Escambia County Arbor Day Tree Giveaway Held Saturday
January 19, 2020
A tree giveaway was held Saturday in observance of Arbor Day was held Saturday.
Escambia County held the tree giveaway and public planting Saturday morning at Beulah Middle School. Support for the event wass provided by the Florida Forest Service, Escambia County Natural Resources Management Division and UF/IFAS Extension with help from volunteers including the Beulah Middle School FFA and International Paper.
The event began with a tree planting ceremony followed by a tree giveaway and educational sessions. Families received two free native 1-gallon trees while supplies lasted, including swamp chestnut oak, chickasaw plum, red maple and mayhaw.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Stop Crape Murder: Don’t Cut Back Your Myrtles
January 19, 2020
by the Santa Rosa County Extension Service
Proper pruning is one of the most misunderstood of all gardening practices, yet it is one of the most important procedures in a landscape. A common victim of bad, improper pruning is the crape myrtle. Crape myrtles will occasionally need pruning to obtain the desired landscape effect, but many times these plants are butchered for no good reason.
According to Dan Gill, LSU Ag Center Horticulturist, an unfortunate trend in crape myrtle pruning is to lop off their tops, which results in a tree reduced to large branches ending in stubs. The lush growth that occurs at these cut sites appears vigorous but is actually structurally weak and more susceptible to fungus diseases such as powdery mildew. And when pruning is conducted improperly over several years, unsightly large, swollen knobs form at the point where pruning is done each year.
Flowers are not the only virtue of this tree. Many varieties have beautiful bark and growth habits that can be enjoyed all year if trees are not heavily pruned.
Crape murder
This unsightly, ugly pruning known as crape murder is not recommended. Once it’s done, it ruins the tree’s graceful natural shape for the rest of its life.
Often gardeners think they are supposed to prune their crape myrtles that way, and nothing could be farther from the truth. Many think that crape myrtles need to be cut way back to bloom well. This is not accurate. The flower clusters may be larger on lopped trees, but the added weight on the ends of long branches causes them to bend over awkwardly, especially after it rains. And since the tree is smaller, it actually produces fewer flower clusters.
Many people say they need to cut a crape myrtle back because of its size. If the height of the crape myrtle is not causing a problem with a nearby structure or power lines, there is little reason to reduce the tree’s height. To cut a crape myrtle back for the vague reason of “it just seems too large” ignores the fact that these plants are trees. They are supposed to be large.
To prune a crape myrtle properly, first decide if it needs to be pruned. As with any pruning project, you must have a specific, valid purpose in mind before you begin. In other words, if you can’t come up with a good reason to prune your tree – leave it alone. If you do see something that calls for pruning, study the tree carefully and determine what needs to be pruned to accomplish the specific purpose identified.
There are a few valid reasons for pruning a crape myrtle. One reason is to eliminate crossed and rubbing branches because rubbing branches can lead to open wounds.
Over time, branches that are too low on the trunk will need to be pruned to raise the canopy. We often need to remove weak, thin branches from the inner part of the tree to produce a cleaner-looking tree. Selected branches may need to be pruned back to a side branch or the trunk to create a shapelier tree. Of course, you need to prune to keep suckers removed from the base of the trunk.
Generally, avoid cutting back or shortening branches much larger than your finger, although cutting larger branches back to a side branch or to the trunk when needed is fine.
Visitors to our area often marvel over our crape myrtles. During summer, their colorful flowers, attractive bark and beautiful shape make them among our most valuable landscape plants. Please appreciate this – and stop the unfortunate trend of hacking them back.
Pictured top: Crape myrtle trees do not need pruning for new growth. Pictured below: These Crape myrtles were ruined with unnecessary topping. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com.
Guy Thompson, Former Milton Mayor And United Way Boss, Headed To Federal Prison
January 18, 2020
Guyland Thompson, former Milton mayor and formerexecutive director of the United Way of Santa Rosa County, was sentenced Friday to 51 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion.
Thompson, 65, of Milton, was ordered to forfeit $221,868.28 seized from his bank accounts and pay an additional monetary judgment of $430,132.33.
Thompson pled guilty last May to 20 counts of wire fraud and three counts of tax evasion stemming from his embezzlement of funds from United Way of Santa Rosa County while he ran the organization. Between at least 2011 and 2018, Thompson embezzled over $650,000 from the charity. He used his position and access to the charity’s records and bank accounts to steal money from the charity for years by conducting a series of complicated financial transactions to cover his tracks. He also made false representations to board members, employees, bank tellers, and United Way Worldwide to keep his fraud undetected for so long.
Thompson then failed to report the extra income from his embezzlement scheme to the IRS.
“These crimes affected not only an outstanding charitable organization, but also the many individuals who depended on multiple nonprofits to help them deal with day-to-day challenges. This defendant violated the trust of all these innocent victims, and this sentence reflects the harm he did to so many,” said Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
As a result of Thompson’s crimes, United Way of Santa Rosa County lost its charter with the international organization and was forced to close. The restitution Thompson was ordered to pay will be divided between United Way of Santa Rosa County and 15 local charities that previously had been supported by it.
The United Way of Escambia County later expanded their service area to include Santa Rosa County and changed the organization’s name to the United Way of West Florida.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Pensacola Offering Creditor Monitoring To Thousands After Cyberattack
January 18, 2020
The City of Pensacola is offering credit monitoring to an estimated 57,000 people following a ransomware cyberattack last month.
Pensacola’s computer network suffered the attack during the early morning hours of December 7.
City officials say any current customer of Pensacola Energy, an employee or retiree of the city, an active applicant or recipient of Section 8 Housing assistance and/or a vendor of the city who supplied a social security number rather than an federal tax ID number are all at risk.
The personal information that may have been obtained by the hackers includes individuals’ first and last names; social security number, driver license number, or other identification number; bank account number, credit card number, or debit card number.
The city is now offering LifeLock credit monitoring and identity theft protection services via a letter in the mail. The letter is described as nondescript with a return address in Suwanee, Georgia.
Anyone with questions regarding the security breach or personal information that was kept by the city should contact LifeLock at (877) 368-4457 by April 30, 2020.
Woman Cited After Rear-ending School Bus With 14 Students On Board
January 18, 2020
A woman was cited by troopers after rear-ending a school bus in Escambia County Friday.
The Escambia County school bus was stopped with red lights flashing and stop sign deployed on Tower Ridge Road when it was rear-ended by a 2007 Buick Lucerne driven by 59-year old Donna Edwards, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The Buick became pinned under the bus, but Edwards was not injured.
The driver of the bus, Brittaney Gay of Walnut Hill, and the 14 students on board were also not injured.
Edwards was cited for careless driving and knowingly operating a motor vehicle with suspended or revoked license.
Tate Varsity Cheerleaders Take Regionals, Advance To State Finals
January 18, 2020
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The Tate High School varsity cheerleaders won their third consecutive FHSAA Region 1 championship Friday night. This year, they competed in the Medium Varsity division at Oakleaf High School in Orange Park.
With the win, the Tate cheerleaders advance to the finals at the FHSAA state competition January 31-February 1 in Gainesville.
Last season, the Tate varsity cheerleaders won the state championship and placed fifth in the nation.
Pictured are (front, L-R) coaches and seniors Morgan White (coach), Madelyn Ray, Trista King, Kensley Foley, Shelby Fleming (captain), Bailey Carter (captain), Kyndal Milsted, Abigail Manoso, Keaden Martin, Annie Wiggins (assistant coach), (back, L-R) Briana Ragan, Alana Polk, Emily McNair, Kyndell Ammons, Erin Johnson, Morgan Warrington, Ashlyn NeSmith, Angelena Tamoria, Hagyn Helton, Ashlie Houdashelt, Paige McKinney, Emma Romero and Landry Bellard. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Registration Underway At Molino Ballpark, Northwest Escambia
January 18, 2020
Molino Ballpark
Molino Ballpark spring registration is underway though next Saturday online only.
Register for tee ball, baseball and softball through 11:59 .m. on January 25 at www.molinoballpark.com. Further information and costs can be found on the website.
Northwest Escambia
Registration is underway from Northwest Escambia tee ball, baseball and softball. Registration is open online at www.nwebaseball.com through January 31. Additional information is available on the website.
In-person registration will also be held from 9 a.m. until noon on January 25 and February 1 at the Bradberry Park Fieldhouse.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jury Selected In Case Of Man Accused Of Murdering Three Family Members Four Years Ago
January 18, 2020
A jury has been seated for the trial of an Escambia County man accused of the murder of three family members over four years ago.
Jury selection wrapped up Friday and opening statements will begin Tuesday morning in the case against Donald Hartung. He is facing three counts of first degree premeditated murder in the death of his mother and two half-brothers, Voncile Smith, John Smith, and Richard Smith. State Attorney Bill Eddins said prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.
All three bodies were found on July 31, 2015, in their home on Deerfield Drive. All three were beaten with a claw hammer and their throats slit, and Richard Smith was also shot in the head.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigation first found witchcraft may have been involved in the killings. But further investigation revealed the motive may have been more financially motivated.
Milestone Boulevard To Be Closed At Nine Mile Road Next Week
January 17, 2020
Milestone Boulevard will be closed at the intersection of Nine Mile Road in Escambia County the week of Tuesday, January 21, following the reopening of Littleton Street.
The closure will allow crews to perform drainage work, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. The work is anticipated to take seven to 10 days to complete. Traffic will be detoured to Littleton Street and Oldenburg Boulevard. Signs and variable message boards will be in place to alert drivers of the temporary closure and alternate route.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.
Cantonment Man Charged In Cottage Hill Drive By Shooting
January 17, 2020
A drive-by shooting suspect that crashed his pickup into a tree in Cottage Hill last November has been arrested.
Kenneth Brandon Caughey, 34, was charged this week with three counts of felony aggravated assault, five counts of firing deadly missiles, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and criminal mischief in connection with the drive-by shooting about 3:40 a.m. on Saturday, November 30, 2019. No one was hit or injured by the gunfire.
A resident of Handy Road told deputies that someone in a black pickup stopped in front of her house and opened fire, taking some 6-10 shots at her home before speeding off towards McKenzie Road. Deputies found three bullet holes in the exterior of the home and numerous .40 caliber shell casings in front.
Caughey crashed his pickup into a tree in the area of a Handy Road and Williams Ditch Road. He and a juvenile passenger were transported to an area hospital in serious condition. Deputies said a .40 caliber Glock semi-automatic pistol was in plain sight where Caughey had been sitting in the vehicle.
Caughey remained in the Escambia County Jail Friday morning with bond set at $156,000.
The juvenile has also be charged in connection with the drive-by shooting.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
