Highway 29 Resurfacing Project Beginning North Of Highway 97
January 25, 2024
Work is beginning on a $6.2 million Florida Department of Transportation Project to resurface Highway 29 from Highway 97 to north of Champion Drive.
Improvements in the project include the milling and resurfacing, drainage improvements, auxiliary lane and shoulder widening, signalization, and signing and pavement marking improvements.
Drivers can expect lane closures, but lane closures are prohibited from 6:30 – 8:00 a.m. and from 1 – 3:00 p.m. on school days.
According to FDOT, the 4.58 miles of te project is set to be completed in the Fall of 2024, weather permitting.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Woman Fired More Than A Dozen Shots Into Nine Mile Road Apartment, ECSO Says
January 25, 2024
An Escambia County woman has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly firing multiple gunshots into an apartment on Nine Mile Road Tuesday afternoon.
Nykeria Chernel White, 23, was charged with attempted murder, firing a deadly missile into a building, discharging a firearm in public and criminal mischief. She remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $40,000.
White arrived at the Jasmine Creek Apartments across from Target about noon Tuesday. She approached an apartment of someone she knew, according to an arrest report, but they would not open the door. She then allegedly fired over a dozen shots into the apartment before leaving, the report states.
Two people inside the apartment were not injured.
Century Man Is Third Person Charged In Alabama Murder Of Century Resident
January 25, 2024
A Monroe County (Alabama) grand jury has indicted a Century man for the December 2022 murder of another Century man in Frisco City.
Jayden Constantine Jackson, 21, was the third person charged in the December 15 shooting death of Lavor Chante Johnson.
Devon Jenkins, 20, of Frisco City, and Akeem Paul Anthony Davis, Jr., 24, also of Frisco City, were previously indicted for murder.
Escambia Approves RESTORE Funding Spends, Including Cantonment Community Center, O.C. Phillips Bridge
January 24, 2024
Tuesday, the Escambia County Commission approved Escambia County’s RESTORE Act Draft Multi-Year Implementation Plan Amendment 3, including funding for a Cantonment Community Center and the replacement of a bridge on O.C. Phillips Road near Walnut Hill.
In addition to 2 million for the O.C. Phillips Bridge Replacement and $1.1 million for the construction of a Cantonment Community Center, other projects include:
- 550,000 for Bayou Grande Watershed Management Plan;
- $264,843 for Carpenter Creek Headwaters – CCWMP Site 16;
- $1.1 million for Palafox Complete Street Construction;
- $2.75 million for Pensacola Beach Bob Sikes Fishing Pier Rehabilitation;
- $3.6 million for Perdido Key Beach Public Access Property Acquisition and Construction;
- $550,000 for South Navy Boulevard Improvements.
Reminder: Get Free Reblended Paint From Escambia County On Thursdays
January 24, 2024
Escambia County offers free reblended paint in five gallon buckets.
The paint is available every Thursday from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Perdido Landfill on Beulah Road. It is offered to the public for free in exchange for a new five gallon bucket with a lid (available at local hardware stores). Available colors may include beige, black, blue, brown, green, gray, orange, pink, purple, red, yellow and white.
Citizens can also dispose of up to 20 gallons of latex and oil-based paint at a time at the landfill at no charge. Latex paint is screened twice, reblended and put into new five-gallon buckets.
Call (850) 937-2160 for additional information and color availability.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Registration Underway For Tri-City Children’s Choir
January 24, 2024
Registration is underway for the Tri-City Children’s Choir (TCCC), a program of the Pensacola Children’s Chorus.
TCCC welcomes young singers in grades 1-6 who reside in Century and the communities in Florida and Alabama.
The choir will once again be under the direction of Holley Driver, a Century-based music teacher.
Singers will meet weekly beginning February 1 at Century First United Methodist Church, 530 Church Street. TCCC is a tuition-based program and costs from $15 to $65 per month. Families may choose the weekly amount that works best for their household finances, and scholarships are also available. Parents can apply during the registration process and pay as little as $1 a month.
For more information on joining the choir, or make a contribution, visit www.tricitychoir.org.
Driver taught music in the Escambia County School District for over 15 years, served as the choral director at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Molino for nine years, and teaches in her own studio.
If you need more information, call or text Driver at (850) 324-6182.
Pictured: A 2022 performance by the Tri-City Children’s Choir. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man Accused Of Acting As Contractor Without A License
January 24, 2024
A Cantonment man has been accused of acting as a contractor without being certified or registered.
Logan Michael Martin, 24, was charged with fraud, falsely identifying self as a contractor and as an unregistered electric contractor, both first degree misdemeanors. He was released on a $4,000 bond.
According to a complaint filed by a property owner, Martin was hired to “demo and build out my property (in the 2000 block) of Desert Street into a quadraplex”, but did not complete the work after starting or respond to text messages, emails or phone calls.
When a complaint was filed with Escambia County, it was discovered that Martin did not pull permits and was not licensed. The complaint indicates he was paid a total of $40,000.
FDEP: Century Missed Required Water Sampling For ‘DBPs’ For An Entire Quarter
January 24, 2024
The Town of Century failed to test their water system over a full quarter last year for what’s known as Drinking Water Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs).
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in many cases, drinking water must be disinfected to treat microbial pathogens (e.g., bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasites). However, disinfectants can also react with naturally-occurring materials in the water to form disinfectant byproducts (DBPs). Byproducts, if consumed in excess of the EPA’s maximum contaminant level over many years, may increase health risks.
According to a warning letter from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr., stated Century “did not monitor for disinfection byproducts, including total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5), during the third quarter (July-September 2023).”
The town was required to mail or directly deliver a letter to each person served by the water system and publish a notice in a local newspaper.
The town responded in December that the missed sampling was just an “oversight” and that processes have been put in place by Gomez to make sure deadlines are met in the future.
FWC Law Enforcement Report: Night Hunting, Spotlighting
January 24, 2024
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following recent activity:
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officer Cushing was on patrol in an area that recently received reports of night hunting and observed a vehicle shining a spotlight in a manner likely to disclose the presence of wildlife. He heard two shots consistent with a .22 round and conducted a stop on the vehicle. While contacting two individuals in the vehicle, he discovered a spotlight, two .22 rifles and ammunition. Both subjects admitted to shooting at wildlife from the roadway. Officer Pettey assisted Officer Cushing and violations were documented accordingly.
While on patrol in the Perdido Wildlife Management Area during the early morning, Officer Cushing observed two vehicles parked near the clay pit in the Frank Reeder Trac. No one was in the immediate area. Officer Cushing waited in a concealed location when he heard two shots from a shotgun. After observing several birds being flushed from the area, Officer Cushing saw an individual along the wood line. Officer Cushing made contact with the subject when he neared the road. While speaking with the individual, it was determined he illegally shot a protected migratory bird, was hunting without a license and was illegally camping. The violations were documented accordingly.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Lieutenant Berryman and Officer Brown were on patrol in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area when they observed a subject hunting deer with dogs without the required 500 square inches of daylight fluorescent orange material as an outer garment, above the waistline. Upon talking with the individual, the officers detected an odor of cannabis coming from the subject’s vehicle. The officers questioned the subject, who admitted there was cannabis in the car and told the officers where it was located. The subject was cited appropriately for the violations.
Lieutenant Berryman and Officer Brown were on patrol in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area when they heard a gunshot that sounded like it came from the boundary of the still hunt and dog hunt area. The officers conducted a search of the area and located two trucks; one had a dog box. The officers observed a subject in the woods near the still hunt area wearing camouflage and a blaze orange vest. When the subject noticed the officer’s patrol truck he started to walk to the road. While Officer Brown was talking with the individual, Lieutenant Berryman located a shotgun the subject admitted to dropping due to being nervous. The subject stated he was in the still hunt area to look for a dog but brought his shotgun. While talking with the subject, Officer Brown observed the subject in the other truck walk out of the still hunt area with deer dogs and a shotgun. Both subjects were cited appropriately.
Officer Brown received a call regarding a subject hunting in the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area during closed season. Officer Waters arrived at the area and located the subject attempting to leave. Upon interview, the subject admitted to hunting the WMA during closed season and walked the officers to the treestand he had been hunting from. The individual was cited appropriately.
Officers Bower and Brown were on patrol in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area when they observed multiple individuals dove hunting. Upon conducting a resource inspection, the officers found one subject was hunting with a shotgun capable of holding more than three shells. The individual was cited appropriately.
While on patrol in the Blackwater State Forest, Officers Mullins and Brown observed a large group of approximately 40 off-road vehicles operating in the area. The officers went to an area known for off-roading and encountered about 25 vehicles from the party illegally operating off trail. The officers spoke with trail ride leaders and all the vehicle operators. The appropriate citations were issued. The group was educated about forest rules and regulations and directed to use only named or numbered roads in the forest.
While on patrol, officers Brown and Mullins encountered a group partying on a sand bar in Blackwater State Forest. The group had numerous violations including litter, alcohol, and vehicles off trail. Each subject was issued multiple citations. The subjects were directed to clean up and remove prohibited items from the area.
This report represents some events the FWC handled during the time period; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
$1.7 Million Dawson Road Bridge Replacement Is Complete
January 23, 2024
After almost a year, a $1.7 million Escambia County bridge replacement project on Dawson Road just south of Century is now complete, and the bridge is open.
Temporary repairs were made in 2016 to the structurally deficient timber bridge over Pritchell Mill Branch that was constructed in 1965.
It has now been replaced with a 76-foot long concrete structure. The project also included replacement of about 270 feet of roadway, curb and gutter, guardrail improvements and ditch grading. The Town of Century also moved two a 3-inch water main and a 3/4 inch Town of Century gas main
The Florida Department of Transportation will pick up about $1.2 million of the cost through a Florida Department of Transportation Local Agency Partnership Agreement (FDOT/LAP) approved in 2017.
The bridge has been closed for construction since early February 2023. A short detour of about one mile was in place during the work.
Pictured: A new bridge on Dawson Road as seen January 22, 2024. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
