Women Busted For Stealing Wallet, Check; One Was Free On Bond
September 28, 2010
Two McDavid women are behind bars, charged with stealing a wallet from a Century grocery store and trying to cash checks at a local credit union. One of the women, Valene Alaine Walker, was free on bond, with several other active cases in the local court system.
Walker, 25, and Tya Laree Simmons, 20, both of the 100 block of Highway 164, McDavid, are charged with a felony count of passing a forged instrument, and misdemeanor counts of criminal conspiracy and second degree petty theft.
The victim told deputies that her wallet, which contained a blank check belonging to her husband, was stolen while she was at the Piggly Wiggly on North Century Boulevard. Just minutes later, Simmons attempted to cash the check made out for $200 to the victim using the victim’s driver’s license at the Pen Air Federal Credit Union on North Century Boulevard, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report. The credit union teller knew the victim and refused to cash the check.
Simmons later admitted to deputies that she stole the victim’s wallet from a shopping cart at the Piggly Wiggly with Walker’s assistance. Walker engaged the victim in conversation while Simmons swiped the wallet from a purse in the shopping cart. Simmons admitted to attempting to cash the check.
Walker remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $22,500. Simmons is being held on $15,000 bond.
At the time of her latest arrest, Walker was free on bond awaiting trial on felony charges of possessing a controlled substance without a prescription and smuggling contraband into a detention facility. In May, she was arrested on an outstanding grand theft warrant. An anonymous caller tipped off detention deputies at the jail that Walker was carrying narcotics in her bra. A strip search, according to the arrest report, located one Xanax pill, four Lortab pills and four Xanax bars in the suspect’s bra.
The grand theft case is still outstanding, with Walker’s trail set for October 21. Walker was arrested arrested in April for battery, but charges were dropped in that case.
According to Escambia County court records, Walker also has outstanding cases for unlawful speed, failing to obey a traffic control device, two counts of driving with a suspended license, no driver’s license and no tag.
North Escambia Students Of The Month Named
September 28, 2010
Escambia County Students of the Month for September have been named by the Escambia Association for Administrators in Education. The awards are presented monthly to two students from participating schools.
The following students were named from North Escambia area schools:
- Bratt: Jakyia N. Newton, kindergarten; Madelyn Plant, fourth grade
- Jim Allen: Allison C. Roach, fifth grade; Kyndal J. Bray, fifth grade
- Molino Park: Ashley Y. Allen, third grade; Jerry K. Calvert, third grade
- Ernest Ward: Kayleigh G. Linam, sixth grade; Liberty D. Peebles, seventh grade; Penny N. Banda, eighth grade.
- Ransom: Mariah L. Constantakos, eighth grade; Matthew D. Hardy, eighth grade
- Northview: Stephanie L. Solari, 12th grade; Nolan C. Taylor, 11th grade
- Tate: Mallory B. Fuqua, 12th grade; Chase W. Carroll, 11th grade
Pictured top: Stephanie Solari and Nolan Taylor, Northview High School’s Students of the Month for September. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
New Road Named In Walnut Hill
September 28, 2010
A new road name in Walnut Hill has been approved by Escambia County.
The name for the private road will be “Rocky Ridge Road”. It is located north off of the 6500 block of Arthur Brown Road, about 0.35 miles west of Pine Forest Road. Both of the property owners along the road signed a petition in favor of the road name.
The total cost to Escambia County will be $223.45 for a new street sign.
Breast Cancer Benefit: Dig Pink Volleyball Today With Northview, Flomaton
September 28, 2010
The Northview Chiefs and the Flomaton Hurricanes will meet on the volleyball court today in Bratt in the area’s first ever Dig Pink game — and you are encouraged to attend to show your support for breast cancer research.
“Dig Pink is an organization for breast cancer awareness through volleyball. Our girls will be working hard at raising money for the organization and playing a game in honor of survivors and those whom have past away,” said Barbara Luker, assistant Northview volleyball coach. “The volleyball team will be ‘decked’ out in pink for the game and has plans to host a hospitality room for survivors that attend the game. We also are going to try to ‘pink out’ our gym for the game.”
The Dig Pink games will take place this afternoon with the Flomaton and Northview 9th grade teams playing at 4:30, the junior varsity at 5:30 and the varsity at 6:30 in the Northview High School gym.
The Dig Pink website allows individuals to donate to the breast cancer cause.
The Dig Pink game is sponsored in part by NorthEscambia.com; additional sponsors are needed. Contact BLuker@escambia.k12.fl.us or BHeaton@escambia.k12.fl.us for information.
Pictured above: Jazzlyn Franklin (left) and Julia Thorpe with Northview’s Dig Pink shirts. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Owe The State Money? Take Advantage Of Amnesty Program
September 28, 2010
Do you owe the State of Florida money? The state is giving you a chance to settle up without penalties and with reduced interest — if you hurry.
Errant or forgetful taxpayers have until Thursday to save a little money if they pay their state taxes under an amnesty program courtesy of the Department of Revenue. The program allows taxpayers who owe money to the state as of July 1 a chance to avoid penalties and reduce the interest charges on outstanding tax bills.
“For taxpayers who owe taxes or who may have made a mistake in the past, tax amnesty is a chance to pay taxes owed to the state and save money,” Lisa Echeverri, Executive Director, Florida Department of Revenue, said in a statement.
For more information, click here for the revenue department website. The amnesty program is not available to those who are already in court or have regulatory actions pending.
Weather: Welcome To Fall
September 28, 2010
After picture perfect fall morning, our great weather will continue for the rest of the week with lows in the 50’s and highs in the 80’s.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. North wind around 5 mph.
- Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 84. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 56. North wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 85. North wind between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 58. North wind around 5 mph.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 86. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 58. North wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 85. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 57. North wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 80.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53.
- Monday: Sunny, with a high near 80.
- Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 80.
Taking Back A North Escambia Neighborhood
September 27, 2010
Just a few short weeks ago, Nikki Kight was afraid to walk across her street to the park with her grandson. John Argerenon would not go out at night. They were, in their words, prisoners in their homes in the Cantonment neighborhood they have called home for years.
“You wouldn’t want to come in this neighborhood at night because of the teen punks,” Argerenon said. “You would not want to be right here on this street.”
Argerenon — who has spent a large portion of his adult life in the little triangular neighborhood bounded by Lakeview, Forrest and Escambia avenues – said fear kept him and his neighbors inside. In addition to the criminal element, he said the neighborhood was plagued with trash, abandoned houses and junk cars.
“This place was trash big time,” he said.
Now, it’s a quiet little neighborhood, not far from the ballparks on Well Line Road. The streets are closely lined by little concrete block homes built in the early 1950’s. On a weekday morning, the neighborhood Harvester Homes Park is quiet while the neighborhood children are in school. Neighbors greet neighbors as they check their mail. They ask about each other, about their children.
“Neighbors can be neighbors again,” said Kight. “It’s the way it is suppose to be.”
The change was orchestrated by the Community Oriented Policing Unit of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department. The unit called for help from Escambia County Code Enforcement, the Escambia County Road Department, Escambia County Parks and Recreation and the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority.
“It wasn’t one man, or one department,” said Deputy John Moore, the Escambia County Sheriffs’ Office Community Oriented Policing officer assigned to the Cantonment area. “All of our (Cantonment) precinct deputies and all of the other departments worked together in a combined effort to clean it up.”
Inoperable vehicles were towed. About 25 residents were cited by code enforcement, mostly for trash and junk in the yards. ECUA removed “lots” of trash. And the increased presence of the Sheriff’s Office let it be known that time was up for the “thugs” that held the neighborhood hostage.
“We were not in here trying to arrest them,” Moore said. “We were in here as partners in the community and as a resource. The potential problems moved away.”
“He got out here and got to know us,” Kight said of Deputy Moore. “He knows my name. That’s the way it used to be; you would know the name of the policeman in your neighborhood.”
Kight said she knows the Escambia Sheriff’s Office will remain in the neighborhood, and she welcomes the sight of a deputy’s car on Lakeview Avenue. But, she said, the community is missing just one little thing to make it complete.
“We have a park over there,” she said, pointing across from her home. “But there’s no place to sit out of the sun now that we go over there. We need a pavilion, or a cover or something. But at least the kids can go outside now. ”
Pictured top: Deputy John Moore shakes hands with Nikki Kight in the Lakeview Avenue area of Cantonment. Pictured above and below: The Harvester Homes subdivision off Well Line Road in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
New State Septic Tank Inspection Program Explained
September 27, 2010
The Florida Department of Health has provided the following information about a new statewide septic tank evaluation program:
(For local and lawmaker reaction to the plan, click here for a NorthEscambia.com story from Friday.)
The evaluation program was created to ensure all onsite sewage treatment systems in the state are working properly and to identify any failures. Like your car, home air conditioner, or water heater, your onsite systems require routine maintenance – pump outs to remove solids and scum that accumulate over time in the tank. Excess solids and scum can cause your plumbing to back up or your drainfield to fail leading to costly clean-ups and repairs and pollution to Florida’s waters. The dollars you invest in having your system maintained can save you thousands in repair cost. Fixing failing systems will go a long way to address concerns about springs protection, as well as US EPA mandates to clean up Florida’s waters.
- The evaluation program will be phased in beginning on January 1, 2011.
- The implementation schedule is under development.
- The department must provide 60 days notice to system owners that the evaluation is required.
- Evaluation procedures are under development but must include tank and drainfield evaluation and an assessment of system condition.
- Evaluations must be performed by registered septic tank contractors, professional engineers, or certified environmental health professionals.
- Owners are responsible for the costs of the evaluation (including pump-out), repairs or replacements. The cost of the pump-out will vary according to the size and number of tanks to be pumped-out on a given property.
- Any system installed or serviced in the previous 5 years, where capacity and condition of the tank is documented as satisfactory, may omit the pump-out requirement from the evaluation.
- The evaluator is responsible for submitting the report to the local county health department.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- When will the program start? Notifications will begin in January 2011.
- I had my tank pumped out last year. Will I be exempt from the evaluation program? The law does not exempt you from the evaluation, but tanks that have been pumped and certified within the previous five years do not have to be pumped.
- Will the evaluator be digging up my yard and drainfield? The evaluator will have to uncover your tank manholes for access to pump out your tank and check that it is watertight. They will not be digging up your drainfield but will need to auger a small (4 – 6 inch) hole to determine the wettest season water table.
- Why the concern about separation from the wettest season water table? Onsite systems rely on dry soil to provide treatment. Research in Florida has found that 24 inches of dry soil is needed to remove pathogens and treat your sewage to protect both your and your neighbors’ health.
- Will I have to upgrade my system to one of the new performance based treatment systems? No, the law does not require upgrades to performance based treatment systems.
- What will this cost? The most significant cost will come if your tanks require pump out. These costs vary around the state, due primarily to disposal costs, but can range from $150 to $450 per tank. Pump out cost also depends on the size and number of tanks to be pumped. The evaluation cost will be set by individual evaluators, but is estimated to be in the $150 to $200 range, including the reporting fee that the department estimated at $30 per system.
- I am on a limited income. What if I cannot afford this? The bill establishes a grant program for low-income families. The department also proposes to allow low-income families to request a one-time, one year extension to their evaluation deadline.
- I live in a small, rural county. When will I have to do this? The current proposal is to begin with a limited number of systems in all counties and phase-in the evaluations over the next five years. Evaluations would begin with those systems most recently installed and work backwards from the installation date.
Vote For Northview’s La’Mikal Kyles For TV 3 Play Of The Week
September 27, 2010
Northview’s La’Mikal Kyles is a finalist for WEAR 3’s Prep Football Final Play of the Week.
Bozeman thought they were on the move with about nine minutes to go in the half, but Kyles and company had other plans. The sophomore running back swiped the ball from a surprised Bucks player on a fumble, running it 32 yards for another NHS touchdown. The play put the Chiefs up 21-0 with 8:43 to go before halftime on their way to a 48-14 win.
To see the WEAR video and vote for Miles, click here and vote for “Play 2″.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Photo: Wedding Bales
September 27, 2010
These “wedding bales” greeted drivers along Highway 97 in Walnut Hill over the weekend. The bride and groom hay bales welcomed guests to a wedding reception at Cook’s Barn. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.