Century Man Injured In Bluff Springs Rollover Accident
August 31, 2009
One person was injured in a single vehicle rollover accident Monday morning in Bluff Springs.
Leslie L. Lassiter, 63, of Century, was northbound on Highway 29 just north of Bluff Springs Road just before 6 a.m. when he lost control, ran off onto the shoulder of the road and overturned into the median, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. His Toyota truck came to rest upside down in the median of the highway. Lassiter was ejected from the vehicle, according to the FHP.
He was transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital in serious condition. LifeFlight was unable to respond to the scene due to morning fog.
Charges against Lassiter are pending, according to the FHP.
The Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded to the call.
Pictured above: A Century man was injured in this rollover accident Monday morning in Bluff Springs. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Alabama Child Molester Gets New Trial Because North Escambia Resident Lied About Address
August 31, 2009
An Escambia County (Ala.) man in prison for abusing a seven year old girl will get a new trial because a juror from North Escambia lied about living in Alabama so he could keep his job.
Larry Richard Chavers was sentenced in 2006 to a total of 31 years for sodomizing and sexual abusing a girl that was seven-years old in 2004.
Last week, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals sided with Chavers’ defense attorney, Paul Harden of Monroeville, and found that the man known as “Juror No. 216″ actually lived in North Escambia and not in Escambia County, Ala. Juror No. 216 served on the jury that convicted Chavers. Alabama law has a mandatory requirement that jurors live in Alabama for at least 12 months before a trial begins.
Harden argued that Juror No. 216 had a post office box in Escambia County, Ala., and claimed to live on South Eighth Avenue in Atmore, but he actually resided at 7500 Hodges Road, just across the state line in Escambia County, Fla. near Davisville.
Juror No. 216 was subpoenaed to testify before the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals back in January. According to court documents, he testified that he lived at 105-1/2 Tatum Avenue in Atmore. He told the court that he did not own any property in Alabama, but that he and his wife owned property on Hodges Road. Juror No. 216 said that his wife and children lived on the Florida property, but he had lived at the Tatum Avenue address all of his life. He denied that he and his wife were separated.
“He maintained that ‘I stay there a little bit,’ but admitted that he spent three to four nights a week there and that he had spent all the previous week at the residence in Florida,” the appeal said.
For the past 15 years, Juror No. 216 has been employed by Reid State Technical College in Evergreen, and he said that his job required him to have an Alabama driver’s license. When asked when he stopped residing in the State of Florida, Juror No. 216 responded, “I guess I still do.”
Ultimately, Juror No. 216 maintained that he resided both in Alabama at the Tatum Avenue address and in Florida at the Hodges Road address, about two-tenths of a mile from Alabama. When the defense counsel attempted to determine how often Juror No. 216 stayed with his wife and children in Florida and for how long, Juror No. 216 responded that that was “between me and my wife how many times I stay there”.
Juror No. 216’s wife was equally unwilling to disclose her husband’s residence, maintaining that it was not anyone’s business “how many nights my husband stays at my house or if he stays at his sister’s house”.
The court found that Juror No. 216’s sister owns houses at 105 Tatum Avenue and 105-1/2 Tatum Avenue, and that the houses were about 50-60 feet apart. Juror No. 216’s sister testified that on occasion her brother stayed at the house located at 105-1/2 Tatum Avenue, but she was unable to say how often he stayed there. Further questioning determined that the utility bills for 105-1/2 Tatum Avenue were in her name and that her brother did not compensate her financially for staying at that address.
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals found that Juror No. 216 did, in fact, live in Florida at 7500 Hodges Road. The court ordered a new trial for Chavers.
Chavers was convicted of raping and sodomizing the seven-year old daughter of a woman he had dated. The girl, who was 10-years old at the time of the 2006 trial, testified that Chavers had abused her 15 to 20 times. The trial court sentenced Chavers to 21 years’ imprisonment on the sodomy conviction and to 10 years’ imprisonment on the sexual abuse conviction. The court suspended Chavers’s 10-year sentence for sexual abuse and ordered him to serve three years in prison and the balanced on supervised probation. He is scheduled to be released in October 2027.
Blood Drive In Walnut Hill Today
August 31, 2009
A blood drive will be held Monday morning in Walnut Hill.
Northwest Florida Blood Services will be at the Walnut Hill Farm Supply from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday. The store is located at the intersection of South Highway 99 and Highway 97.
When you donate to Northwest Florida Blood Services, you can save the life of a hospital patient in northwest Florida. Northwest Florida Blood Services is the exclusive provider of blood products to more than 24 area hospitals who need 175 blood donations a day. Each donation can save up to three lives.
Requirements for giving blood are below.
- Donors must be in generally good health
- At least 17 years of age, without permission. 16-year olds are now allowed to donate with permission granted by parents or legal guardians.
- Must bring picture ID
- Weigh at least 110 lbs
- Free of infection, fever or flu symptoms, for 3 days
- No cancer within the last 5 years
- No antibiotics within the last 48 hours
- No tattoos within the past 12 months
- No chest pain, heart disease, heart surgery (Requires written physician release with diagnosis)
- No history of viral hepatitis
- Cannot have lived in France for 5 years or more between 1980 and the present
- Cannot have lived or visited in the UK for a total of 3 months or more from 1980 to 1996
- Cannot have received a blood transfusion in the UK between 1980 and the present
- Military personnel (current and former), and their dependents, who spent time in military bases in northern Europe during 1980-1990, or southern Europe during 1980-1996, for 6 months or more
- All military personnel (active & reserve) that are returning from Iraq, are deferred for a period of 1 year after the last date on location in that country.
Televised Workshops Offered To Small Farm Producers
August 31, 2009
Upcoming training sessions will give farmers in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties the opportunity to learn about new markets, regulations that impact their farms and how to get their products to market.
There will be four televised weekly sessions beginning on September 10 from 6 to 8 p.m.. These workshops can be accessed through several participating extension offices statewide.
The programs are free to everyone, but participants should register by September 4. The availability of program notebooks and materials at the Santa Rosa County, Milton Extension office location will be based on pre-registration numbers.
The first session will cover state food regulations and federal food laws as they apply to Florida. Session two on September 17 covers potential markets and sales venues, as well as how to price various products. Session three on September 24 discusses marketing skills and packaging requirements, while session four on October 1 will cover basic merchandising, marketing, cash flow and accountability.
Contact the Santa Rosa County Extension office at (850) 623-3868 for more information or to register.
This small farms program is the result of cooperation between the University of Florida’s IFAS Extension, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Florida A&M University College of Engineering Sciences Technology and Agriculture
Photo Galleries: Hundreds Of North Escambia Weekend Photos
August 31, 2009
If you missed NorthEscambia.com this weekend, you missed hundreds of photos from across the area. From mini-cheerleaders to exciting football action, we had the area covered in pictures.
Click gallery name below to view the photos:
- Northwest Escambia Mites vs. Pace.
- Northwest Escambia Midgets vs. Pace.
- Northwest Escambia Cheerleaders.
- Flomaton High School versus Calhoun.
- Northview High Mini-Cheerleaders.
- Molino Residents watch the Pelicans win.
- Meet the NHS Tribal Beat Band.
- Byrneville Elementary emergency drills.
Pelicans Beat Captains In Record Time
August 31, 2009
The Pelicans blanked the Captains 4-0 in the final regular season game Sunday night in a timely manner: an American Association record hour and thirty-one minutes. Kieran Mattison picked up his second win as a Pelican in as many starts, cruising for five innings. The Pelicans supported their starter with two runs in the first inning, and squeezed out two more over the course of the contest.
Chase Burch hit his first home run in the second half of the season in the bottom of the second inning. His ninth long ball of the year followed a Marshall McDougall single and put the Pelicans on top 2-0.
The Pels would add another run in the sixth inning when Adam Deleo led off with a double. On a Marcos Rodriguez single, Deleo advanced to third, scoring when Jason Diaz grounded out to the first baseman.
Pensacola tacked on their last run of the regular season in the bottom of the seventh, when Chase Burch recorded his second hit of the night, a single. Lou Palmisano hit safely as well, and Adam Darby drove Burch in with a base knock. The 4-0 Pelicans’ lead would last until the end of the game.
The game was the shortest nine-inning contest in the four-year old American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. After Kieran Mattison pitched five scoreless innings while scattering four hits and striking out two, Kevin Cooper tossed three more of his own, yielding three hits and picking up a strikeout. Ulysses Roque allowed a lead off single in the ninth, then induced a 6-4-3 double play and another groundout to seal the game.
The Pelicans close the regular season ten games over .500 at 53-43. Pensacola will continue their 2009 campaign on Tuesday when they face the Fort Worth Cats in Texas for the first of a best-of-five series to determine the South Division winner. Aaron Jackson is projected to start the 7:05 ballgame for the Pelicans. Fans can hear all the action via NewsRadio 1620, or online with SportsJuice.com.
Sunday Storms Cause Problems In Century, Flomaton
August 31, 2009
A line of strong storms caused a few problems in the Century and Flomaton areas Sunday afternoon.
In Century, several inches of rainfall in a short time period caused localized street flooding, including North Century Boulevard near Jackson Street. Numerous trees were downed on both the Alabama and Florida sides of Fannie Road. Firefighters from Flomaton and Century responded to cut the trees out of the roadway.
There were also scattered power outages reported.
There was no major damage and no injuries reported from Sunday afternoon’s storm in North Escambia.
For Monday, there is a 30 percent chance of more showers and thunderstorms.
Pictured above: Crews from Escambia River Electric Cooperative work to restore power along the Florida portion of Fannie Road Sunday afternoon. Pictured below: Numerous small trees were downed in Alabama and Florida along Fannie Road. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Trees Downed, Flooding From Afternoon Storms
August 30, 2009
Afternoon storms have left roads flooded in Century, and trees down across Flomaton and Century.
Several trees were reported down on Fannie Road on the Florida side of the state line.
Radar indicates that up to three inches of rain have fallen in the Century, Flomaton and Pollard areas this afternoon.
Strong Thunderstorm Advisory
August 30, 2009
..A strong thunderstorm will affect Escambia and Santa Rosa
counties…
At 118 PM CDT…National Weather Service Doppler radar indicated a
strong thunderstorm over Flomaton…moving east at 20 mph.
This thunderstorm will affect areas in and around…
Wahl…Osaka…Pollard…Jay..
CDT.The primary threats from this storm are small hail…frequent
lightning…and wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph. Winds this strong could
bring down dead or diseased trees and large limbs resulting in
serious injury or property damage. Local loss of electrical power may
result from downed power lines. Exercise extreme caution when
outdoors during such strong winds…or seek shelter in a safe home or
building until the storm has passed.
This storm could produce rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches in a short
period of time…resulting in brief ponding of water around low
lying and poor drainage areas. Remember…do not drive your vehicle
into water covered roadways. The depth may be too great to allow a
safe crossing.
Time Is Running Out To Save Before Driver’s License, Tag Fees Double
August 30, 2009
Time is running out to renew your tag or driver’s license before the fees more than double next week.. The fees for vehicle registrations, renewals, titles and driver licenses are all going up, some more than double, on Tuesday.
So many people tried to avoid the fee increase on Friday that Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles computer systems crashed. Tax Collector Janet Holley’s office issued rain checks to those unable to renew due to the computer problems, and they will do the same on Monday. The rain checks are good for the current lower fees until September 10.
The initial registration fee – the fee paid for a vehicle registration on an additional vehicle not replacing a current vehicle — will jump from $100 to $225.
Tag and registration fees will go up as much as 66 percent; the exact amount depends on the weight of the vehicle. Transfer fees for titles will more than double from $29.75 to $75.75. Motorcycle registrations will also increase, from $24.60 to $41.65.
Reinstating a suspended driver license will increase, late payment fees on driver license renewals go up 15-fold, from $1 to $15, and the cost of the original driver license will go from $32.25 to $54.25. Renewing a driver license goes from $25.25 to $54.25.
But there’s a chance to avoid some of the fee increases for some Florida residents.
If a registrant’s birthday falls between August through November, they can renew by Monday at the current rates. Persons with December birthdays will not have the opportunity to renew early and save.
“There’s that chance for some people to renew now and save,” Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley said. “It is like a two-for-one deal if you can renew now and you do.”
Holley stressed that the increases were mandated by the state legislature for all Florida residents; the increases are not specific to Escambia County.
There is also a chance to save on the driver license renewal fees. A valid Florida driver license can be renewed up to 18 months in advance.
For more information, contact Holley’s office at (850) 438-6500 ext. 252.