Brewton Sweeps Two From Ernest Ward Middle Basketball (With Gallery)
November 19, 2021
The Brewton Middle School Tigers swept two from the Ernest Ward Middle School Eagles Thursday night in Walnut Hill.
In girls action, BMS won 42-20, and the Brewton boys defeated the Eagles 54-12.
Boys game photo gallery, click or tap here.
Girls game photo gallery, click or tap here.
After the Thanksgiving break, the EWMS boys will travel to Pollard McCall at 5:30 p.m. on November 29. Both the Ernest Ward boys and girls will be in action at home against Flomaton beginning at 5:30 p.m. on November 30.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Faith-Based Pregnancy Resource Center Opens In Century
November 18, 2021
A new faith-based pregnancy resource center is now open in Century.
The Life Options Clinic provides pregnancy support, resources, and information for women and their families free of charge to anyone. The center is located in a county-owned building at 511 Church Street.
For a photo gallery, click here.
“Who we are, and what we do, is help families. That is what we do,” Life Options Clinic Executive Director Cindy Roberts said before a ribbon cutting Wednesday. .”We want to strengthen the family. We want to encourage the families so that they can come in.”
“We are a faith-based pro-life organization that everything that we present is done in love and grace and kindness, never judgment, or condemnation,” Roberts (pictured left) continued. “We are not here to force a girl to change her mind. We are here to inform her, and she’s going to make whatever choice she has to make. But if they choose to keep their baby, we come along beside them and walk with them on that journey.”
The Life Options Clinic offers pregnancy tests and ultrasounds (currently at their Milton locations but coming soon to Century). They make referrals for medical care, adoption information, housing, education, job searches and financial aid. The clinic also holds classes on topics including prenatal, nutrition, child safety, parenting, financial planning, other life skills and Bible students.
Clients that take part in the classes earn “baby bucks” that can be used in the clinic’s in-house baby store for baby and maternity clothing, toys, diapers, baby furniture and more. Baby formula and food are available without the use of “baby bucks”.
All of the Life Options Clinic services are free of charge and confidential, Roberts said.
The non-profit volunteer organization is donor supported, receiving support from numerous churches, community organizations and businesses. In addition to financial donations, the Life Options Clinic accepts donations of baby diapers and new or gently used clothing through size 2T.
The Life Options Clinic in Century is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. For more information, call (850) 904-3344.
Escambia County entered into a three-year lease with Life Options Clinic for the Church Street Property at $1 per year. There is an option to renew for two additional two-year terms. Life Options must pay for routine maintenance and utilities; Escambia County will take care of major repairs to the building and systems such as HVAC, plumbing and electrical.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia School Employees Soon To Receive $1,000 For Pandemic Work – Except Teachers And Principals
November 18, 2021
Current Escambia County School District employees that worked during the last school year will soon receive an extra $1,000 — except for classroom teachers and principals.
Teachers and principals in the Florida previously received a $1,000 bonus from the state for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, the Escambia County School Board has approved $1,000 for other administrative, professional, instructional and educational support personnel that worked during the 2020-2021 school year, as long as they are still employed by the district.
“The School Board Members and I are so appreciative of the hard work and dedication exhibited by district employees during this most difficult of times. This is one of the ways we can communicate to everyone their commitment has not gone unnoticed, and we are grateful for their perseverance,” Superintendent Tim Smith stated. “It is our goal for the District to issue these payments before the close of the 2021 calendar year.”
To receive the $1,000 initiative payment, employees must have been actively employed on or before June 2, 2021, and be currently employed at the time payment is made.
Hiring Bonuses, Current Employee Bonuses And Pay Increases For Florida’s Correctional Officers
November 18, 2021
New incentives and a pay increase were for Florida’ correctional officers were announced Wednesday by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Department of Corrections.
Effective immediately, the state will offer a $3,000 new hire bonus for all new correctional officers and a $1,000 hiring bonus for certified correctional officer applicants. At “high vacancy institutions”, including the Century Correctional Institution and Santa Rosa Correctional Institution, there is an additional $1,000 bonus.
Beginning in January, the state correctional officer starting salary will be increased 16% to $38,750.
In addition to an increase in correctional officer salary, all current state correctional officers will receive a one-time $1,500 bonus, and state probation officers will receive a $3,000 bonus this December.
“As so many cities and states choose to disrespect, degrade and defund the work of law enforcement, we want Florida to continue valuing our men and women of law enforcement today, tomorrow and for generations to come,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “This year, we have prioritized initiatives to recruit and reward high quality officers, especially corrections officers, and these new bonuses, effective immediately, will help support public safety positions within the Florida Department of Corrections.”
The minimum age requirement for a correctional officer in Florida is 18 years of age.
For more information, visit FLDOCjobs.com.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Northview’s Payton Gilchrist Inks With Huntingdon College
November 18, 2021
Northview High School’s Payton Gilchrist has signed to play softball with Huntingdon College. She played four years for the Northview Chiefs as a catcher, third base and shortstop. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
The Heroes Of Fall: Northview Chiefs Visit Byrneville Elementary
November 18, 2021
When you are an elementary school kid, you look up to the boys of fall that take the field on under those Friday night lights.
Members of the Northview Chiefs football team paid a special visit to the Braves of Byrneville Elementary School Wednesday morning. The players helped out in the car ride line and visited classrooms. The students cheered on their favorite Chiefs and presented them with homemade signs and cards supporting them in their regional semifinal game Friday night at Baker.
Many of today’s Northview Chiefs are Byrneville Elementary graduates.
For more photos, click or tap here.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man, His Girlfriend Charged After Rolling Altercation
November 18, 2021
A Cantonment man and his girlfriend were both arrested on multiple charges after an altercation inside a moving vehicle on an Escambia County Roadway.
Jeffrey Joseph Porter, 43, and Ella Nicole Nichelson, 32, were fighting inside a vehicle in the area of Blue Angel Parkway and Lillian Highway and were swerving all over the road, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Porter took Nichelson’s phone during the altercation and pulled her back inside the vehicle against her will, according to an arrest report.
After conducting a traffic stop on the vehicle, deputies reported finding a marijuana in the vehicle, along with a bag of marijuana and a glass smoking pipe in Nichelson’s purse, the report continues. When Nichelson and her personal property were searched at the jail, a corrections officer found a substance that test positive for methamphetamine and more marijuana. They also found unknown white and grey powders that will be analyzed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Porter was charged with driving with a suspended license, petit theft, and false imprisonment. He was released on an $8,000 bond.
Nichelson was charged with two counts of smuggling contraband into a detention facility, possession of a control substance without a prescription and possession of marijuana. She remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $8,000.
Escambia Seeks $3.5 Million In State Funds For Community Center In Cantonment
November 17, 2021
When a veterans program was held Sunday in Cantonment, it was held outside on a basketball court.
The court was freshly pressure washed and decorated in red, white and blue at Carver Park. The skies were blue, and temperature was comfortable for most in the sun.
But the pretty weather wasn’t the real reason the Cantonment Improvement Committee held their first-ever veterans program outside. The veterans were seated on the outdoor basketball court because there is no indoor space for larger CIC programs.
However, that could change with a $3.5 million ask of the Florida Legislature. Tuesday, the Escambia County Commission voted to support Rep. Michelle Salzman in submitting the funding request on behalf of the county for a community center in Cantonment. If the state approves the $3.5 million, another $500,000 has been committed by District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry.
“It’s been an honor to work with the Cantonment Improvement Committee on this project,” Salzman said. ”Although it’s not a guaranteed win, it is certainly a step in the right direction for the residents of Cantonment.”
“I’m extremely excited to have our board support Representative Salzman’s appropriations request for a community center for the Cantonment community,” Barry said Tuesday evening. “I want to specifically thank Representative Salzman, the Cantonment Improvement Committee, and the Rotary Club of Cantonment for their continued support of my constituents, and look forward to continuing to move the Cantonment community forward.”
He said if funding is awarded the community center will be located in the Muscogee/Carver Park community.
About a year ago, the Escambia County School District agreed to make two acres of the 12.1 acre former Ransom Middle School property available for a community center, if construction on a community center begins within 7.5 years.
In 2015, Escambia County made improvements to Carver Park on Webb Street, located a short distance from the old Ransom Middle School. Those improvements include a renovated community resource center — a former school portable building that’s less than 800 square feet. he Cantonment Improvement Committee has managed the small resource center at Carver Park, faithfully holding programs and providing services in the building as space allowed until COVID-19. And they have advocated for a larger facility at the former Ransom property for years.
“The Cantonment Community Center will foster an environment that improves the overall quality of life for Cantonment community members by enhancing and increasing community building events and other activities to foster a strengthened sense of community in Cantonment,” the Florida House of Representatives appropriations request paperwork states.
The CIC would oversee programs such as financial literacy, homeownership, physical and mental health and more at the Cantonment community center, according to the application.
Pictured top and bottom inset: The current Carver Park Resource Center, a small portable school building, managed by the Cantonment Improvement Committee. Pictured top inset: A veterans program Sunday, November 14 held outside on a Carver Park basketball court. Pictured below: A portion of the 12.1 acre former Ransom Middle School property on Muscogee Road. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Commission Votes To Request State Funds For Elevated Walkway Over Nine Mile At Beulah Middle
November 17, 2021
The Escambia County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to submit a legislative funding request for a pedestrian bridge over Nine Mile Road at Beulah Middle School.
Local leaders announced in August their plan to work together to seek funding for the walkway, which has a preliminary cost estimate of $3 million. Rep. Michelle Salzman, Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh and Escambia County School Board Member Kevin Adams pledged to seek funding for the project.
Bergosh has previously said the elevated walkway will not only be a safety improvement for the school, but also the surrounding community. Along with expanded sidewalk construction on the north and south side of Nine Mile Road near the school, the project will allow for increased pedestrian access and connectivity in the growing community.
The District 1 commissioner has said he will commit up to $500,000 in D1 Local Option Sales Tax funding over the next few years for sidewalk construction that will be complimented by the walkway.
There are nearly 1,000 students at Beulah Middle School. Currently, a bus is transporting students to and from the middle school. State statutes specify that two miles within a school is the walk radius. If no “safe path” exists, then bussing is required.
The bridge would be an approximately 180-foot span with American Disability Act (ADA) accommodations on both sides of the street. The bridge would be completed in coordination with the Florida Department of Transportation and consider future widening needed for the Nine-Mile Road corridor.
Cantonment Man Gets 30 Years For Armed Home Invasion Robbery Of Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother
November 17, 2021
A Cantonment man was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in state prison for a 2020 home invasion robbery.
Lloyd Christopher Lister must serve a minimum mandatory 10 years under Florida’s 10-20-Life law under the sentence imposed by Circuit Judge Linda Nobles. He was convicted of home invasion robbery with a firearm, false imprisonment with a firearm and grand theft auto by an Escambia County jury.
On December 20, 2020, the victim told deputies she had been inside her residence in the 400 block of Forrest Street with her daughter Autumn Lee Beede when she stepped out to smoke. A few minutes later, Beede came back into the residence followed by a white male holding a handgun while wearing a hoodie, gloves and mask on his face, according to an arrest report.
The victim said the male suspect put the gun to her head, covered her face, zip-tied her wrists together and tied her feet with an extension cord. She was placed in a bathroom, and the door was tied shut with an extension cord. She was in the bathroom about 30 minutes before she could escape.
According to the ECSO, the victim stated the male said, “Don’t turn around or I will shoot you and ma’am, I don’t want to do that.”
As the masked man continued making demands, the victim and her daughter recognized his voice to be that of the daughter’s ex-boyfriend, Lloyd Lister.
The victim discovered her 2019 Kia Sorento was missing, along with her phone and a wallet containing a debit card, cash and checkbook. She called her credit union and discovered there were already unsuccessful attempts to use the debit card at an ATM inside a Tom Thumb on East Nine Mile Road, and the card had been used for a $139.07 purchase at Winn Dixie on Nine Mile Road. In a follow-up investigation, deputies obtained video surveillance of Beede and Lister using the victim’s debit card at both locations.
The ECSO said the victim made positive identification of both suspects from the videos.
Beede was convicted in September of burglary of an unoccupied structure, grand theft auto and petit theft. She must successfully complete a drug court program. She was sentenced to eight months community control to be followed with 20 months probation.