Man Gets 15 Years For Tree Branch Beating
July 7, 2016
A Milton man has been sentenced to prison for beating another man with a tree branch in Escambia County.
Circuit Judge Jennie Kinsey sentenced Terrance Leroy McCrea to 15 years after a jury convicted him of aggravate battery with a deadly weapon.
On May 5, 2015, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Circle K on Pace Boulevard where they found a man on the ground covered in blood. McCrea was located at the scene with a four-foot tree branch and made incriminating statements to deputies.
Deputies spoke with a witness who observed McCrea attack the victim without provocation and strike him numerous times with the branch. EMS responded and transported the victim to the hospital where he remained for a week before being released.
ECUA’s Composting Program Wins National Award
July 7, 2016
The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) announces that Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA) has been named the winner of the 2016 SWANA Gold Excellence Award in the composting category.
ECUA is taking home the Gold trophy for its entry, “Emerald Coast Utilities Authority Biosolids Composting Facility.” The award will be presented during an August conference in Indiana.
“ECUA is utilizing yard trash and biosolids to create an environmentally beneficial compost. This eliminates the need to landfill yard trash and biosolids and provides a valuable compost resource to residents and businesses in the ECUA service area,” said Randy Rudd, ECUA deputy executive director.
ECUA began offering garbage and yard waste sanitation collection in Escambia County in 1992. Curbside recycling service was introduced in January 2009, and in 2015, the Biosolids Composting Facility (BCF) opened. The BCF composts weekly about 400 tons of biosolids (about half of ECUA’s biosolids) and 500 tons of yard waste and will produce approximately 15,000 tons of finished compost annually. Plans are underway to double its capacity. ECUA is using the Modified Static Aerobic Pile method.
Emerald Coast bloom, “The Most in Bio-Compost,” is certified under the US Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Assurance program, a nationally recognized compost testing program.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Summer Reading Program Brings ‘Wizard Of Oz’ To The Library
July 7, 2016
The Summer Reading Program is continuing at local West Florida Library branches. Wednesday, the Hampstead Stage Company presented their adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz” at the Century Branch Library. The program was also presented Thursday morning at the Molino Branch Library.
The Summer Reading Program will feature a reptile program next week: Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Southwest Branch Library; Wednesday at 11 am. at the Century Branch Library; Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Main Library; Thursday at 11 a.m. at the Molino Branch Library; and Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Tryon Branch Library.
Photos by August Whorff for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Latest Evers Giveaway: A Chance To Shoot Machine Guns
July 7, 2016
State Sen. Greg Evers, running in a crowded Republican primary for a Northwest Florida congressional seat, will hold a fund-raising event where donors can pay up to $2,700 for a chance to shoot a variety of military-style machine guns. Evers, a Baker Republican, will also give a prize to the shooter who “kills” Osama Bin Laden, a news release said.
Evers drew heat last month over his decision to give away an AR-15 assault rifle, similar to a gun used in the Orlando nightclub attack that left 49 people dead and dozens more injured.
“Since some folks don’t understand the difference between an AR-15 and a real assault rifle capable of automatic fire, we’re going to show them,” Evers said. “I think people will get a big kick out of seeing what a real assault rifle can do, and they’ll have even more fun shooting up simulated terrorists.”
Evers, who frequently sponsored National Rifle Association-backed legislation in the Legislature, will hold the event at the Pensacola Indoor Shooting Range on July 23. The event will feature six fully automatic machine guns, including two military-grade M-16 assault rifles and four varieties of submachine guns. According to the press release, the weapons are “extremely restricted,” but it is legal to fire them on a supervised gun range.
Evers is among the candidates in Congressional District 1, which became open when longtime U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller announced he would not seek re-election this year.
by The News Service of Florida
Pensacola Wahoos Snap Losing Streak Against Mobile Baybears
July 7, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos snapped its four game losing streak Wednesday with a 10-4 victory over the Mobile BayBears at Hank Aaron Stadium.
Pensacola got solo home runs by center fielder Jeff Gelalich, his first in Double-A, first baseman Eric Jagielo, who hit his fifth homer this season, and shortstop Zach Vincej, who smacked his third.
After being shut out the night before by Mobile, Pensacola broke out with 10 runs and 16 hits. Five Blue Wahoos had multi-hit games, including Gelalich (3-5, two runs and three RBIs), left fielder Phillip Ervin (3-5, two runs), second baseman Brandon Dixon (3-4, two RBIs), Vincej (2-4, one run, one RBI) and catcher Jose Duarte (2-5 with two runs).
Pensacola broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning. The Blue Wahoos loaded the bases when Duarte, Gelalich and Ervin all singled. Pensacola right fielder Sebastian Elizalde walked to score Duarte and put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 4-3. Pensacola’s Gelalich scored on a passed ball to put the Blue Wahoos up, 5-3. Pensacola took a 6-3 lead when Dixon hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Ervin.
In the eighth inning, Pensacola added four more runs to go ahead 10-3. Vincej hit a homer over the left field wall to lead off the inning. Pensacola then loaded the bases on singles by pinch hitter Calten Daal and Duarte and Ray Chang got hit by a pitch. Gelalich doubled to score Daal and Duarte to increase Pensacola’s lead to 9-3. Chang scored on a wild pitch to put the score at 10-3.
Blue Wahoos pitcher Jackson Stephens gave up three runs on two hits in the first inning to Mobile. But after that he allowed one more hit, walked five and struck out two in five innings of work.
But Barrett Astin, who threw two scoreless innings and struck out three, got the victory to improve to 6-2 and owns a 2.93 ERA.
Pensacola knotted the score, 3-3, in the fourth inning on Jagielo’s homer to left field.
The Blue Wahoos had scored two runs in the third inning when Gelalich hit a solo home run to right field with two outs. Gelalich has hit his way into the starting lineup batting .320 with one homer and 10 RBIs. Pensacola’s Dixon doubled in Ervin to pull the Blue Wahoos within, 3-2.
The Mobile BayBears, like the game before, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. BayBears second baseman Kevin Medrano doubled in center fielder Evan Marzilli on a line drive to left fielder to put Mobile up, 1-0. Mobile first baseman Kevin Cron hit a sacrifice fly to right field that drove in shortstop Ildemaro Vargas to put BayBears ahead, 2-0. Then BayBears left fielder Rudy Flores hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Medrano to make the score, 3-0.
Slight Rain Chance And Hot
July 7, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Light southwest wind becoming south 10 to 15 mph in the morning.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 75. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light in the evening.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Heat index values as high as 105. Light southwest wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 75. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light in the evening.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93.
One Injured In Hwy 29 Crash
July 6, 2016
One person was injured in a crash involving two pickup trucks Wednesday evening in Cantonment. The accident happened on Highway 29 just north of Muscogee Road. One driver was transported by Escambia County EMS to an area hospital; the other refused treatment at the scene. The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Woman Arrested After Young Child Rescued From Hot, Locked Car
July 6, 2016
A Cantonment woman was arrested over the weekend after deputies say she left her young child in a hot, locked car while she was inside a Davis Highway business.
Lindsay Ann Mason, 33, was charged with felony child neglect. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
Witnesses told deputies that they saw Mason pulling on the locked door of a black Chevrolet Cobalt in the parking lot of CSL Plasma at 5007 North Davis Highway. Witnesses said the child was in the driver’s seat, sweating and screaming. Mason said she just needed to get the car keys from her boyfriend and went into the plasma center for at least 15 minutes while the child remained in the car with all the windows up and the vehicle not running.
Meanwhile, another witness told deputies she went to her trunk and grabbed a tire iron, broke the rear driver’s side window and grabbed the child. She said the child’s shirt was soaked with seat and his face was “apple red’, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, adding that she believed the child had been in the black vehicle for at least an hour.
When Mason exited the plasma center, she took the child, placed him back in the Chevrolet Cobalt and was about to leave when deputies arrived. The child vomited, and Mason stated that he was fine, just hot, the report states.
And Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy reported that he arrived to see a child with a red face, sweaty hair, a sweat stained shirt and a full dirty diaper being placed into an ambulance by Escambia County EMS. After her arrest, Mason told deputies that she had stepped out of her car to put her hair up, at which time the child turned off the ignition and locked the vehicle. Mason said she went into the plasma center to retrieve keys from her boyfriend and emphatically said that she was gone for only two minutes.
It was 92 degrees with a heat index of 101 at the time of the incident, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The child was transported by Escambia County EMS to Sacred Heart Hospital. The incident is also under investigation by the Florida Department of Children and Families.
No charges will be filed against the woman that broke the car window with a tire iron because her actions were justified, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Evers Announces AR-15 Winner
July 6, 2016
Congressional candidate Greg Evers has announced the winner of a custom AR-15 “Homeland Defender” rifle. The winner is Carrie Martin of Crestview.
“Here in the Panhandle, everyone knows we can’t rely on the federal government for anything. That’s what this contest is all about,” Evers said. “I’m thrilled this rifle is going to someone who understands the importance of the right to bear arms.”
Before the rifle can be claimed, Martin must complete federally required paperwork and a background check. The transfer will take place next week at the Pensacola Indoor Shooting Range.
“I’m looking forward to meeting Carrie next week,” Evers said. “We have to coordinate the paperwork and our schedules, but even a mountain of federal government paperwork won’t stop us from making this happen.”
Evers is seeking the Republican nomination for the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, who is not seek re-election.
Submitted photo.
Volunteers Sought For ECUA Citizens’ Advisory Committee
July 6, 2016
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA) is seeking Escambia County residents who reside in the County’s electoral districts 2, 3, 4, or 5, and are interested in being considered for an at-large appointment to the ECUA Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC). CAC members generally attend one meeting per month, which is usually held on the third Wednesday of the month.
The CAC meets at 2:00 p.m. in the ECUA Boardroom located in the Ellyson Industrial Park at 9255 Sturdevant Street. No travel is generally required. The current term will expire in mid-November, 2016, but all CAC members are subject to re-appointment by the ECUA Board. A Statement of Financial Interests must be completed by the nominee.
Escambia County residents interested in being considered for a possible appointment to the ECUA’s CAC, to begin serving in August 2016, are asked to submit a resume by close of business on July 18 to. Linda Iversen, 9255 Sturdevant Street, Pensacola, Florida 32514, or emailed to linda.iversen@ecua.fl.gov.