Escambia Purchasing $2.9 Million In Breathing Equipment For Fire Department
August 3, 2019
Escambia County is spending $2.9 million to replace expired breathing equipment for Escambia Fire Rescue.
The Escambia County Commission approved the $2,905,922.45 purchase from Ten-8 Fire Equipment, Inc. The county will receive a $25,000 trade-in credit, leaving the total cost at $2,880,922.45.
Escambia County will purchase 320 new self-contained breathing apparatus devices, or SCBAs,s and about 1,000 45-minute air cylinders — enough for every fire station across the county.
It was estimated that it would cost upwards of a half million dollars to repair and recertify the existing equipment.
Ten-8 was the only one of four companies submitting a bid meeting the requested specifications. Two firms were non-responsive, in that they offered a make and model of self-contained breathing apparatus that was not acceptable, while a third firm submitted a “no bid” response.
NorthEscambia.com photos.
Man Gets Jail Time For Stealing Car From Molino Restaurant Then Returning It
August 2, 2019
A man has been sentenced for stealing a car from a Molino restaurant before returning a short time later.
Tommy George Craig was sentenced to 11 months and 30 days in the county jail, with credit for 26 days served, for grand theft auto.
Witnesses told deputies they watched March 13 as Craig walked around the parking lot of Jimmy’s Grill on Highway 29 and then entered a vehicle. They said he pulled the vehicle from the back of the business to the front parking lot before returning back behind the business, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The vehicle had been left unlocked with key fob on the center console.
All Students At 45 Escambia Schools To Receive Free Lunch, Breakfast
August 2, 2019
Breakfast and lunch will be free for all students, regardless of income, during the upcoming school year at 45 schools in Escambia County.
The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program means that parents of the students at these schools are not required to submit an application for the Free and Reduced Meal program at that school. However, siblings attending schools not on the CEP list will need to apply for eligibility.
The free meal schools are selected upon income levels.
Participating schools are:
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Bellview Elementary
Bratt Elementary
Brentwood Elementary
Byrneville Elementary
C.A Weis Elementary
Ensley Elementary
Ferry Pass Elementary
Global Learning Academy
Holm Elementary
Jim Allen Elementary
Lincoln Park Elementary
Lipscomb Elementary
Longleaf Elementary
McArthur Elementary
Molino Park Elementary
Montclair Elementary
Myrtle Grove Elementary
Navy Point Elementary
Oakcrest Elementary
Pine Meadow Elementary
Pleasant Grove Elementary
Scenic Heights Elementary
O.J. Semmes Elementary
Sherwood Elementary
Warrington Elementary
West Pensacola Elementary
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Bellview Middle
Beulah Middle
Ernest Ward Middle
Ferry Pass Middle
Jim Bailey Middle
Warrington Middle
Workman Middle
High Schools
Escambia High
Northview High
Pensacola High
Pine Forest High
Washington High
OTHER SCHOOLS AND CENTERS
Camelot
Capstone
Escambia Westgate Center
Jacqueline Harris Preparatory Academy
Success Academy
Lakeview Center
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Woman Pleads Guilty To Throwing Drink At Congressman Matt Gaetz
August 2, 2019
The woman accused of throwing a drink at Congressman Matt Gaetz during a June town hall meeting in Pensacola has pleaded guilty in federal court.
Amanda L. Kondrat’Yev, 35, was charged with assaulting a U.S. Congressman for throwing the drink at Gaetz as he was leaving his “We Won’t Back Down” town hall event at a Pensacola restaurant. The drink hit Gaetz in the back as he was making his way to his waiting car outside the main entrance of the Brew Ha Ha Restaurant.
She will be sentenced in October.
Free School Supplies, Haircuts And More Saturday In Molino
August 2, 2019
Victory Assembly of God will hold their Day of Hope Saturday, August 3 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The event will feature free backpacks, school supplies and student haircuts. Children must be present to receive supplies, and everything is while supplies last.
Victory Assembly of God is located at 1895 Victory Road (along Highway 29, just south of Barrineau Park Road and the Molino Forestry fire tower).
Two Escambia Deputies Honored By MADD For DUI Enforcement
August 2, 2019
Escambia County Deputy Sam Shelley (pictured left) and Deputy William Henley were both recognized at the MADD Northwest Florida annual ceremony for DUI Enforcement.
Henley received the Century Award for making over 100 DUI arrests in Escambia County during 2018 and was a nominee in the individual category for Outstanding Dedication to DUI Enforcement.
Deputy Sam Shelley was an Outstanding Dedication to DUI Enforcement (Individual Category) nominee.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida’s Five Day Back To School Sales Tax Holiday Is Underway
August 2, 2019
Florida’s five-day Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday is underway until through Tuesday.
During this sales tax holiday period, qualifying items will be exempt from tax including:
- Certain school supplies selling for $15 or less per item
- Clothing, footwear, and certain accessories selling for $60 or less per item
- Computers and certain accessories selling for $1,000 or less per item
For a detailed list of items included, click here.
ECSO: Video Shows Suspect Open Fire In Ensley Neighborhood
August 1, 2019
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help to identify a man captured on video firing a gun in an Ensley neighborhood.
The ECSO released the video Thursday showing the incident about 10:50 a.m. July 22 in the 8800 block of Figland Avenue. The video appears to show the suspect exit a dark colored sedan and walk down the street with a firearm. He walks back and forth on the street, looks around, and fires multiple shots before running back to the vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or call the ECSO at (850) 436-9620.
Cantonment Man Accused Of Threatening To Shoot Son During Argument
August 1, 2019
A Cantonment man is accused of threatening to shoot his son during an argument.
Douglas Leon Benjamin, Sr., 57, was charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
During an argument, Benjamin allegedly displayed a firearm in his waistband and stated he was going to shoot his adult son at their trailer on Pettway Circle in Cantonment. The victim said Benjamin pulled out the gun, pointed at him and stated that he (the son) was going to die tonight, according to an arrest report.
Benjamine dropped the revolver during the argument, and the son picked it up and handed it to a cousin who hid it in a field until law enforcement arrived, the report states. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office retrieved the firearm, loaded with four rounds, from the field.
Benjamin told deputies he did get into a verbal argument, but he denied that he ever possessed or displayed a firearm during the altercation. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
Escaped Inmate Tracked Through North Escambia Remains On The Run
August 1, 2019
An escaped inmate that was tracked through the North Escambia area remains on the run.
Travis Wyatt Dawson, 41, escaped from Loxley Work Release at about 9 p.m. July 10.
Authorities believe he was in the area of Rockaway Creek Road and Miller Road in Nokomis, FL, on July 12. The US Marshals and officers from the Alabama Department of Corrections were assisted by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Atmore Police Department and other agencies in a manhunt in both Florida and Alabama along and near Rockaway Creek Road. That manhunt turned up empty.
Dawson was reportedly armed with a machete when he carjacked a minivan from a relative on Miller Road on Sunday, July 14. . The vehicle was later found abandoned in Mobile.
Dawson was sentenced to 20 years in 2013 on a possession of a controlled substance conviction in Escambia County, AL.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the Alabama Department of Corrections at (800) 831-8825, the Escambia County (FL) Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or 911.
Pictured top: Officers from the Alabama Department of Corrections speak to an Escambia County (FL) deputy and a citizen a roadblock on Miller Road on July 12. Dawson allegedly carjacked a minivan just a few yards from this location two days later. Pictured below: An Escambia County (FL) Road Prison K-9 team searches near a Rockaway Creek Road bridge that spans the Alabama-Florida state line. Pictured bottom: An Escambia County (FL) deputy helps maintain a perimeter around a neighborhood along Rockaway Creek Road at Grubbs Street in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
