Northview High School Names Students Of The Month
March 18, 2021
Northview High School has named their February Students of the Month. They are Briar Weaver (pictured left) and Kinzey Powell (pictured right). Also pictured is Northview Principal Michael Sherrill. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Update: Suspect Dead After Officer Involved Shooting On Pensacola Beach
March 17, 2021
A suspect is dead following an officer involved shooting Wednesday night on Pensacola Beach. In an update Thursday morning, law enforcement said the suspect pulled a weapon from his waistband.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to an armed disturbance at the Surf and Sand Hotel on Fort Pickens Road, just across the the Casino Beach parking lot. The caller advised that a male suspect was battering a female, and he was armed with a gun. Deputies arrived on scene and located the suspect and victim inside the hotel room.
“The suspect was armed, refusing all commands to surrender, he then pulled the weapon from his waistband, forcing deputies to shoot the suspect”, according to a statement from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspect was struck and was pronounced deceased on scene. There were no deputies injured during the incident.
As is standard procedure, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the officer involved shooting. Bot deputies involved have been placed on administrative leave.
Pictured: The scene at the Surf and Sand Hotel on Pensacola Beach shortly after an officer involved shooting Wednesday night. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Family Using App Discovers Missing Man Was Killed In Traffic Crash
March 17, 2021
Family members use a tracking app to find a traffic crash victim Wednesday afternoon, two days after he was reported missing.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the 37-year old man lost control on the I-110 ramp to I-10 westbound, and was ejected after he struck a concrete guardrail and overturned into the trees. Troopers are not sure exactly when the crash happened.
FHP said the vehicle and the victim were in area that was not visible to passing drivers, and there were no immediate signs of a collision in plain view.
His body and vehicle were located by his family using a family locator tracking app he had on his phone.
The man’s name has not been released.
Parents Concerned About Access To Their Students’ Private Data In School District’s Computer System After Homecoming Queen Hack Arrests
March 17, 2021
Following the arrest of a Tate High School homecoming queen and her assistant principal mother for alleged improper use of an Escambia County School District computer system, parents are concerned about the safety and security of their students’ personal information and why they were not notified.
Laura Rose Carroll, 50, and her 17-year old daughter, Emily Rose Grover, were charged by state law enforcement with multiple computer crimes. Grover and Carroll, a now-suspended assistant principal at Bellview Elementary School, allegedly accessed hundreds of student accounts to cast fraudulent votes for Grover, enabling her to win the homecoming queen crown.
NorthEscambia.com took the parental concerns about student data to Escambia County School Superintendent Dr. Timothy Smith.
“An assistant principal and a principal have a lot of access in order to do their job,” Smith said. “There is a lot of information there.”
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Escambia County School District FOCUS program contains grades, medical history, test scores, attendance, disciplinary actions, personnel information, emergency contacts, schedules, exceptional student education (ESE) information, student picture and student identification number. Teachers and staff members are able to view student profiles or more depending on access level.
An assistant principal, Smith said, would have district level inquiry access to the system.
Arrest affidavits obtained by NorthEscambia.com show the school district became aware in 2020 of the alleged improper use of the FOCUS system by Grover and Carroll.
Smith said the district will investigate.
“That’s something we will have to work with the state on and the steps they would have to take,” he said.
While no accusations have been made that the duo changed any grades, we asked Smith if that possibility would be investigated.
“We’ll have to see once FDLE is done what they have for us,” the superintendent said.
Nine students and one teacher provided statements to FDLE that said Grover spoke about accessing Carroll’s FOCUS account or they have seen her access it for almost four years.
“I have known that Emily Grover logs into her moms school account in order to access grades and test scores since freshman year when we became friends,” one student said in a statement to FDLE. “She has looked up [redacted] student ID before to [redacted]. She also knows that if she logs into her moms account at Tate it will ping that Laura Grover signed in at Tate High School. She looks up all of our group of friends grades and makes comments about how she can find out our test scores all of the time.”
“When Emily Grover was a sophomore [redacted] class, I recall times that she logged onto her moms focus account and openly shared information, grades, schedules, etc. with others. She did not seem like logging in was a big deal and was very comfortable with doing so,” another statement written by a witness said.
Carroll, and Grover where charged by FDLE with one count each of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic devices (a third degree felony), unlawful use of a two-way communications device (a third degree felony), criminal use of personally identifiable information (a third degree felony) and conspiracy to commit these offenses (a first degree misdemeanor).
The investigation started in November 2020 when the Escambia County School District contacted FDLE to report unauthorized access into hundreds of student accounts. The investigation found that Carroll and Grover had accessed student FOCUS accounts. FOCUS users are required to change their password every 45 days and Carroll’s annual training for the “Staff Responsible Use of Guidelines for Technology” was up to date.
In October 2020, hundreds of votes for Tate High School’s Homecoming Court voting were flagged as fraudulent, with 117 votes originating from the same IP address within a short period of time. Agents uncovered evidence of unauthorized access to FOCUS linked to Carroll’s cellphone as well as computers associated with their residence, with a total of 246 votes cast for the homecoming court. Multiple students reported that the Grover described using her mother’s FOCUS account to cast votes. The investigation also found that beginning August 2019, Carroll’s FOCUS account accessed 372 high school records and 339 of those were of Tate High School students.
Grover was expelled from Tate High School.
Pictured above and below: Laura Rose Carroll, Bellview Elementary Facebook and Escambia County Jail; Emily Rose Grover, Tate High School’s 2020 homecoming queen, NorthEscambia.com photo.
Update: ‘One-Shot’ COVID-19 Clinics Thursday In Cantonment And Century
March 17, 2021
Community Health Northwest Florida has vaccination clinics scheduled for Thursday in Cantonment and Century.
Details on each are below:
CANTONMENT
Community Health Northwest Florida will hold a Johnson & Johnson “One Shot” COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Thursday, March 18 from a 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Langley Bell 4-H Center at 3730 Stefani Road in Cantonment.
The clinic is open to all Florida residents who qualify to receive the vaccine (see below for requirements). An appointment is required; call (850) 439-3358 to schedule an appointment.
CENTURY AREA
Community Health Northwest Florida will hold a special Johnson & Johnson “One Shot” COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Thursday, March 18th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Century Century Community Center at the corner of West Highway 4 and Industrial Boulevard in Century.
Appointments are required. Eligible persons who wish to be scheduled for this special Johnson & Johnson vaccination event should call the Community Health COVID-19 Vaccine Call Center at (850) 439-3358 or Community Health Adult Primary Care at (850) 724-4064 to make an appointment.
This clinic is open to all residents of Century and surrounding communities who qualify (see qualifications below).
Eligibility Criteria for Vaccines
- Persons 60 years of age and older
- Adults 18 and older deemed medically vulnerable by a physician. One of the following is required:
- Patients may have their doctor fill out a State of Florida “COVID Vulnerability Determination” form or
- Bring a doctor’s note/prescription stating the condition that qualifies the patient or current prescription bottles of the medication that treats the pre-existing condition.
- All K-12 school employees, all ages; must show a badge from their school. (Current Executive Order does not include educators beyond K-12).
- Daycare workers; badge or paystub required as proof of employment in daycare setting
- Long-term care facility residents and staff
- Healthcare personnel with direct patient contact
- Sworn law enforcement officers 50 years of age and older
- Firefighters 50 years of age and older
IMPORTANT:
- All participants will be required to show photo ID as well as proof of eligibility at time of appointment.
- Individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days or have had symptoms of illness (fever, cough, shortness of breath) in the past 14 days should not receive the vaccine.
Jim Allen Elementary School Names Students Of The Month
March 17, 2021
Jim Allen Elementary School has named their February Students of the Month. They are Rhett Norton (pictured left) and Sarah Simpson. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Gets Just One Applicant For Charter Review Committee, But They Are Trying Again
March 17, 2021
A month-long effort to find volunteers to help rewrite Century’s charter only produced one applicant, but the town isn’t giving up.
The Century Town Council appointed an 11-member Century Charter Review Committee in August 2019 to explore the town charter — the document that establishes the town, outlines its powers and spells out how it should operate. The charter has not been updated in almost 40 years, and that often creates problems in the operation of the town.
The previous committee lost five members along the way, with just six people remaining. During an application period that ended March 4, just one person applied.
Leslie Howington, who served as Century town clerk from 2010-2018, submitted her application on deadline day. Howington is a certified municipal clerk and anticipates a fall 2021 graduation with BA degree in public administration.
This week, the town council voted to accept additional applications from residents for another month.
The committee held their first meeting in October 2019, two months after it was established. The early meetings were spent learning about the Sunshine Law, orderly meetings and background information. Most of the discussion at the committee’s sporadic meetings then centered around one central topic — the form of government and the possible addition of a permanent city manager.
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed regular meetings for the charter committee and any chance of moving forward in 2020, preventing any charter change from making the ballot.
To download an application, click or tap here. Applications are also available at the Century Town Hall.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Century Sawmill Day 2021 Has Been Canceled
March 17, 2021
For the second consecutive year, the annual Sawmill Day and Car Show in Century has been canceled due to COVID-19. The event is traditionally held in May.
For 2019 Sawmill Day photos, click here.
For 2019 car show photos, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Bergosh Wants To Add Paid Crew To Beulah Fire Station, Grow Volunteer Roster
March 16, 2021
Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh plans to bring forward a proposal to add full time employees to support the volunteer firefighters at the Beulah Station of Escambia Fire Rescue.
An Escambia Fire Rescue analysis, completed at Bergosh’s request, estimates the bottom line cost at about $220,000 per year for a three-person fire company in Beulah for nine hours a day, Monday through Friday. The crew would consist of one lieutenant and two firefighters, one of which would be a paramedic to provide Advanced Life Support on medical emergencies.
The current average EMS response time to Beulah is about 15 minutes, according to the ECFR analysis.
Bergosh said that even with the paid daytime crew, volunteer firefighters would reman a crucial part of the fire service in Beulah.
“I have strongly supported the volunteers at Station 2 in Beulah since I have lived here — and I still do now, more than ever,” Bergosh wrote on his blog. “These men and women are excellent and they do a great job. These volunteers will soon have a new, modern fire facility which is being designed right now, and for which the board has committed a total of $4 million to build.”
With tremendous growth in Beulah, and the upcoming development of OLF-8, the District 1 commissioner said improvements are necessary, and he intends to find funding.
“I believe we may be able to fund the first two years of this additional, enhanced coverage for Beulah utilizing Federal Rescue Plan funding; eventually, as OLF-8 gets developed, I support adding impact fees, a TIFF, or an enhanced MSBU (or some combination of these three) — only on the developments permitted there (on OLF-8) in order to offset this additional $220,000 in costs thereby eliminating the need to raise the county-wide MSBU. I do not and will not support raising the MSBU county-wide,” he said.
Bergosh stressed that the Beulah Fire Station will remain a volunteer station, and he is working to grow the volunteer ranks.
“I am also, simultaneously working a plan to bolster and grow the roster of volunteers at Beulah. That plan is already underway.”
The Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue is staffed much like Bergosh’s plan for Beulah. Century has a paid firefighter crew on duty from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m., Monday-Friday. Volunteers provide coverage nights and weekends.
FDLE Says Tate Homecoming Queen And Her Mother Hacked Student Accounts So She Would Win; Both Facing Multiple Felonies
March 16, 2021
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has arrested a Tate High School student and her mother, an elementary school assistant principal, on charges for allegedly hacking student accounts in order to place fraudulent votes for the Tate High homecoming queen last fall.
Laura Rose Carroll, 50, and her 17-year old daughter, Emily Rose Grover, were charged by FDLE with one count each of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic devices (a third degree felony), unlawful use of a two-way communications device (a third degree felony), criminal use of personally identifiable information (a third degree felony) and conspiracy to commit these offenses (a first degree misdemeanor). Carroll was booked into the Escambia County Jail and released on an $6,000 bond. Grover was taken into custody and transferred to the Escambia Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
Grover was named Tate High School’s 2020 homecoming queen.
The investigation began in November 2020 when the Escambia County School District contacted FDLE to report unauthorized access into hundreds of student accounts. The investigation found that Carroll, an assistant principal at Bellview Elementary School, and her Grover, a student at Tate High School, had accessed student FOCUS accounts. Carroll had district level access of the school board’s FOCUS program which is the school district’s student information system. FOCUS users are required to change their password every 45 days and Carroll’s annual training for the “Staff Responsible Use of Guidelines for Technology” was up to date.
In October 2020, hundreds of votes for Tate High School’s Homecoming Court voting were flagged as fraudulent, with 117 votes originating from the same IP address within a short period of time. Agents uncovered evidence of unauthorized access to FOCUS linked to Carroll’s cellphone as well as computers associated with their residence, with a total of 246 votes cast for the homecoming court. Multiple students reported that the Grover described using her mother’s FOCUS account to cast votes. The investigation also found that beginning August 2019, Carroll’s FOCUS account accessed 372 high school records and 339 of those were of Tate High School students.
Arrest affidavits obtained by NorthEscambia.com provide more details into the allegations.
When two FDLE special agents responded to Carroll and Grover’s residence in Cantonment to interview them, Carroll immediately stated that she would defer any questions to her attorney, FDLE said.
FDLE received nine statements from students and a teacher that all stated Grover spoke about accessing Carroll’s FOCUS account or they have seen her access it for almost four years.
“I have known that Emily Grover logs into her moms school account in order to access grades and test scores since freshman year when we became friends,” one student said in a statement to FDLE. “She has looked up [redacted] student ID before to [redacted]. She also knows that if she logs into her moms account at Tate it will ping that Laura Grover signed in at Tate High School. She looks up all of our group of friends grades and makes comments about how she can find out our test scores all of the time.”
“When Emily Grover was a sophomore [redacted] class, I recall times that she logged onto her moms focus account and openly shared information, grades, schedules, etc. with others. She did not seem like logging in was a big deal and was very comfortable with doing so,” another statement written by a witness said.
According to FDLE, the Escambia County School District FOCUS program contains grades, medical history, test scores, attendance, disciplinary actions, personnel information, emergency contacts, schedules, exceptional student education (ESE) information, student picture and student identification number. Teachers and staff members are able to view student profiles or more depending on access level.
The school district uses an application called Election Runner to perform activities such as homecoming court voting. FDLE was notified that Election Runner contacted the school district regarding over 100 flagged votes and an ethics complaint involving the Tate High School homecoming voting.
Carroll contested Grover’s expulsion from Tate High School that stemmed from the incident. An administrative hearing was held, and Grover’s expulsion was upheld.
The Office of the State Attorney, First Judicial Circuit will prosecute this case.
Carroll has been suspended from her position with the school district.
Pictured above and below: Laura Rose Carroll, Bellview Elementary Facebook and Escambia County Jail; Emily Rose Grover, Tate High School’s 2020 homecoming queen, NorthEscambia.com photos.