Top Reader: Ransom Middle Student Reads 1.755 Million Words In December
January 7, 2026
Paige Ruhnow was recognized at the December Accelerated Reader (AR) Top Reader at Ransom Middle School.
Paige read 1,755,099 words and passed 20 AR tests.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Council Elects President, VP And Sets 2026 Meeting Schedule
January 7, 2026
Tuesday night, the Century Town Council elected a president and vice president to lead the council for the new year and set a meeting schedule for 2026.
Dynette Lewis was reelected to serve another year as council president on a 3-2 vote after a nomination by John Bass and a second from Henry Cunningham. After a long pause, Shelisa McCall voted no on Lewis as council president, and Sparkie Harrison also voted no.
Bass nominated Cunningham as vice president, and Harrison nominated McCall, leaving the council with two open nomination motions.
“I’ll let Ms. McCall take it,” Cunningham said before seconding McCall’s nomination. “I did four years, so let her have it, I’ll step out.”
The motion carried 4-1 to elect McCall as vice president, with Lewis casting the dissenting vote.
Meeting Schedule
The council also set meeting dates for 2026 on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 6:15 p.m. with three exceptions. The second meeting of August will be held on August 25, and the first meeting of November will be November 10 due to election days, and a single meeting will be held in December on the first.
Pictured top: (L-R) Tuesday night, the Century Town Council elected Dynette Lewis, Century as the body’s president and Shelisa McCall as vice president. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Next Escambia Waste Services Free Paint Day Is Canceled
January 7, 2026
Due to lack of availability, free paint will not be available Thursday, January 15 at the Perdido Landfill.
The next free paint day is scheduled for Thursday, February 5, but will be dependent on availability.
Free paint is typically available at the Perdido Landfill on the first and third Thursday of each month from 8-11 a.m. It is offered to the public for free in exchange for a new five gallon bucket with a lid (available at local hardware stores). Available colors vary.
Citizens can also dispose of up to 20 gallons of latex and oil-based paint at a time at the landfill at no charge. Latex paint is screened twice, reblended and put into new five-gallon buckets.
Will 2026 Finally Be The Year For A New Freedom Road Bridge In Century?
January 6, 2026
Will 2025 finally be the year for a new Freedom Road Bridge in Century?
Century Administrator Dave Murzin says he sure hopes so.
January 29 will mark six years since the bridge was closed.
For a while, it looked like a new bridge would be in place by the second half of 2026. But now, the project remains on hold as the Town of Century is forced to continue to seek additional funding.
Century received a nearly $1.257 million legislative appropriation for a new Freedom Road bridge, and just over $1 million remains today for construction after project design and permitting,
The town opened bids last year for the project with the low bid of $1,612,966.06 from F&W Construction Company. With engineering and inspection costs, the town needs about $700,000 more.
“We are continuing to seek other sources of funding,” Murzin said recently. He said the shortfall was due to rising construction costs since the Legislature funded the project.
The town is also exploring other options to lower the overall cost, such as in-kind services from Escambia County
Two other bids were received on the project: RBM Contracting at $1,733,878.30 and Chavers Construction at $2,274,427.50.
On January 29, 2020, the town suddenly closed the bridge on Freedom Road, just east of Jefferson Avenue. Photos obtained by NorthEscambia.com a few days later showed the dangerous conditions that led to the emergency closure. Several pilings under the wooden bridge were no longer properly supporting the structure, and some of the pilings were split or had extreme deterioration (pictured left and below).
File photos/graphics for and by NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Hundreds of Escambia Students Receive Gift of Sight Through Non-Profit Vision Program
January 6, 2026
Hundreds of schoolchildren in Escambia County will enjoy the gift of better eyesight in 2026, thanks to a non-profit vision program.
In December, the Florida Heiken Children’s Vision Program, a subsidiary of Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, provided free comprehensive eye exams and prescription glasses, if needed, to about 170 Escambia County Public School students at seven schools. The program is funded by entities that include the Florida Department of Health and the Lions Clubs International Foundation.
“We provide no-cost eye exams, and if the children need glasses, we give them glasses at no cost as well,” said Dr. Whitney Schubert, after completing eye exams at Bratt Elementary School. “We do a complete eye exam, complete with the dilation, the drops, and the full examination.”
At Bratt Elementary School, 19 of 29 students who received an eye exam needed glasses.
“They get to pick out their own glasses, which is really cool,” Schubert said. “The kids get so excited, and that’s important at this age.”
The doctor said that studies show one in four children have an undiagnosed vision problem.
“If you can imagine if you can’t see what the teacher is presenting to you, it’s going to be really hard to pick up on those concepts,” she said. “Just getting them a good pair of glasses really just sets the kids up to be able to learn, to grow, and to become confident little kids.”
The Florida Heiken Children’s Vision Program free comprehensive eye examinations were offered by the program at Bratt, Lipscomb, McArthur, Ferry Pass, Ensley, Myrtle Grove, and Oakcrest elementary schools. Parents were eligible to apply for the program at 28 Escambia County schools in October, with the program requiring at least 30 approved applicants in order to provide the service at a school.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Alabama Man Struck By Pickup Truck on Munson Highway
January 6, 2026
A 29-year-old Alabama man was seriously injured when he was struck by a pickup truck in Santa Rosa County.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the Brewton man was walking along with the flow of traffic on the edge of Munson Highway near Indian Ford Road when he was hit by a black Ford F350 driven by a 26-year-old Baker man just before 8:30 Sunday.
The pedestrian was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.
Second Incumbent Escambia County Commissioner Prefiles For Reelection
January 6, 2026
A second sitting Escambia County commissioner has pre-filed to seek reelection in 2026.
Mike Kohler pre-filed Monday as a Republican to seek reelection to the District 2 seat. He was first elected in 2022, succeeding Doug Underhill, who did not seek reelection.
Incumbent Republican Ashlee Hofberger pre-filed for the District 4 seat in January 2025. Hofberger was first appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the BOCC in October 2024, and she won election in November 2025 for a two-year term. The seat was left vacant in January 2025 when DeSantis appointed Robert Bender as Escambia County Supervisor of Elections.
The 2026 primary election will be held August 18, with the general election on November 3.
Federal Charges Filed Against Former School Employee For Attempted Sex Trafficking Of A Minor
January 6, 2026
Federal charges have been filed against a former school employee for attempted sex trafficking of a minor in Escambia County.
Christopher W. Glover, 47, of Semmes, Alabama was indicted in federal court in Pensacola on attempted sex trafficking of a minor, attempted enticement of a minor, and traveling in interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
At a detention hearing in federal court in Pensacola, evidence was presented that Glover communicated with who he believed to be a 14-year-old female and offered to pay her hundreds of dollars in return for sexual acts. It is alleged that Glover then traveled from Alabama, where he worked for the Baldwin County School District, to Pensacola to meet with the minor. The purported minor, however, was an undercover law enforcement officer. When Glover reached Pensacola to engage in the sexual acts with the minor, he was taken into custody. Glover remains detained in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending trial.
Glover is scheduled for trial before United States District Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola on February 17.
The case is being jointly investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Florida Highway Patrol, and the United States Marshals Service.
Glover was arrested in October 2025 along with a dozen other people in a FDLE operation.
By The Numbers: Escambia County EMS Responded To Over 93,000 Calls In 2025
January 6, 2026
It was a busy year for Escambia County EMS in 2025 with over 93,000 calls for service.
According to numbers released by the county on Monday, Escambia EMS responded to the following in 2025:
93,682 calls for service
56,323 transports
2,860 CORE appointments
4,985 motor vehicle accidents
978 cardiac arrests
410 standby events (such as sporting events, air shows, events)
Additional EMS stats for 2025 include:
• Pediatric emergency responses: 5,269
• Critical airway interventions: 1,269
• Medications administered : 40,538
• Training hours: Approximately 2,000
UPDATE: FHP Says Century Woman Failed To Yield In Saturday Crash That Injured Five
January 5, 2026
UPDATE: The Florida Highway Patrol said Monday that a 63-year-old Century woman failed to yield in a Saturday crash that injured five people on Highway 29 south of Century.
The crash occurred at about 12:50 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 29 and Bluff Springs Road and involved a GMC Terrain Denali and a Ford Expedition.
FHP said the Century woman was driving the GMC east on Bluff Springs Road when she attempted to cross all four lanes of Highway 29 but failed to yield to the approaching Ford.
Three of the five people involved were transported to area hospitals by Newman’s Ambulance with minor injuries.
The Century and McDavid stations of Escambia County Fire Rescue also responded, along with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The crash temporarily closed the Highway 29 northbound lanes and later reduced northbound traffic to a single lane around the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
