T.C. Venom’s Home Opener Is Saturday Night In Century
March 21, 2019
The new T.C. Venom minor league football team will open home play this Saturday night in Century against the Birmingham Steel City Raptors.
The game will kickoff at 7 p.m. at Anthony Pleasant Park. Admission is $10 with kids 12 and under admitted free.
The Venom will play three additional homes games in Century as the newest team in the Amateur to Professional Development Football League, the AFDFL:
Sat Mar 30 — Crescent City Kings — Century, 7 p.m.
Sat Apr 6 — Greater Pensacola Jets — Century, 7 p.m.
Sat May 11 — Florida Phoenix — Century, TBD
The APDFL is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the promotion and advancement of adult minor league football teams throughout the Southeast, according to their website. Players are between the ages of 18 and 30 looking to obtain a second chance of reaching their college or professional football dreams. The APDFL provides these athletes a place to improve their football skills and a platform to showcase their talents by attracting scouts from the collegiate and professional levels.
Escambia County Property, Tangible Taxes Due
March 21, 2019
Escambia County Tax Collector Scott Lunsford is reminding local residents that 2018 unpaid real estate and tangible property taxes become delinquent April 1. Penalties of three percent for real estate taxes and one and one-half percent for tangible taxes will be assessed. Over $24.8 million remains unpaid, representing approximately nine percent of the tax roll. To avoid the penalty, payment must be made by March 31.
Payment options include:
- online by midnight CDT, March 31, at EscambiaTaxCollector.com;
- mailed with a March postmark;
- left by midnight CDT, March 31 in a 24-hour drop box available at all locations; or
- by phone at (850) 438-6500, ext. 3252 by close of business March 29.
Since the deadline falls during the weekend, when all offices are closed, customers can make their payment in person without penalty on current 2018 taxes at any tax collector office on Monday, April 1.
Taxpayers are encouraged to visit the tax collector’s virtual office at EscambiaTaxCollector.com to pay online 24 hours a day. Online services allow customers to pay their taxes, search records, print receipts, renew vehicle and vessel registrations and many other services. Customers who decide to visit one of four offices can join the line online at EscambiaTaxCollector.com and manage their time their way. Citizens select an office location and type of service, receive a message with approximate service time and then continue their regular activities until the service time approaches.
Customers can visit the payment center at EscambiaTaxCollector.com to check the status of property taxes, pay online or print a receipt. Taxpayers are encouraged to contact the tax collector’s office by email ectc@EscambiaTaxCollector.com or by phone with any questions.
Pictured: The Escambia County Tax Collector office in Molino. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Panhandle Equine Rescue Awarded $3K To Buy Hay For Rescue Horses
March 21, 2019
Panhandle Equine Rescue in Cantonment recently received a $3,000 grant to purchase hay for rescue horses.
The grant was awarded by 400 Paws, a group with a mission to raise funds for qualified non-profit animal organizations; to educate the community regarding animal welfare; and to emphasize the need for financial assistance within local animal shelters and rescue groups.
The only horse rescue in Escambia County, Panhandle Equine Rescue was founded by a small group of concerned citizens with a mission to rescue, rehabilitate and provide adoption services for abused, neglected and abandoned equines.
Additional $3,000 grants were awarded to the Northwest Florida Great Dane Rescue and Rescued Rangers.
Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cantonment House Fire Leaves Five Without A Home
March 20, 2019
Five people, including three children, were left without a home after a house fire Wednesday morning in Cantonment.
Flames were shooting from the windows of the brick home when firefighters arrived at the corner of Booker and Callaway streets just after 9 a.m.
There were no injuries reported, but the home suffered major damage. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
For a photo gallery, click here.
The American Red Cross is assisting the five people displaced from the home.
This was the second house fire on Booker Street in three days. On Monday, a double wide mobile home in the 900 block of Booker Street was heavily damaged by fire. There was not immediately any known connection between the two fires.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Mayor, Councilman Seek To Control Information Flow From Century
March 20, 2019
For the second time, Century’s mayor and a council member are seeking to control the flow of information from the town.
“Anything concerning me and Seat 2…I want a heads up…if the council is on television, on in a newspaper, or on William’s NorthEscambia saying that they are speaking for the council, I want to be involved in that. I want my opinion and my vote to be ask for,” council member Luis Gomez told his fellow council members Monday night.
“If you are going to speak for me in front of a camera or in a newspaper or in a meeting in this (the council) room, I want to have some say so. I don’t want anybody making no decisions for me or making no kind of comments or no decisions.”
“The newsman get on there and say we spoke with the mayor of Century and town leaders. They spoke to you (Mayor Henry Hawkins) and they spoke to her (council president Ann Brooks). I’m a town leader. Ain’t nobody spoke to me…I’m a leader too, and if you ain’t spoke to me, don’t say you spoke to town leaders,” Gomez also said.
“One of the things I asked the council, we need a PIO (public information officer) officer. That never went anywhere. We need somebody authorized to speak to represent the town,” Hawkins said. Last year, he told the council he should speak for the town and expressed displeasure over comments made by Brooks to WEAR 3 .
“We’ve had a lot of bad press in the past starting with the folks that got beat up for violating the Sunshine Law that they was never briefed on,” Hawkins added.
Gomez also said that if a single council member is going to speak for the council in a meeting, he wants to choose that person. “I don’t want it to be said the council recommended this, because if I didn’t say it out of my mouth that yeah that’s what I recommended, that’s not the council’s approval.”
“If we are going to have a meeting that is not going to include the entire council, and I know that there is a possibility of shining a bad light on Century or getting the council in some of a danger, I think we need to bring it to this table,” Gomez said. “I don’t want anybody representing me without my approval.
Gomez made a motion that if his name is going to be used in a council decision that he have a vote on the subject matter. Brooks, who conducts the meetings as council president, never asked for a second or vote on the motion.
Gomez, Brooks and council member Sandra McMurray Jackson were recently fined by a judge for a noncriminal violation of Florida’ Sunshine Law. Last summer, three council members attended at least some portion of a closed-door meeting with CPA Robert Hudson, Town Clerk Kim Godwin and the town’s auditors. The meeting was not advertised as a public meeting, which forbid more than one council member from attending.
“I should be able to come in this room, and if I shouldn’t be able to come into this room, I should be notified why I can’t come in this room. I should be notified prior to me coming in. I could be down here paying my gas bill and come in here to see if I left my cap in here. I paid $250 for that,” Gomez said, referring to his $250 Sunshine Law violation fine, not the value of the cap. “We could be having a budget meeting that I knew nothing about.”
“If I am going to go up in flames for making a bad decision on the budget, I need to be sitting in the room for the budget meeting,” he said.
“The meeting you are speaking about is a workshop that each one of us individually have attended in the past with the auditor,” Brooks said.
“No, that’s a lie,” Gomez said.
Gomez incorrectly claimed that members of a citizen advisory board held a meeting 30 minutes early, “and when the newspapers got there they violated the Sunshine because they started early.”
“And they went to jail and had to pay fines…and they got arrested because of a time,” Gomez also claimed falsely.
Four appointed members of the volunteer advisory task force received deferred prosecution for violating the Sunshine Law by holding a meeting two hours in advance of a publicly advertised time. The individuals were never arrested, never faced any criminal charges and never went to jail as claimed by Gomez.
Disclosure: WEAR 3 and NorthEscambia.com are media partners, often sharing news, photos and videos. WEAR 3 and NorthEscambia.com do not share ownership.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Forest Service: Cool, Dry Weather Increases Wildfire Risk
March 20, 2019
Our recent cool, dry weather has led to an increased wildfire risk.
As northwest Florida is starting to reach the peak of its year-round wildfire season, officials with the Florida Forest Service are asking residents to be careful if they choose to burn yard debris.
“This cold front has brought cooler temperatures and lower humidity into the area,” said David Smith, Operations Administrator for the Blackwater Forestry Center. “That combination can dry vegetation out very quickly and allow fire to spread despite the fact we have had rain recently.”
There are no burn bans in effect in our area but residents must still follow certain requirements: Burning piles of yard debris less than 8 feet in diameter is allowed if it is 25 feet from and wooded area or combustible structure, 25 feet from your house, 50 feet from a paved public road and 150 feet from other occupied dwellings. (See graphic at page bottom.)
Piles greater than eight feet require a burn authorization from the Florida Forest Service and must meet more stringent standards. For more information about authorizations, call Blackwater Forestry Center headquarters at (850) 957-5701.
Pictured: A wildfire last May on Highway 29 in McDavid just south of Pine Barren Road. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Beautiful First Day Of Spring
March 20, 2019
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast on the first day of spring:
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 46. West wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 69. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 43. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 71. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 45. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 74. North wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 48. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. South wind around 5 mph.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 75.
Monday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 69.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 44.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 67.
Study: Escambia County Near Bottom Of The State In Health Outcomes
March 20, 2019
A list of health rankings published Tuesday ranks Escambia County near the bottom of state.
Escambia County ranked number 49 while Santa Rosa County came in at number seven out of Florida’s 67 counties. Escambia County moved up in the survey from number 53 last year.
The counties are ranked using 35 factors like access to health care and exercise, socioeconomic conditions, poverty and crime levels and health factors like the availability of doctors, the environment smoking and drinking.
The 2019 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps was released by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The Florida Department of Health in Escambia County responded by saying the rankings are a snapshot of the health of counties across the country, and they emphasize that health is not a singular effort but a combined work in progress across all community partners. The department works in collaboration with local governments, non-profit organizations, health care facilities, business groups, schools, faith-based organizations and many other stakeholders to improve the health of Escambia County residents.
“The upward trend in the overall rankings for Escambia County reflects the efforts of many community partners and stakeholders,” said Dr. John Lanza, director and health officer for the Florida Department of Health in Escambia County. “Recognizing that we always have opportunities to continue to make Escambia County a healthier place to live, work, learn, and play, we will apply the information provided by the rankings as we work with these partners to begin a new Community Health Improvement Plan cycle in Escambia County, Florida.”
The Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) addresses specific opportunities for improved health that have been identified by the community. The current CHIP, which ends later this year, has focused on reducing infant mortality and tobacco use, as well as increasing the number of residents at a healthy weight. In January 2019 community stakeholders, led by the LiveWell Partnership for a Healthy Community, published a new Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The 2019 CHNA identified the health improvement priorities for Escambia County’s new CHIP cycle as reducing and preventing the incidence of diabetes, improving infant and child health, and improving mental health
Three Indicted For Valentine’s Day Murder
March 20, 2019
Three people have been indicted for a Valentine’s Day murder in Escambia County.
Leroy Benjamin, Jr., Cordarin Simmons, and Jesse Square are charged with first degree felony murder for the death of Willie Wilson, Jr.
Wilson was found severely beaten at his home on Spink Lane off North 8th Avenue. He later died from his injuries.
Benjamin will have an arraignment hearing this week. Simmons and Square were taken into custody in Ohio and are awaiting extradition.
Tate Blanks Washington (OK) In Aggie Classic; Pine Forest Beats PHS
March 20, 2019
Tate 7, Washington (OK) 0
On day two of the Aggie Classic, Tate defeated Washington (OK) 7-0 Tuesday night.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Three Aggie pitchers combined to throw the shutout. Jace Dunsford earned the win in four and a third innings, allowing no runs on two hits and striking out seven. Brantley Culbertson and Biggs entered the game out of the bullpen and helped to close out the game in relief.
Jadon Fryman led the Aggies at bat going 3-3. Mason Land, Darrien McDowell, Chase Tolbert and Trevor Norton also had hits for Tate.
The Aggies had nine stolen bases in the game, includingthree from Raymond Lafleur and Land.
Tate will host Nobles (OK) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Pine Forest 11, Pensacola High 1
Pine Forest defeated Pensacola High Tuesday night.
Jared Riddell got the win for Pine Forest. He allowed four hits and one run over five innings, striking out seven and walking zero.
Tekoah Roby hit a 3-run homer in the fifth inning.
Pine Forest collected 11 hits.
Chase Gullatt, Tekoah Roby, Hunter Smith, and Christian Munoz each racked up multiple hits for Pine Forest.
Pictured: Tate tops Washington of Oklahoma Tuesday night in the Aggie Classic. Photos by Crystal Tolbert for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
