football coach Carl Madison was officially inducted into the Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame during a ceremony Sunday night at the University of Florida.
The football field at Tate High School was recently remained “Carl Madison Field” in honor of the legendary coach that led the Aggies to a 1980 state championship and is one of the all-time winningest high school coaches in the nation.
Madison, who turned 90 in January, sits at number two on Florida’s all-time football coaching victories list with a 326-129-7 record.
In addition to winning a state title at Tate, he took the Pine Forest Eagles to two state championships in 1987 and 1988. The 1988 Eagle team was named as national champions by USA Today, and Madison earned the title of the National High School Football Coach of the Year. All in all, he coached at five different Florida High Schools including Ernest Ward, plus three out of state schools.
His football days began early at Escambia County High School in Atmore where he played tailback under Coach Herbert Barnes from 1945 to 1947, making him one of Atmore’s semifamous “Barnes Boys” with 30 straight wins. After a stint in the Army, from 1950 to 1952, Madison played college ball for Texas Tech and Troy State Teachers College in the mid-1950s.
Fresh out of college, Madison coached for four years beginning in 1957 at Ernest Ward High School in Walnut Hill. He moved to Milton High in 1961, coaching them to a state championship and 34 straight victories. He then took a coaching job at a Georgia High School, losing a state championship game in 1968.
Madison joined the coaching staff at Tate in 1971 on his way to winning that 1980 state championship. He left Tate in 1983, heading to Pensacola High for a couple of years. Then it was off to Pine Forest and those back-to-back state championships. He coached at an Albany, Georgia, school, another 10 years at Milton High and another short period at PHS during the period from 1989 until 2002.
In 2002, he took the head coach job at the small Jackson Academy in Alabama. The then 71-year old took over a team that had gone 0-10 prior to his arrival. He lost his first two games at Jackson, but he went on to win the state championship. The following year, Jackson was undefeated and won another state championship.
In 2009, Madison briefly came out of retirement to once again take to the field at Tate, this time as an offensive consultant.
Escambia Man Charged With DUI After Crashed That Killed Woman
September 27, 2021
A man is facing charges following an Escambia County crash that claimed the life of a 38-year old on Navarre woman.
Randall McBride, 44, was initially arrested on charges of DUI with serious bodily injury and reckless driving with serious bodily injury following the two-vehicle crash on Beverly Parkway in Pensacola Saturday about 11:43 a.m. The charges are expected to be upgraded after the woman passed away Saturday night.
A Chevrolet driven by McBride swerved into oncoming traffic and collided with a Ford Escape driven by the Navarre woman. Both vehicles overturned.