Monday Is A Holiday For Government Agencies (Except The Century Council Will Meet)
January 1, 2023
Today, January 2, is a New Year’s holiday for most government agencies.
Escambia County
- Escambia County Board of County Commissioners (all department)
- West Florida Public Libraries (all locations)
- Escambia County Property Appraiser
- Escambia County Tax Collector
- Escambia County Department of Animal Welfare
- Escambia County Supervisor of Elections
- Escambia County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller
- Escambia County Extension Office
- Waste Services Administration
- ECAT Administration Office
Town of Century
- All Town of Century offices and departments,
- Exception: The Century Town Council will hold a regular meeting.
Emerald Coast Utilities Authority
- All ECUA offices are closed
- No changes to sanitation collection schedules
U.S. Post Office
- Lost post offices are closed
- Mail will not be picked up or delivered
UPDATE: Former ECSO Trainee Deputy Charged With Pace Homicide (Mugshot Released)
January 1, 2023
Updated: A former deputy’s mugshot was posted Sunday night by the Santa Rosa County Jail.
A former Escambia County Sheriff’s Office trainee deputy is charged with killing a man overnight in Santa Rosa County.
Chloe Colleen Davidson, 32, is charged with first degree felony homicide and a second degree felony weapons offense.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported shooting in the 3900 block of Deerwood Circle in Pace about 1:40 a.m. Sunday.
“Upon arrival, our deputies located a male victim and performed medical aid until EMS arrived on scene. Shortly thereafter, paramedics pronounce the male victim deceased,” Jillian Durkin, SRSO public information officer, said. “Through investigations, it was determined that the incident was a domestic disturbance.”
The name of the deceased has not been released, and the investigation is continuing.
Davidson was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail.
Davidson was sworn in as an ECSO training deputy on August 5, 2022. According to the ECSO, she failed out of the training program and had not been employed by the department for at least the past 30 days.
Her jail mugshot was exempted from release under Florida law due to her status as a former deputy, but it was later posted Sunday night by the Santa Rosa County Jail.
Century Will Appoint Two New Council Members In New Year’s Holiday Meeting
January 1, 2023
The Town of Century will begin the new year with a holiday meeting to appoint two new members to the town council.
The council will meeting Monday night — on January 2, both a federal and state holiday.
Because no one sought election, two council seats are open, so a months-long process of permanently filling them begins.
When the council convenes Monday night, Sandra McMurray Jackson will be sworn in for another term after running unopposed. Then, the council will appoint two members to serve until a special election for the seats, which will most likely take place in March 2023.
At least five citizens have formally expressed their interest in a temporary appointment, according to a town document. They are Shelisa Abraham, Michelle Dixon, Edward (Eddie) Hammond, Alicia Johnson and Corenda Phifer. Johnson has told town officials that she does not intend to run for the council during the special election, while the other four said they will likely seek election.
During his final council meeting of 2022, James Smith, Jr. said he won’t rule out placing his name on the special election ballot. He chose not to run for reelection in 2022, as did Leonard White who resigned last September.
Tuesday, January 2 is also a holiday for Century; the town hall will be closed for regular business. The council meeting will be held on the holiday because the town charter specifies that council members will be sworn in on the first Monday of January. There is no provision in the charter to hold the swearing-in ceremony if it falls on a holiday.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Here Are Escambia County’s Teachers Of The Year
January 1, 2023
Escambia County’s Teachers of the Year have been named to represent their respective schools.
One of them will named the Escambia County overall Teacher of the year in late January from a list of five finalist. Those finalists are highlighted in bold below.
Elementary Schools
- Jim Allen Elementary — Kristi Mims
- Bellview Elementary — Erin Bartush
- Beulah Elementary — Sara Smith
- Blue Angels Elementary — Mary Crisson
- Bratt Elementary — Pamela Trice
- Brentwood Elementary — Audrey Brown
- Hellen Caro Elementary — Andrea McGinnis
- N. B. Cook Elementary — Dawn Jackson
- Cordova Park Elementary — Jessica Stallings
- Ensley Elementary — Lashandra Dean
- Ferry Pass Elementary — Lisa Moss
- Global Learning Academy — Carmen Dones
- Holm Elementary — Michelle Davison
- Kingsfield Elementary School — Melanie Johnson
- Lincoln Park Elementary — Jamila Richardson
- Lipscomb Elementary — Holly Griffin
- Longleaf Elementary — Susan Watkins
- McArthur Elementary — Dawn Bechtol
- Molino Park Elementary — Christin Love
- Montclair Elementary — Kathryn Lovely
- Myrtle Grove Elementary — Mershun Deas
- Navy Point Elementary — Kayla Murray-Galloway
- Oakcrest Elementary — George Grace
- Pine Meadow Elementary — David Vaughn
- Pleasant Grove Elementary — Jacqueline Hogan
- Scenic Heights Elementary — Heather Gagnet
- O.J. Semmes Elementary — Krystin Johnson
- Sherwood Elementary — Nina Bryant
- A. K. Suter Elementary — Anna Harageones
- Warrington Elementary — Jennifer Godwin
- C. A. Weis Elementary — Sierra Yingst
- West Pensacola Elementary — Debbie Jewell
Middle Schools
- Bailey Middle School — Rachel Bryans
- Bellview Middle — Leslie Schottgen
- Beulah Middle — Danielle O’Connor
- Brown Barge Middle — Lauren Meiss
- Ernest Ward Middle — Michelle Thomas
- Ferry Pass Middle — Rebecca Duben
- Ransom Middle — Christopher Norris
- Warrington Middle — Sharde Wiggins
- Workman Middle — Tyrese Person
High Schools
- Escambia High School — Kylee Tullos
- Northview High School — Donna McMillan
- Pensacola High School — Lisette Guttery
- Pine Forest High School — Dr. Tonita Goldston
- Tate High School — Nikki Gill
- Washington High School — Gary Horne
- West Florida High School — Angela McFarland
Other Schools and Centers
- Escambia Westgate — Jimitre McMillan
- Achieve Academy — Angela Griffith
- Alternative Education — Karen Hutchinson
- Beulah Academy of Science — DeEdra Wesemann
- Capstone Academy — Angelique Smith
- Escambia Virtual — Linda Patti
- Hope Horizon — Elizabeth (Beth) Howard
- Success Academy — Allison Roberts
2023 Begins With Sunny 70s, But Rain Moves In This Week
January 1, 2023
Happy New Year!
New Year’s Day: Gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 72. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: Patchy fog. Otherwise, increasing clouds, with a low around 56. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph after midnight.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. Southeast wind around 10 mph.
Tuesday: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could be severe. High near 74. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Tuesday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Patchy fog. Low around 61. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Wednesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Northwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 45. North wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 60.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 36.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 53.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 34.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 58.
IT Network Coordinator Tutten Is Escambia County Employee Of The Year
January 1, 2023
Mark “Andrew” Tutten is Escambia County’s Employee of the Year for 2022.
He was previously selected as the August Employee of the Month.
He serves as network coordinator in the Information Technology department.
He began his career with Escambia County on February 25, 2020, and has been continually recognized for his hard work and dedication to the department and Escambia County.
In his role as network coordinator, he is responsible for designing, installing and troubleshooting network systems to meet the functional objectives of the Escambia BCC. This includes monitoring all network routers, switches, firewalls and wireless access points that securely connect employees to their files and applications to the internet.
Tutten led a project to update the BCC’s data network infrastructure, requiring him to re-engineer each county-operated facility. As part of the project, Andrew and his team installed public Wi-Fi in 40 county parks and community centers, including the addition of a firewall management platform Panorama. These changes allow IT to manage over 50 firewalls across Escambia County.
Tutten will be formally recognized as Employee of the Year with a proclamation during a BOCC meeting on January 5.
$2.4 Million Chemstrand Road Pedestrian Safety Project Is Now Complete
January 1, 2023
A two year project to enhance pedestrian safety on Chemstrand Road has been completed.
The Chemstrand Road Pedestrian Improvement Project spanned 617 days between Nine Mile Road and Ten Mile Road.
Crews have worked to create 5,464 linear feet of sidewalk, repaved approximately 3,986 feet of asphalt, and installed reinforced concrete drainage pipes along the northbound and southbound directions of Chemstrand Road.
The total cost of the project was $2,446,577.21.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Want To Be A Firefighter? The Physical Abilities Test Is January 7
January 1, 2023
Escambia County Fire Rescue will hold a physical abilities test Saturday, January 7.
The test will take place at Pensacola Fire Department Station 4, at 1 North “Q” Street at 8 a.m. and is open to anyone interested in joining Escambia County Fire Rescue.
Certified firefighters with a certificate of completion must sign up for the certified test. Those without any fire certifications must sign up for the cadet test. The certified test is also open to volunteer firefighters needing a physical abilities test.
Click here to register for the certified test.
Click here to register for the cadet test.
In order to become an Escambia County Firefighter, participants must pass the test. Interviews for those who pass the test will take place the following day.
The certified test consists of:
- 1 3/4″ charged hose pull in 27 seconds
- Keiser sled in 60 seconds
- Tower evolution in six minutes
The cadet test consists of:
- 25 push-ups in two minutes
- 40 sit-ups in two minutes
- Run 1.5 miles in 15 minutes
- 1 3/4″ charged hose pull in 27 seconds
- Keiser sled in 60 seconds
- Tower evolution in six minutes
Certified Escambia County Firefighters receive a starting pay of $41,698 and numerous benefits including a $2,000 sign-on bonus, competitive pay and health benefits, a 48/96 schedule, 14 paid holidays, special teams’ incentive pay, and more.
New 2023 Florida Toll Relief Program Begins Today
January 1, 2023
Beginning today, there is a new toll relief program in Florida, providing credits to frequent commuters using toll roads across the state.
The program will automatically give Floridians with 35 or more toll transactions per month a 50 percent credit to their account. This program, proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and enacted by the Florida Legislature, will run through December 31, 2023. In Northwest Florida, the program includes the Bob Sikes Toll Bridge to Pensacola Beach, Garcon Point Bridge, and the Mid-Bay Bridge.
Under the Toll Relief Program, drivers of two-axle vehicles who use toll transponders, such as SunPass or other Florida-based transponders, and have accounts in good standing with 35 or more qualifying toll transactions per month will receive a 50 percent credit to their account. There is no need to apply for the toll relief as credits will be applied automatically to each qualifying account.