Tim Miller
September 23, 2024
Tim Miller, 59, of Molino, FL, passed away on September 21, 2024. Born in Riverside, NJ, he was the beloved husband of the late Patty Miller and the son of the late Walter Duffy Miller and Helen Dorothy McKiernan Miller. Tim had a deep passion for the outdoors, enjoying fishing and hunting in his spare time.
He is survived by his loving stepson and best friend, Pete Martinez of Molino, FL. Tim also leaves behind two brothers, John M. Miller of Baltimore and Joseph A. Miller of Abingdon, MD, along with five sisters: Mary Ellen Beechener of Severna Park, MD, Patricia A. Warnagiris of Stewartstown, PA, Kathleen A. Brown of Conowingo, MD, Janet M. Goldscher of Owings Mills, MD, and Nancy M. Dysard of Bel Air, MD. He was predeceased by his brother, Raymond T. Miller.
A graveside service will be held at 11AM on Thursday, September 26, 2024 at St. Elizabeth Catholic Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Lung Association or a local charity of your choice.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North, 1000 South Highway 29, Cantonment, is entrusted with arrangements.
Supervisor of Elections: Century Charter Changes Will Remain On November Ballot
September 22, 2024
The Escambia County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) office is moving forward with vote-by-mail and sample ballots with Town of Century charter amendment questions for voters that live in the town limits.
As we previously reported, the Century Town Council Tuesday night gave final approval to three charter amendments for the November 5, 2024, general election ballot. The town submitted the charter questions to be placed on the ballot without a final approval, and the ballots were printed.
The town council gave first approval in July to the three ordinances to place the items on the ballot, but did not give a secord required approval until September 17 — nearly a month after emailing the ballot questions to the SOE office.
Bender requested final, signed copies of the ordinance setting the ballot amendments after they received a second approval at a town council meeting he attended last Tuesday night.
“The language in the ordinances did match what was previously submitted and placed on the ballot,” Bender said Friday afternoon. “The charter questions will remain on the ballot for voters in the Town of Century.”
He noted that his office did make some minor changes to the required Spanish language version of the ballot questions. “We did make some changes to accents and a few words, but the English version remained the same.”
What are the three chanter questions on the ballot?
The exact ballot questions for voters were not actually approved Tuesday night.
The SOE face a deadline of September 21 to send vote-by-mail ballots to “Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act” (UOCAVA) voters, according to the Florida Division of Elections. But the Century precinct has no uniformed or overseas voters. The deadline period to send vote-by-mail ballots to domestic voters is September 26, 2024 – October 3, 2024.
The ballot questions that were submitted without were as follows:
Question 1:
TOWN CHARTER AMENDMENT PROVIDING FOR TOWN PURCHASING TO BE GOVERNED BY COUNCIL-APPROVED PURCHASING POLICIES
Amending the Town of Century Charter to remove specific bidding, contracting, purchasing, and expenditure requirements and procedures from the Charter, and provide that Town bidding, contracting, purchasing, and expenditures will be governed by Town ordinances, policies, and procedures adopted by the Town Council. Shall the above-described amendment be adopted?
Question 2:
TOWN CHARTER AMENDMENT CONCERNING MAYOR’S EMPLOYMENT AUTHORITY
Amending the Town of Century Charter to expand the Mayor’s powers to select, appoint, suspend, and remove town employees and appointive administrative officers, by limiting the requirement for Council approval of such actions solely to the selection, appointment, suspension, or removal of the Town Clerk, Town Attorney, and Town Manager. Shall the above-described amendment be adopted?
Question 3:
TOWN CHARTER CLEANUP AMENDMENT
Amending the Town of Century Charter to correct scriveners and codification errors, and to conform charter provisions to the requirements of the Florida Election Code. Shall the above-described amendment be adopted?
NorthEscambia.com will provide more coverage before the election on the specifics of each ballot question.
Pictured: Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender and Chief Deputy Supervisor of Elections Sonya Daniel sit quietly in the back of the room at a Tuesday night Century Town Council meeting. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Middle School Names Employee Of The Month
September 22, 2024
New for this year, Ernest Ward Middle School is now naming an employee of the month. The August Employee of the Month is Wesley Stafford, information technology. He is pictured left with the Ernest Ward August Students of the Month and Principal Tyvanna Boulanger. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
First Day of Fall: Sunny And Warm, No Rain Chance
September 22, 2024
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67. Calm wind.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 68. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. East wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 83.
Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 80.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 79.
Tate High School To Hold Junior Parent Night
September 22, 2024
Tate High School will be hosting a Junior Parent Night this week.
The event will be held Tuesday, September 24 at 6 p.m. in the school cafeteria. This event is designed to provide parents and guardians of junior students with essential information regarding graduation requirements and upcoming opportunities.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
More Details Released: Cantonment Man Charged With Shooting His Brother In The Quintette Community
September 22, 2024
We are learning more about what deputies say happened during an incident last weekend that left one brother shot and another brother charged with attempted murder.
Horace Brown, Jr., was charged with attempted second degree murder and violating a domestic violence injunction by possessing a firearm or ammunition.
The victim, who suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen, was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in critical condition following the incident reported around 1:50 p.m. in the 2800 block of Highway 95, just north of Quinette Road.
Shortly after the incident, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said Brown claimed he shot his brother to intervene in an altercation where the brother was allegedly hitting their mother.
According to a recently released arrest report, Brown was in his recording studio, located in a shed in the backyard of the family’s mobile home. He told deputies that his brother has a history of mental issues that cause him to him to have violent outbursts. He told deputies that he heard his mother and brother in a loud altercation inside the resident.
“He ran into the residence and stated that his mother was being attacked and that he ‘boom boom boom boom’ indicating that he shot (the victim),” the ECSO report states. Brown refused to speak further without an attorney present.”
Investigators responded to Sacred Heart Hospital but were unable to speak to the victim because he was undergoing surgery.
The mother told deputies that both brothers are her children and all live together at the residence. She said that the victim became upset, and she told him to go outside to cool off, the report states, and she went outside onto the porch where he punched her in the face. After she was allegedly punched in the face, they went back inside the residence to the kitchen.
She said that a few minutes later, Brown entered the back door, pulled a firearm, and pointed it at the victim, according to investigators. The mother yelled several times for Brown not to shoot his brother before one shot was fired.
The mother stated that Brown “did not need to do that, and at no point was she in fear for her life due to the attack by (the victim)”, the report says. She stated, “that the initial battery between her and (the victim) was separate incident from when Brown, Jr. shot (the victim) as where was no continuation of the initial altercation.”
In 2005, Brown had been served with a permanent domestic violence injunction that contained a condition that he was never to possess firearms or ammunition.”
Investigators located two projectiles and one shell casing in the kitchen of the home.
Brown has entered a not guilty plea in the case through his public defender and is due back in court next month.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Registration Underway For Tri-City Children’s Choir
September 22, 2024
Young singers in the Century, Jay, Flomaton, and surrounding areas in grades 1-6 are invited to join the Tri-City Children’s Choir, a program of the Pensacola Children’s Chorus.
Weekly rehearsals begin on October 10 from 4-5 p.m. at the First Pentecostal Church Century Campus at 8451 North Century Boulevard
Financial assistance is available for those who qualify, with rates as low as $25 per month.
To learn more and register, visit www.TriCityChoir.org or contact program director Holley Driver at (850) 324-6182.
Holly Driver has more than 15 years experience in music lessons, including piano. She grew up playing and singing at First Pentecostal Century and has taught in the Escambia County School District for over 15 years. She also served as the choral director at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Molino for nine years during which the choir grew under her direction and leadership.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Argos Valiant Comeback Falls Short in Double OT Loss to UWA
September 22, 2024
by Bill Vilona
The dramatic finish UWF’s football team waged late Saturday night ended in heartbreak.
But not without promise.
Trailing 20-10 in the fourth quarter, the 12th-ranked Argos tied the game on their final possession, then twice produced overtime touchdowns, only to fall on a missed two-point conversion attempt to extend the game, as No. 23-ranked West Alabama held on for a wild 35-33 win at Pen Air Field.
This season’s Gulf South Conference opener for both teams became memorable. Just for different reasons.
“Obviously it’s frustrating to lose like that, double overtime…physically exhausting,” said Argos head coach Kaleb Nobles. “But I am so proud of the team with how they played – four quarters. I love them to death. I tell them that every day, but they showed me today that they love each other. It hurts to lose. It should hurt to lose. But this team has heart. This team has fight.”
It was the Argos second double-overtime loss on this field. They sustained a 45-42 loss on Sept. 24, 2022 against GSC rival Delta State in a season where UWF quickly recovered and reached the NCAA Division II national semifinals.
No way to tell, of course, how this season might evolve, but Nobles gained some insight about his team’s makeup two games into the schedule.
After a 16-day gap from UWF’s season-opening win Sept. 5, the Argos’ offense battled through three sluggish quarters, then a display of grit at the end.
“We just came up one play short,” Nobles said. “That’s part of football, part of life. These guys are resilient, they will learn and I promise you we will be better, because of this game.”
The enthralling finish left West Alabama (4-0) unbeaten and with back-to-back season wins against UWF. The Tigers head coach Brett Gilliland is a Pensacola native and former Escambia High School quarterback star when playing for his father, Ronnie Gilliland.
Both men were star players in different eras for West Alabama. After his father passed away in February 2023, this was Brett’s first win against UWF in returning to his hometown.
As UWF (1-1) might have feared, the longest break between games in team history had its effects in the first half on the Argos offense and first-year starting quarterback Marcus Stokes.
The Argos had only two of their six offensive possessions result in first downs. They finished the half with less than 100 yards of total offense as the unit looked to find its rhythm.
But they only trailed 7-3 at halftime. West Alabama got a 9-yard scoring pass early in the second quarter, then UWF kicker Cade Lombardo – a Gulf Breeze High graduate – converted a 28-yard field goal with 2:23 left in the half.
The first five minutes of the second half became a different kind of game. And a preview of what would ensue later.
West Alabama scored on its first second-half possession to take a 14-3 lead and keep the crowd of 5,000-plus mostly quiet.
The Argos then hit the game’s longest play when Stokes threw a perfect deep ball to Corey Scott, who caught the pass in stride, then juked his way pass the defender for a 73-yard scoring play.
After a pair of field goals from West Alabama’s Elijah Guyton, the Tigers had a two-score lead (20-10) on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Argos then finished a nine-play, 74 yard drive to get back in the game when Stokes connected with Jackson Blalock on a 12-yard scoring pass.
“(West Alabama) played some different stuff (on defense),” Nobles said. “They changed it up, we knew they would give us something different just because Marcus is a 19-year-old redshirt freshman (quarterback). They’re going to do everything to mess with him and we have to keep improving with everyone around him. But I thought we woke up in the second half and played very well and took what they gave us. I love this team. I can’t say it enough.”
The Argos got the ball back with 5:43 left in the game. They used 11 plays and erased most of the game clock to tie the game on Lombardo’s 28-yard field goal.
Overtime followed. The Argos scored first, needing just two plays from the 25 to take a lead after Jamontez Woods scored from 3-yards out. But the Tigers answered with a six-play drive and converted the PAT to tie.
The overtime rules for a second OT require teams to go for two points. West Alabama produced a 25-yard scoring pass from quarter Spencer Arceneaux, a Mobile native, Arceneaux then converted the two-point play in a uncertain way as he slid and reached the ball over the pylon.
Nobles challenged the call. The GSC officials spent considerable time in the replay tent before confirming the two-point play was good.
“It’s tough to win a challenge a lot of times in the GSC because of maybe they don’t have the right angle, things like that,” Nobles said. “But in my mind, a two point conversion is worth a challenge as opposed to keeping a timeout. We fell like his knee was down and maybe with a tough angle it’s hard to see.”
The Argos were down to their final play. They faced fourth down from the 12. Stokes bought some time and hit Da’Mani brought for the touchdown. But on the two point attempt, Stokes rolled to his right and his pass toward the end zone was batted down by the Tigers’ defensive front.
Nobles instantly consoled Stokes as the quarterback walked toward the sideline. Stokes finished completing 13 of 37 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns, two interceptions.
“I told him, ‘Hey man, I love you to death.’ And big picture is we took a chance on Marcus Stokes,” said Nobles, of the former Florida Gators recruit. “We didn’t have to take him, we didn’t have to recruit him, but I love the kid, I love how he’s growing up as a man with so much that people don’t see. I told him I love how you played. Because he didn’t quit. He didn’t play perfect, but he did what he had to do to give us a chance. And we came up one play short. He gave us a chance.”
Woods led UWF’s rushing game with 40 yards on 14 carries.
“Like coach said, we’re going to fight. I love my teammates to death. I’ll fight with them every day,” Woods said.
The Argos will now turn attention to next Saturday’s marquee matchup against Grand Valley State in Allendale, Michigan. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CST at Lubbers Stadium.
Photo Emily Miller/UWF for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Two Offers On The Table From Unnamed Companies For Parts Of OLF-8
September 21, 2024
Escambia County has two offers on the table for portions of the OLF-8 property on Nine Mile Road.
The county has two unrelated letters of intent for different parcels from two unnamed companies. Both are on the agenda for the Escambia County Commission to discuss at their Tuesday morning meeting.
Unnamed Companies? Why the Mystery?
The companies making offers for the OLF-8 parcels remain “secret”. Most details about the new companies and their plans remain confidential during discussions, as is allowed under state law. It’s standard in economic development across Florida.
Project Dynamo
Another letter of intent with the codename “Project Dynamo” was submitted August 23 with an expiration just six days later on August 29. The offer was submitted by KBC Advisors, a nationwide real estate advisory firm.
The offer is for 24.79 acres for $2.479 million with $25,000 in refundable earnest money with a 210-day contingency period. During that period, the purchaser would determine at their “sole discretion whether the Property is suitable for Purchaser’s intended use”.
“At any time prior to the expiration of the Contingency Period, Purchaser may, in its sole discretion, terminate the Agreement for any reason and receive back the Earnest Money,” the offer states.
While the exact project remains secret, there are some clues that have become public.
According to minutes from a June 25 Pensacola-Escambia Promotion and Development Commission (PEDC) meeting, then-FloridaWest CEO Brian Hilson explained this project will be a distribution center occupying an industrial building of 100,000 square feet.
“Mr. Hilson shared insights about a prospective OLF8 candidate that requires 20 acres of land. The company’s timing requires construction and occupancy by the fall of 2025 with employment up to 125 workers. Revisions to the OLF8 master plan and installation of water, sewer and road infrastructure must be expanded,” the PEDC minutes sate.
Project Meridiem
The latest offer is under the codename “Project Meridiem”. The letter of intent is for about 12 aces located along Frank Reeder Road at $100,000 per net useable acre, or about $1.2 million.
The company is offering a $25,000 refundable deposit applicable to the purchase price with a 90-day due diligence period that could be extended if an environmental study is required for development. The sale would close within 30 days of the end of the due diligence period.
The company is asking the county to provide some infrastructure for the project: “Seller shall be responsible for providing any required access roads up to the boundaries of the Property as well as providing all
utilities to the site including but not limited to water/sewer, power, and high-speed network infrastructure. The Seller shall also be responsible for installing appropriate drainage infrastructure surrounding the Property as well as providing regional detention that will satisfy all requirements for the subject Property.”
The letter was submitted on behalf of the unnamed company from JLL, is a worldwide commercial real estate and investment company. The offered terms expire September 27, 2024.
What’s next for the two offers?
Both letters of intent are on the agenda for discussion at the Escambia County Commission meeting on Tuesday, September 24 at 9 a.m. The commission could decide to take action to accept or reject either letter of intent, continue negotiations, table action or simply do nothing.
What about the rest of OLF-8?
There are two outstanding offers outstanding. One is from Tri W Development for $36 million for the entire property, and one is from Beulah Town Center for 290 acres at $25 million.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Girlfriend Of 2023 Escambia County Mugs And Jugs Murder Suspect Sentenced On Plea Deal
September 21, 2024
The girlfriend of suspect in an August 2023 murder at Mugs & Jugs has taken a plea deal in connection with the incident.
Rachel Marie Derise, now 24, was charged with misdemeanor battery following the incident. Under the plea deal, she was sentenced to 60 days in county jail and 12 months probation.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said DeRise was the girlfriend of Christian Ketchup who was charged with homicide in the shooting death of 25-year old Tierra Binion.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office says Binion and Derise were involved in an argument before Derise punched Binion.
Investigators said Ketchup then pulled a handgun and shot Binion seven times.
Ketchup remains without bond in the Escambia County Jail charged with murder. He is due back in court next week.
