Century Sawmill Day 2021 Has Been Canceled
March 17, 2021
For the second consecutive year, the annual Sawmill Day and Car Show in Century has been canceled due to COVID-19. The event is traditionally held in May.
For 2019 Sawmill Day photos, click here.
For 2019 car show photos, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Two Deaths, 23 New COVID-19 Cases Reported In Escambia County
March 17, 2021
THIS IS AN ARCHIVED STORY. SEE NORTHESCAMBIA.COM FOR THE LATEST DATA.
There were 23 more COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths reported Tuesday in Escambia County by the Florida Department of Health.
Here is the latest data:
Escambia County cases:
Total cases: 34,441 (+23)
Non-Florida residents: 3,564
Recovered: 33,202*
Total deaths: 654 (+2)
Long-term care facility deaths: 273
Current hospitalizations: 31 (+1)
Number of tests reported last day: 622
Percent positive reported last day: 3.6%
Percent positive reported last week: 4.0%
Escambia County cases by location*:
Pensacola: 25,660 (+20)
Cantonment: 3,109 (+2)
Century: 1,170
—-including 774 Century prison inmates
Molino: 483
McDavid: 207
Bellview: 57
Walnut Hill: 53
Perdido Key: 21
Gonzalez: 13
Santa Rosa County cases:
Total cases: 17,485 (+25)
Non-Florida residents: 220
Total deaths: 276
Long-term care facility deaths: 80
Cumulative Hospitalizations: 831*
Number of tests reported last day: 247
Percent positive reported last day: 9.9%
Santa Rosa County cases by location*:
Milton: 8,332 (+7)
Navarre: 3,604 (+3)
Gulf Breeze: 3,254 (+10)
Pace: 1,398 (+4)
Jay: 544 (+1 )
Bagdad: 32
Florida cases:
Total cases: 1,984,425
Florida residents: 1,947,834
Deaths: 32,449
Hospitalizations: 82,584*
*“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, 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.
Bergosh Wants To Add Paid Crew To Beulah Fire Station, Grow Volunteer Roster
March 16, 2021
Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh plans to bring forward a proposal to add full time employees to support the volunteer firefighters at the Beulah Station of Escambia Fire Rescue.
An Escambia Fire Rescue analysis, completed at Bergosh’s request, estimates the bottom line cost at about $220,000 per year for a three-person fire company in Beulah for nine hours a day, Monday through Friday. The crew would consist of one lieutenant and two firefighters, one of which would be a paramedic to provide Advanced Life Support on medical emergencies.
The current average EMS response time to Beulah is about 15 minutes, according to the ECFR analysis.
Bergosh said that even with the paid daytime crew, volunteer firefighters would reman a crucial part of the fire service in Beulah.
“I have strongly supported the volunteers at Station 2 in Beulah since I have lived here — and I still do now, more than ever,” Bergosh wrote on his blog. “These men and women are excellent and they do a great job. These volunteers will soon have a new, modern fire facility which is being designed right now, and for which the board has committed a total of $4 million to build.”
With tremendous growth in Beulah, and the upcoming development of OLF-8, the District 1 commissioner said improvements are necessary, and he intends to find funding.
“I believe we may be able to fund the first two years of this additional, enhanced coverage for Beulah utilizing Federal Rescue Plan funding; eventually, as OLF-8 gets developed, I support adding impact fees, a TIFF, or an enhanced MSBU (or some combination of these three) — only on the developments permitted there (on OLF-8) in order to offset this additional $220,000 in costs thereby eliminating the need to raise the county-wide MSBU. I do not and will not support raising the MSBU county-wide,” he said.
Bergosh stressed that the Beulah Fire Station will remain a volunteer station, and he is working to grow the volunteer ranks.
“I am also, simultaneously working a plan to bolster and grow the roster of volunteers at Beulah. That plan is already underway.”
The Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue is staffed much like Bergosh’s plan for Beulah. Century has a paid firefighter crew on duty from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m., Monday-Friday. Volunteers provide coverage nights and weekends.
Johnson & Johnson ‘One Shot’ Vaccination Clinic Planned For Century, Surrounding Communities
March 16, 2021
Community Health Northwest Florida will hold a special Johnson & Johnson “One Shot” COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Thursday, March 18th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Century Century Community Center at the corner of West Highway 4 and Industrial Boulevard in Century. A limited amount of vaccine is available for this special event which is for residents of Century and surrounding communities.
Appointments are required. Eligible persons who wish to be scheduled for this special Johnson & Johnson vaccination event should call the Community Health COVID-19 Vaccine Call Center at (850) 439-3358 or Community Health Adult Primary Care at (850) 724-4064 to make an appointment.
Some features of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine include the following:
- Only one shot is required
- For persons 18 and older
- Vector vaccine
- Doesn’t contain eggs, latex or preservatives
This clinic is open to all residents Century and surrounding communities who qualify, including those covered under the governor’s latest executive orders. Currently, the amended order expands the groups eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida to include all people age 60 and older (effective on March 15th), people who are “medically vulnerable”, as well as individuals who hold specific jobs that put them at high risk.
Eligibility Criteria for Vaccines:
- Persons 60 years of age and older
- Adults 18 and older deemed medically vulnerable by a physician. One of the following is required:
- Patients may have their doctor fill out a State of Florida “COVID Vulnerability Determination” form or
- Bring a doctor’s note/prescription stating the condition that qualifies the patient or current prescription bottles of the medication that treats the pre-existing condition.
- All K-12 school employees, all ages; must show a badge from their school. (Current Executive Order does not include educators beyond K-12).
- Daycare workers; badge or paystub required as proof of employment in daycare setting
- Long-term care facility residents and staff
- Healthcare personnel with direct patient contact
- Sworn law enforcement officers 50 years of age and older
- Firefighters 50 years of age and older
IMPORTANT:
- All participants will be required to show photo ID as well as proof of eligibility at time of appointment.
- Individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days or have had symptoms of illness (fever, cough, shortness of breath) in the past 14 days should not receive the vaccine.
FDLE Says Tate Homecoming Queen And Her Mother Hacked Student Accounts So She Would Win; Both Facing Multiple Felonies
March 16, 2021
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has arrested a Tate High School student and her mother, an elementary school assistant principal, on charges for allegedly hacking student accounts in order to place fraudulent votes for the Tate High homecoming queen last fall.
Laura Rose Carroll, 50, and her 17-year old daughter, Emily Rose Grover, were charged by FDLE with one count each of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic devices (a third degree felony), unlawful use of a two-way communications device (a third degree felony), criminal use of personally identifiable information (a third degree felony) and conspiracy to commit these offenses (a first degree misdemeanor). Carroll was booked into the Escambia County Jail and released on an $6,000 bond. Grover was taken into custody and transferred to the Escambia Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
Grover was named Tate High School’s 2020 homecoming queen.
The investigation began in November 2020 when the Escambia County School District contacted FDLE to report unauthorized access into hundreds of student accounts. The investigation found that Carroll, an assistant principal at Bellview Elementary School, and her Grover, a student at Tate High School, had accessed student FOCUS accounts. Carroll had district level access of the school board’s FOCUS program which is the school district’s student information system. FOCUS users are required to change their password every 45 days and Carroll’s annual training for the “Staff Responsible Use of Guidelines for Technology” was up to date.
In October 2020, hundreds of votes for Tate High School’s Homecoming Court voting were flagged as fraudulent, with 117 votes originating from the same IP address within a short period of time. Agents uncovered evidence of unauthorized access to FOCUS linked to Carroll’s cellphone as well as computers associated with their residence, with a total of 246 votes cast for the homecoming court. Multiple students reported that the Grover described using her mother’s FOCUS account to cast votes. The investigation also found that beginning August 2019, Carroll’s FOCUS account accessed 372 high school records and 339 of those were of Tate High School students.
Arrest affidavits obtained by NorthEscambia.com provide more details into the allegations.
When two FDLE special agents responded to Carroll and Grover’s residence in Cantonment to interview them, Carroll immediately stated that she would defer any questions to her attorney, FDLE said.
FDLE received nine statements from students and a teacher that all stated Grover spoke about accessing Carroll’s FOCUS account or they have seen her access it for almost four years.
“I have known that Emily Grover logs into her moms school account in order to access grades and test scores since freshman year when we became friends,” one student said in a statement to FDLE. “She has looked up [redacted] student ID before to [redacted]. She also knows that if she logs into her moms account at Tate it will ping that Laura Grover signed in at Tate High School. She looks up all of our group of friends grades and makes comments about how she can find out our test scores all of the time.”
“When Emily Grover was a sophomore [redacted] class, I recall times that she logged onto her moms focus account and openly shared information, grades, schedules, etc. with others. She did not seem like logging in was a big deal and was very comfortable with doing so,” another statement written by a witness said.
According to FDLE, the Escambia County School District FOCUS program contains grades, medical history, test scores, attendance, disciplinary actions, personnel information, emergency contacts, schedules, exceptional student education (ESE) information, student picture and student identification number. Teachers and staff members are able to view student profiles or more depending on access level.
The school district uses an application called Election Runner to perform activities such as homecoming court voting. FDLE was notified that Election Runner contacted the school district regarding over 100 flagged votes and an ethics complaint involving the Tate High School homecoming voting.
Carroll contested Grover’s expulsion from Tate High School that stemmed from the incident. An administrative hearing was held, and Grover’s expulsion was upheld.
The Office of the State Attorney, First Judicial Circuit will prosecute this case.
Carroll has been suspended from her position with the school district.
Pictured above and below: Laura Rose Carroll, Bellview Elementary Facebook and Escambia County Jail; Emily Rose Grover, Tate High School’s 2020 homecoming queen, NorthEscambia.com photos.
Honeysuckle Garden Club Spruces Up Fillingim Landing Entrance
March 16, 2021
The entrance to Fillingim Landing in Barrineau Park is looking much better today thanks for a group of dedicated volunteers.
On Monday, 14 volunteers from the Honeysuckle Garden Club planted donated trees and flowers at the Fillingim Landing entrance. Sometimes working in the rain, the group also picked up trash in the area.
Fillingim Landing is a day-use recreation area that offers a canoe/kayak launch, hiking trails, picnic areas, pedestal grills, portable toilets and gravel parking. The area, managed by the Northwest Florida Water Management District, does not allow ATV’s or trailer boat launching. It is day use only (no camping), and alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
Fillingim Landing is located off Jacks Branch Road south of Barrineau Park Road. Admission is free.
Isolated Storms Today; Increasing Severe Weather Threat Wednesday
March 16, 2021
There is an enhanced risk (level 3 of 5 of severe storms for Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday night in most of the North Escambia area. the potential threats include strong tornadoes, damaging winds in excess of 60 mph and large hail up to golf ball size. Additional updates will be provided by the National Weather Services as they refine the forecast:
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. South wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Some of the storms could be severe. High near 78. South wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Wednesday Night: Showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could be severe. Low around 61. South wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 47. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. North wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 62.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 44.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.
Jean Steadham Davis
March 16, 2021
Jean Steadham Davis, age 93, of Century, FL passed away on March 13, 2021 in Pensacola, FL. She was born on July 24, 1927 in McCullough, AL to the late John and Lydia Parson Steadham. She was a member of Pine Barren Baptist Church. She worked in retail sales with Bedsole Department Store for several years then later became a Homemaker. Mrs. Jean loved her family dearly.
She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, John Calvin Davis, Sr. and 10 brothers and sisters.
She is survived by her sons, John C. (Lynn Beasley) Davis, Jr. of Atmore, AL and Benjamin E. (Dottie) Davis of Walnut Hill, FL; her grandchildren, Little John Calvin (Sandy) Davis, III of Atmore, AL, Anna Davis (Christopher) Barry of Cantonment, FL, Lacey Davis (Travis) Suits of DeBary, FL and Clinton E. Davis of Cantonment, FL and four great grandchildren.
Graveside service will be held on Monday, March 15, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Oak Hill Cemetery with Bro. Mike Harper officiating. Interment will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery in Atmore, AL.
Active pallbearers will be Little John Davis, III, Clinton E. Davis, Christopher Barry, Travis Suits, Oscar Davis and Brian Davis.
Visitation will be held on Monday, March 15, 2021 from 9:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Pine Barren Baptist Church. For the safety of you and others, please practice social distancing requirements, though wearing a facial mask is strongly encouraged.
Convicted Molino Felon Facing Weapons, Drug Charges After Traffic Stop
March 16, 2021
A convicted felon from Molino is facing weapons and drug charges after a traffic stop.
Alexander George DeLoach, 25, was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a concealed weapon, two counts of possession of cocaine, possession of a marijuana, knowingly driving with a suspended license, and failure to appear on a felony charge of possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office stopped DeLoach’s vehicle in the area of Detroit Boulevard and Pensacola Boulevard for an alleged improper left turn. Deputies smelled the odor of marijuana and searched the vehicle, finding a bag containing cocaine, a bag of marijuana, and a loaded .22 caliber weapon, according to an arrest report.
DeLoach remained in the Escambia County jail without bond.
Dempsey Charles Levins
March 16, 2021
Dempsey Charles Levins, 76 of Repton, AL. passed away on March 13, 2021. He served 3 years in the U.S. Navy. He was preceded in death by his father, Wilson H. Levins; mother, Vera Estelle Presley; brother, Michael Levins; and sister, Juanita White.
Dempsey is survived by his wife, Teresa Ann Levins, sons, Dempsey Anderson of Fredricksburg, VA; Jason (Katie) Levins of Daphne, AL; daughters, Wendy Lynn Levins of Los Angeles, CA; Krystal (Ricky) Sellers of Mandeville, LA; Heather (Heath) Wiggins of Excel, AL; Meloney (Brad) Faulk of Century, FL; and grandchildren, Alexandria Levins-Trail, Jakson Newton, Molly Ann Newton, Ada Sellers, Madelyn Faulk, Knox Wiggins, McCoy Wiggins, Hattie Sellers, Elsa Faulk, Rush Wiggins, Wyatt Sellers, Annalee Faulk, Bellerin Faulk and Raylan Levins.
Dempsey really enjoyed spending time with his family and traveling the world.
A celebration of life service will be held Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at 11 AM at the Byrneville United Methodist Church located at 1351 Byrneville Road Century, FL. 32535
In lieu of flowers or plants, the family request that you consider donating to Pilots for Christ.