U.S. Marshals And Sheriff’s Deputies Sweep County; 34 Busted

August 15, 2010

The U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office hit the streets of Pensacola capturing elusive fugitives and thwarting other criminals.

The Task Force worked together with the Sheriff’s Office targeting violent fugitives trying to help make the people in the community feel a little safer. Although the operation’s aim was to find fugitives, others were arrested on probable cause charges while the Task Force was attempting to find those with the warrants.

In just four days 34 people were arrested and 47 warrants were served on charges including sexual battery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, strangulation, possession of firearms, threatening witnesses, numerous narcotics violations and threatening to harm a law enforcement officer. Also, during the four day sweep two handguns, more than 60 grams of crack cocaine, five grams of powder cocaine and over 270 grams of marijuana were confiscated.

Marshals said the sweep was successful because of assistance of task force officers from Escambia County, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton County Sheriff’s Offices, Ft. Walton Beach, Niceville and Defuniak Police Departments, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and investigators from the State Attorney’s Office. Another reason that the sweep was so successful was because of the contribution of the Escambia County Mobile Booking Unit that was used to help speed up the arrest process and transport of offenders, federal agents said.

“I truly believe that the success of this operation was augmented by the use of the Sheriff’s Office vehicle which allowed officers to stay out on the street giving them more time to do what was intended – arrest people,” said Task Force spokesman Dominic Guadagnoli. “It’s like the old fashioned paddy wagon but modernized to meet law enforcement’s needs today.”

The Sheriff’s Office purchased two Mobile Booking Units about a year ago. They were bought to be used in special operations where large crowds gather and multiple arrests may be anticipated. They have been used at such events such as the Pensacola Interstate Fair and the Blue Angel’s air shows.

Pictured above: One of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office “Mobile Booking and Transport” paddy wagons outside of the Escambia County Jail. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News

Century’s Showalter 9-3 For The Orioles

August 15, 2010

Century’s Buck Showalter’s record as manager of the Baltimore Orioles fell to 9-3 Saturday as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the O’s 7-3.

Showalter is 3-2 on his first road trip. If the Orioles win Sunday in Tamp Bay, the Orioles will head back to Baltimore with their first winning road trip since August, 2008. It would also be their first fourth-consecutive series win since August, 2004.

Showalter’s father was a high school coach and principal, moving to Century in the late 1950’s. He played Little League ball in Century in a thriving program. Century’s modern day Showalter Park is named after his family.

Imagescourtesy MLB.com

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports

More Rain Possible

August 15, 2010

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

This Afternoon: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 92. North wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Monday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 90. Northeast wind between 5 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Monday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 77. East wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Tuesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 90. Southeast wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Tuesday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Wednesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 90. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Wednesday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. South wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Thursday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 90. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Thursday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Friday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 90. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Friday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Saturday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 91. Chance of precipitation is 30%

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News

USDA Announces Conservation Reserve Program General Sign-up

August 15, 2010

General sign-up for Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) continues through August 27, 2010. During the sign-up period, farmers and ranchers may offer eligible land for CRP’s competitive general sign-up at their county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. The 2008 Farm Bill authorized USDA to maintain CRP enrollment up to 32 million acres.

“America’s farmers and ranchers play an important role in improving our environment, and for nearly 25 years, CRP has helped this nation build sound conservation practices that preserve the soil, clean our water, and restore habitat for wildlife,” said Agriculture Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services Jim Miller. “Today’s announcement will help us create a greener and healthier America, and I encourage all interested farmers and ranchers to contact their local FSA office to learn more how to take advantage of this opportunity.”

To help ensure that interested farmers and ranchers are aware of the sign-up period, USDA has signed partnership agreements with several conservation and wildlife organizations, which will play an active role in USDA’s 2010 CRP outreach efforts.

CRP is a voluntary program that assists farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers to use their environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits. Producers enrolling in CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving covers in exchange for rental payments, cost-share, and technical assistance. CRP protects millions of acres of America’s topsoil from erosion and is designed to improve the nation’s natural resources base. Participants voluntarily remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production by entering into long-term contracts for 10 to 15 years. In exchange, participants receive annual rental payments and a payment of up to 50 percent of the cost of establishing conservation practices.

By reducing water runoff and sedimentation, CRP also protects groundwater and helps improve the condition of lakes, rivers, ponds and streams. Acreage enrolled in the CRP is planted to resource-conserving vegetative covers, making the program a major contributor to wildlife population increases in many parts of the country. As a result, CRP has provided significant opportunities for hunting and fishing on private lands.

Land currently not enrolled in CRP may be offered in this sign-up provided all eligibility requirements are met. Additionally, current CRP participants with contracts expiring this fall covering about 4.5 million acres may make new contract offers. Contracts awarded under this sign-up are scheduled to become effective Oct. 1, 2010.

FSA implements CRP on behalf of Commodity Credit Corporation. FSA will evaluate and rank eligible CRP offers using an Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) for environmental benefits to be gained from enrolling the land in CRP. The EBI consists of five environmental factors (wildlife, water, soil, air and enduring benefits) and cost. Decisions on the EBI cutoff will be made after the sign-up ends and after analyzing the EBI data of all the offers.

Those who would have met previous sign-up EBI thresholds are not guaranteed a contract under this sign-up. In addition to the general sign-up, CRP’s continuous sign-up program will be ongoing. Continuous acres represent the most environmentally desirable and sensitive land. For more information, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/crp.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News

More Rain Likely For Sunday

August 14, 2010

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

Tonight: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Sunday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Monday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 93. East wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. East wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 92. Southeast wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 93. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. South wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 93.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 75.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 93.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 75.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 92.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Archive

School Shopping? Here Are The Supply Lists You Need

August 14, 2010

School starts Monday, August 23 in Escambia County. Here are the school supply lists from each elementary school in the county, plus Ernest Ward and Ransom middle schools.

(High schools typically do not have a general supply list. Students are advised of their supply needs in each class.)

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News

Sales Tax Holiday Continues (With Printable List Of Exempt Items)

August 14, 2010

Florida’s 2010 Sales Tax Holiday is continuing until midnight Sunday, offering shoppers the chance to stock up on school supplies and clothing without paying sales tax.

After a two-year hiatus, consumers are excited about the return of a holiday that provides a break at the cash register for families during a time of year when their expenses climb.

Retailers across Northwest Florida are gearing up for a big weekend, stocking up on merchandise and planning for a boost to their bottom line. In addition to locals, retailers are expecting to see a lot of Alabama tags in their parking lots as Alabama residents cross the state line to save a few extra dollars this weekend.

In general, Florida’s sales tax holiday will apply to the sale of books, clothing, wallets, or bags, including handbags, backpacks, fanny packs, and diaper bags, but excluding briefcases, suitcases, and other garment bags, having a sales price of $50 or less, or on sales of certain school supplies having a sales price of $10 or less for the period from 12:01 a.m., August 13, 2010, until midnight, August 15, 2010, according to the Florida Department of Revenue.

For complete details on exempt items in Florida, click here (pdf).

Florida defines books as “a set of printed sheets bound together and published in a volume.” Newspapers, magazines, other periodicals and audio books are not books and will be taxable during the holiday.

Clothing is defined as any article of wearing apparel, including all footwear (except skis, swim fins, roller blades and skates) intended to be worn on or about the body. Clothing does not include watches, watchbands, jewelry, umbrellas, handkerchiefs or sporting equipment.

School supplies include pens, pencils, erasers, crayons, notebooks, notebook filler paper, legal pads, binders, lunch boxes, construction paper, markers, folders, poster board, composition books, poster paper, scissors, cellophane tape, glue, paste, rulers, computer disks, protractors, compasses and calculators.

The state also has a rule about where purchases can be made or, more importantly, where they can’t be made.

For example, eligible items are not exempt from sales tax if purchased at a theme park or entertainment complex. So, a T-shirt with a cartoon character on the front purchased at Disney World would be taxable, although a similar T-shirt purchased at a department store would be exempt.

Eligible items also lose their tax-exempt status if purchased at a public lodging establishment, aka a hotel, motel, resort, beach cottage, or airport.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News

Driver, 16, Ticketed After Cantonment Crash

August 14, 2010

A Cantonment teen was ticketed for careless driving following a Friday afternoon crash with a tanker truck.

Johnathan T. Gardipee, 16, was stopped in the median area of Highway 29 at Archer Road when he attempted to make a left turn onto southbound Highway 29. He accelerated his 2004 Ford Mustang in the inside lane and fish-tailed into the outside lane into the path of a 1998 Freightliner driven by David W. Brewster, 52, of Milton, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Brewster braked and attempted to avoid the collision, but rear-ended the Mustang, the FHP said. Gardipee’s Mustang continued to slide and overturned into a wooded area off Highway 29. The tanker truck came to a stop on the shoulder of the road.

Gardipee received minor injuries, and Brewster was uninjured, according to the FHP.

NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News

Two Jailed For Escambia’s Latest Murder

August 14, 2010

Two suspects are now behind bars in an Escambia County homicide that happened earlier this week.

Tyrone Vincent Moultrie, 21, turned himself in Friday morning. Omar Shereef Hickenbotham, 18, was arrested earlier in the week. Both are facing murder charges in the death of Jerome Peters. Investigators believe Peters was gunned down during a robbery attempt in the parking lot of an Exxon gas station on Fairfield Drive.

Moultrie and Hickenbotham are being held without bond in the Escambia County Jail.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News

Early Voting Continues

August 14, 2010

Early voting will continue in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties through this weekend and next week leading up the August 24 primaries.

As of the close of business Thursday, more than 2,100 voters had voted early and almost 23,000 absentee ballots had been issued in Escambia County. During the same period in Santa Rosa County, 1,322 people had cast their ballot.

There are four early voting locations in Escambia County:.

Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 213 Palafox Place 2nd Floor
Supervisor of Elections Annex, 292 Muscogee Road, Cantonment
Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway
West Florida Genealogy Library (former Tryon Branch Library), 5740 North 9th Avenue

Early voting in Escambia County will be offered Sunday, August 15th from 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.; and Monday, August 16th through Saturday, August 21st from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Early voters will cast paper ballots through our digital scanners, and may choose any one of the four sites.

And there are two early voting locations for Santa Rosa County residents:

Elections Office (behind McDonalds on U.S. 90, Milton), 6495 Caroline St., Suite F
South Service Center (one block east of the zoo on U.S. 98), 5841 Gulf Breeze Parkway, Gulf Breeze.

Early voting in Santa Rosa County will held from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. through August 21, with no early voting on Sunday.

Another option for voters is to cast an absentee ballot, which can be obtained by contacting the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections by mail, phone (850-595-3900), e-mail (absentee@escambiavotes.com), fax (850-595-3914), or by using the online form at EscambiaVotes.com. Requests must include the voter’s date of birth and the address where the ballot should be mailed, and must be received no later than Wednesday, August 18th. Voted ballots must be received in the Elections Office no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. Absentee voters may now follow the status of their ballot by clicking “Track My Ballot” on EscambiaVotes.com.

To obtain an absentee ballot in Santa Rosa County, contact the supervisor of elections by mail, phone (850-983-1900), e-mail (bodenstein@santarosa.fl.gov), fax (850-983-1829), or by using the online form at www.santa rosa.fl.gov/elections.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News

« Previous Page — Next Page »