FDLE Arrests Pace Man On 27 Child Porn Counts
September 30, 2020
The FDLE enforcement has charged a Pace man with over two dozen child pornography counts.
Agents with FDLE, along with Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, arrested 56-year old Jeffery Carl Swenson of 5765 Quintette Road on 27 counts of obscene material possession depicting child sexual conduct.
The investigation began after an agent identified images and videos of child pornography being downloaded and shared from a computer at Swenson’s residence. The images and videos depicted female children under the age of 10, according to FDLE.
Alabama Governor Extends Mask Mandate Until After November Election
September 30, 2020
Gov. Kay Ivey has extended Alabama’s mask mandate until after the November election.
Facial covering will be required in public places within Alabama until 5 p.m. on November 8, Ivey announced during a press conference Wednesday. Alabama’s mask order has been in effect since July 16, and it was previously set to expire on Friday.
Ivey said Alabama’s COVID-19 numbers have continued to decline since the mask order, and she mentioned the national election as one reason for extending the order.
“I want everyone to (vote) and to be able to do it safely,” she said.
Ivey also loosened the restrictions on nursing home and other long-term care facilities. Beginning October 2, each patient or resident can have one caregiver or visitor at a time.
Wednesday: Five New Deaths, 34 New COVID-19 Cases In Escambia County
September 30, 2020
THIS STORY IS OUTDATED. SEE NORTHESCAMBIA.COM FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION.
The Florida Department of Health reported five additional deaths and 34 new COVID-19 cases in Escambia County on Wednesday.
Here is the latest data:
Escambia County cases:
Total cases: 12,353 (+34)
Non-Florida residents: 1,122
Total deaths: 235 (+5)
Long-term care facility deaths : 111 (+2)
Current hospitalizations: 55 (+6)
Number of tests last day: 451
Percent positive last day: 5.5%
Percent positive last week: 3.5%
Escambia County cases by location:
Pensacola: 9,044 (+17)
Century: 933
—-including 773 Century prison inmates
Cantonment: 918 (+5)
Molino: 145
McDavid: 73
Walnut Hill: 18
Bellview: 16
Gonzalez: 7
Perdido Key: 7
Santa Rosa County cases:
Total cases: 5,354 (+23)
Non-Florida residents: 51
Total deaths: 77
Long-term care facility deaths: 17
Cumulative Hospitalizations: 317*
Number of tests last day: 305
Percent positive last day: 6.4%
Santa County cases by location:
Milton: 2,803 (+7)
Gulf Breeze: 773 (+1)
Navarre: 668 (+2)
Pace: 441 (+2)
Jay: 150 (+1)
Bagdad: 12
Florida cases:
Total cases: 706,516
Florida residents: 698,051
Deaths: 14,317
Hospitalizations: 44,108*
*“Hospitalizations” in the statewide and Santa Rosa County totals is a count of all laboratory confirmed cases in which an inpatient hospitalization occurred at any time during the course of illness. Most of these people are longer be hospitalized. The FDOH does not provide a count of patients currently hospitalized. The Escambia County number is current data compiled each day from the local hospitals.
*The Florida Department of Health does not have a clear standard or definition of “recovered” and does not report a number of recovered individuals.
**Data Sources: Florida Department of Health, Escambia County, City of Pensacola, local hospitals.
Hurricane Sally Damages In Escambia County Approach One-Third Of A Billion Dollars
September 30, 2020
The tally of Hurricane Sally damages in Escambia County is continuing to climb, now closing in on one-third of a billion dollars.
Total damages stoodd at $309 million as of Tuesday, and that number is expected to climb.
Escambia County and the City of Pensacola are estimating $126 million in damage to private property from Hurricane Sally. Damage estimates in Escambia County are approximately $111 million and damage estimates in the City of Pensacola are $15.69 million.
In the county and city, 44 buildings were destroyed, 629 have major damage, 915 have minor damage and 168 have been affected. To date, a total of 1,756 structures were damaged throughout the county.
To date, FEMA has not awarded individual assistance for Escambia County. Without it, individuals will not receive any financial help for uninsured losses or expenses.
The latest estimate so far is $182.6 million to Escambia County, Escambia County School District, Emerald coast Utilities Authority and City of Pensacola property. FEMA has issued a major disaster declaration that will allows the governmental agencies to see reimbursement for a large portion of their losses and recover expenses.
Pictured: Personal belongings and demolition debris outside a home in Bristol Park on Tuesday. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Century Man Charged With Forcing His Way Into Home, Stealing Cash
September 30, 2020
A Century man is facing charges after allegedly forcing his way into a local home and stealing a small amount of cash.
Tavares Antonio Odom, 32, was booked into the Escambia County Jail on charges of burglary with assault and battery and petit theft. He remained jailed Wednesday morning with bond set at $50,500.
Odom allegedly slammed open the front door of the victim’s home on East Pond Street, pushed her out of the way as he entered her bedroom, and took $45 that was on the bed.
The victim told deputies that “he was going to get some powder and tore up $25 as he was walking to the street”, an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report states. The victim said there were two other witnesses but they did not want to get involved by giving a statement to deputies.
Nice Days, Cool Nights Continue
September 30, 2020
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Wednesday Night: Clear, with a low around 53. Calm wind.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 52. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 76. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 49. North wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 77. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 79.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 59.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 77.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 58.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 78.
Want To Vote November 3? Monday Is The Deadline To Register.
September 30, 2020
Monday is the last day to register to vote in the November 3 general election.
The Escambia County Supervisor of Elections will hold extended office hours on Monday from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Florida law mandates that registration books close 29 days before an election. New registrations must be completed and received or postmarked no later than October 5 for them to be effective for the November 3 election. Address changes can be made after the books close. If you are unsure of your registration status, visit EscambiaVotes.gov and click Am I Registered? to check.
Cox Says They’re Still Working On Heavily Damaged Areas, 97% Restored
September 30, 2020
Cox Communications had restored service to 97% of customers that were impacted by Hurricane Sally as of Tuesday, and they expect to complete major network repairs by October 2.
Restoration crews have identified over 46 miles of damage to the network and are continuing to complete repairs. In more severely damaged areas, Cox network crews and our partners continue to make great progress getting those areas up and running. Crews are also continuing to repair down lines at customer’s homes this week.
The company previously identified Cantonment, Myrtle Grove and along Lillian Highway as among the hardest hit.
“First, we’d like to thank our customers for their patience while we continue to make great progress in the restoration of our network,” said David Deliman, vice president of Cox’s Gulf Coast market. “Our crews continue to work extremely hard to reconnect the Gulf Coast. We estimate that all our major network repairs will be complete no later than Friday, October 2. While the network repairs will be complete by that day, individual customer damage to their home could take longer to fix. We will not rest until all customers are connected to the services they enjoy.”
To achieve this timeline, Cox has brought in additional teams from across the country to assist with our ongoing repairs and service calls at customer homes. These crews are in addition to the network restoration crews brought in immediately after the storm.
Customers should be receiving emails with updated service restoration information. If a customer has received notice that major repairs have been completed to their neighborhood and are still experiencing issues, they can:
- Reset their device by unplugging and plugging it back in.
- If resetting the equipment doesn’t get it back online, please chat with us at cox.com/coxapp or coxbusiness.com/cbapp for Cox Business.
- If service is not restored, please contact Cox at 877-556-7815 to schedule a service call.
- If a customer had a service call scheduled already, our team will be reaching out to them with earlier service appointments, when possible.
Also, intermittent service outages may occur as providers are working to replace temporary lines with permanent ones, remove trees, install permanent power poles and restore equipment to power from generators. This infrastructure could also be damaged by debris collection.
“We ask customers please take caution to place debris away from Cox equipment boxes and infrastructure,” said Anthony Pope, senior vice president and region manager of Cox Southeast. “Keeping those areas clear allows crews to better facilitate repairing and replacing cable lines. That will allow us to restore services to all customers quicker.”
Gonzalez Baptist Church Seeks Help Finding Stolen Utility Trailer
September 30, 2020
A local church is asking for the public’s help to locate their trailer which was stolen.
The 18-foot flatbed trailer with double axles and single tires was stolen from behind Gonzalez Baptist Church sometime just after Hurricane Sally. It is faded light green with a bumper pintle hitch. The trailer was also missing left side lights; if they are there now they were added and will appear new.
If you see the trailer, call Packy Mitchell at (850 982-8933 or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
State Fire Marshal Investigating Cause Of Century House Fire
September 30, 2020
The Florida State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of a house fire Tuesday night in Century.
The fire in a single family dwelling in the 7000 block of Mayo Street was reported about 7:30 p.m. Escambia Fire Rescue units quickly extinguished the fire in the living room of the home, with no fire related injuries reported.
Most of the fire damage was reportedly contained to the living room and its contents.
The Century and McDavid stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, Flomaton Fire Department and Jay Fire Department were dispatched to the blaze, but some of the units were canceled prior to arrival. Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded.