Highway 164 Widening Project Ahead of Schedule, Final Phase Begins
August 27, 2024
Escambia County’s ongoing project to widen portions of Highway 164 is progressing rapidly, with the final phase was to begin Tuesday, August 27.
The $1.25 million project, funded by Local Option Sales Tax, aims to improve safety along the dangerously narrow roadway by widening 2.16 miles. The first two phases were completed ahead of schedule, widening Highway 164 from Highway 97 to Green Village Road and from Green Village Road toward North Highway 29.
The current phase involves widening the stretch near North Pine Barren Road, which was originally scheduled to start in September. Traffic will be reduced to a single lane during construction. The entire project is expected to be completed by September 20.
The need for widening Highway 164 became evident after numerous near-miss accidents and sideswipes. With some sections as narrow as 8 feet, the road has been especially dangerous for larger vehicles, such as fire trucks from the nearby McDavid Fire Station.
Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry expressed his satisfaction with the progress of the project, emphasizing its importance in improving safety and addressing the community’s concerns. He also vowed to continue advocating for additional widening projects along Highway 164 and other local roads.
Panhandle Grading and Paving, the lowest bidder for the project, was awarded the contract by the Escambia County Commission. According to county engineering data, the sections being widened experienced a high concentration of accidents between May 2018 and May 2023.
Pictured: Highway 164 just east of Highway 97 Monday afternoon, August 26. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Atmore Police Arrest Two Century Women, Foley Resident On Drug Charges
August 27, 2024
Three people, including two Century residents, were arrested on drug charges following a traffic stop on Highway 31 in Atmore.
The incident began when officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle heading towards Atmore from the Canoe area. After locating the vehicle, Atmore Police Department officers discovered the license plate was registered to another vehicle.
A traffic stop was conducted, and the driver, 33-year-old Kiauna Grice of Century, and two passengers, 31-year old Tashawna Perkins of Century and 20-year old Hannah Reed of Foley, were detained.
During a search of the vehicle, officers reported that they discovered a quantity of controlled substances, including about one gram methamphetamine, one gram of synthetic cannabis (spice), and prescription Lortab and Tramadol.
Grice and Perkins were each charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, while Reed was charged with one count and an outstanding warrant from the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office.
All three were booked into the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center in Brewton.
Ascend Cares Donates $3K To Buy Thermal Imaging Cameras For Molino Fire Station
August 27, 2024
The Ascends Cares Foundation made a significant contribution to Escambia County Fire Rescue. On Monday, the foundation presented a check for $3,078 at the Molino Fire Station, which will be used to purchase two FLIR K2 thermal imaging cameras for the fire station.
Robby Suggs, the fire chief for Ascend Performance Materials Fire Department in Cantonment, represented the Ascends Cares Foundation at the presentation. Suggs, who also serves as a part-time firefighter with ECFR, emphasized the importance of these cameras for enhancing fire safety and rescue operations.
Thermal imaging cameras are designed to detect and measure heat energy, also known as infrared radiation. This technology allows the camera to “see” heat, even in conditions where visible light is limited or absent. Firefighters can use these cameras to locate hidden hotspots, such as a fire inside a wall or overheated electrical components. . In search and rescue operations, the thermal imaging cameras can be used to location people that are lost, trapped in a collapse of that may have been ejected from a motor vehicle crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
By The Numbers: About 1 In 4 Escambia Voters Took Part In Primary Election
August 27, 2024
Nearly 1 in 4 registered voters in Escambia County turned out for last week’s 2024 Primary Election.
Of Escambia County’s 198,336 active eligible voters, 48,385 or 24.4% voted, according to the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections.
Nearly 60% of the ballots were cast before election day. There were 15,781 early votes cast and 13,255 that took advantage of early voting and 10 Escambia County locations.
Preliminary data indicates just 22.4% of registered voters statewide participated in the primary election season. That is the lowest turnout during a presidential election year since 2012.
Meet Gracie, The 911 Support Dog
August 27, 2024
Escambia County’s lifeline for emergencies isn’t just staffed by dedicated professionals – it has a furry friend too.
When you call 911, you connect with the Emergency Communications team, a group working tirelessly around the clock at the Escambia County Public Safety building on W Street. These communications specialists are the first responders behind the scenes, dispatching help to those in need.
But there’s another member of the team offering comfort and support – Gracie.
Gracie, an emotional support animal, lives alongside the communications crew. Known for her warm greetings and love for treats, Gracie provides a welcome dose of stress relief in the high-pressure environment..
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Library Board Of Governance Holds Meeting At Molino Library
August 27, 2024
The West Florida Library Board of Governance held their regular August board meeting Monday afternoon in Molino.
The board establishes policy and oversees the management of the West Florida Public Libraries and makes annual budget recommendations to the Escambia County Commission.
During the meeting at the Molino Branch Library, the board discussed a collection development policy and other library policy updates.
Director of Library Services Todd Humble also reported that a book vending machine could be coming to a new community center at Carver Park at Webb and Washington streets in Cantonment.
Pictured top: The West Florida Library Board of Governance met Monday afternoon in Molino. Pictured below: Molino Library Branch Manager Rachel Kahalley explains the many community programs at her branch to the board. Pictured below: WFPL Assistant Director of Library Services Christal Bell-Rivera and Director of Library Services Todd Humble met with the board. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
UWF Debuts At No. 12 In 2024 AFCA Preseason Coaches Poll
August 27, 2024
The UWF football team will open the 2024 season ranked No. 12 following the release of the AFCA Division II Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Argonauts are among three Gulf South Conference teams in the poll, with Valdosta State at No. 7 and Delta State at No. 18.
UWF’s week four opponent, Grand Valley State, was slotted at No. 4 with one first place vote.
UWF went 8-4 a year ago and advanced to the NCAA Division II Playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The Argos were ranked 23rd in the final poll a year ago.
UWF is 64-25 all-time with five NCAA postseason appearances in seven seasons. The Argos have reached the national semifinals three times and the national championship twice, winning the title in 2019. Since 2019, UWF’s 42 victories rank fifth among all Division 2 programs.
The Argos open the 2024 season on Thursday, September 5 when they host McKendree at PenAir Field on the UWF campus. Kickoff for the game is at 6 p.m.
Photo Scott A. Miller/UWF for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
One Area Winn Dixie Will Soon Be Converted Into Aldi Store
August 26, 2024
Get your quarters ready.
The process to convert some of the Winn Dixie grocery stores in Florida is beginning. Aldi tells NorthEscambia.com that one Aldi in the North Escambia area will close next month to begin the conversion into an Aldi.
In March, the Germany-based Aldi completed the purchase of all Winn Dixie stores.
The Winn-Dixie store located at 312 East Nine Mile Road will close for renovations in late September. The store will reopen as an Aldi in the next several months.
“While this store is temporarily closed, we continue to proudly serve the residents of Pensacola at our other area stores. We thank our customers for their years of loyalty at this location and look forward to seeing them soon as a new Aldi,” an Aldi spokesperson told us.
“Customers can expect a quick, easy shopping experience with great products at the lowest possible prices. Our smaller stores are stocked with only the items customers need so they can get in and out,” the company said.
Employees at the Nine Mile Road location will have priority when applying for positions at the new Aldi. The company emphasizes its commitment to minimizing the impact on staff, offering support and opportunities for redeployment within Aldi or transfers to nearby Winn Dixie stores.
Not all Winn-Dixie stores will become Aldis, and the only confirmed Escambia County conversion so far is the Nine Mile Road store.
In case you are wondering why you need a quarter — you insert a quarter to get a shopping cart at Aldi. But don’t worry, it’s like a deposit. You get the quarter back when you return the shopping cart.
The first Aldi store opened in Germany in 1913 and now operates thousands of stores in more than 10 countries. Aldi has opened over 2,300 stores in the U.S. and continues its path as one of America’s fastest growing grocery retailers.
Pictured: The Aldi store on Mobile Highway in Pensacola. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
University Of Florida Biologist Prepares For Space Travel Thursday
August 26, 2024
How do plants adapt when they go into space?
That’s the question the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) hopes to answer with a novel space-based experiment happening Thursday at 9 a.m. EST when a UF/IFAS horticultural sciences researcher launches with his experiment into suborbital space on a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket.
Rob Ferl, the University of Florida Astraeus Space Institute director, will fly in the Blue Origin craft and perform the experiment himself. The experiment builds on prior research that showed a type of plant – Arabidopsis thaliana – can detect that it is in space and then change how its genes are expressed.
“This moment is a milestone not just for the University of Florida and the Astraeus Space Institute but for an entire community of scientists who can now consider experiments in space that might have previously been viewed as impossible,” said UF Interim President Kent Fuchs. “I look forward to cheering Rob on during Thursday’s mission and to watching him make history yet again.”
This experiment will determine which genes turn on and off at various stages of flight. Although much is known about how plants respond to living in spaceflight environments, like the International Space Station, researchers know less about how plants respond molecularly as they travel to space. The experiment will provide new insights into how plants adjust their gene expression as they transition from Earth to space.
One day, plants might be an essential part of space exploration as food and air scrubbers, and understanding how they react to a space environment is the first step toward learning how to effectively grow them there.
“We envision plants will keep us alive in space or on the Moon,” said Ferl, who is also assistant vice president for UF Research. “What does it take to adapt to living in space? We’d like to know.”
Anna-Lisa Paul, co-principal investigator for the experiment, a horticultural sciences research professor and director of UF’s Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research, said researchers have only been able to see what this plant’s genes are like before and after space flight, not during.
“It’s something outside the evolutionary environment of any terrestrial species,” she said. “This is something we’re learning that has never been done before.”
The research was funded by a grant from NASA’s Flight Opportunities program and the agency’s Biological and Physical Sciences division.
Ferl will carry the plants in specialized tubes, called Kennedy Space Center Fixation Tubes (KFTs), that have a plunger to release a preservative solution. The tubes will be Velcroed to the legs of his flight suit during the flight. Before and after the flight, they will be moved in custom transit bags designed by the UF Space Plants Lab out of blackout fabric and a golden thermal blanket.
The experiment has a second purpose: to validate that having researchers do their own experiments on flights is a valuable use of research funding, rather than relying on untended experiments or robotics. This is the first NASA-supported researcher-tended suborbital flight.
“There’s something to be said about first-hand experience,” Ferl said. “The experiment is enriched when a human mind and a human brain go with it.”
The study will look at the plant’s transcriptome, the collection of all expressed RNA that contains answers to which genes are turned on and off to change the plant to adapt in a space environment. Ferl will chemically “lock” the genes with a preservative solution to pause the plants at a moment in time during various points in the launch – just before takeoff, at the start of zero gravity, at the end of zero gravity and at landing.
Researchers will then sequence the plants’ expressed genes and compare them to an on-Earth control experiment to figure out exactly which ones were activated or deactivated during the flight.
Jordan Callaham, assistant director for the UF Astraeus Space Institute and research coordinator for the UF Space Plants Lab in the UF/IFAS department of horticultural sciences, said this will help researchers begin to understand how plants would respond on space missions, on the Moon or on Mars. But it will also give them a better idea of the fundamental properties of the chemical pathways within plants and how they respond to all novel environments.
“We’re understanding how biology responds to space on a very basic level,” said Callaham, who will be doing the on-Earth control experiment while Ferl is on the Blue Origin rocket.
Florida Department of Health Reports Data Breach
August 26, 2024
The Florida Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed a significant data breach. The breach, which occurred on June 26, 2024, resulted in unauthorized access to sensitive personal information, including names, Social Security numbers, and medical records.
The Department has begun notifying affected individuals and offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. A dedicated toll-free call center has been established for those who believe they may have been impacted but have not received a notification letter.
The compromised data included a variety of personal identifying and protected health information, such as dates of birth, addresses, banking information, credit card numbers, driver’s license numbers, and medical histories.
In response to the breach, the DOH has taken immediate steps to enhance security measures and prevent further unauthorized access. The Department is also cooperating with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident and mitigate its impact.
Individuals who have been affected by the breach are urged to remain vigilant against identity theft and fraud. Regular monitoring of financial accounts and credit reports is recommended, and any suspicious activity should be reported to the appropriate authorities.
For more information, call a dedicated toll free number at (866) 997-1602.