County To Spray For Mosquitoes This Evening In Gonzalez
August 31, 2016
Escambia County’s Mosquito Control Division will perform a “fogging mission” this evening in the Gonzalez area. This “mission” was originally planned for Tuesday but was rescheduled.
Mission hours vary but typically occur in the evening hours from 6-9:30 p.m. The area to be sprayed (click map above to enlarge) is generally bordered by Muscogee Road to the north, Highway 29 to the west, Kingsfield Road to the south and Chemstrand Road to the east.
Driver Critical After Slamming Into Gonzalez Barber Shop
August 31, 2016
One person was critically injured when they slammed their vehicle into a Gonzalez barber shop early Wednesday morning.
The driver hit Purvis’ Barber Shop on Old Chemstrand Road near the corner of Highway 29 just before 2:30 a.m. The driver was transported by Escambia County EMS to a Pensacola hospital as a “trauma alert”.
The business hopes to be open Wednesday, if possible.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Further details have not been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Broxson Beats Hill For Florida Senate
August 31, 2016
Republican state House members Doug Broxson is ready to move to the Florida Senate after a primary victory on Tuesday.
Broxson, a Republican from Gulf Breeze, topped Rep. Mike Hill of Pensacola Beach for the District 1 seat held by Greg Evers.
Broxson (pictured left) received 33,833 votes (56.57%) to Hill’s 25,970 votes.
District 5 Incumbents Barry, Walker Are Primary Winners
August 31, 2016
Distirct 5 incumbents were winners during Tuesday’s Primary Election.
Incumbent County Commissioner Steven Barry defeated challenger Danny Smillie by a two-to-one margin.
Barry received 8,437 votes (67.63%) to Smillie’s 4,038 (32.37%).
“I am thankful and humbled by the support of the residents of District 5. I recognize the degree of trust and of responsibility placed in this season of public service. A successful campaign requires dozens of friends and hundreds of hours of volunteered labor, and we are blessed to have some of the best folks of District 5 on our team. Also, I’d like to thank Danny for conducting such a spirited and positive campaign,” Barry, an interdependent certified financial planner, said.
With no challenger in November, Barry will return to office for another four years.
Republican District 5 incumbent ECUA board member Larry Walker defeated Jim Taylor. Walker received 5,577 (60.04%) votes, while Taylor had 3,712 (39.96%). Walker will face James Hunt, a no party candidate, in November.
Pictured top: Steven Barry supporters wave signs Tuesday at Pinewoods Presbyterian Church. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Local Sex Offender Gets Federal Prison On Child Porn Charges
August 31, 2016
A Chemstrand Road man was sentenced Tuesday to federal prison on child porn charges.
Daniel Leroy Ard, 33, a registered sex offender, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in June 2016 to receipt of child pornography.
During an online investigation, federal agents discovered that on numerous occasions, between June 14, 2014, and May 26, 2015, Ard received or attempted to receive child pornography images and videos. A forensic review of Ard’s laptop computer and numerous hard drives recovered approximately 87 videos and 4,257 images containing child pornography.
Ard was previously convicted in 2003 of lewd or lascivious battery on a victim age 12-15 years old.
The case was investigated by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Pensacola Police Department, and the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey M. Tharp.
Century’s Mayor Race: Runoff Between Hawkins, McCall
August 31, 2016
Unofficial results in the Century mayor’s race show that there will be a November runoff between incumbent Freddie McCall and former council member Henry Hawkins.
Unofficial totals show:
Henry Hawkins 128
Freddie McCall 112
Ben Boutwell 93
Felic Fussner 0
The top candidate would have needed 50 percent plus one vote in order to have avoided a runoff.
McCall has served two terms as mayor, while Hawkins served four years on the town council followed by an unsuccessful run for mayor in 2011.
Gaetz Wins Republican Nomination For Congressional Seat
August 31, 2016
Tuesday, Matt Gaetz won the Republican primary for Florida’s First Congressional District.
Gaetz received 35,675 votes (36.12%), followed by Greg Evers with 21,532 votes (21.8%) and Cris Dozev with 20,608 votes (20.86%). North Escambia native Rebekah Johansen Bydlak, finished fourth with 7,689 votes (7.78%).
“Thank you to Northwest Florida voters for giving me the honor of standing as the Republican nominee for the First Congressional District. Our nation is in trouble. We need bold conservative leadership to fight Washington and restore America. I will fight every day for our veterans and military, defend our Second Amendment rights, build the wall to stop illegal immigration, and defeat radical Muslim terrorists,” said Matt Gaetz.
“I want to thank our volunteers, supporters, family and friends for their overwhelming support in this election. I am very proud of the high energy grassroots campaign we ran. Our goal was to find new ways to interact with and listen to voters. We knocked on over 25,000 doors, made more than 40,000 phone calls, and amassed a Facebook audience of 44,000 fans. I cannot thank the voters enough for the trust they have placed in me with tonight’s nomination,” Gaetz said.
Rubio To Face Murphy For U.S. Senate Seat
August 31, 2016
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, the Republican incumbent, will face Democratic Congressman Patrick Murphy in November in a high-profile race that could decide control of the Senate.
As votes continued to roll in Tuesday night, Rubio and Murphy were both cruising against their primary opponents.
With 87.5 percent of precincts reporting, Rubio was leading developer Carlos Beruff by roughly 53 percentage points — carrying almost 71.9 percent of the vote to Beruff’s 18.7 percent. Two other minor candidates drew the rest.
On the Democratic side, Murphy had almost 58.9 percent of the vote, with fellow Congressman Alan Grayson getting 17.7 percent and attorney Pam Keith drawing 15.4 percent. The rest of the votes were divided among two other candidates.
Setting a tough tone for the November general election, Murphy zeroed in on Rubio’s voting record during remarks to supporters. During a failed bid for the presidency, Rubio had one of the lowest attendance marks in the Senate.
“Marco Rubio is the worst of Washington, because he puts himself first every time,” Murphy said.
The Democratic nominee also needled Rubio over the latter’s repeated resistance to promising to serve a full six-year term in the Senate, rather than running for president again, if re-elected. Rubio recently told CNN that “no one can make that commitment.”
“Guess what, senator?” Murphy said Tuesday. “I’ve got two words for you: I can.”
Republicans returned fire. U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., blasted Murphy in a statement congratulating Rubio for his victory.
“(Rubio’s) work ethic and positive vision for Florida and America stand in stark contrast to Privileged Patrick Murphy, who has been exposed for repeating falsehood on falsehood about every aspect of his professional life prior to his career in politics,” said Wicker, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “After spending the summer running from scandal and avoiding voters, Murphy has given Floridians little reason to believe he’ll work on their behalf in Washington.”
The GOP primary victory marked the latest turn in a tumultuous year for Rubio, who began 2016 as one of the front-runners for the Republican presidential nomination before being swept away by the wave of support for real-estate developer Donald Trump. Rubio, who vowed that he would not pursue a second term in the Senate, then reversed course and ran for re-election.
That chased away every major Republican opponent except Beruff, who had never run for elected office. Despite a blunt style that was similar to Trump’s, Beruff never gained traction against Rubio.
The Democratic race was expected to be closer, with Grayson drawing on his support among progressive activists to topple the centrist Murphy. Murphy was also dogged by questions about whether he had exaggerated aspects of his biography.
But Grayson’s campaign was essentially capsized when his ex-wife accused him of domestic violence. Grayson denied the allegations, but at least two progressive groups withdrew their support and Murphy cited the reports as a reason not to debate Grayson.
The general election in Florida, the largest swing state in a presidential year, is expected to be critical to Democratic hopes to recapture the majority in the Senate. Republicans are defending 24 seats in the 2016 election, compared to 10 Democratic seats that go before voters. The GOP currently holds a total of 54 seats, while Democrats and two independents who usually vote with them have 46.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Man Arrested After Facebook Deal Gone Bad
August 31, 2016
A Mobile man was jailed after a Facebook deal gone bad in Atmore.
According to Atmore Police, the female victim met with a man at a business on Highway 21 North in order to purchase a pair of shoes from him that he posted for sale for $100 on on Facebook.
The suspect, later identified as 24-year old Nigah Kawman Edwards of Mobile, approached her vehicle and demanded $125. After some conversation, she agreed to pay the extra $25.00. As the female subject was looking through her purse the suspect saw more money inside the purse and struggled with the female in order to gain control of her purse. Once he physically forced it from her hands, he then left the area and headed south on I-65.
Through subpoenas from the social media website police were able to determine the identity of the suspect. Warrants were issued and Edwards was arrested in Mobile and transported to the Escambia County Jail without incident.
About $2,700 taken from the victim was not recovered.
Complete Escambia Primary Election Results
August 31, 2016
With all precincts reporting primary winners from Tuesday in Escambia County are:
US Senate: Marco Rubio
Congress: Matt Gaetz
Senate: Doug Broxson
Sheriff: David Morgan
Tax Collector: Scott Lunsford
BOCC District 1: Jeff Bergosh
BOCC District 5: Steven Barry
ECUA District 1: Vicki Campbell
ECUA District 3: Elbin McCorvey
ECUA District 5: Larry Walker
School Board District 1: Kevin Adams
Century Mayor: Runoff between Freddie McCall and Henry Hawkins
Here are complete, but unofficial vote totals from Escambia County on Tuesday…….
United States Senator (REP)
Marco Rubio 28,128 80.13 %
Carlos Beruff 3,197 9.11 %
Dwight Mark Anthony Young 2,290 6.52 %
Ernie Rivera 1,486 4.23 %
Representative in Congress District 1 (REP)
Matt Gaetz 11,594 33.10 %
Cris Dosev 8,895 25.39 %
Greg Evers 6,541 18.67 %
Rebekah Johansen Bydlak 3,265 9.32 %
James Zumwalt 2,631 7.51 %
Brian Frazier 1,394 3.98 %
Gary Fairchild 441 1.26 %
Mark Wichern 268 0.77 %
State Senator District 1 (REP)
Doug Broxson 19,044 55.50 %
Mike Hill 15,269 44.50 %
Sheriff (REP)
David Morgan 21,487 60.77 %
John Johnson 6,280 17.76 %
Ron McNesby 5,174 14.63 %
Doug Baldwin Sr 2,416 6.83 %
Tax Collector (REP)
Scott Lunsford 21,783 62.95 %
Buck Lee 12,822 37.05 %
Board of County Commissioners District 1 (REP)
Jeff Bergosh 3,346 40.79 %
Jesse Casey 2,442 29.77 %
Karen Sindel 2,415 29.44 %
Board of County Commissioners District 5 (REP)
Steven Barry 8,437 67.63 %
Danny Smillie 4,038 32.37 %
Emerald Coast Utilities Authority District 1 (REP)
Vicki H. Campbell 4,406 55.05 %
Jim Faxlanger 3,598 44.95 %
Emerald Coast Utilities Authority District 5 (REP)
Larry Walker 5,577 60.04 %
Jim A. Taylor 3,712 39.96 %
United States Senator (DEM)
Patrick Murphy 6,099 40.49 %
Pam Keith 5,355 35.55 %
Alan Grayson 2,438 16.18 %
Roque ”Rocky” De La Fuente 655 4.35 %
Reginald Luster 517 3.43 %
Emerald Coast Utilities Authority District 3 (DEM)
Elvin McCorvey 2,079 43.74 %
Clorissti Johnson Mitchell 1,368 28.78 %
Kennie Lyons 693 14.58 %
Charles D. Thornton Sr 613 12.90 %
School Board Member District 1
Kevin Adams 7,235 65.74 %
Willie Kirkland Jr 3,771 34.26 %
Mayor Town of Century
Henry J. Hawkins 128 38.44 %
Freddie W. McCall 112 33.63 %
Ben Boutwell 93 27.93 %
Felic J. Fussner 0 0.00 %