No Injuries In Morning Cantonment Rollover Crash
August 23, 2024
There were no injuries in an early morning rollover crash Friday in Cantonment.
The crash was reported about 5:30 a.m. at the intersection of Highway 29 and Well Line Road.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating and has not released details.
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Habitual Felon Gets 25 Years For Stealing Travel And Construction Trailers From Walnut Hill
August 23, 2024
A Pensacola man is headed to prison for the theft of a travel trailer and a construction company’s trailer from Walnut Hill.
Thursday, Judge John F. Simon Jr. sentenced Damien Matthew Lopez, now 43, to 25 years in state prison as a habitual felony offender for grand theft of a motor vehicle, grand theft from $20,000 to $100,000 and grand theft from $10,000 to $20,000.
During a June trial, the stat argued that Lopez has demonstrated an inability to live in society without violating the law. Lopez’s criminal record includes 53 previous convictions, 32 of which were felonies.
A 2018 Forest River travel trailer was reported stolen March 16. 2023, from Highway 97 just south of Ernest Ward Middle School. The same day, a 20-foot enclosed construction trailer was stolen from a business on South Highway 99 at Highway 97, about a half mile from where the travel trailer was stolen.
The construction trailer was valued at $15,000 and contained construction tools and equipment valued at $40,000.
A few days later, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigators were made aware of evidence showing a white SUV pulling the travel trailer at the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 97. Using a tag number from the SUV, they were able to trace the vehicle to an address on Bradley Street in Pensacola.
Deputies found the enclosed trailer at the Bradley Street address. They said it was freshly painted, but the Walnut Hill business’ logo was still visible through the paint. Investigators executed a search warrant on O’Daniel Drive in Pensacola where Lopez and numerous tools belonging to the Walnut Hill company were located, according to an arrest report. Additional stolen items were recovered from an address on Highway 297A.
Lopez allegedly sold the travel trailer to another individual for $500. At last report, the travel trailer has not been recovered.
Northview High Students Awarded Construction Career Days Scholarships
August 23, 2024
Northview High School students received 11 of 17 Construction Career Days awarded scholarships.
The scholarships were awarded following the Contraction Career Days last spring.
The students named this week were:
$2,000 Scholarships
- Sarah Bailey
- Kendal Beasley
- Colton Criswell
- Carsyn Dortch
- Braden Glick
- Ava Gurganus
- Lauren Stinson
- Mandell Smith
$500 Scholarships
- Gabriella Burkland
- Abbie Hardy
- Darrin Leatherberry
The scholarship fund was established to assist high school graduates enrolling in college, trade/vocational education programs, or those entering directly into the workforce.
During Construction Career Days, over 1,300 high school students were treated to an interactive look into the transportation industry during the fourth annual event.
Students had the opportunity to operate heavy equipment and learn about bridge inspections, paving, concrete, traffic control, engineering, and more. Students were also introduced to a multitude of career paths available in the transportation, structural, engineering, and building industries, and were able to interact with representatives from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), as well as various engineering firms, and contractors looking to hire in the Northwest Florida area.
Ascend Cares, Community Members Lend A Hand With 10,000 Pound Cantonment Food Giveaway
August 23, 2024
Community members and volunteers from Ascend Cares assisted the Cantonment Improvement Committee with a 10,000 pound good giveaway this week in Cantonment.
A smaller food distribution is held every Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Carver Park at 208 Webb Street. A larger 10,000 pound food giveaway is typically held on the third Tuesday of the month.
There is a maximum of three people per vehicle that can receive a box, and each person must have their ID. People should line up their vehicles, single file on Webb Street facing north; food is loaded into vehicles.
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Bonus Photos: Tate Cheerleaders, Fans And More
August 23, 2024
Here are bonus photos from last Friday Tate vs. Pine Forest Jamboree at Pete Gindl Stadium in Cantonment.
For photos and a game story, click here.
(Our apologies for the delayed posting of this gallery due to circumstances beyond our control and our election coverage this week.)
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Walks Haunt Wahoos in 7-3 Loss to Smokies
August 23, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos dropped their third in a row to the Tennessee Smokies on Thursday night, falling by a 7-3 final.
With the loss, the Blue Wahoos trail the Biloxi Shuckers in the fight for a playoff spot by 1.5 games with 21 to play, pending the results of Biloxi’s game in Birmingham.
The Smokies jumped ahead early, scoring four runs in the first inning to take the lead for good. Blue Wahoos Evan Fitterer (L, 6-5) walked four men and allowed four runs in just 0.1 innings, departing with 34 pitches thrown after a two-run single from Fabian Pertuz.
Adam Laskey kept the game within reach for the Blue Wahoos with 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, but the Pensacola offense didn’t activate until the late innings. Smokies starter Chris Kachmar (W, 7-3) worked 5.0 scoreless innings to earn the win.
Trailing 6-0 in the seventh, the Blue Wahoos pushed a pair of runs across with a Harrison Spohn RBI groundout and Jakob Marsee RBI single. They were poised to chip away even more in the eighth, drawing four walks against Daniel Missaki to force in a run and draw the score to 6-3, but Blake Whitney (S, 5) coaxed an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded to end the threat.
After Pertuz hit a solo homer in the eighth against Dale Stanavich, capping a four-RBI night, Whitney returned for the ninth to seal the Smokies win.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Smokies on Friday. First pitch from Smokies Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT.
Water Restored At Ransom Middle School
August 22, 2024
Ransom Middle School was without water due to a water main break for portion of Thursday morning.
The Escambia County School district said water service was restored by about noon. Portable toilets were brought to the school and bottled water was available during the service outage. Service was resorted by noon.
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authorities said there was a water main break on Highway 297A near Sherrilane Drive that has been repaired. The school was notified by ECUA directly, and under 50 impacted residences in the area received door hanger or phone notifications.
Update: Century Boil Water Notice Lifted
August 22, 2024
UPDATE: The boil water notice was lifted just before 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 22.
Previous story:
The entire town of Century remains under a boil water notice that was issued Sunday morning, but Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. hopes that precautionary advisory will be lifted today or at worst on Friday.
A significant portion of the town of Century was without water for most of Sunday following water main break about 4:30 a.m. in front of Bondurant Ace Hardware at 8511 North Century Boulevard. An automated system notified the mayor by 5:30 p.m. and crers were at work by 6 a.m. They worked until about 9:45 p.m. to complete repairs.
Gomez said Wednesday night the town replaced several feet of a large 6-inch pipe that broke as the result of what he called an Act of God.
“We did the boil water notice out of precaution to make sure nobody got sick or had any kind of contamination in their water,” he said.
For more photos, click to enlarge.
The town is awaiting the results of bacteriological testing to give the all clear and lift the advisory. In the meantime, the the town advises that all water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth, or washing dishes be brought to a rolling boil for at least a minute, or that bottled water be used.
“Use your bes water before boiling water,” Gomez said.
As soon as the town notified NorthEsambia.com that the boil water notice is lifted, we will update this story.
Due to the water main break, the Whataburger restaurant on North Century Boulevard closed Sunday. It has since reopened.
Two Town of Century employees were injured, one of them seriously, during the repair process when the hole in which they were working at least partially collapsed.
Pictured: Repairs to a broken water main Sunday afternoon on North Century Boulevard. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Application Denied For Borrow Pit On Highway 95A In Molino
August 22, 2024
The Escambia County Board of Adjustment (BOA) has denied a conditional use change application for a borrow pit in Molino.
According to Escambia County, a borrow pit is where material like gravel, soil, clay or sand is excavated for use at another location. Borrow pits can be enclosed or open, and both types require a permit in Escambia County.
The applicant, Justin Patterson or Ironhorse Cattle, Co., proposed a 44-acre borrow pit on 52.88 acres zoned AG (agriculture use) at 5595 Highway 95A, west of Highway 95A and just south of Cedartown Road. Escambia County Land Development Code (LDC) requires conditional approval use approval for any borrow pit or reclamation activity with 1,000 feet from any residential use or zoning.
In a meeting lasting over five hours Wednesday, the BOA heard testimony from numerous residents, most expressing concerns about truck traffic, dust, perceived environmental issues, and noise that would impact the surround area. Several others spoke in support of allowing the applicant to use the property as proposed.
BOA staff recommended the approval of the conditional use to allow the pit.
Wednesday, the BOA votes 3-1 to deny the application. A similar conditional use change request for the property was denied by the Board in April 2022.
Specifically, the Board disagreed with the staff recommendation, effectively finding that:
- General compatibility. The proposed use cannot be conducted and operated in a manner that is compatible with adjacent properties and other properties in the immediate area.
- Nuisances and hazards. The scale, intensity, and operation of the use will generate unreasonable noise, glare, dust, smoke, odor, vibration, electrical interference, or other nuisances or hazards for adjoining properties and other
- properties in the immediate area
- Screening and buffering. Where not otherwise required by the Land Development Code (LDC,) screening and buffering will not be provided if appropriate to the proposed use and site.
- Use requirements. The proposed use does not comply with any additional conditional use requirements of the applicable zoning district, use, or other provisions of the LDC.
Board member Michael Godwin noted that as many as a dozen residences are within 1,000 feet of the proposed borrow pit property.
The Application And Proposal
“The proposed use can be conducted and operated in a manner that is compatible with adjacent and surrounding properties. The subject property is largely surrounded by undeveloped property,” the application stated, noting that there is one residential structure to the south of the proposed pit site, which will become a lake overlooked by a single-family residence when after excavation is complete. Operation is planned for 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday, as allowed by the LDC. A 25-foot landscape buffer was proposed around the fenced-in pit.
Single access to the pit property was proposed for a driveway off Highway 95A across from Josh Lane.
The developer’s application said noise would be limited to the daylight hours and with pit’s sidewalls acting as a sound barrier, and a dust suppression system would have been used to prevent airborne materials.
“The use will not generate unreasonable noise, glare, dust, smoke, odor, vibration or other nuisances or hazards,” the application stated. “The excavation activity is temporary.”
According to the Northwest Florida Water Management District, there are no permitted potable water wells with 500 feet of the property; however, the permitting program did not exist until the late 1970s, and records are incomplete before the late 1980s.
A neighbor previously objected to the proposed use based on a private irrigation well in the vicinity of the project. An attorney for the applicant asserted that protections do not exist around any private or non-potable (drinking) water well.
Escambia County Development Review staff have recommended approval of the conditional use of the property.
“Staff recommends approval of the Conditional Use as submitted with the enhanced buffering as detailed on the submitted site plan. DRC site plan approval and BCC approval of the reclamation plan are required,” was the staff findings as submitted.
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Man Arrested On Multiple Charges After Manhunt In Cottage Hill
August 22, 2024
A man is facing multiple charges following a manhunt Monday night in Cottage Hill.
Jeremy Edward Byrd, 48, was charged with resisting an office and felony possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. He was also arrested on an outstanding warrant after his bond was revoked in a 2022 case involving charges of trafficking in fentanyl, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and possession of cocaine.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted Byrd riding a bicycle on Virecfent Road near Cottage Hill Road. The deputy had been looking for Byrd on an outstanding warrant, with knowledge that he was staying at an address in the 100 block of Cottage Hill Road.
The deputy rolled his windows down and told Byrd to stop, but Byrd picked up speed. The deputy pulled his vehicle in front of the bicycle, but Byrd drove into a ditch.
“Due to the facts that Jeremy Byrd was actively fleeing, refused to stop and was about to enter a wooded area where he could escape and I was by myself, I utilized my agency-issued taser,” the deputy wrote in the arrest report that was released Wednesday. The taser probes missed due to bushes. The deputy saw Byrd enter a wooded area and flee toward Crowndale Road. Other deputies and a K-9 unit responded.
Byrd was located in a muddy area, lying down with his arms under his body. He refused multiple commands to give the deputy his arms, the report states, and the deputy used a closed fist strike to the bicep area to gain control and restrain Byrd.
The report states that a black bag located under Byrd contained a baggie that contained a substance that field test positive for methamphetamine, along with a syringe and other drug paraphernalia.
Byrd was not injured in the incident.
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