High Winds Damage Agricultural Shed Near Walnut Hill
January 12, 2020
High winds Saturday afternoon damaged an agricultural shed on Highway 97 near Pelt Road near Walnut Hill. There was a wind advisory and severe thunderstorm warning in effect at the time. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino Library Continues Mountain Dulcimer Classes
January 12, 2020
The Molino Branch Library is continuing weekly classes were you can learn to play the mountain dulcimer.
The “Molino Melodies” class is held at 6 p.m. each Thursday at the library. The class is free, and no experience or materials are required. Dulcimers are provided for class use.
Pictured: A mountain dulcimer class at the Molino Branch Library. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Man Found Shot To Death In Escambia County
January 12, 2020
A man was found shot to death Saturday in Escambia County.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 2200 block of Hernandez Street near P Street about 4 p.m..
Deputies were searching for a silver Chevy Silverado in connection with the shooting. Further details have not been released.
Roof Ripped From Bratt Mobile Home During Thunderstorm
January 12, 2020
Wind ripped a tin roof from a mobile home in Bratt during a thunderstorm Saturday afternoon.
There were no injuries reported at the mobile home on North Highway 99.
A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect at the time advising of possible 60 mph wind gusts.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
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.