Century Holds Community Cleanup Day
March 19, 2017
The town of Century did a little spring cleaning Saturday with a community cleanup day.
“I’ve walked 4.5 miles so far,” Century Mayor Henry Hawkins said as he picked up trash along North Century Boulevard. “People have got to take pride in our town. We need their help to clean up Century. Every little bit is a start.”
Those that took part in the cleanup were treated lunch afterwards at Nadine McCaw Park.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Sunny, Warm Sunday
March 19, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 75. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 45. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Monday Night: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 53. South wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 80. West wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 57. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 80. West wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 75.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75.
Two Injured In Wreck North Of Flomaton
March 19, 2017
Two people were injured in a two-vehicle crash near Flomaton Saturday morning.
The accident happened just before 11 a.m. about three miles north of Flomaton at the intersection of Highway 113 and Wolf Log Road. The passenger in a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck was trapped in the crash and extricated by firefighters. The passenger suffered critical injuries, while the driver was also injured. They were transported by Escambia County (FL) EMS to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola.
Two people in a SUV were not injured.
The accident remains under investigation by Alabama State Troopers. The Flomaton Fire Department, Century Station of Escambia (FL) Fire Rescue, Flomaton Police Department and Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office also responded to the accident.
Further details have not yet been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Jay Man Airlifted After Saturday Crash
March 19, 2017
A Jay man was airlifted to a Pensacola hospital after a Saturday afternoon wreck.
Jonathan Clyde Wells, 20, was traveling north on North Simmons Road about 4 p.m. when he traveled off the roadway and collided with a group of trees. He was transported by LifeGuard helicopter to Sacred Heat Hospital in Pensacola with injuries that were considered minor, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Well was cited for careless driving by troopers.
Photos courtesy Jay VFD for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans Available in Escambia County
March 19, 2017
The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced that federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and private nonprofit organizations located in Escambia County and 11 other Florida counties as a result of the drought that began on Dec. 1, 2016.
This disaster declaration includes the following counties in Florida: Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington.
“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities affected by the same disaster,” said Frank Skaggs, director of the SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.
Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible farm-related and non-farm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. With the exception of aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers. Nurseries are eligible to apply for economic injury disaster loans for losses caused by drought conditions.
The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 2.5 percent for private nonprofit organizations and 3.125 percent for small businesses, with terms up to 30 years. The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition. These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.
Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application via SBA’s secure website.
Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA’s website. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
Completed loan applications must be returned to the SBA no later than Monday, Oct. 23.
25th Annual Sawmill Pageant Held (With Photo Gallery)
March 19, 2017
The 25th Annual Miss Sawmill Pageant sponsored by the Century Lions Club was held Saturday.
Overall winners were Khloe Hamilton and Skylar Crawford. NorthEscambia.com will publish a complete winner’s list and photos after the information is made available to us.
In the meantime, click here for a photo gallery from Saturday afternoon’s events.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
UF/IFAS To Lead $1 Million Study To Increase Global Wheat Production
March 19, 2017
A University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher will lead a nearly $1 million project to increase worldwide wheat yield potential to help feed an anticipated 9.5 billion people globally by the year 2050.
To do this, Md Ali Babar, a UF/IFAS agronomy assistant professor and his team of researchers, hope to increase the harvest index from 45 to 60 percent, which translates to much more wheat. The harvest index quantifies a crop’s yield versus the amount of biomass – shoots and roots – that it produces.
“This will increase wheat yield and improve food security for a growing population,” Babar said.
Wheat, grown on more than 538 million acres globally, is one of the three most important cereal crops in the world, according to Babar. The other two are rice and corn. But wheat yield must be doubled in the next 30 years “to avert a major food crisis,” he said. To achieve food security in the next 30-plus years, wheat yields need to increase by 1.8 percent per year. Currently, yields are only increasing 0.9 percent annually.
In Escambia County, the latest USDA Ag Census shows 4,409 aces planted in wheat, the second highest of any county in Florida.
Babar cites the so-called “Green Revolution” of the 1970s in explaining how and why his research group hopes to increase wheat production. In the 1970s, scientists increased the harvest index. That resulted in a huge yield increase and saved millions of people’s lives. However, research shows the wheat harvest index didn’t increase much in recent history.
That’s why Babar and his collaborators are adopting an integrated research approach involving varieties developed by U.S. and Mexican wheat breeders. In those varieties, Babar and his colleagues will evaluate traits related to the harvest index, hoping to eventually produce more wheat.
Babar will work with scientists from the International Corn and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico, the University of Nottingham in England and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The researchers are expected to develop a specific structure of wheat plants so they can separate more biomass genes, which they hope will add up to much more wheat globally.
They have received $250,000 for the first year of a three-year grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. NIFA officials have told Babar that he and his team will receive $920,000 based upon continued progress in the research and funding.
Pictured: Wheat harvest in Escambia County. NorthEscambia.com
‘Armed And Dangerous’ 19-Year Old Now Behind Bars
March 19, 2017
UPDATE 3/19: A 19-year old that was considered “armed and dangerous” by authorities is now in the Santa Rosa County Jail. Tristan Junus Turner, 19, is being held on a $107,000 bond.
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The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a 19-year wanted on multiple felony charges.
Tristan Junus Turner, 19, is wanted for assault on a law enforcement officer, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, armed trespassing, resisting officer with violence and possession of a controlled substance.
Turner is 6′4″ and 184 pounds. He has blond hair and blue eyes. Authorities say Turner is considered armed and dangerous and ask the public to not make contact with him.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts can contact 911 or the Santa Rosa County Crime Stoppers at (850) 437-STOP.
4-H County Event Youth Winners Named
March 19, 2017
The UF/IFAS Escambia County Extension Office recently hosted 4-H County Events, consisting of competitions in public speaking, demonstrations and illustrated talks, fashion, photography, graphic design, and share-the-fun (talent) activities.
The event featured 14 youth, submitting 25 different entries. Blue ribbon winners will advance to district competition.
Escambia County 4-H Event winners were:
Poster Art: Elizabeth Atkins, Levi Nelson, Trista Wolk, and Taylor Nelson.
Demonstrations and Illustrated Talks: Jasmine Guillory, Brayton Workman, Von Littlejohn, Taylor Nelson, Danielle Tinker, and Michelle Tinker.
Photography: Lacie Kittrell, Tucker Padgett (3), Dillon Conti, and Taylor Nelson (3).
For more information on Escambia County 4-H, call (850) 475-5230.
Century Man Convicted Of Two Counts Of Attempted Murder; Faces Life Sentence
March 18, 2017
A Century man is facing life in prison for opening fire on two people inside a vehicle in Century during October 2015.
Late Friday afternoon, an Escambia County jury found Akino Jama Jackson guilty of attempted first degree murder, attempted second degree murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle. According to Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille, Jackson faces a minimum mandatory of life in prison when he is sentenced in May because he is a prison releasee reoffender. He will not be eligible for parole and will actually spend his entire life in prison.
On October 5, 2015, Jackson armed himself with a firearm and fired eight times into a Dodge Charger, shooting Roosevelt Dixon in the back four times causing serious injuries. Dixon’s girlfriend, Amanda Conner, was in the front passenger seat at the time the shots were fired. She suffered injuries from broken glass but did not seek medical treatment.
Conner told investigators that she and Dixon were at his mother’s residence on Ivey Street in Century, and they had noticed a car in the area that Dixon was concerned about. She said they left the mother’s trailer, eventually turning onto Old Flomaton Road. She said they traveled a short distance when she heard a loud noise followed by a another loud noise during which glass shattered. Dixon told Conner that he had been shot. At this point, they turned the car around, still not seeing the vehicle from which the shots were fired, and headed back to Ivey Street where Dixon got out of the Dodge Charger.
Conner then headed toward the Century Sheriff’s Precinct on Highway 29 in the Charger, stopping along the way at the Century Whataburger where she observed a deputy on a traffic stop.
Conner had received threatening text messages from Jackson in the days leading up to the shooting. Roosevelt Dixon was able to identify Jackson as the shooter.
Pictured top: The scene at Whataburger in Century on October 7, 2015. Pictured below: Numbers and trajectory rods show bullet holes in a Dodge Charger that was occupied by two people. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
