Pensacola Teen Found Safe
August 23, 2018
UPDATE: Payton Pacheco has been found and is safe. She contacted Pensacola Police and let them know she was at a McDonald’s in Pensacola.
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Payton Pacheco was last seen leaving the Brittany Forge Subdivision off Spanish Trail on Monday, according to KlaasKids. She is described as being 5-feet, 2-inches tall, 135 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing shorts and a sweatshirt and carrying a black duffel bag.
Anyone with information is asked to call KlaasKids at (855) 733-5567 or the Police Department at (850) 435-1900.
Rate Increase Planned For ECUA Water, Sewer Customers; No Garbage Hike
August 23, 2018
A 4 percent rate increase could be on the way for Emerald Coast Utility Authority water and sewer customers, but for now there’s no sanitation rate increase on the table.
The proposed 4 percent increase would translate to $1.02 per month for the average water customer consuming 6,000 gallons per month. The proposed increase of four percent would equate to an increase of $1.31 per month at the average 4,600 gallons level of sewer usage. The current average ECUA user pays $26.58 for water and $32.93 for sewage.
The current average ECUA user pays $26.58 for water and $32.93 for sewage.
ECUA has increased rates year for the last 10 years, ranging from 8 percent in 2011 to 1.93 percent 2014. The increase was 3 percent in 2017.
“ECUA as an organization is only 36 years old, although a vast portion of our utility systems and underground infrastructure are decades older,” ECUA spokeswoman Nathalie Bower said. “ECUA has approximately 1900 miles and 1300 miles of water and sewer mains, respectively, in our system. We have accomplished important upgrades and expansions in the last decade that are the backbone of the water production/transmission and wastewater collection/treatment services we provide. Now, we must address infrastructure issues to comply with the FDEP consent order that pertains to our sewer collection system. Utilities across the nation are faced with the same directives from the EPA with regard to sewer system infrastructure.”
ECUA board members Larry Walker and Dale Perkins votes against the increase.
The first of two public hearings on the rate increase will be held at 3:00 Thursday afternoon, with another public hearing set for September 27.
A plan that would have increase garbage rates by $5 per month and add a $1.50 capital improvement fee failed to pass the board.
Century Man Gets Another 15 Year Sentence For Burglary
August 23, 2018
A Century man received an additional 15 years in state prison Wednesday after pleading no contest to burglary charges against him. The sentence will run concurrently with a previous sentence for Curtis Matthew Capers.
Capers (pictured left) was the getaway driver for Vernon Lambeth of Century in the burglary of a home on Highway 168. In October 2016, a woman returned home to find Lambeth inside.
“I noticed some things were out of place, and then there he (Lambeth) was, standing in the hallway looking at me,” the victim told NorthEscambia.com on the day of the incident. She said she returned quickly to her 21-month old child, who was outside in a vehicle, to call 911 as Lambeth ran outside and into a nearby wooded area.
A K-9 team from Century Correctional Institution was able to track Lambeth down and take him into custody near Wawbeek Road.
Capers was seen leaving in the area in an older model green SUV with bullet holes. The vehicle was located in Alabama just north of the state line on Sam Jones Road, about two miles from the burglary. A K-9 was able to track Lambeth down; he had attempted to conceal himself with roofing tiles in an abandoned barn. A pillowcase that contained stolen items from the home on Highway 168 was also located. And Capers was positively identified by the burglary victim.
Law enforcement also observed screwdrivers and a crowbar inside of the vehicle. Capers was arrested and interviewed by Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Investigator David Preston. During the interview, Capers admitted to his knowledge and involvement, not only to this burglary, but two additional burglaries in which he and Vernon Lambeth committed. He still faces charges of armed burglary and grand theft of a firearm for those burglaries on Rockaway Creek Road and North Pineville Road.
In all three incidents, Capers dropped Lambeth off and waited down the road as a look out until Lambeth called to be picked up. Afterwards, they would sell the stolen items and split the proceeds.
A photograph published on NorthEscambia.com (left) after Lambeth’s arrest for the Wawbeek Road burglary showed him wearing a diamond ring. That ring was identified as one stolen during a burglary on Rockaway Creek Road. Lambeth took items including the ring, firearms and currency valued at $3,180 from the home. Most of the items, according to court documents, were sold or traded from drugs at his home at 120 Front Street.
Lambeth was also charged with the burglary of a home on North Pineville Road where he took jewelry, firearms and money totaling $3,350.
Lambeth pleaded no contest to burglary of an occupied dwelling; two counts of burglary of a dwelling while armed with a firearm, two counts of grand theft; two counts of criminal mischief; introduction of contraband articles into a county detention facility; and possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). He was sentenced in August 2017 by Circuit Judge Gary L. Bergosh to 17 years in state prison with a mandatory minimum 10 year prison sentence.
Pictured above and below: The manhunt following burglary on Highway 168 in October 2016. Pictured immediately below: Vernon Lambeth is taken into custody. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Purchasing New Gas Meters For $100K To Increase Revenue
August 23, 2018
The Century Town Council has approved using $100,000 to purchase new gas meters in an effort to increase revenue.
The town is projecting a loss of $214,000 during the next fiscal year as they work to determine where the gas they purchase from their supplier is going because much of it is not being billed to customers. The gas is not leaking; the town has said it’s either a problem with customer meters, meter reading or a discrepancy between the amount billed by the town’s supplier and the quantity actually delivered.
Accountant Robert Hudson recommend that the town purchase new customer gas meters using $50,000 from a Special Revenue Economic Development Account that has a $122,000 balance.
The council approved Mayor Henry Hawkin’s request for $100,000 to also purchase new commercial meters. And the town is looking to purchase a meter for about $4,000 for their “gate station” – where metered gas flows from the supplier into the town’s system — in order to verify the quantity received.
The Century Gas Department currently servers 498 customer accounts in and around the town.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Navy Tech Arrested On Child Porn Charges
August 23, 2018
Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Galen Robert Kountz, 43, an active member of the United States Navy, of 6031 Dallas Ave., Pensacola, for possession of child pornography.
Agents received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which indicated that a suspected child pornography image was uploaded to a message board. The investigation led FDLE agents to Kountz’s residence, where a video containing child pornography was located on an external hard drive belonging to Kountz.
He is a Navy cryptologic intelligence technician.
Kountz was booked into the Escambia County Jail. Additional charges are dependent upon completion of computer forensic examinations. The case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney, First Judicial Circuit.
Same Day Hiring Event Tomorrow For Century, Santa Rosa Correctional Institutions
August 23, 2018
A same-day hiring event will be held Friday for Century Correctional Institution and the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution in Milton.
Applicants should bring a driver’s license, legible copy of birth certificate, social security card, high school diploma, GED or college transcripts and any name change documents (if applicable), such as a marriage certificate.
Veterans and current reservists/Guardsmen should bring a copy of their DD-214 or military ID, respectively. Laptops will be provided for online applications and scheduling the Criminal Justice Basic Abilities Test (required for employment). Applicants will have the opportunity to apply online and interview same day with institution administration.
Applicants must pre-register by call (866) 562-3362.
The hiring event will be Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Marcus Pointe Baptist Church, 6205 North W Street in Pensacola.
No Injuries In Cottage Hill Wreck
August 23, 2018
There were no injuries in a single vehicle wreck about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday near Eden Lane and Clymil Drive in Cottage Hill. The driver ran off the roadway and struck a tree. He refused transport to the hospital. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Biloxi Beats Pensacola Again
August 23, 2018
The Biloxi Shuckers handed the Wahoos their fourth consecutive loss with a 6-3 win on Wednesday to knock the Pensacola Blue Wahoos out of first place in the second-half standings.
Zach Davies (W, 1-0), on a Major League rehab assignment was excellent over six innings for the Shuckers. Pensacola did not register their first hit until Gavin LaValley belted his 13th homer of the season, and his second of the series.
By that point, the Wahoos had dug themselves in a hole. Troy Stokes Jr. homered in the first inning off Daniel Wright (L, 6-10) to put the Shuckers up 1-0. In the third, Corey Ray led off the inning with a solo homer, his league-leading 27th of the year to give the Shuckers a 2-0 edge. The next batter reached on an error, and after a single by Lucas Erceg, Biloxi had runners on the corners with nobody out. Both runs would eventually score and Biloxi led 4-0 after three.
After LaValley’s homer made it 4-1, Biloxi scored two more in the bottom of the fifth, which increased their lead to 6-1. Pensacola’s final push came in the seventh, when Chris Okey crushed a two-run shot off Nattino Diplan to bring the Wahoos within three. However, Miguel Sanchez pitched the final two innings in scoreless fashion to secure Biloxi’s fifth win in a row.
The Wahoos, who sat in first place for 57 days, now trail Biloxi by a half game in the second-half standings. Fortunately for Pensacola, the BayBears split their doubleheader with Mississippi meaning that the Wahoos and BayBears are still tied in the wildcard standings. If the Wahoos can earn a win in the series finale, Pensacola will leapfrog ahead of Biloxi for first place once again.
The Wahoos will send RHP Wyatt Strahan (7-10, 4.19) in a pivotal series finale against the Shuckers. LHP Cameron Roegner (0-1, 6.39) will try to complete the series sweep for Biloxi.
Beulah Road, Mobile Highway Project Underway
August 23, 2018
A Florida Department of Transportation project to improve the intersection of Mobile Highway and Beulah Road is underway.
Improvements include widening Mobile Highway to accommodate eastbound left and westbound right turn lanes, drainage improvements, widening Beulah Road to accommodate north and southbound left turn lane, and installing a traffic signal.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Council Feuds Over New Hire, Mayor’s Authority
August 22, 2018
Century Town Council members had a heated discussion over an employee at their most recent meeting – debating if the employee should be hired or terminated and if the mayor overstepped his authority.
Mayor Henry Hawkins told the council that he had hired a new clerk at $9 per hour to work in the office at town hall.
But council President Ann Brooks said the mayor had no authority to hire the employee; she said new employees must first be approved by the council as required by the town charter.
“This is not the first time this year that he (the mayor) has done the same thing, and I have told him that you can’t do this,” Brooks said. “You have to bring it to the council for approval before you hire someone. We approve the hiring.”
Brooks pushed for a motion that was made by council member Ben Boutwell to terminate the employee and offer her temporary employment until another employee returns from maternity leave. She said there are currently too many employees in town hall, especially considering the town’s current budget crunch. That motion failed 2-3, with Luis Gomez, Sandra McMurray-Jackson and Gary Riley voting against.
“He needs to do it the right way, because it is in the charter,” Boutwell said forcefully.
A second motion to hire the new employee passed 3-2, with Brooks and Boutwell dissenting.
“A house divided against itself, it ain’t going to stand” council member Jackson said after the vote. “How do we think people are going to come and live in Century when those of us here don’t want to live here. This has got to stop. This right here (pointed to Riley), said we the best council we ever had. Look at us now. Bickering, bickering. This has got to stop. We have got to get with one accord.”
“This has got to stop. We are trying to do better here in Century. Nobody wants to come to Century for nothing but to talk about us, to be made a mockery of on NorthEscambia…and any other publication.”
“We need to change the things that are not right,” Brooks said. ” I don’t think we have a council that is willing.”
“All this arguing and bickering here at this table,” Jackson replied. “My God, it has got to stop.”
“It sounds a little bit like you are arguing and bickering” Brooks interjected.
Jackson replied, “I am not arguing and bickering. I am making a point.”
After the discussion, the council did vote unanimously to hire two employees for the street department, each starting at $13.50 per hour to do dual duties as mechanics and street laborers.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
