Motorcyclist Critically Injured, Molino Man Uninjured Olive Road Crash
June 14, 2025
A motorcyclist was critically injured, and a Molino man was uninjured, in a crash about 4:36 p.m. Friday afternoon in Escambia County.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the 25-year-old motorcyclist was exiting a parking lot on Olive Road when he lost control of the motorcycle. The motorcycle overturned and was then struck by a pickup truck.
Troopers said the truck and trailer traveled over the motorcyclist, who was not wearing a helmet, causing critical injuries.
The driver of the pickup, a 50-year-old Molino man, and his passenger, a 28-year-old female, were not injured.
FHP said any charges are pending.
Cottage Hill Woman Charged With Passing Fake $100 Bill At Local Store
June 14, 2025
A Cottage Hill woman faces a felony charge after allegedly passing a counterfeit $100 bill at the Dollar General on Highway 29 at Neal Road on Thursday.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, 41-year-old Casey Leanne Cushing tried to buy items with the fake bill. A store employee said he immediately recognized the bill as counterfeit when Cushing handed it to him. The employee told deputies Cushing “begin to play dumb,” and also noted that someone had attempted to pass a fake bill with the exact same serial number just two days prior.
Cushing claimed she had no idea the $100 bill, which she said she received from a friend, was fake. However, she could not provide her friend’s full name or phone number. The arrest report states Cushing admitted to making a purchase at the same Dollar General two days earlier, but maintained she was unaware if that bill was counterfeit.
She remained in the Escambia County Jail Saturday morning with bond set at $2,500 on a felony counterfeiting charge.
Escambia County Accepting Comments On Multi-Year Implementation Plan Amendment
June 14, 2025
Escambia County invites residents to participate in the public comment period for the RESTORE Act Draft Multi-Year Implementation Plan Amendment 4, open now until Friday, June 27.
The MYIP is a plan for projects to be proposed completed using RESTORE funds from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, with three amendments submitted for approval since 2017. Amendment 4 proposes modifying three existing projects and the addition of five new projects. Residents are encouraged to leave feedback on the five new projects before MYIP Amendment 4 is submitted for approval.
The three modified projects include:
Perdido Key Gulf of Mexico Public Access
Perdido Key Beach Public Access – Property Acquisition and Construction
South Navy Boulevard Improvements
The five new projects include:
Bob White Lane and Ziglar Road Water Quality and Drainage Improvements
Ellyson Industrial Park Stormwater Design and Construction
Galvez Landing Design Update and Construction
Marine Dive Garden
Palmetto Phase 2 and Palomar Water Quality and Drainage Improvements
Public comments will be accepted the following ways:
Emailing restore@myescambia.com
By mail: Attention: Ryan Kirby, Natural Resources Management Department, 221 Palafox Place, Pensacola, FL 32502
Via the public comment portal on MyEscambia.com/MYIP.
Tate Softball Alum Izzy Werdann Tapped As Mississippi Gulf Coast Head Softball Coach
June 14, 2025
Tate High School softball alum Izzy Werdann has been named head softball coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast community College.
As a catcher, Werdann helped lead the Tate Lady Aggie to the 2015 7A state championship when she was a senior.
Mississippi Gulf Coast softball fans remember a pair of home runs by Izzy Werdann. She hit remarkably similar homers to win postseason games, and now she’s coming back home to create more opportunities like that for the next generation.
The former All-American, who led the Bulldogs to an 85-21 record, returns to her stomping ground as the fifth head coach in program history, bringing a wealth of playing experience in the SEC and NCAA Division I coaching savvy to Perk.
“I’ve been here, and I’ve done it. I’ve lived it,” Werdann said. “I know what it took to be successful playing here as a player, and so I know what it’s going to take to be successful here as a coach. The landscape has changed, and there are some really good teams out there, but we’re going to be really good.”
“While we had some other very qualified candidates, Izzy’s experience as a successful player at MGCCC and coach in the state of Mississippi were two things that really stood out,” Gulf Coast Dean of Athletics Steven Campbell said. “We are excited for her to share her experience with current and future Bulldogs and look forward to her making an impact in the community she began her collegiate playing career.”
As a sophomore at Gulf Coast, Werdann led the team with 13 home runs, 47 RBI and a .513 on-base percentage while batting .384 in 2017. She was named MACJC Co-Player of the Year and earned her second All-MACJC selection on the way to All-Region 23 and NJCAA All-American honors.
The Bulldogs were conference regular-season and tournament runners-up, missing the national tournament by one game at the regional tourney. They were ranked seventh in the final NJCAA poll.
In her freshman season, she batted .323 with five homers and 41 RBI. Gulf Coast finished ranked third in the country after finishing as regular-season and tourney runners-up.
She’s remembered for hitting three-run homers with two outs in the sixth inning of conference tournament-opening games both years. She beat Itawamba both years, lifting the Bulldogs to a 3-2 win as a freshman and a 7-6 win the next season.
“It means everything to come back here,” Werdann said. “I cannot wait to come back to the school where I started my career and win here as a coach. I can’t wait.”
Werdann became the second Gulf Coast player to play in the SEC when she went to Ole Miss, batting .281 in 33 games over two seasons in Oxford, earning scholar-athlete awards along the way.
The Rebels made it to the championship round of the Tempe Regional in her junior year before winning the Oxford Regional the next year, losing to sixth-ranked Arizona in the Tucson Super Regional.
Werdann has an associate’s degree from Gulf Coast and a bachelor’s in general studies with minors in education, sports and recreation management and psychology from Ole Miss, graduating summa cum laude. She graduated with a master’s in sports management from USM while she started her coaching career.
“I thank God. He opened this door for me to get to walk through,” Werdann said. “And the door was opened through Dr. (Mary) Graham, Dean (Steven) Campbell. Dr. (Ladd) Taylor and Dr. (Brad) Bailey. I would like to thank them for this opportunity. It means everything to me, and I can’t wait to prove them right for hiring me.”
Coley’s Double Not Enough In 4-1 Wahoos Loss To Trash Pandas
June 14, 2025
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos dropped their third game in a row on Friday night, falling 4-1 to the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
Mark Coley II spared the Blue Wahoos from a shutout, lacing an RBI double in the eighth inning to bring home Cody Morissette and extending his hitting streak to a team-high nine games.
The Trash Pandas jumped ahead in the bottom of the second inning against Pensacola starter Adam Laskey (L, 2-5), capitalizing on a Morissette error at third base to score two unearned runs. David Calabrese brought home Travis Blankenhorn with a successful safety squeeze bunt, and Mac McCroskey followed with an RBI single for a 2-0 Rocket City lead.
Blankenhorn, a former Blue Wahoo as a Twins prospect in 2019, came up with the biggest hit of the night against his old club. With runners at the corners in the third inning, the Trash Pandas left fielder cracked a two-run double to right field to extend the Rocket City lead to 4-0.
Laskey completed 5.0 innings, allowing two earned runs, but was outdueled by Trash Pandas righty George Klassen (W, 2-5). The top-ranked prospect on the Rocket City roster twirled 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing only a pair of harmless Jared Serna singles.
Coley’s double in the eighth inning was the best rally the Blue Wahoos could muster, as Jared Southard (S, 5) locked down the 4-1 final with a scoreless ninth.
With the loss, the Blue Wahoos lost ground to the first-place Biloxi Shuckers in the first half division race. They are 6.5 games back with 8 to play before the standings reset in the second half of the season.
The series against the Trash Pandas continues on Saturday, with a first pitch from Toyota Field scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Pop-Up Storms Likely For The Weekend
June 14, 2025
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Saturday: Showers and thunderstorms. Patchy fog before 9am. High near 89. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Patchy fog after 4am. Low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Sunday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1pm, then showers and thunderstorms between 1pm and 4pm, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Patchy fog before 7am. High near 88. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Sunday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 7pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Monday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Tuesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Light south wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Juneteenth: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Trial Set For Former Ernest Ward Middle Bookkeeper Charged With Grand Theft
June 13, 2025
This week, a court date was set for a former Ernest Ward Middle School bookkeeper that was charged last year with embezzling over $50,000 in cash from the school and its organizations. Charges against her in an related case grand theft were also dropped.
Lindsey Dawn Kelley of McDavid, now age 41, was arrested in October 2024 charged with grand theft, scheme to defraud and false entry in books of business for the alleged thefts from Ernest Ward. The scheme to defraud and false entry in books of business charges were dismissed by prosecutors, according to court records.
Tuesday, Judge Amy Brodersen set a jury trial in mid-September on the grand theft over $20,000 and under $10,000 felony charge. She remains free on bond as she awaits trial.
Charges Dropped In Unrelated Arrest
In an unrelated case, Kelley was charged with petit theft, grand theft, fraudulent use of a credit card over $300, and fraudulent use of a credit card two or more times to obtain goods over $100 for the alleged fraudulent use of her uncle’s debit card while was was away at rehab. This week, charges were dropped because the victim declined to prosecute, according to court documents.
Ernest Ward Theft Allegations
According to investigators, Kelley stole cash collected by school organizations over a 13-month period.
She quit her bookkeeping job at the school in Walnut Hill before the first week of the 2024 school year following her arrest on the unrelated credit card fraud and grand theft charges that have now been dropped.
That prompted Principal Tyvanna Boulanger to request that the Escambia County School District complete an internal audit of the school’s bookkeeping and financial records.
According to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Kelly collected $52,278.98 in cash from various organizations at Ernest Ward that was stolen between July 1, 2023, and August 30, 2024:
- Change Fund-$300
- FFA-$4,047.50
- Honor Society – $310
- Shop- $650
- Volleyball/basketball – $4,001.65
- Cheer – $28,192.34
- SGA/track – $850
- Football – $200
- Band – $1,840
- Library/yearbook/drama – $4,670.49
- Culinary-$865
- 6th grade- $1,786
- 8th grade – $2,756
- 7th grade- $1,810
“It should be noted that this amount does not reflect any money stolen from Earnest Ward Middle School prior to July 1, 2023,” the arrest report states.
The report states that in the school year before Kelley was hired as a bookkeeper at EWMS, the school deposited $82,475.24 in cash for school organizations. The report notes after Kelly was hired as school finance specialist in August 2020, cash deposits were as follow:
- 2019-2020 – $46,736.28 cash deposited
- 2020-2021 – $23,270.08 cash deposited
- 2021-2022 – $29,782.46 cash deposited
- 2022-2023 – $18,733.64 cash deposited
- 2023-2024 -No Cash Deposited
The school district told investigators that Kelley was audited in the 2022-2023 school year and the audit noted Kelley had a “lack of organization led to several issues, the most severe of which was the inability to locate entire records for deposits and receipts.” Kelley has not been charged with any school related crime that occurred prior to July 1, 2023.
Kelley was interviewed by ECSO investigators on October 23, 2024.
“One at a time, we spoke with teachers/sponsors of the different school organizations who had given cash to Kelley during the previous school year for their organizations,” a investigator reported. “There was zero cash deposited to the school’s bank account during the 2023-2024 school year so all cash that was given to Kelley is now missing.”
“Immediately upon beginning the interview, Kelley stated that she took the money. Kelley didn’t know the amount of money that she had taken because she had taken it over time and didn’t keep track of it,” the ECSO report states. Deputies said the money was deposited in her credit union account or added to a GreenDot account.
“I advised Kelley of the amounts stolen from each team/organization and that the total amount stolen for the 2023-2024 school year adds up to $52,278.98,” the investigator wrote in his report. “While surprised, Kelley did not disagree with that amount and advised that if that was the amount that had been determined, then that was the amount that she had stolen. When asked about the balance statements for the teams/organizations, she admitted to editing them on an Adobe program so that they wouldn’t discover the low balances of the accounts. At the conclusion of the interview, Kelley advised that she was remorseful and would never do something like this again.”
In addition, school administration alleged that all documents such as purchase orders, money collected forms, along with receiving invoices and documents were missing.
Art Of The Wild: Animal Tales Program At The Library (With Gallery)
June 13, 2025
Animal Tales visited the Century Library on Thursday with “Art of the Wild” as part of the summer reading series.
From large lizards and legless lizards to birds and a hedgehog named Sonic, children were excited to learn about the animals and the importance of reading.
For a photo gallery, click here.
The Animal Tales “Art of the Wild” program will be presented again on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Molino Library.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate Grad Named To Mississippi State Ag And Life Sciences Hall Of Fame
June 13, 2025
Cora Andrews of Cantonment, a 2018 Tate High School graduate, is among 18 inaugural Mississippi State undergraduate and graduate members of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Hall of Fame.
Established this year, the hall of Fame recognizes an undergraduate and graduate student from each of the college’s nine departments who have made a lasting impact at MSU.
To be considered for the honor, undergraduate students must have senior standing, master’s students must be at least one year into their program, and Ph.D. students must be at least two years into their program. Department heads, in consultation with faculty and undergraduate coordinators, select the students who best represent their unit.
“Students can make an impact through their leadership, innovation and service, among other factors,” said Darrell Sparks, CALS associate dean and professor. “We want to recognize the work that goes above and beyond academic excellence.”
Andrews was also named Outstanding Agricultural and Extension Education Masters student in Teaching, Research, and Service.
While at Tate, Andrews was the chapter and district FFA president.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Report: Cantonment Man Says His GPS Caused Him To Wreck; FHP Charged Him With DUI
June 13, 2025
A Cantonment man who said his GPS caused him to wreck was charged with DUI and resisting after a wreck on Highway 29.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 45-year-old Ian Jared Keatts turned his black Cadillac SUV into the ditch on the north side of Highway 29 and Archer Road intersection. Keatts told the trooper that he was traveling north on Highway 29 “when his GPS told him to make a right turn into the ditch”, according to a FHP report.
“| observed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his breath, slurred speech and bloodshot watery eyes,” the trooper wrote in the arrest report. “| also observed a green wristband from Seville Quarter downtown. He was asked to exit the vehicle, and | was told to hold on.”
“He was asked again to exit the vehicle and refused to exit the vehicle. He was given a lawful order to exit the vehicle, and he refused. | reached in for his right wrist and he pulled away trying to break my grip,” the trooper continued. “He was removed from the vehicle and escorted to the ground and placed in handcuffs.”
FHP said Keatts provided beath samples of 0.139 and 0.140 above the legal limit of 0.08.
Keatts was charged with DUI and resisting an officer. He was released on a $2,000 bond.