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.
Here’s Escambia County’s Vaccination Plan For The Week, Including Weather Delayed Doses
February 23, 2021
The health department has announced this week’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan for Escambia County, and it includes extra doses that did not arrive last week due to winter weather across the county.
The Florida Department of Health in Escambia County will receive 2,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine for the week. This allocation is in addition 2,500 delayed doses originally planned for distribution for the week of February 15.
Escambia County’s 5,000 vaccine allocation will be distributed as follows:
- Ascension Sacred Heart: 900 doses
- Baptist Health Care: 900 doses
- Community Health Northwest Florida: 1,600 doses
- FDOH-Escambia: 1,000 doses
- West Florida Hospital: 400 doses
- Woodlands Medical Specialists: 200 doses
Some appointments will be scheduled using the statewide pre-registration system. FDOH-Escambia and partner organizations are in the process of contacting individuals to schedule appointments. Please do not contact the providers directly for these appointments.
The allocations of second dose vaccine for the weeks of February 15 and February 22 are still in the shipping process. Persons scheduled to receive second dose vaccinations prior to local receipt of second dose supplies will be contacted for a new appointment date and time.
Residents can call the toll-free line at, 866-201-1025 or preregister online at myvaccine.fl.gov.
ECUA Still Working To Replace Over 15,000 Blue Cans In North Escambia
February 23, 2021
ECUA is still working to replace over 15,000 blue cans in North Escambia. The cans were used in the Allied Waste service area that ECUA took over in January 2009.
ECUA customers are asked to leave their blue cans out at the curb after this week’s pick up as crews will be working each day to expedite the replacement process. Cans that already have the ECUA logo are not included in this effort.
“These can are at least 12 years old,” ECUA spokesperson Nathalie Bowers. “The old ones are going to be recycled. Many of them have broken hinges or wheels.”
The replacement cans are not a new expenditure for ECUA. The cans were used for ECUA service in Santa Rosa County, which came to an end on December 31. 2020.
“The replacement cans are at most five years old,” Bowers said. “They are cleaned before deeming them ready to deliver to a customer.”
ECUA customers will not be charged for their new can.
NorthEscambia.com file graphic.
Tate High Soccer’s Caleb Thompson Signs With Belhaven University
February 23, 2021
Monday, Tate High School’s Caleb Thompson signed to play soccer for the Blazers of Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. Thompson, a senior, was goalkeeper for the Aggies. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.