Hot Tracks: About 50 Railroad Cross Ties Burn
April 28, 2010
About four dozen railroad cross ties burned Wednesday afternoon near Walnut Hill. A resident reported seeing smoke after a Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway train passed through the area alongside South Highway 99 north of Highway 97A. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue quickly extinguished the blaze about 2:45 p.m. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Bonnie Roach Petrisko
April 28, 2010
Ms. Bonnie Roach Petrisko, 80, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at a Pensacola, FL hospital after a brief illness.
Bonnie was a native and long time resident of McDavid, FL, a registered nurse for 26 years, and a member of the Byrneville United Methodist Church in Century, FL. She was preceded in death her Parents, George Riley and Emily Jane Roach, and a Daughter, Patricia.
Survivors include: her Son, Paul and Debi Petrisko of Kernersville, NC; her Daughter, Linda and Paul Gorman of Toledo, OH; 5 Grandchildren; and 4 Great-Grandchildren..
Funeral services will be held Friday, April 30, 2010 at 3:00 P.M. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with the Rev. Chris Hawkins officiating.
Burial will be held at Clear Springs Cemetery in Clear Springs, AL.
Visitation will be held Friday, April 30, 2010 from 12:00 noon until funeral time at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
The family wishes to thank the staff of Pensacola Baptist Hospital’s Emergency Surgery and Intensive Care Unit.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Byrneville United Methodist Church.
Harold Germain Newhook
April 28, 2010
Mr. Harold Germain Newhook, 77, passed away on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 in Bratt, FL.
Mr. Newhook was a native of Chelsea, MA, a former resident of Revere, MA, a resident of Bratt, FL, since 1980, and a member of the Bratt First Baptist Church.
Survivors include: his Wife, Dorothy Newhook of Bratt, FL; his Son, James Howell of Bratt, FL; 3 Grandchildren; a Brother, Robert Newhook of Malden, MA; and a Sister, Dorothy Call of Licking, MO..
Visitation will be held Thursday, April 29, 2010 between 6:00 and 9:00 P.M.at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Escambia Prepares For Gulf Oil Slick; Cleans Up Jet Fuel Spill
April 28, 2010
Escambia County escaped an environmental disaster after thousands of gallons of aviation fuel was found spilled in the Intercoastal Waterway near Perdido Key. Meanwhile, the county commission will hold an emergency meeting this afternoon to prepare for a possible response to the Deepwater Horizon oil plume making its way across the Gulf of Mexico.
The Escambia County Commission has scheduled a special emergency meeting for 3:00 this afternoon to discuss any Escambia County response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.The oil slick continues to grow from the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig 41 miles from the Louisiana shore. As of late Tuesday, the oil sheen was 1,800 square miles — larger than Rhode Island. The wrecked platform site continues to gush about 42,000 gallons a day.
Tuesday afternoon, officials from BP, the company leasing the oil platform, said that efforts to contain the spill have failed to work so far. Later this week, they will use another oil rig towed to the site to drill a relief well, but will take three months. In the meantime, BP officials said 4.2 million gallons of oil cold flow into the Gulf of Mexico.
Officials are considering setting fire to the oil slick as early a today in an attempt to avert a possible ecological disaster that is possible from Louisiana to Florida.
Gov. Charlie Crist, who took a Coast Guard flight out of Mobile Tuesday to see the spill, that he is closely watching the situation, saying that it should “give pause” to those thinking about oil drilling off the Florida coast.
But Crist didn’t say he had changed his mind about supporting offshore drilling. “If this doesn’t give somebody pause, there’s something wrong, I think,” Crist said when asked how the spill had affected his thinking on drilling. “This is a pretty new rig. I’ve always said it would need to be far enough, safe enough, and clean enough.” The rig in question appears not to have been any of those, Crist said.
Forecasts from the National Weather Service indicate that winds from the north will help keep oil away from the shoreline through Wednesday. The winds are forecast to shift to the southeast after Wednesday.
Jet Fuel Spill
The Coast Guard still has not determined the source of a jet fuel spill into the Intercoastal Waterway. The mile-long concentration of fuel is expected to have a minimal environmental impact, officials said. The fuel is believed to have leaked from a barge passing through the waterway about 3 p.m. Monday.
Officials first believed that JP-8 jet fuel used the military was from a barge making a delivery to Pensacola Naval Air Station, but there was no evidence found. The cleanup could cost the county well over $100,000.
Pictured top: A NOAA oil slick forecast. Pictured inset: Response boats work to clean up oil near where the Deepwater Horizon sank April 22. Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lady Chiefs Best Season Ever Ends In Regionals
April 28, 2010
The best season ever in the history of the Northview Lady Chiefs came to a tearful end Tuesday night with a 3-2 loss to Sneads in the Region 2A softball tournament.
“It was our best season ever,” Head Coach Sammy Day said. “We could not have asked for anything better, except to win this game. We, overall, just did not hit the ball hard enough tonight.”
The Lady Chiefs (24-4) took an early 2-0 lead in the first and held Sneads scoreless until the fifth. In the fifth, Sneads scored a couple to tie the ballgame 2-2 headed into the sixth. In the sixth inning, Sneads added one, giving them a 3-2 lead.
“They played hard. They gave it all they had, and that was all I could ask,” Day said. “We are coming back at it next year. We are going to be there next year too. We’ll be back.”
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the game, click here.
Losing pitcher was freshman Misty Doran, who walked two and struck out three. Doran finished the season at 19-4. Northview hitters were Doran 2-3 with a triple, Kolbi Cobb 2-3 with a double, Candace Greenwell 1-3 and Amy Clark 1-3.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview, Jay Pick Up District Tournament Wins
April 28, 2010
The Northview Chiefs and the Jay Royals both picked up wins Tuesday in Baker in the District 1-2A baseball tournament.
The Northview Chiefs bit the Baker Gators 5-2 Tuesday night.
Winning pitcher was Austin Reid with 14 strikeouts, six hits and two runs.
Brandon Sheets was 1-2 with two runs scored, Brad Lowery was 1-2 with two runs score and one RBI, Dabney Langhorne 1-2 with two RBI’s, Austin Reid 2-2 with one RBI, Austin Arrington was 103 with one run scored, Austin Lowery was 1-3, and Heath Burkett had one RBI.
The Jay Royals beat Ponce de Leon 12-2 in Tuesday’s other district semifinal game.
The Chiefs and Royals will meet for the District championship on Thursday.
Submitted photo by Edie Jackson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Traffic Watch: Highway 97 At Highway 29 Construction Delays Today
April 28, 2010
Motorists can expect possible delays at and near the intersection of Highway 97 and Highway 29 in Molino today as crews from Panhandle Grading & Paving perform resurfacing operations.
According to the Florida Department of Transportation, drivers can expect intermittent land restrictions in the area, and drivers are reminded to use caution, and to watch for construction workers and equipment entering and exiting the roadway.
The work is part of the $5.7 million resurfacing project on Highway 97 from Highway 95A to the Alabama state line. The 22 mile project is scheduled to be complete in the fall.
Fourth Person Arrested On Drug Charges Stemming From Search Warrant
April 28, 2010
A Century man was arrested Tuesday on narcotics charges, the fourth person arrested in connection with a search warrant executed earlier this month.
Travis Lavar Scott is facing two felony counts of marijuana possession and is being held without bond in the Escambia County Jail.
Members of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Narotics Unit executed the search warrant at Scott’s residence at 6860 Gilford Lane in Century on April 9 and arrested Orlando Dantaus Dixon, 22, of Robert Road, Century; Antwon Montrex Smith, 26, of Salters Like Road, Century; and Brandon Dewayne Jackson, 24, of Jefferson Avenue, Century, on variety of charges.
Paperwork in the house indicated that Scott resided at the home, according to an ECSO report.
According to the the Sheriff’s Office report, deputies heard several individuals running toward the rear of the residence. That is where they found Jackson standing in the bathroom near the toilet. Officers located plastic baggies containing marijuana floating in the tank water.
On Smith’s person, officers located under 20 grams of marijuana and $101 in cash, and on Dixon’s person, they located over 20 grams of marijuana, packed in two separate bags, according to the report.
During the search of the residence, deputies located a marijuana and crack cocaine on an end table, two plastic bags of marijuana in drawer by stove, four plastic bags of crack cocaine in a drawer by the sink, a set of digital scales with marijuana residue on a kitchen counter, a loaded Beretta .40 caliber handgun in a drawer by the kitchen sink and “miscellaneous paperwork”.
Jackson was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and destruction of evidence. Jackson had given deputies another name, according to the Sheriff’s Office, at the time of his arrest. When a relative of that person heard that the person Jackson named had been arrested, they called the jail to alert deputies about the incorrect name. About the same time, a fingerprint record returned positively identifying Jackson. Jackson was charged with obstruction of justice and a public order crime of using a false identification. He remains in the Escambia County Jail on $10,000 bond.
Smith was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession and was released from jail on $1,000 bond.
Dixon was charged with possession of marijuana over 20 grams. He is being held in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Jim Sanders To Be Appointed Acting County Fire Chief
April 28, 2010
Chief Jim Sanders will take over as Escambia County’s interim fire chief of July 15, the last day on the job for current Chief Frank Edwards.
Edwards, who serves as both fire chiefs and bureau chief for the Department of Public Safety, submitted his resignation back on April 15, two weeks after Interim County Administrator Larry Newsom asked the county’s fire marshal, Steven Rinaldi, to resign. Rinaldi did not resign; instead, he was transferred into a training position by Edwards. Edwards has not yet given a reason for his resignation.
Mike Weaver will be appointed active public safety bureau chief on July 15.
Local Group Collecting Underwear For Gulf Coast Kid’s House
April 28, 2010
The Escambia Farm Bureau Women’s Committee is conducting a drive to collect underclothes for children being seen by the Gulf Coast Kid’s House.
These abused children are often in need of new clothing items. While there is adequate gently used outer clothing donated, underwear is always needed. The committee is asking the North Escambia community to donate new, never worn underwear, socks and diapers. There is a need for all sizes, infant through adolescents.
The Gulf Coast Kid’s House is a center where abused and neglected children receive services from a number of agencies.
“While the Kid’s House is located in Pensacola and serves all of Escambia County, a fair number of the children served are from our area. Unfortunately, abuse is an issue found in every community, both urban and rural,” said Rikki Vidak, Women’s Committee member.
Last Sunday, many area churches took part in “Undie Sunday” to accept donations. A donation box will remain at the Molino Farm Bureau office through the first week of May. There will also be a donation box this Sunday at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Highland Baptist Church and Ensley United Methodist Church.
For more information, contact Rikki Vidak at 587-4246 or call the Farm Bureau office at 587-2135.