Emily West Named Jim Allen Elementary School Teacher Of The Year
November 12, 2020
Third grade teacher Emily West has been named the Jim Allen Elementary School Teacher of the Year. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jay Fire Department’s New Engine 27 Is Now In Service
November 12, 2020
The Jay Fire Department’s new Engine 27 is now in service and running calls.
The Pierce Saber Chassis truck has a 1,000 gallon tank and a variety of rescue and firefighting equipment.
In addition to answering calls in the Jay area, the Jay Fire Department also responds toother districts in Santa Rosa County and mutual aid calls in northern Escambia County in Florida including Century, and Escambia County in Alabama including Flomaton.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Former Ernest Ward Middle Band Director Sentenced To Prison On Child Sex Charge
November 11, 2020
A former band director at Ernest Ward Middle School has been sentenced to state prison on a child sex charge.
James David McAllister entered a plea to one count of traveling to meet a minor to engage in sexual conduct. He was designated as a sexual predator and sentenced to 24 months in prison to be followed by 12 months of sex offender probation.
McAllister, age 35 of Cantonment, was the band and chorus director at Ernest Ward Middle School. McAllister led the music departments at the school in Walnut Hill during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years.
He reportedly interned or completed his student teaching at Bailey Middle School prior to his tenure at Ernest Ward.
The charge against McAllister was in no way connected to his employment or time at Ernest Ward Middle School.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office undercover “Operation Rotten Pumpkin” ended with the arrest of McAllister and six other men in November 2019.
While chatting with McAllister using the app “Meet Me’, an ECSO investigator clearly identified herself as a 14-year old female. In graphic detail, McAllister stated he wanted to have sexual intercourse with the girl.
McAllister asked for and received the address to meet what he thought was the underage girl at a local hotel. He was instead met by the SWAT team and deputies from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Pictured above and below: James McAllister leads the Ernest Ward Middle School band and chorus during a Christmas program December 16, 2016. Pictured bottom: McAllister leads the entire Ernest Ward Middle School student body in Christmas carols on December 16, 2016. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Gulf Power Accelerates Plans To Switch Plant Crist To Natural Gas Delivered Through North Escambia Pipeline
November 11, 2020
Gulf Power is accelerating plants to switch Plant Crist to natural gas delivered by a pipeline through North Escambia.
Tuesday, Gulf Power notified the Florida Public Service Commission that it plans to retire the plant’s coal assets early and switch to 100% natural gas. That, the company says, will result in benefits to the local community as well as cost savings for customers.
Converting coal-burning units to run on natural gas is a major piece of the modernization underway at Plant Crist, along with the addition of four new, highly efficient combustion turbines to provide greater reliability and efficiency for the energy grid and a new natural gas pipeline to provide additional natural gas for the plant. By eliminating the use of coal at Plant Crist, Gulf Power will reduce the plant’s carbon emissions rate by 40% – the equivalent to taking an estimated 297,000 cars off the road annually – and reduce operating costs for customers.
Over the past several months, Gulf Power has installed an underground natural gas pipeline that runs 39 miles from the Florida Gas Transmission Pipeline near Century, through McDavid, Molino and Cantonment, to the company’s Plant Crist.
The retirement of coal at Plant Crist was accelerated by Hurricane Sally, which caused damage to the plant’s coal equipment. The company determined that it is in the best interests of its customers to accelerate the modernization instead of repairing the coal equipment.
“Retiring coal at Plant Crist will end our use of coal in Florida and help usher in a new, cleaner energy era for Gulf Power,” said Marlene Santos, president of Gulf Power. “Ending our use of coal delivers benefits for our customers and our communities through lower costs along with cleaner emissions. We look forward to continuing to invest in cleaner energy solutions for Northwest Florida, including more efficient natural gas technology as well as emissions-free solar farms.”
Gulf Power is seeking approval to adjust the company’s Environmental Cost Recovery Clause (ECRC) factor for 2021 to reflect the savings associated with the early retirement of coal at Plant Crist and to begin recovering storm restoration costs for Sally. If approved by the FPSC, both adjustments to customer bills would likely take effect in March 2021 and result in a net decrease in the typical residential customer bill of $0.73.
Pictured top: Bright yellow new pipes threaded throughout the inside and outside of Plant Crist this year are the visible signs of the coal to natural gas conversion that will allow the plant to run 100% on U.S. produced natural gas. Pictured inset: A crane hoists one of the larger pieces of new equipment at Plant Crist, a gas heater, into place at the Plant Crist gas yard as part of the coal to natural gas conversion. The heater will warm the natural gas to keep it from freezing in the pressure control valves that send the gas from the pipeline to the power plant. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate’s Abbie Burks Signs With Florida Gulf Coast Community College
November 11, 2020
Tate High School’s Abbie Burks has signed a letter of intent to play softball with Florida Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City. Pictured below (front row) are Abbie Burks with her parents Mark and Donna Burks and her sisters Carla and Samantha; (back row) coaching staff Brittany Dunson, Eric Showalter, Joanne Wiggins and Tate heach coach Melinda Wyatt. Pictured left: Burks and Scott Thomas of Florida Gulf Coast. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Middle Honors Local Veterans For Their Service
November 11, 2020
Unable to hold their annual Veterans Day program due to the pandemic, Ernest Ward Middle School found another way to honor local veterans,
Ernest Ward students made patriotic wreaths that were presented to members of the community.
‘It was a great way to honor each veteran’s service,’ Principal Nancy Gindl-Perry said.
One wreath was presented to Michael and Gayle Hanks in honor of Michael’s military service in the Army, for his career serving veterans as veterans service office, and also in memory of Gayle’s father, James Hilton Hall, Srl, who recently passed away.
Another patriotic wreath was presented to Lois Ward (pictured below) in honor of her late husband, former Escambia County Judge Billy G. Ward of Walnut Hill. He served his country in the U.S. Army on foreign soil during World War II. He went on to serve as a justice of the peace and a county judge in Escambia County from 1957 to 1988. Billy Ward passed away in May at the age of 95.
In October 2009, Ward was one of just over 100 WWII veterans that traveled to Washington on the Fifth Annual Emerald Coast Honor Flight so that the veterans could see the World War II Memorial — their memorial. Ward took along a camera and shared his day with NorthEscambia.com readers.
An additional wreath will presented later this week to another veteran.
The wreaths were made by Ernest Ward students in Glenda Bell’s personal development class.
Pictured: Gayle and Michael Hanks (above) and Lous Ward (below) with Veterans Day wreaths made by Ernest Ward Middle School students. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
One Injured In Wreck Involving Escambia County Vehicle
November 11, 2020
One person was reported to be injured in an Old Chemstrand wreck involving an Escambia County vehicle Tuesday night.
The crash happened just before 6 p.m. near Pauline Street.
The Florida Highway Patrol has not released the cause of the accident or said which driver was at fault.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Pensacola Declares State Of Emergency Due To COVID-19 Spike
November 10, 2020
Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson has declared a state of emergency in the city due to the an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
He issued the state of emergency as the number of individuals hospitalized in Escambia County due to COVID-19 increased to 78, up from 61 on Monday.
In addition, data from the Florida Department of Health indicates that the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in Escambia County has spiked with 90 positive cases reported on Nov. 8, an average of 84 new cases each day for the seven-day period leading up to and including Nov. 8, and a seven-day positivity rate of 7.3% for the week ending Nov. 6, versus 5.1% and 4.4% for the two previous weeks. This data indicates greater local community spread and transmission of the disease, according to the city.
Pensacola’s mask order remains in effect, requiring masks for employees and patrons inside businesses with the city limits.
Molino Tom Thumb Employee Tests Positive For COVID-19; Store Closed For Cleaning
November 10, 2020
The Tom Thumb in Molino is closed after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
The employee notified Tom Thumb of their positive test result, and the store was closed Tuesday afternoon for cleaning and sanitizing by an industrial cleaning crew.
“The store will re-open in the next few days. We are grateful to all our customers for their patience and understanding during this time,” Tom Thumb said in statement to NorthEscambia.com.
The company said the store’s employees have been contacted and advised to follow CDC recommended guidelines.
“We are making every effort to provide the affected team member and our broader team with the necessary resources and support,” Tom Thumb said.
Pictured: The Tom Thumb at the corner of Highway 29 and Highway 97 in Molino. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Man Charged With Shooting At Man In Century Two Days After Stabbing Him
November 10, 2020
A man has been charged with shooting and Escambia County man that he allegedly stabbed two days before the incident in Century.
Frederick Hullett Hall, 53, is charged with aggravated assault, larceny, carrying a concealed weapon and firing a weapon.
The victim told deputies he arrived at home in the 300 block of East Pond Street to find several people carrying items out of his house and loading them in a pickup truck. That’s when Hall came out from a corner of the trailer arm with a gun and started shooting at him, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
Hall allegedly fired3-4 shots before fleeing. No one was struck by the gunfire. Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies found Hall a few hours later hiding in a wooded area off Jefferson Avenue.
The victim also told deputies that Hall had stabbed him two days earlier during an altercation.
Hall remained in the Escambia County Jail Tuesday morning with bond set at $29,000.