Heavy Oil, Tar Balls Wash Up On Pensacola Beach
June 23, 2010
Heavy tar balls and oil wased up on Pensacola Beach Wednesday morning from the area of the Pensacola Beach Pier to the Fort Pickens gate. Some of the sheets of oil were reported to be about 10 feet long. BP workers were working on the cleanup.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist toured the area Wednesdaday to get a first hand look at the situation.
For a video of the oil washing ashore, click here.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Video: Oil Washes Up On Pensacola Beach
June 23, 2010
Heavy oil and tar balls washed ashore on Pensacola Beach Wednesday morning, as shown in the YouTube video below.
(If you don’t see the video above, it is because your work or home firewall is blocking videos from YouTube.)
Florida’s Former Most Wanted Enters Not Guilty Plea
June 23, 2010
A North Escambia resident that was recently the most wanted man in Florida has entered a not guilty plea to 20 child pornography charges.
Martin Lyle Christianson, 57, is facing 20 felony counts of possession of child pornography, including images of child molestation. His bond was originally set at $1 million, but it was reduced to $100,000 by Judge John Parnham. Christianson has not yet made bond; he remains behind bars in the Escambia County Jail.
In May, Christianson was named the Florida Attorney General’s most wanted fugitive in the state after he fled his residence at 452 Crowndale Court in the Cottage Hill community in a used ice cream truck that was later found abandoned in Mobile. He was arrested without incident on May 22 in Terrytown, Louisiana, by U.S. Marshals and local authorities.
He is due to be back in court August 24 for a docket hearing, and his jury trial is set to being September 13.
Christianson is also wanted in California on a four-year old warrant for commercial sex charges. Authorities there believe he put his wife to work in a brothel.
State Looking To Return Cash, Property To Local Residents
June 23, 2010
Florida’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property is stepping up efforts to put unclaimed cash or property back into the hands of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Florida CFO Alex Sink announced Tuesday that her Bureau of Unclaimed Property will begin focusing additional efforts to return unclaimed cash or property to Floridians living in areas affected by the Deepwater Horizon disaster — including hundreds of residents in the North Escambia area.
“During this disaster and tough economic climate, every penny counts,” said CFO Alex Sink. “I encourage Gulf residents and businesses to visit www.FLTreasureHunt.org today to see if the state is holding any unclaimed property that may help them weather the economic effects of this disaster.”
Individuals with more than $100 in unclaimed property in Wakulla, Franklin, Gulf, Bay, Walton, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Escambia counties will be receiving notices in the mail informing them how to claim their property. Those counties currently hold more than 335,000 unclaimed property accounts worth more than $30.5 million.
So far this fiscal year, CFO Sink’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property has returned $187 million, already $13 million more than last year’s record-setting year.
Since the program’s inception 49 years ago, the Florida Bureau of Unclaimed Property has successfully reunited owners or relatives of deceased owners with more than $1.4 billion in unclaimed property. During CFO Sink’s tenure as CFO, the Bureau has successfully reunited owners, heirs and businesses with more than $678 million, 48 percent of all the money returned since the beginning of the program – due largely to aggressive efforts to contact owners.
The Bureau of Unclaimed Property, on behalf of Florida citizens, receives unclaimed funds from dormant accounts in financial institutions, unclaimed utility deposits, insurance benefits, premium refunds, uncashed checks and trust accounts, as well as watches, jewelry, coins, stamps and historical items from abandoned safe deposit boxes. Unclaimed property can be claimed for free at any time by the rightful owners or heirs by logging on to www.FLTreasureHunt.org or by calling the Bureau at 1-88-VALUABLE.
First Tropical Storm Could Be Forming; What Impact On Oil Spill?
June 23, 2010
Florida emergency responders are looking into the Caribbean as they prepare for what could be the first storm of the 2010 hurricane season, an arrival that would not only curtail recovery operations but could require them to open up the partially capped oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
Meeting with a group of local and state officials, Florida Director of Emergency Management David Halstead said Tuesday there is a possibility that a tropical wave developing in the Atlantic will intensify into a tropical cyclone within 48 hours, though by late Tuesday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said the probability was only about 20 percent.
Though the preliminary forecast calls for the system to move further west into Mexico, the storm’s path could veer northward and might then require cleanup crews to cease operations until weather conditions improve.
And that’s a problem.
Officials are in the process of replacing the current, rigid well containment and oil collection system with another that is more flexible. Though that will allow them to collect more oil, it does not help in the event of bad weather. In the event of a storm, the recovery vessels and their crews will have to detach themselves from the collection system, leaving the oil free to spew into the gulf again.
“The spigot at Deepwater Horizon is going to be pouring whatever the total quantity is, whether it’s 50,000 or 60,000 barrels a day, for the number of days that they disconnect to get to safe harbor until the tropical event passes by, and they can go back and reconnect,” Halstead said. “You could certainly be talking a couple of weeks.
“During that time, nobody will be doing skimming operations, there will be no burns,” Halstead added. “None of the work that is currently being done will be done.”
State emergency responders will have a much better bead on the issue in the next 48 to 72 hours as they continue to track the tropical wave now located south of Cuba. Conditions remain favorable for tropical cyclone formation over the next week or so.
On Tuesday, state emergency response team leader Mike DeLorenzo reminded state emergency responders that they needed to better focus on hurricane preparation while not taking their eyes off spill recovery efforts. Such a dual role is not unusual for the agency that at one time handled back to back hurricanes over a two-year period.
State officials are gearing up for big meeting Wednesday as BP executive Darryl Willis joins in a daylong series of presentations on the BP claims process. State oil spill task force members will also get reports from officials on how the spill is affecting employment and food stamp enrollment.
To date, BP has paid nearly 18,000 claims worth nearly $16 million in Florida. But local governments say they have yet to see a dime from the oil company for preparation and clean-up efforts. That process has been frustrating for many Panhandle counties that lack the financial resources to pay for the equipment, additional salaries and other expenses associated with the spill. So far, Escambia County is the only government to file a formal claim with BP. The company has requested additional information.
By Michael Peltier
The News Service Florida
Deputies Respond To Late Night Party At Community Center
June 23, 2010
Escambia County deputies were called to a late night bash at the Century Community Center this past weekend, four months after the Town Council said it would review its rental policy for the building.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a disorderly conduct complaint at the building at the corner of West Highway 4 and Industrial Boulevard at 12:45 a.m. Saturday. Personnel at the Escambia County EMS building two-tenths of a mile away had complained about the part, according to Sheriff’s Office records.
When deputies arrived two minutes after the complaint, they observed a large party and told the participants to be quieter. There were no arrests made.
According to a rental agreement executed June 11, the building was rented Friday night, June 18 to Lisa Johnson of Atmore. The blank labeled “purpose” on the agreement was left blank as was the “time of rental”.
Back in February, the Town Council decided to review the rental agreement for the building after a late night party the mayor said could be heard across the town. The rental agreement for that party listed the purpose for using the building as a “baby shower”.
The Century Town Council has not yet reviewed its community center rental agreement in a public meeting.
Pictured: A rental agreement for June 19 for the Century Community Center, click to enlarge.
NWE To Host Two Tournaments At Bradberry Park
June 23, 2010
Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill will be home to two Little League tournaments in the coming weeks.
Officials with Northwest Little League have announced that they will host the Florida District 1 All Star Tournament for 11-12 year old girls softball beginning this Saturday, June 26 and the District 1 All Star Tournament for 13-14 year old boys baseball beginning Saturday, July 10.
The public is invited to attend the games, and concessions will be available. We will publish the brackets and game times when they become available here on NorthEscambia.com.
Security Guard Catches Escambia Murder Suspect
June 23, 2010
A security guard is being credited for the arrest of a murder suspect after a man was gunned down at an Escambia County apartment complex.
Alberto Leslie, 28, is facing a homicide charge for the Monday night shooting death of Brandon A. Stovall at the Twin Oaks Apartments in the Warrington community.
Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a shots fired disturbance at the Twin Oaks Drive apartment complex. When they arrived, they found the victim lying in the street and a Vice Security Officer holding the suspect at gunpoint. Stovall was pronounced dead on the scene by Escambia County EMS.
“According to Vice Security Officer Russell Hines, he heard gunshots and stepped outside the office which is located at the Twin Oaks Apartments. Hines stated he observed the suspect shooting the victim at which time he had the suspect get on the ground and held him at gunpoint until the arrival of deputies,” Sgt. Ted Roy, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, said in a prepared release.
Roy said investigators are still working to establish a motive, but they were advised by the suspect that the victim had been harassing him. Leslie was a resident of the apartment complex, according to jail records.
Leslie is being held in the Escambia County Jail on no bond.
Still Time To Register For Camp Fire VPK
June 23, 2010
Voluntary pre-kindergarten registration is still underway for the 2010-2011 school year the the Camp Fire USA Century Youth Learning Center. For more information about VPK, contact Pam Townson at (850) 256-0953. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fire Departments Respond To Molino Mobile Home
June 22, 2010
Fire stations from across the area were called to a single-wide mobile home in Molino late this morning.
A resident in the 6700 block of Sunshine Hill Road reported a possible electrical fire about 11:40 a.m. The first firefighters on scene reported an arcing electrical outlet and turned off the power to that outlet. No fire was reported.
The Molino, Cantonment, McDavid, Century and Walnut Hill stations of Escambia Fire Rescue were originally dispatched to the call. All but the first units on scene were canceled.