Tonight’s Lottery Jackpot 4th Largest In History
August 7, 2013
Eleven weeks after reaching a record jackpot of $590.5 million, the Powerball Lottery is at it again with a $425 million prize in Wednesday night’s drawing, the fourth largest jackpot ever in U.S. history.
“The noise of a Powerball jackpot climbing to $425 million will grab people’s attention in every city and town across the country and bring them out to play,” said Tom Romero, chairman of the Multi-State Lottery Association’s Powerball Group.
The Powerball lottery is played in 45 states, including Florida. Tonight’s drawing is set for 9:59 p.m.
Pictured top: A billboard along the state line in Davisville, FL, beckons drivers across the state line from Atmore, AL. The Powerball prize increased to $425 million after this photo was taken. Alabama does not have a lottery. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Century To Explore Natural Gas Vehicle Conversions, Filling Station
August 7, 2013
The Town of Century will explore using natural gas to power some town vehicles and the possibility of a filling station.
The town’s council has authorized gas department head Eddie Hammond and consultant Debbie Nickles to pursue natural gas vehicle conversions and a filling station. There’s no set date by which they will report back to the town council.
There is currently one public CNG filling station in Escambia County. The station, located at 6722 Pine Forest Road, was a joint project between the City of Pensacola, Pensacola Energy (formerly Energy Services of Pensacola) and ECUA. The $1.8 million filling station opened in October 2012. It is operated and maintained by Pensacola Energy and features four “fast fill” hoses as well as 90 time-fill dispensers which can be used to refuel vehicles overnight.
The City of Pensacola also operates a private CNG filling station for their natural gas fleet, and ECUA plans to open a second site at their Ellyson Industrial Park location this fall.
Pictured: Escambia County’s first CNG filling station opened on Pine Forest Road in October 2012. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
One Chance Remains To Dump Your Kids At The Landfill For A Day Camp
August 7, 2013
There are two chances left to “Dump your Kids at the Perdido Landfill for a Day!” for a one-day summer camp.
Te excursion to the Perdido Landfill allows kids, ages 5-11, to participate in fun-filled activities designed to teach the importance of the reduction of generated waste through source reduction, recycling, reuse or composting. Activities include a tour of the Perdido Landfill, recycling education, household chemical waste education, hands-on recycling projects, arts and crafts with recycled materials, games that focus on recycling and reuse as well as an eco-walk on the Perdido Riverwalk Nature Trail.
The cost of the camp is the donation of one pair of new or gently used shoes to be donated to Soles4Souls. Campers will need to bring clothes that are appropriate to play in and be worn outside, a brown bag lunch, snacks, a reusable water bottle and drinks. (Campers should try to pack a zero waste lunch which means reusable containers.) One snack will be provided at the beginning of the day.
Remaining camp dates are Tuesday, August 6 and Thursday, August 8 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
For more information or to pre-register please contact Recycling Operations at 937-2160. Space is limited. The camp is sponsored by Escambia County Department of Solid Waste Management Waste Services.
Fire Marshal Continues Investigation Into Dump Truck Fires
August 7, 2013
The investigation into a Sunday fire that destroyed four dump trucks at a Cantonment business continues.
Over a dozen dump trucks were parked in a row in a lot at the Roads, Inc. headquarters on Stone Boulevard, just off Highway 29. Four of the trucks were totally destroyed by the fire, while others were damaged.
The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office said Tuesday that their investigation is still ongoing and released no further details about the fire, other than to say damage was estimated at $400,000 for the four destroyed trucks. The Fire Marshal’s office has not put a dollar figure on other trucks that may have been damaged by heat or smoke.
The fire was reported at 6:50 p.m. Monday, and sent a column of black smoke into the sky that was visible for miles.
Multiple fire stations from Cantonment, Molino and Pensacola responded to the blaze, working rapidly to protect and prevent other dump trucks from becoming involved the fire There were no injuries reported.
Pictured: Multiple dump trucks were destroyed by fire Sunday evening at Roads, Inc. on Stone Boulevard in Cantonment. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
T.T. Wentworth Museum Closed Until November
August 7, 2013
T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum in downtown Pensacola will be temporarily closed until November while preparations are made for the installation of a new 3,000-square-foot exhibit titled “Pensacola: City of Five Flags.”
The new exhibit will transform both the space and the technology currently used to recount Pensacola’s rich history, spanning its early settlement and possession by the Spanish, through its times under the flags of the French, British, Confederate States and the United States. It will be housed on the ground floor of the museum and replace an older exhibit of the same name.
“Come November, visitors will be able to explore the impressive history of Pensacola as the first large-scale European settlement attempt in the continental United States,” said Robert Overton Jr., COO of West Florida Historic Preservation Inc. “We’ll be telling this fascinating story from the standpoint of the common citizens who lived in Pensacola at various times throughout our history, using the latest visual technology, graphics, artifacts and themed exhibit areas.”
West Florida Historic Preservation Inc. is dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting the history of Northwest Florida. Overton is responsible for all aspects of daily museum operations and public programming, which serves an estimated 15,000 school children and 50,000 museum visitors each year. He noted that the demolition process to make way for the new Five Flags exhibit has been completed, with construction to begin this week.
Scott, Cabinet Approve Search For Bodies At Panhandle Reform School
August 7, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet on Tuesday authorized a year-long dig for human remains at a closed Panhandle reform school, saying the state cannot ignore abuse that went on for decades.
Scott and Cabinet members — Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam — approved a land-use agreement with the Department of Environmental Protection that allows University of South Florida researchers to search for reportedly unaccounted-for bodies of boys who died between 1900 and 1952 at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.
“We’re not exactly sure what happened there, but we know it wasn’t good,” Bondi said.
“We have to look at our history,” she added. “We have to go back, we know there are unmarked graves currently on that property that deserve a proper burial. It’s the right thing to do.”
Putnam said that the search for bodies is not an indictment of the Marianna or Jackson County communities, but against a facility “that was ignored for too long by state.”
“There is no shame in searching for the truth,” Putnam added. “Families who want closure, who want answers, deserve those things.”
A temporary restraining order, issued in October 2012 by Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper, has delayed the state’s intention to sell the Dozier property.
The efforts of USF researchers have faced opposition from some longtime Jackson County residents who expressed concerns about what effect exhuming bodies from lands around the one-time “high risk” reform school will have on the local economy and the image of the community.
Sid Riley, publisher of the Jackson County Times, implored Scott on Aug. 1 to deny USF’s request “to dig up those Christian buried grave sites at Dozier.”
Riley expressed concern about how removing of bodies will impact the local economy and that survivors will try to use what may be found to seek “reparations” from the state.
“The bad publicity which will ensue during the year or more of time which will be involved will seriously hamper our local tourism development programs, as well as economic development efforts for our county,” Riley wrote. “Please do not allow them to engage in this greed motivated waste of money.”
Cooper’s order allows the research work to proceed until the body of Thomas Varnadoe is exhumed.
Varnadoe died a month after arriving at the school in the 1930s. He was 13. A family member from central Florida has sought to move the remains to a family graveyard.
The researchers have been investigating the Panhandle school, which at one time encompassed 1,400 acres, to determine whether boys at the reform school were possibly killed and buried on school grounds.
Robert Strayley, 66, who was sent to the school in 1963 after running away from his home in Tampa several times, recalled that floggings were still being administered to boys at the school throughout his 10-month stay.
“This is a historic moment for Florida because they reached into a past for Florida that was so dark that nobody wants to talk about it,” said Strayley, who attended the Cabinet meeting with others who had been sent to the school and are known as the “the White House Boys” and “Dozier Boys.”
“Even after they banned flogging in 1922, by Gov. (Cary) Hardee, as being too cruel punishment for even the most hardened criminal, it went on at this boy’s school,” Strayley said.
Researchers using ground-penetrating radar have identified potential graves on what is considered the “colored” cemetery within the site and believe there should also be a “white” cemetery on the grounds.
The Legislature put $190,000 into the state budget to fund the research, determine the causes of death, identify remains, locate potential family members and cover the costs for any re-internment.
However, the excavation work has been on hold as researchers have been unable to get needed approval to dig.
On July 15, Secretary of State Ken Detzner denied a permit sought by the USF researchers to dig at the Panhandle site.
Detzner said his department’s Bureau of Archaeological Research didn’t have the authority to approve the excavation, noting that the department is “restricted to the recovery of objects of historical or archaeological value,” but “not human remains.”
In May, Jackson County Circuit Judge William L. Wright denied a request by Bondi’s office that also could have cleared the way for exhuming remains.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured top: The Dozier School for Boys in Marianna as seen in the 1990’s. Courtesy photo, Florida Archives.
B’ham Over Pensacola; Wahoos Win Series 3-2
August 7, 2013
Tyler Saladino jumped all over an 0-1 fastball from Drew Hayes leading off the top of the 10 thinning, blasting his fifth homer of the season to give the Birmingham Barons a 7-6 walk-off win over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Tuesday night at Regions Field.
Saladino’s blast capped a wild back-and-forth affair that saw both teams take advantage of opportunities, but also strand a combined 24 runners. Pensacola was able to score in each of its first two innings against Southern League wins leader Scott Snodgress, getting a run in the first on a Donald Lutz RBI single and a run in the second on a Ray Chang RBI base knock to make it 2-0.
Birmingham came back with two in the last of the second off of Pensacola starter Carlos Contreras, scoring the tying run on a strikeout wild pitch with two outs. Contreras allowed just the two runs on three hits in five innings of work for the Wahoos.
The score remained tied until the fifth when Pensacola scored an unearned run on a sacrifice fly from Devin Lohman to make it 3-2 in favor of the Wahoos. Snodgress left in line for the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings, but he was taken off the hook thanks to a four-run bottom of the sixth inning for Birmingham against Wahoo reliever Shaun Ellis.
Down 6-3 headed to the seventh, Pensacola responded with three more unearned runs, all coming with two outs. With the bases loaded, Yorman Rodriguez reached on an RBI infield single and was followed by a Lutz two-run single, knotting the game at six. Lutz had a huge night, going 3-for-5 at the dish with three runs batted in. Rodriguez chipped in three hits and an RBI as well.
The Wahoos did leave the bases loaded, however, in the seventh, and went on to strand 12 runners on the night, including nine in their final four at-bats.
Birmingham had a chance to win it in the ninth, loading the bases against Parker Frazier, but Keenyn Walker struck out to send the game to extras. Dan Remenowsky (1-2) picked up the win for the Barons by working around a leadoff single in the 10th inning. Hayes (3-3) took the loss, giving up the walk-off homer to Saladino, the first batter he faced.
Pensacola now returns home for a crucial five-game series with the first-place Jacksonville Suns starting on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. The Blue Wahoos currently sit five games behind the Suns in the South Division standings after both teams lost on Tuesday. Jon Moscot (0-0, 21.00) gets the call for Pensacola while Jacksonville will counter with Anthony DeSclafani (3-2, 4.36).
story by Kevin Burke
Fire Damages Bedroom At Molino Home
August 6, 2013
Damage from a late Tuesday morning Molino house fire was contained mostly to the bedroom of the home.
When the first firefighters arrived at the home in the 1200 block of Barth Road, they found the fire had been mostly extinguished, a mattress that was still smoldering and smoke inside the residence.
Two adults and two juveniles were at home at the time of the fire. One occupant was evaluated for breathing difficulties following the blaze by Escambia County EMS but was not transported to the hospital.
The Florida State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the 11:45 a.m. fire.
The Molino, McDavid, Century and Cantonment stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the fire.
Two Pit Bulls Shot By Deputy During Aggravated Assault Investigation
August 6, 2013
Two pit bills were shot by an Escambia County deputy in self defense Sunday during an aggravated assault with a firearm investigation, according to a press release issued Tuesday morning by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Meanwhile, the couple that lives in the home where the shooting occurred is telling a different story.
Deputies had reason to believe that a suspect in the aggravated assault was at a home on Flynn Drive in West Pensacola, according to a press release. One suspect had already been arrested, and while looking for the second suspect around the perimeter of the home, deputies found one wide-open window with an upside down bucket under it. A footprint on the bucket led deputies to believe that someone might have made unlawful entry into the home.
“Repeated attempts were made to get someone to open the door, with no success. Deputies entered the house through the open window in effort to locate the suspect and to assure the safety of the occupants,” according to the ECSO statement.
Inside the home, deputies found two pit bull dogs that did not appear aggressive at first.
“Upon encountering the people in the house, the dogs became aggressive. One dog bit at one of the deputies’ leg. He pushed the dog away, but it came at him again so he shot the dog in self-defense, at which time, the second dog began to run towards him. For his personal safety, he shot the second dog,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
The couple that lives in the home has filed a complaint against the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Cristina Moses and Travis Nicholas said they were sleeping when deputies entered the window and told them to come out with their hands up and lie on the ground. Moses said deputies fire at least three times at the dogs, prompting her to jump up and try to stop them. She said she was thrown to the ground as a deputy continued to fire his weapon inside her home.
No one in the home was arrested.
The dogs were transported to a local veterinary hospital by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. One animal was euthanized. The second dog was treated and returned to its owner.
The deputies were placed on administrative leave pending a thorough review of the incident, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The investigation into the aggravated assault with a firearm is ongoing and victims and witnesses were still being interviewed.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the incident occurred Sunday. A press release on the incident was issued Tuesday morning by the Sheriff’s Office.
Escambia, AL, Shooting Under Investigation
August 6, 2013
Authorities in Escambia County, Alabama, are on the hunt for the person or persons involved in an early Monday morning shooting that left one man with minor wounds.
The male was transported to Atmore Community Hospital after being wounded with a small-caliber handgun on Ewing Farm Road northwest of Atmore. The man told deputies he thought someone followed him away from the PCI Travel Plaza on Jack Springs Road. The driver of the unknown vehicle began flashing their lights at the victim on Ewing Farm Road, at which time the victim stopped and shots were fired. The victim described the vehicle that followed him as a small gray truck.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office at (251) 368-4779 or (251) 867-0304.