Body Of Missing Boater Recovered
June 3, 2020
The body of a 76-year old boater missing since Monday on the Escambia River was recovered Wednesday morning.
Miles Morris went fishing Monday morning but did not return in the early afternoon like he normally does, according to family members. Family and friends started searching along the river and the lakes off the river about 6 p.m. before finding his boat about an hour later on Blue Lake . But there was no sign of Morris.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was notified of the missing boater Monday night and began a search using boats and a helicopter. Escambia Search and Rescue (ESAR) and KlaasKids regional search teams also took part in the search.
“Our hearts and thoughts go out to the family and friends of Mr. Morris,” said Rebekah Nelson, Northwest Region public information officer for FWC.
The investigation into the boating accident is ongoing, Nelson said.
Blue Lake is about two miles directly east of Becks Lake Fish Camp, but it is about a four mile trip by boat.
Pictured: A search along the Escambia River for am missing boater on Tuesday. Pictured bottom: A map of the area. Photos by Jason Robbins/WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, and NorthEscambia.com graphic.
Molino Mid-County Historical Society Presents Two Scholarships
June 3, 2020
The Molino Mid-County Historical Society recently presented two $1,000 scholarships.
The winners were Emma Barlow from Tate High School and Raeleigh Woodfin from Northview High School. Barlow (pictured above) plans to major in pre-med at the University of South Alabama, and Woodfin will major in communications at Troy University.
The scholarship checks were presented by Sarah Jenness, president of the Molino Mid-County Historical Society.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
The Escambia (AL) Sheriff’s Office Has Warrants For These 12 People. Have You Seen Any Of Them?
June 3, 2020
The Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office is looking for a dozen people with active warrants for failing to report to Escambia County (AL) Community Correctoins.
If you have information on anyone pictured below, contact the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office at (251)809-0741 or your local law enforcement agency.
Info source: Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office.
Ernest Ward Middle Honors 8th Graders With Fence Photos
June 3, 2020
Ernest Ward Middle School honored their graduating eighth grade class by lining the school fence with banners featuring a photo of each student. The students did not return to school following spring break due to the coronavirus.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos by William Reynolds, click to enlarge.
Rare Sea Turtle Lays Eggs On Pensacola Beach
June 3, 2020
Visitors to Pensacola Beach were treated to an exciting sight Tuesday – a rare female Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle crawling ashore to nest and lay her eggs. She was the third turtle to nest on Escambia County Beaches this season, with two loggerhead nests recorded earlier this week.
“She dug a hole about 1.5 to 2 feet deep and when she got down in the hole she laid about 50-100 eggs. She used her flippers to cover the eggs with sand so you can’t see them and then she headed back to the water. She may come back up,” said Brenda Sexton, sea turtle volunteer of approximately 10 years. “Some of them come back up two or three times laying eggs and then they are exhausted and they go back home for two or three years. It’s kinda cool.”
Four species of sea turtles visit Escambia County beaches May through October to lay their eggs. Loggerheads are the most common visitor, however leatherback, green and Kemp’s Ridley nests have also been recorded on county beaches.
Typically, female sea turtles wait for nightfall before crawling ashore to dig their nests. Kemp’s Ridley are the only species that nest during the daylight hours. After 60 days, hatchlings wait for nightfall before emerging all at once, using the light of the moon and stars to find their way to the Gulf of Mexico.
Sea turtles of all sizes face many threats. Excessive artificial lights can disorient both nesting and hatchling turtles, leading them away from the Gulf of Mexico and into danger. Furniture and other personal belongings left on the beach overnight can trap and injure turtles. Plastic pollution and other debris can entangle turtles and cause sickness when accidentally eaten.
Man Charged With Opening Fire, Shooting Bicyclist In Cantonment Street
June 2, 2020
A Cantonment man has been arrested after allegedly shooting a man in a local street last week.
Carnell Levon Williams, 23, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a “deadly missiles” weapons offense for firing into a building, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, using a firearm during the commission of a felony, discharging a firearm in public and criminal mischief.
Deputies arrived at the intersection of Washington and Sheppard streets about 6:30 p.m. on May 28 to find a man in the street suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest. He was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital; an update on his condition was not available.
Witnesses told investigators that the victim was riding his bicycle when someone, later identified as Williams, opened fire in the street.
Deputies located five spent shell casings on the ground in the 200 block of Sheppard Street, and they also discovered that the chimney of a home on Washington Street was hit by gunfire.
The victim told the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office he was riding his bicycle when a car came speeding up. He said someone started shooting at the car, and he was hit.
Williams was taken into custody in the area of Kingsfield and Beulah roads. According to an arrest report, he stated, “I didn’t have no gun; I didn’t shoot nobody” and denied the allegations against him.
Williams remained in the Escambia County Jail Tuesday morning with bond set at $197,000.
High School Sports, Band To Resume In Escambia County. Here’s The Schedule.
June 2, 2020
The Escambia County School District has announced plans for resuming athletic and band participation for students.
Through June 15, student athletes should obtain updated physicals (EL2) and Parent Consent and Release Forms (EL3,) which must be submitted prior to participation in district sports. On Saturday, June 6, the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, will offer free student athlete physicals. Parents and students must coordinate with their coaches to set appointments for these free physicals.
On Monday, June 15, coaches will resume conditioning for those student athletes with current physicals and release forms. Conditioning will include use of weight rooms, gymnasiums, and athletic fields, while utilizing social distancing protocols and proper sanitation measures for training equipment.
“Students who have been inactive over the past 60 days or so due to COVID-19 requirements will need proper conditioning and training in order to participate in school sports,’ stated Superintendent Malcom Thomas. “Social distancing protocols will be followed, as well as the proper sanitation steps by district personnel. This will be a team effort by all participants.”
High school band students may begin on campus activities starting Monday, June 15. Band camps will begin Monday, July 6. Parents and students should refer to their school band director for band camp schedules and guidelines. There will be no middle school band activities this summer.
Pictured: “Midnight Madness” — last season’s first full contact practice that began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 3, 2019, at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Facing The Inability To Pay Some Bills On Time, Century Shuffles Fund Balances
June 2, 2020
The Century Town Council voted Monday night to move funds between accounts in order to pay bills before they become past due.
The council voted to move Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) dollars in the amount of $78,880.92 to the water fund to pay bills that are generally due by mid-June. The bills are for materials or labor related to a water interconnect and water well repair at Century Correctional Institution after a well failure in early May.
Interim Town Manager Vernon Prather said the water fund had a bank balance just under $11,000 as of last week, and the Florida Department of Corrections currently owes the town $36,742.
LOST provides discretionary funding for local governments in Escambia County for infrastructure projects that have a lifespan greater than five years.
Prather also asked for the transfer of LOST funds to cover a $36,057 water fund truck purchase in 2018 and $57,969 to cover current year capital outlay projects. The council tabled action on the request until they see a LOST fund balance sheet. The fund has a balance that is somewhere about the $900,000 and receives sale tax funds monthly.
The council also voted Monday night to:
- Make a monthly $5,000 transfer from the garbage fund to the gas fund through September 2020;
- Close an old tornado relief fund and transfer $11,583.46 from an insurance payment not used for relief to the general fund;
- Request a $7.200 payment for a September 2019 audit from a consultant. The money will go into the general fund.
Prather wrote in a memo that the recommended transfers would enable the town to “sustain payroll and current bill thus helping any cash crunch that may arise”. He wrote that if need, the town could transfer up to $31,829.86 from an account that receives rent for town facilities and $50,35.81 in water fund reserve funds.
Escambia County (AL) Covid 19 Cases Jump By 34 In Two Weeks
June 2, 2020
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Escambia County, Alabama, has suddenly jumped.
There are now 73 cases in the county, up by 34 in the past two weeks. There have been 314 tests administered in the county in the last 14 days.
There have been three COVID-19 cases in the county.
As of Monday night, there were 18,246 cases across the state of Alabama out of 224,892 total tested. There have been 644 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Alabama, with 1,876 cumulative hospitalizations.
The Alabama Department of Health now posts a number of “presumed recoveries”. That number stood at 9,355 Monday night.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Century Council Votes 3-1 To Reopen The Town’s Parks
June 2, 2020
The Century Town Council voted Monday night to reopen the town’s parks, departing from the advice given by Mayor Henry Hawkins. The Century parks are about the last, if not the last, recreation area in Escambia County to be reopened after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hawkins told the council that the parks remained closed because the town does not have the personnel to monitor them for proper social distancing like Escambia County and the City of Pensacola.
The county and city never closed their parks and never instituted any formal monitoring programs.
Councilmen Ben Boutwell and James Smith both expressed that some point people must have personal accountability for the their actions such as proper social distancing the in the parks.
“People can do what they want to do,” Councilman Luis Gomez said. “I’m not trying to stop it, but I’m trying to say if the people start getting sick and people start overwhelming the park, are we going to be willing to close it back?”
The council voted 3-1 to reopen the parks and reinstall the basketball rims that were removed from Marie McMurray Park. Gomez cast the dissenting vote, and council member Sandra McMurray-Jackson did not vote after apparently being disconnected from the telephone meeting.
“I’ll go no with this one,” Gomez said about his vote. “It ain’t going to be on my conscience.”
When Century closed their parks in early April due to COVID-19, they also removed the basketball from the Carver Community Center’s basketball courts on Jefferson Avenue. Monday night, the council voted 4-0 to return the rims to the community group that owns the courts because they are not town property.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.