Sponsors Needed For March 22 Tate Softball Strike Out Cancer Game
March 6, 2024
Tate Aggie softball’s annual Strike Out Cancer Game is coming up on March 22, and sponsors are needed now.
The Lady Aggies will host the West Florida Jaguars at 5 p.m. for junior varsity and 6 p.m. on varsity..
Full concessions, fish dinners, egg rolls will be available for purchase. All gate fees, concessions and donations will benefit the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.
Last year, the Lady Aggies presented a $27,755 donation to the American Cancer Society.
For a sponsorship form and more informaiton, click here.
Pictured top: The Tate Lady Aggies Softball team presented their annual Strike Out Cancer donation last year. Pictured below: The Strike Out Cancer game March 31, 2023 at Tate High School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
ECSO Has Solved 1998 Cold Case Murder. Here’s How They Did It.
March 6, 2024
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has solved the 1998 cold case murder of a man in a Winn Dixie parking lot.
Sheriff Chip Simmons announced Tuesday that Donald Holmes II will be charged for the murder.
Holmes, 44, is currently serving a 20 year sentence in a Florida State prison for a 2012 Escambia County home invasion robbery. He had been set for release in 2032.
Steven Davis was in his Yellow Cab (pictured below) leaving the parking lot of the Winn Dixie on Navy Boulevard about 4 a.m. on August 26, 1998, when he shot. He got out of his cab, collapsed in the parking lot and died.
Davis’ cab was later recovered near Navy Boulevard with an open driver’s door and rear passenger doors. The driver’s window was shattered.
New forensic technology was used to examine a bloody fingerprint (pictured below) found at the scene, Simons said Tuesday, leading to the identification of Holmes as the suspect.
“We knew the blood was Steven’s blood, but we couldn’t get the detail we needed from this particular fingerprint, but we tried,” Simmons said. “We tried not once, not twice, but three different times…because we weren’t able to get the details needed to form an adequate identification.”
“We tried one more time with some new training, but also new technology,” Sheriff Simmons added. “…That print put us at this individual right here.”
Photos courtesy Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Girl, Age 6, Dies After Being Hit By Vehicle In Parking Lot Of Pensacola Park
March 5, 2024
A 6-year old girl was killed Tuesday evening when she was struck by a vehicle in the parking lot of Pensacola park.
The child was struck about 5:22 p.m.at Hitzman-Optimist Park on Langley Avenue.
The Pensacola Police Department said the girl was taken by private vehicle to Sacred Heart Hospital where she was pronounced deceased.
“There will be no charges in this fatal incident. It was determined to be accidental,” PPD spokesman Mike Wood said.
Additional information was not released as the investigation continued.
File photo.
Escaped Inmate Captured, And He Didn’t Get Very Far
March 5, 2024
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has captured a state inmate that escaped from custody last week, and he didn’t get far.
Florida Department of Corrections inmate Korey Robert Culver, 32, escaped from the Pensacola Community Release Center facility on L Street about 3:48 a.m. Wednesday, February 28.
He was arrested Tuesday afternoon just a few hundred feet from the work release where he initially escaped, the Sheriff’s Office said.
He was wanted for battery on a law enforcement officer and escaping.
FDC records show Culver was serving a year sentence out of Okaloosa County for robbery.
Following Manhunt, Century Man Charged With Fleeing From Deputies
March 5, 2024
Following a manhunt, a Century man is charged with fleeing from deputies during a traffic stop.
Cody Edward Comalander, 24, was charged with knowingly operating a vehicle without a license and two counts of resisting arrest without violence.
While stationary in the area of Old Flomaton Road and Cottage Street in Century, an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy reported observing a Honda Pilot northbound with a car hauler with no tag or working lights or brake lights. Deputies were unable to catch up with the vehicle before it turned into an address on Cottage Street. The door opened, and Comalander allegedly ran into the woods, according to an arrest report. Two deputies recognized Comalander based upon previous interactions.
Comalander had active warrants with the Escambia County Sheriff’s offices in both Florida and Alabama and is known to flee from law enforcement, the report states.
A Flomaton Police Department K-9 unit responded as a perimeter was established. A Flomaton officer reportd that he observed Comalander on Old Flomaton Road, but he continued to ignore commands and flee on foot. Deputies were ultimately unable to locate him and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Comalander was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $26,000 bond.
Beulah Middle FFA Members Share Agriculture With Beulah Elementary Students
March 5, 2024
FFA members from Beulah Middle School shared agriculture with hundreds of students recently at Beulah Elementary School. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Public Hearing Set On Devine Farm Area Development Bringing ‘Wildwood Estates’ To 1,067 Lots
March 5, 2024
A final Escambia County Development Review Committee hearing will be held Wednesday on hundreds of new single family lots in a Cantonment subdivision.
Additional phases with 215 news lots would bring a development in the area of Devine Road and South Country Road 97 to a total of 1,067 lots, on 777 acres, according to county applications.
The first three phases with 451 lots — Bookhaven 1 and 2, and Iron Rock 1 — are completed. The next three phases, Bookhaven 3 and 4, and Iron Rock 2 are under construction with 401 additional lots.
The remaining phases of Wildwood Estates are currently undeveloped, according to filings with the Escambia County Development Review Committee. Phase 7 will include 13 lots. There are 43 lots proposed for Phase 8 and 159 for Phase 9 in the plans filed by Devine Farms, LLC/Rodney Sutton.
An amended development between Escambia County and Devine Farms, Inc allows up to 1,200 lots.
The Escambia County Development Review Committee hearing will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Escambia County Central Complex Building at 3363 West Park Place.
Croom Throws A Dozen Stikeouts As Tate Beats Navarre 5-2
March 5, 2024
Tate 5, Navarre 2
The Tate Agies beat the Navarre Raiders 5-2 Monday night on the road.
Tate picther Neal Croom went a full seven innings, striking out 12 Raiders. He allowed six hits, two runs and walked one.
Clif Quinggins went 2-3 with three RBIs at the plate for the Aggies. Cole McNair had two hits for Tate, while Madox Land, Bray Touchstone, and Kaleb Posta added one each.
Up next, Tate will take on Arnold at 7 p.m. Thursday at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Tate, Navarre JV (Canceled- weather)
The junior varsity Tat at Navarre game Monday was canceled due to weather.
Tate 2, Navarre 1 (Freshmen)
In freshmen action, Tate downed Navarre 2-1 in Cantonment.
The freshment Aggies will be at Catholic at 4 p.m. Thursday.
Escambia Extension Offering ‘Basics Of Canning’ Class
March 5, 2024
UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County will offer a Basics to Canning class on Saturday, March 16.
Participants can learn how to properly preserve fruits and vegetables.
The program will take place from 10 a.m. until noon at the Extension office at 3740 Stefani Road in Cantonment.
Register online and buy tickets in advance at Eventbrite for $20 plus fees while seats remain. The registration deadline is March 14. Call (850) 475-5230.
Legendary Tate Football Coach Carl Madison Passes Away
March 4, 2024
Legandary high school football Coach Carl Madison passed away Sunday night following a long illness.
“His legacy lives on the players. He not only coached but was a father figure to many,” the Tate Quarterback Club said. ” You weren’t just a player…you were a son. He pushed you to be a better man than a better player. Please pray for his entire family. May God bring them peace and comfort.”
Arrangements have not yet been announced.
In October 2022, the football field at Tate High School was dedicated in honor of high school sports legend Carl Madison.
The field inside Pete Gindl Stadium is “Carl Madison Field” in honor of the man that led the Aggies to a 1980 state championship and is one of the all-time winningest high school coaches in the nation.
“The best advice you can give people is play clean and hard, and be ready to back the next day,” Madison said shortly before tossing the coin for the Aggies at that October game against Escambia.
Madison was surrounded at the ceremony by former players from his nearly five decades coaching, including members of the Aggies 1980 state championship team.
For a photo gallery, click or tap here.
Madison, who turned 92 in January, sits at number two on Florida’s all-time football coaching victories list with a 326-129-7 record and is a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame.
In addition to winning a state title at Tate, he 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.
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.
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.
For a photo gallery from the stadium naming, click or tap here.
Pictured: The dedication of Carl Madison Field in 2022. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
