Pine Forest Wins 16-3 over defending MS 3A State Champs St Andrews
March 13, 2019
Pine Forest 16, St. Andrews Episcopal (MS)
The Pine Forest Eagles beat defending Mississippi 3A state champion St Andrews Episcopal 16-3 on Tuesday.
Tekoah Roby drive in four on three hits to lead the Eagles. Pine Forest pulled away for good in the second inning with six runs.
Nolan Rigby got the win for Pine Forest Eagles. He lasted three innings, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out one. Jared Riddell and Timmy Williams entered the game out of the bullpen and helped to close out the game in relief.
Pine Forest had two home runs in the second. Jason Roberts had a solo homer in the second, and Roby drove in a home run.
Roby, Roberts, Pinette, Rhett Hardy, and Christian Munoz each had multiple hits for Pine Forest Eagles
Work Release Inmate Steals Law Enforcement Vehicle And Escapes; Truck Found Near Jay
March 12, 2019
UPDATE: THE INMATE WAS RECAPTURED WEDNESDAY. CLICK FOR UPDATE.
A manhunt is underway for an escaped work release inmate that stole a sheriff’s office vehicle today near Flomaton.
Herbert Randal Adams, 28, took an Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office pickup truck from a work site on Highway 113 north of Flomaton, according to Sheriff Heath Jackson. He was last seen headed south on Highway 113 toward Flomaton.
The pickup was described as a blue Ford F150 with a sheriff’s star logo on both doors. Officers gave chase in a second vehicle that was on the work release site, but they were unable to catch up with Adams. The truck was later located on Morristown Road in Jay, but Adams was not around the vehicle.
Adams was jailed on a drug charges. Law enforcement agencies from Alabama and Florida were involved in the manhunt.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office at (251) 809-0741 or 911.
No Serious Injuries In East Kingsfield Wreck
March 12, 2019
There were no serious injuries in a crash about 3:20 Tuesday afternoon on East Kingsfield Road at Pompano Street in Cantonment, just west of Highway 29. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Grand Jury Indicts Two For Murder Of Beulah Convenience Store Clerk
March 12, 2019
A grand jury has indicted two people for the murder of a convenience store in Beulah.
The grand returned indictments of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery against Efidarius Gemeateus Bryant and Keandra Martez Smith.
The indictments stem from the death of Govardhan “Reddy” Kotha, a clerk at the Quick Fill gas station located at 7144 Mobile Highway on February 19. Bryant and Smith are being held on no bond with an arraignment set for Thursday.
A third person, Crystal Clausell, is being charged with conspiracy to commit robbery. Her arraignment is also set for Thursday.
A customer that entered the store the night of February 19 called authorities because he did not see a clerk in the store and the register drawer was open. Deputies arrived to find that Kotha, 50, was shot in the head and chest.
On the surveillance video, deputies watched as Smith entered the store in a gray hoodie. He purchased sunflower seeds and left the store. Then Bryant entered the store wearing mask, brandishing a 9mm semi-automatic automatic handgun at Kotha. A short time later, he lifted the cash register draw and fired two shots at Kotha, hitting him in the upper chest and head, according to a report.
Smith, according to the report, left the store without taking any cash.
By early morning, surveillance images were posted on social media and news media, including NorthEscambia.com. A tipster came forward an identified one of the suspects as Smith to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Smith was taken into custody and transported to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, wearing the same hoodie as in the surveillance video. A police report notes he was distraught and crying hysterically.
At no point did Smith attempt to render first aid to Kotha, contact emergency medical services or reach out to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the report revealed.
Smith provided his DNA to autorities, according to the report.
Clausell and Bryant were dating, the investigation revealed.
Identity Released Of Worker Killed In Bulldozer Accident During ECUA Controlled Burn
March 12, 2019
Authorities have identified a man killed Saturday when he was struck a bulldozer during a controlled burn in Cantonment.
Daryl Bradley Holland, 38, was pronounced deceased on the scene deep in a wooded area south of Becks Lake Road. According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Holland was the bulldozer operator.
“He got off in an attempt to remove a tree or large limb lodged in the tracks,” Maj. Andrew Hobbs said Monday afternoon. “The bulldozer wasn’t all the way out of gear. When it was un-jammed, the bulldozer lurched forward.”
Holland was working for HHH Construction of NWF, which was a subcontractor of Munroe Forest & Wildlife Management on the burn, according to Nathalie Bowers, public information officer for the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority.
Approximately 900 acres near the ECUA’s Central Water Reclamation Facility were set to be burned in a three day period that ended Saturday as part of ECUA’s management plan for the ecological restoration of forest lands on the property.
Pictured: LifeFlight on standby at a bulldozer accident Saturday in Cantonment. The accident occurred deep in the woods, south of the the pictured location. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate Aggie Freshmen Beat Navarre
March 12, 2019
The Tate Aggies and Navarre played to a 5-5 tie Monday night in Navarre.
Warren Henke, Saxon Hill and Dagan Guy each had two hits for the Aggies. Paul Whitson, Kirk Mosley, Wiley Griffin and Tucker Griffin had one hit. Tucker Griffin, Saxon Hill, Kirk Mosley, Wiley Griffin each had a double.
A Mild Day Without Rain
March 12, 2019
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 75. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph after midnight.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. South wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Thursday Night: Showers and thunderstorms. Low around 58. South wind around 10 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. North wind around 10 mph.
Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. North wind around 10 mph.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 59. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 40.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 64.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 44.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 69.
Atmore Moves Toward City School System; Supporters Want To End Racial Divide, Failing Schools
March 12, 2019
The Atmore City Council took the first official step Monday toward the possible formation of a city school system as supporters push for an end to a racial divide and failing schools.
The council voted unanimously to begin the process to find a consultant to study the feasibility of operating a city system, with a particular look at if it would be affordable.
“We have smart kids right here in Atmore,” Loumeek White, president of Atmore Citizens for Change, said. The group has spearheaded the drive to split Atmore’s schools away from the Escambia County (AL) Board of Education.
White said many of the “smart kids” no longer attend school in Atmore. Instead, they travel to Northview High School in Escambia County, FL, or to Escambia Academy, or schools in Flomaton (also part of the Escambia, AL, system), he said, adding it has created an obvious racial divide.
“The white kids are going to Flomaton and Northview,” he told the Atmore council and a crowd of about 75 that attended Monday’s meeting. “You’ve got to see the separation.”
According to the Alabama Department of Education, 322 of the 368 students at Escambia County High School in Atmore are black or African American.
“Our high school is on the failing list with Alabama schools, not for the first time. And our problem is we continue to fail. Why? Because we send $6 million to Brewton…Only when our leaders are faced with the possibility of losing that ($6) million are they ready to talk to us and give us crumbs,” council member Susan Smith (pictured left) said.
“The superintendent said I’m not giving Atmore anything because the schools here and the equipment belongs to the county. And yet you pay taxes,” Smith told the audience.
Atmore’s city attorney, Larry Wettermark, will bring a proposal for a feasibility consulting company back to the council, most likely at their next meeting on March 25.
As the council adjourned, city officials, council members and audience members held hands and prayed for the future of Atmore’s children.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured above: Atmore Citizens for Change President Loumeek White (left) and Atmore Mayor Jim Staff discuss a city school system during an Atmore City Council meeting Monday afternoon. Pictured below: Council member Susan Smith explains her support for a city school system. Pictured bottom: City officials, council members and audience members held hands and prayed after the meeting. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Florida Fracking Ban Advances Amid Concerns; Broxson Says Ban Could Impact The Industry
March 12, 2019
A move to ban “fracking” in Florida advanced Monday in the Senate with some oil-drilling protections for the Everglades, but not more comprehensive language sought by environmentalists.
The Senate Agriculture Committee voted 3-2 along party lines to approve a measure (SPB 7064) by Chairman Ben Albritton that would meet Gov. Ron DeSantis’ call to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which involves injecting large volumes of fluids into rock formations at a “high rate” of pressure to help release natural gas and oil.
Sen. Doug Broxson, a Gulf Breeze Republican who voted for the proposal, expressed concern that the ban could impact the industry. Broxson noted that while the fracking technique has not been employed in the state, Florida has long had oil drilling in parts of the Panhandle and Southwest Florida.
“Florida has very limited resources as far as what is in the ground,” Broxson said. “What we’ve done is safe and responsible. And let’s don’t do anything to interrupt what we’ve done right for the last 60 years.”
While adamantly opposed to fracking, environmentalists have opposed Albritton’s bill because it doesn’t address a technique called “matrix acidizing.”
The acidizing technique utilizes many of the same chemicals as used in hydraulic fracking, but it dissolves rocks with acid instead of fracturing them with pressurized liquid.
Sen. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, said by not prohibiting the acidizing technique, as well as hydraulic fracturing, the proposal continues to be a “risky proposition” for the state’s fragile ecosystem.
“I don’t understand why we are taking chances, Oklahoma has, as we heard last week, has fracking going on and for the first time in their history they’ve got 2,000 earthquakes between the years 2015 and 2017,” Rader said. “I know there is a little bit of debate that it is due to fracking or not, but the majority of the debate believes that it is.”
Before voting, the committee made a change proposed by Albritton, R-Wauchula, that would impose additional state Department of Environmental Protection reviews on oil exploration within the Everglades Protection Area, along with increasing permitting costs and penalties.
Albritton’s amendment came after the 1st District Court of Appeal last month ruled that a Broward County landowner should receive a permit for exploratory drilling on about five acres of land in the Everglades. DeSantis’ administration, Broward County and the city of Miramar are asking for a rehearing in the appeals court.
Albritton said his proposal wouldn’t prohibit the drilling permits.
“At the end of the day, the courts have ruled that they can drill there, it really doesn’t leave us with very many options,” Albritton said. “My goal with this amendment was to provide for additional cost and safety measures, if they so choose to expand the drilling in that area.”
Proposals to ban fracking have repeatedly emerged in recent years but have not passed. Groups such as the Florida Petroleum Council have opposed the proposals, contending that fracking is safe, can boost production and help hold down energy costs for consumers.
But Albritton’s proposed ban gained traction this year after DeSantis in January released a list of environmental proposals that included opposition to hydraulic fracturing.
Opponents of Albritton’s proposal, many of whom contend they will remain opposed to the current bill if it doesn’t address “all forms of fracking,” argue fracking threatens Florida’s already-stressed water supplies, can impact agricultural production and can cause environmental damage.
David Cullen, a lobbyist for Sierra Club Florida, said even the Everglades amendment includes loopholes, noting a prohibition on access corridors and drilling pads through sensitive areas would continue to allow such uses when “reasonable and prudent alternatives are not available.”
“In other words, we get to do whatever we want to do in the Everglades, one way or another,” Cullen said of oil companies.
Albritton’s proposal is similar to a House bill (HB 7029) that has started moving forward. Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, has proposed a bill (SB 314) that would ban hydraulic fracturing and matrix acidizing.”
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Driver Hits Utility Pole On Alabama-Florida State Line
March 12, 2019
A driver escaped injury Monday afternoon when he struck a utility pole and a tree on the Alabama-Florida state line.
The man failed to negotiate a 90-degree curve on Old Bratt Road just outside Atmore shortly before 4 p.m. The road runs along the state line, but the pole struck by his pickup truck is in Alabama.
Alabama State Troopers are investigating.
The Atmore Fire Department also responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
