Florida Tourism Marketing To Ramp Up After Irma
September 20, 2017
Florida will begin a post-Hurricane Irma marketing plan to lure tourists back to the Sunshine State.
Gov. Rick Scott announced Tuesday that the public-private agency Visit Florida will lead a marketing campaign. Scott’s office said the campaign will be “multi-phased and include digital, social, broadcast and traditional components in both domestic and international markets.”
The state, which before Irma was on pace to top last year’s 113 million visitors, has yet to calculate the potential economic impact the storm had on the tourism industry. Irma made landfall Sept. 10 in Monroe and Collier counties and traveled up the state. The announcement Tuesday didn’t put a price tag on the post-storm marketing.
In a prepared statement, Visit Florida President and CEO Ken Lawson described the marketing plan as one that will showcase “sunshine, blue skies and good times.”
House Speaker Richard Corcoran, who has questioned the use of tax dollars for Visit Florida, said Tuesday the Legislature could support post-disaster marketing. “In 1996, (Visit Florida) was created and the concept was, when you have an oil spill, when you have a 9/11, and people are afraid to travel to big places like Disney World, because they think that’s the next terrorist attack,” Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, said. “That was the point in ‘96, to give an entity some funding to go out there in those type of situations and say, `Look, there isn’t a single tar ball on our beaches, Disney World is the safest place to be, our beaches are fine and our communities are together, come visit.’”
During the 2017 legislative session, Scott and the Senate maintained $76 million in state funding for Visit Florida after battling with House leaders.
by The News Service of Florida
Cantonment Man Facing Drug, Burglary Tool Possession Charges
September 19, 2017
A Cantonment man was arrested on multiple felony charges after deputies found him in the early morning hours on a street that had recently been hit by a rash of car burglaries.
Escambia County deputies reported finding 36-year old Jeffrey Scott Walker in a Nissan Altima parked next to a privacy fence on private property off Wasatch Range Loop, east of the Mobile Highway intersection.
After deputies observed the ripped-off corner of a plastic baggie next to the driver’s door of Walker’s car, a K-9 was called and alerted on the vehicle.
Deputies reported finding multiple baggies of crystal methamphetamine with a combined weight of 18.4 grams, multiple baggies of powder cocaine with a total weight of 2.2 grams, 30 amphetamine tables, a digital scale and two burnt glass pipes with residue. Walker was also in possession of a “daily log” notebook which is often used to record drug transactions, according to an arrest report. In the trunk of the vehicle, deputies found a large bag containing “slim jims” and metal lock picking tools in a bag labeled “vehicle lock picking tools”.
Walker was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, loitering and prowling, and possession of burglary tools with intent to use.
Walker was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $66,000 bond. His vehicle, $129 in cash and the lock picking kit were seized by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Town Denies Donation For Autism Walk, Votes To Donate To Local School
September 19, 2017
The Century Town Council has denied an autistic resident’s request to sponsor a fundraising walk for autism this weekend, instead opting to support autism education locally in the town.
Jake Livingston, known to many North Escambia residents as “Northview’ Biggest Fan”, addressed the council Monday night, asking them to sponsor the Steps for Autism walk in an amount from $100 to $10,000. Livingston said the monies raised by the walk Saturday morning at Wahoos Stadium would be used by Autism Pensacola for local programs in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
When council members learned that they had zero available donation dollars in their budget for the current fiscal year ending on September 30, they voted to donate $500 next month from their next fiscal year’s budget to the Century Academy. The private non-profit K-12 school is in it second year of operation in Century.
Century Academy specializes in teaching children diagnosed with autism and other related learning disabilities. It is a subsidiary of East Hill Academy in Pensacola.
The council noted that the school would be made aware that the donation was being as a result of Livingston’s efforts for autism awareness..
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Cross Country Results: Northview, Flomaton, Ernest Ward (With Gallery)
September 19, 2017
Results from a cross country meet held Monday afternoon at Northview High School are below.
For a photo gallery of most finishers, click here.
Boys Team Placement
- Northview High School
- Flomaton High School
- Ernest Ward
Girls Team Placement
- Northview & Ernest Ward (tied)
Flomaton did not field girls team.
Boys Individual
- Kevin Meeks/Flomaton — 21:28
- Tanner Levins/Northview — 21:46
- Oscar Rodriguez/Northview — 22:13
- Logan Doremus/Northview — 24:22
- Will Rollin/Flomaton — 25:51
Girls Individual
- Kara Santorelli/Ernest Ward — 24:45
- Cheyanne Johnson/Northview — 27:29
- Julianna Money/Ernest Ward — 27:43
- Addison Albritton/Northview — 33:51
- Aurora McCann/Northview — 34:24
Northview — Top 5 Boys
- Tanner Levins 21:46
- Oscar Rodriguez 22:13
- Logan Doremus 24:22
- Samm Bradley 26:44
- John Chivington 27:21
Northview — Top 5 Girls
- Cheyanne Johnson 27:29
- Addison Albritton 33:51
- Aurora McCann 34:24
- Allie Carter 39:05
- Rebekah Amerson 39:06
Flomaton — Top 5 Boys
- Kevin Meeks 21:48
- Will Rollin 25:51
- Wyatt Kent 29:00
- Dustin Martin 29:05
- Jacob Strehl 33:50
Ernest Ward — Top 5 Boys
- Kole Stewart 25:59
- James McElhaney 30:55
- Anthony Weaver 31:05
- Bryson Sanders 31:26
- Jacob Daw 31:24
Ernest Ward — Top 5 Girls
- Kara Santorelli 24:45
- Julianna Money 27:43
- Emily Levins 36:46
- Ava Gurganus 36:51
- Adrianne Shanks 43:44
Pictured top: Top boy finisher Kevin Meeks from Flomaton High School and top girl finisher Kara Santorelli from Ernest Ward Middle School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Gold Ribbons: Council Marks Childhood Cancer Month
September 19, 2017
The Century Town Council marked September as Childhood Cancer Month during their meeting Monday night. Council members and guests were presented with gold-color awareness ribbon stress toys and lapel pins in honor of Bryant Thomas Cooper who passed away last November at age 19 after battling cancer. His mother, former Tri-City Ledger managing editor Janet Cooper, became and outspoken advocate for childhood cancer awareness. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Man Gets 15 Years For $20 Drug Deal
September 19, 2017
Lloyd Demetrius Grice, age 41, was convicted by an Escambia County j ury on for the sale, manufacture and delivery of cocaine and for trespass on property other than a structure after warning. Immediately following the verdict, Circuit Judge Gary Bergosh sentenced Grice, as a habitual felony offender, to 15 years in state prison. Since there is no parole in Florida, Grice will be required to serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.
On May 20, 2016, the Pensacola Police Departments Vice and Narcotics Unit conducted an undercover operation at Tom Ann and Buddy’s located on West Cervantes Street. The detective made contact with Grice and asked if he had any “hard”, which means cocaine.
Bell asked to purchase a “$20 piece”. Grice walked over to an SUV and then walked back to Detective Bell and handed him the cocaine, according to prosecutors. After the transaction, Grice then walked to Tom Ann & Buddy’s, which had previously trespass warned Grice from the premises indefinitely.
Grice has a criminal history that includes throwing a deadly missile, burglary, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, carrying a concealed weapon, felony battery, assault, possession of marijuana possession of drug paraphernalia, and
improper exhibition of a firearm.
Bonus Gallery: Tate Cheerleaders, Band, JROTC
September 19, 2017
For a bonus gallery with the Tate band, cheerleaders, JROTC and spirit line from last Friday night, click here.
For football game action photos and story, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Jennifer Repine, click to enlarge.
Florida Irma Death Toll At 34 – And Rising
September 19, 2017
Hurricane Irma has officially been tied to 34 deaths in Florida, but the number will rise.
The figure available Monday from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Division of Emergency Management is still being updated.
Not every county has been recorded.
Absent is Monroe, where recovery efforts continue with ongoing door-to-door checks in the Keys. So far at least nine deaths have been tied to the storm in Monroe County, according to the Miami Herald.
Also, the Broward County count is at six, without listing any of eight residents of a sweltering Hollywood nursing home who died Wednesday. The deaths of the nursing-home residents have spurred a criminal investigation.
“County medical examiners are responsible for confirming and attributing the deaths that occurred in their counties,” Division of Emergency Management spokesman Alberto Moscoso said in an email Monday. “FDLE and DEM report the information provided by county medical examiners.”
Deaths from Irma have been reported in Broward, Liberty, Duval, Pinellas, Marion, Hillsborough, Hardee, Volusia, Palm Beach, Orange, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, Highlands, Polk, Taylor and Lake counties.
In addition to the residents of The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills in Broward County, the highest-profile victims have been a Hardee County sheriff’s deputy and a state corrections officer.
On Saturday, Gov. Rick Scott attended the funeral in Bradenton for Hardee County Deputy Julie Bridges, a 13-year veteran who died early Sept. 10 in a head-on vehicle collision with Hardee Correctional Institution Sgt. Joseph Ossman.
Ossman, who had been with the Florida Department of Corrections for 21 years, also was killed in the crash, which remains under investigation.
The two officers are among nine deaths across the state attributed to a blunt-force injury and Irma.
Irma is also credited with five deaths by drowning and four deaths involving carbon monoxide.
Palm Beach County is listed at two deaths, both due to drowning. The Palm Beach Post reported a woman died Friday in Loxahatchee and that three people were hospitalized after carbon monoxide seeped into a house from a generator set up next to a garage.
Orange County has five deaths linked to the hurricane, including the carbon-monoxide deaths of a mother and two teenage children.
Four deaths have been reported in Hillsborough County, through drowning, skull fractures, blood loss and head injuries. Other deaths, meanwhile, have been linked to such causes as heart conditions.
One death has been tied to heat exhaustion, although the death in Broward County also was tied to “chronic alcoholism.”
by The News Service of Florida
Escambia Man Gets 20 Years For Kidnapping, Carjacking, Battery
September 19, 2017
State Attorney Bill Eddins announced that Corey Bowick has been sentenced by Circuit Judge Thomas Dannheisser to 20 years in state prison to be followed by 10 years of probation. Bowick entered a plea of no contest to armed kidnapping with a weapon with the intent to commit a felony, carjacking with a deadly weapon, attempted robbery with a deadly weapon, and aggravated battery.
Co-defendant Carlton Lamar was also sentenced on September 15, 2017 by Circuit Judge Thomas Dannheisser to 15 years in state prison to be followed by five years of probation. Lamar pled no contest to armed kidnapping with a weapon
with the intent to commit a felony, carjacking with a deadly weapon, attempted robbery with a deadly weapon, and aggravated battery. Since there is no parole in Florida, Bowick and Lamar will be required to serve 85% of their prison sentence.
Co-Defendant Iesha McGaster pled no contest on May 8 to principal to armed kidnapping with a weapon with the intent to commit a felony, carjacking with a deadly weapon, attempted robbery with a deadly weapon, and aggravated battery. McGaster’s will be sentenced on October 2. She faces up to life in state prison.
In the early morning hours of March 7, the victim went to Iesha McGaster’s residence in Foley, AL to loan her money. When he arrived, he was attacked and tied up by Bowick, McGaster, and Lamar. Ultimately, he was forced into his own vehicle and driven to Pensacola to get money from his place of employment. While traveling in Pensacola, the victim jumped out of the moving car on Pace Blvd. when he saw a law enforcement vehicle parked in Town and Country Plaza. The defendants were arrested shortly thereafter on Fairfield Drive.
Bratt Elementary Names Students Of The Month
September 19, 2017
The following students (pictured above) were named Students of the Month for August at Bratt Elementary School.
Pre-K
MaryStephen Moody
Levi Milliken (not pictured)
Kindergarten
Chayton Rolin
Rylan Johnson
Braylie Harrison (not pictured)
Brooklynne Fountain (not pictured)
1st Grade
Carson Eady
Sophia Ikner
Mi’Kavion White
Noah Luker
2nd Grade
Lanie Steadham
Robbie Goens
Kameryn Thompson
Madalynn Pittman
3rd Grade
Cobie Wiggins
Makayla Plato
Christian Caraway
4th Grade
LanDon Johnson
Maggie Stewart
Lauren Abbott
DaShay Robinson (not pictured)
5th Grade
Ally Richardson
Markavia Johnson
Colby Pugh
In addition, Chayton Rolin and Maggie Stewart were chosen to represent Bratt Elementary School as Escambia County Students of the Month for August.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.