Ernest Ward Beats Blacksher 30-14
October 7, 2009
The Ernest Ward Middle School Eagles beat J.U. Blacksher 30-14 Tuesday night in Walnut Hill.
Blacksher managed a touchdown with less than a minute on the clock, but it was not near enough to beat Ernest Ward, Esambia County, Florida’s only middle school football team.
Ernest Ward has one football game remaining — Thursday, October 15 at 6 p.m. at home in Walnut Hill.
Pictured above: Hunter Hendrix (#29) and Daulton Tullis (#10) were among the Eagles defenders attempting to stop J.U. Blacksher’s final touchdown of the night. Pictured left: Ali Martin cheers for EWMS Eagles. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Little Local Interest In Government Consolidation Committee Meeting
October 7, 2009
Only a handful of people turned out for the meeting of the full Escambia County Consolidation Study Commission Tuesday night in Century.
The commission continued with their ongoing task of drafting a plan for consolidating Century, Pensacola and Escambia County under a single government. In addition to Century Mayor Freddie McCall, some of the town’s council and very few private citizens from North Escambia attended the meeting.
“We are able to control our destiny where we are at,” McCall told the commission about Century’s current governmental structure as a town. We haven’t had a lot of cooperation over the years…we are known as the forgotten end of the county.”
The study commission was formed when the Florida Legislature passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Greg Evers. The commission is tasked with studying various forms of consolidated government, and they are expected to issue their recommendations by the end of the year. If the commission recommends a consolidated government, the question would be presented to voters in 2010.
Pictured above: Century Mayor Freddie McCall addresses the Escambia County Consolidation Study Commission Tuesday night in Century. Pictured below: Only a small number of people, most of them not from North Escambia, turned out to hear the commission in action. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
No Injuries In Highway 29 Crash
October 6, 2009
No one was injured in a two vehicle crash this morning on Highway 29 in Cantonment.
The accident was reported about 10:30 at the intersection of Highway 29 and Neal Road. The driver of a Mazda RX-8 apparently collided with a utility trailer being pulled by a the driver of Chevrolet pickup.
No one involved in the crash was transported to the hospital.
Northbound traffic was reduced to one lane about an hour by the crash.
The accident is still under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Engine 1819 from the Molino Station and Escambia County EMS also responded to the call.
Pictured above: No one was injured in this two vehicle accident at Highway 29 and Neal Road in Cantonment Tuesday morning.
Driver Flips On Highway 29
October 6, 2009
One person escaped serious injury in a single vehicle accident south of McDavid this morning.
The accident happened about 8 a.m. on Highway 29 near Cotton Creek Road when the driver of a Ford Focus lost control, ran off the road and flipped over into a muddy ditch. The Focus came to rest upside down in the ditch.
The driver, who initially refused treatment, was transported by ambulance to the hospital with minor injuries.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the call.
Pictured above and below: The driver of this Ford Focus sustained only minor injuries in a Tuesday morning accident on Highway 29. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Bond Revoked For Man Accused Of Shooting Into Elderly Woman’s Home Over Fake Crack
October 6, 2009
A Molino man that allegedly fired a rifle into an elderly woman’s house in April after he became upset that he purchased $40 of fake cocaine is now back in jail after a judge revoked his $100,000 bond.
Robert Grant Piehl, 41, of Wilder Road, Molino, was arrested Monday after Judge Terry Terrell revoked his current bond.
Piehl bond conditions stated that he have no contact with the victims and that he stay away from Barth Lane where the incident occurred. He is charged with five felonies — aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, two counts firing into the dwelling, criminal mischief and robbery with a firearm. A charge of using a firearm during a felony was dropped by prosecutors.
He was booked back into the Escambia Count Jail Monday afternoon, where he remains on $90,000 bond. Piehl is scheduled to be back in court on October 13.
Piehl reportedly bought what he thought was crack cocaine for $40 on April 15 on Barth Lane, according to his original arrest report. But he discovered the crack was fake and returned to confront the alleged dealer with a .22 caliber rifle Wednesday evening, according to deputies. Piehl pointed the rifle at several people and fired into two houses, according to police reports.
Piehl approached and 88-year old woman and asked about the alleged drug dealer, according to the sheriff’s department. The elderly woman denied knowing the man, prompting Piehl to fire the rifle through the woman’s door, according to deputies. There were no injuries.
Deputies responding to the 911 call about the incident found Piehl and another man as they were leaving, stopped their vehicle and arrested them on Highway 29. The rifle allegedly used in the incident was still in the truck, according to deputies. Charges against the second man have since been dropped.
Government Consolidation Panel To Meet Today In Century
October 6, 2009
The full 25-member Escambia County Consolidation Study Commission will meet this afternoon at 5:30 in Century, and Century’s mayor is encouraging the public to attend and let their voice be heard in the process.
“I want everyone to come out and speak against it,” Century Mayor Freddie McCall said. “I hear that they are stacking the audience with their people to speak in favor of it, and I am not in favor of it.” McCall added that he was speaking for himself personally, not officially for town, in his opposition to consolidation.
The Commission is expected to continue discussions of major questions concerning consolidation, discuss the drafting of preliminary legislation, hear reports of sub-committees and special advisory committees and conduct a public forum
The 25-member Commission, composed of appointees from various governmental bodies throughout Escambia County, as well as appointees from other stakeholder groups, was formed after the Florida Legislature approved a commission to study various unified forms of government. The Commission is expected to issue a report by the end of the year. Should a unified form of government be recommended, that question would be expected be put before the voters of Escambia County in 2010.
The meeting will be held at the Century Agricultural Building on West Highway 4, just west of Industrial Boulevard.
County’s Top Code Enforcer Questioned By Century Council
October 6, 2009
The Century Town Council met with the county’s top code enforcer Monday night to clarify several issues that the town had questioned.
At a public meeting two weeks ago, the town came under fire for publishing a list of alleged code violators in a display advertisement in the Tri-City Ledger newspaper. One man claimed that his listed property was not in the town limits, and another presented what he said was documentation that he had complied to code enforcement’s requests as of last March.
Sandra Slay, chief of the county’s code enforcement division, told the council that property belonging to a John Stallworth that was listed in the newspaper did not belong to the John Stallworth that was at the meeting two weeks ago. Instead, she said, it belongs to a John McDuffy Stallworth in Ohio.
As for Herman Pleasant’s claim at the last code meeting that he had complied with code enforcement last March, Slay said that he was on the list printed in newspaper by mistake.
Slay said someone new had taken over the list and inadvertently did not remove Pleasant’s name.
“She did not double check to see it was open,” Slay said of the code enforcement employee that did not remove the complaint from the list provided to the town.
But she said those type mistakes do not send the wrong people to court over code violations.
“We’ve got three sets of eyes looking at the list before they go to court,” Slay said, adding that violations are checked and photographed the day prior to a court hearing just to make sure the violation has not been abated before it goes to the magistrate for an $1,100 hearing.
One Century resident said he would like code enforcement officers to provide something in writing when a problem is abated.
“I think they need to give you something when you finish the work,” Leola Robinson said. “I don’t want to go to Pensacola to get a piece of paper.”
Slay that anyone with a cleared code enforcement citation can call and request the department mail a printout showing the case is closed, or they can request such a printout from a code enforcement officer.
Ann Brooks, council president, requested that Slay provide another list that could be printed in the weekly Flomaton newspaper. Slay said she would double-check a list and email it to the mayor and council members.
Also during the meeting, Slay cleared up a few points about how code enforcement works:
- Abandoned vehicles: “You have to be able to get in, crank it up and move it forward and backward,” she said. Insurance and tags are not required.
- If a vehicle is being repaired, the owner must show an honest attempt to be undertaking the repair.
- Inoperable vehicles can be kept in the backyard of a piece of property behind a properly constructed six-foot high privacy fence. The property fence requirement does not apply if the property is greater than three acres.
- Written citations in Century provide the owner 30 days to rectify the problem, whereas the residents in the rest of the county are given citations that state 10 days.
Slay said she is in Century every Wednesday, and that she rides with Century Councilman Henry Hawkins until she gets “about 20 complaints” to turn over to her officers.
Pictured top: Sandra Slay, chief of the county’s code enforcement division, addressed the Century Town Council Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Oprah Winfrey Show On Billings Murder, Family To Air Wednesday With Daughter, Sheriff
October 6, 2009
An Oprah Winfrey show with Ashley Markham, daughter of murder victims Byrd and Melanie Billings, and Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan is scheduled to air nationwide Wednesday afternoon. The show was taped September 24.
Markham, her husband James, and Robert Beasley, their attorney, were in Chicago for the taping. The sheriff taped his portion of the program via the Skype Internet video chat program from his office in Pensacola.
The show “Oprah Exclusive: Inside the Home of the Florida Massacre” will air locally on WALA FOX 10 at 4 p.m Wednesday.
Pictured above: Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan waits to film a segment on the Oprah Winfrey show via an Internet teleconference from his office September 24. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Answering The Call: Flomaton Fire Dept. Teaches Safety
October 6, 2009
For over a quarter century, the Flomaton Fire & Rescue Department has answered the call for fire prevention education in town’s schools.
“Attention all Station 32 firemen, report to the elementary school,” was the emergency traffic heard on fire radios around Flomaton Monday morning. When firemen arrived, they were not faced with a fire, but with teaching Flomaton Elementary School students about fire safety. From “stop, drop and roll” to smoke alarms, children learned from Flomaton’s first responders.
In addition to Flomaton Elementary, the Flomaton Fire Department also presented their fire safety program at the Flomaton First Baptist Church Daycare. Monday’s events were part of National Fire Prevention Week activities.
Picture top: A member of Flomaton Fire & Rescue demonstrates how to “stop, drop and roll” Monday morning at Flomaton Elementary School. Pictured below: A fire prevention program was also presented at the Flomaton First Baptist Church Daycare. Submitted photos by Christine Stanton for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Hot Pursuit To Benefit Youth Ranch
October 6, 2009
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Second Annual ‘In Hot Pursuit’ 5K will be held this Saturday at Pensacola Beach.
All proceeds from the race will go to support the Florida Sheriff’s Association Youth Ranches, an organization dedicated to the prevention of juvenile delinquency and the production of strong, lawful and productive citizens for our community.
There will be a fun beach course, great prizes, red beans and rice at the finish line, and medals for the winners.
The race will start at 8 a.m. near the Pavilion on Pensacola Beach. Pre-registration is $17.00 through Friday October 9. Day of the race registration is $25. Register online at www.active.com or download a printable form at escambiaso.com. For more information, contact Sgt. Ted Roy at (850) 554-1358.