Traffic Watch: Delays On Highway 4 At Canoe Creek
July 26, 2010
Traffic delays are expected this morning on Highway 4 at Canoe Creek.
Traffic will be stopped or reduced to one lane as Florida Department of Transportation contractor Volkert Engineering performs bridge inspections. The work is expected to continue for a few hours.
Canoe Creek is located between Bratt and Byrneville.
Lightning Strike Sends Steeple Crashing Into Church Roof
July 26, 2010
Lightning struck a North Escambia church Sunday afternoon, sending a portion of the steeple crashing through the church roof.
The lightning hit the First Baptist Church of Cantonment about 2 p.m., splintering the top of the church steeple. The pointed end of the steeple pierced the roof as it fell. The lightning strike also damaged the church’s sound system, fire alarm, computers and phones.
“We thank the Lord this didn’t cause a fire,” said church members Jerry and Lynda Barnes in an email. “Just a couple hours before the lightning strike, the church was packed with people — as we were having our VBS musical — so we are thankful it didn’t happen during that.”
Pictured: Lightning splintered the steeple at the First Baptist Church of Cantonment Sunday afternoon. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pair Pleads Guilty To Robbing Three Banks On Alabama-Florida Line
July 26, 2010
A couple described as a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde have pleaded guilty to three bank robberies.
Rhianna Marie Jones, 30, of California, and Jerry Hover Tinsley, 30, of North Carolina, have admitted in federal court that they robbed banks in Flomaton, East Brewton and Florala during a March crime spree.
They admitted to taking $4,963 from two tellers at United Bank in Flomaton on March 8, another $2,840 in cash from one teller at BankTrust in East Brewton and $1,700 from a Wachovia Bank in Florala, Ala.
If Jones offers “substantial assistance” to law enforcement, federal prosecutors have offered her a reduced sentence. Prosecutors only agreed to seek the minimum sentence under federal guidelines. Sentencing is scheduled for late October.
During the Flomaton robbery, Tinsley and Jones both presented tellers with demand notes which stated “this is a robbery, place all $100s, $50s, $20s on the counter no alarm no die packs no tracers”, according to federal court documents. A demand note with the same wording was presented during the East Brewton robbery. They did not display a weapon during any of the robberies.
Authorities said Tinsley and Jones picked banks along the state line because they believed Alabama authorities could not pursue them into Florida. Authorities believe in each robbery, the pair fled to Florida immediately after the holdups — including March 8 when they fled into North Escambia following the Flomaton robbery.
The pair was arrested by federal agents and local law enforcement after a short chase from a Motel 6 in Destin, Florida, March 18. The arrest was reportedly the result of a tip phoned into the Florala (Ala.) Police Department concerning a MySpace photo.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Warrants Unit was assisting the FBI from Mobile in the hunt for Tinsley and Jones. They determined that they were staying in the Motel 6 located at 405 Harbor Boulevard in Destin. In addition to being suspects in the bank robberies, authorities knew Jones was wanted on felony charges out of Pinellas County, Florida, and Tinsley was suspected of being in violation of his probation.
At 11:14 p.m. March 18, the pair was seen leaving the Motel 6 in a gold color 2004 Chevrolet Impala with a Florida tag. Deputies attempted a traffic stop in the parking lot, but Tinsley and Jones fled westbound on Harbor Boulevard, a four lane divided highway, at a high rate of speed, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
“Tinsley, who was identified as the driver, was passing around and between cars to get away,” according to Okaloosa Deputy Todd Watkins. Speeds in the chase, according to Watkins, reach in excess of 90 mph. Tinsley, who is known by the street name “Prison Ink” turned onto two-lane roads, and the chase continued over 90 mph until he turned onto the dead end Sea Hills Drive. The total distance of the chase was about 1.8 miles.
While several units pursued the vehicle down the dead end street, Deputy Watkins went to an adjacent street where he observed the duo flee on foot. He was able to take Tinsley into custody, while Jones fled into a wooded area. She was located a short time later hiding in some brush in a fenced in yard.
Local charges were filed by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office: Tinsley was charged with fleeing and eluding at high speed, resisting arrest without violence, and possession of a controlled substance, and Jones was charged with resisting arrest without violence.
Tinsley reportedly had two grams cocaine and three Oxycontin pills in his possession at the time of his arrest.
Pictured top: Rhianna Marie Jones and Jerry Hover Tinsley pass holdup notes at the United Bank in Flomaton on March 8. Pictured top inset: Flomaton Police investigate the robbery of the United Bank on Sidney Manning Boulevard. Pictured below: Mug shots of Jones and Tinsley after their arrests in Okaloosa County. NorthEscambia.com and courtesy photos, click to enlarge.
Salters Named Farm Family Of Year During Farm Tour
July 26, 2010
Organizers say the 44th Annual Santa Rosa County Farm Tour was a success with over 200 local officials and citizens taking part.
On the day-long bus tour, participants learned first-hand of the importance of agriculture and forestry in the county and the issues facing local farmers. Stops on the tour included the Santa Rosa County Extension Demonstration Gardens, Lundy’s Berry Patch, Panhandle Growers, Chumuckla’s Farmers Opry and House Garden, the Jerry Jones Farm, and Holland Farms.
A highlight of the tour was recognition of the John Salter Family as “Outstanding Farm Family of the Year”. John and his wife Stacy accepted the award from County Commissioners Don Salter and Bob Cole during the lunch program at the Farmers’ Opry. Congressman Jeff Miller also presented the couple with a resolution he read before the U. S. House of Representatives honoring the Salter family for their accomplishments. John is a fourth generation farmer who started farming with his dad in 1980. Today the Salters farm 850 acres of cotton, peanuts, corn, and hay. The Salters are leaders in our county’s production of food and fiber and are active in various agricultural organizations.
The Farm Tour is organized each year by the Santa Rosa Farm Tour Committee, comprised of representatives from various agricultural support agencies in the county, and conducted in cooperation with the Board of County Commissioners. Of course, the tour would not be possible without the help of numerous local supporters and corporate sponsors.
The Farm Tour Committee thanked the following sponsors: Burkhead Gin Company, Crop Production Services, Escambia County Bank, Escambia River Electric Coop, Farm Credit of Northwest Florida, First National Bank of Florida, Golden Gin & Warehouse, Griswold Peanut Company, Gulf Power Company, Hall’s Hardware, Helena Chemical Company, Jay Peanut Farmers Coop, Kiwanis Club of Santa Rosa-Sunrise, McKenzie Motor Company, Pen Air Federal Credit Union, Publix, Regions Bank, Resource Management Services, Santa Rosa County Farm Bureau, Smith Tractor Company, Syngenta Crop Protection, Three Rivers RC&D Council, and United Bank.
Rainy Days; Humid Nights
July 26, 2010
There’s more rain in our Monday forecast, with a chance that some of the storms may produce heavy rainfall.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Today: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Tuesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Tuesday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming west. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Wednesday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Sunny and hot, with a high near 98. North wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Wednesday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms before 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. West wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Thursday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 75. West wind around 5 mph.
- Friday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Northwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Friday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Saturday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 96. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Saturday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 78. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Sunday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
BLOG: Big Change For NorthEscambia.com
July 26, 2010
NorthEscambia.com celebrated a major milestone of sorts over the weekend that we hope will benefit you.
Friday evening, we moved to a much faster dedicated web server. That’s it pictured at the top of the page. We had been hosted on what’s called a “shared server” — a server that contained multiple web sites. But, thanks to readers like you, we had experienced growing pains on that server.
During peak hours, it just was not possible for the server to deliver thousands of requests per minute. Over the past month, our underpowered little server delivered over 8 million pages to tens of thousands of people. That, quite frankly, is a huge number of views for a local website and was almost technically impossible for us to pull off with our old server setup. In fact, a small number of our readers would, on rare occasions, receive an error message or notice that a page took a little longer than usual to load.
Friday evening, we moved to our very own, brand-new dedicated server. We are the only company on what is, in simple terms, a mega-server. It’s loaded with all the bells and whistles. We did not change web hosts; our company has been with same web host for 13 years. The web server is connected to eight different major Internet backbone providers with multiple GigE (up to 10,000Mbps) connections.
What does this mean for our readers? First, the end of error messages and slow load times. Second, it means will be able to offer more services and present the news to you in an improved fashion. The new and exciting changes won’t happen right away; there’s lots of behind the scenes work involved.
It also means we will now be able to accept more advertisers. We had to hold back a little bit before due to the technical limitations of the old server. (If you own or manage a business, we’d love to have you as an advertiser. Send us an email, and we’ll talk.)
You are reading NorthEscambia.com from the bottom server in the picture at the top of the page. It is located in a secure facility in the Northeastern United States along with servers for Reader’s Digest, Barack Obama, Yamaha and more high profile companies.
This, by the way, marks the return of our blog column. We’ll work on publishing the column on a more regular basis. The blog will present a variety of topics, from opinion based editorials, to news stories that perhaps we would otherwise never cover, to inside information behind the scenes of our stories. The column will be available on our front page and under the “Blog” tab on the top of each page.
We are looking for a name for the column. If you have any suggestions, please pass them along. And don’t forget to send us your news tips and photos to news@northescambia.com.
And, as always, we thank each one of you for reading NorthEscambia.com and being part of the NorthEscambia.com family. We appreciate you.
– William, NorthEscambia.com
*** Here’s an insider secret: We have also started a Facebook page. You can be among the first to join now at www.facebook.com/northescambia
Pictured top: The NorthEscambia.com web server is seen on the bottom. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Pelicans One Better Than The Diablos
July 26, 2010
Adolfo Gonzalez and Marcos Rodriguez each had 2 RBI’s the contest to lead the Pensacola Pelicans (15-4) over the El Paso Diablos (6-13) by a final score of 5-4.
El Paso got the game’s first run in the last of the third inning when Kyle Nichols hit a sacrifice fly to left to score J.D. Reininger and give the Diablos an early 1-0 advantage.
The Pelicans put two on with two out in the top of the fourth inning when Marcos lined a single to left center to score John Alonso evening up the score at 1.
Pensacola took their first lead of the contest in the top of the fifth inning when Adolfo Gonzalez lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score Kyle Brown from third base giving the Pels a 2-1 lead.
It was a 2-2 contest in the top of the sixth inning when Marcos lined a single into center to bring in Lou Palmisano from second base and give Pensacola the lead back at 3-2.
The Diablos regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with an RBI hit from Hector Bernal and an RBI sacrifice fly from Arnoldo Ponce to give El Paso the lead back at 4-3.
Pensacola tied the game up at 4 in the top of the seventh inning when Adolfo Gonzalez singled in Chris Chiarappa from third base.
The Pelicans regained the lead in the top of the eighth inning when Dallas Christison hit a groundout to second scoring Lou Palmisano from third base giving Pensacola a 5-4 lead.
Ron Hill (3-2) pitches 2 2/3 innings to get the win. Seth Overbey tossed a scoreless ninth inning for his third save of the year.
Today: Last Chance To Register To Vote In Florida Primary
July 26, 2010
Today is the last day to register to vote or change party affiliation for those who wish to cast a ballot in the August 24, 2010, primary election.
Florida law mandates that registration books close 29 days before an election. New registrations and party changes must be completed on or before July 26th in order for them to be effective for the August 24th election. Florida is a closed primary state, which means that in order to vote in a party’s primary, you must be a registered member of that party before the books close. If you are unsure of your registration status, visit EscambiaVotes.com and click ‘Am I Registered?’.
Escambia County citizens have several ways to register or update their record:
Online/By Mail: Visit EscambiaVotes.com and complete, print, and sign the online application. Be sure to include a valid Florida Driver’s License number, a valid Florida ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security Number in the appropriate space. Mail the completed application no later than July 26th to: Escambia County Supervisor of Elections, PO Box 12601, Pensacola, FL 32591-2601. Or, take the completed application to the Elections Office at 213 Palafox Place, 2nd Floor, in downtown Pensacola. Or, call (595-3900) or e-mail the Elections Office (soe@escambiavotes.com) to have a form mailed to you.
In Person: You can register at the Elections Office at 213 Palafox Place, 2nd Floor, in downtown Pensacola, at any Florida Driver’s License Office, and several other governmental offices and public assistance centers. Registration forms are also available to pick up at many locations countywide. For a complete list of locations throughout Escambia County, visit EscambiaVotes.com or call or e-mail the Elections Office.
For voters who wish to cast an absentee ballot, go to EscambiaVotes.com and complete the online request form, or call or e-mail the elections office. Early voting begins August 9th at four locations throughout Escambia County. For more information, including sample ballots, visit EscambiaVotes.com.
In Santa Rosa County, mail changes with a July 26 postmark to 6495 U.S. 90, Suite F, Milton, FL 32570; or fax to (850) 983-1829. Or make changes in person at the Santa Rosa County Administrative Office Complex, 6495 U.S. 90 in Milton or at the South Santa Rosa Service Center, 5841 U.S. 98 near the Gulf Breeze Zoo.
FCAT Scores At Your Child’s School
July 26, 2010
FCAT scores for individual students are now available at schools in Escambia County.
The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test score letters have arrived at individual schools and are available for pickup with a photo ID.
If you have questions, for summer hours, contact your child’s school.
Motorcyclist Flown To Hospital Following Crash
July 25, 2010
On person was injured in a motorcycle accident Sunday afternoon in Bratt.
The accident happened shortly after 5 p.m. in the “S-curve” on North Highway 99 just south of Breastworks Road. The male driver of a Harley Davidson motorcycle apparently lost control in the curve, slid off the highway and into an electric fence.
The motorcyclist, who was reported to be in his 60’s,was transported by LifeFlight helicopter to a Pensacola Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The accident is still under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Atmore Ambulance also responded to the call.
Pictured above and below: A Florida Highway Patrol Trooper looks at a wrecked motorcycle Sunday evening in Bratt as LifeFlight lifts off with the driver. Pictured below: The driver apparently lost control in a curve before hitting the electric fence. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
