Cottage Hill Water Works: Boil Water Notice For End Of Wishbone Road
July 30, 2026
Cottage Hill Water Works has issued a boil water notice for the dead end portion of Wishbone Road.
There was routine maintenance in the area that impacted addresses from 1331 to 1480 Wishbone Road. Those customers may have experienced low water pressure or a temporary loss of water service.
The utility is advising, as a precaution, that all water in the area that is used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth, or washing dishes be boiled. A rolling boil of one minute is sufficient. As an alternative bottled water may be used.
This precautionary boil water notice will remain in effect until the problem has been corrected and a bacteriological survey shows that the water is safe to drink.
For more information, contact the utility’s office at (850) 968-5485
This story will be updated when the boil water notice is rescinded.
Moving Forward: Tensley Grain Owners Working On Plan To Reopen After Devastating Fire
July 30, 2026
The owners of Tensley Grain in Walnut Hill were busy on Wednesday, making plans to get the business up and running again following a devastating fire Tuesday evening.
The fire destroyed the business office and warehouse, which contained mostly animal feed.
“We are working on a plan to get up and going again as soon as we can,” said Gretchen Wiggins, who owns Tensley Grain with her husband, Wesley. It’s named after their daughter, Tensley.
The elevated grain silos were not damaged, and Tensley will continue its grain operations.
“Wesley plans to start shelling corn in about two weeks and we have to be up and going by then,” Gretchen Wiggins added. “As far as the feed store side of things, as soon as our scales are inspected and they can get us back set up with them, we will resume bulk feed sales.”
The State Fire Marshal is investigating the exact cause of the blaze, but officials believe the fire was started by an electrical problem.
Multiple Escambia County Fire Rescue stations responded to the blaze, along with the Poarch Fire Department, Atmore Fire Department, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Firefighters battled not only the fire, but also intense heat and humidity. There were no injuries reported.
The business was formerly known as Escambia Grain, with concrete silos that were constructed in 1965. The warehouse and office space that was consumed by the fire was constructed many years later. The Walnut Hill landmark is one of just a handful of grain elevators in Florida. First opened in 1965, the facility has six storage silos, each about 100 feet tall, and multiple other buildings.
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Handwritten Tag, Expired Registration Leads To Cocaine Arrest of Semi Driver In Escambia County
July 30, 2026
A California truck driver was arrested in Escambia County after an agricultural inspection led to the discovery of cocaine inside his semi-truck.
Officers with the Florida Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement (OALE) arrested Mukesh Mani, 30, on a felony cocaine charge. According to authorities, Mani was driving a semi-truck and trailer that displayed a handwritten tag with no state designation. A registration check revealed the trailer’s registration had expired in 2021.
The standard agricultural inspection escalated when OALE K-9 Officer Thomas deployed narcotics detection dog K-9 Mojo to conduct a free-air sniff around the exterior of the semi tractor. K-9 Mojo gave a positive alert for the presence of narcotics, which provided officers with probable cause to search the cab.
During the search of the interior, officers uncovered a tube containing a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine.
Mani was taken into custody and transported to the Escambia County Jail. He was released on a $2,500 bond.