FDLE Agents Search McDavid Home
January 28, 2026
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was involved in an apparent search in McDavid Wednesday morning.
Shortly after 7 a.m. about two dozen unmarked vehicles and an FDLE Bearcat tactical armored vehicle converged on a house in the 100 block of Highway 164, about one-third of a mile west of Highway 29.
Numerous agents were seen entering and exiting the small 1,500-square-foot single family home, and around campers located on the property.
“FDLE is on-site as part of an active investigation,” FDLE confirmed to NorthEscambia.com by email. “We don’t have additional information to share, as the investigation is still active and ongoing.”
Before the operation, the agents gathered on Main Street in McDavid, across from the Post Office, to organize and prepare.
This story will be updated as we learn more details.
Pictured: The Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducts an operation on Wednesday morning on Highway 164 in McDavid. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge. Pictured inset: FDLE gathered with their Bearcat tactical vehicle across from the Post Office to prepare for the operation (reader submitted photo).
Six Months Later, Walnut Hill Post Office Remains Closed Over Issues With USPS
January 28, 2026
It’s been six months since the Escambia River Electric Cooperative Walnut Hill office reopened after being closed for nearly a year due to mold. But EREC’s contract post office for Walnut Hill remains closed.
The Walnut Hill post office is officially known as a Contract Postal Unit, a small office shared with the electric utility on Highway 99A across from Ernest Ward Middle School. It provided the Walnut Hill community with post office boxes, package pick up and shipping, and normal postal services like mailing and stamps.
The building was closed by EREC in August 2024 due to mold, and post office box customers were able to collect their mail from the U.S. Post Office on Main Street in McDavid. Post office box mail that was uncollected in McDavid was boxed in Walnut Hill on July 29, 2025, and EREC announced the reopening of its office and the post office.
EREC soon learned it was a one-time drop of the previously held mail, and it would not be able to operate the post office until conditions were met and a new contract was established.
Now, EREC says the USPS contract is complete, but they lack access to a USPS scanner required for operation and that they have had difficulty in getting cooperation from the postal service to fix the problems.
“We are working with post office management and trying to get the two IT departments together,” EREC CEO Ryan Campbell said this week. “We are trying to fix the problem configuration with the package scanner.”
In the meantime, the USPS has denied an EREC offer to provide mail services and not packages until the scanner problem is rectified.
“As an added convenience to its customers, the Postal Service offers Contract Postal Units (CPUs) around the nation, such as the one located in the Escambia River Electric Cooperative CPU. Local postal management continues to work with the CPU operator to resolve any outstanding issues at this location,” Tiffany Rowland, Strategic Communications Specialist for the U.S. Postal Service, told NorthEscambia.com this week. She said Walnut Hill post office customers may continue to access mail services by driving to the McDavid Post Office during regular hours.
Campbell said EREC is continuing to work with postal officials for a solution.
“We look forward to getting the post office back open for our membership,” he said.
Pictured top: EREC employee Kim Lambert boxes old mail Tuesday afternoon in contract post office inside the EREC Walnut Hill office. It was the last time the U.S. Postal Service delivered mail to the Walnut Hill Post Office. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Flomaton Police Arrest Four On Dozens Of Charges, Fifth Suspect Sought In Firearms Theft
January 28, 2026
The Flomaton Police Department has arrested four suspects and is looking for a fifth suspect in connection with the theft of a gun safe that contained several firearms.
The four suspects arrested are:
- Michael Colton Adams — 11 counts of felony second degree theft of property, one count of felony third degree theft of property
- Wendall Ervin Adams – eight felony counts of receiving stolen property
- Lynsey Marie Nix — 11 counts of felony second degree theft of property, one count of felony third degree theft of property
- Danny Lamar McCrory — 11 counts of felony second degree theft of property, one count of felony third degree theft of property
Flomaton PD is continuing to search for a fifth suspect on outstanding warrants. The suspect’s name has not been released.
Pictured top: (top row, L-R) Michael Adams, Wendall Adams, (bottom row, L-R) Lynsey Nix, and Danny McCrory.
ECSO: When Your Art Project Goes Criminal
January 28, 2026
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a 19-year-old after an alleged graffiti spree.
In a release titled “When Your Art Project Goes…Criminal”, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said Orion Sky Dickinson was arrested Tuesday after deputies responded to a reported vandalism in progress at Fast Eddie’s Fun Center. Deputies reported finding Dickinson there with spray paint on him. He’s accused of also spray painting a Sheriff’s Office speed trailer and several street signs.
Dickinson was charged with felony criminal mischief, misdemeanor criminal mischief, resisting without violence, possession of marijuana under 20 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $6,500 bond.
Community Health Pharmacist, Alleged Accomplice Face Federal Drug Charges
January 28, 2026
A Community Health Northwest Florida (CHNWF) pharmacist and his alleged accomplice are facing federal drug charges.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Douglas Craig Reid Jr., and Martrice Lamar Portis, both 47 years old, were both charged in federal court with conspiracy to unlawfully dispense and distribute controlled substances and to obtain controlled substances by fraud.
Reid is a pharmacist with CHNWF.
“Community Health Northwest Florida will cooperate with any investigation, and we remain committed to our mission of serving our patients and the greater Northwest Florida community,” CHNWF said in a statement.
Trial for both defendants is currently set for March 2 before United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment.
The case involved a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Control Division, with assistance from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Task Force. According to court documents, this case is related to a prior case that was indicted as part of the Department of Justice’s 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alicia Forbes.
Pictured: Douglas Reid, Jr. (left) from CHNWF and Martice Portis in a 2025 mugshot from an unrelated arrest (right).
Ransom and Ferry Pass Middle Schools Honored with Statewide Music Awards
January 28, 2026
Last weekend at the Florida Music Educators Association Conference, Ferry Pass Middle School and Ransom Middle School were awarded the Music Enrollment Awards for having over 45% of students enrolled in choir, band, or orchestra.
Half of Ransom’s students and 47% of Ferry Pass students are enrolled in a music education course.
The FMEA Professional Learning Conference is one of the largest music education professional learning events in the United States.
Pictured: Ransom Middle School (top) and Ferry Pass Middle School (below) were honored with statewide music awards. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Intermittent Lane Closures Through Friday On North Century Boulevard
January 28, 2026
Motorists may encounter intermittent lane closures through Friday on North Century Boulevard (Highway 29) from Tedder Road north to East Highway 4, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Crews will be conducting coring operations. Coring involves using equipment to remove a vertical sample (a “core”) from the pavement.
The coring operations are set to take place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day through Friday.
Lipscomb Elementary Names Students Of The Month
January 28, 2026
Lipscomb Elementary School has named its Students of the Month for January. They are Graham Harris and Isabella Almonte-Knapp.Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Residents to See First New Waste Provider In Over 30 Years, $10 Monthly Increase
January 27, 2026
In February, Town of Century residents will have a new solid waste provider, and they will see their bills increase by over $10 a month. It’s the first time in over 30 years that Century has changed waste services provider.
Currently, residents are paying the town $27.44 for one pickup per week from Republic Services. Under the new provider, Waste Pro, residents will pay the town $37.91, $10.47 more per month.
How Will New Carts Be Delivered?
The town says the can exchange between Republic and Waste Pro will be seamless. On regular collection day this Wednesday, Republic Services will empty carts as usual and then exchange them for new Waste Pro cartd.
Waste Pro will begin collecting next week, with yard waste collected in a green cart with a black lid on Tuesdays, and garbage in a green cart with a blue lid on Fridays. Waste Pro will officially begin servicing the new carts on Tuesday, January 3, with the collection of green yard waste carts (black lid). Garbage will be collected on Fridays in a green cart with a blue lid.
For complete information, click here (pdf).
If a resident does not receive a new Waste Pro cart by January 31, they should call the Town of Century at (850) 256-3208.
Customer Accounts
There is no action required from current, active customers with service from Waste Pro to receive a new cart from Waste Pro or to begin service. For questions, call the Town of Century at (850) 256-3208.
Why The Change?
Without accepting bids, Century had continued for three decades to renew an agreement with annual increases with Republic Services. But in 2025, the town decided to seek an updated agreement or a new provider.
They received bids from two companies — BFI Waste Services, dba Republic Services of Escambia County, and Waste Pro of Florida. An evaluation committee ranked Waste Pro significantly higher than Republic Services, with average scores of 93.5 and 72.3, respectively.
“Waste Pro of Florida, Inc. consistently scored the highest across all evaluators, with strengths in cost proposal, service plan, equipment, and community engagement,” according to a town document. “Republic Services was evaluated as adequate but with key weaknesses: missing a commercial pricing proposal, incomplete forms, and a weaker overall service plan.”
No other bids were submitted. The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA), which provides residential sanitation collection in the remainder of unincorporated Escambia County, did not bid.
Pictured: A Waste Pro sanitation truck turns on a Century street. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man, Passenger Charged With Fentanyl Trafficking After Traffic Stop
January 27, 2026
An Cantonment man was arrested in Escambia County last week after a traffic stop involving a stolen license plate led to the discovery of trafficking amounts of fentanyl
John Duncan McLean, age 35 of Cantonment,was charged with first degree felony trafficking in fentanyl (4 grams or more) and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
According to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, a deputy spotted a blue Dodge Dart traveling north on Bridgedale Road with an Alabama license plate that had been reported stolen. When the deputy activated emergency lights and sirens, The driver turned into a residential driveway on Broussard Street in an attempt to avoid law enforcement. McLean, the driver, and passenger 37-year-old Kristopher Robin Nix of Pensacola were removed from the vehicle. Deputies reported finding a plastic bag containing a white powdery substance where Nix had been sitting.
During a probable cause search of the vehicle, deputies located a black sunglass bag containing three syringes and a plastic baggie holding a powdery substance. The powder field-tested positive for fentanyl and weighed approximately 8.7 grams.
While McLean denied knowledge of the narcotics and claimed the vehicle belonged to his “boss,” a passenger in the car reportedly told deputies that McLean began throwing “stuff all around the vehicle” once he noticed the patrol unit approaching from behind. The homeowner at the Broussard Street residence told deputies she did not know the men and had the vehicle towed from her property.
McLean (above) and Nix (below) remain in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
