FBI Names Nine Mile Bank Robbery Suspect, Says He’s Linked To Multiple Bank Robberies
January 11, 2020
The FBI now believes they know the identity of the person responsible for the robbery of a bank on Nine Mile Road Tuesday morning, and they believe he is responsible for multiple bank robberies.
The FBI’s Knoxville Division said Friday that Timothy James Langford, age 57 of Colorado, is suspected of a bank robbery Friday in Knoxville. He was last seen driving a 2001 maroon Dodge Dakota pickup truck.
He is also the suspect in the robbery of the Synovus Bank at the northwest corner of Nine Mile Road and University Parkway about 10:20 a.m. He presented a note demanding money and walked out of the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.
FBI Knoxville said he may be responsible for similar robberies in Colorado and middle Tennessee.
Anyone with information on the robberies or of the whereabouts of Landford is asked to call the FBI at (865) 544-0751 or 911.
Pictured: A Tuesday morning bank robbery suspect inside the Synovus Bank on Nine Mile Road. Images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Volunteers Wanted For West Florida Public Library Board Of Governance
January 11, 2020
The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners is seeking county residents interested in volunteering to be considered for an appointment to the West Florida Public Library Board of Governance.
The duties of the board include establishing policy and overseeing the management of Escambia County library services and making recommendations to the BCC regarding the annual budget according to the purposes and authority set forth in resolutions, interlocal agreements and other agreements, as well as state and federal laws. These duties also include establishing an annual plan of service and the long-range strategic planning of library services.
West Florida Public Libraries provides service to all of Escambia County, with the board typically meeting on the fourth Monday of the month from 4-6:30 p.m.
Residents interested in serving on the board are asked to submit a resume and letter indicating their desire to serve by close of business on Wednesday, Feb. 5. Resumes should be submitted to Todd J. Humble, Director, West Florida Public Libraries, 239 N. Spring St., Pensacola, FL, 32502 or by email to tjhumble@mywfpl.com.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Century Heat Youth Basketball Opens Season With Win
January 11, 2020
The Century Heat youth basketball league opened their season Thursday night with a sold 25-6 win over the Pelicans.
Minnesota Twins Announce 2020 Pensacola Blue Wahoos Coaching Staff
January 11, 2020
The Minnesota Twins announced their Double-A minor league coaching staff assignments for the 2020 season on Friday, bringing a new-look staff to Pensacola with a familiar face at the helm. 2019 Blue Wahoos manager Ramon Borrego will return to lead the Blue Wahoos in 2020 after taking the team to the Southern League playoffs with a 76-63 finish last season.
Borrego will be surrounded by an almost entirely new support staff in 2020. Ryan Smith will join the Blue Wahoos from the Twins level A affiliate, the Cedar Rapids Kernels, to serve as hitting coach. Pensacola will once again employ two pitching coaches with both Luis Ramirez and Nat Ballenberg joining the Blue Wahoos from High-A Fort Myers. Former Quinnipiac baseball assistant coach Joe Mangiameli will serve as a coach for Pensacola. Travis Koon returns as Pensacola’s strength and conditioning coach while Chris McNeely, formerly of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, becomes the team’s athletic trainer.
Ramon Borrego has coached in the Twins organization for 15 seasons, including 11 as a manager. After reaching Triple-A in a seven-season playing career with the Twins, Borrego became a coach in his native Venezuela for four seasons with the Twins affiliate in the Venezuelan Summer League. In 2009, he was promoted to manager of the Twins Dominican Summer League team before moving up to manage the Gulf Coast League (Rookie) Twins from 2010 through 2017. In 2018, he was promoted to High-A, leading the Fort Myers Miracle to the Florida State League title. In his first season at the Double-A level in 2019, he took the Blue Wahoos to the Southern League playoffs and graduated eight players from the team’s roster to the Major Leagues.
Ryan Smith joins the Blue Wahoos as hitting coach from the Cedar Rapids Kernels, the Twins A-affiliate. With Smith coaching hitters in 2019, the Kernels finished second in the Midwest League in home runs and qualified for the playoffs with a 78-62 record. He played collegiately at the College of Central Florida and Valdosta State University and spent three seasons as a coach at Central Florida before joining the Twins organization in 2019.
A pair of pitching coaches move up from High-A Fort Myers to Pensacola in 2019: Luis Ramirez and Nat Ballenberg.
Ramirez spent four seasons as a pitching coach with the Twins rookie level affiliate Elizabethton before being promoted to Fort Myers in 2019. Under his tutelage, the Fort Myers pitching staff posted a 3.11 team ERA during the season, second best in the Florida State League and led the league with 1,188 strikeouts. Prior to his coaching career, he played professionally for 14 seasons in the United States, Venezuela, Columbia, and Taiwan.
Ballenberg joined the Twins during the 2019 season, assisting the Fort Myers coaching staff with performance evaluation and training to enhance player development. He spent nine seasons as a coach at Haverford College before joining the Twins organization. He holds a degree in economics from Haverford College and a Masters in Sports Leadership from Northeastern University.
Mangiameli enters his first season of coaching professionally in 2020 with the Blue Wahoos after spending 2019 with Quinnipiac University baseball and the three previous seasons with Eastern Connecticut State University. A 2016 graduate from Southern New Hampshire University with a degree in Sport Management, Mangiameli played collegiately for the SNHU Penman.
The Blue Wahoos training staff will consist of strength coach Travis Koon, a returnee from the 2019 staff, and athletic trainer Chris McNeely, who joins the Twins organization following four seasons as a coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system.
Trial Set To Begin For Man Accused Of Murdering Three Family Members Four Years Ago
January 11, 2020
An Escambia County man accused of the murder of three family members over four years ago will be in court next week.
Trial is set to begin on January 13 for Donald Wayne Hartung for 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 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.
Hospital Maintenance Worker Charged With Child Cruelty For Attack On Teen Patient
January 10, 2020
A former maintenance worker at Baptist Hospital has been charged with child cruelty after allegedly beating a 13-year old patient.
Kevin Reese Douglas, age 47 of Milton, was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail Wednesday.
According to an arrest report, Douglas was repairing holes in a wall when he learned the damage was done by the teen.
Douglas approached the teen, shoved him through a doorway and got on top of him — beating him and smashing his head against the floor, according to police. He also kicked the teen multiple times. Police said security video shows the incident.
Douglas was “swiftly” terminated by Baptist, according to a statement. He had worked at the hospital as a painter since late January 2018.
Enon Country Manor Assisted Living Facility Closes
January 10, 2020
An assisted living facility in North Escambia has closed.
Enon Country Manor on Enon School Road closed in December, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration The facility, located in a remote area about eight miles southwest of Walnut Hill, was licensed for about 25 residents.
Attempts to reach the owners of the facility for more information were unsuccessful.
File photo.
New Florida Hemp Rules Now In Effect On Food, Dairy And Animal Feed Products
January 10, 2020
New food safety and animal feed rules for the new state hemp program are now in effect in Florida.
Under the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), regulations on hemp extract used in food and dairy products and animal feed have been incorporated into existing FDACS programs, hemp food establishment permits are available, and the Department’s Food Safety Inspectors are ready to conduct inspections.
“We’re proud to roll out these final rules for CBD in food and dairy products, open applications for hemp food establishment permits, and ensure our inspectors are ready to enforce the rules and uphold public safety,” said Commissioner Nikki Fried. “These actions bring us one step closer to getting the state hemp program up and running to provide a new alternative crop for farmers, allow Floridians to access safe, quality CBD products, and help our state reach its potential as the nation’s gold standard for hemp.”
As the state regulator for animal feed, food establishments, and the safety of dairy and other food products, FDACS has incorporated the regulation of hemp extract products into the existing regulatory framework to ensure the safety of these new products. Permits are not limited in any part of the process. The state hemp program is horizontally integrated — created with intention to allow any interested parties to participate in any aspects of the process.
“The Florida Hemp Council is very pleased to see the hard work of Commissioner Fried’s team,” stated Jeff Greene, director of New Business with The Florida Hemp Council. “Without their dedication and hard work, Florida would still be waiting and with the final steps only weeks away we are confident the industry will pick up the ball and run with it.”
Food Safety Rules
Hemp Food Safety
To protect the state’s food supply, FDACS’ Division of Food Safety oversees the permitting and inspection of food establishments, inspection and evaluation of food and dairy products, and specialized laboratory testing on a variety of products sold and/or produced in Florida. Effective January 1, 2020, hemp extract (CBD intended for ingestion) has been incorporated into existing Division of Food Safety programs.
Hemp Food Establishment Permit
FDACS’ Division of Food Safety issues food permits for the manufacturing, processing, packing, holding, preparing or selling food. Effective January 1, 2020, hemp food establishment permits are available for processing, manufacturing, distributing, and retailing facilities dealing with products consisting of or containing hemp extract and CBD.
Hemp Food Establishment Inspections
To minimize the risk of foodborne illness, FDACS’ Division of Food Safety conducts routine inspections of food establishments including supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, food processing plants, food warehouses, and more. Effective January 1, 2020, FDACS Food Safety Inspectors are ready to conduct food establishment inspections, enforce rules and pull samples for testing for the hemp program.
Animal Feed Rules
FDACS’ Division of Agricultural Environmental Services regulates the state’s commercial feed supply. Commercial feed distributors must be licensed annually submit a copy of the label for each brand of feed to be distributed. Samples of distributed feed must be periodically tested by a certified laboratory to determine compliance with state standards.
Effective January 1, 2020, hemp extract in animal feed has been incorporated into existing Division of Agricultural Environmental Services programs. Permitting, testing, and enforcement for processing, manufacturing, distributing and retailing hemp extract in animal feed is available January 2, 2020.
Final Stages of Hemp Rules
The seed and cultivation rules are being finalized before being filed for adoption — both are expected to be filed for adoption in early 2020. Once these rules have been adopted, submitted to and approved by the USDA, all aspects of the state hemp program’s regulations will be complete.
The cultivation rule is slightly delayed due to a need to align the Florida Cultivation Rule with the USDA’s final interim rules which were released on October 31, 2019. FDACS still expects cultivation to happen in the first quarter of 2020.
State Attorney Bill Eddins Won’t Seek Another Term, Endorses Greg Marcille
January 10, 2020
State Attorney Bill Eddins won’t be running for a fifth term, and he is endorsing the man he believes should be his replacement.
Eddins has announced that he is supporting Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille in the upcoming election. Marcille has been Eddins’ assistant since he took office 15 years ago.
Marcille is the only candidate so far for the position in Florida’s First Judicial Circuit., which covers Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties.
Eddins will remain in office through the completion of his term at the end of the year.
Escambia County High School Graduation Rate Increases
January 10, 2020
The high school graduation rate in Escambia County has increased, according to data just released by the Florida Department of Education.
For 11 consecutive years, the Escambia County School District has achieved an increase in their high school graduation rate. For the 2018-2019 school year the overall rate has climbed four points to 84.8%. In 2008, the on-time graduation rate was only 55%.
The school with the highest graduation rate in Escambia County was West Florida High at 99.4%, and the lowest was Northview High School at 83.3%.
“”Every high school in the Escambia County School District has a graduation rate above 83%. This means every school is above last year’s district average of 80.7%. This is the first year that every high school has a graduation rate above 80%. The progress over the last decade has been fantastic,” said Superintendent Malcolm Thomas.
The per school graduates rates were:
- Escambia High School 84
- Pensacola High School 91.2
- Tate High School 87.2
- Pine Forest High School 84.8
- Washington High School 84.7
- Northview High School 83.3
- West Florida High School 99.4
“Credit for this accomplishment goes to a long list of people beginning with our parents, every teacher the student has encountered, school administrators, subject area specialists, academy teachers, coaches, guidance counselors, graduation coaches, and finally, the students themselves who have worked so hard to fulfill all of the requirements for this major milestone,” Thomas said.
The state’s overall graduation rate increased this year from 86.1% to 86.9%.
In nearby Santa Rosa County, the graduation rate moved upward from 88.7% to 88.9%.
Pictured top: Graduation for the Class of 2019 at Northview High School. Pictured below: Superintendent Malcolm Thomas with several top members of the Tate High School Class of 2019.
