Mosquito Fogging Planned Tonight West Of Highway 29 From Kingsfield Road To Barrineau Park

July 31, 2019

The Escambia County Mosquito Control Division plans to fog this evening between 6-9:30 p.m. in an area generally west of Highway 29 and north of Kingsfield Road and I-10 to Barrineau Park Road.

To make a request for service or an area to be listed as a no spray area, please call 850-937-2188, submit an online request here or send an email to mosquitocontrol@myescambia.com.

Click the maps to enlarge.

Cottage Hill Boil Water Notice Rescinded

July 31, 2019

A precautionary boil water notice that was issued for a portion of Cottage Hill has been rescinded after testing showed the water to be safe to drink.

The notice was in effect for residents of 16 to 460 Williams Ditch Road, Virecent Road, Crowndale Road, Cottage Hill Road and Eden Lane following a water main break on Monday.

For any additional information, contact Cottage Hill Water Works at (850) 968-5485.

Work Continuing Tonight To Replace Metal Joint On Quintette Bridge

July 31, 2019

Work will continue a second night to repair an expansion joint on the Quintette Road Bridge over the Escambia River.

The bridge will experience traffic shifts from 7 p.m. Wednesday until 6 a.m. Thursday as crews make repairs to a damaged expansion joint on the bridge.

The traffic speed has been reduced to 5 mph on the bridge, and bridge traffic will be shifted to one lane during the repairs.

On Monday, an expansion — the piece of metal between concrete sections of the bridge – joint protruded up from the bridge into a travel lane and was struck by vehicles.

Maintenance of the bridge is Escambia County’s responsibility, according to Escambia County Public Works Director and Engineer Joy Jones. Ian Satter, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, said Monday that the bridge remains structurally sound and the incident will not prompt a bridge inspection.

Repair efforts on the joint began Tuesday night.

NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.

Hit And Run Claims Life Of Pedestrian; Seventh Traffic Fatality This Week In Escambia County

July 31, 2019

The seventh traffic fatality this week in Escambia County has occurred in Pensacola.

A pedestrian died as the result of a hit and run on Pace Boulevard and Cervantes Street about 8:30 Tuesday evening. The name of the victim has not yet been released.

The victim was hit by a small, black SUV with tinted windows that fled the scene at a high speed, according to Pensacola Police. The vehicle will likely have front end damage.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Pensacola Police Department at (850) 435-1900 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.

Other traffic fatalities this week in Escambia County included two people in a single vehicle crash on Highway 95A in Cottage Hill, a pedestrian on Pine Forest Road near Nine Mile Road, two people on Pine Forest Road near I-10, and a motorcyclist on Davis Highway.

Commissioner Calls For Elimination Of 4-Cent Gas Tax For ECAT

July 31, 2019

An Escambia County commissioner is calling for the elimination of a 4-cent gas tax to fund Escambia County Area Transit.

Commissioner Doug Underhill says he wants to get rid of the entire tax and force ECAT to scale back operations.

“The gas tax has failed to make ECAT better, only more bloated. 11 of our 22 routes experienced declining ridership in the last 3 years,” Underhill said on social media. “It is time to eliminate this tax and force ECAT to scale back to a sustainable operation.”

The Escambia County Commission is set to hold a public hearing on the gas tax interlocal agreement with Pensacola at 5:32 p.m. Thursday.

The 4-cent per gallon Local Option Gas Tax went into effect on January 1, 2014. The Escambia County Commission and Pensacola City Council entered to an interlocal agreement on the tax to fund ECAT. The Town of Century refused to go along with the increase, but the higher gas tax is still collected in the town for ECAT.

Century refused sign off on an interlocal agreement with Escambia County to allocate additional gas taxes collected in Century to the county for mass transit. Town officials contended the new tax is unfair to North Escambia residents and predicted Century drivers would  purchase lower priced gasoline across the state line in Flomaton.

But regardless of Century’s refusal to support the tax, they simply were not allowed opt-out of the tax altogether. The local option fuel tax statute provides that the most populous municipality within the county speaks for all the municipalities in the county on the issue.

The Century Town Council wanted the Florida Legislature to consider exempting the town from the tax, but the proposal never made it to a  meeting of the  Escambia County State Legislative Delegation because Florida law won’t allow the Legislature to consider such an exemption.

NorthEscambia.com file photo.

Semi Rear-Ends Car Injuring One Near Century

July 31, 2019

A Century man was injured Tuesday afternoon when his vehicle was rear-ended by a semi truck on Highway 29.

Witnesses said the man, whose name has not been released, was driving at a slow speed southbound on Highway 29 near Tedder Road when the 5:25 p.m. accident occurred. The semi driver attempted to avoid the collision, and lengthy skid marks  from the truck were observed on the roadway.

The injured man was transported to the hospital by Escambia County EMS with injuries that were not believed to be life  threatening.

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Six Schools Recognized For Fire Life Safety Inspection Achievements

July 31, 2019

Six Escambia County Schools were recently recognized for outstanding achievements on their annual life safety inspections.

The Escambia County School District’s Department of Protection Services worked closely with school administrators to improve fire life safety. Administrators and their staffs worked to reduce the risk of potential injuries and property damage from fire.

The schools that had the lowest number of deficiencies and the schools that showed the greatest improvement were recognized by the school board.

Recognized were:

Northview High School
Ransom Middle School
Lipscomb Elementary School
Brentwood Elementary School
Brown Barge Middle School
Washington High School

Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Typical Sunshine And Scattered Showers

July 31, 2019

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph.

Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Calm wind.

Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind.

Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.

Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91.

Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.

Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.

Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.

Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91.

Someone Is Stealing Water From Fire Hydrants In Flomaton

July 31, 2019

The Town of Flomaton says someone has been stealing water from fire hydrants, and that’s a problem.

The town says they’ve had several theft reports from hydrants throughout the town.

“We would like to remind everyone that doing so is a federal offense, punishable up to jail time,” the town said in a statement. “We are proud that we provide safe drinking water and wish to keep it that way.”

Anyone that has information about the theft of water from fire hydrants in Flomaton is asked to call the town at (251) 296-2431 or the Flomaton Police Department at (251) 296-5811.

File photo.

Century Begins Budget Talks Thursday

July 31, 2019

The Town of Century begins a series of budget workshops Thursday to create their fiscal year 2019-2020 budget.

Those workshops will be held each Thursday at 3 p.m. through August 22.

Century’s new fiscal year begins October 1.

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