Arrest Made In Escambia County’s First Homicide Of 2018
January 26, 2018
An Escambia County man was arrested Friday for a Tuesday murder in the Myrtle Grove area of Escambia County.
Lyntonio De’Shawn Quinn, 22, was charged with homicide-murder while engaged in certain felony offense, home invasion robbery and home invasion with a firearm.
Deputies responded to a call of a shooting victim around 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday on 48th Avenue near Elsa Avenue.
When deputies arrived they found 27-year-old David Washington dead on the side of the road. Washington and three other people are believed to have committed what appeared to be a drug-related home invasion, deputies said.
During the home invasion, the sheriff’s office said Washington was shot and killed.
This was the first homicide of 2018 in Escambia County.
Driver Arrested For DUI Following Highway 97 Crash (Updated)
January 26, 2018
[Updated with details 10 a.m.] A Century man with a blood alcohol level almost two and a half times the legal limit was arrested for driving under the influence following an injury crash on Highway 97 Thursday evening.
The accident happened about 5:30 p.m. on Highway 97 near Gibson Road near Molino.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 46-year old Linda Faye Till of Molino was traveling south on Highway 97 when her 2017 Toyota was rear-ended by a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pickup driven by 53-year old Benjamin Frank Ard. After the initial collision, the vehicles were being moved off the roadway when Ard rear-ended the car a second time, according to troopers.
Linda Till and her passenger, Brian Aubrey Till, were transported by Escambia County EMS to Atmore Community Hospital for their injuries.
Ard and his passenger, Lorenzo Knight of Walnut Hill, were not injured.
Ard had a blood alcohol level of .197, according to a FHP report, above the legal limit of .08. He was charged with driving under the influence and cited for careless driving and possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $1,000.
Further details have not been released as the FHP continues their investigation.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Forecasters: Drought Conditions Worsen Across The Area
January 26, 2018
A drought continues to slowly worsen with moderate to severe drought across the Florida Panhandle, according to the National Weather Service. NWS graphic, click to enlarge.
New Krispy Kreme Planned For Nine Mile Road
January 26, 2018
A new Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is in the planning stages for East Nine Mile Road, possibly with a new Burger King next door.
Krispy Kreme presented plants for the new store at 1730 East Nine Mile Road — just east of Dodge’s Fried Chicken (pictured above). Company representatives went before the Escambia County Development Review Committee this week with their plants.
The developers are purchasing four parcels located on East Nine Mile Road between Plainfield Avenue and Barranger Drive, two of which would house a Krispy Kreme and two of which would house a Burger King.
Currents plans show the Krispy Kreme at 3,500 square feet with 40 seats.
In order for the development to move forward, they would have to apply for a rezoning to rezone the property from commercial to heavy commercial and light industrial. This rezoning is required to accommodate a further request for a conditional Use, based on the drive-thru nature of the proposed business, according to Escambia County spokesperson Kaycee Lagarde.
“It is up to the developers to take the next step and apply for the rezoning, then they would go through the conditional use process,” she said in an email. “Both of those processes combined (rezoning and conditional use) can take up to several months, but again, it is up to the developers to decide whether to proceed/how soon they decide to apply.”
Pictures above: A Krispy Kreme is planned for this location on East Nine Mile Road next to Dodge’s Fried Chicken. Pictured below: Preliminary drawings showing the restaurant. Pictured inset: The only other Krispy Kreme in Escambia County, located on North 8th Avenue. Images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Atmore’s Escambia County High Named A ‘Failing School’ Again
January 26, 2018
The Alabama Department of Education released their latest list of “failing schools” on Thursday. There are 75 schools on the list, including Escambia County High School in Atmore for the second year.
Under the Alabama Accountability Act, “Failing Schools” are the bottom 6 perent of public Alabama schools for the 2016-2017 school year based on the state’s standardized assessment (ACT Aspire and Alabama Alternate Assessment) in reading and math.
Students are tested in reading and math in grades 3-8 and 10 with the Aspire Assessment and the Alabama Alternate Assessment.
Students in an Alabama public school designated as a failing school or scheduled to enroll in a failing school will be given school choice options:
- The student may remain or enroll in the assigned school.
- The student may transfer to a comparable school that is not included on the annual list of “failing schools” within the same local school system that has available space and is willing to accept the student.
- If the local system has not made Option 2 available, the student may transfer to a comparable school that is not included on the annual list of “failing schools” within another Alabama local school system that has available space and is willing to accept the student.
- The student may transfer to a qualifying non-public Alabama school that is willing to accept the student.
Parents have until May 1 to give notice of their intent to transfer.
From Dollars To Dinosaurs: Byrne Learns About Atmore Pre-K Program
January 26, 2018
Thursday morning, Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama visited with educators and preschoolers at Rachel Patterson Elementary School in Atmore to learn more about how the voluntary Pre-K program is benefiting from a federal Preschool Development Grant.
Byrne heard from educators about the successes of the Pre-K program at Rachel Patterson and talked about the dollars and cents that makes the program work. He also visited two Pre-K classrooms where he joined four and five-year olds on the floor playing with dinosaurs and blocks, and he read the Dr. Seuss classic “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” to students.
Current funding allows about one-fourth of four-year olds in Escambia County to participate in Alabama’s Pre-K program, slightly less than the state average. There are seven Pre-K classrooms at public schools in Escambia County.
“The biggest takeaway from today’s visit is that the rest of the nation has a lot to learn from Alabama’s successful Pre-K programs,” Byrne said. “”I appreciated the opportunity to visit with the students, teachers, administrations, and community leaders who help make the program such a success. As a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, I will be sure to take my experiences from today back to Washington as we work to improve Pre-K programs around the country.”
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Man Convicted Of Exploiting Legally Blind Elderly Victim
January 26, 2018
An Escambia County man has been convicted of exploiting a legally blind elderly victim.
John Louis Wages, 45, was found guility of one count of illegal use of criminal identification information, victim over 60 years of age, and exploitation of the elderly, $10,000 or more but less than $50,000, both second degree felonies. The sentencing is set for Feb. 15, 2018, with Wages facing 30 years in state prison. Wages qualifies to be sentenced as a habitual felony offender due to extensive prior criminal history and an active probationary status, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
f one count of illegal use of criminal identification information, victim over 60 years of age, and exploitation of the elderly, $10,000 or more but less than $50,000, both second degree felonies. The sentencing is set for Feb. 15, 2018, with Wages facing 30 years in state prison. Wages qualifies to be sentenced as a habitual felony offender due to extensive prior criminal history and an active probationary status.
Florida House Backs Making It Harder To Raise Taxes
January 26, 2018
TALLAHASSEE — In a priority of Gov. Rick Scott and Speaker Richard Corcoran, the Florida House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would make it harder to raise taxes and fees.
The proposal, which could go on the November ballot, would require two-thirds votes by the House and the Senate in the future to increase taxes and fees, up from the usual majority votes.
“I believe that taking a citizen’s hard-earned money should not be done lightly,” sponsor Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, said before the House voted 80-29 to approve the measure (HJR 7001). “You either stand with the people whose money the government takes or you stand with the government that takes it.”
But Democratic critics argued that the current Legislature should not seek to tie the hands of future lawmakers in making decisions about taxes and spending. They said Florida lags other states in funding for such things as public schools and mental-health programs.
“Each and every session, there’s a different tension between taxes and revenue and what we want to spend money on and what we don’t,’’ Rep. Sean Shaw, D-Tampa, said. “I’m no smarter than someone who’s going to come here 10 years from now to vote. And so I don’t think I ought to have more power than that person that sits in this seat 10 years from now to vote. They should be able to vote up or down on tax policy, up and down on revenues, just like I do.”
While the measure easily passed, the House still needs to work out differences with the Senate before the proposed constitutional amendment could go before voters in November.
The Senate Finance and Tax Appropriations Subcommittee is slated Monday to take up a version (SJR 1742) that would require three-fifths votes of the House and Senate before taxes could be increased in the future — a lower threshold than the House plan. The Senate version also would not apply to raising fees.
But while differences remain, Scott and Corcoran have focused heavily on the issue in the early stages of the 2018 session. If a tax-limit proposal reaches the November ballot, it would require approval from 60 percent of voters to go into the state Constitution.
“When I first announced this proposal, Speaker Corcoran joined me to ensure we do all we can to let families and job creators keep more of their hard-earned money,” Scott said in a statement after the House vote. “Today, the Florida House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed this proposal in a bipartisan vote to give Floridians the chance to go to the polls and vote to make it harder for politicians in Tallahassee to raise taxes and fees.”
The proposed constitutional amendment was one of 19 measures approved Thursday by the House, including two health-care bills that have long been backed by Corcoran and other House GOP leaders.
One of those bills (HB 27), sponsored by Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen, R-Fort Myers, would eliminate the controversial “certificate of need” regulatory process for hospitals. Under the process, hospitals must seek approval from the state Agency for Health Care Administration before adding facilities or programs.
Fitzenhagen said eliminating the so-called CON process would increase competition and drive down health-care costs. But critics, such as Rep. Lori Berman, D-Lantana, argued it could lead to new hospitals in affluent areas “cherry picking” insured patients from older hospitals, which would be left serving larger proportions of low-income and uninsured patients.
The House, which voted 72-36 to approve the bill, also has passed CON repeals in the past but has not gotten agreement from the Senate.
Similarly, the House voted 97-10 to approve a bill (HB 37) aimed at encouraging the use of “direct primary care” agreements. Under the agreements, patients or their employers would make regular payments to doctors for primary-care services, at least partly cutting out the role of insurers.
The bill, sponsored by Insurance & Banking Chairman Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, would make clear the agreements are not governed by insurance laws and regulations. Like with the CON repeal, the House in the past has been unable to reach agreement with the Senate on direct primary care.
Rep. Mike Miller, R-Winter Park, said the bill would address health-care costs and give decision-making power to doctors and patients.
“We’re trying to lower the cost of health care and improve the outcomes,” Miller said.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Partly Sunny Today, Rain For The Weekend
January 26, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 62. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers after midnight. Patchy fog after 10pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 51. East wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 65. East wind 5 to 10 mph. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Saturday Night: Showers. Patchy fog after midnight. Low around 54. Northeast wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Sunday: Showers likely, mainly before noon. Cloudy, with a high near 63. East wind around 5 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 60. North wind around 10 mph.
Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 32. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 52. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 32.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 64.
Donald Joseph Byrd
January 26, 2018
Mr. Donald Joseph Byrd, 79, passed away Thursday, January 25, 2018 in Pensacola, Florida.
Mr. Byrd was a native and former resident of Pensacola, FL and has resided in Century, FL for the past 10 years. He was a member of the American Quarter Horse Association and the Palomino Horse Breeders Association. He was a member of the Atmore First Assembly of God Church. He is preceded in death by his parents, John F. Byrd and Dixie Glass.
Survivors include his wife Sue Byrd of Century, FL; three sons, Brian (Candice) Byrd of Cantonment, FL, Randy Blackwell of Pensacola, FL and Chad Blackwell of Mobile, AL; one daughter, Casey Blackwell of Jacksonville, FL; two brothers, John Byrd of Cantonment, FL and Bob (Bobbie Jean) Newell of Chipley, FL and four grandchildren, Aidan Byrd, Katie Lynn Byrd, Brandon Moerler and Dustin Moerler.
Funeral services will be Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at 11:00 AM at the Atmore First Assembly of God Church with Bro. Don Davis officiating.
Burial will follow at the Serenity Garden Cemetery.
Visitation will be Tuesday, January 30, 2018 from 10:00 AM until service time at 11:00 AM at the Atmore First Assembly of God Church.
Pallbearers will be Winston Bryan, Robert Kriss, Danny Wilson, Johnny Harrell, Raymond Peebles, Wayne Harris, Michael Roley and Richard Keesler.
In lieu of flowers memorials can be made to the First Assembly of God Missions Team of Atmore, AL.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC is in charge of all arrangements in Atmore, Alabama.