Butcher Knife Violence: Man Arrested After Manhunt
July 11, 2011
A man that allegedly tried to attack another person in his household with a butcher knife was arrested after a brief manhunt in Century Sunday night.
Wyndell Dean Lowery, 49, was charged with aggravated assault and battery by strangulation after the domestic violence incident just before 10 p.m. near Lake Stone. Lowery reportedly ran into a wooded area behind his residence in the 1000 block of West Highway 4 to avoid behind arrested. A K-9 unit from Century Correctional Institution was called in to search for Lowery, and he was taken into custody a short time later.
Lowery was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond.
There were no serious injuries reported in the incident.
Two Sentenced In Lake Meth Lab Case
July 11, 2011
Two Century men have been sentenced in connection with a case in which meth — not fish — was being cooked at a Century lake.
Mitchell Herman Dunsford, 25, of Else Davis Road, was sentenced to 30 days in jail with credit for time served, 24 months probation and ordered to pay $1,143 in court costs. Adjudication was withheld after Dunsford pleaded guilty to charges of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to sell, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Shaunathon Wayne Qualls, 26, of Campbell Road, was also sentenced to 24 months probation and 50 hours community service. He pleaded no contest to charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a listed chemical.
In early April, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies discovered an active methamphetamine lab in a wooded area on the shore of a gravel lake at the end of Cedar Street, just south of Old Flomaton Road. A portion of the meth lab — the bottle used in the actual manufacturing process — was tossed into a nearby stream.
Dunsford reportedly ran from deputies, leading to a brief, unsuccessful manhunt. While the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit was working to test and remove the meth lab, Dunsford returned to the scene with a relative.
Along with the drug paraphernalia, deputies also discovered fishing equipment — rods and reels and live bait.
Pictured top: Deputy David Bashore works to remove a bottle that was allegedly part of a meth lab thrown into a stream that feeds a gravel lake in Century. Pictured inset: The alleged active meth lab. Pictured below: Some of the items believed to have been used in connection with meth lab. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Funeral Service Held For Century Councilwoman
July 11, 2011
Funeral services were held today for Nadine McCaw, a Century council woman that passed away last Thursday.
McCaw was born March 31, 1954, and was a lifelong resident of Century. She was elected to the Century town council in 2007, taking office in January 2008. She was an employee of the Century Branch Library, and active in Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society, and the Alger-Sullivan Historical Society. McCaw was a member of the First Baptist Church of Century.
“Town Council Member Nadine McCaw will be remembered for her dedicated service to her community. My condolences go to Nadine’s family and the town of Century,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Friday.
“Her day job was her work with the Century Branch Library, but Nadine’s passion was service to others. She worked to better the lives of those in her community. My wife Vicki and I offer our prayers for her husband, Eddie, her children, and her entire extended family. She will be missed by all of us,” Congressman Jeff Miller said.
To read more tributes to McCaw, click here.
McCaw is survived by her husband of 39 years Eddie McCaw of Century; two daughters, Juanita McCaw and Felicia McCaw, eight grandchildren, three brothers and six sisters.
Pictured: Nadine McCaw at her first Century Town Council meeting in January 2008. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
NWE Senior Girls Win Sectional Softball Championship
July 11, 2011
The Northwest Escambia senior girls softball teams has claimed the sectional championship, and they are headed to state later this month.
NWE defeated Niceville 11-9 and 9-6 Saturday to claim the sectional title in Florida Section 1 Senior League Softball. They are the first Senior League team from Section 1 to make the state tournament.
Members of the NWE Senior Girls All-Star Team are Penny Banda, Kristen Byrd, Courtney Peebles, Kendal Cobb, Kyndall Hall, Danielle Steadham , Addy Lee, Samantha Bethea, Makayla Flowers and Cheyenne Schoonover. The team is managed by Ronald Peebles and coached by Jarrod Peebles and Danny Hall.
Northwest Escambia 11 Niceville 9
In the first match-up of the double elimination tournament, Northwest Escambia beat Niceville 11-9.
Scoring for NWE: Courtney Peebles and Cheyenne Schoonover each had a double and run; Makayla Flowers had a single and a run; Kristen Byrd added two singles, a double and three runs; Kendal Cobb and Danielle Steadham both had a single and a run; Addy Lee added a double, a triple and two runs; and Penny Banda had a single, two doubles and one run.
Peebles pitched all seven for Northwest Escambia, striking out nine and allowing just three walks.
Northwest Escambia 9 Niceville 6
In the second game, Northest Escambia beat Niceville 9-6.
For NWE, Cheyenne Schoonover had three singles and a run; Courtney Peebles added three singles, a double and a run, Kendal Cobb had two singles and two runs; Danielle Steaham had three singles,a double and three runs; Kyndall Hall contributed one single and one run; and Samantha Bethea had a single and a run.
Hall pitched the full game for NWE, striking out one and walking two.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
BP: Gulf Coast Economy Has Recovered From The Oil Spill
July 11, 2011
After paying more than $4.6 billion to private citizens and businesses since the Deepwater Horizon spill, BP officials have told federal overseers that the Gulf coast economy is mostly back on its feet and therefore the company should not have to pay for most new losses going forward.
In a letter to the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which has been set up to reimburse people and businesses for spill related costs, BP says that future claims should be limited to the small minority of applicants whose businesses have not rebounded.
“Multiple lines of evidence show that, to the extent certain portions of the Gulf economy were impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Gulf economy experienced a robust recovery in the fall of 2010, and that economic performance remains strong in 2011,” the company wrote in a letter to the GCCF dated Thursday.
“The current economic data do not suggest that individual and business claimants face a material risk of future loss caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” the company concludes.
Further, the company says that some of the payments already made go outside the boundaries for which it is required to pay under the federal Oil Pollution Act that governs the industry.
Florida’s cities and counties have collected more than $31 million from BP for efforts to respond to and clean up the worst oil spill in U.S. history, according to the latest figures tracked by the company, which has set aside $20 billion to pay for the damage.
Late Thursday, the company released its latest round of government payouts that indicates it may also be winding up its payments to cities, counties and the state. Thursday’s figures were identical to those released on June 23, and just $1.4 million higher than they were on June 9.
Escambia County led the state with $9.7 million in payments for removal costs, public services expenses and lost revenue. Nearby Bay County has so far collected $9 million from the company for damages incurred. The company has paid for damages as far south as the Keys, with Monroe County, Marathon and Key West combining for $81,075 in costs. Miami-Dade collected $28,000 for costs associated with the spill.
The payments, made by the oil company to reimburse governments for recovery costs and loss of revenue brought on by the April 20, 2010 explosion and fire aboard the rig that led to the biggest oil spill in U.S. history, come in addition to the payments made by the company to private residents and businesses for lost revenue related to the spill.
Private companies are required to go though the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which as of Thursday had distributed more than $4.6 billion on 196,524 claims. Overall, the facility has received 502,177 claims. The private sector payout is running more slowly than the government paybacks, a lag likely caused by the sheer number of claims and the lack, in many cases, of corroborating documentation.
Many Florida Panhandle applicants, for example, have complained that much of their business was done on a cash basis, an informal and often unaudited system for which few records exist. Of the nearly half a million claims, about 47,000 are being handled through attorneys.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., will be in Pensacola on Monday as part of hearings held by the U.S Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to get updates a year after the spill.
The discussion will include Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, Capt. Bob Zales, president of the National Association of Charterboat Operators and Collier Merrill, chairman of the Pensacola Area Chamber of Commerce.
By Michael Peltier
The News Service of Florida
Nicholson Drive Paving
July 11, 2011
A paving project on Nicholson Drive in Molino is nearly complete, about six months after the county moved forward with obtaining necessary easements.
In January, the Escambia County Commission voted to move forward to obtain rights of way and easements for the paving and drainage project. Nicholson Drive is a county maintained road that extends north off Molino Road for approximately 4,000 feet. The southern 2,000 feet, between Molino Road and Bet Raines Road, was unpaved.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Pedestrian Injured in Flomaton Hit And Run Crash
July 10, 2011
A pedestrian was injured in a hit and run crash this afternoon in Flomaton.
The 26-year old male was struck near the intersection of Palafox and Poplar streets just after after 1 p.m. He was transported by ambulance to Jay Hospital in stable condition.
Preliminary information indicated that he was struck by the side mirror of an unknown make and model red pickup truck that continued north on Palafox Street toward Highway 31.
The accident remains under investigation by the Flomaton Police Department. Escambia County (Fla.) EMS and the Flomaton Fire Department also responded to the accident.
Pictured above and below: A pedestrian was injured in a hit and run crash in Flomaton Sunday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos by Alisa Hart, click to enlarge.
Escambia Murder, Attempted Suicide Under Investigation
July 10, 2011
Escambia County sheriff’s deputies are investigating a murder and attempted suicide in West Pensacola today.
Deputies responded to an apartment at the Hunters Oaks Apartments, located at 7591 W. Highway 98, at about 9:33 a.m. Sunday following a report of a disturbance involving gunfire.
When deputies arrived they were told that a man and woman were arguing in their apartment and the woman ran away after the man shot at her. The woman was seen running into another nearby apartment, chased by the armed man. When the residents of that apartment fled they heard several gunshots from inside.
“Our patrol deputies were unable to make contact with the suspect or victim inside the apartment, said sheriff’s office spokesman Chris Welborn. “Our SWAT and Hostage Negotiations Teams were then called out.”
SWAT deputies made entry into the apartment at around 11:00 a.m. and they found a 33-year-old Teva Davon Bradley (pictured) suffering from a gunshot wound to the head and a 27-year-old woman also with serious injuries.
Escambia County EMS paramedics were called to the apartment and pronounced the woman dead at the scene.
Bradley was transported to a local hospital where he was listed in critical condition.
The initial investigation found that Bradley killed the woman before shooting himself. The victim’s name has not yet been released, pending notification of the victim’s relatives.
Still Wait And See On Century Lumber Industry, Jobs
July 10, 2011
Things have been pretty quiet around the old Alger Sullivan Lumber Company property in Century since a ribbon cutting back in October 2010 for a group of new businesses including Century Lumber and Land. According to the town’s mayor, financing delays stalled a real opening date.
But there’s still a glimmer of hope that Century Lumber and Land will bring new jobs to the Century area, according to Mayor Freddie McCall, who said he met with the company’s leaders last week.
“It all sounded very encouraging,” McCall said, “but it was nothing I can take to the bank at this time. It’s still wait and see.”
Century Lumber and Land unofficially announced a venture with several other companies at a September 2, 2010, meeting of the Century Chamber of Commerce. Century Lumber and Land Manager Jim Craft said at that meeting that the operations would eventually employee 300 to 500 people within a 36 to 42 month period.
A ribbon was cut for the companies in October — before the company actually owned the Alger-Sullivan property.
In early April 2011, Craft told a meeting of the Century Chamber of Commerce that “we now own the property”. But as of this week, records indicate that the property was last sold in 2006 to DMT Holdings, Inc. of Navarre and still belongs to that investment group.
As of April, over 3,000 people had already applied for one of just a few hundred jobs expected to be available initially at Century Lumber and Land, according to Catharine Jeter of Workforce Escarosa.
Pictured top: A group hoping to apply for a job gathered during the ribbon cutting for Century Lumber and Land last October. Pictured below: The old Alger Sullivan Lumber Company, and the planned future home of Century Lumber and Land, sits idle. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Forestry Officials: There’s Still A Drought And Burn Ban
July 10, 2011
Officials with Florida Forest Service’s Blackwater Forestry Center are reminding residents of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties that the area still is in the depths of an extreme drought and that both counties are still are under county-issued burn bans.
Even though parts of the district have seen moderate rainfall, 75 percent of the area is between 600 and 700 on a scale of 0-800 the standard drought index scale. Fire danger index ratings for the region have dropped to the “Moderate to High” levels.
“Despite improving conditions, Forest Service crews are maintaining a high level of fire readiness and have been busy recently,” according to Joe Zwierzchowski, information officer for the Blackwater Forestry Center.
Escambia County crews recently responded to a late night wildfire near Sorrento Road and Nighthawk Lane near Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park. The 15-acre fire was sparked by lightning and did not threaten any structures.
In Santa Rosa County, Wildland Firefighters responded to a wildfire in Holley by the Sea subdivision. Three homes were threatened by the three-acre blaze and one outbuilding and a privacy fence were damaged. The fire was started by two young adults, 18 and 19 years old, shooting fireworks in a backyard.