Here’s How A Flomaton Moonshiner Did In A National TV Competition (Spoiler Alert)
March 11, 2020
“I’m an illegal distiller; I work in the backwoods.”
That’s how Flomaton resident Johnny Griffis described himself during Tuesday night’s episode of Moonshiners Master Distiller on the Discovery Channel.
He competed against two other distillers for bragging rights and a chance to have his moonshine bottled by the Sugarlands Distilling Co. in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Griffis made it to the final competition of the show where he made his “old school corn liquor moonshine” using a recipe he got from a McDavid old timer some 13 years ago.
Spoiler Alert — Scroll down below the photo to see if Griffis won.
In the end, Griffis finished second in the competition.
To watch the episode, click here. (You must be a subscriber to a cable, satellite or streaming provider and have a package that includes the Discovery Channel.)
Pictured: Johnny Griffis of Flomaton on Moonshiners Master Distiller Tuesday night. Pictured first below: Griffis and his still somewhere near Flomaton. Images courtesy the Discovery Channel for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man Caught With Cocaine In Hand And Stolen PB&J Uncrustables In His Pants, ECSO Says
March 11, 2020
A Cantonment man was caught at a Walmart store with stolen peanut butter and jelly Uncrustables in his pants and cocaine in his hand, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
George Javier Diaz, 22, was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and retail petit theft. His girlfriend Jessica Nicole Lynn Blackmon, 23, was charged with retail petit theft after the incident at Walmart on Mobile Highway.
They were caught on surveillance video stealing sunglasses, a necklace, t-shirt, shorts, and peanut and jelly Uncrustables with a total value of $44.67 while paying only 91 cents for the items, according to an arrest report.
When Diaz was detained, deputies told him multiple times to drop the items in his left hand, which included a Walmart receipt and yellow piece of paper that contained a white powdery substance later identified as cocaine, the report states. Deputies recovered the peanut butter and jelly Uncrustables from inside Diaz’s pants legs, along with a necklace in his right pocket. The stolen clothing items were removed from Blackmon’s person.
The ESCO also reported removing a spoon with cocaine residue, a bag unused syringes, one used syringe with blood in it, and a bag of a white powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine from Diaz’s vehicle in the parking lot.
The stolen items were returned to Walmart.
Lose Cable And Internet In Molino Or Barrineau Park Tuesday? Here’s Why.
March 11, 2020
Lose internet and cable TV in the Molino or Barrineau Park area Tuesday? This is likely why.
About 2 p.m., a dump truck brought down a cable line in a construction zone at Highway 29 and Highway 196. Escambia Fire Rescue was called, but determined power lines were no involved and their was no danger.
Reader submitted photo by Vincent Alexander, click to enlarge.
Beauchain, Wolfenden Homer As Tate Lady Aggies Beat Navarre; Tate Baseball Over Crestview
March 11, 2020
SOFTBALL
Tate 9, Navarre 5
The Tate Lady Aggies beat the Navarre Raiders 9-5 Tuesday night.
Avery Beauchaine earned the win for the Aggies, going seven innings while allowing five runs on 11 hits and striking out eight.
Tate had two home runs on the night from Beauchaine and Cam Wolfenden, both in the third inning (pictured above).
At the plate, Hanna Halfacre led the Aggies, going 3-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Also for Tate: Courtney Lundquiest 1-4, R; Courtney Adams R; Beauchaine 2-5, R, 2RBI; Ryleigh Cawby 2-4, R, RBI: Wolfenden 1-4, R, 3 RBI; Lilly Locke 1-2, RBI; Taylor Noack 2-3, R.
BASEBALL
Tate 5, Crestview 1
The Tate Aggies beat Crestview 5-1 Tuesday night.
Darrien McDowell earn the win for Tate, giving up no runs on one hit and striking out seven in three innings. Jordan Jarman tossed four inning in relief with the last dozen outs to earn the save.
Trevor Norton and Jaydon Fryman had two hits each for Tate, while Adam Nisewonger and Cole Fryman had one hit apiece.
Tax Collector Office In Molino Will Be Closed Friday Afternoon
March 11, 2020
The Escambia County Tax Collector’s Office in Molino will be closed Friday afternoon.
The office in the Molino Community Complex will close at noon to gave personnel an opportunity to attend the funeral of a staff member who recently passed away.
All other Escambia County Tax Collector locations will be open regular hours on Friday.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Florida Activates Price Gouging Hotline Amid Coronavirus Emergency. Just Like During Hurricanes.
March 10, 2020
The same price gouging laws we are accustomed to after a hurricane and now in effect in Florida due to the coronavirus.
After a declaration of a state of emergency in the state by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody activated Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline.
The Attorney General’s Price Gouging Hotline can only be activated following a state of emergency declaration issued by the Governor and covers essential commodities like protective masks; sanitizing and disinfecting supplies such as hand sanitizer, gel, wipes, surface cleaners and commercial cleaning supplies; and other items.
“We are monitoring the COVID-19 situation in Florida very closely and following the Governor’s state of emergency declaration, our price gouging laws are now in effect. I have a rapid response team ready to immediately respond to allegations of price gouging and our Consumer Protection Division continues to look for scams by fraudsters who would use this situation to rip-off Floridians,” Moody said. “Be on the lookout for scams and guard against gouging, but remember, the best thing you can do right now is heed the advice of health experts—wash hands regularly and stay home if you are ill.”
Violators of the price gouging statute are subject to civil penalties of $1,000 per violation and up to a total of $25,000 for multiple violations committed in a single 24-hour period.
Gaetz Tests Negative After Exposure To Coronavirus, Still In Self-Quarantine
March 10, 2020
UPDATE: Tuesday afternoon U.S. Rep Matt Gaetz said he tested negative for the coronavirus but will remain in quarantine until Thursday afternoon.
“I’ve just been informed that my COVID-19 lab result was negative,” he said. “In an abundance of caution, I will remain under self-quarantine at the advice of medical professionals through Thursday at 2pm. I continue to feel fine and show no symptoms.”
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U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz is in a voluntary 14-day self-quarantine after coming into contact with someone at the Conservative Political Action Conference that tested positive for coronavirus.
His staff posted on Twitter Monday afternoon that he came into contact with the person 11 days ago.
“Congressman Gaetz had expected COVID-19 to impact Congress, given the elevated frequency of travel and human contact, and demonstrated his concern last week on the House floor,” the Twitter post read. “While the Congressman is not experiencing symptoms, he received testing today and expects results soon. Under doctor’s usual precautionary recommendations, he’ll remain self-quarantined until the 14-day period expires this week.”
“Thank you for everyone’s well-wishes and concerns. Through the course of my congressional and political duties, I’ve interacted with many people over the last two weeks,” he posted on Twitter Tuesday night. “I should have the COVID-19 test results back tomorrow. Health officials maintain the risk to people I have been in contact with remains low.”
Last week, Gaetz wore a gasmask on the House floor before voting to approve $8.3 billion on a coronavirus response package, drawing criticism from several national media outlet for making light of the seriousness of the situation.
“Made light?!?! I was quite serious. The threat to Congress is real, as I explained based on travel and habits like selfies and handshakes,” Gaetz posted on Twitter after Washington Post story.
Gaetz’s office in Washington is closed for the week, but his office in Pensacola is still open.
Pictured: Rep. Matt Gaetz tweeting this photo reviewing the coronavirus supplemental appropriation and preparing to go vote.
ECSO: Cantonment Man Was Intoxicated When He Body Slammed His Friend Into A Car
March 10, 2020
A Cantonment man was heavily intoxicated when he punched his friend and body slammed him into a car, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Andre Tervarris Cobb, 34, was charged with second degree felony aggravated battery causing bodily harm.
The victim told the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office that he was sitting outside a home on Booker Street with Cobb, who he described as a friend. He said Cobb was extremely high on drugs and intoxicated when suddenly begin beating him with his fist before body slamming him against a car, according to an arrest report. A witness corroborated the victim’s story.
The victim suffered a severe injury to his left wrist and large bleeding gash on top of his head.
Deputies noted in their report that there was a strong odor of alcoholic beverages on Cobb’s breath, his speech was slurred and he appeared heavily intoxicated.
Escambia County EMS responded and advised the victim’s wrist appeared to be fractured and he would need stitches for the gash on his head. The victim decided to go to the hospital on his own.
Cobb was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $7,500 bond.
Florida Dept. Of Health Files Administrative Complaint Against Escambia EMS, Imposes Fine Of $1,000 Per Day
March 10, 2020
The Florida Department of Health has filed an administrative complaint against Escambia County Public Safety and has imposed a fine of $1,000 per day until problems are resolved.
In 2018, Escambia EMS issued several recertification cards to instructors who had not met the requirements for recertification, including certifications for Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Basic Life Support (BLS) and Pediatric Advance Life Support (PALS), and Pediatric Emergency Assessment Recognition and Stabilization (PEARS).
The Department of Health found Escambia EMS allowed the instructors to teach courses without verifying the validity of the instructor certifications.
“The Administrative Complaint is relevant only to the County’s self-reporting of issues related to our training and not to any of the complaints made against individual employees,” Escambia County Attorney Alison Rogers said in a statement. “In regards to the Administrative Complaint, the County has 21 days to request a hearing, and we intend to do just that. Concurrently, it is our intent to demonstrate to FDOH that we have mitigated and addressed all of the discovered shortfalls, including the replacement of staff, retraining and recertification of staff members and new leadership in the relevant division.”
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Slight Chance Of Rain Today; Getting Warmer As The Week Goes On
March 10, 2020
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: Areas of fog after 1am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76.