Police Seek Tips On Stolen Yamaha Four-Wheeler
November 29, 2013
The Flomaton Police Department is looking for tips on a stolen four-wheeler. The Yamaha 6-speed four-wheeler was stolen from the back of the victim’s truck on Titi Street in Flomaton during the early morning hours Wednesday. Anyone with information is asked to call the Flomaton Police Department at (251) 296-5811. Callers can remain anonymous. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Man Cited After Hwy 29, Hwy 97 Log Truck Wreck
November 28, 2013
There were no injuries when an 18-wheeler hauling logs overturned early this morning at the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 97 in Molino.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 33-year old Jermie Capers of Century was eastbound in the Tom Thumb parking lot and stopped at the stop sign. He entered the intersection about 2:45 a.m., failing to see a southbound Peterbuilt log truck. The driver of the log truck swerved to avoid a collision and traveled across all northbound lanes of Highway 29 and overturned the truck onto its driver’s side. Most of the logs came to rest off the roadway, causing blockage in just one northbound lane.
Capers, who was not injured, was cited was violation of right of way.
The driver of the log truck, 36-year old Bradley Wayne Capers, and his passenger, 42-year old William Leon Burgons, both of Andalusia, were treated on the scene for minor injuries and refused transport to the hospital.
The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the crash.
Over 50 Christmas Trees Stolen From Lot That Benefits Tate Baseball
November 28, 2013
Over 50 Christmas trees were stolen from a lot in Cantonment that partially benefits the Tate High School baseball team.
The owner of the lot told the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office that over 50 North Carolina Fraser Firs were missing when she arrived Tuesday morning from the lot on Nine Mile Road. About 300 trees — some of which sell for $120 — were delivered on Monday. But Tuesday morning, only drag marks were left behind where the trees had been.
The trees ranged from 5-12 feet high and had a signature hole about the size of a dime drilled in the bottom. The stolen trees were worth an estimated $5,000.
Anyone with information on the thieves that stole the Christmas trees is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Man Gets Seven Years For 20 Minute High Speed Chase
November 28, 2013
A man that led Escambia County deputies on a high speed chase and sent several schools into lockdown mode last April has been sentenced to prison.
Ellis Roy Clark was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in state prison by Judge Scott Duncan for fleeing and eluding at high speed. He previously pleaded no contest to the charges.
Escambia County deputies responded to Village Mobile Home Park on Highway 29 about 10 a.m. on the morning of April 4 after a report of an armed disturbance. Clark had threatened the victim several times over a two day period and had returned to violently beat upon the victim’s door.
The victim had observed a handgun in Clark’s possession and also indicated he believed that he carried an AK47 in his trunk.
Clark was spotted driving a gold Ford Taurus leaving the trailer park. When deputies pulled behind him and activated their sirens, Clark fled at a high rate of speed. There were multiple units from the sheriff’s office involved in the pursuit of Clark. During the chase, Clark struck a 1989 Silverado at the intersection of Highway 29 and Ensley Street causing injuries to the driver.
The chase lasted more than 20 minutes with speeds exceeding 100 mph at various points. Clark ended up on Interstate Circle where deputies were able to prevent Clark from
going towards the schools on Longleaf Drive. Deputies were able to stop the vehicle and take Clark into custody. There were no firearms located.
Nearby Pine Forest High, West Florida High and Longleaf Elementary schools were placed on lockdown as a precaution.
Clark has an extensive criminal history record including possessions of cocaine, aggravated assault, battery on law enforcement, resisting officer with violence, and a previous fleeing and eluding of law enforcement.
Pictured top: The high speed pursuit of Roy Ellis Clark and his Ford Taurus (top photo) ended on Longleaf Drive not far from Pine Forest High School on April 4. NorthEscambia.com file photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
BBB Black Friday Tips
November 28, 2013
Black Friday has traditionally been the biggest retail shopping day of the year, although numerous stores will open on Thanksgiving Thursday this year.
Whether in the store or online, the Better Business Bureau serving Northwest Florida offers advice to help you with your holiday shopping:
- Budget your shopping money and stick to it. Avoid impulse buys.
- Look for the details on every sale and understand the specifics.
- Advertising can be tricky; don’t get stuck paying more for an item than you expected.
- Credit card offers from a store will offer a discount on your purchase but may also carry high interest rates.
- Keep all receipts and warranty information for each item purchased.
- Fraudulent charges are easier to fix if you pay with a credit card than a debit card.
- Return policies differ with every store. Make sure you know the conditions for returns and exchanges, including whether restocking fees are charged.
- If you purchase a gift card, look for hidden terms that can decrease its value.
- Don’t leave your wallet, credit card or purse on a counter or in an unattended shopping cart.
- Ask for a store manager if any advertised offer does not match the price listed on an item.
- Yelling at store employees and other customers won’t make the lines shorter. Anticipate crowds and take a friend along to enjoy the day.
- Credit cards provide the most protection if someone steals the credit card number or if you don’t receive an ordered item.
- You, the customer, are responsible for knowing and understanding each online retailer’s return/exchange policy.
- Beware of deals that sound too good to be true, especially extremely low priced on hard-to-get items.
- Ensure you have the most recent updates for spam filters, anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewalls installed.
- Read the site’s privacy policy and understand what personal information is being requested and how it will be used.
- Make a file to keep copies of all purchase confirmation web pages and e-mails for future reference and as a record of the purchase.
- Only shop on trustworthy sites; look for the BBB seal and other widely-recognized “trustmarks.”
- Never wire money to pay for a transaction and when on sites like Craigslist, only shop locally.
- Delete phishing emails such as those claiming a problem with an order or account in an attempt to lure the “buyer” into revealing financial information.
- Actively keep an eye on your credit card statements to detect suspicious or fraudulent activity on your accounts.
- You are your best protection! Make sure your online purchase is secure by looking for the “s” (https://) in the URL and the “lock” symbol in the lower-right corner before paying.
Woman Shot During Escambia Home Invasion Robbery
November 28, 2013
Deputies are searching for a suspect in a Monday night home invasion in Escambia County that left a woman with a gunshot wound to her face.
Just before 7 p.m., deputies responded to Gail Street in reference to a home invasion robbery with a gunshot victim. According to witnesses, three black males armed with handguns entered the female victim’s home and demanded money. When the suspects did not find what they wanted, they shot the woman in the face, deputies said. At least two more shots were fired at the house as the suspects fled the scene.
A witness reported a seafoam green, late 1990’s model Oldsmobile fleeing the scene. The victim was transported by Escambia County EMS to an area hospital.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Holiday Closings For Thanksgiving
November 28, 2013
The following will be closed in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
- Escambia County Schools (Wed-Fri)
- Santa Rosa County School (Wed-Fri)
- Escambia (Fla. & Ala.) and Santa Rosa county offices (Thur-Fri)
- Century, Jay, Milton, Pensacola, Atmore, Flomaton city offices (Thur-Fri)
- Perdido Landfill (Thurs, landfill open Fri, offices open Mon)
- U.S. Post Office — retail windows closed, no mail delivery or collection (Thur)
- Florida state offices (Thur-Fri)
- Federal offices (Thur-Fri)
- No bus service from ECAT on Thursday
- West Florida Public Libraries, including Century Branch (Thur-Fri)
- Santa Rosa libraries (Thur-Sun)
- Pensacola State College
- University of West Florida
ECUA Garbage:
ECUA’s Thursday residential routes will be collected Friday, and Friday’s routes will be collected on Saturday. Thursday’s commercial routes were picked up on Wednesday; Friday commercial routes will be picked up as usual.
Turkey Time Cooking Tips
November 28, 2013
It’s Thanksgiving, time for family and friends to gather and give thanks. And time for cooks to ponder the correct way to prepare their turkey.
Today, we are taking a look at the proper way to cook your turkey with tips from Dorthy Lee, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent for the Escambia County Extension Office.
Clean
Begin every meal preparation with clean hands, and wash hands frequently to prevent any cross contamination. As a rule, hands that have come in contact with raw meat or poultry should be washed for twenty seconds in hot, soapy water.
Separate
Raw meat and poultry products may contain harmful bacteria, so make certain that the juices from those products do not come in contact with food that will be eaten without cooking, like the salad. Also, never place cooked food on an unwashed plate that previously held raw meat or poultry.
Cook
Use of food thermometer should be a standard operating procedure in your kitchen and, when used correctly, will ensure that your turkey is cooked to perfection. To be safe, the
temperature of a whole turkey should reach 180°F between the breast and the innermost part of the thigh.
If you stuff your turkey, the center of the stuffing must reach 165°F. If the stuffing has not reached 165°F, then continue cooking the turkey until it does. Let the turkey stand twenty minutes after removal from the oven before carving.
Chill
This is another important step because food-borne bacteria can grow while food sits unrefrigerated. Refrigerate or freeze perishable leftovers within two hours of cooking. To prepare your leftovers, remove any remaining stuffing from the cavity and cut turkey into small pieces. Slice the breast meat. Wings and legs may be left whole. Refrigerate stuffing and turkey separately in shallow containers.
Use or freeze leftover turkey and stuffing within three to four days, gravy within one to two days. Reheat thoroughly to a temperature of 165°F, or until hot and steaming.
For more information, call the Escambia County Extension office, (850) 475-5230.
Photos: Camp Fire Kids Celebrate Thanksgiving With Feast
November 28, 2013
Camp Fire USA Century Youth Learning Center held a Thanksgiving feast this week for children and their parents. The daycare’s children, dressed as Pilgrims or Native Americans, held a program before the meal, singing songs and using sign language to ask everyone if they they were ready to eat before enjoying a full Thanksgiving meal.
Handmade toilet paper roll turkeys proclaimed some of the items that the children are thankful for, including moms, dads, siblings, other family, teachers, toys, God, pets and food.
Submitted photos by Pam Townson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cook Safely This Thanksgiving to Prevent Kitchen Fires
November 28, 2013
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is alerting consumers that the threat of fires in the kitchen triples on Thanksgiving Day. From 2009 through 2011, there was an average of about 1,300 cooking fires on Thanksgiving Day. This is more than three times the average daily rate from 2009 through 2011 of about 400 cooking fires a day.
“As fire safety experts have said for years, ‘Stand by your pan!’” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “If you are frying, grilling or broiling food, stay in the kitchen. Not following this advice can be a recipe for disaster on Thanksgiving and throughout the year.” When it comes to fires in the home, cooking fires are number one. They accounted for nearly 150,000 fires (more than 40 percent of all annual unintentional residential fires) each year from 2009 through 2011. Unattended cooking is the top cause of cooking fires. Cooking fires also caused the most home fire-related injuries, with an estimated annual average of nearly 27 percent, or 3,450 injuries each year.
Overall, CPSC estimates an average of 362,300 unintentional residential fires, 2,260 deaths, 12,820 injuries and nearly $7 billion in property damage attended by the fire service occurring each year between 2009 and 2011.
To stay safe in the kitchen, avoid wearing loose-fitting clothing with long sleeves near ranges or ovens, watch children closely so they don’t come into contact with cooking food or hot stovetops, turn pan handles toward the back of the stove to prevent kids and others from spilling a pan’s scalding contents onto themselves.
In the event of a fire, call 911. Cover a pan with a lid to smother the flames. Never pour water or flour on a fire. That can make it worse. Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
“Turkey fryer fires can be explosive and result in serious burns,” said Glenn Gaines, Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator for the United States Fire Administration (USFA). “Only use a turkey fryer outside and away from your home. Never use it in a garage or on a porch. Don’t overfill the oil or leave the turkey fryer unattended.”
Since 2003, there have been more than 125 turkey fryer-related fires, burns, explosions, smoke inhalations, or laceration incidents reported to CPSC staff. There were 55 injuries among these incidents, but none were fatal. For the incidents reporting a dollar value for the property loss, the total loss reported was around $6 million. Additional incidents involving turkey fryers may have occurred that were not reported to CPSC.
Consumers should also protect themselves by installing smoke alarms in their homes. “Roughly three out of five home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms,” said Jim Shannon, President of the National Fire Protection Association. “Smoke alarms save lives. Having a working smoke alarm cuts the chances of dying in a fire in half.”
Change the batteries in smoke alarms at least once every year and test the alarms every month to make sure they are working.
To provide a better warning of a fire and more escape time, install more than one alarm and interconnect all smoke alarms in the home. Interconnected alarms speak to one another, so if there is a fire in one part of the house, the interconnected alarms sound throughout the house and alert consumers to the fire more quickly.
For the best protection, install alarms on every level of the home, outside sleeping areas and inside each bedroom, and use both ionization and photoelectric alarms. Alarms that are powered by house wiring should have a battery backup.
Smoke alarms provide the warning, but every family should have a fire escape plan as well. Practice the escape plan with everyone in the house so they can get out quickly. The escape plan should include two ways out of each room (as practical) and a family meeting place that is outside where everyone can meet if there is a fire in the home.