More Rain And Storms Likely For Friday Afternoon And Evening
June 16, 2023
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
This Afternoon: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88. Southwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Sunday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Juneteenth: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. High near 88. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Monday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
Tuesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. West wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Tuesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Wednesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Thursday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Escambia Man Gets 35 Years, $1 Million In Fines For Trafficking In Fentanyl, Meth, Heroin
June 16, 2023
An Escambia County man has been sentenced to 35 years in state prison on drug charges.
Circuit Court Judge Linda Nobles sentenced Adrian Kiwane Hale for trafficking in heroin, trafficking in fentanyl, trafficking in methamphetamine, fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer with lights and sirens activated, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Prosecutors said 25 years of the sentence must be served day for day as a statutory minimum mandatory for trafficking in heroin and trafficking in fentanyl.
The judge also imposed over $1 million in mandatory fines under Florida’s drug trafficking laws.
During the early morning hours of September 14, 2022, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted a routine traffic stop on a white Volkswagen Passat, but the vehicle fled. Deputies were able to visually identify the driver as Hale.
A short time later, Hale was apprehended on foot and carrying a backpack. The backpack contained over 150 grams of heroin, over 39 grams of fentanyl, over 14 grams of methamphetamine, a scale, and numerous plastic baggies, according to prosecutors. The keys to the Volkswagen were also recovered, and the vehicle was found less than 1,000 feet away.
The jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Hale guilty as charged on all counts.
“Drug traffickers who further put the community at risk by brazenly fleeing from police warrant a substantial prison sentence,” prosecuting attorney Christopher Patterson argued at the sentencing hearing.
ECSO Sgt. Greg NeSmith Honored For 30 Years Of Service
June 16, 2023
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons recognized Sgt. Greg NeSmith for 30 years of service to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos, Braves Suspended Due To Weather
June 16, 2023
Thursday’s game between the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Mississippi Braves was suspended due to rain with the score tied 3-3 in the top of the seventh inning.
The game will be resumed at 5:05 p.m. Friday with no fans admitted.
Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. for Friday’s regular game scheduled to begin at 6:35 p.m.
Wreck, Vehicle Fire Slow Morning Commute At I-10, Pine Forest
June 15, 2023
A wreck and resulting vehicle fire slowed traffic for commuters Thursday morning.
Escambia County Fire Rescue and EMS responded to a vehicle fire at the on-ramp from Pine Forest Road to I-10 about 7:50 a.m. where they found a car fully engulfed in fire.
“The vehicle on fire appeared to be in a rear-end type of collision,” said Davis Wood, Escambia County Public Safety spokesperson.
Two people were transported to an area hospital for treatment.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash.
“At this time, it’s unknown what specifically caused the fire,” Wood said.
Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Update: Man Critical, Boy Serious After Van Rear-Ends Dump Truck On Highway 29
June 15, 2023
Two people were seriously injured in a crash between a passenger van and a dump truck Thursday on Highway 29.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the driver of the northbound van collided with the rear of the dump truck as it was slowing to make a U-turn across the median near a produce stand on Highway 29 just south of Power Boulevard and the Central Commerce Park.
The 29-year old man from Fort Worth, Texas, was extricated from the van and airlifted to a Pensacola hospital in critical condition. His 11-year old male passenger was transported by Escambia County EMS in serious condition. The dump truck driver, a 50-year old woman from Milton, was not injured.
Northbound traffic on Highway 29 was at a complete standstill for over two hours due to the crash.
Escambia County Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man Accused Of Stealing Wire; GPS Leads Deputies To His Yard
June 15, 2023
A Cantonment man is accused of stealing wire from a local business before later taking it to his own house — with a GPS unit attached.
Brian Phillip Avirett, 33, was charged with multiple counts including burglary, grand theft and criminal mischief.
On May 18, Avirett allegedly entered a secured fenced area at a business on Stone Boulevard in Cantonment and stole copper and aluminum shielded wiring and bare wire that was stored in crates, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. The ECSO said he returned and stole more wire on June 7.
On June 11, the company received a GPS alert from a device that was attached to the wire. The GPS signal led deputies to Avirett’s home on Pace Parkway where they found the wire in a burn barrel with the GPS device still attached, an arrest report states. Deputies said additional wiring and cable was located on the property.
Avirett told deputies that the wire was brought to his home by a person known only as “Heath” who lives in a tent near the Cantonment ballpark. Deputies were unable to located “Heath”.
A tattoo on Avirett’s leg matched the tattoo on surveillance video from the original theft, the ECSO said.
He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $21,000 bond.
Jay Man Accused Of Hanging Dead Coyotes On Billboard, Calling Them ‘Yard Decoration’
June 15, 2023
A Jay man is accused of hanging two dead coyotes from a billboard near his home.
Lonnie Michael Hutchinson, 41, was cited for littering and two second degree misdemeanor deer depredation permit violations.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers launched an investigation after receiving a photograph of two coyotes that were killed and hung up by the legs on a billboard on Highway 89 at Dusty Trail in Allentown. An FWC office arrived to find that the freshly killed coyotes were recently cut down and were in the grass below the billboard with rope still around their feet.
FWC said Hutchinson and his wife approached in a golf cart.
“He asked me if I was entertained yet,” the FWC officer wrote in his report. “I asked if he knew why I was there and he replied ‘for the yard decoration’.”
FWC said Hutchinson made conflicting statements about the coyotes, first saying he did it before suggesting that it might be young kids but he could not provide their names. The billboard is located 544 yards from his property and can clearly be seen from his property, officers noted. The photograph also showed “LH” spray painted on the billboard, which matches Hutchinson’s initials, officers said.
He was charged with littering for “leaving and displaying the dead animals on the billboard off of the right of way”.
During the conversation, Hutchinson mentioned that shoots deer on a local farmer’s property. FWC depredation permits “authorize the lethal take of deer causing damage to crops, where less lethal means of control are either ineffective or not feasible,” according to FWC. The permits come with multiple restrictions and are issued only to landowners or authorized lessees of property with agricultural rights.
FWC officers contacted the farmer who stated that Hutchinson sent him a text message stating that he killed three deer and two coyotes.
According to the FWC report, Hutchinson failed to provide officers with a full copy of the deer depredation permit with written landowner permission and failed to report deer taken under the permit.
Pictured: A reader submitted photo shows two dead coyotes hanging from a billboard on Highway 89 near Jay. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Chance Of Showers, Storms Tonight
June 15, 2023
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms early evening. Some of the storms could be severe and produce heavy rainfall. Low around 72. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Sunday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Juneteenth: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. High near 88. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Monday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71.
Tuesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Tuesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Community Health Dental Services In Century Moves To New Location
June 15, 2023
Community Health Northwest Florida in Century has consolidated all pediatric and adult dental services and is now seeing both adults and children in a single location.
Dental services were moved from 501 Church Street to the Adult & Family Care location at 6021 Industrial Boulevard. CHNWF said the former dental space on Church Street will allow for additional exam rooms to care for more pediatric primary care patients.
“CHNWF at Industrial Boulevard boasts several state-of-the-art dental operatories with newer equipment in the bright, modern facility, which both patients and staff appreciate,” said Sena Maddison, Community Health director of communications. “Although children and adults will be seen on separate days, it will be a one stop (dental) shop for families of Century and surrounding areas.”
To schedule a dental appointment at the Community Health Northwest Florida Adult & Family location, call (850) 724-4064, option 2.