Tropical Storm Josephine Forms
August 13, 2020
Tropical Storm Josephine formed Thursday in the Atlantic.
Josephine is forecast to strengthen over the next couple of days as it moves west northwest. But by the weekend, the storm will move into an area with high wind shear that should weaken it.
Josephine is no threat whatsoever to the Gulf Coast.
Molino Girl Scout Honored For Saving Lives Of Her Mother And Grandmother In House Fire
August 13, 2020
A Molino Girl Scout was honored as a hero Wednesday afternoon for saving her family from a January 2019 house fire on Crabtree Church Road.
Destany McKim, 14, was presented with the Girl Scout Bronze Cross for Valor for saving her mother and grandmother from the fire about 12:30 a.m. on January 25, 2019. The award is the highest honor given by the Girl Scouts for saving a life.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Escambia County Fire Prevention Officer Ray Melton said, “If this young lady had not acted the way she did that night of that fire, this would have been a very tragic fire for Escambia County.We would have lost three lives. But her bravery carried her through. She used her fear as a tool — which we try to teach our kids — and she pulled through.”
Destany, who was 12 at the time of the fire, said she was up late doing homework, and smelled a little smoke. At first, she thought her mother was cooking.
“As soon as I looked over at the living room, the extension cord just burst into flames,” Destany told NorthEscambia.com. She immediately went to wake her mom and grandmother as the house began to fill with dark smoke.
“My mom is a smoker, so she didn’t smell the smoke. It didn’t wake her up, and my grandmother wears a CPAP machine, so couldn’t have smelled it,” she said. There were no working smoke alarms in the home.
As she got her mother and grandmother out of the home, she had the forethought to close the doors to slow the spread of the fire. Her grandmother went back in with a fire extinguisher, but the flames spread rapidly.
“It just spread everywhere, and the windows had just burst.”
She worked to save the three family dogs, including a 65-pound basset hound that she ultimately had to tote away from the burning home.
“Most people run out of a building that is burning. Well, she ran back into that building. That is exactly what a hero Destany is,” Escambia County Public Safety Director Jason Rogers said during a ceremony Wednesday at the Molino Fire Station. “You can’t teach courage. Courage is in here, and you have it within you. So, today Destany, you are our hero, and we honor you.”
“I don’t feel like I am a hero. I feel like I did what anybody else would have done in that situation because I just thought of my family. If I had gone into panic mode, there was no keeping my mother out of panic mode,” Destany said. “I don’t feel like a hero, but I’m flattered.”
“She’s a hero. A real hero. She saved her lives,” Destany’s mother Datanya Wells said.
Destany, who will attend Northview High School this year, may have a future in firefighting. She’s applying to be an Escambia County Fire Rescue junior firefighter.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Flomaton Police Department Appoints Three Chaplains, Including Century’s Mayor
August 13, 2020
The Flomaton Police Department appointed three chaplains Wednesday, including Century’s mayor.
The chaplains are supervisor Alvin Bethea, who is pastor at Flomaton Pentecostal Holiness Church; Jonathan Hill, pastor at Little Escambia Baptist Church; and Century Mayor Henry Hawkins, pastor at Damascus Missionary Baptist Church in Flomaton.
“I am so blessed to have these three great men serving for my department as chaplains. This is going to be a great service to our community and town, through the service of some of our church leaders! God bless our town,” Flomaton Police Chief Charles Thompson said.
On the recommendation of the Mayor Dewey Bondurant, the Flomaton Town Council approved the chaplain program for the police department.
Pictured below: Flomaton Police Chief Charles Thompson, Flomaton Mayor Dewey Bondurant, Pastor Jonathan Hill, Pastor Alvin Bethea, Pastor Henry Hawkins, and Assistant Police Chief Bennie Stokes. Pictured below: Each pastor was presented his chaplain badge Wednesday. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
By The Numbers: General Downward Trend In Local COVID-19 Hospitalizations
August 13, 2020
The latest daily COVID-19 local hospitalization numbers show a general decrease over the last few days.
The data in the chart above, compiled by the City of Pensacola, reflects the current combined number of patients hospitalized on the listed date at Ascension Sacred Heart, Baptist Hospital and West Florida Hospital.
“We are starting to trend downward overall, but we are not out of this yet. Please keep taking preventative actions, including wearing a mask, social distancing and washing your hands often,” Mayor Grover Robinson said Wednesday.
Fire Heavily Damages Ensley Home; No Injuries Reported
August 13, 2020
One person lost their home in a fire Wednesday afternoon in Ensley.
Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the residential structure fire in the 700 block of Prichard Avenue shortly afternoon. They arrived to find heavy fire coming from the attic of the single story brick home. The fire was brought under control in about half an hour.
The attic and kitchen of the home suffered heavy fire damage, and the was smoke damage throughout the entire house.
There were no injuries reported.
The Florida Bureau of Fire and Arson is investigating the cause of the fire.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Over 6,000 Have Voted Early In Escambia County. You Can Too At These Locations.
August 13, 2020
Over 6,000 people have taken advantage of early voting so far in Escambia County.
As of Wednesday, 6,383 early voting ballots had been cast in Escambia County and 20,770 mail ballots had been returned.
With 27,156 ballots cast, turnout for the August 18 primary election was at 15.53% in Escambia County.
Early voting continues through Saturday in Escambia County at the following locations:
- Escambia County Extension, 3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment
- Molino Community Center, 6450-A Highway 95A, Molino
- University of West Florida Conference Center, Building 22, University Parkway
- Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds, 6655 Mobile Highway
- Genealogy Branch Library, 5740 B, 9th Avenue
- Supervisor of Elections Office, 213 Palafox Place, Second Floor
- Pensacola Library, 239 N Spring Street
- Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway
- Brownsville Community Center, 3200 W. DeSoto Street
Each location will be open from from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., with the exception of the Supervisor of Elections Office which will be open 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
UWF Football, Other Fall Sports Postponed Until At Least January Due To Pandemic
August 12, 2020
The Gulf South Conference is postponing fall sports — including football, basketball, soccer and volleyball — until at least January 2021.
These sports are identified as high contact risk sports by the NCAA and are subject to significant testing requirements for all student-athletes and “inner bubble” personnel.
For the University of West Florida, it means the Argos will remain the reigning national champions a longer before facing an opponent.
“As a team we are disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to play in front of our great fans at Blue Wahoos Stadium and defend our national championship this season,” said UWF Head Football Coach Pete Shinnick. “As we move forward we look forward to having an opportunity to compete this spring. And as a program, we plan to continue to seek Arete daily.”
In the sports of football, soccer and volleyball, the conference will evaluate options for spring competition that provide meaningful competition for these student-athletes. A spring season may not feature the use of traditional formats for regular season play or tournaments.
“When some organizations see these kinds of events as setbacks, we will look at this time as a great opportunity,” said UWF Head Women’s Soccer Coach Joe Bartlinkski.
In basketball, the GSC will work over the next several weeks to outline a calendar for this year’s basketball schedule and tournament. Further, the conference will work through the NCAA governance process to advocate for additional weeks of competition in the spring semester.
“Postponing the start of basketball season is the right decision to be made at this time,” remaked Stephanie Lawrence Yelton, UWF’s head women’s basketball coach. Pushing the start of the season to January gives us a bit more time to train our athletes in a healthy and safe manner before competition. We look forward to our athletes arriving on campus later this month after not seeing them for six months since the COVID-19 outbreak.”
“We are very disappointed for our players but we understand these are challenging times. We will use the fall semester to improve individual skills and to work hard on academics. We look forward to playing games in January and look forward to things getting back to normal,” Jeff Burkhamer, UWF men’s basketball coach added.
Cross Country and Golf competition will be permitted during the fall semester with the GSC Cross Country Championship date potentially moved to better accommodate the calendar. Designated as low contact risk and medium contact risk, these sports feature more manageable testing and monitoring requirements per NCAA medical guidance as well as limited competition opportunities.
All practice, strength and conditioning, team meetings, and other countable athletic related activities will be subject to NCAA rules, NCAA health and safety requirements, and institutional discretion.
Photos Morgan Givens/ UWF Athletics for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Half The Inmates At Century Prison Are Positive For COVID-19; FDC Says Death Report Was A Mistake
August 12, 2020
Half of the inmates at Century Correctional Institution have tested positive for COVID-19, but an earlier Florida Department of Corrections report of an inmate death was erroneous.
A Wednesday report from the Florida Department of Health indicated one inmate death at the Century prison. FDC Deputy Communications Director Rob Klepper tells NorthEscambia.com that was a mistake, and there have been no inmate deaths at the facility.
“A data entry error on today’s DOH correctional system update mis-attributed an inmate death to Century CI. That was a mistake and is being corrected. We apologize for the error,” Klepper said.
The latest testing data shows 753 of the inmates are positive for COVID-19, 744 have tested negative and 35 are awaiting test results. There are 554 inmates currently in medical isolation.
In a statement released Wednesday morning, FDC said there are approximately 1,500 inmates currently held at the Century prison; the FDC website lists the capacity of the prison at 1,345.
“The great majority of inmates at Century CI who have tested positive showed mild or no symptoms of the virus when they were tested. All inmates continue to be provided with on-going medical care and monitoring by facility health care professionals who follow CDC guidelines for the prevention, evaluation, treatment and management of COVID-19. Working in tandem with security staff, they are ensuring that inmates receive the care they need while still fulfilling FDC’s important public safety mission,” the Department of Corrections said in a statement.
In addition to measures already in place to protect inmates, FDC says they have initiated the following actions at Century Correctional Institution:
Century Considers Giving Fischer Landing Away, But Opts To Clean It Up Instead
August 12, 2020
The Town of Century has had more than its share of difficulties in maintaining Fischer Landing, a boat ramp off Highway 4 along the Escambia River. The problems have even led to the town council exploring the possibility of finding a new owner.
Council President Ann Brooks recently told the council that she has received multiple complaints about the lack of maintenance at Fischer Landing. She inquired if it could be given to Escambia County so that it would be properly maintained.
After discussion, the town council decided not to take any immediate action.
Now, the Town of Century has scheduled two days — Thursday and Friday, August 13-14 — to close access to the landing on the Escambia River in order to clean it up.
NorthEscambia.com stopped by Fischer Landing on a recent Saturday afternoon. A couple of local anglers told us that the boat ramp is filled with sand, making it very difficult to launch a boat. Another man said he has been picking up the trash every few days because the town does not.
For a photo gallery, click here.
We found that the grass was overgrown, the boardwalk next to the boat launch was buried in sand and unusable, and very large holes filled with water made the entry road hard to navigate in a midsize car.
It should be noted that when the Escambia River rises to near flood stage, the entire landing, parking lot and a long section of the access road are underwater. The resulting shifting sand makes maintenance difficult at best for the town. Mayor Henry Hawkins has noted before that the town lacks the equipment needed to keep the landing in top condition.
But, under their grant agreement with Florida Communities Trust, the town is bound to maintain the site to set standards. Annual reports, management plans and more must be done.
The agreement also specifies several items that don’t seem to exist at Fischer Landing. It states that nature trails, boardwalks and interpretive displays shall be provided…none of which can be found (except for the small boardwalk by the landing that was buried in sand). If the nature trails exist, they are either unmarked or overgrown, or both.
In 1999, the West Florida Regional Planning Council prepared a Preservation 2000 Grant application in order to purchase the five acre parcel from James Campbell, and the sale was completed on December 19, 2000. The grant award states that “any transfer of the project site shall be subject to the approval of the Florida Communities Trust and the Florida Communities Trust shall enter into a new agreement with the transferee, containing such covenants, clauses, or other restrictions as are sufficient to protect the interest of the people of Florida”. That means that in the event the town should choose to transfer ownership of Fischer Landing to Escambia County in the future, it would require approval of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, formerly known as the Florida Communities Trust as a non-regulatory agency within the Florida Department of Community Affairs.
Fischer Landing was dedicated in October 2008 (pictured below). It was named for former town council member Jerry Fischer who worked to make the boat ramp a reality both while he was on the council and afterwards.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FBI, Sheriff’s Deputies Arrested Escambia (AL) Jail Corrections Officer
August 12, 2020
The FBI and Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office have a arrested a corrections officer on contraband charges, and the sheriff said more charge are anticipated
Sheriff’s investigators and FBI agents arrested Escambia County (AL) Detention Center corrections officer Lakerdra Shanta Snowden on Tuesday. She is charged with one count of promoting prison contraband first degree and one count of use of official position for personal gain, an ethics violation. She was booked into jail without bond awaiting a bond appearance.
“Today’s arrest stems from a joint operation between ECSO and the FBI into the smuggling of contraband into the detention facility,” Sheriff Heath Jackson said. He immediately terminated Snowden’s employment.
“This is still an ongoing investigation and more charges are anticipated. We will continue to arrest and prosecute anyone who is involved with bringing contraband to the detention facility,” Jackson said.