Ervy D. Wenger
January 18, 2021
Our dear Father, Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather, Ervy D. Wenger, was born to Frank and Anna (Dyck) Wenger on February 5, 1927, in McPherson County, Kansas. With his children at his side, he peacefully departed to his reward on January 15, 2021 at the age of 93 years.
Dad received his education at the French School in McPherson County, Kansas. When he was 11 years of age, he gave his heart to the Lord and was baptized on February 22, 1938 into the Church of God in Christ Mennonite, Meridian congregation. He remained faithful to God and the church to the end.
In his young single years, Dad spent some time in 1-W service in California. He talked with fondness of this time. Dad moved to Walnut Hill, Florida, around 1950. Then, on December 26, 1951, he was united in marriage to Velma Schneider at the Meridian congregation in rural Hesston, Kansas. In the earlier years of their marriage, they spent time in service in Roseburg, Oregon. The remainder of their married life was lived in Walnut Hill, Florida. Dad grew up on a farm in Kansas and farming continued to be his occupation throughout his life. Mom was a help to Dad in many ways and that included helping Dad with clearing land in the earlier years, picking up many, many sticks, and, later, driving the grain truck to the grain elevator. Dad was a conscientious person who desired to be obedient to God and His will. He, along with Mom endeavored to teach us those values. He treasured service to God and the Church and spent many hours writing and proofreading lessons for the Sunday School quarterly. After Mom passed away in 2011, life was not the same. Dad eventually moved to Oakwood Manor in Brooksville, Mississippi and then, finally, to a memory care home in Pensacola, Florida.
Those left to cherish his memory are two children, one son and one daughter: Dale and wife, Carol of Lobelville, Tennessee, Rachel and husband Kim Holdeman of Walnut Hill, Florida, seven grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren: eight sisters: Ruth Johnson, Moundridge, Kansas, Edith Ensz, Montezuma, Kansas, Verna Schmidt, Brooksville, Mississippi, Vesta Peters and husband Verle, Davisville, Florida, MaryAnn Nickel and husband Jay, Tuscola, Illinois, Martha Koehn and husband Allen, Bowersville, Georgia: three brothers; Maynard Peters and wife Vera, Stapleton, Georgia, John Wenger and wife Kathleen, Walnut Hill, Florida, and Glenn Wenger and wife Kay from Faunsdale, Alabama. He is preceded in death by his parents, his wife Velma, six brothers and sisters: Harry Wenger, Alice Miller, Elda Koehn, Josephine Jantz, Paul Wenger, Grace Diller, and Alice Dyck.
The funeral service will be held at 3 pm. at Walnut Hill Mennonite Church, Walnut Hill, Florida on Monday, January 18, 2021, with visitation starting at 2 pm. The ministers presiding are Verle Peters, opening remarks, Brian Decker, the message, and Franklin Wenger at the graveside. Burial will follow at Walnut Hill Memorial Gardens.
213 Additional COVID-19 Cases Reported In Escambia County
January 18, 2021
THIS AN ARCHIVED STORY. SEE NORTHESCAMBIA.COM FOR THE LATEST DATA.
There were 213 new COVID-19 cases and no additional deaths reported in Escambia County Sunday by the Florida Department of Health.
Here is the latest data:
Escambia County cases:
Total cases: 27,455 (+213)
Non-Florida residents: 2,957
Recovered: 22,946*
Total deaths: 448
Long-term care facility deaths : 188
Current hospitalizations: 276
Number of tests reported last day: 1,250
Percent positive reported last day: 13.1%
Percent positive reported last week: 17.4%
Escambia County cases by location*:
Pensacola: 20,188 (+57)
Cantonment: 2,459 (+11)
Century: 1,082 (+3)
—-including 774 Century prison inmates
Molino: 347 (+7)
McDavid: 170 (+1)
Walnut Hill: 47
Bellview: 43
Perdido Key: 18
Gonzalez: 11
Santa Rosa County cases:
Total cases: 13,803 (+105)
Non-Florida residents: 174
Total deaths: 177
Long-term care facility deaths: 50
Cumulative Hospitalizations: 644*
Number of tests reported day: 415
Percent positive reported last day: 20.5%
Santa Rosa County cases by location*:
Milton: 6,582 (+42)
Navarre: 2,733 (+25)
Gulf Breeze: 2,509 (+25)
Pace: 1,113 (+10)
Jay: 417 (+1)
Bagdad: 29 (+2)
Florida cases:
Total cases: 1,571,279
Florida residents: 1,542,567
Deaths: 24,137
Hospitalizations: 67,997*
*“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.
**On cases by location, the city is based upon zip code and is not always received as part of the initial notification. There may be a delay in reporting locations as a result, and locations will not total the daily case increase as a result.
***The Florida Department of Health does not have a clear standard or definition of “recovered” and does not report a number of recovered individuals. Escambia County is reporting an approximate recovery number defined as the total cases prior to last month, minus deaths. In other words, anyone that tested positive more than a month ago is presumed to have recovered by Escambia County.
**Data Sources: Florida Department of Health, Escambia County, City of Pensacola, local hospitals.
Robert Young Cotton
January 18, 2021
Robert Young Cotton, 85, of Atmore, AL passed away on January 10, 2021 after a lengthy battle with COPD. Mr. Cotton was born in Brewton, AL on October 10, 1935. He served his country in the U.S. Army. He retired as a chemical operator from Monsanto after 35+ years of employment. He was a member of the Oak Grove Church of Christ.
Mr. Cotton is preceded in death by his parents, King David Cotton and Evelyn Lanier-Cotton; daughter, Vicky Lynn Bell; brother, John Cotton and sisters, Mable Edmiston, Ann Beasley and Marjorie Troutman. Survivors include his wife of 33 years, Katie Cotton; two children, Carol Dreadin (Glen) of Huxford, AL and Stephanie Conway (Chris) of Bon Secour, AL; two brothers, Stacy Cotton (Suzanne) of Covington, GA and Gene Cotton (JoAnn) of Robinsonville, AL; sister, Linda Helton (Don) of Atmore, AL; six grandchildren, MAJ Benjamin Daniel (Ann Heathe), Russell O’farrell, MAJ Steven O’farrell (Raquel), Lee Cruit (Michelle), Les Cruit (Pam) and Allison Clark (Josh), along with twelve great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
Graveside services will be held Monday, January 18, 2020 at 11:00 a.m.at Serenity Gardens Cemetery in Atmore, AL with Pastor Billy Randolph and Pastor Brad Sullivan officiating. Active pallbearers will be Ronnie Berry, Travis Berry, Travis Harrison, Frank Smarr and Chris Conway.
The family would like to thank Kindred Hospice for their wonderful care and support. For the safety of you and others, please practice social distancing requirements, though wearing a facial mask is strongly encouraged.
Legendary Football Coach Carl Madison Honored On His 90th Birthday
January 17, 2021
Legendary high school football coach Carl Madison celebrated his 90th birthday Saturday surrounded by former players and colleagues, friends and guests at Hillcrest Baptist Church.
Madison led the Tate Aggies to a 1980 state championship and took the Pine Forest Eagles to two state championships in 1987 and 1988. He is one of the all-time winningest high school coaches in the nation.
“I’m just proud of it. I appreciate all of them coming and doing the things that they’ve done,” Madison said Saturday. “Hell, I never dreamed of this.”
Madison sits at number two on Florida’s all-time football coaching victories list with a 326-129-7 record.
“I can recall Coach Madison saying, ‘wanting to win is not good enough. You’ve got to hate to lose. It has to burn in your gut.’ That has stuck with me since,” remarked Steve Campbell, former head football coach at the University of South Alabama.
He led the Tate Aggies to a 1980 state championship, and took the Pine Forest Eagles to two state championships in 1987 and 1988. The 1988 Eagle team was named as national champions by USA Today, and Madison earned the title of the National High School Football Coach of the Year. All in all, he coached at five different Florida High Schools including Ernest Ward, plus three out of state schools.
“He was not only my high school football coach, or the head coach I ended up starting my educational career under, he is my friend,” said Keith Leonard, current assistant superintendent of Human Resource Services for the Escambia County School District. “He’s my mentor, someone I care very, very deeply about. I love him.”
His football days began early at Escambia County High School in Atmore where he played tailback under Coach Herbert Barnes from 1945 to 1947, making him one of Atmore’s semi-famous “Barnes Boys” with 30 straight wins. After a stint in the Army, from 1950 to 1952, Madison played college ball for Texas Tech and Troy State Teachers College in the mid-1950s.
Fresh out of college, Madison coached for four years beginning in 1957 at Ernest Ward High School in Walnut Hill. He moved to Milton High in 1961, coaching them to a state championship and 34 straight victories. He then took a coaching job at a Georgia High School, losing a state championship game in 1968.
Madison joined the coaching staff at Tate in 1971 on his way to winning that 1980 state championship. He left Tate in 1983, heading to Pensacola High for a couple of years. Then it was off to Pine Forest and those back-to-back state championships. He coached at an Albany, Georgia, school, another 10 years at Milton High and another short period at PHS during the period from 1989 until 2002.
“Coach Madison was like a father figure to many of us even though he may not have known it at the time,” said Mike Bennett, head football coach at Escambia High School. “As players, he treated us all the same; no favorites. He taught me about being punctual and accountable. We still talk from time to time. I treasure those conversations. He’s an amazing man.”
In 2002, he took the head coach job at the small Jackson Academy in Alabama. The then 71-year old took over a team that had gone 0-10 prior to his arrival. He lost his first two games at Jackson, but he went on to win the state championship. The following year, Jackson was undefeated and won another state championship.
In 2009, Madison briefly came out of retirement to once again take to the field at Tate, this time as an offensive consultant.
“Trust me, being his nephew and his quarterback was not very fun for me quite often,” said Scotti Madison, Vanderbilt University Hall of Fame inductee and All-American. “It wasn’t practice; it was perfect practice. Every day, over and over again. Other than my father however, he was the most important man in my life.”
The Escambia County School Board will consider a resolution at their January 19, 2021, meeting to name the Tate High football field as “Carl Madison Field.” The stadium will continue to be known as the Pete Gindl Stadium.
Photos by WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
High Sunday In The Upper 50s, No Mention Of Rain Until Thursday
January 17, 2021
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 34. West wind around 5 mph.
M.L.King Day: Sunny, with a high near 57. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 34. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 63. East wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 40. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 47. South wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 68.
Thursday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 61.
Pictured: Saturday was a beautiful, but cool, day for fishing at Lake Stone near Century. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Reminder: Nine Mile Median Crossovers At Highway 29 Closed, Other Nine Mile Delays
January 17, 2021
Nine Mile Road median crossovers at the Highway 29 intersection are scheduled to be closed through 7 a.m. Monday.
The temporary closures are required to adjust the elevation of the median crossovers at the interchange.
Drivers will not be able to make left turns across the median during the temporary closure. Additionally, Nine Mile Road east and westbound may be intermittently reduced to a single travel lane at Highway 29 during the work.
The following detour routes will be in place:
- Eastbound Nine Mile Road to Highway 29 northbound drivers should travel north on Cove Avenue, then east on Nine and a Half Mile Road, then travel north on Highway 29.
- Westbound Nine Mile Road to Highway 29 southbound drivers should travel south on North Palafox Street, then west on Hood Drive, then south on Highway 29.
- Northbound Highway 29 to westbound Nine Mile Road drivers will make a U-turn at Nine and a Half Mile Road to merge onto Highway 29 southbound; then, exit onto Nine Mile Road westbound.
- Southbound Highway 29 to eastbound Nine Mile Road drivers will make a U-turn at West Hood Road, then travel north on Highway 29 to exit onto Nine Mile Road eastbound.
This work is part of the $49 million construction project that is widening Highway 29 from four to six travel lanes and improving the Highway 29/Nine Mile Road interchange. Work is slated to be completed this summer.
Click graphic to enlarge.
Investigators Seek Help With 31-Year Old Cantonment Murder
January 17, 2021
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help to solve a 31-year old Cantonment murder mystery.
During the early morning hours of January 14, 1990, the body of Jesse Lee Davis, Jr., a 25-year old black male, was found apparently murdered in the area of Highway 95A and Highway 29 in Cantonment. Davis was last seen alive earlier that morning walking northward toward his home from the area of Muscogee Road and Highway 29.
The case remains unsolved. Anyone with information about what might have happened to Davis can contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Pictured: Photos of 1990 murder victim Jessie Davis, Jr. at about age 20 (left) and from grade school. Submitted photos from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
FDOH Reports Eight More COVID-19 Deaths And Another 274 Cases In Escambia County
January 17, 2021
THIS IS ARCHIVED STORY. SEE NORTHESCAMBIA.COM FOR THE LATEST DATA.
There were eight more COVID-19 deaths and 274 new cases reported by the state health department on Saturday.
Here is the latest data:
Escambia County cases:
Total cases: 27,242 (+274)
Non-Florida residents: 2,935
Recovered: 22,942*
Total deaths: 448 (+8)
Long-term care facility deaths : 188 (+4)
Current hospitalizations: 276 (-5)
Number of tests reported last day: 1,911
Percent positive reported last day: 17.5%
Percent positive reported last week: 11.6%
Escambia County cases by location*:
Pensacola: 20,031 (+207)
Cantonment: 2,438 (+28)
Century: 1,079 (+6)
—-including 774 Century prison inmates
Molino: 340 (+8)
McDavid: 169 (+1)
Walnut Hill: 47
Bellview: 43
Perdido Key: 18
Gonzalez: 11
Santa Rosa County cases:
Total cases: 13,698 (+155)
Non-Florida residents: 175
Total deaths: 177 (+3)
Long-term care facility deaths: 50 (+2)
Cumulative Hospitalizations: 641*
Number of tests reported day: 636
Percent positive reported last day: 19.3%
Santa Rosa County cases by location*:
Milton: 6,540 (+70)
Navarre: 2,708 (+25)
Gulf Breeze: 2,484 (+30)
Pace: 1,103 (+19)
Jay: 416 (+11)
Bagdad: 27
Florida cases:
Total cases: 1,260,186
Florida residents: 1,531,830
Deaths: 24,004
Hospitalizations: 67,790*
*“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.
**On cases by location, the city is based upon zip code and is not always received as part of the initial notification. There may be a delay in reporting locations as a result, and locations will not total the daily case increase as a result.
***The Florida Department of Health does not have a clear standard or definition of “recovered” and does not report a number of recovered individuals. Escambia County is reporting an approximate recovery number defined as the total cases prior to last month, minus deaths. In other words, anyone that tested positive more than a month ago is presumed to have recovered by Escambia County.
**Data Sources: Florida Department of Health, Escambia County, City of Pensacola, local hospitals.
New Mexican Restaurant Coming To Century
January 17, 2021
A new restaurant is coming to Century.
Vallarta Mexican Restaurant, which also has a location on Pensacola Boulevard at Nine Mile Road, is remodeling the former Becky’s Mini Mart at 9010 North Century Boulevard.
No opening date has been announced.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Highway 29 Briefly Closed Following Wreck At Paper Mill
January 16, 2021
At least one person was injured in a Saturday morning wreck that completely closed Highway 29 in Cantonment for a brief time period.
A driver rear-ended another vehicle before veering across the roadway and striking a utility pole in front of International Paper. A power service line was downed across Highway 29, closing the roadway until Gulf Power could remove it.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating. The Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
