19-Year Old Killed In Early Morning Accident Near Jay
April 25, 2012
A 19-year old was killed in a single vehicle traffic accident early Wednesday morning southeast of Jay.
Jasmine Celest Wuesthoff of Pace was pronounced dead at the scene of the 2:04 a.m. crash near the intersection of Sandy Landing Road and Mineral Springs Road, about a mile from the Sandy Landing Boat Ramp on the Escambia River.
She was a passenger in a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer driven by 23-year old Calan Floyd Lewis of Pace. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Lewis was eastbound on Sandy Landing Road, when he lost control. The Blazer began to spin and ran off onto the north shoulder of the roadway where it hit several trees and shrubs. The vehicle then came to rest upside down on top of the trees and shrubs.
Neither the driver or passenger were wearing a seat belt. Charges are pending a traffic homicide investigation, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Lewis was transported to West Florida Hospital in serious condition, according to the FHP.
Molino Pharmacy ‘Underwear Robber’ Declared Competent To Stand Trial
April 25, 2012
The Molino man accused of robbing a local pharmacy in 2010 while wearing underwear on his head has been declared competent to stand trial.
Monday, Judge Gary Bergosh denied a defense motion to renew competency concerns, setting trial for Joseph Daniel Flowers, now 58, to begin on Thursday. That trial is expected to last at least two days.
Flowers is facing multiple charges for the September 20, 2010, robbery of Scott’s Pharmacy on Highway 29, including robbery with a firearm and several drug possession charges.
Flowers allegedly robbed the pharmacy while wearing a bathrobe, slippers, yellow kitchen gloves and underwear on his head. He is being held in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
For a photo gallery from the robbery scene and Flower’s home, click here.
The getaway car driver in the robbery, 24-year old Krystal Lynn Collins, was found guilty of armed robbery with a firearm and a half dozen felony drug charges. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Pictured top: Joseph Daniel Flowers is detained by an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office shortly after the robbery of Scott’s Pharmacy in Molino. Pictured below: Scott’s Pharmacy in Molino was robbed September 20, 2010. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Flag Flying Again For The First Time Since Hurricane Ivan
April 25, 2012
Old Glory is once again flying over the Byrneville Community Center, the first time since the county-owned facility’s previous flagpole was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan.
Walt Porz, president of the Byrneville Community Center’s board of directors, said a replacement had been requested numerous times since 2004. He said the newly installed flagpole is not actually new; it was moved from a county facility were it was no longer being used.
“It’s good enough,” Porz said. “We are very grateful for what we can get from out tax dollars at work.”
Alabama Man Charged With Abusing Horses
April 25, 2012
An Escambia County, Ala., man has been charged in connection with starving five horses.
The Humane Society of Escambia County (Ala.) seized the horses last weekend. The four mares and a stallion were hundreds of pounds underweight and being kept in a yard filled with dangerous debris, according to Renee Jones, director of the humane society.
“There was no grass at all and no water on the property. A generous neighbor ran a garden hose from her yard daily and filled containers for the horses,” Jones said. She said the owner had been warned numerous times to improve living conditions for the horses, but their conditions continued to deteriorate.
Lavon William Fuqua of East Brewton was booked into the Escambia County (Ala.) Detention Center in Brewton on five counts of animal cruelty.
Monday Is Escambia Real Estate, Tangible Tax Deadline
April 25, 2012
All 2011 unpaid real estate and personal property taxes must be paid and a receipt issued by 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 30 to avoid being advertised as delinquent, according to Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley.
Online, automated phone payments, and drop box payments may be made at the April rate by midnight April 30 but will not prevent advertising if not paid by 4:30 p.m.
Payments must be processed:
- in person at one of four branch offices by 4:30 p.m. April 30;
- through the call center at (850) 438-6500 x3252 by 4:30 p.m. April 30;
- online at www.escambiataxcollector.com by midnight April 30;
- on the automated telephone number (800) 601-1055 by midnight April 30;
or
- left in any 24-hour drop boxes available at all offices by midnight April 30.
All late payments will be returned for additional fees, according to Holley.
Gopher Tortoises Emerging, New Wildlife Conservation Efforts Aim To Protect
April 25, 2012
As gopher tortoises are emerging across the North Escambia area, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is offering information and tips to protect the species, while the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in Florida is taking applications from landowners for technical and financial assistance to restore and protect the gopher tortoise habitat.
Gopher tortoises move slowly through ‘spring training’ of grazing, burrow-digging
The gopher tortoise is emerging from winter dormancy and moving slowly and steadily through the landscape in search of greenery to eat and a new place to dig its burrow.
Look for gopher tortoises’ distinctive domed brown shells and stumpy legs, as these land-dwellers make their way through Florida’s open canopy forests and sandy areas. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) asks people to remember that gopher tortoises are good neighbors, so leave them and their burrows alone.
“The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission works with, and is grateful to, the homeowners, landowners, businesses and public agencies willing to share their lands with gopher tortoises and their burrows,” said Deborah Burr, the FWC’s gopher tortoise plan coordinator. “This state has made progress in reversing the decline of gopher tortoises by providing direction to developers, including re-locating tortoises if necessary, and help to people interested in making room for tortoises.”
Since the Gopher Tortoise Management Plan took effect in 2007, an annual average of 36,000 acres of gopher tortoise habitat has been restored and managed; protected tortoise habitat expanded by more than 6,500 acres; and more than 4,000 gopher tortoises were humanely relocated from development sites.
“In addition to changes in Florida’s economy, the needs of the gopher tortoise have changed since the plan was first approved in 2007,” Burr said. “The proposed revisions to the plan include new actions that the FWC and our partners can implement together to improve the status of the species, and help secure viable populations well into the future.”
In Florida, it is illegal to harm gopher tortoises or their extensive burrows, which provide shelter to more than 350 other native species. Generally, the only time people should pick up and move a gopher tortoise is to help it get across a road. Remember, though, not to put the tortoise in your car. Do point the tortoise in the same direction it was going when you picked it up, but never put it in the water because it is a land animal.
The gopher tortoise can live 40-60 years in the wild.
New Wildlife Conservation efforts to protect gopher tortoise habitat
The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Florida is currently taking applications for technical and financial assistance on a new innovative partnership approach to restore and protect the habitat for targeted threatened and endangered species, while also helping other vulnerable and game species. Florida landowners can sign-up for assistance to help manage and restore habitat for the gopher tortoise.
Interested producers and landowners in Florida can enroll in the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) on a continuous basis at their local NRCS field office. NRCS funds from WHIP will share the cost of conservation practices with landowners. All eligible applications received by the application cutoff date of April 30, 2012 will be assigned a priority and ranked as needed. If funds are available a second ranking cut-off date will be May 30, 2012.
Escambia County’s NRCS field office is located at 151 Highway 97 in Molino. For more information, call (850) 587-5345. In Santa Rosa County, the NRCS field office is located at 6277 Dogwood Drive in Milton, call (850) 623-2441.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Playoff Wins For Tate Baseball, Softball
April 25, 2012
Tuesday was a good night for the Tate Aggies in playoff softball and baseball.
In softball, the Tate Lady Aggies (20-9) beat Mosley 8-6. Tate will now play Niceville on Friday at Tate in the regional semifinals.
The Tate Aggies topped Washington 5-0 in baseball to advance in the district tourney. Tate will play Wednesday at 4 p.m. against the Escambia Gators at Milton High School.
Counties, Including Escambia, To Appeal Online Travel Ruling
April 25, 2012
A group of counties — including Escambia — will appeal a Leon County circuit judge’s ruling that online travel companies do not have to pay disputed hotel taxes, an attorney for the counties said Tuesday.
Circuit Judge James Shelfer sided last week with online travel companies, such as Orbitz and Expedia, in a long-running legal battle with 17 counties about the payment of tourist-development taxes.
Roberto Martinez, an attorney for the counties, said Tuesday the case is “far from over” and that the counties definitely will appeal. “We respect the court’s ruling, but we’re disappointed, and we will file a notice of appeal to the 1st District Court of Appeal,” he said.
Shelfer made the oral ruling during a hearing Thursday and still must sign a written order. A similar case, filed by Broward County, also is pending in Leon County circuit court, though it is being heard by a different judge.
Online-travel companies, which serve as middlemen between hotels and travelers, charge customers for room rentals and fees related to providing the service. The legal fight centers on whether tourist-development taxes apply to the total cost that customers pay or only to the portion that goes for room rentals. While counties say the total cost should be taxed, the industry says taxing its fees would amount to a services tax.
ECHS Head Coach Mark Heaton Leaving For New Job
April 25, 2012
Mark Heaton, head football coach and athletic director at Escambia County High School in Atmore is leaving.
Heaton is taking over as athletic director and head football coach at Haleyville High School in northwestern Alabama. In two seasons at ECHS, Heaton was 14-9, including a 2010 quarterfinal appearance in the state playoff series.
Heaton’s employment was approved Tuesday night by the Haleyville Board of Education with a start date of May 1. A dozen people were interviewed for the position.
He is a former offensive coordinator for the Northview Chiefs and head coach for the J.U. Blacksher Bulldogs in Uriah, Ala., where he went 13-9.
Heaton’s wife, Betty, is the head volleyball coach and teaches reading at Northview High School. Reports indicate she is expected to follow her husband to northwestern Alabama by next school year.
Wahoos Fall As Biscuits Take Series
April 25, 2012
Montgomery shortstop Hak-Ju Lee drove in three runs with a triple in the fifth, while third baseman Cole Figueroa and designated hitter Greg Sexton both recorded multi-hit games, as the Biscuits defeated the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Tuesday afternoon at Riverwalk Stadium. The win gives Montgomery a 3-2 series victory over the Blue Wahoos.
Leading 4-3 going into the fifth, Montgomery LF Omar Luna singled, while Sexton walked and RF Emeel Salem reached on a base knock to load the bases and set the stage for Lee. The shortstop then drove the second pitch of the at bat into the right-center field gap to bring home all three runners and give the Biscuits a four-run cushion in what proved to be the game’s crucial hit.
Montgomery had taken an early 2-0 advantage with a pair of scores in the opening frame. 1B Michael Sheridan lifted a sacrifice fly to left to send in the game’s first run, while Sexton would subsequently drive in Figueroa, who had singled earlier, to push the Biscuits ahead 2-0.
The Blue Wahoos answered however, with a three-run third frame to take a 3-2 lead. An RBI single from 3B Henry Rodriguez got the scoring started, while 2B Brodie Greene doubled to left to score Rodriguez. Pensacola then took advantage of a passed ball to plate the go-ahead run.
But the Biscuits would tie it at 3-3 in their half of the third. Sheridan led off with a walk, stole second and then advanced to third on a wild pitch before subsequently scoring on a run-scoring single from CF Brad Coon.
Pensacola capped their scoring in the seventh after C Mark Fleury led off with a double and took third on a ground out before coming home on a sacrifice fly from SS Didi Gregorius. Gregorius was held hitless to snap his torrid 10-game hitting streak, during which he lead all Minor Leaguers in hits, batting average and on-base percentage.
Montgomery starter Joe Cruz (5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO) earned the win after allowing just two earned runs on only three hits in five frames, while reliever Jim Paduch (1.0 IP, 1 SO) notched his second save of the year for the Biscuits. Blue Wahoos starter J.C. Sulbaran (4.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO) suffered the loss to fall to 1-2 after surrendering six earned runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings.
The Blue Wahoos now travel to Jacksonville for a five-game series with the Suns, the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. First pitch for the series is set for Wednesday night at 6:05 pm central time. Pensacola is slated to give the ball to RHP Pedro Villarreal for the series opener, while Jacksonville’s starter has not yet been announced.