One Of Two Escaped Prisoners Back Behind Bars
October 12, 2014
One of two inmates that escaped earlier this month from a Pensacola work release center is back behind bars.
Michael Jerome Jones, 54, was taken into custody Friday night and booked into the Escambia County Jail on an escape charge. Details surrounding Jones’ arrest have not yet been released by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections escaped from the Pensacola Community Release Center about 7:50 p.m. Friday, October 3. He was serving a one year, eight and a half month sentenced out of Escambia County for a felony driver’s license violation. He previously served several prison sentenced for a long list of convictions, including multiple forgery counts, burglary, grand theft, battery on a law enforcement office, resisting an officer with violence and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
A second inmate that escaped from the Pensacola CRC remains on the run.
On October 1, 35-year old Jonathan P. Porter escape from the Pensacola CRC. He was last seen running southbound on North “L” Street and may have been picked up by a female driving a 2012 white Nissan Versa four-door with California plates.
Porter is bald and blue eyed, between 6-feet and 6-feet, 2 inches tall, and weighs about 200 pounds. He was last seen at 8:29 a.m. wearing a white shirt and khaki pants. He has tear drop tattoos under both of his eyes, the name “Lisa” on his neck, “S-O-U-L” on this left fingers, “L-O-S-T” on his right fingers, along with numerous other tattoos.
According to Department of Corrections records, Porter was serving a 15-year sentence for a 2001 conviction for conspiracy to commit robbery with a gun or deadly weapon.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Porter should call their local law enforcement agency or 911.
The Pensacola Community Release Center is located at 3050 North L Street. The Pensacola CRC is under the supervision of the Century Correctional Institution.
Firefighters Quickly Extinguish Cantonment House Fire
October 12, 2014
Quick work by Escambia County Fire Rescue firefighters saved a home in Cantonment Saturday night.
The fire was reported shortly before 8:00 in the 2900 block of Sundance Lane. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze to a portion of the home. There were no reports of any injuries.
The exact cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
The Cantonment, Ensley, Beulah, Ferry Pass, Bellview, Osceola and Navy fire stations responded to the fire.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
Sunny Sunday, Chance Of Rain For Monday
October 12, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the morning.
- Sunday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 5 mph.
- Columbus Day A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 86. South wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Monday Night Showers and thunderstorms. Low around 66. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
- Tuesday A slight chance of showers before 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. Southwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Tuesday Night Clear, with a low around 49. West wind around 5 mph.
- Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 79. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Wednesday Night Clear, with a low around 49. West wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday Sunny, with a high near 82.
- Thursday Night Clear, with a low around 53.
- Friday Sunny, with a high near 83.
- Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 55.
- Saturday Sunny, with a high near 83.
12-Year Old Pedestrian Killed In Escambia Crash
October 12, 2014
A 12-year old Escambia County resident was killed in a pedestrian accident early Saturday morning.
Felicia Ponds, 48, was westbound on Michigan Avenue about 4:40 a.m. in a 2014 Dodge Journey when she struck 12-year old D’Montravion Hardwell, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Troopers said that at the time of the accident, it appeared Hardwell was in the roadway and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The crash remains under investigation.
Fall Gardening: Time To Tackle The Chaos And Prepare For Winter
October 12, 2014
by Santa Rosa Extension
Towards the end of the growing season, many landscapes are overgrown and untidy. Allowing plants to tower over others can mean the demise of the smaller plant. It’s time to tackle the chaos and prepare for winter.
First and foremost, take a good look at your landscape. If a plant has outgrown its allotted space, perhaps it was the wrong plant in the wrong place. Avoid these types of problems by becoming familiar with a plant before you plant it. While you can try to control the size of the plant to fit its space, it will never be a happy, stress-free plant.
Information on the mature size of a plant and their site requirements can be found in several Extension publications. The Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ (FFL) “Guide to Plant Selection and Landscape Design” is intended for homeowners who want to take the next step and design their own Florida-Friendly landscapes. Included in this book is information on landscape design strategies, a landscape planning worksheet, and the FFL plant list containing many of the UF/IFAS recommended Florida-Friendly plants for each region of the state. It’s available online by clicking here.
Even in a well-planned landscape, though, the gardener’s controlling influence is important. The most useful methods for dealing with especially enthusiastic plants are removing, pruning, supporting or creating barriers to prevent unwanted spreading.
Removing and replacing
Autumn is an excellent time to establish shrubs and trees. Consider removing oversized plants and replacing them with carefully chosen ones that will happily fit within your defined boundaries. Plants that are installed late in the year will develop strong roots systems before hot weather arrives next spring.
Pruning
When it comes to pruning, it’s good to remember that it’s better to prune lightly occasionally as needed, than to allow a plant to get way overgrown and then cut it back severely. A few prudent snips here and there will help keep more vigorous plants from overwhelming their less vigorous neighbors.
Emphasis must be placed on the word “light.” It’s important to remember that late summer pruning may stimulate an additional flush of shoot growth on species which flush several times each year. These shoots could be damaged by an early frost.
Supporting
Another technique to improve the look of an overgrown landscape is staking. Staking or otherwise supporting plants keeps them from leaning or falling over onto others. It helps the tall plant look better, and obviously benefits the plants that would otherwise be covered. The stake should be tall enough to do the job but not be too obvious.
Stakes may simply be placed in such a way that the plant is supported by leaning up against it. On the other hand, it may be necessary to tie the plant to the stake. Typically, twine or plastic ties are used for this purpose. Make sure you tie the lower and upper parts of the plant to the stake to provide proper support.
Other techniques for support include tying twine in a loop all the way around a plant, using a wire cage – this is best done early in the growing season to allow the plant to grow into it – tying a plant to a sturdier, nearby plant or using one of the commercially available support systems.
Barriers
Many perennials and tropical plants spread by underground structures called rhizomes. If growth shows up outside the area you’ve allotted for that plant, promptly dig out the unwanted growth and replant it somewhere else.
Barriers extending at least one foot down into the ground around aggressive spreaders can sometimes help keep them under control. Digging, dividing and replanting clumps of aggressive spreaders annually is another good way to make sure they stay put.
Overgrown shrubs can cause a house to lose its curb appeal. Proper, regular control measures should be employed to keep a landscape looking its best.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Stretch Run For Campaigns, Gay Marriage
October 12, 2014
As the heated, snarky and increasingly testy campaign between Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Charlie Crist nears the yearlong mark — has it only been that long? — the two finally met in a debate at a television studio in Miramar.
There wasn’t much new in the clash, which largely consisted of the two men personally exchanging insults that they’ve been trading in emails and press conferences for months. There was Scott, painting the picture of Crist as a flip-flopping political opportunist who helped bury Florida’s economy. And there was Crist, portraying Scott as a corrupt businessman and ally of special interests who lacks Crist’s trademark empathy.
But for all the predictability of the debate, it still served as a notice that the race for the Governor’s Mansion is entering the stretch run. In a little more than three weeks, and after two more debates that promise to be just as nasty as the first, voters will cast ballots and decide which of the two most-recent governors will take the oath in January 2015.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and her two opponents held a more subdued debate as they battle to see who will be the state’s top lawyer. After he was done debating with Bondi and Libertarian candidate Bill Wohlsifer, Democratic candidate George Sheldon turned around and picked a fight with Scott.
Other issues were also coming to a head. Most notably, the U.S. Supreme Court finally reacted to the growing number of federal rulings granting same-sex couples the right to marry in states across the nation — by doing nothing. That might have spoken louder than any opinion the court could have issued, and it put Florida one step closer to legalized gay marriage.
ZERO WAGES AND PRIVATE JETS
Given that they’re in the middle of a campaign that has left Florida covered in more mud than a Woodstock attendee, perhaps the most surprising thing about the debate Friday between Crist and Scott is that they bothered to speak to each other at all. Not that they had much nice to say to each other.
“Charlie should be known as the zero-wage governor,” Scott sniped during a discussion about the minimum wage. “832,000 people had a job the day Charlie took office; they day he left office, they made zero wages.”
Crist, known during his time in office as something of a happy warrior, returned fire with gusto.
“It seems to me that Gov. Scott may be out of touch. … For people who maybe have a private jet, like the governor has, or has a mansion on the waterfront, things seem OK. I understand that, and that’s great. But it’s not great for everybody in Florida,” Crist said.
They fought about each other’s time in office, with Crist arguing that Scott hadn’t pushed hard enough for Medicaid expansion or really done anything to help lower- or middle-income Floridians, while Scott returned time and again to the idea that Crist was a smooth talker with a thin resume and a dismal economic record.
They fought about issues ranging from same-sex marriage to medical marijuana to the federally enforced embargo of Cuba (over which, it should be noted, the governor of Florida has precious little influence).
They fought about basically anything and everything that came up.
“He will always talk about what he’s going to do, but nothing will happen,” Scott complained about Crist.
“I’ve never pled the Fifth in my life,” Crist said — drawing attention to the 75 times Scott invoked his right not to incriminate himself during a deposition in a civil lawsuit.
There are two more debates left in the governor’s race, the next taking place Wednesday in nearby Davie, and few signs that the two will run out of disagreements before those sessions are over.
And when they show up for the second debate, Libertarian candidate Adrian Wyllie hopes to join them. Wyllie is suing the Florida Press Association, Leadership Florida and Broward College, arguing that it is in the public interest for him to be included.
“The Adrian Wyllie campaign is ’serious’ in every sense of the word, and is entitled to participate fully in the electoral process, on an equal footing with the Republican and Democrat candidates for governor,” the complaint said.
When the press association and Leadership Florida first announced their 2014 debate plans last year, they noted in a press release that to be included, a candidate must have the support of at least 15 percent of likely voters, as determined by a poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research — a level Wyllie has not reached.
Florida Press Association President and CEO Dean Ridings said the qualifying data were known well in advance. (Disclosure: The News Service of Florida is an associate member of the press group.)
“We have maintained the same criteria since 2010,” Ridings said. “We’ve not changed it, and it would not be fair to the other seven candidates who’ve qualified to run for governor if we were to change our criteria in midstream.”
SCOTT’S OTHER OPPONENT
But Crist wasn’t alone in taking on Scott this week. Sheldon, running a campaign for attorney general that can fairly be characterized as a long shot, helped gang up on the Republican governor.
The former state lawmaker and agency head filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Scott for allegedly under-reporting personal financial interests. Scott’s campaign called the lawsuit a campaign distraction orchestrated by Crist, something that would hardly be surprising if it turned out to be true.
Political or not, the case isn’t exactly the first time Scott’s personal finances have resulted in a court challenge. A judge this summer ruled in favor of Scott’s use of a blind trust to maintain his finances, though the case is being appealed.
The new suit claims Scott has failed to adhere to financial-disclosure requirements in the state’s Sunshine Amendment by failing to list all his assets, and Sheldon claimed Bondi has fallen down on the job. It came on the heels of a report by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times that information provided by Scott on his state-required financial-disclosure forms differed from what he has submitted to the IRS and to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“I don’t know why he’s done this,” Sheldon said. “To the people of Florida, whether you’re worth $100 million or $300 million, as a taxpayer I don’t even understand those numbers, and most of the people of Florida don’t understand those numbers, but that’s not what’s relevant. The question is what is he hiding?”
Scott spokesman Greg Blair pointed to Scott’s use of a blind trust that manages his finances and described the lawsuit as campaign “mudslinging.” As part of his financial disclosure this year, Scott ended a blind trust he formed in 2011 and publicly listed his investments. After the disclosure documents were filed, Scott placed his investments into a new blind trust.
“Governor Scott opened the blind trust he formed in 2011 for the sole purpose of providing transparency and publicly listing his assets on his financial disclosure in June,” Blair said in a prepared statement. “This blind trust was established to protect the people of Florida from having an elected official make decisions in his or her own self-interest.”
Bondi had already defended Scott’s honor earlier in the week, when Sheldon brought up the Herald-Times report in the attorney-generaldebate. Bondi said Sheldon’s comments in that instance were “how a politician talks, not an attorney general.”
“To imply that our governor is corrupt, that is not appropriate for any candidate to say that, nor an attorney general to say that, based on a newspaper article,” she said.
GAY MARRIAGE SOONER THAN LATER?
There could soon be new business in Florida for caterers and invitation printers, and thousands more Floridians might need to set reminders on their cell phones about the dates of their wedding anniversaries. The U.S. Supreme Court turned away appeals from cases in Virginia, Oklahoma and Utah that paved the way for gay marriage in those states, something that could soon lead to same-sex unions in Florida.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle in August struck down Florida’s ban on same-sex marriages, but he also placed a stay on the ruling while the cases from the three other states were pending at the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices declined Monday to hear those cases, as well as similar cases from Indiana and Wisconsin, giving victories to gay-marriage supporters who had won in lower courts.
Attorneys for same-sex couples quickly asked Hinkle to move forward with ending Florida’s ban.
In a five-page motion filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, ACLU attorneys asked the judge to lift the stay and wrote that Monday’s decision sent a “strong signal that any remaining doubt about the Supreme Court’s ultimate resolution of the legal issue does not justify continuing to deny recognition of same-sex couples’ valid out-of-state marriages.”
“The Supreme Court’s action yesterday shows that the Supreme Court has decided to let stand decisions — like this court’s (Hinkle’s) — enjoining as unconstitutional state laws that refuse to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples,” the motion said.
During her campaign debate, Bondi, whose office has defended the state’s ban, said there are additional cases that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court and “we’re going to be reviewing everything in Florida to see what to do next.”
No one is saving any dates just yet, though. Even if Hinkle decides to lift the stay, it is not clear when same-sex marriages could start in Florida.
In his August ruling, Hinkle wrote that the stay would remain in place until resolution in the Supreme Court of the Virginia, Oklahoma and Utah cases, plus an additional 90 days. The additional 90 days would give Florida time to seek another stay, possibly from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta or the Supreme Court.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Charlie Crist meet in the first of three highly anticipated gubernatorial debates.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “It’s so bizarre it’s like up there with aliens arriving and Elvis is still alive. … This is almost like a cult. It’s like Reverend Moon or Jim Jones type stuff.”–Trial attorney John Morgan, who is leading the fight for an amendment allowing the use of medical marijuana, on a legal theory that the practice is already legal in Florida and that Morgan’s amendment could undermine it.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
44th Year: Tate Showband Earns Bandmasters Superior Ratings
October 12, 2014
The tradition of excellence continued for the Tate High School Showband of the South Saturday at the Florida Bandmasters Association Music Performance Assessment at Ft. Walton Beach High School.
The band was judged by a panel of expert judges in the areas of music, general effect, marching and maneuvering, and color guard. Under the leadership of Director Mike Philley, the Tate Showband of the South received straight Superior ratings in all categories for the 44th consecutive year.
Pictured: The Tate High School Showband of the South performs Friday night on their home field. NorthEscambia.com photo by Keith Garrison, click to enlarge.
Everette Lamar Enfinger
October 12, 2014
Everette Lamar Enfinger went to be with the Lord on October 10, 2014. He was born August 11, 1921, in Molino and was a lifelong resident of Escambia County (FL). He graduated from Tate High School before joining the Navy in 1942 where he worked as an aircraft mechanic, serving most of his time at Cecil Field, FL. He worked for 41 years at the Naval Air Rework Facility, retiring from the Quality Assurance Department. At 70 years he began driving an 18 wheeler across the country and enjoyed it so much that he had “trucking fever” the rest of his life.
He was an active member of East Brent Baptist Church where he taught Sunday School, served as a senior adult leader, sang in the worship and senior choirs and spent 12 years teaching and singing in the health care facilities at Azalea Trace and University Hills.
Previously he served as a deacon at Brent Baptist Church and Burgess Road Baptist Church where he was a charter member and at First Baptist of Cottage Hill.
Everett was preceded in death by his parents, Wiley and Mattie Enfinger; brothers: Melvin Edward Enfinger, Kenneth Wiley Enfinger, James Acey (J.A.) Enfinger and Reverend Fillmore Lee Enfinger.
He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Sarah Massey Enfinger; son, Lamar (Dian) Enfinger, Jr; daughter, Phyllis Jean Enfinger; stepsons: Russell G. (Rebecca) Mills and Eric L. (Rebecca) Mills; grandchildren, April Annette (James) Deering, David Lamar Enfinger, C. Sheree Enfinger, Megan N. (Michael) Wilson, Heather Grace Linton, Sarah Emma Mills; great-grandchildren, Julian Thomas Melvin, Kaylee Wells, Michaela Enfinger, Brayden Wilson and Wyatt Wilson; great-great grandchildren, Aiden Wells and Isabella Johnson.
Honorary pallbearers will be men of his Sunday School class. Special thanks to Covenant Hospice, especially Patty, Sunday, Missy, Freddie, Laura and Amanda for their compassionate care and to Pat of Granny Nannies.
Visitation will be Monday, October 13, 2014, at East Brent Baptist Church from 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. funeral service.
Burial will follow in Pensacola Memorial Gardens.
Pensacola Memorial Gardens Funeral Home has been entrusted with all funeral arrangements.
Santa Rosa Deputy Involved In Fatal Century Crash Was Taking Meal Break
October 11, 2014
That Santa Rosa County deputy involved in a fatal crash early last Sunday morning in Century was in Escambia County for a meal break, according to information released Friday.
“Sheriff [Wendell] Hall recognizes the area of the north end of the county is very rural. During after hours, there often are no facilities open for a meal break. It is a common and acceptable practice for deputies to travel the short drive to Century to eat,” said Deputy Rich Aloy, public information office for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.. “Our deputy was on his way to Century when a call came out. The deputy turned around and was headed back to Santa Rosa County when the accident took place.”
The nature of the emergency call in Jay has not been released.
Santa Rosa County Deputy James L. Miller, 38, was driving a marked patrol car in “emergency mode” at 12:45 a.m. on East Highway 4 near Freedom Road in Century when the left front of his vehicle collided with an eastbound bicyclist in the center of the roadway “for unknown reasons”, according to the FHP.
The bicyclist, 26-year old Paul Martin Upton, was transported as a trauma alert by Escambia County EMS to the McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and transferred to LifeFlight. Due to the Upton’s condition, he was then airlifted to Jay Hospital where he was later pronounced deceased. Miller received only minor injuries.
Any charges in the crash will depend on the outcome of an ongoing Florida Highway Patrol traffic homicide investigation. Lt. Steve Preston, spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol, said the results of the crash investigation will be released at a later date.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is also conducting an administrative investigation into the incident, the results of which will be made public “after a thorough review”, the department said.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office have a mutual aid agreement in place where one may assist the other in their county when needed.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
No School Monday For Escambia County Students
October 11, 2014
Escambia County School District students will get the day out of school on Monday for a teacher planning day. Teachers and school staff members will work a regular day, participating in various professional development opportunities. Escambia students will return to class as usual on Tuesday.
The next day out of school for Escambia County students will be Veteran’s Day on November 11, following by Fall Break/Thanksgiving November 26-28.