Former North Escambia Residents React As Powerful Earthquake Rattles East Coast
August 24, 2011
An unusually strong magnitude 5.8 earthquake centered in Virginia rattled the East Coast Tuesday afternoon, including Washington and New York.
The earthquake took millions of people by surprise, including several North Escambia natives now living in the area.
Swala Burns, a former Cantonment resident, was at work in her cubicle at the Quantico Marine base in Virginia when the earthquake began to rattle.
“There was this rumbling at first, like some of the helicopters that fly over sometimes. But it got much worse very quickly,” she said. “I got under my desk not knowing what to do and not knowing what it was.” She said many thought it might have been a bomb.
Burns and her coworkers were ordered out of the building. She tried to call her husband, but all circuits were busy.
“It was very nerve-wracking, and it was a little bit scary,” Burns said.
Northview High School graduate Megan Amerson was in a store in Farmville, Virginia, about 50 miles from Richmond, when the earthquake hit and merchandise began to fall off the shelves.
“I had no clue was was going on at first,” the former Molino resident said. “It only lasted about 15 seconds at most.”
The quake was surprising for another Northview grad.
Bratt native Chelsea Sims Golson was having lunch with her husband and a few friends near the Norfolk Naval Station when the earthquake began. She thought her husband, Ethan, was shaking her chair at first until she realized the lights above the table were moving.
Two Injured In Afternoon Wreck At Ernest Ward Middle School
August 23, 2011
Two Pensacola residents were injured in a traffic crash about 2:30 Tuesday afternoon at Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Richard L. Willis II, 46, of Pensacola pulled his pickup from the stop sign at Highway 99A into the path of a Toyota driven by Ralph A. Meola, 56, of Pensacola.
Willis was airlifted by LifeFlight to West Florida Hospital in serious condition. Ralph Meola was uninjured. His passenger, 55-year old Jennifer K. Dean of Pensacola, received minor injuries and was transported by ambulance to West Florida Hospital
The FHP said charges are pending in the crash.
The Florida Highway Patrol, Walnut and McDavid stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call.
Pictured top and inset: The driver of a pickup truck was airlifted to a Pensacola hospital by LifeFlight after a mid-afternoon wreck at Ernest Ward Middle School. Pictured below: A Tuesday afternoon wreck at Highway 97 and Highway 99A in Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Fallen Marine’s Name Added To Walnut Hill Veterans Wall Of Honor
August 23, 2011
The name of fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Travis M. Nelson was added Monday to the Walnut Hill Veterans Wall of Honor. Nelson was the first soldier from the Walnut Hill area to be killed in action since 1969.
The wall’s caretaker, Billy R. Ward, has engraved each of the nearly 300 veterans’ names that appear on the memorial. Nelson’s was especially hard for the 23-year Air Force Veteran.
“It’s tough to add the name of such a young man to the wall,” Ward said as he carefully used an antique engraving machine to carefully carve Nelson’s name in a long piece of black plastic. “I’ve never had to add a name to the Killed In Action section. I never wanted to have to do this.”
The nearly 300 names on the Walnut Hill Veterans Wall of Honor are of brave men and women who have served in the armed forces. All were residents of, or otherwise significantly connect to, the Walnut Hill area. The 13 names of soldiers that died in action were placed on the wall when it was dedicated in 2003. Five of the names were from the World War II era; the others were all from prior to 1970.
In addition to Lance Cpl. Nelson, the are two other Marines that were killed in action honored on the wall. Best buddies Michael D. Cruit and Jerry W. Corley spent their summers together in the Walnut Hill area. The inseparable best friends joined the Marines in 1967, and both where killed in action in Vietnam in 1968.
The Walnut Hill Veterans Wall of Honor is located at the Walnut Hill Community Center (also known as the “Ruritan Building”) at 7850 Highway 97, just north of Ernest Ward Middle School. It is maintained by the Walnut Hill Ruritan Club.
Pictured top and inset : Caretaker Billy R. Ward engraves the name of Travis M. Nelson and places it on the Walnut Hill Wall of Honor Monday morning. Pictured below: The Wall of Honor, the name being engraved and Ward preparing to return the Killed In Action panel to the wall. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Sand And Gravel Company Cited For Operating Without A Permit
August 23, 2011
Campbell’s Sand and Gravel in Century has been cited by Escambia County for operating a borrow pit at Barth without a permit. The citation came just days after the county commission learned that six borrow pits in the county had been allowed to operate without permits for at least five years.
Now, Campbell’s Sand and Gravel has until August 28 to obtain the proper permits, or risk a Special Magistrate Hearing, an $1,100 court cost and potential fines.
Just a few weeks ago, Escambia County issued a cease and desist order that shut down the Green Fill Dirt Sand Pit off Blosson Trail in the Marcus Pointe area for operating without a permit and other violations. The owner, Anthony Green, is appealing. Anthony Green is the husband of Aretta Green, aide to Commissioner Marie Young.
At a recent meeting, Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino called on the county to enforce the ordinances on the book against all of the borrow pits, not just Green’s. But Commissioner Wilson Robertson said he is approaching the issue from the opposite angle.
“How do we get a way with selectively applying the law?” Valentino asked. “Why weren’t they shut down then when they did not comply? Let’s apply the law fairly and equitable, I am not going to be caught in a game around here with selective interests.”
“When someone has been operating for like 50 years, like the Campbells up in the north,” Robertson said, “I”m going to recommend we operate like we have all these years. — If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
In 2005 and 2006, the commission passed ordinances requiring county permits for borrow pits — pits where sand, gravel and dirt are removed for construction projects. Existing pits where given 90 days to be grandfathered in and apply for their county permit, or they would be forced to comply with the new county regulations.
Most, if not all of the pits in question cannot meet the current requirements for zoning and for future land use categories, County Attorney Allison Rogers said. “If they came into you today, they would have great difficulty or it would be in possible for them to meet (the requirements),” she told the commission.
About two weeks ago, the Escambia County Commission voted to make no changes to the 2005 and 2006 ordinances until Anthony’s Green’s appeal is resolved.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Principals: First Day Of School Was Smooth Sailing
August 23, 2011
The first day of school went smoothly with very few problems, according to area principals.
“It was absolutely one of the smoothest first days we’ve ever had,” Ernest Ward Middle School Principal Nancy Perry said. In previous years, Ernest Ward has had difficulties with lunches and timely transposition on the first day of school, but Perry said Monday had very minor delays.
“Our buses were only about 10 minutes off schedule leaving; that’s unheard of for the first day,” Perry said.
Over at Bratt Elementary, Principal Jeanine Hall said there were a few first day tears from students and parents. She said the day was successful overall, other than a few problems with a new arrangement for student drop-off and pick-up. (Those problems have been addressed and the “car rider” line will return to its old arrangement. Read more…)
“The day went really well for both students and parents,” Hall said. “The children were very well behaved.”
Sheriff’s Office, Fire And EMS Out In Force In School Zones
August 23, 2011
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and even the fire department and ambulances were out in school zones Monday in an attempt to slow down drivers.
The Sheriff’s Office was busy enforcing the posted speed limits in school zones for the first day back to class in Escambia County, while crews from Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS manned crossings and sat with lights flashing to draw attention to the schools zones.
For more back to school week safe driving tips, click here.
Pictured: An Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy makes a traffic stop near Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill Monday morning after the driver was clocked speeding in the school zone. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Mom Charged With Tossing Dead Baby In Trash Changes Plea
August 23, 2011
The Escambia County woman accused of throwing her dead infant daughter in the trash and leaving two of her other children alone while she reported them missing has entered a no contest plea.
Christian Rochelle Woods, 23, changed her plea Monday morning. She is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3.
Woods was charged with manslaughter and two counts of child neglect causing great bodily harm for leaving the children, ages 18-month and two years, home alone for two days in a home with no power or water. The children were left with only a few cups of Jello to eat.
Authorities said that the little girl was found dead in a trashcan, Myleahya Woods (pictured left), weighed just 11 pounds. Prosecutors say she starved to death. The other two children found in the home, Myleahya ’s twin sister, Mykayhala (pictured right) and Jaterius Woods, 2, were also severely malnourished. When deputies found Mykayhala under a bed in the filthy Escambia County home, she was in a coma. Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said deputies first thought Mykayhala was dead until her eyes fluttered.
Woods called deputies to report that her children were missing. But deputies became suspicious. They found Jaterius and arrested Woods on child neglect charges because he showed what they said was obvious signs of abuse. About 12 hours after her arrest, Woods admitted that Myleahya was dead in a trashcan on the back porch of her home.
Prosecutors said Woods’ family members had no idea what was going on with the children, and that she never asked for help.
Photo Gallery: First Day Of School
August 23, 2011
Monday was the first day of school in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, and NorthEscambia.com asked our readers to submit photos of their children heading back to class.
For a reader submitted photo gallery, click here.
Editor’s note: The photos for this gallery were submitted on Monday. We are unable to accept new submissions today.
Pictured top: Crista, Derek and Justin head toward Bratt Elementary Monday morning. Pictured inset: Jessica, a third grader, waits for the bus Monday in her new Molino Park shirt and spirit sleeves offered by the Molino Park PTA. Pictured below: Second grader Tymiriana, first grader T’ahna and kindergarten student Aden get ready Monday morning to head to class at Bratt Elementary School. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bratt Elementary Car Rider Line Changed Back To ‘Normal’
August 23, 2011
Beginning Tuesday afternoon, the car rider line at Bratt Elementary school will revert back to last year’s arrangement.
The previous drop-off and pick-up on the north side of the school will return Tuesday afternoon for the remainder of the school year. Cars will enter the north gate (closest to Highway 4), loop around and exit the north gate. This is the same car rider route as last year.
After evaluating new drop-off and pick-up routes on Monday, the school district’s director of transportation recommended that the school revert back to the old arrangement, Bratt Principal Jeanene Hall said.
School officials asked that parents waiting to enter the school gate on Highway 99 be careful to not block private driveways at nearby homes.
Human Remains Found In Escambia County Under Investigation
August 23, 2011
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after human remains were discovered in one neighborhood Sunday afternoon.
The remains were found in a wooded lot near the Marcus Pointe Apartments on Enterprise Drive.
“The caller was out walking his dog in a wooded area at the rear of the apartment complex,” said sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Chris Welborn. “He noticed the body lying in the brush and contacted us.”
Investigators have not yet been able to identify the male victim, but they have classified his death as suspicious.
“The body has signs of injuries that are not indicative of self-inflicted wounds,” said Welborn. “We are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.”
Investigators do not have any missing person cases that could be linked to the found remains.
Anyone who may have information related to this case is asked to contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.