Cantonment Winn Dixie Closing Mid-March For Aldi Conversion
January 8, 2026
The Winn-Dixie in Cantonment will close in mid-March to begin its conversion to an Aldi store.
Southeastern Grocers, (SEG) confirmed the closure to NorthEscambia.com.
“All associates at this location received advance notice, and Southeastern Grocers is working closely with Aldi to support a smooth transition,” SEG said in the statement. “Associates will have the first opportunity to apply for roles at the new Aldi store or may continue their careers with Winn-Dixie at another location.”
There’s no word how long the Winn Dixie to Aldi conversion will take at the Cantonment store, located at 1550 South Highway 29.
The Winn-Dixie at 312 East Nine Mile Road closed in September 2024 and reopened an Aldi in March 2025.
Aldi acquired SEG in 2024. Later, a consortium of private investors acquired SEG— and its Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket brands — from Aldi. Aldi then announced it would continue with plans to convert its remaining 220 Winn Dixie and Harveys locations into the Aldi format by 2027, including the Cantonment Winn-Dixie.
‘She Saved A Lot Of Lives’: Witness Praises School Bus Driver Involved In Crash Near Bratt
January 7, 2026
“She deserves something like a Purple Heart. She saved a lot of lives.”
That’s how a witness described the action of an Escambia County Public Schools bus driver that avoided a potentially serious crash Wednesday morning on West Highway 4 near Bratt.
The witness said the driver of a white Hyundai Sonata, identified by the Florida Highway Patrol as an 18-year-old female, attempted to pass the bus in a no-passing zone on Highway 4 near Still Road. The Sonata sideswiped a red Toyota Camry, and one of the vehicles made minor contact with bus No. 21-21.
The bus was barely scratched as dust was wiped off a small area of the driver’s side.
There were 28 students from Ernest Ward Middle School and Northview High School on the bus, and there were no injuries. The students were later transported, on the same bus, to school. The drivers of the cars were not seriously injured.
“But it could have been much worse,” the witness said. “She (the bus driver) reacted very fast and got off the road to miss hitting the other two. She really deserves a Purple Heart or something.”
The Florida Highway Patrol is continuing its investigation.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
‘Full Speed Ahead’ – Growth and Infrastructure Concerns Dominate District 5 Q&A Session
January 7, 2026
Development and concurrency were the hot topics during an Escambia County District 5 Q&A session Tuesday evening at the Molino Community Center.
With continued residential development in District 5 — approximately the northern 60% of Escambia County that is roughly north of Nine Mile Road — numerous residents passionately called for better regulation on the growth and concurrency. In development, concurrency is a growth management policy requiring that the necessary public facilities and services are available at the same time the impacts of a new development occur.
“Full speed ahead, damn the torpedoes doesn’t work without infrastructure,” local resident Richard Beck told the panel — Molino Utilities president Vernon Prather, School Board member Tom Harrell, Rep. Michelle Salzman, County Administrator Wes Moreno, and ECUA board member and president Kevin Stephens, who hosted the event. District 5 Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry did not attend.
Moreno said the county can’t pick and choose which developments are allowed but is instead required to apply a uniform standard.
“The bible for the development is the land development code, and if the developer meets all the criteria in the land development code, it is very difficult for the board to deny that development,” the county administrator said. “Now, that is something that we can look at, and we’ve talked about it being looked at as far as a rewrite.” He noted that some development applications have been sent back to the Escambia County Planning Board, and some developers have taken the county to court.
“I think what I hear is we could be doing better communication on what’s coming forward and what we’re doing to prepare for it,” Salzman said after further discussion about traffic and schools. She said better planning would involve studies on traffic, drainage and other overall impacts of a new development.
“The school board looks at this the same way you do, and it’s a problem,” Harrell said. He said while some schools have room for growth, like Molino Park Elementary which was planned as a potential K-8 school, other schools simply don’t have any room for growth.
He specifically cited Jim Allen Elementary, which causes arrival and dismissal traffic problems on Highway 95A. He said a new wing could be added or a new school could be constructed if funding were to be available, but there’s currently no good way to get traffic off Highway 95A and onto the school campus with limited acreage and an adjacent park and cemetery.
Salzman said she will consult with the Florida Department of Transportation on potential traffic solutions for Jim Allen “to keep kids safe.” Stephens said ECUA looks for the most cost effective ways to address new developments, often seeking a cost-sharing agreement for utility upgrades that benefit neighborhoods surrounding the development. Prather said the much smaller Molino Utilities struggles with plans on how to serve growing demand from developments, some of which could increase their customer base exponentially.
Another District 5 resident, Bryan Davis, expressed concerns about the impact of continued development on county fire and EMS services, particularly on the remaining volunteer departments such as Walnut Hill.
Panel members expressed that future District 5 meetings will be held in the coming months, and Salzman said she will invite FDOT to attend one of those meetings to talk about transportation needs.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Federal Prison For Man Than Funneled Meth Into Escambia County, Including Cantonment And Beulah
January 7, 2026
A multi-year investigation into a sophisticated drug trafficking network that funneled high-purity methamphetamine into Cantonment, Beulah, and Pensacola has ended with a 10-year federal prison sentence for the man at its center.
Ohagee “Gee” Curry, 28, was sentenced in federal court. Curry had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine and distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.
According to federal prosecutors, Curry acted as the primary coordinator for an organization that sourced large quantities of methamphetamine from California and Alabama.
“Our state and federal law enforcement partners were relentless in their investigation of this large drug trafficking operation,” said U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin. “It paid off with the dismantling of that network through this successful prosecution.”
“Our commitment to arresting these drug traffickers who are poisoning our community is never-ending,” said Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons. “The successful prosecution of these offenders is a product of the partnerships that we have built and continue to build within our law enforcement community.”
Court documents reveal that Curry utilized the U.S. Mail to receive packages from California and employed couriers to transport drugs from Alabama into Florida. Once the shipments arrived, Curry distributed the illegal substances to a network of dealers who sold them throughout the Panhandle, with a heavy concentration in local Cantonment, Beulah, and Pensacola neighborhoods.
The investigation involved the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Sheriff’s Offices of Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties.
Curry was one of 14 defendants charged across three separate indictments as part of the broader crackdown. Law enforcement officials noted that during the investigation, multiple mail packages were intercepted containing high-purity methamphetamine intended for the local streets.
The prosecution was part of the federal Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), a “whole-of-government” initiative aimed at disrupting criminal cartels and trafficking rings
Century Council Elects President, VP And Sets 2026 Meeting Schedule
January 7, 2026
Tuesday night, the Century Town Council elected a president and vice president to lead the council for the new year and set a meeting schedule for 2026.
Dynette Lewis was reelected to serve another year as council president on a 3-2 vote after a nomination by John Bass and a second from Henry Cunningham. After a long pause, Shelisa McCall voted no on Lewis as council president, and Sparkie Harrison also voted no.
Bass nominated Cunningham as vice president, and Harrison nominated McCall, leaving the council with two open nomination motions.
“I’ll let Ms. McCall take it,” Cunningham said before seconding McCall’s nomination. “I did four years, so let her have it, I’ll step out.”
The motion carried 4-1 to elect McCall as vice president, with Lewis casting the dissenting vote.
Meeting Schedule
The council also set meeting dates for 2026 on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 6:15 p.m. with three exceptions. The second meeting of August will be held on August 25, and the first meeting of November will be November 10 due to election days, and a single meeting will be held in December on the first.
Pictured top: (L-R) Tuesday night, the Century Town Council elected Dynette Lewis, Century as the body’s president and Shelisa McCall as vice president. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.