Get Well Soon: Sailors Sign Cards For NAS Shooting Victims
December 13, 2019
Sailors from NAS Pensacola signed get well soon cards at the Fleet and Family Support Center for the service members and first responders wounded during the active shooter event on Friday December 6, 2019. Three sailors died and eight other people were injured.
Pictured above: Ensign Chris Woods, left, and Ensign Neil Rasband, Ensign Caleb Cobb, center, and Ensign Kelsey Graham, all assigned to Naval Aviation Schools Command. Pictured below: Airman Apprentice Tyler Smith from Erie, Colorado. Pictured bottom: Ensign Chris Woods, right, and Ensign Neil Rasband, both assigned to Naval Aviation Schools Command. Photos Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Aaron Bewkes for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Fire Rescue Responds To Smoke Inside Cantonment Grocery Store
December 13, 2019
Escambia Fire Rescue responded to a structure fire call at the Grocery Advantage on Highway 29 in Cantonment Thursday night.
Firefighters arrived to find a light haze in the building and an electrical smell. The source of the problem was reportedly traced to a cooler or freezer unit.
The store was temporarily evacuation, but there was no damage and no injuries reported.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
City Of Pensacola Continues To Recover From Ransomware Cyber Attack
December 13, 2019
The City of Pensacola’s Technology Resources Department is continuing to work to address a ransomware attack that occurred early Saturday morning, Dec. 7. As a result of the incident, Technology Resources staff disconnected computers from the city’s network this week until the issue could be resolved.
Some city services continue to be limited, but the following services have been restored or partially restored:
Online bill payments for Pensacola Energy and Sanitation Services are now available.
Pensacola Energy and 311 customer service lines are operational, but customers may receive a busy signal or experience longer than usual call wait times.
Email servers are back online, so city staff have limited access to emails as computers are reconnected to the network.
Most city landlines have been restored.
The city is still in an assessment and recovery mode, and Technology Resources is continuing to check all computers and work to fully restore the network and all city services.
Emergency dispatch services and 911 were not impacted and continue to operate normally. Additionally, the city’s website at cityofpensacola.com and online permitting services at mygovernmentonline.org remain operational.
For security reasons and due to the active investigation into this incident, the city will not release specific information about how the attack occurred.
As an additional security measure, the city will be engaging an outside firm to help assess potential data impacts from this incident.
Century Correctional Officer Assaulted By Inmate
December 13, 2019
A correctional officer was recently assaulted at Century Correctional Institution, according to information released Tuesday by the Florida Department of Corrections.
On December 7, inmate Deondre Jackson assaulted an officer by striking them in the abdomen area, according to the FDC.
“Staff responded appropriately, and the inmate was subdued,” the department said.
Jackson remains at Century CI, serving a five year and seven month sentence for a 2016 conviction for heroin and cocaine sales and a weapons violation from Palm Beach County.
UWF Will Travel To Ferris State In National Semifinal on Saturday
December 13, 2019
The 20th-ranked UWF football team will travel to Ferris State in the 2019 NCAA Division II National Semifinals as announced by the NCAA.
The game will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time at Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, Michigan. It will be televised on ESPN3 and the ESPN app, and carried by the UWF Sports Network, ESPN Pensacola 1330 AM/99.1 FM.
For photos and game action recap from Saturday’s win over Ferris State, click here.
UWF (11-2) is making its second appearance in the NCAA Playoffs after reaching the national championship game in 2017. The program is 33-17 all-time after starting in 2016. The Argonauts are 7-1 in postseason games and with all seven victories coming on the road.
UWF claimed the Super Region 2 title with road wins over No. 16 Wingate (38-17), No. 1 and defending national champion Valdosta State (38-35) and No. 6 Lenoir-Rhyne (43-38) this past Saturday. The wins over the Blazers and Bears ended the two longest home field winning streaks in Division 2.
Ferris State (12-0) is ranked second in the country and has won 12-consecutive games after falling to VSU in last year’s national title game. The Bulldogs are one of three teams at any level of college football to have won at least 11 games each of the last six seasons (Ohio State & North Dakota State) and have also won 14-straight at home.
The other semifinal game has No. 4 Minnesota State (13-0) at No. 8 Slippery Rock (13-0).
Former Tate Coach Ronnie Douglas Named New Pine Forest Football Head Coach
December 13, 2019
Former Tate High School coach Ronnie Douglas has been hired as the new head football coach at Pine Forest High School.
Douglas takes over at Pine Forest from Jason McDonald, who earned consecutive district titles the past two years and amassed a 21-13 record in his three years with the Eagles.
Douglas was head coach at Tate in 2013 and 2014, going 17-6. He took over the helm of an Aggie team that was a disappointing 4-26 in the three seasons prior to his arrival.
He led the Aggies on two trips to the playoffs in his two seasons with a 8-3 record in his first season and a 9-3 record in his second season. The back-to-back playoff appearances were the first for the Tate Aggies since the 1976 and 1977 seasons. FloridaHighSchoolFootball.com also named Douglas as the All-Panhandle Coach of the Year.
When Douglas announced his departure from Tate in March 2015, he said needed to spend more time on his outside car wash business. He returned to Tate since, serving as defensive coordinator.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Tate High School Placed On Lockdown Thursday Morning Due To An “Unspecified Threat”
December 12, 2019
Tate High School was placed on lockdown Thursday morning due to an “unspecified threat”. The lockdown has since been lifted.
A student took a threat they discovered on social media to the school resource officer, according to ECSO Maj. Andrew Hobbs. He said the school was placed on lockdown as deputies and school officials worked to determine if the threat was legitimate and who made the threat.
Hobbs was unable to provide more specifics about type of threat, but said it has since been removed from social media. Deputies have a screenshot of the threat and are working to determine the owner of the social media account involved.
Tate was also placed on lockdown Tuesday morning after the Sheriff’s Office attempted to serve a battery domestic violence arrest warrant on an individual in the area near the campus when the suspect fled. The suspect did not enter the campus, and there was a manhunt in an area outside the school campus.
Pictured: An Escambia County deputy on the perimeter of a manhunt area Tuesday morning near Tate High School. NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Early Morning Fire Heavily Damages Byrneville Home
December 12, 2019
An early morning fire heavily damaged a home in Byrneville on Thursday.
The fire was reported at 4:14 a.m. in the 1500 block of West Highway 4, about a half mile east of Byrneville Road. The concrete block home was reported to be fully involved when firefighters arrived on scene.
Everyone in the home was able to escape the blaze; there were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire was not immediately known and is under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshals Office.
The fire is at least the fifth residential fire of December and the fifth red bulb in Escambia County’s annual Keep The Wreath Green fire safety campaign.
The Century, McDavid and Walnut Hill stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, Flomaton Fire Department, Jay Fire Department and Escambia County EMS responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Highway 4 Bridge Narrowed After Bad Wooden Support Found
December 12, 2019
One lane of a county bridge on Highway 4 has been narrowed after an inspection found a compromised timber support under the bridge.
Wednesday, multiple barrels were placed adjacent to the guardrail on the eastbound side of the Highway 4 bridge over Canoe Creek to prevent drivers from traveling over the bad support.
Escambia County said repair work will begin as soon as possible.
Electronic warning signs have been place on both approaches to the bridge warning of the narrowed bridge and reduced speed limits.
The bridge is located along Highway 4 between Bratt and Byrneville.
Pictured: The Highway 4 bridge over Canoe Creek was narrowed Wednesday after compromised timber support was located. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Woman Busted In Century Drug House Sentenced To Jail
December 12, 2019
A woman arrested inside a Century drug house has been sentenced to just under a year in the county jail.
Sharnice LaBraishia Spears, 21 pleaded no contest and was found guilty by Judge Jan Shackelford on all counts against her. She was sentenced to 11 months and 30 days in the county jail plus fines and costs for cocaine trafficking, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver within 1,000 feet of a worship center, possession of a controlled substance (hydrocodone) with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver within 1,000 feet of a worship center, keeping a public nuisance structure for drug activity and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit and SWAT team executed a search warrant on Hudson Hill Road July 3, 2019, as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation.
Deputies reported locating a cache of drugs in a safe including 16.2 grams of powder cocaine, 18.1 grams of crack cocaine, 24 grams of marijuana, hydrocodone pills, an iPhone and $5,466 in cash.
Spears’ boyfriend at the time, Kendrick Jamar Washington, was also in the home at the time of the search warrant. He is awaiting trial on the same charges plus possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.