During Job Interview At Sheriff’s Dept., Local Man Admits To Child Porn
January 7, 2010
A former North Escambia resident applying for a job at the Escambia County Jail ended up in jail after he admitted during his job interview that he had child pornography on his computer.
Clarence W. Burnette, 25, of Little Paul Lane, Jay, was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail and will be charged with one count of possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony. According to Escambia County Clerk of Court records, Burnette was a resident of Water Tank Road in Bratt during August, 2009, and the 5000 block of Highway 4 in Bratt in 2003.
Burnette, 25, had applied for a position as a detention deputy, known also as a corrections officer, with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. He told deputies during his pre-employment polygraph test that he possessed images of child pornography. CyberCrime investigators interviewed Burnette at his home in the Sellersville community near Jay, and Burnette admitted to possessing images of child pornography, according to the Florida Attorney General’s Office. Investigators seized a computer and conducted forensic analysis to confirm child pornography was indeed on the computer.
Additional charges may be added at a later date, according to the Attorney General’s Office. Burnette will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office for the First Judicial Circuit.
He was released without bond from the Santa Rosa County Jail.
Burnette was arrested by the Attorney General’s CyberCrime Unit with assistance from the U.S. Marshall’s task force, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Firefighters Respond To Molino Home, Find Heating System Problem
January 7, 2010
Fire stations from across North Escambia were dispatched to a home in 5800 block of Molino Road about 9:45 Wednesday night after a resident reported smoke coming from their attic.
Firefighters determined the source of the problem to be dust in the home’s central heating unit. There was no damage and no injuries.
The Molino, Cantonment, McDavid and Century stations of Escambia Fire Rescue were dispatched to the call.
Bookstore Letter Prompts Century Council To Meet With Attorney Over Government Consolidation
January 7, 2010
After receiving a written request from a Pensacola bookstore, the Century Town Council plans to meet with an attorney about the possible governmental consolidation that could combine Century, Pensacola and Escambia County.
The letter dated December 26, 2009 from The Gathering Awareness Book & Gift Center on E Street was addressed to “Local Pastors, Mayor McCall and Century Town Council Members”.
“There are a lot of unclear proposals that will affect all of the citizens,” Georgia Blackmon of the bookstore wrote. “Gerald McKinsey, a local attorney and I would like to set up a meeting with the citizens of Century at a date and time convenient for the residents of Century to discuss some of these proposals and to get your input on whether or not you think this would be beneficial for the Town of Century, prior to casting your vote in the issue.”
According to the Florida Bar’s online database, there is not a Gerald Kinsey eligible to practice law in Florida. There is, however, a Gerald McKenzie in Pensacola listed as “member in good standing” of the Florida Bar. NorthEscambia.com called McKenzie’s office Tuesday afternoon and spoke to a female that did not identify herself. She said she was familiar with the bookstore and that the name on the letter was just a typographical error.
We left messages for McKenzie to learn more about the purpose of the proposed meeting, but our calls were not returned. We also left messages on an answering machine at the number provided on the bookstore letter for Blackmon, but those calls were also not returned.
The Escambia County Consolidation Study Commission is continuing to develop a consolidation plan that could, with voter approval, combine Escambia County, Century and Pensacola into one entity. The committee will meet Friday, January 8 and Tuesday, January 12 . The commission is expected to present and approve their final plan during a meeting on January 14.
A final recommendation from the commission is due to the Escambia County legislative delegation no later than January 15, 2010. The proposal will then be placed on the ballot in 2010 for consideration by voters in Pensacola, Century and the rest of Escambia County.
Pictured: The letter from a Pensacola bookstore to the Century Town Council, click to enlarge.
What Does A Homemaker Do? Power’s Off, 20 Degrees Outside And My Hair Is Wet
January 7, 2010
About 700 Gulf Power customers in Molino lost power early Wednesday morning, leaving many with no heat and none of life’s luxuries like blow dryers and curling irons. So what is the perfect homemaker to do when it’s freezing?
Terri Brown of the Molino Homemakers Club offers the following column…
What does a Homemaker do when it’s 20 degrees outside and the power goes off? You wake up as you hear your middle schooler asking, “ Mom, why is the power going on and off and not coming back on?” I spring out of bed, head for the garage, detach the telephone from the wall, bring it inside and call Gulf Power. Only to find out the power won’t be back on for a couple of hours. I look at the digital thermometer in the house and it reads 55 degrees which is usual for us. Of course it’s time to get the day started with showers, but without all the luxuries we are accustomed to will be a challenge. I grabbed a battery powered lantern from the garage to use in the house. There is no power to plug in the crock pot to heat up the soup I made last night for my Homemakers meeting today. Guess that will have to wait.
It occurs to me to call my husband, have him come home and start the generator. This would surely fix our power problems. He arrives, gets the generator and pulls the rope over and over and over but no luck. Of course it worked every time he tested it before. A fuse must have blown. He says goodbye and heads back to work. We are left with wet heads and it’s still 55 degrees in the house.
The showers were quick as to not use up all the hot water. Make-up was put on in front of a small mirror in the window using sun light. There will be no blow drying hair today using power from the generator. Oh, wait, we can crank the truck, turn on the heater and let it blow through the vents. After getting dressed, that’s what we did.
Just yesterday I was thanking the Lord for a good hot shower on such a cold morning. This morning was no different. The house was exactly 55 degrees according to the battery powered digital thermometer except our power was out.
So how does a homemaker plan for a morning like this? She uses the resources around her and teachers her children to do the same. Make sure you have a phone other than a digital one in case you need to make a call. Use sun light when it’s available. Keep batteries handy for lanterns and flashlights and don’t stress, the power always comes back on.
700 Lost Power In Molino
January 6, 2010
About 700 Gulf Power customers in Molino lost power this morning.
Gulf Power says the power failure, which occurred at 6:41 a.m., may have been related to high demand on the system due to the cold weather.
Gulf Power had restored all customers by noon.
Elderly Cantonment Man Found Safe In Georgia
January 6, 2010
A missing Cantonment man suffering from Alzheimer’s has been found safe in Butler, Georgia.
George M. Brown, 75, of Cantonment was last seen about 10 a.m. Monday at a traffic light on Highway 90 in Pace near the Home Depot.
Brown’s green 1994 Ford Explorer was located a law enforcement officer in Georgia before daylight Wednesday morning. Brown was found near the vehicle.
Brown’s credit card was used at gas station in Quincy, Florida, at 7:47 p.m. Monday. The card was used again Tuesday morning to purchase gas in Wildwood, just outside Orlando on I-75. Butler, Georgia, is located near I-75 and the town of Macon.
“Brown was following his wife as they took a vehicle of theirs to a repair shop in Santa Rosa County,” according to Sgt. Scott Haines, spokesperson for the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office. “Brown’s wife made it through the traffic light on Highway 90 in front of Home Depot, however George Brown got stopped at the light. George Brown never showed up at the repair shop and has not been seen or heard from by his family and wife.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement had issued a nationwide Silver Alert for Brown. A “Silver Alert” is an alert for missing seniors similar to an “Amber Alert” issued for missing children.
Pictured: This 1990 photo of George Brown is the latest picture available at this time. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fire Departments Respond To Tom Thumb
January 6, 2010
Several are fire departments responded to the Tom Thumb on Highway 31 in Flomaton about 7:15 morning.
The store’s clerk reported smelling smoke.
When firefighters arrived, there was no smoke visible, and it was determined that the smell was coming from the building’s heating unit. No damage was discovered, but the company will reportedly have the heating unit inspected.
The store is open for business as usual.
‘Our Roads Are In Terrible Shape’ — Century Looks To Improve
January 6, 2010
Century Town Council members have decided that something needs to be done about the condition of their streets, roads and bridges.
“Our roads are in terrible shape,” Council President Ann Brooks said, adding that if the town’s employees do not have the equipment or knowledge to make road repairs, an outside contractor needs to be hired.
Each of the town’s five council members will compile a list of roads they believe need work. They will bring that list back to the council, combine it with a list already maintained by the mayor, and create a master list of bad roads.
“You need to be proactive now so you are ready when money is available,” Dale Long, the town’s engineer said, adding that the potential project list is a good idea.
“All over Century the streets are bad,” Council member Sharon Scott said.
Council member Gary Riley said that Century’s bridges also need to be inspected.
Last year, a portion of West State Line Road and Industrial Boulevard were resurfaced during 2009. The Industrial Boulevard project was funded by a settlement with a contractor that hauled debris to a dump site after Hurricane Ivan. A drainage project is currently underway on North Century Boulevard just south of the state line. North Century Boulevard (Highway 29) is a state highway.
Pictured above: West State Line Road in Century was resurfaced last year. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Escambia Murder: Woman Charged Just Hours After Body Is Found
January 6, 2010
A Pensacola woman is in jail this morning, charged with an open count of murder in Escambia County’s first homicide of the year.
Latoya Lashae Locke, 21, of Patton Drive, Pensacola, was arrested just hours after a body was found in the Navy Point area.
A landlord found the body in a small apartment behind a house in the 600 block of McCarroll Road just after 5:00 Tuesday afternoon. The body reportedly had obvious signs of foul play.
Locke was arrested less than five hours after the murder by Escambia County deputies after she was taken to the Sheriff’s Office by family members.
The victim’s name has not been released pending notification of next of kin.
Fire Destoys Travel Trailer
January 6, 2010
An early morning destroyed a small travel trailer near Century.
The fire was reported about 1:20 a.m. Wednesday in the 3800 block of Highway 4A. When the first firefighters arrived on scene, they reported the small pull-behind travel trailer to already be destroyed. The travel trailer was near a shed, but the shed was not threatened.
There were no injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.