Santa Rosa County Resuming Recycling Under Agreement With ECUA
January 24, 2020
Santa Rosa County is resuming its recycling program under an agreement with the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority.
The Santa Rosa County recycling program was suspended in April 2019 because their level of contaminants was too high for the ECUA Materials Recycling Facility at the Perdido Landfill in Escambia County.
Santa Rosa County staff will be taking extra steps to ensure collected recyclables are not contaminated with non-recyclable garbage. Due to the high volume of contaminants collected when the county previously participated in recycling, staff will visually inspect each load of recyclable materials during first weeks to ensure it will be accepted by ECUA’s processing facility.
Santa Rosa County residents are encouraged to get back to the basics and focus on only placing the following items in their curbside recycling bin:
- Clean cardboard (no newspaper)
- Clean and dry aluminum and steel cans (no pet food cans due to the plastic liner)
- Clean and dry plastic bottles and jugs
“We realize people may have relaxed their recycling habits over the last year so we are asking residents to get back to the basics of recycling by simplifying what is collected to cardboard, aluminum and steel cans, and plastic bottles and jugs,” said Michael Schmidt, environmental director. “All items placed in the recycling bin must be clean and dry. Once we are confident the materials we receive are not contaminated, we will begin hauling recyclables to ECUA for processing.”
Each load of recyclables collected will be identified geographically. Neighborhoods generating unacceptable levels of contaminants in their recycling containers could be disqualified from the program. Non-recyclable garbage placed in recycling bins increases the cost of the recycling and could result in the termination of the recycling program for the entire county. Ensuring a quality product is delivered to ECUA’s processing facility is critical to the success of recycling, according to Santa Rosa officials.
Jim Allen Elementary Names Students Of The Month
January 24, 2020
Jim Allen Elementary School has named Students of the Month for December. They are Abigail Revels (pictured left) and Aisley Salisbury. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Two People Seriously Injured In Highway 97, Highway 29 Crash
January 23, 2020
Two people were seriously injured in a wreck Thursday afternoon at the intersection of Highway 97 and Highway 29 in Molino.
Both drivers were transported by Escambia County EMS as trauma alerts to Sacred Heart Hospital following the 1:15 p.m. crash.
Further details have not been released as the Florida Highway Patrol continues their investigation.
The Molino, Cantonment, McDavid and Century stations of Escambia Fire Rescue were dispatched to the two vehicle crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
FDOT To Study Widening Part Of I-10 To Six Lanes; Reconstructing Nine Mile, Pine Forest Interchanges
January 23, 2020
The Florida Department of Transportation is looking to widen I-10 from four to six lanes from near the Alabama state line to west of Highway 29 and reconstruct the interchanges at Nine Mile and Pine Forest roads as diverging diamond interchanges.
FDOT will hold a Project Development and Environment Study meeting on Tuesday, February 4 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Pine Forest United Methodist Church at 2800 Wilde Lake Boulevard. Maps, drawings and other information will be on display at the meeting. FDOT Representatives will be available to discuss the proposed improvements, answer questions, and receive comments.
This project is being developed concurrently with a separate study for the Beulah Road (County Road 99) interchange PD&E Study.
Escambia School Board Declares Feb. 22-29 National FFA Week
January 23, 2020
The Escambia County School Board passed a resolution this week designating the week of February 22-29, 2020, as National FFA Week. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Mother And Daughter Sentenced For Machete Attack
January 23, 2020
An Escambia County mother and daughter have been sentenced to after the mother told her daughter to attack two people with a machete last October.
Candie Walker was sentenced to 55 years in state prison for solicitation to commit first degree premeditated murder and principal to attempted first degree premeditated murder. Walker’s daughter, Hannah Fine, was sentenced to 15.5 years in state prison for attempted first degree premeditated or felony murder with a weapon, aggravated battery with great bodily harm/deadly weapon, and burglary of a dwelling with assault or battery.
Deshawn Donson entered a plea to one count of accessory after the fact to a felony and also testified against Walker. He was sentenced on as a youthful offender to 40 months of probation with the condition that he serve 15 months in state prison.
Eric Moorer entered a plea to one count of principal to aggravated battery. He was sentenced as an adult to a year and a day in state prison, followed by two years of community control (house arrest), followed by one year of probation.
Joanna Hires entered a plea oo one count of extortion. She was sentenced to 36 months of probation with the condition that she serve 200 days in the county jail.
Sometime during August or September of 2018, Walker devised a plan to kill Jessica Cline, the girlfriend of her estranged husband, Mark Walker. The marriage had been troubled for years, and friends and family members testified that Walker harbored a great deal of animosity for Jessica Cline. Walker solicited Brandon Manley, a friend of her 16-year old daughter, to purchase a gun to shoot and kill Cline, and evidence at trial showed she had also purchased bullets to be used in the murder. Manley did not execute the plan and was ultimately cut off from contacting Fine or returning to their home.
Over the course of several weeks, Fube testified that her mother continued to persist with her and her other friends to commit the murder of Jessica Cline. Donson, age 15 and a friend of Fine, was aware of the situation, testified that Walker was continuing to encourage this act, and he was with Fine on the night of the attack, October 18. Walker had given Fine a deadline of October 18, and since Fine did not have a gun or other plan Donson suggested the use of a machete. Moorer, age 15 and a friend of Donson, had a machete and provided it to Fine. Donson and Moorer accompanied Fine to the victim’s neighborhood where she left them in the car and set out to the victim’s house on foot to perpetrate the attack. Fine testified that she thought about not going through with it and as she stood on the front porch of Cline’s home debated about what to do when Cline came out of the house unexpectedly and startled her. Fine testified that she reacted by striking Cline with the machete and continued to strike Cline until Cline’s 12 year old daughter intervened. Both Cline and her daughter suffered grievous injuries. Cline was able to identify her attacker as Fine. After her arrest, Fine told law enforcement about her mother pressuring her to commit the crime and her mother’s earlier efforts to solicit Brandon Manley to kill Cline.
After her arrest, Walker contacted Hires from jail and asked her to approach Brandon Manley about changing his story; consequently, Hire was charged with extortion. As part of her cooperation with the State, Hires provided a number of letters written by Walker in which she encouraged the extortion and made admissions indicating she knew what Fine was going to do on the night of October 18.
Three Charged With Destroying Evidence In Recent Murder Case
January 23, 2020
Three people have been arrested in a shooting on January 19 in Escambia County.
Thomas Summerford, Ryan Kizer, and Lamar Bruno have been charged with destroying evidence in the shooting death of 20-year old Justis Walker in the 6000 block of Marie Avenue between Creighton and East Burgess roads.
The victim’s roommate arrived home to find the front door open and the victim dead on the floor suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Anyone with additional information about his murder is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433- STOP or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Summerford was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $20,000. Bond for Bruno and Kizer was set at $25,000.
Century Officially Hires Vernon Prather As Interim City Manager
January 23, 2020
The Town of Century has finalized an employment contract with Vernon Prather as interim city manager.
Prather will be paid $40 an hour for 30 hours per week, or $1,200 per week. He will have complete control over his work schedule and hours worked. If he exceeds 30 hours per week, he will not be paid overtime but will be allowed to take comp time off at his discretion. He will also receive a $600 per month vehicle allowance, but will not receive employee benefits such as vacation, retirement or insurance.
The contract ends December 1, 2020, unless renewed.
Prather began working for the town on a consulting basis as part of a $35 an hour package deal when Buz Eddy came on board in July. Prather served Gulf Breeze in various positions from 2006 to 2017, including director of public services, operations consultant and assistant city manager, while Eddy retired as Gulf Breeze city manager in 2017 after 25 years on the job. Prather holds wastewater and water certifications in addition his on the job experience.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Highway 29 Driver Trapped After Crashing Into Railroad Crossing Signal Pole
January 22, 2020
One person was injured in a crash that tied up traffic on Highway 29 in Cantonment Tuesday night.
The driver of a Chevrolet Camaro Z28 lost control on Highway 29 just south of Muscogee Road and crashed into a railroad crossing signal pole on the southbound side of the roadway near the Raceway gas station. The driver was trapped in the vehicle until extricated by firefighters using the Jaws of Life.
The driver was transported by Escambia County EMS to an area hospital for treatment. Their name has not been released as the Florida Highway Patrol investigates.
There was no train involved in the 6 p. m. wreck.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Century Spending $60K To Apply For $644K Grant For Wastewater Improvements
January 22, 2020
The Town of Century is applying for a $644,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to make needed improvements to a small portion of the town’s trouble wastewater system.
If awarded, the grant will be used for a new sludge press at the wastewater treatment plant and to upgrade to existing problematic lift stations at Pilgrim Lodge and the Industrial Park.
The town council voted Tuesday night pay for the design and permitting in advance of the grant application in an effort to achieve more points and improve the likelihood of a grant award. The design will cost a lump sum of $58,411 and will need to be completed by mid-March. Work will be done by Municipal Engineering Services, Inc.
The town will also pay Jones Phillips and Associates $2,250 plus postage for a required townwide income survey. Work will include an initial mailout, follow-up door-to-door surveys and electronic maps as needed for the grant application.
The town is asking the Escambia County Commission to foot $50,000 of the costs in advance of possible RESTORE Act funding.
Century is also submitting a request for inclusion and a capital finance plan to the Florida Department of Environmental Protect for State Revolving Fund (SRF) money. Prather said the town could apply for a 90% grant and a 10% loan. The next meeting of the SRF board is in February.
The town will seek SRF money to pay for several million in construction costs at the wastewater treatment facility. The SRF documentation will be complete by Municipal Engineering and accountant Robert Hudson.