Have You Seen The New FHP Corvette C8 Stingray?
April 16, 2025
The Florida Highway Patrol’s new sports car can go from 0-60 in 2.9 seconds and reach speeds up to 194mph.
Let’s say that again. 0-60 in 2.9 seconds.
It’s a 2023 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Stingray unveiled by the FHP on Tuesday. And no, it was not purchased with taxpayer dollars. The car was seized by the FHP in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force.
FHP said the Corvette “will be utilized to support the Florida Highway Patrol’s mission of keeping our roadways and highways safe”. It will also be used at outreach and educational events and in recruitment efforts.
You won’t likely see the car on the roads in Escambia County anytime soon. It’s stationed with Troop F in Fort Myers.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also has seized Corvette. The ECSO 2016 Corvette Z06 C7 was a felony seizure from local drug dealers.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
West Roberts Road $4.6 Million Drainage, Widening Project Begins
April 15, 2025
An Escambia County $4.6 million West Roberts Road widening and drainage improvement project is now underway.
The widening and drainage improvements will be along a 1.75 mile stretch of West Roberts from the Highway 29 intersection west to the southernly turn to Sutton Place. The project intent is to widen the roadway to two 12-foot-wide travel lanes with 5-foot-wide shoulders from Pine Forest Road to Highway 29. The roadway from the southern turn to Pine Forest will be resurfaced and striped.
The $4,635,298.30 project funded the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was awarded to contractor C.W. Roberts, Inc.
The county said access to adjacent properties will be maintained, although there may be short periods when a driveway or entrance is blocked.
Pictured: West Roberts Road near Stallion Road. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
IRS Tax Deadline Was Extended For All Florida Residents
April 15, 2025
Taxpayers in Florida have until May 1 to file with the IRS.
Due to hurricanes that hit the state last summer, the IRS extended the tax deadline for all Florida residents and businesses until May 1, 2025. That gives residents of Florida, and other states including Alabama, a couple more weeks to file beyond the traditional April 1 deadline.
The IRS extended the tax filing deadline to May 1, 2025, for all Florida residents and businesses due to hurricanes Debbie, Helene and Milton that hit the state in 2024.
The automatic deadline extensions apply to all Florida counties and cover individual, corporate, estate, trust, partnership, S corporation, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns, along with other types of returns.
For more information from the IRS, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
What Is Your Church Doing For Easter? Share Your Events With Our Readers
April 15, 2025
What is your church doing for Easter?
NorthEscambia.com will provide free promotion for churches in North Escambia or North Santa Rosa counties in Florida, or Atmore or Flomaton in Alabama. If your church is having a special Holy Week, Good Friday and/or Easter service, or any other special service or event like an egg hunt, let us know!
We will share your information with thousands of readers across the area. We will list the services on our Events page free of charge, and we’ll be publishing a special story before Good Friday. Please try to keep your announcement for our events page to 75 words or less.
Send your announcement to news@northescambia.com or click here for our contact page. We will also be happy to publish photos after your event; email the photos to news@northescambia.com.
Pictured top and below: An Easter morning “Sonrise Service” at Pensacola’s Maritime Stadium. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Tate High’s Kristin Maum Is In The Running For ‘America’s Favorite Teacher’
April 15, 2025
A Tate High School teacher is just steps away from being named “America’s Favorite Teacher” by the magazine Reader’s Digest.
Kristin Maum admits she was a terrible student back when she was in school.
“I didn’t do my homework, I slept through class, but I was never disrespectful to my teachers—I just found school to be boring,” she said. “I decided to become a teacher so that no other students felt the way I did. I want students to love learning so much that they become lifelong learners. What inspires me most as an educator is the belief that every child can learn and deserves to feel known, valued, and inspired.”
“I love getting to work with kids on a daily basis—helping them fall in love with learning. In my class, we do whatever it takes to learn,” she said.
Kristin Maum was first in the quarterfinals as of Monday night in the Reader’s Digest contest that will award the winner $25,000 and a trip to Hawaii. And if she wins, Tate High will receive a school assembly from Bill Nye the Science Guy.
If she wins the contest, she plans to use the $25,000 to pay off about $18,000 in medical debt that accumulated after she was diagnosed with cancer in early 2024 and began treatment. The remainder of the money she would plans to go toward her son’s college tuition. He will be a freshman in the fall.
To vote for Kristin, click or tap here. Individuals can vote once per 24 hours for free. Additional votes are available with a donation to DTCare, a 501(c)(3) charity, Voting in the quarterfinals ends at 9 p.m. CDT on Thursday.
Northview Baseball Beats Laurel Hill 15-0 In First Round Of District Playoffs
April 15, 2025
The Northview Chiefs opened the district tournament with a 15-0 run-ruled shortened four inning win over the Laurel Hill Hoboes Monday afternoon in Baker.
Jayden White earned the win on the mound for Northview. He gave p one hit and no runs in three and two-thirds innings while walking one and striking out seven. Jackson Bridges pitched a perfect one-third of an inning in relief.
Kelan Jury, Braynt Mason, Jase Portwood, and Brady Smith each had two hits for the Chiefs. Jury and Mason had three RBIs each.
With the win, the No. 3 ranked Northview Chiefs (11-1) advance to the FHSAA Rural District 1 semifinals on Tuesday against No. 2 Jay (13-10) at 4 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Tate Lacrosse Slips To Gulf Breeze In District Semifinals
April 15, 2025
The Tate Aggies girls lacrosse team fell short 19-6 against No. 1 Gulf Breeze Monday in the semifinals of the 2A District 1 tournament.
The Aggies advanced in round one of the tournament with a 7-3 win over Milton.
Gulf Breeze will face Navarre on Thursday for the district championship.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Mostly Sunny And 75 Tuesday
April 15, 2025
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north in the morning.
Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 46. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 75. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 48. Calm wind.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 80. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. South wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 83. South wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 84.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83.
Joy Permelia Boothe Rowell
April 15, 2025
Joy Permelia Boothe Rowell, 70, of Jay, Florida, passed away unexpectedly, Wednesday, April 9, 2025.
Joy was born in Mobile, Alabama, to the late Alex Zander Boothe, Jr. and Virginia Adelle Estes Boothe on December 5, 1954. She was the fourth of five children, and she loved each of her siblings fiercely. Joy spent much of her childhood on Lott Road, moving between her parents’ dairy farm and the apartment above the store they owned. She went back and forth between Wilmer Elementary and Semmes, each time reuniting with friends who would call out, “Hey! Joy’s back!” upon her arrival. She had a horse named Champ she loved, she picked and sold bushels upon bushels of peas, and she grew up in the warmth of a loving home where Jesus was praised, education was valued, and hard work was only matched by laughter.
Joy moved to Milton in the sixth grade and then her family bought a farm and built a home in Allentown. She attended Allentown School, now called Central School, beginning in 8th grade. She graduated in 1973 and graduated from the University of West Florida with an English secondary education degree in 1979. She returned to Allentown and spent her teaching career ministering to and guiding the children of the people she had grown up with, along with hundreds more. She helped students see their potential, pointed them toward the Love that never runs out, and saw the light in the dimmest of eyes, reminding each of them that “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” She was a language arts teacher, yearbook sponsor, drama teacher, mentor, reading coach, and the county ESOL coordinator, serving the students and families she loved for 35 years. She inspired many to follow in her footsteps, including all three of her children.
A favorite teacher at Central High School, Joy was also a gifted and encouraging Sunday School teacher throughout her entire adulthood. She taught adults at Berrydale Baptist Church, Cora Baptist Church, and Woodbine Baptist Church in Pace, where she had been a member since 2023. She led a ladies’ Bible study the day she passed away.
Joy lived life to the fullest and wanted to see as much of the world as possible. Sharing those experiences with her sisters and close friends and then sharing them broadly with her many social media friends brought her great happiness. She had visited all 50 states and Macedonia made her 50th country in September. Some of her favorite places she saw were Israel, Ireland, and Africa. She loved the scenery and loved going “anywhere she hadn’t gone before,” but it was the people she met and the stories they told that impacted Joy most. She loved people, met them easily, embraced them heartily, and always had an open heart and open hands. Her JOY for life was contagious.
While her teaching career, her students, her church family, and her travels were all so important to her, her roles as a wife, mother to her three children, and a grandmother to her seven grandchildren were where she shone the brightest. She married Roger Glen Rowell in 1973, and God used her to make him the man he became. She was not only mother to her own children, but she was a second mother to many of their friends, as well as to nieces, nephews, and church family. She had a special way with folks, making each person feel as if he or she was her favorite.
And when her grandchildren came along, she became DeeDee. They brought more joy and pride to her than anything else on earth ever had. She regularly babysat them all, attended their ball games, recitals, academic competitions, and special events. She wore her specially made shirts for each grandchild’s school and became a staple in all three of their communities-Jay, Milton, and Pace. She made special time to be with each grandchild, taking them back-to-school shopping, having them spend the night often, cooking them their favorite foods, speaking Truth and encouragement into their lives, and praying for them regularly. She believed each of them had what it took to do anything they wanted and were called by God to do. Her greatest legacy may be that now they all believe that too.
Joy was preceded in death by her precious husband of 45 years, Roger Glen Rowell; her loving parents; a granddaughter, Anna Grace McMath; and several brothers-in law and sisters-in-law whom she loved dearly.
She leaves behind her two sons and two daughters-in-law, Chadwick Glen (Jessica) Rowell of Berrydale, and Rhett Alexander (Lana) Rowell of Jay; and her daughter and son-in-law, Misty (Joey) McMath of Pace. She lives on through her seven beloved grandchildren, Malinda Maesen (Maesey) Rowell and John Pasco (Pasco) Rowell II; Major Alexander and Piper Elizabeth Rowell; and Abriana Joy (Abby), Josiah Luker and Jackson Glen (Jack) McMath. She is also survived by her brother, Kenny (Gloria) Boothe of Cantonment; and her sisters, Sylvia (Jerry) Jennings of Cantonment, Betty (Mondal) Miller of Columbia, MS, and Andra (Joe) Mize of Flomaton, AL; sisters-in-law, Dinah Colonna of Florala, AL, and Lorrine Rowell of Jay; and brothers-in-law, Frank (Pearl) Rowell of Jay and Buck Roberts of Jay. Additionally, she leaves behind many nephews, nieces, great nephews, and great nieces whose lives were indelibly touched by their Aunt Joy’s love for them.
All services will be held at Berrydale Baptist Church, 6730 FL-4, Jay, FL 32565, under the direction of Lewis Funeral Homes. Visitation will be Thursday, April 17, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Good Friday, April 18. Interment will immediately follow in the Berrydale Baptist Church Cemetery. Her nephews will serve as active pallbearers.
The family wishes to thank the staff of Jay Hospital and friends and family who have prayed, visited, shared stories, and ministered during this unspeakably difficult time.
Charles ‘Charlie’ Robert Wiggins
April 15, 2025
Charles “Charlie” Robert Wiggins, 84 of Huntsville, Alabama passed away on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Charlie was born in Escambia County, Florida on July 19, 1940. He was preceded in death by his parents Marvin and Lois Wiggins, daughter Kimberly Diane Wiggins.
Left to cherish his memory are his loving wife of 59 years, Lynn Wiggins, sons, Keith Walter (Yvette), David Wiggins (Susan), Darin Wiggins (Diana), daughter April Wiggins, grandchildren Kyle Wiggins (Minna), Sarah Wiggins, Lindsey Wiggins, Hunter Wiggins, Blake Owens, Lucas Owens (Emma), brother Marvin Wiggins (Elaine), sister Addie Camacho (Don). He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.
Charlie loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren. He also enjoyed spending time outdoors, fishing and canoeing. He was a long-time member of Lakewood Baptist Church. Charlie served his country in the United States Navy from 1958 until 1961. He also was a volunteer leader for the Royal Rangers.
A visitation for Charlie will be held Saturday, April 19, 2025, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm at Valhalla Funeral Home & Memory Gardens, 698 Winchester Rd NE, Huntsville, Alabama 35811, followed by a Celebration of Life Service at 2:00 pm, officiated by Pastor Terrell Boyd. Interment will immediately follow at Valhalla Memory Gardens with Military Honors.