Panhandle Equine Rescue Hosts Animal Cruelty Investigations School
June 21, 2018
Wednesday, Panhandle Equine Rescue in Cantonment hosted the hands-on portion of the American Animal Cruelty Investigations Schools taught by Doug Eddins.
Animal control officers from Mobile, Baton Rouge, LA and Ocala, FL, joined sheriff’s deputies from Amite, LA, and Jefferson County, AL , in the class. Local Farrier Josh Weekly taught an equine podiatry class showing the importance of keeping a horse’s feet in good shape and how to recognize problems and abuse.
The only horse rescue in Escambia County, PER was founded by a small group of concerned citizens with a mission to rescue, rehabilitate and provide adoption services for abused, neglected and abandoned equines. PER is authorized by the court system to investigate equine cruelty in Escambia County.
Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Charles Keevin Wiggins
June 21, 2018
Charles Keevin Wiggins, 58, of Pensacola died on Wednesday, June 13, 2018, in Pensacola, Florida.
Keevin was born in Atmore to Audeen Godwin and Leonard Kent Wiggins on June 6, 1960. He graduated from Ernest Ward High School in Walnut Hill, Florida. After attending Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama he worked as a realtor in Alabama and Florida for 20 plus years, spending several years with Ricky Wiggins, Builder.
Keevin enjoyed helping others find their dream home and spending quality time with family and friends. He liked riding his bike on Santa Rosa Island and appreciating nature. His travels took him from Hawaii to Canada and Europe. He enjoyed life by hiking and skiing in Montana, taking a canoe ride on Prince Edward Island or a local river, watching family play sports–basketball and lacrosse–plus cooking fresh corn, butterbeans, and sliced tomatoes with cornbread on the side. Together with an uncle, he restored a 1965 Mustang convertible. He loved working with his hands, and at the end of the day playing the piano or reading a good book.
Keevin is preceded in death by his parents, Audeen and Leonard; grandparents, Grace and Preston Wiggins, Ada Godwin and Irving Godwin.
Keevin is survived by sister, LaJuana W. Porter of Houston, Texas; nephew, Kyle R. Porter of Houston, TX; nieces, Kaitlin L. Porter, Annapolis, Maryland, Amy E. Porter, Austin, Texas, Melissa P. Hovey, Charlotte, North Carolina; and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
Visitation will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 23, 2018, at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home, 1322 South Main Street, Atmore, Alabama, with the funeral beginning 2 p.m.
Internment will follow at Bratt Godwin Cemetery.
Memorials may be given to the American Heart Association, https://donatenow.heart.org 800.242.8721.
The family of Keevin Wiggins wishes to extend our sincere thanks to those in the medical and service community plus his many co-workers, family and friends.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
K-9 Takes Loaded Shotgun From Suspect, Credited With Saving Officers (With Bodycam Video)
June 21, 2018
The newest K-9 at the Pensacola Police Department is being credited with saving the lives of several officers and a suspect after the police dog took a loaded shotgun out of the hands of an armed burglary
suspect.
The incident occurred at 137 North K Street early this morning when 36-year old Oliver Hurst went across the street to a girlfriend’s house and forced his way inside the front door armed with a shotgun. He threatened the woman with the gun before retreating back to his residence. Police were called, and when officers arrived, they observed Hurst on his front porch.
Hurst refused orders from officers to surrender, and he ran inside his house. Officers pursued Hurst into the home and observed him grab the shotgun from a couch. K-9 Foster, an 18 month old German Shepherd, latched onto the shotgun and pulled it from the hands of Hurst. Officers deployed a Taser on Hurst who was then taken into custody as K-9 Foster took the weapon away from the area and into another room where it was seized by officers.
Because of the quick actions of K-9 Foster, the suspect was not able to fire the shotgun at police, and the officers did not have to use deadly force on Hurst.
Hurst was taken into custody and charged with armed burglary, aggravated assault, battery, criminal mischief, and aggravated assault on an LEO.
K-9 Foster and K-9 Nashoba were both purchased from generous donations made by Pensacola residents Dana and Lisa Foster.
Steven Ray Bailey
June 21, 2018
Mr. Steven Ray Bailey, age 34, passed away on Saturday, June 16, 2018, in Milton.
Mr. Bailey was a native of North Charleston, S.C, a former resident of Century, FL, where he lived 30 years and has resided in Milton, FL, for the past 3½ years. He was on the CERT Team with the Florida Department of Corrections. He was a 2002 graduate of Northview High School, 2011 (AA) graduate of Pensacola State College and 2014 (BA) graduate of University of West Florida. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving in Afghanistan from February 9, 2004, to February 16, 2005. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Sammie and Penny Garner, George Robert Bailey and Erin Davis Brown.
Survivors include his parents, Robert E. and Linda G. Bailey of Century, FL; fiancé, Brittany Merchant of Milton, FL; one brother, Joshua Bailey of Century, FL; two uncles, Robert Garner of Fairmont, WV, and Gledon Ray Bailey of Atmore, AL and other relatives and many friends.
Funeral services will be Friday, June 22, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Mike Harper officiating.
Visitation will be Thursday, June 21, 2018, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Joshua Bailey, James Lambert, Jonathan Johnson, Jesse Moore, Justin Ellis, Martin Konzelman, Keith McCartt and Billy Dukes.
Honorary pallbearers will be the Santa Rosa CI CERT Team.
Man Shot At Cantonment Home By Suspect That Knocked At Door
June 20, 2018
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a suspect after a man was shot at a home in Cantonment Tuesday night.
Deputies responded to a report of shots fired in the 500 block of Irene Lane, just north of Muscogee Road, about 10:20 p.m.
The victim told deputies that the unknown suspect knocked on his door. When the victim went to the door to determine who was knocking, the suspect fired an unknown weapon through the door. The adult male was shot in the stomach and transported by Escambia County EMS to an area hospital with injuries that did not appear to be life threatening.
The victim was unable to provide a description of the suspect, but told deputies that he fled on foot before heard the sound of a vehicle rapidly fleeing the area in an unknown direction.
Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Update: Additional information released Wednesday following investigation by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office did not indicate that the victim opened the door as information provided by the ECSO Tuesday night stated.
Story by NorthEscambia.com. Photos courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Hot And Humid
June 20, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. West wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph.
Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.
Citizens Insurance May Delay Rate Hike
June 20, 2018
Citizens Property Insurance is poised to delay a 7.9 percent rate increase for policyholders, after some board members suggested Tuesday another rate hike may be too soon following a May 1 increase.
The Citizens Board of Governors, which oversees the government-backed insurer that has some 443,000 policies in the state, will discuss the proposal at its Wednesday meeting in Maitland.
Bette Brown, a consumer representative on the board, asked the Citizens Actuarial and Underwriting Committee on Tuesday to delay action on the annual rate request. She said much of the state, particularly South Florida and the Keys, is still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, which hit the state last September.
“Florida is still in an ongoing emergency, really, recovering,” said Brown, who lives in Monroe County, one of the state’s most heavily damaged areas.
The actuarial committee unanimously adopted Brown’s recommendation, saying the question of the next rate increase will be considered by the full board.
John Wortman, chairman of the actuarial committee, said one possibility would be to delay the 2019 rate increase to next May 1, since a 6.6 percent increase for homeowners with Citizens multi-peril policies took effect last month.
The 2018 rate increase, which normally would have taken effect in February, was delayed until May, following a 90-day rate freeze imposed after Irma.
Under the 2019 rate proposal that will be considered by the board, personal-lines policies for Citizens customers will increase by a statewide average of 7.9 percent, while commercial lines will increase by 8.9 percent.
Personal policyholders include homeowners, condominium-unit owners, renters and mobile-home owners. Commercial lines include condominium associations as well as non-residential property.
Under the rate proposal, inland homeowners with multi-peril policies will face an average increase of 8.3 percent, while coastal homeowners would have a 9.5 percent increase. Wind-only personal-lines policies would increase statewide by 7.8 percent.
Rate increases will vary by county, although the highest increases will be in populous South Florida. Average rates for homeowner multi-peril policies in Miami-Dade County will increase 9.8 percent, with an average annual premium of $3,945. In Broward, rates will increase 9.9 percent on average, with a $3,294 premium.
Wind-only homeowner policies in Monroe County would increase by an average 7.8 percent, with a $3,737 premium.
Pinellas County, which has the third highest total of Citizens multi-peril homeowner policies, would see a 2.8 percent average increase, with a $1,705 premium, according to the proposal.
Rates would decline in a few counties, including Okaloosa, where multi-peril homeowner policies would decrease by an average of 5.5 percent, with a $1,811 premium. But there are only 118 Citizens homeowner policies in that Panhandle community, compared to 54,431 in Miami-Dade.
A factor in the rate increase is the continuing controversy over the “assignment of benefits” practice where property owners with claims assign their insurance benefits to contractors and other firms, which seek reimbursement from the insurance companies. Citizens officials say it leads to increased fraud and inflated claims, while defenders of the practice say it allows property owners to be adequately compensated.
The new rate proposal notes that assignment of benefit claims “are on the rise, particularly in South Florida, and are one of the major factors driving increased non-weather water losses and Citizens’ increased rate need.”
Any rate increase approved by the Citizens Board of Governors is subject to review by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Last year, the board approved a 6.7 percent increase for homeowners’ multi-peril policies but the rate was reduced to 6.6 percent by state insurance regulators.
Citizens annual rate increases are capped at 10 percent under a “glide path” provision in the state law.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Atmore Man Charged With Three Counts Of Attempted Murder
June 20, 2018
An Atmore man has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting into a vehicle occupied by three people, including a child, on North Main Street.
Labrandon Sharp, 34, was charged with three counts of attempted murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle.
On June 14, Atmore Police responded to report of a subject discharging a weapon into a vehicle. They discovered shots had been fired into a vehicle occupied by two adults and a 7-year old at the intersection of North Main Street and Liberty Street. They were not injured.
The victims told officers that Sharp fired into the vehicle after a brief verbal altercation between one of the victims and Sharp.
Atmore Police learned that Sharp fled the scene in a gold colored Chevrolet Malibu. Minutes later, the suspect vehicle was spotted on South Canoe Road. Atmore Police and the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and identified the driver as Kendra Monick Williams, 37.
Williams told officers that she had just swapped vehicles with Sharp prior to being stopped. Williams was taken into custody and charged with assisting the alleged offender, Sharp, with the attempted murder of the three occupants.
Sharp turned himself in on Monday and remained in the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center in Brewton early Wednesday morning.
New Candidate In Race For Ingram’s House Seat; Jay Woman Files For Williamson’s Seat
June 20, 2018
The race for an open seat in nearby House District 1 drew a late candidate Monday, when Republican Lisa Doss of Milton opened a campaign account, according to the Division of Elections website. The Escambia County seat is open because Rep. Clay Ingram, R-Pensacola, faces term limits.
Five candidates have opened campaign accounts, with two — Republican Rebekah Bydlak and Democrat Vikki Garrett — listed on the state website as having qualified as of early Tuesday afternoon. The qualifying period started Monday and will last until noon Friday.
Meanwhile, it appears Rep. Jayer Williamson, R-Pace, won’t receive a free pass back to the Florida House. Bobbi Sue Osborne, a Jay resident running without party affiliation, opened a campaign account Tuesday to challenge Williamson in House District 3, which is made up of parts of Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties, according to the state Division of Elections website.
Williamson, who formally qualified for the race Monday, had been running unopposed. He had raised $100,750 for his re-election bid as of May 31.
by The News Service of Florida with contribution from NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
United Way Announces $850K In Community Grants
June 20, 2018
United Way of Escambia County announced $850,000 in grants Tuesday for 42 local nonprofit programs through their community investment process. These programs provide critical services to individuals and families throughout the area.
Over the past year, 266 companies and nearly 7,000 individual donors contributed to United Way for health, education and financial stability programs.
TOP 5 WORKPLACE CAMPAIGNS
1. Gulf Power Company
2. Publix Super Markets, Inc.
3. Ascend Performance Materials
4. Navy Federal Credit Union
5. Regions Bank
Health Awards:
2018-19 Health Awards: $116,264
1. Access to Care2 – Health and Hope Clinic
2. Child Abuse Prevention Education – Gulf Coast Kid’s House
3. Epilepsy Services and Resource Center – Epilepsy Foundation of Florida
4. Healthy Seniors Food Program – Manna Food Pantries, Inc.
5. Kids for Camp Summer Learning Lab – Autism Pensacola
6. Lakeview Center Victim Services – Lakeview Center
7. Mobile Outreach Program – OASIS Florida
8. The Salvation Army Emergency Shelter, Sally’s House – The Salvation Army
9. VIP Children’s Program – Independence for the Blind
2-3 Year Committed Health Awards: $260,962
1. Essential Life Skills – Capstone Adaptive Learning and Therapy Centers, Inc.
2. Family Advocacy – Gulf Coast Kid’s House
3. Healthy Lifestyles – Boys and Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast
4. Nutrition Program – Council on Aging of West Florida
5. Older Blind Program – Independence for the Blind
6. Pearl Nelson Child Development Center/Pediatric Therapy – The Arc Gateway, Inc.
7. Senior Companion Program – Council on Aging of West Florida
8. Sexual/Physical Abuse Treatment Program – Lutheran Services of Florida
9. Youth Development – YMCA of Northwest Florida
Education Awards:
2018-19 Education Awards: $129,682
1. Big Brothers Big Sisters Community Based Program – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida
2. Every Adult Achieves Self-Sufficiency – Pathways for Change
3. GED Program – AMIkids Pensacola
4. Girls Earning Diplomas (GED) Program – PACE Center for Girls
5. Milk & Honey Afterschool Program – Milk & Honey Outreach Ministry
6. ReadingPals – Every Child A Reader Escambia (ECARE)
7. School to Work – Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida
8. Service Learning and Leadership Development – Chain Reaction
9. Workforce Development: Providing a Path to Self-Sufficiency – Waterfront Rescue Mission, Inc.
2-3 Year Committed Education Awards: $258,093
1. Academic Success – Boys and Girls Club of the Emerald Coast
2. Capstone Academy – Capstone Adaptive Learning and Therapy Centers, Inc.
3. Heritage Oaks Affordable Housing – Be Ready Alliance Coordinating for Emergencies (BRACE)
4. Independence for Dependent and Homeless Youth – Legal Services of
North Florida
5. Pearl Nelson Child Development Center/Early Intervention Services – The Arc Gateway, Inc.
6. School Readiness Program – Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County
7. Teenspace – Children’s Home Society of Florida
8. Transition Program – Independence for the Blind
9. Veterans Legal Assistance – Legal Services of North Florida
Financial Stability Awards:
2018-19 Financial Stability Awards: $67,500
1. Child Care – YMCA of Northwest Florida
2. Emergency Assistance – Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida
3. Moving Escambia County from Hunger to Hope – Manna Food Pantries, Inc.
4. Social Services – Basic Needs – The Salvation Army
5. The Mobile Pantry Program – Feeding the Gulf Coast
2-3 Year Committed Financial Stability Awards: $17,500
1. Domestic Violence Shelter – FavorHouse of Northwest Florida, Inc.