One Injured In Two Vehicle Wreck Near Northview High School
February 24, 2021
One person was injured in a two vehicle crash Wednesday afternoon in Bratt.
It happened at the intersection of West Highway 4 and North Pine Barren Road, near Northview High School. The adult female driver of a SUV was transported by Escambia County EMS to Jay Hospital with injuries that were not considered serious. The occupants of a car were not injured.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Children’s Trust Board Can’t Vote Until Governor Appoints Five More Members
February 24, 2021
The current members of Escambia Children’s Trust are unable to vote or make any decisions until the remainder of their board is appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Last November, voters approved the formation of the Children’s Trust to be funded by an increase in ad valorem taxes of up to a maximum of 0.5 mil. The trust will provide early childhood education, safety, developmental, preventative, health, and well-being services, including after school and summer enrichment programs.
Five members were appointed to the board to fill positions as mandated by state law — Escambia County School Board member Patty Hightower, Department of Children and Families Northwest Region Managing Director Walter Sachs, Circuit Judge Jennifer Frydrychowicz, Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May and Escambia County School District Superintendent Dr. Tim Smith.
The Escambia County Commission is expected to the names of other nominees for five additional seats to the governor’s office by the end of this week, according to County Administrator Janice Gilley. DeSantis is due to make his selections within 45 days.
The five current members of the Children’s Trust held a public meeting Monday night, but they received legal advice to take no actions without a full 10-member board.
“My personal opinion, not necessarily serving as the counsel to you all, but my personal opinion that I reached was that respectfully (you are) maybe getting a little ahead of yourselves,” Escambia County Attorney Alison Rogers (pictured left) told the board members. “That’s just my personal opinion.”
The board can’t hire its own attorney at this point, since it’s unable to vote, but the Escambia County Commission has offered the use of county staff members.
“The statute itself that sets up the Children’s Services Trust talks about all the things you all have to do as you are talking and working through,” Rogers said. “And they all talk about doing those things immediately after the appointment of ‘the members’, not of some of the members, not a functioning group of members, not of half the members, not of the de facto members. It says the members.”
“So to me, if you put all three of those factors together,” Rogers said, before pausing. “Maybe a better idea might be to wait and see what the governor does.”
“We want to be legal; we want to do it in full sunshine. We want to be as transparent as possible because what we put in place needs to work, and it needs to be a viable process,” said Hightower (pictured top), board chairperson. “We are all anxious to be able to get funds into the hands of our community. We know that there is a lot of need out there, and there are a lot of people that are suffering. We don’t want to do it incorrectly. We want to make sure that what we do is in the best interest of all concerned.”
The Children’s Trust board is facing a time crunch to meet a July 1 deadline to set a millage rate. If that deadline is missed, they won’t be able to collect any tax dollars until 2022.
“Let’s move this forward as quickly as possible, but I’m not going to be politically pushed into a corner by anybody that says well we’ve got to do it ASAP,” said May. “Poverty, delinquency, has existed for the last 30 years. So if it takes another three or four months to get it right, they we ought to get it right.”
“You can’t go back if you don’t start with a solid foundation,” May added.
From Ana To Wanda, Here Are The 2021 Hurricane Season Names
February 24, 2021
The first day of the official hurricane season is just over three months away.
Hurricane season is June 1 to November 30, but tropical cyclones can and do happen outside the period.
Here are the tropical storm and hurricane names for 2021:
- Ana
- Bill
- Claudette
- Danny
- Elsa
- Fred
- Grace
- Henri
- Ida
- Julian
- Kate
- Larry
- Mindy
- Nicholas
- Odette
- Peter
- Rose
- Sam
- Teresa
- Victor
- Wanda
If there are more than 21 names storms in a season, the names will come from the Greek alphabet. That happened in 2020 with 30 names storms.
ECUA Reports 5,300 Gallon Sewer Overflow In Same Cantonment Location As 19,500 Gallons Last Week
February 24, 2021
For the second time in a week, the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority has reported a sewage overflow at 515 West Roberts Road in Cantonment.
In both instances, ECUA attributed the overflow to a broken six-inch force main damaged by a utility contractor.
A leak on Monday, February 22 was estimated at 5,200 gallons, of which 3,500 gallons were recovered by vacuum truck and transported to an ECUA water reclamation facility for proper disposal and treatment. ECUA crews also diverted flows, preventing an additional 6,500 gallons from overflowing. The overflow was contained onsite in a locked and gated stormwater retention pond. Bacteriological sampling was not required.
One Wednesday, February 17, an overflow was estimated at 19,500 gallons, of which 15,000 gallons were recovered by vacuum truck and transported to an ECUA water reclamation facility for proper disposal and treatment. The spill flowed down a ditch that leads to a locked and gated stormwater retention pond.
Two Charged With Atmore Attempted Murder
February 24, 2021
Two Atmore men have been charged with attempted murder of a local resident.
Terry James Burrell, 52, and Maurice White, 49, are both charged with attempted murder. White, who was arrested Tuesday, is also facing a charge of domestic violence first degree.
About 6:45 p.m. Friday, the Atmore Police Department responded an apartment complex on Patterson street. The victim, identified as 58-year old Donald Dewayne Dortch, was found in the street with
with severe lacerations to the face from what appeared to be a gunshot injury, according to Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks.
Dortch was transported by ambulance to Atmore Community Hospital and then airlifted to a Pensacola hospital by LifeFlight.
“APD officers learned during the investigation that Dortch was inside an apartment when two male suspects entered the apartment without consent of the owner and began assaulting Dortch. The assailants then fled the scene when police were called,” Brooks said. “One of the suspects was identified as an ex-boyfriend of the female resident of the apartment.”
Burrell and White remained in the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton without bond.
Tate High Soccer’s Kendall Blackmon Signs With Faulkner University
February 24, 2021
Tuesday, Tate High School Soccer’s Kendall Blackmon signed with Faulkner University in Montgomery. Blackmon is a center back with the Aggies, and she plays club soccer with the Gulf Coast Texans. Blackmon was also selected to participate in the Subway All-Star game and the state All-Star game in Lakeland. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate High Tennis Beats Navarre
February 24, 2021
Tate High Aggie Tennis beat Navarre Tuesday night. The boys won 4-3, and the girls won 5-2.
Up next, Tate will face Washington High School on Thursday.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Hunter Black Sentenced To Prison After Entering Plea In Crash That Killed Two Siblings on Kingsfield Road
February 23, 2021
The man accused of killing two siblings in a 2019 DUI crash in Cantonment entered a no contest plea Tuesday and been sentenced to prison.
Hunter Black was sentenced to 20.225 years in state prison to be followed by 10 years probation in a plea agreement for two counts of DUI manslaughter and one count of possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis. He must serve at least eight years as a minimum mandatory sentence under Florida law. His driver’s licence was also permanently revoked.
Antoinette Marie McCoy, 22, and her brother, 15-year old Tate High School student Sean Banks, died at local hospitals shortly after the early morning crash on January 19, 2019, on Kingsfield Road.
RELATED STORY: Tate Aggie Family Honors Lives Of Student Athlete And His Sister
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement report showed there was no alcohol found in Black’s system, but it was positive for Xanax and chemicals that can be linked to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
A Florida Highway Patrol report details the accounts of two crash witnesses. One reported a driver he was able to identify as Black was driving all over the roadway and was having trouble maintaining his lane in a curve. After the crash, he said he helped Black out of his vehicle. The second witness told the FHP he witnessed Black’s vehicle cross the center line as the collision occurred.
A Florida Highway Patrol sergeant that responded to Sacred Heart reported that Black was showing signs of impairment with slurred speech and trouble staying awake, according to an arrest report. A FHP trooper said Black had slurred speech, was unable to provide proper information and had “a white crusty substance on his lips.” Court records indicate a “green leafy substance” was found in the vehicle driven by Black.
“While attempting to talk to Black he seemed as if he was having issues understanding what was being said to him. When he attempted to speak he had very slurred speech to where it was sometimes difficult to understand him,” a Florida Highway Patrol trooper wrote in an arrest report. “Black was also unable to sign his paperwork to the point where a nurse advised him to just sign an X on his paperwork.”
Black was arrested after marking the discharge paperwork.
In the days following the wreck, a judge signed a search warrant for Black’s Apple iPhone and “to use reasonable force if necessary” to require Black to unlock the phone with his thumb print to obtain information regarding the offense and Black’s whereabouts leading up to the traffic crash. A search warrant was also issued for information regarding Black’s phone use and location from his cellular provider.
After executing a search warrant for the vehicle Black was driving, troopers reported they took two unspecified paper receipts, data from the event data recorder, multiple swabs from the interior of the vehicle, two hairs and four airbags.
The FHP said Black had been involved in another crash before the fatal wreck when he ran off East Kingsfield Road and struck a tree near Berrydale Road. He then made a U-turn and traveled back west on Kingsfield Road a short distance before the fatal crash occurred.
NorthEscambia.com photos.
Gulf Power Seeks Extra Charge To Recover Hurricane Sally Restoration Costs
February 23, 2021
The Florida Public Service Commission is considering a proposal that will have Gulf Power customers paying $206 million for Hurricane Sally costs. PSC staff members have recommended that the charge be approved.
In its petition Gulf Power states that before Hurricane Sally the utility’s reserve fund was fully depleted and in a deficit position primarily due to Hurricane Michael costs.
If approved, the charge would be added to Gulf Power customer bills, including both residential and commercial, beginning March 2. For residential customers, the proposed charge would be $3 on a 1,000 kwh bill.
Gulf Power customers have been paying a Hurricane Michael recover charge since July, 1, 2020. That charged amounts to $8 a month for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month of electricity.
Pictured: Contract crews working for Gulf Power replace a snapped off pole along North Century Boulevard at Pond Street following Hurricane Sally. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Seven-Time Convicted Felon From Cantonment Arrested On Weapons And Drug Charges
February 23, 2021
A seven-time convicted felon from Cantonment is facing new weapons and drug charges.
James Lee Purifoy, Jr., age 28 of Robinson Street, was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a controlled substance (Xanax) with the intent to sell, possession of crack cocaine with intent to sell, possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, and possession of marijuana. He was also arrested for violation of probation and on multiple outstanding warrants.
Deputies received a tip that Purifoy was inside a vehicle in the driveway of a home on Besma Drive. When he was detained, deputies said he had a bags of marijuana in his pocket and in the vehicle. Deputies also found loaded pistol in the vehicle, along with 13.5 grams of methamphetamine, 4.4 grams of cocaine, 458 Xanax pills, a scale and empty plastic bags, according to an arrest report.
Purifoy was also charged with failure to appear in court on charges including driving while license suspended, possession of methamphetamine with the intent to sell, and possession of opium or derivative with intent to sell.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Purifoy is a seven-time convicted felon.
Purifoy remained in the Escambia County Jail without bond Tuesday morning.