Community Helps Feed 65 Animals Seized Near Molino
December 10, 2011
People from across the North Escambia area banded together Friday to help save the lives of 65 animals that were starving near Molino.
Escambia County Animal Control seized 18 donkeys, six miniature horses, four goats, 12 peacocks and 25 pigs. But since they had no where to house some of them, they were kept on the property, according to Diane Lowery, president of Panhandle Equine Rescue (PER).
“These animals have been neglected for quite some time; some have already died,” she said in an emergency plea via email Friday, asking for hay or funding for hay, for some of the animals.
“I just sat at the computer and cried at the responses and the number of people that wanted to help animals in trouble,” she said Friday afternoon on her way to help distribute eight large bales of hay weighing hundreds of pounds to the animals.
“This is such a great community that we live in,” Lowery said. “It just warms my heart the way people helped so quickly.”
She said the owner of the animals is currently in the hospital and was unable to care for them. It was not known late Friday if any charges would be filed against the person.
Pictured top: Hay is delivered to starving donkeys Friday afternoon near Molino. Pictured inset: An Escambia County Animal Control Officers feeds a donkey an apple. Pictured below: Another county animal control officer documents conditions. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Funeral Services Set For Wade Jernigan; His Organ Donation Allows Others To Live
December 10, 2011
A heart of gold, always a smile, always positive, always there, and always giving of himself. Those are just some of the ways Wade Jernigan’s friends described him in the hours following a tragic wreck Wednesday morning not far from Northview High School. And, even in his death, he continued to give of himself.
“Wade was truly a sweetheart, he was the best friend a girl could have. I was so shocked and overwhelmed about the passing I broke down in to tears,” a friend wrote on NorthEscambia.com. “But later on in the day i realized this is a time not mourn and grieve but to mainly honor how great of a guy he was.”
“I’ve never in my time being at Northview witnessed the halls so empty of emotion and noise. Silence had overwhelmed us completely. This tells you how great of a guy he was. It hurts us all to think the guy you surrounded yourself with in case you were having a bad day, is gone. In return, we will all grow stronger, and learn from this,” another student wrote about the Northview sophomore.
After doctors did all they could do, Wade was kept on life support at Sacred Heart Hospital in order to donate his organs.
“Through his unselfish, giving spirit he chose to be an organ donor, and even though we greatly grieve his passing, through it he gave eight people and their families life and in this way he lives on through them,” the family said.
Funeral services for 16-year old Kenneth Wade Jernigan will be held Sunday, December 11 at 1 p.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North inCantonment with Rev. Jeff Howard and Rev. Doug Hogg officiating. Interment will follow at Bayview Memorial Park Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 5-8 p.m. on Saturday, December 10, 2011.
For the complete obituary, click here.
Class 1A Championship: Jefferson County Beats Chipley
December 10, 2011
With 40 points in the second half, Jefferson County beat Chipley 47-13 to claim the Florida Class 1A football championship Friday night in Orlando.
Jefferson County and Chipley were tied 7-7 early in the third until Jefferson County exploded to take a 33-7 lead headed into the fourth quarter.
It was the sixth state championship for Jefferson County (9-5). Chipley, coming off a win last week over the Northview Chiefs, finished at 11-3.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
‘Memory Line’ Remembers Northview Student Wade Jernigan
December 10, 2011
Northview High School students remembered classmate Wade Jernigan with a “memory line” Friday morning.
Dozens of Northview students met before school at the Travis M. Nelson Park on West Highway 4 and drove their vehicles in a continuous motorcade to the school campus. Jernigan, 16, died Thursday as a result of an accident on the way school Wednesday morning.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century’s Lashley Steps Down As Head Coach Of Navarre Raiders
December 10, 2011
Former Century resident Chad Lashley stepped down Friday as the head coach of the Navarre Raiders.
Lashley told team members that he was stepping down to spend more time with his family — wife Amanda Wiggins Lashley, who is from Walnut Hill, and the couple’s three children Taylor, Aden and Gavin.
He said he has plans to remain in coaching, just not as head coach.
Man Convicted Of DUI Manslaughter
December 10, 2011
A Santa Rosa County man was found guilty Friday of DUI manslaughter and DUI.
Jeremy Joseph Hammill faces 20 years in state prison when he is sentenced on January 31.
On February 27, 2010, Hammill ran the red light at Hamilton Bridge Road and Dogwood Drive and crashed into a car driven by Tammy Cabaniss. Cabaniss was seriously injured, and her passenger, Dwight Davis, died as a result of the crash.
Hammill, who had a previous DUI conviction, had a blood alcohol level of .26, according to State Attorney Bill Eddins.
Deputy Stable After Being Shot, Suspect Also Shot
December 9, 2011
Two people, including an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputy, were shot in Santa Rosa County Friday afternoon.
Investigator Steve Hough of Fort Walton Beach was working as part of the US Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force serving a warrant in the 5400 block of Camille Gardens Circle near Milton when he was shot about 1:59 p.m. He was shot once in the face and twice in the leg when the suspect came out of a home shooting. He was listed in stable condition early Saturday at Sacred Heart Hospital.
The task force was attempting to apprehend 34-year old David Christopher Lewis. Lewis had active warrants for failure to appear, resisting an officer without violence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, display of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. Lewis was known by officers to be violent, armed with firearm, and had made threats towards law enforcement.
Hough was driven by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office to Santa Rosa Medical Center then was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital by LifeFlight. Lewis was transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the officer involved shooting incident. The Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office is pursuing criminal charges for attempted murder and aggravated assault against Lewis.
Jay Native, Century Correctional Employee Serving In Afghanistan Receives Awards
December 9, 2011
An Jay native assigned to NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan was recently awarded for actions taken in early August when his team successfully combated an insurgent attack in Kabul.
U.S. Army Sgt. Chester Tolbert helped defeat a multiphased attack in which insurgents used small-arms and improvised explosive devices to attack the British Council Building, a base located in a relatively upscale area of the country’s capital used for education and helping Afghanistan’s civil society groups. Although no U.S. service members were harmed, 12 people died in the attack.
Stateside, Tolbert was employed by the Florida Department of Corrections at Century Correctional Institution.
Commander Task Force Yankee Army Brig. Gen. John Hammond presented Tolbert with Joint Service Achievement Medal and combat action badge.
“I’m extremely proud of the soldiers,” said Hammond. “Our medics responded to the wounded while the remaining soldiers worked toward assisting the Afghan partners and special operations forces in neutralizing the insurgents … they all worked hard and came together extremely well.”
Pictured top: U.S. Army Sgt. Chester Tolbert, from the 1165th Military Police Unit assigned to Task Force Yankee in Kabul, receives a Joint Service Achievement Medal and a combat action badge for actions taken in early August when his team successfully combated an insurgent attack on the British Council Building. Picture inset: Sgt. Tolbert helps an Afghan National Police officer detect vehicle threat indications in the heart of downtown Kabul last early last month. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chris Fahey for NorthEscambia.com click to enlarge.
Poverty Level Increases In Escambia And Santa Rosa
December 9, 2011
A declining economy has plunged an increasing number of Escambia and Santa Rosa county residents into poverty and resulted in a decrease in median family income for many.
According to data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, 19.1 percent of Escambia County families were living in poverty in 2010, a dramatic increase from 12.4 percent in 2007. During the same three year period, the median household income in Escambia County decreased from $41,772 to $41,428.
In Santa Rosa County, the poverty rate increased from 10.8 percent in 2007 to 12.6 percent in 2010. The median household income in Santa Rosa County increased from $50,935 to $51,208 in 2010.
The recession of the last couple years put more Florida residents into poverty and resulted in a decrease of median family income in much of the state.
Data on poverty and income show school-aged children took the brunt of the economic downturn, and overall poverty rates increased in 39 of Florida’s 67 counties between 2007 and 2010. Statewide, a little over three million Floridians, 16.5 percent of the population, lived under the federal poverty line in 2010.
Particularly hard hit because of reliance on construction, Florida’s rate was higher than the national rate of 15.3 percent. Florida counties were also more likely than the nation as a whole to see the poverty rate rise between 2007 and 2010.
Meanwhile, median income fell in Florida and across the country during the same period as layoffs in the construction and manufacturing sectors meant the loss of good paying jobs as the housing bubble burst and demand for manufactured goods fell along with corporate profits.
The News Service Florida contributed to this report.
Nominate North Escambia Persons Of The Year
December 9, 2011
NorthEscambia.com will honor several North Escambia residents as North Escambia Persons of the Year as 2011 comes to a close, and we need your help.
We are asking our readers to nominate individuals that they believe made a difference in North Escambia during 2011. We will choose several of them to be named as a 2011 North Escambia Person of the Year. The awards are our way of saying thanks to those that have worked to improve our lives in the North Escambia area during the past year.
We are not necessarily looking for a person with a long list of accomplishments. We are looking for people that have given of themselves to help others and the communities of North Escambia during 2011.
To nominate someone, please email their name, contact information (if known), and the reason why you believe they should be a Person of the Year. The person must either be a resident of North Escambia, work in North Escambia or otherwise have significantly impacted North Escambia in some way. For the purposes of this award, we define North Escambia as being Cantonment north to the Alabama line.
Entries should be emailed to news@northescambia.com by Tuesday, December 20. We need your email and phone number just in case we have questions, but your name and contact information will not be published.
Please make your nominations by email; do not use the story comment form below.
The 2011 North Escambia Persons of the Year will be named after Christmas.
Pictured: Lawrence and Doris Cooper, two of the North Escambia Persons of the Year for 2010. Read their story by clicking here. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.