A Long Weekend: Four Killed, 13 Injured In North Escambia Area
June 25, 2008
The first weekend of summer will not be one that emergency responders in the area soon forget. In the span of less than 72 hours, four people died and at least 13 were injured in vehicle accidents and a structure fire in the North Escambia area.
The incidents are listed below in chronological order. Click any of the headings to read the latest NorthEscambia.com story about the incident.
Friday: Deputy Injured In Bratt
Escambia County Deputy David Ingram was injured when his cruiser hit a power pole in Bratt after he collided with a pickup truck driven by a local teen. He was transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Saturday: Early Morning Fire Kills Molino Man
A Molino man died in an early morning fire Saturday, unable to escape from his burning travel trailer.
The fire destroyed the small travel trailer about 2:00 Saturday morning on McKinnonville Street.
The victim was identified by neighbors as James White, who lived alone in the travel trailer.
Saturday: Flomaton Teen Dies In Byrneville Fiery Byrneville Wreck
A Flomaton teen died Saturday in a fiery single vehicle accident in Byrneville.
The Florida Highway Patrol says Cody Ray Gafford, 16, of Flomaton died in the crash (pictured top of page) about 12:45 Saturday afternoon.
Troopers say Gafford was traveling south on Byrneville Road at a high rate of speed when he ran off the road and began to spin. His1998 Ford Explorer rotated across the road and began to overturn. That’s when the driver’s side of the Explorer struck a large tree and flipped upside down. The vehicle then caught fire.
Gafford was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic.
Saturday: Three Injured In Jay Accident
Three Jay residents were injured in a two vehicle accident at Highway 89 and Escambia Avenue in Jay Saturday afternoon.
The Florida Highway Patrol says Seth Raught, 18 and Jeremy Raught, 18, of Jay attempted to make a U-turn from the shoulder of Highway 89 when the 1999 Dodge driven by Seth Raught pulled into the path of an oncoming vehicle. That vehicle, a 2000 Dodge SUV, was driven by Dwayne Reaves, 45, of Jay. Reaves was unable to avoid hitting Raught’s vehicle in the driver’s side, the FHP says.
Seth Raught was taken by LifeFlight to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola where he was listed in critical condition.
Seth Raught was not wearing his seat belt according to the FHP report. The other two parties were. Jeremy Raught received minor injuries in the incident and was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital. The FHP report does not specify the extent of the injuries to Reaves, but it does state that he was transported to Jay Hospital.
Saturday: Cantonment Man Dies In Motorcycle Wreck, One Injured
A Cantonment man died in a one vehicle, one motorcycle accident Saturday night in Cantonment.
The Florida Highway Patrol says Robert P. McDonald, 49, of Cantonment died in the accident about 8:45 Saturday night at the intersection of Pine Forest Road and Graham Road.
Troopers say a 2004 Hyundai driven by Gabrielle N. Taite, 18, of Pensacola was traveling north on Pine Forest Road when she traveled into McDonald’s path. McDonald attempted to take evasive action, causing his motorcycle to overturn and strike Taite’s Hyundai.
McDonald was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger on the motorcycle, Carol E. McDonald, 50, of Cantonment, was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in serious condition.
Sunday: Five, Including Two Children, Injured In Davisville Accident
Five people were injured, including two young children, in a two vehicle wreck just before 10:00 Sunday morning in Davisville.
The two children and two adults were in a small pickup truck that collided with another small pickup in front of the Family Dollar on Highway 97, just south of the Alabama state line. The second pickup overturned on its side. One person was trapped in that truck for about 15 minutes while firemen used the Jaws of Life to free her.
None of the injuries were believed to be life threatening, according to emergency personnel on the scene.
Monday: One Killed, Two Injured In Highway 29 Crash
The Florida Highway Patrol says Carolyn Hightower, 60, of Pensacola died just before 8:00 Monday night from injuries she received earlier in the day in a North Escambia accident.
The FHP said Richard D. Hightower, 63, and his passenger Carolyn Hightower, 60, of Pensacola were northbound on Highway 29 at Bluff Springs Road in the outside lane when a pickup truck driven by Floyd D. Calloway, 65, of Century pulled from Byrneville Road into their path about 8:20 Monday morning.
Calloway’s truck hit the rear of Hightower’s Chevrolet Blazer, causing it to rotate. Hightower was unable to control the SUV, and it rolled several times before coming to a stop upside in the northbound lanes of Highway 29 (pictured below), according to the highway patrol crash report.
Carolyn Hightower was transported by LifeFlight to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola where she later died. Richard Hightower was transported by a second LifeFlight helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital in serious condition. Calloway was transported by ambulance to Jay Hospital with minor injuries. All three people were wearing their seatbelts.
NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
A Rabbit In A Hat, And Other Magic At Library
June 25, 2008
Tuesday was a magical day at the Century Library as magician Sammy Smith brought his bag of tricks…and his rabbit in a hat to delight children and adults of all ages.
From coins magically appear behind ears, to sleepy bunnies, to magic rings and ropes to disappearing wedding rings, Smith kept the audience guessing how he performed his tricks.
He told them that he learned magic by checking books out of his local library, and he encouraged the children to read during the summer.
The next installment of the Summer Reading Series at the Century Branch Library will be at noon on Tuesday, July 1 as the library celebrates the Fourth of July in grand style. There will be a watermelon eating contest, a watermelon seed spitting contest, apple pies, pigs in a blanket, a hula hoop contest,, Uncle Sam, the Statue of Liberty, George Washington, and more. The program is for children of all ages and is free. For more information, call the library at 256-6217.
For more photos from the magic show at the library, click here.
Pictured above: Magician Sammy Smith performs at the Century Branch Library Tuesday with a little help for an audience member. Pictured below: Children clap for a magic trick. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Farmers May Now Sign Up For Quality Loss Crop Disaster Program
June 25, 2008
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Teresa Lasseter announced that eligible farmers who suffered quality losses to their crops in recent years can enroll in the Crop Disaster Program 2005-2007 (CDP) at local FSA service centers starting June 23, 2008, including the Molino FSA Center at 151 Highway 97 in Molino.
“We have been conducting sign up since last fall for quantity losses for the 2005-2007 crops, and now we are ready to conduct sign up for quality losses,” said Lasseter. “We have already paid producers more than $1.8 billion for quantity losses and over $274 million for livestock losses. Now we can get the final piece of the disaster programs implemented,” Lasseter said.
The CDP provides benefits to farmers who suffered losses to their 2005-2007 crops from natural disasters and related conditions. Producers who incurred qualifying quantity or quality losses in 2005, 2006 or 2007 may receive benefits for only one of these years. However, producers may apply for benefits for losses to multiple crops as long as the losses occurred in the same crop year.
Only producers who obtained crop insurance coverage or coverage under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for the year of loss will be eligible for CDP benefits. Producers must have suffered quality losses of at least 25 percent to be eligible for CDP Quality Loss. The payment rate is set at 65 percent of the amount of the affected crop multiplied by 42 percent of the per-unit average market value in the year in which the loss occurred. Producers may receive assistance for both quantity and quality losses. However, the total quantity and quality assistance, together with any crop insurance or NAP payment received for the same crop and the value of the crop production not lost, must not exceed 95 percent of the total value of the crop absent the disaster.
For more information, click here for a pdf fact sheet.
For more information about CDP and other disaster programs implemented by FSA, visit: http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov
Voting Precinct Moves To Quintette Community Center
June 25, 2008
Escambia County is moving a voting precinct location from Cantonment to the Quintette Community Center.
Precinct 36 will move from the Cantonment Fire Department to the Quintette Community Center for both the August 26 primary and the November 4 general election.
The move was made to better accomodate the growing number of voters in the district. There are 2,529 registered voters in the district, according to the Escambia Supervisor of Elections office.
Each registered voter in the district will be mailed a letter of explanation, a map of the new location and a new Voter Indentification Card with the updated polling location.
Pensacola Woman Dies Hours After North Escambia Accident On Hwy. 29
June 24, 2008
The Florida Highway Patrol says Carolyn Hightower, 60, of Pensacola died just before 8:00 Monday night from injuries she received earlier in the day in a North Escambia accident.
The FHP said Richard D. Hightower, 63, and his passenger Carolyn Hightower, 60, of Pensacola were northbound on Highway 29 at Bluff Springs Road in the outside lane when a pickup truck driven by Floyd D. Calloway, 65, of Century pulled from Byrneville Road into their path about 8:20 Monday morning.
Calloway’s truck hit the rear of Hightower’s Chevrolet Blazer, causing it to rotate. Hightower was unable to control the SUV, and it rolled several times before coming to a stop upside in the northbound lanes of Highway 29, according to the highway patrol crash report.
Carolyn Hightower was transported by LifeFlight to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola where she later died. Richard Hightower was transported by a second LifeFlight helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital in serious condition. Calloway was transported by ambulance to Jay Hospital with minor injuries. All three people were wearing their seatbelts.
Alcohol was not a factor in the accident according to the FHP.
The accident is still under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol, and the FHP says charges are pending the outcome of the investigation.
Both the north and southbound lanes of Highway 29 were closed for over an hour while authorities worked at the scene.
For a photo gallery from the scene, click here.
Pictured above: Two people were critically injured in this SUV Monday morning near Bluff Springs. Pictured below: The white pickup that collided with the SUV at Bluff Springs Road and Highway 29. Pictured below: One LifeFlight helicopter sits on Highway 29 as one lifts off with an accident victim. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Hit And Run Between Bicycles Sends Cantonment Man To Hospital
June 24, 2008
A two bicycle hit and run accident in Pensacola left a Cantonment man with serious injuries Monday night.
The Florida Highway Patrol says Jacob D. Hawkins, 30, of Cantonment was riding his bicycle west on the shoulder of Nine Mile Road about 9:41 p.m. Monday when he was hit by another bicycle heading east. Hawkins was ejected from his bicycle, the FHP says, and the other bicyclist fled the scene.
Hawkins was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital by ambulance where he was admitted in serious condition. The FHP is searching for the second bicyclist.
New Voter Drive Program To ‘Register At The Register”
June 24, 2008
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David Stafford has announced a new voter registration drive aimed at registering new voters through their local merchants. The
Register @ the Register program is a partnership between the Escambia County Elections office and a variety of Escambia merchants who have agreed to allow voter registration forms and voter guides to be made available to customers in their restaurants or stores.
So far, there are no North Escambia merchants participating in the program.
The participating retailers will distribute Florida Voter Registration Applications and the official 2008 Voter Guide, but will not assist voters in completing the registration or receive the completed forms. New registrants pick-up the forms at any of the participating locations and deliver or mail the completed registrations to the Elections Office.
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David Stafford said the new program, based on a similar effort in Seminole County, will give potential voters additional opportunities to register to vote. “Through this partnership, we’re providing essential voter information to residents where they shop, work and play,” said Stafford.
Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning said of the effort, “Florida has many opportunities for residents to register to vote. However, innovative outreach methods like the Register @ the Register initiative by the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections prove that supervisors are going above and beyond to make it easy and convenient to register to vote.”
The forms can be found at more than 45 merchant locations in Escambia County, including: Walgreens, Starbucks Coffee, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Sonny’s BBQ and Tijuana Flats. Merchants who wish to participate in the program are encouraged to contact the Elections Office at 850-595-3900 or soe@EscambiaVotes.com.
While there are no North Escambia merchants in the program, Elections Specialist Theresa Keyes said that voter registration applications are available at a few locations in North Escambia:
- Century Public Library
- Century Bait Shop
- Mitchell’s Grocery & Seafood in Century
- Crossroads Service Center in Molino
Raylin’s The Name; Rodeo Is Her Game
June 24, 2008
Her name is Raylin, and rodeo is her game.
Raylin Spence, soon to be a ninth grader this fall at Northview High School, is good with a horse. Not just good, but really good.
Raylin recently brought home the Reserve Champion title from the Alabama Junior Rodeo State Finals in Montgomery.
But whether she’s at riding in a competition, or just riding for fun, Raylin loves the rodeo.
“It’s just plain fun,” she told NorthEscambia.com.
“Goat tying is my favorite,” she said, acknowledging that perhaps it is not as much fun for the goat.
She’s good at goat tying too, having brought home the the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 Reserve Champion trophy for goat tying in the Alabama Junior Rodeo State Finals.
Raylin said she started riding horses almost right after she was born, and she was excited to get old enough to start competing in organized rodeos. She’s been riding in rodeos for the past four years.
“It’s fun. You get to meet new people,” Raylin said. “You get to travel and spend time with your family. My parents like to rodeo, and we just all have a good time.”
She competes in not only goat tying, but also barrel riding, pole bending and ribbon roping. She’s been a four time state qualifier in the ARJA for barrels, poles and goats. She’s been named a Top Ten All-Around Cowgirl for three years, and was the2004-2005 fourth place National Qualifier for the Alabama High School Wrangler Division in Gallup, New Mexico.
She said she loves her horses, Poko, 6, and Sammy, 15. She hopes to start giving riding lessons to others this summer.
In addition to rodeo, she’s pretty good at volleyball too. Raylin was the 2007-2008 Ernest Ward Middle School volleyball team captain, and she has made the 2008-2009 volleyball team for the Northview Chiefs.
She is also a youth member at the First Baptist Church in Atmore. Raylin is the daugther of Kevin and Shane Spence.
North Escambia Woman Gets Complete Makeover On NBC’S Today Show
June 23, 2008
A girls’ week in New York City ended with a North Escambia woman getting a surprise complete makeover on national television Friday morning.
Cheryl Golson of Davisville was selected from the crowd at Rockefeller Plaza in New York for a “Plaza Ambush Makeover” from NBC’s Today Show. Cheryl received a complete makeover…hair, makeup and new designer dress.
Cheryl, an ESE teacher at Bratt Elementary School was in New York with her daughter Shelby Bryan, Bratt guidance counselor Sheila Bryan, and Sheila’s daugther Jill Laborde, all from Bratt. The entire trip was to celebrate Shelby and Jill’s graduation from the University of West Florida.
On Friday, their last day in New York City, they decided to try to be in the audience on NBC’s today show. Today show producers picked two ladies from the audience for complete makeovers in a segment of the show called “Plaza Ambush Makeovers” that airs in the program’s fourth hour every Friday.
“We got lucky and got to be along the barricades,” Cheryl told NorthEscambia.com. “I didn’t know about the makeovers. Jill and Shelby were yelling ‘pick us, pick us’, but they were told that they were too pretty. Then they started yelling ‘do our mothers’.”
“They picked me and took me back to their wardrobe area,” she said. “Everybody else got to go to the Green Room.” The Green Room is where people appearing on the Today Show wait before going on the air. In the Green Room, Shelby, Sheila and Jill got to meet host Meredith Vieira and Grammy-winning pop sensation Rihanna before her Summer Concert Series performance.
Cheryl said the whole makeover process took about two hours with US Weekly contributor and fashion expert Jill Martin and hairstylist Louis Licari. Her hair was colored twice, and she tried on about six dresses, she said.
“I’d never even had my nails done before,” Cheryl said.
In the end, Cheryl ended up on national television with her new look. Her hair went from light ash brown to a reddish auburn color, and a complete makeup change. She was dressed in a Lafayette 148 silk dress and shoes from Nine West.
“The red just made her come alive,” Licari said. “Remember, redheads work as long as they are believable and this is a believable auburn color.”
“She’s a school teacher, and she has nothing like this in her wardrobe,” Martin said. “She’s going to find some place to go.”
When asked on the Today show how she felt, Cheryl said, “Wonderful! This is not my normal Friday at all.”
“She looks beautiful; I love it,” Shelby (pictured left with her mom) said on the show.
“She is the best mom in the world; she deserves it. She’s always put so much effort into her kids and then she’s never really spent as much time on herself,” Shelby said in an on-air interview prior to seeing mom’s new look. “Dad’s going to think she looks hot.”
“I was proud for her,” Cheryl’s husband and Shelby’s dad Ricky Golson told NorthEscambia.com. “She looked very nice. I was thrilled for her.”
“My daughter had called about 6:30 Friday morning and said mom had been selected,” Ricky said. “I was not sure what she meant. When I got in from work Friday afternoon, I googled it and found a link to the video.”
“I think she looks so good,” Shelby told NorthEscambia.com. “She always cared for us and has been a great mother. She just needed a new ‘do’.”
As for where Cheryl plans to wear her new designer dress, she’s not sure yet.
“I don’t know where I am going to wear it,” she said from her home Saturday. “I don’t think it will be Sunday School.”
The dress, which retails for $498 (click here to order) was accented by a shawl purchased by the Today show staff from a street vendor.
To see the complete video clip from the Today Show, click here. The clip begins with another lady that also received a complete makeover Friday morning. Cheryl’s segment begins about four minutes into the video. A DSL, cable or other high speed connection is needed to watch the video.
Pictured top: Cheryl Golson before and after her “Plaza Ambush Makeover” on NBC’s Today Show Friday morning. Photo courtesy NBC. Pictured below (L-R): US Weekly contributor and fashion expert Jill Martin, Sheila Bryan, Jill Laborde, an NBC makup artist, Cheryl Golson, hairstylist Louis Licari and Shelby Bryan. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com.
Sunday Slow Speed Chase Lands Local Man In Jail
June 23, 2008
A short slow speed chase Sunday afternoon ended peacefully with a local man facing charges.
The chase began when Deputy Chris Knotts tried to stop Richard Payne II, 44, on Highway 4 at Highway 97 just before 6:30 Sunday afternoon. Knotts said Payne refused to stop, and he followed him at speeds from 25 to 35 miles per hour eastbound on Highway 4 and then south on Sandy Hollow Road.
Payne came to a stop near the bridge on Sandy Hollow Road, about 1.7 miles from Highway 4 and a short distance north of Gobbler Road.
Payne, who gave deputies an address in the 4800 block of Highway 164, was charged with DUI and failure to obey order to stop.He was being held in the Escambia County Jail on $5,000 bond on each of the charges.
Pictured top: Deputy David Bashore places Payne into the back of sheriff’ cruiser. Pictured below: Deputies Ellis Smallwood (left) and Chris Knotts (inside the driver’s door) search Payne’s Chevrolet S10. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.Pictured left: Payne’s jail booking photo.
