Meet The Candidates: Century Town Council Seat 4
March 17, 2025
NorthEscambia.com submitted a questionnaire to each of the three candidates seeking a on the Century Town Council in Tuesday’s special election.
Three candidates will appear on the ballot for Century Town Council Seat 4.
Seat 4 on the council was left open in early January when Alicia Johnson was appointed interim mayor after Luis Gomez, Jr., resigned for health reasons. The candidates are (click a name for that candidate profile):
The questionnaire was created as a secure Google Form. Each candidate received the exact same questions in the same order, and they were warned that responses would not be spell checked or edited. This was a free service offered equally to each candidate.
Any candidate that receives 50% of the vote plus one on Tuesday will be declared the winner. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two candidates will advance to the special general election on April 29.
Polls will be open on election day from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at the Billy G. Ward Century Courthouse at 7500 North Century Boulevard in Century. The election is nonpartisan and open to any registered voter that lives within the town limits. The voter registration deadline has passed.
It’s Spring Break – That Means The Annual Aggie Classic
March 17, 2025
It’s spring break, and that means it’s time for the 30th annual Harvester’s Credit Union Aggie Classic with teams from three states facing off across Pensacola.
Tate, Washington, Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Catholic will take part in the tournament, as will W.S. Neal from East Brewton, Alabama. The remainder of the teams are from across Florida and Oklahoma.
Admission is $10 daily or a tournament pass is $35. Cash and Square are accepted at the game. Regular season passes will not be accepted for entry.
Monday’s schedule is as follows:
Tate High School
- 1:00 PM – W.S. Neal vs Yukon, OK
- 4:00 PM – Broken Arrow, OK vs Olympia
- 7:00 PM – Tate vs Charles Page, OK
Washington High School
- 4:00 PM – First Academy vs Washington, OK
- 7:00 PM – Washington vs Bixby, OK
Gulf Breeze High School
- 4:00 PM – Gulf Breeze vs Blanchard, OK
- 7:00 PM – Gulf Breeze vs Yukon, OK
Catholic High School
- 4:00 PM – NO GAME
- 7:00 PM – Pensacola Catholic vs Noble, OK
Last year, the Pace Patriots claimed the Aggie Classic title with a win over the host Tate Aggies.
The complete list of teams participating this year is as follows:
Florida Teams:
- Tate High School
- Washington High School
- Gulf Breeze High School
- Catholic High School (Pensacola Catholic)
- First Academy
- Olympia
Oklahoma Teams:
- Yukon
- Broken Arrow
- Charles Page
- Noble
- Blanchard
- Washington
Alabama Teams:
- W.S. Neal
Pictured: 2024 Tate Aggie Classic championship game action. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Cantonment 10,000 Pound Food Distribution Set For Tuesday
March 17, 2025
The Cantonment Improvement Committee will hold a 10,000 pound food distribution Tuesday, March 18 at Carver Park, 208 Webb Street.
The event will start at 3 p.m. Attendees should like up facing north on Webb Street. Must have an identification to receive food.
File photos.
Ribbon Cutting Held For New Credit Union Branch In Cantonment
March 17, 2025
A ribbon cutting for a new credit union was held Saturday in Cantonment.
The Cantonment branch of My Pensacola Credit Union opened on Highway 29 just south of Ten Mile Road.
“We couldn’t be more excited to offer a new location in Cantonment to better serve all of our current and future members in that area,” said James Phetteplace, president and CEO of My Pensacola Credit Union. “We feel our presence will be a welcomed addition to the area and are excited to have now officially opened our doors to embrace the surrounding community as their new financial partner.”
My Pensacola Credit Union’s other branch is located at 108 South Reus Street in downtown Pensacola. Membership is open to anyone that lives, works, worships, or attends school in Escambia County.
As of December 2024, the credit union had approximately $83 million in assets with approximately 4,600 members.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Massive Fire Destroys Atmore Church (With Photo Gallery)
March 16, 2025
Members of the First Presbyterian Church of Atmore tell us they were looking forward to worship and a churchwide lunch on Sunday.
But the church on Horner Street was destroyed by a massive fire late Saturday night.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Preliminary information indicated the fire may have been sparked by a lightning strike during a heavy thunderstorm just before 11 p.m. Neighbors reported seeing multiple lighting strikes in the area before the fire.
The fire appeared to have started near where the church’s old sanctuary joins a fellowship hall and classrooms that were constructed after a tree fell into the old sanctuary in the days following Hurricane Ivan.
Despite a high-pressure water flow from a ladder truck, the massive fire quickly raced through about 160 feet of the attic of the building, with the steeple and cross crashing down into the flames (pictured top).
Dozens of firefighters from across the area responded to the fire, including the Atmore, Barnett Crossroads, Poarch Creek, Little Rock and Nokomis fire departments from Alabama, and the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia (FL) Fire Rescue, with additional personal from Florida. The Atmore Police Department and other agencies also responded to fire, located just over a block off Atmore’s Main Street.
Firefighters remained on scene into the early morning hours.
There was no word on any injuries.
The fire remains under investigation.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured top: The moment the steeple and cross collapsed into the flames Saturday night at First Presbyterian Church of Atmore. Pictured above and below: First destroyed the church, ripping through the attic. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Local FFA Member Named Finalist For ‘Stars Of Florida’ Program
March 16, 2025
The Florida FFA Association recently selected 25 student members — including one from Escambia County — as finalists in the highly coveted “Stars of Florida” award recognition program.
Isabelle Jenkins, who attends the Pensacola High School IB program and is a member of the Florida Virtual FFA chapter, was the only local student to be named a finalist.
The program symbolizes the highest competitive recognition for FFA members and their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) program(s) in seven different categories. Each candidate will be interviewed by a team of FFA, industry and agriculture education representatives to determine the winner in each area. Each finalist, their family and agriculture instructor(s) will be recognized at the Fourth General Session of the 97th Florida FFA Convention to be held at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Quintette Neighborhood Cleanup Set For March 19
March 16, 2025
A neighborhood cleanup for residents in Quintette will take place Wednesday, March 19. This is a chance for residents to dispose of items such as old furniture, appliances and household waste free of charge.
Yard debris is eligible for removal during this cleanup.
Only residents in the designated cleanup area can participate in the neighborhood cleanup. All items for pickup should at the curb by 7 a.m. on the day of the cleanup.
Items eligible for removal include:
- Household appliances and electronics
- Household junk and debris
- Bicycles and toys
- Old furniture and mattresses
- Barbecue grills
- Household hazardous waste (old paint, motor oil, chemicals, batteries)
- Tires (limit 10 per household)
Items NOT eligible for removal include:
- Building materials (concrete, bricks, blocks, roofing, drywall or lumber)
- Explosives or ammunition
- Auto parts
- Dirt or sod
- Vehicles or vessels
- 55-gallon drums of fluids
Since 2016, more than 7,435 tons (16,393,574 pounds) of waste have been disposed of through the Community Redevelopment Agency’s Safe Neighborhood Program. During neighborhood cleanups, crew members and volunteers visit different neighborhoods in the county to remove a variety of debris and waste free of charge.
Firefighters Respond To Reported Cottage Hill Structure Fire
March 16, 2025
Escambia County Fire Rescue responded to a reported structure fire in Cottage Hill Saturday afternoon.
Engine 4 from the Cantonment Station of Escambia County Fire Rescue arrived to find a small trash fire behind the home that was quickly extinguished.
There was no damage, and no injuries reported.
NorthEscambai.com photos, click to enlarge.
Ice Flyers Fall To Quad City Saturday NIght
March 16, 2025
by Bill Vilona Ice Flyers.com Correspondent
The Ice Flyers figured to have an edge in a quest to gain ground in their weekend series against the team ahead for the final playoff spot.
That’s what made Saturday’s 3-0 loss against the Quad City Storm so baffling to Ice Flyers coach Rod Aldoff.
“This was not the team I had seen since coaching them,” said Aldoff, who returned on February 21 for his third return behind the bench.
After coming back from a two-goal deficit to win Friday’s game, the Ice Flyers again fell behind 2-0 in the second period Saturday, only to come up empty in a deflating loss before a crowd of 4,491 at the Pensacola Bay Center on St. Patrick’s Celebration Night.
There was no four-leaf clover found. Just the opposite. The weekend split kept the Ice Flyers seven points behind the Storm for eighth place, but now with just seven games left in the regular season.
“We just didn’t have legs, we weren’t moving, we weren’t getting to pucks, we weren’t supporting the puck,” Aldoff said. “In the third period there were spurts that were better, but you can’t play one period or 10 minutes and win a game.
“First period (Friday) we had no legs, which I understood because we had a goofy schedule with very little ice and no games last week. I somewhat expected it might take a period to get into and we did. I expected much better legs (Saturday).”
Instead, they were outshot 15-7 in the first period and trailed 1-0. Less than five minutes into the second period, a game-defining sequence occurred.
Quad City defenseman Dillon Fournier was assessed a major penalty (5 minutes) and ejected on a game misconduct for a vicious cross-check against the Ice Flyers’ Sam Dombrowski, who crumbled against the boards.
But the five-minute power play became a turning point. The Storm’s Leif Mattison, the league’s second-leading scorer, got a zone-clearing pass from former Ice Flyers forward Weiland Parrish and turned a breakaway into a shorthanded goal for a 2-0 lead with 13:53 left in the period.
The crowd in the Bay Center groaned, and the Ice Flyers never found a spark.
In the third period, the Ice Flyers had several good looks but couldn’t get a goal, which forced pulling Ice Flyers goaltender AJ Ruskowski with 1:46 left. The Storm forced a turnover in the Ice Flyers’ zone and got an empty-net goal with 51.5 seconds left to end the game.
“I have not seen that (Ice Flyers) team play yet,” Aldoff said. “The rest of the games we’ve played, I’ve been impressed. The guys have pounded and worked. I thought the first weekend (Feb. 21-23 when he returned to coach) we deserved six points. The work ethic was there. The execution was there.
“(Saturday) we had nothing. We were spinning our wheels.”
The Ice Flyers will play three home games next weekend, beginning Friday against the Birmingham Bulls and ending with a Sunday game against first-place Peoria.
After losing six of their last seven games, the Ice Flyers will need to win six of their last seven and get help to have a realistic chance of overcoming Quad City.
“We’re not out of it,” Aldoff said. “But this was a four-point swing (Saturday).”
Here’s a quick recap.
First Period
Before getting tossed from the game, Fournier assisted on the first Quad City goal. He set up Nick Pennucci, who fired a wrist shot through traffic into the upper right corner of the net with 15:10 left in the period.
The Ice Flyers killed the only penalty in the first period.
Making his fourth start, Ice Flyers goaltender Ruskowski stopped 14 shots in the period dominated by the Storm.
Second Period
The Ice Flyers outshot Quad City 12-2 in this period, aided by the five-minute power play, but could not get a tying goal.
Fournier’s penalty was the only one of the period.
Third Period
There were several sequences where the Ice Flyers swarmed the net but could not get a rebound shot past Quad City goaltender Brent Moran, who stopped all 28 shots he faced.
WANT TO GO?
WHAT: Ice Flyers Final Weekend Home Games
WHO: Birmingham Bulls vs. Ice Flyers (March 21-22), Peoria Rivermen vs. Ice Flyers (March 23).
WHEN: Friday and Saturday games start at 7:05 p.m. The Sunday finale is at 4:05 p.m.
Century Voters Will Go The Polls Tuesday For Council Race
March 15, 2025
Voters in Century will head to the polls on Tuesday in a special primary election.
Three candidates will appear on the ballot for Century Town Council Seat 4.
Seat 4 on the council was left open in early January when Alicia Johnson was appointed interim mayor after Luis Gomez, Jr., resigned for health reasons. The candidates are:
NorthEscambia.com will publish a “meet the candidates” story by Monday with detailed questions and answers.
A candidate that receives 50% of the vote plus one on Tuesday will be declared the winner. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two candidates will advance to the special general election on April 29.
Polls will be open on election day from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at the Billy G. Ward Century Courthouse at 7500 North Century Boulevard in Century. The election is nonpartisan and open to any registered voter that lives within the town limits. The voter registration deadline has passed.
One candidate, Ben Boutwell, qualified for the position of mayor. He was elected automatically, and that contest will not appear on either the primary or general ballot. [Read: Century's Next Mayor Ben Boutwell Is Ready To Get To Work]
Pictured top: (L-R) Century council candidates John Bass (submitted photo), and Kathryn Fleming and Lizbeth “Sparkie” Harrison (NorthEscambia.com photos).