Escambia Man Charged With Sexual Battery Of A Minor
December 9, 2015
An Escambia County man has been charged with the sexual battery of a minor.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said 38-year old Kenyada Danurael Travis was arrested Tuesday following a three-month long investigation. Travis is charged with one count of sexual battery of a minor over the age of 12. Investigators said additional charges are pending.
Travis was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Two Century Men Arrested On Meth Related Charges In Atmore
December 9, 2015
Two Century men were arrested on drug charges following a routine traffic stop in Atmore.
An Atmore Police officer stopped a vehicle for a minor traffic violation and noticed evidence of a controlled substance offense.
A search revealed a large duffle bag containing “numerous precursor chemicals and other paraphernalia used to manufacture and ingest methamphetamine,” police said.
The two occupants of the vehicle were arrested at the scene. Gary Glenn Roley, 45, and James Nicholas Jordan, 35, were charged with unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance. They were booked into the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center in Brewton where they were being held on $250,000 bond each.
Pictured top: The meth making materials found in the vehicle of two Century men by the Atmore Police Department. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Two Escambia Educators Receive Shine Awards
December 9, 2015
Two Escambia County educators received Shine Awards Tuesday from Gov. Rick Scott.
Alisha Wilson is currently the Innovation Center Specialist at Washington High School and a former English teacher. She recently opened a satellite Writing Lab on campus in partnership with University of West Florida. She promotes “Makerspaces,” a creative space in the library where students gather to create video story production and to also work with robotics.
Gary James works in the Escambia County School District’s technology department, and teaches new methods of learning digital technology in classrooms. He mentors a team of high school students to help develop their computer skills.
“Florida is home to the best teachers in the nation and I am honored to recognize four outstanding educators today with the Governor’s Shine Award. I hope our teachers and students have a wonderful holiday break, and I forward to seeing their success in the classroom at the start of the New Year,” Scott said.
Sheriff Warns Of Warrant Scam
December 9, 2015
Sheriff David Morgan is warning citizens of a warrants scam in Escambia County.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has received several complaints in which a caller identifies his or herself as an ECSO employee. The caller then proceeds to tell the victim that they have a warrant for their arrest but the warrant will be dropped if the victim sends money.
FDLE: If You See Something, Say Something
December 9, 2015
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is relaunching the “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign after recent terror attacks.
“As the holidays approach, we remind our citizens to remain vigilant,” said FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen. “It’s important that we are aware of our surroundings and report suspicious behavior to law enforcement.”
Florida initially launched the “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign in 2011. Although the campaign never ended, FDLE is redistributing information to its law enforcement and media partners asking them to consider reposting the information on social media and writing news stories about the campaign.
Officials encourage anyone who sees suspicious activity to report it to local authorities or call 1-855-FLA-SAFE (1-855-352-7233). It can also be reported online through FDLE’s website at www.fdle.state.fl.us.
Examples of suspicious activity include things like: people drawing or measuring buildings for no known reason, strangers asking questions about building security procedures or people in secure areas where they are not supposed to be, or leaving behind briefcases, suitcases, backpacks or packages.
The “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign, originally implemented by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and now licensed to Department of Homeland Security for a nationwide campaign, is a simple and effective program to engage the public and key frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime to the proper law enforcement authorities.
Fourth Red Bulb On Fire Safety Wreath
December 9, 2015
Monday night, Escambia County Fire Rescue responded to a vehicle fire that extended to a nearby townhouse on the 4300 block of Erress Boulevard. The incident resulted in the fourth green light bulb being replaced in the “Keep the Wreath Green” fire safety campaign.
The first 911 call was received at 6:41 p.m. on Monday and on-site crews were able to extinguishing the fire, which saved the townhouse and others connected to it. Escambia County Fire Rescue was also able to replace the door that had been damaged by the fire and allowed the homeowner to secure their property at no charge and still come and go as usual. Residents of the home were assisted by the American Red Cross.
The “Keep the Wreath Green” fire safety campaign is a collaborative initiative with City of Pensacola and Santa Rosa County to promote fire safety during the month of December. During the month-long campaign, five-foot wreaths will be on display at 23 different county fire stations. Every time firefighters respond to a residential fire, a green light bulb will be replaced with a red one to remind citizens of the dangers posed by holiday decorations.
Pensacola Airport Adding New Flights For Summer
December 9, 2015
The Pensacola International Airport is adding new flights for the 2016 summer travel season.
Beginning Saturday, June 11, 2016, and extending through the end of July, Southwest will offer a non-stop Saturday flight to Dallas, Texas, and a non-stop Saturday flight to Kansas City, Missouri.
These two Saturday flights will be in addition to the daily non-stop Houston and Nashville service already provided by Southwest, and in addition to the Saturday non-stop service to Chicago that Southwest will be bringing back in mid-March. This additional service is reflective of the City of Pensacola’s commitment to improving the air service options for those individuals traveling to and from the Pensacola Gulf Coast region.
The new flight times will be as follows:
Kansas City
FLT 5052 Depart PNS 1:50 PM Arrive MCI 3:55 PM
FLT 438 Depart MCI 3:00 PM Arrive PNS 4:55 PM
Dallas
FLT 6161 Depart PNS 11:30 AM Arrive DAL 1:25 PM
FLT 1276 Depart DAL 9:10 AM Arrive PNS 11:00 AM
Escambia EMS Crew Saves Kitten Suffering From Smoke Inhalation
December 8, 2015
An Escambia County (FL) EMS crew is being credited with saving the life a kitten found near death as a mobile home was burned in Flomaton.
Firefighters from the Flomaton, Friendship and Pineview fire departments burned the abandoned trailer on Sue Street in Flomaton Saturday as a training exercise.
The kitten was found under the porch of the burning mobile home, nearly dead from smoke inhalation. The Escambia County EMS crew fashioned a kitty oxygen mask from a water bottle and nursed the kitten back to health with no apparent lasting injuries.
The training exercise gave the fire fighters from the three departments the chance to see how fire grows, learn techniques for knocking it down, and real life experience for those that had never experienced a structure fire. During the weeks before the burn, firemen also used the trailer to practice forcible entry, victim searches and victim removals.
Photos by Daphne Clark for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
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Tate Showband Peforms At NAS Event; Next Year It’s Off To Pearl Harbor
December 8, 2015
A Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony was held Monday at the National Museum of Naval Aviation aboard Pensacola Naval Air Station. Monday was the 74th anniversary of the attack that pushed the United States into World War II.
The Tate High School Vocal Jazz Ensemble and members of the Tate Showband of the South performed at Monday’s event, a decade-long tradition.
Next year, on the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, the Tate Showband won’t perform at the Pensacola ceremony — the Showband will be performing at Pearl Harbor.
The Tate High School Showband of the South is headed to Hawaii in December 2016 to take part in the 75th Anniversary Pearl Harbor Mass Band. They will join bands from around the United States and Japan in a concert commemorating the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The mass band, including the Tate Showband, will perform on the pier of the U.S.S Battleship Missouri in a worldwide live webcast “Gift of Music” concert on December 7, 2016. The trip was announced more than a year in advance to give the Band Boosters and band members a chance to raise the funds needed for the 215 member band. The trip is estimated to cost from $2,000 to $2,500 per band member.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Letter To The Editor: Fight For Oil Spill Funds
December 8, 2015
by Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson
As the federal government’s and five Gulf States’ settlements with British Petroleum become imminent, the fight to control those dollars and where they are used will intensify. Unfortunately, the final settlements were achieved between the federal government, the individual states impacted and BP. While local governments made considerable efforts to participate, they were not allowed in the settlement negotiations.
The exclusion of the local governments is understandable, as settlements become more complicated with more parties involved. In addition, local governments in Florida had participated in the RESTORE Act process to ensure that those communities impacted by the spill would receive the most benefit, much in the same way as the federal government thought the states that were actually impacted by the spill should receive 80 percent of the Clean Water Act fines.
When the settlements were announced, I was very complimentary of the governor, the attorney general and other parties who negotiated on Florida’s behalf. As I said then, I believe they did an excellent job of securing a superior position for Florida, as can be seen in the $680 million in natural resource damages funding and $2 billion in economic damages funds. In addition, existing Florida law ensured that 75 percent of those economic damages monies would come to Northwest Florida, which truly suffered the impact in Florida. While I have spent considerable time structuring and advocating for RESTORE, I was fine with the fact that the State circumvented federal legislation in the RESTORE Act, to produce a larger net funding source for the State of Florida.
The settlements seemed well coordinated and were anticipated to provide great benefits for Northwest Florida. Unfortunately, as soon as the dollar signs became real, consistent rumors surfaced that the existing State legislation directing distribution of the economic damages funds would be changed before the BP Deepwater Horizon settlement was finalized. On the surface, the $2 billion in economic damages for the State of Florida looks great for Northwest Florida, which would receive 75 percent of this under Florida’s 2013 Gulf Coast Economic Corridor Act. However, as you scratch the surface of this State legislation, you realize that the Legislature could change those figures before a dime is ever realized.
Despite the fact that Northwest Florida took the brunt of the environmental and economic hit from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, simple changes to Florida law could make it so that Northwest Florida receives no money from the economic damages settlement. During the disaster, both federal and state governments recognized that a great proportion of Deepwater Horizon-related damage funds should go to the areas that sustained damages. However, now that the settlement dollar amounts have been specified, there is discussion to alter the state law established through Senator Gaetz’s efforts.
Northwest Florida has already seen what can happen when monies are placed to a vote. At the most recent Florida Gulf Consortium meeting, the eight coastal counties of Northwest Florida were simply outvoted by Florida’s 15 other Gulf Coastal Counties, and the proposed allocation of RESTORE Act Spill Impact Component (Pot 3) monies were changed from an earlier vote that allocated half the funds to Northwest Florida to one that reallocated more monies to communities in Central and South Florida.
Northwest Florida has never believed that all of Florida’s Gulf restoration funds should be spent in this region. However, it was Northwest Florida that advocated for much of the settlement and fought to ensure that those monies returned to the Gulf Coast for the benefit of all of Florida’s Gulf coastal communities.
I am saying to all Northwest Floridians that we must be vigilant to ensure that the reparations we both suffered for and sacrificed to obtain are not taken from us simply because of our minority status. While that can happen, it would be extremely unjust and not in the spirit by which Northwest Florida works to be a part of Florida as a whole.
Again, I write this to make every Northwest Floridian aware of the potential loss of Deepwater Horizon settlement funds. We need to continue to strongly advocate to everyone within our state that these funds are in response to our region’s suffering, and that we worked collectively within the State to ensure a fair balance.
If advocacy for these funds is left up to a few local leaders and elected State officials, we will again end up on the short end of the funding stick. We all have a responsibility to advocate and to make sure the rest of the state understands we are equal Floridians and not some junior status Floridians. The next couple of Legislative sessions will be critical to our future.