Official Says No Cause For Alarm As ‘Probable’ Monkeypox Case Reported In Escambia
August 16, 2022
The Florida Department of Health is now reporting one probable case of monkeypox in Escambia County, but a local official said that’s not a cause for major alarm.
“People should not be concerned,” Escambia County Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore told NorthEscambia.com Monday night. “Just one case in the county. The health department has monitoring and contact tracing. As of right now, we’ve just identified the one case. We’re not as prevalent in the community as we see in New York and other big cities.”
Gilmore said the health department will provide any necessary updates.
One probable monkeypox case was previously reported in Santa Rosa County. A total of 1,085 cases have been reported across Florida, with 493 of those in Miami-Dade County.
Tate, Northview Kickoff Classics Are Friday Night
August 16, 2022
The Tate Aggies and Northview Chiefs have kickoff classics on the road this Friday night.
Tate High School
The Tate Aggies’ kickoff classic will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Catholic High School. Varsity will play the first half, followed by junior varsity in the third quarter and the freshman team in the fourth quarter. Tickets are $7 in the GoFan app or cash will be accepted at the gate. Parking will be $2. Credit cars will be accepted for concessions. (The Tate Showband does not attend away kickoff classics.)
Northview High School
The Northview Chiefs’ kickoff classic begins at 7 p.m. Friday at Baker High School. The Northview varsity, NHS junior varsity and the Ernest Ward Eagles will all play.
Pictured: Northview’s “Meet the Chiefs” last Friday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Woman Charged With DUI, Drug Charges After Fleeing Traffic Checkpoint
August 16, 2022
An Atmore woman is facing multiple charges after fleeing a driver checkpoint.
Fenetrias L. Lewis, 39, was charged with DUI, possession of controlled substance – ecstasy, possession of a controlled substance – cocaine, second degree possession of a marijuana, tampering with evidence and fleeing/attempting to elude law enforcement.
The Flomaton Police Department said they could smell the odor of what they believed to be marijuana as Lewis was traveling through a checkpoint on Old Atmore Road at Tulip Street Saturday. They told her to pull over, but she fled with Flomaton officers in pursuit. She came to a stop after traveling a short distance.
According to police, Lewis was under the influence of alcohol and in possession of ecstasy and marijuana, and she tossed a bag with 7-grams of cocaine from the vehicle.
Lewis was booked into the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center without bond.
Update: Arrest Made In Fatal Hit And Run
August 15, 2022
UPDATE: Pensacola Police said Monday night that an arrest has been made in early morning fatal hit and run.
John Halgren Kings, 38, hs been charged charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death. The vehicle he was driving has also been recovered, according to police.
Travis Hurd, 41, was struck by a vehicle on East Cervantes Street at the Bayou Texar bridge. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The vehicle that struck Hurd did not stop and left traveling east on Cervantes Street, according to Pensacola Police.
Pictured top: Travis Hurd.
Pedestrian Struck By Vehicle, Seriously Injured In Cantonment
August 15, 2022
A man was seriously injured when he was hit by a car Monday morning on Highway 29 in Cantonment.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a 31-year old Pensacola man was in the front passenger seat of his wife’s vehicle, stopped in traffic in the inside lane of Highway 29 approaching Muscogee Road. The Pensacola man’s vision was obstructed by a stopped cement truck in the outside lane as he got out of his wife’s vehicle and attempted to cross Highway 29 toward the golf course.
He was struck by a car driven by a 22-year old Atmore man southbound in the outside lane of Highway 29.
The pedestrian was airlifted by LifeFlight helicopter to a Pensacola hospital.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
ADEM Imposing $160K Penalty Against Atmore Oil And Gas Facility, Cites 1,735 Air Quality Violations
August 15, 2022
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management is hitting an Atmore oil and gas production company with a $160,000 levy for numerous air quality violations.
ADEM has proposed a consent order to Escambia Operating Company, the owner/operator of the Big Escambia Creek (BEC) oil and natural gas production and processing facility on Sardis Church Road, about five miles north of the Alabama-Florida state line. The department is proposing a civil penalty of $160,000 for 83 sulfur dioxide emissions violations.
According to the consent order, Escambia Operating had 1,735 total violations of the three-hour and 24-hour sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission standards in the first few months of 2022. The civil penalty covers 83 violations because the number of continuous violations that can be cited per day are limited by state law.
“The Department is not aware of any irreparable harm to the environment resulting from the violations,” the proposed order states.
Reminder: Breakfast And Lunch Are Free At 44 Escambia Schools; All Others Must Apply
August 15, 2022
Breakfast and lunch are free for all students, regardless of income, during the upcoming school year at 44 schools in Escambia County. Applications must be submitted for free or reduced price lunches at all other schools.
The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program means that parents of the students at these schools are not required to submit an application for the Free and Reduced Meal program at that school. However, siblings attending schools not on the CEP list will need to apply for eligibility.
The free meal schools are selected based upon income levels.
Meal applications, or payment, will be required at: Beulah Elementary, Blue Angels Elementary, Cook Elementary, Cordova Park Elementary, Hellen Caro Elementary, Kingsfield Elementary, Suter Elementary, Brown Barge Middle, Ransom Middle, Tate High and West Florida High. Parents at these schools should plan on providing their child with money for their meals until eligibility is established to avoid creating a deficit in their account. Funds can be added to student accounts online at myschoolbucks.com.
This program has been in place since 2015 in Escambia County and is not related to the pandemic.
Free meal schools are:
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
- Bellview Elementary
- Bratt Elementary
- Brentwood Elementary
- C.A. Weis Elementary
- Byrneville Elementary
- Ensley Elementary
- Ferry Pass Elementary
- Global Learning Academy
- Holm Elementary
- Jim Allen Elementary
- Lincoln Park Elementary
- Lipscomb Elementary
- Longleaf Elementary
- McArthur Elementary
- Molino Park Elementary
- Montclair Elementary
- Myrtle Grove Elementary
- Navy Point Elementary
- Oakcrest Elementary
- Pine Meadow Elementary
- Pleasant Grove Elementary
- Scenic Heights Elementary
- O.J. Semmes Elementary
- Sherwood Elementary
- Warrington Elementary
- West Pensacola Elementary
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
- Bailey Middle
- Bellview Middle
- Beulah Middle
- Ernest Ward Middle
- Ferry Pass Middle
- Warrington Middle
- Workman Middle
HIGH SCHOOLS
- Escambia High
- Northview High
- Pensacola High
- Pine Forest High
- Washington High
OTHER SCHOOLS AND CENTERS
- Achieve Academy
- Capstone
- Escambia Westgate Center
- Hope Horizon
- Jacqueline Harris Preparatory Academy
- Success Academy
Free/reduced meal applications are available here.
Pictured: An Escambia County School lunch, typically served on Wednesdays last school year. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Gas Prices Drop 14 Cents On Average Over The Last Week
August 15, 2022
Florida gas prices dropped another 14 cents per gallon, last week. The state average has now declined for nine consecutive weeks, falling a total of $1.24 per gallon since mid-June.
Florida drivers are now paying an average price of $3.65 per gallon. That’s the lowest daily average since March 3, 2022.
In Escambia County, the average price per gallon was $3.57. The low price Sunday night in North Escambia was $3.43 at stations on Highway 29 in Cantonment. In Pensacola, a low of $3.23 could be found at the warehouse clubs, $3.26 on Nine Mile Road.
“The state average should continue moving lower, likely slipping into the $3.50s by the end of the week,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Oil and gasoline futures regained some strength last week, as analysts believe that falling fuel prices will encourage consumers to drive more.”
Wahoos Beat Barons 13-12 In 12-Inning Marathon
August 15, 2022
T
he Pensacola Blue Wahoos played one of the most memorable games in team history on Sunday night, scoring four runs in the bottom of the 12th inning to walk off the Birmingham Barons 13-12.
With Birmingham’s bullpen exhausted, Davis Bradshaw capped the 12th inning by reaching on a walk-off error from shortstop Moises Castillo to score the Norel González from third with the winning run. The rally came against knuckleballing position player J.J. Muno (L, 0-1) after the Barons had scored three in the top of the 12th inning against Sean Reynolds (W, 2-0).
After a 55-minute weather delay, the Blue Wahoos and Barons got underway for their series finale with Marlins rehabber Trevor Rogers on the mound. The lefty went 4.2 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits.
Birmingham’s D.J. Burt got the scoring started in the third with a solo homer, but Pensacola answered with four runs in the home half of the inning thanks to a solo homer from Thomas Jones and a two-run blast from González. The Barons answered back with three runs in the fourth to tie the game on the strength of a Castillo RBI double and Burt RBI single.
Raudy Read put the Barons ahead 5-4 in the fifth with a sacrifice fly, but the Blue Wahoos charged back in their half of the inning on a three-run double from Cobie Fletcher-Vance. Barons homers from Evan Skoug and Jose Rodriguez gave Birmingham an 8-7 edge in the sixth before Bubba Hollins lifted a game-tying sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning.
An Oscar Colas solo homer put the Barons ahead once more in the seventh, but Hollins delivered again with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to bring home Nasim Nuñez to tie the game 9-9. José Devers tried to score from second on the Hollins single, but left fielder Craig Dedelow threw him out at the plate to preserve the tie game.
Dylan Bice threw a perfect top of the ninth, and the Blue Wahoos had Edgar Navarro on the ropes in the bottom of the inning as they loaded the bases with no outs. Navarro retired the next three batters, leaving the winning run at third and forcing extra innings.
Bice continued his stellar relief in the 10th and 11th, striking out six over 3.0 perfect innings while stranding the placed runners in both extra frames, but Pensacola was unable to score in their halves of the innings.
Reynolds allowed three runs in the top of the 12th on singles from Dedelow and Castillo, but the Blue Wahoos had arrived at the end of the Birmingham bullpen. Muno, a position player with eight prior pitching appearances, was tasked with protecting the 12-9 Barons lead. Singles from Jan Mercado, Devers and González tied the game before Muno got a pair of outs. With the bases loaded and two outs, Bradshaw hit a chopper to short that drew an off-target throw from Castillo to end the game.
At 4 hours and 14 minutes, it was the longest game of the year for Pensacola. Their 13 runs also marked a season high as they won their ninth walk-off of the season.
After an off day on Monday, the Blue Wahoos begin a six-game road series against the Mississippi Braves on Tuesday.
Cantonment Man Charged With Child Abuse After Shots Fired Disturbance
August 14, 2022
A Cantonment man is facing felony charges after a shots fired disturbance early Saturday morning.
Foster Darnell Johnson, 36, was charged with felony child abuse without great bodily harm and felony possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
Johnson allegedly became involved in an altercation with his stepson at their home on Promenade Lane off Highway 297A. During the incident, Johnson fired a gun inside the home, according to Sgt. Melony Peterson. She said he did not fire the weapon in the direction of anyone, and no one was injured by the gunfire.
Johnson remained in the Escambia County Jail Sunday without bond.