Cantonment Man Charged With Burglary
August 19, 2012
A Cantonment man has been charged with burglarizing a home on Neal Road.
Joshua Dylan Leavell, 20, was arrested this week on an outstanding warrant for burglary, criminal mischief and petit theft. He remained in the Escambia County Jail early Sunday with bond set at $11,000.
On September 25, 2011, a resident reported a burglary in the 200 block of Neal Road. The victim reported that someone broke in through a bedroom window and stole Lortab from her bedroom. Fingerprints at the scene were from Leavell, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
Leavell told deputies that he had opened the bedroom window, but another man had actually entered the house. The man fingered by Leavell had an alibi, according to deputies.
Century To Hold Housing Grant Public Hearing
August 19, 2012
The Town of Century will hold a public hearing Monday night as they begin the application process for $650,000 in grants to rehabilitate private homes in town.
The town is applying for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to rehabilitate or replace homes that are currently occupied by persons of low or moderate income.
The public hearing will be held in conjunction with a regular council meeting at 7 p.m. at the Century Town Hall.
The town received a similar $650,000 during the last fiscal year; it was used to rehabilitate about a dozen private homes.
Citizens Insurance Reverses Course On Inspection Program
August 19, 2012
With customers complaining about getting hit with higher premiums, leaders of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. said Friday they will revise an inspection program aimed at helping prevent wind damage to homes.
The program is supposed to give homeowners a discount on their premiums for doing construction upgrades such as improving roofs or better protecting doors and windows. But it has faced criticism recently because many customers have lost previous discounts — known in the insurance industry as “mitigation credits” — when Citizens has done reinspections of the homes.
Citizens Chairman Carlos Lacasa and President Barry Gilway held a news conference Friday to announce changes to the program, such as offering free follow-up inspections if homeowners disagree with the findings of inspectors. Also, Citizens will provide more information to consumers about a dispute-resolution process.
Gilway said the changes will put the “onus” on the state-backed Citizens to validate whether homeowners should receive the credits. State officials have long said strengthening homes against hurricane damage is critical to the property-insurance system and that credits can serve as an incentive for customers to spend thousands of dollars on improvements.
“We want to get the credits to them,” Gilway said. “That’s what ultimately reduces our exposure.”
The Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post have recently reported that reinspections have increased Citizens premiums by more than $130 million. Gilway said Friday that Citizens has completed about 255,000 reinspections and has 88,000 more to go. Citizens is the largest property insurer in the state, with 1.45 million policies as of July 31.
Lacasa, a former Miami-Dade County lawmaker, said one of the problems facing homeowners is that standards for receiving the credits have changed in recent years. The newer standards are more stringent, which has led to people losing credits during reinspections.
Gilway said, for example, standards have changed for how much of a roof surface can be flat and still qualify for credits.
Another frequent issue stems from inspectors being unable to gain access to attics to check structural issues. Under the changes announced Friday, Citizens will provide free follow-up inspections for people whose credits have been removed because of a lack of access to attics.
South Florida insurance agent Larry Willis, who phoned into the news conference, said disputes have even arisen from situations such as inspectors needing to go through clothing-filled closets to climb into attics. He said some inspectors won’t move clothing that blocks access.
Gilway said he will provide recommendations to the Citizens board next month about credit-related issues, possibly including whether the changes should apply retroactively to customers who have already lost credits. He said, however, Citizens will not retroactively return premium dollars.
By The News Service of Florida
Special Section: Back To School Info You Need To Know
August 19, 2012
School started Monday in Escambia County, and we have the last minute information you need to know, including start times, school supply lists, lunch prices, bus routes, and information on free and reduced price lunches.
Click a link to visit that story.
- School Start Times
- School Lunch Prices
- Free And Reduced Lunch Guidelines
- School Lunch Menus
- School Supply Lists
- School Bus Routes
Mobile Tops Pensacola 5-2 In Series Finale
August 19, 2012
BayBears starter Chase Anderson held the Blue Wahoos to just five hits and struck out seven in six scoreless innings of work, while left fielder Brent Clevlen blasted a three-run homer in the eighth to give Mobile a 5-2 victory over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Saturday evening at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.
With their victory Mobile improved their second half record to 23-32 this year, while Pensacola fell to 28-27 since the midpoint of the 2012 season. Despite the defeat, the Blue Wahoos won the first Bay-to-Bay series with a 12-10 record against the BayBears this year.
Anderson (6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 SO) earned the victory after giving up just five hits, in addition to his seven punchouts in six shutout innings of work, while Pensacola starter Daniel Corcino (6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO) suffered a tough loss, allowing only a lone earned run on just two hits in his six frames pitched.
Mobile struck early, plating their first tally in the second to take the 1-0 advantage. Clevlen began the frame with a walk, before eventually scoring on an RBI double off the left field wall by 2B David Nick.
The BayBears would then add four insurance runs in the eighth to pull away. Dan Kaczrowski led off with a double to right, and subsequently scored on a Pensacola fielding error. SS Chris Owings and RF Alfredo Marte followed with base knocks prior to coming home on Clevlen’s homer to left, making it 5-0.
Pensacola ended Mobile’s shutout hopes in the final frame thanks to the longball. CF Bryson Smith singled before being sent in on 1B Beau Mills’ two-run blast to left. It was the ninth homer of the year for Mills, which ties him for the team lead with 3B David Vidal.
2B Brodie Greene & RF Andrew Means were involved in a collision in right field during the eighth. Greene was taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation, while Means was able to walk off the field under his own power. There is no word on the extent of injuries for either player at this time.
Owings (2-3, 1 R, 1 BB) was the lone BayBears batter to record a multi-hit effort, while SS Billy Hamilton (3-4, 1 SB) collected three hits and LF Donald Lutz (2-4) tallied a pair of base knocks. Hamilton stole second in the first inning to increase his season total to 143, which places him two away from tying Vince Coleman’s record and three from setting a new mark.
Pensacola now returns home for a five-game series with the Montgomery Biscuits, the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, beginning Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m. from the bayfront stadium, with RHP Wirfin Obispo expected to get the nod for Blue Wahoos, while Montgomery is slated to give the ball to RHP Merrill Kelly.
Alabama Chief Justice Candidate Roy Moore To Speak Monday Night
August 19, 2012
Roy Moore, conservative Republican candidate for the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, will speak Monday evening in Brewton.
Moore was elected chief justice of Alabama’s highest court back in 2000, but he was removed — and made national news — in 2003 when he refused to follow a federal judge’s order to remove a granite Ten Commandments monument that he had placed in Alabama’s judicial building.
The Alabama Democratic party removed their candidate for chief justice Friday after he made online comments the party deemed to be inappropriate for judicial candidate, according to al.com.
The Democratic State Executive Committee said Harry Lyon’s “increasingly erratic behavior” had “undermined his ability to stand as a candidate for the Democratic Party”.
Lyon made comments “critical of Republican justices, homosexuals and supporters of gay marriage”, The Birmingham News reported. Lyon even said Moore suffered from “dementia” and was a “devil worshiper”.
“It is disappointing that this close to the election process we find ourselves without a candidate for Chief Justice, but are hopeful that we will soon have a truly qualified candidate and future Chief Justice,” said Democratic Chairman Mark Kennedy.
“It only will show Alabama voters what a farce the once powerful Alabama Democratic Party has become,” Bill Armistead, the state Republican Party chairman, said in a statement about the Democratic party’s lack of a candidate. “The Alabama Republican Party will stand shoulder to shoulder with Judge Roy Moore to defeat you and support conservative Alabama values.”
Moore will speak during the August meeting of the Escambia County GOP at 6 p.m. Monday at The Hourglass, 220 St. Joseph Avenue in Brewton.
Man Charged With DUI Manslaughter After Fatal Wreck On Nine Mile Road
August 18, 2012
An Escambia County man has been charged with DUI manslaughter after an early Saturday morning wreck on Nine Mile Road that left one man dead and woman in critical condition.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 28-year old Skylar Clint Davis of Pensacola was traveling east in the westbound lane of Nine Mile Road at Northminster Lane in a 2003 Chevrolet 1500 when he topped the crest of a hill and struck a 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier head-on.
The driver of the Cavalier, 57-year old Russell George Sheppard of Pensacola, was pronounced deceased at the scene. A passenger in his vehicle, 24-year old Kathryn Elizabeth Sheppard of Pensacola was critically injured and transported to Sacred Heart Hospital.
Davis was transported to West Florida Hospital where he was treated and released into the custody of the Florida Highway Patrol.
Davis was charged with DUI manslaughter, DUI serious bodily injuries and DUI property damage. He was booked into the Escambia County jail with bond set at $115,000.
Shots Fired At Pickup; No Injuries Reported
August 18, 2012
There were no injuries when someone opened fire on a pickup truck Friday night on County Road 97 near Cantonment.
The victim told deputies that someone “came after him” on Jacks Branch Road, according to Melissa Rawson, spokeswoman for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. The victim continued south until someone fired a gun and shot out his tire on County Road 97 about 8:50 p.m.
The suspect was described as a black male, driving what was believed to be green over metallic-colored extended cab pickup, possible a Ford Ranger.
Rawson said it was not immediately known if the shooting was a road rage incident or if the suspect knew the victim.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Fall Ball Registration: Molino And Northwest Escambia
August 18, 2012
Fall ball registration will continue Saturday, August 25 for the Molino and Northwest Escambia ballparks.
NWE Bradberry Park
NWE is organizing the park’s first Fall Ball program for the Walnut Hill, Century, and Atmore area. Baseball is for children 5 to 15, and softball is open to ages 7 to 16. Games will run mid-September until the end of October.
Players will be registered Saturday, August 25 from 10 a.m. until noon each day at Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill with no money collected at the time of registration. A $50 registration fee will be collected when teams are created; the fee will cover park expenses and a player team shirt. Each team will also raise $5 per player, per game for umpire fees.
For more information, call (850) 327-4579 after 5 p.m.
Molino Ballpark
Sign ups are underway for Fall Ball at the Molino Ballpark.
Registration will take place August 25 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the board room at the ballpark. Fall ball is for all ages — tee ball, baseball and softball. $35 per player.
One Year Later: Remembering LCpl Travis Nelson
August 18, 2012
Saturday marked the one year anniversary of the death of local Marine LCpl. Travis M. Nelson. LCpl. Nelson gave all on the battlefields of Afghanistan on August 18, 2011.
A world was shattered at the Nelson home in Bratt as three men in military uniforms stood at the door. “I just screamed and said no,” Beckie Nelson of Bratt said shortly after she learned that her son, LCpl Travis Nelson, was shot and killed while conducting combat operations in in Helmand province, Afghanistan. “I just went to my knees and said don’t let them come in. I knew right away that he was gone.”
It was a tragedy that began a wave an emotions and events that touched the entire North Escambia area and a nation. The community grieved as hundreds if not thousands changed their Facebook profile pictures to a single image in honor of Nelson. Tears flowed as powerful photos were published that showed an honor guard removing Nelson’s flag-draped coffin from a plane at Dover AFB in Delaware.
For a video retrospect, click here.
The rain poured down at Pensacola Naval Air Station a few days later as the final leg of Nelson’s journey home began. The rain did not send them running; they stood silently — many holding American flags — as the hearse carrying an American hero departed on a 55-mile journey to Atmore. Along the way, some of Pensacola’s busiest roadways came to a complete standstill as the motorcade passed. Many motorists stood outside their vehicles and paid their respects. In Walnut Hill, just a few miles from Nelson’s boyhood home in Bratt, the motorcade slowed as it approached Ernest Ward Middle School. Nelson was Golden Eagle, attending Ernest Ward in the sixth and seventh grades.
Hundreds of Ernest Ward Middle School students and teachers dressed in red, white and blue lined Highway 97, American flags in hand, waiting for the arrival of the motorcade.
As the procession passed, the students stood with their hands over their hearts, waving Old Glory. The thunder of 127 Patriot Guard motorcycle riders vibrated the ground and echoed across the country fields near the school.
Six Florida Highway Patrol trooper vehicles led the hearse past the school. Many students broke down in tears at the sight of a flag draped coffin. Others cried as they made eye contact with Nelson’s parents and their daughter — a sixth grader at Ernest Ward.
The motorcade continued into Atmore, where crowds stood along the route, waving Old Glory. At a local bank on Highway 31, people stood with large flags as the Northview High School NJTROC stood steadfast at attention. Across the way at the iconic Atmore train station, a group of local veterans stood proudly and saluted as Nelson’s remains passed.
Nelson’s funeral was held in Atmore where, again, hundreds paid their final respects.
Nelson was not forgotten. His name was added to the Walnut Hill Veterans Wall of Honor and other area memorials. A scholarship was announced. The Bratt Community Park was renamed the LCpl. Travis M. Nelson Park. Nelson’s family was honored at the annual Veterans Day program at Ernest Ward Middle School.
Madeline Cates was to marry LCpl Travis Nelson when he returned from service with the Marines in Afghanistan. She had picked out her dress just before he lost his life serving his country half a world away in August.
“It wasn’t suppose to happen,” Madeline Cates, then 21, said about the death her soulmate. “He was the love of my life.”
Travis Nelson’s parents, Scott and Beckie Nelson, just could not stand the thought of their first Christmas without their son. To take their minds off a Christmas without Travis in the house, they decided to give back to the communities that had supported them so much following his death.
The Nelson family, along with a small army of volunteers, prepared and delivered about 125 Christmas meals Sunday for elderly, shut-in and needy people in the Bratt, Atmore and surrounding areas.
“He really was our hero,” Scott Nelson said.
LCpl Travis Nelson left behind a short, simple note just in case he did return from the battlefield in Afghanistan.
“Dear friends and family, if you are reading this, I didn’t get to come home. I love each and every one of you. I have no regrets, I died for a meaningful cause.”
For a video retrospect, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
